Chapter 503: Xiongnu Chanyu, my name is Luo Shi, the son of Luo Wuji!
Why did Luo Shi write to the emperor to request the dispatch of troops?
Because when a powerful empire like the Han Dynasty fights against a nomadic empire like the Xiongnu, the most crucial point is to find them!
During the heyday of the dynasty, as long as the Central Plains dynasty took the initiative to attack and the commander was of normal intelligence, they basically never lost.
This is true for everyone except for a certain iron-blooded and powerful Song Dynasty.
By sending a large army, we can try to maintain the strength of each troop while raiding more grassland camps, increasing the probability of catching the Huns.
During the reign of Emperor Xiaowu, Marquis Guanjun and Marquis Wushuang led two large cavalry armies and galloped across the grasslands. The Xiongnu's camps were constantly lost, and finally it was like a snowball, until the Xiongnu royal court was destroyed by one blow from the two men.
The Han army's trip to the grassland this time was very different from the time of Emperor Xiaowu. During the time of Emperor Xiaowu, the Central Plains was completely in the dark about the grassland.
However, this time, the Han court had a better understanding of the direction of rivers and mountains on the grassland, and even which grasslands were most likely to see the Huns.
Among all the armies going on this expedition, the one led by Luo Shi was the most adaptable. There were large tracts of grassland at the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, and the soldiers he brought with him also lived on the grassland all year round, so they had no discomfort at all when entering the territory of the Xiongnu.
…
The armies of the Western Regions and Hexi had a total of 40,000 cavalry and several thousand armored soldiers. The team meandered like a long snake, appearing and disappearing among the undulating hills of the grassland.
Luo Shi rode on his horse, constantly checking the rough map, then issued orders, and thousands of scouts were divided into dozens of teams and spread out in all directions.
As the army advanced deeper and deeper, after setting up camp in a sheltered place, the captain of the Western Regions Protection Corps, as well as the generals of the Western Regions countries, especially the generals of the four counties in Hexi who were temporarily under the control of Luo Shi, all came to his tent.
He asked the most concerned question, "Grand Protector, where are we going? We are already too far into the grassland. If we continue like this, we will need horses and camels for food, and we will be completely separated from our logistics support."
Luo Shi stood with his hands behind his back looking at everyone. Behind him was a rough geomancy map of the Western Regions. Hearing everyone's questions, Luo Shi turned to face the huge geomancy map and pointed to the top.
He said firmly: "Our goal is here. I have obtained intelligence that the Xiongnu's royal court is on this grassland. I will go straight to the Xiongnu's royal court hiding in Mobei, and then win peace for the Han Dynasty for the next fifty years.
I don’t know who will own this grassland in the future, but it will never belong to the Xiongnu again!”
Straight into the Xiongnu royal court!
As soon as Luo Shi finished speaking, the tent fell into silence, and everyone was stunned by his words.
Why are we suddenly going straight to the Xiongnu royal court?
Isn't this a normal battle of advancement?
Seeing this, Luo Shi rubbed his head with a headache, and then said: "Do you have any different opinions?"
As soon as these words came out, there was a sudden loud noise in the tent.
"Grand Protector, are you serious? Isn't it too risky to go straight to the Xiongnu royal court?"
"Sir, the war has just begun, and the Xiongnu's peripheral forces have not even been eliminated. Going deep into the enemy's rear is simply putting the future of the entire army on luck."
“…”
"Sir, what if the source of the intelligence is wrong? How can the Xiongnu royal court be so easy to break into?"
"Grand Protector, the imperial court has sent out 150,000 troops this time, and they are elite knights and archers from all the counties and kingdoms in the Central Plains. This is a war that is almost certain to be won. We just need to take steady steps and fight steadily."
Everyone was talking and questioning Luo Shi's decision. After all, in everyone's opinion, this was too risky. In a war that could not possibly fail, why would one make such a rash move of underestimating the enemy?
Luo Shi's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, and he simply reached out to stop those who still wanted to speak.
Facts speak louder than words.
He pointed at the geomancy map and said, "My plan is to follow this river, then turn into the Three Mountains, pass through from the right and attack the Xiongnu headquarters.
Even if an unexpected event occurs, the army can still return. The Huns can either send their main forces to fight against our army, which would be our wish, or they can only let our army leave.
Among the imperial army, only our army is composed entirely of cavalry, and each person has four or even five horses. Only our army can accomplish this difficult task.
And why do you think this is a losing war?
There has never been a war in this world that is certain to be won. The imperial court has indeed deployed all its elite troops this time, but who says that elite troops will definitely win?
Isn’t the Temple Army elite enough?
Isn’t the army of my Western Regions Protectorate elite enough?
Facing the Huns who come and go like the wind, all we can do is passively defend. No matter how sharp the sword is, it is of no use if it can't cut the enemy. No matter how powerful the fist is, it is useless if it can't hit the enemy.
When I was still young, my father said that the Huns would definitely make a comeback. At that time, my father taught me various tactics against the Huns. The most important thing was to abandon the thinking of the Central Plains war and to use the thinking of the Huns to fight the Huns.
