Qin Official

Behead the prisoner and give him a cup of wine, and give him all the clothes and weapons he captured!

The scouts reported that when the Qin army's grain team was only ten miles away, Hu Yanlan, the right bone capital of the Xiongnu, issued the order to fight.

Among the Xiongnu, wine was also a rare commodity and was often used as a reward for killing enemies. The equipment on the Qin people even made them salivate. However, the greedy Huns cavalry still felt that the reward was not rich enough, and someone shouted:

Marquis Gudu, if you capture any people this time, can you take them back as slaves?

Yes, I heard that the Qin people's grain team has a thousand oxen, pulling a lot of grain. Can we share it equally?

However, Hu Yanlan shouted without any doubt: No humans or animals will be left alive in this battle. After scattering the Qin people, burn them all!

For the Huns who fought only for plunder, it was very difficult for them to give up their spoils, but Huyanlan had no other choice. According to the agreement with You Da Dang House, they waited in a hilly area for two times for the horses to poop. However, when there was still no sign of Qin Qi or the Huns, they knew something was wrong. D Dang House might be captured by the Qin army. Tangled.

Hu Yanlan did not go back to rush for reinforcements, but immediately led his subordinates to continue southward. Da Danghu had told him that if things changed, he would attack the Qin people's food team instead and strive for a quick victory!

According to the scouts' investigation, there were about two to three thousand Qin people escorting the grain, but among them there were a thousand civilians driving carts. Most of the rest were not wearing armor, and only a few fully armed soldiers accompanied them.

Although the Huns cavalry did not dare to confront the Qin army with thick armor and sharp blades, but if they were replaced by unarmed civilian garrison soldiers, they would shoot out the bows and arrows without hesitation!

However, when Huyanlan and the others passed through the hills and saw the Qin army's food team, they were immediately dumbfounded!

Because what he saw in front of him was not the panicked grain team after being attacked by the Huns. This long snake, composed of cattle and horses grain carts, was coiling in an orderly manner outside a small forest with a radius of one kilometer. Then the chariots and carriages were unloaded by the Qin people, and they were placed close to each other, layered on top of each other, and circled several times, leaving them in place like stacks of walls. The livestock were driven into the forest by the driver and driver and tied up under the bare trees to prevent them from fleeing in panic during the battle and disrupting the position.

The remaining thousands of unarmored civilians, protected by sword-wielding armored men, stood in the city of chariots and carriages, watching the invading Huns with vigilance...

The Huns looked at each other. They had been wreaking havoc outside the Great Wall for many years, and even fought to the edge of the Western Region, but they had never seen this kind of formation. A few riders wanted to step forward to test it, but they only got within a hundred steps, and in the wall of the carriage, there was a whoosh. A crossbow arrow was shot out, and the crossbow arrow penetrated deeply into the chest of his mount. The horse fell to the ground with a mournful cry. The Huns were lucky enough not to die, but they were frightened and turned pale. He and his companions behind him immediately turned back!

The hand crossbows of the Qin army could only shoot dozens of steps, but they were weak beyond that. The range was similar to that of the Huns' bows and arrows. However, the arrows fired from the wall of the chariot could penetrate a distance of more than a hundred steps without stopping!

The sharp-eyed Hu Yanlan saw that this arrow was shot by those unarmored Qin people. What surprised him even more was the way they stringed it.

It was the first time I saw Lord Gu Du holding a crossbow. He was stunned and left a few words.

I have only seen people who control strings with their hands. The people of Qin actually have people who control strings with their feet. They can match the vulture shooters and can shoot more than a hundred steps!

It is said that this is the origin of this military branch, which has long been called foot men by the grassland people...

…

The Xiongnu cavalry were frightened by the crossbows and when they were hesitating outside and did not dare to advance, Gongsun Bailu inside the chariot wall was also praising Gan Chong, the good man who had just hit the Xiongnu war horse with a crossbow.

Good shooting skills!

The heel army and the middle army needed to advance quickly, so they only brought the lighter arm-shaped crossbows, while the kick-shaped crossbows were carried on the rear army's baggage, which came in handy now.

In addition to a large number of weapons and equipment, when the rear army left Xiaoguan, they also temporarily added a thousand Caiguan crossbowmen who came from Shangjun on the emperor's order for reinforcements. The Qin army's crossbowmen did not wear armor and only wore cloth. The colors were different, so the Huns who didn't know the inside story thought they were civilians from a distance.

