Great Han Empire

Chapter 503 Immediately Shooting the Gun
At the end of August, General Li Hong arrived at Wuyuan Camp.

In the afternoon of the same day, Li Hong summoned General Fenwei Xian Yufu, Zhechong Zhonglang General Yang Feng, Wei Lie Zhonglang General Yushi, Jiuyuan Colonel and Commander of Wuyuan Prefect Weizheng, Tuntian Colonel and Commander of Shuofang County Prefect Tang Fanghetian Zhong, Zheng Xin and a group of senior generals discussed matters.

Xian Yufu briefly explained the latest front-line battle report to Li Hong, "At present, the three armies are progressing smoothly, and we have not received any news of fierce confrontation between the armies and the Xianbei people. It seems that the Xianbei people did not do anything. Well prepared for the battle, but we were caught off guard and retreated steadily. According to this attack speed, in September, the three armies can completely join Chaotianyuan."

"Is there any news about the Xianbei in the middle and the Xianbei in the east?" Li Hong asked, "Has the commander's army gone north into the desert?"

"Yesterday we received an urgent report from scouts from Youzhou. They said that Murong Feng, Lord Xianbei in the central region, had set off from Huoyunyuan with his army on August [-]th. Now that Murong Feng is heading north, the army of Master Xianbei Mijia in the east is probably going to the desert." Xianyu Fu smiled, "When the Xianbei people are at the point of life and death, the royal court and other ministries temporarily abandon the past for the sake of the country's destiny. Enmity, mutual concentricity, and common defense against the enemy are also within our expectations. However, we still don't know for sure whether Gongsun Zan and Tian Kai's containment attack worked, and we don't know how many cavalry Murong Feng and Mi Jia brought northward. Xianbei The number of troops going north to support will be directly related to our expedition to Mount Langjuxu, so I have already ordered Shouyan to send more scouts."

Zheng Xin went on to say: "According to the news sent by the scouts from Youzhou in the past two days, Gongsun Zan and Tian Kai's feint attack did not achieve the purpose of restraining Murong Feng and Mi Jia from going north to support. There are too few cavalry in the Youzhou army, and there is too much food and supplies. Insufficient, they cannot guarantee their long-term attack, let alone go deep into the Xianbei territory to fight, so it is normal for Murong Feng to see through this feint. However, in order to ensure the safety of their respective territories and clansmen, Murong Feng and Mi Jia must stay Gather enough troops to defend against Gongsun Zan and Tian Kai's attack, so I think that even if Murong Feng and Mi Jia were to bring most of the main force northward, they would only need [-] to [-] cavalry."

"Among the four tribes of Xianbei, the eastern Xianbei has the smallest territory, the smallest population, and the smallest army. They suffered a lot when they attacked Lulongsai six years ago, and they probably haven't fully recovered yet." Yushi then added, "Shouyan's estimate I think it's roughly the same. To ensure that we can successfully conquer Langjuxu and Sunset Plain in the later stage, the key still depends on whether our three-way army can take advantage of the preemptive opportunity and enter the depths of the desert as quickly as possible. Cut off the retreat of Tuoba Feng and Kui Tou, and wipe out the tens of thousands of troops of Tuoba Feng and Kui Tou before Chaotianyuan. Without enough troops, even if Murong Feng has great abilities, he will not be able to save the Xianbei Kingdom."

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After listening to Yushi's words, Li Hong smiled slightly, looked at the bamboo slips on the case table, but suddenly thought of Murong Feng, his white hair and vicissitudes of face, and the days and nights in Xianbei, Are old friends like Xiong Ba, Duan Zhen and Wu Bao following behind the commander-in-chief?Over the years, with the passage of time and successive bloody battles, with the continuous extension of my military career, and as my official became bigger and bigger, I have gradually forgotten many things in the past, just like my lost memories. I can't remember it either, and now I can't even remember dead friends like Iron Wolf and Gongsun Hu.

