The appearance of artillery gave the Qin Army, or more specifically, gave several generals of the Qin Army enough confidence... At this time, the artillery was still a secret weapon and had not been announced to the outside world. Only a few people including Wang Ben knew about it.
So when formulating an offensive strategy, they all unanimously chose Gu Shi, who was more difficult to attack, instead of Loulan.
Wang Ben said:
"When we have artillery, the city wall won't be a problem."
"So our army can easily enter the city and fight the enemy in the streets!"
"And our army has 40,000 Xiongnu, but my army only has 30,000, and our army is good at close combat... How can the Xiongnu be our enemy?"
Li Yan also agreed:
"What the captain said is very true."
"Besides, the journey to Gushi is closer and the road is more familiar..."
As he said this, Li Yan glanced at Yan and then said:
"With the help of Pu Lei's troops who are familiar with the terrain, our army will be even more powerful."
"My subordinates also suggest attacking my uncle."
No wonder Li Yan said this. Shen Bing asked Yan about this. His tribe, Pulei, was the easternmost country in the Western Regions. It originally bordered the Xiongnu, and Gushi was to the west.
Therefore, Pulei became the first country in the Western Regions that was destroyed by the Xiongnu and even fled everywhere.
Shen Bing turned his gaze to Yan and asked:
"What's your opinion, Captain Yan?"
At this time, Yan had been promoted to captain by Shen Bing to lead the Pu Lei Army... The Pu Lei Army was actually no longer the Pu Lei Army, and there were actually more newly joined Yuezhi cavalry.
But of course, these cavalry troops need to be trained by people like Yan who understand both the rules of the Central Plains and the customs of the Western Regions.
Yan was silent for a while, then he bowed his hands to Shen Bing and said:
"If the general is willing to attack Gu Shi first, my subordinates will definitely ask for it."
"only……"
Shen Bing understood what Yan meant.
If the Qin army can successfully capture Gushi, it will not be far from Pu Lei's restoration.
But if the attack is Loulan...it's still a few hundred miles away.
Shen Bing asked:
"Just what?"
Answer:
"It's just that although the road to Gushi is short and easier to walk, there is only one place where you can replenish water along the way."
"And the Huns may have set a trap here..."
After saying this, Shen Bing understood that desert areas are always the most important source of water.
The 60,000-strong Xiongnu army was in the north, echoing my uncle. How could they not know that there was a replenishable water source on the way?
If the 60,000-strong army first ambush around the water source, will they go to fetch water or not?
Shen Bing asked again:
"What about Loulan?"
Answer:
"There are two places to replenish water in Loulan."
"And one of them is very secret. Even the people in the Western Regions don't know much about it. I don't think the Xiongnu will be prepared."
Shen Bing nodded and said:
"In this case, I think we should attack Loulan instead of my uncle."
Li Yan objected:
"But General, if we attack Gu Shi, we can separate Loulan's 10,000 Huns from their main force."
"When the time comes, Loulan will win without fighting!"
"With the advantage of our artillery, my subordinates thought we could give it a try!"
Shen Bing shook his head and said:
"Although it is possible to split the Xiongnu into two if we attack Gushi, there is Gushi to the west and Loulan to the south, and there are 60,000 main Xiongnu forces watching from behind!"
"Our army is actually surrounded by the Huns."
"Although I have the advantage of artillery, I may not be defeated, but even if I win, it will be a miserable victory."
"And once our army's supplies are cut off...the artillery will become a pile of scrap metal!"
"Why rush while I wait?"
This is actually because Wang Ben, Li Yan and others were stimulated and overconfident after seeing the artillery.
But Shen Bing knew that artillery still had its weaknesses and was not invincible.
On the other hand, Shen Bing knew that the most taboo thing in formulating a combat plan was unclear strategic goals.
Is this battle to establish a foothold in the Western Region?
Or to surround the Xiongnu troops in Loulan?
Or is it a decisive battle with the Xiongnu to annihilate their effective strength?
Obviously, the Qin army's strategic goal is the first.
It's just that Shen Bing's operation made Wang Ben and others get so excited that they forgot about this main strategic goal.
It is true that the Qin army took the southern route farther, but the main force of the Xiongnu also went the same distance.
Moreover, the Xiongnu were accustomed to riding horses back and forth like the wind, so letting them ride camels hundreds of miles deep into the desert... I'm afraid it would be a bit difficult for them.
If you are riding into the desert, just the grass that the horse eats will be a big problem.
Therefore, the pros and cons of the two lines are actually obvious:
The northern route was closer, but the supply line was right under the nose of the main Xiongnu force, and it was heading into the Xiongnu encirclement.
The southern line is further away, but the supply line is safer away from the main Xiongnu force, and the attack is on Loulan, the farthest end of the Xiongnu reinforcement line, and its garrison only has 10,000 troops.
After Wang Ben thought calmly, he nodded and said:
"What the general said is true."
"We should take Loulan first instead of my aunt."
"Even after taking Loulan, it's not a bad idea not to take my aunt."
"The reason why the Huns stationed themselves in Loulan and Gushi is to prevent our army from entering the Western Regions."
"But once our army has taken Loulan, the Xiongnu garrison in Gushi will be meaningless."
"So the Xiongnu had no choice but to abandon the city and leave."
What Wang Ben said is right.
Especially after the Battle of Loulan, the Xiongnu knew that the Qin army had artillery that could forcefully blow down the earth city... What were the Xiongnu, who was good at mobile warfare but not good at defending the city, still guarding Gushi? Waiting to die?
The number of Xiongnu annihilated in this battle may not be many, but they can easily defeat the Xiongnu's plot and save the two big countries in the Western Regions at a very small cost... Gu Shi and Loulan are already considered big countries in the Western Regions, especially Gu Shi, Thirty-Six of the Western Regions The only ones bigger than it in the country are Yuezhi and Qiuci.
However, the Yueshi are not actually included in the Thirty-six Kingdoms of the Western Regions, because during the Han Dynasty the Yueshi had moved westward to Lanshi City, which was outside the Western Regions.
So what impact will this battle have on the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions?
What was the impact on the Xiongnu?
Coupled with the threat of artillery... the countries in the Western Region should know who is the boss here!
After analyzing this, Li Yan was speechless and immediately agreed to attack from the southern front.
The preparation took more than ten days.
Moreover, the strength of the troops is still decreasing again and again...
This was mainly due to the fact that Shen Bing and others had no experience in desert marching, so they miscalculated.
If we want to send an army of 30,000 to Loulan, how much food and drinking water will we need to carry?
In addition, there are arrows, artillery, ammunition... How many camels are needed for these?
When taking horses on the road, how much fodder and water do you need to bring?
It’s not that I don’t know all of this, but after doing some detailed calculations, I realized that attacking Gu Shi was simply unrealistic... Even if all the camels of the Yuezhi were collected, it wouldn’t be enough for the march of 30,000 people.
Fortunately, the strategy decided upon was to attack Loulan.
So the Qin army reduced its strength to 11,000, and the extra 1,000 were Pulei cavalry who were familiar with the terrain.
After collecting another two thousand camels from Yueshi, the preparations were complete.