Maodun Shanyu spent a lot of money to hire mining craftsmen from the Central Plains.
After all, the Great Wall between the Central Plains and the Huns was not connected, and there was still a long gap... The Great Wall built after Meng Tian recovered Hetao was from Lintao in the west and to Liaodong in the east, and was connected to Yan, Zhao, and Qin.
The Great Wall is connected to one, with a total length of about 3,000 miles.
It is impossible to block these more than 3,000 miles without the boundary of the Great Wall, and there are not so many troops to block it.
So the Huns could easily send people south to find miners.
The miners are just asking how much money they give.
Maodun also heard about some Qin rules from slaves and knew that Qin had a system of joint seizures, so he preferred to find craftsmen who were alone and had no family.
This is not to say that Bodhisattva Maodun is worried that his family will be subjected to continuous seizure after the craftsmen fled to the Huns.
But Maodun knew that only such craftsmen could be more likely to convince and stay in the Huns for a long time.
It is easier to convince because there is no family member to be held in a row, so there is no concern.
I was able to stay in the Huns for a long time because I had no support in the Central Plains and had nothing to be left to nostalgic for. Maodun Shanyu could even arrange a family for him to help him get married and start a business...
At the same time, there were still many helpless craftsmen like this in the war period of the Qin Dynasty, so Maodun easily found a few.
The problem is that prospecting on the grassland is not easy.
As mentioned before, in ancient times, exploration was usually to explore natural ore in places with mountains. The grassland was flat and to explore it, you had to dig three feet of the ground, which was almost impossible to complete.
After thinking about it, Maodun had to risk his exploration in Yinshan and Yangshan.
At this time, the Hetao area recovered by Shen Bing was in Yinshan, south of Yangshan, and the Xiongnu were in Yinshan, and north of Yangshan, which can be said to be based on them as the boundary.
The result really made Maodun find saltpeter and sulfur... The Yinshan Mountains and Yangshan Mountains are each about 2,000 miles long, with an average altitude of 2,000 meters and mineral resources.
It is not surprising that saltpeter and sulfur can be found in such a long mountain range and mountainous area.
This made Maodun overjoyed and immediately organized slave mining and asked Qin craftsmen to build a gunpowder workshop according to the formula.
However, I am happy, and after returning to the tent, Maodun still sighed and felt restless.
Zuo Xianwang Ji Zhu couldn't help but say:
"Shanyu, we have already obtained the formula for gunpowder."
"Now that I have found the mine needed for gunpowder, and I can create the 'Sky Thunder' immediately. What else are you not satisfied with?"
Maodun Shanyu shook his head and said:
"Do you know why the Qin army did not cross Langkou and head north to attack us?"
(Note: The wolf mouth refers to the gap between Yinshan and Yangshan. Because it looks like the open upper and lower palate of a wolf, the gap in the middle is called the wolf mouth by the Huns)
Ji Zhu answered without thinking:
"Because the wolf mouth is almost in trouble, the Qin army cannot pass!"
The wolf's mouth is indeed almost there.
In particular, Yinshan has a characteristic, which is that it is slow in the north and steep in the south.
That is, the side of Yinshan Mountain is relatively flat and gradually tends toward the Mongolian Plateau.
The side close to Hetao, that is, the Central Plains, is exactly steep. The altitude of more than 1,000 meters dropped straight to the Hetao Plain, forming countless cliffs as if they were cut off by a single piece of cake.
On such a terrain, people could hardly be established in the north, and the Qin army could not cross it.
But if the Qin army wanted to enter the Mongolian Plateau from "Wolf's Mouth", they would have to pass through the valley formed by Yinshan and Yangshan.
The gentle hillsides on both sides provided an excellent geographical advantage for the Xiongnu encirclement and attacking the Qin army.
But Maodun shook his head and said:
"Do you think there are strong crossbows, three-bow bed crossbows, and the Qin army that "shocked the sky" will not dare to go north because of the wolf's mouth?"
Maodun is right.
Although the Huns could shoot even further from high places, the Qin army was equipped with a large number of powerful crossbows? And the range of this powerful crossbow is almost twice that of the Huns' bows and arrows.
In this way, even if the Huns possess the territory, they can still defeat the Qin army? The Qin army can also defeat the Huns.
In addition, the Qin army has three bow crossbows that can fire "Pi Li Fireballs"... This wolf mouth really can't stop the Qin army.
Ji Zhu couldn't help but say:
"Shanyu? Then why did the Qin army go north just by Langkou?"
Maodun's thoughtful answer:
"It's because of our speed."
“Because we can withdraw at any time.”
"Because we can go to any place they can't find or chase."
"And then suddenly concentrate troops to attack their weak spots!"
It should be said that Maodun Shanyu analyzed it very correctly.
Cavalry has this benefit in the grassland, and this place is destined to be the world of cavalry.
Here the cavalry is "the sky is high and the birds fly? The sea is wide and the fish leaps with the fish."
It is easy to escape to such an empty grassland, as long as there is water and grass, you can feed your horses.
If the Huns lack food? Even if they drink horse milk, they can make a few days.
But? Thinking to find a unit on such a large grassland is tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack.
So from the beginning, the Xiongnu and Qin army were seriously unbalanced in tactical difficulty... The former fled, while the latter looked for it.
You can escape at will, but you can't find it even if you are exhausted.
But the Huns who lived on the grassland for a long time could send cavalry to reconnaise and judge the supply line of the Qin army? Then go around behind and concentrate their troops to attack.
On the grassland, this tactic is almost unsolvable.
Ji Zhu's puzzled question:
"Since that's the case, why are Shanyu worried?"
Maodun Chanyu took a few steps and looked at the gunpowder workshop outside the tent and the mine cave in the distance, and said:
"If we were to preserve these mines to produce gunpowder, we would no longer have these tactical advantages!"
Ji Zhu then said "Oh" and suddenly realized.
Can cavalry leave? The tent can be removed, but the mine caves and gunpowder workshops cannot be taken away.
At most? The Huns took away some finished products "Shocking Thunder".
But what after that?
The Qin army would soon occupy these mines and workshops.
With the personality of the Qin army, maybe a city would be built here for a long time to garrison.
Or simply blow up the mine.
If the Huns restore mines and resume production? The Qin army will bomb again.
unless……
The Huns guarded here.
But doing so was just the same as the Qin army, and the Qin army was worried that they would not be able to find the main force of the Huns.
so……
Maodun shook his head? �
“This is not a long-term solution.”
"We can't let the Qin army know about this."
"Otherwise? The mine will be out of protection."
Maodun was right? The Huns could not defend these mines, and they were never the ones who were good at guarding them.
But at the same time, Maodun was wrong again.
Shen Bing just discovered that the gunpowder formula was stolen, so he would not have thought about the problem of mine.
It is actually very simple to find ore, and it must be on the line of Yinshan.
So Shen Bing sent spies to the north of Yinshan to reconnaissance...
The reconnaissance method is to let herders who speak the Huns language be spies. Anyway, the Huns do not have household registration, so it is impossible to distinguish if the herders can speak the language.