Chapter 220

It was an excellent place for grazing cattle and horses.

In the past, this pasture would inevitably be a place where the grassland people gathered in crowds.

But now... this place had been occupied by Han Xin.

Inside the main military tent!

At this moment, Han Xin had already begun deploying plans for the next attack on the Hulun Pasture.

Yes!

Fan Zeng guessed absolutely correctly!

The place he was about to attack was indeed the Hulun Pasture!

There was no choice; this was the Tuermuhe River. This river ran north to south, nourishing the grassland soil and making the water and grass here incredibly lush!

And to quickly defeat the Xiongnu, the Hulun Pasture had to be captured!

Capturing this place would allow them to cut off the Tuermuhe River!

By then, one-third of the Xiongnu's territory would no longer be habitable!

Everyone would have to flee north!

This brought them even closer to his own plan!

Han Xin was planning.

But just then, suddenly, the sound of horse hooves came from outside the tent.

Immediately after, a soldier rushed in quickly and then hurriedly reported:

"The supply route has been attacked! The new Emperor's shipment of one hundred thousand shi of grain destined for here has been robbed!"

"And the supply route has been cut off by the Xiongnu!"

"What?"

"The supply route has been cut off?"

The moment these words were spoken, Lu Wan, Fan Kuai, and everyone else panicked; at that moment, everyone's scalp went numb.

Even Zhou Yafu found it hard to remain calm:

"A severed supply route is a major issue. Without grain, let alone annihilating the Xiongnu, whether we can even continue to stay on the grassland is another matter!"

He was anxious, and then directly ordered Li Yuanba to kill those five thousand men and retake the supply route!

However, just as Li Yuanba was about to move, suddenly, Han Xin waved his hand: "Wait a moment!"

"Wait a moment?"

"Why?"

Lu Wan did not understand!

Zhou Yafu also did not understand!

"Only five thousand men; they aren't even enough to fill Li Yuanba's teeth gaps. Just send Li Yuanba to crush them; this would take at most half an hour. What are we waiting for!"

Fan Kuai was very confused and asked Han Xin!

Han Xin ignored them and instead looked at Wang Jian: "Old General, do you not find this matter suspicious?"

Wang Jian frowned: "Are you saying there is a trick involved?"

Han Xin said: "Our grain escort personnel have been few for days, not just one or two days. Why could the Xiongnu suddenly react and cut off our supply route?"

Wang Jian narrowed his eyes: "Indeed, something is not quite right, but... even if there is a trick, so what? Could they... really kill Li Yuanba?"

Han Xin shook his head: "If they hide their ambush forces near the marshland, and Li Yuanba charges forward, both he and his horse could sink right in. Then, combined with poison and hidden weapons to injure him, how could Li Yuanba not die?"

"Without Li Yuanba, the Xiongnu could gather hundreds of thousands of troops at any moment. If they surround our main camp, then our hundred thousand troops..."

As he spoke, Wang Jian swallowed hard and said: "We would surely die!"

107. Using troops like a ghost! The Soldier Immortal is indeed the Soldier Immortal! Fan Zeng was furious!

"Surely die?"

The moment these words were spoken, Zhou Yafu, Fan Kuai, Lu Wan, and everyone else were shocked!

Wang Jian said:

"The grassland has no grain. The Xiongnu have always relied on beef and mutton to fill their stomachs; therefore, the Xiongnu's bodies are naturally stronger than those of the Central Plains people!"

"Especially in cavalry charges, relying on us alone, they would be completely unstoppable!"

"Moreover, fighting on the grassland is almost entirely fighting on flat plains; there is almost no terrain advantage to borrow!"

"Even though we have been smashing through everything on this journey, we cannot be careless!"

"Because the reason we have been smashing through everything on this journey relies entirely on Li Yuanba!"

"Without Li Yuanba, facing a Xiongnu encirclement several times our size with our hundred thousand troops, it would be almost certain death!"

Wang Jian spoke these words.

Han Xin nodded: "Correct!"

"If Li Yuanba encounters danger, it is not just Li Yuanba who faces peril; our main army will also enter a perilous situation!"

Zhou Yafu frowned and said: "But the supply route is key. Without grain, how can the army advance?"

Fan Kuai waved his large hand and said: "Then let's just abandon the supply route. We are on the grassland; are we worried about not having food?"

"Seize the Xiongnu's cattle and sheep, slaughter them for meat. This way, we will not only not starve to death but also eat meat every meal, eating even better, not to mention saving the Emperor the cost of grain transport!"

Fan Kuai spoke these words, and the moment they were uttered, all the generals laughed heartily.

Even Han Xin and Wang Jian were laughing!

Laughing at Fan Kuai's naive idea!

In fact, such an idea of his was not unheard of in history!

Northern grassland tribes have always been stealing grain and crops from the Central Plains lands; so why can't we steal their cattle and sheep?

Thus, the famous general of the Great Zhou, Yin Jifu, led fifty thousand men charging into the grasslands to begin seizing their cattle and sheep!

Although they successfully entered, but... how to put it? The results were meager!

Besides the vastness of the grasslands where no proper herd could be found.

There was another problem: the grassland people were too alert, and they took their cattle, sheep, and Ma Pi far too seriously!

They would even abandon their own tents, yet they had to save their cattle and sheep!

Once they saw the army approaching, they would immediately drive their cattle, sheep, and Ma Pi to flee!

The speed at which livestock flee is far faster than human legs running, and they are much more agile; even if a great army surrounds them and can successfully capture people, it is difficult to successfully catch even a few living creatures.

Even if they forced these herders to use whistles to drive their cattle and sheep back, they still could not catch a few!

The reason is that once the livestock are frightened, they flee for their lives; the speed is too great, and even the herders' whistles cannot be heard by them!

It was too difficult to capture them, so Yin Jifu returned in failure!

And having learned this lesson, from then on, the people of the Central Plains completely lost the original idea of raiding the grasslands!

Moreover, starting from here, any country on the Central Plains, when confronting the Xiongnu, became primarily defensive!

Not only is it hard to fight, but no benefits are gained; truly, no one wants to waste such effort!

And when it came to Han Xin, he also attempted many times to raid the cattle and sheep on the grasslands to improve the soldiers' rations; if possible, it could also save the imperial court's grain expenses!

But after many attempts, none succeeded!

They failed!

The situation faced was exactly the same as that of the famous Zhou general Yin Jifu!

Often, while the army was still dozens of li away, they were discovered by the nomadic tribes.

Then, without a word, they mounted their Ma Pi, drove the cattle and sheep, and used those specific whistles to lead the cattle and sheep to flee.

Under such a frantic run, even a great army could not catch up.

After several capture attempts by an army of tens of thousands, what was obtained was merely a scant hundred cattle and sheep!

This quantity was enough to give the great army a small treat, ensuring some generals had meat to eat!

To become the main food supply for a hundred thousand troops?

To let a hundred thousand troops survive on this little bit of beef and mutton?

Impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

To truly make the great army full, it still requires grain!

Grain transported from the imperial court!

If that supply line is cut, and Li Yuanba cannot be dispatched to open the supply line, what should be done?