In the past few years, although I have led the army to fight fiercely with the cavalry of the Xianbei Kingdom several times, I have never had a face-to-face confrontation with the commander-in-chief. Deep down in my heart, I am unwilling to confront the commander-in-chief, let alone face him on the battlefield.This is not because I am intimidated by the commander-in-chief's prestige, but because of the friendship hidden in the depths of my heart, the kindness that cannot be forgotten and cannot be repaid.When I was in Yuyang last year, I was very depressed. I don’t know if I have the determination to fight the commander to the end if the two armies really want to fight, but this time is different. This time, I and the commander have no way out. There is no other way but to fight to the death.

The Xianbei invaded many times, and the Great Han Kingdom was ravaged by the flames of war. This revenge must be avenged no matter what. No matter how much kindness the commander had towards him in the past, today's war is inevitable.Thinking of the upcoming bloody battle with Murong Feng and the duel with the Black Eagle cavalry, Li Hong suddenly became excited, and the tragic Jutun battle six years ago involuntarily appeared in his mind.Long horns, blood-stained battle flags, galloping horses, and eagles soaring in the sky, Li Hong was immersed in the bloody battle of Jutun, full of fighting spirit for a while, and suddenly, a beautiful face broke into his heart , blond hair and blue eyes, white clothes like snow.

"Blizzard..."

"My lord, what's wrong with you..." Xian Yufu, who was sitting next to him, noticed that Li Hong's expression was wrong, grabbed Li Hong's trembling hand, and shouted softly.

Li Hong suddenly woke up, and sat there for a long time without speaking.Fengxue, I want to snatch Fengxue back.

All the generals sitting around heard Li Hong's yell and looked at each other, knowing that Li Hong thought of the blond girl from the Xianbei tribe again, which was a heartache that Li Hong could not forget.

"My lord, you are too tired, let's take a rest first, let's talk tomorrow." Seeing Li Hong's pale face, Xian Yufu advised in a low voice.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Li Hong waved his hands and forced a smile.

"Danhan Mountain is gone, the northern Xianbei is gone, and the entire Xianbei is groaning under the trampling of our big man's iron hooves. How long can the commander-in-chief's central Xianbei survive? Can the eastern Xianbei survive alone?" Li Hong said calmly. , "I asked Gongsun Zan and Tian Kai to attack the central Xianbei and eastern Xianbei, not to contain their forces, but to tell the commander that we have launched the most powerful attack on the Xianbei country, and I need him to take the central Xianbei and eastern Xianbei. All the main forces are brought to the desert, and I will fight him to the death in the desert, and the outcome will be determined in one battle."

"This time we are going on an expedition to the desert. We are powerful and have obvious advantages. Whether it is the leader or Murong Feng, anyone with a little brains will not engage in fierce battles with our Fengrui, so when we hit Chaotianyuan In the past, the progress of the army should have been quite smooth, and the Xianbei people had no better way to resist our attack than to retreat and flee."

Li Hong spread out a new map on the case table, and continued: "I have told the commanders of the three-way army several times that before the army reaches Chaotianyuan, the most important thing is speed. A hundred miles a day is for me. In terms of speed, it is not very ideal. It is best to advance 150 miles a day, so that the army can rush to Chaotianyuan within seven to ten days, that is, after five days, and fix the front at Fuyangjushan, Chaotianyuan and Ji Between the mountains."

"Since our attack was sudden and the Xianbei people were not prepared enough, it will take at least fifteen to twenty days for the leader to assemble the cavalry scattered throughout the desert to Chaotianyuan. That is to say, we can at least five days in advance The Xianbei iron cavalry on the Chaotian Plain launched an attack and drove them further away to the Yanran Mountain area. We must not allow Kui Tou and Murong Feng to calmly gather troops and horses on the Chaotian Plain to launch a counterattack."

"The army's rapid arrival at Chaotian has two advantages. One is to completely cut off the connection between the western Xianbei and the central and eastern Xianbei tribes. The Xianbei army on Chaotianyuan cannot get food and other supplies from the central and eastern Xianbei tribes. We can only rely on the Xianbei tribes in the west to provide them with food and supplies, but only one Xianbei in the west is unable to provide so many military supplies for tens of thousands of cavalry. Secondly, we can take the tribes, livestock and The rest of the property they discarded was looted, and these trophies are the key to ensuring that our army can continue the expedition."

