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

Chapter 280, Battle of Pingcheng and the Huns’ response
On June 27, the fourth year of the Han Dynasty, the Huns camped.

After a brief confrontation with the Han army, Mao Dun summoned all the leaders of the Huns' tribes to discuss how to deal with the Han armored cavalry.

King Hunxie was the first to say: "The iron armor of the Han people is not invincible. Our army's battle axes, maces, and meteor hammers can kill the Han people. If we hadn't been unprepared this time, the battle axes equipped in the army would , there are too few heavy weapons such as maces and meteor hammers, so I, the Huns warriors, may not lose so miserably.”

Mao Dun nodded and said: "King Hunxie is right, the Han people's armor also has flaws. In the future, heavy weapons will have to be used to deal with such armored soldiers."

King Loufan also said: "Our army must also learn from the Han people's cavalry equipment. Although it cannot improve riding skills, it can greatly increase the strength of the cavalry. This time, our Huns warriors were bullied by the Han people with new equipment. When we also equip it, Come back and fight again."

Zang Yan rolled his eyes when he heard this. If you say you can make up for this equipment advantage, you can make up for it. Where can the Huns equip themselves with iron armor? Moreover, all soldiers who can wield maces are warriors among the Xiongnu. Such people are rare among the Xiongnu tribe.

"Report, Chanyu, are the Han cavalry chasing us?"

King Hunxie and others were shocked and stood up immediately. They did not expect that Fan Kuai and his ten thousand people would dare to take the initiative to kill them.

But Mao Dun said calmly: "Don't worry, our army has more than 100,000 Xiongnu warriors, and the Han people will not dare to rush over even if they have armored soldiers."

King Hunxie said worriedly: "That said, we have to guard against it. With this cavalry outside, we can't attack Mayi with all our strength. And there are 2 troops in Mayi city. We, the Huns warriors, can only fight with all our might." Even with all their efforts, it was difficult to capture Mayi, and the Han Emperor was not in the city, so Shanyu's subordinates thought it was time for our army to retreat. "

King Loufan also said: "Chanyu, this time we went south to know the strength of the Han army and obtained the equipment of the Han army. The Han Emperor was also scared away by us. Our strategy of deterring the Han people has been achieved. Continuing to fight will only be a waste of warriors’ lives, so we’d better retreat.”

King Lou Fan opened his eyes and told lies, but no leader of the Huns tribe in the big tent refuted because they did not want to continue the fight.

They couldn't take down the 20 soldiers in Mayi, but the Han Emperor mobilized an army of and was rushing towards Mayi. If the main force of the Han army appeared, they might not be able to escape.

Mao Dun looked at Mayi City. The Huns' cavalry had finally arrived here, but they retreated without firing an arrow. He felt that it was extremely detrimental to his reputation. He thought about attacking Mayi a few times to save a little bit of his reputation.

"Report, Chanyu, Pingcheng was attacked by the Han army, King Zhelan asked for help." A Tanma rushed in panting.

Mao Dun stood up solemnly and said: "Retreat immediately and support Pingcheng."

Again, Yanmen County is a basin with mountains on all sides. There are only two roads that can enter Yanmen County. One is from the direction of Pingcheng where Maodun and the others entered, and the other is from the direction of Pianguan, but Pianguan has Even if Maodun did not go, the garrison of Yunzhong County knew that the Yunzhong County soldiers would definitely block the direction of Pianguan at this time, waiting for him to get into the ambush of the Han army, so the back route to Pingcheng was the only way for the Huns. path of retreat.

"As ordered!"

After Mao Dun's order was issued, the entire Huns camp became commotion. The leaders of each tribe ordered their troops to quickly pack their luggage and then march towards Pingcheng in the north.

The words were divided into two parts. Li Shang, who was on the tower, was lying on the gap in the female wall, observing every move in the Huns camp with a telescope.

"Not to mention, this thing is really a weapon in the army. With this telescope, I can clearly see every move in the Huns camp." Li Shang said excitedly.

The Huns' camp was 6-7 miles away from Mayi. Even from this distance, Li Shang and the others could only vaguely see the Huns' camp. However, after Li Shang had this pair of telescopes, they could see the Huns It can be said that he understands people's movements very clearly.

Chen Chen said helplessly: "Sheriff, at least let the general take a look."

Compared with Li Shang who had a telescope, Chen Chen could only vaguely see the Huns camp. He was also very curious about the telescope in Li Shang's hand, but no matter what he said, Li Shang refused to give him the telescope to look at. One glance.

