Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 453 A Huge Jingguan (2)

In this time and space, the power of the Xiongnu was extremely terrifying.

Following the orders of the Xiongnu Chanyu Suochuoluo, each of the three princes—Abal, Alibu, and Agsang—could draw 50,000 elite troops from their respective supporting tribes, both cavalry and infantry. The three princes together commanded a total army of 150,000. Adding Suochuoluo's 100,000 troops, the total force reached a staggering 250,000—a force powerful enough to crush Ningguo.

But here's the problem.

Abal only has 50,000 troops in total. During the attack on Yongchang City, he lost 17,000 to 18,000. Afterwards, he captured one county after another with lightning speed, especially Anzhou City, where he lost several thousand more. In other words, under normal circumstances, Abal should now have around 25,000 troops, which is clearly inconsistent with the current number of 62,000.

And that is where Abal's cunning and treacherous nature lies.

Although the true purpose of launching this war was to annex the entire Ning Kingdom and use it as a springboard to march south, capture the emperor, unify the Central Plains, and become the first non-Han emperor on the land of Kyushu, the selection of the next Great Chanyu was merely a pretext to deceive others. However, Abal believed that if he could distinguish himself in this war, he would undoubtedly leave a deep impression on his father, greatly increasing his chances of being chosen as the crown prince after his father became emperor.

Therefore, long before setting out on the expedition, Abal had already made up his mind that he would conquer the largest territory and kill the most Han people in the shortest amount of time in this war. Only in this way could he get closer to the position of the crown prince.

Prince!

He will also be the emperor who will dominate the land and rule the world in the future!

Just thinking about it made Abal feel restless all over.

No, that's not right.

Perhaps he could have been even faster.

If he could outperform his father, the Khan, in the war, he might gain more tribal support, skip the crown prince stage, oust his father, and become emperor directly!
Thinking this, Abal's eyes turned bloodshot, and he could no longer suppress his breathing, which sounded like that of a wild beast.

To conquer more territory, kill more Han Chinese, and gain more merit, more warriors were needed… Therefore, Abal had made preparations in advance, selecting an additional 40,000 warriors from the more than twenty tribes that supported him, to follow at a distance. After parting ways with his two younger brothers in Yongchang City, these 40,000 tribal warriors immediately entered the pass and joined Abal.

This was Abal's confidence. He believed that with so many warriors at his disposal, he could surely conquer cities and territories in Ningguo and be invincible. His gaze swept over the orderly army behind him, over the pairs of scarlet eyes that resembled those of wild beasts. Abal suppressed his excitement and looked up. He saw Dehua County faintly visible in the thick fog.

Abaru did not rush to launch an attack, but waited with some impatience.

She glanced furtively to the side and saw a tall, slender young man in a white robe standing right next to Abal. This was the strategist her mother had arranged for her, saying that he was extremely learned and wise, and that she had to consult him on everything.

This made Abaru very unhappy.

He hates this guy.

Just looking at this person, I inexplicably thought of my second brother, who always had a copy of the Analects in his hands.

Given Abalu's personality, he was prepared to issue the order directly, and more than 60,000 warriors would rush forward, and a mere county town could be flattened in an instant.

However, the strategist argued that the dense fog made it impossible to discern the situation ahead, and a reckless charge could easily lead to traps and unnecessary losses. Most importantly, Dehua County was under the jurisdiction of Pingyang Prefecture, and the prefect of Pingyang, Song Yan, was no weakling like Ma Zhifeng, the prefect of Anzhou. He was ruthless, brave, and cunning in battle, and had once single-handedly broken through the Jurchen royal court, which numbered over ten thousand, with only a few thousand cavalry.

Moreover, this person had a particular fondness for cutting off the heads of foreign tribes and building mounds of skulls.

According to the strategist, Song Yan was praised as someone who was rare in heaven and unparalleled on earth.

In short, it's not an easy opponent.

We must be extremely cautious in our next actions and must not be careless.

Hearing these words, Abalu scoffed... He absolutely refused to believe that Ningguo had such a heroic figure; in his eyes, even the most powerful people of Ningguo were no different from sheep.

The Xiongnu were not as trash as the Jurchens.

However, Abalu did not want to leave a reputation for mistreating his soldiers, so he reluctantly accepted the strategist's suggestion and arranged for a cavalry squad to approach Dehua County to scout the situation.

The waiting time was rather tedious, and before he knew it, Abal's thoughts drifted back to Alibu and Agsang. Although Abal focused most of his energy on conquering territories, he was also quite aware of the situation on his two brothers' sides. Agsang, the third brother, was currently attacking the third county town; as for Alibu, his performance was even worse, and he hadn't even captured the first county town yet.

