Hanhou

In the Qianying school grounds, two thousand soldiers stood with guns and black armor covered with capes of the same color, just like two thousand standing pines.

Zhao Jia pressed the sword with one hand, his eyes were like lightning, and he glanced at the four Wei Qing standing at the head of the team.Shaoqing raised his right arm, and immediately an army presented the Han flag.

There was a dull sound, the flagpole wrapped with copper wire was wedged into the ground, and the surface of the flag with "Han" characters embedded on it was torn by the wind, making a hunting sound.

"Wei Qing, Zhao Ponu, Zhao Xin, Gongsun Ao, you and others come forward!" Zhao Jia held the flagpole in his hand and pointed out four people one after another.

"promise!"

The four teenagers clasped their fists in agreement and walked at the same time.Following their movements, the scabbard collided with the black armor, making a sound of gold and iron.

"At this point, the four of you are the vanguard, with two thousand cavalry attacking Gaoque, cutting off the way for the Xiongnu Aries King and Loufan King to escape to the north. No military orders, no half a step back!"

"promise!"

The four clasped their fists together, and Wei Qing raised the Han flag.

At the same time, the two thousand soldiers stood on the ground, hitting the round shield with the back of their swords, and shouted deafeningly.

"Kill Hu!"

The sound is majestic and powerful, tearing the north wind in an instant, and rushing straight to the sky.

"set off!"

The gate of the camp was opened wide, the eagle fluttered its wings and flew high, all the generals flew on their horses, and two thousand black cavalry rushed out of the city like a torrent.

The people in Yunzhong have long been used to the frontier army going out to fight, and when they met on the road, they all guessed which tribe was unlucky this time.

The servant got up early, and when the cavalry left the city, they had sent firewood and pine oil to the city.

When he walked down the city wall, he happened to be face to face with two thousand cavalry.The servant who led the team immediately ordered everyone to give way, and watched the Han rider gallop past.

Looking at the distant figure, the elder's face suddenly looked thoughtful.The young man craned his neck, his expression full of longing and envy.

When the Hu merchants in the city woke up, they knew the news that the Han army had left the city.

Since Chang'an and Longcheng reached a tacit agreement to expand border trade, border counties and grasslands had a truce, and even if conflicts occurred, they were kept within a small range.

But both sides are well aware that peace is only a facade.One day, the war will start again.The Han army and the Xiongnu cavalry are bound to have a series of bloody battles until the winner is decided and one side is completely defeated.

The businessmen walking in the frontier had long expected the war, but most of them did not expect that the peace would be so short-lived, and it was not Longcheng that broke the peace first, but Chang'an!

"Two thousand riders, do you see clearly?"

Hearing the rider's report, several Hu merchants looked at each other in blank dismay, all having a bad premonition.

"How to do?"

"Let me tell you, the Huns didn't pay a high price, so why do you really have to work for them? Anyway, when the war starts, it's not easy to enter and leave the Han land. You might as well stay in Yunzhong City and wait until the war is over."

"If the Huns win, you and I will not be able to send the news in time, and life will be difficult."

"The Xiongnu won?" A Dingling man wearing a leather hat sneered, "You still don't understand, the Huns are no better than before. Counting with your fingers, since the current emperor of Han ascended the throne, how many times have the Huns gone south? To get benefits? Not to mention the previous battle in Mayi, where Da Shanyu was almost captured and killed! If you continue to follow the Xiongnu, do you want the tribe to be slaughtered by the Han people?"

Ding Lingren hadn't finished speaking, but two Di people had already attacked the case.

"How dare you disrespect the Chanyu?!"

The Ding Ling people present did not show any weakness, they pulled out their bronze knives one after another, and said with a sneer, "You don't want to weigh your own weight if you fight us!"

"you!"

Di Ren was furious, and was about to rush forward, when the door was kicked open suddenly with a bang, and a frontier army in leather armor rushed into the room and surrounded the Hu merchant group.Another archer blocked the door of the house, the bowstring was drawn, and the tip of the arrow pointed directly at the besieged Hu merchants.

With the cold blade resting on his neck, Di Ren woke up like a dream, his eyes were flushed with anger, and his expression was ferocious, staring fiercely at Ding Lingren opposite him.

"You seek refuge with the Han people?!"

"You can do things for the Huns, why can't we turn to the Han people?" Dingling merchant put away his knife and sheathed it, looking down at the Di people who were kneeling on the ground, his eyes were full of sarcasm and contempt.

"You will not end well!"

"Really?" Ding Lingren sneered, "It's not you who should worry about what will happen to us. But I can assure you that your end will never be good, and it will become a reality soon."

