Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 88 Macedonian Phalanx

The deployment of troops has become a hot topic for the court in recent times. It has been going on since winter and will continue until the arrival of early summer.

Huo Xian was still in Chang'an City, but no one doubted who would be the commander of the second expedition to Dayuan.

The Yulin Army and the Qimen Army had been dispatched earlier. The two armies, with a total of 1,500 people, were marching towards Dunhuang under the leadership of Zhao Anguo.

Gongsun Ao felt that the best thing he had ever done in his life was to make friends with Wei Qing. However, he also knew that he was destined to be a deputy general and was being controlled by the three generations of the Wei and Huo families.

Everyone knows that he was Wei Qing's good friend and deputy general, but Gongsun Ao also followed Huo Qubing to attack the Xiongnu. However, in that battle, Gongsun Ao got lost in the desert, Huo Qubing went deep into the desert alone and annihilated more than 30,000 Xiongnu. Gongsun Ao was demoted to a civilian after paying a ransom.

Now Gongsun Ao has led the main forces of the Northern and Southern armies to set off. He has to reorganize the troops and check the baggage in Dunhuang, etc.

Huo Xian was still in Chang'an. He would lead a small army to Dunhuang in the summer. He didn't need to worry about the series of things in the early stage. He just needed to wait patiently. His mission seemed to be just to fight.

By sending more troops to Dayuan, everyone believed that this battle would be a sure victory without any doubt.

Therefore, some bad boys in Chang'an or some knights have already set out with dry food and weapons.

This time, there will definitely be a chance to make merit in the battle against Dayuan. For those who want to gain military merit and titles, this opportunity cannot be missed. Even if it may cost one's life, it is worth a try.

Huo Xian was still safe and sound in Chang'an City, but he did not slack off on some preparations. After all, it was his second expedition, and there was plenty of time to prepare in the early stages, so there was no need to rush.

Huo Xian took the information and looked at it with satisfaction. "Oh my god, could this be the descendant of Alexander who left behind during his Eastern Expedition?"

The more he read the information, the more Huo Xian felt that there were some possibilities.

Because Dayuan had some connections with the Seleucid Empire in the past, they built forts in various villages and towns in the Greek style. The main ethnic group here was the Scythians, also known as the Scythians.

Although Alexander has been dead for more than two hundred years, his descendants or descendants of the expeditionary forces also have considerable combat capabilities.

According to the military report sent back by Li Guangli, Dayuan's army will have dense phalanxes and will use spears to deal with cavalry.

This can also be considered a kind of inheritance and integration. Dayuan is good at breeding horses, but they also have their own methods for dealing with cavalry and infantry.

In fact, although the Dayuan people today may seem to be nomadic, they actually also combined the culture of Central Asia and had relatively complete cities and settled cultures. Dayuan had more than 70 cities, and even though many of them were small towns, they were still considered cities.

Moreover, this was a city-state system and a feudal system, so there were many noble leaders of all sizes in Dayuan.

For example, in the city of Yucheng where Li Guangli was defeated, the lord of the city can also be called King Yucheng.

Huo Xian became even more interested. Many people said that Alexander eventually built the Alexander Empire spanning Europe, Asia and Africa. If he continued eastward, he would encounter the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period and discuss various possibilities.

Even though the Alexander Empire is gone now, it is still nice to be able to fight with the descendants of the Greeks.

"I hope you won't let me down, Macedonian Phalanx!" Huo Xian couldn't help but laugh. "I wonder how many Macedonian Phalanxes are left now, and whether they have been improved or localized!"

Huo Xian naturally would not think that the people in Dayuan were all Greeks, nor did he think that after more than two hundred years, the Greek way of fighting was still used there.

But it would be great to have a chance to go and see what the current situation in Dayuan is like.

In fact, Huo Xian was also very clear that if Dayuan was really very powerful, it would not have been defeated by Daxia and Dayuezhi. Daxia was more Greek, but it was still destroyed.

The forced migration of the Yuezhi led to the demise of Bactria, prompted the Sakas to invade northern India, and prompted Emperor Wu of Han to send Zhang Qian on a diplomatic mission to the Western Regions, thus opening up the Silk Road.

No matter what, I have to go and see it. This is another good reason.

The area of ​​Central Asia was not only greatly influenced by the Huns, but also had some Greek influence.

Liu Che tiptoed to the Xuanshi Hall and smiled when he saw Huo Shan reading the military newspaper, but did not disturb him.

After Huo Xian put down the military report, Liu Che asked, "This trip is different from fighting the Huns. You should know this."

"Yes, I understand." Huo Xian said, "I still think we can take it down. I underestimated Dayuan before. These people not only have infantry, but also a lot of cavalry. I will definitely not underestimate the enemy!"

This is the case in some cases. Although the current Dayuan is certainly not the most orthodox descendant of the Greek expeditionary army, and there is no way of fighting two hundred years ago that is completely suitable for today's combat needs. But no matter what, military development is ongoing. Huo Xian still needs to pay attention to what he should pay attention to, and he can't treat Dayuan as a small country like Loulan.

