My younger brother Lü Fengxian

Chapter 179 Stalemate
All Xianbei people are soldiers, and this time they sent out 300,000 troops, which gave them an absolute advantage in numbers.

However, although the Han army was at a disadvantage in terms of manpower, its equipment, weapons, formations, and tactics were far more advanced than those of the Xianbei people.

After thousands of years of internal struggle, the Han people reached the first peak of martial ethics during the Han Dynasty.

Moreover, the Han army was fighting on its home turf, while the Xianbei people controlled Youzhou and Bingzhou.

However, most counties were not controlled by the Xianbei people, and the county and prefecture soldiers still posed a certain threat to the Xianbei people.

Moreover, there were many folk family fortresses such as Luwu and Zhangwu in Youzhou and Bingzhou. The defense of many fortresses was even not weaker than that of county towns. The residents were all from the same clan, and they had no shortage of bows and arrows, food, and weapons. Therefore, the Xianbei people had no way to deal with these fortresses.

Therefore, the Han army and the Xianbei people temporarily fell into a brief stalemate.

In the past, the Xianbei people would generally choose to withdraw from the Great Wall and make peace with the Han Dynasty after they had looted enough supplies and slaves to survive the winter.

But now the Xianbei people’s advantage is too great.

It was so big that even the wise and brave Tan Shihuai could not ignore the voices of his people.

Even the most fertile land outside the Great Wall cannot be compared with the most desolate border areas of the Han Dynasty, such as Bingzhou and Youzhou.

The Wuhuan people, the younger brothers of the Xianbei people, have been affiliated with the Han Dynasty for a hundred years, and their lives have been prosperous as they moved south.

It was even so good that they lost their ambition to dominate the northern frontier and were willing to be a watchdog of the Han Dynasty. Although this dog was not honest, it not only had two masters, the Xianbei and the Han, but also often bit back at its master.

Therefore, the nobles among the Xianbei people also hoped to follow the example of the Wuhuan people and settle in the Han territory.

Even the desolate Bingzhou and Youzhou are better than being blown by the wind and snow outside the Great Wall all day long.

The successive victories have given the Xianbei people, from top to bottom, an illusion.

The Han Dynasty is nothing more than this, he can replace it!
Tan Shihuai became one of the few clear-headed people among the Xianbei.

But the trend was irresistible and he had no choice but to go with the flow.

After all, the Xianbei people have never been defeated since he rose to power and unified the Xianbei.

If we could defeat the Han people in this battle and achieve a great victory like the one we had more than two years ago.

Not to mention Youzhou and Bingzhou, I'm afraid the entire Hebei will fall into the hands of the Xianbei people.

From then on, the Xianbei people could divide the Yellow River and govern together with the Han people.

There is even a chance to take control of the Central Plains and conquer the world while the Han people are severely weakened.

Therefore, it can be said that the outcome of this battle determined the historical direction of northern China.

However, Lu Yi, who was in Luwu and actively preparing for war, knew that the Han Dynasty would win this battle.

The Xianbei people's ambitions were nothing but wishful thinking.

But even so, the Han Dynasty still had to pay a heavy price to repel 300,000 Xianbei people.

The struggle for living space between the two nations was far more brutal than the fighting among the vassal states during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

The princes shared the same language and ethnicity, and were all granted fiefs by the Zhou royal family.

They fight each other only to conquer each other.

However, the Xianbei and other Hu peoples have always attempted to destroy the Han people in order to obtain their vast territories and gain space for the survival and reproduction of their own race.

The Five Barbarians' Invasion of China is the best proof of this.

The Han army, led by the three commanders Lu Zhi, Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song, had exchanges with the Xianbei people.

There were casualties on both sides.

However, most of the fighting was local wars.

The pressure on both sides is enormous.

No one dares to be the first to put everything on the line.

Once you are careless, it will be very difficult to find such a good opportunity again.

March, April and May passed quietly, and time quickly entered June.

Spring passes and summer comes.

Although three months had passed, the war was still going on between Bingzhou and Youzhou. The two sides were almost facing each other, camping face to face.

June is already the end of summer.

However, due to the Little Ice Age, the temperature was not hot.

But even so, the Xianbei people could hardly bear it anymore.

The Hu people can tolerate cold but not heat.

As the temperature gradually rises, coupled with the unfamiliar climate and water.

The epidemic quietly appeared in the three camps of the Xianbei people, and it showed signs of getting worse.

Lu Zhi and others immediately realized that the time for a decisive battle had come.

Tan Shihuai, who had been sitting in the rear, could no longer sit still.

Not only did he go to the front line in person, but after suffering nearly 10,000 casualties, he drew 50,000 troops from the rear and combined them with more than 200,000 to confront Lu Zhi and others.

Although Lu Zhi and his army of 100,000 suffered more than 10,000 casualties after three months of fighting.

But the Han Dynasty's war machine has already started.

Not only did Jizhou and Qingzhou, which were close behind them, continuously send county and prefecture soldiers within the city to the camp of Lu Zhi and others.

During these three months, the Luoyang court continuously transported troops from various places that were sent to Luoyang to the camp of Lu Zhi and others.

Before we knew it, the Han army not only did not decrease in number, but increased in number instead.

The number soon exceeded 150,000.

Moreover, after the initial wars, many recruits underwent transformation on the battlefield.

The combat effectiveness has also been significantly improved.

It can be seen from the casualty ratio of these three months that the Han army has gained the upper hand.

The atmosphere of the decisive battle is becoming more and more intense.

Almost the entire Hebei Province knew that the war was coming.

At once, countless people had their own thoughts.

Some wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to gain military merit and achieve a leap in class and status. They either brought their own horses, bows and crossbows to join the army, or transported food from their homes to the Han army.

Some of them planned to preserve their strength, passively prepared for war, and actively wait and see.

There were even some traitors who had defected to the Xianbei people, actively colluding with and intimidating other Han people, spying on the Han army's intelligence, and working for the Xianbei people.

Lu Yi, who was in Luwu, also wanted to take the initiative to join the war because of the subtle changes in the situation.

Now the scope of the Xianbei army's activities has been compressed by the Han army.

The range of Lu Yi's scouts' activities has increased a lot.

Intelligence from the outside world was continuously transmitted back to Luwu by scouts.

Although many good fighters were lost, this was a necessary price to pay for war.

Kindness does not command the army, and righteousness does not command wealth, but Lu Yi was still cruel enough to do this.

Besides, it is better to work for Lu Yi than for the imperial court.

Died for Lu Yi, especially died in battle.

Lu Yi really takes care of the victims' families to relieve his worries.

Therefore, the scouts were willing to work for Lu Yi.

After the efforts of the scouts.

Lu Yi not only got in touch with his father-in-law Hexutuo in Hexi County, but also finally got in touch with Lu Bu, who had secured the safety of the Mayi Great Wall Pass by withdrawing a number of besieged Xianbei people, and the Zhang family of Zhangwu in Mayi.

(End of this chapter)