Yuan Huan had been on the mission for nearly four months. Although he failed to persuade Fuyu to send troops to Goguryeo, he was able to stabilize Fuyu Wang Wei Qiutai and prevent him from sending troops together with Dongxianbei and Goguryeo. Otherwise, the war in Liaodong would have been different.
Just imagine, if all four armies send troops, they won't have to guard against the powerful enemies around them, so they will naturally have no worries, and their strategy will be bold. The Anping Army will be outnumbered and difficult to resist. If hundreds of thousands of coalition troops invade Liaodong, it will definitely turn into a mess.
Don't worry about Liu Xiang trying to steal the Xianbei people's retreat. In the twelfth lunar month, he had to fight against the wind and snow to support Liaodong. No matter whether he could win or not, Liaodong's losses would not be small.
How can we defend ourselves against enemies outside the country like now?
Guan Yu blocked Lelang at Fanhan, Yan Rou blocked the Xianbei people on the line from Yangle to Changli, and Goguryeo's Chen soldiers did not dare to advance at the border of Xuantu. This was partly because Yang Gao led his troops to resist. Another reason was because he was afraid that Fuyu would raid their home base.
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If Fuyu and Goguryeo send troops at the same time, both sides have no worries. Yang Qian may not be able to withstand the attack from both fronts. Goguryeo's military strength alone is five times that of his. The left army will not have time to support, and Yan Rou's troops will not be able to safely fight against Dong.
A confrontation with Xianbei, let alone a pursuit of more than 300 miles.
Sometimes it's really just a little bit stressful.
In this battle, Yuan Huan took the greatest credit.
The reason for sending a letter asking him to return to Xuantu was for his personal safety. Liu Xiang did not plan to return to Liaodong. This place is more than 40 miles north, and then 400 miles east along the Daliao River to the border of Fuyu. There are no roads along the way.
If there is any obstruction, he will take the cavalry to make a circle.
It’s not that I really want to attack Buyeo. Goguryeo’s 40,000 troops are still at the border of Xuantu, and there are 30,000 people from Lelang in the south. Now is either a good opportunity to attack Buyeo, or to scare them and dispel their unnecessary caution.
Deterring foreign countries with the threat of great victory is a military method.
What if Wei Qiutai gets a brain attack, sees the destruction of Dong Xianbei, feels insecure, chops off Yuan Huan's head to win the trust of Goguryeo, and quickly forms an alliance with him?
There's no harm in being cautious.
He likes to do things in advance and then feel sad and mournful after the incident. That is not his style.
Making plans in advance, advancing the situation smoothly and keeping everything in order, this is the state he dreams of. Being reckless when encountering problems may seem hot-blooded, but it is actually short-sighted behavior, and he can easily become cannon fodder.
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Seeing the messenger's figure disappearing into the night, Liu Xiang took back his thoughts and examined the shortcomings of this battle, hoping to do better next time. It has been four years since he came to the Han Dynasty, and he has grown up step by step in this way. Now
Not bad.
This is a world of great strife. If you don't grow up, you will be slapped to death on the beach.
This battle was launched after noon. The battle lasted for nearly two hours, and the defeated troops were pursued for twenty miles. When the battle ended, it was already night.
Time was a little tight, and the night provided cover for the deserters. The exact number of escapees has not yet been calculated, but there must be a lot of them. He could actually go another ten miles and engage in the battle some time in advance, which would be much easier.
There was no need to consider a surprise attack. The desert terrain here was flat and you could see for ten miles at a glance. There was really no condition for a sneak attack. As for the night attack, he never considered it from the beginning to the end. He used elite soldiers from the Chinese army to replace Nanloubu and Xiutu.
He didn't want to do this because of the loss of the whole department.
He needs to weaken these two tribes to a certain extent to facilitate subsequent Chineseization.
While Liu Xiang was thinking, the prisoners had been collected, the wounded soldiers had been temporarily bandaged, the army was encamped on the spot, preparing to clean the battlefield tomorrow, and the statistics of meritorious officers were reported.
Dong Xianbei's 26,000 cavalry killed more than 8,000 people, captured 14,000 people, and more than 3,000 people fled.
Our army suffered more than 1,900 casualties and more than 7,000 casualties. The Nanlou Department suffered heavy casualties, with more than 1,500 killed and more than 6,400 wounded. The Xiutu Department suffered more than 300 casualties and more than 700 wounded.
people.
The Chinese army suffered more than 20 casualties, and the Liaodong cavalry suffered more than 100 casualties.
Yan Gang didn't believe it when he heard this number.
"Why did they suffer so many casualties? This battle was not a hard one."
Cui Yi gave some advice: "If there is no armor, horses are not enough. When the arrow rain comes, there will be many people who are wounded by the arrows or knocked over by the frightened horses. Two groups of Hu people pulled out more than 40,000 cavalry. It seems that there are many people.
