That's not to say he didn't know what he was getting into.
In fact, as soon as the Western Region cavalry retreated, they knew something was wrong.
Because Xunxun set up a semi-encirclement on the route of the cavalry in the Western Regions...that is, ten thousand people were deployed in the north, east, and south.
Xunxun's plan was to use these 30,000 people to entangle the 30,000 Western Region cavalry who had stepped into a semi-encirclement, and then the main force would surround them and win in a single battle with superior force.
This is a tactic commonly used by the Xiongnu. Since the Xiongnu war horses are accustomed to the grassland environment, they are faster than the cavalry in the Western Regions. Xun Hao believes that it will not be difficult to entangle the target.
But this is not the case.
Xunxu was surprised to find that the Western Region cavalry was faster than the Huns' cavalry. After they realized that they had stepped into the Huns' encirclement, they were able to rush out of the gap before the Huns completed the encirclement, leaving only the Huns behind to catch up.
I can't catch up no matter what.
Xunxu felt strange in his heart, when did the cavalry from the Western Regions have such riding skills?
How did Xun Hao know that this was because the cavalry in the Western Regions had been equipped with various horse gear, especially horseshoes, which were of great help to the horses running on the soft land in the grassland.
But things like horseshoes and stirrups were not obvious. The Huns cavalry looked at the Western Region cavalry from a distance and could not find the problem for a while.
The question before Xun Yu was to pursue or not to pursue.
If you chase him, you may be surrounded by the Qin Army's three cavalry armies.
If we don't chase, how can we stop the Qin army from going straight to Dragon City?
So Xun Hao actually has no choice but to chase.
What's more, Xun Hao also considered one thing:
The advantage of the Qin army lies in the infantry, which are both artillery and "arrows", making it difficult for the Huns' cavalry to use them.
However, Qin Qi's combat power is mediocre. If there is any threat, it is a chariot that can launch "shaking thunder".
However, it is said that the Qin army split up the Shenwu Army, but the chariots were allocated to infantry.
In this way, it is cavalry versus cavalry.
Not to mention that the Xiongnu cavalry has more troops, this is the grassland where the Xiongnu is good at fighting, and the composition of the Qin cavalry is very complex... Can the command and coordination of the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions, combined with the Yuezhi and the Qin army, be smooth?
Thinking of this, Xun Hao decided to take advantage of the situation and simply fight Qin Qi.
If the cavalry army can defeat the Qin army, then the remaining infantry will not be a concern.
So Xunxu not only did not withdraw his troops, but instead mobilized all his troops to follow the Western Region Army all the way south.
Shen Bing and Yan led more than 18,000 cavalry and hurried all the way, and finally found the main force of the Huns on the third day.
At that time, Wang Ben and Li Jianzheng each led two groups of cavalry to chase and hide with the Xiongnu army. To put it simply, it was the "kite flying" tactic used by cavalry against infantry: when the Xiongnu wanted to come forward for a decisive battle, the Qin cavalry fled, and the Xiongnu retreated their troops.
At that time, Qin Qi came up again.
This tactic could not be used between cavalry and cavalry, especially against the Huns cavalry who were good at mounted shooting.
However, it was different when the Western Region and Yuezhi cavalry were equipped with harnesses and horseshoes... The faster Qin cavalry could easily mobilize the Xiongnu cavalry, but the Huns were helpless.
This is the advantage of speed, and it is only one of its advantages.
Just like speed is always the most critical indicator in modern air combat... In air combat, if the speed cannot match the enemy aircraft or the gap is too big, it will not even be possible to follow the enemy aircraft, let alone fire, until the changes in air-to-air missiles
After entering the air combat mode, the status of speed dropped slightly.
Shen Bing was not in a hurry when he arrived at the battlefield. He asked the troops to stop and rest a few miles away.
Princess Wuyou was the most anxious. She asked Shen Bing puzzledly:
"General, aren't we rushing all the way just to reinforce the Western Region Army?"
"Why do you have to camp and rest when you arrive?"
Shen Bing replied:
"I was rushing all the way because I was worried that the Huns would wander away and not be able to find him."
"Now that he has been found and we are faster than the Huns, are we still afraid that he will escape?"
Princess Wuyou couldn't help but said "oh".
What Shen Bing said was that although the visual distance was far away in the open grassland, it was also connected in all directions, so it was not easy to find enemy or even friendly troops.
After finding it, whoever is faster will have the advantage.
And Qin Qi is the fast one, so there is no need to worry.
What's more, Pu Lei's army has been attacking continuously for several days, sometimes without resting at night. It is obviously not appropriate to join the battle immediately at this time.
Princess Wuyou is only good at trading with other countries but not good at leading troops... In fact, Princess Wuyou also has experience in leading troops, but when leading troops in the Western Regions, they usually go straight to the enemy and then run away if they can't defeat them. She doesn't pay attention to any strategies and tactics.
Prior to this, Princess Wuyou thought that all military strategies and strategies were related to the mountainous and rivery areas of the Central Plains. In terrains such as deserts and grasslands that extend in all directions, there was no military strategy to talk about.
Now I have only been following Shen Bing for a few days, and I feel that I have benefited a lot.
This made Princess Wuyou look at Shen Bing with admiration. She had previously only thought that Shen Bing was a strategic general, but now she realized that he was also extraordinary in leading troops in battle.
At the same time, Princess Wuyou was secretly shocked:
"My father doesn't know the ability of Shen Bing yet, but he only wants to profit from the conflict between the Qin army and the Xiongnu."
"If you continue to have this intention, one day you will face off against the Qin army..."
"I'm afraid that my father is no match for Shen Bing."
Princess Wuyou felt happy at this thought.
Because if Shen Bing and King Qiuci are equally powerful, Princess Wuyou would still be in a dilemma.
But now I know that King Qiuci is far inferior to Shen Bing...
Then there is nothing to hesitate, just convince King Qiuci to let him understand what situation he is in.
This is much simpler than before.
Shen Bing saw a sudden smile on Princess Wuyou's face... In fact, it was her eyes. Princess Wuyou, whose face was covered with gauze, rarely showed her true face. The exception was when Shen Bing was lucky enough to see her when he rescued her.
Shen Bing asked curiously:
"The princess still talks and laughs calmly in front of the Xiongnu army, how courageous she is!"
Princess Wuyou's face turned red and she said with a smile:
"How can I be brave?"
"But knowing that you are faster than the Huns, you can run away even if you can't beat them!"
Princess Wuyou's words were used to cover up, but she accidentally said that there is another advantage of being fast... you can escape even if you can't fight.
This is not "cowardice", but an advantage at a strategic level.
Because in this way, the psychological pressure on Qin Qi will be much less... If he can fight, he will fight, and if he cannot fight, he will run away. There will not be too many casualties no matter what.
On the contrary, the Xiongnu cavalry was only allowed to win but not to lose.
The reason is that the Xiongnu has no speed advantage. It would be better if they win, but if they lose and become a rout... the Xiongnu can travel 100 miles a day, but Qin Qi can travel 150 miles a day. How can they escape?
As a result, the Huns' psychological pressure will increase exponentially.
Although this psychological pressure is invisible and intangible, it can often determine the outcome of a war.