The Moon in the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 531 Siege of Handan
As for Sima Shang, the only person in the Northern Frontier who could ease the chaos, he also died in the chaos that day. He tried his best to stop it, but ended up being killed by the chaos and his body was never found.

Since Sima Shang also died in the chaos, the two factions were now completely leaderless and could only fight in chaos. Coupled with the severe drought and food shortage, the chaos caused everyone to go crazy and throw military discipline to the winds. Burning, killing and looting continued, and the entire northern border had become a real hell on earth.

When Jian Xinjun and Le Cheng arrived in Northern Xinjiang, what they saw was such a hopeless mess.

As soon as Lord Jianxin's army arrived, those loyal to the court were immediately cheered up and their morale soared. However, before they could start to suppress the rebellion, Yang Duanhe's army had already arrived.

It was September 25th.

Yang Duanhe dealt a heavy blow to the Zhao army loyal to the Zhao court while actively trying to persuade Li Mu's subordinates to surrender. Li Mu's subordinates were originally in a desperate frenzy, wanting to avenge Li Mu, but they didn't know what to do and fell into blind confusion. As for the success of the rebellion, they didn't even think about it.

It's not that no one wants to go and seek refuge with the Qin State, but now that they are trapped in the land of Yan and Dai, how can they seek refuge there? And even if they seek refuge with others, they may not accept them.

This led to the situation that when Yang Duanhe extended an olive branch and gave these people hope again, they surrendered one after another, and after surrendering, they were very determined to attack the Zhao army.

In addition, the people of the northern border were all indignant over the murder of Li Mu, and they had completely lost confidence in the imperial court. The imperial court did not provide disaster relief, and it was Wu Anjun who ran around and spent all his energy, but even so, he was still murdered by the imperial court out of jealousy. Why would such a court need him?

These circumstances led to the people having no desire to resist. In addition, after Yang Duanhe took the city, he immediately maintained order, provided disaster relief and distributed grain, which greatly won the hearts of the people of Yan and Dai. It can be said that the journey was extremely smooth and rapid.

As for Jianxin Jun, although he could maintain order, he had no extra food and grass for disaster relief, so he was lucky not to rob them again. In addition, Zhao had completely lost the support of the people in the northern border, which made it very difficult for Jianxin Jun to suppress the rebellion. He didn't even know where to start.

When he received the news that Yang Duanhe was attacking, Jianxin Jun's expression changed drastically and he exclaimed that something was wrong.

If the Qin army is in the northern border, then Handan must also be attacked. How can Handan, which is weak now, resist it?
Lord Jianxin did not even consider defending Yan and Dai before going back to support Handan. Given the current situation of Yan and Dai, it was impossible to defend them. The 80,000 troops under his command could not possibly stop the Qin army.

Among these 80,000 troops, 30,000 were former soldiers from the Northern Frontier. They were an unstable factor in the first place and it was impossible to use them to fight a tough battle.

Jianxin Jun made a prompt decision and immediately wanted to return to help with Le Cheng. However, he was blocked in Shicheng by Zhang Tang and could not return to help. Yang Duanhe's army was coming from behind. For a while, Jianxin Jun could only use the mountains and rivers of Zhongshan to defend Zhongshan.

For a while, Jianxin Jun and Le Cheng were completely stuck in a state of being unable to advance or retreat, and their food and supplies could only last for another month and a half at most.

When Jianxin Jun received the news of Handan's request for help, he was even more anxious, but also helpless. He could only quickly send a messenger to inform him of what happened in the northern border and the situation he was facing now, and repeatedly asked Handan to hold on firmly no matter what. As long as they held on, there might be changes, and there might be a turning point.

Now the world is suffering from a severe drought and winter is coming. Even if Qin has reserves and so many people are mobilized, Qin cannot afford to delay. As long as they can hold on firmly, the Qin army will definitely retreat.

It was October 3rd.

When the Qin State celebrated the New Year, Handan had been surrounded and no one could get in or out. Of course, when the war broke out, the Qin State did not take a holiday and the entire court was busy.

When Yang Duanhe just arrived in the northern border and took drastic measures, Handan was already fighting the Battle to Defend Handan.

The entire southern part of Zhao State is now extremely weak. It sent 50,000 troops to the north to quell the rebellion and took away all the food and grass that could be taken away. Now the defense of the entire south has become unimaginably fragile.

Faced with the 150,000 troops of Wang Jian and Meng Wu, they had no ability to resist at all.

Wang Jian and Meng Wu marched towards Handan without stopping, without caring about other cities. They only wanted to attack Handan, and they didn't care about anything else except guarding the food supply route.

Under such circumstances, Wang Jian and Meng Wu easily surrounded Handan City and blocked all escapes from the city.

The Qin army did not try to stop the messenger from Handan who was going out to rescue. Anyway, no place in the entire Zhao State had the spare capacity to rescue Handan. If anyone dared to come, they would be surrounded and attacked, and no matter how many came, as many as came would die.

In fact, not many people came to rescue. Now there is no city with enough capacity to rescue Handan.

Not only were there few rescuers, but there were many surrenderers. The situation was now very clear, and Qin was determined to destroy Zhao. Many noble officials learned the lesson of South Korea, and they should sell their country as soon as possible, and not wait until the king sold it, because then they would not be able to sell it at a high price.

This led to the Qin army surrendering all the cities it passed by. Even many cities that it had not passed by or temporarily ignored surrendered directly.

Moreover, most of the local officials and nobles were extremely cooperative, which made Wang Jian and Meng Wu somewhat uncomfortable. Fortunately, they had to destroy Zhao State this time and brought enough governing officials, otherwise they would not be able to take over.

