Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 53: Counterattack Begins Now

The main cavalry was trapped and the Huns continued to harass them. This was indeed the situation of Huo Xian and others.

He was worried that the Huns would launch a general attack regardless of the consequences, and he was also worried that the main cavalry would not be able to hold on, but he still had reasons to continue to persevere.

After a small confrontation, the Xiongnu seemed to have stopped their attacks. Huo Xian and his men also began to prepare for a breakout.

Suddenly, the Huns' formation in the distance began to change, and more and more Huns began to run towards the south.

In particular, the Xiongnu cavalry that had been in the northern part of the encirclement began to move south in large numbers.

"General Fu Ju is here!" Zhao Anguo was quite excited and said excitedly, "The Huns are starting to move south, they must be on guard against General Fu Ju!"

Huo Xian smiled and nodded, "He has 5,000 cavalry, which is completely different from the less than 1,000 people we have. When the vanguard arrives, Zuo Xian Wang will definitely arrange troops to guard against it."

Cao Zong asked excitedly, "Sir, did you make this clear to the general?"

Huo Xian pretended not to understand, "These are just military orders. Uncle Zhao has to be rescued. General Fu Ju's 5,000 cavalrymen don't dare to fight head-on, so we have to disrupt the battle."

Zhao Po Nu came hurriedly, quite excited, "Xian'er, is it that the general's vanguard has arrived?"

"It looks like General Fu Ju's 5,000 cavalry are here," Huo Xian said with a smile, "Now the Xiongnu will have to dispatch more men to guard against them, and we can break through."

Zhao Po Nu nodded and said, "Let's rush out from the southeast, as that side is weaker after all."

"Uncle Zhao, I'm afraid the Xiongnu want to make a quick decision to eliminate General Fuju's troops." Huo Xian pointed to the north and said, "The defenses at Zuo Xianwang's place are less. We can try to fight them."

Zhao Po Nu immediately said, "No, Zuo Xian Wang's troops still have many guards. If we attack north, the Xiongnu will definitely retreat to rescue us."

Huo Xian nodded, "If we can't swallow it all at once, we can divide it up and swallow it slowly. Uncle Zhao, we will pretend to attack the camp of Zuo Xian Wang, and the Xiongnu will definitely come to rescue. Then General Fu Ju will be less stressed."

Zhao Po Nu thought it made sense. Five thousand cavalrymen had considerable deterrent power, but it was difficult for them to face off against the tens of thousands of Hun troops head-on.

Huo Xian continued, "We will just feint. As long as they come back to support Zuo Xian Wang, we will charge northeast and northwest."

Zhao Anguo was stunned for a moment, "North? We should go south and join the army!"

"General Fu Ju will definitely not dare to fight a decisive battle. He should delay the Xiongnu army for two to three days, fighting and retreating until the general arrives." Huo Xian said, "The general has brought enough infantry and chariots. After the camp is set up, the Xiongnu will find it difficult to break through for a while."

Everyone had no doubt about Wei Qing's ability. Even with only about 10,000 cavalry and more than 30,000 infantry, it would still be very difficult to break through his formation.

Pointing at the Xiongnu, Huo Xian said, "If these people cannot defeat them, they will flee, and it will be difficult for us to catch up with them then!"

Zhao Po Nu suddenly seemed to realize Huo Xian's idea. "We will go north and cut off their retreat. When the time comes, the Xiongnu will inevitably flee north after failing to capture us."

Huo Xian shook his head, "That's not enough, I still need a fire! Now that we have enough supplies, I want to start a fire!"

Not to mention Zhao Po Nu who was in high spirits, even Chen Ju and others were in high spirits as well.

They seemed to understand why Huo Xian plunged headfirst into the encirclement. The champion marquis only had 800 cavalrymen, which was what he could mobilize. But if he wanted more troops, he would not be able to command them!
But if they rushed into the encirclement and broke out with Zhao Po Nu's troops, they might have as many as 10,000 troops!
The purpose of going around the Huns and searching for their baggage and supplies, in addition to achieving self-sufficiency, was to completely cut off the Huns' route of retreat and undermine their morale.

Although the Huns were a nomadic people, it did not mean that they could not build cities. When the army was away, they would also have extremely important supply points.

In the decisive battle of Mobei that year, Wei Qing defeated the Great Chanyu after encircling the Huns.

After the Huns fled, the Han army chased them for more than 200 miles but failed to catch up with the Chanyu Yizhixie, and killed more than 10,000 enemies along the way.

Then they advanced to Zhaoxin City on Mount Zhiyan, and obtained a large amount of food stored by the Xiongnu to replenish the army. After a day's rest, they burned down the city and the remaining military supplies and returned.

