Chapter 183
Know yourself and the enemy, a hundred battles will never end.
Among them, "knowing the opponent", the most important thing is to know the strength of the opponent's troops, so as to judge whether you have a chance of victory or whether you are trying to defeat a stone with an egg.
To estimate the strength of the troops, one can observe the size of the enemy's barracks, their tents, supplies, and logistics.
It's not that Mang Mao's scouts didn't go to investigate, but Wang Jian's sentries were too powerful and killed five scouts in a row, making no one in the Wei army willing to go again.
Those who are sent out reluctantly are not doing enough.
But Wei Ji's retainers were not like this.
Food for the king, loyalty to the king.
They are loyal and capable.
Of these ten diners, two were disguised as traveling merchants.
The merchant is from the State of Zhao and does business in the State of of the war, I was delayed in returning home.
"I hope the general won't be surprised if I accidentally broke into the military camp."
It was not the general who discovered them, but a cook who had gone to the woods to steal cooks gnawed away the bone sticks in twos and twos and escorted the two retainers outside Wang Jian's camp.
"Do you know that the Zhao Kingdom has been destroyed, and now you are the subjects of the Yong Kingdom?" Wang Jian narrowed his eyes at them and said coldly.
"I just found out not long ago," the guest replied respectfully, "We are willing to be the subjects of Yong Kingdom."
"Very good." Wang Jian nodded, "Then let's start by working as cooks in the Yong Kingdom. Come, take them down and record them in the military register to chop firewood and cook food."
The guest had a grimace on his face, hiding his secret joy.
When you go to cook, you can carefully count the number of stoves to calculate the number of soldiers.
Just go.
Anyway, he was being held captive, so it was impossible not to go.
Three of the hangers-on disguised themselves as hunting mountain men.
They took advantage of the terrain to observe Yong's army from a high position, and spent two hours counting the number of camps.
The army of Yong State was vast from west to east, stationed in eight places in just counting this place, the diners were already frightened and could hardly hold the hatchets in their hands.
According to the size of Yongguo's tent, one tent can accommodate ten were no less than 7 people in this first military divisions, more troops than Wang Jian claimed!
It seems that Mang Mao's previous calculations were correct.
Don't be in a hurry, look elsewhere, and wait for other people's judgment.
The three doormen carefully slid down from the branches and lurked into the distance.
Five of the hangers-on disguised themselves as civilians from Handan County.
Because it coincided with the war, many people in Handan were requisitioned to transport grain.
The diners signed up enthusiastically, and finally four people were selected to follow the large army to the west overnight to receive the food shipped from Guanzhong.
The grain and grass were brought by bullock carts, which cost ninety dan per four people transported food and estimated the military strength.
Although their bodies with delicate skin and tender flesh could not withstand the heavy work, they managed to survive.
The five of them met together at night and sighed heavily.
The next day, I met those people disguised as mountain people as agreed, which was even more painful.
Now we just have to wait for the two businessmen to dress up.
Somehow, they haven't shown up yet.
The traveling merchant is now the cook of Yong's army.
Let alone exploring the news, they have no time to spare.
Every morning before the rooster crows, the cook gets up to chop vegetables and cook.
Yong Jun's food was very good. Every stove was lit, large pieces of meat were thrown into the pot and cooked, and bags of millet were poured in. They were quickly divided by the captains who came to receive the meal with large buckets.
So I cooked it again and again. If I didn't get it the first time, I didn't worry, so I just stayed by the stove and waited.
Occasionally, some people complain, saying, "We don't have enough stoves! We should build twenty or thirty more stoves!"
Not enough? The guests of the Wei Kingdom counted the number of stoves in their hearts, and looked at the soldiers in front of them who seemed to have enough to eat. They were extremely shocked by the number of Yong soldiers.
Gotta run away quickly.
They looked at each other.
Everyone said that Wang Jian was strict in running the army. I wonder if he would still find a chance to escape.
They wiped the black ashes from their foreheads, swallowed their spit when smelling the fragrant meat, and complained endlessly.
"Is that true?"
A few days later, when these ten disciples returned to Luoyang and stated what they had seen, Wei Ji, the prince of Wei State, was still a little skeptical.
He looked at the diners who had lost a lot of weight and had dark skin from living in the open air, and he always felt that things would not be that simple.
"I think that if Wang Jian's military strength is as you have judged, he should take Mangmao lightly now instead of seeking victory in a few small battles." Wei Ji sat behind a few tables and drank tea slowly.
He felt that the air in the palace was a bit stuffy today, which made people feel upset.
Barely restraining his emotions, Wei Ji looked at Long Yangjun who was sitting not far away.
Because Wei Yu often dined with him, Long Yangjun's mat was much larger than others.
They finally reconciled, and Wei Yu humbly followed Long Yangjun's advice and agreed to wait for the retainer to find out the news before making a conclusion.
Wei Yu didn't come today, and Long Yangjun looked a little proud.
"I thought," he said with a slight eyebrow raised, "that the young master has thought carefully. So I also sent retainers to visit the city captured by Yong State on the border of Chu State. How many troops do you think Meng Tian led there?"
Yong State now has only more than 50 soldiers and horses with all the strength of the country.