Hu Shang struggled and was taken away. Ding Lingren took the wooden tablet from the Han army and couldn't wait to unfold it. He read it three times from the beginning to the end, and confirmed that it was a document that allowed him to move into the border county. salute.

"Thank you Wei Shijun for your kindness!"

Shichang nodded, told Dingling merchant not to leave the city for the time being, and then ordered to withdraw his troops.

When the door of the room was closed, the Ding Ling people who bet on the treasure cheered and held up the same clan who proposed this strategy.

"Liexiong, you have such wisdom and made such great achievements, the leader will definitely reward you!"

Compared with the cheers of the Ding Ling people, the Hu businessman who was arrested was not so easy.

He was taken away from the west of the city all the way and put in prison. Hu Shang was ready to be severely tortured.Some people even secretly decided that if the Han people's methods were too cruel and they couldn't hold on, they could simply sell the Xiongnu.

Unexpectedly, I waited "hardly" for half a day, except for the guards who patrolled past, there was no one in sight.Not to mention interrogation, even the process of asking for their identity and name was omitted, as if they were completely forgotten.

The Hu merchants were anxious, not knowing what kind of medicine the Han people were selling in their gourds.

In fact, the reason is not complicated. The reason why no one is arraigned is because it is unnecessary.The information they knew was known to everyone like Dingling, and they had already confided it clearly to Zhou Jue Cao.Capturing them is nothing more than going out with a large army. There is no need to continue to play tricks on the Huns, pull out the nails on the eve of the war, and clean up the city thoroughly.

These Hu merchants who were bought by the Xiongnu to collect information for the military minister Shanyu had long been on Wei Shang's blacklist.When the war is over, if you are lucky, you will be cut with a knife. If you are not lucky, you will all be sent to hard labor.

The saltworks and mines in Bianjun County were in urgent need of labor. These Hu merchants volunteered and were blacklisted by the prefect. Once they were sent in, they could never come out again. They had to stay in the mines until their last breath.

Cruel?

perhaps.

But if they succeeded and sent the border county information to the grassland, the war situation would become unpredictable.At that time, the Xiongnu will go south with iron hooves, and the people of the Han family must suffer.

To use the harshest means to let the spies with evil intentions die to deter those who come later; or to plant disasters for the people under their rule through unnecessary kindness, all border county officials know how to choose.

After clearing out the spies in the city, Zhao Jia and Wei Yue's troops were assembled, and [-] frontier troops rushed out of Yunzhong City.

Not long after leaving the city, the Qiang, Xianbei, and Wuhuan knights automatically followed, and the number of the army increased to [-]. They followed the Han flag flying high in the wind, like a giant beast out of a cage, roaring deafeningly, and galloped away to the north.

Gongsun He and Han Yan led another cavalry, marching towards Long County along the mark left by the forward.

Li Danghu and Cao Shi received the news and set off from Shangjun and Yanmen counties respectively as flank support.

The goal of several large armies is very clear. After biting the Huns, they blocked the enemy's way of life from different directions, and completely wiped out the Huns entrenched in the Hetao area.

"set off!"

The sound of the horn sounded in the wind, and the Hu people who surrendered came out of the tent one after another.

The priest is fully clothed, holds up a dark red to pitch black wooden staff, and mutters words in his mouth.The elderly, women and children bent down to the ground, then raised their hands and prayed to heaven, hoping that the warriors who accompanied the army would kill more enemies and bring glory to the tribe.

"Wuwei!"

"Definitely!"

The admiration for the strong reached its peak at the moment when the black armored cavalry galloped by, and the roar was close to fanaticism.

Zhao Jia rode his horse in front, facing the howling north wind, and galloped on the snow-covered grassland.Looking at the vast land as far as the eye can see, there are horseshoes roaring in my ears, blood is surging in my chest, and the fighting spirit is boiling.

Being in Chang'an, immersed in the prosperity, I almost want to forget this feeling.

Training is training after all, no matter how difficult it is, it cannot be compared with the real battlefield.As for the previous Southern Expedition, what the Han army wanted to defeat was never the enemy itself, but more the local miasma and poisonous insects.

Now back to the grassland, the fighting spirit that had been silent for a long time was awakened in an instant.

Zhao Jia clearly felt that before he knew it, he had gotten used to the battlefield and used to think from the perspective of the world.All kinds of thoughts in the early years, recalled now, seem to be a lifetime away, even somewhat idealistic, divorced from reality.

"At this speed, we can reach our destination in ten days." Wei Yue rode beside Zhao Jia.The black horse is also clad in iron armor, with a long iron awl covering its forehead, which can easily pierce the neck of the opposing horse when charging.

