My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Hu Chuquan was stunned.

What's going on? The soldiers rushed into Baibo Valley without their own orders?
They are disobeying orders.

Immediately, Hu Chuquan frowned, a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

This is the difference between the Xiongnu army and the Han army.

The Han army was known for its strict discipline. Anyone who dared to disobey orders on the battlefield would be punished according to military law.

Moreover, the Han army's food and supplies were either provided by the state or prepared in advance by the local militia.

Those who could serve as soldiers in the government army all had at least a hundred acres of fertile land at home, so they were not short of food at all.

Moreover, after the war, the soldiers would be rewarded with land based on their merits to motivate them.

Therefore, the Han army was able to obey orders and enforce discipline.

Let alone a few carts of grain, even if there were mountains of gold and silver piled up in front of them, the Han army would not dare to disobey orders and rush forward to loot.

But his Xiongnu people couldn't do it.

Food supplies were all plundered, and after the war, there were no rewards for merit; the rewards depended entirely on how much one could plunder, and how much one could plunder depended on one's own ability.

How could such an army not be tempted to lose its reason and rush in to loot the thousands of grain carts piled up in the valley?
"Great Chanyu, since the Han army has already fled in fright, we might as well go with the flow and let the soldiers plunder to their heart's content."

Seeing that Hu Chuquan looked unpleasant, Qu Bei went along with it and built a stepping stone for him.

The die was cast, and Huchuquan had no way to stop his followers from fighting over it, so he could only take the opportunity to back down.

So Hu Chuquan had no choice but to suppress his worries, put on a magnanimous expression, and crack his whip with a forced, carefree laugh:
"I'll do as you say. Let the soldiers plunder to their hearts' content. Once they've plundered enough, they'll continue their pursuit of the Han dogs with me, the Chanyu!"

Huchuquan spoke, and the Xiongnu became even more unscrupulous. The Xiongnu soldiers who were still hesitating rushed forward in a swarm, vying to be the first to charge into Baibo Valley.

"Let's go and see how pathetic the Han army's escape was!"

Hu Chuquan laughed heartily, cracked his whip, and charged into the valley with the main force.

In less than half an hour, more than 40,000 Xiongnu cavalry had all rushed into the valley.

Sure enough, the main road was littered with grain carts left behind by the Han army.

The Xiongnu cavalry dismounted and began to scramble for the loot like madmen. In their frenzy, they even started fighting amongst themselves.

Curses, shouts of punches, cheers... echoed throughout the valley.

The 40,000 Xiongnu were so engrossed in plundering the grain and fodder that they were completely unaware that countless hunter-like eyes were watching them intently from the hillsides on both sides.

"The Grand Marshal truly saw through the Xiongnu's intentions; these barbarians were indeed lured in by our grain carts."

"The Grand Marshal's plan to lure the enemy has truly struck at the heart of the Xiongnu."

On a hilltop, Deng Ai looked down at the scene below, clicking his tongue in admiration. When he turned to look at Xiao He, his eyes were full of respect.

Xiao He, sitting idly under the tree sipping fragrant tea, had a cold smile on his lips.

This was his plan to lure the enemy.

Old Liu was worried that the Xiongnu would be afraid of the repeating crossbow and dare not engage him in a direct confrontation.

Fine, if you, Huchuquan, dare not confront me directly, then I will force you to confront me.

How to force it?
Let's exploit the Huns' fatal weakness: greed and lax military discipline.

I will use 100,000 bushels of grain as bait to lure your 40,000 iron cavalry to the outskirts of this White Wave Valley.

Then, I abandoned supplies along the way, tantalizing your appetite, and finally lured your entire division into the valley with grain carts scattered all over the mountains, leading you into my inescapable trap.

Even if you, Hoshino, are wary, what can you do?

Even if you are the Great Khan, you cannot suppress the plundering greed of your soldiers!

"The time is almost right. Order Zhuge Dan to unleash our ultimate move."

Xiao He looked south and gently waved his hand.

Upon receiving the order, Deng Ai immediately commanded that a smoke signal be lit.

