Meng Wu took the lead, waving the spear in his hand and sprinting forward. King Zuo Xian had been circling the battlefield to suppress the cavalry at the top of the city. At this moment, he rushed towards the Golden Fire Cavalry with all his strength. Looking at the cavalry rushing in front, Meng Wu shouted
"Rear crossbowman shoots!!"
The cavalry behind the Golden Fire Cavalry inserted the long swords in their hands into the scabbard, clamped the horse's belly with their legs, and with the support of the stirrups, they straightened up one after another, stretched their bows and nocked arrows, and the approaching cavalry suddenly dispersed to both sides. , leaving an attacking position for the cavalry in the rear.
The Huns cavalry who were rushing towards the Qin army did not realize that the danger had quietly arrived. The leading general Tuli Wang waved the scimitar in his hand and shouted excitedly, but the next moment he was responded to by countless people. Bows and arrows hit the sprinting Hun cavalry like hail. When General Tuli Wang realized the danger, they could no longer stop. The galloping cavalry could only move forward, and it was impossible to stop rashly.
"Be careful!!" the war general shouted.
As soon as the war general's voice fell, a rain of arrows covered the front of the Hun cavalry. The airtight rain of arrows instantly took away the lives of a large number of Hun cavalry. The scimitar in the war general's hand had not yet fallen, and the whole person fell to the ground. on the ground. After a wave of arrows, the Golden Fire Cavalry put away its crossbow and drew the sword from its waist again.
The cavalry that detoured to both sides and the cavalry in the middle cooperated with each other like a giant net to gradually surround the Hun cavalry. The cavalry fighting was much faster and more fierce than the infantry fighting. Both sides had horses to assist them. If they were not careful, You may be knocked off your horse. The Huns cavalry relied on their elite riding skills, while the Golden Fire Cavalry relied on stirrups and saddles.
After a round of charge, only the Golden Fire Cavalry was left on the battlefield. Tens of thousands of Golden Fire Cavalry swallowed up more than 5,000 Hun cavalry. The scattered cavalry formations merged together again, bringing thousands of troops with them. The momentum moved towards the Xiongnu siege army.
"King Zuo Xian, let's withdraw. Our cavalry are scattered. We can't stop these cavalry who are no weaker than our Huns."
King Hunxie looked anxiously at King Zuo Xian, and King Zuo Xian looked at the golden fire cavalry that continued to charge with fear in his eyes. The three hundred cavalry last night had made him feel incredible. After Xiegu returned with the pursuit of the Qin army, he reported to Touman that the Qin army was not human at all. Not only did they have the same riding and shooting abilities as them, but the armor on their bodies was even more impenetrable, and even their bronze arrow clusters could not penetrate. .
But everyone present thought this was the reason Xie Guhe was looking for for himself. The Huns had lived on horseback since they were young, so they had unparalleled horse riding and horse shooting abilities. No matter how hard the Qin army trained the cavalry, it would be impossible to train them. Send out a large-scale cavalry similar to theirs. So Touman thought that the people who attacked the camp last night were the elite cavalry of the Qin army, so he was let go by Xie Guyu, and Touman punished him severely. Xie Guyu was whipped a hundred times.
But after seeing today's golden fire cavalry, King Zuo Xian understood that the Qin State had really trained cavalry as good as theirs. They even matched the Central Plains people's cavalry battle formations, and their combat power was far superior to their cavalry.
At this time, the Golden Fire Cavalry had already fought against the second wave of Huns' cavalry who blocked them. This time, the Golden Fire Cavalry still used the old method, first riding and shooting arrows, and then swallowing the Huns' cavalry. After the second wave of Huns' cavalry was swallowed up, the Golden Fire Cavalry had already arrived at the position of the Huns' central army. The Huns' siege army was mostly infantry, and the cavalry was used to support them. Facing the cavalry that had already picked up speed, There is no stopping these people.
Facing these infantry, the Golden Fire Cavalry was not polite at all. People blocked and killed people along the way, and the Huns army in front could not stop them at all.
"Assault with the whole army, follow me and take down the enemy's flag!!" Meng Wu shouted while looking at the chariot platform where King Zuo Xian was sitting.
Dozens of cavalrymen near Mengwu immediately headed toward King Zuoxian's chariot platform with Mengwu, and the cavalrymen behind them also followed suit. At this time, the golden fire cavalrymen penetrated the Huns army like an awl-shaped sharp knife. heart.
"King Zuo Xian, let's withdraw. If we wait any longer, our losses will be even more serious, and we may even have to stay here. If the Great Chanyu is punished, I will bear the responsibility with you." King Hunxie was still persuading.
