Chapter 186: The Hero's Shortness of Breath
Sixty miles is just a short ride for the black bear to relax after dinner.

But for an army that marches like moving house, sixty miles is a two-day journey.

Unless you give up setting up tents, building camps, and constructing simple fortifications.

When Black Bear returned to the military camp east of Zi City, a cavalry detachment returned.

This cavalry unit has grown to more than 800 riders, of which less than 300 are from Guanzhong.

The cavalry unit, the rescued women and slaves rode horses and drove carriages to drive the herd of animals, which was mostly sheep, followed by horses, and the number of cattle was relatively small.

Most of the horses were loaded with supplies, but some were simply loaded with bags of heads.

Black Bear does not need to report his achievements to the Xudu court, and the Xudu court will not send anyone to inspect the military merits of the head.

However, the soldiers who are going into battle this time need these heads for military merit as they recruit and integrate the armed slaves, so they need to be sent to Black Bear for inspection.

It has already been delivered, and it would be a waste to bury it after reviewing it.

He had no choice but to order the captives to be cleaned, pickled with salt shipped from Hedong, loaded onto trucks, and continued to be transported to Tongguan.

Cartloads of heads were transported south along the highway, which could effectively protect the heads' children from being robbed by powerful people.

The black bear looked at the flock of sheep, which was so white that it was difficult to count them at the moment. It looked more like a wave.

Because of the mask, his guards and military officers could not see his expression.

Unlike the excited military officers, Black Bear was more worried.

Such a large-scale population migration will accelerate the spread of disease.

Whether it is humans or animals, long-distance migration will cause them to contract water-borne diseases; if the scale of migration is large, it will also bring water-borne diseases to the local people.

After thinking about it, he immediately picked up his pen and wrote a letter to Zhen Mi and Guo Tai, urging Zhen Mi to speed up the production of winter clothes. New clothes must be distributed to men, women and children entering Guanzhong.

It also asked Guo Tai to speed up preparations, as the first transport team that would arrive in a few days would bathe in Mount Li.

The Lishan hot springs are limited in size and can only be used by the wounded during migration.

So they had to cut wood and boil water so that the people who migrated to Xinfeng could take a bath and change into new clothes.

A sense of belonging or ritual is not important. We should try our best to isolate and slow down the spread of the disease by changing clothes.

After the two military orders were issued, Black Bear came out of the camp to review the people and heads captured.

As for the cattle, sheep, horses and other herds of animals, they will be distributed according to their merits after returning to Guanzhong.

Not only these animals, but also women with children will be relocated.

Up to now in the war, not only the Huns, but also the warlords of Taiyuan and Hedong are confused and disoriented.

The military officers and soldiers here at Black Bear's place were similar. They only knew that their side was constantly winning, and with the continued victories, their military strength was growing, and they were gaining more and more people and beasts.

Even equipment damaged in battle does not need to be repaired, and captured equipment can be used.

After the Xiongnu moved inland, the equipment of their three royal courts began to approach the quality of the Han army.

The Huns suffered continuous defeats, and their defeats were so rapid that small groups of them began to migrate and hide.

At this moment, the royal court of the left wing of the Xiongnu.

Liu Bao wears a golden eagle crown decorated with sapphires.

Sixty to seventy people, including the chiefs of various tribes, ministers of the royal court, and clan elders, sat around in a huge tent.

Liu Bao was still young, in his early twenties. When he saw the last few clan elders being helped in and sitting down, he spoke: "The Han army recruited slaves from various tribes and bribed them with a large sum of money. These slaves know the strengths and weaknesses of my tribes and their winter addresses, and also know the spring and summer pastures of each tribe."

Everyone listened in silence. Several elderly clan elders couldn't help coughing a few times, spitting and then holding it back without saying anything.

Liu Bao continued, "It's not that we can't defeat the Han army, but that the Han army came prepared, set up a trick to recruit slaves, and shamelessly attacked the Chanyu's army. The royal court was also unprepared and was attacked and broken. From the Chanyu to the Chanyu's royal court, the Han army chased us and fought."

Several leaders nodded, and Liu Bao said, "He has already conquered the eastern tribes. Now he only has the Fen River and the swamps behind him. He can attack us freely. If we lose, he can buy more slaves and take them to attack the right tribe. The right tribe will have nowhere to escape, and the three tribes of my royal court will surely perish in his hands."

