Following Wei Yan's order, the soldiers jumped off their horses one after another, and everyone almost did the same thing. Instead of rushing to satisfy their hungry bellies, they took out horse feed and fed their beloved horses first.
Come on. For cavalry, war horses are not only weapons for them to fight, but also good partners who accompany them day and night, just like their relatives.
Soon they were going to be involved in a fight, and the soldiers only fed their horses half full. They themselves were the same, a mouthful of fried noodles and a mouthful of snow, and they were half full.
After half an hour of rest, the soldiers gradually recovered from the fatigue of the long march. Wei Yan waved the sword in his hand and roared: "Mount your horse and kill!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Thousands of people shouted in unison, the sound shaking the sky.
The Huns men and women who were singing and dancing by the campfire were frightened by the faint cry of killing. They were looking around, looking for the source of the sound. Suddenly, they felt the earth tremble slightly. This kind of situation was very difficult for them.
People who live on the grasslands are very familiar with it. This is a movement that occurs when a large number of war horses gallop past.
Soon, this joyful bonfire dance came to an abrupt end, and the adult Hun men and the half-grown boys rushed to their tents. Although they did not know who the cavalry were who suddenly attacked, the harsh conditions on the grassland
The living conditions made them dare not let down their vigilance at any time, and they were always ready to fight. Because their enemies were not only the Han people, but more importantly, they came from other tribes within the Xiongnu.
This tribe was the same Xiongnu tribe that invaded the border of Liangzhou and massacred the entire village. This was originally a medium-sized tribe, but half of the men in the tribe were first recruited by Liu Bao to participate in the war in Guanzhong, but none of them survived. Later.
, the Xiongnu's civil strife inevitably involved this tribe, again causing heavy casualties. Now, the entire tribe has less than a thousand capable warriors, including more than 600 half-year-old children. Not only
The soldiers suffered serious losses, and the war lasted for nearly a year, which also affected their herding of horses and sheep. The shortage of food made them usher in a difficult winter, so they uncharacteristically harassed the Han territory in winter.
This situation did not just happen to this tribe. Hundreds of tribes within the Xiongnu all had problems of this kind to one degree or another. Therefore, when they felt a large group of cavalry coming, they did not expect that the enemy would actually attack them.
They would be cavalry from the Han Dynasty, and I just thought that other tribes wanted to take advantage of it.
By the time the young and strong men and half-grown children in the tribe led their war horses and rushed out of the camp with their bows and arrows, Wei Yan had already taken the lead and led four thousand cavalry to the front.
The 10,000 cavalry led by Wei Yan were composed of 4,000 heavy cavalry and 6,000 light cavalry. These heavy cavalry, both men and horses, were all wearing strong armor. These armors were iron armor produced by the research institute after several experiments.
It can protect against swords and arrows, and is not particularly heavy, which can minimize the burden on the war horse.
Facing the thousands of Hun horsemen who had just rushed out of the camp and had not yet had time to form a formation, Wei Yan showed no mercy at all. He raised the broadsword in his hand, and the cavalry behind him all threw their short spears.
Those who can be selected into the heavy cavalry team are all very tall and powerful people, and their horses are also very tall. The short spears they throw with the help of the fast running of the horses are as fast as thunder. Many Huns riders did not react.
They were stabbed through the chest by these short-throwing spears, and even the horses under their crotches were often stabbed over.
The Huns riders had never seen such a formation before. In just a blink of an eye, most of the soldiers around them fell. Before they could react, the black heavy cavalry had already rushed in front of them. The Huns were proficient in
They were mounted archers, and they were not good at this type of hand-to-hand combat. They heard a strange cry from the team, and the remaining 400 or so people rushed to both sides of the camp.
Through the bonfire, they had already seen clearly that the cavalry team that rushed over was not only far superior in number, but also fully armored and well-equipped. It was far beyond what they could directly confront. And the Huns tribes they knew were all
It is impossible to have such a cavalry. It is obvious that this cavalry comes from the Han people. They want to use their good riding characteristics to get around the flanks of these armored cavalry and defeat them with their own bows and arrows. They do not trust the Han people's cavalry.
The shooting level will be higher than yourself.
However, before they could completely rush out of the camp, they were greeted by a dense wave of arrows, and they bumped into a group of black knights. These knights were truly capable of riding and shooting. Regardless of their riding or archery skills, it seemed that
They were all far above them. At this moment, the Huns finally understood that they had been surrounded.
The remaining Xiongnu cavalry of more than 400 people were almost powerless to fight back when faced with 10,000 elite Han soldiers who were armed to the teeth. The entire Han army annihilated all the Xiongnu cavalry capable of fighting in this tribe without a single casualty.
The Huns women and children who stayed in the camp only heard the shouts of killing and screams coming from outside. They did not know that the enemies they faced were elite soldiers from the Han Dynasty. They just gathered together and waited anxiously for the battle.
