I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 422: Despicable and Cunning Han People

An hour later.

Tiefu, the King of Yourizhu, led a large Xiongnu army to besiege Jiaohe City.

"Open the city gates and surrender the city, otherwise I will massacre the entire city after I capture it!"

Until now, Tiefu has not yet understood the real situation in Jiaohe City.

The only thing that can be confirmed is that those miscellaneous kings and the two thousand cavalrymen who went in with them are probably in danger now. Therefore, regardless of whether the Gushi Kingdom surrenders or not, a massacre is inevitable.

Otherwise, the remaining miscellaneous kings and their tribesmen might not obey, and his prestige in the right wing of the Xiongnu would be greatly damaged, making it difficult for him to continue to control the army.

But how could he know?

The people of Gushi in the city had already witnessed the brutality of the "Huns" and were therefore tied tightly to chariots by Liu Ju using his three-step dictatorship. It would have been better if he didn't mention the massacre of the city. As soon as he mentioned it, it immediately evoked the horrific memories of the people of Gushi.

Even without Sima Qian and Su Wu's instructions, the people of Gushi pretending to be the generals of Gushi on the tower had already shouted to the outside of the city:
"Do you think the people of Gushi are all fools? We have been fooled once and we won't be fooled a second time. If you are not afraid of death, come and attack the city. The people of Gushi swear to fight the Xiongnu to the end!"

"?"

Tiefu couldn't help but feel even more confused, and the group of miscellaneous kings beside him were also very puzzled.

When did the people of Gushi become so courageous that they not only dared to ambush the Xiongnu cavalry, but also fought a bloody battle with the Xiongnu to the end. Who gave them the courage?

I don't understand.

Completely confused.

However, Tiefu also heard some doubts in the previous words, so he patiently asked loudly:

"Master, have you been bewitched by the Han army and become their running dog?"

He had to figure out what was going on before he could find a way to break this situation.

Attacking a city is ultimately the worst option.

The Xiongnu cavalry were not good at attacking cities, not to mention that Jiaohe City was notoriously easy to defend but difficult to attack. In addition, Jiaohe City seemed to be equipped with powerful crossbows from the Han Dynasty, which would only increase the difficulty of the siege.

If the Gushi garrison cannot be disintegrated from within, the Xiongnu army will inevitably suffer unimaginable losses.

Therefore, his initial decision was not to attack the city, but to surround it without attacking.

The longer an isolated and helpless city like this is besieged, the lower the morale of the defenders will be, the more panic they will feel, and the more opportunities there will be to take advantage of.

At this point Sima Qian and Su Wu knew it was impossible to repeat the same trick.

This can be seen from the positions of Tiele and a group of Xiongnu kings. They are all stationed outside the range of powerful crossbows, and even the large crossbows on the city wall cannot reach them.

Under such circumstances, even if they pretended to surrender again.

Tiefu would also certainly ask the soldiers and civilians in the city to lay down their weapons and leave the city first, instead of rushing into the city and being ambushed like those miscellaneous kings before.

So the two of them exchanged glances, and decided not to continue pretending, and then climbed up the city gate and talked directly to Tiefu:

"Only the Xiongnu regard Gu Shi as a running dog. We, the Han, are a righteous army and only regard Gu Shi as a brother and friend. Since Gu Shi is determined to fight the Xiongnu to the death, we, the Han, will accompany you to the end and fight to the death!"

While talking.

"Shh!"

The large yellow crossbow covered with linen suddenly opened, and several arrows were fired at once, killing the Xiongnu messenger who had moved slightly forward, and even the horse under his seat was shot dead. As soon as these words were spoken, the winner was immediately determined.

No matter how the Han people viewed Gu Shi, her realm was much better than that of the Huns. When Gu Shi heard this, he felt a warm feeling in his heart.

Who wants to be a lackey when you can be brothers and friends?

We have to admit that Sima Qian was a man who had learned debate from a great Confucian scholar. The Huns, who had a lower cultural literacy, could not match him, and his moral high ground would definitely not be taken away from him.

"Sure enough!"

Tiefu was so angry when he saw this that his horse became restless.
"The Han people are cunning and fickle. It is not advisable to say more. Besiege the city!"

"Jiaohe City is isolated and without help. As long as our army besieges it for three months, your food and grass will definitely run out. I wonder how long you can hold out!"

"Listen, people in the city. This siege is only to wipe out the Han army. You have been deceived by the Han people. The Xiongnu don't blame you. If you surrender before the city is broken, I can show you mercy and only kill the Han army. If you still refuse to change, don't blame us Xiongnu for being merciless!"

"Hu! Hu! Hu!"

As if to boost Tiefu's morale, as soon as he finished speaking, nearly 20,000 Xiongnu cavalrymen raised their weapons and shouted loudly, and their momentum instantly rose a lot.

After waiting for the voices to fade away, Sima Qian began to bluff again:
"Three months is not enough. This time our army has plenty of food, fodder and arrows. The soldiers and civilians in Jiaohe City are united, so a year is enough!"

"My Han army can hold out for a year. You have come from afar. The city is full of houses and there is still shade. But you have to set up camp under the scorching sun. Can you hold out for a year?"

"Don't wait until our great army arrives and kills you, leaving you without weapons and armor, and unable to find a way back to Mount Yanran!"

"..."

When these words were spoken again, not only did they encourage the threatened people of Gushi in the city, but they also made some Huns outside the city feel a little shocked.

One year is definitely not enough.

The reason why the various Xiongnu tribes rarely engaged in a stalemate with the Han army and usually just robbed and left was also related to their nomadic customs.

For them, every grazing season with abundant water and lush grass is critical. Once missed, it will be an irreparable loss for each tribe, and people may even starve to death.

Tiefu was forced to immediately issue an order to stabilize the army's morale:
"Send a message to the entire army. Do not listen to the nonsense of the despicable and cunning Han people. The Han army only arrived at the Tianshan gap more than half a month ago. It was only a few days ago that they reached Jiaohe City. How could they have had time to transport a year's worth of food, fodder and arrows?"

"This man is just bluffing. In three months at most, Jiaohe City will run out of food and grass. The Han army will also find it difficult to mobilize a large number of cavalry from the Central Plains to rescue within three months. This city will definitely fall!"

After issuing this military order, Tiefu also realized that debating with this Han Chinese would do more harm than good.

He simply stopped shouting at people in the city to attack their will, and ordered the entire army to set up camp on the spot. He also sent a small number of scouts to explore the terrain upstream of Jiaohe City to see if there was any possibility of a water attack.

This is amazing.

A Hun who was not only good at riding and shooting, but also learned the tactics of siege. Among the Hun kings, he was at least considered a talented general like Chu Yunfei.

But what he didn't expect was.

The spy had only been out for a moment when he returned, his face full of shock and out of breath:
"Report! My king, a large number of Han troops are surrounding us from three sides, and they are less than ten miles away from our camp!"

"What did you say?!"

Tiefu's butt barely got warm before he jumped up again.
"Where are the spies who went to investigate the breach in Tianshan? Why didn't they report back on the Han army's movement?"

"How many Han troops are there? There's no rough number!"

(End of this chapter)