My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 483 Uneasy
In the third year of Emperor Rong Xinyuan’s reign, on the tenth day of the eleventh month in winter, at night.

Outside Gaoque, four miles west.

The north wind is bleak and the breath turns into ice.

The originally empty river beach was now filled with figures covered in white cloth, crawling on the ground, huddled together for warmth.

At the front of the crowd, Zhidu climbed onto a small mound again, and his hands in thick gloves repeatedly clenched into fists and then stretched them out.

There was also a thin layer of frost on Zhidu's eyelashes.

Most of his face was hidden behind the shroud, revealing only a pair of eyes that were slightly narrowed due to the wind and snow, yet sharper than ever before.

At this moment, Zhidu's gaze was fixed on the few flames that appeared on the top of the Gaoque wall a few miles away.

Yesterday at daytime, Zhidu led his vanguard army, hid in the thick fog, waded through the ice and crossed the river in broad daylight, and arrived at the north bank of the river.

In the first half of last night, the army made some adjustments, and in the second half of the night it moved eastwards towards Gaoque and arrived at its current position.

——Continue eastward for four miles and you will reach Gaoquewai.

At this moment, after a whole day of rest - or rather, due to the freezing cold, wind and snow, the soldiers of the vanguard army were in an unprecedentedly bad condition.

Yesterday during the day the army crossed the river in batches of tun and qu, which consisted of 50 or 100 men. Therefore, when they gathered on the north bank at dusk, more than 300, nearly 400 men, were missing.

Perhaps they lost their way on the ice, or were stranded on the ice due to some accident.

But Zhidu had no time to meet or find these people.

The only thing that could be done was to pay attention to the ice on the right side as they moved eastward and approached Gaoque, to prevent any lost soldiers from accidentally appearing in Gaoque and exposing the whereabouts of the army.

In the process of crossing the river to the north bank and moving eastward to Gaoque, hundreds of soldiers fell behind the vanguard army due to either the wind, snow and cold or excessive exhaustion.

Everyone knew that these people would not survive.

After the war, we were lucky enough to find the bodies of these people.

The greater possibility is that even the bodies cannot be found, and the only thing left is to send the clothes and clothing to the families of these people after the war, and to build a cenotaph for them...

"how?"

"How many soldiers are left in the vanguard army?"

There was a slight rustling sound coming from behind him, and Zhidu asked immediately.

A moment later, the deputy general also crawled to Zhidu's side, covered his face with his hands, and said while breathing continuously, "Before crossing the river, there were already more than a thousand people left behind."

"During and after the crossing, there were three to five hundred each."

"Right now, there are only 32,600 people left in the vanguard army, and nearly 1,000 of them have frostbitten hands and feet and are unable to fight."

Hearing this, Zhidu's eyes dimmed again.

Frostbite.

At this point in time, on this battlefield of life and death, frostbite has almost sentenced these people to death.

If these people were lucky enough and could hold on until the end of the Battle of Gaoque - at least until the end of the attack and defense of Gaoque, they might have only ended up with mutilated limbs, hands and feet.

But if this battle does not go smoothly, or even if it is not over within a day or two, these people will not receive treatment on time, and will not be able to hide in Gaoque to avoid the wind and snow. What awaits them is also the word "death".

Even though Zhidu couldn't say anything or do anything concrete about these people's misfortune, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in his heart.

But in the end, all the emotions in Zhidu's heart turned into a cold and ruthless voice: "More than 32,000..."

"It's 2,000 more than the 30,000 planned before the war..."

The deputy general remained silent in response to Zhidu's inhumane mumbling.

Then, the two of them focused their attention on the Gaoque not far away.

"With heavy snow and wind, most of the Xiongnu in Gaoque will hide inside the wall to avoid the snow and wind - they may not even stay on the wall."

"At most, it's just a rotation patrol."

"Send out the scout battalion to investigate closer."

"——You must not enter without permission!"

As soon as Zhidu finished speaking, a group of figures walked out from between the frozen river surface and the riverside depression where Zhidu was crawling.

There were about several hundred people, all dressed in white, with their entire bodies hidden in white cloth.

In addition, there was wind and snow, and unless you were within three or five steps, you could not see such a group of people running fast in the snow outside Gaoque.

At this moment, these people were sent by Zhidu as battlefield intelligence personnel to observe the situation.

In the second half of the night today, these elite scouts will also be the first to sneak into Gaoque and carry out a series of sneak attacks to the best of their ability.

