I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 437 Learn from the barbarians and learn skills to control the barbarians

"..."

Wei Qing felt even more confused after hearing this.

"Hypocritical packaging" is quite "hypocritical".

Some things are indeed small but can be seen as big things. Saving a wild cat that has just given birth may seem insignificant, but the smaller the things are, the closer they seem to reality and the easier they are to resonate with the public.

Just as the best way to show a person's frugality is to describe in detail his patchwork coat that has been washed until it turns white, rather than simply saying how much money he has saved in a year.

The Han army even saved wild cats, let alone humans. Isn’t this a benevolent and righteous army?
But the "lighthouse of civilization" is a bit illusory. Wei Qing now really wants to know what the "lighthouse" is and whether it can be eaten.

However, he naturally would not ask Han Zeng and Han Ling this question, but only confirmed with them a question that he really cared about:

"Did Liu Ju say when he plans to return to the capital to report?"

"This……"

Han Zeng and Han Ling looked at each other and shook their heads in embarrassment.

"General Zhao asked once, and His Highness only said that the situation in the Western Regions is still unclear, and the Xiongnu just suffered a defeat in Gushi, so they might send troops to retaliate in the near future. It would be better to wait for some time."

"That means I won't be going back in the short term..."

Wei Qing took a breath and frowned uncontrollably again.

He seriously suspected that Liu Ju was now playing a trick of "double nurturing of the enemy to protect himself".

From all the things happening in the Western Regions, it is not difficult to see that Liu Ju had huge ambitions for the Western Regions. He was or had already established the Huns as the enemy of the entire Western Regions. Naturally, he was suspected of harboring the enemy for his own benefit, because the Huns were the premise for the existence of the "Western Alliance".

The reason why he did not return to the capital immediately to report after conquering Loulan Gushi was also the threat from the Huns.

As long as the Huns were still there, he could always use this seemingly legitimate excuse to continue staying in the Western Regions until Liu Che could no longer bear it and forcibly sent someone to replace him and then recalled him back to Chang'an.

Isn’t this “one enemy, two uses”?

He even had reason to suspect that even if Liu Che forcibly sent someone to take over, Liu Ju might not necessarily obey the imperial edict and return to the capital. After all, this bastard nephew had done many things like deceiving the emperor and violating the rules before.

If the situation develops to this point, I'm afraid something big will happen.

After all, the current situation is very different from what happened before. This time Liu Ju has the military power.

Liu Che was indeed a wise leader in the war, and he respected the principle that "a general is not bound by his sovereign's orders when on a mission abroad". Therefore, no matter who he sent to the battlefield, he would usually only point out a general direction, and then do everything he could to provide logistical support. He never interfered in the micro-management, and let the generals play freely, as long as they could win the battle.

But this does not mean that Liu Che is not sensitive to military power. On the contrary, he is more sensitive than anyone else.

Although he never interfered in other people's affairs and rarely issued decrees to command wars from a distance, once he gave an decree, the generals had to obey it resolutely. Otherwise, no matter how great their achievements were, they would never have a good ending after returning.

Therefore, if it really came to the point where Emperor Wu of Han issued an edict to summon Liu Ju back, it must have meant that he was dissatisfied with and wary of Liu Ju.

If Liu Ju dared to find an excuse to refuse at that time, the consequences would be extremely serious...

No!

This time we must not allow Liu Ju to continue his mischief!

Thinking about this in his mind, Wei Qing had secretly made up his mind that even if he had to tie Liu Ju up, he must bring him back and report to Liu Che smoothly.

Otherwise, Liu Ju had finally made such a great contribution this time, and he would probably be able to legitimately reinstate the crown prince after returning.

If they continue like this, it will probably backfire and put Liu Ju in a greater predicament, or even into a situation where he is doomed! "Do you know how long it will take for him to come back?"

Wei Qing then asked seriously again.

"In reply to the general, I can't say for sure, but His Highness has been gone for nearly a month now. If everything goes well, I think he should be back in the next few days."

Han Zeng quickly bowed and replied.

"In that case, I'll wait for him here."

Wei Qing nodded and asked again,
"By the way, where is Zhao Po Nu? As the commander of the army, why hasn't he shown up until now?"

"General Zhao is still in Gushi King City to command the war."

Han Zeng replied.

Wei Qing looked suspicious:

"Still in Gushi. Isn't the battle in Gushi over? Could it be that the Huns have really begun to gather troops and prepare to launch a revenge attack?"

"That's not the case. This time it was the Han army that took the initiative to seek a fight."

Han Zeng said honestly,
"After the great victory of the Gushi, His Highness swore in public that he would carve the names of the fallen soldiers on Mount Yanran and use Mount Yanran as a tombstone for the fallen soldiers."

"So Zhao Po Nu listened to him and led such a small number of troops into the desert?"

Wei Qing was almost laughing out of anger.

After all, Zhao Po Nu was a veteran who had followed Huo Qubing in several northern expeditions against the Huns. How could he rashly enter the desert and start a war with the Huns just because of Liu Ju's words?
Besides, this time, Zhao Po Nu only has a few usable soldiers and horses under his command. Are they enough for 5,000?

Even if we don't consider the issue of soldiers and horses, what about food and military supplies? There is a shortage of supplies in the desert. When we attacked the Huns in the north before, one cavalryman needed at least five infantrymen to transport supplies to barely get by. The losses along the way were countless. Could it be that Zhao Po Nu was unaware of these difficulties?

"Don't worry, General. This is not a conventional war."

Han Zeng added at the right time,
"Your Highness has formulated a new tactic for General Zhao, called 'Learn from the barbarians to defeat them.'"

"Your Highness said that the Xiongnu were mainly nomadic. Previously, the Xiongnu invaded the Han borders usually in the autumn and winter when the grasslands were withered, which was similar to the slack season for farming in the Han Dynasty. Therefore, they gathered the idle tribesmen from various tribes and came to plunder the Han Dynasty to enrich themselves."

"Now is the summer season with abundant water and lush grass. It is the busy time for the Xiongnu to graze their livestock in the grasslands."

"This time, King Yourizhu gathered his troops to help Gushi. He must have forcibly conscripted many able-bodied men from the surrounding tribes, leaving each tribe with insufficient power to protect itself. Now that the Xiongnu have been almost completely annihilated, it is the best time for the Han army to hunt."

"The Han army did not send out all its troops this time. It only sent out four light cavalry units of 300 men."

"These four light cavalry units only carry ten days' worth of food and grass, as well as a compass and a map of the grasslands drawn by Xiongnu captives. When they enter the grasslands, they mainly harass the nomadic Xiongnu tribes. If they can defeat a small tribe, they will slaughter all the people and sheep. In this way, they replenish their food and grass by fighting to support the war. They will return every two months and their military achievements will be determined by the number of scalps they have taken."

"If we cannot defeat a large tribe, we will mainly harass and kill the sheep, so that the Xiongnu people cannot graze their livestock in peace and have no livestock to survive the winter."

"If we find that the Xiongnu are gathering a large army to encircle and suppress us, the three hundred men can quickly break up into small groups and disappear into the grasslands and deserts, just as a training exercise."

"Anyway, His Highness said that from now on, the offensive and defensive types will change, and this kind of hunting operation will only become more frequent and more normal."

"How the Xiongnu treated the Han before, the Han will treat the Xiongnu the same way."

"The Han Dynasty has cities, passes, and the Great Wall to keep out the enemy, but the Xiongnu have nothing. If they hurt each other, the advantage will only be with the Han Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)