Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 540 Introducing the Wolf
Liu Heng looked at Bai Mo with some surprise, and asked in a low voice, "You mean the Huns?"

Bai Moqing nodded with a bitter expression, and said again: "Since the Huns were attacked by the Chu army two years ago and destroyed their lair on Langjuxu Mountain, they have split into four tribes that do not belong to each other. All of their leaders call themselves Shanyu. The largest is Gu Nuoyan, the Right Wise King of the former Xiongnu, with about [-] to [-] horsemen, occupying a large grassland next to Jiuyuan."

Zhou Guanfu said: "But Prime Minister, will the Huns agree to join forces with us?"

Bai Mo shook his head and said: "The Xiongnu and the big man are deadly enemies. Of course they will not join forces with us, but our purpose is to use the Huns to prevent Chu soldiers from directly attacking the pass from Jiuyuan, so there is no need for us to fight with the Xiongnu." Allied forces, and as long as Jiuyuan County is handed over to the Huns."

"Give Jiuyuan to the Xiongnu?" Liu Heng frowned, "What if the Huns occupy Jiuyuan, but they join forces with the Chu army to attack Guanzhong? What should we do?"

Liu Heng's worry is not unreasonable, how do you know that the state of Chu will not collude with the Xiongnu?

"Don't worry, my lord, this kind of situation will definitely not happen." Bai Mo waved his hand and said firmly, "Even when Chu was facing the armies of Han and Qi and the situation was the most difficult, Xiangzhuang, the king of Chu, did not move against him." The idea of ​​the Xiongnu joining forces shows that he is extremely afraid of the Xiongnu, so I dare to say that Chu will never join forces with the Xiongnu."

Liu Heng pondered for a moment, and then said: "If the Huns don't enter Jiuyuan, what can we do?"

"This is also impossible." Bai Mo said indifferently, "The Huns dream of taking back the Hetao Grassland in Monan. If our army voluntarily withdraws from Jiuyuan, the Huns will definitely not be able to resist the temptation to return to Hetao. It’s going to be winter, even if they know it’s a poison, the Huns will swallow it without hesitation.”

After a pause, Bai Mo said again: "Giving Jiuyuan County to the Xiongnu has two major advantages. In addition to using the Huns to resist the Northern Diao cavalry of Mengxie, it can also transfer the [-] troops stationed in Jiuyuan to other directions. , The strength of the defense lines in Shangjun, Beidi, Hanzhong, Linjin and Tongguan can be greatly enhanced."

Liu Heng said: "Let the Huns occupy Jiuyuan, Guanzhong still has the Inner Great Wall as a barrier, but if the Chu army is allowed to occupy Jiuyuan, the Inner Great Wall will definitely not be able to stop the advance of the Chu army's cavalry, and the Han Dynasty may be destroyed by then. , the two sides weighed whichever is the lesser, then according to Xiangfu's words, withdraw troops from Jiuyuan as soon as possible."

"Your Majesty is wise." Bai Mo bowed to Liu Heng, then turned around and told Zhou Guanfu and Zhou Yafu, "Champion Marquis, and Yafu, you go back and prepare separately."

"Here." The Zhou brothers bowed and took orders to go.

"Your Majesty, I'm leaving too." Bai Mo bowed to Liu Heng again, turned around and left.

Looking at the back of Bai Mo going away, Liu Heng let out a long sigh. The mountain and rain are about to come, and the building is full of wind, and he doesn't know if the Han Kingdom can survive this crisis.

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On the bank of the Nuoshui River, Gu Nuoyan was looking at the gradually withering grassland and feeling sad.

Two years ago, the Xiongnu attacked the Yue clan on a large scale, but the Chu army took advantage of it to destroy the royal court. The women and children who stayed in their lair were almost slaughtered by the Chu army, and most of the cattle, sheep and livestock were also taken away by the Chu army. The Huns who were once in great power split into four big tribes. Gu Nuoyan led more than [-] cavalry to occupy the water and grasslands around the Outer Great Wall.

Originally, with Gu Nuoyan's strength, he could completely occupy the two large expanses of water and grassland along the Yuwu River and the Lugong River, but Gu Nuoyan knew better that his tribe could only continue to weaken if he stayed there. He could only occupy the grassland along the Outer Great Wall, or There is also a chance to go south to raid grass valleys and recover by looting people from the Central Plains.

Regardless of Gu Nuoyan's command of more than [-] riders, if there are no women and children, these [-] riders will soon be exhausted in the endless melee between the tribes and the harsh and cruel living environment At that time, the Huns who once dominated the entire desert will completely disappear in the long river of history.

However, the grasslands along the Outer Great Wall are relatively barren, and it is not easy to survive here. It is about to enter winter, but his tribe has not yet raised enough supplies for the winter, and all the edible cattle, sheep and camels have been eaten. The remaining cows, ewes, and female camels have to be used for lambing, which is absolutely inedible.

The horses also ate so much that only the mounts were left. If they ate up the mounts, it would really be over.

Right now, Gu Nuoyan's biggest wish is that this winter should not be too cold, otherwise the lambs and foals that have just been born will be frozen to death, and there will be no way to survive next year.

A Xiongnu family next to him looked back at the winding Great Wall on the mountain ridge in the distance, and said sadly: "Shanyu, it would be great if we could take back the Hetao. The climate there is warm, and no matter how cold the winter is, the newly born baby will not be frozen to death." There are lambs and foals, and there are flocks of yellow sheep, so you don’t have to worry about food this winter.”

