The Xiongnu's range of activities has always been in the north of the Han Dynasty, and the Jie Kingdom is in the northwest of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, although there are other small countries in the northeast direction, no one except the Xiongnu can possess a large number of cavalry.
Liu Tan took a deep breath to calm himself down, knowing that he was the one who should not panic at this moment. If he panicked, he would be doomed to failure.
He said in a deep voice: "Go and find out how many cavalry there are!"
After the order was passed down, Liu Tan slowly sat down and looked at the sand table. For the first time, he understood what it meant to be in a state of flux.
It's true that you think you have the victory in the last second, but the next second you may be overturned.
He really wanted to tell himself that the Huns might just be passing by, but he couldn't deceive himself. If they were just passing by, that would be too much of a coincidence.
Liu Tan waited for a long time. Of course, saying "long" is not quite right. In fact, it was only half an hour. In such a vast land, this time is really nothing.
The number reported by the scouts frightened him a little, and he roughly estimated that there were at least three hundred people.
Liu Tan had already seen how large a team of several hundred people was, so he didn't think this number was too small.
What's more, they were 300 Hun cavalrymen, and they might be well-trained cavalrymen.
Liu Tan knew that once these 300 cavalrymen came to support Jieguo, the advantages they had gained before would basically be gone.
After all, the city gates have not been opened yet. Even if they are opened, it does not mean that the city has been truly occupied.
Liu Tan thought for a long time and suddenly looked up and said, "Select five hundred soldiers and follow me to meet the Xiongnu."
After hearing this, Miao Rui knelt down before Liu Tan and said, "Your Highness, please don't put yourself in danger!"
Liu Tan walked out of the tent and looked up at the sky. The starry sky seemed like broken diamonds inlaid in the sky, so beautiful that it was unbelievable.
He took a deep breath and said, "Who else can lead the troops here except me?"
They almost risked everything to attack the city, and all the capable officers were sent. Even if his city is not an empty one now, Liu Tan still doesn't believe that they can deal with the Huns.
Of course, Liu Tan didn't think he could handle it, so he made up for the lack of equipment with his output. He asked people to prepare a large amount of quicklime, which was then made into lime bags with linen. He also asked everyone to carry water with them.
Quicklime becomes hot when it comes into contact with water and can even burn people. He didn't believe that the Huns had such thick skin and flesh that they could endure such pain.
What's more, they can endure it, because the water vapor will interfere with their vision.
What Liu Tan wanted to do was not to fight the Huns to the death. He just needed to delay the Hun cavalry for a while. He estimated that as long as he could delay them for an hour, he could basically create a time difference. By then, even if the Hun cavalry rushed over, it would be useless unless they wanted to be surrounded by the army.
Even if Miao Rui and Big Gao both knelt down, Liu Tan's decision would not be changed. Fortunately, he had already made various contingency plans before coming, including bags of lime.
However, in the end, it was decided not to use this thing when attacking the city. After all, if it is thrown onto the city wall, our people will eventually have to climb the wall, and no one can guarantee that their people will not be hurt.
Before setting off, Liu Tan warned the cavalrymen behind him, "Remember, if you encounter them, throw the bag in your hand at their eyes first. Don't give them face!"
The soldiers behind him were all confused and didn't know what this thing was, but they still subconsciously chose to believe Liu Tan.
Liu Tan took a deep breath and set off with his men, but this time he did not lead the team because he was only wearing the leather armor he had hurriedly acquired. Everyone was worried that he would get hurt, so they put him at the end of the team.
Liu Tan felt a little regretful when looking at the people in front of him. If he had known earlier, he would have asked Huo Guang to prepare armor.
Now, let alone armor, he doesn’t even have a mask. I wonder if Liu Che will be angry if he returns disfigured?
Liu Tan was thinking about all sorts of things while riding his horse at full speed. Apart from anything else, he found that his riding skills had really improved a lot. It turned out that many times if you don't push yourself, you really don't know where your potential lies.
