Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 178: A Small Victory
Whether the Wusun people thought about driving away the wolf and swallowing the tiger is actually not that important. They can only look back on the past after the current issues are resolved.

The Huns' army is now approaching. If Huo Xian cannot hold out, he will inevitably be defeated and killed. At that time, it will be useless even if he wants to settle accounts with the Wusun people.

Weng Guimi and Feng Ling left in a hurry again. They brought information, which was of great help. It let Huo Xian know how many troops the Huns had, which was crucial to the next arrangements.

"Send a message to Marquis Yiqu, and have him lead his army here quickly." Huo Xian began to issue orders one after another, "Tell Marquis Haixi to be more careful and speed up the march, but the army must not be dispersed to prevent attacks from the Xiongnu."

The most important thing now is to let the large group of troops led by Gongsun Ao arrive quickly so as to stop the attack of the Huns.

Li Guangli's reinforcements would not arrive in a short time, and they might encounter the Huns on the way, so they needed to be cautious and not leave any loopholes.

Huo Xian hurriedly handed the letter to the messenger and said, "Send it back to Chang'an as soon as possible and hand it to Your Majesty personally."

After finishing these tasks, Huo Xian said to Feng Wu, "Bring the armor, change it into Dao Li, and have someone take good care of Yuan Bao."

The two war horses were ridden in turns. These two Ferghana horses had basically no loads these days. Huo Xian rode the horse he had asked for from Liu Ju. There were not many other horses. He would bring at least three mounts with him when he went out on an expedition.

Everyone started to prepare, because the current situation seemed like the Huns could appear at any time, and the moment when the enemy was truly at the gates was about to come.

After putting on his armor, Huo Xian jumped on his horse and headed straight for the valley. Although a lot of arrangements had been made before, further preparations were still needed. Some things he still needed to see with his own eyes before he could feel at ease.

After carefully checking the conditions on both sides of the valley, I can say that the current layout is very complete.

Not only were a large number of stones and wood prepared, but also some trenches, which could be considered "trenches", were prepared. They were relatively helpful for the Han army to prevent the Huns' arrow rain attacks from bottom to top.

Everyone is on high alert and is more fully prepared so that they can face the upcoming tough battles more calmly.

Zhao Anguo came hurriedly, "Sir, a scout has found out, and they probably saw the Huns' cavalry, and they are heading towards us."

Huo Xian was not surprised at all. "It should be about this time. The Wusun people are very accurate in their calculations. I think it's time for the Qimi people to move out now."

Zhao Anguo was puzzled. "The Qiemi people? What does this have to do with the Qiemi people? It's the Xiongnu army coming to kill us."

"The Xiongnu will send out two armies. The valley guarded by the Qimi people is one of them, and the main force will be these Xiongnu people now." Huo Xian complained, "They all say to attack from both sides. We want to attack the Xiongnu from both sides, and they also want to do the same to us."

Zhao Anguo thought about it carefully and felt that it made a lot of sense. The reality seemed to be true. The Huns had now launched a pincer attack and wanted to wipe out the Han army in one fell swoop.

Then Zhao Anguo became a little worried, "Lord, there are only more than 3,000 men in Qiemi now, can they hold it?"

"We are only trying to stop the enemy, not kill them. We also have the advantage of geographical location, so I don't think it will be a big problem." Huo Xian was still quite confident. "You don't have to worry about those. Just focus on the invading enemy in front of you."

Huo Xian immediately gave the order, "Tell Tian Ren and the others to be careful. The Xiongnu will definitely not rush over in a swarm. Let them come forward as the vanguard and don't alert the enemy."

Zhao Anguo also understood this truth and said with a smile, "These people must have dozens or hundreds of teams going ahead. I would do the same. Unless the Huns underestimate the enemy and advance rashly, they will definitely not come all at once."

This is the reality. When faced with a terrain like a valley, even an inexperienced general would not underestimate the enemy and advance rashly, because such terrain is too dangerous.

"Sir, let those outposts in, so that most of the Xiongnu vanguards will dare to come in." Zhao Anguo said, "As long as we don't let them retreat, it shouldn't be difficult."

Huo Xian nodded, "I thought so too. Let's have their outposts come over now so that the larger team behind can follow. Have people be careful and don't let these people notice."

Huo Xian then gave the order, "Send the message to the ambush troops to let the Xiongnu pass. When the drums sound in front of us, immediately cut off the retreat route and do not let the Xiongnu vanguard retreat."

