Especially for the Xiongnu, water plants are more needed.
In fact, Gushi is one of the countries in the Western Region with relatively fertile land.
This can be seen from the fact that it has more than 30,000 people... Without sufficient water and grass, it would be impossible to feed this population.
Among the countries in the Western Regions, only Qiuci is larger than it, with a population of 80,000.
The Xiongnu originally only stationed 30,000 troops and then dispersed most of the people of Gu Shi, leaving only the royal family and young men as slaves. At this time, it was not a big problem.
Because there are several oases outside Gushi City where you can graze.
But after the other 20,000 reinforcements entered Gushi, they were overwhelmed.
The reason is that the Huns' cavalry is far more than simply calculated in terms of men and horses.
There is a saying that "a well-fed man does not know a hungry man is hungry." The Huns cavalry, who lived in the grasslands and could find water and grass at any time, had long developed a habit that was considered a luxury for the soldiers and civilians of the Western Regions: in order to ensure the speed of their march, they always
It was accompanied by many more horses than troops.
It is normal for a person to have two horses. Three horses are not unusual. Four or five horses can be used to carry heavy objects such as food and tents.
Anyway, water and grass are everywhere for them, so there is nothing wrong with grazing while marching and fighting, or even raising the next generation of war horses.
So the Xiongnu troops were said to be 50,000 by my uncle, but the number of war horses was at least over 100,000. In addition, there were cattle and sheep for military rations, as well as plundered camels, etc.
The damage caused by these livestock to the vegetation in Gushi is devastating, but because of the short time, the contradictions and problems have not yet been exposed.
However, if the Qin army adds more strength during this period, such as occupying several larger oases and driving the Huns cavalry to Gushi...
In fact, this is also the main reason why Maodun Shanyu ordered Xunxun to retreat to the grassland once Loulan fell.
Maodunshan was wise at this point, because he knew that on the one hand, the Huns cavalry was not accustomed to the geography and climate of the Western Regions, and on the other hand, it could not accommodate such a large number of troops.
However, how could he have thought that King Youxian and his men would choose to stay with the army and continue fighting the Qin army because of their greed for merit, so he gave Shen Bing another chance to win with less.
At first, the Qin army marched directly towards Gu Shi.
Shen Bing did this to give the Xiongnu an illusion, making them think that the Qin army's target was Gu Shi.
Shen Bing believed that the Huns would be fooled.
The Qin army is dominated by infantry. What else can they do if they don't attack the city? Should they chase the Huns' cavalry?
What's more, the Qin army still has those iron rods that emit smoke and fire and can knock down city walls. Wouldn't it be a waste if they don't use them?
As expected, Xun Hao was fooled.
As soon as he got the news from Tan Ma that the Qin army was marching towards Gu Shi, he immediately reported it to all the ministries, including the cavalry troops scattered in the oasis outside the city.
Xunxu was even worried that attacking the Qin army too early would scare them away. He once ordered the surrounding cavalry to stand still, not even using the Xiongnu's usual harassment tactics along the way.
In fact, the Xiongnu's tactics of harassment along the way were no longer effective against the Qin army at this time, because while taking advantage of the rest time in Loulan, the Qin army had replenished more than ten three-bow crossbows and equipped them with rope arrows... This thing was very effective at a specific time.
Sometimes it is more effective than artillery.
The Xiongnu just waited for the Qin army to attack, and the Qin army advanced unhurriedly.
While moving forward, we continued to receive supplies shipped from Loulan.
Then on the night of the sixth day, the Qin army suddenly turned and headed straight for Jiaohe.
The Xiongnu commander Geyu who was guarding Jiaohe was the nephew of Xunxu, the king of Youxian.
But it's not because of Xun Yu that he became the Captain of Ten Thousands.
In fact, the more primitive and savage the tribes are, the more they value groups rather than relatives. They don't even know the meaning of relatives, so there are fewer cases of promoting relatives to higher positions.
Ge Yu was favored by Maodun Shanyu for his military exploits and was promoted to captain of ten thousand men... When he attacked Donghu, he was only a centurion. He led his team to the rear of Donghu to ambush, waiting for Donghu.
The army suddenly broke out when they fled.
In that battle, Ge Yu and his men were covered in blood, and the men and horses were stained red. After the battle, everyone's heads were chopped off, and the horses could not carry them.
Ge Yu was also promoted to captain of ten thousand men for his meritorious service in this battle.
Some people were dissatisfied because of this, believing that the main force of the Xiongnu was responsible for defeating Donghu, while Ge Yu only took the opportunity to make a surprise attack in the rear, and was even suspected of stealing the credit.
But Maodun Shanyu made an assertion:
"On the battlefield, we only look at the results, and there is no talk of grabbing credit!"
"If anyone is dissatisfied, go and cut off those many heads and present them in front of me. I will also make him my captain of ten thousand!"
Once Maodun Shanyu said this, no one dared to say anything else.
At this time, Ge Yu was warming himself in front of the campfire while using a knife to cut the mutton and put it into his mouth.
The desert climate in the Western Regions made him a little unaccustomed. It was too hot during the day and very cold at night. The huge temperature difference caused Ge Yu to wake up from the cold in the early morning again.
He stared at the dancing flames and asked his subordinates:
"Where are the Qin troops?"
The subordinate replied:
"Back to Captain Ten Thousand, the Qin army has entered the encirclement of our army."
"At the current speed, we will reach my master in two or three days."
Ge Yu said nothing.
He just felt that there was something abnormal about this battle.
There is no reason for the Qin army not to know the Xiongnu's arrangement... The oases outside Gushi City are too obvious. Even if they don't know the strength of the Xiongnu in the oases, they still know that they are traps.
In this case, how could the Qin army sneak into the trap with only ten thousand men?
Could it be that the Qin army had other plans?
But what is the plan?
When Ge Yu was puzzled, suddenly a high-pitched scream came from the east.
Ge Yu suddenly stood up and shouted:
"No! It's the Qin Army! They're coming to kill us!"
Then Ge Yu shouted without any hesitation:
"Blow the trumpet as a warning! Prepare to fight!"
The long horn horn soon sounded over the military camp, and the Huns in the tents came out one after another and mounted their horses and assembled as quickly as possible.
It was the Qin army who came.
To be precise, it was Pu Leijun who was exploring the way ahead.
Because Pu Lei's army was familiar with the terrain and had a grudge against the Xiongnu for the country's subjugation, he hated the Xiongnu to the core, so he was the pioneer in this war.
It's just that many things often work better if you treat them with a normal mind.
Both extremes, being too excited or too frustrated, are prone to mistakes.
Pu Leijun falls into the former category.
Because they hated the Xiongnu so much that they could control the Xiongnu sentry without making a sound, but they made noise because they were eager to kill it.
So the whistle was alerted and shot out a warning stick.
This gave the Huns some time to prepare.
Originally, Shen Bing hoped to rush into his military camp with lightning speed and kill them all.
Now, only a few "explosive bombs" can be used.
As soon as Shen Bing raised his hand, the soldiers from the rear pushed up the five artillery pieces.