My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 449 When Zhao Yun Learns to Use Tricks

As to whether Zhao Yun might choose this critical moment to cause trouble, or whether he might lead the troops himself, all the people in Su Puyan's army were indeed negligent in guarding against it, but this was not Su Puyan's fault because he was greedy for wine and lustful.

The truth is that the marching route, timing, and strategic deployment of the Han cavalry were too unreasonable and far exceeded the previous imagination of the Wuhuan Hu people.

Just think about it, in the past fifty years since the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling, when the Han generals attacked the Hu people in the north, who dared to launch a large-scale long-distance raid relying entirely on cavalry without any infantry support?

Even Zhang Huan, Duan Xing and others from Sanming, Liangzhou could not do it.

Although Gongsun Zan later claimed to have the White Horse Volunteers, his pure cavalry battles were mostly at the level of scout battles along the border. Leading hundreds of thousands of cavalry to patrol the border and search for and kill the Hu people was not a direct attack on the enemy's nest or a sweep of the enemy's holes.

The Han Dynasty generals were able to use cavalry to raid deep into the grasslands for hundreds of miles and directly launch wars to annihilate tribes. That was when the country was strong in the early Han Dynasty. There were Wei Huo in the early Han Dynasty and Dou Xian in the later Han Dynasty.

Since the middle period of the Later Han Dynasty, when a series of young rulers came to the throne, the country no longer had such strength.

Zhao Yun's raid this time was not just a matter of organizing a large-scale pure cavalry. He also had Tian Chou, who was well versed in the local weather and geography, as a guide to help plan the time and route of the attack.

There were also other Wuhuan tribes that were more inclined towards the imperial court who secretly helped to provide supplies, as well as double-sided stirrups, a magical artifact that could significantly reduce fatigue from long-term riding, and a new piece of equipment, a woolen coat, that could protect against the cold on the grassland at the end of the tenth month of the lunar calendar...

When each of these points accumulated, the impossible naturally became possible, and it was not at all unfair for the Su Puyan tribe to be ambushed.

……

It was just after midnight on October 23rd, or rather, early morning on the 24th.

Zhao Yun's 7,000 cavalrymen and 15,000 war horses finally followed the Wuliao River and reached the outskirts of a settlement camp of the Subuyan tribe.

However, Zhao Yun was very cautious and did not choose to alert the enemy immediately. His main force did not follow the vanguard scouts who provided sentinels, but instead left a distance of about ten to twenty miles.

In this way, after discovering the enemy’s settlement, the scouts can immediately return to report and wait for action.

Hearing the scout's report, Zhao Yun lowered his voice and asked cautiously, "Can you confirm that this is the camp of the Su Puyan tribe? How many troops are there?"

The scout was only observing from a distance and could not guarantee anything, so he told the truth: "Reporting to the general! We cannot confirm whether it is the Su Puyan tribe, but judging from the size of the camp, there are about 2,000 tents, and the cavalry should not exceed 2,000."

Zhao Yun frowned after hearing this. He looked at Tian Chou beside him in the faint light of the waning moon and said, "This doesn't match the military intelligence we gathered before the war, does it? Why do the Subuyan tribe only have so few people?"

Tian Chou was not a military general after all. Although he was accustomed to the bitter cold after living in the border areas for a long time, he looked tired and listless after following the cavalry all the way, and his reaction was not very fast.

He pondered for a while before analyzing in a measured tone: "Among the Wuhuan in the three counties, the Su Puyan tribe is also a large tribe that ranks third among the five. It is only obviously smaller than the tribes of Tadun and Louban. There are two other tribes whose strength is comparable to his.

As far as I know, the Subuyan tribe should have nearly 20,000 tents and more than 40,000 men, more than half of whom are capable of fighting, but those who have seen blood and have actual combat experience are only about 10,000 at most. Now this camp has only 2,000 tents, and it may just be an outpost camp of Subuyan.

