Chapter Thirty-Four: Long-Distance Sprint

  November in Wuwei is very cold, with biting winds making people shiver all over.

  Yang Chengfeng sat in the main hall of the Taishou Mansion and discussed with the other generals about retaking the four counties of Lanzhou, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang.

  Although the Mongols did not come to attack Wuwei this year after the battle of defense in Wuwei, it does not mean that they will not make a comeback next year. Therefore, it is necessary to recover Lanzhou, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang four counties before the end of this year. By then, with the existence of Mengyin Pass and Jiayuguan Pass, it will not be so easy for the Mongols to attack the Great Qin Empire again.

  With the recovery of Lanzhou and other places, Yang Chengfeng's prestige in the Great Qin Empire can be greatly enhanced, which will be of great help to him in his future conquest of Central Plains. At the same time, due to his attitude towards the imperial family, the adverse impact on the court can also be improved.

  Moreover, if he possessed the four counties of Lanzhou, plus Wuwei and the Narati Grassland, Yang Chengfu would be equivalent to occupying the northwest of the Great Qin Empire. With the extinction of these local aristocratic families, the imperial court would have to consider whether it could move against him.

  It is now November, and it is unthinkable for either the Mongols or the imperial court of the Great Qin Empire to go to war in the northwest.

  "Everyone, what good suggestions do you have for recovering the four counties of Lanzhou?" Yang Chengfeng asked, looking at the various generals.

  Everyone present knew why Yang Chengfeng wanted to recover Lanzhou and other places this year. Wang Zuwei said, "Your Highness, there are tens of thousands of Mongolians in the four counties of Lanzhou, most of whom are concentrated in Lanzhou. The three counties of Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang have fewer people, only a few thousand, and can be quickly recovered with cavalry. However, the land of Lanzhou has gathered tens of thousands of Mongolian iron knights, with strong forces. If we cannot eliminate them in a short period, the reinforcements of the Mongolian Empire can enter Lanzhou through the Longmen Mountain Pass and Jiayuguan Pass, which will be a protracted war, very unfavorable to our Sky Wolf Army!"

  "General Wang is right, our Tiangong Army has a total of one million troops. Two hundred thousand are stationed in Wuwei to prevent the garrison of Longxi, and two hundred thousand are stationed in the northwest pasture to guard against the Narati grassland. Only six hundred thousand can really go out to battle. Facing twice as many Mongolian iron knights, if we're not careful, our entire army will be annihilated!" Deng Zheng said.

  "There's no need to boost others' morale at the expense of our own prestige. The current Mongolian commander in Lanzhou is Wu Yusen, the eldest prince of the Mongol Empire, not the great general Helian Tietsu. He's a mediocre person who doesn't have the ability and courage of the second prince of the Mongol Empire. Moreover, during his stay in Lanzhou over the past few months, he has been committing all sorts of evil deeds, including forcibly taking women from the people, and the people of Lanzhou have long since come to loathe him. As long as we can launch an attack on Lanzhou, the people of Lanzhou will definitely join forces with us to defeat the Mongols." Yang Chengfeng said to everyone.

  He paused and said, "In addition, according to reliable intelligence, this Wu Yusen has formed a five-million-strong infantry in Lanzhou. What does he want to do? The Mongols have always been mainly cavalry, so why did they suddenly form a five-million-strong infantry this time? It's clear that they want to use Lanzhou as a base to attack our Great Qin. If the Mongols train this infantry well, Wuwei and Guanzhong will not be able to withstand the Mongol invasion without two or three legions. Therefore, we must retake Lanzhou before the big snow arrives this year."

  Kong Zhao's eyebrows furrowed in thought, and after a moment, he said: "Your Highness, there are three routes to attack Lanzhou. One is to go through Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang prefectures, directly targeting Wuwei. Another is to cross the Yellow River from the north of Nara Grassland, passing through the Mongol Empire's territory all the way west, attacking Lanzhou from Mengyin Pass and Jiayuguan. The third route is to head southwest through the Qiang tribe's gathering place, crossing the Qilian Mountains to reach the city of Lanzhou. However, this third route is relatively impassable; not to mention whether the Qiang tribe will allow us to pass, the Qilian Mountains are extremely treacherous, and with heavy snowfall on the mountain, it would be difficult for a large army to cross. The second route, passing through the Mongol Empire's vast grasslands, is also fraught with danger; if we were to alarm the Mongolian tribes, this entire army could be annihilated. Therefore, the only viable route is to head west, but it will face an attack from tens of thousands of Mongolian iron cavalry and 50,000 infantrymen."

