Unparalleled Evildoer

Chapter 123: Strike the Xiongnu Three Thousand Miles North

Meng Tian led 100,000 cavalrymen and rushed to Liaoxi overnight. After the Donghu and Xianbei learned about it, they retreated to Yuguan and waited for the Xiongnu army to arrive so as to form a siege and annihilate them in one fell swoop. According to expectations, the Xiongnu should have arrived the day after Meng Tian arrived at the latest, but after waiting for two days, there was no sight of their army and no news came.

Meng Tian was not in a hurry to attack. He put up a fearless formation and rested his spirits. This made the Donghu and Xianbei armies even more timid and they increasingly suspected that the Xiongnu had already withdrawn. The troops of the two countries were originally watching each other and each had their own camps. They also met the veteran Meng Tian. If the Xiongnu did not come, they would undoubtedly be defeated. Moreover, Meng Tian only brought 100,000 cavalry, and the whereabouts of the other 100,000 troops were unknown. If they went around to the rear of Yu Pass, they would be trapped to death.

On the second night, Donghu and Xianbei discussed that the Xiongnu had broken their agreement first, so if they withdrew their troops now, the Xiongnu would have nothing to say. So they decided to withdraw from the border during the night when the Qin army could not easily detect them and wait and see what would happen.

Meng Tian thought that although Yuguan had been abandoned for many years, it was located near mountains and the sea, and the terrain was dangerous, which was not conducive to cavalry combat. If he attacked by force, although he could capture Yuguan, the casualties would inevitably be heavy, and it would be difficult to turn back to resist the Hun army. In order to preserve his troops, he could only use wisdom. So he used the strategy of confusing the enemy and making them withdraw on their own initiative. Outside Yuguan was an open plain, which was convenient for cavalry to gallop and fight. Once the enemy withdrew from Yuguan, he would easily defeat it.

As soon as the Donghu and Xianbei withdrew from Yuguan, Meng Tian led 100,000 cavalrymen who had rested well and quickly caught up with them. The Donghu and Xianbei were already doomed to be defeated and fled, with more than half of them killed or wounded before they retreated out of the country. If Meng Tian had not been worried that Wuzhe could not resist the 300,000-strong Xiongnu army, he would have chased them out of the country and annihilated them all.

After Meng Tian defeated the Donghu and Xianbei, he rushed to Shanggu overnight to resist the Xiongnu as Wuzhan had expected, and arrived there only last night.

……

When Touman saw Meng Tian coming out of the city to fight, he knew that the Donghu and Xianbei had been repelled and would definitely fight to the death. He shouted sternly: "You are just in time. Today, I will annihilate you in one fell swoop and let you know who owns the world!"

Meng Tian shouted: "Of course it doesn't belong to you barbarians!"

The two armies were at loggerheads, and when they met on a narrow road, they stopped talking and started the attack with drums beating and horses neighing. Every soldier facing the opponent's massive army knew very well that there would be heavy casualties in today's battle, and it would be difficult to survive.

Touman pointed his long sword at the Qin army and roared, "Crush the Qin army into mud and take back the land that originally belonged to us. Kill!" At the order, more than 100,000 cavalry rushed towards the Qin army like a tidal wave. The yellow sand rolled and the hooves rumbled. The Huns had used up all their arrows, raised their scimitars, gnashed their teeth, and were ready to die.

Meng Tian saw the Xiongnu cavalry rushing towards him and said to General Yang beside him, "Pull out the chariot designed by the Taoist priest and fight against the Xiongnu!"

General Yang waved the flag in his hand, and dozens of chariots that were two meters high and four meters wide were slowly pulled out. Each chariot was built with thick black iron stone and weighed a thousand pounds. The front and side walls of the chariot were full of spears and long swords, like a huge hedgehog. They were pulled by dozens of war horses, which were ten meters apart from each other, pulling faster and faster to meet the rushing cavalry. After the chariots rushed out a hundred meters, 100,000 cavalrymen galloped on their horses, holding spears and halberds, and chased after them, like a tsunami sweeping the earth.

When the Xiongnu cavalry saw that the Qin chariots had made way, they wanted to pass through them. Just as they were about to pass, iron chains were suddenly pulled between the chariots. The Xiongnu cavalry in the front line were caught off guard, their horses stumbled, and they fell and screamed in agony. It was like a torrent suddenly falling off a cliff, and yellow sand rose up.