There is no other way. The Wuhuan tribes would not gather in one place to camp even for the winter. Although the autumn grass is dry now, it has not yet been completely frozen by snow, and the roots of the white grass have not been completely eaten by sheep and horses. If the camps are dispersed, they can make full use of the remaining grass on the banks of the Wuliao River. "

When Zhao Yun heard this, he immediately reacted and nodded secretly, thinking that this was indeed the case.

Nomadic tribes, of course, should occupy more grasslands, there is no reason for all of them to gather together. At this time of year, the autumn grass in the heart of the grassland has been eaten, but the water along the Wuliao River is sufficient, the grass is more lush, and it can last a little longer.

Therefore, every winter, nomadic tribes would gather their men and horses gradually. When there was no fresh grass left to eat and they could only eat the hay that they had cut and stored in advance, they would gather together for warmth and gradually move south to avoid the cold.

Even hay is very troublesome to transport on the back of an ox or with a cart, because it takes too much to eat for the whole winter. For nomads, it is best to eat hay in the place where they live through the winter. Any unnecessary migration is a waste of energy.

But the snow and wind in the grasslands are too strong and the temperature is too cold in winter. In order to be a little warmer, nomadic tribes often choose the lesser of two evils and have to endure the cumbersome transportation of fodder and move as far south as possible. At the same time, they can also enter the edge of the Yanshan Mountains and use the Yanshan Mountains to block the wind.

Zhao Yun was also from the north and had served under Gongsun Zan for several years, so he already had a vague understanding of these principles. At this moment, Tian Chou was just pointing out the last layer of window paper. After listening to it, Zhao Yun immediately understood it and was no longer troubled.

Zhao Yun made a prompt decision: "In this case, let's not alert the enemy. If we defeat one of Su Puyan's camps, the scattered enemy soldiers will surely flee westward along the Wu Liao River and tip off the camps behind them. We can't stop them."

Judging from the size of each of Subuyan's camps, I'm afraid that if all of them were deployed, they would be spread out over a hundred miles along the Wuliao River. We should take a detour and not march along the riverbank. We should try to bypass the first camp and attack the second camp directly. If we can't bypass it and are discovered, we will immediately launch a general attack!"

Zhao Yun knew very well that he came here to kill a chicken to scare the monkey and establish his authority. It didn't matter how many Wuhuan cavalrymen he could kill. The key was to wipe out Subuyan's family.

As long as Subuyan's family is wiped out, it will set an example for other Wuhuan tribes. They will soon know what to choose, and no one will be stubborn enough to think that "Although Zhao Yun is powerful, Gongsun Du is not easy to offend either."

Tian Chou was also slightly surprised when he heard Zhao Yun's decision, and hurriedly reminded: "General Zhao, bypassing the enemy and continuing to advance recklessly is a taboo in military tactics. What about our army's retreat?"

Zhao Yun: "I will act according to the situation. Besides, our army has no food supply, so why would we need a retreat? As long as we can defeat the enemy in one battle, their cattle and sheep will become ours!"

Tian Chou was moved by Zhao Yun's determination and did not question it anymore. The troops went deeper into the territory for dozens of miles and walked for more than half an hour.

It was almost four o'clock in the morning, and the number of scouts Zhao Yun encountered along the way gradually increased. He killed two groups of Wuhuan night sentries in succession.

Seeing that delaying any further would lead to unexpected events, and seeing that a camp with thousands of tents appeared ahead, Zhao Yun finally made a prompt decision and gave the order for a sneak attack without further delay.

Zhao Yun calmly divided his cavalry into three groups and gave the order in a steady manner: "Zhang Zhe, you lead 2,000 cavalry and go ahead to destroy the camp in front of us, mainly by setting it on fire.

Tian Chou, you take two thousand cavalrymen and set up an ambush along the way. Once the enemy camp upstream that we just bypassed sees the fire and comes to rescue, you will rush out halfway and cut them in half.

