Unparalleled Evildoer

Chapter 115: The Hun Army Falls into a Trap

Touman was gritting his teeth as he watched 20,000 cavalrymen die in the sea of ​​fire. The sudden explosion frightened him so much that he trembled all over and almost fell off his horse. He looked up in shock and saw flames flashing on the city wall, thick smoke billowing, and soldiers screaming and flying. Touman's eyes were bloodshot and veins bulged. He was extremely angry.

He worked hard for more than ten years to unify the various Xiongnu tribes, annex foreign tribes, dominate the north, and make careful plans to conserve his strength in order to seize the Central Plains. However, he did not expect that more than 100,000 of his carefully trained cavalry were wiped out before a direct battle with the Qin State came into contact with the Qin State. How could Touman bear the loss of three powerful generals?

The original plan was to lure Meng Tian to lead his troops to garrison the city, and then send elite troops to invade from Shangjun. If Meng Tian returned to defend, he would immediately break through Yanmen, attack from both sides and destroy the Qin army. If Meng Tian did not return to defend, the cavalry that invaded Shangjun would cross the river and join forces with the Donghu and Xianbei to encircle Yanmen, leaving Meng Tian isolated and helpless, and he would be annihilated. If the Qin army led by Meng Yi was annihilated, the Huns would have nothing to worry about and would sweep across the northern counties. Although the elite troops of Shangjun were destroyed and the loss was huge, the overall situation had been decided. No matter what choice Meng Tian made, he would have no way to survive. This was a strategy that was sure to win, but they did not expect that the stinky Taoist priest would appear out of nowhere in Yanmen, use another trick to destroy another elite division, blocking their advance.

Looking at the collapsed wall, Touman said angrily: "Hurry up and clean up the rubble. I want to catch up with that stinky Taoist priest and grind him into pulp!"

It took the Hun soldiers two hours to clear the road. The fire in the city gate was extinguished, and the 20,000 cavalrymen were burned to ashes. The Hun army quickly passed through Yanmen Pass and rushed northeast to Dai County, chasing the 50,000 Qin troops led by Wuzhan.

After the Xiongnu army had marched 200 miles, they saw from afar the Qin army entering a canyon in a panic. The canyon was surrounded by mountains on both sides. It was flat and open. It was the only way to Dai County and the terrain was not very dangerous. Seeing this, Touman roared, "Catch up with them and trample them into mud!"

At the command, tens of thousands of cavalrymen galloped towards the canyon like a tide. Prime Minister Bi looked at the rolling mountains in the distance. Although it was difficult to ambush in such a wide canyon, he felt uneasy. He felt that the Taoist was going to play tricks again, but he couldn't guess.

He was originally from Qi. He was well-versed in history and art of war, but he was not valued by Qi. After Qi was destroyed, he fled to Xiongnu, where he was appreciated by Touman and appointed as prime minister. He made great contributions to the Xiongnu's strength by providing advice and strategies.

Prime Minister Bi said to Man: "Khan, the Qin army is cunning. We found out that Meng Tian only had 20,000 soldiers left, but we didn't expect that there were 30,000 soldiers ambushing in the city, which led to the annihilation of General Qiyan Batu's entire division. I think that with Meng Tian's use of troops, the cavalry he took away would not exceed 80,000. The rest of the Qin soldiers did not leave, and they may be ambushing along the way, preparing for a surprise attack. We should be careful."

Touman calmed down his anger and asked, "If you have more than 100,000 people left, why don't you stay to guard Yanmen? With the strategic location, 100,000 people can defend against 300,000 people. Although they may not be able to hold it, they can at least delay us and give Meng Tian enough time. Giving up such a good location and choosing to ambush along the way, isn't this putting the cart before the horse?"

"In order to break through Yanmen, we built many siege equipment and made sufficient preparations. Even if there were 200,000 Qin troops guarding it, we could still break through under a strong attack. The Qin army chose to abandon the pass, and the equipment we built became useless. Our preparations were in vain. Moreover, the Qin army not only stopped us without much loss, but also killed nearly 30,000 of us. Who would have thought of this trick? The Taoist's scheming makes me admire him!"

"Who is that Taoist? How come a person more powerful than Li Mu suddenly appeared in Qin State?"

"I have never heard of him. Perhaps he is another disciple of Guiguzi!" He turned to Qiu Linshan who had been following him in silence and asked, "General Qiu, do you know who he is?"

Qiu Linshan said with a look of shame: "I only know that he calls Meng Yi "Second Brother" and that he is very weak."

Prime Minister Bi thought: "Meng Wu doesn't have such a young son. Maybe he is a cousin. However, we must find out his background."

……

The cavalry chasing the Qin army galloped at full speed, but they were never able to catch up with the Qin army in front of them. Moreover, the further they went into the canyon, the more humid it became, and the air was filled with smoke, so they could only see a hundred feet away.

A cool breeze blew towards them, and the leaves rustled. The pursuer felt a chill all over his body and shivered. Feeling something was wrong, he tightened the reins, slowed down, and walked on alert.

Suddenly, I felt that the smoke was not right. I seemed to be able to smell a faint scent of fragrant grass, which made me feel dazed and as if I was floating in the clouds. My eyelids gradually felt heavy and I felt weak all over. Without a sound, I fell off my horse and fell to the ground. I seemed to be fast asleep. My horse didn't move forward for a few steps before it also fell to the ground.

The drowsy cavalrymen at the back wanted to shout when they saw this, but found that their throats could not make any sound. They whimpered a few times and fell off their horses. In a flash, all the cavalrymen, less than 20,000 in number, fainted in the valley.

