Chapter 467: Not Missing This Bowl of Wine
It was a disastrous defeat, with the loss of sheep, prestige, and more than 10,000 people captured.
Our side lost 20,000 men, while the enemy received 10,000 reinforcements, which means a total loss of 30,000.
The raging fire burning in the desert was far less intense than the fire in Touman's heart.
"Ten thousand Qin troops are hiding right under our noses. We only discovered them when the horses ran right up to us. Kill all the scouts and leaders as a sacrifice to heaven and earth!"
The scimitar was raised and lowered, repeatedly.
Life is frozen at this point, never to be repeated.
A total of twenty scout leaders shed their blood in the desert, and their bodies were thrown naked ten miles away from the camp.
This distance is within the patrol range of the scouts, and jackals and vultures will not be afraid of human presence and will not dare to gnaw. Seeing the pile of white bones, Touman thought that he could warn those careless scouts to be alert and careful.
In the desert, the law of the jungle prevails, and cruelty and ferocity are the eternal themes of this land.
Morality is not present, and tyranny sweeps across the heaven, earth, sun and moon. The yellow sand here carries the breath of tyranny.
"Check it for me! How could this Qin army be able to get here with sufficient combat power and even set up an ambush? Did their rations fall from the sky?
"Why can this Qin army hide under our noses? Why is there no sound of horse hooves when they charge? Find out for me! If you can't find out, I will feed you to the jackals!"
The Chanyu was furious, and the 150,000-strong Hun army was filled with a hint of tension.
The slightest dissatisfaction of the superiors can be passed on to the inferiors as a calamity.
Those twenty corpses that had been eaten to a bloody mess were a lesson for everyone.
They fought hard on this investigation to save their own lives.
The scouts of the big tribe came running from the foot of Langjuxu Mountain, leaving their horse hoof prints all over the scout tribes within a radius of thirty miles. Chanyu Touman soon learned that the Taotie army had been delivered food and supplies by these small and medium-sized tribes.
"Kill, kill, kill! They are just like that rebellious son! They betrayed the Xiongnu! They defected to the Qin dogs! Kill all the men, and leave the women, cattle, sheep, and horses behind. Bring them all back!"
Touman, who was in urgent need of an outlet, issued a strict order. The Hun army, which was vulnerable to the Taotie army, swept through the small and medium-sized tribes that were difficult to accurately count.
For these small and medium-sized tribes that were not qualified to enter the depths of the desert and settled at the foot of the sacred mountain Langjuxu Mountain, this was a disaster, a catastrophic catastrophe.
For the Xiongnu army, which had suffered a great defeat, this was a complete catharsis. Unable to defeat the Taotie army, they regained their confidence and courage amid the wailing and screaming of their own people.
After a few days, the yellow sand turned into red land.
The jackals in the desert have gained several pounds each on average, and as food becomes scarce in winter, they are even fatter than in the summer.
The 150,000-strong Hun army has been replenished to 200,000, and these 50,000 people were drawn from various major tribes.
Touman originally wanted to transfer people from the surrounding Xiongnu tribes, but the surrounding tribes' collusion with the enemy made him furious, and he issued a kill order.
At the cost of destroying the small and medium-sized tribes within a radius of 100 miles, the 200,000-strong Hun army regained sufficient food.
"Wrapping a horse's feet with cloth, what a luxury in the Central Plains!"
Touman was a little envious.
The desert is not productive, and the only thing that can be used to make clothes is animal fur. Even the linen clothes worn by the lowest people in the Central Plains are rare in the desert and can be exchanged for half a pound of meat.
Binding a horse's feet is common knowledge in the Central Plains, but due to geographical limitations, Touman has no idea of how to go in this direction.
Scarcity makes things valuable. The desert will not use precious clothes to wrap the horses' feet. The cattle and sheep killed are not enough to make clothes.
After learning how charged silently, Touman felt a little regretful, but also a little relieved.
It's a pity that his warrior cannot be copied, but it's a relief that now that he knows the reason, he will not be attacked again.
Riding a horse, wearing armor, and under the cover of his personal guards, Touman was at the top of a small hill, commanding the view from above.
Looking at the more than 60,000 or nearly 70,000 Qin troops setting up camp in the distance, looking like they were going to fight a positional battle, he was very puzzled.
Touman could understand the intention of marching to Langjuxu Mountain or retreating to Gaoque, but what was the meaning of setting up camp in the same place?
This is a desert, not the Central Plains, and you have chosen a flat plain.
There is no city to rely on and no strategic location to defend. What are you doing here?
The Taotie army did not move, and Touman did not move either, because they dared not.
The Taotie army in full strength has shown its ferocity to the desert. It is a force that overwhelms everything. Touman, who has an army of 200,000, is facing a Taotie army of less than 70,000. I don't think he has any advantage at all.
To attack is to seek death.
Touman was not crazy as he wished to burn the black-armored Qin army to ashes.
If he had not been familiar with the terrain of the desert and had not occupied the advantageous position, he would have retreated to Langjuxu Mountain long ago.
"Send someone to tell that rebellious son that if he surrenders, he is still my son."
Touman gave the order.
He knew that Maodun would not surrender after all, and he never entertained such illusions. He sent the envoys to see what the Taotie army was like and to figure out the actual situation of the Taotie army from various details.
The two sides actually fought each other, and he had no other understanding of the Taotie army except the impression that they were powerful and difficult to resist. This was simply ridiculous!
Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles. Touman has also read "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu.
Soon, the messenger came back, surprisingly quickly.
In the king's tent, Touman, who was waiting with a group of tribal leaders, was summoned immediately. The motionless Taotie army was a headache for the Xiongnu superiors, and they urgently needed a breakthrough point.
They want to obtain first-hand intelligence on the Taotie army and formulate a tactical plan as quickly as possible. Touman is not the only one who feels the shame of being defeated and fleeing, they all want revenge.
The pressure of everyone's gazes was overwhelming for the messenger, who was just an ordinary scout half an hour ago. The scorching gazes were more scorching than the fire that day.
Touman personally brought a bowl of mare's milk, walked up to the messenger with a smile and handed it to him, then patted the messenger's shoulder as he took the bowl with a timid look on his face.
"No hurry, it doesn't take too long to drink this bowl of wine."
He clearly didn't use much force in this slap, but the messenger was almost knocked to the ground by the slap.
The messenger was shaking all over like a sieve, his hands were shaking so violently that he dropped the wine bowl, and the wine spilled all over the floor.
He knelt down in panic and begged the Chanyu for mercy.
"Get up! How can I, Touman, be such a foolish Chanyu that would take the life of my Xiongnu warriors just for a bowl of wine!"
He poured another bowl of wine and handed it to the messenger, who took it tremblingly, swallowed it hard, and drank it all.
After drinking the wine, the impatient gazes around him were no longer so scorching, and the messenger wiped his mouth with his sleeve stained with grass clippings.
"Prince Maodun said he had no intention of offending the Chanyu, and expressed his apologies to all the great leaders for yesterday's raid. As long as the Chanyu kills Wusun Yanshi and makes him the Left Tuqi King, he will immediately lead his people to surrender. He, Maodun, was able to go to the Yuezhi as a hostage for the Xiongnu, so how could he betray the Xiongnu? Xiongnu princes don't fight Xiongnu people."
