I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 971: Three-Way Attack on Wusun

At one time, many people proposed to postpone the expedition and let the army rest first. It would be best if tens of thousands of troops could be transferred from the inland area, so that it would not be too late to fight again in the spring of next year.

This is indeed sound advice.

After all, although a lot of prisoners were captured in this war and the number of cavalry was expanded from 8,000 to 13,000, the number gap was still too big when facing the Wusun, which had hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

However, Su Yao shook his head and looked at everyone with a firm gaze:
"Speed ​​is of the essence in war. The Wusun people have just suffered a great defeat and their morale is low. This is the best time for us to pursue them. If we wait until next year, they will regroup and become more difficult to deal with."

He pointed to the city of Chigu marked on the map and said, "Besides, we don't have to attack head-on. The intelligence brought by Alyssa shows that the main force of Wusun is mostly scattered in various pastures, and the tribes around the capital are only tens of thousands of people. If we can take Chigu by surprise and capture its king, then the matter will be settled."

Jia Xu twirled his beard and pondered for a moment, then suddenly frowned as he looked at the map: "General, do you want to take the route through Tianshan?"

Su Yao laughed and looked at Alyssa. Then, Alyssa pointed at the map and drew a circle and said:

"My army set out from Jiaohe City. There are three roads in the north, middle and south that can lead directly to Chigu."

"The northern route passes through Luntai and Dihua, crosses the Tianshan Pass, and enters the Ili River Valley. This is a flat road that is easiest for a large army to travel, but the journey is long and takes more than a month."

"The middle route down is through the Tianshan Mountains. This is the shortest route, but the mountains are blocked by heavy snow in winter, making it extremely dangerous."

"The final southern route is to go around Qiuci, head west along the northern edge of the Tarim Basin, and then turn northwest into the Ili River Valley."

As soon as these words were spoken, those who were familiar with Su Yao knew that the general was definitely going to take a risky move and take the most difficult and shortest middle route.

Sure enough, Su Yao's eyes were fixed on the middle road that meandered through the Tianshan Mountains.

"Although the middle route is dangerous, it is unexpected." Su Yao drew a straight line on the map with his finger, "If we can successfully cross the Tianshan Mountains, our army will be able to reach the city of Chigu in just a few days after leaving the mountains."

"But, General." Jia Xu frowned, "The Tianshan Mountains are ravaged by snow and wind in winter. No one has dared to cross them since ancient times. If the army is trapped in the mountains..."

"Because no one dares to do it, the Wusun people will not be prepared." Su Yao interrupted, "Besides, we have local guides and sufficient cold-resistant supplies. We will definitely win this battle!"

Before setting off, considering the severe cold in the north, Su Yao purchased a large amount of warm clothing when preparing supplies.

What’s even more interesting is that among the large amount of supplies seized during the destruction of the Western Xianbei were many fur coats and other items that the nomads had prepared for the winter.

Su Yao plans to take out the fine furs that were once only available to nomadic nobles and equip his elite soldiers who will be taking part in the raid.

Just as everyone was hesitating, Alice suddenly stepped forward and said, "Master, among the guides we found is an old hunter who once crossed the Tianshan Mountains in winter and knows a secret mountain road."

Su Yao's eyes lit up: "Okay! Let him in."

Soon, an old hunter with white hair and beard was led into the tent. Although the old man was old, his eyes were bright and his steps were steady.

"I pay my respects to the great general." The old man saluted respectfully.

Su Yao personally helped the old man up: "Old man, there is no need to be polite. I heard that you know a way to cross the Tianshan Mountains in winter?"

The old man nodded and took out a badly worn sheepskin from his arms: "When I was young, I took this road with a caravan. Although it is dangerous, it is indeed feasible."

As the old man explained, a winding mountain road gradually took shape in everyone's mind. This route cleverly avoided the most dangerous glaciers and avalanche areas, and moved along valleys and ridges alternately. Although the route was tortuous, it did avoid the most dangerous sections. After Guo Jia studied it carefully, his eyes flashed with approval: "If we follow this route, it is indeed feasible. But the army's baggage..."

"No need for a large army."

Su Yao slammed the table:
"We are traveling light, with only 3,000 elite cavalry and sufficient rations. Once we get out of the valley, there are plenty of tribes there to provide us with supplies."

"Three thousand elite cavalry?" everyone exclaimed.

Cao Cao immediately pressed the table and persuaded:

"General, although the three thousand elite cavalry are brave, the Wusun capital has at least tens of thousands of defenders. If we can't win quickly, we may be surrounded!"

Su Yao was confident: "Meng De is worrying too much. The Wusun people just lost 10,000 elite main forces, and the capital must be more empty than before. Besides, I don't rely solely on elite troops for surprise attacks."

Having said that, Su Yao immediately explained.

It turned out that except for Ma Chao and Yan Xing who followed him in the raid, each army still had its own tasks in this battle.

The first thing, of course, was to send envoys to declare war. At the same time, other main forces of the army launched an attack on Wusun from the north and south.

Among them, the northern route was mainly composed of cavalry, led by Zhao Yun; the southern route was commanded by Cao Cao, with Xu Huang, Gao Shun, Huang Zhong and others, and then recruited troops from vassal states in the Western Regions to mobilize the domestic forces of Wusun with a pincer attack from the north and south, creating conditions for his surprise attack on the central route.

"If we advance in three directions at the same time, the Wusun people will have trouble protecting both ends." Su Yao looked at everyone with a sharp gaze, "Do you have any objections?"

There was silence in the tent for a moment, and everyone looked at each other.

Jia Xu pondered for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "Although this plan is risky, it is still the best one. However, three thousand elite cavalry are too few. It would be better to increase it to five thousand to be on the safe side."

Su Yao thought for a moment, and finally shook his head: "It's not that I don't want to send more troops, but the road here is steep and winding, and too many people would be dangerous."

Zhou Yu suddenly stepped out and said: "In this case, I have learned some techniques of wind and snow, which may help the army avoid the wind and snow. Please allow me to accompany you, General."

"Oh? Wind Corner Jutsu?"

Su Yao's eyes suddenly lit up.

The art of wind angle is not a superstitious divination, but a climate observation technique that has been widely used in military warfare since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

Although the art of wind angle is not as precise as modern climatology, which has a systematic discipline and the assistance of many precision instruments and even climate satellites, the ancients still summarized many practical meteorological laws through long-term observation to assist agricultural production and military warfare.

Although borrowing the east wind in the Battle of Red Cliffs has some fictional elements, what it reflects is the importance ancient generals attached to and applied meteorological knowledge.

For example, Li Jing, a famous general in the early Tang Dynasty, was extremely good at this method and applied it many times in military operations, creating classic battles such as the attack on Dingxiang at night in the snow and wind, the destruction of the Turks in one battle, and the use of the gaps in the cold currents on the plateau to launch a general offensive and destroy Tuyuhun.

Now Zhou Yu suddenly said that he was good at this, which was indeed a good help.

Su Yao immediately made the decision: "Okay! Gongjin will come with me. The army will be ready immediately. The north and south routes will set out first. We will follow in ten days."

(End of this chapter)