Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 173 Huns, taste the power of dimensional subversion! [Seeking monthly votes]

The Xiongnu army looked to be at least 100,000 strong. If Huo Qubing and his thousand or so men charged head-on, they wouldn't be able to make a ripple at all.

However, if they secretly outflanked the northwest corner and wiped out the royal family living there, whether by capturing them alive or killing them, as long as they could win quickly and run away, they could definitely demoralize the Xiongnu.

Lowering their morale is more important than the number of enemies killed.

Three drones took off one after another, beginning their search for a route to the northwest corner.

This route not only had to be easy to travel, but also had to avoid the Xiongnu scouts and approach the area where the Xiongnu royal family lived without being detected.

With drones, Huo Qubing's cavalry special forces team was essentially given a full map advantage.

They first headed northwest, keeping a distance of twenty li from the Xiongnu camp, and then ran wildly, carving a path out of the Xiongnu's patrol area.

As they walked, Sima Qian, holding up his battle-damaged telescope, saw a golden eagle flying overhead and asked with concern:

"It is rumored that the Xiongnu are skilled at raising eagles to spy on the Han army's every move. Is this true? Are those golden eagles in the sky here to scout?"

Zhao Ponu said with a smile:

"Don't worry, these are all rumors and nonsense. If they were really that powerful, they wouldn't have been beaten to their knees and begged for mercy by the general."

Starting in 126 BC, Wei Qing won every major victory in his campaigns, forcing the Xiongnu to avoid the Han army.

They successively lost the Yinshan region, the Hetao region, and next they will lose the Helan Mountains, the Qilian Mountains and Yanzhi Mountains, the entire Hexi Corridor and the gateway to the Western Regions...

If they had actually used golden eagles to gather intelligence, they wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat.

Everyone rode on horseback, drinking water when thirsty, grabbing a handful of fried noodles to eat when hungry, and changing horses when tired. The whole process never stopped.

After dark, flickering lights appeared in the distant tents, and Huo Qubing and his men continued their arduous journey, their steps uneven.

Finally, at nine o'clock in the evening, they made their way to the area in the northwest corner where the royal family lived. This area was heavily guarded, not only to prevent Han Chinese from entering, but also to prevent surprise attacks from within the Xiongnu territory.

Yizhixie seized power by defeating his nephew and was terrified that someone would usurp his throne, so he took great precautions. The royal family's camp was even separated by a wall, leaving no opportunity for anyone to take advantage of the situation.

Huo Qubing observed the camp through a night-vision telescope, muttering to himself:
"It's a pity we don't have drones for spraying pesticides. Otherwise, if we flew over and sprayed some gasoline, we could definitely set the Huns on fire."

Zhao Ponu looked through the binoculars, showing some curiosity about night vision binoculars:
"What a strange telescope. Is it expensive?"

"It's not expensive. In Master's world, fishermen all have similar equipment. It's said that they also have infrared telescopes, thermal sensors, and other equipment suitable for nighttime use. After this battle, I will ask Master to bestow some more upon us."

Simply talking is not enough, so Huo Qubing was eager to gain something from this battle, such as finding royal items or the Xiongnu's golden statue used for sacrificial rites.

Although he had read in historical records that he had captured the golden statue used for sacrificial rites, Huo Qubing was not quite sure what it was and was eager to see it for himself.

After resting for a while, eating and drinking, they changed their saddles onto horses that hadn't been ridden, and put their weapons in convenient positions.

With everything prepared, under the cover of night, everyone rode slowly forward.

With night-vision binoculars, the scouts ahead were all dealt with in advance. When they were close to the camp, Huo Qubing took out a lighter from his satchel, skillfully lit the oilcloth wrapped around the arrowhead, then drew back the bowstring and shot the flaming arrow into the camp.

The soldiers behind him followed suit, and thousands of flaming arrows shot into the camp, instantly setting the Xiongnu tents ablaze and throwing the people inside into chaos.

By this time, most of the Xiongnu camp had been dismantled. Although there were chevaux-de-frise blocking the way, it was not a big problem for the experienced Han army.

They lassoed the barricades with ropes, then tied the ropes to their own horses and pulled the barricades away.

With an opening, they can directly storm in and carry out a massacre.

Huo Qubing led 600 men to break in, while 200 men guarded the breach outside. Zhao Ponu led the remaining 200 men around to the north and used rockets to set fire to the Xiongnu's grain depot.

In early March, the north wind was still quite biting on the grassland. As soon as the fire was lit, it began to spread in the north wind. The grain depot, which was larger than a football field, was soon engulfed in flames. The fire even attracted the attention of Wei Qing, who was dozens of miles away.

He picked up his binoculars to observe for a while, then launched a drone to scout ahead, and decisively issued the combat order:

"Abandon the baggage train and launch a full-scale assault!"

Besides Wei Qing, generals Su Jian, Li Ju, Gongsun Ao, and Gongsun He, who had just reached their designated positions, also noticed the towering flames.

They made the same choice as Wei Qing: abandoning their baggage and rushing through the night, even if it meant exhausting their horses, to reach the fire as quickly as possible.

These battle-hardened generals knew very well that ordinary wildfires rarely produced such towering flames; only when large quantities of grain and fodder were set ablaze would such a blaze illuminate dozens of miles.

The nearest place where large quantities of grain and fodder could be stored was the main camp of the Xiongnu.

