The nomadic tribes were good at riding and shooting. They galloped across the boundless grasslands and had super mobility. When encountering enemies, they often chose the strategy of "fight if they can, and flee if they can't." This was also the strategy of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
Defeated the Xiongnu, but could not kill them
The main reason for eradication. But this is not the biggest advantage of the nomadic tribes. Their biggest advantage is that all the people are soldiers. Just like this small tribe with only 500 young men in front of them, when they encounter danger, they can quickly mobilize two or three soldiers.
A "soldier" capable of a thousand battles.
At this time, the two to three thousand "soldiers", both men and women, old and young, who were able to fight, had already jumped on the horseback. The moment they got on the horseback, they regained the confidence of the children of the grassland. Soon they regained their confidence.
, they realized something was not quite right.
Because there are often people moving around, there is not much snow where they camp, which should be suitable for galloping war horses. However, there are short-throwing muskets stuck everywhere in the camp, standing there like small wooden stakes, leaving room for the war horses to maneuver.
Very small, let alone running.
If they encountered this kind of situation, they would try their best to break out of the camp. The vast grassland is their real world. However, it can't be done now. The camp is surrounded by thick snow, and the horses can't move their hooves at all.
, the situation will not be much better than in the camp.
While they were stunned, their enemies were shuttled back and forth on the snow around the camp like ghosts, and they could not even see their figures clearly. These Huns could not figure out why they could walk on the snow like flying, they could only feel
As soon as they raised their arms, arrows like locusts shot towards them. These Huns on horseback became the best targets. Many of them were unable to dodge and fell off their horses.
On the grassland, the most important thing is to survive. Seeing an opponent who is not the enemy and can escape from a distance, the Huns' first choice is to jump off the horse and kneel on the ground. Since they can't beat them, they can't.
If you can't escape, then surrender. As long as you can save your life, that's more important than anything else.
Ma Chao was very familiar with the habits and conditions of these nomadic tribes, so he did not order the soldiers to rush into the camp immediately to fight. Instead, he used special short crossbows to shoot them from the outside. In fact, regardless of the factors of training and equipment
Regardless, in terms of numbers alone, the five thousand Han troops exceeded the total population of this tribe.
This kind of short crossbow was developed by the Research Institute specifically for use by cavalry. No matter how proficient a soldier is in mounted archery, he must use both arms to pull the bow. Although equipped with stirrups, it can free up the knight's hands, but it only allows the knight to use stirrups.
It's just become easier to ride and shoot. However, this kind of short crossbow can be operated with one hand as long as the iron arrow is installed in advance. Ma Yun also designed the short crossbow based on the knowledge she has mastered.
It is designed to have a safety similar to that of a firearm, which can prevent the short crossbow with pre-loaded iron arrows from "firing". The drawback is that this kind of short crossbow can only load one iron arrow at a time, and it will cost a lot of time to reload the iron arrow.
Therefore, the interval between two shots is much longer than using a bow and arrow. Of course, all Han cavalry are equipped with three "long-range weapons" - short-throwing spears, short crossbows and cavalry bows.
For the Han cavalry who gave up their horses and used skis instead, the short crossbow was the best weapon at this time. Although it could only shoot once, it was the best deterrent for the Huns. People are afraid of the unknown.
Things often have an innate fear. Facing these enemies who use strange weapons, dress in strange shapes, and can fly around on the snow, the men, women, and children in the tribe can no longer resist at all.
heart.
When Ma Chao saw the people in the tribe jumping off their horses one after another, he knew that the overall situation was decided. So he stood up straight, waved his hand, and the soldiers swarmed up and rushed into the tribe's camp.
Soon, everyone was gathered together and knelt on the ground to wait for their fate. There were only more than 500 young and strong herdsmen in this tribe. More than 300 people were stabbed by short-throwing spears and shot by short crossbows just now, and there were another
More than two hundred women and half-grown boys have also died
Unlucky. Although there was no close combat, there were dozens of casualties among the Han army. They were all injured by arrows shot in a hurry by the Huns herdsmen. This is the cruelty of war. As long as you go to the battlefield, no one can guarantee yourself.
Able to come back alive.
Ma Chao looked at the Huns kneeling in front of him and asked in a deep voice: "Who is your leader?"
Hearing Ma Chao's questions, the faces of the men, women, and children in the tribe showed a look of panic. Of course they couldn't understand the Chinese spoken by Ma Chao, but because of this, they were even more afraid. Some time ago, the Han army slaughtered the grasslands with blood.
News of dozens of tribes had long spread throughout the Xiongnu tribes. Anyone who was attacked by the Han army
All the tribes they attacked were wiped out without exception. The Han people's methods were even worse than those of the ferocious Huns. Only after listening to Ma Chao's questions did the men and women in this tribe know how to attack them.
The enemy was actually the Han people thousands of miles away, so how could they not be panicked?
