Chapter 166 His routine operation, standing tall and standing tall
Xiongguan is the junction of Shanggu County and Yuyang County.
On the top of the city, Zhao Xin, the surrendered general who had returned to the Huns, put one hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist and looked at the land of the Han Dynasty below the city.
Xiongguan is built on the mountain. The vegetation within several miles of the city has been cleared to prevent anyone from hiding and approaching, and the sight is endless.
Zhao Xin did not expect that Xiongcheng, which the Huns had been attacking for many years without breaking through, would welcome him in because of internal fighting among the Han people.
He even didn't expect that the King of Huainan of the Han Dynasty was actually connected with the great Chanyu Yizhixie, and the two sides were cooperating to deal with the Han Dynasty.
Of course, Xin Zhao's entry into the city is restricted.
He only brought in some people and disguised themselves as Han Chinese.
"General Zhao."
Next to Zhao Xin stood a burly young man in his twenties or eighties.
Zhao Xin only knew that the opponent's name was Xiong Yan, and it was he who led the attack in the city and cooperated with internal forces to seize this important pass.
Xin Zhao can sense that the opponent has strong military training.
He estimated that Xiong Yan might be an important figure secretly trained by King Huainan.
Xiong Yan has a majestic appearance, with a sharp face, cold and arrogant eyes, and wearing a battle armor, he has an impressive aura.
In fact, Xiong Yan is one of the four military seeds carefully cultivated by the secret force. Within it, he is known as the Four Generals.
The surname "Xiong" itself represents many things.
Xiong Yan's ancestor was a nobleman of the Warring States Period.
"I have received news that a Han army, numbering about three thousand, left Chang'an late yesterday night and rushed to Yuyang. The leader of the army is the champion prince who has become famous all over the world in recent months and a close minister of the emperor!"
Xiong Yan smiled.
He said it easily, but Xin Zhao's heart skipped a beat.
He followed Wei Qing for several years and had side contact with Huo Qubing.
I know how much Wei Qing and the emperor admired this talented general who rose like a comet and dazzled the great man.
And he knew better the combat effectiveness of the Huns' central army.
Such a team was defeated by Huo Qubing with less and more troops. In Zhao Xin's opinion, it was an almost miraculous achievement, so he was secretly shocked when he heard Huo Qubing's name.
"I heard that the champion is capable of running thousands of miles. Coincidentally, I am also good at defeating the enemy with surprise attacks."
Xiong Yan said proudly: "The news I received said that the champion can arrive in Yuyang in about a day and night. In other words, from now on, he may appear outside Xiongguan here at any time to confront us.
Does General Zhao think that the news that he can arrive in one day and night is true?"
Xin Zhao: "...Maybe."
Xiong Yan said with a smile: "I hope he really has this ability. My military training is in need of a big battle to nourish my energy and seek breakthroughs. If I can defeat this famous general of the Han Dynasty, it will be of great benefit to me."
"If Huo Qubing can be defeated, it will be of great benefit to any general.
However, I suggest that we use this city to defend it, and rely on the city's strong walls and thick walls to contain Huo Qubing's attack.
No matter how brave and vigorous his troops are, he will never be able to break through this great pass." Zhao Xindao.
Xiong Yan smiled half-heartedly: "General Zhao has never considered setting up an ambush outside the city to attack the Han army head-on?"
Zhao Xin is different from Xiong Yan. He has been in battle for a long time and has long developed a cautious character.
But he could feel that Xiong Yan's military talent was very high, and he could understand some of his spirit.
"Huo Qubing is not so easy to stop. His marching method is not only fast, but also very stealthy, so he can take the initiative every time he attacks. If he leaves the city rashly, he may not even be able to find his location." Zhao Xin said maturely.
Xiong Yan said disapprovingly:
"It seems that General Zhao is not good at military calculations. From Chang'an to Yuyang, there are only two roads suitable for marching.
One is the official road that leads out of Chang'an and advances rapidly to the northeast. The remaining roads are detours and are not suitable for marching.
