Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 535
Although it has been found that something is wrong, in order not to let the hard pre-war preparations go to waste, but also to win Mayi City, which has a lot of money and food, and to accumulate siege experience for the soldiers, Maodun, who personally commanded the siege, still bites Gritting his teeth and persevering, he let the Xiongnu elite under his command take turns to go into battle, and launched three large-scale attacks on the small town of Mayi in one day.

The poor Xiongnu Jingqi also suffered heavy casualties because of this. They were killed by various defensive weapons of the Han army, and the ghosts cried and howled. The ground was dyed dark red, but in the end, few soldiers were able to successfully rush to the top of the city wall, let alone break through Mayi and slaughter the city.

In the end, even the talented Maodun didn't have the courage to continue the storm. Before the sky turned dark, he ordered Mingjin to withdraw his troops and counted the casualties of the soldiers. The statistics also made Maodun and the Xiongnu nobles gasp. Breathe a sigh of relief——In less than a day's siege, the Huns killed more than 300 people, and there were countless wounded. This completely broke the record for the highest number of Huns casualties since Mao Dun's ascension to the throne!
Then, Zang Tu, who was in charge of technical guidance, and other leading parties naturally became scapegoats. The furious Xiongnu nobles all accused Zang Tu and others of being incompetent, and deliberately let the Xiongnu soldiers die, which caused such heavy casualties. When the leading party yelled at them, they also demanded that Maodun cut off Zang Tu's head to apologize to the Xiongnu army.

Fortunately, Mao Dun is not a person who likes to overpower others, and he directly said to the outraged Xiongnu nobles: "Today's fiasco has nothing to do with King Donghulu. There are two main reasons for the war like this. One is that we The soldiers are not good at attacking fortified cities, and the second is that we underestimate the enemy, and we may have fallen into the trap set by the barbarians in the Central Plains, and there must be more than five or six thousand defenders in Mayi City."

"Great Khan and Holy Spirit." Zang Tu, who was trembling in front of Mao Dun, almost cried when he heard it, and hurriedly said: "We really underestimated the enemy in this battle of Mayi. Forget that the tyrant's army may deliberately show weakness and deliberately display fewer flags to lure us to attack the fortified city, and the number of defenders in the city is likely to be more than 6000 to [-]."

"You are the only one who is good at siege warfare here, tell me, what should we do next?" Mo Dun asked Zang Tu calmly.

"We can't continue to attack the city anymore." Zang Tu hurriedly replied: "I think that we should continue to rush to build siege weapons and prepare for the next strong attack, and at the same time send more scouts to carefully investigate the real situation in Mayi City. Under the circumstances, it is best to try our best to catch one or two messengers of the tyrant army who have left the city to communicate with the outside world, interrogate how many tyrant troops there are in Mayi City, and wait until the specific enemy situation is clarified before making a decision."

"In addition." Zang Tu quickly added: "Juzhu Mountain should also be divided into guards to closely monitor the movements in Guangwu, in case reinforcements from the tyrant's army suddenly arrive and catch us by surprise."

Mao Dun just made some calculations, and immediately nodded in agreement with Zang Tu's three suggestions, and immediately assigned Qingqi to seal up the roads connecting Mayi with the outside world, and tried his best to catch the tongue for interrogation.

Zang Tu's strategy was very appropriate, and the luck of the Xiongnu army was more than ordinary. On the night of the third day, the Xiongnu Rangers caught a suspicious man who was trying to sneak into the city outside Mayi City. The military report written to Li Zuoche by Wang Ling, the prefect of the army Daijun, reported that the Zuoxian King of the Huns had given up attacking Daijun and marched eastward to Yanmen instead.Mao Dun was shocked when he heard the military report read by the translator, and said in amazement: "Why did the barbarian Wang Ling write the military report to the barbarian Li Zuoche to Mayi? Could it be that the barbarian Li Zuoche was actually in Mayi city?" Immediately interrogate the messenger from the Central Plains for Ben Khan, and we must find out from his mouth where that barbarian Li Zuoche is!"

There have been soft-boned traitors in all dynasties, and the Han Empire founded by Xiang Kang was no exception. It couldn't withstand the torture of the Huns army. The messenger sent by Wangling finally told the truth and admitted that Li Zuoche was actually in Mayi City. That's why Wang Ling sent himself to Mayi to deliver a letter to Li Zuoche.When the situation was reported to Mao Dun, Mao Dun was shocked and angry, and finally understood why the small town of Mayi was so difficult to attack, and then decisively decided to give up attacking Mayi, while leading the army northward to join the rear army led by King Zuoxian , While trying to collect intelligence, looking for the weak points of the Han army's defense.

