Feng Guanzi's guess was completely correct, but Xiong Jing calmed down from his blind excitement. This calmness made him realize another problem: things that seem feasible strategically often fail because they cannot be achieved tactically.

Strategically, it is completely feasible to use the mobilization time advantage brought by railways to defeat other countries. This was the case in the modern German-French War and World War I. The German General Staff had long been trying to shorten the mobilization time. In 1870, under the supervision of Moltke, the mobilization time was shortened to 18 days. Relying on the mobilization time difference with the French army, the German army caught the French off guard;

Before World War I, the German General Staff expected that France's mobilization time would be twenty days and Russia had two months. The German army could take advantage of this mobilization time difference to defeat the French army first and then turn around to defeat the Russian army. Because of this, Germany was extremely taboo about Russia's increasingly perfect western railway network and believed that it was necessary to start a war before the completion of Russia's western railway network. The substantial fuse of the war was precisely because the Russian emperor ordered a general mobilization that Germany was losing the advantage of France and Russia's mobilization time difference. Once Russia completes, or is close to completing the mobilization, Germany will be defeated. In the era of total war, mobilization is not only a declaration of war.

Xiong Jing did not understand the cold weapon war, but he learned a lot from the SC Forum that he learned a lot from modern wars. The Warring States Period seemed to be a cold weapon war, but in fact it was a BC version of the overall war of modern countries. In addition to the cold and hot weapons, the mode of transportation they depend on also has differences: the modern army moves on the railway as the axis to avoid fighting in areas where the railway line cannot be effectively supplied; the Warring States Period army moves on the river as the axis and does not fight decisively in areas covered by rivers.

The reason why Qin State attached importance to transportation and built the road was exactly the same as the advantage of the German General Staff using railways to strive for mobilization time. However, the emphasis on mobilization speed was not the first in Qin State, but the invention of the small countries of Wei State and even Zheng State. They were located in the densely populated Central Plains, with convenient transportation, and the army was easier to assemble than other countries. Before the armies of other countries were fully mobilized, they had occupied important city passes and transportation nodes.

The military failure of Chu State during the Warring States Period was also related to the mobilization time. It was located in the sparsely populated south, with rivers and swamps contiguous, and the mobilization time was already very different from that of the Central Plains countries, which also created a distinctive feature of the Chu army: it was good at attacking but not good at defending. Even if it attacked, it could only destroy some small countries and seize some border counties in enemy countries. After all, it did not gather national troops; let alone defending. Not to mention Qin State, even a small country like Wu State could reach the capital with 30,000 troops.

So what if you have a million armours? How many million troops can fight head-on with the 30,000 Wu army in a battle? The Wu army won consecutive battles, facing either the Chu army with fewer than its own, or the Chu army with a large number but hastily responded to the battle.

It is really a very unconventional thing for a country where military mobilization is already at a disadvantage to defeat the Qin State, which has always attached great importance to mobilization speed and is in the upper reaches of the river, and recalling the history of modern German railway mobilization: ‘…In August 1870, 9 double-track railways were used to launch 350,000 German troops in 15 days, with an average of 2,580 people per railway transporting each day. 44 years later, 13 railways were used to send 1.5 million people to the western border of Germany within 10 days, with an average of 11,530 people per railway transporting each railway every day.’

Even if the narrow-gauge horse-la-rail railway had the transportation efficiency of the German railway in 1870, it still required as many as nine double-rail railways. With the current railway cost, building so many railways is by no means something that the Chu State can afford.

It was so exciting!

"Teacher, the student thinks that Qin is..." Before Xiong Jing answered, he denied the theory of railway mobilization advantage in his mind. He thought of another serious problem.

"How is it?" Wu Guanzi asked with a smile. He had just met the King of Chu and said that his disciple, General Pang Nuan, would definitely send troops to help Chu resist Qin as soon as possible.

"Teacher, the students think that Qin is gathering troops. If the students do not enter Qin at the beginning of next month, they will attack him." Xiong Jing said.

"Raising troops for a proton," Yu Guanzi twisted his beard and finally shook his head. "Zi Jing didn't know that Qin envoys have always been like this, and they often threatened to raise troops to attack and surrender to the power of Qin's military. This time, you were asked to enter Qin as a staunch, which was the first to attack Zhao, so I asserted that Zhao would save me; if he didn't save him, Zhao would perish."

"What if the Qin army attacked?" Although the advantages brought by the railway could not allow Chu to defeat Qin, Xiong Jing finally understood one thing: the Warring States Period War was a general war in modern times. However, the father did not issue a general mobilization order.

"The Qin army is attacking?" The disciple who was born to know predicted the rebellion of Lao Ai. His words were not childish words. "Zijing, Qin can raise troops to attack, but what are the benefits for Qin? If the Chu State is destroyed, the benefits will be Wei and Qi State, and Qin State will not be able to gain any benefits."

"The students don't know either." Xiong Jing also understood this advantage. "Students thought that the Qin envoy's words for four days and twelve days were very similar, very similar..." The ultimatum was not available in the Warring States Period, but what the Qin envoy said was a ultimatum.

"The student would like to ask the teacher to tell his father: In order to prevent the Qin army, we should gather and mobilize the county soldiers on the border as soon as possible to prevent the Qin people from raiding." The war started because of Xiong Jing, and it would be inappropriate for Xiong Jing to make a statement in person.

