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

Chapter 373: The Han Emperor Faction and the War Begin

On the 15th day of the seventh month, the eighth year of the Han Dynasty, in the south of the desert, at Pinglu Fort

The sky was like a dome, covering the fields, and the hot summer made the grass grow very lush.

From time to time, cavalrymen from the Pinglu Fort military camp would conduct cavalry drills on the grassland. Some cavalrymen used the Xiongnu's tactics, while others used the Han cavalry tactics. Under the command of officers from both sides, the two cavalrymen kept changing their formations.

"Woo-woo-woo!" the horn sounded.

To mark the end of today's cavalry drill, the soldiers controlled their horses, slowed down, untied their helmets, poured water over themselves with their water bags to cool down, and then drank in big gulps.

At this time, Li Wei, the commander of the Han cavalry, scolded: "I have told you so many times that you must change this bad habit. The water in the desert may be polluted by the Huns. The boiled water in your leather bags may be your life-saving water. You can waste it here, but will you still waste it in the desert?"

After being scolded by the village chief, the soldiers smiled embarrassedly and never dared to waste water resources so wantonly again.

Yes, now the Huns have begun to fortify their walls and clear the fields, and from time to time they would leave a dead sheep or cattle in the south of the desert, polluting the water source from upstream. So the northern desert army is now starting to focus on drinking water hygiene.

The people of Pinglubao have the habit of drinking boiled water.

This custom was first brought to Pinglu Fort by the Han army, but ordinary herdsmen did not have this habit. After all, there was not much fuel in the desert environment. They usually cooked with cow dung, so where could they get fuel to boil boiled water?

Later, after Ouyang Xun came to Pinglu Fort and met Confucius, he first promoted boiled water in a low voice. In order to make the herdsmen and the people pay attention to it, Ouyang Xun brought a microscope and asked students and parents to look at the parasites and microorganisms in the raw water whenever he had time. Anyone who has seen such a scene once would be afraid when thinking that there are so many small insects in the water they drink.

It happened that a coal mine was discovered in Pingcheng, and the price of transporting it to Pinglubao was not too high. Honeycomb coal began to become popular in Pinglubao. With cheap fuel, low-priced iron kettles, and the rapid wealth of the local people, boiled water began to become popular in Pinglubao.

At this time, a rough soldier asked: "Captain, when are we going to attack the Huns?"

"It will be soon. When the governor comes back, we may have to go to war."

The soldier said excitedly: "We must kill the evil Maodun and let the Xiongnu herdsmen return to the Han Dynasty and become the most loyal servants of the emperor."

The soldier's name was Zhao Zhong. He had a round face battered by wind and sand, with several knife scars on it. He used to be a cavalryman of the Huns.

Zhao Zhong was born in an unknown grassland in the desert. His parents were not nobles. His life was like that of most ordinary Huns. He was a herder when he was young and followed the tribal leader to fight when he grew up. During his growing up, his father died in battle with the leader and his mother died in a white disaster. Experiences like his were the life of an ordinary Hun.

Death was almost a daily occurrence for the Huns. In the desert, everyone had to fight for their life against the sky. He struggled to survive until he grew up and became a Hun cavalryman.

During his youth, the Huns were extremely lucky. The chaos in the Central Plains reduced their survival pressure, and they also took the opportunity to plunder a lot of money and food. It was during those years that Zhao Zhong married a woman and had children.

But soon his good days were over. The war in the Central Plains ended, and their acts of looting the Han Dynasty aroused the wrath of the Han emperor, who led hundreds of thousands of troops to the north to fight against the Huns. They were badly defeated and lost tens of thousands of young and strong men. Even the most fertile grasslands south of the desert were occupied.

This was an unbearable burden for the Huns. That winter, his wife and children starved to death in the wind and snow, and the home he had built with great difficulty was destroyed.

Zhao Zhong was extremely sad about his wife's death, but at this time the Han people invaded the south of the desert and captured Zhao Zhong and their tribe.

He thought he was dead.

However, he did not expect that this would be the time when his luck turned. When he arrived at Pinglu Fort, he was not killed nor was he taken as a slave.

A Han teacher told them that the Han and the Huns were blood brothers and that the two sides should not fight. As long as the two sides traded goods, they could live happily together.

