Qin Gong

Chapter 722: The Plan of the 4th Bamboo Slip

Chapter 722: The Plan of the Four Bamboo Slips

"Have you heard? The north is full of Xiongnu and Donghu people. The places where Xiongnu and Donghu people passed by were full of dead bodies. Women and children were abducted, and all men were killed..."

"I heard that these days, there are merchants fleeing south everywhere. When the north is mentioned, even those profiteers turn pale and are unwilling to speak frankly!"

"The foreign enemies in the north are really inhuman. For thousands of years, we, the people of the Central Plains, have never gone north to slaughter people. However, those Xiongnu and Donghu people are bloodthirsty and plundering by nature. Sigh, pity the people of the Central Plains in the north..."

On the official road, Bai Yan rode on his war horse, looking at the people who were hurrying on the ancient road under the mountains and hills. He listened to their conversations and looked in the direction of Yanmen, and could not help frowning.

Although he had just left Xianyang not far away, when he heard the news from the north, Bai Yan could still imagine what kind of disaster the north was experiencing.

"General, if we go further ahead, we will reach Tugaoling!"

A confidant who was in disguise came to Bai Yan on horseback to report.

Hearing this, Bai Yan nodded, looking thoughtful. After reining in his horse, he was slow to give orders.

"General, what's wrong?"

Niu was standing beside Bai Yan, a little confused. Seeing Bai Yan looking straight ahead, Niu also looked in the direction of his gaze, but there was nothing else except mountains.

"Tell me, has anyone in the Xianyang court sent the news to the Xiongnu?"

Bai Yan asked softly.

When Niu heard Bai Yan's words, his face changed, and even the other soldiers were no exception. They looked at each other and were somewhat glad that they were traveling in disguise, otherwise, something might have happened along the way.

"General, are you worried that there might be bandits setting up ambushes along the way, or that they are colluding with the Xiongnu?"

Niu looked at Bai Yan and asked.

Niu was not worried about himself on the way ahead, but more about Bai Yan's safety. Niu also knew that Bai Yan had led troops to conquer the world for Qin, and was already hated by the old clans in various places. In the court, there were also many officials who hated Bai Yan. In this case, they might really send the news to the Huns, or find a way to set an ambush along the way.

"I will write a few bamboo slips, and you guys will send them to Lantian, Shangjun, and Xianyang!"

Bai Yan turned his head and looked at several close confidants beside him.

"promise!"

"promise!!"

Several confidants bowed and accepted the order, and under Niu's gaze, Bai Yan turned his horse around and walked under the shade of the trees beside the official road.

Under the shade.

A soldier took out rolls of blank bamboo slips from the cloth package on his back, and poured out a brush from a bamboo tube and the ink stone from the cloth package. After everything was ready, he handed them to Bai Yan.

"General!"

Niu was very strong, and relying on his strength, he managed to lift a relatively flat boulder. With the dull sound of the boulder falling to the ground, the other soldiers looked at Niu with amazement in their eyes.

Perhaps at other times, Bai Yan would also make fun of this scene, but at the moment, Bai Yan was not interested in anything else.

Bai Yan discovered something was wrong after hearing about the tragic scenes in Northern Xinjiang from the mouths of the common people. Logically speaking, although the elite troops of Northern Xinjiang were not there, the Northern Xinjiang garrison was still there. Even if the Xiongnu and Donghu colluded and went south, they could not have been so rampant in the five counties of Northern Xinjiang in such a short period of time.

There must be a reason behind this. Bai Yan has not yet arrived in Northern Xinjiang and is not clear about the reason.

Looking at the bamboo slips in front of him, Bai Yan picked up the pen and ink, and quickly wrote in Qin seal script on the bamboo slips. There were a total of four bamboo slips to be written this time. One was sent to Hu Jin of Shangjun, and Bai Yan needed three thousand war horses. The second was sent to Sima Xing in Xianyang, and Bai Yan needed the help of the Iron Eagle Warriors. The third was sent to Tian Mansion in Xianyang, and was presented to Ying Zheng privately through Tian Ding, requesting Ying Zheng to give the general seal to recruit the Iron Eagle Warriors.

After realizing that something was wrong with the Xiongnu and Donghu moving south, Bai Yan knew that the northern border might be a trap, a trap waiting for him, and his opponent might not just be the foreign enemy in the north.

In this way, Bai Yan will not be able to join the game and be controlled by others.

The former ministers of various countries were restless, and the political enemies in the court, the nobles who resented him, as well as the Qin clan and Li Si and others were arguing about the division of fiefdoms and counties. Once they went to the northern border, they would probably be stuck in a quagmire.

Therefore, facing the Xiongnu and Donghu in the north moving south, Bai Yan chose to go around and launch a surprise attack on their hometowns.

This is why Bai Yan needs to recruit the Iron Eagle Warriors. The Iron Eagle Warriors are not only excellent in swordsmanship, but also proficient in both horse and foot combat, and are equally skilled with any weapon they get their hands on.

