Battle of Yique - The Battle

The Battle

Bai Qi noticed that Wei and Han were still hostile to each other, so he decided on the divide and conquer strategy. He scouted the area for weaknesses in the alliance defense. He drew away the attention of the main Han forces with small ambushes, then attacked the weakly defended Wei positions with the main Qin army.

The officers of Wei believed that Han deliberately failed to support the Wei army positions. Hostility grew worse between the two allies. Han decided to preserve its forces and ceased trying to support Wei. Bai Qi was therefore able to avoid fighting against Han forces. Over the next few months, he defeated Wei positions one by one.

Bai Qi then turned his attack against the Han forces. Eventually Han troops were trapped by Qin forces and they tried to escape. However the Qin cavalry ensured that no one made it back. Gongsun Xi was captured.

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