Of course, the news of the Xiongnu’s sudden retreat was quickly reported to Li Zuoche by the scouts of the Han army. It may be won, and it may even be known that I and our main force in northern Xinjiang are in Mayi City, otherwise, the Huns and barbarians would never withdraw so resolutely, and then our situation will be passive."

"Mr. Guangwu, are you worried that the Xiongnu will turn around and attack Shanwu by force?" Xiang Guan, who was next to him, hurriedly asked.

"Then I can't wish for it. Shanwu's city is solid, and General Xiangzhuang is cautious. Even if the Xiongnu gather all their troops to besiege Shanwu, there will be no problem for Shanwu to last for ten days and half a month." Li Zuoche replied with a wry smile, and then said : "What I am most worried about now is that the Xiongnu will not fight Shanwu and choose to flee in the direction of Pingcheng Daijun. If that is the case, as long as the Xiongnu finds that our main force has moved northward, it is very likely that the Xiongnu will withdraw decisively. The decisive battle of the main force, when the time comes, our Majesty and the main force of the Xiongnu will have a decisive battle at the border of the northern border, and all previous efforts will likely be wasted and come to nothing."

"Then how is the main force of our reinforcements now?" Xiang Zhuang hurriedly asked again.

"If only I knew, I've been surrounded in Mayi City. In order to prevent leaks, I haven't contacted the outside world. How could I know the situation of our main force?" Li Zuoche smiled bitterly, and said: " However, according to my estimation, it will take at least forty days for our Majesty to gather all the soldiers and horses in Taiyuan, that is, it will be possible to complete the assembly and go north around the tenth day of December, and then it will take at least six more days. Only then can our main force cross Juzhu Mountain and enter Yanmen County."

"It's only the fifth day of December today." Li Zuoche, who is good at controlling the rhythm of time, frowned and added, "That means, at least we have to find a way to drag the main force of the Xiongnu to Yanmen County for more than half a month." It is only possible to wait until the main force of our reinforcements arrives.”

"Mr. Guangwu, let's stop wasting time." Xiang Guan yelled: "Send troops to chase the Xiongnu immediately, entangle them, prevent them from fleeing north smoothly, and buy time for our main force."

Before Xiang Guan finished speaking, all the generals of the Han army present were in an uproar, including Nie Zheng, the commander-in-chief of the Han army, who couldn't help but said, "General Xiang Guan, are you kidding? We only have 2 people in total. With a force of [-] troops, a part of the city must be left to defend the city, but the Xiongnu who have just retreated still have at least [-] troops, so if we send troops to pursue them, isn’t it no different from sending them to death?”

To everyone's surprise, Li Zuoche frowned deeply, and after thinking for a moment, he said: "There is only one way. Send [-] troops to chase and entangle the main force of the Huns, so as to buy time for our main reinforcements."

"Mr. Guangwu, are you joking?" Nie Zheng widened his eyes again, and said in surprise, "How dare we pursue and entangle the main force of the Xiongnu with our small force?"

"Why not?" Li Zuoche asked coldly, and said, "Although our troops are small, the Xiongnu are not good at attacking fortifications, and we don't need to fight the Xiongnu decisively. When the Xiongnu turn around and fight, we just need to find a suitable high ground immediately. Just go up and stick to it, now it’s winter, the ground is full of ice and snow, and you don’t have to worry about water sources if you stick to the high ground, so why don’t we dare to go out of the city to pursue it?”

Refuting his subordinates' doubts, Li Zuoche made a decisive decision and said: "That's it, Nie Zheng, you are in charge of staying in Mayi, keep in touch with me at all times, and lead the way for our main force in the future. Remember, if you send When people contact me, they must use the secret language invented by His Majesty himself, and absolutely must not let the messenger know the contents of the letter, as well as the situation of our main force of reinforcements! General Xiang Guan, you and I command an army of [-], and carry half a month's Dry food, send troops to chase the Xiongnu!"

"Mr. Guangwu, I can lead the troops alone." Xiang Guan said hastily, "You are the supervisor of the three counties, so you can't take this risk."

