Chu and Han contend for the throne

Chapter 478
Half a month later, Shan Yuting at the foot of Langjuxu Mountain had gathered more than 30 Hun cavalry, in addition to more than 30 Hun old and young women and children. The nomads are basically all soldiers, and usually only nomadic on the prairie , When there is a foreign war, they gather together, men fight, women and children herd to provide logistical support.

Of course, when the Huns went south to the Central Plains to fight grass valleys, they basically did not need logistical support.

The use of troops against Hexi this time is a super-large-scale campaign, and its scale is no less than that of the war against Donghu 20 years ago. In addition to the adult men of the entire Xiongnu to participate in the battle, at least the same number of women and children must be recruited to drive cattle and sheep with the army. Of course, the Xiongnu women, children, and herds of cattle and sheep will not go to the front line, and they will usually hide in a relatively safe rear.

After gathering almost all the strong men and a large number of women, children, cattle and sheep, the Xiongnu army began to march southward. The Huns were all cavalry, but they would not march in a hurry unless necessary. Near Bator) to the west of Hexi is about two thousand miles, and the Xiongnu army will have to travel for about a month.

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When the Xiongnu army marched from Shan Yuting at the southern foot of Langjuxu Mountain, [-] soldiers from Chu State also joined the general Bi Shu in Baimajin.

Before Chu Xiaoqi arrived, Zhao Jun had already built two pontoon bridges on Baimajin. This was also one of the conditions agreed between Bi Shu and Bai Mo. Sanchuan County has to ask Zhao Guo and South Korea to provide the necessary logistical support and military convenience.

One of the conditions is to let Zhao Jun build a pontoon bridge in Baimajin first.

Bi Shu originally proposed to ask Zhao Guo and South Korea to dispatch cavalry to cooperate in the battle, but Bai Mo firmly rejected it.

Of course, Bai Mo would not hand over the cavalry of Han and Zhao to Bi Shu. Basically, he would hand over the chickens to the weasel to take care of them. After the final battle against the Huns, the cavalry of Han and Zhao would probably be exhausted. , the remaining cavalry is estimated to have all become the elite cavalry of Chu.

Surrounded by Huyan and Meng Ju, Bi Shu approached the pontoon bridge, and saw a Zhao Guo infantry head-on, about 600 people, who had already set up a strict defensive formation. As if facing a big enemy, Zhao Jun was obviously very worried that Chu Jun would suddenly attack them.

Meng Xi said: "General, this is Zhao Jun guarding the bridge."

Hu Yan said: "General, the people of Zhao Guo betrayed their trust and righteousness, and dared to betray our Great Chu and seek refuge with Han, why don't they just stop and destroy this Zhao army?"

"Hey." Bi Shu hurriedly stopped, "Huyan, don't mess around."

Bi Shu still counted on Zhao Guo to provide supplies, so he couldn't turn his face against Zhao people at this time.

After a while, more than a dozen Zhao troops came forward and asked, "Where is General Da Chu?"

Surrounded by Hu Yan, Meng Ji and dozens of generals, Bi Shu mounted his horse and said loudly, "This general is here."

"The last general, Bai Zhong, refer to the general." The leader, Zhao Jun Xiaoxiao, hurriedly saluted, "General, the pontoon bridge has been built, and the rations you need are in the camp ahead, and you can send someone to get them at any time."

Bi Shu waved his hand and said calmly, "I'm sorry."

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In Xianyang, Bai Mo is presiding over the imperial military meeting, and the topic is the Battle of Hexi.

A huge map of Hexi has been hung on a screen. Bai Mo pointed to the map and said: "According to the information provided by the Chu State, the Xiongnu Shanyuting is located at the southern foot of Langjuxu Mountain, about two thousand miles away from Hexi. According to the information provided by the Huns, The marching speed will take about a month, that is to say, we still have a month to prepare."

General Lu Tai asked, "Prime Minister, is the information provided by Chu reliable? If the Xiongnu Shan Yuting is not at the southern foot of Langjuxu Mountain, but at the northern foot of Yangshan Mountain, it will cause serious trouble."

There is only one mountain between Yangshan and Jiuyuan, and it is much closer to Hexi.

After the reshuffle of power last winter, the Lu family's forces were almost uprooted by Bai Mo and Chen Ping. Lu Shizhi, the governor of Shangjun County, Lu Chan, the governor of Beidi County, and other Lu clan's children were all transferred back to Xianyang to idle. He was emptied, but at least in name, Lu Tai was still a general of the Han Dynasty, so he naturally wanted to attend this kind of imperial meeting.

Bai Mo said indifferently: "The general may not know that Huyan Zhengde, the Sirian wolf general of Chu, is a Hun, and all the five hundred wolf cavalry under his tent are from the Huyan tribe in Mobei, just because of the Maodun relationship with the Huns. Shan Yu got into a dispute, so he rebelled against the Xiongnu and defected to Xiangzhuang, which happened to be stationed in Jiuyuan at that time."

Li Shang, who had just lost his position as governor of Sanchuan County because of Bai Mo's cession, also raised his own doubts, saying, "Chu State and my big man are old enemies. How do you know that the people of Chu State are not lying on purpose?"

Bai Mo waved his hand, and said decisively: "This is definitely not possible."

Seeing the prime minister's firm attitude, Li Shang curled his lips and said nothing more. Now that the prime minister has all the power, several ministers have been purged for disobeying him. Although Li Shang was also in the army who followed the king for many years Veteran general, but he absolutely dare not assert that the prime minister dare not do anything to him?
The Lu family is powerful enough, so they were purged in the end!

