Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 540 Decisive Battle against the Huns (2)

Thanks to the efforts of Zang Tu, Zhang Sheng and other leading parties, some captured soldiers of the Han army opened their mouths on the same day, explaining that the Han army has an approximate strength of more than 40, and the main force is the standing soldiers of the Han army stationed in Guanzhong. , there are also some local garrisons drawn from all over the Central Plains, and the rest are all local county soldiers temporarily recruited by the Han army after the autumn harvest. Such troops are still the largest in number.

The situation is similar in terms of weapons and equipment. The Guanzhong garrison has the best equipment, followed by the local garrisons. Most of the temporarily recruited county soldiers received bronze weapons in stock left over from the former Qin Dynasty, and only a small number of them performed well in training. Veterans with combat experience can receive iron weapons, and almost all arrowheads are bronze arrowheads left over from the former Qin Dynasty. ——I really can’t blame Xiang Kang and Han Ting for being stingy. The main reason is that the productivity of this era is really too bad. In just a few years, the Han army really couldn’t change all the iron weapons, and Qin Shihuang and Hu Hai stayed There are too many bronze weapons in the country, and it would be a pity to give up them - anyway, they are more than enough to deal with the poorly equipped Huns.

After inquiring about the situation, Zang Tu, Zhang Sheng and other leading parties of course reported to Mao Dun very quickly. After listening to it and thinking about it, Mao Dun said after a while: "According to this, the Central Plains barbarian army we encountered this time Although it looks like there are more than 40, in fact, the only real threats to us are the Guanzhong garrison and local garrisons of the Central Plains barbarians?"

"The Khan is wise, it should be like this." Zang Tu hurriedly complimented, and then said: "In addition, as far as I know, the tyrant army stationed in Guanzhong all the year round is only about 12. It should have only brought 20 to [-] at most. In addition, I estimate that the tyrant Xiang Kang should have deployed about [-] local troops in various places in the Central Plains. Therefore, the tyrant's army that can really pose a threat to us should be less than [-]. .”

Mao paused and said suddenly: "But we can't underestimate the enemy. After all, our elite main force only has 10,000+ people, and the rest are young grassland recruits temporarily recruited, and their combat effectiveness is also slightly weaker."

"Don't worry, Khan. Although the grassland youths we temporarily recruited are not as powerful as our elite cavalry, they are definitely stronger than the county soldiers temporarily recruited by the tyrant's army." Zang Tu hurriedly encouraged Modun: "As for the reason, it is also very simple. Our prairie young and strong have practiced riding and shooting since childhood, unlike the county soldiers of the tyrannical army who are familiar with farm tools since childhood. In addition, our soldiers eat meat as the staple food. They are generally taller and stronger than the soldiers of the tyrant army. There are many, so the competition for the auxiliary army must be our army's advantage."

"Hearing your tone, King Donghulu, do you think it's time to fight this decisive battle?" Mo Dun heard Zang Tu's overtones.

"Khan Shengming, I hope to fight to the death with the tyrant's army." Zang Tu immediately replied: "The tyrant Xiang Kang raised his army to fight us. As long as we win this decisive battle, we have defeated the tyrant. Then we will not only be able to obtain Yanmen Daijun and other places for sure, but also take the opportunity to enter the rich and prosperous hinterland of the Central Plains, seize countless cities, land, food and supplies, and directly expand the territory of our Huns Khanate to Dahe (Yellow River) ) and even the Yangtze River.”

Maudun smiled, and immediately understood Zang Tu's little plan - he tried his best to encourage himself to fight this decisive battle with the Han army. If Zang Tu won, he would definitely take the opportunity to restore the country. If he lost Zang Tu, he would just run to the grassland. All the consequences will be borne by the Hun Khanate itself, without affecting any of Zang Tu's own interests.But Mao Dun didn't bother to point out Zang Tu's little calculation, so he just said, "King Donghulu, have you considered this issue? Last night, the Central Plains army obviously had elites available, so why did they send a county soldier north to meet Mayi?" army?"

"This..." Zang Tu was speechless, and immediately understood that the shrewd Mao Dun suspected that the Han army was cheating to lure the enemy, but for his own hope of restoring the country, Zang Tu still insisted on saying: It's not surprising that the tyrant's army may want to test our reality and test the combat effectiveness of their auxiliary army, so they deliberately sent the auxiliary army north to meet Mayi's army."

Zang Tusheng's reasoning was only logically sound, and Mo Dun didn't bother to listen to Zang Tu's continued sophistry, so he just casually ordered: "Go down and rest, I have to think carefully about whether to fight this decisive battle. .”

After sending away Zang Tu, the Xiongnu scouts also sent news, basically confirming that the strength of the Han army is indeed more than 40, and they have basically marched to the city of Mayi, which is less than sixty miles away from the Bantianling battlefield. After hearing this, Mao Dun was noncommittal, but said in his heart: "The barbarian army has too many infantry, and at least it will take a day to go north to about [-] miles away from Bantian Ridge before sending troops to attack Ben Khan's camp. A decision must be made within tomorrow, whether to fight this decisive battle, whether to fight or not?"