Li Shang said: "You are not the commander-in-chief of the army. Why do you need a telescope? Moreover, this telescope is a treasure. Even His Majesty doesn't have many of them. What if you break it? I can't even afford to pay for it."

Li Shang was very precious to the telescope in his hands and would not let anyone else handle it. In order to prevent the telescope from breaking, they hung the telescope on their chests with ropes. It was such a military product that Li Shang was forced to play it. A luxury item like a pearl necklace.

At this time, Li Shang observed the changes in the Huns' camp and said: "The Huns are leaving the camp, and the entire army is ready for battle."

"Chen Jianjun, go and guard the east side."

"No," Chen Chen said immediately. Then he ran towards the east wall of Mayi.

But soon Li Shang discovered something was wrong. After the Huns' cavalry left the camp, they did not go south to attack Mayi City, nor did they go west to attack Fan Kuai's cavalry brigade. Instead, the Huns' cavalry headed north. This is not true. It looks like an attack, but it seems like a retreat.

Li Shang was not sure, so he waited for another half an hour. By this time, the Huns' camp was almost empty, and the main force of the Huns was indeed heading north. It had formed a long dragon, and the leading troops of the Huns were even more. Disappeared from Li Shang's sight.

At the same time, Fan Kuai and his personal guards rode their horses to the gate of Mayi City and shouted: "Prefect Li."

"it's here."

Fan Kuai said: "The Huns seem to be retreating. Should we take the initiative to attack?"

Li Shang hesitated and asked: "Could this be a trick of the Huns? They want to lure the general north and then surround him. Although the armored cavalry is powerful, there are only 5000 cavalry, while the Huns have hundreds of thousands. "

Fan Kuai said anxiously: "What if it's not a strategy, but the Huns want to escape? The 10 Huns army fled to the desert. It will be difficult for me, a big man, to annihilate them again."

Li Shang said: "But there are only 2 infantry in Mayi City. It is too late for the cavalry to pursue the Huns. And the general's cavalry is too small. If we pursue them rashly, we will easily be surrounded by the Huns."

Fan Kuai said: "I chased after them and restrained the Huns' cavalry. Governor Li told the emperor about the situation here and asked the emperor to lead the army to pursue them."

Li Shang thought for a moment and said, "Captain Fan, be careful."

Fan Kuai said: "Someone will pay attention."

Then Li Shang wrote a battle report on what happened on the battlefield, handed it to his personal guard, and asked him to report to Yanmen Pass quickly.

Fan Kuai came to his army and shouted: "The Huns want to escape. The whole army obeys a certain order and hunts down the Huns."

"The Huns are being hunted." The soldiers from Xiaoqi Camp and Tunqi Camp shouted excitedly.

Yanmen County, Pingcheng.

King Zhelan shouted: "Be careful not to let the enemy rush onto the city wall, block them."

At this time, King Zhelan was extremely embarrassed. When Mao Dun saw that the vanguard was defeated by the Han army and the morale of the Zhelan tribe was affected, he let the Zhelan tribe stay in Pingcheng. This not only restored the morale of these people, but also preserved a retreat for the army. Mao Dun This arrangement unexpectedly became a life-saving straw for the Huns.

King Zhelan thought this was a good thing, but he did not expect that the Han army would actually attack Pingcheng, hoping to cut off the Huns' retreat.

What surprised King Zhelan even more was that they were attacked by another armored cavalry.

When he saw these armored cavalry, he didn't even think about shrinking the entire army into Pingcheng. Even though he knew that the Huns were not good at defending the city, he didn't want to fight with these armored cavalry in the field. It would definitely lead to death. They still have a slight strength advantage in the city. He does not believe that the Han army can conquer Pingcheng with three times the enemy's strength.

But the process of siege made King Zhelan extremely embarrassed. The Huns were not good at siege, let alone defending the city.

After the Han army's armored soldiers rested for a day and built hundreds of ladders, the armored cavalry divided into three groups to attack Pingcheng. King Zhelan had to divide the army into three groups to resist the Han army's attack.

The Han army formed assault teams again and again, and took turns passing through the west city of Pingcheng. The Hun soldiers, who were not good at defending the city, made the city defense shaky. The Han army attacked the city wall several times, but King Zhelan personally led the guards, regardless of casualties. It was a heavy blow, but they fought tenaciously and tenaciously to barely hold on to the city wall. The eyes of the soldiers on both sides were red with bloodshed. The Huns used axes to attack and pushed the Han troops off the city wall, killing them together. It can be said that they did everything they could to kill the Han troops. The Han army drove down the city wall. The corpses of soldiers from both sides were everywhere on the city walls, and the strong smell of blood floated around the battlefield. The battle in Kongping City was unprecedentedly tragic.

