Hanbo

Chapter 289: The Power of Two Breads (4.6K)

On the tenth day of August, the army arrived at the territory of Shanshan Kingdom on the south side of the middle section of East Tianshan Mountain, which is also the seat of Shanshan in later generations.

However, the vanguard of the army did not reach the capital of Shanshan, but just entered the territory of Shanshan, which is about 100 miles away from the capital, let alone the middle and rear troops ahead of time.

It was noon, and it was not easy for the army to march, so I planned to stay here for two hours. This was one reason.

There is another reason that traces of Huns cavalry were found in the territory of Shanshan, which is another reason.

Xiao Hei has gone out to investigate, and Huo Shan is waiting for news.

However, when encountering the Huns here, Huo Shan also had some predictions in his heart.

Because the Shanshan Kingdom is also one of the Ten Kingdoms, and their territory is just south of the middle section of the East Tianshan Mountains.

As for the middle section of East Tianshan Mountain, compared with other places on the east and west sides of Tianshan Mountain, the terrain is flatter, and there are some small roads that can be climbed over.

Large-scale soldiers and horses are not enough, but some small-scale soldiers and horses can do it.

And sending Xiao Hei out was because Huo Shan wanted to find out where the Huns' large-scale troops had gone.

And Huo Shan guessed in his heart that it should not be much different from his own side. The Xiongnu soldiers and horses walked slower. Of course, this is compared with his own.

Therefore, the Xiongnu should be in almost the same position as their own side, but one is on the north side of Tianshan Mountain and the other is on the south side.

At most, the Xiongnu traveled two or three hundred miles longer than their own side, and they could catch up in a day.

But the distance is not calculated in this way. Huo Shan's journey is at least four or five hundred miles faster than that of the Xiongnu.

Because they had to block the way of the Huns first, which increased the distance a lot. Under this situation, it must be faster than the Huns.

Xiao Hei was very fast, and came back in a while, and because he was just checking his whereabouts, he was very fast.

And the news he got was the same as what Huo Shan had guessed, the distance was almost two hundred miles away.

Hearing this news, Huo Shan was really relieved, and he had more confidence in blocking the Xiongnu from entering the Western Regions.

Huo Shan knew that it was impossible for the Huns to be faster than them.

There are mainly three aspects.

The first aspect is very simple, and that is speed. The soldiers and horses under Huo Shan's command have always marched very fast. Except for the Qiang people who are a little uncomfortable, everything else is fine.

And the speed of the Huns cannot be faster than him.

So, one fast and one slow, the distance gradually narrows, and then pulls away.

As for the second aspect, it is calculated by heart or not, but it will not work in the next few days, because he estimates that there will be arrangements later.

Huo Shan had already discovered them, but the Xiongnu didn't know that Huo Shan already knew their whereabouts.

So in this case, the Huns will not speed up, and will definitely focus on stability.

And the third aspect is the advantage of terrain.

The south side of Tianshan Mountain on Huo Shan's side, although it is the Great Gobi, has a lot of rugged land, but there are horseshoes, so it is not a big problem.

As for the large number of saline-alkali lands, there is no other way but to speed up and rush over.

This thing does a lot of damage to the horseshoe and is corrosive, even if it has a horseshoe, it is not very useful.

Overall, the journey is much easier than the north side, and the climate is much more suitable than the north side. Compared with the north side, the temperature difference between day and night has a much smaller floating range.

On the north side, although the climate is not as bad as that of later generations, it is not much worse.

Although the desert has not yet covered the vicinity of the Tianshan Mountains, the harsh climate is not much different from that of the desert.

The days are hot and the nights are cold, even if it is August, and the nights are not sub-zero, but they are not comfortable either.

Therefore, overall, in terms of speed, it is a sure win.

But what we have to deal with now is the matter of meeting the Huns cavalry ahead.

And Huo Shan was still waiting for the news. Although the Qiang army in front sent the news as soon as they encountered the Huns cavalry, the details still needed to be investigated.

