Chapter 58: Conquering Dayuan

  Huhe Zhai, although a rough man, was also a seasoned veteran. After careful consideration, he felt that the enemy's defeat was somewhat unusual, and they had retreated for dozens of miles without any troops coming to their aid, which was very strange. He secretly thought it was not good, wondering if the enemy was using a tactic to lure them away from Guishan City. However, Guishan City still had 2,000 defending soldiers, and even if the enemy had more troops, relying on the high and sturdy city walls, they could hold out for at least a day or two without any problem. Thinking of this, he didn't panic and ordered his army to return to Guishan City.

  Just as he was turning his horse's head, the sound of war drums came from the left side of the mountain, and a loud shout shook the sky. A group of cavalry rushed over. The leader, wearing golden armor and green robes, rode a crimson horse, holding a dark dragon crescent moon knife. His eyebrows were lowered, and his eyes were slightly closed. It was none other than Guan Yu, also known as Guan Yunchang. He coldly laughed and said: "Huhe Er, you have fallen into my master's trap! Don't you dare to dismount and surrender!"

  Huhezha was furious, and although he didn't understand Chinese, his subordinates immediately translated it for him. He was so angry that he shouted loudly. Although there were rolling clouds of dust behind Guan Yu, making it impossible to tell how many ambush troops there were, the Xiongnu people had never been afraid of anyone on this vast land before. Even if they fell into an ambush, Huhezha didn't lose his nerve and immediately led his troops in a charge towards Guan Yu.

  At this time, Zhang Fei, who was ambushing on the right road, also led his army to attack, and Pan Feng, who had previously been defeated, turned over his gun head and launched a charge against the Xiongnu army's position.

  Facing the siege of the three armies, even the strongest army would feel overwhelmed. Bi Le shouted: "General, retreat quickly, protect the precious mountain city, and I will cut off the pursuit."

  Hu and Yue had no choice but to lead the army out of the siege, fleeing towards Guishan City. Guan Yu let out a cold laugh and chased after them on horseback. Bi Le raised his spear in resistance, but Guan Yu struck him down with his sword, cutting him off his horse.

  They fled all the way until nightfall, when the high walls of Guishan City were in sight. The pursuing soldiers' killing cries gradually subsided, and Huhe's mood slightly calmed down. He led out three thousand cavalrymen from the city, but only over a thousand returned. Nearly two thousand brothers died on the battlefield. He regretted not listening to Bile's words, which led to this defeat. Bile also lost his life trying to protect him. Huhe's mood was extremely depressed. For now, he could only retreat back to Guishan City and prioritize defending it first.

  He ordered his soldiers to open the city gate, but after a long time, no one opened the door. He was furious and rode forward, ordering the garrison soldiers to open the gate.

  On the top of the noble mountain city, a loud shout was heard. Countless torches illuminated the city above and below as if it were daytime. The crowd surrounded him, and he was a man in golden armor and red robes, with a face like jade, handsome and extraordinary, clearly a Han Chinese. Huhe Zhai wasn't an idiot; he immediately understood that this person must be the commander of the Nine Nations Allied Army - the Sun God Envoy.

  Liu Ze burst out laughing and said: "General Huhezhai, I have been waiting for you in Guishan City for a long time."

  Huhe Xie's face turned pale, his body swayed, and he almost fell off the horse. He couldn't have imagined that Liu Ze not only ambushed him halfway but also easily took over Guishan City, all within a short span of several hours. Even if he had two thousand soldiers to defend Guishan City, it would take at least half a day to kill them, let alone those high city walls - how did they break through?

  Reconsidering these issues is also futile, he has already been furious and immediately ordered the attack. However, his brain was also confused at this time. To say that there were only over a thousand people in his hands, even if there were ten thousand people, all of whom were field cavalry, without any siege equipment, how could they break through the high city wall?

  The city was already in a state of chaos, with arrows flying everywhere. After leaving behind dozens of corpses, the enemy retreated to the east. Liu Ze only coldly smiled a few times and ordered his soldiers to guard the gate, without issuing any orders to pursue them.

  The night was dark and the remnants of the Huns retreated to Wulung Ridge, led by Huhezha. The cold air of the vast desert in late September made the Hun soldiers shiver with fear, wearing only single-layer clothing. In the chaos of the defeated army, they had already abandoned their limited supplies of food and grass, and after a day of fierce battle, they were both cold and hungry, utterly exhausted. Huhezha also relaxed his guard, feeling his stomach growl with hunger, and ordered the troops to set up camp, build fires, and cook meals.

  One of the thousand-household heads under him had a worried look and said: "Reporting to the General, today our army launched an attack without making preparations for camping, and we didn't bring any tents or other equipment. Moreover, the small amount of dry rations we brought were also lost in the chaos of the battle, now our army has nothing to eat."

  Huhezha was furious, and with a whip he lashed out at the chiliarch, shouting: "You bunch of good-for-nothings——" He cursed for half a sentence before suddenly stopping, today's defeat had dealt him too great a blow. The army known as the King of the Grasslands had been defeated in just one day, Guishan City was lost, and four thousand elite cavalry were gone. How could he explain this to his brother Hutton Single?

  "Kill the horse!" he commanded briefly, and the chiliarch who had been lashed cowered behind him, not knowing whether to carry out General Zuo's order. For the grassland nation, warhorses were as precious as their own lives, and sometimes a good horse was worth more than a warrior's life. In desperate situations, no one wanted to kill their beloved horses.

  Huhe Xie let out a sigh and said, "Let's kill a few horses to fill our bellies first. As long as we can get past Wulong Ridge, the world will be ours. On the eastern front, we still have tens of thousands of troops. Once we turn our horses around, we can wipe them out completely!"

