xymnovel Chapter 412 Driving them northward!
Chapter 412 Driving them northward!
Fusu also frowned slightly. He had lived in the magnificent Xianyang Palace since childhood, and the scene before him completely overturned his understanding of the "capital of a country".
"Teacher, the Xiongnu are a nomadic people who live by following water and pasture, and they are indeed not good at construction. But this place... is a bit too shabby."
Just then, a hearty laugh came from ahead.
Meng Tian, without his heavy helmet but wearing armor stained with a few drops of blood, strode forward to meet him.
"Young Master! Immortal Master!"
Meng Tian walked to the front of the horse, cupped his hands in greeting, and could not hide the smile on his face.
"General Meng, you may rise." Fusu dismounted and returned the greeting.
Zhang Fan dismounted and looked at Meng Tian with a smile, saying, "General Meng, congratulations on winning first place! However, this Xiongnu royal court is so poor that it doesn't even have a decent facade. Does Touman Chanyu usually live in this pigsty-like place?"
Hearing Zhang Fan's complaints, Meng Tian burst into laughter again.
"Immortal Master, you are unaware that this is not the true headquarters of the Xiongnu royal court!"
Meng Tian pointed to the ground beneath his feet and explained, "The Xiongnu are cunning. This camp was set up temporarily at the foot of Yinshan Mountain by Touman Chanyu before winter to put pressure on our Great Qin."
"He placed some troops and supplies here to provoke the Qin Dynasty, making it appear as if he was ready to launch a major southward attack at any time, so as to force His Majesty to agree to his demand for supplies."
A hint of contempt and glee flashed in Meng Tian's eyes: "He originally thought our army wouldn't dare to leave the pass in winter, so he openly stationed himself here!"
Hahahaha, it turns out the immortal master's methods are heaven-defying! Our divine soldiers descended from the sky, and that Touman Chanyu didn't even have time to transport the supplies. He abandoned even the makeshift royal tent and fled in disarray with his personal guards!
Zhang Fan suddenly realized.
It turned out to be an empty outpost set up for extortion; no wonder it was so rudimentary.
"Although it's a temporary royal court, the supplies and livestock we captured are real."
Meng Tian turned to the side and gestured for him to come, "Immortal Master, Young Master, please follow me. There's a big problem over there, and we're waiting for your advice."
Zhang Fan and Fusu exchanged a glance, knowing that Meng Tian was referring to the tens of thousands of Xiongnu prisoners.
The three men led their horses toward the south side of the camp.
After passing through several rows of burned-out felt tents, the view ahead suddenly opened up, but it also became extremely noisy.
Tens of thousands of people were densely packed together on a relatively flat snowfield.
These people were all elderly people, women and children of the Xiongnu.
They wore tattered, thin sheepskin coats, huddled together, shivering in the cold wind.
Many children are crying loudly because of the cold and fear.
Surrounded by Qin soldiers, these men's eyes were filled with despair.
They were burdens abandoned by their own leader, and it seemed that only death awaited them.
but!
Zhang Fan noticed that the Qin soldiers around the group of prisoners did not mistreat them.
Meng Tian had already ordered his men to distribute the intact felt tents in the camp to the women and children, and to light dozens of huge bonfires among the crowd.
Some Qin soldiers were patrolling the perimeter to prevent them from wandering off and freezing to death in the snow.
Seeing this, Zhang Fan nodded to himself.
Although the Qin army was ruthless on the battlefield, Meng Tian, as the commander-in-chief, still adhered to the bottom line of not killing innocent people.
Meng Tian looked at the women and children warming themselves around the campfire and sighed.
"Immortal Master, Young Master, you've seen it."
Meng Tian pointed ahead, his tone helpless, "When Touman Chanyu fled, he set fire to the camp and pushed these old, weak, sick, and disabled people, along with the mad cattle and sheep, to the front of the battle."
Our soldiers couldn't bring themselves to strike, and their charging formation was completely disrupted, ultimately allowing the Chanyu to escape in the chaos.
"These tens of thousands of people are gathered here. To kill them would be against the laws and principles of the Great Qin army!"
We must leave. The provisions for our 300,000-strong army are all transported from the rear. We simply don't have any extra rations to feed them!
If we ignore them, they won't survive three days in this freezing cold!
Meng Tian turned to Zhang Fan, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "The scouts I sent to seek guidance should have already reported back. I wonder if the Immortal Master has any brilliant plan to teach me?"
Zhang Fan looked at those faces covered in frostbite and mud.
In this era, the cruelty of war far exceeds imagination.
Touman Chanyu's move to cut off his own tail to survive was indeed extremely insidious.
"Don't worry, Commander Meng, we already have a plan."
Zhang Fan turned around and looked at Meng Tian with a cold and sharp gaze.
"General Meng, I not only want to solve the problem of these women and children, but I also want Touman Chanyu to pay the ultimate price for abandoning his people."
Upon hearing this, Meng Tian's spirits lifted: "Please speak, Immortal Master!"
Zhang Fan held up three fingers.
"First, immediately tally the amount of Xiongnu grain our army has captured. Distribute rations to these women and children, remember, no more, no less, just three days' worth each person."
Meng Tian was taken aback, completely bewildered: "Distributing grain? Immortal Master, why is this?"
Zhang Fan did not answer directly, but continued, "Second, lift the encirclement and take back their felt tents. Send troops to drive them north."
"To the north lies the depths of the frigid desert, the direction from which Touman Chanyu and the remnants of the Xiongnu tribes fled."
Zhang Fan smiled and said, "Let these tens of thousands of old, weak, women and children go to their Chanyu and find their tribe."
Meng Tian was a pure military general and did not realize it at first.
However, Fusu, who was standing to the side, had already heard Zhang Fan mention the concept of "using the enemy to defeat the enemy" the night before. At this moment, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he instantly understood Zhang Fan's intention.
Fusu gasped, his voice trembling slightly: "Teacher...you intend to use these people to consume the remaining Xiongnu troops' food supplies?"
Zhang Fan gave Fusu an appreciative look and nodded.
"That's right. That's called a calculated strategy!"
Zhang Fan turned to look at Meng Tian and explained in detail: "Commander Meng, the Xiongnu have suffered a white disaster, and a large number of cattle and sheep have died, so they are already short of food!"
Touman Chanyu abandoned these people in order to lighten his burden.
"Now, we will give them three days' worth of dry rations to ensure they don't die on the way and have enough strength to reach the camp of the remnants of the Xiongnu!"
Once these tens of thousands of mouths to feed flood into those already food-scarce tribes…
"Mongolian, consider this: should the Chanyu accept them, or not?"
Meng Tian's eyes widened suddenly.
As the commander, he instantly saw through the terrifying destructive power behind this plan.
If they were accepted, these tens of thousands of people would consume the remaining food supplies of the Xiongnu in a very short time, and the entire Xiongnu tribe would collapse without a fight and starve to death in the winter.
If they are not accepted, they may even order the shooting of these women and children of their own tribe...
Natouman Chanyu will completely lose the hearts of the people and be despised and betrayed by all the tribes. The Xiongnu will inevitably disintegrate and fall into internal strife!
"hiss!"
Meng Tian gasped in shock.
This bloodless tactic is absolutely terrifying!
"The Immortal Master's plan... is truly unfathomable!"
Meng Tian clasped his hands in excitement, "I will immediately issue the order to distribute three days' rations and drive them north!"