I will lead the remaining troops to go downstream and intercept the fleeing soldiers. If there are enemy troops coming to support them downstream, I will intercept and kill them. "

Several generals and Tian Chou naturally took the order immediately and went to carry out their tasks.

Although Tian Chou was a civil servant, he also had some knowledge of military affairs, and Zhao Yun would assign him an unnamed deputy general and would not ask Tian Chou to go to the front line of the battlefield in person.

Zhao Yun made such arrangements because he took into account that the enemy camp was not large enough. If he threw all 7,000 cavalry in, they would be crowded and cause trouble.

It is already difficult to distinguish between friend and foe in the dark, and if there are too many people on the side that is raiding the camp, the probability of accidental injury will greatly increase.

It is better to use a small number of troops to defeat the enemy and force them to flee, and then gather and annihilate them along their escape route after the enemy troops have fled and left the complex terrain. This is similar to what happened in history when Lu Xun fought Liu Bei in the Battle of Yiling. Many people who read Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Records of the Three Kingdoms did not understand the details of "burning every other village" when Lu Xun ordered people to set fire, and thought it was a fancy operation in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

But in fact, when facing the enemy's camps, there is a scientific reason to burn every other camp.

Because the armies of both sides were too large, if they directly rushed into the enemy camp at night and killed indiscriminately, the accidental casualties on their side would be very serious.

At this time, use a small number of troops to burn down part of the camp to create chaos, and then force other adjacent enemy forces to come out of the fortified areas with complex terrain to rescue the burned friendly forces, and then use the main force to fight a decisive battle in the field to annihilate them. This will reduce accidental injuries and make it easier to command.

This is actually a variation of the "siege and attack" tactic.

Those battalions that were actually working hard to burn the enemy were not the main targets. Those who escaped after the burning and those who rushed to rescue were the main targets.

With Zhao Yun's knowledge and understanding of military tactics, he could not have thought of such sophisticated strategies and tactics.

But unfortunately, he has a brother-in-law, Zhuge Jin, who has a god-level IQ.

In his previous life, Zhuge Jin would not fool around like those who only had a superficial understanding of the subject. Even when reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he would seriously think about the scientific principles behind it.

Zhuge Jin understood Lu Xun's tactic of "burning every other camp" very thoroughly, and it was by no means superficial. Before this battle, he also did a lot of deductions and discussed with Zhao Yun on paper the possible strategic and tactical deployment ideas.

Zhao Yun also learned a lot of tricks from his brother-in-law. At this moment, he improvised and chose the most appropriate one. The Wuhuan people could only blame themselves for their bad luck, provoking such a combination of civil and military.

……

Zhang Zhuo followed Zhao Yun's order and led two thousand cavalrymen straight into the enemy camp.

In the final sprint stage, when they encountered enemy scouts blocking the way, they were quickly defeated, killed and swallowed up.

Zhang's soldiers, however, did not shout the entire time, but just tried to kill people quietly. Only a few Wuhuan scouts screamed at the top of their lungs before being killed, trying to alert their companions in the camp, but it was ineffective.

The Wuhuan people in the camp were too lax. When Zhang Zhuo rushed into the camp gate, the Wuhuan people did not organize any resistance.

"Why is there a commotion outside the camp? Could it be that the Ulia tribe is here to rob the livestock?"

The Wuhuan leader of this camp, Su Puliangtai, was Su Puyan's cousin. He was awakened by the noise and did not react at first.

Even when he heard the neighing of war horses, he did not immediately realize that it was the Han people who were attacking. He thought that the masters in other camps upstream had not controlled their men well, and a small group of people came to steal cattle and sheep.

This is also human nature. When the Wuhuan people don't have enough supplies during the winter, they steal and rob from their own people. This happens every year. Who would have thought that when the friendly tribes upstream and downstream were not affected, the enemy would suddenly attack the camp that was not in the outermost area?

But soon, Subuliangtai realized that something was wrong, and the remaining drunkenness from last night quickly alerted him, because he saw fires rising in many places outside.

