Inside another tent in the Han army's garrison.
Huangfu Song, the deputy commander of the army, was discussing the next marching plan with a group of generals.
Although Huangfu Song handed over command to Liu Hong, as the deputy commander, he still had a heavy responsibility.
For them, high-speed marches in unfamiliar territory are not as simple as just sprinting. The arrangement of the army, the marching speed, the intervals between different units, and the timing are all very important. If any of these are not done properly, it could cause chaos in the march.
After deciding on the arrangements for the next day, Huangfu Song's deputy dismissed the officers of all ranks in the army, and then looked at Huangfu Song with a solemn expression.
"General, His Majesty...?"
Just as everyone came to discuss the marching plan, he saw the emperor summoning the army doctor, which made him somewhat worried.
"When you first joined the army, did you ever try marching like this?"
Seeing that the deputy general still didn't understand what had happened on the emperor's side, Huangfu Song asked in return. As a veteran soldier, he naturally knew why the emperor had summoned the military doctor.
Although this was not the first time the emperor had led an army, he had always traveled by carriage in the past. This was the first time he had marched at high speed on horseback like today.
Upon hearing this, the deputy general finally realized what was happening and looked at the emperor's tent with admiration in his eyes.
Back then, when he first went on a military expedition, the daily march of just over a hundred li was quite a challenge for him, and it took him a long time to get used to it.
Now, the emperor has already ridden more than two hundred miles on horseback right from the start. Such a high-intensity march would be unbearable for most people, and the fact that the emperor was able to withstand it is a testament to his extraordinary ability.
"General, do you think we should go and discuss this with His Majesty...?"
Before the deputy general could finish speaking, Huangfu Song interrupted him: "His Majesty will not agree!"
He knew that the deputy general wanted to slow down the march, but that would be a great insult to the emperor.
"His Majesty's dignity is not something we can afford to offend!"
As the most renowned general of the Han Dynasty after the Three Ming of Liangzhou, Huangfu Song's reverence for imperial power always stemmed from the influence of his traditional environment.
However, ever since the emperor issued the edict to promote him exceptionally and to order him to conquer the Wuhuan, he knew that he would be willing to serve the emperor for the rest of his life.
Over the past decade or so, the major wars launched by the Han Dynasty against foreign powers were all commanded by Huangfu Song. His achievements were even greater than those of Wei Qing in his time, which made him very content.
"You must remember, once we are on the battlefield, all we seek is victory. If we think too much about His Majesty, it will backfire and put His Majesty in a dangerous situation!"
Huangfu Song was unsure whether the emperor would actually lead the charge, so he said this both to remind his deputy general and to remind himself.
Now that the emperor has come of age, the younger generation of officers is full of talent, and there are quite a few who can surpass him.
Huangfu Song also knew that this battle against the Qiang would be the last battle of his military career. After the war, he would follow in the footsteps of Duan Jiong and his uncle and enter the Privy Council, leaving the stage to the younger generation.
Therefore, Huangfu Song did not take this battle lightly at all.
At the same time, Ma Yi's 80,000 troops stopped near a forest 300 li west of the Han army camp.
Inside the military tent, Ma Yi summoned the leaders of the various tribes of the Lesser Yuezhi to discuss the battle plans for the next day.
"Gentlemen, according to reports, the Han army has a total of 20,000 men, guarding two mountain valleys 20 li to the west and 25 li to the northwest respectively."
These two passes are the only way to Gangcha, so we must open up these two passes before the Han army catches up.
Although our army outnumbers ours, the pass is narrow, and our numerical advantage is not significant. Therefore, I have decided to divide our forces into two groups and attack both passes simultaneously!
Upon hearing Ma Yi's suggestion, everyone in the tent nodded in agreement.
Just then, a Qiang nobleman said, "Great Lord, according to scouts, the force pursuing our army has started flying the banner of the Han Emperor. Do you think the Han Emperor might actually be among them?"
"What does it matter whether they are here or not? Do you want to go back and kill them? You should know that this is how the Xianbei were defeated by the Han army!"
They're just trying to scare our troops; we don't need to pay them any attention!
Upon hearing his subordinate's words, Ma Yi simply replied with a faint remark, without giving it any further thought.
"But sir, what if our army is able to..."
Before the nobleman could finish speaking, Ma Yi interrupted him: "There's no chance of anything going on. As the emperor of the Han Dynasty, he's always surrounded by the most elite troops of the Han Dynasty."
We're too busy running away to even think about going back? What are you thinking?
To plot against the Emperor of Han is tantamount to suicide.
Upon hearing this, everyone in the tent nodded in agreement.
Now, all they can think about is how to quickly find an escape route and leave this place. As for defeating the Han army, they don't even dare to think about it.
After some discussion, it was decided that Ma Yi would lead 30,000 Qiang soldiers and 10,000 Lesser Yuezhi cavalry to attack the northwest pass guarded by Zhang Liao, while the Lesser Yuezhi tribes would attack the west pass guarded by Zhao Yun.
Early the next morning, Ma Yi's army split into two and headed towards the two passes.
At noon, the troops from various tribes of the Lesser Yuezhi arrived at the pass guarded by Zhao Yun.
Looking at the narrow pass ahead, barely wide enough for ten people to pass side by side, the noble leaders from various tribes couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
With such narrow terrain, the army could not possibly charge forward; they could only resort to piecemeal tactics to wear them down.
After some discussion, the leaders of the various noble tribes took the lead and sent three thousand men toward the pass.
"Zhao Yun, the Commandant of the Great Han Cavalry, is here! Halt, you intruder!!"
Just as the Yuezhi cavalry approached the pass, Zhao Yun led a thousand cavalrymen out of the mountain pass.
"Heh~, who do we have here? Turns out he's just a brat. Ignore him, follow me!"
Upon seeing Zhao Yun's fair and delicate face, one of the Yuezhi leaders couldn't help but sneer. He then led his three thousand men and quickened their pace to charge forward.
"Hmph~, how dare you look down on me like that!"
Seeing that the other side did not take him seriously at all, Zhao Yun felt a surge of anger and immediately spurred his horse straight into the enemy formation, his Dragon Gallant Spear pointing directly at the enemy general.
The two sides clashed, and in just a few breaths, the distance between them was less than thirty paces.
"Traitorous general, prepare to die!!"
Zhao Yun roared, and his white steed suddenly accelerated, rushing to within ten paces of the enemy general in the blink of an eye.
Upon seeing this, the Yuezhi leader was about to raise his weapon to defend himself when he saw a flash of cold light, followed by a sharp pain in his throat.
After killing the enemy general with a single spear thrust, Zhao Yun swiftly withdrew his spear and charged directly into the enemy ranks.
Zhao Yun moved his hands back and forth, his spear thrusting, parrying, and striking, and the enemy soldiers blocking his way fell from their horses like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
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