Chapter 51: Bai Qi's Plan

  Sixty miles west of Yiguan, a large army was advancing slowly. The black flag and the black military uniform all indicated their identity, which was undoubtedly the Qin army.

  Bai Qi turned his head and gazed deeply at the east, chuckled, "The troops of Han, Zhao, and Wei should be chasing after us by now."

  Last night, Bai Qi led the 140,000-strong army to retreat overnight, not really rushing back to reinforce Xianyang. Bai Qi knew that once he retreated, the three Jin armies would likely pursue closely. This would bring great trouble to the Qin army, making it difficult to advance or retreat, and being taken advantage of by the allied forces. Rather than being harassed by the allied forces all the way, it was better to defeat them in one battle and destroy their morale. In this way, his own army could safely rush back to reinforce Xianyang.

  Bai Qi calculated the strength ratio of both sides, and after the Allied Army lost 50,000 troops, they only replenished 30,000 troops. Excluding the 20,000 troops defending Yique, there were only 130,000 troops that could be deployed to pursue Qin's army outside the city. 130,000 Three Jin Allied Army VS 140,000 Qin Army, haha! If the Allied Army dares to come, I will have a decisive battle with the Three Jin Allied Army!

  "Pass down the order, the entire army is to halt its advance! Rest for half a watch, prepare to receive and battle the enemy."

  "Yes!" Dozens of Imperial Guards galloped out of the ranks, loudly transmitting Bai Qi's orders.

  The army suddenly stopped, raising a vast cloud of dust. The night march plus the slow march of just an hour ago had consumed no small amount of energy for the Qin army. As soon as they heard the order to rest, the soldiers sat down to rest immediately. No one complained, no one grumbled. Those who ate, ate; those who drank water, drank water. The cavalrymen even took out the beans they had stored up to treat their beloved war horses.

  After eating dry rations, the Qin army began to set up abatis, pitfalls and caltrops in an orderly manner. Bai Qi also finished his last mouthful of dry rations, took over a water bag from his personal guards, and took a shallow sip.

  As the commander, Bai Qi could have enjoyed beef jerky and horse milk wine. However, he refused such preferential treatment, wanting to share the same hardships as his soldiers and reminding himself not to forget his roots. Food was only for filling one's stomach; a great man did not need to be extravagant.

  Bai Qi's entire mind was completely absorbed in the upcoming battle. If the three Jin armies were entrenched in Yique City, there would be few options available to him. But once they left the city and engaged in a field battle, the coordination of the three Jin armies would inevitably have some gaps. This was the biggest place where he could take advantage. Just like what he did twenty years ago, use their gaps, and defeat them one by one. Once the Wei army or Han army fell and fled, the next battle would be much simpler.

  Following the trail left by the Qin army, Lian Po finally led his troops to catch up with the Qin army. Looking at the dense flags of the Qin army in sight, Lian Po was first overjoyed and then shocked.

  The Qin army was indeed caught up in itself, but there was no expected panic. They did not rush to march, but instead formed into neat squares, waiting for their own arrival.

  It's true that Bai Qi is a world-renowned general, how could he make such a mistake. Now Bai Qi's 140,000-strong army is like a hedgehog, which makes Lian Po speechless.

  Lian Po clearly knew that with his own meager 70,000 iron cavalry charging against the 140,000-strong Qin army waiting in formation, even if they broke through the large array, they would still be exhausted to death within the Qin army's phalanx. Moreover, his original intention was only to slow down Bai Qi's great army and not let the Qin army return to Xianyang in time. As long as he achieved this point, he would be considered successful. As for beheading Bai Qi, it was just a luxury. Of course, if Bai Qi made a big mistake during the confrontation between the two armies, Lian Po would not give up such a great opportunity either.

  The only plan now is to wait for the reinforcements from Han and Wei. Now, Lian Po doesn't intend to wait for the reinforcements either, but rather intends to test the Qin army.

  "Zhaowen!" Lian Po called out loud.

  "I am the last one!" a deep voice responded.

