"Yes." The Xianbei general immediately accepted the order and left.
The gates of Touman City were opened, and Xianbei soldiers swarmed out. Unfortunately, the city gates were only ten meters wide, while at least several hundred Han soldiers in the trenches outside were aiming their guns at them.
Not only did they fail to break out of the city, their corpses blocked the city gates.
…………………………………………………
"Your Majesty, their rifles are too powerful; we can't break through at all," said a Xianbei general whose face was covered in blood.
"My lord, a section of the city wall has collapsed, and they haven't been able to break through. They clearly intend to use cannons to blast us all to death in Touman City." Listening to the continuous explosions in the city, a Xianbei general said sadly, "There is no hope of defending the city. Too many of our people have already died or been wounded. They can't possibly reach the Han army. We can't stop the Han army. Let's migrate!"
"Let's migrate, let's migrate westward."
Faced with the intense artillery barrage from the Han army, even relying on the city walls could not stop the Han artillery. The Xianbei king had no choice but to sigh in resentment and choose to completely abandon the grasslands and carry out a great migration, just like the Xiongnu.
"Tell the soldiers to immediately inform the people to leave Touman City and migrate westward. Soldiers on the city walls, continue to hold the walls and cover the retreat for the people. Do not let the Han army break in!" The general shouted to his soldiers upon receiving the order. Under the intense artillery bombardment and the ever-present threat of a Han army attack, he couldn't afford to organize his troops any longer. He would move as many as possible out of Touman City and then look for an opportunity to regroup.
The soldiers on the city walls watched the panicked civilians fleeing the city, their grief echoing as they steadfastly held their ground. This scene was strikingly similar to their own experience three months earlier, when they and the Wuhuan had joined forces to attack the Xiongnu, and how they themselves had fared against the Xiongnu.
Faced with the Xianbei who had been driven in, the Xiongnu had no choice but to continue their migration, fighting and plundering along the way. It wasn't that the now-unified Northern and Southern Xiongnu were no match for the crippled Xianbei, nor was it out of fear of them. Rather, it was information they received from the Southern Xiongnu that the Han army driving the Xianbei was what they truly feared. Even if the Northern and Southern Xiongnu were to reunite, they didn't want to directly confront the Han army, which was even stronger than before. Compared to the overwhelmingly powerful Han army, they preferred to bully the weaker peoples and states to the west, and the Xianbei served as a buffer against the Han army.
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