Nearly a thousand Xiongnu cavalrymen fell in an instant. Before they hit the ground, they were stabbed to death by the Qin soldiers behind the chariots. The iron chains were broken, and the remaining chains were hit by hundreds of horses passing by. The chariots on both sides closed together and rushed forward, sweeping down one group after another, and the Xiongnu cavalry in the middle suffered a great defeat.

At this time, the Qin cavalry behind the chariots had arrived. Nearly 300,000 cavalrymen charged together, weapons collided with the clang, people and horses fell to the ground, neighing and screaming, broken limbs and arms flew everywhere, the sound of killing was like a tide, and blood gushed out to the sky.

This battle was the most brutal one since the Huns entered the Pass. The Huns fought to the death with their backs against the river, vowing to annihilate the Qin army. The Qin army had no city to defend and was isolated and without help, so they vowed to defeat the Huns and eliminate the threat forever.

Although the Huns were strong, their fighting capacity was greatly reduced due to their long journey, lack of food and water, and exhaustion. Although the Qin army was tired and slightly weaker than the Huns, they had just won a victory and their morale was greatly boosted, so their fighting capacity remained increased.

Meng Tian was well versed in the art of war, had a good array of troops and commanded properly. Most of the Qin army were veterans who had fought for years and were quite experienced. The Huns, on the other hand, lacked experience in major battles and had no idea how to form their own military array. They could only fight surprise attacks, guerrilla warfare and siege warfare, which were not suitable for this evenly matched battle. As a result, the outcome was decided before the battle even began.

Meng Tian stroked his silver beard and looked at the chariot designed by Wuzhan. He easily tore through the Xiongnu army. He was already convinced and sighed in his heart: "If it weren't for his help, how could we have the situation today? How could we break the deadlock set by the Xiongnu!"

After listening to General Fan's narration, Meng Tian was so excited that he did not sleep all night. His precise layout and incredible magic array made the Huns run around in circles, fell into their traps one after another, and exhausted their food and grass. Without losing a single soldier, the Huns suffered heavy losses. His deployment of troops, assessment of the situation, and strategic planning were impeccable. He was as good at predicting the enemy's use of troops as Bai Qi and as mature and prudent as Wang Jian. He was truly a rare genius. He was also proficient in Taoism, led away the ferocious beasts, and sacrificed his life to save the people from extinction. If such a responsible person works for the Qin Dynasty, he will surely achieve great achievements and pacify the world.

Touman looked at the army he had trained with great effort, and saw it was defeated in the blink of an eye. How could he accept this? His eyes were bloodshot and his hair was standing on end. He led tens of thousands of infantrymen into the chaotic army, brandishing their long swords. Wherever he went, blood splattered and screams were heard.

Ugud was worthy of being the most powerful general of the Huns. He was extremely strong and had excellent martial arts. Every time he fired a shot, he killed or wounded a lot of people. When the Qin soldiers saw this, they panicked and dodged, but the bravery of a few people could not save the defeat. Although the Huns' scimitars were sharp, it was difficult to hit the Qin soldiers, while the Qin soldiers' spears could pierce the bodies of the Huns' soldiers. The cavalry formation formed by the Qin army took care of each other, so that the Huns' cavalry were sandwiched between them and attacked from both sides.

Touman was covered in blood, his eyes were fierce, and he rode his horse to charge at Meng Tian who was commanding the army behind the formation, and cut off all the long spears and halberds that came to resist him. When the Qin generals met him, they were knocked off their horses after the weapons clashed, and no one could stop him. Seeing Touman rushing towards him with murderous intent, Meng Tian took the bow and arrow handed over by the general beside him, drew the bow to its full length, and said in a deep voice with a sharp look in his eyes: "You are so brave!" He loosened his fingers, and with a "hum" sound, the arrow shot towards Touman like lightning.

Touman had just split open the Qin soldiers who were besieging him in front of him, but he was not prepared for the arrow that suddenly shot out. With a "puff" sound, he was hit right in the left chest. He felt a sharp pain in his heart, and with a muffled groan, he fell off his horse. Hundreds of Qin soldiers came forward and surrounded him, stabbing Touman with their weapons.

After Touman landed on the ground, he roared, pulled out his arrows, and swung his long sword, cutting off all the weapons that came to besiege him. The Qin army did not dare to advance any further.

Ugude saw that Touman was in danger from afar, so he blew a whistle and a giant eagle circling in the air swooped down. Ugude stepped on the eagle, flew over the chaotic army, and landed beside Touman, shouting, "Khan, retreat!" He swung his spear and pushed the Qin army back several feet.

