Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 185 Time is precious
The Huns finally retreated safely, and the scouts they sent out were constantly investigating and observing, and it was basically confirmed that these people returned by the same route.

The Right Wise King led an army of 60,000 into the Western Regions with great fanfare, intending to launch a surprise attack on the Han army and annihilate Huo Shan and others.

But the result was that the Huns left behind thousands of corpses. They were defeated in the canyon. Because the weather did not allow them to delay any further, they could only launch a massive surprise attack and then return in disgrace.

For the Huns, this defeat caused heavy losses, and the direct or indirect losses were certainly not small.

The direct losses are naturally the loss of soldiers and generals, and the indirect losses are actually not small either.

For the Right Wise King, he failed to win this time. At a time when the Xiongnu were fighting for power, his defeat would naturally affect his authority and status.

Needless to say for King Riju, his tribe suffered heavy losses, and the Western Regions used to be his sphere of influence, but now he has basically been driven out of the Western Regions.

The losses will definitely not be small, and the impact will not be small. For the Huns, this loss is not the most fatal, but it is enough to make them feel the pain, and the impact will become greater and greater in the future.

The Huns may need to slowly recover their vitality, and these people may also need to review and summarize the gains and losses of this time, etc. All these are things they need to consider now.

However, this has little to do with Huo Xian and others for the time being. The Han army has won now, and they can now enjoy the joy of victory.

Huo Xian was in a good mood and asked again, "How much did you get? If you don't count it out, how can I report it?"

Zhao Anguo smiled and said quickly, "Sir, these things can't be rushed. Anyway, the Huns are gone now, and we have plenty of time to take stock of these things."

No rush. Zhao Anguo really felt that there was no need to rush. Now that the war was over, as long as the Huns did not go crazy and launch a surprise attack immediately, there would basically be no more fighting.

It is snowing again now, so we should be busy resting and arranging matters in the Western Region. Everyone can be more relaxed and there is no need to rush to report our achievements.

Huo Xian was also happy, "Report your achievements sooner so that I can feel at ease sooner. The matter in the Western Region is over, and it's time for me to take a rest."

Zhao Anguo became alert, because Huo Xian also had a long criminal record. Resting, recuperation, or the end of the war, according to some past habits, the prince must have run away.

So Zhao Anguo also said carefully at this time, "Sir, the Huns will not come now, but they may come again after the spring. Besides, there are still many things to do in the Western Regions."

Huo Xian naturally knew this clearly in his mind. He certainly would not think about leaving immediately. Even if he was asked to leave now, he would still feel somewhat uneasy.

At most, the war has ended temporarily now. This does not mean that everything has been settled. We still need to take charge when the time comes.

Gongsun Ao said at this time, "My Lord, you can't leave now. I don't know what His Majesty means, there are many things to do in the Western Regions."

Huo Xian was speechless. He just wanted to report his achievements as soon as possible, and he really didn't have any other thoughts. Besides, it was snowing now, and he didn't want to go out in the snow. It was too inconvenient.

But these people in front of him seemed to have determined that he would run away. It was really speechless. None of them had any basic trust in him.

Huo Xian wanted to refute but after thinking about it carefully, he suddenly lost his confidence. He did have a history of running away early, whether it was when he followed Wei Qing to fight against the Huns or when he attacked Dayuan.

Zhao Anguo and Gongsun Ao were the "victims". Every time Huo Xian ran away, leaving the rest of the matters to them to deal with. It was no wonder that others thought too much about it.

But the next moment Huo Xian was full of confidence, "The Xiongnu just left, who knows if they will come back, how can I leave! You can't control the army, so I have to stay here!"

Zhao Anguo had no objection to this. He was now a general and a marquis, and his status seemed sufficient, but his military achievements or prestige were not enough to command tens of thousands of troops.

Gongsun Ao seemed to have been fighting for half his life, and he had also led an army alone, but that was only an army of 10,000, and his military achievements and prestige were not enough.

So even if he felt a little uncomfortable, he could only accept this evaluation. This was not just Huo Xian's evaluation, in fact, most of the army had similar ideas.

After hearing what Huo Shan said, Zhao Anguo and Gongsun Ao felt relieved. It seemed that they no longer needed to worry about Huo Shan running away early.