This place is still very far from Langjuxu Mountain, so it is impossible to consider chasing them for the time being. However, within a hundred miles behind the Huns, there must be important supply points! Breaking through from the front is a breakthrough, and breaking through from other directions is also a breakthrough.

Especially after a big detour, this army will become the real absolute main force!
Zhao Po Nu looked at Huo Shan and said, "Shan'er, do my exhausted army of ten thousand people have to march another thousand miles in six days?"

This is what Huo Qubing and Zhao Po Nu and others did back then. They fought in the five kingdoms of Hexi, marched more than a thousand miles in six days, inflicted heavy damage on the Huns at the foot of Gaolan Mountain, and captured King Xiutu's golden man for offering sacrifices to the sky!

"As long as we get out and find water, there's nothing to worry about." Huo Xian looked at Zhao Po Nu and said, "Uncle Zhao, if you go back now, you will only be fined and your title will be revoked."

Zhao Po Nu was speechless for a moment, he actually had no choice. The loss this time was too great, according to Han law, he might even be executed.

Of course, according to the Han Dynasty's consistent practice of paying money to atone for sins, Zhao Po Nu would definitely be deposed from his title and demoted to a commoner, and then he would have the opportunity to be reinstated and seek a chance to be conferred a title of nobility when war broke out.

"Xian'er, you look down on Anguo, so you let me be your deputy!" Zhao Po Nu laughed and scolded, "I used to be General Junji and Marquis of Xuye, but now I have become Sima of General of the Cavalry and Marquis of Congpi!"

Zhao Po Nu never concealed his experience of following Huo Qubing and was proud of it.

Huo Xian looked at Zhao Po Nu and asked, "Uncle Zhao, do you want to have a big fight with me?"

Zhao Po Nu said with emotion, "I only heard that you were bold before, but I thought you were only bold in front of His Majesty. Now I see that you are really unrestrained in doing things! A lieutenant dares to plot against a general appointed by His Majesty himself!"

Huo Xian smiled shyly. It would be a heinous crime if he, a captain called Piyao, told others that he wanted to seize the military power from General Junji.

Huo Xian joked, "Uncle Zhao, you have to make up for your crime by doing meritorious service. Follow me and fight a battle. Then you will achieve merit and the dead will get more compensation."

Zhao Po Nu said confidently, "My men are not afraid of hardship, but they are afraid of not having the opportunity to achieve success."

Huo Xian also understood this truth, "Get ready, it's time for us to move."

The Huns in the distance were still mobilizing rapidly. Their physical fitness, baggage, etc. were indeed slightly stronger than the Han cavalry, but in terms of military quality, etc., the Han army as a whole was still much stronger.

Cao Zong lowered his voice and asked, "My Lord, I'm afraid you had planned this before you set out on the expedition?"

"How could I have thought of so much? If I had known that Uncle Zhao was being hunted and besieged by 80,000 people, I wouldn't have done this." Huo Xian said with a smile, "But I did calculate the marching speed of General Fu Ju and the general, and their temperaments."

The Han army also began to move after distributing the last bit of food, checking weapons, and starting to check war horses.

Zhao Po Nu found Huo Xian and said, "After leaving the camp, your troops will follow mine. First, we will guard against the return of the Xiongnu. Second, when the Xiongnu begin to gather, your troops will immediately change from rear guard to vanguard, break through the Xiongnu, and we will follow!"

Huo Xian had no objection. He believed that heavy cavalry could not attack and charge fiercely all the time, and their strength should be used where it should be used.

After Zhao Po Nu finished explaining these things, he mounted his warhorse and said, "My men, we have been chased by the Xiongnu for hundreds of miles, and many of our brothers and comrades have died. Now that the general is leading his army to help us, the Xiongnu will be destroyed in no time!"

Many people also saw some unusual movements of the Huns and had a lot of thoughts in their minds.

Considering that Marquis Guanjun led his troops to help, many people would not doubt that the general’s main force has arrived.

That's the general!

"We have fought hard but to no avail!" Zhao Po Nu shouted excitedly, "How can we be willing to accept this after fighting for thousands of miles and to no avail?!"

Seeing his men's morale starting to rise, Zhao Po Nu felt more at ease, "Follow me to kill the enemy!"

The sound of the war horses' hooves stepping on the grass could make people feel the momentum and vigor at this moment. The Han army, which had been besieged for several days, had been hiding in its shell, and the Huns felt that they had reached the end of their rope.

But now, in an instant, ten thousand cavalrymen rushed down the small earth slope, not retreating southward, but heading northward!

This strange route instantly made many Huns panic, because those Han troops were heading for Zuo Xian King!
(End of this chapter)