The Huns were obviously the ones defending the city, but their losses were even greater than those of the Han army. Almost every 4-5 Huns warriors died in exchange for one Han soldier. If this ratio continued, the Zhelan tribe would be wiped out sooner or later.

"Dang, Dang, Dang!" came the sound of the Han army withdrawing their troops.

King Zhelan breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down on the tower. Then he looked in the direction of Mayi and secretly said, "Chanyu, you have to come back quickly, otherwise we won't be able to hold on."

The words are divided into two ends, the Han army camp.

Army Commander Ma Chaiwu said anxiously: "Captain, the Huns don't know how to defend the city at all. They don't even have the equipment to defend the city. They only know how to block it. If you give it a certain hour, you can conquer Pingcheng. Why are you asking for money to withdraw your troops?" "

Wang Qiang said helplessly: "Even if you are given one day, you will not be able to capture Pingcheng. There are more than 10,000 Huns in Pingcheng. Naturally, we are not afraid of the Huns in the field, but it is extremely difficult to attack the city and win."

Among the cavalry battalions, Chai Wu's martial arts was the highest. He was the main force in the attack on Pingcheng this time. He lived up to expectations and attacked Pingcheng many times. However, the Huns also knew the significance of Pingcheng to them. Even if King Zhelan died together, , but also to drive Chai Wu and others out of the city.

Chai Wu who attacked the city may not know this. Wang Qiang, who was at the rear, could see clearly. To be honest, he was also shocked by the Huns. This was the first time he saw other armies besides the Han army with such an army that was determined to die. There is also this spirit of sacrifice.

Seeing the Huns working so hard, he knew that this Pingcheng would be difficult to conquer. Moreover, he did not want to waste his soldiers on the siege. His armored cavalry were indestructible weapons in the field and could not be wasted on the city.

The attack on Pingcheng alone had already caused thousands of casualties to the cavalry battalion. If they continued their attack, even if they captured Pingcheng, they would not be able to withstand Maodun's subsequent counterattack. Since they could not stop the main force of the Huns, they attacked fiercely. Pingcheng would be meaningless.

Chai Wu realized Wang Qiang's thoughts and said angrily: "This Mao Dun is truly a coward on the grassland. He actually left tens of thousands of people behind him. He has no courage at all."

Wang Qiang said calmly: "Don't worry, the Huns can't escape. Your Majesty plans to go deep into the desert to deal with the Huns this time. It will be on the battlefield behind that my armored cavalry will make contributions."

This is also the reason why he does not want to waste his armored cavalry in siege battles. Once in the desert, the Huns will have no way to resist the attack of his armored cavalry.

In this Northern Expedition to the Huns, the entire Han army only had 5 cavalry, and the armored cavalry only had the emperor's heroic cavalry battalion and their armored battalion. They would be the main force in the subsequent battles.

June 28, the fourth year of the Han Dynasty.

Lou Fan's army began to rush to Pingcheng.

Wang Qiang was worried that his army would be attacked from two sides by the Huns, so he retreated to Baishan Mountain outside Pingcheng to set up camp.

In the afternoon, Mao Dun led the main force of the Huns back to Pingcheng.

When King Zhelan saw Mao Dun, he knelt down excitedly and said, "I thought I wouldn't be able to see you Shanyu this time."

The Battle of Pingcheng between the Han and Huns was extremely fierce. The Han side suffered more than a thousand casualties, while the Xiongnu side also suffered more than 5000 casualties, with losses exceeding %. If not for the defense of the city, the Zhelan tribe would have collapsed long ago.

Mao Dun said calmly: "How many people are there in the Han army?"

King Zhelan said: "The 5000-armored battalion has already retreated to Baishan Mountain after seeing Shanyu's main force."

But Mao Dun was shocked and said: "Another 5000 armored battalion soldiers?"

Did the Han Emperor's armor really cost nothing? It already cost tens of thousands of armors. Even if the Xiongnu clan sold them, they wouldn't be worth so much.

The leaders of other large Xiongnu tribes are already sweating. 5000 armored cavalry can already defeat the Huns. As for the armored cavalry, they have no idea how to withstand this torrent of steel. Just imagine tens of thousands of armored cavalry charging. The scene made their legs numb.

