Zhao Weiwang in the Warring States Period

Li Mu said, "Have you caught all the assassins?"

Pang Nuan said: "Some were caught, some were not."

Li Mu was silent for a while, and said: "Let those hundreds of Qin households near the assassination site participate in the prosecution. If the prosecution fails after three days, ten slaps and one kill."

After a pause, Li Mu changed his mind again: "Five draws and one kill."

Pang Nuan was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but said: "General, if this is the case, I'm afraid it will arouse the resistance of Qin people."

Li Mu turned his head and looked at Pang Nuan very calmly: "Protecting criminals is a kind of resistance in itself. Since there is resistance, then I will eliminate such resistance."

Pang Nuan was silent.

After a while, Li Mu continued: "How is the battle going on in other areas?"

Of course, it was impossible for Li Mu to stop his 30-strong army in Xianyang City for nothing. In fact, Li Mu had already dispatched many troops on the day of entering the city or even earlier, with the purpose of pacifying Guanzhong as soon as possible.

Pang Nuan replied: "Yiqusheng's messenger has just arrived, Qin Wangchu led [-] defeated soldiers and fled into Baoxie Road."

Li Mu frowned, apparently dissatisfied with the result: "Yi Qusheng missed such a good opportunity?"

Pang Nuan shrugged his shoulders and said, "Yi Qusheng is more than brave but not scheming, so he was deceived by King Qin Chu's plan to abandon his son."

Li Mu shook his head and said: "A mistake is a mistake. The order will pass on, and Yi Qusheng will be demoted to one level, and he will still lead the troops and horses of the headquarters to make amends."

Pang Nuan didn't object to Li Mu's words, but said another thing: "Governor, Yongcheng has also been surrounded. According to intelligence, there are only a few thousand defenders in Yongcheng. If you want to conquer it That’s what happened these days.”

Yongcheng, the former capital of the Qin State, is located in the upper reaches of the Weishui River, the westernmost part of the Guanzhong Plain, and also the junction of Guanzhong and Longxi. Its geographical location is very important.

Winning here means that the entire Guanzhong has fallen into the hands of Zhao Guo.

Li Mu pondered for a moment, and said, "Since Yongdu is about to be captured, it's time to continue going south."

For this battle to destroy Qin, winning Guanzhong is undoubtedly a crucial node, but winning Guanzhong alone does not mean the demise of Qin.

After all, Qin State is a vast country. After taking Guanzhong, Li Mu still needs to continue going south to conquer Hanzhong and Bashu, which are still under the control of Qin State.

Pang Nuan agreed with Li Mu's opinion and said, "That's right. But now that summer is approaching, the roads in central Sichuan are rough and the climate is sultry, so I'm afraid it will cause quite a bit of trouble."

Li Mu waved his hand and said, "It's okay, since we can go to the bitter cold land in Liaodong, then what's the point of Bashu? As the soldiers under the king's command, we should conquer the world as the king, how can we stop because of the mere climate?" ? General Pang Nuan, let us discuss the next marching route."

After a while, the two came to a small palace nearby, which is also the temporary headquarters of Zhao Guo's army against Qin.

A huge map was placed in front of the two of them.

If you want to enter Bashu, you must first win Hanzhong.

Hanzhong is located in the south of the Qinling Mountains and north of the Bashan Mountains. It is a complex landform that combines plains, hills, and mountains.

In ancient times, there was a country here called Baoguo, and Baosi, the queen of the Western Zhou Dynasty who was criticized by historians, came from this country.

Historically, this is also the birthplace of Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty. It was from here that Liu Bang went north to destroy the Sanqin and occupy Guanzhong, and then he established the hegemony of the Han Dynasty.

Of course, as Liu Bang's "ancestors", Li Mu and Pang Nuan naturally didn't know about this character. At this moment, the main point of their concern is how to win Hanzhong.

From Guanzhong to Hanzhong, there are three roads.

After some discussion, Li Mu and Pang Nuan decided to divide their forces.

Li Mu said: "Let me lead the main force to take the reward ramp."

Baoxie Road is the road dug by the Qin State for going south. It connects Guanzhong, Hanzhong and Bashu. That's the way it's time to go.

