Qin Official

"Commander Lieutenant, according to the report from the scouts, both the northern and southern Huns have retreated. The two thousand horses of the Huns in the north, led by Dadanghu, retreated to Shenquan Mountain, two hundred miles away. The two thousand horses of the Huns in the south, led by Guduhou, retreated to A hundred miles away in the small salt pond to the southwest, we set up camp again and can’t leave!”

After three days of feasting on mutton with Huamachi green salt, the Qin army's mouths were full of oil and their appetites were greatly satisfied. Continuously scouting westward, we finally found the whereabouts of the Huns.

"Where is the little salt pond?"

Heifu knew that Shenquan Mountain was the only way from Huamachi to Dahe and Helan. Chen Ping passed there half a year ago. It was a natural barrier in the wilderness, and there was a spring on the mountain. The Huns attacked Huamachi. The horse pond is where horses must drink. But he didn't know the location of Xiaoyanchi.

Heifu asked Wu Shiyan to point it out for him on the map. It turned out that Huamachi was the largest saltwater lake in the vicinity for eighty miles, so it was also called the Great Salt Lake. A hundred miles to the southwest, it was the farthest lake from the city. There is a salt pond, the pond is seventeen miles wide on a Tuesday, and is called a small salt pond. Although the water plants are not as lush as those beside Huama Pond, there are also some streams and springs nearby for drinking.

"The Xiongnu stationed troops between Huamachi and Xiaoguan and lingered there. They were unwilling to accept the defeat of the past few days and wanted to continue to wait and see. When our army's grain was exhausted and the grain team returned south to carry the grain, they would wait for an opportunity to attack. , it seems that these Huns were not hurt enough by the caltrops..."

As soon as Heifu said this, all the generals laughed. After the battle a few days ago, even the baggage troops did not feel afraid of the Huns. The weapons and equipment of both sides can be described as "generation difference", and There was a whole set of tactical formations for dealing with cavalry. The Huns could not make up for this gap by relying on cavalry and shooting alone.

However, it would also be unsettling to see the Huns waiting by the Flower Horse Pond like scavenging crows. If they were not driven back to Helan in one day, the army would not be able to withdraw to the interior.

Yiqu Bailang, Qiang Hua, Fu Zhi and others all requested a battle, believing that they should use their cavalry to go deep into the wilderness and completely wipe out the two thousand Huns in Xiaoyanchi first. However, Heifu rejected this aggressive tactic.

He has already defended Huamachi and achieved the result of beheading a thousand people. After winning, it is easy to underestimate the enemy, and the arrogant soldiers will be defeated. If the cavalry is allowed to go deep alone, they may fall into the trap of the Huns. Although the Huns He failed to lure the enemy last time, but Heifu's marching and fighting was deeply influenced by Wang Jian. He would rather be a general who is "cowardly when seeing a small enemy" than to take advantage of the chaos.

Besides, in war, goals that are difficult to achieve tactically can often be easily achieved strategically.

"In less than a month, the Huns will retreat."

Heifu once again made a prophecy, looking beyond the map of Huamachi and looking to the east and west of this area!

"Don't forget, this time, it's not just my northern county that is fighting against the Huns!"

…

In the late first month of the 29th year of Qin Shihuang (the tenth month of the lunar calendar), a few days after Heifu made the prophecy that "the Huns will retreat", at a place called "Shigou" at the midpoint of Shenquan Mountain and Xiaoyanchi, the above scene appeared. With hundreds of Xiongnu cavalry and attendants, Xu Bu Sheng invited Hu Yanlan to come here to meet and discuss the next move.

The two of them were brooding over their last failure, but because they only lost a thousand men and their side still had the strength to fight, they both lingered a hundred miles away. The tigers also took a nap, and they had a lucky mentality, hoping to take advantage of the Qin army's carelessness to raid their grain team again, or to lure Qin's cavalry to take the initiative.