The night is probably about the same, the distance of Baili is very close, and the pigeons can come in handy.

They only need to fly in the direction of the military households, and when they see a special flag, they will drop down, and within a quarter of an hour, Huo Shan will receive the news.

However, Huo Shan didn't sit and wait for someone to investigate. The situation is such a situation, he can guess it, so he needs to prepare the subsequent countermeasures.

At this time, he was discussing with Zhang Anshi.

Huo Shan looked at the map in front of him and asked Zhang Anshi:

"Tell me, where did the Huns come from here?"

Zhang Anshi smiled faintly, leaned closer and pointed to the middle section of East Tianshan Mountain, Huo Shan nodded, it was only here.

"Then guess again, how many Huns soldiers and horses have come over, and how many Huns soldiers and horses have not yet come, or how many Huns soldiers and horses are crossing the Tianshan Mountain?"

Zhang Anshi frowned and thought for a while, then said:
"I guess the soldiers and horses that come over are less than five thousand."

Huo Shan raised his eyebrows:
"Oh?"

"Tell me."

"The reason is simple, we are guarding against the Huns, and the Huns are also guarding against us.

They didn't know that we had already heard the news, so it was impossible for them to send a large number of soldiers and horses to cross the Tianshan Mountains in a time-consuming and laborious manner, and it would increase the risk of them being discovered.

Moreover, the gains outweigh the losses, why would they take the risk of crossing the Tianshan Mountains?
Not to mention the smooth and steady walk all the way, they can still pull a lot of power, not to mention the replenishment of water resources and other materials.

It is estimated that if they didn't want to fight in front of Cheshi and Shanshan, even these soldiers and horses would not be sent here. "

Huo Shan nodded with a smile, it makes sense.

"You guess five thousand, then I might as well be bolder, I guess three thousand."

Zhang Anshi was a little speechless, I said less than five thousand, do you understand the meaning of less than five thousand!

Five thousand is possible, four thousand is possible, three thousand and two thousand is also possible!
"Then Commander-in-Chief, what should we do next?"

Huo Shan licked his lips, and looked at the map for a while with his chest in his arms.

"What to do, easy to do!"

Then Huo Shan clapped his hands, told Xiao Lizi to put away the map, and said:
"Set up camp, don't leave today, rest for half a day, wait for news, eat first!"

.........

night time.

Huo Shan was in the big tent, hugging a little wolf cub, drowsy.

This wolf cub is not the two in front, those two have grown up, it is one in the litter that Cang Ye and his wife had.

Zhang Anshi walked in from outside the tent.

"Report to the Commander-in-Chief, the vanguard Qiang army has received news that they have captured an official from the Shanshan Kingdom and found out the situation of the Xiongnu's soldiers and horses. The number of them happens to be around [-]."

Huo Shan rubbed his face, lifted the sleeping wolf cub to his feet, the little wolf cub turned over with a whimper and fell asleep again without even opening his eyelids.

"that's it?"

"There is another important news. The Xiongnu will have [-] soldiers coming later. It is estimated that they are on the way."

Huo Shan laughed out loud, this is really good news.

"Tian Qianqiu."

Huo Shan shouted, and after hearing the news, Tian Qianqiu, who was running over, just heard it, and hurried into the tent.

"The minister is here."

"Order Zhao Ponu to send out [-] Qiang troops to destroy the [-] Xiongnu soldiers and horses, and destroy the Shanshan Kingdom by the way.

Shanshan is not considered a small country anymore, with a population of over [-] and nearly [-] soldiers and horses. After we destroyed [-], there should be [-] left.

Inform the leaders of the Qiang people that no soldiers or horses will be left, and let me attack the capital of Shanshan directly, wipe out all the nobles, and take back their gold and silver treasures, and give me food and grass supplies.

Ordinary people, whoever dares to resist, will be wiped out immediately, and the rest will not move. Whoever moves, I will kill whoever comes back!

