Invincible Iron Army 27, Confrontation Book Flag

  The Huns' soldiers felt extremely tense, after all, who wouldn't feel uneasy with an army appearing at their own back.

  Wang An is now more tense than the Xiongnu, because once the Xiongnu discover that the troops in front and behind are not the main force, but only a "weak outside and strong inside" straw man, they will definitely launch an attack. At that time, what awaits Wang An and his men is the fate of annihilation.

  Wang An gazed up at the sky, praying silently in his heart for the sky to darken quickly. Every second felt like a year, dragging on endlessly.

  The Xiongnu felt that they could not continue to confront each other like this, and they also wanted to figure out the number of enemy troops behind them, so they decided to conduct a military reconnaissance. The Xiongnu soldiers sent out hundreds of cavalrymen towards the Jin army in the rear.

  Wang An did not know which troops were behind, but Wang An thought that their number would not be too many. Most of the Han army was just Liu Jiao's cross-regional mobilization of troops, and it would not arrive in such a short period of time. The total military strength of Yuyang was only 100,000 people, but they were distributed in a vast defense zone, and they would not be mobilized to this place for the time being.

  Judging from Liu Jiao's repeated delays in launching the counterattack, the troop movements within the Youyang defense zone are also not ideal. It seems that even if it is the Youyang army that has arrived, their numbers will definitely not be too many.

  Under the attack of Xiongnu, the actual situation of fewer soldiers will be exposed. At that time, as soon as the Xiongnu army discovers it, they will immediately attack the rear troops and then turn around to annihilate them, quickly advancing to the city of Puyang, and the entire battle situation in Puyang will become extremely passive.

  Although King An knew this, he had no choice but to be helpless. He couldn't launch an attack because once he did, the true strength of his army would be exposed. Jiang Zai was so anxious that he kept walking on the ground, repeatedly saying "What to do, what to do". Zhang Wan and Li Li looked at each other and were also helpless.

  At this time, the Huns' army suddenly stopped, as if they were waiting for something. Wang An and Jiang Cai let out a sigh of relief, thinking that the Huns had stopped their attack. But then another Hun army of about 50,000 men emerged from the ranks, preparing to merge with the few hundred men in front and launch a fierce attack.

  Wang An and others became tense again, Jiang Cai said: "It's bad, this time it's not that there are no troops in the forest, even if there are tens of thousands of troops, they will be defeated by the Xiongnu army. When the Xiongnu concentrates its forces and launches an attack here, the truth will be revealed." Zhang Wan added: "At that time, we will not only be annihilated, but also drag down the entire defense of Youyang." Li Li quickly corrected him: "It's not us who dragged down the entire defense of Youyang, it's the defense of Youyang that dragged us down. Our army has a total of how many people, and after repeated battles, many soldiers are still injured, yet they bear the arduous task of blocking the enemy. To let a 500-man team block an army of nearly 50 million, such orders can be issued, I really admire them."

  Jiang Cai said, "Stop complaining and think of a solution quickly", Li Li said, "What can we do in this situation? We can only hold on". At this time, the Xiongnu army was gradually approaching the forest. Wang An shouted loudly, "The army immediately beats the war drums, and the soldiers wave flags everywhere".

  Wang An's order was carried out, and the soldiers quickly beat the war drums. The flags in the forest fluttered everywhere. The Xiongnu army saw this from a distance and thought that the Jin army was about to launch an attack, so they immediately strengthened their defenses and prepared for battle. At this time, the Jin army behind the Xiongnu also beat the war drums and waved their flags.

  The Xiongnu thought that the Jin army was going to attack, and immediately issued an order to recall the troops they had sent out, occupying a favorable terrain to prepare for a counterattack. The Chanyu of the Xiongnu said to the Right Wise King: "If we continue to attack, our cavalry will be at a disadvantage, and after recalling our army, our army will also occupy a mountain head. If Jin attacks, they will also have to look up at our army, and when that happens, we will be in a superior position, shooting arrows or charging their army with cavalry, and we will surely win."

  Yu Xian Wang knew that Chanyu's words made sense, and he immediately nodded. In the forest, Wang An and others also breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that they had finally escaped disaster. The Xiongnu army waited on the mountain for nearly an hour, but did not find the attacking Jin army, and their hearts were also filled with doubts.

  The Xiongnu Chanyu decided to send out an army, attacking the defensive Jin army head-on, testing the combat effectiveness of this army. The Xiongnu sent nearly 100,000 cavalrymen. Because the Xiongnu Chanyu saw that there were more flags in front of the army and thought that if the number of troops was small, his own army might suffer losses.

