Knock knock! Knock knock!

The hanging bell hanging in front of the Xuanshu Hall of Weiyang Palace was struck by the guards.

Then, the war drums hanging on the north gate of Jianzhang Palace were also beaten by the guards.

Knock knock knock...... Knock knock knock......

"What's the situation?" Huo Guang, the commander of Fengche who was on duty, led people up to the city tower in the north of Jianzhang Palace and asked hurriedly.

"Northern Wolf Smoke Warning!" The captain guarding the castle tower pointed to the northern skyline and said.

Huo Guang turned his head and saw that in the northern sky, a puff of wolf smoke had already swept straight into the air, even if it was at least dozens of miles away, this wolf smoke was still clearly visible!

"Go and inform all the two thousand stones and liehous in Beijing immediately!" Huo Guang's expression was frozen, and he immediately ordered: "I'll go and report to Your Majesty!" ”

The wolf smoke is coming, and the war is up!

And there is a warning that the enemy is taking the initiative to attack the territory of the empire and attack the important cities of the empire!

Since the Yuan seal, Chang'an has not seen wolf smoke for almost 20 years.

In the past 20 years, only the Han army has fought others, and no enemy has ever dared to take the initiative to attack on a large scale.

Although, in fact, this matter has been foreshadowed for a long time, and the Han family court is also ready.

But when this moment really came, Huo Guang only felt panic in his chest!

It's like going out to visit relatives during the New Year's holidays, but being slapped in the face, hot and painful, embarrassing!

Even if Huo Guang's cultivation was good enough, he still felt full of anger!

……………………………………

Thousands of miles away, on the top of the Lingju, Li Guangli stood on the wall, overlooking the world in the distance.

The fields beyond the mountains are densely packed, and countless people are coming!

The number of these people is simply impossible to estimate.

Tens of thousands?

Or tens of thousands?

They were either on horseback, with bronze weapons, or in iron and leather armor, or shirtless and barefoot, holding sticks and stone hammers, or even holding nothing, and wearing tattered sheepskin clothes, shouting and mingling with the crowd.

"This is chaos!" Li Guangli sighed with emotion: "For hundreds of years, there has been endless chaos! ”

This is the first time Li Guangli has seen the legendary Qiang Chaos with his own eyes.

When he took office as the general of the Second Division, among the various Qiang people, those thorns had basically been driven out of Hexi by the Han army with butcher knives and horses' hooves.

Only a few remnants remained, hiding in the mountains, the number of those people was only tens of thousands, Li Guangli took them to train the army, and it only took a few years to completely wipe out these Qiang people who lacked food and clothing, and had already been attacked by the Han army.

The captive population was taken back to Hexi, bridges and roads were built, or used as labor for the border walls.

Honest, loyal and reliable people were screened out in this process, and then dispersed and distributed to mature Qiang tribes with a relatively high degree of sinicization, such as Guqiang and Quqiang.

The rest of the people were treated as 'beasts' and were brutally consumed in the construction of the city fortress and the construction of roads.

Therefore, Li Guangli has almost never seen Qiang Chao.

But he had heard that it had once been chaotic in the whole Hexi.

It was in the mouth of the Huns, second only to the terrible disaster of the White Plague and the Locust Plague.

Hundreds of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of Qiang people, not afraid of life and death, swept through the pastures of Hexi, eating, killing, robbing, and burning everything they saw.

It was not until the main force of the Xiongnu arrived that they scattered and fled into the mountains, leaving only the vast land and countless dead corpses.

Looking at it now, just by the momentum and the number of people, Li Guangli knows that the destructive power of the Qiang Rebellion has not been exaggerated by the Huns.

If they break through the side wall and enter the world behind the side wall.

Li Guangli knows that countless families and countless villages will be reduced to ashes!

So, as a general, his duty should be to keep all these guys out of the side wall, and even take the initiative to disperse them when they are close to the side wall.

But......

Li Guangli looked back to the west, looked at the other end of the mountains and rivers, he held his hand tightly, and then gave an order: "Pass on my general's order: Those who attack without an order will be punished with chaotic military law!" ”

This order means that the main force of the Han army has lost the ability to take the initiative to attack, and can only passively defend.

This was to lure the Huns to bite the hook and create fighters for the Battle of Luntai.

Only in this way can Li Guangli achieve a big victory, a big victory by stepping on the corpses of the Huns, not under this Lingju, playing with the Qiang people and the Yueshi people - defeating the Qiang people and the Yueshi people is not a victory at all!