  "Bring all your troops and horses, circle around the Qin army's large formation, scout out if there are any ambushes or traps nearby."

  "Ah!"

  "Remember to keep a distance and beware of the Qin army's arrow formation. If there are Qin cavalry coming out to entangle, if they are few in number, annihilate them; if they are many, hold them back and wait for support from the central army." Lian Po instructed again at this time.

  "Ah!"

  Before long, the Qin army discovered that a detachment of troops had split from the Zhao army and was heading straight north.

  "General! Shall we send troops to eliminate them?" The deputy general asked aloud.

  "For the time being, we won't use it." Lian Po thought that this was an attempt to lure us into sending troops! said Bai Qi calmly.

  At present, the Qin army cavalry has only over 30,000 people. If they send out a small number of troops, they will not be able to stop this division of Zhao's army; if they send out a large number of troops, it will be exactly what Zhao's army wants - this division of Zhao's army will inevitably entangle the cavalry sent by Qin, and then Lian Po's main force will take advantage of the situation to surround and annihilate them. If Qin does not want to sacrifice their limited cavalry, they can only send out the whole army to reinforce. In this way, the formation will become chaotic.

  This is not what Bai Qi wants. Chaos means that even if this battle is won, the casualties will not be within his acceptable range. Bai Qi wants to bring out the army as intact as possible, he wants a big victory, not a Pyrrhic one!

  The Qin army's reconnaissance of the Zhao army was unmoved, as still as a mountain, referring to the Qin army in a defensive state. Less than half an hour later, the Zhao army sent out for reconnaissance returned unscathed.

  "General, I have found a considerable number of abatis and pitfalls on the south, north, and east sides of the Qin army's square formation, but none on the west side. Within a radius of twenty miles, no signs of hidden troops were discovered. Judging from the scale of the Qin army's square formation and their banners, I believe all 140,000 Qin soldiers are before us." Zhao reported respectfully.

  "Hmm, the surrounding area is flat and open, a good place to fight without any ambushes. It seems that Bai Qi wants to have an honest battle with us!" Lian Po exclaimed.

  "Yes! General! Bai Qi now has an army of 1.4 million, which is not much different from our three-country coalition forces. The Qin people have always been fierce and brave, I'm sure they're not afraid of us." A lieutenant spoke up.

  "The Qin army has set up barriers on three sides and left only the west side open for us to attack. Is it possible that there is a trick?" A school lieutenant raised his own doubts.

  "It's very likely, but perhaps the Qin people were just confident in their own defense. After all, the west was the direction of the Qin army's advance, and setting up so many obstacles would make it inconvenient for the Qin army to retreat."

  "It's a pity that the Qin army is now in a hurry. The Qin army wants to have a decisive battle with us, but we don't want to fulfill their wishes. I think we can mainly use guerrilla warfare, first, it will minimize our losses, and second, it will make the Qin army lose focus. Of course, if there's an opportunity, attacking their camp is also a viable option. After this battle, the state of Qin should know the ferocity of our great Zhao iron cavalry." The deputy general expressed his own suggestion.

  "Haha! I think so too. In any case, let's take a detour to the west! We can't refuse the good intentions of the Qin army." Lian Po emitted a bright and cheerful laugh.

  At the sound of the order, the 80,000-strong Zhao army drew a beautiful arc, neatly and uniformly bypassing the Qin army's phalanx formation to head west. Bai Qi was surprised by the caution of the Zhao army, but also not greatly disappointed.

  To the west, the western flank of the phalanx formation was Bai Qi's trump card. If the Zhao army chose to make a breakthrough on the western flank, it would be interesting. All the Qin army's catapults and siege crossbows were deployed there, with a large enough number to severely damage the Zhao army.

  Of course, if Zhao Jun is satisfied with the status quo and does not take the initiative to attack, Bai Qi will not mind. Because from start to finish, the breakthrough chosen by Bai Qi was always the Han and Wei armies. Now that he has successfully mobilized the Zhao army, Bai Qi's plan has actually succeeded halfway.

  (I returned from a business trip very late, two updates tomorrow! Goodnight everyone!)