The talented and bold Mouton is indeed very shrewd. After carefully weighing the pros and cons, Mouton still feels that it is best not to take risks. The reason is also very simple. The Xiongnu’s foundation is too weak. Once the decisive battle is lost, the Hun’s army wants to return to its peak It will take at least ten or twenty years for the state to be in good condition. If the army loses too much, the consequences will definitely be even more unimaginable.The Han army, on the other hand, was on the contrary. Even if it failed in the decisive battle, it could take advantage of its large population and solid foundation to quickly reorganize more troops and make a comeback.

The 15 or so Xiongnu tribesmen became Maodu's only burden, making Maodu unable to make up his mind even if he knew that he should abandon them. As a result, when Maodu hesitated to make a decision, the envoy of the Han army suddenly came to the Xiongnu army In the middle, Xiang Maodun put forward the peaceful conditions of releasing Li Zuoche's troops and returning the land south of the Great Wall.

As expected by Xiang Kang and Chen Ping, knowing that the Han army was willing to resolve the border conflict through negotiations, Zuo Xianwang, the most important official of the Xiongnu who was worried about his tribal people, was really ecstatic, and immediately tried his best to encourage Maodun to settle the matter. Slope down the donkey, and sent important officials to the Han army camp to negotiate with Xiang Kang face to face.King Youxian, the second important minister of the Xiongnu who occupies the fertile land of Hetao, jumped three feet high. He not only firmly opposed the peace talks with the Han army, but also had a quarrel with King Zuoxian again in front of Maodun, which turned the world upside down. The sun and the moon are dark.

This time, Mao Dun did not stop the quarrel between the left and right kings. After thinking for a while, Mao Dun suddenly said to the Han army envoy: "Go back and tell your emperor that Ben Khan is here to take revenge on him this time. You demand The land has always been the pasture of our Huns, we took it back with great difficulty, how could it be given to you again? Tell him to give up his heart, bring the army here if he has the ability, and fight to the death with dignity. "

Hearing Maodun's words, the Youxian King was of course ecstatic, and even shouted profusely, Zuo Xianwang was stunned on the spot, and the Han army envoy was also a little dumbfounded, and hurriedly said through an interpreter: "Great Khan, listen to you!" Tone, are you not going to accept the peace talks?"

Mao Dun nodded calmly, and said: "Come if you have the courage to fight decisively, Ben Khan will accompany you to the end!"

Seeing Mao Dun's insistence, the Han army envoy had no choice but to hand in his hands and leave quickly. As a result, the Han army envoy had just left, and all the nobles of the Xiongnu who were present naturally asked one after another: "Khan, do you really plan to fight with the barbarians of the Central Plains?" Army showdown?"

"Didn't you find out that the barbarians in the Central Plains are deliberately playing tricks on us?" Mo Dun sneered and said, "If they really want to rescue the barbarian army surrounded by us, they only need to send troops here and use the army to take the barbarian army down the mountain. Why bother?" Rescue them through negotiation? Also, the barbarians in the Central Plains have worked hard to win the chance to fight us decisively, so how could they ask us to return the land through negotiation?"

"The barbarians from the Central Plains offered to negotiate, but they wanted to stabilize us." Xiang Kang, who was used to bullying Xiang Yu, finally met his opponent, and Mao Dun pointed out Xiang Kang's real purpose very directly, and said: "Let us be negligent and take it lightly. , and then suddenly send troops to kill us by surprise, if we are fooled, we will definitely suffer a big loss."

"Big Khan, shall we fight this decisive battle?" King Youxian hurriedly asked.

Mao Dun hesitated again, and said after a long while: "No hurry, let me think about it again, pass down the order, each soldier will receive five days' worth of dried meat, and also tell our soldiers to prepare for relocation. As for fighting No fight, I will make a decision before the sun goes down tomorrow."

Hearing Maodun's words, all the nobles of the Huns nodded in agreement, but Zuo Xianwang's face changed, and he immediately understood that the situation was not good, and vaguely guessed that Maodun might choose to cut his tail to survive and abandon his tribe ...

…………

On the side of the Han army, the envoy of the Han army who rode a fast horse to the south brought Maodun's reply back to Xiang Kang that day. As a result, Xiang Kang was stunned when he heard it, and said in disbelief: "Absolutely refused? Why? Possibly? Could it be that Mouton made up his mind to fight us so soon?"

"Impossible!" Chen Ping said categorically, "This battle has too much to do with the Xiongnu. Although Modun refused simply, his army is too mobile, even if he made up his mind at the last hour before the decisive battle. There is still time to retreat, and the subordinates guessed that Mouton might not have made the best decision yet, and it is still possible to choose the poisonous snake to bite the wrist, the strong man to lose his arm, and resolutely abandon his tribe and only lead the army to escape."