Who would believe that they couldn't even capture a single county?

What a joke! Are all 50,000 Xiongnu warriors just good-for-nothings?

What on earth is this guy doing?
Although they were competitors, Abalu was still shocked by the second brother's incompetence and even felt indignant. If he could also bring the second brother's 50,000 soldiers under his command, he was confident that he could conquer the entire Ning Kingdom.

However, when he thought about how he had already conquered the entire Anzhou Prefecture and that the territory he had captured far exceeded that of the second and third-ranked officials, he couldn't help but feel proud.

Just then, a chaotic sound of horses' hooves came from the sky.

Abal and the white-robed scholar looked towards the opposite side almost simultaneously. A few breaths later, they saw warhorses emerge from the thick fog. These were none other than the men they had sent out earlier. Abal felt there was something strange about the expressions on their faces, though he wondered what kind of intelligence they had gathered. The cavalrymen quickly dismounted and knelt on one knee before Abal: "Your Highness, the gates of Dehua County are wide open, and the county is deserted."

In an instant, Abal's expression darkened.

Yongchang County came to mind again.

Empty?
Where will his brothers go to plunder money? Where will they go to find women? Where will they go to chop off head after head to vent the anger that has been building up in their chests?

hateful.

Are all those damned Han Chinese so despicable and shameless?

Why do they have to hide and run away instead of fighting themselves fair and square?
Not to mention Abal, even the Xiongnu army behind him was filled with disappointment upon hearing these words.

As for the white-robed scholar, his brows were furrowed, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

"Any other discoveries?" Abalu asked, somewhat unwilling to give up.

“My brothers and I went into Dehua County. Although the traces in the county town were messy, the footprints were clear, so they must have been left not long ago… They must have left the county town last night, or even in the middle of the night.”

"There aren't many Han Chinese carriages; most of them walk, which means they probably haven't gone too far. If we speed up immediately, we might still have a chance to catch up from behind."

Upon hearing this, Abal was overjoyed.

The same was true for many of the Xiongnu warriors; their breathing became heavy and labored.

After a night of forced march, their bodies were exhausted, but compared to that, they craved the thrill of blood gushing onto their bodies, the luster of gold and silver, and the desperate, painful cries of women.

Abal's body trembled, and almost without the slightest hesitation, he immediately raised his scimitar high: "All troops, listen to my command, prepare..."

"Your Highness, please wait."

Just then, a voice that Abaru found extremely repulsive, even psychologically uncomfortable, rang out.

Abalu's voice was abruptly interrupted. The anger that had been burning in his chest was suddenly suppressed as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over it. He turned to the white-robed scholar with an impatient expression: "Mr. Cheng, what are your thoughts?"

The strategist's name was Cheng Xu, and Abalu usually addressed him as Mr. Cheng.

He admitted that this person was indeed quite capable, but the constant disruptions to his plans had pushed Abalu's impatience with Cheng Xu to its limit. If this person hadn't been introduced by his mother, he would have already chopped off Cheng Xu's head.

Seeing Abal's face twitching uncontrollably, those familiar with the eldest prince understood that he was about to kill someone. But Cheng Xu paid no attention to any of this, his brows furrowed, his eyes fixed on Dehua County through the thick fog: "Your Highness, something is wrong."

Abalu curled his lip: "Our Xiongnu army is pressing in, their divine might is invincible. The mere Han people are terrified at the mere mention of their name, abandoning their cities and fleeing. This is not the first time such a thing has happened. What's wrong with that?" Cheng Xu shook his head: "I have studied Song Yan's resume. This man hates foreign races the most. When faced with foreign invasion, he will never avoid fighting. Even if the troop strength is vastly different, he will set up layers of traps to turn defeat into victory. Just like Song Yan's first war when he rose to power, he faced three thousand Japanese pirates with five hundred retainers. He took the initiative to abandon the city gates and invite them into the trap. He used the alleys of the city to engage in street fighting with the Japanese pirates. The narrow alleys prevented the Japanese pirates from making use of their numerical advantage, and they were eventually wiped out by Song Yan in batches."

“My brothers only conducted a cursory inspection in Dehua County and did not go deep into the area. They may not know the specific situation inside the county.”

"The city walls of Dehua County are low and lack defensive capabilities. Song Yan may abandon the city walls and ambush in the alleys of the county. The county is full of buildings and is not suitable for cavalry charges or archery. The prince's troops have marched more than 100 miles and are already exhausted. If street fighting breaks out in the county, the situation will be extremely unfavorable for the prince."