Caution requires sufficient caution, so that you can be invincible in the next battle. Even if it seems that there is no advantage in military strength, the terrain can offset such disadvantages.

Even now, the large number of Huns has become a disadvantage. The Han army is more relaxed in deploying troops and so on, and there is no situation where there is a shortage of manpower and they need to transfer personnel from all over the place.

The Han army began to prepare for battle, and everyone was on high alert, waiting for the next moment of fighting.

The Huns were also advancing at full speed, knowing that time was their biggest enemy. Since they chose a surprise attack, they needed to seize the time and fight the enemy before they could react.

King Riju obviously had some experience. He was the vanguard, but his army did not just rush forward in a swarm. Instead, it was divided into three major parts: front, middle and rear.

Dozens of outposts were rushing forward. Less than five miles away from them was a team of about three thousand people. They were riding their horses and rushing forward. They seemed to have no sense of urgency or worry.

The reason, of course, is that they did not encounter any threats during the march, not because they basically did not encounter any threats at all, but because there were really no threats at all. They did not need to consider any fighting, harassment or other issues at all.

Huo Xian had a serious expression on his face, because the scouts were constantly reporting back, and the whereabouts of the Han army were about to be hidden, but this was not a problem at all.

The Huns' outposts were suddenly frightened. They saw horse hoof prints ahead and were about to stop to investigate, but it was too late.

Countless Han soldiers emerged from the pits and woods in the valleys on both sides. They drew their bows and arrows and pulled the trigger of crossbows. Arrows rained down continuously, and the Huns' outposts instantly became a hornet's nest.

However, these Xiongnu outposts were also elite, and when they knew they were ambushed, they immediately wanted to alert the troops behind them, and directly shot a whistle arrow. Although the people could not rush out, the whistle arrow could make a sound.

Huo Xian put the mask on his face and said to Zhao Anguo, "Get ready to kill the enemy, the Huns are coming!"

"Let's go to the battlefield!" Zhao Anguo immediately raised his spear and jumped on his horse, holding his ring-handled sword high and shouting, "Infantry, form a formation! Yulin Army and Qimen Army, move forward, and knights mount their horses!"

Chen Ju was still wearing light armor. He said to Huo Xian, "Your Excellency, just focus on killing the enemies. Feng Wu and I will be by your side."

Huo Xian said confidently, "Uncle Chen, I have fought several times since I went on the expedition. I have always only cared about the enemy in front of me, and never worried about the enemies on my left, right, and behind me!" This was Huo Xian's true feelings. When he was fighting the enemy in battle, he really didn't worry about his own safety, and he didn't doubt Chen Ju and others at all. He just needed to kill the enemy, and the enemy in front of him was his enemy.

The Xiongnu commander was a little panicked and anxious. The army galloped all the way without encountering any resistance. But now there was an ambush ahead, but no one knew how many people there were and what the situation was.

While he was taking the time to let the main force of King Rizhu behind him know the news, he also sent out a team of a hundred people to continue to explore the situation forward, and return immediately if they encountered the enemy.

Huo Xian suddenly raised his hand and shouted, "Beat the drums! Yulin Army and Qimen Army, follow me and kill the enemy!"

With heavy cavalry as the vanguard and light cavalry following behind, the army rushed directly into the depths of the valley, because the Huns' vanguard troops were getting closer and closer, basically right in front of them.

The Han army began to move out, and the not-so-narrow valley was immediately filled with smoke and dust. The movements of the Han army naturally could not escape the attention of the Xiongnu, and many of them also reacted.

The Xiongnu scouts continued to move forward to investigate, while the Xiongnu commander ordered his men to prepare to meet the enemy while sending a messenger to report to King Riju.

But the next moment they were horrified to find that their retreat was cut off and the messenger was shot and killed by the Han army that suddenly appeared.

Huo Xian urged his horse to move and shouted, "My men, follow me to kill the enemy!"

The Xiongnu captain had no way to retreat. He knew he had escaped death. "Kill these Han people!"

The Xiongnu cavalry seemed more graceful and agile, and they advanced quickly with their superb riding skills. However, the weapons in their hands were varied, including spears, halberds, lances, ring-headed swords, scimitars, etc. They could use whatever they could.

The Han army's formation was neat. The heavy cavalry in the first row did not avoid the arrows. They all held their long spears horizontally in one hand and rushed straight towards the Huns' formation without having to consider anything else.

