Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 451: Everything is difficult at the beginning (Additional chapter for joining the main hidden secular person)

Fu Gan then ordered everyone to put their horses in the mouths of wine and their men in the mouths of gags, trying their best not to let the Xianbei people notice anything unusual, and to chase and kill any scouts they encountered along the way.

The soldiers divided the cavalry on the east and west sides into three groups each, using tactics commonly used by the Han army, with fourteen cavalry in the front and eight cavalry as the left and right wings. After they got a little closer, the front fourteen cavalry would rush forward to intimidate the Xianbei, while the left and right wings would then cover them, galloping and shooting, chasing the bandit leader and defeating the enemy.

The cavalry used this tactic for the two-pronged attack, but the time of attack was slightly changed. All the accompanying camels, mules, and pack horses were handed over to Fu Gan as a decoy for bluffing.

After the tactics were decided, Gan Ning and Fu Gan nodded to each other, then took a detour and slowly approached the stationed Xianbei cavalry. Fortunately, several scouts in the delegation were also selected from the best.

Gan Ning was so adept at shooting and killing Xianbei scouts that he couldn't help but ask: Why are you so familiar with the Xianbei?
The tall Qiang man smiled and answered in his unskilled Guanzhong dialect: "I have fought many battles with the Hexi Xianbei, so I naturally know the movements of their scouts, and that is how I learned the Xianbei language."

Gan Ning was amazed when he heard this. No wonder Fu Yancai had asked several Qiang people to join the team. Not only were they good at riding and shooting, they were also more familiar with the situation of the Xianbei in the west.

It's a pity that these Qiang people usually like to be silent, otherwise he could get more stories out of them and brag about them to Gongjin when he returns to Jingzhou Jiangxia in the future.

The crowd quietly approached the ditch entrance, which was at most two arrows' distance from the Xianbei tent. Someone poked his head out and found that many Xianbei people were drinking milk wine and eating meat. They had built a bonfire and were roasting mutton. From time to time, the aroma of meat wafted in the wind.

The Han envoys who were preparing for a surprise attack could not help but look at each other, licked their dry lips and swallowed their saliva.

Since leaving Yumen Pass and heading north, we have been traveling for nearly ten days, eating biscuits all the way, which made us thirsty and tasteless.

The Xianbei people are relatively rich. They have meat and milk wine at every turn. However, they have been raiding the Han Dynasty for grass and grain and seizing the people as slaves for years. These Xianbei barbarians deserve to die!
With a face tanned by the sun, Gan Ning couldn't help but curse in his heart.

"Everyone, the Xianbei dogs have already roasted the mutton for us. Hurry up and put on your armor. After defeating the barbarians, you can eat a hearty meal!"

"Take the horn as your order. Attack immediately when it sounds. Anyone who dares to desert the battlefield will be killed according to military law!"

Gan Ning lowered his voice and warned everyone.

"Yes!" Everyone responded in a low voice.

Not long after they put on armor for each other, checked bows, crossbows, arrows, and ring-handled swords, some soldiers even checked their horse lances, put their hands into the yellow sand and rubbed them lightly a few times, then patted their legs to remove the sweat from their palms.

The Xianbei herdsmen were drinking and eating meat while telling about the tribal wars that had broken out among the tribes in Hexi over competition for water and grass.

Suddenly, a majestic horn sounded through the wilderness from the west, and cavalry rushed from the west, with shouts of killing shaking the sky.

"kill!"

"Kill Hu!"

Gan Ning rushed forward on horseback with a crossbow in hand, charging straight at the defenders near the Xianbei tent, aiming and shooting arrows, then using his waist to pull the string. Fortunately, the tension of the crossbow used on horseback is smaller. If it were a powerful crossbow, he could only shoot one round and would have to engage in hand-to-hand combat.

The thirty Han cavalrymen were divided into three groups, the center, left and right, and rushed over like lightning. After shooting arrows and getting close to them, they drew out their ring-handled swords and killed anyone they saw and chopped down any horse they saw, as if they were entering an uninhabited area.

Some Xianbei people who had not yet reacted had their heads chopped off and fell to the ground before they put down the pieces of meat and milk wine in their hands, and blood spurted all over the ground.

