North and South Fronts

Author: Gongsun Wujiu

North and South Fronts

King Xianbei said to Xulu Quanqu Chanyu: "Great Chanyu, please think twice before you act!"

Compared with the nobles of Shan Yuting, the little kings of the Xiongnu still felt psychologically frightened when facing the Han army.

The combat effectiveness of the Han army is not something to be boasted about. It is a reputation gained from fighting one big battle after another starting from the Battle of Henan.

In decades of war, the Xiongnu always lost more than they won.

The last time the Xiongnu defeated the Han army, it was the siege of Li Ling. But in that battle, the Xiongnu used 100,000 cavalry, relying on their numbers to kill the Han army.

"What King Xianbei said is true! Great Chanyu, I think it's better to be cautious. We can't afford to be defeated by force!"

King Yi Zhizi also felt that a decisive battle with the Han army should not be easily carried out.

Xulu Quanqu Shanyu heard this and said: "You don't need to worry, our strong Hu Xin army is no longer what it used to be. Even if we cannot defeat the Han army, we will not be defeated..."

Seeing that the Great Chanyu had said this, although the kings were still uneasy in their hearts, they could not say anything else.

Today's Xulu Quanqu Chanyu is not the same as he was three years ago. After these three years of reforms, the military power and authority possessed by the Great Chanyu have completely overwhelmed the kings.

…

After Xulu Quanqu Chanyu learned that the Han army was marching northward, he immediately launched a fierce attack on Xianbei City.

In order to conquer Xianbei City in one fell swoop, the Huns invested almost all their siege weapons.

The Huns used various weapons including shield chariots, jinglan chariots, ram chariots, and trebuchets.

Under the command of Li Hong, the Han army defending the city also invested in the most sophisticated and advanced weapons of this era.

Facing various siege equipment of the Huns, the Han army's trebuchets opened up with full firepower.

Under the attack of the counterweighted trebuchet, as long as the Huns' siege weapons were hit, there was only one fate.

However, although the power of the counterweight trebuchet is huge, there are some problems with the launch speed and accuracy.

Under the attack at all costs, the Huns still attacked the city many times.

The defenders all knew what would happen if Xianbei City fell, so the Han army fought tooth and nail to resist.

Every time the Huns attacked the city, they would be quickly driven back by the Han army.

On the most common day, the Huns rushed to the city seven times, but were driven back by the Han army again.

In just three days, the Huns suffered nearly 3,000 casualties, and the Han army defenders also suffered nearly 1,000 casualties.

This battle gave both warring parties a new understanding of each other.

The Han army realized that with the elite infantry of the Huns, their siege capabilities had been qualitatively improved.

At this time, Li Hong had realized that the Huns had once again posed a fatal threat to the entire northern counties of the Han Dynasty.

In the past, because the Huns lacked the ability to siege cities, the Han army often only needed a few hundred men to hold on to a fortress and then wait for reinforcements to arrive.

But now facing the Huns who have powerful siege power, most of the blockades in the northern region are no longer able to fight against the Huns alone.

If the Han army wants to deal with the Xiongnu, it must make corresponding adjustments.

After these few days of siege battles, the Huns also realized the importance of large siege weapons.

Xulu Quanqu Chanyu has issued a reward order. If he can provide the Xiongnu with a weighted sling, he can be crowned king directly.

After the brutal siege lasted for four days, the Huns realized that they would not be able to capture Xianbei City in a short time.

Xulu Quanqu Chanyu also changed his strategy.

He decided to first deal with the Han army who came for reinforcements, and finally capture Xianbei City.

After the Huns left more than 20,000 people to continue the siege of the city.

The remaining 80,000 troops quickly moved south under the leadership of Shan Yu, intending to defeat the main force of the Han army in Liaodong led by Han Feng first.

In October of the first year of Yuanping, the main forces of the Han and Hungarian armies encountered an encounter near Bell Lake.

Because it was snowing heavily at the time, neither side expected that the other side would continue marching in such bad weather.

When the two sides discovered each other, they were already very close.

At this time, neither side had time to react further.

“When we meet on a narrow road, the brave wins!”

The commanders-in-chief of both sides issued the same order almost at the same time.

In order to quickly defeat the opponent, both sides launched a fierce attack on the opponent before they even had armor.

Because both sides were elites and did not wear heavy armor, the battle was very cruel and fierce from the beginning.