The Huns were shooting arrows, and the Han army did not hold back. Some of the light cavalry behind them were also shooting arrows diagonally upwards, trying to share some of the pressure on the heavy cavalry as much as possible.

Huo Xian knocked down a Xiongnu cavalryman with his horse lance, but he remained calm. He just kept holding the lance tightly and urged his horse forward. The horse's momentum was not stopping yet, so he had a chance to break through the Xiongnu vanguard.

Chen Ju swung his sword and knocked down a Xiongnu cavalryman, "Feng Wu, follow closely!"

A charge by the Han army's heavy cavalry broke up the Xiongnu formation that seemed to be in good order. Zhao Anguo seized the opportunity and commanded the light cavalry to shoot and kill the Xiongnu who had escaped the net.

The Xiongnu captain had no way to escape, and if he couldn't kill them head-on, he tried to run backwards. But the road behind him had been blocked, and their retreat was full of tree trunks and boulders, squeezing the Xiongnu into a desperate situation.

Huo Xian, who had caught up slowly, was not polite at all. He raised his lance and said, "Shoot!"

For a moment, arrows rained down, and along with the sound of bowstrings and the sound of arrows breaking through the air, there was the sound of arrows shooting into human bodies, as well as the cries and dying whimpers of the Huns.

Zhao Anguo was very happy and said to Huo Xian, "Lord, this ambush was easy. We killed at least two thousand of them in this battle!"

Huo Xian said with regret, "What a pity! The Xiongnu are still cautious. If we can kill 10,000 of them, it will be considered a victory!"

This is indeed a pity. It can only be regarded as killing a small part of the Huns' vanguard. The main force of King Riju was not destroyed because of this ambush.

Moreover, the Huns should now know that their surprise attack plan has failed, and they should be more vigilant.

Zhao Anguo was naturally regretful, but he said, "Sir, now it depends on whether these Xiongnu dare to move forward. However, the ambushes on both sides of the valley are probably useless."

Huo Xian didn't think so. "They still have to continue guarding. This is also our way out. Send someone to investigate quickly and clear the obstacles in the valley. We have to prepare to move forward and kill the enemy."

King Riju may not move forward, but the Han army can. As for the ambush troops in the valley, they still need to prepare to guard the retreat route and cut off the pursuers. They cannot retreat now, and they cannot keep up.

Zhao Anguo thought about it and it made sense, so he said, "Sir, I will lead the light cavalry to investigate. If we encounter the Xiongnu, I will not get involved with them."

Huo Xian made a prompt decision and said, "This is the best. We cannot deploy our forces in the valley. We are not afraid of the Xiongnu. But we must not let them gather their forces. They have too many people."

Zhao Anguo naturally understood that now in the valley, the front line would only have two or three hundred people fighting. But if the Huns gathered tens of thousands of troops and took turns to attack, they could also consume the Han army to death.

As for bypassing the Xiongnu formation, it was not very realistic. If they really wanted to take a detour, they would have to take the Tarim River, or abandon their horses and go up the mountain. Now both armies knew the enemy's movements, so it was impossible for them not to guard the valley.

Don't think too much at this time. It's just a close-range fight. There aren't too many tactics and skills. It all depends on morale, equipment, and fighting will.

Huo Xian watched Zhao Anguo lead more than 300 cavalrymen forward, and then said to Chen Ju, "Hurry up and have someone throw the Xiongnu to both sides and clean up the battlefield."

Chen Ju didn't say much. The valley was now filled with the smell of blood, and the corpses of Huns and war horses were densely packed. These were now obstacles, so he threw them aside first.

A small victory is certainly something to be happy about, but we must not be complacent just because of such a small victory. There will definitely be tough battles ahead, and the real war has just begun.

For King Riju, this is like three shocks a day, and he can't help but start to worry.

The vanguard did not retreat at all. From the shouting and screaming at the front, it was known that the Han army had a large number of people. This momentum could not be created by just a few hundred people.

More importantly, the troops sent out to reinforce were suddenly shot back by arrows from both sides of the valley. The Han army was obviously prepared and had been ambushed here for a long time.

On the one hand, he was busy sending people to convey information to the troops of the Right Wise King behind him, and on the other hand, he was seizing the time to prepare for battle.

For King Riju, the real moment of decisive battle has come. A surprise attack is no longer possible, and now he can only prepare for the war with all his strength.

(End of this chapter)