Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 97: The Protectorate's Battlefield Autumn Review

"Captain, Ke Bineng is a minor Xianbei, not a Xianbei noble, but because of his extraordinary bravery and his unwillingness to covet wealth, he enjoys a good reputation among the Xianbei tribes near the border."

Hu Yanhe said: "Kebineng is cunning. In previous years, when he went south to plunder, he often plundered the few and avoided the majority. Last winter, my tribe was plundered by him and dozens of tribesmen were taken away."

The north wind howled outside the tent, but the burning firewood inside the tent made it much warmer. In order to understand Kebi Neng, Yang Zan helped Zhang Yu invite Hu Yanhe. Due to years of defending the frontier and conflicts and fighting, Hu Yanhe had a lot of knowledge about the Xianbei tribes near the frontier.

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and asked, "How many people does Ke Bineng have?"

Hu Yanhe hesitated for a moment and said, "There are about 2,000 tribes, which is about the same number of households as ours, but their cavalry is slightly more than ours. Moreover, I don't know where Ke Bineng learned the Han method, he can hold the flags and command the troops to advance and retreat, and his cavalry is very elite and well-organized."

Seeing Zhang Yu grabbing Ke Bineng to ask questions, Yang Zan became anxious and reminded him, "Now the matter of Wuhuan plundering women should not be involved too much. It is more important to ask the capable Di ministers for the thieves and bring them to justice to deter the evil Hu."

Zhang Yu stopped pacing, looked at Yang Zan, and asked, "Gong Tan, why do you think that if you ask the capable minister Di to find the thief and bring him to justice, no one will rob women?"

"And how can you, Gong Tan, think that I can make the capable minister Di hand over the thief Hu just by showing up?"

The two sudden questions confused Yang Zan.

After organizing his thoughts, Yang Zan said, "Jian has soldiers at his disposal, and the capable minister Di may be willing to hand over the thieves. Once the thieves are severely punished, the lawless people will be timid. Why can't Pingcheng be strictly enforced?"

"Kuang Ji'an said before that if we want to eradicate the evil Hu behavior, we must use strict laws. Why do you say now that punishing the evil Hu will not stop the women from being kidnapped?"

Zhang Yu sneered and said, "If we cannot punish the bandit leader, the capable Di minister, how can we prevent women from being abducted and the Hu people from robbing the people?"

"This~"

Yang Zan was speechless and gradually said angrily: "If the border troops can deter the Hu people, how can the Di ministers dare to act recklessly and disturb the border cities?"

"Correct!"

Zhang Yu ignored the dissatisfaction in Yang Zan's words, but emphasized his tone and said in a deep voice: "The reason why there are Xianbei looting outside and Wuhuan and evil Hu looting inside is because the border troops cannot deter the Hu people. If they can deter the enemy, the evil Hu people will be quiet and the Xianbei will not dare to enter the border."

Yang Zan seemed to understand something and asked tentatively: "Could it be that Ji An wants to send troops?"

"Why not?" Zhang Yu asked seriously.

"Don't send troops!"

Yang Zan jumped up from his chair and tried to dissuade him, saying, "Nengchen Di is the leader of the Wuhuan guarding the frontier. If Ji'an sends troops, wouldn't that force Nengchen Di to rebel?"

"The court relies on the Wuhuan to guard the border. If the capable Di rebel because of Ji'an, and invite the Xianbei to invade the border to plunder, causing war in the border counties, you and I will be severely punished by the court."

Zhang Yu held his belt with his hand and said sarcastically, "The Hu tribe guarding the frontier does not protect the Han Dynasty, but instead plunders the counties. How absurd!"

Hu Yanhe's face flushed. When the border counties were in turmoil, he also ordered his subordinates to secretly rob the Han people. Anyway, they have united front value. Even if the court knew about it, it could do nothing about them. After all, they still had to rely on them to resist the Xianbei.

