While the various states and counties of the Han Kingdom were still bustling with activity in selecting concubines for the emperor, the protagonist, Sun Hao, had already led the Han Kingdom's expeditionary force to the northern grasslands.
Pingxi City is one of the 27 cities built by the Zhenxi Army on the grassland. It is located on the territory of the Dangxiang tribe.
Pingxi City is not very large. It is more like a military fortress built on the grassland than a city.
On January 5, 195 of the Han calendar, the four imperial guards, ten forbidden troops and six garrison troops of the Han expeditionary force built a simple camp outside Pingxi City that was several times larger than Pingxi City.
Upon learning that Sun Hao, who had just ascended the throne, was personally leading his army, the Dangxiang Khan Fu Xihu, the Xiongnu Khan Helian Dou, and the new Western Qiang Khan Qiulubao all arrived in Pingxi City early to await Sun Hao's arrival.
The new Great Khan of the Western Qiang tribe, Qiulubao, is the nephew of the previous Great Khan of the Western Qiang tribe, Qiulutai.
After the Western Qiang tribe surrendered to the Zhenxi Army, since the Great Khan Qiulutai died on the battlefield, Sun Hao selected Qiulubao from the captured Western Qiang cavalry and supported him to become the new Great Khan of the Western Qiang tribe.
Because Qiulubao's biological mother was just a Han slave who was abducted to the grassland, Qiulubao had no status in the Western Qiang people.
Sun Hao immediately promoted Qiulubao to be the Khan of the Western Qiang tribe, and Qiulubao immediately became Sun Hao's loyal follower.
So, as soon as Qiulubao saw Sun Hao, he volunteered to fight, saying, "Your Majesty, I have recruited another 270,000 cavalry from the various tribes of the Western Qiang people and brought them here. I am willing to follow Your Majesty and flatten the entire grassland."
Currently, the Han State's armed forces in the northern grasslands include, in addition to the Fifth and Sixth Regiments of the Imperial Guards, one million Guiyi Army.
Among the Guiyi Army, there were 200,000 cavalry recruited from the Western Qiang tribe.
You should know that the Western Qiang tribe has a total population of only more than two million, and more than 200,000 cavalrymen were killed in the battle with the Zhenxi Army.
Not counting the 200,000 Western Qiang cavalry in the Guiyi Army, the 270,000 Western Qiang cavalry brought by Qiulubao this time can be said to have pulled out all the young and strong men from various Western Qiang tribes who were able to go to the battlefield.
As Qiulubao finished speaking, the Tangut Khan, Fuxihu, immediately addressed Sun Hao, saying, "Your Majesty, I have also mobilized 300,000 Tangut cavalry from all tribes. We are willing to fight to the bitter end with Your Majesty against the Xianbei, Khitan, Meng, and Jie."
The Dangxiang tribe previously had a population of over five million and was a powerful tribe on the grassland that could gather a million cavalrymen. However, in the great battle with the Zhenxi Army, the Dangxiang tribe lost at least 600,000 cavalrymen.
In addition to the 300,000 Dangxiang cavalry recruited by the Guiyi Army, the Dangxiang Khan Fuxi Huneng recruited another 300,000 Dangxiang cavalry and brought them to Pingxi City. This was basically the limit of the number of troops that the Dangxiang could send.
The Xiongnu Khan Helian Dou finally said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, I have brought with me 700,000 Xiongnu cavalrymen, waiting for your command.
I believe that under your majesty's command, the Han army will surely defeat that so-called grassland coalition army."
Although the Xiongnu suffered heavier losses than the Dangxiang and Western Qiang in the battle with the Zhenxi Army.
But the Xiongnu people had a population of nearly 10 million after all, so after the Guiyi Army recruited 500,000 Xiongnu cavalry, the Xiongnu Khan Helian Dou was still able to recruit another 700,000 Xiongnu cavalry.
Sun Hao was not surprised that the three Khans of the Western Qiang, Dangxiang and Xiongnu tribes all took the initiative to lead their troops to help in the battle.
If the Han army was defeated next, what would await the Western Qiang, Dangxiang and Xiongnu peoples would surely be the division and division of the so-called grassland alliance.
Now the Western Qiang, Dangxiang and Xiongnu have been tied to the chariots of the Han Dynasty and cannot get off. The ropes used by the Han Dynasty to bind these three tribes are the one million returning soldiers recruited by the Han Dynasty from these three tribes.
The one million soldiers of the Guiyi Army were all low-level herdsmen from the Western Qiang, Dangxiang and Xiongnu tribes.
After these lower-class herdsmen joined the Guiyi Army, their treatment and welfare were similar to those of the Han State's Xiang Army, which was very generous.
This made the herdsmen, who had no concept of a nation, feel a deep sense of belonging to the Guiyi Army and even to the Han Kingdom.
Even if Sun Hao ordered the Guiyi Army to launch a crusade against the Western Qiang, Dangxiang and Xiongnu tribes, the cavalry of the three tribes in the Guiyi Army would surely resolutely carry out Sun Hao's orders.
Sun Hao smiled and said, “The three Khans are very thoughtful.
You can also rest assured that this time, our Han army has gathered millions of elite soldiers and will definitely be able to defeat the grassland coalition forces of the Xianbei, Khitan, Mengjie, and other tribes."
At this time, Li Jing, the commander of the Fifth Regiment of the Imperial Guard, reported to Sun Hao, "Your Majesty, the 80,000 Snow Dragon Cavalry, 80,000 Tiger Cavalry, and 80,000 White Robe Cavalry from the Fifth and Sixth Regiments of the Imperial Guard, as well as one million Guiyi troops, have all gathered in Pingxi City.
According to the military intelligence gathered by the scouts, the armies of the Xianbei, Khitan, Meng and Jie tribes have begun to gather about 800 miles north of Pingxi City.
However, we still don’t know how many troops this grassland coalition army will eventually gather.”
Jia Xu, the commander-in-chief of the Seven Banner Guards who came to the grassland with the expeditionary force, immediately said, "Your Majesty, based on the intelligence currently held by our Seven Banner Guards.
The Xianbei, Khitan, Mengjie, Rouran, and Northern Qiang, these five powerful grassland tribes with a population of over 10 million, will each send out more than one million troops.
The six powerful tribes on the grasslands, namely the Turks, Tiele, Uighurs, Bai Qiang, Wuheng and Western Jie, each with a population of over five million, would send out an army of more than 500,000.
As for the number of troops sent by the other twenty or so small tribes that joined the grassland coalition, we, the Seven Banner Guards, have not yet received accurate information, but we estimate that the total number will definitely exceed two million."
Jia Xu's words made everyone's expressions become solemn.
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