There were wailing and screaming everywhere, and horses neighing in pain. The cut reins frightened many horses and started running around, which further affected the Xianbei people's reaction. But the Xianbei were Hu people who grew up on horseback after all. Faced with the sudden attack, they immediately jumped on their horses, picked up their swords and bows, and fought the Han army to the death.

At this moment, another trumpet sounded from behind them, and there was the thunderous sound of horse hooves, shouting: "The Han army has arrived, let's destroy the Xianbei together, kill the Hu! Kill the Hu!!"

At this moment, the sky gradually darkened. The Xianbei cavalry could not see clearly in the distance in panic, and they did not dare to turn their heads to look in the opposite direction during the fierce fighting.

The morale that was fighting for life just now was lost in an instant. For nomadic people fighting on the grassland, preserving their lives is the most important thing. They will not fight to the death with the enemy here while being attacked from both sides. They advance when they see an advantage and retreat when they encounter difficulties. This is the fighting style of the Hu people.

You won't wait until the enemy comes to your rear before turning the horse's reins and preparing to escape. If you do that, the opportunity will be lost. How can running be faster than a bow and crossbow?
At this moment, we can only run away and wait until night to turn back and find out what happened. If the Han army is small, it will not be too late to retake this place.

So when the Xianbei cavalry saw that the Han army was unstoppable, they immediately turned their horses around and rushed to escape. After all, they had water bags and meat on their horses' backs, so they would not starve or die of thirst in the desert in a short time.

Seeing the other party running away, Gan Ning led his men to chase them for more than two miles before turning back.

Fu Gan led people to clean up the battlefield and lit bonfires everywhere to prevent the Xianbei from launching a sneak attack at night. At the same time, he asked the Qiang people who were familiar with the Xianbei language to take knives and go to interrogate the injured Hu people who had no time to escape.

Looking at the milk wine spilled on the ground and the sizzling lamb legs, Fu Gan breathed a sigh of relief.

In any case, the battle was won. His delegation was sent to the Western Regions by His Majesty's imperial decree, but they died in this desolate pile of yellow sand before they even reached the former Kingdom of Cheshi, which made the Western Regions' Hu people laugh at them.

Seeing Gan Ning returning after killing the enemy, Fu Gan summoned the clerks to record the battle in detail so that he could present it to the emperor for review later. At the same time, he ordered everyone to be on high alert and had doctors treat the injured comrades and bury the soldiers who died in the battle as soon as possible.

After giving the order, he turned to Gan Ning and said with a smile: "Xingba, in terms of bravery and fighting, no one can compare with you in this battle!"

Unexpectedly, Gan Ning shook his head and sighed, "It's a pity that the Xianbei bandit leader escaped. He may come back again tonight."

"Besides, the whereabouts of the delegation have been exposed, which may cause more trouble. After all, there are still Xianbei tribes grazing in Shuyu Valley. It seems that we need to speed up and head to the former Cheshi Kingdom."

Fu Gan couldn't help but remain silent when he heard this, and the joy after the victory was gone.

The roads to various places have not yet been explored, and the specific situation of Pule State is not well understood. Many documents of the Han Dynasty's withdrawal from the Western Regions have been discarded, so we need to find out everything from the beginning.

Otherwise, the Dunhuang garrison would have to rush thousands of miles across the sand dunes to destroy the enemy. If they attacked without knowing the situation, they would be in danger of being wiped out.

It is also necessary for these envoys to gradually intimidate the countries in the Western Regions and thoroughly find out the situation before the Han army can be dispatched.

Fu Gan suddenly felt that becoming a Han envoy who made great contributions was much more difficult than he had imagined when he first arrived. Even his life and death could not be guaranteed and he might be buried in the desert at any time.

This situation was the result of the emperor directing the Xianbei tribe's attention to Bingzhou, and only the Hexi Xianbei were left.

Fu Gan stroked his beard lightly and felt a slight headache. He had to quickly find a foothold for the Han family in the Western Regions, otherwise the Han army would be unable to put out a nearby fire.

(End of this chapter)