Chapter 137 The army
The sun gradually rose, the coolness of the early morning faded quickly, the dewdrops turned into steaming heat, mixed with the fragrance of weeds and the pungent smell of horse urine, constantly digging into the nose, everyone had nowhere to hide, and slowly they got used to it. It's just that the hearts are getting tighter and tighter.
All the horses ate overnight feed last night and wore bridles to prevent them from eating grass under their feet and to prevent random neighing.
The people on the horses also clenched the reins, not daring to relax a little. If their mounts caused chaos, even if it was a very short-lived chaos, it could be a capital offense.
Tens of thousands of cavalrymen were divided into several echelons and guarded in an urn-shaped valley. After nearly two hours, they could still maintain their formation and silence, which was really not easy.
This is one of the most elite armies of the Great Chu. There are hundreds of thousands of cavalry hidden in the valleys and mountains within a radius of dozens of miles, and there are the same number of troops in the rear, with a total of nearly 300,000. It was the most powerful period of Emperor Wu of the Great Chu, and it was rare to gather so many soldiers.
The purpose of the army gathering is only one, to completely defeat the Eastern Huns and achieve more than ten years of frontier peace.
No matter how you calculate it, this is a sure-fire battle, the only problem is that the enemy won't show up.
In the past two months, the Eastern Huns have frequently invaded the frontier fortresses, and they have a tendency to go south. However, when the main force of the Chu army arrived, the Huns refused to confront each other.
No one dared to take it lightly, and he still had to go all out for every ambush.
Han Ruzi is nominally the general of Zhenbei, but in fact he only has nearly a thousand tribes under his command, and there is no soldier or soldier. His real identity is no different from that of other noble children. .
In the valley, these people occupied one area, followed by a follower. All of them were clearly dressed and armored, and outsiders could recognize them at a glance. They were not far from the general, and they could see Han Xing standing on a military chariot. Every few minutes, cavalry galloped from outside the valley to report the situation.
The task of hundreds of noble children is to observe and learn how to manage the military and use soldiers, but most of them are already tired of it, and they chat in a low voice while wiping away sweat. In the whole valley, only this area makes a sound. Although it is not big, it has shown out special.
The King of the East Sea irritably pulled the collar inside the armor and complained in a low voice: "The Huns are really provocative, in the hottest season, and in the end we all have to die from the heat. Who gave me the armor? There is one. It weighs a hundred pounds."
Han Ruzi didn't say a word. He was one of the very few noble children who carefully observed the generals. Although he couldn't hear what was being said in front of him, he could see the ranks of leaders and officers. There were also many doorways here.
"Hey, don't look at it, it's definitely not going to fight today." Donghai Wang couldn't let others ignore his words.
"Yeah." Han Ruzi could also see that the messengers from outside the valley came frequently, but the general Han Xing rarely sent people out of the valley to give orders. Obviously, he didn't wait for the Huns to come.
"It's useless to look at these, the troops will be dealt with by their own generals." Donghai Wang yawned, "I want to sleep well after I go back. Yesterday was too late."
The heralds on both sides of Han Xing began to dispatch, galloping horses, controlling the reins with one hand, and waving the flag with force with the other.
Like the generals, Xungui's children have to wait for a while before they can act. During this time, the atmosphere became more relaxed, and even Han Ruzi stopped keeping an eye on Han Xing all the time, and turned to the East Sea King and said, "Who is that person? Look here."
The King of Donghai noticed it long ago, and said plainly: "His name is Chai Yue, he is Chai Yun's uncle, don't pay attention to him, he is a small person, his biological mother used to be a geisha, and we don't take him to play."
Chai Yue was about twenty years old, not even a few years older than Chai Yun.
"Is he new here?" Although Han Ruzi couldn't name everyone, his face was familiar, but he was unfamiliar with Chai Yue.
"Who knows, there are always new people coming to join in the fun these days, and I don't know why they are here. In the end, I can't even see a Huns."
General Han Xing's chariot started, and the lead officer, the banner officer, the herald, the sergeant, and the fang-general guarded the front and back, and then the honorable and precious followers. There is also a sequence of scattered followers, Han Ruzi and Donghai Wang are tied for the first.
The retreat took longer than the attack. When Han Ruzi and the others returned to the main camp, it was already dark, and the teams behind were still on their way.
Before entering the camp, everyone must dismount and hand over the horses to the attendants.
The main camp was built on the mountain, stretched for more than ten miles, and was divided into several small camps, which were not allowed to enter and leave at will.
Only the troupe who leads the generals can be stationed in the camp. For a general like Han Ruzi, who has a false name, the troupe can only stay in the fortress, and he has not seen each other for several days.
As soon as he entered the camp, King Donghai was called away by his friends. Han Ruzi didn't know anyone, and he didn't want to hang out with these noble children. He returned to the tent and rested. Zhang Youcai helped him take off his armor and left another entourage in the camp to go. Pick up dinner.
Zhang Youcai only wore a leather armor as a coat, so the burden was much less. After taking off the master's armor, he weighed it twice before placing it on the shelf, "The King of the East Sea said it weighs 100 jin, but I think it's only 2 at most. ten pounds."