This is also the reason why Heifu is worried about the grain team and chooses to pursue the main force of the Huns first. With a hundred good family members who are good at crossbows and a thousand county officials, the grain team will have no worries.

Gan Chong was praised by Gongsun Bailu. He just smiled and cupped his hands and said: If the county captain hadn't been cautious and ordered the horseman to ride as far as thirty miles away, we wouldn't have been able to discover the Huns half an hour in advance. If they were suddenly attacked, they would be cut into pieces. , even if there is a powerful crossbow, it will not be effective...

Gongsun Bailu said with a smile: The Art of War says that if the enemy is not in danger and protected, if they drive deep and long to cut off their food routes, the enemy will be hungry. In the Central Plains, cavalry is most often used to cut off the enemy's food routes and harass the baggage. How can the Huns shoot from small cavalry? Don’t you even understand this?”

There was something else he didn't say. Lieutenant Heifu probably knew this, so he let the grain team serve as bait to lure the Huns into attacking first.

In the long-term confrontation with Zhao State, which was the first to use cavalry, the Qin army's baggage troops also had a formation method to deal with cavalry, which was the Four Warriors Charge Formation!

The key to this formation lies in the vehicle fortification. First, unload the cattle and horses, and use the vehicles to connect them into a circular or square fort as a temporary camp. Then, the warriors have strong crossbows and are prepared on all sides. In this way, they can withstand the enemy. The cavalry attacked.

The original strict Four Warriors Charge required digging three trenches five feet deep outside the chariot base, but today the Huns were coming fiercely, and there was no time in the rush, so there were no trenches, but Gongsun Bailu still let Gan Chong and others scattered some small things in the withered grass outside the base...

Although they were shocked by the range and strength of the crossbows, the Huns still did not give up. Lord Gudu gritted his teeth and ordered the two thousand cavalry to move, and ran around the Qin army's chariot formation twice, and then ordered hundreds of them to move. Riding, suddenly rush towards the seemingly weakest position! Trying to get them closer to shoot arrows and kill those officers who were not protected by armor!

The Xiongnu cavalry roared towards them. When they were a hundred steps away, more than a dozen crossbows were fired immediately, with a sound like thunder. Several of the cavalry fell down in response to the strings. At seventy or eighty paces, behind the car base, more than a hundred ordinary The crossbow also fired arrows, and more than ten Huns were hit by arrows...

But the crossbow also had a shortcoming, that is, it was too slow to wind up. Taking advantage of this gap, the Huns cavalry accelerated and rushed forward. But just when they entered the distance of fifty steps and planned to draw their bows and shoot arrows at the chariot base, the horses under them suddenly He neighed, then stopped suddenly and jumped up.

Nearly a hundred riders rushed in, and this was the case. They lost control of their mounts, and even the unlucky ones were thrown off their horses. They immediately screamed as if they had been stabbed by something.

At this time, the officers who came to support from the car base were already shooting at these live targets with crossbows, leaving dozens of lives behind...

The Huns did not dare to move forward. After shooting a few arrows at random, they retreated. They all looked frightened and felt that there was something strange in the dry grass in front of the Qin army's chariot base.

Hu Yanlan walked up to a limping horse with a livid face, and asked the Huns who were trying to comfort the horse to lift its paws. He couldn't help but take a breath of cold air at the sight.

But he saw that the softest part in the middle of the horse's shoe was stuck with a small thing with sharp thorns on all sides, and it was bleeding.

Is this... white caltrop?

White Tribulus is a common plant in the Xiongnu and even the Central Plains. The fruit shell has triangular spikes. When it falls to the ground when ripe, there is always one thorn pointing upward that can pierce and injure passers-by. It often hurts the children and livestock of the Huns, and is deeply hated by them.

But it is winter now, and the white caltrops have long since died and should not appear here. Upon closer inspection, they are larger than the ordinary white caltrops, and the material seems to be wooden, chipped manually...

Looking at the seriously injured man who was rescued by his companions after falling off his horse, there were also several such thorns stuck in his body, some of which were made of iron, which penetrated deeper and hurt more.

This thing is called Wood Tribulus (j). It is also a sharp weapon used in the Central Plains to deal with chariots. It has appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period. It is said that it was invented by the people of Qi State to deal with the chariots of Jin State. It is often sown on narrow roads that must pass through, and the enemy's chariots will be killed. When riding by, they often hit 78 out of 10. When the Mohists were defending the city, they also used these objects to place them at the entrances and exits of underground tunnels to prevent enemies from raiding underground.

