Establishing a thousand-year family from the nobles of the Western Han Dynasty

Chapter 23 Donghu Invasion
All the ministers were rushing to the palace. Xu Zhao, as the Grand Marshal, naturally could not fall behind. After instructing his wife, he put on his clothes and went to court.

Less than half an hour after the bell was rung, all the ministers who were meeting had arrived. They all looked quietly at Liu Heng, who was sitting on the dragon throne with a serious expression.

"You all should already know why I came to you late at night."

Liu Heng sighed and ordered his men to deliver the front-line battle report to the Grand Commandant Xu Zhao.

"Zhao, take a look first."

Xu Zhao took it and his face became increasingly ugly. According to the information above, the Donghu had already raised an army of more than 300,000 to invade Dai, Yan and other countries. It seemed that this time was different from the past and was not just an ordinary harassment and looting.

The Donghu army captured the entire Taiyuan. King Dai Liu Deng vowed to never surrender and was killed by the rebel army. Only King Yan Liu Ze was left struggling to hold on.

"These barbarians are too arrogant!"

After watching this, everyone was filled with righteous indignation. How could the Donghu people be so bold? They actually dared to start a full-scale war with the Han Dynasty. Did they forget Maodun's disastrous defeat in Daidi in the past?

"No, why would the Donghu change their harassment strategy? They have absolutely no chance of winning if they confront the imperial court head-on."

Xu Zhao thought of a deeper level. The previous foreign strategies of Donghu and Xiongnu were both plundering, but one was open and the other was covert.

There must be something wrong with the sudden large-scale invasion now.

"Zhao, don't think it's strange. Considering the style of the current King of Donghu, there's nothing strange about it." Liu Heng said to Xu Zhao. He thought so at first when he got the battle report, but he felt relieved after understanding what the King of Donghu had done.

"The King of Donghu, Hu Duo, was a tyrannical and cruel person. He was ambitious and was close to foreign tribes while alienating his own people. He was also fond of treacherous people. All the strength of Donghu over the years was lost to him."

After listening to Liu Heng's explanation, Xu Zhao dispelled his doubts. Since the Donghu were so desperate, he would follow his father's example and replicate the Battle of Baideng!
"Your Majesty, I am willing to be the vanguard!"

Liu Heng was delighted when he heard this, and then he said, "Well, you are indeed a brave descendant of Grand Tutor Xu. I order you to be a general and lead an army of 50,000 to help the State of Yan. I will be there soon."

"The minister obeys the order."

Xu Zhao gladly accepted the order, because after years of fighting on the frontier, the Xu family had already shown a tendency to develop into a family of military honors. However, there were also many Xu family sons who served as civil servants. Xu Zhen's second son, Xu Zhong, was the prime minister of the State of Zhao.

After receiving the emperor's call, the vassal states also actively organized coalition forces. Emperor Wen was tough, and with Xu Zhen's remaining prestige, no one dared to disobey the emperor.

As for the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms in later generations, it was caused by Liu Qi's forced reduction of the power of the princes. As their fundamental interests were affected, they had no choice but to rebel.

The news that the Central Plains sent more than 200,000 troops to resist the Donghu soon reached the State of Yan. Liu Ze was very happy, so he went to the front line to kill the enemy in person. This was a good opportunity to make merit!
Xu Zhen was very pleased to see this scene. It seemed that his son did not let him down and handled things with ease. He was also promoted to the Grand Marshal and his attributes were also improved.

These are Xu Zhao's current attributes: [Politics (82), Command (90), Wisdom (86), Military Strength (89), Controlling People (81), Literary Strategy (87)]

Now he should be barely considered a first-rate minister, and his commander is over ninety. Xu Zhen is not worried about this expedition at all. The combat effectiveness of the Han army is definitely stronger than that of the Donghu. If they abandon the grassland and fight, they have no chance of winning.

Yan State, Donghu camp.

The news that the Han emperor personally led the army and sent the killing god Xu Zhao as the vanguard naturally quickly reached the Donghu King Hu Duo.

At this time, Hu Duo was drinking and enjoying himself with several beauties from the Central Plains that he had captured, and he didn't seem to care at all about the impending Han army.

"Shan... Shanyu, the Han army has set off. The general asked his subordinates to remind you." A Donghu official came over trembling. "Shut up, someone take this bastard who disturbed my fun out to feed the dogs!" The Donghu king looked at him unhappily, and then issued an order to execute him without hesitation.

"Chan, please spare my life, spare my life..." The minister was dragged out roughly by the soldiers, and one could imagine what was waiting for him.

Seeing this, the foreign tribe king who was enjoying himself with him also flattered and advised: "Great Chanyu, you should go and take a look. The Han people are always cunning. Maodun suffered a big setback here."

Hu Duo was still a little unhappy, but he nodded because the tribal king often entertained him: "I know, you are really making a fuss out of nothing."

"Maodun was defeated because he was too stupid! I am different. I will lead the Hu people to realize their dream of ruling the Central Plains!"

At this time, Hu Duo's favorite minister also hurriedly praised: "It is inevitable that the Chanyu will rule the Central Plains, because under the leadership of the Chanyu, the strength of our Hu people has increased several times! Why can't the old Chanyu defeat the Central Plains people? Because he always focuses on his own tribe and ignores other tribes."

"Today, the Chanyu has made up for this deficiency perfectly, and his strength has naturally improved rapidly."

"Hahaha... you really understand me. Those guys are short-sighted. How dare they doubt my thoughts? Wait until I, the Hu people, break into the Han capital and kill the Han emperor, and see what they have to say!" These flatteries really touched Hu Duo's heart.

He never considered himself a foolish and tyrannical monarch. On the contrary, because of the deceptions of his favorite ministers, he even believed that the strength of the Donghu had surpassed that of the Han Dynasty, and that his measures to support the allied tribes had achieved remarkable results.

It can be said that Hu Duo is now extremely conceited.

"The Chanyu is wise." Hu Duo's favorite minister Manzhu continued.

"You guys go down first. I also need to get ready." Hu Duo waved his hand and everyone immediately took their leave.

"Hey, Manzhu, is this really okay?" The tribal king approached Manzhu and whispered.

"Haha... haven't you noticed? This guy is a fool. As soon as I provoke him, he can't wait to mobilize the entire country's troops to attack the Han people. In this way, Junchen Chanyu can just sit back and reap the benefits." Manzhuo sneered.

"I hope so."

.........

"Brother, the Yan territory is ahead. The Donghu people have no choice but to besiege the city because they lack siege equipment."

Xu Zhenghui, the fourth son of Xu Zhen, reported that most of the Donghu army had gathered outside Jicheng. Due to the lack of equipment, they were unable to capture the city and could only trap the defenders in the city to death.

"Well, tell all the troops to prepare for battle. We must catch them off guard!"

"Yes!"

Xu Zheng took the order and then quickly notified all the troops that they now had about 50,000 people, all of whom were elite. If they could take advantage of the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, they would surely be able to defeat the Donghu!

Back then, Jinghou Xu Zhen was able to annihilate Maodun's 400,000 troops with an army of 100,000. It would not be difficult for them to drive the Donghu people away this time.

Liu Heng had previously ordered that the King of Donghu should be beaten hard enough. If they suffered too many casualties, it would likely cause the grassland forces to lose balance and the Xiongnu would become powerful again.

(End of this chapter)