Han Ruzi smiled, the armor is really not very heavy, the noble children don't need to go to the battlefield, the armor is only for good-looking, not for protection. Most of Han Ruzi's armor is made of silk, there are not many real iron pieces, but there is a lot of gold foil. , He once thought, whether such armor would be too conspicuous, but the noble children are all wearing the same, and he doesn't care if it is not prohibited.
The food in the army was good. There was meat, rice, and a little wine. Han Ruzi was eating. The King of the East Sea came uninvited. The tents of the two were next to each other.
"Are you still eating this?" Donghai King showed contempt.
"It was delicious."
"Hey, your taste is really unique, these jerky are probably older than you." There was a small folding stool in the tent, and the King of the East Sea was sitting opposite Han Ruzi. After taking off his armor, he looked a lot more relaxed, "Listen. Did you say it?"
"what?"
"This is the consequence of not making friends—you are ignorant." King Donghai picked up the jug, smelled it, and put it down, "The barracks is not far from Mayi City, and everyone sends people to the city to buy things, every three or five days. , bring back good wine and meat, but you eat military rations, do you have no money? It's not like, with so many honors and honors, you have a thousand tribes, more powerful than a serious general, and can support a thousand people , are you reluctant to eat something good?"
Zhang Youcai and another entourage rolled their eyes, neither of them liked the East Sea King.
"That's what you heard about?"
"The Huns have retreated."
"Really?" Han Ruzi was taken aback. It was early autumn, and by convention, the next two or three months would be the best season for the Huns to invade.
"For sure, I knew it a while before the general."
"This battle is over like this?" Han Ruzi was so disappointed that he couldn't even eat the wine and meat.
"It's still too early to end. This is the way of warfare of the Huns. The Chu army was first assembled, and they were so strong that they did not dare to fight. But the number of Chu troops was too large, and every day they were stationed outside the Great Wall, they would consume countless food and grass. , we can't hold on for long, we can only disperse the garrison. The Huns will send a small army to test everywhere, and wait until the spring and summer of next year to mobilize a large army to suddenly attack the weakest places."
"Why didn't the Chu army pursue the Xiongnu now?" Han Ruzi remembered very clearly that during Emperor Wu's time he sent troops to the northern part of the Saibei several times, and each time he was able to win a great victory, and the Xiongnu was split into two parts.
"As far as Han Xing's old bones are concerned, it's amazing to be able to come to the northern border alive. Chasing the Xiongnu? You will be killed halfway. The old guy is not good at attacking, and he has decided to divide his troops to guard the frontier. I will come to you. for this."
"Where are we going to be sorted?"
The East Sea King turned his head and glanced at Han Ruzi's two entourages. Although the two were reluctant, they silently exited the tent and took away the rest of the wine and meat.
"The followers will gradually become the same as the master. Your followers are all dumbfounded. The eunuch is better. Where did the other one come from? Like a savage, you can't even salute."
"As you have seen, his name is Loach, and he comes from Chao's fishing village."
Donghai Wang shook his head, indicating that he did not remember, and then officially said: "It is an assignment, but there is actually a choice. You are the general of Zhenbei, and Han Xing will score you a city, he will ask you to discuss..."
"Will you?" Han Ruzi had never seen Han Xing alone since he arrived in northern Xinjiang.
"Yes. Listen to me, don't choose the cities outside the Great Wall, the environment is very poor, and it is easy to be harassed by the Huns. Also don't choose the northeast, where the winter is very cold, and it is the defensive area of the southern army, you don't want to listen to Cui Hong order?"
Han Ruzi shook his head.
"Don't choose the northwest, which is under the jurisdiction of the Northern Army, and the champion has no good intentions towards you."
"Then there's nowhere to go."
"There is still a section in the middle. Mayi City is known to directly block the Xiongnu, and the general will sit in the battle. No matter how stupid the Huns are, they will not come here to test. Until tomorrow spring, they will be safe. You say that you are willing to stay in the general. By my side, learn a lot and so on. After this winter, when the army regroups, I am not afraid of the Huns."
Han Ruzi smiled without saying a word, and the King of the East Sea said: "I came to inform you in advance, don't think about your ideas, if you really want to be sent to an isolated city, surrounded by the Huns, we can't make it through, this is not a joke, No matter how ambitious you are, you have to live first."
"You don't have to follow me, do you?"
Donghai King said coldly: "Do you think I would like it? I did it for Cui Hong to see, to let him understand that I have a way to leave Cui's house."
Zhang Youcai entered the tent, "Master, the general invites you to come."
The two people in the tent got up at the same time, the East Sea King nodded tacitly, and whispered: "Keep away from danger, survival is more important than anything else."
This is the military camp. It is more formal to meet the general. With the help of Zhang Youcai and Loach, Han Ruzi put on his armor again, walked out of the tent, and headed to the central army tent under the guidance of a herald.
Han Xing had already taken off his armor, dressed in plain clothes, and sat on a fur chair. He was indeed too old and needed to rest.
Han Ruzi was surprised to find that he was not the only invitee. Chai Yue, who often stared at him during the day, was standing beside the general with his hands down.
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