If you think about it carefully, although Huo Xian liked to escape early, it was either because of the emperor's order or because he had completely ended the war. He really had no precedent of giving up halfway.

Thinking in this way, I feel more at ease. Even if Huo Xian is unreliable, he will never delay important things.

Huo Xian was not idle after returning to Jiaohe City. "Treat the injured soldiers as soon as possible, and kill cattle and sheep to reward the army. After the war, the men must get some meat to eat!"

It was a little difficult to eat enough meat, but every soldier got a little meat and a bowl of soup, so there was naturally no problem. There were still some spoils of war this time, and there was no need to keep them all now.

Chen Ju immediately smiled and said, "My Lord, I will go pick two sheep right away!"

"Uncle Chen, two sheep are not enough!" Zhao Anguo said with a smile, "Go get ten sheep, that will be enough for you to share."

Chen Ju had his own idea, "That's different. I'll go get two sheep and they'll be for us to eat. If others want to eat, the army will naturally make arrangements."

Huo Xian laughed and said, "There are thirty of us, and two sheep are not enough. Go kill a cow and two sheep. Find a way to get me some vegetables, fruits, and melons. I'm tired of eating meat every day."

This was a bit annoying. The other soldiers could only eat coarse grains, not to mention meat. Even refined rice and refined flour were rarely seen. But Huo Xian was really tired of eating meat.

But no one said anything. Huo Xian was really not the type to share weal and woe with his soldiers. When he was away on the battlefield, he would not deduct their food, but he would not put himself in a difficult position either.

The soldiers did not think there was anything wrong with it. Following the Champion Marquis, they could win the war, and that was enough. No one dared to deduct the military merits and rewards, which were more important to them.

It was normal for Huo Xian, the Grand Marshal and General of the Cavalry, to eat meat, since he was the Marquis of Guanjun. It would be strange if he ate the same food as ordinary soldiers.

Feng Wu suddenly said, "Sir, take off your armor first. You were hit before." Huo Xian was not hypocritical. He had indeed been hit a few times before. Although the arrow did not completely penetrate the armor, it was embedded in it to some extent. In addition, he was hit by a blunt object, so he still felt a little stuffy in his chest at that time.

After taking off his armor, Huo Xian's expression immediately turned ugly, and the expressions of others were even uglier, because he looked really injured.

After cutting off the arrow shafts that were embedded in the armor, the soft armor inside was deformed and dented. Although the silk lining was blocking it, the shoulders of several arrows pierced the skin.

A large area of ​​the silk lining turned red, but fortunately it was only the surface skin, so there was no need to pull out the arrow, as it didn't go in very deep.

Huo Xian cursed angrily, "The main forces of these Xiongnu people are different. After all, they are Xiongnu Hexagon."

Chen Ju was very worried. After a careful examination, he said with relief, "Fortunately, it's just a flesh wound. It will be fine after a few days of rest."

"Don't tell anyone about this when we return to Chang'an, understand?" Huo Xian said as he wiped his body with hot water. "I've fought a few battles, but this is the only time I've seen blood."

This is also true. Huo Xian has not been injured much in his many battles. The most common injury he suffered was when riding a horse, which caused his inner thigh to be rubbed, and that was when he felt the most pain.

Gongsun Ao watched carefully and suddenly became nervous, "Lord, you should take a break first! How did you get hurt so badly after being hit?"

Huo Xian was even more depressed. The Xiongnu had a lot of bruises on his face. "Fortunately, Feng Wu was decisive. If he hadn't saved me, I would have been smashed to death by the Xiongnu! You are not allowed to tell anyone about this, otherwise it will be difficult for me to charge into the battle!"

Many people are aware that generals are bound to die on the battlefield. Even though Huo Xian is the Marquis of Guanjun, he does not rule out the possibility that he may die on the battlefield one day, and others are more mentally prepared.

But everyone also knew that Huo Xian was special. He liked to charge into battle and lead the charge. If the emperor knew that he was injured, he would definitely send someone to stop him.

The champion marquis will still be allowed to go to war, but in the future if he wants to go into battle wearing heavy armor, a lot of people around him will stop him.