How could one of our own people come to steal cattle and sheep, and set fire to them if they were discovered?
"The Han people are attacking our camp! All soldiers, mount your horses and meet the enemy!" Su Puliangtai shouted loudly, but it had no effect.

The entire camp was in complete chaos after Zhang Zhao's surprise attack.

The Wuhuan people's command system completely collapsed. Many Wuhuan people in the outer tents were either killed when they first woke up, or were forced by the flames to scream and run around, rolling on the ground trying to put out the flames that spread to their bodies.

These people were often trampled directly by the iron hooves of the cavalry, breaking their tendons and bones.

The Wuhuan people in the inner camps at least managed to delay the enemy for a while thanks to the casualties of their comrades, and were able to pick up their horse bows and sabers and mount their horses to meet the enemy. But they could only fight on their own and could not form an organization.

Most of the Wuhuan soldiers who mounted their horses in a hurry only pulled their tattered leather coats to cover their bodies. They had no time to put on armor, and some of their war horses were bald without even having time to fasten the saddle.

Faced with such a motley enemy, Zhang Zhuo certainly would not waste his efforts. He boldly penetrated and trampled on the enemy, driving them away, cutting several bloody paths in the camp, cutting the enemy into pieces, and hundreds of Wuhuan soldiers were killed on the spot.

Finally, Su Puliangtai, who tried to save the situation, was targeted by the Han army because he was too conspicuous and shouted loudly to restrain the troops.

Zhang's cavalry rushed forward, without any fancy moves such as riding and shooting with stirrups, and directly crushed Subuliangtai and the guards who had just gathered around him. In just half a cup of tea, the group of Wuhuan people who were pointing east and drinking west were all silenced and killed cleanly.

The remaining Wuhuan defeated soldiers had completely lost their backbone and stopped struggling, fleeing in all directions outside the camp.

Zhang Zhuo had no choice but to divide his troops and attack in different directions, but after chasing for a while, it became difficult to catch up.

Even though he had completely destroyed a large camp, Zhang Zhuo was still not satisfied, because he knew very well that the enemy chief in the camp was not Su Puyan himself. He was very unwilling to kill only a few enemy soldiers and let the remaining remnants flee in all directions.

It was still dark outside and he didn't know who to chase even if he wanted to. So Zhang simply handed over the small tasks to his subordinates, and then captured a few wounded enemy officers who were still breathing and tortured them for interrogation.

Zhang Zhuo put his saber on the prisoner's neck and said, "Who is the commander of this camp? Where is Su Puyan's main camp? If you don't tell me, you will die! I will kill you and then ask the next person! If you tell me, I will let you lead these remaining soldiers and change them to Louban in the future, and you can still live!"

The prisoner shuddered and told everything he knew.

Zhang Zhuo then realized that the commander of this camp was just a cousin of Su Puyan, and that Su Puyan himself was in a larger camp forty miles downstream, with as many as six or seven thousand tents.

Zhang Zhuo couldn't help but regret: "I finally marched in the wind and snow, avoiding the banks of the Wuliao River for half the night, but in the end I still didn't find Su Puyan's camp!"

However, among the military commanders and song chiefs around Zhang Zhao, someone seemed to have thought of something and quickly reminded him: "Captain, this is not bad. Although we did not rob Su Puyan's main camp, since Su Puyan is downstream, he will definitely send troops to investigate and reinforce when he sees the fire here.

Why don't you send me to inform General Zhao downstream on horseback, and ask him to set up an ambush to kill him! What if it is Su Puyan himself who leads the troops to help? As long as the captain notifies in time, and finally kills Su Puyan, we will have the second merit even if we don't get the first merit. "

Zhang Zhuo thought about it and nodded quickly, "That makes sense. Take a hundred cavalrymen and don't save horsepower. Go downstream with torches and light equipment to inform General Zhao to wait for the big fish."

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PS: I will resume updating twice a day starting tomorrow...

(End of this chapter)