"If there is heavy snow, you have to postpone it for a day or two." Zhao Jia gripped the reins tightly and slowed the horse slightly so that he could talk to Wei Yue.

Under normal circumstances, the army should not go out in winter.

One is the wind and snow, the weather is very cold, and if you are not prepared enough, you will be injured if you are not equal to the enemy. Second, the grassland is vast, and it is easier to get lost in the snow.Finding the right direction in the wind and snow is really a test for the general leading the army.

Fortunately, Zhao Jia and Wei Yue were out of the surrounding counties, and their troops often haunted the grasslands. With the help of maps and the guidance of the golden eagle, with some effort, they could always find their destination.

Most importantly, the Huns would never have imagined that the Han army would enter the grassland in the cold winter.In their eyes, this behavior is almost tantamount to courting death.

"Order the whole army to speed up."

"promise!"

Wei Wu took the lead, and the whole army began to speed up.

The horse's mouth and nose exhaled hot air, which condensed into a large cloud of white mist.

A pack of wolves appeared in the snow, and the sharp howls of wolves continued one after another.

The pathfinding scouts rode five horses in parallel, and when they saw a wild wolf besieging a stag appearing beside the Yulin, they immediately let go of the reins and took off the strong bow on the horse's back.

There was a sound of breaking wind, and arrows flew like shooting stars.

Five wolves were shot, three fell to the ground on the spot, and the other two howled.The rest of the wolves gave up on the stag, dragged the corpse of the dead wolf, and quickly returned to the forest.

The stag was bitten by a wolf and shot with two arrows by scouts, and could no longer escape, destined to be extra food for the army.

From the very beginning, Zhao Jia and Wei Yue had the idea of ​​supporting war with war.Before encountering the Huns, these hunted wild animals were indispensable supplements.

At night, [-] troops camped in the snow.

The cook cooks the venison on the stove, Jingxue puts it into the pot and boils it, adds some broth cubes, soaks it in steamed cakes, and you can have a hot meal.

Zhao Jia and Wei Yue walked into the tent, took off their helmets, did not remove their armor, and spread the map on their legs to estimate where the forward should be at this time.

"If there is no accident, it should be here."

Zhao Jia rubbed his fingers, let out a sigh of relief, and clicked on the area in the northwest of Yinshan Mountain, which was circled with charcoal.

"In the pre-Qin period, this place belonged to Zhao. When Qin swept the six kingdoms, General Meng Tian once built a fortress here to garrison troops. Unfortunately, after Qin Dynasty, it was occupied by the Huns."

Such a strategic location is bound to be heavily guarded.For Wei Qing and the others, this will be the first tough battle after entering the grassland.

Even if he knew the abilities of the four of them, Zhao Jia still couldn't help but feel worried.This kind of paternalistic worry, even he himself had never expected.

As expected by the two, the vanguard of the Han army had arrived at Yinshan Mountain at this time.

After entering the grassland, Wei Qing seemed to be on the hook, personally leading people to explore the way, finding the direction very accurately, and traveling at a fast speed.Not to mention Gongsun Ao, even Zhao Xin and Zhao Puonu, who had wandered in the grassland, admired this ability.

In the dark, the team arrived at a dense forest.

The scouts flew back and reported that there was a Huns camp behind the dense forest. Judging from the number of bonfires and tents, there were no less than a thousand men capable of fighting.

With a force of four people, if they forcefully charge, they may be able to win, and they will also cause considerable losses.They have all seen the combat effectiveness of the Xiongnu headquarters, and it is definitely not the same as other tribes.

The destination of the Vanguard Battalion is Gaoque, and the combat mission is to bite the Xiongnu and cut off the way for King Baiyang and King Loufan to escape north before the arrival of the army.

This determines that in the process of marching and exploring the way, the loss must not be too large.

"How to do it?" Gongsun Ao was impatient, unable to think of a way, and began to scratch his head.

Xin Zhao fell into deep thought, Zhao Puonu frowned.

Wei Qing leaned against an ancient tree, folded his arms around his chest, and said a few moments later: "I have a strategy, I can kill them all, and leave no one behind."

When speaking, Wei Qing's face was very calm, gentle as before.

Zhao Ponu, Zhao Xin and Gongsun Ao turned their heads at the same time, as if they could not believe their ears.

"Slaughter?"

"Yes." Wei Qing nodded and said with a smile, "If all goes well, if you meet the Huns in the future, you can follow suit."

Gudong.

The three of them swallowed a mouthful of saliva at the same time, and suddenly understood the meaning of "white cut black" in Zhao Jia's mouth.