……

With no news from the front, Touman and his companions looked at the fog ahead and began to worry. Suddenly, they felt their bodies drifting and almost fell off their horses. Prime Minister Bi shouted anxiously, "Oh no! This smoke is poisonous! Cover your mouth and nose quickly and retreat!"

Everyone was horrified and hurriedly covered their noses with their sleeves, turned their horses around and tried to retreat. As a result, the front team suddenly turned around, while the rear team did not hear the order. For a moment, people shouted and horses neighed, and the long team was in chaos.

Prime Minister Bi saw that the team was in chaos and it would be difficult to withdraw from the canyon in a short time. He said to the ghostly Xuanming Patriarch beside him: "Ancestor, can you disperse this poisonous smoke?"

Patriarch Xuanming did not answer immediately, so Prime Minister Bi had to say, "Don't worry, as long as you work for our Khan, the Khan will never treat you unfairly!" After hearing this, Patriarch Xuanming chuckled and said, "I'll remember that first!" As he spoke, a black shadow rose up, brought a gust of cold wind, and flew to the front of the team. He took out the Canglong Horn from his sleeve, chanted a spell, as if talking to a ghost, and his whole body quickly swelled up. He blew hard at the smoke, and the Canglong Horn made a sharp dragon roar, which stirred up a strong wind and rushed towards the canyon. The rocks on both sides were shaken and rolled down.

The sharp sound continued for a long time until the smoke in the canyon was blown away, and everyone saw a mess of cavalrymen and horses lying on the ground in front of them. Prime Minister Bi immediately sent someone to check, and the report came back: "They are all lying on the ground sleeping, and they can't be woken up!"

Touman and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Prime Minister Bi asked the Xuanming Patriarch who had flown back on his horse, "Ancestor, where does this smoke come from?"

The old man pointed to a small pile of extinguished hay in the distance and said hoarsely, "It's the smell of burning hay. If you smell it too much, you will faint, but it won't be fatal."

Prime Minister Bi ordered his soldiers to fetch the unburned hay. He sniffed it and exclaimed, "It is indeed so! Ancestor, what kind of grass is this?"

"Wormwood, sleepy grass, sage, there are a lot of them in the mountains on both sides!"

Prime Minister Bi praised: "The ancestor is knowledgeable and has boundless magical powers. I admire him. If the ancestor had not acted in time, we would have been trapped in the valley."

"Don't forget what you said, but don't bother with compliments."

Prime Minister Bi said with a smile on his face: "Of course, of course!" But he was cursing in his heart.

The ancestor Xuanming came from the northern continent of Julu outside the North Sea. He has lived for more than 200 years. He practiced witchcraft and drank the blood of virgins. He only roamed north of the Yinshan Mountains and was notorious. Because of his strange witchcraft, although other countries hated him, they dared not provoke him. In order to get his help, Touman had given him 500 women. It is estimated that he will need another 200 women this time.

After an incense stick of time, the soldiers and horses that had fallen asleep on the ground woke up one after another. Many soldiers hit rocks when they fell and suffered minor injuries, but they were not seriously injured.

Prime Minister Bi said to Touman, "Khan, we cannot stay here for long. We should pass through this canyon quickly to prevent them from plotting any tricks!" Touman immediately ordered to continue moving forward.

This canyon was more than 200 miles long, and it took the Hun army two hours to pass through it. When they reached a river, it was already dark and the men and horses were exhausted. Touman ordered the army to rest by the river for a night and pursue the Qin army early the next morning.

The river was wide and calm, only knee-deep at its deepest point. Prime Minister Bi looked at the sparkling river with great worry. Suddenly, he found many dead fish floating on the river. He was horrified and shouted hurriedly, "The river water is poisonous, don't drink it!" But it seemed to be a little late, as there were already soldiers fetching water and watering their horses by the river.

Not long after, the soldiers and horses that drank the river water began to foam at the mouth, fell to the ground, and screamed in agony.

After counting the number of people, it was found that nearly 10,000 soldiers were poisoned to death, and more than 5,000 war horses. Touman was furious and cursed the Qin army for being insidious. The generals and soldiers also gritted their teeth, but could do nothing.

Night fell, fog was thick, and the soldiers who had been running all day were fast asleep. Prime Minister Bi sat in his tent, his mind in a mess. Before they even had a direct battle with the Qin army, they had already lost 40,000 men. Add to that the 100,000 elite troops from Shangjun, and the morale of the Xiongnu army was greatly reduced. He began to feel uneasy, as this result had exceeded their expectations.

Suddenly, a rumbling sound was heard, breaking the silence of the night. The sentry outside the tent shouted, "The Qin army is attacking at night!" The sound of golden gongs rang out.

Prime Minister Bi hurriedly ran out of the tent to look, and saw thousands of torches coming like a tide in the direction of the canyon, and the shouting and killing sounds shook the sky. No one expected that the Qin army would attack at night, let alone from the rear.

Touman rushed out of the tent, jumped on his horse, raised his long sword, and shouted angrily: "You came at the right time, this Khan has no place to vent!" But the Hun cavalry was not as sharp as him.

Ugud rushed over and grabbed Touman's horse, admonishing him: "Great Khan, no!"

The 30,000 Qin cavalrymen rushed into the Xiongnu camp in a short while. Wherever they went, flames shot up into the sky. They were unstoppable. Countless Xiongnu soldiers who had not yet had time to mount their horses were hacked to death. General Xu wielded his sword, and the enemies he met were left with flying limbs and screams.

By the time the Xiongnu cavalry regained consciousness and tried to encircle them, the Qin army had already rushed through the military camp, crossed the river, and galloped away.

(End of this chapter)