Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 755 Chi Le Chuan

The old Yunzhong River, Beiyu (now Hohhot City).

In the dead of winter, the blue sky covers the whole area, and the first ray of sunlight in the morning penetrates the thick clouds, covering the ground covered with snow.

On the banks of the Manggan River, the tribesmen of the Chanyu royal court braved the severe cold to collect snowflakes and ice cubes, and threw them into old iron pots to boil and melt them. Some tribesmen formed groups of dozens of people, using wooden spikes to chisel ice and casting nets to catch freshwater fish.

Winter is the cruelest season for nomadic people. For their daily life, they have to work hard outside for a long time in order to obtain more food.

In winter, pastures are precious and not available to ordinary people. Most of them are used first by the nobles and warriors in the tribe. Sheep feed on grass roots, so they can only eat stored grass. If the grass is not enough, they will be slaughtered and eaten.

Fortunately, the people of the Xianbei royal court survived in Hetao. Through their past farming or trade with the Han people, they stored up food that allowed them to survive the harsh winter.

In the royal court, Ke Bineng lazily got up from the bed made of Shu brocade. He first drank some mare's milk to warm himself up, and then drank the millet porridge served by the maid to fill his stomach.

Kebi Neng started out by learning the advanced systems and culture of the Han people. After becoming the Khan of the tribe, he naturally learned the Han people's extravagant way of enjoying life.

"Chanyu, the Lord of the Central Region is outside asking to see you!"

"allow!"

Yu Zhuqian stepped into the tent and greeted Ke Bineng who was sitting on a Hu chair.

"Meet the Chanyu!"

As the tent cloth is opened, the cold air blows into the tent.

Ke Bineng tightened his fur coat around his shoulders and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Reporting to the Chanyu, according to the scouts, the Han people, led by Huo Jun, lead an army of 400,000 soldiers divided into three routes. Huo Jun is now stationed in Taiyuan, and his troops are heading straight for the royal court." Yu Zhugan reported.

Ke Bineng frowned slightly and said, "The Han people tore up the contract and sent out all their troops to attack us. They also sent the famous general Huo Jun as their commander. They are very aggressive and should not be underestimated!"

"Let's sit down and talk!"

"promise!"

Yu Zhuqian sat on the second-ranked Hu chair and said worriedly, "Chanyu, although the royal court has been relocated, it is still adjacent to the border. Should we adjust the location of the royal court now?"

Ke Bineng stroked his graying beard and said, "Chengle is more than a thousand miles away from Guangwu, with many valleys and hills in between. If the Han army were to set out from Yanmen, it would take at least half a month to march there because of the heavy snow that blocked the road."

"If the cavalry are familiar with the route, they will arrive in five or six days. I have deployed small groups of people in Dingxiang to serve as scouts. If the Han cavalry penetrates into the Chi Le River, it will be very convenient for the royal court to gather troops to fight them."

Yu Zhuqian hesitated for a moment and said, "What if most of the enemy troops are advancing together?"

"If Huo Jun ignores the heavy snow and marches with infantry and cavalry, we can gather troops at the royal court and then retreat to the north of the mountain along the Baidao. If his momentum is too strong to be stopped, our army can lead the Han army to the north of the desert, or go west to the Yin Mountains." Kebineng said.

There was a reason why Ke Bi was able to move the royal court to Beiyu. In terms of distance, the two places were only a hundred miles apart, but their geography was different.

Chengle is surrounded by mountains and rivers. It is a strategic point for entering and exiting the Central Plains. It is flat from north to south. The east mountain is more than 200 miles away from the Yellow River, and the south mountain is more than 100 miles away from Yinshan Mountain. It is also close to the salt-producing area of ​​Chanhebi outside the Great Wall.

Kebi was able to place the royal court in Chengle in order to facilitate his efforts to exert pressure on Sai Nei and control the various tribes in Hetao.

Beiyu is the future Hohhot, with the Daqing Mountain behind it and the Manggan River nearby, controlling the Baidao in and out of the Yinshan Mountains. By turning to Qikou through the Baidao, people can go north to the northern desert.

Therefore, even though the two are only a hundred miles apart, the reason why the Xianbei royal court of Kebi Neng moved here was to facilitate its own maneuvers and obtain more strategic buffer zones.

