The flames burned in the northern grassland, and as the strong wind spread in all directions, soaring smoke and dust enveloped the entire sky. Cattle, sheep, horses, and all kinds of animals on the grassland fled in panic. From a distance, this scene looked like the end of the world.
"If such a fire breaks out in future generations, I'm afraid I will have to sit through the bottom of the prison."
Zhao Tuo looked at the blazing flames that reflected the entire northern sky and couldn't help but murmur.
This was the first time that he used a large-scale fire attack in a war. Even though Zhao Tuo had experienced hundreds of battles, he still felt a little nervous.
His core purpose of burning the grassland this time was to use fire to lure Touman Shanyu back to Touman City, so that the Qin army could wait for work halfway and defeat the Huns army.
The overall strategy is a bit like Qi Sunzi's strategy of besieging Wei and rescuing Zhao.
In fact, the Qin army did achieve the desired tactical purpose. Seeing the fire in the rear, the Huns hurriedly returned for reinforcements. They galloped for dozens of miles and were defeated by the Qin army in a chaotic formation and exhausted men and horses. This allowed Zhao Tuo to obtain a decisive victory in the entire war.
But after the battle, no one knows where the fire will spread, when it will be extinguished, and what the final result will be.
Zhao Tuo didn't like this feeling of not being able to control the situation, and the fire caused great harm to the people and animals on the grassland.
"Those who play with fire will burn themselves. If it is not necessary, it is better to use less such tricks."
Zhao Tuo was secretly wary.
Then he put the matter behind him. Although the Qin army defeated the main force of the Huns here, there were still many things that needed to be dealt with.
The first is the Huns army in the south.
Throughout the battle, one thing that puzzled Zhao Tuo was that the number of Huns brought by Touman Shanyu was not enough. According to speculation, there should be other tribes behind them, but they were disconnected because of the long-distance attack. .
But the strange thing is that until the Qin cavalry defeated the main force of Touman Chanyu and King Yougu Li, the Huns behind them still did not arrive.
The doubts in my heart were quickly answered.
The Yuezhi messenger brought the battle situation in the south.
The chess pieces that Zhao Tuo buried inside the Xiongnu came into play at the critical moment. The Yuezhi soldiers assassinated Wu Luxu, the king of Zuoguli of the Xiongnu. Twenty thousand Yuezhi cavalry suddenly burst out on the battlefield, stabbed the Huns from behind, and defeated the Huns army in the middle. This is why they were unable to support Touman Chanyu in time.
"The general is right. Sugatha is indeed a smart woman. She really knows how to choose the right time to take action. This time she has achieved great success!"
Chen Ping was very surprised when he heard the news. He had been worried that if the 20,000 Yuezhi cavalry failed to keep up with the battle, their combat power would be wasted. Unexpectedly, the other party made a crucial stab, helping the Qin army successfully defeat the Xiongnu army, and also killed a Xiongnu king. This contribution is not small at all.
Thinking of this, Chen Ping said with hope: "I wonder if she can catch Touman."
Zhao Tuo smiled, anticipation flashing in his eyes.
But under current circumstances, he had more important things to deal with.
"Ming Jin withdraws his troops and tells the soldiers not to chase the fleeing Huns!"
Zhao Tuo promptly issued an order to withdraw his troops.
The Qin people were not familiar with the grassland environment. If they got interested and chased the Huns all the way, they would easily get lost on the grassland without a guide.
Moreover, the fires in the north may move south at any time, so now is not a good time to pursue them.
The Qin army's military orders were like mountains. After the sound of gold ringing, the Qin soldiers gave up chasing the Huns and began to gather. Under the command of military officials at all levels, they counted their captures, rescued the wounded and searched for the body of Paoze who died in the battle.
Because the fire might spread southward, the Qin army did not have time to cut off the heads, so Zhao Tuo followed the practice of warfare in the Spring and Autumn Period and "cut off guó" to repay his merits.
The so-called cutting off means cutting off the enemy's left ear.
This thing is easier to cut than a human head and easy to carry back for counting. It is very suitable for use in emergencies like this.
"General, I killed a great nobleman of the Huns, and they said he was King Yougu Li of the Huns!"
Excited voices rang out, and a strong man covered in armor strode forward, the armor on his body jingling, and he was holding a bloody human head in his big hand.
"King Yougu Li?"
Zhao Tuo was startled, staring at the head in Fan Kuai's hand.
Fan Kuai chuckled and said, "Originally I wanted to capture him alive, but the battlefield was a mess. There were a bunch of guards coming to stop this guy. I was afraid that he would run away, so I had to stab him to death first to feel relieved."
"Well, you did the right thing. If you restrain yourself because you want to capture the opponent alive, and let King Yougu Li take the opportunity to escape, and then gather the remaining Xiongnu troops to flee, it will be a lot of trouble."
Speaking of this, Zhao Tuo praised: "You Fan Kuai, you can be said to be the most brave among all the troops to take the head of King Hu. Now that this war is over, I will record your great achievements for you."
Zhao Tuo praised Fan Kuai again and asked others to step up and clean up the battlefield.
