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Zhao Kuo, who held the command, immediately ordered the tens of thousands of Zhao Army troops he brought to secure the perimeter of the East West Rampart. His objective was clear: to gain absolute command over the veteran forces stationed at Taihang Mountain. For this reason, he did not send out the main forces to engage in the Shangdang Campaign as initially agreed.
In his view, this battle was not urgent; after all, the opponent was the Qin Army, which numbered in the hundreds of thousands. This fight would likely take at least a year and a half, and it would not cause any issues if the armies from the feudal states supporting Zhao took action first. Moreover, given the poor communication conditions at that time, as long as they did not delay too long, it would be fine.
Whether through encirclement or defeating them one by one, the subsequent decisive battle between Zhao and Qin would require this army that had suffered repeated defeats in Shangdang. The troops stationed at East West Rampart were vast in number and could play a decisive role in the final confrontation.
Upon arriving at Taihang Mountain, Zhao Kuo immediately convened an emergency pre-battle meeting, where generals from various armies arrived to discuss orders. Before they could even warm up, news of personnel changes broke. Four commanders of different army groups were removed on the spot and ordered to return home for accountability, while other deputy positions across the armies underwent significant adjustments.
How could the generals, caught off guard, accept this? They all demanded an explanation from the newly appointed Commander. Some even voiced objections, hoping that the Grand Commander would handle this change of generals with caution. After all, the standoff between Zhao and Qin had not yet concluded; changing generals in such a critical moment could provoke resistance among the soldiers.
However, Zhao Kuo did not share this concern. The Shangdang Campaign was about to officially commence. The gradual approach was evidently too late since subsequent infiltration and encirclement required a large number of troops to participate.
Time was indeed a factor; at that moment, the mountain winds were no longer fierce. With spring approaching and opportunities fleeting, if he delayed controlling this force too long, his breakthrough position would have to be directly on the west bank of Dan Shui River. He knew very well that capturing the west bank would completely trap the Qin Army within an encirclement.
Perhaps this is what it means to rush matters; with insufficient forces, Zhao Army could only seek alternatives. Fully aware that the Shangdang Campaign had officially begun, Zhao Kuo had no choice but to temporarily shift his infiltration actions to the East Bank of Dan Shui River.
If he recklessly deployed tens of thousands of Zhao Soldiers on the west bank of Dan River, this army would face pressure from hundreds of thousands of Qin Army attempting to break through. But that was not even the most critical issue; after all, there were still several hundred thousand Zhao Army main forces on Taihang Mountain that could assist. The key concern for Zhao Kuo was now about changes in command authority; if there were unrest among Zhao Army at East West Rampart due to these changes, it would be counterproductive.
To repel external threats, one must first stabilize internal affairs! Securing command over all Zhao troops stationed in Shangdang had now become his most pressing concern. To ensure a smooth transition of power, Zhao Kuo arranged for personnel to control East West Rampart just in case.
The generals who were replaced finally realized that their situation was dire. After calming down their fellow generals, they paid their respects to the Grand Commander and expressed their absolute obedience to orders before returning to the capital Handan for accountability.
An army without a leader cannot function! The subsequent overhaul led to chaos among various battalions. When the Shangdang Campaign officially began, Zhao Army's combat units were busy handling administrative matters rather than participating in battle promptly.
After everything calmed down as quickly as possible, it was already the second day of the initial battle. Zhao Kuo convened another meeting to officially issue combat orders, commanding all participating troops to act according to the directives.
Each unit established its own combat objectives and immediately launched their attacks, which started surprisingly smoothly. One reason for this was that the Qin Army was caught off guard, while another was that the Qin Army, having received news of a retreat, began a large-scale withdrawal.
This directly led to the Zhao Army, like a descending tiger, developing a mistaken mindset, simply believing that the Qin Army was not much of a threat. Upon learning that various units had achieved significant military accomplishments, hundreds of thousands of Zhao Army soldiers began to relentlessly pursue the Qin Army, which was fighting while retreating.
The spoils along the way were plentiful, further emboldening the Zhao Army to shout slogans about crossing the Dan River and liberating all of Shangdang. They clearly remembered that this had once been a slogan of the Qin Army. Now it was payback time; it was their turn to reclaim what was theirs!
Zhao Kuo originally planned to keep the command center at West Rampart for safety, considering that the opponent was the well-equipped Qin Army. However, upon receiving news that the frontline attack was successful and had successfully encircled over a hundred thousand Qin soldiers, he immediately decided to move the command center forward. If progress continued smoothly, they could annihilate most of the main force of the Qin Army on the west bank of the Dan River.
As for how to deal with the Qin Army on the East Bank, he believed there would be an answer! Finally, he could sleep peacefully!
Receiving the retreat order and urgently withdrawing to the East Bank of the Dan Shui River, various units of the Qin Army fought desperately along the way, with nearly all troops left behind to cover the main force's retreat being killed in action. The time bought with their lives allowed most of their forces to successfully relocate.
At this moment on the west bank of the Dan Shui River, it was already overcrowded. A large amount of supplies were piled everywhere, and some heavy equipment could not even guarantee passage across the river. This was thanks to the Engineering Corps of Qin State; after crossing the Dan River, they had constructed several bridges over the river surface considering transportation issues.
Without these bridges in place, the losses for the urgently retreating Qin Army would have been unimaginable. Even so, this could not fundamentally solve the problem; crowded bridges combined with congested boats were already overwhelmed.
Scouts responsible for monitoring the movements of the approaching Zhao Army continuously reported enemy intelligence, forcing the Qin Army—who had already retreated to the riverbank—to dispatch troops for counterattacks. This was unavoidable; it was only meant to temporarily halt Zhao Army's pursuit. However, results were shocking as reports kept coming in that Zhao Army was getting closer and closer to Dan Shui River.
How on earth did this battle unfold!? Did all of Zhao Army from up in the mountains come down!?
But plans for survival would always triumph over doubts and curiosity. If it weren't for orders that had to be executed, no one would have considered turning back to inquire about results at this moment.
As the temperature rises, a large area of ice melting appears on the River Surface. The artificially broken ice forms numerous small docks to facilitate the back-and-forth of ferries.
On the shore, Meng Wu, who is directing the Soldiers to line up, is also anxious; this mode of transportation is too slow! While calling out to everyone to stay orderly, he inadvertently turns around and sees General Wang on horseback. He waves his hand and shouts, "General Wang! This way!"
Wang Jian, leading his troops, was waiting to cross the bridge when he suddenly heard a familiar voice and began to look around. Not far away, he saw Meng Wu waving, so he quickly instructed his subordinates to remain in place and line up. He jumped off his warhorse and squeezed his way to the temporarily constructed dock, where the two embraced each other.
Meng Wu initially planned to have Wang Jian lead his brothers over to take the boat, but upon seeing the warhorses in the crowd, he had to abandon that idea. The boats were small and could only carry people; the horses could not board.
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