………………………………

Chang'an, Jianzhang Palace, Penglai Pavilion.

"Ying Hou, General Ying Yang has arrived!"

Surrounded by more than ten generals, Zhang Yue wore armor and a long sword at his waist and walked into the main hall of Penglai Pavilion.

"Zhang Yingyang ......"

"Meet Zhang Yingyang......"

"Eagle Yang is a good ......"

Countless courtiers stood up one after another and bowed their hands to Zhang Yue.

Zhang Yue bowed his head slightly in response, but he went straight all the way and walked to the opposite side of Prime Minister Liu Quyu, and said, "Prime Minister is fine!" ”

"Hello Eagle!" Liu Quyu got up and saluted with a gloomy expression, and was in a very bad mood, but immediately he thought of Li Guangli who was far away in Hexi, and thought that in the future, the news of Hexi's victory would reach Chang'an, and he would be excited again!

"As long as we can win this battle...... Liu Quyu thought in his heart: "At that time...... Humph......"

At that time, he can use the power of the prime minister, the great victory in the west of the narrow river, to drive this so-called General Eagle Yang and his subordinates to Mo Nan or exile to South Vietnam!

Let them stay away from Chang'an, struggle and wander outside.

In this regard, Liu Quyu is still confident.

After all, it was by his wrist that he climbed to his current position.

Zhang Yue smiled and sat down, and then, behind him and on both sides, there were full of generals.

More than a dozen generals wearing crimson armor and red robes, but they are basically captains and captains, in this hall that starts from 2,000 stones and enters the king, it is indeed a bit eye-catching.

But no one dared to take it lightly.

Fools know that among these people, after a while, I'm afraid all of them will be nobles with a base of 2,000 stones, and the marquis of Guannei and above!

And it is a noble who holds the power of the army and has a record of war!

"Prime Minister ......" Zhang Yue sat down and asked, "Has the situation in Hexi been reported back?" ”

Liu Quyu shook his head and said, "The envoy of the Second Division General is probably still on the road now, and it will take at least three or five days to arrive in Chang'an and report to Your Majesty the specific situation on the front line!" ”

Zhang Yue listened and nodded thoughtfully.

In my heart, the situation in Hexi and the things I had heard in the past surfaced one by one, and gradually sketched in my mind the basic landform, geography and the approximate location of the main rivers, rivers, cities, and fortresses in the Hexi region today.

…………………………………………………………

The capital of Qiuzi Wang, Yancheng.

A silk cloth is pulled apart, and the map drawn on it is displayed in front of the person.

"Han has three stops, for my Huns' heart!" Li Ling stood in front of this map and talked eloquently: "The Luntai Fortress of the Western Regions, the surrendered city of Heshuo, and the Light Lusai of the Five Plains!" ”

Luntai is a by-product of Li Guangliva Dawan.

The surrendered city is on the periphery of Yinshan Mountain, northwest of Gaoquesai, blocked in the boundary between the Yellow River and the grassland.

Guanglu is the eternal pain point in the hearts of the Huns!

Erdan Yu died under this fortress, and with him died under this fortress city, there were thousands of Hun cavalry, including more than a dozen core clans of the four major clans!

It is precisely for this reason that the Xiongnu have not dared to approach this fortress located on the periphery of Shuofang County and Wuyuan County.

In today's situation, especially after the Han army once again sealed the wolf Juxu Mountain, for the latter two, the mentality of the Huns basically no longer cares.

Because it is simply impossible to threaten those two fortresses in the short term, let alone take revenge.

This wheel alone is like a thorn stuck in their throats.

In particular, the nobles of the ancestors, each of them stared at the Han Dynasty fortress located on the outer side of the Northern Western Regions Road, stuck in the south of Qiuzi, standing on the banks of river valleys and lakes.

Everyone knows that as long as this fortress exists for a day, it is impossible for the Han people to be cut off from the countries of the Western Regions!

Over the years, relying on the Luntai Fortress, the Han Dynasty used merchants and envoys to hook up with the nobles and kings of various countries in the Western Regions, and cultivated batch after batch of pro-Han factions.

Now among the countries of the Western Regions, the pro-Xiongnu forces are actually on a par with the pro-Han forces!

This was still established under the condition that the Xiongnu army was stationed in the oasis basin of the northern province of the Western Regions.

Without the suppression of the army of the king of the day, no one dares to imagine what would have happened.

Even so, now, there have been two countries, Loulan and Dawan, which have defected and become the periphery under the direct control of the Han Dynasty.

