The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 165 On the verge of breaking out

Mo Bisheng brought the leaders, both big and small, to see off the Zhou army. Looking at the departing Zhou army, Ou Yanhu was indignant, but Darong was not surprised at all, because he knew that the Grand Taiji would not be reckless.

"Grand Taiji, if you let this man go, you will definitely regret it." Ou Yanhu left with his men, leaving behind a cruel remark before leaving.

Mo Bisheng didn't care, but Darong felt uneasy.

"Ou Yanhu has always been impatient. There's no need to worry about him." Mo Bisheng saw what Darong was thinking and said a few words of comfort. He then said with a smile, "Besides, Datong is fighting among itself. Why should we intervene?"

"We still have to rely on the experienced and prudent Grand Taiji." Darong said admiringly: "Ou Yanhu and his tribe have been very capable in recent years, but he knows nothing."

Mo Bisheng nodded.

The strength of the Dabansheng area is still relatively weak. Although it has recovered rapidly in the past 20 years, it is still not enough and needs to continue to settle down. Even their generation sees no hope.

This is good. The longer the time, the faster Dabansheng's strength will recover. If he finds an opportunity and annexes the Shanyu tribe, and takes over the Shanyu tribe's territory, Dabansheng will be complete.

In less than twenty years there will be a powerful and glorious Great Bansheng, as the monks say: The Great Khan will emerge.

Mo Bisheng felt a little disappointed. He probably wouldn't be able to wait any longer, but he wouldn't give up. Everything he did, including suppressing the tribe's tough voices, was to build a solid foundation for his descendants.

After confirming that the various units in Dabansheng had not caused any trouble and the army had successfully left the Dabansheng area, Wang Xin was not happy.

While the various tribes in the Dabansheng region haven't yet unified, they've already formed a unified system. Once they've unified their system, the rest won't be far behind. Once the population of the Dabansheng region exceeds 100,000, a unified force will have the credentials to command the grasslands and will become the greatest threat to the Great Zhou in the future.

However, let’s deal with the current crisis first.

"Will the Chanyu's troops attack us?" Senior generals like Zhang Can already knew everything they needed to know. Now they wanted to let middle and lower-level officers like Ma Fan know so that the entire army could be prepared. After hearing this, these people were all in disbelief.

"I didn't expect Feng Yong to be so bold. This is a rebellion."

"If he bullies us, even if it's Feng Yong, he will be punished." Ma Fan cursed.

Ma Fan is no longer the sentry who was at a loss when his captain was captured and ran to Wang Xin for help. Now he is one of the important cavalry generals of the Hexi Camp. The different environment has changed his confidence.

The officers' statements did not surprise Wang Xin.

Liu Tong said in a deep voice: "I didn't ask you to come here to curse. On the way back, all units should be prepared to deal with enemy attacks at any time."

Everyone nodded, and no one showed fear on their face.

After Liu Tong spoke, Zhang Can continued, "I will not offend anyone unless they offend me. Anyone who dares to attack me will be killed. I will definitely show the prestige of our Hexi Camp. Anyone who acts cowardly will be punished by me."

Everyone laughed and didn't pay attention to what Zhang Can said. No one thought that they would fail.

"Strategically, despise the enemy; tactically, take him seriously." Wang Xin concluded, "Even a lion strikes a rabbit with all its might. We guessed wrong. It would be best if no one attacks us. If someone does, no matter who it is, we must fight with all our might and never be careless."

"Here."

Everyone obeyed.

The Nine Frontiers are very large, and the north is even more boundless. Therefore, even though they are all nomads, there will be great differences in different regions and different eras. For example, there is a shortage of wood in the Dabansheng area, and the main source is trade. Birch and pine wood can be obtained through barter in Siberia in the north, or birch can be obtained from the interior.

Since strategic resources are obtained through trade, the prerequisite must be that the country itself is strong. Today's Dabansheng is not strong, so it is lacking in all aspects.

Unlike hunting, the Northeast region is rich in trees and has no shortage of wood. Even if hunters themselves are not strong, they can use local materials to obtain hard bows with great arm strength that can penetrate cotton armor.

Just like nomadic people mostly use scimitars, it is because of insufficient forging technology that cannot solve the problem of straight knives breaking easily. Environment determines everything.

The multifunctional vehicle camp that he built was aimed at the nomadic people in the north, bullying them for not having firearms and their weak bows. The disadvantage was that if there was a unit with better artillery than his own, he would become a slowly moving target.

Then there is the issue of being good at self-preservation but not good at attacking. They are like turtles, moving slowly but with a hard shell, and their casualties are easy to control.

Just like the Mandarin Duck Formation, it was aimed at the Japanese pirates.

Of course, there are many ways to pry open a turtle's shell, and there are various methods in different environments. This is because water has ever-changing state and soldiers have ever-changing form, and no one method of fighting can last forever.

However, the Shanyu tribe did not have enough troops. The maximum number of troops sent out by the Shanyu tribe was no more than 5,000, and most of them were light cavalry. If they wanted to pry open their turtle shell, half of them would be killed or injured. At this time, their own casualties would become greater.

What I am most worried about right now is what Feng Yong will do.

Will he send troops? How many troops will he send? What is their combat effectiveness?

"All captured weapons and prisoners will be handed over to you, but the Chanyu must guarantee that no prisoners will escape. The Jiedushi also promised that Dabansheng would give the Chanyu the pastures around the Hui River next year."

