Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 123: Danger
Yinwa stronghold, the Xiongnu’s naval camp.

The leaders' faces were filled with smiles, and they were very satisfied with the result of defeating the Han army and beheading Zhang Yi, the governor of Bingzhou.

Qu Bei pressed the whip with one hand and said with a triumphant smile: "The Han army is vulnerable. Our army has killed and captured thousands of people, which is a heavy blow to the Han army. I think we should take advantage of the victory to pursue and capture Yuli City, and then go east to plunder Taiyuan."

Luan Timoche hesitated for a moment and said, "The Han Dynasty is a great country after all. Although we have defeated the Han army today, if we invade Taiyuan and plunder it, it will anger the Han emperor and he will send a large army to encircle and suppress us. This may not be a good thing for us."

The reason why Luan Timoche participated in the rebellion of Xiutuhu was that he wanted to use his status as the son of the former Zuoxian King to smoothly inherit the position of Chanyu after killing Chanyu. However, due to various reasons, everyone supported Xubu Guduhou to succeed to the throne, which shattered Luan Timoche's dream of becoming Chanyu.

In addition, in the confrontation with Zhang Yu, Luan Timo Che not only did not gain any advantage, but suffered a lot of setbacks, which made Luan Timo Che a little sober and made him realize that the Han Dynasty's troops were still elite, so he would not dare to ignore the Eastern Han court like Qu Bei, nor did he want to go down the same path to the end.

Hearing Luan Timoche's timid words, Qu Bei sneered and said, "If it weren't for the dark sky and the Han general's bluffing during the pursuit, our army would have captured Yuli. However, even if we let the enemy flee, the Han army's commander has died in the battle and the soldiers have suffered heavy losses. If we don't take advantage of the situation and advance, it will be a pity!"

As he spoke, Qu Bei smiled at the noble in the tent and said, "Could it be that King Zuo Guli is afraid because he was defeated by the Han army?"

"Ha ha!"

As soon as these words came out, the noble in the tent couldn't help laughing.

Luan Timo Che claimed to have the blood of the Luan Ti clan, and his overbearing style made many nobles dissatisfied. However, in the Battle of Pingchuan, except for Luan Timo Che who was defeated by Zhang Yu, all the tribes gained a lot of Han army supplies and equipment. The contrast between the two made everyone disdain Luan Timo Che.

Luan Timoche's face turned pale. Before Qubei, he was only the King of Youguli, but because of his contribution in supporting the new Chanyu, he was named the Right Wise King, which was higher than him. Seeing him being mocked like this, Luan Timoche wanted to punch Qubei in the face.

"quiet!"

Xubu Chanyu looked serious and rebuked, "King Zuoguli said what he said was for the future of the Xiongnu. Don't speak nonsense now!"

The reason why Xubu Chanyu was able to gain the support of the people was not only because he was a popular person, but also because he had a lot of experience and was already in his early fifties.

With Xubu Chanyu's rebuke, everyone in the tent calmed down a little.

Qu Bei restrained his expression and said, "Although the Han Dynasty has a large territory and hundreds of thousands of soldiers, its national strength is declining. As far as I know, in addition to Longyou being occupied by rebels, the Wuhuan in Youzhou are now difficult to pacify, so we need to mobilize our Xiongnu cavalry to march east."

"You and Liang are in turmoil, and Bing is under-represented. Now the Xiongnu have tens of thousands of soldiers and hundreds of thousands of civilians, and we have high mountains and steep rivers. The Han will be powerless to attack us."

Qubei was able to read the Han classics and was well-versed in the current situation of the Han Dynasty. He knew that Bingzhou's troops might be one of the few troops that the Han Dynasty could mobilize. Once they were annihilated, if the Han Dynasty was unable to conquer them, it would even acquiesce in the independence of the Xiongnu.

When Xubu Chanyu saw that the nobles in the tent were eager to try, he knew that everyone was very interested in Qubei's proposal. Although Bingzhou had a small population, Taiyuan County was rich. If they could plunder it, they would gain a lot.

Moreover, Xubu Chanyu understood that he was elected to the position by the people, and if he wanted to maintain his position as Chanyu, he must bring benefits to everyone.

Thinking of this, Xubu Chanyu said in a deep voice: "Our coalition army defeated the Han army and killed the governor Zhang Yi. Now we have offended the Han Dynasty and have no way to retreat. We should take advantage of the situation, defeat the remaining Han army, enter Taiyuan County, and plunder supplies."

"Right Wise King!"

"Here!" Qu Bei bowed, stood up and replied.