"Zi Jing did think that the Qin general was attacking?" Wu Guanzi's expression became very serious and he looked at Xiong Jing talking.

"Yes. The students are worried." Xiong Jing looked serious. "The Qin envoy stayed in Yingdu for four days. After four days, he left Yingdu and went to Chengyang border. It took eight days for more than 600 miles. He happened to enter Qin on the first day of the nineth month of the Chu calendar. The students thought that the Qin army had gathered and stood by, but in September, I did not see me entering Qin, so they immediately attacked. The county soldiers were the main force of our Chu army. However, if there was no father-in-law Fujie, a soldier would not be able to be transferred. If the Qin army attacked, what should I do?"

"If the Qin army has gathered, the border generals should also notice it." Yu Guanzi lowered his voice and began to wonder if the Qin army was really attacking.

"Teacher, Qin Fa is serious and Lao Ai's rebellion was only a few months later. As for the border generals..." Xiong Jing suddenly thought of Dongting County. After decades of establishment of the county, he could not figure out the approximate number of Qin troops opposite. How could the border generals get informed about such a secret and short-term thing in the Qin army gathering?

*

At the foot of Tongbai Mountain, on the north bank of the Huai River, Chengyang City stood tall. It was a city that had been the temporary capital of Chu State. Although the construction of Chengyang was not large, the city wall was not high, it was extremely strong. At this time, Xiang Yan, half-armored, sat upright on the atrium of the main hall, and a group of generals stood at the bottom. The army led the son Xiang Chao stood on his right side, and the army Sima Peng Zong stood on his left side.

"You all know the words of the Qin envoy Yingdu. Today, the officials of the pass reported that the business trips in the pass were reduced for no reason. I thought that the war was about to come." Xiang Yan's voice was not loud, but when he opened his mouth, he was shocked. "I don't know what Dongting and Xiayi are like. If it were the case in my Chengyang, it would be correct."

"General, the Qin army is here to attack, and my soldiers are only 30,000. I should ask the king to recruit the county and county troops to help." The generals were not completely unexplained, and they were shocked for a moment. After the shock, we should know that if the Qin army really attacked, it was the most urgent task to dispatch troops and dispatch generals.

"The general has asked the king to summon the county and county troops to help. With Feixun here, the king will know the military situation in Chengyang today." Xiang Yan looked around the generals and did not rush to answer. It was Peng Zong, a military Sima, who answered on his behalf. The Feixun he mentioned was the visual telegraph system built this month.

The generals had heard of the speed of the Feixun. After looking at each other, most of them felt relieved. Unexpectedly, Xiang Yan said again: "The Qin people use troops, but if they don't send them, they will be like a river rushing. The troops and the speed of the troops will never be as fast as the other countries. Even if the king summoned the county troops to help me today, it would be too late. If the Qin troops come and Chengyang cannot hold on to each other for two months, this is where we buried our bones."

"Two months?" A red-faced general jumped out, which was Pan Wuming. "General, because of the solidity of our city and the abundant food and fodder, we cannot assert that we can hold on for two months."

"The poem says: I give clothes in September and get rice in October. The Qin army attacked in September and happened to eat in Chu. The weather was cold in Cuanyue (cuan, eleventh month of Chu, 8th month of Qin). The troops of each county and county were dispatched to the west to counterattack the Qin army, and they also had to be in Cuanyue." Xiang Yan's voice was still not loud, but the more this happened, the more the generals held their breath and listened to what they said. The whole atrium was quiet so that there were only sparse cicadas outside. "With the solidity of the city and the abundant food and fodder, we could not stick to Cuanyue, but..."

"How about that? Please tell me!" Pan Wuming was already anxious, and after listening to Xiang Yan's analysis, he was even more anxious.

"Please tell me the general. We will accept the military orders respectfully and swear to die." The other generals all bowed and asked in unison. Xiang Chao and the army Sima Peng Zong, beside Xiang Yan, also stared at him and listened to the general's orders quietly.

"For the current plan," summoned the generals to gather around them, and the map of the Chu-Qin border was already unfolded. "Only, we can eliminate the enemy marquis and make arrangements early..."

It is the main general's business to explain the intention of the battle, or to simply not announce their intentions of the battle, and to issue orders directly. However, in this battle, the weak attacked the crowd, and the weak defeated the strong. In addition, the county soldiers and generals knew each other and trusted each other, and the intention of the battle must be explained first. After explaining the intention of the battle, Xiang Yan arranged the tasks of the generals separately, which made them prepare immediately after returning to the camp.

As soon as the generals left, the sky was already dark. At this time, only Xiang Yan, Xiang Chao and Peng Zong were left in the atrium. Peng Zong said with concern: "Chu and Qin have stopped their wars for decades. If the king does not allow us to ask for it, what if it is?"

"I am the guardian of Chengyang City, and I have the right to seize power. If the Qin army attacks me, I must attack hard, so that they can make them feel suspicious and afraid and advance slowly." Xiang Yan's expression was solemn, and his Rong Rong Ji Ji, as if the Qin army had attacked now.

"... The imperial court may not be happy." After a while, Peng Zong said again. This is related to the dispute over the prince. If the Chu army is defeated, perhaps the prince Xiong Jingzhen will enter Qin as a magistrate and will never come back.
Chapter completed!