South of the valley.

Zhuge Dan, on horseback, is craning his neck to look north.

"The signal fire has been raised; the Grand Marshal's plan has succeeded!"

Zhuge Dan was greatly encouraged and immediately brandished his sword, shouting:

"What are we waiting for? Light the fire and activate the fire ox formation!" In the valley, more than five hundred yellow oxen, with blades stuck in their horns, their tails wrapped in oilcloth, and their eyes blindfolded, were already ready.

This was the weapon Xiao He had prepared beforehand to deal with the Xiongnu.

Although Baibo Valley is not too narrow, it can still be considered a valley, with high sides and low middle. Such terrain makes it a perfect place to launch the Fire Ox Formation.

As soon as Zhuge Dan gave the order, the soldiers immediately lit torches and set the ox tails wrapped in oil-soaked cloth ablaze.

With their tails on fire, the cattle, driven by excruciating pain, howled and kicked wildly with all four hooves, charging northward along the valley like cannonballs.

The fire ox rolled forward, and in an instant, it roared away like a fire dragon.

In front.

Forty thousand Xiongnu people were still scrambling to seize the grain carts.

As they were scrambling for it, they realized something was wrong.

The outermost hundred or so grain carts were indeed loaded with grain, rice, wine, and meat.

However, the rest of the grain carts were filled with sand, gravel, and withered grass.

The excited shouts of the Xiongnu were gradually replaced by confused and bewildered curses.

"Sand and gravel?"

Why were sand and stones found in the Han army's food sacks?

Hu Chuquan also noticed something was wrong, his brows furrowed deeply, and confusion gradually appeared in his eyes.

Liu Bao's eyes darted around a few times, then his expression suddenly changed, and he hurriedly reminded him:

"Great Chanyu, could this be a trap set by the Han army to lure us into this White Wave Valley?"

"Could it be that there are Han troops lying in ambush in this valley?"

A word startled him awake.

Hu Chuquan's heart skipped a beat, and a cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.

"That's right. Everyone says the Han army is elite. How could they be so cowardly as to abandon 100,000 bushels of grain so easily?"

"There must be a trap here, there must be a trap..."

Hu Chuquan suddenly realized his mistake and hurriedly cracked his whip, shouting:

"All troops, listen to my command! The Han troops in the valley, who are lying in ambush, are to retreat! Withdraw from the valley immediately!"

Huchuquan's trembling voice was drowned out by the noisy shouts of the Xiongnu.

Seeing this, Hu Chuquan wanted to drink more, but Liu Bao pointed south:
"Great Chanyu, fire...fire..."

Hu Chuquan's shout was interrupted. He looked up and gazed south, his face blank with surprise.

On the southern valley road, a torrent of fire was seen sweeping closer and closer.

Like a burning dragon!

Above the dragon, a cloud of dust billowed up.

What followed was the thunderous roar of thousands of horses, and the ground beneath their feet trembled and shook.

"What...what is that?"

Hu Chuquan was stunned and didn't know what to do for a moment.

Liu Bao was the first to see clearly, and cried out in a trembling voice:
"Great Chanyu, that's an ox, a fire ox!"

"This must be the Han army releasing fire oxen to attack us. We must get out of there quickly, or our 40,000-strong army will be wiped out!"

Hu Chuquan suddenly awoke with a start, his face turning pale with shock.

"The Han army has released the fire oxen; scatter and make way immediately!"

Startled awake, Hu Chuquan screamed and spurred his horse toward the hillside beside the road to escape.

The Xiongnu people, who were scrambling for the prize, finally became alert. Seeing countless fire oxen galloping towards them, they were instantly terrified.

They began to scream and scramble to mount their horses, trying to escape to the higher ground on either side.

However, the fire oxen arrived too quickly, and the Huns were crowded and chaotic. In this not-so-wide valley, how could they possibly dodge in such a short time?

Before most of the Xiongnu could mount their horses or dodge, five hundred fire oxen charged forward with earth-shattering force. (End of Chapter)