The combat strength is just that. It only takes 5,000 assault cavalry to disrupt them with one assault. To deal with such an army, don't get entangled with them, just form a formation and attack directly. They are afraid of this."
Yan Gang nodded and learned something again. Xu Huang, who was behind Cui Yi, also had eyes shining with understanding.
"Then why are the Xianbei people still entangled with them? Don't the Xianbei people know this truth?" Yan Zhi was a little puzzled. He is now a Sima of the Yueqi Camp Army. He is familiar with tactics such as mounted archery and wandering fighting, and
There is a big gap between him and his brother Yan Rou in terms of leading troops.
Liu Xiang has already considered putting him in a higher position. He has no talent in military strategy.
Just like the question he asked, it was actually a bit silly. Yan Rou couldn't stand it anymore and pointed out: "The Xianbei people are even more lacking in armor. Besides, our elite cavalry is staring at their main force from the north and south. The Xianbei people don't dare to attack directly.
, otherwise you will be cut off at the waist, and you will lose even more miserably."
Liu Xiang looked at Cui Yi and Yan Rou who were advising on tactics. One was a low-level military official who had been a team leader for eight years, and the other was a slave who was kidnapped since he was a child and survived by helping the barbarians trade. In addition,
I am a member of the clan who fell into decline because my ancestors rebelled and were convicted.
They are all growing!
fine.
He smiled and talked about the follow-up arrangements: "Ziming, you will bring the captives and wounded soldiers back to Liaodong. I will ask the Nanlou Department and the Xiutu Department to send people to assist. The prisoners will be sent to build roads. The main road through the Western Liaoning Corridor has been
After repairing it, the next step is to connect Changli from Tuhe to the north, directly to Xuantu County through the foot of Yiwulu Mountain in the northeast, and then connect all counties in Liaodong from Xuantu to the south until Yunfanying Shuizhai in Dashi County. It will be repaired to Fanhan County in the southeast.
.As for the road leading to Lelang, let’s talk about it later.”
"Don't worry, Lord, I will make arrangements."
Liu Xiang nodded and said to Cui Yi: "Gather all the supplies, slaughter the injured horses to make dried meat, and calculate how long it can be eaten."
"Follow the order." Cui Yi knew as soon as he heard that another war was about to start. He happily accepted the order and left. The sooner he prepared military rations, the sooner he could go to war. Before he could get enough of this battle, the Xianbei people were defeated.
The army rested for the night, and early the next morning they ordered the prisoners to collect the bodies, dig holes and bury them.
Cui Yi ran around and ordered his soldiers to collect more than 5,000 dead and wounded horses. Excluding those with minor injuries that could be cured, there were more than 4,500 more. These were slaughtered and skinned for meat. One horse could produce more than 300 horses.
Jin of meat, more than 300 Jin of bones, horse meat alone is enough to feed the army for nearly a month.
Including the original cattle and sheep seized, there were more than 8,000 cattle and more than 20,000 sheep. Together with the military rations carried by Yan Rou's troops, it was enough to feed the army for two and a half months.
But Liu Xiang couldn't bear to eat cattle and sheep anymore. In the snowstorm, Youzhou's livestock suffered a lot of losses.
The Mingnanlou and Xiutu tribes sent 5,000 people to assist Yan Rou, transporting the wounded, escorting the prisoners, and driving the sheep back to Liaodong.
After returning to Liaodong, Yan Rou's 8,000 cavalrymen will go south to attack the Han Dynasty, waiting for opportunities.
Liu Xiang led 35,000 cavalry, drove cattle for transportation, and marched eastward along the river towards Buyeo with a month's worth of supplies.
Before leaving, he sent a message to Wuyan, asking his tribe to move to the Horqin Grassland and clean up the remnants of the Eastern Xianbei tribe. This place would become their pasture in summer and autumn. The letter warned that when they return to the pass at the end of autumn, they must send people to burn the grassland.
, cannot leave a wintering place for other barbarians.
The Wuyan tribe has a population of 120,000, and they go to Seoul to graze in late spring. Due to lack of pasture, the tribesmen are scattered. In summer and autumn, it becomes slow and difficult to gather troops. It is just time for them to come to Horqin to graze in order to prevent others from leaving after the army.
The barbarians came here to multiply and become a future trouble.
The Horqin Grassland has a sandy landform, and there is no way to open up wasteland for farming. Liu Xiang does not want to spend extravagantly building a city and building roads here. The cost is too great and the return is too small. He cannot bear such a burden on Youzhou.
War is coming, and now is not the time to develop grasslands. The Liaohe Plain is still full of wasteland.
Things have to be prioritized and have to be done step by step.