  100,000 cavalrymen formed an attacking formation and approached Wang An's forest. At this time, the Xiongnu Chanyu thought that the number of troops was still not enough, so he dispatched another army to reinforce the attacking force. After the two armies merged, the total strength reached 200,000 men. The soldiers in the forest thought to themselves: Don't mention 200,000 cavalrymen, even if only 20,000 soldiers come, our entire army will be annihilated.

  Jiang Cai thought to himself, "We rescued the army behind the Huns' backs, but we've put our own army in a precarious position." The Huns had an overwhelming number of soldiers and their combat strength was formidable. As the Huns' army slowly closed in, they exerted immense pressure on Wang An and his men.

  Jiang Cai said: "Wang brothers, do you think that if we beat the drums once and wave our flags again, will it scare off the Xiongnu soldiers?" Wang An said: "Of course not, this time the Xiongnu army has made it clear that they want to fight us to the death, so naturally they won't be scared off by us."

  Li Li listened, and a resolute look appeared in his eyes. They had already made sacrifices in their hearts. The Xiongnu army carefully advanced towards the mountain top, getting closer and closer to Wang An's forest. The Xiongnu Chanyu said: "It's strange, why didn't the Jin army take advantage of the geographical advantage to shoot arrows and throw stones at us? Is their general incompetent?"

  Wang An said, "Prepare for battle." The soldiers aimed their crossbows at the Xiongnu troops, ready to fire. They knew that once the arrows were released, the enemy would quickly see through their ruse, but they had no choice and could only fight to the death. The Xiongnu soldiers slowly advanced, soon approaching the edge of Wang An's forest, but then stopped.

  Cavalry also had many disadvantages in the forest, trees would slow down the cavalry's speed, and the crisscrossing branches would scratch the cavalry's bodies. Unless absolutely necessary, the Xiongnu army would never enter the forest. However, soon the Xiongnu general made up his mind, and the soldiers began to enter the forest.

  Wang An was about to issue the order to attack, when the troops behind the Xiongnu began to beat drums and wave flags. The Xiongnu chanyu, who had been paying attention to his rear, thought that the Jin army would take advantage of the situation to launch an attack, and immediately recalled his attacking troops to gather on the hill where he was stationed.

  Wang An said, "Order the troops to leave the forest immediately." Jiang Cai hastily stopped Wang An and said, "Are you crazy? If we go out, the Xiongnu will definitely know the actual number of our troops. At that time, we will be annihilated." Wang An said, "If we go out, the Xiongnu will be suspicious and fearful. If we continue to hide here, the Xiongnu will launch another attack, and we will be in danger at that time." Wang An's army left the forest. The Xiongnu saw this and were immediately bewildered by this army, unsure of their intentions.

  Wang An continued to order: "The army takes off its armor and scatters to rest." Li Li hurriedly said to Wang An: "Brother Wang, our armor is very troublesome to wear. Once the Xiongnu army attacks, we will be caught off guard and will definitely suffer heavy losses." Wang An said: "Don't worry about these things, I let you take it off, just take it off." The soldiers began to take off their armor and lazily rested on one side.

  The Xiongnu Chanyu and the Right Wise King looked at this army, and suddenly felt a little bewildered. The Right Wise King said: "Is the commander of this army crazy? We have 450,000 troops here, even if the Jin Dynasty gathers an army of the same scale, it's not our opponent, let alone I don't believe the Jin Dynasty can gather so many troops." The Chanyu interrupted him and said: "Don't underestimate the Jin Dynasty's ability to mobilize its army. They have a large population, and mobilizing a million-strong army is nothing to them. I think this army is likely a decoy, aiming to lure our army into their pre-set ambush circle. We can't fall for it." The Right Wise King disagreed, saying: "They are clearly at their wit's end, that's why they came up with such a low-level strategy, aiming to make my army suspect and dare not attack their army." The Xiongnu Chanyu immediately stopped him, saying: "Don't underestimate them. The Jin people are good at playing tricks and schemes. You forgot how your son died?" The Right Wise King fell silent, thinking that the Chanyu's words were also reasonable. If it weren't for the Jin people's despicable ambush, his son wouldn't have died unjustly.

  Wang An breathed a sigh of relief as dusk approached, thinking to himself, "We've made it through another day." The Huns also settled in for the night, lighting fires that illuminated the surrounding area like daylight. Wang An ordered his troops to light fires on the mountain, creating the illusion of a large army camping there to deceive the enemy. Just then, a messenger soldier arrived at Wang An's campsite, bearing orders from the commander-in-chief. At this point, Jiang Cai and others were filled with anger, but Wang An calmly said, "Take him down, behead this messenger soldier."

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