Huan Rong

The fighting started at noon and continued until evening.

The sun was sinking to the west, and the sky was burning with the sunset glow, and the fiery red color seemed to be soaked in blood.

In the long and narrow valley, the corpses of cavalrymen and war horses lay everywhere.The closer to the Taniguchi, the more corpses there are, more than half of them are Tuyuhun people wearing small hakamas and long skirt hats.

At the most dense place, the corpses are crowded together, almost stacked together, forming a shocking low hill.

The red blood spread across the grass, weaving into countless streams, and finally converging into bright red blood puddles.When the evening wind blows, the blood gradually coagulates and merges with the earth.

The sky was getting dark and vision became blurred.

When the sunset completely sinks into the horizon, the two warring parties cease their troops by agreement.

The Tuyuhun people retreated into the valley, using dead warriors and horses as shields, barely guarding the safety; the Han soldiers guarded the valley exit and lit torches one after another, illuminating the night.

Huan Shixiu didn't set up a big tent, but sat on the military cart, looking at the valley by the light of the fire.Seeing the piled up corpse, he couldn't help frowning.

In today's battle, more than half of the three thousand Tuyuhun soldiers were killed or injured.The general who led the army died under the gun of Liu Lao, and the remaining dragons were leaderless, still refused to surrender, and seemed to fight to the end, fighting the Han soldiers forever.

"General Liu, what do you think of this battle?" Huan Shixiu asked.

"Emissary Huan, do you mean the battle just now, or the thousand remnants in front of you?" Liu Jianzhi asked rhetorically.

"The latter." Huan Shixiu let go of the reins, patted the horse's neck, and said, "Prince Tuyuhun sent troops to the frontier with more than 3000 troops. To wipe out these [-] people is like cutting off an arm."

"What the envoy said is very true." Liu Laozhi pulled the corners of his mouth, his purple face was smiling, but he didn't have the slightest warmth, "It's just for complete extermination, don't wait until tomorrow, just let people set fire in the valley. None of the remnant soldiers can escape!"

"Fire attack?" Huan Shixiu hesitated a little.

"It's about to be September, and I heard that there are occasional droughts in Liangzhou. There is little rain here, and there are many dead branches and decaying grass in the valley. Before that, there were arrangements in the valley to send a signal."

Seemingly not seeing Huan Shixiu's expression, Liu Laozhi continued: "Order the nobles to soak the cloth in sesame oil, release rockets, and strictly guard the exit of the valley so that no one is allowed to leave. This group of remnant soldiers will undoubtedly die!"

If you don't want to die, you can only abandon your sword and dismount your horse, and surrender to the Han soldiers.

"My lord, the matter should be resolved." Liu Laozhi turned his head, looked at Huan Shixiu, and said in a deep voice, "Tuyuhun violated my border crossing and killed my people. The crime is heinous. If the government has a word, it will be repaid a hundred times." !"

This statement is by no means fabricated.No matter how courageous Liu Laozhi was, he would not dare to use Huan Rong's name.When he was marching for the cavalry, Huan Rong said this in public, and everyone who accompanied him to help knew it.

Huan Shixiu considered for a moment, looked at the valley again, and finally nodded.

"Okay, let's do it accordingly."

Soon, the Han soldiers received the order and began to gather sesame oil and coarse cloth to prepare rockets.

Hundreds of soldiers fought together, and the rockets quickly piled up into mountains.

The archers fastened their quiver, and under the leadership of several team leaders, they climbed up to a high place and quickly occupied a favorable position.The jumping soldiers and spearmen formed a battle formation and completely surrounded the entrance of the valley in order to make sure that the fire would not let go of a single enemy.

In the valley, the Tuyuhun soldiers did not light the torches, but by moonlight and starlight, they found a fire dragon moving to a higher place.

The team leader ordered to stop the movement and pay close attention to the movements of the Han soldiers.Seeing the fire dragon spread all the way, and then divided into several points, as if surrounding itself at a high place, I felt a little bad in my heart.

The next moment, the premonition came true.

Amidst the whistling sound, burning rockets pierced through the wind, nailed to the surrounding ground, and burned rapidly.

Arrows were like rain, flying across the air in pieces.The tails of the flames dragged, forming streamers of red-golden light, like a rain of light, extremely dazzling.

The Tuyuhun people in the valley had no intention of appreciating such a magnificent scene, but their livers and gallbladders were torn apart.

