At this moment, the summer residence of the Emperor of Han Dynasty had become a hall covered with maps.
In the past year, the detailed work of the Han Dynasty and the internal support of the Xiongnu have exhausted almost all their efforts to observe and map the geography and landforms of the Hetao area.
Now, the Han Dynasty has basically figured out the details of the Xiongnu-controlled areas in the entire Dahetao area.
Although it may not be possible, even a mountain trail is marked on the map like the Japanese invaders did.
But the main rivers, lakes, mountains and plains have already figured out their locations and depths.
More importantly, the Han Dynasty also figured out the reality of the Xiongnu's entire Hetao defense zone.
It was beyond Liu Che's expectation.
The Huns also included part of the Hexi Corridor into the Hetao.
Among them are the ancestral home of Wusun, the Kunye area, and the pastures controlled by the Xiutu tribe.
That is to say, it was the Jiuquan, Shuofang, Wuwei and other counties of the Han Dynasty in the future.
Now, it is part of the Hetao that the Huns default to.
This may be for historical reasons.
During the rise of the Xiongnu, the Yuezhi and Wusun, who originated in Hexi, were once enemies of the Xiongnu.
In fact, in the history of the Xiongnu, the war they fought with the Yuezhi over Hexi was the cruelest, longest, and most challenging.
From Maodun to Laoshang, it took the Huns two generations to expel the Yuezhi, their formidable enemy.
However, there are still a large number of Yueshi remnants remaining in the vast Hexi Corridor.
This is the so-called Xiao Yueshi.
These small tribes hiding in the ravines would come out from time to time to harass and plunder.
In addition, the Qiang tribe in the mountains on both sides of the Hexi Corridor seems easy to bully.
But it’s actually very slippery.
These sheep-herding tribes often made troubles, which made the Huns uncomfortable.
Therefore, in the eyes of the Huns, Hexi and Hetao are basically one.
The tribes in the two places often exchange news and intelligence.
There will even be a joint defense.
This is also determined by the characteristics of the Xiongnu.
The double-headed eagle policy of the Xiongnu Empire consisted of four pillars.
The left and right wise kings are the brains in the east-west direction, Shanyuting is the nerve and center, the left and right kings Guli are the limbs of the Huns, the left and right generals and the left and right dadanghu are the blood vessels and muscles of the Huns.
The remaining tribes formed the cells and blood of the Xiongnu.
Under normal circumstances, the Hun Empire in its heyday could mobilize a cavalry force of more than 400,000 within half a year to deal with any danger it encountered in any direction.
At the same time, the Huns had enough broad and vast strategic depth to adapt to and respond to the attacks of powerful enemies.
To be fair, the vast empire's territory, which spans tens of thousands of miles, is enough for the Huns to abandon the entire Munan without breaking a sweat.
It is normal for nomadic people who live in pursuit of water and grass to go to the north in spring and summer and return to the south in autumn and winter.
However, there is one exception.
This is Hetao and Hexi.
Needless to say, the Hetao is a mighty river that nourishes this paradise. Here, except for winter, there is no shortage of green grass in other seasons.
The Xiongnu had also long ago learned the skills of drying hay and storing fodder in midsummer and autumn.
This is not possible.
And there is no need for the Huns to do it themselves, the slaves will help them complete the work.
As for Hexi
The Hexi at this time is not the Hexi of later generations.
Although the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau blocks the warm and humid air from the Indian Ocean, the monsoon from the Pacific creates strong enough mountain rainfall in the Hexi Corridor.
More importantly, the uplift of the Qilian Mountains and the powerful glaciers left over from the Ice Age provide this hot land with inexhaustible snow water year after year.
Later, the Heihe River, the largest inland river in Gansu, originated from the Qilian Mountains.
There are dozens of large and small rivers throughout the Qilian Mountains, winding down along the canyons.
As a result, wetlands and swamps formed below the canyon.
As a result, Yanze has formed one of the largest lakes in the entire Hexi region and even in Asia.
Now, in Hexi, there are countless oases and wetlands.
Now, in Hexi, there is an environment and climate that is very suitable for farming.
Even among the Huns, some farming tribes appeared in this area.
for example
Luhou tribe
Liu Che raised his head and looked at the name of the Lu Hou tribe who was marked on the map and had moved to Gaoque.
A sneer came from the corner of his mouth.
The trigger for the Han-Hungarian War in Henan more than twenty years ago was the Luhou tribe.
Han and Lu Hou can be said to be old friends, old enemies and old rivals.
The Luhou tribe came back again after disappearing from the sight of the Han Dynasty for more than 20 years.
this time
Liu Che plans to settle the score with him.
The Luhou tribe was historically known for being good at building cities.
The so-called Zhao Xin City and Wei Lu City, the great traitors, were all built by these guys.
In addition, the current Gaoque City, Longcheng and Guzang City where Xiu Tu Ren was built are also the work of these guys.
If you think they are just good at building cities, you are totally wrong.
In Liu Che's eyes, the danger level of the Luhou tribe was second only to the elite main force of the Xiongnu's Shan Yuting.
It's even more dangerous than the Zhelan people
Historically, during Huo Qubing's life, there were very few Xiongnu tribes that really caused him trouble.
Among them, there is the Luhou tribe.
In the decisive Battle of Gaolan Mountain, Huo Qubing collided head-on with the Xiongnu elites Lu Hou and Zhelan. The two armies charged hand-to-hand, naked and hand-to-hand, killing each other in a blinding manner.
In this battle, although Huo Qubing completely wiped out the Huns' Zhelan and Luhou tribes, his own losses were also very heavy.
It was even the battle with the greatest loss in his life.
However, it was at Gaolan Mountain that the Zhelan and Luhou tribes were completely wiped out.
Only then did Huo Qubing achieve the feat of sealing the wolf to live in Xu Mountain.
Huo Qubing's army fought for more than 10,000 miles, penetrated deep into the vast sea, and sealed the wolf in Xu Mountain. The Huns only dared to watch, but did not dare to stroke the tiger's beard.
This is because Gaolan Mountain completely shattered and tore up all the Huns’ illusions.
From then on, there was no royal court in the south of the curtain.
The Luhou tribe is the most adept at mountain warfare and defensive warfare among the Xiongnu tribes.
To conquer the Gaoque fortress it defended, even before conquering Gaoque, it was necessary to forcibly cross the Beihe River.
Liu Che knew very well how difficult this was.
What's more, before Gaoque, there was a Ziling defense line garrisoned by Ruolu people.
Liu Che had never heard of Ruolu.
This tribe is said to have been transferred from the West to Hetao.
The Han Dynasty did not know much about this strange enemy.
so
"Let the people of this tribe that you know well handle it," Liu Che sneered.
In his hands, he held the remnants of Wusun, as well as more than 20,000 Xiongnu prisoners of war and the surrendered Xiongnu Loulan tribe, which together amounted to a combat strength of nearly 30,000.
The Han family does not raise waste, nor does it raise rice worms.
Now, it is time for all those who surrendered or were captured to contribute their meager strength to the Han Dynasty.
What Liu Che really wanted to deal with and solve was the Luhou tribe entrenched in Gaoque Fortress and the two Xiongnu tribes that provided flank cover for the Luhou tribe.
"Activate the secret envoy. I want to know the preferences and character of this King Lu Hou as well as his military strength." Liu Che ordered calmly.
Beside "Nuo", a eunuch's figure quietly retreated. To be continued.
