Ugh!
Rumble!
Winged Sun.
Scouts appeared frequently, and scouts shuttled back and forth.
The tranquility of Cloud City, which had lasted only a few days, quickly returned to a tense atmosphere.
The two cities near Yunzhong, Yuanyang and Chengle, also adopted a scorched-earth policy.
Liu Du's Xianbei herdsmen and other people outside the city also entered the city.
The entire area from the north bank of the barren desert to the foot of the Daqing Mountain was deserted.
Not even a single sheep can be seen; all that remains is the withered, yellow grassland.
The Xianbei army is here!
Standing atop the city wall amidst the clouds, gazing northwards, dust billows up beneath the vast, verdant Daqing Mountains.
One after another, cavalry squads appeared.
Bucks banners appeared one after another in the field.
Small groups of scouts from both sides constantly clashed, probed, chased, and killed each other on the grassland.
They used every last ounce of strength to bring the crucial intelligence they had gathered back to their own camp.
You should know that a scout is the same as a modern-day reconnaissance soldier.
Whether it's the equipment, the horses, or the individual combat capabilities, they are all exceptional.
However, the Xianbei scouts fared much worse.
They encountered the Jinyiwei, the undisputed masters of intelligence gathering.
As soon as Xue Rengui took command of the army yesterday, he immediately reviewed all the branches of the military.
Since the beginning of their friendship, and now their reunion by the barren river at the foot of Daqing Mountain, he never imagined that his lord's strength had doubled.
The force has expanded from 13,000 men, based on the Great Wall Legion, to more than 21,000 men.
In addition, there were two thousand heavily armored cavalry, as well as a hundred Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) with exceptional individual abilities.
Especially upon seeing the two thousand Xuanjia cavalry, Xue Rengui was overwhelmed with emotion.
The knights' weapons and equipment gave him a sense of déjà vu.
"With such cavalry, no matter how many Xianbei come, they won't stand a chance!"
Xue Rengui immediately put down his boastful words.
That very night, the Imperial Guards and scouts were deployed, with each Imperial Guard leading three to five scouts in a group.
Once their team went out, they caused the scouts of the three Xianbei armies to suffer greatly.
The two sides fought all night on the grassland last night.
Almost none of the Xianbei scouts returned unscathed.
The three armies of the Xianbei stopped ten miles north of Yunzhong City and set up camp on the spot.
The three camps, arranged in a triangular pattern, are situated on the grassland north of Cloud City, and are also close to the Huanggan River, located upstream.
After settling in briefly, Tuoba Gao summoned Murong Hu and Yuwen Lie to discuss matters of war.
In stark contrast to Murong Hu's imposing appearance with his full head of white hair, resembling a leopard's head, Yuwen Lie was remarkably refined.
He had a square face, a bronze complexion, and eyes full of wisdom.
It's clear that this person was greatly influenced by Han culture, and like Tuoba Gao, he enjoyed reading Sun Tzu's Art of War.
"Gentlemen, I never expected Huchuquan to be defeated so quickly! We, who should have been reaping the benefits, now have no choice but to head south in good faith!"
"I want to see just how powerful this Han prince's army is!"
Although Tuoba Gao missed a good opportunity and failed to intervene in time when Huchuquan and Liu Wei were fighting.
But this did not affect his determination to head south.
Winter is coming.
The Xianbei people should not have spent the winter in the cold northern grasslands.
Why couldn't the warm and fertile Hetao Plain be a habitat for the Xianbei people?
When the Xiongnu Chanyu Qiangqu was in power, Tuoba Gao was somewhat wary of him.
Firstly, the Xiongnu were powerful, with 100,000 cavalry, comparable to the number of cavalry from the various Xianbei tribes south of the Gobi Desert.
Secondly, Qiangqu Chanyu had the support of the Han Dynasty, which frequently provided him with weapons and military supplies to fight against the Xianbei.
However, times have changed.
With Qiangqu dead, the Southern Xiongnu were actually defeated by a prince who had been demoted from Luoyang to the frontier.
Qiangqu's successor, Huchuquan, was even more disappointing; he died before even becoming the Chanyu for a few days.
The prince's army came from afar and fought against the Xiongnu.
Even the strongest iron will eventually tire.
Therefore, Tuoba Gao resolutely marched south.
"Khan, I know a little about this prince's background!"
Yuwen Lie said, "It is said that he was found among the common people, enfeoffed as the King of Taiyuan, and raised in Beiman Mountain in Luoyang."
"That is, three months ago, he was demoted to Marquis of Yinshan and sent to Wuyuan in Shuofang County to take up his fief."
"I heard that he came out of Luoyang with only twenty attendants."
"I never imagined that we could actually bring down Qiangqu!"
"At the foot of the mountain in Yehuling, I am willing to become a pawn."
"Judging from this, he does indeed have some skill."
Murong Hu scoffed, "He only encountered incompetent people like Huchuquan, Yufuluo, and the Qiangqu father and son. If he had encountered us, he wouldn't have had a chance at all."
Murong Hu spoke with such confidence because he commanded this powerful Xianbei force: three thousand Tiger-Striped Cavalry.
These three thousand Tiger-Striped Cavalry were the result of Tuoba Gao's painstaking efforts and decades of accumulation.
Entrusting such an important weapon to Commander Murong Hu is a testament to his absolute trust in him.
On the other hand, Murong Hu was Tuoba Gao's teacher and also his father-in-law.
"The Xiongnu are indeed in decline. If we had known they were so weak, we should have made our move earlier. This prince shouldn't have been able to take advantage of us."
Tuoba Gao regretted his belated realization.
"If I had known that Huchuquan had asked us to send troops through Shulechuan, I should have agreed!"
"Khan, it's not too late!" Murong Hu said. "This time when we march south, Yunzhong, Shuofang, and Wuyuan will all be ours!"
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