Chapter 39: Strategy for Attacking Zhao

  King Zheng of Qin, after listening to Li Si's recommendation, immediately summoned Han Tian to inquire. Han Tian also reiterated in front of King Zheng that he had a must-win guarantee and only needed to bring 5,000 old troops to destroy the state of Han. He even made a military order on the spot, stating that if he failed to destroy Han, he would be willing to take responsibility for his crime, but if he succeeded in destroying Han, he only asked to retain his original 5,000 troops and form an independent army.

  King Zheng of Qin saw that Han Tian was sincere in his words, and had also signed a military order, and only mobilized 5,000 troops, all of whom were Han Tian's old subordinates. Even if they lost, the loss would not be great, and at the same time, it could test how much strength Korea still had left. If Han Tian really succeeded in attacking Korea, then Qin's unification of the world would also take an important step forward. Therefore, King Zheng of Qin agreed to Han Tian's request and ordered him to lead his old subordinates to attack Korea.

  It was unexpected that Han Teng actually used only 5,000 troops from his own department to successfully destroy Han, and it only took more than two months. Although Korea is now very weak, it's not easy either. It also shows that Han Teng is indeed a talented military commander, and it seems that Qin Guo will have another great general in the future.

  Moreover, the State of Qin was currently suffering a dual defeat in its attack on Zhao, with General Huan Yi having been killed in action. This defeat had also dealt a considerable blow to the State of Qin. Therefore, Han Teng's victory was indeed extremely timely for the State of Qin, and it could completely offset the adverse effects of the defeat in the attack on Zhao.

  In addition, although Korea's territory is small, it was once one of the seven warring states, and now it has finally been formally annexed by Qin, which is a good start. Moreover, Korea is connected to Qi in the east, presses on Chu in the south, and advances into Wei in the north, with a very important geographical location, cutting off the connection between Chu and the two countries of Wei and Zhao. Qi has always been friendly with Qin, while Yan is weak and small, and its remote location makes it not worth worrying about. Therefore, next step, Qin can focus on dealing with the two countries of Wei and Zhao without having to worry about other countries joining forces to resist Qin again. After destroying the two countries of Wei and Zhao, then attack Chu in the south, take Yan in the north, and finally swallow Qi to unify the world.

  Han Teng's victory also made Li Si very happy, because the order of conquering Korea and then Zhao Wei had always been advocated by Li Si. Now that Han Teng had successfully conquered Korea, which was also a result of his own recommendation, it proved that his own proposal was correct.

  The King of Qin nodded and said: "After destroying Han, the next step is to destroy Zhao. I want to send out a large army again and attack Zhao once more."

  Among the six eastern states, Qin Wang Zheng hated Zhao State the most. His father, Qin Zhuang Xiang Wang Zi Chu, was once a hostage in Zhao State, and his mother, Zhao Ji, was the daughter of a wealthy family from Zhao State. Before he was eleven years old, Qin Wang Zheng had always lived in Zhao State. At that time, it was after the Battle of Changping, and the relationship between Qin and Zhao was very bad, so Qin Wang Zheng and his mother suffered a lot of bullying in Zhao State, sometimes even facing threats to their lives.

  After Qin Wang Zheng ascended to the throne, he had always wanted to destroy Zhao State to avenge his childhood grudge. He kept thinking about the plan to attack Zhao first, which was also partly due to this reason. Now that the state of Han has been destroyed, Qin Wang Zheng immediately thought that the next target of Qin State would be Zhao State.

  Li Si could somewhat understand the mind of King Zheng of Qin, but still said: "Your Majesty, although the campaign against Zhao is inevitable, our great Qin cannot immediately use troops against Zhao."

  Qin Wang Zheng furrowed his brow and said: "What's going on now?"

  Li Si said: "First, it is now late autumn and will soon be winter. Winter is not a time for military campaigns, so it would be better to wait until next spring before launching the attack on Zhao. Secondly, the state of Han has just been destroyed and its territory is still unstable. The court needs to send high-ranking officials to garrison the area, both to stabilize the region and to prevent Chu from sending troops to aid Zhao."

  King Zheng of Qin nodded in agreement, knowing that Li Si's words were reasonable. Attacking Zhao was not urgent at this time, and the top priority was to stabilize the situation in Han territory first. Although Li Si only mentioned sending a high-ranking official to garrison Han, King Zheng understood his implicit meaning as soon as he heard it. Now that Han Teng was still garrisoned in Han, he was after all a member of the royal family of Han, and the fact that he could destroy Han with 5,000 troops within two months also showed that he had considerable influence in Han. Moreover, Han Teng had long been stationed in Nanyang, which was also an old territory of Han. If he were to be enthroned as King of Han in Han, it would not only mean the loss of Han but also possibly the loss of Nanyang. Therefore, even if Han Teng was not recalled, at least someone else should be sent to garrison Han to restrain him.

  As for sending a heavy minister to garrison Handan, Qin Shi Huang already had two or three candidates in mind. However, he did not say so directly. Although he trusted Li Si deeply, on the one hand, Qin Shi Huang wanted to deliberate further on these candidates; on the other hand, he did not want his thoughts to be fully revealed in front of his ministers, but rather for them to think that the monarch was unfathomable and awe-inspiring, even to his most trusted ministers. Therefore, Qin Shi Huang asked again: "Is there any other reason?"

  Li Si saw that King Zheng of Qin did not ask about the personnel stationed in Korea, and naturally would not mention it again. He said: "There is another point, Li Mu is still there. This person is proficient in military law, uses troops like a god, and can make soldiers work with all their might. He has defeated our great Qin army twice. I have observed the generals of our great Qin, and I am afraid that no one is his opponent. Even General Wang would be slightly inferior to Li Mu. Therefore, if Li Mu is not eliminated, it will be more difficult for our Qin state to destroy Zhao than climbing to the sky."