After Beidi County added iron officials, Heifu asked craftsmen to use templates to cast many iron caltrops, and asked the rear army to carry a full fifty carts! I don't want to put it to use here before I get to Huamachi.

Horrible!

The Huns suddenly felt that the Qin people were really cunning. In their eyes, the Qin army's chariot barrier looked like a porcupine full of spikes. If you want to eat the soft meat inside, you will have to be pricked until your hands are covered with blood. The Huns all looked frightened, no matter how much Guduhou scolded them, they were no longer willing to take the initiative to attack.

The character of the Huns is that when they see the enemy, they pursue profit, like birds gathering; when they are defeated, they disintegrate and scatter. This is also the case now. After several attempts and hit the wall, Hu Yanlan also knew that the Qin army was well prepared and was waiting for him. If we come here to rob food, if we continue to be stubborn and refuse to leave, I’m afraid we really won’t be able to leave.

So after sighing bitterly, Huyanlan could only announce his retreat. With several roars, the Huns retreated to the west...

Two moments later, reinforcements from Huamachi City also arrived. Qiang Hua and Fu Zhi, who were worried about the safety of Gan Chong and the grain team, rushed nearby, but they only saw that they were safe and sound, re-harnessing the oxen and horses, and recycling them everywhere. A food team of arrows and caltrops. There are also hundreds of human and horse corpses abandoned by the Huns in the dry grass wilderness...

…

Early the next morning, when thousands of Qin troops returned to Huamachi City, Yanjun quickly led his troops out of the city to greet them.

Groups of soldiers were in high spirits because they had just won two battles. The carefully decorated battle flags were flying in the winter wind. What was even more shocking was that all the good men were riding horses and holding spears. , show off their power, there are hundreds of Huns heads stuck on the spear tips, which were shot by the rear army's baggage troops yesterday.

Yanjun and his group worshiped on both sides of the road, not daring to raise their heads for a long time, but they were extremely shocked in their hearts.

Yesterday's battle between the Qin army and the Huns on the salt flats. He stood on the city wall and saw the whole process. However, when he saw those Xiongnu string controllers who were arrogant during the robbery and violence, when facing the Qin army's infantry and cavalry, they could only They were able to escape in embarrassment, and many of them were killed and captured. The most powerful Huns did not even dare to return to the camp, and fled westward hundreds of miles away.

Later, the Yiqu White Wolf returned with a large number of Yan Rong people, cattle and sheep captured from the Xiongnu camp. Although most of them had been sent back to Helan Mountain by the Huns, being able to snatch food from the tiger's mouth was something Yan Rong had never dared to think about. .

The Qin army's grain team single-handedly fought against two thousand Xiongnu cavalry, repelled their attack, and beheaded more than a hundred people. In this way, relying on these baggage grains, the Qin people could gain a foothold in Huamachi.

It seems that I did the right thing by surrendering my whole family to Great Qin.

With this in mind, Yanjun and his clansmen walked up to the black husband's horse, bowed their heads to him, and expressed their gratitude...

Hei Fu was not interested in the gratitude and loyalty of these Rong people. He waited for Yan Jun to finish speaking and then said: Yan Jun, don't just thank me.

He cupped his hands toward the southeast and said: The one who deserves the most thanks is my Majesty the Emperor of the Qin Dynasty! In a few days, after the Xiongnu are completely driven out of Huamachi, you can go to Xianyang with me to knock on the que!

Wu Shiyan was there to help translate. When Yan Jun heard this, wasn't it exactly the same as the Xiongnu Chanyu who wanted him to go to Mancheng? My heart suddenly tightened.

But looking to the left and right, he saw that the Qin army flag was planted on the top of his city. Heifu's generals had taken control of his city and took over the weapons in his hands. Yanjun could only nod with a smile on his face: This is Naturally, for a barbarian villain to be able to witness the majesty of the Emperor and the Son of Heaven, he is really lucky to have accumulated over generations!

But Heifu's next words made him dizzy again.

But he saw Hei Fu gesticulating to the high-spirited soldiers behind him: You also want to thank these soldiers who went to foreign lands to help the Yan people drive away wolves! Mr. Yan, the soldiers have fought hard for a day and are tired and hungry. Please let me go. The tribesmen slaughtered a thousand sheep... no, killed two thousand sheep, I want to feast on the soldiers! u