At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 275, Taking the Initiative and Signs of Failure

To the north of Pingcheng, the sky is clear, the fields are vast, the wind blows and the grass is low, and the scenery is beautiful.

More than three hundred miles north of Heisei, there is a large grassland lake. Just because this place is very close to the Great Wall of Han Dynasty. The Huns' vanguard, who had traveled a long distance, was stationed here.

King Zhelan said worriedly: "The Han people retreated very cleanly, leaving nothing but an empty city. The Han people retreated so fast, I'm afraid their intentions are not trivial. We still have to be careful not to fall into an ambush by the Han people."

The Han Dynasty still had many cities and fortresses north of the Great Wall. The Huns' scouting horses went to investigate the situation of the Han army, but found that all the Han people and soldiers here had retreated completely, which aroused King Zhelan's concern. The Central Plains Dynasty retreated so quickly and so cleanly only decades ago. In that battle, the Huns soldiers penetrated into the Central Plains. As a result, almost all of the 100,000 troops stayed in the Zhao Kingdom, making Li Mu the biggest nightmare for the Huns in the past decades. Luring the enemy deep has become the most feared tactic of the Huns.

King Donghu agreed: "I have gone hundreds of miles deep into Yanmen County, and I haven't even seen a single Han. This matter is indeed strange. We can wait for Shanyu's main force here before heading further south."

King Donghu was not a Huns originally, but a Donghu people. After Maodun annexed Donghu, he distributed most of the Donghu tribe to the large Xiongnu tribes, and only a small amount was given to the current King of Donghu, in order to prevent them from jumping over the wall in a hurry.

King Donghu, who had just become a Huns, did not want to fight for the Huns and Han people at all.

King Aries said anxiously: "We, the Huns, have gathered 14 cavalry. In the face of absolute strength, the Han people's machinations are vulnerable. The reason why the Han army cannot be found now is because they have long retreated to Mayi."

Other tribes have not yet felt the threat of the Han people, but his Aries tribe cannot severely injure the Han army this time. Unless he escapes from the current pasture, otherwise his tribe will die quickly under the attack of the Han army, so in the entire Xiongnu Among the top brass, he is the one who wants to win this battle the most.

King Zhelan said: "Then you must be even more cautious."

King Aries said: "If he dares to retreat, we must dare to advance. Although it is risky for us to attack now, as long as we win the battle of Mayi, the Yanmen County of the Han people will belong to us Huns. You must know that this is A county of the Han people is richer than the royal court of our Huns. By occupying this place, our Huns can support an additional 100,000 tribesmen. If you two can help me regain our tribesmen, I will advise Shanyu and let him control the geese. Leave the door to your tribe.”

Again, even though Yanmen County was a very barren border county for the Han Dynasty, it was a rich and high-quality pasture for the Huns. Being able to occupy the border county of the Han Dynasty was an irresistible temptation for any grassland tribe.

King Zhelan and King Donghu's eyes lit up when they heard this. If they could really get the land in Yanmen County, their tribe would definitely develop rapidly. The benefits are unimaginable!

King Aries saw the two people's hearts moved and continued: "Now all the Han people in Yanmen have retreated to Mayi. Now Mayi not only concentrates hundreds of thousands of Han people in Yanmen as well as their wealth, if we can The wealth captured by capturing Mayi will be enough for the three of us to survive for several years."

King Zhelan and King Donghu were finally persuaded, and three cavalry groups of more than 4 troops continued deep into Yanmen County and marched towards Mayi.

"The Huns are coming, light the beacon!" The soldiers on the beacon tower built on the high mountain looked extremely solemn when they saw tens of thousands of Huns cavalry heading south.

The commander of the Han army said: "The Huns who dare to invade our Han army are seeking death. Your Majesty will teach these ignorant Huns a lesson for us."

At the same time, the beacon smoke on the beacon tower was quickly discovered by other beacon tower soldiers. They also lit the beacon smoke one after another. The beacon smoke extended all the way deep into the mainland of the Han Dynasty.

Soon Li Shang and others in Mayi saw the warning smoke.

Li Shang said to Fan Kuai and Yu Long: "You lead the cavalry to camp outside Mayi and form a corner with Mayi. As long as we hinder the Huns for three months, our elite men will defeat them. surrounded."

Fan Kuai smiled and asked: "If there are not many Huns, can we defeat them directly?"