Dare to surrender to my big man with evil intentions, let them see the consequences. "

"The minister takes orders!"

"Send an order to Li Ling to come and see me immediately."

"promise."

Huo Shan intends to leave none of these ten countries, including Che Shi and Loulan who are not in the ten countries. They have already been on Huo Shan's must-kill list.

These countries are the stepping stones for the rapid rise of the great Han's reputation in the Western Regions.

In the middle of the night, after Xiao Hei went there, Li Ling, who was in the rear army, came in front of Huo Shan.

"At the end, the general pays his respects to the governor."

"Don't be too polite, I called you over overnight because I need you to deal with something."

Li Ling was overjoyed and patted his chest:
"If the governor has something to do, just ask him to do so."

"Okay, come and talk."

Li Ling hurried to the edge of the map. Huo Shan pointed to the middle of the East Tianshan Mountains, a place less than [-] miles away from his own Chinese army, and then directly followed a road across the Tianshan Mountains, from the south to the north.

"I have heard the news that five thousand soldiers of the Xiongnu are coming from this road. On your way, I have ordered that the [-] soldiers and horses of your rear army immediately move forward to this mountain pass.

Tatsumi should be able to reach this place, and according to Xiaohei's investigation, according to the speed of the Huns cavalry, they will be able to reach the mountain pass in the evening, so you have more than half a day to prepare. "

Having said that, Huo Shan turned his head and looked at Li Ling:

"I will give you 250 people to serve as your personal guards, and you will lead them to set off immediately to join the rear army.

In your rear army, there are [-] god arm crossbows, food and other supplies are also available for a month, everything is available.

I want you to destroy these five thousand soldiers and horses here.

I don't want to give you any courage, our response is insufficient, and it is unrealistic to think of annihilating the entire army, but I need you to defeat them, leaving at least [-].

But there is one thing, none of the Huns cavalry is allowed to come over and drive them back. "

Li Ling saluted immediately, raising his head confidently:
"Don't worry, the governor. In the end, I will guarantee that none of the Huns' cavalry will enter the hinterland of the Western Regions."

Not to mention the [-] army, the [-] god-armed crossbows, or the [-] cavalry, as long as there are [-] god-armed crossbows, Li Ling dares to guarantee the terrain.

None of the Huns cavalry could get over, and his soldiers and horses were still unscathed.

God arm crossbow is so cowhide!
Similarly, the [-] army against the [-] Xiongnu and the [-] god-armed crossbows are indeed overkill, so Li Ling waited for Huo Shan's next words.

And Li Ling had guessed some of Huo Shan's thoughts.

"After destroying these five thousand soldiers and horses, you lead an army of [-] to attack me directly, along the middle section, and head to the north side.

Then go to the north side to dig the Huns' ass and slow them down for me, but they are invincible. Do you understand the sixteen-character policy? "

Li Ling nodded, and the two looked at each other and smiled.

"If the Huns turn back and come back, and the rear army is pressing, you can retreat directly to the valley and defend.

So I will dispatch two hundred craftsmen from the vanguard to hand over to you, don't forget to keep someone to take them.

You can build a chariot, the soldiers hold large shields to defend in the front row, and the crossbowmen stand on the roof of the chariot and shoot arrows. With this terrain, no matter how many troops come, it will not help.

But don't forget to send cavalry to investigate the mountain pass on the south side, don't let people block you at both ends. "

Li Ling nodded solemnly.

The method Huo Shan mentioned was also a sudden thought of one thing. This method was actually the method used by Li Ling in history when he was besieged by tens of thousands of Huns.

It is very useful, with the power of the strong crossbow, as long as the supplies such as food, grass, water, and crossbow arrows are not exhausted, as many as there are can be killed.

Huo Shan raised his hand and patted Li Ling's shoulder, and said with a smile:

"Everything is still up to you, just let go and do whatever you want, but remember to report to me, or I may kill you!
By the way, don't forget to find out the number of Xiongnu soldiers and horses. "

Li Ling touched his nose, a little embarrassed, it is really possible that he can do something!

