Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 539 Decisive Battle against the Huns (1)

Li Zuoche is really good at calculating the time, exactly as he estimated, the main force of the Han army was indeed assembled in Jinyang, Taiyuan County, on the tenth day of December, and then set off for the north on the eleventh day of December. Arrived in the small town of Guangwu in the south of Juzhu Mountain in six days, and crossed Juzhu Mountain the next day, officially appeared on the Yanmen battlefield, and also solidly killed the main force of the Huns by surprise.

This Northern Expedition also broke the highest record of the Han army's dispatch of troops since its formation. Even without counting the former civilian husbands recruited in Hedong, Taiyuan and other places, the main force of the Han army has reached an astonishing 43 or more!In addition, with the addition of the northern Han army in Yanmen Daijun and the troops dispatched from Yandi, the actual strength of the Han army involved in the battle reached 56, which was more than half of the total strength of the Han army in the country. many!
That's not to mention, the main force of the Han army can be said to be the best of the best this time. Countless elite soldiers of the Han army who have not been disarmed and returned to the field for a long time have picked up their weapons and joined the Northern Expedition Army. It was the first time for them to participate in the battle under their leadership. Although these recruits lacked actual combat experience, they were physically strong, energetic, aggressive and aggressive!In terms of generals, Zhou Shu, the chief general of the Han army who has already become the Han Ting Taiwei, went into battle again, Long Qi, Zhong Limei, Ding Ji, Zheng Bu, Li Shang, Guan Ying and other famous Han army generals also participated in the battle. In addition, Zhujishi and Feng Zhong, who were far away in Qidi and Chudi, also led their troops to the north and joined the Northern Expedition Army together. It can be said that there is a gathering of stars and fierce generals.

Of course, the only one who can hold down so many arrogant soldiers at the same time is Xiang Kang himself. In addition to the imperial conquest, Xiang Kang also brought Zhang Liang, Chen Ping, Lou Jing, Kuai Che and Shao Ping to the battlefield again. It can be said that most of the Han court followed Xiang Kang to the north to find the Xiongnu for a decisive battle, and the intention to win was also directly expressed.

During the time when the main force of the Han army crossed Juzhu Mountain mightily, Xiang Kang once again received a report from Nie Zheng, the guard of Mayi, which confirmed that the main force of the Huns was still being lured by Li Zuoche's troops to the Bantianling battlefield. Overjoyed, he clapped his hands and said, "Okay! Thanks to Lord Guangwu who sacrificed his life to serve the country and used his ingenious plan to pin down the main force of the Huns on the battlefield of Bantianling. Now we finally don't have to worry about the barbarians of the Huns fleeing in advance and not finding a chance for a decisive battle." gone."

The book explains that the reason why Xiang Kang is so confident is that Li Zuoche, who has been in charge of northern Xinjiang for Xiang Kang for many years, has already discovered a fatal weakness of the Huns--the strategic mobility is too poor!On the surface, they seem to be full of cavalry. They can fight if they want to fight, and they can run if they can't fight. They must carry a large number of old and weak women, children, cattle, sheep and livestock, and the overall mobility is not even as good as the infantry of the Han army. Therefore, unless the Xiongnu army is determined to abandon their old and weak women and children, as well as cattle, sheep and livestock that are regarded as life, this time, Only flee for your life with the cavalry, otherwise you have to fight this decisive battle with the Han army!
By the way, the reason why Huo Qubing was able to sweep the Xiongnu was because he discovered this Achilles heel of the Huns. Every time he fought, he would first use his scouts to find the old and weak cattle and sheep of the Huns, and kill them first, so that they could not do anything for them. The Xiongnu army provided them with rations and meat, and then calmly approached the Xiongnu army, or took the opportunity to force the Hun cavalry to fight the Han army, so they won many battles and were invincible.Then after the tragic death of the military genius Huo Qubing, the Xiongnu army gradually learned the lesson. Every time they fought, they evacuated the old and weak cattle and sheep to the rear to make room for a longer front. The passive momentum was reversed.