Zhao Ponu was cunning. Knowing that his forces were outnumbered and could not afford to linger in battle, he set fire to the area and then led his troops to flee north, avoiding the scattered scouts nearby, before circling back to the northwest corner to meet Huo Qubing.

To put psychological pressure on the Xiongnu, he took out the small loudspeaker he used for training, turned the volume up to the maximum, pointed it towards the camp, and shouted in the Xiongnu language:
"Izhixie has usurped the throne, and the gods are enraged!"

At this moment, in the Xiongnu royal camp, Huo Qubing had already captured Yizhixie's queen, several imperial nephews, two imperial uncles, and a bunch of other nobles whose names he couldn't recall. While capturing people, Huo Qubing also sent men to light fires everywhere with incendiary devices. Various kinds of firewood, fences, tents, and provisions... Everyone seemed to be possessed by a reading machine, wanting to try lighting any flammable material they saw.

There were many prisoners, but these people were not very cooperative. They not only refused to follow the Han army, but even resisted.

Huo Qubing thought for a moment and decided not to bring any prisoners. He stabbed each person in the stomach, and then twisted the spear as he pulled it out. Several people of high status were dragged behind their horses.

If you want to make the Xiongnu people afraid, you have to let them know that provoking the Han Dynasty is the same as provoking the most terrifying demon king in the world.

Even if the stabbed nobleman did not die, he would be seriously injured and become a burden to the Xiongnu.

Soon, screams of agony rang out. Huo Qubing's men circled the camp, then immediately turned around and headed out. After joining Zhao Ponu, they fled frantically to the northwest.

Behind Huo Qubing, thousands of Xiongnu cavalrymen who had arrived earlier pursued him relentlessly, and even more Xiongnu were heading in this direction, intending to wipe out the harassing Han army in one fell swoop.

Unfortunately, it is nighttime now. Huo Qubing's side has been training for night battles since the day they set out from beyond the Great Wall, including training in cavalry assembly under low light conditions.

The Xiongnu, on the other hand, were completely clueless about this matter.

Despite their shouting and waving of torches, they were actually quite nervous, fearing that their mounts might slip and they'd fall flat on their faces.

Unfortunately, Huo Qubing's rearguard was equipped with laser spotlights, which would occasionally sweep backwards, causing the Xiongnu's mounts to react instantly.

As Huo Qubing was running, the walkie-talkie on his waist suddenly rang:

"Qubing, this is Li Ju. Are you in the northwest corner of the Xiongnu camp?"

Huo Qubing quickly took out a walkie-talkie and said:

"Yes, we just caught some of the Xiongnu's provisions and are rushing northwest."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he saw the light of a flashlight come on on the hillside ahead, flashing three times in a row. Huo Qubing quickly turned on his own flashlight in response.

Li Ju said:

“I have seen your positions. Split to the left and right, and my men will charge head-on... The General’s night battle training is not yet complete, so we can use the Huns as targets to test it out.”

Li Ju was a powerful crossbow general of the Han Dynasty, but he was virtually unknown in history, and even his specific title was not recorded. Compared to the fame of Li Guang, he was a nobody.

However, he was Wei Qing's right-hand man, and the general's name was always on the list of those who went on expeditions.

At this moment, Huo Qubing received an order and, without saying a word, ordered his men to split to the sides, giving Li Ju space to launch a frontal assault on the Xiongnu.

Just as they retreated to the gentle slopes on either side, the earth suddenly trembled, and a black torrent poured down from the hillside in front, as if the mountain had come to life.

The oppressive feeling of tens of thousands of cavalrymen galloping in formation was too strong. Huo Qubing saw through his telescope that the Hunnic formation was thrown into chaos in an instant. Some turned and ran, some fell off their horses, and some were bewildered and at a loss.

In this pitch-black night, chasing a thousand or so people is already a struggle; if tens of thousands of cavalry suddenly appeared, anyone would panic.

Seeing this, Huo Qubing suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

Since Li Ju could contact him via walkie-talkie, he should also be able to contact others.

He took out his walkie-talkie, tuned it to a public channel, turned the power up to maximum, and pressed the answer button.

"I am Huo Qubing. I have set fire to the Xiongnu's grain supplies. General Li Ju is leading his troops to charge the Xiongnu soldiers who are pursuing me."

Soon, the walkie-talkie's indicator light flashed, and Su Jian's voice came through:

"I am Su Jian, and I am rushing towards the Xiongnu camp at full speed. The fire is really good, it gives us direction on our journey."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Huo Qubing's uncle, Gongsun He, spoke up:

“I’m a bit faster than you. I’m at most five miles from the Xiongnu camp, and I’ve already taken out several scout Xiongnu hundred-man squads. Qu Bing, how did you manage to evade their reconnaissance?”

Gongsun Ao said:
"Is that even a question? It must be a drone. I didn't even know Qu Bing passed by me. Drones are really useful."

The group was talking on the walkie-talkie when Wei Qing spoke up:

"Stop chatting idly. All units should rush to the Xiongnu camp as quickly as possible. While they are in disarray, we must inflict heavy losses on Yizhixie tonight... Qubing, say a few words to inspire them."

This order really put Huo Qubing in a difficult position. In this situation, what words would be most inspiring?

He recalled the words his master often spoke, pressed the answer button on the walkie-talkie, and said loudly:

"ten thousand years is too long, fight for now!"

(End of this chapter)