Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 55 Supplies
Hilted was very happy because he returned to the south of the desert, to this place with abundant water and grass.

When I was young, I followed the chief to graze in this area. Unfortunately, we were defeated by the Han army a few years ago and had to flee to the bitter and cold northern desert. The grass there is not as good as that in the southern desert!
Last year, the snowstorms became more severe, causing countless deaths and injuries to livestock.

Going south has always been Hilted's dream, but like many Huns, they were scared and dared not go south!

But this year the situation was different. The Chanyu sent his troops south, and Hilted was too old to follow the army as in the past. However, he and some elders in the tribe, along with women and children, drove the cattle and sheep and followed far behind the army.

As long as the army is victorious, they will get the most lush pastures.

Seeing the cattle and sheep eating grass leisurely, Hilted was very happy. This year's cattle and sheep must be particularly fat, and this winter must be better! In the future, if we occupy the south of the desert, we can raise more cattle and sheep!
Suddenly he felt a slight vibration in the ground, and slowly Hilted's expression changed.

Not only did Hilted feel that the situation had changed, but the people who were originally herding cattle and sheep and grazing also realized that something was wrong.

Zhao Anguo waved his whip, extremely excited, "My men, follow me to kill the Huns!"

A group of Han troops with thousands of men came galloping from a distance. Several half-grown children immediately jumped on their horses, waved their whips and started to run away.

Hilted was terrified and tried to drive the cattle and sheep away, but it was too late. He wanted to pick up a weapon, but before he could make any move, he was shot in the chest by an arrow.

At the end, the light in Hilted's eyes gradually faded, and the horse's hooves were getting closer and closer!

"The army doesn't have to worry about having no food or water!" Zhao Po Nu was overjoyed and said excitedly, "Kill these cattle and sheep, and bring out the horses!"

Untamed horses naturally cannot become war horses, and not every horse can carry people. But first take a look, and replace the suitable war horses, and the unsuitable ones can be used to carry supplies and be used as pack horses first!

Huo Xian pointed at a cow and said, "Roast it for me!"

Liu Mo, with sunken cheeks, immediately ran towards the big fat cow, followed by several family guards.

The scene seemed chaotic. The Han army was busy slaughtering sheep and cattle, and driving some women, children, the elderly and the weak to cook food or interrogate them.

Huo Xian didn't need to worry about these things. The army's march still had rules, and officers at all levels just needed to restrain their subordinates.

"A few escaped." Zhao Anguo said unwillingly, "Those little guys ran fast. We couldn't catch up with them."

"If we can't catch up, then don't chase." Huo Xian didn't care. "We have to leave a few people to pass on the message, so that the Xiongnu know where we are."

Cao Zong pointed at the women and children who were taken to one side and asked, "Can't those people pass on the message?"

Huo Xian glanced at Cao Zong and then changed the subject, "Try the mare's milk wine, I don't know what it tastes like!"

Zhao Po Nu saw through it but did not say anything. Those frightened Huns were not the people of the Han Dynasty, and the Marquis Guanjun had no intention of showing mercy.

"Let's keep going forward. We can turn back after attacking one or two more tribes." Huo Xian asked Chen Ju to set up a large iron pot and throw spices, salt, etc. into the pot. "Don't be picky about it for now. As long as it's edible and cooked, it's fine."

"There are not enough arrows." Zhao Po Nu said with regret, "Even if these people have arrows, they are not enough for the army."

Although the weapons were in short supply, this cavalry was not completely empty-handed. It was just that they were seriously short of arrows, but as long as they were not facing a head-on battle with tens of thousands of troops, it would not be a big problem.

"I don't know if the Huns will send troops to chase us after we attack this one." Huo Xian said with regret, "I thought the Huns would send more than 10,000 people to chase us, and we could counterattack after replenishing our supplies."

The soldiers under his command have already started to feast on their food, each of them wolfing it down. They are really starving and must have a good meal.

Fortunately, two or three hundred sheep, dozens of cows, and nearly a hundred horses were enough to feed and water nearly ten thousand people.