Xubu ordered: "I order you to lead 10,000 people to go ahead, and I will lead the troops from other divisions to follow."

"promise!"

The Han army elected Zhang Yu as its commander, and the Xiongnu army reached a consensus and continued to attack eastwards, entering the Fen River Valley, intending to plunder.

The road from Yinwa to Licheng was sixty or seventy miles long, and the march was fast because it was a river valley plain. It took less than two days to reach Yulicheng, which had been abandoned by the Han army.

At the same time, Qubei learned that the Han army had retreated to Huangluling and set up camp, so he ordered his troops to set up camp around Yuli City and personally led his men to explore the Han army camp.

Climbing the hill and looking around, Qu Bei saw that the Han army had built their camp according to the terrain. Wooden fences and chevaux de frise were arranged on the road on the ridge, blocking the way forward for the Huns. In addition, other soldiers were stationed at the high places that were difficult to climb, using the terrain to observe the situation below the mountain.

Seeing this, Qu Bei was a little concerned, but in order to maintain his composure, he sneered at his attendants and said, "The Han army was defending the city, and I was afraid they would fight to the death. Now they are relying on the mountains to fight, if the situation is unfavorable, they will scatter like beasts, how can they have the heart to fight to the death?"

"Wait for Chanyu to lead his army to arrive, defeat the enemy in one go, and march into Taiyuan!"

At dusk, Xubu Chanyu led his army to Zhili. Thirty to forty thousand Xiongnu soldiers set up camp in the valley, with tents stretching for several miles.

As night fell, the Xiongnu camp was so large that the lights were on, illuminating the river valley. The flames could even be seen from Huangluling, more than ten miles away.

On March 8, the third day after Zhang Yu became the interim commander-in-chief, the Xiongnu soldiers took the lead in launching an attack.

The sun rose from the east between the mountains, and the flaming red military flag fluttered in the wind. Under the flag, the Han soldiers held bows and crossbows with solemn expressions.

Zhang Yu stopped at a high point a hundred steps away from the wooden fence. In Zhang Yu's field of vision, tens of thousands of Hun troops appeared before him.

As Huangluling was difficult to cross, many Xiongnu soldiers abandoned their cavalry and went on foot. As dense as ants, the Xiongnu soldiers gathered under the military flags, like a cloud covering the sky, with no end in sight. They were a dark mass, pressing towards the mountains, and their momentum was so great that it was breathtaking.

After careful observation, Zhang Yu found that although the Xiongnu army was powerful, the ranks were in disarray. It was obvious that most Xiongnu were not suitable for serving as infantry. It was considered difficult for them to fight as infantry.

Perhaps knowing that there were problems with his own infantry formation, Xubu Chanyu sent cavalry to the foot of the ridge first to allow the infantry to raid the formation. Amid the shouting, the infantry, in a loose and chaotic formation and under the cover of the cavalry, marched to the foot of the mountain.

After a brief reorganization, the Xiongnu soldiers first threw the Han soldiers captured in the previous battle in front, and then sent out thousands of soldiers to drive the Han soldiers up the mountain to cover their breaking through the formation.

The Han soldiers were not wearing armor, wearing only thin clothes, and had only simple wooden shields as protection. Under the shouting of the Xiongnu soldiers and the threat of bows and arrows, the Han soldiers had no choice but to advance with shields in hand in order to survive.

Liang Yuanhe, the fierce Xiongnu leader, galloped around the army and shouted, "Everyone, hold your shields and advance slowly. If we defeat the Han army today, when the main army enters Taiyuan, we will have priority in looting."

"Kill!" Encouraged by Liang Yuanhe, the morale of the Xiongnu soldiers soared. Under the cover of the captured Han soldiers, they all hurried up the mountain, hoping to be the first to defeat the Han army.
Soon, the Hun soldiers appeared within the shooting range of the Han soldiers. When the Han soldiers were about to shoot arrows, they suddenly heard the frightened voices of the Han people in front.

"Don't shoot, I am Li Gui, a soldier from Yanmen County!"

"Brother, please spare my life. I still have parents at home who need to be taken care of."

The captured Han soldiers spoke one after another, and various pleas for mercy echoed on the ridge, begging their colleagues not to shoot them with arrows.

Seeing this scene, many Han soldiers behind the fence showed hesitation and felt sympathy.

"Snapped!"

Guo Yu used a whip to severely beat the foolish Han soldier and cursed: "The enemy is approaching, why don't you shoot arrows!"

The whipped Han soldier said aggrievedly: "The people in front are not Xiongnu, but my former comrades."

