Chapter 55 of 100
Chapter 55
15 min read3,689 words
"Father Tangyi! Where is the nearest tribe? Have they sent people to intercept us as ordered by King Kunye? If so, we will take torches and pay them a visit!"
Yes, such tactics would make a certain tribe hate the Han envoy, but it would also instill fear in the other tribes!
"Attack where the enemy must rescue, my lord has a deep understanding of the essentials of military strategy!" Before Father Tangyi could speak, Chen Qingzhi clapped his hands in praise. Burning the enemy's grain supplies has always been a decisive move in battles. Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao by burning the grain stored in Wuchao, and Chen Qingzhi must have done this many times in the past!
The Xiongnu need large pastures for grazing, so the tribes are generally far apart. Apart from the Xiongnu royal court and a few primitive cities like Xiutu, there are not many large population centers! Moreover, the young and strong men from the tribes have been concentrated by King Kunye to intercept them! Therefore, the defensive strength of each tribe is not very strong! With nearly a hundred young and strong men, a surprise attack is entirely possible!
Moreover, their goal is not to kill the enemy but to burn their stored hay, which is even simpler! In the current dry weather, starting a fire is much easier than putting one out!
"Tomorrow morning, order the soldiers to prepare more torches!" Li You instructed. There is oil produced in Gansu, but unfortunately, it cannot be found in a hurry! If it were available, it would be even more satisfying.
Even if they could find sulfur and other fire-starting materials, it would be good, but they did not bring these with them! However, there are other substitutes on the grassland; the fat from cattle and sheep can勉强 serve as a substitute.
The next day, Li You divided the team into two groups. One group, consisting of healthy individuals, went around to find dry grass, sticks, and other fire-starting materials. The other group soaked the dry grass in fat, then dried it and tied it to sticks to make torches! The mountain hollow was filled with the unpleasant smell of boiling fat, making people want to vomit.
Father Tangyi was sent out to search for the traces of nearby small tribes. The first battle after making the plan must be a success! To give the Xiongnu a profound lesson.
However, these arsonists completely ignored the unpleasant smell of the fat, each excitedly making torches and saying fiercely, "I am originally from Yunzhong Commandery! The Xiongnu invaded the border, burned, killed, and looted, leaving my house in ruins and only me alive! Now, I finally have the chance to let these Xiongnu taste the pain of being burned!"
"Good! Once we choose the target, the first torch will be yours!" Li You smiled and encouraged him, "Don't look at how fast those Xiongnu run now. Once we set a few fires, they will definitely retreat to their tribes to guard against us. Then we can continue westward!"
"Yes, when I was a wanderer in Chang'an, if I couldn't win a fight, I would shout, 'My brothers are on their way to your house right now!' Those guys would be stunned for a moment, and I would take the opportunity to escape!" Someone even brought up their past embarrassment to support Li You's plan.
"Once the deputy envoy returns, we will discuss how to set fires in a more satisfying way!" Seeing their enthusiastic expressions, Li You nodded inwardly; the morale is high!
"Sir, just burning the hay might let them hold out a bit longer. We should burn their tents too! In this cold weather, without tents to shelter from the wind and cold, I don't think they can last three days!" The soldier from Yunzhong Commandery showed a cruel smile. "My nephew was frozen to death after the Xiongnu burned his house! Now I will make them pay tenfold, a hundredfold!"
"Good! But that means you will need to prepare more torches!" Li You patted his shoulder, "What is your name? I will recommend you for merit when we return to Chang'an!"
This common motivational method from later times made him feel honored, and the soldier hurriedly bowed, "I am Xu Yannian, thank you, Sir!"
"Yannian Yishou, what a good name! With this name, you will return safely to Chang'an from the Western Regions! Perhaps we will all benefit from your good fortune!" Li You praised him. In the early Han dynasty, the philosophy of Huang-Lao was prevalent, leading to the widespread belief in longevity, which influenced the naming of people, favoring names like "Yannian," "Yanshou," "Pengzu," and "Wansui."
Li Yannian, who later sang to Emperor Wu, "In the north there is a beauty, unmatched and alone, one glance can topple a city, another can topple a nation. How can one not know the power of such beauty, yet such a beauty is hard to find again"; and Mao Yanshou, who deliberately drew Wang Zhaojun ugly because he did not receive a bribe, leading to her being sent to the Xiongnu, are examples of this.
"Ha ha ha ha!" Everyone laughed together, making Xu Yannian blush. The tension of the past few days finally eased, and their stiff faces relaxed!
By sunset, Father Tangyi and his group returned to the mountain hollow. He drew the surrounding situation on the ground with a branch, "Sir, there are three Xiongnu tribes nearby! They are here... here... and here!"
"This tribe is the closest to us, with only about two hundred people. It seems they did not send their young and strong men as ordered by King Kunye! The second tribe is a bit farther away, with about four hundred people, and not many young and strong men are visible. Perhaps they are preparing to intercept us in the west! The last tribe is the largest, with over a hundred young and strong men still in the tribe for defense!" He reported his findings to Li You.
"The first tribe can be ignored! Letting them go will allow other tribes to know why we burned their hay and tents!" Li You heavily pointed to the remaining two tribes, "As for these two tribes, we cannot let them off! Once we are ready, we will pay them a visit and show them our colors!" I hope they like this gift! In the cold winter, having a fire is so pleasant!
"Tomorrow, we will rest and prepare more torches. The day after tomorrow, we will visit the second tribe!" Father Tangyi turned to Pan Feng, "My lord and General Chen, please wait here for our good news! I and General Pan will lead the men!"
"General Chen will stay here to take care of the wounded the day after tomorrow. I will go with you to set the fires!" How could I miss such an exciting event? Moreover, Li You vaguely felt that participating in more battles would be beneficial to him.
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