The leisurely life of the Qin people

Chapter 244 The Treacherous Chen Ping

In the years following Touman Chanyu's defeat, the contest between Modu and the Qin army shifted from initial bloodshed to a test of perseverance and patience.

Maodun underestimated the Qin army's rear and General Meng Tian's perseverance.

The reason why General Meng Tian seized the southern part of the Gobi Desert instead of venturing into the northern part was because the climate in the northern part was colder.

The cold climate of northern deserts prevents the grass from growing tall.

Having lost the southern Gobi Desert, the Xiongnu people lost their reliance on raising large numbers of warhorses and sheep.

In addition, the Xiongnu people spoke of the "white disaster," which meant that more and more livestock were freezing to death in the heavy snow.

If Modu hadn't refused to enter the southern Gobi Desert, the Qin army would have marched north as well.

This time, Modu's departure from the vast northern desert presented the Qin army with an excellent opportunity to capture him.

At the edge of the horizon, the foothills appeared; that was Han Xin's destination this time: Yabulai Mountain.

However, before the warhorses reached Yabulai Mountain, another cavalry force appeared ahead, this time without a banner.

Han Xin shouted, "The Xiongnu!"

"Giddy up!" The soldiers behind him, carrying long spears, overtook Han Xin.

Then one, two, three, more and more Qin soldiers stepped forward and headed towards the group of Xiongnu.

Han Xin looked around and saw that the enemy's troops were about to collide with his own. He shouted again, "Squad Leader!"

"exist!"

A response came from behind.

Han Xin shouted again, "Follow me!"

After saying this, Han Xin pulled on the reins and headed north.

Then a strange thing happened: the Xiongnu did not choose to clash with the Qin army, but instead tried to flee north. But because of this, Han Xin turned north first.

The cavalry on this grassland split into three groups, with the cavalrymen who had previously surpassed Han Xin and were now behind the Xiongnu.

And this group of Xiongnu people were in the middle.

Han Xin seemed to have known all along that the enemy was not confident enough to clash with their Qin army, so he bypassed and intercepted the Xiongnu who were trying to flee north.

"kill!"

The squad leader shouted first, and the cavalry of both sides immediately clashed.

Arrows cannot keep up with the speed of horses, and when the two collided, it was not until the midday sun shone on the grassland.

Han Xin was breathing heavily. This was his first time killing an enemy, and it was very tiring.

It takes a lot of effort to cut down a Xiongnu person; killing a person is not so easy.

More Qin cavalry were approaching from the direction of Yabulai Mountain. Han Xin patted his horse's neck with his bloodied hand and said, "Brother horse, rest well. We may still have a long way to go."

Fighting is tough. Han Xin and his soldiers were exhausted. They had been traveling all night, and it took them a long time to kill the hundred-odd Xiongnu. Even if they had just stood still and let the Qin army kill them, they would still have been exhausted.

So, fighting is really tiring.

Han Xin looked at his hundred or so men. Fortunately, they were all still alive, though all were injured. After cleaning them up and confirming that there were no major wounds, they could fight again.

Fortunately, the leather armor was securely fastened before we arrived.

Han Xin was unaware of the battle situation at Yabulai Mountain; he was merely following orders, and now he appeared to be in a somewhat passive position.

When the Qin cavalry from Yabulai Mountain arrived, they dismounted and asked, "May I ask which army you are?"

Han Xin replied, "At the foot of Helan Mountain, I am Han Xin, a colonel under General Meng Tian."

The other party replied, "I am under the command of General Zhang Han. My main force is at the foot of Yabulai Mountain. Please follow me, Colonel Han." Han Xin roused himself, left behind a pile of corpses, and led his men to Yabulai Mountain.

Actually, it makes sense. They've been rushing all night, from the Helan Mountains to the Yabulai Mountains, and they're almost at the Hexi Corridor.

If General Meng Tian and General Zhang Han had made arrangements in advance, it wouldn't be surprising to see troops from the Hexi Corridor appearing here.

Han Xin followed this army to the foot of Yabulai Mountain, where he saw the corpses of the Xiongnu people scattered all over the ground.

A major battle took place here, but unfortunately Han Xin arrived too late.

"General, this is Colonel Han, a subordinate of General Meng Tian."

Zhang Han glanced at Han Xin, then looked away and said, "This Maodun is quite capable; he escaped even after my encirclement and suppression."

"General, rest assured, General Meng Tian has dispatched a large army northward. This time, the mission is to wipe out the various Xiongnu tribes in the northern desert."

Han Xin looked at the person who spoke, whose voice carried a sinister air.

Noticing Han Xin's gaze, the other party bowed and said, "My name is Chen Ping."

Han Xin bowed slightly.

Han Xin considered himself merely a colonel and could not know the full picture of the war. However, from the conversation between General Zhang Han and Chen Ping, he learned that General Meng Tian had dispatched a large force to the Xiongnu's rear in the northern desert, and that a large contingent of Qin troops had entered the northern desert to clear out Modu's rear.

Even if the Qin army failed to defeat Modu at the Battle of Yabulai Mountain, by the time Modu realized what was happening, the Qin army had already penetrated deep into the northern desert and wiped out his rear.

Han Xin also understood that he had come to support General Zhang Han.

The group rested for the night at the foot of Yabulai Mountain. Han Xin was comforting his chestnut horse, as they were nearing their limit after a day and a night.

"Brother Ma, you've had a tough time. You'll have to run another leg of the journey tomorrow."

"Captain Han."

Upon hearing this, Han Xin turned around and saw Chen Ping, asking, "What is it?"

Chen Ping took out a military report and said, "A group of people has been attacked by Modu."

Han Xin looked at the military report on the letter and hesitated, asking, "How did Modu launch the attack?"

Chen Ping stroked his short beard and lowered his voice, saying, "The Xiongnu under Modu were extremely skilled horsemen. They would let their warhorses lie down on the low slopes of the grasslands. When the Qin army passed by, they did not realize that there would be Xiongnu hiding under the slopes. The Xiongnu could then make their warhorses stand up and attack from behind."

Han Xin nodded; Wu Luo had demonstrated this technique to him.

At first, Han Xin didn't know how he could make the horse lie down when he wanted to, and how he could make the horse stand up at any time.

Han Xin studied for a long time before he learned this skill from Wu Luo.

Han Xin immediately demonstrated, and when the chestnut horse lay down on the ground, Chen Ping said, "Hmm, this is how you should ambush someone."

Then Han Xin patted the neck of his warhorse, and the chestnut horse stood up, pawing nervously before continuing to chew its fodder.

Han Xin combed the horse's mane and asked again, "Does General Zhang Han have any military orders?"

Chen Ping said, "I had heard that there was a general under General Meng Tian who was skilled in herding horses. Now I finally get to meet him."

Han Xin hunched his neck in the cold wind, exhaled a breath of warm air, and looked at the other person.

Chen Ping also realized that his flattery was somewhat clumsy. He had no idea that Han Xin existed before, and only found out that there was such a person under General Meng Tian after he had someone retrieve the military records.

Chen Ping didn't know that Han Xin was good at herding horses, let alone that Han Xin had this skill; he had to coax it out of him one by one.

Now, being stared at like this by Han Xin, Chen Ping blushed and said seriously, "I have planted spies around Maodun."

Han Xin had long heard that General Zhang Han had a treacherous spies named Chen Ping by his side. He sighed inwardly, thinking, "So this is indeed a treacherous spy."

(End of this chapter)