  King Zheng of Qin nodded after a moment, saying: "Not bad, unexpectedly the small Zhao state has repeatedly produced famous generals. In the past there were Zhao She and Lian Po, later there was Li Mu. Unfortunately, Lord Zhao is muddle-headed and cannot make full use of them. Actually, in that year's Battle of Changping, if it weren't for King Xiaocheng of Zhao replacing Lian Po with the incompetent Zhao Kuo, who only knew how to talk about military strategy on paper, I'm afraid our Qin state would also have found it difficult to win the Battle of Changping."

  Li Si smiled and said, "We can't defeat him by force, so we'll have to use our wits. Since we were able to replace Lian Po with Zhao Kuo in the past, we can try the same trick again. This time, let's focus on King Qiao of Zhao. After all, the one in power is still Chancellor Guo Kuo, who is short-sighted, greedy for wealth and benefits, narrow-minded, and jealous of talented people. In recent years, he has received thousands of taels of gold from our state as bribes, so we can definitely use him to our advantage and employ the strategy of sowing discord again. Once Li Muo is eliminated, we can then proceed with our plan to conquer Zhao."

  King Qin Zheng listened and smiled: "It seems that Li Qing has already made up his mind."

  Li Si said, "However, in order to implement the counter-espionage plan again, our Qin state cannot use a large army to exert pressure on the border. Instead, we should first deliberately show goodwill towards Zhao Guo, making King Xiang of Zhao relax his vigilance, and then we can take action."

  Because Zhao had already suffered a loss in the Battle of Changping, he wanted to trick Zhao again and not tolerate another. Although King Qian of Zhao was a mediocre ruler, he wasn't foolish. Moreover, Li Mu had always been loyal to Zhao, and this time he achieved great merit. Therefore, King Qian wouldn't groundlessly suspect Li Mu, especially when the army was under pressure. Even if he was dissatisfied with Li Mu, he wouldn't easily relieve him of his military power. Thus, it was necessary to first relax the tension on Zhao before implementing the counter-espionage plan.

  So King Zheng of Qin nodded and said, "Alright, let's temporarily spare Zhao for now. However, Li Ke must hurry up with his actions. After the new year, I will definitely send a large army to attack Zhao again."

  "Your Majesty can rest assured," Li Si hastily said, "I have already made a plan. Before the new year begins, I will definitely make Li Mu lose his power. Then our great Qin army will be able to destroy Zhao."

  King Zheng of Qin was also very satisfied with Li Si's answer. Li Si was able to gain King Zheng's trust, and his loyalty was one aspect, but his exceptional ability was also crucial. At this time, King Zheng suddenly asked again: "Li, what about that Gao Yuan who is said to be a star general, how is he now? I heard he has been appointed as the Supreme Minister by King of Zhao and can participate in state affairs, will he be detrimental to our great Qin?"

  Li Si was taken aback for a moment, not expecting King Zheng to suddenly mention Gao Yuan. He replied: "Whether the arrival of the General Star is true or false is not important for now. Gao Yuan has just arrived in Zhao and although he holds the position of Upper Great Minister, his foundation is not deep and he is currently completely dependent on Li Mu. This time in the Battle of Changping, although he achieved great merit, he was still only a general and not the commander-in-chief of the entire army. It may take three to five more years for him to achieve anything, but for now, he does not pose a great threat to our Great Qin, so there is no need to be overly concerned. On the contrary, his relationship with Li Mu can be exploited, which would be beneficial for us to implement a counter-espionage plan."

  King Zheng of Qin listened and did not express any approval or disapproval, saying: "Li Qing, this time apart from the counter-espionage plan, you have made me pay close attention to Gao Yuan's movements in Zhao Guo. No matter how small the details are, report everything to me." After a pause, King Zheng of Qin said again: "Let someone try to see if they can lure him to our Qin state. Whatever Zhao Guo can offer him, my Qin state can offer twice as much."

  This remark was far beyond Li Si's expectation, and he did not think that King Zheng of Qin would attach such importance to Gao Yuan. Although it is normal for countries to poach each other's walls, Gao Yuan has just emerged, and if it were Li Mu, it would be more reasonable. However, the State of Qin has also tried to poach Li Mu before, but Li Mu has always been loyal to the State of Zhao and holds a high position in the country, making it impossible for the State of Qin to poach him. Is it because Gao Yuan has the identity of a descending general star? However, King Zheng of Qin has always believed in the legend of the gods, so it is not impossible to recruit Gao Yuan into Qin.

  Li Si had been following King Zheng of Qin for over ten years, and was very familiar with his character and habits. He knew that the king would not let his ministers know what he was thinking, so he did not say anything, but instead said: "I obey the great king's orders."

  The Qin people had always revered the heavens, and King Zheng of Qin also believed in the sayings of gods, ghosts, immortals, and monsters. He especially believed in Zou Yan's theory of the five elements' cyclical replacement. According to this theory, Zhou was associated with fire virtue, while Qin was associated with water virtue, and since water overcomes fire, it was a natural result of heaven's will that Qin replace Zhou. After learning about the affair on the highlands, King Zheng immediately summoned Tai Bo, who divined the outcome after seven days and nights of meditation, and the result was two sentences: Although he surrendered to Zhao, in the end, he would benefit Qin.

  Although the detailed meaning of these two sentences by King Zheng of Qin cannot be understood, and Tai Bo also said that heavenly secrets should not be revealed, but from a literal understanding, it seems to say that Gao Yuan's descent into the world will ultimately benefit the state of Qin. However, this prediction was conducted in secret, and only King Zheng knew about it. He would not tell Li Si, but he wanted to try to recruit Gao Yuan into the service of the state of Qin.