Li Zuoche shook his head resolutely, and said: "General Xiang, it's not that I can't trust you, it's that we are sending troops to pursue this time, we are hitting eggs with stones, and the whole army is in danger of being wiped out at any time. I like to be impulsive, and I can't take on such a heavy responsibility. Only when I personally lead the troops to chase, can I adapt to local conditions and adapt to the situation. Also, after I arrive at the front line, I can also keep abreast of changes in the military situation at any time, and send commanders to dispatch troops stationed in other places to help us. "

Seeing Li Zuoche's insistence, Xiang Guan didn't force him to stay in the city, but just cupped his hands and said, "Well, Lord Guangwu, don't worry, even if it's the last soldier in the battle, the last general will definitely protect you Safety."

By this time, the wheaten military rations adopted on a large scale by the Han army hundreds of years in advance also played an extremely important role. It only took half a day and one night to feed 3000 Han soldiers for half a month. The pancakes were prepared, so that the soldiers of the Han army could eat them directly without lighting a fire, and it also saved countless precious time for the soldiers of the Han army in their pursuit.Then Li Zuoche just gave an order, and [-] soldiers of the Han army, including more than [-] cavalry, lined up out of the city and launched a pursuit to the [-] Xiongnu Jingqi who had retreated the previous morning.

One thing must be explained, considering that the captives might leak the news, Li Zuoche also decisively blocked the news that the main force of the Han army was about to go north, and instead declared to the generals and soldiers who went out of the city to pursue the Han army, saying that this time the self-army was going north. Rescue Shanwu and prevent the Xiongnu army from besieging Shanwu City, which has a small number of defenders.

The situation that the Han army dared to go out of the city to pursue it was of course reported to Mao Dun by the scouts of the Huns soon. Afterwards, it was similar to Li Zuoche's analysis. Winning the opportunity to annihilate the Han army in the field, Mao Dun also decisively ordered the Huns cavalry to stop advancing, and quickly arranged an ambush to wait for the Han army to go north to die.

The resourceful Li Zuoche was also confused this time. When the enemy was strong and we were weak, and the enemy's situation was not clear, Li Zuoche actually asked the Han army to march northward at a rapid pace, without considering the possibility of an ambush by the Huns.On the contrary, Xiang Guan saw the danger, and said to Li Zuoche on the road: "Mr. Guangwu, isn't it too risky? Our scouts haven't noticed the movement of the Xiongnu army yet. If we just go north like this, if we encounter What to do if you are ambushed by the Huns?"

"I can't ask for it." Li Zuoche replied with a sneer, "I wish he would waste his time arranging an ambush, which is in our best interest."

Of course, the situation was unfortunately explained by Xiang Guan's words. After more than a day, when the Han army pursued to the vicinity of Bantian Ridge, reinforcements from the Huns suddenly rushed out on both sides of the road. cavalry brigade.The Han army panicked when they saw it, but Li Zuoche remained unmoved. He decisively ordered the Han infantry to form a circular formation on the spot to meet the enemy. Guan, immediately lead our cavalry up to Bantian Ridge and prepare to meet our infantry brigade up the mountain. Whether we can keep our army depends on whether you can hold Bantian Ridge until we go up the mountain to reinforce!"

"I took the cavalry away, so what do you do?" Xiang Guan asked quickly.

"Don't worry about me, I have my own way to deal with it! Don't waste time, go!" Li Zuoche shouted decisively, and said to himself: "It's time for the Huns cavalry to see how powerful our infantry is. "

Li Zuoche couldn't hold back, so Xiang Guan could only rush to Bantian Ridge in the west with his cavalry, and seize the high ground as quickly as possible. : "Soldiers, don't panic, don't be afraid! Just fight as you usually train. Our weapons and equipment have huge advantages. As long as we stand firm, we will be able to stop the Huns and wolves on the grassland!"

At this time, Mao Dun, who personally led the army to kill from the north, saw the Han cavalry galloping to the west and up the mountain, and saw the Han infantry forming an emergency formation on the spot. He immediately understood Li Zuoche's vicious intentions, and said with a sneer : "I want the cavalry to hold the high ground first, and then let the infantry slowly go up the mountain to guard the dangerous point. It's a good idea! Send the order to go all out, and at any cost, I will give Ben Khan to destroy the battle formation of the Central Plains!"

The command flag was fired, and the Hun cavalry, who had been killed from three directions, accelerated their charge, roaring and howling, and charged towards the Han infantry circle from three directions, east, west, and north. With all kinds of weapons, the heart was beating violently waiting for the arrival of the Hun cavalry, and when the Hun cavalry rushed into the range of the crossbow arrows of the Han army officers and soldiers, with Li Zuoche's flag waving, thousands of strong crossbows were fired at once, Li Zuo Che's first large-scale field battle with the Xiongnu cavalry since he became the commander of the northern border of the Han Army began...

(End of this chapter)