“Therefore, I suggest that we rest here and recuperate,” Cheng Xu said calmly. “Let the brothers fill their stomachs and recover their strength before we enter the city.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he could feel pairs of unfriendly, disgusted, and even murderous gazes falling on him.

It was the eldest prince, and the Hun cavalry behind him.

A hint of worry flashed deep in Cheng Xu's eyes. For the past month, this army had been either massacring cities or on its way to massacre cities, and they had slept for less than two hours a day... After a month, almost everyone's body and mind had been stretched to the limit.

They may seem fierce, but they're all sustained by a near-madness.

If you look closely, you'll find that while these people are fierce, their faces are extremely haggard and their eyes are sunken.

Such a situation is simply not enough to sustain the next war. If the enemy puts in even slightly more intense resistance, the entire force could collapse.

only……

This somewhat deranged army, from the eldest prince to the lowest soldiers, is unlikely to heed any advice.

Sure enough, as soon as Cheng Xu finished speaking, a sharp crack was heard, and a riding whip lashed heavily across his face.

It hurts a little.

Cheng Xu's face twitched a few times.

He raised his hand and touched it; his palm was covered in bright red blood.

"Shut up!" Abalu shouted angrily. "Cheng Xu, remember your place. You are nothing but a stray dog. It was only because your mother took pity on you that she took you in. But don't you dare to point fingers at me just because you are my mother."

“Song Yan may have some skill, but I have more faith in the warriors of my Xiongnu.”

"Whether it's a jungle or a mountain, sheep can never fight against wolves."

After a tirade, Abal turned to the many Hun warriors who were already caught up in excitement, a ferocious and cruel smile spreading across his face: "All troops, listen to my command!"

"kill!"

A military order descended like a thunderbolt from the sky.

The previously relatively quiet army erupted into chaos instantly.

"kill!"

"kill!"

"kill!"

A series of roars shook the heavens and the earth.

Cheng Xu's gaze swept over those faces, all of them twisted and crazed.

They've gone crazy.

Cheng Xu didn't say anything more, but silently stepped back a few paces to the side, clearing the way for the army to advance.

Abalu didn't bother with a weak scholar. With a roar, he spurred his warhorse, and the 38,000 cavalrymen moved almost instantly, the dull thud of hooves shattering the morning's tranquility.

The galloping warhorses stirred up a fierce wind, which in turn whipped up layers of morning mist.

The infantry followed closely behind.

As the Xiongnu army gradually disappeared from sight, Cheng Xu remained motionless until it was completely out of sight, only then did a slight smile appear on his lips:
"You brat, you're not worth discussing things with!"

He reached out and touched the whip marks on his face again.

hiss.

That fucking hurts.

He's probably going to be disfigured.

He's such a simple-minded fool. If it weren't for the fact that his mother was still charming, especially in bed, where she was so passionate and unrestrained, he wouldn't have humbled himself to become Abalu's advisor.

Cheng Xu pursed his lips, then turned and left.

When we get back this time, we should definitely ask Abal's mother for some interest.

……

The Xiongnu army entered the city.

The sound of hooves did not stop; it seemed that the cavalry were still galloping wildly within the city.

They must be searching for something.

However, no one noticed that three figures were quietly walking out from the side of the city gate.

It's Song Yan, Hua Lianyue, and Luo Tianxuan.

His cold gaze fixed on the county town, listening to the chaos and commotion within, and a smile suddenly appeared on his lips.

There must have been tens of thousands of people who just entered... It took a very long time just to get into the city; the morning mist had dissipated and the sun was shining brightly on the earth.

There were more than he had imagined; so many heads would probably be enough for him to build a huge mound of skulls.

On the ground, there was a cotton rope, which tens of thousands of people had just trampled over, yet no one had noticed this strange rope. The cotton rope stretched from the city gate to more than a hundred meters away, and was about the thickness of a thumb. If you smelled it carefully, you could even detect a hint of gunpowder.

Song Yan squatted down, took out a tinderbox, opened it, blew on it, and saw a cluster of weak flames slowly leap out... Such a thing could be done by other soldiers, but it always felt like it lacked a sense of ceremony.

The flame moved closer to the end of the cotton rope.

Accompanied by a hissing sound, clusters of dazzling sparks instantly bloomed on the cotton rope.

It was like a scarlet serpent of fire, spreading towards the city gate.

(End of this chapter)