Because Huo Jun was in charge of the army, Yu Zhugan was still wary and asked, "According to Chanyu's opinion, when will the Han army choose to march?"

Ke Bineng fell into deep thought and said, "The mountains are covered with snow and the weather is extremely cold, which makes it difficult to supply food and grass. The Han people may use military force in the spring. But if Huo Jun uses military force, it is possible that he will send troops in winter."

"Then how should we defend ourselves?" asked Yu Zhuoqian.

After drinking a mouthful of mare's milk, Ke Bineng said, "There are four large and small valleys between Mayi and Chi Lechuan. We will send more people to Xingbei to keep an eye on the movements of the Han army."

As he spoke, Ke Bineng sneered and said, "Although Huo Jun is feared by the Chinese, the use of troops in the Central Plains is very different from that in the desert. Now that we have just arrived in the desert, if we use Han methods to command the troops, Huo Jun will surely be defeated by our army!"

"promise!"

Not to mention that Ke Bineng played tricks and moved the royal court to Beiyu, not far from Chengle. Now the Han army has put a lot of effort into finding the Xianbei royal court.

Jinyang, the Han army camp.

Inside the central army tent, everyone on the Yunzhong old carriage marked out four or five locations based on various intelligence. Among them were not only Beiyu, but also Shaling, Yunzhong, Xianyang, Yuanyang and other places.

Jiang Ji pointed to Shaling on the map and analyzed, "The water of Baiqu flows into Shaling Lake, and the old city of Shaling was built on the east of the lake. It was cold and snowy. The population of Hu Ting was tens of thousands, and some of them might have moved to Shaling Lake to catch fish for winter food."

"Shaling is close to the Yellow River and adjacent to a lake. Although it is convenient for farming, it is not conducive to cavalry galloping. If our army marches out of Mayi and goes to Yunzhong and Chengle, it will cut off the passage from Hu Ting in the north to Mobei, and we will have no choice but to flee westward." Qian Zhao said.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the ecological environment was relatively good, there were many lakes on the Hetao Plain, which could be used by nomadic people to fish in winter and by farming people to irrigate their fields.

Jiang Ji pointed to Beiyu and said, "Beiyu controls the north-south roads of the mountains. If we move to Beiyu, we can lead our troops to flee north to the desert if the war goes against us."

Qian Zhao still shook his head and said, "Although Beiyu is a good location, the Manggan River dries up in winter. It is backed by the Daqing Mountain, with many hills in the north and only plains in the south. If attacked by our army, it will be good for holding on, but it will not be good for the cavalry to gather."

Listening to Qian Zhao's continuous rebuttal, Jiang Ji felt helpless and asked, "All of the above have their pros and cons, but what place do you think can be the royal court?"

Qian Zhao shook his head and said, "There is no perfect place in the world. The advantages and disadvantages of the location alone are not enough to determine the location of the royal court. Now we need the scouts to report."

Tian Yu sorted out the recent intelligence and said, "According to recent reports from scouts, there are many Hu cavalry in the mountains and fields of Dingxiang, but few Hu cavalry in the mountains and lakes. Judging from the changes in the Hu cavalry, Shaling is not a Hu court." "That's all?"

"Not many reports of useful troops!"

Tian Yu looked somewhat helpless and said, "There are mountains all over the area between Mayi and Chengle, and the mountain roads are long and rugged. In addition, it snowed heavily, so it was difficult for the scouts to reach the clouds. They could only be scattered in the old county of Dingxiang."

While everyone was discussing the location of the Xianbei royal court, Huo Jun remained silent and reread the report submitted by the scouts.

Suddenly, Huo Jun perked up when he saw a military report from Chanhebi.

"Who knows the details of Chanhebi?" Huo Jun asked.

Everyone looked at each other for a few seconds, and finally Budugen stood up and said in awkward Chinese: "Report to the Prime Minister, Chanhebi is a salt lake that can produce salt. All the tribes in the central region rely on the salt from Chanhebi. The reason why Kebineng became successful was because he used Han people to make salt and sold it to various tribes."

Huo Jun pointed at the military report in his hand and asked, "Who attacked the Hu tribe in Chanhepi before?"

"Five days ago, I will send hundreds of cavalry out of the border to attack the Hu tribe in Chanhepi!" Wei Yan said with a bow.

