Chapter 403: Update for the Alliance Leader Qianqiu Emperor
An imperial edict reached the grassland from Chang'an, and Liu Che delivered the golden book of the marquises directly to the army. This was certainly not a direct enthronement, but a statement of attitude.
At the same time, Liu Che issued an edict to cancel the plan to attack the Xiongnu royal court and instead defeat the Baiyang King's and Loufan King's tribes. In addition, he immediately replenished the troops of Luo Wuji and Huo Qubing's colonels to 3,600 people, which was three times the previous strength.
The reason why more cavalry was not given directly was because most of the Han army could only be called mounted infantry. There were not many cavalry who could fight on horseback, and half of them had to be left for Wei Qing. After all, Wei Qing was fighting a head-on decisive battle, and without cavalry, many tactics could not be used.
The imperial edict also told Wei Qing that Luo Wuji and Huo Qubing were "sharp swords from heaven" and that they should be "used with their sharpness and not sheathed."
The opportunity for war was fleeting. Before the imperial edict arrived, Wei Qing had already led his army to attack the Loufan King's tribe. After Liu Che's imperial edict arrived, Wei Qing was completely relieved and arranged for the battle against the Loufan King's tribe.
It was said that the battle was against the Loufan King's army, but with the defeat of the Baiyang King, the news of the Han army entering the grassland had already spread throughout the grassland. The enemy they faced was definitely not just the Loufan King.
The Xiongnu respected the Chanyu as their leader, and then the Zuoxian King as their leader. The vast land from the left hand of the Chanyu's court to Liaodong and Korea was controlled by the Zuoxian King. His political status was equivalent to that of the crown prince of the Central Plains dynasty, and he was usually the Chanyu's son.
When the Chanyu died suddenly without designating a successor, Zuo Xian Wang took over the throne of the Xiongnu Chanyu.
After Zuo Xian King, there was Zuo Guli King, then You Xian King and You Guli King. These were called the Four Corner Kings, who were the Huns' Chanyu in charge of the four directions.
But in fact, apart from the Left Wise King, the Right Wise King is the most important.
The land of the Right Wise King extends all the way west from the Chanyu Court. To the south, he can communicate with the Baiyang King and the Loufan King in the south of the desert, and to the west with the Zhelan King and others. He also controls the Xiutu King and the Hunxie King in the Hexi Corridor through the south of the desert, and then controls the land of the Western Regions to the west, competing with the Greater and Lesser Yuezhi for control of the Western Regions.
This was an extremely critical Xiongnu king. Any military action of the Han Dynasty targeting the northwest, or even the Western Qiang, could not escape the participation of this Xiongnu king.
In the army camp.
Wei Qing and others were discussing the battle plan. Huo Qubing said directly: "Uncle, the more we wait, the more accidents will happen. If the Xiongnu Right Guli King and Right Xian King lead a large army to come, it will be a tough battle. From my nephew's point of view, you will confront the Loufan King head-on, and I and the Yingyang Captain will lead the elite cavalry to march west first, then turn east and make a big detour to attack the Loufan King's flank. He will never expect that the Han army will make such a detour and will definitely catch him off guard."
Luo Wuji's eyes lit up when he heard this. It turned out that Huo Qubing's tactical thinking was similar to his. Before, he only thought that Huo Qubing was a warrior, but now it seems that Huo Qubing is much stronger than he imagined.
Wei Qing was also a fierce man who could kill the deputy king in his day, but he became much more stable after becoming the commander-in-chief. Especially after learning the Huaiyin Military Strategy, he deeply grasped the essence of Han Xin's military strategy and never charged into the battlefield himself again. His tactical thinking was mostly based on the positive, and he emphasized not to use risky tactics.
But this does not mean that he dare not break the rules, and Huo Qubing led a small army. Even if he failed, he could still stabilize the front line. The battle has been won enough so far, and a small defeat is not considered a defeat. But the question is, is the son of the Luo family willing to take the risk?
Wei Qing cast his gaze towards Luo Wuji, who smiled and said, "Captain Piao Yao and I have the same idea, that is, we must use a surprise attack to win. Also, please see, from Longxi County to the north, all the way to the Loufan King's tribe, this grassland is the key to Hexi. If we can defeat the Loufan King and the Youguli King's tribe at the same time, we can completely cut off the connection between the Youxian King's tribe and Hexi.
To be honest with you, General, my family calls this land the Hexi Corridor. My father once led brave warriors through the Hexi Corridor to the far west. Sooner or later, this place will belong to the Han Dynasty. Now, if we can take advantage of the victory to cut off the connection between King Xiutu and King Hunxie and the Xiongnu Right Sage King Court, the pace of the Han Dynasty's war against the Xiongnu will be greatly accelerated."
Luo Wuji's words completely made Wei Qing unable to sit still. He never expected that there would be such a thing. Wei Qing knew that Luo Wuji would not talk nonsense, but he still asked in shock: "Are you serious, sir?"
Everyone was shocked by Luo Wuzhi's words, and then they sighed deeply, saying that it was really worthy of the Luo family to have started making arrangements for external expansion so early.
Huo Qubing laughed loudly and said, "Hahaha, uncle, this is the decree from the Emperor Su Wang, do you still have anything to hesitate about?