As for the vanguard army behind Zhidu...

"In the second half of the night, we will set out to the east."

"Those who can still walk, follow along."

"For those who can't walk any more, dig a pit for them, cover them with a piece of cloth, and gather in groups of three or five to keep warm while waiting for reinforcements."

After Zhidu said this, the deputy general remained silent, and lowered his head with a little guilt.

Dig a hole and cover it with a cloth.

Not to mention how strange it sounds - at least they did dig a trench for these soldiers and covered it with a windbreak.

But the deputy general knew very well in his heart that Zhidu's "wait for reinforcements" was just a soothing remark.

Where did the reinforcements come from?
Next, the vanguard army started fighting, and soon after, Cheng Buzhi’s army from the south bank pressed forward and headed straight for Gaoque, and both sides joined forces to launch a general attack!

As for those soldiers who fell behind - whether they were on the south bank, those who fell behind from Bowang City to the river bank, or those who fell behind on the ice on the north bank yesterday and last night, or those who were about to stop only four miles away from Gaoque at this moment, they could only "wait".

If the battle went incredibly smoothly and the Battle of Gaoque, which started at midnight, ended with the Han army occupying Gaoque around dawn or noon, these people might have been saved.

But if the battle drags on for two days, these people will no longer be able to wait for reinforcements.

——Because of this battle, taking Gaoque was not the end, but just the beginning.

After Gaoque was occupied by the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu tribes in the south of Mu, especially the Youxian King tribe in Nanchi, would inevitably launch round after round of fierce attacks on Gaoque in an attempt to drive the Han army out of Gaoque and make Gaoque belong to the Xiongnu again.

Therefore, under the premise that the war was not going smoothly, even if Gaoque was finally captured, the vanguard army under Zhidu and the main force of the central army that followed after Cheng Buzhi would find it difficult to spare manpower and energy to search for these stragglers on the road to Zixingjun.

If the situation in Gaoque was not urgent, perhaps a hundred soldiers and several hundred civilians could be dispatched to look for him.

But once the Gaoque war alarm is sounded... "I wonder if Marquis Bowang's troops are ready to cross the river..."

The key to this battle is that in addition to Zhidu's vanguard army needing to launch a sufficiently sudden and destructive sneak attack, Cheng Buzhi's follow-up central army also needs to follow up at the right time.

And the time cannot be too early or too late, it must be just right.

——If it was earlier, it is possible that before Zhidu's vanguard set out, Cheng Bushi's troops would have been discovered by the Xiongnu defenders in Gaoque, thus causing the Han Dynasty's plan for this battle to fail.

If it was too late, Zhidu would have to fight to the death on the top of Gaoque Wall, but Cheng Buxi would have been nowhere to be found behind him to support him.

After the stealth raids in the past few days, the combat effectiveness of Zhidu's vanguard army and the physical condition of the soldiers have become very bad.

Even Zhidu himself could hardly feel the existence of his little toes!

In other words: Right now, even the more than 30,000 vanguard soldiers who have not fallen behind have probably reached the critical point.

Next, these soldiers might fight with swords for half an hour, or punch, kick, and bite for more than half an incense stick.

But there is no doubt: everyone's physical strength has reached its limit, and the only thing that can still support them is the temptation of success in this battle and the sense of sacred mission.

But as the saying goes: The first push is strong, the second is weaker, and the third is exhausted.

After the war started, Zhidu's vanguard soldiers were more likely to make the following move: make a strong effort at the first blow and then fight to the death.

Therefore, after the vanguard soldiers under Zhidu launched the first round of effective attack, Cheng Bushi's troops had to rush in and take over the vanguard's offensive mission before the Huns could react and organize an effective defense line.

In other words, the biggest role of the more than 30,000 vanguards under Zhidu in this battle was to launch the first round of sneak attacks.

Then, they can scatter in Gaoque and try their best to create chaos, which means they can do their best and leave the rest to fate...

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On the top of the high wall.

Huyan Dangtu still had a worried look on his face, and his eyelids were twitching visibly.

——Yesterday, Huyan Dangtu carefully checked the physical condition of tens of thousands of Xiongnu defenders in Gaoque.

Although there were occasional people feeling unwell, these were not signs of plague - most of them were constipation or catching a cold.

In addition, the fog on the river had basically dissipated during the day, which made Huyan Dangtu feel a little more at ease.

