Chapter 463: What does "should" mean?
The machete cuts the flesh, then the bones.
At first, only a few trickles of blood dripped, but when the scimitar cut Weng Hu's aorta, the blood rushed down like a waterfall.
Weng Hu, who was a brave and skilled warrior on horseback, was now even more miserable than the cattle and sheep waiting to be slaughtered. The Hu people always killed the cattle and sheep first and then cut off their heads before eating them.
The wails that were not like those of the human world came one after another. From the initial four Luandi warriors, the number increased to eight before they were able to suppress Weng Hu's final struggle.
Touman held Weng Hu's head in his left hand and the scimitar in his right hand. He walked back to his seat, put both on the table, lowered his head, looked gloomy, and said nothing.
Those scimitar warriors who suddenly rushed in performed the Hun etiquette towards Touman and left in an orderly manner.
Except for the headless corpse on the ground and the blood spreading to the feet of the tribal leaders, everything was no different from before.
As time passed, the tribal leaders in both rows looked unhappy, but no one spoke.
I don't know how much time has passed. Touman rubbed his face and said incoherently:
"Bai Ran, my brother, are you willing to fight for me?"
Everyone looked at the man sitting at the last seat on the right, with a scar on his face.
The scarred man named Bai Ran is the leader of the Baiying tribe. Although the Baiying tribe is also a large tribe, it is not as big as any of the tribes led by other leaders present, and is ranked last among the attendees.
The scarred man glanced at the headless body on the ground and said in a deep voice:
"I am willing to serve the Chanyu!"
"Okay, if you send troops for me, I will send troops for you. Your tribe is too small. I will help you annex and slaughter the tribes first. You can go now."
Bai Ran was full of surprise, and couldn't imagine that such a good thing could happen to him.
Seeing that Touman was serious and asked the Luandi warrior standing beside him to take him out, he saluted excitedly.
"Yes! Bairan is willing to die for the Chanyu!"
"No, no, no, I don't want you to die, I want you to live. You are my brother. If I am well, I want you to be well too."
Bairan walked out with light steps, his boots clattering on the blood.
When he has annexed the Tuge tribe, which is larger than the Baiying tribe, he will be able to sit in the first seat under the Chanyu at the next meeting!
"My brothers, that rebellious son led the Qin people to attack us. He betrayed the Xiongnu. In this desert, there is nothing that can make us bow our heads except the heaven, earth, sun and moon."
Everyone was silent and looked at Touman.
Among the many princes who followed Maodun to the Yuezhi Kingdom were their sons.
He is their most outstanding son, whom they train as their successor.
They did not want to get involved in this war, even though there was Weng Hu who was beheaded alive in front of them, and Bai Ran who was slaughtered and got the bones that everyone present was jealous of, they still did not want to participate.
The Chanyu can kill one person to establish his authority, but he cannot kill a group of people.
Even the most powerful Luanti tribe could not face the combined power of these 17 or 18 large tribes.
Since there was only one piece of fat meat for the Tuge tribe, and it was snatched away by the Baiying tribe, why should they fight for the Chanyu? This matter was originally the Chanyu's fault!
Touman put his elbows on his knees, crossed his fingers in front of his legs, and said in a deep voice:
"I have many sons, and you have many sons too. I am strong enough to tear tigers and leopards apart, and so are you. We will meet many times in this dome. My brothers, you will sit on this seat as long as I sit on it."
Everyone looked at each other, but still didn't say anything.
How can the empty talk compare to the tangible smell of meat from the Tuge tribe?
If you don't give me any meat but only draw a rosy picture, do you expect me to work for you?
"The spies reported that the rebel brought a total of 60,000 Qin troops this time, with 120,000 horses, and each man had two horses. Calculating the time, they should have traveled 2,000 miles. The spies reported that they did not bring any baggage or wagons to transport food and fodder."
Everyone's eyes immediately widened. No logistics?
With 60,000 troops marching straight into the enemy's territory, at least 200,000 people would be needed to transport food and supplies, to ensure that the army could attack and defend without running out of food and supplies.
Without logistical support, the longest attack distance of the Taotie army was only the 700 miles conquered by Meng Tian, and this was even with the Great Wall for emergency supplies.
Everyone was confused for a moment. How could these Qin troops dare to penetrate 2,000 miles? Aren't they here to die?
They only need to surround the Qin army without attacking it, and use the most common nomadic warfare tactics to starve the Qin army of ammunition and food, and kill them in the desert!