"Twelve years ago, Tian Yan, the general of the Xianbei Zhonglang, Zang Min, the general of the Hunnu Zhonglang, and Xia Yu, the captain of the Huwuwan School, led the army. As a result, the Xianbei people have always had sufficient food and supplies, but with the extension of our expedition, the food and supplies have become the fatal key, and finally we were defeated in the setting sun. This defeat is a great defeat for our descendants What lesson? That is to turn the advantages of the Xianbei people into our advantages, and turn our disadvantages into the disadvantages of the Xianbei people." Li Hong pointed to the new map in front of him, and said slowly, "So, I plan to completely After controlling Chaotianyuan, Fuyangju Mountain, and Jiluo Mountain, suspend the offensive, and instead concentrate on pacifying the Xianbei people, and prepare for the establishment of Hanbei County on the borders of Xianbei and Danhan Mountain in the north."

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All the generals left their seats and gathered around Li Hong.On this new map, the territory of the Han Kingdom has extended to the middle of the desert. The northern Xianbei and Danhan Mountains of the Xianbei people have been drawn into the Han Kingdom by the cinnabar pen, which is very eye-catching. On this new territory, there are three quaint Big characters: Hanbei County.

All the generals were immediately excited, and the achievement and excitement of expanding their territory made them all smile.

"The Great Han Kingdom has been repeatedly invaded by the Hu people in the desert for hundreds of years, and has repeatedly sent troops to expeditions, but it has not been able to solve the problem of the invasion of the Hu people, nor the problem of war disasters in northern Xinjiang. What is the reason? It is that our Han country cannot permanently occupy the desert. , the desert cannot be incorporated into the territory of our Great Han Kingdom. During the period of Emperor Wu, the most glorious period of our Great Han Kingdom, our great Han once trampled this desert under our feet with iron hoofs, but eventually retreated and did not occupy this vast expanse permanently. Why? Because our Han Dynasty did not have so many troops stationed in the desert, and we did not have so much financial resources to maintain hundreds of thousands of frontier troops. At that time, the powerful Huns were always unwilling to surrender. So what about today? Today we have the opportunity to realize the Do our desires occupy the desert?"

"This desert has raised Huns, Qiangs, Wuwan people and Xianbei people. When the northern Huns gradually declined more than 100 years ago, these four tribes of Hu people were the masters of the desert." Li Hong said, "Today's The Huns have already fallen, and today’s Xianbei people have begun to decline, and the Qiang people and Wuwan people have long been driven out of the desert by the Huns and Xianbei people, and they have long been subjects of our great Han country.”

"Today, the Hu people of these four tribes have suffered a huge loss in strength and a sharp drop in population. They are no longer able to compete with our powerful Han Kingdom. They can only attach themselves to the Han Kingdom." Li Hong pointed to several counties in northern Xinjiang and said, "I plan Move the Dongqiang people, Xianling Qiang people, Huns and Karasuma people away from the border county, and let them return to the desert to settle. Once there is a situation where the four races coexist in the desert, they will check and balance each other. Under the care of the country, it has grown stronger."

"The Hu tribe's iron cavalry who have followed me for several years have subsided as the war in the Han Dynasty subsided. Their fate and rewards are unsolvable problems." Li Hong said, "After this war, the tribal king can be awarded to them, and the spoils of war can be given to them." Give them the land, and the land can also be given to them. In this way, they want land, they want land, they want clans to have clans, and they want wealth to have wealth. We also took the opportunity to solve the problem of resettlement of the Hu tribe's cavalry. At the same time, they are also our big men. The country’s inexhaustible source of iron cavalry. As long as they settle down in the desert with their tribe and defend the frontiers for the Han country, their life will get better and better.”

"After the establishment of Hanbei County, all the existing border counties in northern Xinjiang will become inner counties, and the imperial court no longer needs to send large troops to garrison. In this way, all the tens of thousands of frontier troops we currently have can be stationed in Hanbei County. Moreover, a few years later , these frontier troops can all be turned into cavalry. If we have [-] cavalry, who can stop our Han Dynasty from dominating the desert?"