In their eyes, all this is a symbol of death.

The fire curtain became one piece, burning into a terrifying wall of fire, which soon surrounded the Tuyuhun soldiers.The air was filled with acrid smoke, and coughing sounded one after another.

The Tuyuhun soldiers knew that continuing to guard here would be a dead end, and even if they were not burned to death, they would be choked to death by the thick smoke.

"Get on the horse and rush out!"

The team leader drew out his long knife, pushed away the wall of corpses first, and jumped on his horse.The horse he met hesitated, shook his head and snorted, whipped his whip cruelly, and drove the horse galloping towards the exit of the valley.

"rush!"

The Tuyuhun soldiers were cornered, and their eyes were red.When he rode his horse out of the sea of ​​flames, there were traces of thick smoke on his body, and the long skirt hat on his head had long since disappeared.

At the entrance of the valley, the jumping soldiers were waiting in full battle. When encountering the charging cavalry, no one retreated. With the sound of the fierce drums, they set up long shields higher than their shoulders at the same time, forming a shield wall in the blink of an eye.

Spears were like a forest, stabbing obliquely from behind the shield.

The first cavalry to charge, even if they saw the forest of spears, was too late to stop and slammed into the standing shield head-on. Before they could react, they were already pierced into blood gourds by the spears.

Blocking the first wave of impact, the jumping soldiers immediately lowered their figures, with their shields tilted inward, waiting for the second batch of remnants.

The Tuyuhun soldiers kept rushing forward, stepping on the corpses of their comrades and horses.

The Han soldiers changed their formation three times and defended the mountain pass. Even if the long swords came, they still did not retreat half a step.

Soon, the corpses piled up in front of the valley, and the strong smell of blood even overwhelmed the smoke.

There are less than [-] remaining Tuyuhun soldiers, and half of them are wounded.Facing the Han soldiers surrounding Taniguchi, they couldn't rush out, and could only be burned to death when they retreated. Under the anxiety, each of them was like a trapped animal, waving long knives continuously, with an almost crazy expression.

Madness breeds despair.

The Tuyuhun soldiers began to believe that this valley would be the place where their bones were buried.

At this moment, a long horn sounded from behind the valley.

The Han soldiers surrounding Taniguchi suddenly separated to the two sides, giving way to the middle road to allow a military vehicle to pass.The whole body of Wu Che was pitch black, like a ferocious beast in the dark night, with its mouth wide open, wanting to choose someone to devour.

The soldiers of Tuyuhun stared at the military chariot, their eyes were bloodshot, but none of them rushed forward, instead subconsciously took half a step back.

Huan Shixiu was sitting in the car, with Buqu guarding the left and right sides of the car, and Liu Laozhi rode his horse in front, to prevent the Tuyuhun soldiers from jumping over the wall in a hurry and attacking desperately.

"I'm the governor of Liangzhou, and I'm under the imperial decree to hunt down thieves." Huan Shixiu said loudly.

"You invade our borders, harm our people, and commit cruel acts. You should be punished for your evil deeds, and you should be killed. However, God has the virtue of good life. If you abandon your sword and dismount, and submit to our court, you can spare your life! "

Huan Shixiu's grasp of the timing was quite accurate.

At this time, speaking to persuade them to surrender is far more effective than when the fire has not yet started.

It is self-evident how this group of remnant soldiers will choose to meet hope in endless despair and see light in terrifying darkness.

Sure enough, with the guarantee that Huan Shixiu would not be killed, Tuyuhun soldiers abandoned their swords and dismounted one after another. It is impossible to judge from the clothes, but only from the hairstyle and totem. There are only a few Xianbei, and most of them are Qiang people and Zahu.

More and more Tuyuhun soldiers dismounted. In the end, there were only a hundred or so soldiers who would rather die than surrender.

"Kill it."

Huan Shixiu didn't intend to spend too much time talking.

These more than a hundred people are obviously direct descendants of the eldest prince, and they will not surrender even if they die in battle.That being the case, why waste saliva, it is better to give them a good time.

"promise!"

The soldiers took orders to take the dismounted Tuyuhun soldiers out of the valley and guard them as many as possible.The jumping soldiers moved out of the way, and a group of cavalry came out, led by Bald Guy, roaring towards the remnant soldiers.

In the flames, the blades struck each other, and blood spattered.