Other tribal leaders also tried to persuade them. King You Xian nodded to King Zuo Xian. King Zuo Xian finally asked the ordering soldiers to blow the retreat command. The entire chariot platform began to retreat under the pull of more than a dozen war horses. , the soldiers attacking the city also retreated one after another. Wang Ben on the top of the city maintained his fighting power with the support of two soldiers.
Looking at the Huns retreating one after another, Wang Ben raised the sword in his hand and shouted
"we won!!"
"we won!!"
Looking at the excited surviving soldiers, Wang Ben had a smile on his face, but he couldn't hide the worry in his eyes. This was wrong with their expected arrival time. Wang Ben could guess that Mengwu's Golden Fire Cavalry should have arrived early. . Although the Huns were repelled by surprise, it was still a question of whether they could hold on until the Huns regained their breath.
Meng Wu looked at the retreating Huns army and continued to charge for a certain distance with the golden fire cavalry before withdrawing.
After entering the border town, Meng Wu's eyes were full of respect after looking at Wang Bi, who was covered in blood and relying on the support of his soldiers to stand upright, and the wounded soldiers around him. These people desperately guarded the border town to prevent the Huns from entering Shangdang. County step.
"Thank you!" Meng Wu patted Wang Ben on the shoulder and said.
"This is what we should do. Where is the army?" Wang Ben asked.
"The army still has a day's journey. My last letter to the army said that the commander-in-chief has asked the vanguard troops to march quickly and they should arrive this evening. The commander-in-chief ordered us to evacuate the border town." Meng Wu said in a deep voice.
"Why!? We worked so hard to defend the Lower Border City, how could we retreat now?" General Chen said excitedly.
They had paid so much to keep the border town, but now they had to evacuate the border town, which they couldn't accept for a while. Compared to General Chen's excitement, Wang Ben was much calmer. He knew why he wanted to abandon the border city. The border city was too small to accommodate an army of 200,000. The border city was said to be a city, but in fact it was just a small town. It's just a frontier fortress, the real border crossing is far behind. Moreover, the border town cannot accommodate an army of 200,000 people.
"Is it okay to camp in a border town?" Wang Ben asked.
Meng Wu shook his head and said
"Our expedition this time is not just to stop the Xiongnu. The purpose of the court is to fight back against the Xiongnu and let them know that in the land of Qin, anyone who dares to take half a step will die. So after thinking about it, the commander-in-chief and the supervisor decided to abandon the border town. Fighting with the Huns in the wild.”
"Fighting with the Xiongnu!?" Wang Ben and Dunruo were a little surprised.
General Chen and his deputy also looked at Meng Wu with doubts. They relied on the border city to barely block the Huns' cavalry. If it was a field battle, wouldn't this create a better attack ground for the Huns' cavalry?
"I don't know how to explain to you. The supervisor's original words were that if he wanted to die, he must first be driven crazy!" Meng Wu said.
"I understand. It's a pity that this border town will be given to the Huns."
Wang Ben was still a little reluctant to give up, but for the sake of the overall situation, they could only give up the border town. The border town was not the first line of defense of Shangdang County, but the border fortress closest to the edge. Giving up the border town was equivalent to giving the Huns a Kouzi, wait until the Huns have penetrated deeply, and then summon the troops from nearby border fortresses to encircle them.
"Take away all the food and utensils in the city and don't leave any of them to the Huns." Chen Shoujiang gritted his teeth and said.
"I know you are not willing to give in, but you and the dead Pao Ze have done your best. You blocked the Huns from going south, bought time for the army, and protected the people in the rear. What we have to do now is to fight back against the Huns. In order The overall situation can only be to abandon the border. Don't worry, the court will not say that you have lost the city. On the contrary, you are the meritorious officials and heroes of the Qin Dynasty." Meng Wu looked at the soldiers around him and said loudly.
Hearing what Meng Wu said, the dejected soldiers who received the order to retreat became energetic again and no longer resisted the order to retreat. In addition to the tone in their hearts, they did not want to retreat. They were more worried about being blamed. Or they might be labeled as a defeated army, but they felt a lot more at ease when they heard Meng Wu say this.
As the entire border town began to operate, the soldiers began to collect various useful things, packed them up, and prepared to evacuate when the vanguard army arrived.
In the Xiongnu camp, Touman looked at King Zuo Xian and others who had returned from another defeat. At this moment, he no longer had any thoughts of blaming them, but listened to a few people talking about the Golden Fire Cavalry with an uncertain expression.
"You said the Qin army has cavalry no less powerful than ours?" Touman asked.