Huo Xian pressed his chest carefully and said, "It's okay. I haven't hurt any bones or muscles. Give me some meat first. I need to eat and drink to nourish myself."

It's just a minor injury, it's really not worth making a fuss about. If it was really a serious injury, it would be impossible for them to be chatting and laughing here. These are all veterans and are used to it.

While the others were busy preparing food, Huo Xian said to Zhao Anguo, "You let Li Ling lead his troops to station at the entrance of the valley, but you still have to be careful of the Xiongnu coming back."

Naturally, no one would object to Huo Xian's arrangement. Now we do need to be careful. The Huns seem to have left, and the Han army has also sent scouts to follow and observe, but it never hurts to be cautious.

Huo Xian then continued, "Let Zhao Chongguo lead 500 cavalrymen to the river, in case the Xiongnu really come back, otherwise we will be in trouble."

After hearing these arrangements, everyone naturally had no objections. Even if Huo Xian didn't mention it, Zhao Anguo and Gongsun Ao would remind them that they couldn't let their guard down now, and they definitely shouldn't think that the Huns were no longer a threat.

There is no problem in retreating to Jiaohe City for rest now, but there are also a certain number of troops defending the valley, so no loopholes should appear at this time.

It is definitely not a good idea to underestimate the enemy. Even if you just seemed to have won a great victory, you still need to remain vigilant.

Zhao Anguo immediately replied, "I'd better lead the team there myself, so that everyone can feel at ease."

Huo Xian shook his head and said, "No, you lead your men to Qie Mi. The Xiongnu have retreated, and Qie Mi has not yet learned of the situation, so it is too late to withdraw. I will go there in two days and see if I can have a chance to kill some more."

It was naturally a cause for celebration to have defeated the main force of the Xiongnu. However, Huo Xian was clearly not satisfied with his military exploits, and if he had the chance, he would try to further expand his military exploits.

Huo Xian's words also made people's eyes light up. Don't forget that there are still some enemies on Qie Mi's side. Although it is a combined force of Xiongnu and Qie Mi, it is a small army, but if they can be killed, it will be a great achievement.

As soldiers, they naturally would not be dissatisfied with having many military achievements. Even though they have made remarkable achievements this time, everyone still hopes to gain more.

It is not a bad thing to deal with the main force first and then the small forces, and everyone is looking forward to it.

Gongsun Ao said, "The Qiemi people have been guarding the valley, and now they want to break out. While they are unaware that the main force of the Xiongnu has retreated, we may be able to ambush and kill them."

Huo Xian thought the same thing. "So we have to be fast. Once they react, it will be hard for us to kill them. Let's see the report from the scouts tomorrow. It's not a good time to mobilize the army for the time being."

Huo Xian still wanted to play it safe. He did not dare to transfer the main force away at once until he had a complete grasp of the movements of the main force of the Xiongnu. Otherwise, all his previous efforts might be wasted.

Everyone knew this, of course. If they wanted to defeat the Xiongnu army, they only had one chance. And if nothing unexpected happened, the Han army would have to keep moving, move quickly, and move continuously.

Zhao Anguo said, "Then I will lead the troops to advance tomorrow morning to give the Xiongnu some false impressions, so that they will mistakenly think that we are short of troops and force them to attack."

Huo Xian said in agreement, "That's right. If they keep guarding the valley like before, we won't be able to kill them even if we want to. We must let them rush out so that we can wipe them out."

As long as the main force of the Xiongnu retreated, Huo Xian really didn't have to worry about the small forces creating chaos. The Han army could completely swallow them up in one go instead of worrying about being attacked from both sides.

At this time, we need to consider "luring the enemy deep into our territory", otherwise we can only watch the Xiongnu's troops retreat. If they cannot take the city after a long attack, they may retreat at any time.

After all, the weather did not allow for a protracted war. Seeing that they could not get out of the valley, the Huns might have already considered retreating.

Seize the time, this is also what the Han army should do, the opportunity will not come again.

If there is a chance to weaken the enemy, don't miss it!
For Huo Xian, the war is not over yet. He needs to hurry up and report his achievements. Now it is only a temporary victory, but it is still a victory. He cannot delay claiming credit and announcing the good news.

The good news comes one after another, that's the best Grand Marshal and General of the Cavalry!
(End of this chapter)