Closer to home, they are all Xiang Kang's confidantes. Of course, Zhang Liang and Chen Ping had read Li Zuoche's memorial and knew the weakness of the Huns, so they didn't feel that Xiang Kang was overconfident.But Chen Ping still couldn't help reminding, saying: "Your Majesty, we can't be too careless. If the Maodun barbarians know how to choose and choose to decisively give up their old, weak, women, children, cattle, sheep and luggage, there is still a chance to avoid a decisive battle with us." , to keep the main force of his cavalry."

Xiang Kang nodded, and also admitted that Maodun did have this way to escape the decisive battle, making it difficult for the Han army to achieve full success in this northern expedition.On the other side, Lou Jing, who is also familiar with the situation of the Huns, said: "Modun can do this, but the Zuoxian King of the Huns will definitely not agree. Judging from the direction and scale of the Huns' barbarians, the Huns who went south with the army this time Ruo must be all the people of King Zuo Xian, and they must all be the main people of King Zuo Xian. If Mao Dun did this, his most important minister, King Zuo Xian, would be seriously injured, so he would definitely be resolute. be opposed to."

Xiang Kang nodded again, and said with an idea: "Why don't you use this to make some articles, let the Xiongnu Zuo Xianwang see the hope of keeping his people, make him more resolutely oppose Maodu's abandonment of the old and weak, women and children, and let Maodu Don will not make this decision lightly."

"Your Majesty really hasn't changed at all. When others use troops, they don't move their soldiers and horses, and they go ahead with food and grass. Only Your Majesty always keeps their soldiers and horses unmoved, and goes ahead with their strategies." Chen Ping pointed out Xiang Kang's bad hobbies with a smile, and said: "We must use It is not very difficult to make a fuss about this. Your Majesty only needs to pretend to be defeated for a while, and then send an envoy to contact the Maodun barbarians, saying that we can also negotiate with the Xiongnu to solve the problem this time, and then pretend to negotiate with the Xiongnu. King Zuo Xian, the most important minister of the Xiongnu, will definitely force Mao Dun to stay and buy us time to prepare for the decisive battle."

Xiang Kang nodded, and then ordered decisively: "Go and send an order to Nie Zheng, telling him to send troops to rescue Li Zuoche immediately, and then flee back to Mayi in a feigned defeat. Tomorrow, we will arrange an envoy to go north to find the Xiongnu for negotiation. It is said that as long as the Xiongnu and barbarians let go of the road, let Li Zuoche and the others withdraw to Mayi, and return all the land south of the Great Wall they occupied before, I will sign a non-aggression pact with Modun, and we will become a country of brothers from then on. "

"Return all the land south of the Great Wall?" Chen Ping raised his eyebrows, and said with a thumbs up to Xiang Kang: "Your Majesty is wise, among all the land south of the Great Wall that we have been occupied by the Huns, the Hetao area is the most important. A piece of fat is now in the mouth of the second most important minister of the Xiongnu, King You Xian, he must be reluctant to spit it out obediently, and then it will be difficult for the two important ministers of the Xiongnu not to have rifts and conflicts."

Xiang Kang smiled, and then urged Xu Ji next to him: "Send someone to pass an order to Nie Zheng, and by the way, send an order to Zhou Taiwei, who is in charge of the former army, and ask him to arrange the army in advance to meet Nie Zheng's defeated soldiers. , must make the Xiongnu barbarians think that they just look like they have many soldiers, but they are actually not very effective in combat.”

According to Xiang Kang's order, around Shen time that day, Nie Zheng led [-] paces to ride northward, pretending to rescue Li Zuoche who was besieged by the Huns army. As a result, this situation was of course quickly discovered by the Huns army who was already in a panic. After the situation report arrived in front of Maodun, Maodun, who had already ordered to stop the attack on the mountain, just thought about it for a while, and soon ordered the Huns Youjian Wang to command [-] elite cavalry to go south to intercept and test the specific combat effectiveness of the Han army coming from the south.