"The horses were looted from the Yuezhi Kingdom, and the armor was the iron armor that allowed us to retreat 700 miles. I, Touman, will share it with my brothers! Each of you brothers will send out 10,000 warriors. After destroying this Qin army, we will divide the armored horses according to your merits. How do you think?"
Touman said with a laugh.
"only!"
"Those guys are just so angry that they have nowhere to vent their anger!"
"Listen to the Chanyu!"
"I'll go back and get some help!"
Everyone agreed and responded as if in a competition.
A tribal leader laughed loudly.
"Chanyu, our tribe will send out 20,000 troops to fight a quick and decisive battle!"
In a large tribe, the number of warriors who can fight is usually around 20,000.
It costs 20,000 yuan, and that means risking all your family assets.
Touman, who sat on the throne of Chanyu, had the most powerful Luandi tribe behind him, with as many as 70,000 brave warriors.
Touman pointed at everyone present.
"I have no objection, as long as the brothers agree."
Everyone laughed and cursed.
"Get lost! You are more cunning than a sand fox!"
"You get all the good things!"
"If you send out 20,000 troops, I will send 30,000!"
The atmosphere suddenly became lively, and no one looked at the headless corpse on the ground.
Dead people have no value.
A quarter of an hour later, the meeting was over and everyone dispersed and returned to the tribe to count their troops.
Touman Chanyu picked up Wenghu's head, placed it in front of his eyes, looked at it again and again, and sighed softly.
"Good brother, every honor I have will be shared with you."
He threw Wenghu's head to the tribesmen standing beside him.
"Use my good brother's skull to make the best wine vessel."
Three days later, the Hun army set out, with a total of 170,000 warriors.
During these three days, new news spread across the desert.
Prince Maodun did not bring any food or baggage, which shows his sincerity.
He did not want to go into battle with his father Touman, he just wanted to kill Yanshi who had misled his father.
Otherwise, winter is approaching and there will be no war. Prince Maodun can develop quietly in Gaoque City, continue to gather the Huns, and compete with Touman for the position of Chanyu after becoming stronger.
Touman didn't take this matter to heart. No matter what that rebellious son thought, he would not allow anyone to disobey him!
Since he didn’t die in the Yuezhi Kingdom, then he died in the Xiongnu land!
The north wind breaks the white grass on the ground, and there is no snow in the Hu sky in September.
Chanyu Touman led 170,000 Xiongnu troops and braved the very cold autumn wind, and finally met the troops that forced him to retreat 700 miles!
Looking from afar, he saw a black line, so black that it made him feel uneasy and his hands and feet cold.
Touman knew clearly that this army was isolated, so he should be excited and happy, but for some reason, he felt a little uneasy.
"Bai Ran, go and test it out to see how much combat effectiveness this army still has."
"only."
With the help of Touman, Bai Ran, the leader of the Baiying tribe, which had annexed the Tuge tribe, responded loudly.
He gathered three thousand men and cautiously approached the black-armored army stationed in the distance.
At a distance of eight hundred steps, Bai Ran had three thousand soldiers and horses draw their bows and shoot arrows into the sky.
Bai Ran knew that such arrows had little lethality, but it was still considered a fight, wasn't it? The exploratory mission was perfectly accomplished.
A sparse rain of arrows fell from the sky, most of which landed outside the Taotie military camp.
The soldiers who were resting on the spot and were harassed put on their armor, then lay on the ground to continue resting, too lazy to move.
Not to mention these projectile arrows, even the powerful arrows within two hundred steps would find it difficult to break their defense.
Bai Ran led 3,000 men and horses to shoot two rounds of arrows, and then came back at full speed to report that the combat effectiveness of Touman's Qin army was declining rapidly and it was extremely ridiculous.
But Touman did not scold him. Instead, he patted him on the shoulder and praised him greatly.
Eight hundred steps, with the combat power displayed by the Qin army at Gaoque, the charge will be completed in an instant. Did the Qin army run for eleven days and nights and eat up all the food and grass, or was it luring me in?
Touman thought for a moment and gave an order.
"Pass on my military order! Surround this Qin army!"
The 170,000 troops were mobilized by Touman's words, and they changed from a square formation into a long line, drawing a big circle around the Qin army in the center.
No matter what the Qin army commander planned, the fact is that he marched for eleven days and nights without any baggage or food.
The dry food that our Xiongnu warriors carry with them can only last for three days at most. Even if the Qin army can carry more, it should have been almost consumed in these eleven days and nights.
As long as we surround them but don't attack, and wait for the morale of the Qin army to collapse, that will be the time for me to receive the horses, armor, and kill the rebellious son!