The position of the Xiongnu cavalry discovered by the scouts was not far away. At least it was just dawn when Liu Tan got there.
Because there was also a Gobi Desert there, when other cavalry suddenly appeared on the flat ground, even the dumbest Huns knew they were coming for them.
The clothes of the Han soldiers were easy to identify, different from those anywhere else here. After seeing them, the Xiongnu cavalry were not afraid, and even rushed up with whistles.
Liu Tan's heart tightened, and he deliberately fell behind, not wanting to go over and add more food to the other party, but he still shouted, "Throw it!"
In fact, this is not a good time to throw, at least the Huns are still some distance away from them, it is best to wait until the other party gets closer before throwing.
However, because Liu Tan was facing such a situation for the first time, he was nervous and lost his judgment for a moment. Of course, even if he was not nervous, he might not have made a good judgment.
But it was also thanks to his early shouting that the Huns arrived very quickly. Their horses looked much better than those of the Han cavalry, and their speed and power were beyond their reach.
So when Liu Tan finished shouting and everyone subconsciously threw it out, the oncoming Huns just caught up with them.
Of course, these Huns would not be so stupid as to just take the hit. When they saw something coming towards them, their first reaction was to dodge. If it was too fast and too close to dodge, they would chop it with the knives they carried with them.
The Huns' knives were very sharp, at least not something a sack could cut through, so the bags of lime were easily cut open by them.
When Liu Tan saw the first bag of lime being chopped open, he immediately tightened the reins to stop the little white horse and shouted, "Stop!"
The soldiers didn't understand why, but they stopped anyway.
Of course, there were also those who thought that the Fifth Prince had no combat experience and would not stop, so they were greeted with a gift bag of lime.
After the Huns chopped open the bags of lime, the dust inside instantly flew away and covered them all.
Liu Tan laughed as he looked at the Huns who were covered with quicklime. These people were unlucky as they were going against the wind, so most of the quicklime was not wasted.
He then gave the order: "Throw water!"
The Huns over there were splashed with water and looked a little panicked, but the leader was very calm. He was able to control his horse and shout something to the people behind him. However, as soon as he opened his mouth, quicklime fell into his mouth, and the tone of his words changed at the end.
The Huns knew they had been tricked and prepared to charge forward in one go, otherwise they would be the ones to die.
As a result, just as he was about to rush over, he was splashed with water again.
The Huns were full of questions. What kind of new way of fighting was this?
Just as they were wondering, they soon felt a burning pain in their bodies.
The huge amount of heat released instantly when quicklime comes into contact with water is not something that ordinary people can withstand. The Huns' exposed skin was covered with blisters that looked like burns, which were visible to the naked eye.
Many Huns even fell off their horses, rolling on the ground in pain and shouting something.
Liu Tan reached out to soothe the little white horse that was frightened by the scream, but his heart was still beating rapidly.
The Huns in the front had basically lost their combat effectiveness, but the Huns in the back were in a better situation, and some were even not seriously injured, but they did not dare to come forward at this time.
Liu Tan heard a Xiongnu man chattering something across the street. After he finished speaking, Liu Tan was silent for a moment before he said confidently, "I don't understand. Charge!"
He knew from the beginning that it was impossible to win the battle by relying on quicklime. All he wanted was to slow down the Huns' offensive and cause some casualties on the other side, and then perhaps things would become much easier.
The Han Dynasty's light cavalry has never had an advantage, and there is nothing that can be done about it.
Of course Liu Tan would not rush forward. He had to consider the situation when setting an example. There were even two people protecting him. These two were the embroidered envoys sent by Liu Che.
They escorted Liu Tan to a safe place, which was also relatively high. Liu Tan looked at it from his horse for a while and suddenly frowned: "No, the number of people is wrong."
The two people beside him also noticed it, but they didn't want to say anything.
Liu Tan took a quick look. If he was not blind, these people were no more than a hundred at most. It was previously reported that there were at least three hundred Hun cavalrymen, so... where did the remaining one hundred or so go?
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