Chapter 673: Start with the overall situation and force Han Xin to retreat!

Chapter 673: Start with the overall situation and force Han Xin to retreat!

"General Han Xin, I don't think you want to die here, right? Our army is here to defend. If General Han Xin is willing to withdraw, I can promise you that our army will never pursue you." Zhao Shuo said sincerely.

Han Xin raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a half-smile, and asked knowingly: "Retreat? Then where should I retreat to?"

Zhao Shuo saw this and quickly replied, "Of course we should withdraw to Donghui County. This way, we can refrain from aggression. Besides, my King Wei is also very willing to form a lasting friendship with the King of Qin!"

Zhao Shuo bluntly put forward his own conditions, which was also the bottom line that the King of Wei could accept. After all, the King of Wei would definitely be more than happy to avoid going to war with Wei Bao. Of course, this agreement was just a verbal promise, and anyone who really took it seriously would be really foolish.

Han Xin seemed to have no intention of accepting this condition. He even asked back: "Oh? What if I don't withdraw my troops?"

"Then our armies will inevitably meet in battle. Excuse me for being frank, but if General Han Xin suffers heavy casualties here, I'm afraid King Wu Rui of Hengshan will not let go of this opportunity. Now Wu Rui has occupied a key position on the south bank. If he continues to advance, I'm afraid that Donghui County will not be able to be defended, and even Kuaiji will be lost!" Zhao Shuo's words were like a sharp sword, piercing Han Xin's vital points.

However, facing Zhao Shuo's warning, Han Xin showed no fear. He raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a faint smile, as if he didn't care about Zhao Shuo's worries.

"Haha, I have an army of 300,000 in the southern border. Do you think no one can stop Wu Rui?" Han Xin's voice was full of confidence and contempt, as if he was mocking Zhao Shuo's ignorance.

Indeed, so far, the entire southern border has mobilized only 150,000 troops, and at least 150,000 troops are hiding in the dark and have not appeared. Han Xin's words were undoubtedly hinting to Zhao Shuo that the number of troops in his hands was far more than what appeared on the surface.

"General Han Xin, why are you doing this? The Southern Border Army has a full 300,000 troops! And these soldiers are all elite troops! Back then, they defeated the Qin Army of Baiyue in one fell swoop. Their strength should not be underestimated. Later, the imperial court merged the imperial guards with them, and Gao Yao was even more selective, leaving only the most elite among them to continue serving as soldiers. In this way, the elite level of this army is extremely rare even in the whole world! Of course, I know this very well." Zhao Shuo's words were like a heavy hammer, hitting Han Xin's heart hard.

Zhao Shuo paused before he finished speaking, and then continued, "But the key point is, with an army of 300,000, can we really put all of them to use?"

As Zhao Shuo finished speaking, Han Xin finally showed a hint of surprise on his face. He widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief, as if he had never expected Zhao Shuo to see through this so thoroughly.

"The current King of Qin, oh no, to be precise, it should be Prime Minister Gao Yao, the territory he occupies is close to thirteen counties, and these counties are all large counties! The population is at least tens of millions! There is no doubt that he has become the most powerful prince in the world today. However, this vast land also brings a problem that cannot be ignored, that is, there are more places that need to be defended, right?" Zhao Shuo looked at the hesitation on Han Xin's face, and he understood in his heart, so he continued.

Although Zhao Shuo was only a man of theoretical knowledge and had never led troops to the battlefield, he had done in-depth research in intelligence. It was for this reason that he was able to gain Wei Bao's trust and was entrusted with the important task of leading the expedition.

"So, although the Southern Border Army is said to have 300,000 troops, I estimate that the number of troops that can actually be mobilized at this critical moment will not exceed 200,000 at most!" Zhao Shuo said firmly, as if he was completely sure of his judgment.

Han Xin showed a rare surprise on his face, as if he was very surprised by Zhao Shuo's opinion. However, this surprise was fleeting, and Han Xin quickly returned to his usual calmness and composure.

At the same time, Han Xin couldn't help but feel a little more admiration for Zhao Shuo in front of him. Before this, he had never heard of the name Zhao Shuo. Whether it was when the Qin Dynasty was still in existence or in the chaotic period of strife among the princes after the fall of the Qin Dynasty, Zhao Shuo was like an invisible man, with little reputation.

It was such an unknown person who was able to make such an in-depth and accurate analysis of the situation in the southern border in such a short time. As Zhao Shuo said, the southern border did have 300,000 troops, and there was no doubt about that. Even if the local county soldiers were included, the number would be at least close to 400,000.

But as Zhao Shuo said, although Gaoyao was able to easily support the 400,000 troops, doing so would inevitably have a serious impact on people's livelihood. Therefore, Gaoyao never adopted this approach. Moreover, among the 300,000 troops, a considerable number were actually stationed in various places. One of the important reasons was that the civil strife of the Maurya Dynasty had not yet subsided.

Although he showed extreme respect to Gao Yao and made it clear that he would never launch an attack, and even actively sought cooperation and presented him with women, money, gold, silver, jewelry and other valuables, the idea that "those who are not of my race must have different hearts" always lingered in his mind.

After all, who can guarantee that the Peacock Kingdom will not suddenly turn against them? In addition, in the southwest region, where Gu Asan is located, there have also been clustered attacks, and these attacks have frequently occurred in the border areas. This is undoubtedly a serious threat and must be prepared in advance.

Therefore, the Fourth Army led by Erniu was almost entirely stationed in the southwest, always on high alert to guard against the invasion of these foreign races, and even to deal with possible sudden large-scale attacks. At the same time, the Second Army was deployed in the south, and their mission was to completely eliminate the different tribes in the mountains and forests. For those tribes willing to surrender, they would send personnel to infiltrate their hinterlands to manage them; and for those tribes that resolutely refused to surrender, they would not hesitate to take the means of forced extermination.

This is by no means an easy task, but a rather large and time-consuming project. After all, there are many small tribes like this in the entire southeast region, and it takes a lot of time and energy to deal with them all.