The second route is to rush to the Dingxiang line first, and then rush eastward along the road."
"I have analyzed Huo Qubing's world-famous two battles. In order to pursue the fastest speed, he will most likely choose to leave Chang'an and go straight to Yuyang."
Xin Zhao secretly thought that his analysis was correct, and he had the same judgment.
Xiong Yan was eager to give it a try: "I have arranged scouts who practice the secret technique of listening to the wind to investigate closely on both routes.
As long as the Han army shows any trace, I will immediately launch an attack to block it, compete with the champion, and make him my defeat."
Xin Zhao reacted and said: "You want my troops to support you?"
"That's right, we have deployed tens of thousands of elites along the route from Yuyang to the east this time. The Emperor of the Han Dynasty would never imagine why we have so many elites available. With your 10,000 Xiongnu elite cavalry, we can rely on the strength of the city to
It’s profitable, and it’s more than enough to hold on to.”
Xiong Yan said: "It's a pity that I am only the vanguard, and the mobilization of all troops and horses is not under my control.
I can mobilize only a few thousand elite troops. After I defeat Huo Qubing's troops, I still want to take advantage of the situation and push some distance westward.
The order given to you by the Xiongnu is to disrupt the Han territory. Join me to block the Han army. This is in line with the order given to you by the Shanyu, how about it?"
Zhao Xin looked slightly suspicious and looked at Xiong Yan.
Xiong Yan was very ambitious. He wasted so much words in front of him because he wanted to turn from defense to offense and persuade him to take the initiative to stop the Han army.
As his thoughts rose and fell, he already understood Xiong Yan's mentality.
He wanted to become famous in one battle and used the Han army and Huo Qubing as stepping stones, so he tried his best to encourage himself to help.
Xin Zhao refused: "I advise you to be more cautious. You may have good military talent, but you lack actual combat experience."
Xiong Yan sneered and said: "If you don't agree, forget it, but all the fighter planes will be consumed while you wait and hesitate."
The sky slowly darkened.
Xiong Yan glanced at the vast wilderness outside the city, but there was no movement at all: "The champion is still missing. It seems that you have overestimated his marching ability.
He obviously couldn't get here in one day or night."
————
Weiyang Palace.
The sun sets over the mountains.
Everyone in the study watched with bated breath. In the picture, Huo Qubing commanded three thousand tribesmen, and his attack was so sharp and ferocious that it shocked people to the extreme.
With the passage of time, the battle situation in the city that was captured by Huo Qubing has basically stabilized.
He led his troops to break through the defenses and invade a city with lightning speed.
Everyone took a breath.
The emperor said: "Expand the terrain map!"
Dong Xu and other chamberlains immediately took out a leather map of Han and its surrounding countries and hung it on one side.
The emperor stared at the map with unusually bright eyes, and actually stood up in person, wrote on the map, and drew a red line.
That was the emperor's latest judgment after seeing the city Huo Qubing conquered and his marching route after leaving Chang'an.
Completely different from what I expected before.
After Huo Qubing left Chang'an, he was right to march northeast, but instead of going directly to Yuyang and Shanggu counties, he went diagonally to Beiguan, and then left Beiguan directly, taking advantage of the edge of the grassland where the Huns and Han met.
The area is flat and open, so ride your horse with all your strength.
Judging from the route drawn by the emperor, Huo Qubing advanced in a straight line eastward along Beiguan, passing through Xiongcheng at the junction of Yuyang and Shanggu counties on the way, and directly hit another large city further behind the two counties.
The first target of Huo Qubing's attack was Youbeiping County further east of Yuyang County!
Why attack You Beiping County first?
What is the strategic significance?
Last night, it was in this study that Huo Qubing analyzed Huainan's launch, first of all occupying Xiongguan where Shanggu County and Yuyang County meet.
The second area to be occupied is between Liaoxi County and Liaodong County.
These two locations are the most important to the Huainan rebels.
After Huainan launched its attack, it indeed first occupied the Xiongguan Pass between Shanggu and Yuyang.