The two sides fought fiercely in the wind and snow for several hours, with no outcome decided.

Seeing the sun setting in the west, the commanders of both sides had to order their troops to retreat.

Afterwards, the two armies retreated five li and set up camp, preparing to fight again the next day.

After the Han army set up camp, Colonel Wang Jun suddenly approached Han Feng.

"Commander, tonight is a good opportunity for our army!"

Wang Jun proposed to Han Feng to attack the Huns at night.

Han Feng thought for a moment and said: "It is unlikely that the night attack will succeed!"

The intelligence received by Han Feng showed that the Huns' camps were very strong, and each camp was independent of each other. It was difficult to break through the enemy's camp at once.

Wang Jun added: "Commander, after today's fierce battle, both the enemy and us are extremely exhausted... The Huns would never have imagined that we would attack the camp again tonight..."

"Although the Huns' camp is strong, the purpose of our army is not to defeat the Huns in one fell swoop by attacking the camp, but to interfere with the Huns' rest..."

"After our army's attack on the camp tonight, the Huns must not have a good rest. Tomorrow's battle will be of great benefit to our army..."

After Wang Jun's explanation, Han Feng was gradually convinced, and finally Han Feng agreed to Wang Jun's request.

"In this case, you select your soldiers and prepare to attack the camp..."

That night, Han military captain Wang Jun selected 700 elite soldiers to attack the Xiongnu camp at night.

Unexpectedly, the Huns also had the same plan.

Lieutenant Zuo of the Xiongnu was ordered by Shan Yu to also select nearly a thousand soldiers to prepare to attack the Han army.

Wang Jun and the army led by Lieutenant Zuo met at the mouth of an unknown valley. Under the moonlight, the two armies engaged in a bloody hand-to-hand battle.

After learning that the two armies encountered an encounter at the mouth of the valley, the Han and Hungarian armies sent reinforcements to the mouth of the valley almost simultaneously.

The two armies fought fiercely at the mouth of the valley until the second watch, when reinforcements from the Han army arrived first.

With the support of fresh troops, the Han army finally defeated the Xiongnu night attack force.

Then the Han army drove the retreating Huns and drove back the Huns who came to help.

After a fierce battle in the middle of the night, the Han army was very tired. Everyone on the left and right persuaded Wang Jun to retreat.

However, Wang Jun believed that the Han army was tired and the Huns were also tired. This was the time to attack the enemy unprepared.

Therefore, despite the persuasion of the people on his left and right, he continued to attack the Xiongnu camp.

At this time, the Xiongnu did as Wang Jun expected, but after the defeated army returned to the camp, the Xiongnu relaxed their vigilance.

When Wang Jun led his troops to arrive outside the Huns' camp, the Huns, except for the necessary vigilance, took the time to rest and prepare for the next day's battle.

Faced with such a favorable situation, Wang Jun immediately led his troops to launch a surprise attack on the Xiongnu camp.

It was difficult to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy in the darkness, and the Huns could not tell how many Han troops were attacking.

In the chaos, the Huns were severely defeated by the Han army, and the Han army broke through two camps in a short period of time.

In order to avoid more serious losses, Xulu Quanqu Chanyu ordered the Huns in each camp to stick to their respective camps.

Xulu Quanqu Shanyu's order was very correct in this case.

The Han army did not have enough troops to continue to expand its victory, so Wang Jun had no choice but to retreat.

Even so, the attack on the Han army that night was still considered a great victory. The Huns suffered more than 4,000 casualties under the Han army's attack, while the Han army's loss was only a hundred people.

Finally, at dawn, the Huns immediately reorganized their formation, and after eating, they launched a fierce counterattack against the Han army.

Not to be outdone, the Han army attacked with attack under the command of Han Feng.

The Huns first invested a thousand armored cavalry that they had painstakingly assembled to attack the central army of the Han army.

Under the impact of the Huns' armored cavalry, the formation of the Han army's central army was disrupted by the Huns.

Xulu Quanqu Chanyu seized the opportunity and immediately launched elite infantry to follow up.

Han Feng knew that he must not retreat at this time, so he decisively threw in his own cavalry.

Although Han Feng's cavalry suffered heavy casualties, they finally stabilized the battle line.

The two armies of the Han brothers once again engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat.
To be continued...