sovbooks Chapter 1389: Blood Tide Reappears
Chapter 1389: Blood Tide Reappears
Chapter 1389: Blood Tide Reappears
"Snapped!"
The horse whip hit the shoulder of a tribal leader so hard that his sheepskin coat was torn to pieces.
The whip tip brushed across his cheek with a whistling sound, and a red mark soon appeared on his cheek.
"Why don't you just rush over?!"
The troops who were chasing after the defeated soldiers of the Meiluhui tribe not only failed to break through the enemy's rear as planned, but instead lost more than 200 cavalrymen and were beaten back.
This made Tuoba Liwei, who had been unable to contain his anger for a long time, even more furious. Without thinking, he directly pulled out his horsewhip and whipped the leader who came forward to report.
"Da Kehan, spare my life!"
The leader buried his head in the snow, not knowing whether it was because of fear or cold. "Dou Bin is very cunning. He has an ambush behind the defeated soldiers."
"We were ordered by Ke Han to chase after the defeated soldiers, but we didn't expect to fall into their ambush."
Unexpectedly, Tuoba Liwei became even more angry when he heard this. He raised his whip and whipped the leader hard again:
"Are you saying that my military orders are wrong?"
"No, I don't dare, I don't dare..."
Hearing Tuoba Liwei's words, the leader's body shook even more violently.
Fortunately, Tuoba Dakehan did not seem to pursue his crime of slip of the tongue, but asked:
"How many ambushes are there?"
The capital originally wanted to say ten thousand cavalry.
But besides him, there were several other people who came to report this time and were lying behind him.
So he could only answer honestly:
"Even if there are not ten thousand cavalry, there are at least six or seven thousand."
Six or seven thousand?
I remembered what Ku Xian had reported, that the reinforcements Dou Bin had requested included 5,000 Han troops.
Not bad at all.
After all, Tuoba Liwei has been leading troops in battles all his life.
Naturally, I know how difficult it is to count the number of people on the opposite side before the battle - it is extremely difficult to get a rough estimate without being deceived by the enemy.
The art of selecting soldiers is a secret method of military strategists that is not passed on to outsiders.
"Go, go down, reorganize your troops, and obey my orders at any time."
"If there's a next time, I'll beat you to death!"
Tuoba Liwei's whip was hitting several leaders lying on the ground without any reason.
Several people had more or less whip marks on their bodies and retreated in a mess.
"Kehan, they were defeated this time, it was not their fault, why are you so angry?"
After everyone left, the black-clad steward spoke up, "Although Dou Bin is old and no longer ambitious, he has led troops in battles for many years and is very experienced."
"Plus, with the help of the Han army, it will be very difficult for Ke Han to defeat them in one battle."
After the defeated leaders retreated, the anger on Tuoba Liwei's face also disappeared:
"I am not as good as the deacon in planning and commanding troops, but the deacon is far inferior to me in leading the troops in battle!"
"These outsiders are not completely loyal to our Tuoba tribe. Otherwise, we wouldn't have lost more than 200 cavalrymen and would have taken the opportunity to retreat."
"If I don't punish them, and they become frightened, they might even lie about military intelligence and exaggerate the enemy's situation in an attempt to escape responsibility."
"Not to mention that I will do my best in the subsequent battles."
The black-robed butler heard this and nodded slowly:
"Since Kehan knows what's going on, I feel relieved."
Tuoba Liwei pointed his whip forward and sneered:
"The Moluhui tribe has been defeated, and the Han army has also formed a battle array behind them as I expected. One reason is to urge the Moluhui tribe to advance, and the other is to take advantage of the conflict between the two tribes to gain an advantage."
"They have a good idea, but they don't know how to stop the surprise attack I sent out."
The deacon reminded:
"Kehan, Dou Bin may not be unaware of Kehan's arrangements."
Tuoba Liwei laughed: "Of course he knows, but haven't you heard that the weather is not as important as the location, and the location is not as important as the people."
Dou Bin invited reinforcements from abroad and betrayed at this time, which could barely be considered as taking advantage of the right timing.
But he came in a hurry and appeared in the territory of Tuoba tribe, which gave him plenty of time to summon the various tribes, giving him the advantage of geographical location and people.