We must take the initiative, bring the war to the Huns' territory, kill their people, and plunder their cattle and sheep. Only in this way can we completely eliminate the Huns.
If the other armies continued to attack in an orderly manner, the most likely outcome would be that the Huns would flee far away, while our army would return in disappointment as it could not find the enemy.
That’s not what I want.”
Luo Shi's words were powerful and he had obviously been thinking for a long time. Everyone in the tent looked at each other. Luo Shi said, "Your Majesty is a cautious king.
This expedition has cost a lot. If we cannot gain enough victory and merit to repay these expenses, Your Majesty will definitely not launch another attack."
This sentence really made everyone's face change.
The dream of the troops in the Western Regions and Hexi was to make great achievements and then be transferred back to Guanzhong by the emperor, join the imperial guards, or even have their entire families moved to Guanzhong.
Even if we cannot enter Chengluo and Tianchu counties, entering Longxi County would be great.
It would be great if we could enter Guandong. At least we should not stay in Hexi and the Western Regions all the time.
It's not just these generals, but also the soldiers in the army, especially in the Western Regions. Many Han troops came here because their ancestors were exiled and then became Han people in the Western Regions.
Although this place has indeed become their home after dozens or nearly hundreds of years, people tend to move to higher places, and given a choice, who wouldn't want to return to the glamorous world of the Central Plains?
This is probably a kind of fantasy filter. In fact, when the Silk Road was open, the prosperity of the Western Regions and the four counties of Hexi was incomparable to most cities in the Central Plains.
Has there been any commercial city that was not prosperous since ancient times?
Hexi and the Western Regions are full of commercial cities, with countless travelers and caravans exchanging business. The Han people in the Western Regions are simply blinded by their own shortcomings and think that the Central Plains is more prosperous than the Western Regions.
Luo Shi was very clear about this, so he said these words to tell all the Han army generals that if they missed this opportunity, they would spend the rest of their lives in desolate places like the Western Regions and Hexi.
"I will follow your orders, my Lord!"
The Han army generals bowed one after another.
After completely integrating the army, Luo Shi suddenly increased the speed of the march. After defeating several small Hun tribes along the way, the logistics could no longer keep up with their speed.
…
The Han army's massive expedition could naturally not be concealed from the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu Empire had been roaming the grasslands for hundreds of years, and its only defeat was the war with the Han Dynasty decades ago, and that was no ordinary defeat.
In fact, the country had already been destroyed, but because other Hu forces on the grassland, such as the Wuhuan and other Donghu tribes were under the control of the Han Dynasty and failed to control the grassland, this gave the Xiongnu a chance to rise again.
After all, the Huns were still a rare nomadic tribe on the grassland with a relatively high level of civilization. Compared with those unknown small tribes, after exchanges with Central Asia and wars with the Han Dynasty, the Huns had undergone qualitative changes in all aspects.
In the Xiongnu's royal tent, the Xiongnu Chanyu listened to the report of the Han army by Zuo Guli Wang, and then sighed: "The Han Dynasty experienced such a great civil strife more than ten years ago, but now it still has such a strong strength. Great Heaven, why don't you bless the people of Daxia?
Our ancestors were driven out of the Central Plains two thousand years ago, and they have not been able to return until now. Why is that? "
This Xiongnu Khan was very different from the previous Xiongnu Khans. The biggest difference was that the previous Xiongnu Khans had something strange on their faces, and it could be seen that they had blood mixed with other species, but this Xiongnu Khan had an obvious Central Plains appearance.
It is often said that the Chinese are distinguished from each other by civilization, but this is not accurate. The Chinese and the barbarians can indeed be transformed. There is also the classic saying "If the Chinese enter the barbarians, they become barbarians; if the barbarians enter the Chinese, they become Chinese." But the premise is, the most important premise - they have to look the same!
Black hair, black eyes.
In comparison, the Huns were truly united by ethnic recognition. The composition of the Huns was really too diverse. There were true descendants of the Xia Dynasty, escaped people from various Xia countries, Han people, and some Di ghosts with strange looks.
Judging from the appearance of the current Xiongnu Chanyu, he is probably from the same ethnic group as the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. After all, in that era when there was no true recognition of the Xia people, everyone was probably both Xia and barbarians.
Without the Han Dynasty being aware of it, the royal family of the Xiongnu Chanyu had changed a lot. This could be considered a surprise, especially for the Luo family, who probably thought about assimilating these people.
In the tent of the Xiongnu king, with the sigh of the Xiongnu Khan, the tent fell into silence. The Xiongnu people thought about this problem for a long time, but finally came to the conclusion that the Han people had no martial ethics and they actually sent out real gods to fight in the war among humans.
Otherwise, the former Great Xia Empire was so powerful, while the Han Dynasty was so weak, the winner would definitely be the Great Xia Empire, and the Han Dynasty would have no chance to develop to its later stage!
(End of this chapter)
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