Liu Che pointed to the military newspaper and said, "You must be careful when you march. You will have to cross deserts and mountains along the way."

Huo Xian knew very well that marching would be a very difficult thing.

After leaving Yumen Pass, Huo Xian had to go through some deserts and cross the Pamir Plateau. Even though he brought a lot of baggage this time, he still needed to get food from the Western Regions, otherwise he would have to kill cattle and horses for food.

If cattle and horses were really killed, for example, chariots and siege weapons would not be able to be carried because of the loss of animal power.

Clothes also need to be carried in large quantities, especially cold-weather protection. Going to Dayuan to fight would definitely take a winter, and he would most likely have to wait until the spring or summer of next year to enter the capital of Dayuan.

Huo Xian discussed carefully with Liu Che that although there might be a situation where the general would not obey the orders of the emperor when he was away from home, some established strategies still had to be implemented.

Huo Xian was aware of this. It was true that he sometimes took advantage of his favor and became arrogant, but he would not act recklessly. Especially when it came to some major events, he had to be cautious.

Liu Che smiled and said to Huo Xian, "You will set out in half a month, so it's time to leave. This time you lead the army to play it safe. If you really don't have enough supplies, attack a small country in the Western Regions and station there, and wait for me to send you some supplies."

Huo Xian smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I will definitely be able to return to Chang'an next year. This time, even Li Guangli can defeat Dayuan!"

As long as there is no trickery, a steady and cautious approach will definitely win the battle against Dayuan, and no one will doubt this. The imperial court has already increased its troops enough, and there are also a lot of baggage and so on.

Now let's take a closer look, not to mention the soldiers guarding the border, etc. The soldiers going out to the battle already number 15,000 cavalry and 50,000 infantry.

This naturally does not include rangers, criminals and others, otherwise the number would be even greater.

Liu Che also allocated 30,000 horses, most of which were pack horses, 50,000 cattle, 20,000 donkeys and camels, countless food and fodder, bows and crossbows, and more than 50 lieutenants accompanied the huge baggage train with abundant supplies.

One hundred thousand cattle may seem like a terrifying number, but it is not a big burden for the Han Dynasty. Especially since they defeated Zuo Xian Wang last year and captured some Xiongnu people, as well as horses, cattle and sheep.

After all, this is the characteristic of nomadic people. The cavalry are fighting in the front, and the herdsmen are driving the cattle and horses to follow behind.

"Your Majesty, I will definitely establish my authority in the Western Regions this time." Huo Xian said with a smile, "If I destroy one or two more countries, Your Majesty, please don't blame me."

Liu Che smiled and nodded, "Those who don't obey the king's rule, you can destroy them at your convenience. This is especially true for the places where the military farms were previously decided."

Huo Xian was also aware of these things. The influence of the Xiongnu in the Western Regions was still too great, so it was necessary to further eliminate some of the forces in the Western Regions at this time.

There is no problem with those who are pro-Han, but Huo Xian will definitely destroy those who are anti-Han.

It is estimated that there will be some opposition at that time, but these things must be done. The influence of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions must be further enhanced.

The so-called 36 countries in the Western Regions, after Huo Xian's expedition this time, the number is likely to change. But this is not surprising, the Western Regions are originally full of small countries, one more or one less will not have any impact.

Wei Qing called Huo Xian to the General's Mansion and said, "I have recorded all my experience in forming battle formations and employing people over the years here. I will hand it over to you now."

Seeing Huo Xian ecstatically accepting the "Art of War", Wei Qing reminded him, "It's OK for you to know this, otherwise His Majesty will definitely be unhappy."

"I know. I will definitely focus on cavalry warfare." Huo Xian said with a smile. He knew what he was doing. "Uncle, I will leave in a few days. I will use Ren An and Tian Ren as I see fit."

Wei Qing thought for a moment and said, "It's true that Yiqiu Hou and I are good friends, but don't let him lead the army alone. It's fine if it's a small battle, but don't let him lead a fierce battle alone."

It seems that Wei Qing still knows his old friend very well, and his evaluation of Gongsun Ao is that he can only fight when the wind is favorable.

Huo Xian also started to get serious and drew carefully on the map, "Uncle, the people and horses of Dayuan seem to be good at combining infantry and cavalry, which is somewhat different from the Xiongnu."

Wei Qing smiled and nodded, "How do you plan to fight? I saw it before, this Dayuan is quite interesting, it can use spears to resist cavalry."

Huo Xian joked, "If it was a small group of people, the Dayuan people might still be able to win. But I have tens of thousands of people, and their combination of infantry and cavalry is not enough, not to mention that I have plenty of arrows!"

Wei Qing was even more satisfied. It seemed that Huo Xian already knew how to fight this battle well.

Since this is the case, then just fight this battle calmly. As long as you don't act recklessly, you will definitely win!
(End of this chapter)