Bai Mo said again: "It is estimated that the Xiongnu will mobilize more than 30 cavalry, which is definitely an irresistible force for the Yuezhi people. The Yuezhi people lost almost 15 strong men in the battle of Mianshui, and now they can at best mobilize 20 cavalry. Cavalry, even if you add Xiutu and Hunxie, the force will not exceed [-]."

Chen Ping added: "We must also consider that under the high pressure of the Xiongnu army, the two tribes of Xiutu and Hunxie are likely to defect. The disparity will become even greater, and as a result, the Yuezhi people will not even have a glimmer of hope of winning."

Bai Mo nodded and said: "The grand master's worries are by no means superfluous. In fact, according to the report from the spies of Heibingtai, envoys of the Xiongnu have appeared near the royal courts of Xiutu and Hunxie, so these two departments have turned to the Huns. The possibility of this is very high, the Battle of Hexi is related to the fate of the Han Kingdom, we must prepare for the worst."

Lu Tai said: "The Yuezhi people and the Great Han Kingdom are each other's wings to resist the Xiongnu. It can be said that both the prosperity and the loss are the same. I secretly thought that we should send all the soldiers of the whole country to Hexi to attack the Xiongnu together with the Yuezhi people."

"No." Bai Mo said, "The most urgent thing is to recuperate and recuperate, and it is not appropriate to go to war."

"Then what should we do?" Liu Heng couldn't help but said, "Father Xiang, why don't you just disclose the news that the Chu army is planning to attack the desert north to the Huns, and force the Huns to return to the army to save themselves?"

"This is absolutely impossible." Bai Mo waved his hand and said solemnly, "Leaking the news of the Chu army's northern attack on the desert to the Huns will only ruin the plan to weaken the Huns, but it is impossible to stop the battle of Hexi, because the Huns only It is necessary to move the women, children, cattle and sheep concentrated in Shan Yuting to other places in advance, and the Chu cavalry who expedition to Mobei will return without success."

"Then what should we do?" Liu Heng asked again, "Watching the Yue clan being destroyed by the Huns?"

"That's not entirely true." Bai Mo shook his head and said, "In the Battle of Hexi, the Yuezhi people are definitely not the Huns' opponents, and it is impossible for our Han Dynasty to save the whole country. We can only dispatch [-] hussars at most. Therefore, with the Xiongnu army It is absolutely impossible to fight recklessly, in this battle we have to avoid the real situation and fight the weak, and we must save what we attack the Xiongnu!"

Liu Heng said: "The Xiongnu live by water and grass, how can there be any weakness that must be rescued?"

"The Huns have them." Bai Mo said, "As far as I know, every time the Huns use their troops abroad, in addition to recruiting strong men to participate in the battle, they will also call a considerable number of women and children to drive cattle and sheep with the army. These women and children provide logistical support while grazing, and we need The target of the attack is the women, children, cattle and sheep of the Huns, cutting off their logistical supplies."

Chen Pingdao: "I'm afraid this is not easy. Even if the Xiongnu's women, children, cattle and sheep go out with the army, they will definitely stay away from the battlefield during the war. How easy is it to find the Xiongnu's women, children, cattle and sheep in the sandy desert with a radius of thousands of miles?"

Bai Mo said: "If it is in the Mobei grassland, it is indeed not easy to find the women, children, cattle and sheep of the Huns from the vast desert, but there is still a chance in Hexi, because the windy and sandy land in Hexi can provide water and grassland for the Huns to graze. Not many, except for Xiutu Ze and Hunxie Ze, there is only Juyan Ze with more abundant aquatic plants."

The eyes of the monarchs and ministers of the Han Dynasty brightened immediately when they heard the words. Bai Mo said so, and found that it was really possible to find the women, children, cattle and sheep of the Xiongnu in the wind and sand desert in the west of Hexi.

Bai Mo said again: "But if you want to defeat the Xiongnu, there must be a prerequisite."

Liu Heng said anxiously: "Father Xiang, tell me quickly, what are the prerequisites for defeating the Huns?"

"The Yuezhi people have to persist long enough. If the Yuezhi people are quickly defeated under the onslaught of the Xiongnu army, then everything will come to naught." After saying this, Bai Mo looked back at Lu Tai and said, "So, I suggest that the general lead [-] elite soldiers to go to Yuezhi City day and night to assist the Yuezhi people in guarding the royal city."

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Chu Guoxiao rode across the river from Baimajin, unimpeded all the way, and arrived in Gaoliuyi, Daijun ten days later.

Gaoliu was originally just a frontier army camp in the ancient Yan Kingdom. Later, with the passage of time, a group of people who depended on the army for their livelihood gathered near the barracks, and many traffickers and pawns gathered here. Salt, iron, silk and other items were returned from the Xiongnu to cattle, sheep, horses and furs, and Gaoliuyi gradually prospered as a border trade market town.

Before the arrival of the Chu army, Yan State Crown Prince Zang Yan had already rushed to Gaoliuyi with [-] Yan army Jingqi. To block the news as much as possible, Bi Shu sent [-] elite cavalry as the vanguard, and Qiao Zhuang horse thief swept up the Xiongnu herdsmen along the way.

The so-called mopping up is actually cruel burning, killing, and looting!
(End of this chapter)