Even if he knew that he would send out a surprise attack, how could he know from which direction they would come?
Do we need to be on guard everywhere?
Being on guard everywhere will only make you unprepared for everything.
The Meiluhui tribe was not as good as the Tuoba tribe - even if half of the warriors went to Nanxia, they could not be easily shaken by the Meiluhui tribe.
What Tuoba Liwei was worried about were the five thousand Han troops.
Now that he had discovered the location of the Han army, he could finally put his mind at ease.
After listening to Tuoba Liwei's analysis, the black-robed butler couldn't help but agree.
Tuoba Kehan was able to lead a small tribe to become the largest tribe on the grassland. In addition to the help of his own people, his own talents were also outstanding.
"So what is Kehan's next plan?"
"Dou Bin's defeat is no longer a cause for concern."
Tuoba Li sneered slightly, showing both disdain and sarcasm.
The Han people have always looked down on the Hu people.
Dou Bin actually dared to collude with the Han people. How is this different from opening the door to thieves?
Normally, he claimed to be a descendant of the Dou family of Fufeng, and he associated himself with a famous family, raised his status, and deceived those ignorant people on the grassland.
Do you really think that the Han people will recognize you and look up to you?
How is it now?
Aren't they still being driven like dogs by the Han army, fighting for their lives on the battlefield?
Tuoba Liwei believed that if the Luhui tribe had not been forced forward, even if they were going to be defeated, it would not have been as bad as it was now.
"What we have to do now is to attract the attention of the Han army and wait for the right opportunity."
As long as the special forces sent out appear somewhere on the side or rear of the battlefield, that will be the best time.
"Somebody come!"
"Kehan?"
Tuoba Liwei did not hesitate at all and once again selected five outer tribes and asked them to continue attacking the Han army.
Compared with the Han army, the tribes outside the Tuoba tribe may have insufficient clothing and armor and simple weapons, but they have the advantage of large numbers.
Tuoba Liwei didn't ask them to really break through the Han army's formation - of course, it would be best if they could break through - he just wanted to make the Han army tired, and that would achieve his goal.
When the time comes, just wait for the surprise troops to appear on their flanks, and then use your elite troops to attack from the front. Why worry about not winning?
The Tuoba tribe alone had sixty-eight tribes of different surnames, that is, peripheral tribes.
Tuoba Liwei didn't believe that a mere 5,000 Han soldiers could withstand the repeated attacks of so many of him.
Of course, in addition to dragging down the Han army, Tuoba Liwei also had some other ideas.
Except for the eight tribes with the same surname as Tuoba Xianbei, the remaining sixty-eight tribes with different surnames can only be described as a loose alliance.
The leaders of these different tribes still have great autonomy over their own tribes.
Therefore, there is still a long way to go before we can integrate these tribes of different surnames into the real Tuoba tribe.
In normal times, in addition to luring them with benefits, you also need to control them with power.
At the same time, we must also pay attention to secretly restricting the strength of these tribes and not let them threaten the position of the leader.
And now is a good opportunity to adjust their strength.
Just when Tuoba Liwei was deploying his troops and preparing to fight the Han army.
Several tribal leaders with whip marks on their faces were passing by a tent with their heads down.
“Crack! Crack! Crack…”
A sound that makes one's teeth ache was heard.
Several people subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound, but saw that the door of King Wuhuan's tent was wide open, and King Wuhuan was sharpening his knife inside with an expressionless face.
If it were any other day, they would have certainly mocked the Wuhuan King who had just returned from his previous defeat.
After all, we are all from different tribes of the Tuoba tribe. Why can you, King Wuhuan, gain the trust of Dakehan?
They would definitely not miss this rare opportunity to ridicule each other.
In fact, when King Wuhuan returned from his defeat, some people came to mock him.
But these people were also defeated, so naturally the eldest brother would not laugh at the second brother.
Far from mocking him, perhaps out of sympathy, the leader even greeted the Wuhuan King:
"King Kuxian, what are you doing?"
Kuxian seemed to turn a deaf ear to him and continued sharpening his knife.
The few people were disappointed and were about to leave when they saw Ku Xian suddenly stop sharpening the knife, hold up the shiny knife, and stretch out his thumb to test the blade.