King Loufan said anxiously: "Chanyu, we must retreat to the desert immediately. We cannot fight head-on with the Han people."

Mao Dun hesitated and said: "If the Han emperor continues to pursue the people into the desert, how should we, the Xiongnu, respond? The Han emperor has summoned an army of 20 people. Obviously he does not just want to pile them up at the border fortress."

King Hunxie also said: "We will retreat to the royal court. If the Han dare to continue to pursue us, we will avoid the Han's armored cavalry and attack the Han's logistics army. No matter how rich the Han emperor is, he cannot kill every soldier." They are all equipped with a set of iron armor, and we will attack specifically on the Han people's weaknesses."

In these thousands of years, the grassland peoples have always been weak, and there are few shining moments like Quanrong who can break through the capital of the Central Plains dynasty. The grassland countries in the Central Plains have been annexed for hundreds of years during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The grassland peoples have retreated to deserts where farming peoples cannot take root before they have a stable habitat.

For thousands of years, the grassland peoples have always been weak, which has also allowed them to form a set of strategies and tactics for the weak to deal with the strong, which is guerrilla warfare. The grassland peoples rarely fight head-on against the Central Plains dynasties, but more often engage in guerrilla warfare. No one would feel ashamed if they retreated if they couldn't defeat them.

Mao Dun said: "The whole army returned to the royal court, and at the same time sent envoys to notify all the Xiongnu tribes in Monan and let them move to Mobei. Those who could not move would kill all their animals and throw the dead animals into the river. Let the Han The army will starve to death and die of thirst, but they will not be able to get a single cow or sheep from my desert."

"promise!"

After taking a short rest in Pingcheng, Mao Dun quickly led the Huns army to retreat towards the royal court.

At the same time, the Maodun cavalry were also scattered in the grassland, notifying the tribes in the grassland to retreat out of Monan to guard against the attack of the Han people.

The words are divided into two parts.

Fan Kuai also led tens of thousands of cavalry to Baishan Mountain to join Wang Qiang's cavalry battalion.

Together they had 9000 cavalry, including more than armored cavalry. This force was enough to sweep across the desert.

So Chai Wu said excitedly: "Our combined strength is enough to severely injure the Huns. We cannot just watch the Huns escape and return to the desert. Otherwise, if our army wants to severely injure or even annihilate the Huns, we will have to pay dozens of times the price."

Yu Long, the commander of the Tunqi Camp, also said excitedly: "After experiencing many defeats, the Huns' morale has plummeted and their people are panicked. We will not give them any chance to breathe. We should immediately launch a fierce offensive with our powerful armored cavalry." As a vanguard, we can definitely defeat 100,000 Huns cavalry. If we want to eliminate the main force of the Huns, the entire Monan will belong to our Han Dynasty. This opportunity is extremely rare.

Cui Yan also followed up and said: "These 100,000 Huns have unprecedented military achievements. They are enough for me to wait for the title of general. Commander, please quickly order the pursuit?"

Wang Qiang frowned and said: "Your Majesty taught us that we must first establish an invincible position in a war. This is the way to fight. Our army marched continuously and stormed Pingcheng for two days. The losses of the troops have reached thousands. Soldiers They are all exhausted. The number of Huns is almost ten times that of ours. Even if the soldiers of the Iron Armor Battalion are powerful, it is difficult to defeat ten times the enemy. If we are not careful in this battle, our army may be wiped out. Overturned.

Yu Long said disdainfully: "The Huns have limited fighting power. They have always been cowardly. Mao Dun is also a timid and fearful person who is greedy for life and afraid of death. Even if they have an army of 100,000, they are no match for our army."

But Wang Qiang disagreed: "Although the Huns have poor combat effectiveness, their fighting will is not bad. Our army attacked Pingcheng for two consecutive days, but even though they caused heavy damage to the Huns, their morale still did not collapse."

Wang Qiang was a senior captain. Seeing that Yu Long couldn't convince him, he could only look at Fan Kuai, the man with the highest official position, and asked: "Coach, what's your opinion?"

Fan Kuai thought for a moment and said: "We will pursue the Huns first, and at the same time report the situation here to the world and ask the emperor for a decision."

Fan Kuai led more than 10,000 cavalry to attack the Huns' hundreds of thousands of cavalry, but Fan Kuai still could not make up his mind. He simply compromised and led his soldiers to limit the Huns' escape speed, while also providing tactical guidance to the emperor.

Wang Qiang nodded and said, "What Commander Fan said makes sense."

(End of this chapter)