  "Yes sir!" The chiliarch led his orders and retreated, selected a few weak horses to slaughter, lit a bonfire, and prepared to roast.

  Just then, the sound of killing rose on all sides, and the coalition forces had surrounded them. The three thousand soldiers led by Wu An-guo had long been ambushed at Wulung Ridge, setting up a pocket to let the Xiongnu people drill in. The battle was without any suspense, how could the exhausted Xiongnu reach the number of people and horses surrounding them, it only took half an hour to end, and Huhezhe was also captured alive. Wu An-guo ordered that Huhezhe be tied up and taken to Guishan City, and the remaining captives were all executed.

  Up to now, the whole territory of Dayuan has been recovered. Inside Guishan City, there is a scene of jubilation. Liu Ze sits in the general's mansion, and various generals return to report their victory. The leaders of the nine major tribes who followed him did not expect that Liu Ze could annihilate all the defenders of Guishan in one day, recover Dayuan, and accomplish what they had dared not think about for ten years, and they were both surprised and delighted.

  For the Huns' defense, Liu Ze didn't want to fight hard, whether it was a cavalry battle on the front line or a forced attack on the city, which would inevitably result in heavy casualties for his side. So he ordered Pan Feng to lead 3,000 troops to the foot of Guishan City to lure the enemy, allowing defeat but not victory, and to lead the Huns' pursuing army into an ambush. He also ordered Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to each lead 5,000 troops, setting up an ambush on both sides of the valley north of Ershi City. Once the Hun soldiers entered the encirclement, they would immediately launch a three-pronged attack, determined to annihilate the Hun soldiers in the valley. He himself led 1,000 cavalrymen, using the Huns' horses and armor captured at Baixue Valley, disguising themselves as defeated Huns, and directly took Guishan City. The Huns defending the city did not suspect anything and immediately opened the city gate to let them in.

  After Liu Ze entered the city, he immediately controlled the city gate. Then, the 10,000-strong army hiding outside rushed in and attacked the city. The Xiongnu soldiers in the city resisted stubbornly, but with only 2,000 people, they were unable to withstand the siege warfare after losing the city wall. They were all beheaded soon. Liu Ze easily captured Guishan City.

  As for Wu An-guo's ambush at Wulung Ridge, it was Liu Ze's reserve plan. Liu Ze believed that even if the allied forces won the ambush battle in the valley with 13,000 troops, they might not be able to annihilate the fierce Xiongnu soldiers. Therefore, he set up an ambush on the road that the enemy must take when retreating eastward. The result was just as Liu Ze had expected: after being defeated, the Huhezhi army retreated eastward and arrived at Wulung Ridge exhausted, where they were completely captured by Wu An-guo.

  But Liu Ze did not dare to slack off, and the scouts reported that Huludun Single had already repelled the Xianbei people's attack on the Ulangu River. At this time, it was already close to October, and the Xianbei people had retreated. Although at this time the Xiongnu no longer had time to march west to attack Guishan City, next spring when the ice and snow melted, they would surely launch a national army to attack Dayuan. The big battle next year was unavoidable, so now's preparation must be grasped tightly. Against the powerful Xiongnu cavalry, Liu Ze did not think that relying on the nine-nation coalition army's small force could contend with them. In field battles, the Xiongnu cavalry was almost invincible. What to use as resistance?

  Liu Ze summoned the nine tribal leaders to a meeting to discuss their next move. Everyone discussed for half a day, but no feasible plan was formed. In fact, Liu Ze didn't expect them to come up with any brilliant ideas. If there were really some talented military strategists among them, how could the 26 countries of Western Regions all fall to the Xiongnu?

  Jia Xun faithfully fulfilled his duties, conveying Liu Ze's words and the words of the various leaders one by one. However, a hint of cold mockery flickered at the corner of his mouth. Although it was an unintentional expression, Liu Ze saw it clearly. Presumably, Jia Xun had already thought of a countermeasure in his heart, but with his current identity, he would not dare to speak out. Liu Ze also wouldn't ask him. After all, this Western Regions war was just a small appetizer on the journey of conquering the world. If they couldn't even handle this, how could they face the turbulent situation of the various lords rising up in the future?

  Liu Ze decisively established the defensive strategy of "accumulating grain and building high walls", relying on the city wall of Guishan City and the 100,000 Xiongnu troops to defend the city. Some people also suggested that if the Xiongnu army besieged the city, no matter how much food was stored in the city, it would eventually be consumed, and if the Xiongnu army surrounded the city for a long time, with no internal supplies and no external reinforcements, Guishan City would eventually fall.

  Liu Ze smiled and said, "The enemy of the Xiongnu is not just us. The Xianbei on the eastern front are their greatest threat. Although the Xianbei were defeated in this battle at Wulun River, it doesn't mean they will give up. I believe they will definitely come back. If the Xiongnu army advances west and besieges Guishan City, the Xianbei people probably won't let go of the great opportunity to attack the empty territory of the Xiongnu. However, even if the Xianbei don't take advantage of this situation, I still have a plan to defeat the enemy. It's just that it's still a secret for now and shouldn't be revealed. You will all understand later."

  After the meeting, Liu Ze immediately ordered to gather grain and grass widely, transport stones to build a city, and tidy up the army. All actions were executed immediately, and the above tasks must be completed before winter.

  As the city of Guishan changed hands in one day, a large amount of grain and fodder stored in the prefectural treasury was left behind and fell into the hands of the Allied Army. The original inhabitants of Daxia all surrendered under the return of their prince and army, not only handing over the remaining grain they had, but also many young men joining the army.