The end. In such a harsh living environment like the grassland, how to survive is the most important thing for these women and children. No matter which tribe is attacked, as long as they do not resist, the attackers will generally not kill them
, the worst outcome is just to take away their cattle and sheep. And few people will kill them all, and will not take away all their food, but will leave some for them. Of course, if they encounter such a situation,
It is impossible to plunder and survive the winter safely. At least half of them will die of cold and starvation.
However, what happened next surprised them. It was not other Xiongnu tribes that rushed into the camp, but tens of thousands of Han cavalry. Before they could react, these Han cavalry started killing people and setting fires.
Some elderly men and some slightly taller boys who stayed in the camp were quickly picked out from the crowd by these Han cavalry. Without saying a word, they were stabbed in the pocket. All the women and young children were also killed.
They were driven out of the tent and gathered outside the camp.
At the same time, some Han slaves were also rescued. Except for a few of these Han slaves who were trafficked, the rest were captured by the Huns when they raided the Han territory. The one who suffered a disaster a few days ago
Thirty-seven young Han women who were kidnapped in the village were also among them.
Soon, the soldiers counted the captured Han slaves. There were 154 people in total, most of whom were young women. All of these slaves were sallow and thin, and they had obviously suffered inhuman abuse. Many of them still had dirty faces.
They were so frightened that they couldn't believe that they were free again. When they realized what was happening, they couldn't help crying.
The soldiers carried out various tasks in an orderly manner, driving the Huns' horses, cattle and sheep together, and hauled out the fodder they had saved to survive the whole winter, so that their horses could eat well.
A large number of cattle and sheep were slaughtered on the spot, roasted or boiled, so that the soldiers and the rescued Han people could have a feast.
Wei Yan gnawed on the leg of lamb while listening to the soldiers report today's battle results. During the raid on this camp, a total of 1,324 Huns were killed, and more than 4,000 horses, 500 cattle, and 7,000 sheep were seized.
There were many of them, and they captured 370 young Xiongnu women.
In fact, there were more than 3,000 women from this Xiongnu tribe gathered together. However, Liu Xin's order was to make the Huns pay ten times for the crimes they committed, so Wei Yan did not dare to take too many people abducted.
Just three hundred and seventy people.
After Wei Yan heard the report, he took the last bite of the mutton, threw the bones in his hand, and said loudly: "Someone, set fire to these tents!"
Only then did the gathered Hun women realize that something was wrong. Those tents were their homes and their dependence on whether they could survive the winter, and now there was a raging fire.
Wei Yan watched the fire turn half of the sky red, waved his hand, and ordered a team of a thousand people to escort the rescued Han slaves, escort the 370 captive Hun women and a large number of cattle, sheep and horses back to the Han territory.
He will continue to go deep into the desert because his mission has not been completed yet.
In fact, the task assigned by Liu Xin was not too difficult. He only asked them to kill 4,390 Huns and take back 370 Huns women as revenge. This was assigned to five cavalry teams.
However, Wei Yan took over the entire task automatically. In his opinion, he still needed to kill 3,066 more Huns to complete the task, so he still needed to continue to attack.
The Han army had strict military discipline and was well-trained. Soon the cavalry team of 9,000 people had regrouped and had a good meal. Both men and horses seemed to be in high spirits. At this time, a ball of green sparks suddenly exploded in the sky in the distance.
, on this endless prairie, it looks both beautiful and a bit weird.
Wei Yan looked up and muttered: "I almost forgot about this. Come on, let's put one in too!"
It turned out that these were the signal fireworks that Xu Huang distributed to them before leaving. They were divided into red and green. Xu Huang repeatedly emphasized that if he succeeds, he will set off a green firework, and if he encounters a strong enemy, he will set off a red one.
Fireworks. This kind of fireworks is naturally a new achievement of the research institute. Of course Liu Xin and Ma Yun, who came from later generations, wanted to develop gunpowder to enhance their strength. Especially Ma Yun, who also has relatively rich knowledge of mathematics, physics and chemistry, originally thought that this
It was just a simple matter, but when it came to actual operation, it was discovered that there were still many problems that were difficult to solve. However, although the artillery had not been produced, the gunpowder had still been produced.
With gunpowder in hand, Ma Yun decided to produce some fireworks in order to make the Chinese New Year more lively for the children. Beautiful fireworks will naturally be more popular with children, and this has become the main focus of the research institute. Ma Yun
Based on their knowledge of chemistry, craftsmen add different metallic mineral components to the fireworks to make the flames emit various colors.
Liu Xin, who wanted to dominate the world, wanted to apply almost every invention to the military. This time he sent troops to conquer the Xiongnu. After seeing the fireworks tested by the institute, Liu Xin thought of distributing fireworks to his army.
.There is no obstruction on the vast grassland, and the fireworks can still be seen clearly from a long distance away. It is perfect for conveying messages.
After hearing Wei Yan's order, the soldiers hurriedly took out the fireworks. Before they had time to light them, another green light spot flashed in the sky further away. It was obvious that another cavalry team had succeeded.
The soldiers quickly lit the fireworks in their hands. Almost at the same time, to their right, two lights also rose in the sky. For a time, the fireworks were flying all over the sky, and the green light was dazzling, adding a bit of life to the silent night.