A minister of the royal court spoke up: "Does the Left Wise King mean that we should retreat to the mountains and avoid the sharp edge of the Han army?"

"Yes, not only to avoid the sharp edge of the Han army, but also because we retreat into the mountains, the Han army will not be able to obtain more slaves and beasts. If they want to attack the right wing, they will have to divide their troops to defend. In this case, the Han army will have two choices. One is to chase us, and we can invite the right wing to attack them, so this possibility is not high."

Liu Bao grew up in Hedong and Pingyang since he was a child. He was well versed in Han Dynasty classics and narrated in an orderly manner: "The Han army can only divide its troops to attack the right wing to the west. In this way, if they want to break through the right wing, they can obtain slaves and beasts from the right wing, which can strengthen the strength of the Han army. We will harass their remaining troops and provide support for the right wing."

"The Han army will be attacked from both sides, and their offensive must stop. By that time, the weather will be cold, and he can either retreat or borrow food from the powerful families in Taiyuan. If he retreats, we can chase the Han army and look for an opportunity to fight; if he asks for food from the powerful families, then we can form an alliance with them and besiege this Han army."

Liu Bao looked around as he spoke, his tone very natural and his momentum very strong: "In order to win, we must retreat into the mountains as soon as possible. If we can't take away the extra beasts, women, and slaves, we will kill them all and let them rot, so that they won't become the pawns of the Han army."

The leaders of various tribes looked at each other in bewilderment. It was only after they moved to Pingyang and Taiyuan that the three tribes of the royal court were able to develop rapidly.

Both the population and the herds have grown much larger than in the past.

If Liu Bao's statement is true, the population of each tribe will be at least halved, and the loss of animal herds will be even greater.

Looking at these small tribe leaders, Liu Bao tried to speak in a gentle tone: "We are in a very tight time. Qian Zhao is about to leave Queshu Valley with 4,000 to 5,000 people, and the Han army in front of us has been strengthened. At most, Qian Zhao will be able to reach Zhongyang County in two days. The Zhongyang County Magistrate can refuse the Han army in Guanzhong, but he dare not refuse Qian Zhao."

"Three days. We only have three days. After three days, Qian Zhao will be ready for the attack, and the Han army in Guanzhong will also be assembled. Together, they will have at least 15,000 cavalry. Our royal court will have at most 7,000 infantry and cavalry after three days, and more than 2,000 slaves may rebel during the battle."

"We will return to the Lishi Royal Court, and I will agree to their request."

Liu Bao's tone became stern: "My grandfather led 10,000 Xiongnu warriors to fight for the Han army and died. My grandfather was seriously injured and only brought back a few hundred people. My father helped the Han army to fight the Yellow Turbans, and suffered a lot. Now my uncle has also been defeated and killed because he easily trusted the Han army. My family has been fighting the Han army to the death."

"I will agree to the requests of the Lishi tribes and become the new Chanyu. I will lead them to fight against the Xianbei and restore the glory of the Xiongnu!"

Liu Bao stood up and stared at the leaders of the dozen tribes: "Now let me ask you one question, are you willing to follow my footsteps? Restore the glory of the Xiongnu!" The leaders were still hesitating, and Liu Bao raised his hand and pointed at the weakest one with only more than 70 tribes: "Are you willing?"

"Villain... villain..."

Nearly two-thirds of the population was to be killed, and the remaining men and women had to raise almost twice as many children and drive the herds to migrate.

The smaller the tribe, the less it can afford such losses.

It is possible that he might agree here and be killed by his own troops the next moment.

Now the tribal leader has lost his job. If he kills the men and women he has captured over the years, he will have to take his children and grandchildren to herd horses. He will have to look for lost sheep every day, and his wife and daughter will have to dig wild vegetables under the scorching sun.

He also had to plow the land for some grain.

Thinking of the miserable life he had during his youth, the chief of the small tribe neither dared nor was willing to agree.

Hearing footsteps outside the tent, the leader of the small tribe collapsed on the spot and said tremblingly: "I am willing, I am willing!"

Liu Bao looked at the other leader with a blank expression: "I have made it very clear, what about you?"

"I am willing to follow the Chanyu and restore the glory of the Xiongnu!"

The little chief knelt down as he spoke, and Liu Bao was very pleased. A smile appeared on his face, and he went to look at the other small leaders.

