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

Chapter 24: Fake Retreat, Defense

The terrain outside Jicheng is relatively flat, and it is the core position for defending against foreign races. Except for some natural mountains, the rest of the country is plains. In order to defend against rebellions in other vassal states, Emperor Wen transferred a large number of border troops to the interior, which resulted in the emptiness of Yan, Dai and other places.

In addition, Hu Duo was an extremely conceited person. He easily believed Manzhuo's slander and invaded the Central Plains despite opposition.

Hu Duo's original plan was just to capture Taiyuan and defend it with all his strength, using it as a base to harass the interior. This way, the risk could be minimized. If he advanced, he could reach the wealthy cities of the Han Dynasty, and if he retreated, he could escape to the vast desert.

In addition, the Dai area had few troops, so this strategy was easy to implement. Maodun, the former Khan of the Xiongnu, had planned this way. Unfortunately, he was defeated by Xu Zhen, Marquis Jing of the Han Dynasty, which resulted in the loss of all his elite troops. The Donghu rebelled and became the overlord of the grassland again, and this legendary monarch died of depression.

If Hu Duo's strategy of conquering and digesting Dai was successful, it would deal a fatal blow to the Han Dynasty, and he might even become the next King You of Zhou.

But unfortunately, Manzhuo slandered Huduo again, which made Huduo's ambition swell. He gave up the established strategy of gradual encroachment and wanted to take advantage of the situation to seize the entire Yan area.

The Han Dynasty lost its barrier against nomadic peoples, allowing the Hu cavalry to come and go as they pleased.

It has to be said that this was a bad move. The Donghu people had no advantage in siege, their army's weapons and training were far inferior to those of the Han army, and their only advantage of mobility was greatly reduced.

If Hu Duo had ordered all-out efforts to defend Taiyuan, it might have been possible, but he withdrew a large number of troops to besiege the State of Yan, which gave the Han court time to react.

Liu Heng divided the army into two groups. One group, led by Liu Ruyi, went to Yan State to support Xu Zhao, while the other group was led by himself to launch a surprise attack on Taiyuan to cut off the enemy's retreat and complete the strategic encirclement.

Now Xu Zhao's task is very difficult. He needs to use these 50,000 people to hold back more than 200,000 Donghu cavalry and try to stabilize them. Otherwise, it would be easy for the cavalry to escape with their mobility.

"General, the scouts reported that the enemy...the enemy doesn't seem to be on guard at all, and the King of Donghu is still drinking and having fun." Xu Zheng stuttered when he reported. He didn't expect Hu Duo to be so conceited. He was so careless even though he knew that the Han army was coming to rescue him.

I really don’t know how he managed to convince so many brothers and uncles to become the King of Donghu.

That's right. The tradition of the Donghu is to compete for power. Not only the princes, but also the brothers and sisters of the Chanyu have the right of inheritance. Whoever can win over more tribal soldiers with his fists will become the Chanyu. Basically everyone follows this tradition, so there are few internal rebellions.

Of course, it may also be because the former Xiongnu leader, the old Chanyu, was pressing forward step by step.

It can be said that although Hu Duo has a dull character, his ability is not a problem and he is a leader of his time.

"What a pity. Our goal is to delay Hu Duo, so we have to give up such a good opportunity." Xu Zhao sighed and planned to pretend to be defeated and let the other party take the bait first.

Wait until Liu Ruyi arrives with the coalition forces of the vassal states before counterattacking!
Afterwards, Xu Zhao ordered a small force to attack the camp. Of course, the goal was just to remind Hu Duo that they were coming. It was not a real war. He just wanted the other side to think that he was just in name only, so that they would get carried away and would not be able to leave even if they wanted to.

Everyone has a gambling mentality, and people like Hu Duo who cannot control themselves are even worse.

Three thousand Han soldiers, divided into teams of a hundred, were lying in ambush in the dense forest. At the command of the captain, they immediately drew their bows and fired rockets at once.

The dazzling flames illuminated the night, and the tents made of animal skins by the Donghu people were like dry firewood meeting a raging fire, catching fire at the slightest touch.

However, Hu Duo was not unprepared. His elite cavalry, who had been hiding in the outer tents, immediately rushed out and galloped towards the source of the arrows.

Fortunately, due to Xu Zhao's previous instructions, the Han army left immediately after completing a round of volleys. It was really an unexpected success. If they had followed the previous plan, they would probably have been ambushed, resulting in heavy losses for the 3,000 Han troops.

The Donghu cavalry's attack was in vain, but it also made Hu Duo alert.

"Report to the Great Chanyu, those Han troops who attacked the camp seemed to have been prepared in advance and avoided our ambush." ​​After hearing the news from the front line, Hu Duo was very angry: "A bunch of useless things, they can't even do such a small thing!"

"Chanyu, please calm down. You know Xu Zhao very well. He is very cunning." Manzhuo rarely spoke up for them.

"Hmph, just a clever trick. I will fight him every time he comes!" Hu Duo calmed down and planned to strengthen the defense of the military camp.

"Chanyu, I have an idea, but I don't know whether I should tell it or not." Manzhuo suddenly said after all the generals left.

"But there's no harm in talking."

"How did this Han Chinese guess your plan? There is clearly no flaw at all. There must be something fishy going on."

"Tell me in detail." After hearing this, Hu Duo suddenly became suspicious.

Manzhuo approached the other party and said: "In my opinion, there may be an undercover agent among us planted by the military official! This traitor is in collusion with the Han people and leaked the information, hoping to take the opportunity to stop us."

"What you said makes some sense."

Hu Duo actually believed this statement that the wicked are the first to complain. He did not think that there was anything wrong with the person in front of him. Sometimes people really act on impulse and distinguish between loyalty and treachery based on their likes and dislikes.

"Mandron, then tell me how I should find this person."

"That's easy. Whoever in the army keeps urging you to return to the grassland is the most suspicious..."

.........

The 3,000 Han vanguard troops also successfully avoided the enemy's ambush, and all of them returned to the Han army camp in the distance. Now Hu Duo's competitive spirit was aroused, and he would definitely not retreat easily.

It is really tiring to fight against nomadic peoples in the absence of cavalry. You need to prevent them from escaping. Unless there are enough horses or soldiers, the war cannot be fought at all. Xu Zhen was a master at that time, otherwise no one could have defeated 400,000 cavalry without having an advantage in terms of manpower and sufficient cavalry.

"General, what should we do next?"

All the generals came to the central army tent to discuss matters. This battle was so frustrating, and they had to go through so much trouble to show weakness to this group of barbarians.

But there is no other way. Taiyuan is still in the hands of the other party. We must endure it and wait until His Majesty finishes.

"We can no longer use small forces to harass. We must have a large-scale conflict, otherwise the losses will be too great."

"Yes, sir." Everyone said in unison.

"Everyone, give orders to the soldiers to focus on defense and advance their positions with shields and arrows. We cannot show weakness in this battle. Protecting His Majesty is important, but preserving our strength is also a top priority."

Xu Zhao also figured it out. Hu Duo was an extremely conceited person and would not easily become suspicious. There was a huge gap in their military strength, so a frontal attack would not be easy to fight.

Relying on equipment advantages to fight a defensive battle is the best choice!

　Dear book friends, please do not think that the King of Donghu is stupid. There are many monarchs in history who are ambitious but incompetent and love to show off their achievements. Zhu Qizhen is a typical example. Sometimes reality is more magical than fiction.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)