At least I no longer have to worry about the strong sense of crisis in my heart that comes from the city of Bowang on the other side of the river.

But the more this happened, the more flustered and uneasy Huyan Dangtu became.

Because fear often comes from the unknown.

If he could find anything abnormal inside Gaoque, such as a subordinate trying to cause trouble, or there being a plague or food shortage, Huyan Dangtu would feel a little relieved.

Because the source of the uneasiness in my heart has been found, I no longer have to fear more terrifying things that I don’t know what they are.

But now, no problems were found.

The food was not sufficient, but there was definitely no shortage, and it was enough to wait until the next batch of supplies arrived.

The defending soldiers were in good condition too - not very comfortable or healthy, but still no major problems.

Outside the Gaoque, a thin layer of fog floated on the ice, making the ice surface, the opposite bank, and the outline of Bowang City vaguely visible.

Although it is not as reassuring as a sunny day, it still does not give rise to too many doubts.

“Could it be that something went wrong with the tribe?”

As soon as the thought popped into his mind, Huyan Dangtu shook his head.

The Huyan clan was one of the four major Xiongnu clans, and they inherited the position of Right General, one of the Eight Pillars of the Court.

There are only five tribes like this - such powerful nomadic tribes with such profound heritage - in the entire grassland, including the main tribe of the Xiongnu Chanyu.

The Chanyu court needs the four major clans as its wings, so it is impossible to touch these four super-large tribes.

As for the four major clans, they are paired up in twos - the two right tribes and the two left tribes all have intermarriage and close exchanges.

In addition, this delicate balance is hard to come by, so there is a tacit understanding between the four major clans: they form pairs, each swearing allegiance to the left and right wise kings. They can fight each other secretly, but they will never engage in head-on conflict or large-scale fighting, so as not to give other tribes the opportunity to reap the benefits.

Therefore, Huyan Dangtu knew very well that it was almost impossible for the four major tribes to be destroyed.

As long as the Xiongnu Chanyu Court still exists;
As long as the Xiongnu Chanyu court is in power, it needs to rely on the four major tribes to suppress all parties in the grassland;

As long as the tacit understanding between the four major tribes is not broken, it is impossible for any of the four major tribes to perish quickly in a short period of time.

——It is true that in addition to the four major tribes, there are also some quasi-super-large tribes that are eyeing the transcendent status of the four major clans and want to replace them.

However, the four major clans are so powerful that even if Shanyu Ting deliberately suppresses them, as long as they do not resort to violence, they cannot be weakened in three to five years.

However, in this way, the possibility of anything happening to the tribe was eliminated, and Huyan Dangtu's anxiety became increasingly out of control.

"Age."

"Send some slaves back to the tribe."

"——The uneasiness in our hearts must be a revelation from the God of the Plow."

"I have always worried that if we had not discovered the true purpose of this revelation and warning this morning, we would be punished by the Plow God."

Hearing this, Tu Ge, who was standing beside him, also had a solemn expression on his face. He just shook his head slightly and said, "Right General, aren't you worried about the Han people?"

"Even if the Han people dare not come to Gaoque, the Xiu Tu Ze in Hexi has just been taken away by the slaves of the Hun Xie tribe."

"Could it be that the Han people went to Xiutu Lake and wanted to take control of it before spring arrives?"

"——If this is true, then in the future, the Han people will surely encroach on Hexi step by step, and even get closer to the Western Regions step by step!"

"When the Han people discover the Western Regions, I will fight the Xiongnu, then..."

Tu Ge's words made Huyan Dangtu fall into deep thought, and he felt relieved at the same time.

——It is possible.

Given the cunning of the Han people, it is possible that they would take advantage of the winter and suddenly seize Xiu Tu Ze when no one expected it.

When Huyan Dangtu was ordered to garrison Gaoque, he actually had more than just the responsibility of guarding Gaoque.

Considering that Gaoque was almost impossible to break through, guarding Gaoque was not even Huyan Dangtu's main responsibility.

Huyan Dangtu’s main task in Gaoque was to provide a certain degree of strategic protection to the Hexi region located southwest of Gaoque, to contain the Han people in the Hetao area, and thus reduce the pressure on the Hexi region.

In this way, if the Han people wanted to take action against Hexi, especially Xiu Tu Ze, then Hu Yandan Tu's uneasiness seemed to have a barely understandable source...
(End of this chapter)