Guo Yu said angrily: "Now I am begging for mercy and want to help the Xiongnu break their formation. Do you think I am your comrade?"

After saying this, Guo Yu snatched the bow and arrow from the Han soldier's hand and shot at the Xiongnu soldiers approaching the wooden fence, shouting: "If anyone draws the bow but does not shoot, he will be punished according to military law."

"promise!"

With Guo Wei taking the lead in archery, the Han soldiers who were good at archery no longer hesitated and aimed at the phalanx of Xiongnu soldiers climbing the mountain.

Shi Yi was the first to shoot a signal arrow, killing a captured Han soldier who was holding a shield to protect his head, warning everyone that it was time to shoot arrows.

"Whoosh!"

In an instant, the Han soldiers holding bows and crossbows took aim and fired arrows at the Hu soldiers who were charging head-on.

"what!"

The captured Han soldier holding a shield fell to the ground wailing on the slope in an instant after being shot in the thigh, while the Xiongnu soldiers behind him continued to rush forward regardless of his life or death.

Before he could even wail a few times, he saw the Hun soldier who had just passed him was hit in the head by an arrow. He screamed and fell to the ground and rolled down the hill.

"go!"

The Xiongnu soldiers pointed arrows at him and forced the captured Han soldiers to move forward.

Seeing arrows in front and Hun soldiers chasing behind, the captured Han soldier gritted his teeth for the sake of his life, held his shield in front of him, and dragged his injured leg forward, hoping to survive.

"Whoosh!"

After staggering a few steps, the captured Han soldier was not paying attention and fell into a shallow pit. While he was falling, several arrows came towards him and hit his abdomen. The captured Han soldier cried out in pain, covered his abdomen and fell down, took a few quick breaths, and died on the spot.

After his death, the Hun soldier holding the bow lost his cover and was shot to death by two arrows because he failed to dodge in time.

In order to prevent the Huns from approaching with shield formation, Zhang Yu flattened the trees in front of the wooden fence and dug many shallow pits, using a staggered height to interrupt the continuity of the shield formation.

Arrows whizzed past, and under the cover of human shields, the Hun soldiers advanced a long distance in the shallow pit with difficulty, but soon encountered new problems.

Because the fortifications built by Zhang Yu on Huangluling were in a concave shape, the Xiongnu soldiers on both wings were within the range of the Han soldiers' arrows. In addition, the steep terrain trapped the Xiongnu soldiers more than fifty steps away from the wooden fence, a distance suitable for aiming by foot shooting.

Moreover, in order to maintain the continuity of the arrow strikes, Zhang Yu divided the archers into two rows and the crossbowmen into three rows, and they shot in turns. The arrows were fired continuously, like raindrops, making it difficult for the Hun soldiers to advance.

If the Hun soldiers wanted to fight back, they would have to show their heads and shoot arrows. However, the Han army was protected by wooden fences and had the advantage of being high above. If the Hun soldiers wanted to shoot back, they would inevitably become the target of public criticism.

For a moment, the Hun soldiers were stuck halfway and could only rely on the surrounding cover to fire at the Han soldiers.

Seeing that the Hun soldiers had difficulty advancing or retreating, Zhang Yu personally joined the army and fought side by side with the Han army archers, aiming at the Hun soldiers who showed up to fight back.

"Go!"

As the arrow left the bow, Zhang Yu felt something and shouted loudly.

Before the sound was finished, the arrow shot out like a meteor, hitting the archer's eye socket, bursting his eyeball, and blood splattered out. The archer fell to the ground suddenly, wailing a few times, and died in pain.

"Commander-in-Chief's Divine Arrow!"

Seeing this, the soldiers' morale was greatly boosted and they cheered for Zhang Yu's archery skills.

The two armies attacked and defended, one side was in a commanding position, and the other side looked up and shot back. Because the Han army selected skilled archers to shoot back, the Xiongnu soldiers suffered heavy casualties in the shooting.

By noon, the Hun soldiers could no longer bear the casualties and retreated directly from the mountain.

In the afternoon, a new group of Hun soldiers climbed the mountain and planned to fill the holes with soil based on the problems exposed previously.

In response to the Xiongnu soldiers' countermeasures, the Han army threw down rolling logs and boulders, breaking the Xiongnu soldiers' mountaineering offensive, and took the opportunity to harvest the Xiongnu soldiers' lives with arrows. The Xiongnu soldiers tossed and tossed to no avail, so they had to abandon the bodies and retreat down the mountain in disgrace.

(End of this chapter)