Pang Nuan thought for a while and said, "Great Governor, I can lead a team of partial teachers to follow the old path."

The old road is located on the westernmost side of Guanzhong, going south from Yongcheng, first southwest and then turning southeast to reach Guanzhong.Compared with the Bao ramp, this road is more remote, and compared to the Bao ramp, it is not so suitable for passing large troops.

It is worth mentioning that this old road was later named Chencang Road, which is the route taken by Han Xin, a general of the Han Army, when he led his troops northward to surprise Guanzhong in the "Mingxiu plank road secretly going to Chencang".

After some discussion between the two, it was finally decided that Li Mu would lead 15 main forces, Pang Nuan would lead [-] troops, and the rest of the army would guard Guanzhong to guard against changes in Guanzhong.

After the discussion, Li Mu breathed a sigh of relief, and suddenly said, "I don't know what Zhao Kuo's situation is now. If Zhao Kuo can succeed, then our army may be able to pacify Hanzhong with less effort."

Pang Nuan frowned, and after thinking for a while, said: "Governor, to be honest, Zhao Kuo is still a bit adventurous."

Li Mu laughed.

"It's okay, I have great confidence in him."

Chapter 978 Zhao Kuo Goes South (Second Update)

From Guanzhong to Hanzhong, there are three roads, among which the Baoxie Road is the widest and can accommodate the largest number of troops; the second is the old road, which can accommodate a smaller number of troops than the Baoxie Road, and its location is also more remote.

There is another road, which is located on the east side of Guandong, not too far from Xianyang and Xihe. It is named Ziwu Road because of its north-south orientation and the direction at [-] o'clock in the meridian.

This is a small road among the high mountains. It meanders and circles among the numerous mountains in the Qinling Mountains. The mountains are densely covered with sparsely populated areas. There are only a few small passes and villages and towns along the way. In addition, there are many poisonous insects and beasts. Even the elderly who have lived here for a long time He didn't dare to promise that he would be able to cross the entire Meridian Road alive and be safe and sound.

Zhao Kuo is now in the Meridian Road.

In fact, this is already the eighth day that Zhao Kuo entered Meridian Road.

Since the victory in the First Battle of Xihe, Zhao Kuo did not continue to follow the main force of the Zhao army led by Li Mu to march westward, but received another mission when the army set out.

"Going south?" Zhao Kuo stood in the handsome tent, looking at Li Mu in front of him, with a slightly surprised expression on his face.

"Yes, go south." Li Mu said calmly, "When I go to Xianyang, the Qin people will definitely resist to the death. If this happens, the remaining troops of the Qin people must be concentrated in Xianyang, and Hanzhong will definitely be empty. If you are here At this time, if you can lead an army from Ziwu Road to Hanzhong, the Qin army must be caught off guard, and Hanzhong is within your reach."

As soon as Zhao Kuo heard Li Mu's instructions, his spirit immediately came back.

Isn't this the good opportunity that Zhao Kuo has been dreaming of for a long time?

As a small expert on paper, Zhao Kuo understands the importance of Hanzhong very well.

Once the surprise attack on Hanzhong is successful, the connection between Bashu and Guanzhong will be completely cut off.

In this way, Zhao Kuo not only has the hope of becoming the first minister to win Hanzhong, but also hopes to cut a big piece of cake in the battle of winning Bashu.

Although there are disadvantages in this way, that is, the credit for breaking Xianyang and capturing King Qin and Chu must be lost, but Zhao Kuo made a decisive decision after only thinking about it: "Zhao Kuo obeyed!"

So in that year, Zhao Kuo quietly left the main force with the five thousand elite soldiers assigned to him by Li Mu, arrested a few local households as guides, and then went all the way south towards Meridian Road.

Although it was still the end of spring, the sun at noon was already unbearable. Zhao Kuo squinted his eyes and looked up at the sky above his head, cursed a few dirty words, and then gave an order: "The order is passed on, the whole army is temporarily resting, and we will set off again in an hour and a half."

Sitting in the shadow of the trees, feeling the heat in the air, Zhao Kuo felt very restless in his heart for no reason.

"Where's the guide? Call me the guide!"

After a while, several Qin Guohus who nodded and bowed appeared in front of Zhao Kuo.