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

Chapter 72: No Royal Court in the South of the Desert, Xu Gong is Seriously Ill
After the last obstacle disappeared, Liu Che put the goal of an expedition against the Huns on the agenda. He ordered Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to step up preparations for war and General Xu Nan, the General of the Northern Expedition, to intensify troop training.

It seems that they are planning to launch a final attack on the Huns to resolve the hidden dangers on the border in one fell swoop. This time has been delayed for a long time, and if they are allowed to recover, all their efforts will be wasted.

In the spring of the third year of Yuanshou, Liu Che used 500,000 soldiers as logistics troops, 200,000 war horses as preparations, and sent out 100,000 cavalry, led by General Wei Qing and General Huo Qubing, to forcibly conquer the Huns.

General Xu Nan, the General of the Northern Expedition, led 20,000 light cavalry to accompany him. This was an opportunity Xu Gong had sought for his son.

Xu Gong was of course very happy about this. He took all his elite troops and planned to return to Chang'an in one fell swoop based on this achievement!
My father's health is getting worse and worse, I must prepare for a rainy day! I can't let Xu Ye get away with it.

One hundred and twenty thousand cavalrymen marched towards the northern desert in a mighty force, marching for thousands of miles.

In the end, Huo Qubing first encountered the Hun army at Langjuxu Mountain.

"Comrades, this is the sacred mountain where the Xiongnu people worship the gods! Our chance to make achievements has come. As long as we conquer this place, our names will be passed down through the ages!"

Huo Qubing raised his spear and shouted loudly. The generals were also very happy. They said that Wolf Mountain was the sacred place of the Huns. If they could take it down, it would surely boost the morale of the army.

Everyone immediately rushed over, shouting "Ah Ah".

Swords and spears were everywhere, and the blood of the Huns dyed the holy land red. The ground was littered with the corpses of the Huns.

Huo Qubing achieved an unimaginable victory, capturing eleven Xiongnu princes and hundreds of ministers.

A ceremony of offering sacrifices to the heaven was held here, and Huo Qubing had completed the feat of sealing the Wolf's Lair! It was once regarded as the highest honor for a military commander, and everyone was extremely proud of it.

Huo Qubing's prestige reached an unimaginable peak.

Wei Qing was also very happy when he learned about it. He ordered his army to attack forward, defeated the Xiongnu Chanyu's troops head-on, and joined forces with Huo Qubing to drive the enemy westward.

"Chanyu, the Han army's offensive is too fierce. We have suffered heavy losses and have no ability to fight any further."

The Xiongnu ministers, covered in blood, reported to Yizhixie that they no longer had any desire to continue fighting.

"Well, whatever, we have to give up this grassland. Send a message to all tribes. We are heading west and we must avoid the Han people's edge!"

Yizhixie remained silent for a long time, still not daring to give the order for a fight to the death, and then planned to continue fleeing westward.

As for where to go, they didn't know, nor did they know what was to the west, but at least it was much better than staying here and waiting to die. The armies of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing had already caught up with them and were determined to kill them all.

In the end, the Huns chose to migrate westward as a whole to avoid the attack of the Han army.

The scouts who received the news also hurried forward to report.

"Generals, the Xiongnu Chanyu has led his people westwards and it seems that he has no intention of coming back."

"It has already fled thousands of miles away."

Wei Qing thought for a moment, then looked at Huo Qubing and Xu Nan.

"General, I think it's better for us to return to the capital." Xu Nan did not advocate going any further. If they did, their supply line would be too long and the consumption would be unimaginable.

It is possible that we may not find the Huns at all, after all, the further west we go, the more unknown it becomes.

"Qubing also believed that we should quit while we are ahead." Even Huo Qubing, who had always been radical, was the same. After many wars, he was able to look at problems objectively.

Supply is a major drawback. There are no rivers in this place, and the food logistics cannot keep up. Besides, their goal is just to drive away the Huns, not to kill them all. I believe that the threat of the Huns will not appear again in the next 30 years.

"Okay, then let's withdraw our troops." The three men reached a consensus and ordered the three armies to immediately retreat back to the Han territory.

The Battle of Mobei ended with a complete victory for the Han army, with 20,000 heads beheaded, tens of thousands captured, and more than 10 million cattle and sheep seized. The Huns fled thousands of miles away, achieving the feat of "no royal court south of the desert".

The army also pursued the victory and marched westward to the right territory of the Xiongnu, conquered the Hexi Corridor, established four counties including Dunhuang, opened up the road to the Western Regions, and cut off the connection between the Qiang people and the Xiongnu.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the 40,000-strong army of King Hunxie chose to surrender to the Han.

With the frequent reports of victory, Emperor Liu Che in Chang'an was also very happy. He immediately increased the fiefs of three generals including Wei Qing, transferred Xu Nan back to the capital, and made an exception to grant him the title of General of Chariots and Cavalry, an official position exclusive to relatives of the emperor.

It was enough to show how happy he was.

This time Xu Nan also realized his wish and was transferred back to Chang'an. He was extremely powerful and overshadowed Xu Ye, who had the credit for building Hetao. He was the number one person in the family after his peer Xu Zhou!
"Hahahaha... Teacher, look, look, this time I really showed my mighty power. If the enemy can go, I can go too!"

"The Xiongnu Chanyu Yizhixie was defeated and fled westward with the remnants of his army. There was no royal court south of the desert anymore, and the border crisis was finally resolved."

Liu Che handed the battle report to Xu Gong with great joy. His efforts over the years had finally paid off. From now on, he could concentrate on Nanyue and the Western Regions.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty. Our Han Dynasty will become a superior country." Xu Gong bowed with a smile, but it was already very reluctant.

In recent years, he has hardly been concerned with military affairs, and even in the government affairs, he only picked out the important ones, leaving the rest to his nephew Xu Zhou, because he has contracted a serious illness and is afraid that his life will soon come to an end.

Just like my father and brother, he passed away.

"Is the Prime Minister feeling unwell?" Liu Che also noticed that something was wrong with his teacher and put down the battle report.

Xu Gong did not hide the fact: "I am old and frail, and I am already ill. I came here to resign from my post."

"After so many years, it's time for me to take a break and enjoy the happiness of family life."

In fact, he just didn't want to die as prime minister, and he said this just to avoid embarrassing Liu Che.

Liu Che seemed very anxious: "Teacher, why didn't you tell me that you were sick? Did you want to die quietly like Master Xu? I don't want to experience the sorrow that Emperor Xiaowen experienced back then."

Then he shouted loudly: "Call the imperial physician, call the imperial physician quickly..."

Xu Gong held Liu Che's hand and shook his head: "I have already asked a doctor to see him. It is because of overwork. He will recover after a few months of rest."

Liu Che also held his teacher's hand: "Teacher, you must hold on! My Han Dynasty cannot do without you, and neither can I!"

Xu Gong smiled bitterly: "All good things must come to an end. Birth, aging, sickness and death are the laws of the human world. No one can avoid them."

"Emperor Jing is not an option, Emperor Wen is not an option, and Emperor Gao is not an option either. Only by letting nature take its course can we achieve the best result."

"Alas... the teacher is really free and easy." Liu Che sighed. It seemed that he would also have to experience the feelings of his father and grandfather in the past.

He bid farewell to his only loyal and capable ministers, and from then on he had no more confidants, and was left alone to face the intrigue-filled court.

(End of this chapter)