A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 179
The afternoon sun shines down, making the mountains and rivers magnificent.

A black storm swept in from the north of Dai.

The Xiongnu elite cavalry carried dried mare's milk and meat with them and always preferred to drive straight into battle rather than leisurely advance to the battlefield, set up camp, rest, and then fight.

Therefore, the Xiongnu cavalry stormed into the Dai region like a hurricane, pressing from the vast grasslands toward the eastern wing of the Loess Plateau.

The damaged sections of the Great Wall are still visible in the distance.

The scouts on the front lines continuously reported news to the Great Chanyu, Yizhixie.

"The Han Dynasty suddenly tightened the customs system, and no one was allowed to leave the Great Wall. Many smugglers from the Central Plains were executed by the Han army. Some powerful families from Zhao who damaged the Great Wall were also captured and executed on the spot. The Han army stepped up the repair of the damaged sections of the wall and the patrol of the Great Wall. People from Zhao can no longer cause damage to the Great Wall."

"News came from within the Han army stationed in Yunzhong and Beidi—nearby Han commanderies successively sent troops to support Dai Commandery, and news also came from Chang'an that the young emperor of the Great Han had granted General Wei Qing the tiger tally and yak staff for guarding the northern and southern armies in Chang'an, and only then did he take action."

"The Han Dynasty's treasury and imperial storehouse are urgently mobilizing grain and fodder. However, due to the Han Dynasty's previous wars on multiple fronts against our Right Wise King's tribe, Left Wise King's tribe, Nan Yue, and Southwestern Yi, the mobilization has not been smooth. The young emperor of the Han Dynasty issued an edict to forcibly requisition all the supplies in the four markets of Chang'an for military use, but it is still not enough."

"General Wei Qing of the Han Dynasty did not wait for the supplies any longer and wanted to take half a month's worth of supplies to the north to fight, but he was blocked by the young emperor of the Han Dynasty and the officials of both the central and foreign courts."

"According to news from within the Han army in Yunzhong, Beidi, Shuofang, and Youbeiping counties, the young emperor of the Great Han has ordered that, to the best of his ability, he should provide relief to Dai County, prioritizing the garrison troops in the county."

"..."

There are various signs.

The young ruler of the Han Dynasty abandoned the Dai region!
In the Dai Commandery of Han territory, apart from the garrison troops stationed within the commandery itself, there would be no large-scale rescue efforts from other border commanderies.

"The sang flowers are blooming! The lark is singing! The caterpillar has grown wings, and the young emperor of the Han Dynasty has been weaned!"

Yi Zhixie laughed wildly, "In this world, I'm afraid no one from the Central Plains likes internal strife more. However, this is good for my clan. Once we occupy the Dai region, my clan will establish a kingdom here. With Tengri's protection, we will plunder the Han lands in spring, summer, autumn, and winter. One day, we will watch the Han Dynasty collapse!"

For the past few centuries, the Central Plains regimes have been tormenting the grassland tribes like hawks, imposing various economic, material, and population controls on the grasslands. Even during the reign of Modu Chanyu, life on the grasslands was far from good. As a result, in the last hundred years, the Xiongnu population has not only not increased dramatically, but has actually declined year by year.

In other words, the Xiongnu had a geographical advantage over the Han Dynasty and broke free from some of its control; otherwise, they would have collapsed long ago.

Along the long border between the Han and the Xiongnu, which stretched for thousands of miles, one side settled in agriculture while the other moved about as nomads. The Xiongnu could carry their belongings with a single horse, while the Han people could not carry away their villages, towns, or farmland on their shoulders.

Through years of plundering, the Xiongnu barely maintained their position as the overlords of the grasslands, suppressing the Han Dynasty and intimidating other tribes. However, this strength was tainted with falsehood and would eventually be exposed.

Liu Pengzu, the King of Zhao during the Han Dynasty, was blinded by the throne and gave the Xiongnu people an opportunity to become powerful forever.