Then he glanced at a few people and said unexpectedly:
"Sharpening the knife on Ke Han's orders."
The few people who were about to leave, upon hearing this unexpected answer, their feet were immediately sucked by a magnet.
Several people looked at each other, and without any hesitation, they turned around and walked into Ku Xian's tent.
He lowered his posture and asked humbly:
"King Kuxian, what do you mean by this?"
Ku Xian looked at them strangely and replied:
"I'm following Ke Han's orders to sharpen the knife. Didn't I make it clear enough?"
I understand, but...
"Why did Kehan ask Lord Kuxian to sharpen his knife?"
When Kuxian heard this question, he snorted, and it was unclear whether it was a sneer or something else.
He stretched out his thumb again, slowly tested the edge of the knife, and asked instead of answering:
"Do you know why the Meiluhui tribe suddenly betrayed Kehan?"
This……
Someone said hesitantly: "I heard that Dou Bin colluded with the Han people..."
Ku Xian sneered, and the meaning of this sound was very clear, it was a sneer:
"Lord Dou Bin has always been on good terms with Ke Han, and they are uncle and son-in-law. Why would Lord Dou Bin suddenly collude with the Han people and betray Ke Han?"
"How do we know this?"
To be honest, the dispute between the Meiluhui and Tuoba tribes has left most people confused.
The two departments have always had a harmonious relationship and are in-laws, so how could they suddenly start fighting, and it be a life-and-death fight?
Fortunately, Master Kuxian is always straightforward and doesn't like to keep people in suspense. He just explained:
"Isn't it because of the eldest prince?"
"The eldest prince?"
Tuoba Desert Khan?
"The eldest prince is Dou Bin's eldest grandson. He was slandered by some people in our tribe and ended up being missing. Dou Bin heard about this and came here to question him."
After hearing this, someone said unconvincedly:
"The eldest prince's actions were approved by Da Kehan. What does the second prince's actions have to do with us? How can we say that he is slandering us?"
Ku Xian looked at the person who said this as if he was an idiot, and said:
"The Second Prince is also Dou Bin's grandson."
Of course, this is not important.
After all, let alone brothers, even if they are father and son, when it is time to be ruthless, you have to be ruthless and show no mercy.
"Kehan already felt remorseful for what happened to the eldest prince, but Dou Bin happened to come with an army to question him, so he would not admit his mistake in public."
Ku Xian's voice was not loud, but it sounded like thunder in the ears of several people, shaking them out of their minds:
"But Kehan has already wanted to take your eldest son as his wife to appease the eldest prince, so he let me sharpen my sword and axe."
Several people said almost in unison: "Impossible!"
Ku Xian glanced at a few people and smiled contemptuously:
"Dou Bin, this time, the Han army helped us. You and I have suffered defeats one after another, which is enough to show that the Moluhui tribe is no longer what it used to be."
"Plus, most of our warriors are on their way south, and are now weak. As one side weakens, the other side gains strength, and the outcome of this battle is still uncertain."
"Even if we win, it will probably be a pyrrhic victory. How will the Tuoba Eight Tribes make up for their losses?"
The so-called Eight Tribes of Tuoba naturally refer to the eight core tribes with the same surname Tuoba.
They were also the eight most powerful tribes of Tuoba Xianbei.
Otherwise, how could the sixty-eight tribes of different surnames be convinced?
Kuxian asked this question and no one answered.
But everyone present knew that as long as the sixty-eight tribes of different surnames were still members of the Tuoba Xianbei, their strength would never surpass that of the eight Tuoba tribes.
Seeing that no one answered, Ku Xian did not force it, but continued:
"If we lose this battle, Kehan will send the person who slandered the crown prince away to protect the Tuoba clan, so as to appease Dou Bin's anger. Do you think this is feasible?"
"Kehan, Kehan has always been a hero, how could he do something that would ruin people's reputation?"
Some expressed disbelief.
Kuxian chuckled, not even looking at the person who was speaking, and his expression became more and more contemptuous.
The knives and axes were sharpened to a very sharp edge, reflecting the light of the snow, and even able to reflect the panic that several people could not hide.
He scraped his fingers on the blade, blew on it, and smiled with satisfaction.