But the evil Hun nobles, Maodun, for their own rights and status, in order to oppress and exploit the Huns, turned our brothers into enemies. The Hun nobles, led by Maodun, are the real enemies of the Han and Hun peoples. The Hun herdsmen must unite with the Han and overthrow the evil Hun nobles.

At that time, the Han Chinese teacher taught in this way, and Zhao Zhong also pretended to hate Maodun. The herdsmen spent their whole lives learning how to save their lives, and they were very proficient in such things.

Soon the governor released him and generously gave him a house and 1 acres of fertile grassland. He also lent him dozens of sheep, five cows and two war horses through the relationship with the Mo Nan Trading Company.

When Zhao Zhong saw his own pasture and his own flock of sheep (although they were small and he still had to pay off his debts), he burst into tears. This was the first time he had his own property. Maodun Chanyu had not done this, but the Han people had. His original three views were completely shattered.

It turns out that what the Master said was true. We Huns are also the emperor's subjects. The Han emperor is much better than Maodun Chanyu. He has never possessed so much wealth.

Damn Maodun, if he hadn't stopped me, the emperor would have marched into the desert, I would have had pastures and sheep, and my wife and children would not have starved to death. From that day on, he hated the Xiongnu nobles so much and regarded Maodun as his greatest enemy.

In the next few years, under the guidance of Han officials, Zhao Zhong learned how to build green storage kilns and how to graze sheep in pens. Under the guidance of the teacher, he learned how to bargain with unscrupulous businessmen and fight for his own interests.

In a few years, he went from being penniless to having his granary filled with grain from the Han Dynasty. His sheep flock increased fivefold. Last year, he found a new wife (who had escaped from the Huns), started a new family, and lived a life of a shepherd and a weaver.

This year he had another son who was white and fat. He now had a big house with a kang, and his home was full of food. He had hundreds of cattle and sheep, and now he was not worried at all that his wife and children would starve to death.

The sharp contrast between life in Han and Xiongnu made him a loyal supporter of the Han emperor. It was because the Han people could live such a good life that the Xiongnu nobles led by Maodun wanted to prevent them from living a good life.

He now holds all the hatred for the deaths of his parents and wife against Maodun and the others. When the Han Dynasty decides to march north to the desert, he is the first to sign up for the army. He wants to avenge his relatives.

In Pinglu Fort, almost all the people are from the Han emperor faction like Zhao Zhong. The brainwashing in terms of language is not worth mentioning, but the brainwashing in terms of material is the truth.

The morale of the Xiongnu Han Emperor faction, such as Zhao Zhong, was even higher. They wanted to go to the desert to rescue their people and kill Maodun and his men even more.

In their view, all the death and hunger in the desert were brought by the Xiongnu nobles like Maodun. If they had not rebelled against the emperor's rule, they would have lived a rich and warm life long ago.

Not far from the regular military camp of Pinglu Fort, there is a relatively messy military camp. These are the volunteer cavalrymen from Mo Nan. They intend to follow the Han army to achieve great things.

Pinglu Fort only recruited 5 Han cavalry, which made many herdsmen who wanted to serve the Han emperor extremely disappointed, but they soon thought of their own way. They became volunteers under the guidance of the village teacher, and then wrote blood oaths to serve the Han emperor. Their actions made Fan Kuai very embarrassed. After thinking about it, he decided to give them some food and second-rate weapons and equipment, which would be considered as an extra force when the war started.

July 16, the eighth year of the Han Dynasty.

Han Xin led the Han officials of Yanmen County to Pinglu Fort and immediately summoned all the senior officers of the Mo Nan Dudu Fu to discuss the matter.

Han Xin looked at his deputy general Fan Kuai and asked, "How are the preparations of each unit?"

Fan Kuai said: "5 elite cavalry can go into battle at any time."

After thinking for a while, Fan Kuai asked, "Should the 30,000 volunteers from Pinglu Fort be taken to Mobei as well?"

Han Xin shook his head and said, "Quality is more important than quantity when sending troops to Mobei. With an additional 30,000 cavalry, the court will have to increase its food and fodder by nearly double. The Mobei Protectorate simply cannot afford such a large consumption."

Han Xin looked at Li Shang and said, "I'll leave this group of volunteers to you as a supplement to the infantry's mobile forces."

Li Shang said with a smile: "With this cavalry, if the Xiongnu dare to come to the south of the desert, I will make sure they never return."