Yizhixie had to admit that the past, present, and future of the Xiongnu were inextricably linked to Han princes, powerful local figures, smugglers, and other so-called "traitors" in the eyes of the Han people.

In Yizhixie's view, the politics of the grasslands is like wolves eating sheep.

In the Central Plains, politics is like sheep eating sheep.

The steppe wolves were meant to enslave the sheep of the Central Plains, and the Xiongnu had finally waited for this day. The Xiongnu, who believed in fighting but did not pay much attention to tactics, were very direct. They rushed into the Dai region like a vast flood through the gaps in the Great Wall.

Amidst deafening shouts of battle, this mountainous region, silent for decades, suddenly erupted into chaos, and the "flood" relentlessly swept towards the nearby Han city of Dai County.

Looking at the fleeing Han people and smugglers, Zhao Xin felt that this was too normal. He spurred his horse to catch up with Yizhixie and shouted, "Great Chanyu, our elite cavalry entered the Han city and damaged their horses' hooves. I think we should quickly push over the Dai territory."

Damaged horse hoof.

This is a euphemism.

The grasslands have many cavalry, and they can exert their greatest combat power by launching attacks in open areas. When they enter the mountainous areas of Dai County, they can also use the high deployment of troops to win by speed. In short, they are more suitable for open field warfare.

Once a city is besieged or entered into battle, the strong and tall city walls, the complex streets and alleys of the Han Dynasty, and the field paths will greatly reduce the combat effectiveness of the cavalry, and the coordination between different armies will also be greatly reduced.

Zhao Xin did not agree with taking the border city of Dai County first. He believed that they should bypass the border city, break into the heart of Dai County, and control Dai County as much as possible first.

Even if the Han Dynasty had laid an ambush, the Xiongnu army could still maintain its fighting strength, find an opportunity to break through the Han army's encirclement, and return to the grasslands.

"Your Majesty, you are too cautious!"

Yi Zhixie loosened the reins, slowed the horse's speed, and rode alongside Zhao Xin. "Our tribe has conducted so many reconnaissance along the way, and captured several beacon towers along the Great Wall. We have also captured many Han army officers and soldiers. We can confirm that there is no ambush. Besides, if the Han court were to set up an ambush, they would not choose to do so in towns. Han generals, you don't even know this."

Not setting up ambushes in towns is common sense in warfare.

The reason is that it is very difficult to keep secrets in towns and cities. The enemy can easily find out from all sides that something is different from the usual and discover that there is a trap.

In towns with their many people and eyes, it's almost impossible to maintain complete secrecy. There will always be some slip-up that leads to failure.

The failure of the Han court's Mayi plot in the second year of Yuanguang is an example. Back then, Yizhixie accompanied the old Chanyu Junchen. Crossing the pass, he noticed the strange scene of cattle and sheep scattered across the plains but no one was grazing them, even though they were a hundred miles away from Mayi.

They then halted their march, attacked a nearby beacon tower, captured a magistrate of Yanmen, learned of the Han army's ambush, and quickly led their troops out of the pass.

The military officer, who had been bestowed the title of "Heavenly King" by Chanyu Junchen, was also among the entourage and did not find anything unusual about it.

The cattle and sheep abandoned in the fields, the carts and horses on the roads, and the Han herdsmen and merchants fleeing in panic all proved that the Han Dynasty was completely unaware of the Xiongnu's attack.

If every person in the Han Dynasty could display such dramatic skill in the face of death, then even if the entire army perished here, it could only be said that the Xiongnu were not wronged.

"Great Chanyu, but I still have some reservations..."

Yi Zhixie interrupted Zhao Xin's ominous words, "Without the incentive of Han Dynasty's wealth and population, our warriors will not be able to unleash their full fighting spirit. Besides, Dai County is one of the important cities of the Han Dynasty, with thousands of garrisoned soldiers. If we cannot take it, once our army enters the center of Dai, they will stab us in the back, and our tribe will suffer heavy losses. Your Majesty, act according to the plan!"

"Yes, Great Chanyu!"

(End of this chapter)