Zhao Po Nu said as he tore the beef, "It's time to do it. Spring is the best time to fight the Xiongnu. After a winter, the Xiongnu will probably be starving and thin, and their cattle and horses are also very thin."

Now these fat cattle and sheep are cheap for Huo Xian and others.

After eating and drinking, they rested for an hour or two, and then Huo Xian led the army to continue their march. Zhao Po Nu left a group of people behind to deal with the aftermath. Just as they ran a short distance, a scout came to report, "My lord, there is another tribe ahead!"

Huo Xian was very satisfied and looking forward to it. "I just ate about 70% full. Let the boys eat completely and bring some dry food!"

Zhao Po Nu said, "Don't let so many people escape this time. Those who escaped are all young boys."

Huo Xian understood what Zhao Po Nu meant and said, "The morale of the army has been boosted, and the soldiers have rested for a while. Let's go out and surround that tribe!"

Watching the army rushing out, Huo Xian remained in place with his troops.

Cao Zong looked at Huo Xian and said, "My Lord, I think now that we have conquered this part, we should take a good rest."

Huo Xian nodded and said, "That's right. Uncle Zhao also understands these things."

The army has long reached its limit and really needs to rest so that it can better carry out the next battle.

"My Lord, is the general all right?" Zhao Anguo said with some concern, "Even if we brought some Huns with us, there will probably be 50,000 or 60,000 Huns fighting against the general this time."

Huo Xian looked at Zhao Anguo and said, "I have made contributions, and your father-in-law has made contributions, that's all. The general only needs to hold back the Xiongnu people, he doesn't need to care too much about the gains."

As a relative by marriage, Cao Zong also understood some things. This time the general went to the battle, in fact, he was just taking some people with him to make merit.

The general does not need to gain too much, "working in vain" may even be the greatest help to him.

"There is nothing to worry about the general. We have destroyed the Xiongnu's supplies, so they will panic." Huo Xian explained, "Then the Xiongnu will surely attack the general's troops. We will hold them back and consume them."

Zhao Anguo also understood, but still felt a little embarrassed, "Sir, are we going to gain merit by stepping on the general?"

The Huns attacked fiercely and fought head-on, and that was done by General Wei Qing.

When the general had almost exhausted the Huns and they could no longer sustain their forces and began to flee, Huo Shan and his men would take advantage of their rest and chase them down. Wasn't this just reaping the fruits of the hard battle fought by Wei Qing and his men?

Huo Xian smiled and said, "That's it! What we are going to do this time is to destroy the Xiongnu's baggage. Then, after they flee, we will kill as many as we can, so that we can return to the court!"

Suddenly, there were flashes of fire in the distance. It was obvious that the Xiongnu herdsmen were unable to resist the elite Han cavalry.

When Huo Xian happily led his men to the Xiongnu gathering place, someone immediately reported, "Sir, this group of Xiongnu have plundered many Han people!"

Huo Xian was also aware of this. The Han Dynasty and the Huns had been fighting for many years, and before that the Huns had also abducted and abused many Han people from the Han Dynasty.

"Then we can kill them with peace of mind." Huo Xian said with a smile, "This group has Han slaves, so they look quite important. Go and interrogate them to find out which groups of the Xiongnu sent out the troops this time, and ask them if they know any military information!"

With some fodder for the war horses, the soldiers could eat and drink their fill while also carrying some spare dry food.

Basically, you don’t have to worry about supplies. The next step is to keep catching the tongue and making big detours.

Zhao Po Nu was very excited, "Xian'er, my previous guess was right! The Xiongnu's baggage is on the other side! They have escorted a lot of cattle, sheep, and horses to that side!"

"Now that we have concluded our work here, let's take a good rest." Huo Xian suggested, "Rest for half a day or a whole day to see how the men and horses are doing, and then we can make a decision."

Zhao Po Nu said, "The boys are fine, but the horses are a little tired."

We are about to begin a forced march and a large detour, which is a test.

Take the time to rest well, as this battle is about to reach a critical point. Whether it can be carried out smoothly depends on whether the plan can be successfully implemented next!

(End of this chapter)