Touman looked up to the sky and howled in anger, "Why... why... what on earth did I do wrong? Why does the heaven want to kill me?"

Ugud said with tears in his eyes and indignation: "Khan, let's go quickly. As long as the Khan is still here, we will come back in twenty years!" Seeing that Touman seemed to be deaf to him, he blew the whistle again. The giant eagle landed, grabbed Touman's shoulders with its claws, flapped its huge wings, pulled Touman up, and flew north. Touman looked at his feet in despair. Yellow sand was flying, the north wind was howling, blood was flowing like a river, and corpses were like the sea. Regret, unwillingness, despair, and anger rushed into his mind.

Ugud jumped on his horse, cut a bloody path, and shouted to the Hun soldiers who were still fighting stubbornly: "Retreat!" The golden gongs sounded quickly, and the Hun cavalry fled at the sound. No more than 50,000 cavalry escaped from the melee, and followed Ugud into the desert in defeat.

When Meng Tian saw the Huns fleeing, he shouted, "Pursue the victory and make sure to annihilate the Huns!" He led nearly 80,000 cavalrymen in a relentless pursuit across the Huns' Desert, leaving only the corpses of the Huns' soldiers on the desert.

……

Meng Tian chased the Huns across the desert and drove them north for 3,000 miles, killing 30,000 Huns. Touman led an army of 400,000 south, but only 20,000 were left in the end. He was badly injured and could not even think of starting a war again within ten years. Touman was hit by an arrow from Meng Tian, ​​and although it did not go into his heart, he became ill and bedridden due to the anger.

……

The victory report arrived in Xianyang, and the whole court was jubilant. Ying Zheng was very pleased. You know, although Qin destroyed the six kingdoms, the threat from foreign races still existed, especially the Huns and Nanyue, which had always been the concern of Qin. In the past, they and the six kingdoms resisted foreign races separately, but now only Qin has to bear it. It is so big that it is difficult to take care of it. This time, the Huns joined forces with neighboring countries to invade, with a total force of 600,000, which panicked the court and the public. If it were not for Meng Tian's foresight and withstanding the pressure, most of the land conquered by Qin would have been lost. Now that the Huns have been defeated, this biggest foreign enemy has been basically eliminated. How can Qin not be excited?

……

It was a sunny day with a gentle breeze. In the military tent at Yanmen Pass, Meng Tian frowned and looked at Wuzhe, who was lying on the bed with his eyes closed. He asked Lingkongzi, "Is the Taoist still not awake?"

Ling Kongzi shook his head and said, "No, if the young master wakes up, I will be the first to inform the general!"

Meng Tian asked again: "Is the Taoist's illness really incurable?"

He had heard that Lingkongzi could fly and Jinxingzi could spit fire, and he thought they were masters of Taoism. He did not suspect that they were transformed monsters. Now he found that even a powerful immortal might not be able to recognize the true forms of the two, let alone Meng Tian.

"Young Master's illness is too strange. I don't know medicine, so I really don't know. There used to be medicine that could slow down his condition, but after this battle with the beast, those medicines have no effect. Now I just hope he wakes up on his own!"

Ever since Wuzhan fainted that night, he has been unconscious, but still has a weak pulse. After Lingkongzi recovered a little from his injuries, he killed the Xuanming ancestor and flew back to the Shanggu military camp with Wuzhan. By then, Meng Tian had already arrived with his troops and knew all the details. Meng Tian summoned all the doctors in the army for treatment, but they were all unable to do anything. So he ordered people to take Wuzhan back to Yanmen in a carriage and wait, and sent another person to find a famous doctor and rush to Yanmen.

After Lingkongzi and Jinxingzi brought Wuzhan back to Yanmen, they had already found three famous doctors, but none of them knew the cause of the disease and could not cure it, so they left with a sigh.

When Meng Tian returned triumphantly to Yanmen, Wuzhan still hadn't woken up. It was already the second day, and Meng Tian was extremely anxious. He came to ask about him every hour, fearing that such a talented person would never wake up and wouldn't even hear a word of gratitude from him.

At this time, the soldiers outside the tent reported: "General, there is an old Taoist priest in front of the barracks shouting that someone in the army stole his things and he wants to come in to look for them. He also said that the person who stole his things is now lying unconscious on the bed. If you let him in to retrieve them, he will make the person wake up."

(End of this chapter)