Soon the air here became hot and filled with all kinds of smoke and dust.
Zhao Tuo took a look at the fire in the north and knew that the fire would burn here soon, so he no longer hesitated and immediately led the Qin army southward.
On the way, they reunited with the Yuezhi cavalry who had cleared the battlefield, and after running for dozens of miles again, they arrived at the location of the Qin army's camp.
This place is still some distance away from the fire scene in the north, and the air is no longer filled with the smell of burning grassland, but the smell of blood that has not dissipated.
What Zhao Tuo saw was that outside the camp, there were corpses of Huns and horses everywhere.
The Qin soldiers carefully cleaned up the remaining caltrops on the battlefield while carrying the dead horses to Wugang's cart. The horse meat was good stuff, enough for the soldiers to have a feast.
Seeing the return of the army, and a series of Xiongnu troops in custody, the Qin soldiers who were left behind all shouted excitedly.
General Yang Yuan, who was staying here, came to greet him with Wang Li, Sima Liang and other generals.
"Congratulations, General, on your great victory!"
Yang Yuan stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Zhao Tuo.
He admired the general's various arrangements in this battle and was sincerely convinced.
"Without General Yang guarding the camp, Touman would not be able to attack, and would have to return north in anger. I would hardly win a big victory. This big victory is also the result of all the kings!"
Zhao Tuo said with a smile, and Yang Yuan, Wang Li and others burst into laughter as soon as he said these words.
The general really likes to share the credit with everyone.
Who doesn't love such a good general?
After some pleasantries, Yang Yuan immediately reported to Zhao Tuo their gains in the night's offensive and defensive battle.
In total, more than 1,600 Huns were killed in this battle.
Because it was a defensive counterattack in the dark, and the Huns reacted and retreated quickly, the Qin army did not kill many people, and there were no prisoners.
After all, no one wanted to raise an injured Huns, so after the Xiongnu army retreated, those wounded Huns who stayed on the battlefield were all stabbed to death by the Qin soldiers who were clearing the battlefield, which was considered as ending their pain in this life. By the way, Get some first-level military honors.
After returning to the main camp at this time, because a large number of military officials from the camp joined in, the gains in the northern battle were quickly tallied.
The Qin army and the Yueshi cavalry together cut off more than 9,500 ears, and captured more than 20,000 surrendered Huns, as well as a large number of war horses.
All told, on this day and night, the Qin army killed, wounded and captured more than 30,000 Huns cavalry.
This number does not seem to be much at first glance, but in fact it is more than one-third of the entire Xiongnu military strength.
You must know that Touman Shanyu only had 80,000 Xiongnu soldiers. Such casualties were a real heavy blow to the grassland people.
Not to mention that they also killed the Xiongnu kings Zuoguli and Youguli, and captured the top Xiongnu officials such as General Zuo and Youguduhou. Except for the fugitive Touman Chanyu, they could be said to have captured all the upper-class Xiongnu elites.
After briefly clearing the captured areas, in order to prevent the fire from spreading from the north, Zhao Tuo immediately ordered that the entire army began to break camp and move south, first evacuating the infantry and baggage to the south bank of the Beihe River.
This is also the reason why Zhao Tuo made up his mind not to use fire attacks easily in the future.
Once this thing burns, it will move with the wind, and it is basically impossible for humans to extinguish it. If one fails, it will burn directly to himself. The current situation is not that the Qin army is thinking about how to kill the enemy, but it is safer to run to the other side of the river first.
In the evening, the Qin army passed through the boat division and returned to the south bank of the Beihe River in an orderly manner. The fire had not yet burned here. Instead, Sujiasha who went to pursue Touman Shanyu came back.
In the newly established Qin army camp on the south bank of Beihe River.
Zhao Tuo was sitting in the main seat, staring at a bloody human head placed on the wooden table and the gold eagle crown that was still stained with blood next to it.
"Da Shanyu, I didn't expect that the first meeting would be like this."
Zhao Tuo sighed quietly.
Touman.
The first Xiongnu Chanyu recorded in history books.
In his hands, the Xiongnu began to grow, occupying the vast central grassland, annexing tribes of all sizes, and eventually became a powerful grassland force bordering the Three Kingdoms. Together with the Yuezhi and Donghu, they were known as the three strongest grassland forces.
In history, even after Touman was defeated by Meng Tian, he still retained a lot of strength and recuperated in Mobei until his son Maodun killed his father and seized the throne, leading the Huns to glory. The Han people in the south could not lift their heads and had to send them away. A woman and a woman kiss each other for respite.
It is such a big figure who has left his name in history, but now he dies here.
"Once Touman and the two Guli kings died, the maimed Huns would be torn apart and there would be no possibility of their rise again. Mao Dun, the son of the wolf in history, is now Donghu's proton. No matter how powerful he is, it will be useless. ”
"Not to mention, the Xiongnu is not only a wild wolf on the grassland, but he can also break his spine and train him into a watchdog."
Zhao Tuo whispered in his heart and looked at the person kneeling in the tent, shivering.
That was Yi Hanxie, the right general of the Xiongnu.
This guy was caught together by Sugatha.