The shouts of killing and the neighing of war horses intertwined together, accompanied by the indistinct sound of cracking leather armor and the sound of bones being broken by horseshoes, resounding throughout the valley.

Thick smoke filled the air, and the last Tuyuhun soldier was covered in blood, but he still refused to retreat. He only clamped the horse's belly with his legs, and rushed towards the Han soldier again.

There were no screams or shouts, just the loss of life and the wailing of war horses.

The cavalry fell from their horses, and there was silence on the battlefield.The Tuyuhun man's body was lying on its side, and there were still horses beside him who refused to leave.

"Make a coffin for burial."

Seeing that he should be dressed as a general in the army, out of respect for the brave, Huan Shixiu ordered his body to be buried to avoid falling into the belly of wild animals.

The smoke became thicker and thicker, and a thunderclap suddenly sounded in the night sky.

"It's raining?"

Huan Shixiu and Liu Laozhi raised their heads at the same time, looking up at the sky with surprise on their expressions.

Thunder was rolling, heavy rain was pouring down, and the fire began to weaken, and then went out one after another.

The cold wind swept across, and the remaining smoke began to dissipate, revealing the original appearance of the valley.The scorched land, fallen soldiers and horses, broken spears, broken bowstrings, round shields and scimitars scattered all over the place, prove once again what happened to this land.

Huan Shixiu sat on the martial chariot, staring at the rain curtain, the surprise in his heart lingered for a long time.

If the rain had come half an hour earlier, it would have been hard to say whether the plan would have been implemented smoothly.

God bless?

For some reason, he suddenly thought of the hexagram predicted by Hu Qian.

"The fate of the country is in Huan, and the destiny is your prime minister..."

Muttering in his mouth, regardless of Liu Laozhi's strange gaze, Huan Shixiu suddenly laughed, the fog in front of his eyes was swept away, looking at the scorched earth that had been licked by the tongue of fire, he became more sober about the road to go in the future understanding.

"What makes you laugh?" Liu Laozhi was puzzled.

"Without him, I feel the meaning of heaven." Huan Shixiu put away his smile and said seriously, "The official family is the man of destiny, and in the future, we will be able to unify the world, restore China, and restore our Han family!"

Liu Laozhi pondered for a moment, his eyes flickered slightly.Avoiding Huan Shixiu's meaningful gaze, he rode his horse away from the valley.

The first year of Taiyuan, September

Huan Rong arrived at Wenshan and joined Huan Shixiu and Liu Laozhi.After reading the information sent back by the scouts, he adopted the advice of the two men and Xie An, did not stop at all, and continued to march westward while Tuyuhun had not yet increased its troops.

"Passing through this place, you will enter the border of Tuyuhun. There is Xiqiang Mountain in the territory, and there is a large army stationed there. It is a natural danger."

The news of the Wenshan victory spread throughout the north and south, Jiankang was celebrated, Chang'an was shaken, and King Tuyuhun was so angry that he wanted to hack his son to death.

Losing 3000 men and horses in World War I can be described as traumatic.

The eldest prince Tuyuhun didn't dare to take any chances anymore, and he resolutely led his army to retreat regardless of the counselor's rhetoric.The plan is to use Xiqiang Mountain as a barrier to resist the coming Han soldiers, and at the same time write a letter to King Tuyuhun, asking his father to send reinforcements.

Emperor Huanhan personally conquered, and ignored Tuyuhun's intention to seek peace. Judging by his posture, he would not stop until he reached the territory of Tuyuhun.

The eldest prince's head is not very bright, he has war experience anyway, and he needs to be instructed by King Tuyuhun, so he knows that now is not the time to act on his will.Not to mention, 3000 people went in, and there were only more than [-] people at hand. Without the help of familiar places, let alone repelling the Han soldiers, they all moved their heads.

In order to consolidate the defense, the eldest prince recruited troops locally, which aroused great dissatisfaction among the tribes.

3000 deaths are not enough, how many more must die?

According to King Tuyuhun's plan, this war should not have happened. If the eldest prince insisted on going his own way, how could his tribe lose its population?

Those who can go to the battlefield are young and strong. For each tribe, losing young and strong means losing security.It should be known that their enemies are not only Han soldiers and Qin soldiers, but also a lot of vendettas between tribes.

If there are not enough warriors, the whole tribe may suffer and even be annexed in the end!