"Yes, the Great Chanyu is the Golden Fire Cavalry. My Righteous King's troops fought against them in Beidi County. Although their strength was not weak at that time, they were not as good as our Huns. But now the Golden Fire Cavalry has already Not weaker than us at all." King Youxian said.
Touman also knew the names of the Golden Fire Cavalry, but he had never fought against them. Except for the Youxian King Tribe and his tribe, the main targets of the other Xiongnu tribes going south were Zhao State, not Qin State. country.
"How many people are there in the Golden Fire Cavalry?" Touman asked.
"There are less than 30,000 people. Although Qin has a horse farm, it is too small and lacks good enough horses, so there are not many cavalry." King Youxian said.
When he heard that there were only 30,000 people, the caution on Touman's face disappeared, and instead he looked disdainful.
"King Youxian is too preoccupied. There are only 30,000 people. We now have 200,000 cavalry. It is just a casual matter to destroy these 30,000 people."
Looking at the worried faces of King Zuo Xian, King You Xian and others below, Ren Touman said.
"I have watched you attack the city today. If the reinforcements of the Qin army had not arrived, the border city would have been captured, so let the punishment be over. You tribes have worked hard in the siege these days. King Zuo Xian, you Take the people to rest, and let Brother Tuli handle the rest of the siege."
"Thank you for your gift, Great Chanyu." King Zuo Xian said with excitement.
Although I had been prepared in my heart, I was still very angry when faced with Touman who came to snatch the victory that I was about to win. Moreover, I had to show a grateful expression. Looking at the throne behind Dashan Yu, left The desire for the throne in the heart of the wise king became stronger and stronger.
Looking at King Zuo Xian who bowed his head respectfully, Touman waved his hand and said
"You all go down and have a good rest. This Shanyu will definitely capture the border town tomorrow."
After all the tribal leaders left, Gongyang Ling, who had been in the dark, came out and said to Touman
"Da Chanyu, although we can capture the border town, we waste too much time on the border town, which is not conducive to our continued southward movement. Moreover, there will be long-term benefits after the border town. The Qin army built a lot of border fortresses in order to deal with Zhao. , these border fortresses are just used to delay our time. When the Qin army reaches Changyi, it will be difficult for us to go south."
"The Prime Minister is overly worried. The people attacking the city in the past few days are just slaves and slave tribes. The real main force of our Xiongnu is still training. The food we have snatched from the surroundings these days is enough to sustain us for many days. When the war When the Qin army met, Prime Minister Gongyang naturally knew why we Xiongnu were able to gallop across the grassland and never suffered a defeat." Touman waved his hand and said.
For the Xiongnu, these slave tribes and slaves were just for consumption. The real combat power was their own cavalry. As long as there was no resistance from the border towns, the next land would be their dominion. As for Gongyang Ling's reminder, Touman believed that Gongyang Ling came to the Xiongnu and stayed inside the Huns, and did not see the Xiongnu's combat power at all.
"I"
When Gongyang Ling was about to say something, he was interrupted by Touman.
"I know what the prime minister is thinking, but this food and grass is not enough to be divided equally among the tribes. As long as we take Changyi and even Fushi, we will have enough food and grass to survive the winter. Now the weather is getting colder and colder. We Huns I am used to the cold, but Central Plains people are not. In the words of you Central Plains people, the right time, the right place and the right people are here for me. If we don’t win Changyi, it would be a blasphemy against the Wolf God."
Looking at the stubborn Touman, Gongyang Ling gave up on persuading him. Instead, he bowed and left the king's tent. Looking at Gongyang Ling's back, Touman showed disdain in his eyes.
"After all, he is a Central Plains man and does not have the bravery and decisiveness of our wolf clan."
The Qin army, Wang Jian, Wei Liao and Ziyou were looking at the latest military report.
"The border town is defended, and ahead is Changyi. We are facing a confrontation with the 200,000 Xiongnu army under Changyi. The risk for us is still too great." Wang Jian said while looking at the military report.
Confronting the Huns in the wild was the first time for him to do such a risky behavior. Although there was Changyi behind him as a barrier, the wild was ultimately the domain of the Huns. In the border defense battle, the Xiongnu’s elite were not dispatched. The elite are reserved to attack Changyi.
"I can't bear to bear the child without trapping the wolf. According to Luowang's intelligence, the Huns are not united within themselves. Especially these days, those attacking the city are King Zuo Xian and not Tou Man. The relationship between King Zuo Xian and Tou Man has become very tense. Stiff, this is our chance." Ziyou said.
"Intelligence came from the State of Zhao, and there was movement among the troops at Yanmen Pass," Wei Liao said.
(End of chapter)