But this expression was extremely creepy in the eyes of a few people.
In the face of the great war, Tuoba Xianbei had suffered a series of defeats and had finally managed to stabilize its front line. Except for the eight core Tuoba tribes, no one dared to easily ask Tuoba Liwei for confirmation.
Because Kuxian himself was the leader of the sixty-eight tribes of different surnames, he was highly respected by Tuoba Liwei in the past and was quite powerful among the tribes of different surnames.
Now, after seeing with their own eyes and hearing with their own ears what he said, no one dared not to take it to heart.
Because no one dares to gamble.
This is a matter that concerns the fate of the entire clan.
After all, everyone depends on you for their heads in order to survive and even live on the grassland.
Dakehan is fair and just, and leads everyone towards a better life. Naturally, he is wise and brave, a hero of his generation.
However, when the benefits gained are not enough to compensate for the cost of dependence, the tribal leaders, who already have great autonomy, will naturally become disloyal.
The grassland is so vast, do we have to graze on your Tuoba clan’s territory?
Of course, intimidated by Tuoba Liwei's daily prestige, these tribal leaders of different surnames would not dare to say on the spot that they would lead their tribes to escape.
But some thoughts were eventually planted.
The drawbacks of the tribal alliance on the grassland were clearly exposed at this time.
Moreover, as tribes of different surnames were constantly transferred to the front to attack the Han army, their strength continued to grow.
"Waste, incompetent!"
Another group of leaders had their faces beaten by Tuoba Liwei.
The wheel tactics did not achieve the goal that Tuoba Liwei had expected.
The number of people on the other side also increased from six or seven thousand to seven or eight thousand, eight or nine thousand, and then tens of thousands...
But no matter how many there were, every tribal warrior sent out to charge was beaten back.
"Where did so many Han troops come from? Did they fall from the sky? And the more we fight, the more there are!"
"Asshole! How dare you bully me!"
Tuoba Liwei, who was so angry, cursed loudly, "It's just that the bastards from the Moluhui tribe mixed in with us to hide our tracks, but they scared you like this!"
In addition, there was no sign of any movement from the special forces sent from the flank, and Tuoba Liwei could not hold back any longer.
Looking at the sun that was already setting in the west, Tuoba Liwei felt a little anxious:
The weather at this time is still cold at night and it is impossible to spend the night outside.
If the surprise attack still cannot find the enemy's weakness, I'm afraid they will have to turn back.
Just as I was thinking this, I suddenly heard a report from the front:
“Ke Han, Ke Han! The formation is broken, it’s broken!”
"what?"
Tuoba Liwei quickly craned his neck to look. He originally wanted to observe the Han army on the opposite side, but unexpectedly he saw several smoke signals rising in the distance.
But he slapped his thigh, and the anger on his face disappeared, replaced by ecstasy:
"The surprise attack is accomplished!"
The Han army, which had been resisting the Tuoba Xianbei's wolf pack tactics like a dam, had its front line shaken at some point.
Even in the middle, there is a big gap.
It is obvious that the defeat in the rear has affected the morale of the troops in the front.
"Attack! All warriors of the eight Tuoba tribes, follow me!"
Tuoba Liwei knew that the opportunity for battle was fleeting, especially with Dou Bin, an old fox, on the opposite side. If he was asked to stabilize the front line again, it might not be so easy next time.
Although he was seventy-three years old, Tuoba Liwei was still extremely strong. He personally led the Tuoba clan's most elite warriors and rushed towards the gap in the Han army.
The general of the Han army seemed to be a mediocre person and failed to fill the gap in time.
It is even possible that the Han army had been frightened, seeing the bravest warriors of the Tuoba clan rushing up like a tide, and the gap was even widening.
Tuoba Liwei looked at the growing gap, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
As long as they defeat this Han army, Tuoba Xianbei will soon own Liaodong, which means...
Before he could think further, a red tide suddenly appeared at the gap in the Han army.
The elite Xianbei cavalryman who was rushing in the front was shot in the throat by an arrow.
Then, a general in a white robe and a white helmet came out with a surging tide of blood, holding up a silver spear and shouting loudly:
"Zhao Yiwen from Changshan is here. Who dares to fight me to the death?"