In the winter of 257 B.C., the State of Qin changed its slow progress and mobilized 400,000 troops to attack the State of Zhao.
Although the State of Zhao had the support of the 100,000 soldiers led by Wei Wuji, the State of Zhao had just experienced the Battle of Changping, and its national strength had been greatly reduced. At most, they could gather 300,000 soldiers.
Moreover, 150,000 of them were still in the north, led by Zhao General Li Mu to resist the Xiongnu. They could not be moved.
This also meant that the State of Zhao could only command an army of 100,000.
Facing the 400,000 strong Qin army, even if Zhao and Wei joined forces, they would not be able to fight against them.
Thus, the King of Zhao immediately sent many envoys to Yan, Han, Chu, and Qi to request reinforcements.
Apart from that, the King of Zhao had also sent General Lianpo to the capital of Western Zhou. He wanted the King of Western Zhou to raise the banner of the Son of Heaven and send out the order for all the vassal states to attack Qin.
Although the six countries of Shandong were at odds with each other all year round, when facing Qin, they were all on the same side.
After all, the State of Zhao was a huge obstacle for the State of Qin. Once the State of Zhao was destroyed, the other five countries would not have a good time either. At that time, the State of Qin would soon unify the world.
Therefore, in order to resist the expansion of the Qin country, under the banner of the emperor, other than Qi, the other five countries joined forces.
The alliance army of the five countries was led by the lords of Western Zhou, Xinling, Pingyuan, and Chunshen.
Lord Xinling was Wei Wuji, the son of Wei, Lord Pingyuan was Zhao Sheng, the son of Zhao, and Lord Chunshen was Huang Xie, the son of Chu.
These three young masters, together with Lord Mengchang of Qi, were known as the Four Great Young Masters of the Warring States Period.
The five countries had joined forces to attack Qin, and the alliance army had reached five hundred thousand, completely disrupting Qin's plans to attack Zhao.
As a last resort, the old King of Qin decided to stop attacking Zhao and ordered the 200,000-strong army that had merged with Wang He to turn around and attack the Western Zhou Kingdom, which was the mastermind behind the attack on Qin. He appointed Ying He as the general and the son of the Crown Prince as the supervisor.
On the bank of the Wei River, Ying Zichu was standing on a war chariot with General Ying Mo beside him.
"It is reasonable for the five countries to suddenly attack Qin. This time, we only need to take down this old wolf, Western Zhou, and the alliance of the five countries will immediately collapse!”Ying Xiong said.
Ying Zichu nodded and said," After besieging Western Zhou, our plan to attack Qin collapsed. The king ordered me to go and negotiate. We must make the emperor hand over the thirty-six cities of Western Zhou and make the Zhao Kingdom return my wife and children. Otherwise, the war will not stop!”
"Hahaha-Western Zhou is no longer what it is in name. Its territory only has thirty-six cities.”Ying Mo laughed loudly.
Half a month later, Ying Zichu and Ying Mo led 200,000 soldiers on their way to the capital of Western Zhou. They would arrive in another ten days.
On the other side, when the alliance army of the five kingdoms heard that the Qin Kingdom had sent another 200,000 troops to attack the Western Zhou Kingdom, they immediately panicked.
How could the King of Western Zhou still care about joining forces with the five countries to attack Qin? He begged Lord Xinling and the others to follow him to Western Zhou to rescue the Emperor.
Lord Xinling and the others had no choice but to agree. From then on, the alliance army of the five countries had failed in their plan to attack the Qin Empire. All the troops had rushed to Western Zhou.
At the same time, the 200,000 Qin soldiers led by Wang He also rushed to Western Zhou, preparing to join up with the 200,000 soldiers led by Ying Zichu.
Zhao Country, Dragonstage Palace.
"Damn it!" King Zhao slammed the table and stood up, his face filled with rage. His Highness 'ministers all lowered their heads, not daring to anger King Zhao at this moment.
"That old dog Ying Ji is really good at scheming. He sent troops to attack Western Zhou and destroyed the alliance of the five nations!”
The King of Zhao was so angry that his face was flushed red. On the surface, it looked like the Western Zhou Dynasty had launched an attack on Qin under the banner of the emperor, but in fact, the State of Zhao was the mastermind behind it.
It was to solve the current predicament of Qin attacking Zhao with all their strength and to join forces with the other four countries to attack Qin. It could be said to be killing two birds with one stone.
In the end, Qin attacked Western Zhou, catching him off guard.
Western Zhou had to be protected, not because it was the authentic Zhou Dynasty, but because it had the banner of the Son of Heaven and was nominally an alliance with the five countries.
If Western Zhou was destroyed and the five countries did not help, they would be criticized by the world for betraying the alliance and not even saving their own allies.
Although after Sun Wu, the various countries were all fond of the art of cunning weapons, and they did not place as much importance on their face as they did during the Spring and Autumn Period, they still had to maintain their face.
That was why the alliance army of the five countries had returned to defend Western Zhou to prevent it from being destroyed by Qin.
"Your Majesty, although it's impossible to attack Qin together, our Zhao country has survived this ordeal. After this, the Qin country probably won't attack our Zhao country again.”Mao Sui, a famous official of the State of Zhao, hurriedly persuaded.
King Chu's eyes flickered. He nodded and said," That's true. It's a pity that we missed such a good opportunity to attack Qin. I don't know when we will have such a good opportunity again."”
At this moment, the King of Zhao seemed to have thought of something. He pointed at General Li Jian and said,"I remember that Ying Yiren, no, Ying Zichu's wife and children are still in Handan City.”
Li Jian's expression changed slightly." Three months ago, Ying Zichu escaped back to the State of Qin with Lu Buwei's help. He didn't take his wife and children with him, but…" he replied.
"Haven't you caught him yet?" King Zhao's face turned cold.
"Your Majesty, atone for your sins! I've already sent soldiers to search Handan. I believe that it won't be long before we can capture Ying Zichu's wife and children!”Li Jian quickly said.
"Good! I'll give you three days. You must capture them within three days!”
" Now, Ying Zichu has become the legitimate son of the Crown Prince of the State of Qin. With his wife and children in his hands, as long as that old thing Ying Ji still cares about his family, the State of Qin will no longer be able to send troops to our State of Zhao. Hahahaha-"
"Your Majesty's strategy is unparalleled!" The ministers of the State of Zhao immediately echoed.
At the same time, in a remote courtyard in the southwest of Handan City.
Shen Yue was currently teaching Qin Mu, Little Ying Zheng, and Dong 'er about human studies.
At this moment, someone rushed into the courtyard and said to Shen Yue,""Not good, sir. The Zhao army is searching for you and will be here soon!”
"What?!"
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