Because most of the Tunqi camp is composed of Baima tribesmen, they have not yet gained the trust of the Han Dynasty. Their weapons and equipment are slightly inferior. However, the soldiers of the Xiaoqi battalion brought by Xu Fan are the first-class elites of the Han Dynasty. All the soldiers are equipped with the latest weapons of the Han Dynasty. There is no shortage of plate armor and weapons ranging from cavalry bows, long weapons and spears, to short weapons and swords. It can be said that every victorious cavalry battalion is a war machine.

With such an elite team at hand, Fan Kuai certainly didn't want to just defend, but wanted to take the initiative to attack.

Li Shang said: "Victory in the first battle has a strong boosting effect on the morale of the army. You decide according to the battlefield conditions."

Fan Kuai smiled and said, "Just wait for my good news in the city."

Li Shang looked at the panicked scene in the city from the top of the city and said: "Polish your armor, prepare your cavalry, and let's go on a parade. Now the people in the city are panicked, and many people are extremely afraid of the Huns' invasion. Your troops Find ways to boost their morale.”

After Xu Fan knew that the Huns were going to pass through Yanmen County, he moved all the people in Yanmen County south. Most of them entered Yanmen Pass, but many of them entered Mayi. These people were extremely afraid of the arrival of the Huns. , so Cao Shen wanted to use the Xiaoqi Camp to boost the morale of the people.

The people in the border counties have experienced wars all year round, and they know more or less about military affairs. Even he, the prefect, is envious of the 5000 sets of plate armor in the Xiaoqi camp, let alone the ordinary people. Even if they look at these shining armors, they can He will lead the Han to defeat the Huns with confidence.

"promise."

Then Fan Kuai went to the Mayi military camp to rectify the soldiers, so that the soldiers of the Xiaoqi battalion would appear in front of the people of Mayi in their best appearance and neatest posture.

When the people of Mayi saw the well-organized groups of Han cavalry leaving the city from the military camp to fight the Huns, they were all shocked.

"How come there are so many iron armors? Isn't this armor that only generals can wear?" In this era, armor, swords, and BMWs are the world's top luxury goods.

Before Xu Fan invented the blast furnace, anyone who could wear a suit of armor was at least a captain or above. But now the people of Mayi were shocked at first when they saw the armored cavalry riding one after another, and then they were ecstatic. With such an army division, the Huns will definitely not be able to invade Mayi.

"This is the Xiaoqi camp. They are the emperor's personal guards. Think about it, if the emperor can defeat the violent Qin, how powerful this kind of army will be. The emperor can watch us in the city."

"Yes, the emperor is still in the city, how could the Huns get in." The people of Mayi felt relieved. With the emperor standing beside them, they had nothing to worry about.

Because Xu Fan's emperor's imperial banner has always been planted on the city of Mayi, the people of Mayi always thought that Xu Fan was still in the city of Mayi.

"These are thousands of armored cavalry. Look at how bright the armor is, how sharp the spears are, and how the cold light can even make out human figures. How could the Huns' tattered leather weapons be the emperor's elite opponent? This time the cavalry can be defeated by one against ten, even if there are tens of thousands of Huns cavalry."

"We must win and defeat the Huns." Suddenly a young man shouted.

Then other Mayi people also shouted in unison: "Defeat the Huns."

More and more people are shouting in unison, this is their common hope. Almost everyone on the border had a grudge against the Hu people. Now that they saw how elite the Han army was, they pinned their hopes for revenge on this cavalry. They hoped that the soldiers of the Xiaoqi Battalion would be like Li Mu and Meng Tian. The Huns drove them out of their hometown and prevented them from going south to herd horses for ten years.

Fan Kuai was infected and shouted: "Don't worry, elders, I will not let a single Huns escape from Mayi. The Huns who are destined to be killed are frightened. After this battle, they will never dare to go south to invade our Yanmen County again."

"Cai!" Countless people cheered, believing Fan Kuai's words.

It was June 15th, the fourth year of the Han Dynasty.

The Han's scouting horse discovered the main force of the Huns and immediately reported the news to Fan Kuai and the others.

Fan Kuai summoned Yu Long, the captain of the Tunqi camp, and Cui Yan, the captain of the Xiaoqi camp, to discuss the situation.

Fan Kuai said: "Tanma came to report that I saw the banners of the Huns Zhelan tribe, Baima tribe, and Donghu tribe. There are about 4 cavalry in the three tribes. This should be the vanguard of the Huns."