  Sai Tung Lo suddenly said: "Now is November, the Mongols generally do not move troops at this time, so except for the Mongolian army in Lanzhou, the reinforcements of the Mongol Empire will truly enter Mengyin Pass and Jiayuguan to support Lanzhou a month later. So we have one month's time to recover Lanzhou, as long as we recover Lanzhou, even if the Mongolian reinforcements arrive, it doesn't matter. One month later, Lanzhou, Wuwei and other places will be heavily snowed, the Mongols' combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced, and they will have to retreat."

  "Not bad, General Sutu said it well. The Mongolian Empire is located in the north, and the climate conditions are even worse than here. It's possible that there is heavy snow now, and it's impossible to gather a large army to support Lanzhou. So we're facing the 200,000-strong Mongolian army in Lanzhou, but among them, the 50,000 infantry newly recruited by Wu Yusen are local people from Lanzhou, lacking training, and hating the Mongolians to the bone. Therefore, Wu Yusen will not let them go into battle, and the ones who can really fight are the tens of thousands of iron cavalry in Wu Yusen's hands. However, in Wu Yusen's view, we won't attack him at this time, and he will definitely be off guard. So I've decided to take 60,000 light cavalrymen, each with three horses, passing through Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang counties, rushing towards Lanzhou, and catching them off guard." Yang Chengfeng said.

  "Your Highness, isn't this too risky? What if we can't take Lanzhou in a short time, and our food and grass are not sufficient, the entire army of 600,000 may be annihilated!" Wang Zuwei was startled.

  Long-distance raid warfare was not unheard of, and in those years, Huo Qubing relied on his bravery and 800 cavalrymen to ride hundreds of miles in the vast desert to search for enemy tracks. As a result, he pioneered long-distance raid warfare and won the first battle, beheading over 2,000 enemies, with one of the two uncles of the Xiongnu Chanyu being killed and the other captured alive.

  In the spring of Yuanshou 2, Huo Qubing was appointed as a Fuma General and led an army of 10,000 elite soldiers to attack the Xiongnu. In the vast desert, he launched a surprise attack and fought a beautiful battle of encirclement. Within six days, he battled against five tribes of the Xiongnu, advancing rapidly, and engaged in a fierce and bloody battle with the Xiongnu generals Lu Hou and Zhe Lan Wang at Gao Lan Mountain. In this battle, Huo Qubing won a narrow victory, but his 10,000 elite soldiers were reduced to only 3,000 men. The Xiongnu suffered even more severe losses - Lu Hou Wang and Zhe Lan Wang were killed in action, the son of Hunxie King and the Shangguan and Duiwei were captured, and 8,960 enemies were beheaded. The golden statue used by the Xiongnu for worship also became a spoil of war for the Han army.

  In the fourth year of Yuanjia, Emperor Wu of Han launched a large-scale war in the north to thoroughly eliminate the main force of Xiongnu. In this war, Huo Qubing led his troops to penetrate deep into the north to search for the main force of Xiongnu, and with a loss of 15,000 soldiers, he killed more than 70,000 enemies, captured three Xiongnu kings, and captured 83 generals, including the Shanyu. Huo Qubing continued to pursue and kill the Xiongnu, hoping to meet the Xiongnu Shanyu, until he reached the Kent Mountain area. There, Huo Qubing temporarily stopped and led his army to perform rituals to heaven and earth - the ritual of offering sacrifices to heaven was held on Wolf Mountain, and the ritual of offering sacrifices to earth was held on Gouyan Mountain. After the ritual, Huo Qubing continued to lead his troops to pursue and attack the Xiongnu, all the way to Lake Baikal, before returning to China.

  "It's settled then. How can we get the tiger cubs without entering the tiger's lair? Wang Zuwei, Deng Zhenglai, Nie Songbo, Si Tu Leidian, Lu Saka, Sun Yingjie and I will lead the troops to Lanzhou. Kong Zhaojun will be stationed at Zhenwuwei, and Sun Dongfang will be stationed at Xibeipumuchang." said Yang Chengfeng.