Gu Nuoyan was also disappointed. The Hetao grassland was rich in water, grass, and wild animals. It was like a paradise. The problem was that the Han Dynasty had [-] troops stationed there, so it would be easier said than done to take back Hetao from the Han army.With the remaining [-] riders he has now, whether he can break through the Gaoque Pass is a question.

When Gu Nuoyan was feeling dejected, suddenly a fast horse galloped along the river bank, and the knight on the horse shouted loudly: "Da Shanyu, good news, great news! ..."

"Good news?" Gu Nuoyan remained indifferent, watching the knight galloping towards him coldly.

The knight reined in his horse severely, and the mount immediately stood up, kicking his front hooves into the air several times in a row before barely stopping the forward charge, and after landing, he said: "Da Shanyu, just swam Report back, the Han army is withdrawing from Hetao!"

"Huh?!" Gu Nuoyan was taken aback when he heard the words, and then shouted, "The Han army withdrew from Hetao?!"

"That's right." The knight nodded heavily, "Qi Lunqing and the others hid on the top of Yangshan Mountain and saw it for real. The Han army lined up in four columns and went south along the straight road. The vehicles, women and children, not only the Han army, but also the Han peasant households who settled in the village have all been evacuated, and the Hetao grassland has been emptied!"

"Let's go, take a look." Gu Nuoyan lashed the horse's butt with a whip, and the horse hissed in pain, and immediately threw off its four hooves and galloped towards the majestic and vast Yangshan Mountain in the distance.

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In the Jinchuan River Valley, the king of Chu’s conscription order has been issued, and the strong men of the Shaodang tribe are continuously gathering from various settlements towards the royal court. In addition to the Shaodang tribe, the strong men of the Wuliu, Yuanjian, and Wuge tribes are also on the scene. In the large-scale assembly, under the pressure of survival, the four major Qiang tribes have surrendered to the soldiers of Chu State one after another.

Pang Zheng, the captain of the Huqiang school, with a helmet on top of his armor and a horizontal knife on his waist, came out of the big dome tent of the burning king. Pang Zheng had just celebrated his 20th birthday, but he had already had thick lips. The mustache, coupled with the handsome face, showed a bit of heroism, and all the Qiang women passing by blushed.

The figure flashed, and a fiery red figure followed Pang Zheng out of the tent. It was a Qiang girl wearing a red silk cloak. It was nothing more than fair skin and exquisite five-barreled silhouette. There were no beauties more beautiful than her in the counties. Few, but this woman's straight long legs are really eye-catching, and the hotness on her body really makes people salivate.

The eldest son Xiang Zhi glanced over, and almost got stuck on the girl and couldn't get it out. It wasn't until Pang Zheng yelled several times that Xiang Zhi woke up like a dream. At that moment, he bowed his hands to Pang Zheng in embarrassment, and said enviously: "Pang Zheng, I heard that you have taken in a concubine of a Qiang girl who is unparalleled in beauty, and seeing her today really lives up to her reputation. Are you really blessed?"

"My son, thank you." Pang Zheng returned the gift, and smiled again, "If your son likes Qiang girls, in the end, I will let someone choose a few outstanding ones and send them to your account."

"Let's talk about the Qiang girl." Xiang Zhi waved his hand and said, "I came to you this time because of a big event."

Pang Zheng said: "I would like to hear."

Xiang Zhi pulled Pang Zheng aside, said in a low voice, "Pang Zheng, I want to go to Longxi with you."

"Ah?" Pang Zheng was taken aback, shaking his hands and said, "No, this is absolutely wrong. It was originally a dangerous move to cross the Gongga Mountain and attack Longxi by surprise. We still have to go through the territory of a dozen Qiangdi tribes that have never surrendered, and the final result is hard to predict..."

"Nonsense." Xiang Zhi said unhappily, "Do you think I can't bear hardships?"

"Master, it's not a question of suffering or not." Pang Zheng smiled wryly, "Going from here to Longxi, in addition to climbing several snow-covered mountains, crossing the uninhabited Daze, and passing through the territories of many savage tribes , the status of the last general and the Qiang soldiers is lowly, and they will die when they die, but the status of the son is noble, just in case..."

"There is no chance." Xiang Zhi said carelessly, "The person who can take my life has not yet been born."

Seeing that Xiang Zhi had already made up his mind, Pang Zheng couldn't help but feel bitter, and persuaded himself: "But my son, it is the king's will for you to lead the troops out of Jinniu Pass to flank Hanzhong. If the general agrees privately, the king will ask afterward. How will the end be explained?"

"You don't need to tell me." Xiang Zhi waved his hand and said, "My father, I will write a letter to explain in detail. As for the matter of leaving Jinniu Pass to flank Hanzhong, there is General Zi Cheshi, so I will let you go. Yo drink a few times to join in the fun, it's not as exciting and thrilling as your journey of surprise soldiers, so it's settled, my son will go to Longxi with you."

After finishing speaking, Xiang Zhi turned around and left. Pang Zheng felt bitter, thinking whether he should send a message to Chengdu Feige and let General Zi Che come over to persuade him. Xiang Zhi suddenly turned around and said, "Pang Zheng, don't you Don't think about anything else, I'm going to Dinglongxi!" After a pause, Xiang Zhi said again, "Don't forget to ask some Qiang girls to come over later."

(End of this chapter)