My father is Emperor Wu of Han, how can I be different from him?

Chapter 26 Going South
The sky is blue, the wild is vast.

There is no grass, no cattle or sheep.

At the junction of the desert and the Gobi, there is a yellow dragon slowly moving westward. If you lower your vision and look carefully, you can see that it is a ball of smoke and dust, like a long dragon swimming.

This spectacular sight is created by a fast-moving army at the dragon's head.

Once there are more than ten thousand people, there are no boundaries.

If the horses were added, it would be an even darker mass, with their iron hooves shaking and the dull roar carrying oppression and vibration as they advanced westward unswervingly.

Keep heading west...

"General, we have been running for several days. At this speed, we should be able to see the lake within a day!" At the front of the army, a scout approached quickly and reported loudly.

When the nearby generals heard this, they looked ahead and saw that there was still a deserted Gobi desert ahead, as if there was no end in sight.

Can there be a lake in this kind of environment?

As they frowned in worry, everyone involuntarily turned their eyes to the person in the middle.

"Release all your scouts. What I want is not a should, but a must!" Huo Qubing gave the order in a cold voice while riding his horse at full speed.

"Here!"

The captain who came to report responded and turned his horse to the rear team. After a while, dozens of cavalry teams separated from the main force and scattered into the wilderness.

Speechless all the way.

As dusk approached, the army stopped to rest.

"Shut up!"

On a gentle slope.

The captain who had gone out with the scouts in the morning turned back again, jumped off his horse, took a few deep breaths, and said anxiously to Huo Qubing who was looking into the distance:

"Hoo! General, I've found out. If we can't get there today, we'll have to get to Dahu tomorrow!"

"Bring me the map!"

Huo Qubing waved his hand and his personal soldiers spread out a piece of cloth with a very crude map of the terrain drawn on it. All the generals gathered around following the sound.

"It takes at most fourteen or fifteen days to ride from Yinshan to the Great Lake. In the past, our tribe's migration has never taken more than twenty days."

"General, at our current marching speed, we will arrive in two days!"

Looking at the captain who was speaking at this time, he had a broad face and a beard, and his hair was not tied up and worn in a crown like the Han people, but in a small braid.

If he hadn't been wearing Han army armor and speaking Chinese, at first glance he would have looked like a Hun.

In fact.

This person was once a minor Hun king.

Now, there is a captain under the command of the General of Cavalry, named Gao Bushi.

"Can the direction be found?"

Gao Buzhi vowed: "As long as we march westward along the dividing line between the desert and the Gobi, we will definitely be on the right track!"

Huo Qubing stared at the map for a moment and asked, "Horses, food, and fresh water."

A general beside him clasped his fists and said, "The horses have all had horseshoes nailed on, and there are not many injuries. There are plenty of spare horses, and there is enough food and fodder for ten days, but..."

"The stored water can only last for another five days at most!"

When marching in the desert, there are few rivers and it is extremely difficult to dig wells and get water. People and horses have to drink fresh water, and fresh water is becoming more and more scarce day by day.

Once the water source runs out, there is no lake ahead...

Thinking of this, except for a few Xiongnu captains, most of the Han officers felt a little uneasy and looked at their commander.

"Five days? That's enough!"

Huo Qubing was calm and composed. While he was talking, he had already jumped on his horse and said, "Since we have enough horses, let's use all the horsepower to buy time!"

"Pass the order down, immediately, speed up the march!"

"Here!"

"The general has ordered us to speed up our march~"

"The general has ordered..."

Now that the military order had been issued, all the anxiety had to be put aside, and soon the dull sound of horse hooves resounded through the world again.

Thanks to being located in the endless Gobi Desert, there is no need to hide the sound of horse hooves, nor to hide during the day and move at night.

As it got dark, they set up camp. When it became light, they marched at high speed. They marched for another day. On the morning of the second day, a cheer suddenly broke out in front of the army.

"lake!"

"Look, there really is a lake!"

After jumping over a hillside, a sparkling body of water suddenly appeared in the Gobi Desert. It was the Juyan Lake, which originated from the Qilian Mountains and finally converged here. "Hahaha, General, we're here!"

Among the 20,000-strong army, it was the first time for the Han soldiers to come here. When they finally saw the lake, all their worries of many days were swept away.

Huo Qubing also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Get water quicker!"

"Yes!"

Coming here from afar only means that we have found the right place. The real war has just begun.

While the soldiers were resting, in the temporary tent.

The generals are among them.

"General, we don't have much food and grass, we need to fight the Hunxie tribe as soon as possible."

As soon as one wave subsides, another one rises. Before, there was a shortage of water, and now there is a shortage of food. It sounds good to march thousands of miles, but it is difficult and dangerous at every turn!

Facing the reminder from the military commander, Huo Qubing turned his head away from the map and said, "No hurry, let's take a day off to recuperate and gather strength. As for food and grass..."

His tone suddenly turned cold, "The Xiongnu tribe is right in front of us, are you still worried about not having food and grass?!"

Fight wherever you can, eat wherever you can!
Moreover, Huo Qubing had a target for which one to eat. He did not pick the small ones or the thin ones. He just went for the fattest and biggest ones.

Huo Qubing pointed to a location on the map where there was a small square marked: Hunxie King City!

This map was drawn by Zhang Qian.

The Xiongnu tribes will migrate and run away, so they cannot be drawn and it is useless to draw them, but the cities will not run away.

"According to Marquis Bowang's description, this city was built by the Yuezhi people. The city wall is no more than three zhang (Han zhang) in height and is made of rammed earth. The Xiongnu people were not good at management and it fell into disrepair over the years."

"But the nobles of the Hunxie tribe all live in the city, while the tribesmen are scattered in the surrounding pastures to graze..."

When Huo Qubing said this, some people had already reacted.

"General, do you mean to attack the royal city directly?" The military commander said this with a look of confusion and excitement.

"Not bad!"

Huo Qubing nodded and said, "Our army has come a long way, so we must exert the greatest surprise attack effect and directly attack Hunxie King City!"

"It would be best if we can capture King Hunxie in one fell swoop. If not, we can still replenish food and grass, defend the city, and look for another opportunity to fight!"

The voice just fell.

The breathing sounds in the tent suddenly became heavy.

The Han generals looked excited and eager to try. Several Xiongnu captains were also emotional and had fierce eyes.

Obviously.

Everyone is very excited about the General's bold plan!
After a short pause, the military commander said cautiously, "General, the Hunxie tribe is a large tribe, and it controls many small tribes, which must be scattered around the royal city."

"If you want to take the royal city directly, you will most likely alert the enemy..."

Military Sima, Zhao Po Nu.

He grew up in the Xiongnu area and knew the habits of the Xiongnu people well, which is why he made such a warning.

"It's okay. I have my own plans."

talking.

Huo Qubing held the hilt of the sword at his waist, looked around, and said solemnly: "You are not worthy of me, I have many servants!"

"The general is here!"

Two burly men in the tent stepped out upon hearing the noise. They were wearing Han armor, but had the faces of the Huns.

"I order you two to lead your troops, wear Hu clothing, and serve as the vanguard of the army!"

"Here!"

"Zhao Po Nu!"

"The general is here!"

"I order you to lead 3,000 elite cavalry to follow closely behind and kill all the Xiongnu tribes you encounter along the way. Don't take any prisoners!"

"Here!"

Huo Qubing looked at everyone in the tent with sharp eyes and said in a deep voice: "The rest of the generals, follow me as the central army. At noon tomorrow, we will march south!"

Since Zhao Po Nu stood up, all the generals bowed down to him.

"Here!!"

(End of this chapter)