The eight small leaders knelt down together, and the other leaders did not delay and stood up and knelt down.

Next came the team of ministers from the royal court, who kowtowed and called out "Chanyu".

To the Xiongnu, Zuo Xian Wang was like a crown prince or heir apparent.

Huochuquan was killed and the Chanyu royal court suffered a severe blow. Who can stop Zuo Xian Wang from taking over the Chanyu throne?
An elder of the clan looked at the leaders of various tribes who were kneeling together, his gray brows tightly furrowed, feeling that it was too indulgent.

We should have taken the opportunity to kill them all. The Huns are not short of magnanimous leaders, but they are short of leaders who can kill both the Huns and their enemies.

As a tribe that worships the god of war, the clan elder wanted to give advice, but felt that it was a bit inappropriate.

As a clan elder, he is already very old. In addition to his clan members, he also has descendants.

Speaking out to persuade Liu Bao, no matter whether he killed these leaders or not, it would sow disaster for his own descendants.

After nightfall, Liu Bao stayed at his concubine's place. He wore a black brocade robe and a black gauze crown on his head, and his whole body was spotless.

Inside the earthen building, the house was brightly lit by sheep-fat lamps.

The concubine came from a branch of a prominent family in Hedong. She was quite pretty and very caring towards Liu Bao.

Only with his concubine did Liu Bao feel that he was a well-read man, the son of a duke, rather than some barbarian leader.

The two drank together. Seeing that the concubine was hiding her sorrow, Liu Bao was sensitive and no longer concealed his sorrow. He sighed and said, "I don't want to go this far either. It's really that Black Tiger Fang is pushing me too far. I am thirty miles away from him, but he has not sent anyone to persuade him to surrender. You can see what he wants."

The concubine raised her hand and stroked her slightly bulging belly: "My husband, can you bear to let this child of mine not see the sun, moon, mountains and rivers?"

Close to Liu Bao, the concubine hugged Liu Bao's arm and said, "My husband, please take me with you. If I can see the child once, I will die with my eyes closed."

"Eh~!"

Liu Bao sighed, and suddenly felt that his heroic spirit was running out. He was very distressed: "I have found a way to break the Black Tiger Fang's offensive. If I keep you, how can I convince the troops?"

The concubine immediately covered her face and cried bitterly, which made Liu Bao upset.

Just as he was about to draw his sword, a Guduhou from the left side of the pavilion knocked on the door and shouted, "It's bad, Chanyu! Tongli is leading his men to break out of the royal court!"

Liu Bao's face immediately changed. He quickly walked down the stairs, opened the door and asked, "How many people ran away?"

"The forty-six riders that Tong Li brought with him all ran away, and some slaves followed them. We don't know the exact number yet."

Gudu Hou whispered: "Many people have also seen it. Please ask the Chanyu to dispatch troops to strengthen the defense."

At this moment, a huge hay field outside the royal court was set on fire.

One summer, huge piles of hay harvested and dried by more than a thousand slaves were set on fire.

The cold wind from Luliang Mountain blew strongly, and the fire in the hay field spread very quickly, and countless burning grass clippings were blown up by the wind.

Under the illumination of the fire, the leaders of various tribes gathered their troops and evacuated.

They would rather take their tribes to surrender to the Han army as they did not believe that the Han army would kill all the Xiongnu men.

The Han army had not done such a thing for many years.

So there must be some secrets that they don’t know about. It must be these secrets that made the black general from Guanzhong take such brutal revenge on the Chanyu Luanti family.

No matter how brutal the Han army was, they would not kill those who surrendered voluntarily.

What's more, if the slaves could ride on horses, put on armor and fight for the Han army, why couldn't the Xiongnu warriors do the same?

After nightfall, without much hesitation, a tribal leader gathered his men and rushed out to attack.

He had not run far before he saw the burning hayfield.

The little leader named Lan Tongli reined in his horse and turned to look at the fire in the royal court: "The Chanyu's royal court is finished, the Zuobu royal court is finished, and the Luan Ti clan is also finished."

The Right Wise King had always been held by a famous king who was not from the Luanti family. Lan Tongli looked at the fire and saw many knights fleeing. He immediately shouted to his left and right: "Follow me to join General Hei. I will offer him advice to seize the right wing!"

Look at this map of the Taiyuan Basin. Do you like it?
(End of this chapter)