Then, in the early morning of the next day, Mao Dun summoned the Xiongnu nobles who were part-time generals and announced to them the shocking news that the Han army brigade had arrived in Mayi. Xiang Maodun asked: "Khan, have you found out how many troops the Central Plains barbarians have come? Who is the general?"

"How many barbarian troops have come, our scouts haven't had time to find out yet." Mao Dun said with a sullen face, "But the number will definitely not be less than ours, because this time the commander of the barbarian army in the Central Plains is their emperor Xiang Kang." !"

There was an uproar in the tent again. The Xiongnu nobles reacted differently. Some were excited and felt that this was an opportunity to severely injure the Han army. The Xiongnu Zuo Xianwang, who bears the brunt of the tribal people, hurriedly asked Maodun: "Khan, what shall we do? Should we fight? Or withdraw?"

"Of course Ben Khan wants to retreat quickly." Mo Dun replied directly, saying: "Although the area around Mayi is open and suitable for our cavalry to fight, but the barbarian army is too strong this time. The consequences are definitely unimaginable. Therefore, for the sake of safety, Ben Khan wants to withdraw the army to the north of the Great Wall, and then consider whether to fight the barbarians of the Central Plains."

"Then what about our women, the elderly and children?" King Zuoxian hurriedly asked, "What about so many cattle and sheep? It's easy for our cavalry to retreat to the north of the Great Wall, but they can't keep up with our speed. ?”

The huge weakness of strategic maneuvering seriously constrained Mao Dun's hands and feet at this moment. Mao Dun opened his mouth several times to say that he would give up decisively, but he knew that Zuo Xianwang would definitely not agree to do so, and Mao Dun himself was reluctant to give up. With a large population and cattle and sheep, Maodun hesitated for the first time. He didn't answer Zuo Xianwang's question for a long time. At the same time, he regretted his previous underestimation of the enemy. The logistics brigade pulled to the Bantianling battlefield.

On the contrary, King Youxian of the Huns was relaxed, and immediately said: "Khan, it is best not to take risks. The 30 troops here are our all-powerful soldiers. Once the battle is unfavorable and the losses are too great, let's not talk about dealing with the barbarians of the Central Plains in the future." , It is difficult to clean up the Yuezhi Kingdom in the west. We can raise cattle and sheep again, and we can regenerate tribesmen after they die. Why don’t we retreat quickly, and we can keep as much as we can!”

"It's easy for you to say!" Zuo Xianwang jumped up and roared: "It's not your people, of course you don't feel bad! But I feel bad. Among the 15 people, women account for more than half, and most of them are women. Some of them are still young and strong women, quite a few are still pregnant, if they are lost, how many years will it take me to get over it?"

"But if we lose our army, how many years will it take to get over it?" The Youxian King, who has nothing to do with himself, sneered and retorted, "If we really lose all our army, I'm afraid we will be slowed down by then." There is no chance of getting angry."

"Before we beat you, you think our army will be completely lost?" King Zuoxian was furious, and he roared louder, "Thanks to you, Youxian King of our Huns, the barbarian's army just arrived in Mayi, and we were so frightened Abandoning the woman and the old man to flee for their lives, are you still a man on the grassland?"

"Shut up!" Mao Dun finally said, "Stop arguing. Last night, I sent General Wang Youjian to lead the troops south to test the strength of the Central Plains army. When he comes back to report the situation, we will also wait for our response." The scouts have figured out the size of the army of the Central Plains, and then it is still too late to make a decision."

After making this decision, Mao Dun issued an order to let the Xiongnu army, which had been surrounded by mountains on all sides, lift the siege on Bantian Ridge, concentrate their forces on the open terrain to the west of Bantian Ridge, and at the same time assign heavy troops to protect the old people in the distance. Weak women and children and herds of cattle, sheep and camels, to prevent the Han army from dispatching Qing cavalry to attack them.As a result, after the Xiongnu army lifted the siege according to the order, there was a huge cheer from the Han army soldiers on the mountain in the middle of the day. Hearing this, Mo Dun snorted coldly and said to himself: "Don't be too happy, I just don't want to be too lazy to encircle It's just you, whether you can escape back alive depends on whether your main force can beat Ben Khan's main force."