Han Xin said: "Li Taishou, your main task is to deliver food and supplies to the front line safely and quickly. Doing this well is a great achievement. As for how many Xiongnu people you kill, it is not your main task.

Li Shang said: "I understand. I will not delay the Northern Expedition."

Then Han Xin looked at Deng Shuo, the military supervisor sent by the court, bowed and said, "Does the military supervisor have anything else to say?" Han Xin's troops, not counting the volunteers, had expanded to 35 people. According to the system of one military supervisor for each Han army garrison, nearly 4000 military supervisors alone were needed. The existing military supervisor system could no longer meet the needs of the Mo Nan Protectorate.

This time, the Han imperial court conducted a short-term training for the two camps of imperial guards as military supervisors, asked them to memorize military rules and regulations, and taught them how to calculate military merits, thus training a group of military supervisors in a very short period of time.

When Han Xin's Northern Expedition Army began to be formed, Deng Shuo took more than 4,000 military supervisors to start establishing the military supervisory system of the Mobei Protectorate.

Deng said, "You fought bravely, and I and other military supervisors will record your achievements and submit them to the emperor. As long as you can make great contributions, the court will not hesitate to reward you with the position of princes. I can tell you in advance that if you can destroy the Xiongnu, the emperor will not only grant you the territory of the desert, but also the territory of Nanyang. That is a place full of gold, and such opportunities are rare."

"The emperor is wise!" the generals present cheered.

Even though they had heard of the name of the Spice Islands in the north, it could even be said that more spices were used in the south of the desert, because spices and barbecue went better together. For the officers of the Han Dynasty, Southeast Asia was a place ten times better than the desert, and was not even inferior to the Han mainland.

July 19th, the eighth year of the Han Dynasty.

Han Xin led 5 cavalry out of Pinglu Fort and headed towards Mobei.

When Li Shang, the governor of Yanmen County, saw the mighty army heading for this unprecedented expedition, he secretly said that the commander-in-chief must win.

"Beat the war drums to send the army off!"

"Boom boom boom!"

The sound of war drums was so powerful that it shook the heavens and the earth. The fierce sound of war drums could be heard for decades.

Han Xin heard the sound of war drums and shouted, "The Han will surely win!"

Fan Kuai beside him also shouted: "The Han will win!"

5 cavalrymen also shouted: "The Han will win!"

The eighth year of the Han Dynasty, July 19th, Jiuyuan County.

After the Mo Nan Army went into battle, General Zhenbei Ji Xin led 50,000 cavalrymen, broke out of the Hetao area, and quickly headed towards the territory of King Loufan.

The entire southern desert was shaken, and the Loufan people trembled in fear when facing the huge Han army.

"How many troops did the Han people bring?" King Loufan asked anxiously, looking at the map of the desert.

The scout said in panic: "There are 5 cavalry in the vanguard, and there are 30 infantry following."

In fact, unlike the scouts' reports, King Loufan also knew that the Han army had been preparing for this war for half a year. The food and fodder in Jiuyuan County were piled up like mountains, and all kinds of war supplies were piled up in the major cities of Jiuyuan County. Hundreds of thousands of Han troops doubled the population of Jiuyuan County. He had already found out all this clearly before the war.

But he still had a glimmer of hope, thinking that the Han people would not be so crazy as to send hundreds of thousands of troops into the desert.

But now it seems that the Emperor of the Han Dynasty is even crazier than the First Emperor. He is leading hundreds of thousands of troops into the desert. Do you want to kill so many people in a place like the desert where only grass grows? You Han people are all robbing. The First Emperor was not so crazy back then.

Guan Yun, the eldest son of the Loufan King, said in panic: "Father, the Han army that has entered the desert now is twice as large as ours. How should we fight this battle?"

The other Loufan generals also looked at the King of Loufan with fear. These generals had fought with Meng Tian in the past. In that battle, the Huns were driven out of the Hetao area, and the Huns lost their best pastures. Because of that battle, the Loufan tribe was reduced by half, and the current situation looks even more dangerous than before.

After all, back then the entire Xiongnu tribe faced the 35-strong army of the Qin Dynasty, but now it is just the Loufan tribe facing Han troops. The gap in military strength between the two sides is more than ten times, and there is no chance of fighting at all.

Although King Loufan was also very frightened in his heart, he knew that he was the backbone of everyone. If he panicked, the Loufan tribe might really disappear.