As for whether the Han people would kill the Chanyu, Hu Yanhe didn't care at all. Ten years ago, when he followed the Chanyu out of the border, his tribe suffered heavy casualties, and the Chanyu was also killed by the Han people. He didn't know the new Chanyu at all, and didn't care. At worst, he would kill him again and appoint a new nobleman as Chanyu.

He would not act as recklessly as the Wuhuan, mainly because his tribe was weak and needed to move forward and backward with the Han people. In addition, because he had the responsibility of guarding the frontier, the Han people would give him a lot of rewards every year.

"The situation at the border is complicated. Ji'an must not use military force against the capable Di ministers. If it causes a sudden change, the court will surely be furious." Yang Zan reminded.

Zhang Yu was unmoved and said calmly: "I want to send troops, but I have no intention of using them against Nengchen Di. In addition to Nengchen Di, the leader of the bandits is also Xianbei Kebi Neng. If Kebi Neng can be punished, the Wuhuan tribes will be at peace and obedient!"

"what?"

Yang Zan was surprised and advised: "Ji'an should not be impulsive. Ke Bineng's troops are brave and valiant. With Ji'an's military strength, there is no hope of victory."

Hu Yanhe was afraid that Zhang Yu would drag him down, so he said, "Captain, please act with caution. Although the people of Kebineng's tribe only number about 2,000, the Xianbei near the border have made a promise to each other that if the Han army goes out of the border, the tribes will lend a hand to each other. Therefore, if the Xianbei near the border are disturbed, the troops may be destroyed outside the border."

As he spoke, Hu Yanhe bowed and said, "If the captain mobilizes the troops, I'm sorry I can't follow."

Zhang Yu looked at Hu Yanhe coldly and said, "The leader has no intention of sending troops, so I will not force him. But I would like to trouble the leader to be a guide for me and show me the way."

Hu Yanhe let out a long breath and said, "I am willing to obey the captain's order!"

At this moment, Hu Yanhe has labeled Zhang Yu as reckless, ignorant of the situation, and arrogant. It seems that once Zhang Yu sends out his troops, his army will be defeated and Zhang Yu will be dismissed from his official position.

Hu Yanhe found an excuse and had no intention of chatting with Zhang Yu any longer, so he hurriedly left Baideng Camp.

Yang Zan looked unhappy and said, "I hope Ji'an can act calmly. The prefecture and county have worked hard to raise military supplies, and Ji'an is in charge of 800 cavalry. If we fail in the border crossing, Ji'an will be severely punished, and at the same time, the Hu tribe guarding the border will become even more rampant."

Zhang Yu held his belt with his hand and said in a deep voice, "Have you ever thought about what would happen to the border of Pingcheng if you win?"

"Your worries will be swept away. You don't need to ask, the capable Di will offer the Hu bandit on their own initiative. The Hu guards will be respectful and submit, how dare they plunder Han women again? When the Xianbei quarrels, there will be few Xianbei invaders, and Yanbei will be safe!"

As he spoke, Zhang Yu asked sternly, "How can the Han army, whose prestige is weak, subdue the frontier?"

Yang Zan sighed and said, "What Ji'an said makes sense, but we have to win. If we lose, it will be in vain." "Why can't we win?"

Zhang Yu said vigorously: "If the enemy can go, I can go too!"

Hearing Zhang Yu's words, Yang Zan was actually somewhat convinced, but he was more distrustful of the gap in strength between the two sides.

"Ji'an, take care of yourself!"

Yang Zan hesitated for a moment, left this sentence and left.

After Yang Zan left, Li Song looked worried and asked, "If what Hu Yanhe said is true, Kebi has more than 2,000 troops. If we compare them with the Hu people, they can send out more than 3,000 cavalry if they try their best. But our army only has 800 cavalry. The strength of the two sides is very different."

Zhang Yu murmured for a while and said, "Although Ke Bineng has more than 3,000 cavalry, our army has invaded, so the opportunity is in our hands. If we use the troops properly, we are not without a chance of victory. First, summon Wenyuan, Bodao, and Shiyi to discuss the next strategy."

"promise!"

Looking at Li Song's back as he walked out of the tent, Zhang Yu clenched his fists.