The war horses' hooves were flying, carrying Touman's thoughts farther and farther away, and the smile on Touman's lips became deeper and deeper.
He didn't know what his rebellious son had said to the commander of the Qin army to allow this invincible Qin army to advance alone and find themselves in a desperate situation.
Perhaps, this is a gift from the rebellious son to his father?
The 170,000 Hun troops surrounded the 60,000 Taotie troops. Touman originally thought that this Qin army would break out immediately before .
Although this only prolongs the time of death, it is actually useless.
It took eleven days and nights to come here, and it took eleven days and nights to go back.
Touman didn't believe that this Qin army could carry enough food for twenty-two days and nights!
But people are afraid of death and yearn for survival, so they would delay it as long as possible.
However, the Qin army seemed not to have noticed the actions of the Hun army. They stayed where they were, indifferent, and allowed themselves to be surrounded.
Seeing that the encirclement was complete, Touman felt a little uneasy, but he couldn't tell where the uneasiness came from.
He immediately set up camp and summoned many tribal leaders to discuss military affairs in order to pool their wisdom.
All the tribal leaders agreed that this was the most appropriate way to fight. No one suggested taking the initiative to attack, and no one thought there was anything wrong with this way of fighting.
The mark of fear left by Meng Tian was still there, and even when facing the exhausted Taotie army that had marched for eleven days and nights, they did not dare to go up and fight them.
Since everyone said so, Touman felt relieved and ordered the leaders of each tribe to take good care of their people and be prepared for the Qin army to break out at any time.
All the tribal leaders responded and returned home, requiring their tribesmen to take turns guarding day and night and not to slack off.
Soon, a day passed and night fell, and the Hun army was all on high alert.
With the cover of night, it is much easier to break through than during the day.
The lights in Touman's camp were bright. He opened his eyes wide, ready to respond to the Qin army's surprise attack at any time.
A night passed and the Qin army did nothing.
Touman, who had not slept all night, had bloodshot eyes as he looked at the Qin army in the distance who seemed to be fine.
The outermost part of the Qin army was filled with armored war horses, which blocked the inside completely and made it impossible to see the situation at all.
The few Qin troops on duty were also fully armed, but from a distance they looked like blurry shadows, and their expressions and movements could not be seen.
"Chanyu, anyone who came within 300 steps of the Qin army last night will be killed!"
The guard came to report.
Last night, taking advantage of the darkness, Touman asked someone to find out the actual situation of the Qin army.
"How did he die?"
"It should be a crossbow..."
Touman narrowed his eyes.
"What do you mean by should?"
The guard lowered his head and dared not look, gritted his teeth and said:
"Not a single body was recovered!"
Failure to retrieve a body means that the injuries cannot be examined.
If you can't examine the injury, you naturally don't know why you were injured.
"Behead him!"
Touman was furious. Under the defeated gaze of the guards who were eager for forgiveness, he looked at the black line with a frown on his face.
How did the Qin army maintain its fighting power? Did they kill the horses? Or did they distribute the remaining rations to the crossbowmen?
After putting on his armor and riding his horse, Liu Bang held a telescope in his hand and watched the Hun soldiers in the distance through the gaps.
Next to him was the Xiongnu prince, Maodun, with a complicated expression.
"You Xiongnu fight wars, well, you have some ideas."
Liu Bang took off the telescope and pretended to be serious, but after a while, the corners of his mouth curled up and he turned around quickly.
During the ten days of march, he and Maodun had a good relationship and did not laugh out loud.
He couldn't understand. Before Li Mu appeared in Zhao State, they could only guard against the Xiongnu but not attack them? What was there to guard against? It was too stupid.
There was no point in the army of more than 100,000 spreading out to surround them. Wouldn't it be easy to break through them if they just charged in a random direction? These Huns were still thinking of using their bodies and horses to block the armor? It was a joke!
Maodun lowered his head with mixed feelings.
Being trained to be the next Chanyu, he was very familiar with the Huns' tactics and could understand his father's choice.
My father must have thought that the Qin army lacked food and had no fighting capacity.
For an army short of food, if there is no camp fighting and infighting, it is considered strict discipline. How can it have the fighting power to break out?
A rash attack will only lead to more casualties. The best option is to surround the enemy without fighting.
But all this is based on a lack of food.
Maodun, who had followed the Taotie army for eleven days, knew very well that this army had never lacked food and its fighting capacity had not weakened at all.
The Taotie army did not have 200,000 infantrymen to transport food and supplies, and they only brought three days of rations before the trip, but they could not resist the buffet provided by those small and medium-sized Xiongnu tribes...