The eldest prince was defeated in the battlefield, and instead of trying to appease the ministries, he started conscription again relying on the tiger talisman in his hand.The result of the development of things is like sparks splashing on dry grass, and with the help of wind to support the combustion, it can quickly start a prairie fire.

The eldest prince was aware of the dissatisfaction of the ministries, but he had no time to appease them.

It's not that he is so arrogant, but that the Han soldiers have crossed the border and can attack in the blink of an eye.What he thinks is to strengthen the defense, and when the battle is won, the results will be distributed to the various ministries, so that no amount of dissatisfaction can be eliminated.

This kind of thinking is not wrong, but I found the wrong person.

Huan Rong conquered Tuyuhun himself, with the idea of ​​occupying land and robbing people.Even if you can't cross the Xiqiang Mountain, it is not a small gain to be able to take all the territories and tribes in the east.

Therefore, if the eldest prince spends all his time on defense and does not hesitate to forcibly recruit soldiers, it may not achieve much effect, but he will completely kill himself.

In the camp of the Han soldiers, the Tuyuhun people who surrendered were guarded separately.

With the help of literati who are proficient in the languages ​​of various ethnic groups, with the help of Bald Guy and others, the Xianbei, Qiang people and Zahu were separated.When questioning, focus on asking those who can forge weapons.

In the end, 400 people were selected out of more than [-] people. It seems that there are not many people. If you convert the base number, it is enough to make people's eyes shine.

The few Xianbei people who were leading the head were particularly eye-catching.

With a high nose and deep eyes, and a very deep outline, it is obvious that it is from the same vein as Murong Xianbei.There are also a few warriors with totems engraved on their necks and arms. Although they are also headless, they have square jaws, slightly flat facial features, and narrow and long eyes, which are more similar to the bald people.

After carefully identifying the totem on the warrior's arm, the bald man asked questions in Xianbei and Xiongnu.After getting an affirmative answer, he asked a few more questions, nodded to the other party, and quickly got up to see Huan Rong.

"Tuoba Xianbei?" Huan Rong was surprised.

"Returning to Your Majesty, it is Tuoba Xianbei, Dugudu and Baibu."

Dugu Department?

Huan Rong pondered for a moment, then a flash of light flashed in his mind, he asked: "Does it have anything to do with the Dugu Department under Shi Yiqian's command?"

"Returning to Your Majesty, these two Dugu tribes are not of the same line. The one under Shi Yiqian's command has the blood of Gaoche, and this branch was split from the Xiongnu. Because of intermarriage with Xianbei, it was classified into the Tuoba tribe."

"You just said that Tuyuhun's country is unstable, and there are large Xianbei tribes who want to move to the Western Regions?" Huan Rong asked.

Bald Guy gave an affirmative answer, and said: "According to what he said, it is Tuoba Xianbei."

Huan Rong didn't ask any more questions, and signaled that the bald-haired orphan could step back, took out the Xianbei Tiger Talisman that he carried with him, and couldn't help smiling.

Does this count as a sleepy pillow?

At the same time, Qin Jing led his troops to leave Chang'an, accompanied by Qin Zhen and Qin Jue. Qin Jue had to wait half a month before he could leave because of his business entanglement.

At first, Qin Ce didn't want Qin Yu to leave.But after Empress Liu went to Guangming Palace, she suddenly changed her mind.

Coupled with the news of the great victory in Wenshan, the Han soldiers set foot in Tuyuhun, making it necessary to consolidate the forces in the Western Regions.After careful consideration, Qin Ce did not stop him, but instead sent [-] more cavalry, all of which were dispatched by Qin Yu.

Knowing the outcome of the matter, Qin Jun looked at Qin Jing and finally said: "Adi and Emperor Huanhan really have a tacit understanding."

"What do you mean by brother? Jing doesn't quite understand."

Qin Jing released the goshawk, and immediately said goodbye to Qin Jun who was seeing him off, and ordered the trilogy to sound the horn.

A strong wind blows from the ground, and the five-element flag blares violently.

With the sound of the horn, the black armored cavalry jumped on their horses.The horsemen stood up and neighed.The knight controlled the reins, and the horse's belly was on the ground, galloping westward.

Qin Jun stood where he was, watching the cavalry leave.After the smoke and dust disappeared, he turned his horse's head and returned to Chang'an.