In addition, they also hope that the cavalry from Touman City and Hetao can come with the two servant tribes Loufan and Aries to support them. As long as they gather thousands of cavalry, they will no longer be afraid of the Qin people. Formation A!

But today, Subsheng told Huyanlan that reinforcements could not come...

"Lin Hu rebelled."

Subsheng announced the news that the two of them had speculated for a long time, and told Huyanlan at the same time: "The Qin army sent tens of thousands of people into Linhu. A Qin general named Zhang Han led the prisoners and civilians to cut down trees to clear the way. Watchtowers and sentry towers were built on the dangerous passes in various places. The Qin people's horsemen went out in all directions under the leadership of the Linhu people, and even touched the edge of the Kujie Sand, with a tendency to advance towards Loufan. The Great Chan had no choice but to order thousands of horsemen in the Hetao Enter the building and station yourself, beware of the Qin army."

In addition to Shangjun's military operation to take over Lin Hu, there were also signs of a large number of Qin troops mobilizing chariots and cavalry in Touman City, the Xiongnu headquarters, and to the east of Jiuyuan. Under Meng Tian's instructions, the Qin army was repairing the abandoned Zhao Great Wall beacon towers one by one. Touman Chanyu had to ensure the safety of the Chanyu royal court, so the main force of the Xiongnu could not move...

Compared with the threatened confidants, the loss of Huamachi is only a problem. The most important thing Touman Chanyu needs to consider now is not how to punish the rebellious tribe and promote the power of the Xiongnu, but to prepare for the Qin Dynasty that is bound to launch next year. Be prepared for an all-out attack.

The so-called "control of one hundred thousand people" refers to the mobilization of the whole Xiongnu people, plus the troops of four servant tribes, distributed over the vast grassland. But this winter, Touman Shanyu can mobilize only thirty to forty thousand horses.

Since there are no reinforcements, Xu Bu Sheng and Hu Yanlan have lost the possibility of defeating the Qin army in Huamachi. They are now in a dilemma...

Fortunately, a scout who rushed from Helan gave them a reason to retreat.

Fear was written on the scout's face. He jumped off his horse in a hurry and worshiped in front of Xu Bu Sheng and Hu Yan Lan, his voice still hoarse.

"Dadanghu, Guduhou, what's wrong, Helan was attacked by the Qin people! Several tribes have been destroyed by the river, and the fire has burned all the way to Qingshan Gorge!"

…

As if a month ago, the Xiongnu's atrocities against Yan reappeared, wails could be heard everywhere, and the peaceful Xiongnu tribe by the river suddenly panicked after being suddenly attacked by the Qin army.

All the young men and women of the tribe were taken away by the Dang household, leaving only the women and half-grown children holding small bows to resist. However, hundreds of Qin cavalry galloped in and waved their swords and berylliums at them without hesitation. Suddenly there were corpses everywhere.

After killing everyone who was still alive, it was the turn of the sheep. Thousands of sheep were shot, their bodies riddled with arrows, and their feathers stood on end.

After a wanton killing, the cavalrymen dismounted, lit the torches they carried with flints, and threw them at the felt tent. When the dry felt tent encountered the fierce fire, and with the help of the wind, it immediately burst into flames. For a moment, the entire tribe was blazing with flames. The billowing smoke rises into the sky and forms a dark cloud, which will bring uneasiness to the Huns on the other side of the mountain...

The corpses, felt tents, sheep, and fodder were all swept away by the fire and turned into charcoal. This means that even if those herdsmen who escaped come back, they will still face a winter of hunger and cold.

In the firelight, there was only a white-haired general riding a white horse and wearing a red cloak, standing on the edge of the battlefield, looking ahead at the huge mountains that made the river flow fast and blocked the cavalry's path.