"Are there any details?"

Huo Jun asked, "Where is the salt from Chanhe Pond transported to these days?"

Wei Yan frowned for a long time, and recalled: "According to the barbarians, the salt produced in Chanhe Pond was transported to the old city of Yuanyang."

"Has it never changed?" Huo Jun asked again.

"no!"

Wei Yan shook his head and said, "The salt produced in Chanhe Pond has always been transported to the wilderness and has never changed."

As he spoke, Wei Yan seemed to understand something and asked, "Does the Prime Minister think that Hu Ting is in the wilderness, or has he always been in Chengle?"

Huo Jun got up from the couch and said, "Salt is a scarce commodity. The Hu court has more than 10,000 villages, with hundreds of thousands of war horses, cattle, and sheep, and consumes a lot of salt every day. If the destination of salt and iron transportation has not changed, it means that the Xianbei Hu court should be in Chi Lechuan."

Huo Jun paced with his hands behind his back and said, "There are not many Hu cavalry in Shaling, so it is not where the royal court is. Xianyang is in the western part of Yunzhong, and the destination of the blue salt has not changed, so Xianyang is not where the royal court is. So from this point of view, the Hu court should be roughly in Yuanye, Chengle, and Beiyu."

The Chi Le River covers a large area, roughly between the Manggan River and the Baiqu River. The essence of Yunzhong County is all in the Chi Le River. This is why Tuoba Gui made Shengle, located on the Chi Le River, the capital.

"If Hu Ting is still in Chengle, then Ke Bineng is too bold!" Wei Yan said in surprise.

"Ke Bineng is cunning by nature, so it is possible that he will do the opposite!" Tian Yu said.

"Perhaps Kebineng will not be so bold, but will move the royal court to the wilderness, or to Beiyu." Jiang Ji guessed.

After a moment's hesitation, Jiang Ji looked at Huo Jun, who was walking with his hands behind his back, and asked, "Prime Minister, should our army try to send scouts to search Chi Le Chuan?"

"No!"

Tian Yu rejected the idea and said, "If the scouts' whereabouts are discovered by the Hu cavalry, I'm afraid the Hu court will move to another place."

"Since we can't determine Hu Ting's location, how can we send troops easily?" Jiang Ji said.

Wei Yan said, "Prime Minister, I would like to lead the troops to raid Chanhe Pond and capture the leader of the Hu people to see if we can find out the location of the Hu court."

"A surprise attack on Chanhebi might alert the enemy!"

Huo Jun stopped in front of the map and said calmly: "Using troops in the grassland is very different from fighting in the Central Plains. You can't use troops lightly, and you can't fall into the strategy of luring the enemy deep into your territory. However, if you use troops, you should act like thunder and lightning and defeat the enemy when they are least prepared."

"What does the Prime Minister mean?" Jiang Ji asked.

Huo Jun stared at the map and said in a deep voice, "Qian Zhao and Budugen will be my guides and follow me to raid Chi Le Chuan."

Jiang Ji hesitated for a moment and said, "The Prime Minister is the commander of the army, how can he lead the elite cavalry in person? If he is ambushed by the enemy, what should he do?"

Wei Yan volunteered, saying, "I am willing to lead the cavalry for the Prime Minister!"

"With elite cavalry in hand, we can advance or retreat!"

Huo Jun said in a firm tone: "The attack on Hu Ting is the key to the success or failure of this battle. I must lead the troops myself. How dare I let others do it!"

"And the article is long, I have another important job."

"What about the army?" Tian Yu asked.

Huo Jun pointed at the map and gave the order, saying, "The army will be divided into two parts. The southern route will go out of Mayi, led by Shi Yuan and Guo Rang, with elite cavalry to support it. The northern route will go out of Pingcheng, led by Wen Chang and Zi Tong, to intercept the Baidao."

"The southern troops must follow the light cavalry closely to prevent the two armies from losing contact. Moreover, Kebi can defend the city, and infantry is needed to break the city. The northern troops should pay attention to the movements of Chi Lechuan at all times. If I have not found Hu Ting, I should lead the troops to retreat quickly."

"Do you all follow my orders?"

Seeing that no one responded, Huo Jun asked in a deep voice.

"General, I will obey your orders!" everyone responded.

(End of this chapter)