Zhao Tao rushed to the Chanyu tribe and demanded to see Daldai, offering his terms. Daldai remained silent, but his brother Aldai asked, "How many men will Jiedu Feng send? I heard that Wang Xin easily defeated Ning Nanxiong."

Ning Nanxiong is quite famous, but he doesn't dare to invade the territory of the Shanyu tribe and bully some small tribes. However, he has been a famous figure for many years and has heard some rumors about him.

Now the request made by Zhao Taolai indirectly shows that those rumors are likely to be true. It turns out that Feng Yong is behind Ning Nanxiong, which makes Aldai feel wary. Feng Yong's hands are really long.

Zhao Tao did not hide anything. He had long guessed the Chanyu tribe's concern and quickly said, "General Yang Yu is already on his way with his 800 cavalrymen and will arrive at your headquarters soon."

Yang Yu was Feng Yong's trusted general, leading Feng Yong's retainers. This time Feng Yong sent out his family.

Although there are only 800 of them, they are 800 armored cavalrymen.

Eight hundred armored cavalrymen can sweep across the entire Hetao area, and ten thousand Hu cavalrymen cannot stop eight hundred armored cavalrymen. The Hetao area was the name of the former Ming Dynasty. Although the former Ming Dynasty had long since perished, many old people still call this place Hetao.

At this point, the Chanyu knew it was inevitable and wondered in his mind whether the deal was worth it.

Zhao Tao advised: "The Chanyu and Feng Jiedu share the same fate. Some things are not just about gains and losses, but about the survival of both parties."

"How come Wang Xin is so powerful? I heard that his clan leader Wang Ziteng was also defeated by Feng Jiedu?" Daldai asked curiously.

Zhao Tao said in words that the Hu people could understand: "Wang Ziteng has no soldiers, but this man has soldiers."

Sure enough, Daldai understood, touched his head, and sighed: "I really don't understand your rules, it's so strange."

Seeing that he had persuaded the Chanyu, Zhao Tao went back to welcome Yang Yu's troops.

The area where the Chanyu tribe was located is known for its five hills, three mountains and two rivers.

This place was established as Xiang County as early as the Western Han Dynasty, which shows its importance. The terrain becomes flatter as you go north, and there are more gullies to the south, even to the Great Wall. The gullies crisscross each other, making it an important gateway from a military perspective.

From an economic perspective, the area where the Shanyu tribe is located is not as fertile as the Dabansheng area in the north.

The fertile economy of the Dabansheng area, combined with the geographical advantages of the Shanyu area, together formed the powerful Altan tribe.

Zhao Tao did not understand these things. He only knew that there were only two ways to enter and exit the Shanyu area: one was a hilly path, and the other was a slightly flatter road passing through Shanyu City. Otherwise, the dynasties would not have built a city here, which is the ruins today.

Therefore, it was easy for Zhao Tao to join forces with Yang Yu's troops.

Each armored cavalryman rode two horses, with the cavalryman riding one horse and the other horse carrying the armor. There would originally be several thousand infantrymen following him. These infantrymen were specifically used to cooperate with the armored cavalry, and even served the armored knights.

For the sake of secrecy, Feng Yong was concerned about the imperial court and did not dare to make a big move, so he only sent 500 cavalrymen. He had only 1,000 armored cavalrymen in total, which was not as good as the Prince of Dong'an who was guarding Liaodong.

I heard that the Prince of Dong'an has thousands of cavalrymen. If that's true, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he's the best among the Nine Frontiers.

Zhao Tao warned: "Don't underestimate Wang Xin. The people I sent didn't come back, so something must have gone wrong."

A cavalry commander with a scar on his face shrugged, "He only has two thousand men, and they probably don't have much food or fodder left. We can outlast him, and my brothers can wipe him out with a single charge."

"It's better to be cautious and let the Chanyu lead the attack. The Chanyu has more men. If Wang Xin is truly a coward and the Chanyu fails to take him down, you can attack after the Chanyu has worn him down." Zhao Tao proposed his plan and then complimented him, "Wouldn't that mean success would be immediate?"

Scarred-faced Yang Yu nodded and said, "I'll listen to Mr. Zhao."

Zhao Tao couldn't help stroking his beard, his face full of relief. His non-stop hard work and planning for the past half month were finally coming to fruition.

It's really a pity. After all, Wang Xin is young and energetic. It would have been better if he had not rejected my proposal at the beginning.

He served as the general of Yanmen Pass and gained some experience for a few years. Feng Jiedu built Datong. Over the past ten years, his family's farmland increased from a few hundred acres to 20,000 acres. After a few more years, it reached 30,000 acres. This satisfactory number allowed him to stop and return to his hometown to enjoy his life.

Zhao Banxian, thinking of the bad reputation given to his family by the unruly people below, although Zhao Tao cursed them, he was still very proud in his heart. These fields can be passed on to his descendants, and the family business can be passed down from generation to generation. He hopes that his descendants will always be diligent and carry forward the family business.

No sleep for one night.

On the second day, they arrived at the Chanyu tribe. The Chanyu tribe had already gathered cavalry, a total of nearly 4,000, even the old and the weak, which showed that they were really dedicated. Zhao Tao was very satisfied. After returning, he wanted to tell the governor that the Chanyu was not raised in vain, but was a loyal dog.

"Set off."

Yang Yu didn't say much, and he and his five hundred armored cavalrymen were very low-key.

But the Hu cavalry on the side did not dare to get close, and did not even dare to make their habitual strange calls.

(End of this chapter)