If it were placed in Handan in the north of Wei State and in the south of Wei State, there would be very few.
It's like hide-and-seek, it's not like there's something here and there's something there.
After hearing what he said, everyone looked at him.
"Forty thousand." Long Yangjun stretched out his slender fingers and gestured, "There are only a few tents."
"So there are at least 50 people in Handan."
"Then don't hesitate!" "Sir, make a decision early! Don't wait for Wang Jian to eat our more than 20 troops, it will be too late by then!"
……
The urgings came one after another, and he was even more anxious than before.
However, Wei Ji's fingers stroked the three-edged arrow hanging from his waist and said flatly: "Wait a little longer."
However, there was not much time left for Wei Ji to wait.
Another report came from the military residence. Mang Mao said that Wang Jian led the army to encircle his 20 soldiers and horses.
Wang Jian seemed to no longer care about military strategy. Mang Mao said in the letter that they had "thousands of troops and majestic momentum, and they even disdained formations when attacking."
Disdainful, is it because there are so many people? Wei Ji looked gloomy and walked around the hall where incense was lit.
"Wei Ji!"
A voice came from the door of the temple.
Wei Yu looked embarrassed and said: "Just listen to my brother and mobilize your troops quickly!"
Wei Yu took a few steps forward, but because he walked too fast, he almost stepped on the front of his robe and fell.
"Are you going to become a sinner for all eternity?"
A sinner through the ages? Wei Ji wished he could lead his troops to the north in person, but he always felt that playing chess with someone like Jiang He should not be taken lightly.
Before Wei Yu finished speaking, the guests all stood up and saluted.
"Your Highness, please make a decision as soon as possible!"
Wang Jian personally went into battle.
He said he was going into battle, but in fact, he had only seen the formation in place once.
It was when she was bidding farewell to the monarch in the palace, the queen dipped her finger in tea and drew it for him on the table.
"When the time is right, General Wang can use this formation to attack."
Wang Jian frowned and took a closer look, and immediately understood.
This formation seems to have no structure, but it spreads out the widest force and ensures the greatest attack power.
This is a formation that seeks death, just to confuse the enemy.
"As for the right time," Jiang He said, "of course it will be after the enemy has spied on the military situation."
So of the grain and grass sent from Guanzhong, nine out of ten ox carts were loaded with stones; so ten times as many stoves were built, and only one-tenth of the cooked army grain was eaten, and the remaining nine were hidden in the camp tent; As for those camps, each soldier lived in one, disguised as an army of 50 people.
Wang Jian stood in front of the formation.
This time, it would be best to capture Mang Mao alive so that Wei would lose the city and force them to send troops for reinforcements.
"Kill——" Wang Jian raised his knife.
"Kill——" tens of thousands of soldiers responded and advanced.
It was just dawn, and the soldiers who were changing their defenses saw a general in armor passing by in the distance, and stood up straight trembling.
The general turned around and saw a young face.
It turned out to be General Meng.
Meng Tian approached him and asked, "Is it cold?"
The soldier stood up straighter, almost tilting his head back, and said in a clear voice: "General, I'm not cold."
"It's strange that it's not cold." Meng Tian laughed, "We don't have a tent to live in. It's already the beginning of autumn, how can it not be cold?"
There are more than 40 soldiers, but less than [-] to [-] soldiers can live in camps.
This is because there are only so many tents in the Yong Kingdom, and they were transported to Handan, and there are no more south of the Wei Kingdom where Meng Tian is located.
Making a batch urgently can still solve the urgent need.
But the king's order was not to increase the number of tents.
Meng Tian knew that this was to confuse the Wei State, but he was still anxious, worried that his soldiers would freeze out.
The weather is getting colder and colder, and if we wait any longer, the soldiers sleeping in the woods at night will not be able to hold on any longer.
Suddenly there were footsteps in the distance, and a scout ran towards him.
"General," the scout panted, "the Wei army has moved!"
Overnight, the Wei army stationed on the southern border of Wei to guard against Yong's invasion left only [-] troops and horses, and the rest all retreated north.
Meng Tian widened his eyes and said, "You say it again?"
Although this was the news he had been waiting for a long time, he still couldn't believe it when he heard it suddenly.
Mr. Wei, have you fallen into the trap like this? Not very smart?
Perhaps, this is destiny.
Meng Tian turned to look to the west and said in a deep voice: "Wait for another five days, and I, the general, will take you to live in the Wei army's camp."
Five days, waiting for them to cross the Yellow River.
Just, never come back again.
The first scent of sweet-scented osmanthus this autumn floats in Zhiyang Palace.
Jiang He held the newspaper in his hand and sat on the steps next to the sweet-scented osmanthus tree.
A long time ago, she sat on this step and read the letter Wei Ji wrote to her.
At that time, she was thinking that when she saw Wei Ji, she must give him all the art of war she knew.
We must help him to bring peace to the world and unite the world.
Jiang He didn't know at that time that three years later, she would be Wei Ji's opponent on this stage, reading the newspaper that he had fallen into.
He fell into a trap.
as an opponent.
Jiang He didn't look happy at all.
"Cailing," she called softly, "ask Zongjun to come over. I have a letter here for Jiang Ben."
(End of this chapter)