Then Li Ling straightened his expression, and said seriously:

"Please rest assured, Chief Governor, you will not act recklessly in the end."

Huo Shan nodded and waved his hands:

"People are ready, let's go!"

Li Ling saluted solemnly, and then left.

This gift has many meanings, but the most important thing is gratitude, thanks to Huo Shan for giving him this opportunity, he was finally able to realize his ambition.

He has not forgotten his identity relationship with Huo Shan.

After Li Ling left, Huo Shan squinted his eyes and looked behind the big tent door. He knew that what he was talking about behind him was the defense of the mountain pass, and it was basically impossible for him to appear.

While this possibility is possible, it will be small.

Because in the early stage, that is, when Li Ling harassed the Xiongnu's rear, the Qiang army led by Huo Shan, the front army, and the middle army had not yet arrived.

At this stage, after the Huns were harassed by the army led by Li Ling, there are several possibilities.

The first one is to ignore him, just speed up and head towards Dongqiemi, and when he reaches Dongqiemi, then everything will not be a problem.

To judge others by oneself, if Huo Shan was the leader of the Huns, he would immediately think of a problem when encountering such a situation.

There are enemy troops behind, and they are obviously slowing down their speed, so will there be one in front?

If the army is blocked, then half of their purpose will be abolished!
So in Huo Shan's view, the first possibility is very high, but it's not the biggest of the three.

The second way is not to leave, turn the horse's head around, and kill Li Ling first.

This possibility is very small in Huo Shan's view. First of all, you have to think clearly that the purpose of the Xiongnu is to fight Huo Shan. It is impossible to slow down for the sake of this small [-] soldiers.

So this situation is clear, the possibility is very small.

The third type is the one that Huo Shan thinks is the most likely.

The large army speeded up to Dongqiemi, leaving some soldiers and horses behind to entangle with Li Ling.

In Huo Shan's view, this possibility is actually the greatest, and it is also the best possibility for the Xiongnu.

Besides these, there are many other possibilities.

For example, give up everything, lead the army back directly, and then directly bypass the east side of Dongtian Mountain to attack the military households.

This possibility is still there, and it is not small.

But this is not a small one. It is not about the early stage, but the possibility that Huo Shan blocked them and made them suffer a lot. They felt that they would not be able to enter the hinterland of the Western Regions.

At that time, as time went by, this possibility became greater.

As for why Huo Shan sent Li Ling to fight the Huns...

Wouldn't it be good to kill those five thousand and go to the front to block them together?

Really bad!

First of all, it must be clear that we are outnumbered, and it is still unknown whether we can stop it!
And Huo Shan's purpose is not to block them, he has a big heart, he wants to let all these Huns soldiers and horses confess here!

So no matter whether it is blocking or destroying, it is indeed a good move to create this kind of double-sided attack!
Although I have few soldiers and horses, and it is not easy to divide my troops, I still want to do this, just to make you feel threatened by the enemy.

Even if you are 20, the threat of [-] soldiers and horses, you can't ignore it, but you have to take it seriously.

As for the military households, Huo Shan had never worried about them, so they were not within the scope of this battle.

What he is most worried about now is the countries in the Western Regions.

He wanted to attack the Xiongnu on both sides, but he didn't want to be attacked by the Xiongnu and the Western Regions.

It would be a tragedy if he had a good fight with the Xiongnu and killed an army from the Western Regions behind him.

Huo Shan also had such a little thought in destroying the ten kingdoms. Regardless of whether the impact will be good or not in the future, now, if it can be shocked for a while, it will be for a while.

Therefore, Huo Shan's pressure was actually very great!
Similarly, the pressure on the envoys will also increase greatly!

However, Huo Shan has confidence in them.

Huo Shan believes that with their abilities, they can make up for the lack of the Han in the Western Regions compared to the Xiongnu!
You don't need to bring one over, you just need to appease one, and that's success!

(End of this chapter)