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

Chapter 58: Beheading the Right Wise King, Xu Gong's Worries
Because the desert was all grassland with no cover, the Han army had to dismount and lie down to hide. As for the horses, they were disguised as grazing horses from other tribes.

Because the Right Wise King of the Xiongnu underestimated the enemy and was careless, he did not notice anything, so Li Guang led his men to hide not far away.

This was actually very risky. If the Huns had not underestimated the enemy, the Han army would probably not have had time to counterattack and would have been completely wiped out. Fortunately, the gamble was won.

"General, the Xiongnu are drinking now. Others may not know, but the Right Wise King must be drunk."

The scout rushed back to report.

Xu Nan also said: "General Wei, now is a great opportunity."

"That's right. Send a signal to Li Guang immediately and order him to prepare immediately to support the army." Wei Qing gave the order immediately.

All of a sudden, the entire Han army was in action. In order to deal with the raid on the grassland, they only brought cavalry. Now, including those under Li Guang, there were still more than 23,000 people.

Enough to defeat the Hun army.

Wei Qing rode his horse at the front of the army, and Xu Nan stood on his right.

"All the generals, listen up and follow me to kill!" He drew his sword and gave the order to charge.

Suddenly, the Han army rushed towards the camp of King Youxian like a swarm of locusts. The Huns who were guarding the camp had been drinking, and did not react until the Han army was only 500 meters away.

"Han troops attack the camp!"

"Han troops attack the camp!"

So they hurried in to report that they were abandoning their post without permission.

The galloping Han cavalry trampled the stationed Huns, leaving corpses everywhere they went. The captured Han soldiers also turned around, and under the leadership of Li Xi and others, they killed the guards, picked up their weapons and began to kill the enemy as well.

The favorable situation for the Huns collapsed in an instant.

"Don't retreat, kill them!"

When the Right Wise King heard the news of the large-scale attack by the Han army, he sobered up immediately, and walked out of the tent tremblingly, holding his ring-handled sword.

Although most of the people here are old and weak, there are still 50,000 or 60,000 strong men who are fully capable of fighting. If he escapes back like this, how can he explain to the Chanyu? At that time, he made a solemn promise.

Seeing this, the people who had just planned to retreat had no choice but to go forward.

The Han army was very brave. They fought against many enemies with only one and were unstoppable. Soon the enemy was almost defeated and scattered. Many of them were drunk and could not even ride their horses steadily.

"kill…"

At this time, Li Guang also led 10,000 elite cavalry and attacked in a mighty force, surrounding the enemy. The Huns were now even more unstoppable and fell into collapse.

It's a mess and can't constitute any combat power at all.

"Retreat!" Seeing that the situation was not good, the Right Wise King led hundreds of elite cavalry to break out and flee into the depths of the desert.

The Han army was not familiar with the grassland to begin with, and due to the long supply lines, they were unable to advance further into the grassland. Therefore, as long as they escaped there, they would be almost safe.

"Thief, where are you escaping..."

Huo Qubing led a thousand soldiers alone to hunt and kill him. The Right Wise King was a high-ranking Xiongnu official, and his head was very valuable, enough to get him promoted several levels.

"Damn guy!"

The Right Wise King glanced back and saw the ferocious Huo Qubing, so he quickly grabbed the reins and ran even harder. He knew that with his few hundred men, he could not be a match for the thousand elite Han cavalry. Although they were all strong, the quality of their armor and weapons was not at the same level, so he could only run faster.

Huo Qubing was an excellent rider. He kept pressing forward. When the range was sufficient, he took out the bow behind him and put an arrow on it.

With a "whoosh", a sharp arrow shot towards him.

"Ah!" The Right Wise King screamed miserably. His left leg was hit by an arrow, but the hope of survival did not stop him.

The situation was not good, and the several hundred Hun cavalrymen who were accompanying them chose to stop and entangle the Han army.

Huo Qubing was tightly entangled by dozens of people, but he quickly rushed out, drew his bow and drew his arrow, hitting the horse's leg.

.........

This battle was also due to the fact that the Right Wise King of the Xiongnu was too careless and underestimated the enemy. Wei Qing did not wait for the main force to arrive, but instead used only more than 30,000 people to defeat more than 60,000 Xiongnu, captured thousands of prisoners, and seized nearly one million cattle and sheep.

They had made amazing military achievements. When Xu Gong arrived with his army, the only step left was to clean up the battlefield. Xu Gong was also very surprised, but also expected it.

He reported his previous military exploits truthfully, which meant that within half a month, Liu Che received two victories in succession! It can be said that the emperor was very pleased.

First, he defeated the Baiyang King and the Loufan King and seized the entire Hetao area. After that, he went deep into the northern desert to launch a surprise attack on the Xiongnu and killed the Xiongnu Right Wise King in battle, making outstanding contributions.

Liu Che was very satisfied with this, and appointed Wei Qing as the general and Marquis of Changping, with a fief of 6,000 households, and Xun Nan as the general of Wei and Marquis of Wuping, with a fief of 3,000 households.

Huo Qubing was rewarded for his contribution in beheading the Right Wise King of the Xiongnu and was promoted to Captain of the Cavalry and made Marquis of Guanjun. Xu Chu also had meritorious service and was made Marquis of Guannei. Others such as Li Xi and Li Guang were also promoted.

Then, Xu Gong continued to lead the two troops to pursue the victory. This time he did not go to the Huns' home ground, because it was not there yet. Instead, he turned to the northeast region, intending to completely cut off Junchen's control over this land.

Although the Northeast region is located in a cold place, it is the place where the Donghu people made their fortune in the past. It is rich in brave men and produces grain and livestock, which is also very important for the grassland.

One hundred thousand Han troops marched eastward in a mighty force, launching fierce attacks wherever they went. The tribes occupying the land along the way were no match for them and were severely damaged.

In fact, most of the tribes in the Northeast are broken up Donghu tribes. As long as the main forces that are inclined to the Xiongnu are defeated, their will to fight is actually not very strong.

The Han army defeated Korea again, forcing it to retreat to the interior of the Korean Peninsula and give up the Liaodong area.

In February of the sixth year of Yuanshuo, the 100,000-strong Han expeditionary force returned to the capital. This time, the Northeast and Hetao regions had been pacified. However, the Xiongnu’s core territories, such as the Western Regions and Mobei, had not suffered fundamental damage, but they had been greatly weakened.

Xu Gong estimated that the next large-scale northern expedition would be able to completely defeat the Huns, and the hidden dangers on the border would then be resolved.

"What? It's been just over a year, and our army's losses have reached this level." Even Xu Gong, who often fought in wars, was a little surprised.

General Gongsun He shook his head: "I'm afraid there will be more. If they come a few more times, even if we have mountains of food, it won't be enough."

"And there are also a considerable number of infantry this time. It is said that His Majesty intends to use cavalry as the main force next time. The number of civilians and accompanying infantry required for this is simply incalculable."

Xu Gong, who already looked a little weathered, fell into deep melancholy.

Your Majesty has reached the point of being ambitious and ostentatious in your external dealings. Only the tyrannical Qin Shi Huangdi has used military force and conscripted civilians so frequently.

What was the result? The Qin Dynasty, which had survived for six generations, finally fell.

"Don't worry, Prime Minister. Your persuasion is not useless. His Majesty has already decided to use a step-by-step approach."

Gongsun He comforted him by saying that he was a graduate of the "Imperial Academy" with a noble family background, and he had great respect for Xu Gong and the Xu family. Naturally, he would not want to see his senior worrying about this at such an old age.

(End of this chapter)