He shouted, "Quietly, why are you so flustered? Send someone to report our situation to Maodun Chanyu and ask for help from the royal court."

Then he looked at his eldest son Guan Yun and said, "Go to the Han army camp and find your uncle. Ask him to ask General Ji Xin whether our Loufan tribe can remain neutral in this war. We are not Xiongnu people."

The Loufan people were a very distinctive ethnic group. Half of them were herders and the other half were farmers. After being driven out of the Central Plains by the Zhao people during the Warring States Period, the ethnic group was split into two. The Loufan people who remained in the Central Plains became Zhao people, Qin people, and finally Han people, while the Loufan people who remained in the desert defected to the Xiongnu and became Xiongnu people.

A few years ago, Maodun asked King Loufan to contact relatives of the Han Dynasty in order to obtain some intelligence about the Han Dynasty. King Loufan actually contacted their relatives in the Central Plains. From that time on, King Loufan became a double agent. On the one hand, he gave the news of the Han Dynasty to Maodun, and on the other hand, he gave the news of the Huns to his relatives, betting on both sides.

King Loufan also frequently exchanged letters with Ji Xin. He flattered Ji Xin highly, expressing that the Loufan tribe was willing to live in friendship and peace with the Han Dynasty, and assured Ji Xin that he would definitely restrain the herdsmen and prevent them from harassing the Han Dynasty's territory.

Ji Xin also understood that if the Han Dynasty wanted to attack the Huns, it would take a few more years to prepare, so it did not target the Loufan tribe much, and the two sides lived in peace for a few years.

It was during this period that Guan Yun recognized an uncle from Loufan named Guan Ting. Although Guan Ting was not a high-ranking official in the Han Dynasty, he was a captain with a salary of 2000 stones, and was one of the high-ranking officials.

July 21st, Han army camp in the south of the desert.

Guan Yun found Guan Ting as an envoy, and met General Zhenbei Ji Xin with his introduction.

Guan Yun knelt down and saluted, saying, "General, my Loufan tribe is small and does not want to intervene in the war between the Han and the Xiongnu. My father is willing to remain neutral and give up the road south of the desert so as not to affect the general's war."

Ji Xin laughed when he heard this and said, "According to the intelligence I have obtained, your Loufan tribe has only over 3 people, and the entire tribe can recruit less than soldiers. With this level of strength, are you qualified to remain neutral?"

The other Han army generals looked at Guan Yun with mockery and laughed. The Loufan tribe was a small tribe of more than 100,000 people and was not even comparable to a vassal state of the Han Dynasty, yet it had the audacity to talk about neutrality.

Lieutenant Chai Wu said: "With your limited strength, you Loufan tribe are not qualified to talk about neutrality.

One is to surrender to the Han Dynasty. With the generosity of the emperor, he may give you a title and a piece of territory."

"Second, don't surrender!" Chai Wu's face darkened and he said, "Then you will be trampled to death like an ant by my Han army."

The other generals of the Han Dynasty all looked at Guan Yun with great interest. They hoped that the Loufan people would continue to resist resolutely so that they could take Loufan people's heads to establish their own achievements.

Ji Xin said: "Surrender is the only way out for your Loufan tribe. For the sake of our friendship, I can petition the emperor to give your father a low-level title and ensure that your family will have no worries about food and clothing."

Guan Yun said miserably: "General, you are known as the timely rain of the grassland, why can't you be merciful to my Loufan tribe?"

Ji Xin said: "How can we allow others to sleep soundly in a place where we lie sideways? There must be no country around the Han Dynasty that threatens the Han Dynasty. From now on, the desert belongs to us Han Dynasty. If you cannot accept this, timely rain can turn into a disaster."

"If you really want the Loufan tribe to survive, then persuade your father to surrender. Not to mention the Loufan tribe, the Xiongnu will also disappear after this battle. Giving your father the right to choose once is already my greatest kindness."

"If I still can't see your father tomorrow, I will lead the army to attack him directly." Ji Xin said firmly.

Guanyun brought Ji Xin's war declaration back. King Loufan thought about it for a long time and still did not want to leave his fate to the Han army.

He led his tribe to retreat northward. He did not want to engage in a head-on confrontation with the Han army, as he believed that he could neither win nor hide.

(End of this chapter)