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墨書 Inktalez
How can you prove that you have always been moving forward? The method may be simple: it is whether you feel a sense of confusion ahead. This confusion arises only when one is moving forward, as it is the perception that emerges from the depths of the heart of those who advance. It is precisely because of this confusion that one can experience joy after exploration. The steps taken in anticipation unknowingly extend forward.
Those who remain stagnant always believe they are making great strides, so they never feel confused. Standing still allows you to know your surroundings thoroughly; one must ask, where does confusion come from?
Just as those who have circled the hills with many questions are searching everywhere for the answers they seek, a Qin Cavalry Unit that has long been waiting suddenly appears before them.
Sima Jin obeys the Grand Commander's orders and, along with his five thousand elite Qin Cavalry, does not lead his troops into the assault on Duangu. He arrives early at this meeting point and has been waiting by the roadside for the person destined to appear in his life.
Wuan Jun Bai Qi instructs Sima Jin to leave the battlefield and wait at a designated location. As for whom he is waiting for or what will happen next, Bai Qi, as the commander of the war zone, does not disclose in advance. He only says that when that person appears, it will be time to formally take command of the Charioteer Camp.
After listening to Sima Jin's report, Luzi turns to look at Wang Jian and then asks, “Did the Grand Commander mention what Sima General should do if that person does not appear?”
In Sima Jin's view, there is currently a shortage of personnel at the front lines. For Bai Qi, Sima Jin's unit represents five thousand elite forces of the Qin Army! Faced with the overwhelming Zhao Army, it is uncertain whether the Qin Army can hold out until the end of this battle. Given such circumstances, it is clear that the Grand Commander’s subsequent operational tasks will not be easy.
As for those so-called historical figures, they do not seem important to Sima Jin. However, he has always trusted Wuan Jun Bai Qi; anything said by Wuan Jun is worth trusting! No matter who comes to join them later, that person will undoubtedly be crucial to this battle.
Sima Jin previously did not know that the person the Grand Commander wanted him to wait for was General Lu. Seeing an old acquaintance dispelled his earlier reservations. Hearing the general's inquiry now, he quickly confirms that indeed there was a second order included in the Grand Commander's instructions.
If that person has not appeared by sunset, the Five Thousand Cavalry will officially return and reintegrate into the Qin Army.
Upon learning of this additional order, Luzi is unsurprised and does not feel annoyed by any perceived slight. He knows that regardless of whether he wishes to leave the Central Army voluntarily or not, Bai Qi would issue this command anyway.
Wuan Jun leaves the Dan Shui River defense area and enters the Shangdang War Zone. Unlike Zhao Kuo, he does not pull all his troops into a decisive battle. Luzi leaves his twenty thousand soldiers in place and only takes Sima Jin's Five Thousand Cavalry with him.
Facing the situation of being outnumbered, Bai Qi needed to prepare an escape route for himself. At this moment, the Qin Army was not like the Zhao Army, which could retreat in all directions regardless of how the battle unfolded. After all, within the Zhao Army were numerous troops from the Feudal States; as long as they did not retreat towards the Qin State, they would soon encounter reinforcements coming from their retreat direction.
The situation for the Qin Army was different. Once the Zhao Army formed an encirclement, they would face the problem of which direction to break through. Why is this so? We can see it clearly by observing the movements of Zhao Kuo's Army.
As soon as Zhao Kuo entered Shangdang, he issued combat orders to the entire army, directing his main forces to carry out infiltration operations towards the southwest direction of the Shangdang Region. To ensure the success of this net-like deployment, he even strictly ordered his troops to avoid large-scale conflicts with the Qin Army.
Why did Zhao Kuo send his main forces to the southwest of Shangdang instead of other directions? By looking at a map of the Warring States period, the truth will become apparent!
Since Zhou Wuwang replaced the Shang Dynasty and established the Nine Tripod Cauldrons to manage the Central Plains, he rewarded his meritorious subjects by granting them fiefs. The tribes that received fiefs took over lands and established Feudal States, leading to the emergence of dozens of large and small Feudal States. The arrival of this era of feudal lords establishing states is referred to by later generations as the initial stage of the Feudal Period.
Because there was no centralized management over these lands, this feudal system inevitably had certain drawbacks. When Zhou Tianzi was strong, he could still restrain these lords from playing tricks and could directly order other lords to rise against those who defied him.
Even the best management systems have their time limits; if they remain unchanged, those being managed will find loopholes and exploit them. When Zhou Youwang was overthrown by the Xiongnu, it also signified that the grand structure of Zhou Tianxia was about to collapse.
With a loss of strong constraints, the lords began to stir restlessly and raised territorial demands under the very eyes of a Zhou Tianzi who could no longer exert deterrent power. Wherever there were fiefs, there would inevitably be both fertile and barren lands.
The lords that developed during the Spring and Autumn Period used dissatisfaction with their fiefs as an excuse to invade nearby small states and ultimately claim their lands as their own. From that time on, wars over land became frequent, with territorial exchanges occurring constantly. Residents in cities might have just completed their residency registration one day only to have to apply for new household registration again the next day.
By the time the era of The Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period was nearing its end, society had already declined significantly. How could those profit-driven lords produce good subjects? The consequences of breaking rules and ignoring Zhou Tianzi followed suit; some lords who lost power were exterminated by their own retainers and replaced.
One of the former hegemonic powers, Jin, did not escape this fate. The Jin nobles Wei, Zhao Ji, and Han Qian joined forces to depose Duke Jing of Jin. This event is historically known as The Three Families Divide Jin, after which the Seven Warring States emerged.
During this period, the Zhou Dynasty had long been nominally existent but practically defunct, while King Zhou She lingered in a small place called Luoyi. Those Feudal States that were once granted by Zhou Tianzi were also gradually destroyed, leaving very few remaining.
At this time, the sphere of influence can be divided as follows, taking Zhou Capital City and Luoyi as the center for explanation. To the east of Luoyi are the feudal lords of Qi State and Wei Kingdom, who are responsible for guarding the capital. The southern region of Luoyi is primarily under the fiefdom of the feudal lord of Chu. The fiefdom of Yan State is located in the northeast direction of Luoyi, bordering Zhao State and Qi State.
In western China, it is essentially the domain of Qin, while to the north of Luoyi lies the territory of Zhao State. The fiefdoms of Qin and Zhao intersect in the northwest part of the Central Plains, with Han Kingdom, which is also responsible for guarding the capital, situated between these two feudal states, including a portion of Wei Kingdom's fief.
This illustrates why Zhao Kuo pays attention to the southwest of Shangdang Region; it is because the territory of Qin State lies to the southwest of Shangdang Region. If the Qin Army, facing defeat on the battlefield, wishes to retreat from the Shangdang War Zone, their chosen direction for retreat will inevitably be towards the southwest.
Zhao Kuo's strategic intent is to secure at least twenty years of peace for Zhao State, so deploying heavy troops to completely seal off the retreat route for the Qin Army becomes an expected course of action.
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