The town of Youbeiping County where Huo Qubing attacked sounds unrelated to the above two important places.
But in fact, its geographical location is right between the two.
Huo Qubing defeated the seemingly unimportant Youbeiping County, which was like driving a nail between the two, splitting them into two parts, making it difficult to take care of both.
And after occupying Beiping County, it is equivalent to isolating the Xiongguan between Shanggu County and Yuyang County, depriving it of support, and becoming the right Beiping County City that was just conquered by the Han army in the front and Huo Qubing later, sandwiching it.
in the middle.
The situation between the enemy and ourselves changed greatly because Huo Qubing captured Youbeiping County.
Youbeiping County, which was originally not important, suddenly became important because of his attack and occupation. It was like turning decay into magic strategically, which was enough to contain the enemy's forces and put them in a dilemma.
On paper, attacking Youbeiping County does not seem difficult.
But before Huo Qubing launched his offensive, no one on both sides could see the hidden importance of this point.
Everyone was thinking hard, all eyes were fixed on the junction of Yuyang and Shanggu County.
Only Huo Qubing saw through the entire strategic trend from a macro perspective and took action to seize his opponent's throat.
This is the essence of blitzkrieg, which targets the opponent's most vulnerable and uncomfortable areas.
Huo Qubing avoided the enemy's attack and attacked Beiping County instead of attacking the Xiongcheng occupied by his opponent. It was not a Xiongcheng and was unexpected, so the opponent was naturally not well prepared.
Huainan did not even expect that Huo Qubing would take the route of advancing beyond the border, and the speed of the march was unbelievable.
In addition, the Han army inherent in the city did not completely surrender to the enemy and took advantage of the situation, so it was defeated by Huo Qubing in a short period of time.
The emperor and others had just seen him breaking into Youbeiping County, and they realized his intention to fight.
Looking at the map at this moment, the situation is particularly clear.
In the northeast corner of the Han Dynasty, on the right side of Beiping County, the emperor personally wrote a big word "Huo", which was dazzling.
Because of the appearance of the word "Huo", the area Huainan intended to occupy was cut in half.
This is the difference between famous generals and ordinary generals.
It didn't seem difficult, but only after he finished it did others realize that he could still fight like this.
There were thousands of troops on both sides, but only Wei Qing guessed after thinking that his nephew might want to attack Youbeiping County instead of attacking Shanggu and Yuyang Pass head-on.
"Look, Qubing reversed Huainan's plan with just one blow. It was like a spear piercing the throat, making it difficult for him to move forward and backward," Liu Che said.
Dong Zhongshu and others were also dumbfounded, and their hearts felt like turbulent waves, one wave higher than the other.
Dong Zhongshu's hair almost turned gray last night, and he couldn't figure out how to neutralize the other party's tactics.
"So that's how it is, you are unprepared for attacking."
This is what Gongsun Hong just said.
The combat methods that other generals could only realize with sudden inspiration were just routine operations for Huo Qubing and Wei Qing.
"Pass my order to have the Beiguan border troops advance eastward and cooperate with the Qubing offensive to attack Shanggu and Yuyang counties in front and back." Liu Che said with great interest.
Wei Qing further said: "Attacking You Beiping County should only be the first step to cure the disease.
He has the ability to solve the strong city between Shanggu County and Yuyang County on his own, so there is no need to send troops."
The ministers became more and more horrified.
But if you think about it carefully, it is exactly Huo Qubing's character to resolve the war situation independently and defeat all opponents with only the three thousand troops he brought.
The battle has just begun.
"The queen sent someone to ask if your majesty will go back to Jiaofang Palace to rest at night?" Dong Xu received the report from the chamberlain and asked.
What's the point of resting at this time? How can the concubines look good after getting sick and fighting? I can watch them all night... Liu Che waved his hand and asked Dong Xu to retreat.
The officials were also very interested and full of expectations for what Huo Qubing would do next to reverse the situation on the battlefield.