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

Chapter 8 Maodun's Escape

There were flashes of swords and shadows, wailing and screaming everywhere, and the pungent smell of blood filled the air, making people wrinkle their noses.

At this time, the Han army had completely defeated the remaining Huns, and the large army fled towards the location of Maodun's large army.

It took the entire 400,000 Huns to be trapped, which shows how elite this army was.

"Your Majesty, the enemy's granary has been completely burned down." Li Shang walked up to Liu Bang and said respectfully.

"Well, let's do as Zi Fu said next."

"Even if we can't defeat Maodun, we must at least keep 400,000 Xiongnu people in Daidi! We are not Han people who can come and go as we please!"

There was a hint of ruthlessness in Liu Bang's eyes. As a commoner emperor who rose from obscurity, he had never been a good person.

People have seven emotions and six desires that will be disturbed by the secular world. The most terrifying thing is to have an absolutely rational mind.

This means that he will not be defeated by any setbacks, nor will he be tempted by some petty gains and be complacent with the status quo, and he will always move towards his ultimate goal.

"As you command." Li Shang gladly accepted the order. He had been feeling very depressed for a long time. The Han army had never suffered such a terrible humiliation before.
Even Xiang Yu, the once-mighty King of Western Chu, was defeated, and the Huns are no exception!
"Wait." Liu Bang seemed to have thought of something and suddenly called him.

"Your Majesty, do you have any other instructions?" Li Shang turned around.

"Let Xiahou Ying take all the cavalry to set up an ambush along the route the Huns must take. We must shed more blood!" Liu Bang ordered in a deep voice.

Maodun was also a hero and he must have been able to see the situation clearly, so when he saw that the situation was not good, he would choose to retreat back to the grassland quickly with his strong men.

Once the Han army entered the vast desert, they would never be found again.

"Yes, sir." Li Shang was also a famous general, so he naturally understood.

Liu Bang looked at the other person's receding back, and his tense heart finally relaxed.

There were actually only two people who could threaten the Han Dynasty after his death: one was the foreign princes, and the other was the Huns who unified the grassland.

He was sure that he could take all the kings of different surnames away before he died, but it would be difficult to deal with the Huns. The number of horses was a fatal flaw. Without cavalry, it would be useless even if you defeated the Huns, as they would be able to escape back to the grassland immediately.

This was a good opportunity! If most of these 400,000 people were left in Dai, the Xiongnu would be greatly weakened, and they would then fall into civil strife and have no time to spare.

After that, with proper appeasement, the danger of foreign attacks would be easily resolved.

"Alas... Ying'er, you are too weak, just like the tyrannical Prince Fusu of Qin. A strong mother and a weak son have always been a recipe for chaos."

"Perhaps only someone more like me can shoulder the responsibility of the Han Dynasty."

Liu Bang looked up at the sky with melancholy. He had always been worried about the crown prince. Lu Zhi was too strong and it was difficult for Liu Ying to suppress her.

The idea of ​​changing the crown prince was thus planted.

.........

Xu Zhenchu ​​also had been implementing a strategy of showing weakness, slowly retreating and even directly giving up strategic terrain. This made the Huns extremely inflated, and they began to believe that their previous failure was only due to their untimely response.

At this time, they were already entangled with the Han army, and the advantage of the cavalry's high mobility was gone.

Although Maodun was always on guard, the tribal leaders were not so smart and were somewhat disobedient to the Chanyu's words.

This is the worst part of the feudal system. Each tribe has its own troops and is essentially independent. The Chanyu can only deter others through the power of his own tribe.

The tribes did not send out troops in vain, they came here to gain benefits, so it is natural that they would not retreat when they see that they have the upper hand.

Few people can resist the temptation of profit.

Xu Zhen had also been observing the situation on the front line, ready to counterattack at any time. Calculating the time, it should have been successful by now. Liu Bang's military ability should not be underestimated. His title in the former Chu State was Wu'an Hou, which was enough to prove everything.

"Zhou Bo ordered all the generals to counterattack immediately. We must show the might of our Han army!"

At this time, most of the Huns had entered the pocket formation. If they were to send out troops now and Liu Bang's troops were to provide support from the rear, Maodun would be badly injured even if he did not die.

"Yes, sir." Zhou Bo accepted the order and began to convey it to other generals.

The loud sound of the horn spread throughout the battlefield, and Ding Fu, Fu Kuan and others who were leading the troops on the front line immediately understood what Xu Zhen meant.

Suddenly, the Han army, which had been retreating and vulnerable, suddenly stood up and began to form a battle formation to seal the pocket.

By the time Maodun reacted, it was too late.

The Huns usually rely on horns to inform tribal leaders of information, which takes a long time. Moreover, now that the army has been deployed, it will still take time to recall it.

"We have fallen into a trap. Retreat immediately and don't fight any longer!"

Although he knew it was impossible, Maodun still gave the order. Fortunately, he had kept a trick up his sleeve and most of his own troops were still with him.

With only this troop, his losses wouldn't be too great.

"Soldiers, kill them! Capture Maodun alive, and Prime Minister Xu will personally report him to His Majesty for credit!"

The Han army launched an all-out counterattack wielding swords and spears, ruthlessly harvesting the lives of the enemy. Most of the Huns were not wearing armor, so it was useless even if they were riding horses.

The soldiers chopped off people's heads and horses' legs with extraordinary ferocity.

At that time, saddles and stirrups had not yet appeared, and even the Huns who had been riding horses since childhood found it difficult to maintain their center of gravity, so the Han army could easily pull them off by pulling down hard.

In the early Western Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu cavalry were no match for the Han infantry in close combat, and the saying "one Han against five Barbarians" was very vivid.

The situation reversed instantly, the Han army's front line began to push forward rapidly, and archers also shot arrows based on the favorable terrain.

The rain of arrows from the sky makes people feel despair.

The Huns were very poor. They had no armor or shields, and their bows and arrows were even made of animal bones. It took several arrows to kill one without armor. The ordinary soldiers had not received any professional training and were just pulled together at short notice.

Faced with the elite Han army, they naturally collapsed at the first touch, and some even abandoned their horses in order to escape.

"Retreat, we have reinforcements on Baideng Mountain!"

At this time, they no longer cared about Liu Bang's existence and planned to gather all the troops. They didn't think about what to do if the Han army attacked from both sides.

But apparently they did not receive any reinforcements, but instead saw bright banners of the Han army.

Li Shang had been waiting here for a long time, and took advantage of his rest to lead his elite infantry straight into the center of the Xiongnu army. The enemy was overwhelmed and defeated in an instant.

Where did these Han people come from? !

This was what almost all the Xiongnu thought. Aren't there 60,000 troops left on Baideng Mountain? How could the enemy come to kill them?
Could it be that……

A bad idea spread among the army. The Han emperor's army appeared here. Doesn't it mean that there is no reinforcement? Moreover, even the last food is probably in the hands of the enemy.

The Han army's offensive continued, and Ding Fu also led his men to attack from the rear. At this time, they were surrounded from both sides.

"Pass the order, retreat to the grassland immediately, and don't worry about those people." Seeing that the situation was not good, Maodun planned to slip away.

As long as his direct troops were still there, there was hope of taking back what had been lost. He was too naive about this large-scale battle. He thought he could take Taiyuan and use it as a base to gradually erode the Central Plains. Now it seems that he underestimated the strength of the Han Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)