Xiang Kang nodded slowly, then turned to Uncle Zhou next to him and asked, "Zhou Aiqing, how is our preparation for the final battle?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, all the pre-war preparations can be completed tonight at the latest." Uncle Zhou replied: "It will take a day to advance to the vicinity of Bantian Ridge tomorrow, and we can start a decisive battle with the Xiongnu barbarians in the morning after tomorrow."

Xiang Kang thought about it, and said after a long while: "Then let's do this, first pull the army to the vicinity of Bantian Ridge, anyway, we have already caught the barbarians of the Xiongnu, even if their army runs away, at least 10,000 of their troops can be wiped out." + People who follow the army."

The tactical mobility is not as good as that of the Xiongnu army, and the initiative is controlled by the enemy. Even Uncle Zhou can only nod passively, and then urges the army to step up preparations for a decisive battle. However, to the surprise of Xiang Kang, Uncle Zhou and others, in the middle of the night, a The envoy of the Huns who was the confidant of King Zuo Xian of the Huns suddenly came to the Han army camp and asked the Han army to see Xiang Kang. The situation was reported to Xiang Kang. He ordered to summon the envoy of King Zuo Xian.

After a while, the envoy of King Zuo Xian was led to Xiang Kang. After saluting respectfully, the envoy of King Zuo Xian said straight to the point, saying that King Zuo Xian of the Huns hoped to conclude a non-aggression treaty with the Han army so that they would not invade again in the future. The border of the Han army is the condition, in exchange for the Han army to be lenient, not to kill his troops and civilians, and also expressed his willingness to hand over [-]% of the cattle and sheep accompanying the army to the Han army, as a thank you for the release of his troops by the Han army Return to the gift of the prairie.

Mao Dun also met an opponent this time, just after listening to the conditions put forward by Zuo Xianwang's envoy, Xiang Kang immediately understood that Mao Dun had basically made up his mind to retreat, and when he was anxious, Xiang Kang first forced himself to calm down, and then made an excuse It took time to think about it, and temporarily sent Zuo Xianwang's envoy away, and finally said to Chen Ping who came over after hearing the news: "Did you hear that? I am afraid that Maodun has made up his mind to abandon his tribe."

Zhang Liang and Chen Ping nodded together, and then Chen Ping added: "Otherwise, King Zuoxian would not seek peace alone behind Mao Dun's back, trying to trick us into lenienting his tribe."

"I'm afraid we won't gain much from this Northern Expedition." Xiang Kang said with a wry smile: "Even if brother Xiangzhuang will definitely send troops to intercept, Lord Guangwu will definitely pursue it with all his strength, and it is absolutely impossible to severely damage the main force of the Xiongnu. At most, it is to kill [-] to [-] Huns cavalry, kill all their followers, and hurt the fur of the Huns, but not their vitality."

"It's impossible." Uncle Zhou said with a wry smile, "Who told us that we have too few cavalry, and our tactical maneuverability is not as good as that of the Huns cavalry. Cavalry alone cannot seriously injure the Huns cavalry. On the contrary, there is a danger of our cavalry being severely injured by the Huns cavalry." .”

At this moment, Xiang Kang naturally regretted that he did not equip the Han army cavalry with saddles and stirrups in advance, but there is no medicine for regret in the world, so Xiang Kang could only wail helplessly: "I only have pity on Mr. Guangwu and me. Brother Xiang Guan, after paying such a high price, we managed to lure the main force of the Huns to the Bantianling battlefield, but in the end we still couldn’t annihilate the main force of the Huns.”

The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was intentional. Hearing that Xiang Kang mentioned the trapped Li Zuoche and Xiang Guan, Uncle Zhou's heart suddenly moved, and he opened his mouth to speak, but when the words came to his mouth, Uncle Zhou forcibly swallowed them back. In his stomach, after thinking for a while, Uncle Zhou said: "Your Majesty, what you said just now made me suddenly think of a way, maybe it can give us a chance to win a decisive battle with the main force of the Huns."

"What way?" Xiang Kang asked quickly.

Uncle Zhou quickly revealed his plan, but Xiang Kang laughed when he heard it, and said, "Zhou Aiqing, actually you want me to carry out this plan in person, right?"

Uncle Zhou nodded with a bitter smile, and said: "But it's too dangerous. Your Majesty, you are a man of gold, and you must not take such a risk yourself. That's why I took the initiative to ask Ying to let me go. Fortunately, I am a big Han Taiwei. Sangong, there should be hope."

"There is no hope." Xiang Kang shook his head resolutely, and said, "Maudun is too shrewd and knows how to make choices. He wouldn't take such a risk for you. I'd better go in person!"

"Your Majesty!" Uncle Zhou, Chen Ping, Zhang Liang and others exclaimed together.

"That's it!" Xiang Kang said decisively: "I will go in person, and I will go tomorrow morning!"

(End of this chapter)