It is also a coincidence that at this time, the Huns who went south overnight led the army back to the Huns' camp. They also sent someone early to say that they had won the battle. Not only did they beat away the Han army who was trying to go north to rescue Li Zuoche. The defenders also defeated the newly arrived troops of the Han army who went north to reinforce the Mayi defenders, and captured a lot of weapons and flags.Mao Dun was overjoyed when he heard the news, so he personally led the nobles of the Huns out of the camp to meet the triumphant division of King You Jian, and also learned about the specific situation of the newly arrived Han army.

Because of the victory, the atmosphere when Mao Dun and others met with You Jian Wang was of course very relaxed and joyful. After he personally picked up the joyous You Jian Wang, Mo Dun couldn't wait to ask about the battle situation. Wang Ze bragged loudly and exaggerated his victory several times, saying that he only launched three charges in the field to defeat the Mayi defenders of the Han army, and then defeated the Han army more easily. The army's follow-up reinforcements beheaded thousands.

After carefully listening to the battle, Mao Dun asked General You Jian a few key questions, "How is the combat effectiveness of the new barbarian army from the Central Plains? Is it as good as the barbarian army in Yanmen? Also, is there any?" Captured prisoners?"

"Reporting to the Great Khan, I captured a few prisoners and put them in the back waiting to be released." General Wang Youjian replied easily, and then snorted coldly: "As for the new barbarian army from the Central Plains, one of our Hun warriors can beat three of them. They are not our opponents at all. Mayi's barbarian army still blocked our two charges, and they were directly crushed by us after only one encounter."

"What about their weapons and equipment?" Mao Dun hurriedly asked again: "Are there many iron knives and spears? Are the arrowheads iron or copper?"

"There are not many iron knives and spears, about [-]% of them, and the arrowheads are almost all copper." General Wang Youjian replied truthfully, and then said, "Khan, I know that you care about this issue, so when cleaning the battlefield Let our soldiers carefully divide the weapons and equipment into two piles, one pile belongs to the Mayi barbarian army, and the other pile belongs to the Central Plains barbarian army's weapons and equipment."

"Well done, take Ben Khan to see it."

Mao Dun was overjoyed when he heard that, and quickly asked General Youjian to lead him to check the weapons and equipment of the Han army. As the result was just like what General Wang Youjian said, iron weapons really only accounted for the Han army's weapons and equipment in the hinterland of the Central Plains. About [-]% of the arrowheads were bronze arrowheads left over from the Qin Dynasty. There were very few iron arrowheads. Not to mention the armor, all of them were simple and rough leather armor, and there were only a few pieces of bronze armor.

Seeing this scene, the eyes of several Xiongnu nobles who were leading the battle were of course bright, and Zuo Xianwang couldn't wait to shout: "It's not much better than us, this battle must be fought, and we are sure to win!"

Mao Dun thought about not saying a word, and said in his heart: "It is normal for the barbarian army in the hinterland of the Central Plains to be inferior to the frontier army in terms of weapons and equipment. If the new Central Plains army has such weapons and equipment, we have hope. But if the barbarian army is Deliberately showing weakness, feigning defeat to lure us to a decisive battle, and only showing the real guy in the decisive battle, then we must be in big trouble."

"I can't take any chances. It's best to find out the reality of the Central Plains army thoroughly before deciding whether to fight this decisive battle. Anyway, my army is all cavalry. Even if I decide to retreat before the decisive battle, I still have time."

After making up his mind on this idea, Mao Dun immediately ordered Zang Tu who was next to him: "King Donghulu, you will hand over the prisoners captured by King Youjian. Everything about the army!"

(End of this chapter)