Cui Yan said happily: "The Aries tribe has been severely damaged by us. They are not strong enough. The Donghu tribe is a newly annexed tribe by the Huns. They and the Huns are not of the same mind. Only the Zhelan tribe is slightly stronger. Our army can use the Donghu tribe as our army." Breakthrough and defeat the Huns' vanguard force."

The Xiaoqi Battalion has been equipped with new armor weapons since last year. The fully armored battalion is the first of its kind in this era. With such elite soldiers in the hands of Cui Yan and other officers of the Xiaoqi Battalion, of course they want to see the power of this army.

Only Yu Long said worriedly: "After all, the enemy is four times more than us, and their combat power cannot be underestimated."

Cui Yan sneered: "The Huns, who don't even have a few pieces of armor, are just a bunch of chickens and dogs in someone's eyes."

It's not surprising that Cui Yan thinks this way. In this era, there is a huge gap in combat effectiveness between armored soldiers and unarmored soldiers. Armored soldiers can even outnumber ten, and iron armor is a step further than ordinary leather armor. A few dozen soldiers and a group of cannon fodder can defeat an army of thousands of people. This is the power of armor.

Therefore, the feudal dynasties of all dynasties have attached great importance to armor. You can have weapons such as swords, guns, swords and halberds at home, but you cannot keep armor and stomach privately. Even the top nobles have a limit on the number of armors they can collect. In history, Zhou Yafu wanted to be buried with 200 pieces of armor. It is said that he was buried with leather armor, but he was forced to death by Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. But now that the weapons and armors of the Huns and the Han were one level different, it is no wonder that Cui Yan saw the Huns as local chickens and dogs.

Yu Long said: "But most of my battalion is composed of Aries tribesmen, and now there is Aries King among the enemies. I am worried that the soldiers will be instigated by Aries King to rebel, and then there will be only a few tens of thousands of Xiaoqi battalions left on the battlefield." Huns cavalry."

Fan Kuai said nonchalantly: "Now that they are my Han soldiers, we should trust them, and the families of these soldiers are in our hands. How could they rebel? The most important thing is to have a reason to rebel. Your Majesty will give them good food." "It's delicious. Let them be human beings. They won't want to become savages anymore, so they can be reused and don't have to worry about the Huns trying to win over them."

Fan Kuai said: "I have decided that in this battle, we will first defeat the Huns' vanguard and teach them a lesson."

The words are divided into two parts.

Fan Kuai and the others discovered the Huns, and the Huns also discovered Fan Kuai.

King Aries said in surprise: "The Han people dare to fight with ten thousand cavalry. Our army is four times theirs. If we annihilate this cavalry first, we will break an arm of the Han army."

King Zhelan and King Donghu looked at each other. They both thought this was a good opportunity. The difficulty of annihilating 1 people in a field battle was completely different from that of annihilating people in a city defense. In a city defense battle, they would have to fight for people. They may not be able to kill Han troops alone, but they have this confidence in field battles.

King Zhelan sneered and said: "Since the Han army wants to die, then we will help him."

In this way, the two cavalrymen of the Han Dynasty and the Huns approached slowly, and the two sides did not stop until they were 400 steps away for final rest and pre-battle mobilization.

Fan Kuai rode his horse and looked at the Huns phalanx on the opposite side and said: "We will attack the Donghu phalanx from the right side later. They have recently taken refuge with the Huns. They do not have a strong will to fight. They should be the easiest place to defeat. Then we will drive them away." Donghu soldiers dispersed the Zhelan tribe in the middle."

Cui Yan asked: "What if the Aries King comes to support?"

Fan Kuai said: "I will lead the cavalry camp to stop them. Our troops are smaller than the opponent's, so your attack must be fierce without giving them time to react. You must defeat the enemy in one battle."

"promise."

"Woooooooo." The Xiongnu side blew the horn horn to prepare for battle, and the Huns' 40,000-strong army also began to sound slowly.

"Woooooooo." The big man also blew the horn of attack.

Cui Yan came to the soldiers of his Xiaoqi camp and said: "Brothers, it's time to make a contribution, kill!"

Cui Yan pointed his spear at the Huns cavalry, and then slowly drove his horse.

"Kill!" 5000 soldiers from the Xiaoqi Battalion also shouted after Cui Yan.

Xu Fan rebuilt the military merit system, from heavy rewards and heavy punishments to light punishments and heavy rewards. In the era of the First Emperor, it was extremely difficult for Wanhuhou to obtain.