Moreover, the local noble officials have also cooperated and can continue to use them for the time being. It can be said to be a seamless transition.

The only tough nut to crack now is Handan City. Wang Jian does not want to attack Handan by force. This capital of Zhao State, which has been in existence for more than 150 years, is extremely strong and cannot be easily breached. The losses from a forced attack will be too great.

According to the king, there is a high probability that Zhao can surrender. If Zhao surrenders without a fight, it will reduce a lot of losses.

After Handan was besieged, the entire city was in chaos and everyone was terrified.

In addition to the panic among the people, many officials and nobles were also in a state of uncertainty. As for Empress Zhao Daochang, she had fainted several times, and now the defense of Handan was entirely under the charge of Chunping Jun.

Queen Zhao Daochang summoned important civil and military officials to discuss the matter. In the hall, facing all the ministers, she clearly wanted to maintain her composure and dignity, but she could not help but her eyes turned red, and she barely managed to not cry.

Why is my life so miserable? I have only been the queen mother for two years, and my son has been king for less than two years. I haven’t even seen my son get married and have children. Why is it like this now?
My king, my king, I am sorry to you. You have placed the great Zhao kingdom in my hands, but I am afraid that I cannot keep it any longer.

The court officials were bustling around in the hall, talking endlessly, with anxious and sad looks on their faces. Quarrels could be heard from time to time, and some even wanted to fight, but were pulled down by their colleagues, who continued to curse.

Queen Zhao Diaochang felt so sad when she saw this chaos that she bit her lower lip to prevent herself from crying.

Now that Lord Jianxin is no longer around, Guo Kai is the most respected person in the court.

Guo Kai and his companions had almost arrived, and they shouted, "Please be quiet, everyone. It is disrespectful to be disrespectful in front of the palace! Now is the time when the country is in crisis, and we need to work together to overcome the difficulties. Please be quiet for a while and discuss a solution carefully."

After Guo Kai shouted several times, the hall finally quieted down, but this silent silence was even more depressing.

Zhao Daochang reluctantly opened her mouth and said in a trembling voice, "Mr. Guo, what should we do now?"

Guo Kai gave a bitter smile and bowed, "Queen Mother, several groups of people have been sent to the Right Prime Minister to ask for help, and envoys have also been sent to various parts of the country to raise troops and support the king, but the situation is not optimistic."

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"According to the information I have received, the King of Qin has sent 300,000 troops to attack our Great Zhao. There are about 100,000 Qin troops outside the city now. I am afraid that the other 100,000 troops have already surrounded the Right Prime Minister and his men."

"As for the troops from various places who are coming to support the king, they are leaderless, too scattered, and too few. Even if they dare to come to help, it will be useless in the face of the hundreds of thousands of Qin troops outside the city."

"I'm afraid we won't be able to wait for reinforcements."

"There are only 60,000 soldiers guarding Handan City now. This is mobilizing all the young and strong men in the city, but they are all panic-stricken and have no will to fight. In addition, there is a shortage of food in the city, and food and grass are also a big problem. The Right Prime Minister sent troops to quell the rebellion and took away a lot of food and grass. Now the remaining food in the city can only last for two months at most."

"Your Majesty, I have no other options."

When Empress Zhao Daochang heard this, she felt a blackness in front of her eyes. Guo Qing couldn't do anything about it? Was the Great Zhao really going to perish?

But at such an urgent moment, Empress Zhao Daochang finally summoned some quick wits and asked hastily, "Can we ask for support from other countries? The other countries should understand the principle of the loss of lips and teeth. They can't just sit there and watch, right?"

Guo Kai smiled bitterly and replied: "Queen Mother, the envoys seeking help have all been sent out long ago, but in the middle of summer this year, Wei and Chu were severely punished by Qin, and Zhao and Yan fought another battle. I am afraid that other countries dare not confront Qin."

"Besides, even if other countries are willing to help, this is a year of great disaster, and I'm afraid that they may not be able to help."

Queen Zhao Diaochang's heart sank to the bottom and she was almost in complete despair.

At this moment, Chunping Jun stepped forward and said decisively: "Now that things have come to this, there is no need to think too much. Only people can save themselves, and God can save them."

"This is not the first time Handan has been besieged, nor is it the second or third time, but the Zhao State has held out every time."

"This year is a year of great disaster. The grain harvest is poor. Great Zhao is weak and the national strength is exhausted. But is it different for other countries?"

"Qin was also affected by the drought. Even if it has some savings, how much can it have? There were two major wars this year, and Qin sent out 300,000 or 400,000 troops each time. The consumption of food and grass is immeasurable."

"As long as we hold on, the Qin army will be short of food and grass. Besides, winter is approaching, and by then the Qin army will have no choice but to retreat."

"By now, the news that the Qin army is besieging Handan should have spread throughout the world, and the troops from all over the Zhao Kingdom will come to support it in an endless stream. As long as Handan can be defended for a short period of time, no matter how much support other countries can provide, there will always be reinforcements."

"After all, the Right Prime Minister still has tens of thousands of elite troops. When he returns to support us, there will be more than 100,000 troops including the soldiers in the city. Whether we attack the Qin army from both inside and outside or defend it, the Qin army will never destroy our Great Zhao."

"The current situation is not the end of the road. As long as we hold on, as long as we firmly hold on, there is hope for the Great Zhao, and no one can destroy the Great Zhao!"

When Queen Zhao Daochang heard this, a glimmer of hope rose in her heart and she nodded repeatedly.

Just then, Jianxinjun's reply came back.

Once it was confirmed that Jianxin Jun was indeed surrounded from front and back as Guo Kai had said, the glimmer of hope in the hearts of everyone in the court would be completely extinguished.

(End of this chapter)