Even if our army does not provoke the Youguli King's tribe, he will definitely come to support the Loufan King. It is better for us to take the initiative to attack and clear out the Xiongnu tribes between the Youguli King and the Loufan King first. In this way, if the Youguli King wants to come to support the Loufan King, he will have to spend time to requisition livestock. This time difference is enough for our army to completely defeat the Loufan King.
The swords of my nephew and Captain Yingyang have been sharpened to a point where they are too bloodthirsty."
Huo Qubing was a truly brave man. This was not just a simple tactical change, but a major shift in the entire strategy, from attacking and destroying the Loufan King's tribe to clearing out the southern part of the Mobei area of the Youguli King's tribe. If things didn't go well, it would immediately lead to a full-scale war between the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu.
Yes.
In fact, until now, this is still not a full-scale war between the Han and the Huns. A full-scale war between the world's strongest nomadic empire and the strongest agricultural empire is not of this scale.
This battle in the south of the desert can at best be regarded as a fight for victory or defeat before a full-scale war.
Wei Qing did not hesitate any longer and immediately gave the order: "Send the order to the generals, order the Eagle Captain Luo Wuji and the Piaoyao Captain Huo Qubing to lead 3,600 elite soldiers each to attack, and the rest of the people will follow me to meet the King of Loufan head-on.
Also, send someone to Chang'an City immediately to report the new battle plan to His Majesty."
Wei Qing was a cautious person. Even under such circumstances, he still wanted to send the plan to Liu Che for review. No wonder Liu Che trusted him.
The King of Youguli would never have thought that within such a short period of time, a discussion would make the Han army set its sights on him. Luo Wuji and Huo Qubing walked out of the military camp together. Huo Qubing asked with an excited look on his face: "Brother Wuji, you said that your father once went to the Far West. What was it like there?"
Luo Wuji laughed and said, "My father spent almost half his life there. The Western Regions is a beautiful and fertile land, but the journey is full of thorns and dangers. The Xiongnu not only have King Hunxie and King Xiutu in the Hexi Corridor, but also countless other small kings and many other tribes. It can be said that there are many small countries and it is difficult to move forward."
Luo Wuji thought Huo Qubing would be excited, but he didn't expect Huo Qubing to be silent for a moment, and then he heard him say slowly: "Qubing understands, Brother Wuji must want to expand the Western Regions and fulfill your father's unfulfilled wish, so he asked Dong'a Hou to recommend you to serve as an official, right?
"I had doubts before I got rid of it. You were appointed by King Zhaosheng as the next Duke Zhao. Why did you come to the Han court to serve? And why did you risk your life to go to the battlefield?"
Luo Wuji looked at Huo Qubing strangely. Huo Qubing had surprised him twice in such a short time. He did not expect Huo Qubing to be such a sharp person in this regard. He could analyze so many things in such a short time and with so little information. He was about to speak when he heard Huo Qubing say, "Brother Wuji and I hit it off right away. In the future, when we attack Hexi, I will definitely be your wing and arm, just like when we conquered the King of Aries. Together, the two of you will be invincible in the world. The Huns are nothing but chickens and dogs!"
Huo Qubing and Luo Wuji were only seventeen years old when they went to the war. They had not even put on the cap yet. They were still young men. Huo Qubing in particular had a willful personality. He didn't care much about most people, but once someone caught his fancy, like Luo Wuji.
Huo Qubing thought Luo Wuji was very awesome, so he looked at him differently. They felt like old friends at first sight and felt a sense of intimacy with each other.
Luo Wuji was stunned when he heard this. Looking at Huo Qubing who was in high spirits, he smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Qubing. It's a deal."
The two walked together, and Huo Qubing asked, "I don't know what your birthday is, Brother Wuji."
The two knew that the other was the same age, but they were not sure who was older, so Huo Qubing asked this question. Then they found out that they were born on the same day. Such a coincidence was really unbelievable.
Huo Qubing laughed and said, "Brother Wuji, I felt like we were old friends the first time I saw you. I didn't expect such a coincidence to happen. It is said that there are twin stars in the endless starry sky. I guess you and I are the twin stars of Zhuxia."
Luo Wuji also smiled and said, "Draw your sword and let's go show the Huns the elegance of the Twin Stars of the Han Dynasty."
While talking, the two men walked out of the general's camp and went to their respective colonels. Nearly half of the cavalry of the entire Han army were commanded by the two men.
"Walk!"
Two loud shouts were heard, and then the horses rushed out like dragons.
————
In the decades-long all-out war between the Han Empire and the Xiongnu Empire, some scholars attributed the victory of the Han Empire to the Han Empire's stronger national strength. However, this is a very biased research result. In history, there are many empires with stronger national strength that gradually fell into the vortex of national strength exhaustion due to continuous failures in foreign wars. In fact, strong national strength only increases the trial and error, and does not mean that the stronger party will definitely win. In the early days of Emperor Wu of Han's foreign wars, the Han court did not have an advantage. It was not until the outbreak of the Battle of Mobei-Moxi that Luo Wuji and Huo Qubing emerged and cooperated with Wei Qing that the Han Dynasty turned around. In this article, the author will explain in detail the impact of the Battle of Mobei-Moxi on the war situation of the Han Dynasty. ——"History of the Rise and Fall of the Han Dynasty"
Your Majesty, the leader has paid off his debts.
(End of this chapter)
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