By the time of the Han Dynasty, the princes of ten thousand households were nothing, and the princes and kings were at the top of the military merit list.

Yingbu and other eight great princes became role models for the generals of the Han Dynasty. Cui Yan followed Yingbu and the others as examples and wanted to make achievements, become a vassal king, and start a dynasty of his own surname.

Although it is almost impossible for ordinary soldiers to become princes and kings, they also have their own channel for class transition, which is generous rewards and the opportunity to become Han officials.

Although the Han Dynasty now has imperial examinations and a large number of scholars from hundreds of families have entered the Han Dynasty court, the Han officials who account for one-third of the Han Dynasty are still selected from the army, and half of the county magistrates in the Han Dynasty are also related to the army. .

Therefore, the Han army is the largest force of the Han Dynasty, and this is in line with Xu Fan's concept of conquering the world on horseback and governing the world on horseback.

It is precisely because the Han army has this military merit system that is open from top to bottom. From ordinary soldiers to middle-level officers and top-level generals, the Han army is extremely eager for military merit and achievements.

At this time, the Huns in front of the Han soldiers became a military merit in their eyes.

The cavalry of the Xiaoqi Battalion began to move slowly, and the speed gradually increased, and the sound of horse hooves gradually became denser from sparse.

The distance between the two sides was three hundred steps. Cui Yan raised his spear high and shouted loudly: "The geese are flying in formation and attack the enemy's right wing."

Then he took the lead and charged towards the Donghu tribe.

"Kill!" The Han soldiers following Cui Yan also sped up to watch the galloping horses. The sound of intensive horse hooves immediately turned into a roar, shaking the entire battlefield. The Han soldiers were like tigers descending from the mountain, rushing towards their prey.

King Donghu did not expect that the Han army would dispatch half of its troops to attack him, but he was not afraid of the Han army. This time he brought 15,000 warriors, which was three times the strength of the Han army. With such strength The advantage was enough for them to annihilate the Han cavalry.

He drew his sword and pointed it at the Han army and shouted: "Warriors of Donghu, follow me and kill the enemy."

"Kill." Fifteen thousand Donghu cavalry followed King Donghu to attack. The endless cavalry was like a rushing torrent, trying to drown the Han army.

The Zhelan Department of the central army and the Aries Department of the left wing were not activated. First, they wanted to guard against the 5000 cavalry in Fan Kuai's hands. Second, they also wanted to see the strength of the Han army so as to prepare for the next war.

"Woooooooo." The two cavalrymen got closer and closer, with a distance of about 200 steps between them.

Soldiers from both sides took out their riding bows in unison. Since both sides were galloping at the same time, the distance between them quickly narrowed.

When both sides are about 100 steps closer.

Cui Yan shouted: "Fire the arrow!"

King Donghu was surprised when he saw this scene: "Impossible."

At this time, the Huns did not have high-bridge saddles and double-sided stirrups, so it was difficult for people to have any strength on war horses. Even if they were a race like the Huns who shot from cavalry, if they wanted to shoot arrows on horses, they could only have lethality from a distance of 50 steps at most. And when the Han army fired arrows at a distance of 100 steps like this, it was almost the same as an archer on the ground. This was simply impossible for the Huns. Even the eagle shooters among them did not have this ability.

"Shhhhhh!"

The Huns were caught off guard, and a large number of Huns soldiers were shot by Han army's long arrows and fell off their horses. Then they were mercilessly trampled by the horses behind them, leaving only a bloody corpse.

"put."

"Boohoo!" The Han cavalry fired another round of long arrows at a distance of 80 steps, causing hundreds of casualties to the Huns.

When they were close to 50 steps away, the Huns fired their first round of long arrows.

However, the soldiers of the Xiaoqi Battalion all wore iron armor and iron helmets. The Huns' soft bows had no lethality to the soldiers of the Xiaoqi Battalion. There were only a few unlucky guys in the entire Xiaoqi Battalion who were frightened by their horses being shot and fell down.

Most of the Xiaoqi battalion didn't care about the Huns' bows and arrows at all.

This scene was seen by King Donghu, which made him extremely frightened. No wonder the Han army was only a quarter of them, but they still dared to take the initiative. They were really capable.

At this time, King Donghu felt bad about his fate. Could it be that they were going to be defeated again.

(End of this chapter)