Like Wusun, there are not a few forces that have eyebrows with the Han people, and even Qingqing and me.

For example, you who once destroyed the country for the Huns!

Even in countries that were absolutely controlled by the Xiongnu, such as Cheshi, Pu Zhuguo, Shache, and Yuli, there were countless nobles and even kings who shouted 'Long live the Great Huns' on the surface, but in fact returned home and secretly obsessed with the culture of the Han Dynasty!

The king of the previous generation was such a lackey of the Han Dynasty who was picked out by others!

Therefore, the Huns burned their kings with blazing fire!

Now, a monarch of the Western Regions like that King of the Western Regions must still exist.

And all of this is because of the existence of Luntai and Loulan.

The Loulan Kingdom was too close to the border wall of the Han Dynasty, and it was close to the area where the main forces of the Han Dynasty were hoarding, so even the most arrogant Xiongnu nobles did not dare to provoke it.

But......

It's not the same with the wheel.

It is an enclave, at least six hundred miles away from Yumen Pass.

Even cavalry would take days to arrive.

Moreover, the route is very simple - unless the Han cavalry dares to cross the desert and risk dehydration to rescue, the only thing they can walk is on both sides of the Peacock River.

And these situations, you don't need to look at the map, you don't even need to listen to Li Ling's introduction, everyone already knows it in their hearts.

Li Ling also knew, so he skipped it directly and focused on the wheel stopper.

"According to the intelligence of Outuo's reconnaissance, Han now has a total of two cavalry captains and one infantry captain in Luntai, with a field strength of about 3,000 people...... In addition, there are about 4,000 people in its Tuntian militia, exiled criminals, and convicts......" Li Ling said shallowly: "It seems that there are not many troops, but Luntai, like all Hansai, is not its garrison, but its defense!" ”

He pointed to the location of Luntai City on the map, and then said: "The main city of Luntai City, the city wall is more than three zhang high, the city is built with rammed earth, there is a moat on the outside of the city wall, and the moat leads the lake to irrigate it, in spring and summer, when the water rises, the river is several zhang deep, even if the water depth is now I am afraid that there are more than ......."

"In addition, on the city walls and inside the city, the Han army has hoarded a large number of materials to defend the city!"

"According to the past reconnaissance of spies and meticulous work, the Han people arranged at least three or more bed crossbows on each side of the city wall of Luntai City, and built at least thirteen or more arrow towers, and there were a large number of arrows on the inside of the city wall!"

"On the inner periphery of the city wall, there should still be a daily stockpile, enough to use the rolling stones and sassalwood more than ten times!"

"As long as the defenders are energetic, to attack such a fortified city, it will take at least 50,000 troops, and the number of dead and wounded may exceed 20,000 after a siege of more than a month!"

Listening to Li Ling's words, the sages and his nobles were all a little stiff.

The Huns have never understood the twists and turns of these Han Dynasty fortresses, otherwise, they would not have been able to be easily taken down by Wei Qing in that year, and the high fortress that was built with countless painstaking efforts.

Now, listening to Li Ling's introduction, they know for the first time the tightness and horror of the Han Dynasty's city defense system.

"A month is impossible!" The sage shook his head and said, "We don't have so much time! ”

One month?

Even if the offensive starts now, it will be September to take it.

By then, the Han Dynasty reinforcements would probably have arrived.

Even more troublesome is the weather - the sages know that the Western Regions will continue to cool down after late August, and the first snow may start in late August or September.

In the colder hinterland of the Northern Western Regions, the situation may be even worse.

In that case, it would mean that the Xiongnu army might have to retreat with wounded soldiers under the pursuit of Han reinforcements, braving heavy snow and severe cold.

At that time, the weather will be the best helper of the Han Dynasty.

"We only have a maximum of ten days!" Xianxian stood up and said to Li Ling: "Within ten days, we must take Luntai, and then withdraw the army!" ”

"This ...... I'm afraid the price to be paid......"

"Nothing about that!" Xianxian Yan had a cold face and sneered: "Even if you kill the entire army of Qiuzi, Cheshi, and Shache, Ben Tu Xuan will take Luntai within ten days!" ”

"King Jiankun, you just need to tell Ben Tu Lu if you are sure that you can win Luntai within ten days!"

For the Xiongnu, the servants of the Western Regions were like the cattle and sheep they raised.

Although they may value it, when faced with a crisis or need to make a choice, they will not hesitate to kill these fattened animals to fill their stomachs and keep themselves alive through the harsh winter.

It's a big deal, at the beginning of spring, go find a new batch of livestock to raise!