The selection criteria for the Iron Eagle Warriors are: wearing a suit of armor, holding a spear, carrying twenty long arrows and an iron-framed bow, a broad dagger, an iron dagger and a cowhide shield, and carrying three days of military food, with a total weight of about eighty kilograms, and being able to march continuously for a hundred miles and immediately engage in fierce battle. Only those who can be considered as Warriors.

Therefore, when launching a surprise attack on the Huns' hometown, before his former generals were assembled, Bai Yan's first reaction was to use the Iron Eagle Soldiers. No other army was more suitable for a surprise attack than the Iron Eagle Soldiers.

As for where the Xiongnu and Donghu’s hometowns were, Bai Yan didn’t know, but that didn’t mean others didn’t know.

........................

Shangjun.

Inside the prefectural governor's mansion, Hu Jin took the bamboo slips from his attendant, read them, and then turned his gaze to the civilian soldiers kneeling on the ground.

"Lord Wu Lie has already gone to Yuezhi?"

Hu Jin put down the bamboo slips, frowned and asked.

"What? Yue Clan!"

When the servant next to Hu Jin heard Hu Jin's question, he was shocked and looked at the commoner soldier in disbelief.

The Yuezhi were foreign enemies in the north. Even though the Yuezhi king was now Yangjin, and previously Yangjin had the support of the Qin State and had just regained the throne, looking at the fact that the Yuezhi did not make any move during the southward movement of the Xiongnu and the Donghu, it was clear that the Yuezhi had long had ulterior motives.

To put it bluntly, the Yuezhi might even be secretly colluding with the Xiongnu and Donghu.

At this time, Bai Yan actually wanted to go to Yuezhi, and alone, this...

"My Lord, the general said that the strategy to defeat the Xiongnu and Donghu is not in the five counties north of the Central Plains, but in the Xiongnu and Donghu tribes further north..."

The commoner soldiers bowed and reported to Hu Jin. At this moment, their faces were full of tension and they were sweating for Bai Yan's actions. But when they thought of the day when General Bai Yan said in front of several people with a serious face that he would not go to Yuezhi, more women and children would be abducted, more old and weak would be killed, and more cities would be burned, killed and looted among the people in the five counties of the northern border.

If the Xiongnu and Donghu retreated one day later, it would be a disregard for the people in the northern border.

Thinking of this, the soldiers lamented that the general was concerned about the people, but they could not stop Bai Yan. Now they could only tell Lord Hu Jin what General Bai Yan had said in the past.

"Go and prepare the horses. Within three days, select three thousand of the strongest war horses in the entire Shangjun, and prepare two months' worth of dry food!"

Hu Jin looked at the bamboo slips. Although Bai Yan did not mention dry food in the slips and only mentioned horses, as a general who led troops all year round, Hu Jin knew very well the importance of food and fodder. Therefore, even if Bai Yan did not say it, Hu Jin would prepare it for Bai Yan.

Hu Jin would naturally not be stingy with Bai Yan. At this moment, Hu Jin only hoped that Bai Yan would be confident enough to go and persuade the Yuezhi to solve the border problems in Daijun and other places.

"promise!"

Upon hearing this, Lao Qie bowed to Hu Jin and accepted the order. However, just as he was about to leave, Hu Jin suddenly thought of something and stopped Lao Qie.

"I heard there is a merchant in the city who travels between Shangjun and Xiongnu all year round!"

Hu Jin looked at Lao Qi and asked. He vaguely remembered such a person in his mind. In recent years, the Xiongnu were weak and dared not go south. They could only get what they needed by looking for Xiongnu people to trade with. Therefore, among some Xiongnu merchants in Shangjun, there seemed to be a very famous person.

The reason why Hu Jin remembered him was not because he was good at business, but because several years ago, Hu Jin remembered Lao Qie saying that this man had secretly helped the Qin army when the Huns moved south, and almost died for it. When Hu Jin learned about it a few years ago, he casually mentioned that the officials in the county should not make things difficult for this man.

"My Lord, there is such a person named Wumuhu. He admires Lord Wu Lie very much, and his eldest son admires Lord Wu Lie even more. It seems that he has had a past with Lord Wu Lie, but I don't know the details!"

Lao Qie bowed and nodded to Hu Jin.

Compared with Hu Jin, Lao Qie was more impressed by the Huns. If it had not been for the Huns, Lao Qie would not have dared to believe the consequences. Moreover, apart from the shock given by the Huns that day, Lao Qie also saw another young man named Gui. Knowing that he would die if he went north, he was still not timid at all, just because Bai Yan was still in Gaonu.

I have seen countless things in my life, but not many are truly unforgettable. What I saw and heard that day is one of the few unforgettable things. If you have not seen it with your own eyes, it is difficult to understand the shock from words.

"Go and get that man!"

Hu Jin gave instructions to Lao Qi.

(End of this chapter)