The interpreter had already translated Ma Chao's question into Hun language, and an older Hun woman pointed to the big tent in the middle of the camp with trepidation.
Ma Chao looked in the direction of the woman's finger and saw a big fat man next to the tent. A short-throwing spear passed through his chest, came out from the back, and was firmly inserted into the ground, allowing him to shoot with a
He was leaning there in a strange posture, unable to fall down. Ma Chao frowned and asked, "Is he your leader?"
The man who died was short and fat, and he didn't know how he usually jumped on a war horse. Such a man could actually become the leader of the tribe. No wonder the tribe was only so small in size. Ma Chao couldn't stop complaining.
The Xiongnu men and women kneeling on the ground nodded repeatedly, proving that the fat man who died was their leader. In fact, many people already secretly regretted it. If they had known that it was the Han army that was attacking, they would have fought to the end.
.Because, according to the previous paragraph
Rumor has it that these Han soldiers were very ferocious and would kill all the men among them who were taller than a wheel, plunder all their cattle and sheep, and burn all their tents. Those who survived by chance would not even be able to be taken in by other tribes.
The day you become a slave, you will die of cold and hunger.
Seeing that their leader was dead, Ma Chao pointed to the elderly woman and continued to ask: "Who do you think you are attached to?"
This is just a small tribe with 500 young men. If a small tribe like this does not rely on a large tribe for protection, it will simply not be able to survive on the grasslands where the jungle eats the strong. Therefore, Ma Chao will never think that they are an independent tribe.
This is the question of the tribe.
When the woman saw Ma Chao pointing at her, she thought that Ma Chao was going to pull her out and behead her. She was so frightened that her face turned pale. It was not until the interpreter translated Ma Chao's words into Xiongnu that she said tremblingly: "I, we are attached to Yufu Luo."
Shanyu’s.”
Hearing that they were attached to Fu Luo, Ma Chao was relieved. When he issued the order just now, he was always worried about one thing. If these people were attached to Huchuquan and the others, then he would accidentally injure innocent people. .
Just when the Huns thought they had no chance of survival, Ma Chao turned to the interpreter and said: "Tell them, as long as they are obedient, their lives will be spared. If they don't want to die, kill the cattle and sheep quickly and let the soldiers have a feast." Dayton.”
This time they sent troops to the grassland, and the orders they received were different from the last time. Last time Liu Xin ordered that the Huns pay ten times the price, but this time, Liu Xin asked them to kill as few Huns as possible. Because Liu Xin The Xiongnu must be completely merged into the Han Dynasty. These people will be the subjects of the Han Dynasty in the future. Keeping them will be more beneficial to the future Han Dynasty than killing them.
When the Huns heard these words from the interpreter, they felt as if they had been granted amnesty. Some of them actually showed happy smiles on their faces, feeling as if they had escaped from death. These people quickly got up from the ground and hurriedly prepared sumptuous meals for the soldiers. Went for a big dinner.
Liu Xin ordered not to kill innocent people indiscriminately. Ma Chao would not dare to violate this order under any circumstances. Five thousand pairs of eyes were watching here. If he went on a killing spree, he would never be able to hide it. Ma Chao attacked this camp mainly to inquire. Let’s talk about how to get to Yuvrou’s tribe. However, now that this camp has been captured, Ma Chao does not intend to take advantage of these people.
The rations carried by his soldiers were fried noodles. In the past five days, they had eaten one bite of fried noodles and one bite of snow. However, they ate a little bit of fried noodles and a little bit less. They didn’t know when they would find Yuvrou’s camp. Although the tribe in front of them was small, However, there are a large number of cattle and sheep, just enough to feed the soldiers, so it is time to improve the food supply.
The people on the grassland are good at slaughtering cattle and sheep. They disembowel, remove the internal organs, skin and bones, light the bonfire, and set up the racks. After a while, the enticing aroma of meat is exuding in the camp.
Ma Chao was sitting in the largest tent, wolfing down a roasted lamb leg. To be honest, fried noodles are nutritious enough and can fill his belly, but for Ma Chao, who grew up in Xiliang , it was a bit too tasteless to eat in his mouth, so the roasted leg of lamb was more attractive to him.
This tent is owned by the tribal leader. It is larger than the other tents and slightly more ornately decorated. Four pretty Hun girls stood aside, holding kumiss, roasted lamb, and boiled goat milk in their hands. They turned out to be tribesmen. The maid next to the leader, now a prisoner of the Han army, understood her situation very well and stayed in the big tent obediently as a maid for Ma Chao.
After a brief period of panic, these girls were no longer very afraid of Ma Chao, and secretly stared at him with a pair of pretty eyes. Although this Han general was young, he was very handsome and exuded a masculine aura. Compared with them, The leader looks much better.
Ma Chao casually threw down the mutton leg bone. When he looked up, he saw the girls' eyes focused on him. He grinned and asked, "How to get to Hufro's camp from here?"