These two mountains that intersect the river are called "Qingshan Gorge" by the Huns. They are formed by the remaining mountains of Helan Mountain and Niushou Mountain. The ten-mile-long gorge is dependent on mountains and rivers. With cliffs on both sides, one must go dozens of miles to the southeast to reach it. Avoid it, and then you can enter the Helan Grassland.

But Li Xin knew that he didn't have that much time.

Half a month ago, after receiving the order from Qin Shihuang to "order Longxi to send troops to help Beidi County attack the Xiongnu", he took a thousand cavalry and set out from the newly built "Golden City" in Longxi County and marched eight miles down the river. After a hundred miles, they reached the place called "Juan" where the river and Wushui converge.

Here is the southernmost tribe of the Huns, and more than 300 Huns live here.

Because the war took place in the east and Beidi County was in the south, the few remaining Huns who controlled strings went to the upper reaches of the Wushui River to station their herds, but they never thought that the enemy would come from the upper reaches of the river to kill them.

Li Xin led his men to destroy the Huns tribe in Juan, killed all their cattle and sheep, and burned the hoarded grass to ashes. Then they continued to walk downstream without stopping, destroying seven or eight small tribes in the same way. Until he came to the foot of Qingshan Gorge, the horse's hooves were blocked by this natural barrier.

It was time to turn back. Li Xin looked at his subordinates. When they came, there were a thousand horses, but now there are only 500 left. Most of them fell behind and a few died in battle. The Huns are very brave. Even women can draw strong bows. After launching an attack on them, many Qin Qi suffered a loss.

So Li Xin ordered that all women and children be killed!

Qin Qi couldn't bear this and resisted a little, but Li Xin did not waver easily. War is ruthless and causing huge panic behind enemy lines was his purpose of going deep alone this time, so he used all possible methods.

But this adventure has its limits after all.

"It's a pity that the distance is too far and supplies can't be transported at all. My four thousand disciples can only stay hundreds of miles away and build pavilions along the river, otherwise..."

If they go further, they may encounter thousands of Xiongnu cavalry who return after hearing the news. The consequences of going deep alone are what Li Xin experienced many years ago.

Li Xin resisted the idea of ​​leading five hundred cavalry across the canyon to attack the Helan grassland, and looked at the cavalry general Qiang Huang who was returning with a Hu man in his arms. He was the elder brother of Heifu's subordinate Qiang Hua. The second brother The portrait is half carved from the same mold.

"Jun Lieutenant, this man resisted at all costs and just shot and killed two Pao Ze!"

Qiang Huang pushed the Hun young man in front of Li Xin, but this man did not lower his head. He stiffened his neck and stared at Li Xin, his slender eyes reflecting the firelight. He was the son of the tribal leader, and was ordered to stay behind. He never thought, But he suffered the fate of genocide.

"He's a man, don't make things difficult for him."

Immediately, the Huns heard what General Baitou said and asked the Wushi guide to translate.

"I heard someone say that the Huns have a saying, a barbarian is the proud son of the emperor!"

"The Xiongnu has the pride of the Xiongnu. You think that only the Xiongnu can bring destruction and pain to the people of the Central Plains, seize the Nine Plains, and plunder Yan and Zhao."

"The people of the Central Plains can at most repel the Huns at home. As long as you gallop back to the grassland, there will be nothing you can do. When the horses are fat next autumn, can they start a new round of plundering?"

"But from today on, everything is different!"

Li Xin gestured with his hands and ordered: "Cut out his eyes! Cut out the eyes of all survivors!"

A series of painful howls came from behind, but Li Xin remained unmoved!

"Tie ropes on their hands and wait to be discovered by the returning Huns."

"Let these blind people bring a message to the entire Huns! News of war! News of fear!"

"From today on, even the Huns hiding in the deepest part of the grassland are no longer safe!"

In the blood and fire, Li Xin turned around, looked at the river that had changed from gentle to turbulent, looked at the towering Qingshan Gorge, and swore:

"When we come back next year, the Qin army's horseshoes will be more than this!" u