"Pass the order: Guangwu Guard and Xingwu Guard are to assemble at once, take the mountain path north of the Tu River with siege equipment, reach Changli within two days, rest and reorganize, then immediately attack the city. Mighty Guard is to advance twenty li. Also deploy the Yingwu Guard, newly organized from the militia. A small mountain lies a hundred li northeast; I call it Horsehead Mountain. Have the mounted scouts lead the way. Force-march a hundred li today and arrive by nightfall, then rest for the night. Send mounted scouts to reconnoiter. The moment our two armies engage, attack the enemy's rear force.
"If Guangwu Guard and Xingwu Guard take Changli quickly, seize control of the city and send Xingwu Guard south to block the fleeing northern troops. If the siege proves difficult, surround it without attacking; merely stop the routed troops. Once I arrive with the army, we will make further arrangements."
General Wang had everything under control. With a turn of his mind, he laid out a plan to besiege Wei to rescue Zhao, splitting his forces for a surprise attack.
The two sides had a combined force of fifty thousand men. A battle of this scale would have been considered a major war anywhere.
Wang Yan had deployed four guards, totaling twenty-five thousand soldiers—more than the enemy's twenty thousand. But in truth, the mounted scouts' reports were only estimates, and the actual numbers were roughly equal.
In terms of combat strength, the Wuhuan might have held a slight edge. After all, they were a fishing, hunting, and nomadic people, savage by nature, constantly swallowing one another up and fighting whenever there was nothing better to do. But under the general's command, the advantage lay in the stronger fighting power of his smaller units. He had