His decision to use military force against the Xianbei on the border was not a whim, but a well-thought-out decision. Wasn't the reason why the Wuhuan and Xiongnu border guards plundered the people because the power of the imperial court was declining?
He is the protector of the Xiongnu in Yanbei. If he wants to gain fame and merit, isn't it by reversing this situation?

Only by purging the border Hu and making achievements can there be hope for further progress. If he is timid and retreats, wouldn't it be better for him to stay in Zuoguo City? Take Wang Ji over and spend every day with his wife.

Now that he has arrived in Pingcheng, he has only done three things: kill the Hu, kill the Hu, and kill the Hu!
After a while, Zhang Liao, Hao Zhao and Shi Yi followed Li Song into the tent.

"Colonel Captain!"

The job is called position, this is the point that Zhang Yu emphasized!
"sit!"

Zhang Yu asked the four people to sit on the left and right sides and asked, "Do you know that I want to send troops?"

"know!"

Hao Zhao nodded and said, "The captain wants to attack Ke Bineng."

"Do you agree?"

"Why don't you agree!"

Zhang Liao was very excited and said, "The Xianbei looted Yanmen, killing and injuring countless border residents, and also took away countless wives and mothers. Why can't we plunder back now and let the Hu people know the power of the Han people?"

Shi Yi didn't say anything. Although he worked for Zhang Yu, he was a Hu people and it was difficult for him to have the same excitement as Zhang Liao.

"cough~"

Li Song coughed and signaled Zhang Liao to be more careful.

"The Hu I was talking about were all the evil Hu outside the Great Wall, but Shiyi is one of our own!" Zhang Liao was embarrassed for a moment and then tried to make amends.

Shi Yi smiled indifferently. He had followed Zhang Yu for more than two years and his life was getting better and better. His brothers and sisters were also doing well in Chanhewu, so there was no need for him to be angry with Zhang Liao.

Of course, Shiyi didn't think he and Kebi were in the same group. After all, the Xianbei people had not yet developed a system similar to that of the Xiongnu, and many people only considered themselves to be members of a tribe. His tribe was in Chanhewu and was directly under Zhang Yu.

Shi Yi said, "According to Sima Li, Ke Bineng's army has a large population, about 2,000 tribes, and can send out 3,000 cavalry. Our army has 800 soldiers, which is a huge disparity. If the captain wants to use the army, he needs to make a plan, maybe he can win."

"rational!"

Zhang Liao said: "Our army is looting outside the border, and Ke Bineng has difficulty seeing through it. It is up to me whether he will fight or not. Let's see if we can lure out some of his troops, and then we can join forces to surround and kill him."

Zhang Yu nodded slightly, agreeing with Zhang Liao and Shi Yi's views.

The reason why he dared to attack Kebineng was related to the characteristics of cavalry. Cavalry had excellent mobility, and if this characteristic was utilized, it could quickly intersperse and fight, so that even if the strength of the two sides was very different, in some areas, the strength of the troops was greater than that of the other side.

On the other hand, the Xianbei tribes, who had been plundering and plundering in the south for many years, probably did not expect Zhang Yu to dare to attack outside the border, which achieved the effect of surprise. Another point is that it is winter now, and the Xianbei herdsmen are hungry and cold, and their energy and physical strength are not as abundant as their own soldiers.

As for whether a single person on a single horse would affect mobility, it would affect it if it was a long distance, but the enemy Zhang Yu was facing now was the Xianbei near the border, so there was no need for a long-distance raid, and the round-trip distance of the troops would be at most a thousand miles.

If the tactics are well implemented this time, we will be able to achieve considerable results.

Li Song hummed for a moment and said, "According to Hu Yanhe, the Xianbei near the border have sworn to each other that they would help each other if attacked. Our army may be able to start from here and plunder the small tribes around Kebi Neng to lure Kebi Neng to send troops."

"feasible!"

Zhang Yu's eyes lit up slightly, and he said, "Shi Yi and I will go out to explore the border first, and then we will see if this strategy can be implemented!"

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)