"After the Hu people in Bianjun moved out, we have more land and pastures, and we can resettle more victims to graze in Beijiang counties and counties." Li Hong sighed, "It's rainy in the Central Plains this year. From June to now, It has been raining for more than two months, and now the Central Plains area is still rainy and flooded, so more and more victims will flood into Bingzhou. I have already told Mr. Zhao when I was in Jinyang that the victims still have to Let them come in, and resettle them one by one, and the way to resettle them is to let them transport grain and grass to Yunzhong and Wuyuan, and then a few eunuchs in the border counties will be responsible for resettling them to farm and graze.”

Li Hong looked at the generals, shook his head, and said, "Many disaster victims are unwilling to go north to Bianjun. They would rather stay in the Shangdang area of ​​Taiyuan and wait for the opportunity before returning to their hometown in the Central Plains. It is impossible to force them to move outside the Great Wall, otherwise Taiyuan and Shangdang will eat up the victims alive.”

"I have said so much, but I just want to say one thing, this Hanbei County must be built, and it must be built immediately." Li Hong patted Hanbei County on the map and said, "Now, the initiative of the Battle of the Desert is completely controlled by us. As long as the army hits Chaotianyuan, I will immediately give all the pastures of Xianbei and Tanhan Mountain in the north to the Hu tribe's cavalry, and share all the spoils with them. Recapturing the northern Xianbei and Danhan Mountains will definitely be difficult, not to mention that I don’t agree, let alone the Hu cavalry.”

"What's more important is that I have these tens of thousands of Hu tribe cavalry and tens of millions of livestock who pledge their allegiance to the death. Even if the court cuts off my food and grass now, I will not lose this battle in the desert, because, Kui Tou and Murongfeng have no chance, no chance at all." Li Hong pointed to Langjuxu Mountain and Luoriyuan and said, "If I stick to the front line of Chaotianyuan, Fuyangju Mountain and Jiluo Mountain, this winter, the chief Half of Murong Feng's cavalry will starve to death."

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The generals gradually calmed down from their initial excitement.

Hanbei County is to be built, and the desert is to be occupied, but will Li Hong's method work?
"My lord, the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Qiang and Wuwan people are weak now. They are four sheep. My lord can let them move back to the desert and restrain each other. But after a long time, their population will increase and their wealth will increase. As the number increases, the strength will gradually become stronger, and then they will become four wolves. Have you ever thought about how much harm the four wolves will do to the Han Kingdom?" Tang Fang asked worriedly.

"I talked to Zhong Yuan about this when I was in Hedong. Zhong Yuan also had the same worry. He even made a clear objection. He told me to kill if I can. It's best to kill them all once and for all." Li Hong smiled wryly, " Therefore, after I arrived in Jinyang, I did not talk about this matter with Master Zhao and Master Cai. The Great Han Kingdom and the Hu people conquered each other, and the hatred has been passed down from generation to generation. It must be difficult for me to get the response of most people, so I also I don't intend to discuss it with you."

Li Hong looked at the crowd and said word by word: "I have the final say on this matter. No one knows whether there will be four sheep or four wolves in this desert in the future, so don't think about the future now. Do a good job today. There are only two things we have to do today. One is to completely solve the threat of the Xianbei people to us, and the other is to completely solve the stomachs of the disaster victims in Bingzhou. If these two things are done well, northern Xinjiang will be stable. And half of the country in the Great Han Kingdom can maintain peace for at least 20 years. If today’s World War I can bring back 20 years of peace in northern Xinjiang, what can’t be done? I’m willing to do anything, and no one can stop me.”

"My lord, can I tell you something?" Tian Yu asked in a low voice.

Li Hong smiled and said, "Of course, you can talk about it."

"My lord, Hanbei County should be built. It is also a good thing for the barbarians to move back to the desert. Your lord has already mentioned the benefits of this, but there is one thing that your lord has considered. If there are more barbarians in the desert, there will be more livestock. A heavy snowstorm can kill more than half of the livestock in the desert, so what about the survival of these Hu people? Half of the reason why the Hu people invaded is because they want to survive." Tian Yu said solemnly, "My lord, if you want to protect the northern Xinjiang The Hu people have not rebelled for 20 years. First of all, they must solve their survival problem. Only 20 Han cavalry can't guarantee the safety of northern Xinjiang for [-] years. This leads to a bigger question, how many people can Bingzhou support?"

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(End of this chapter)