At this point, Liu Ji and Chen Ping also realized that if they wanted to live, they had to surrender voluntarily. But if they surrendered voluntarily and were sold back to the Han Dynasty by the Xiongnu, where would they put their face as emperor?
He originally came out to win battles and boost his reputation, but after this battle, his reputation plummeted. Wouldn't his kingdom be even more unstable?
Therefore, Liu Ji sent Chen Ping down the mountain with all the wealth confiscated from the army to negotiate.
With the Xiongnu army surrounding them layer by layer, it was impossible for them to bypass Modu and directly bribe his wife. Besides, Modu wasn't someone who cared about his wife.
Maodun himself was very shrewd, so to be deceived by Chen Ping under such circumstances could only be the result of a brainless, idiotic character in a third-rate novel.
The reason why historical records state that Chen Ping bribed Modu's wife to allow Liu Ji to escape danger was actually to cover up the content of the negotiations, and the plan was kept secret from the world.
In short, Maodun would not have been able to secretly open a gap in the encirclement and allow Liu Ji to 'break out' after being trapped for seven days and seven nights unless he had obtained considerable benefits.
Even before breaking out, Maodun had to give Liu Ji and his army some food so that they could eat their fill before running away.
An emperor who breaks out on his own and an emperor who is captured and then ransomed have completely different effects on the Xiongnu.
To be on the safe side, Liu Ji dared not launch a large-scale breakout. If Zhou Bo truly harbored ulterior motives and sent an army to "rescue" him, the chances of him dying unexpectedly during the "breakout" would be very high.
When Liu Ji and his remaining troops suddenly appeared in front of Zhou Bo's army, Zhou Bo could no longer resort to scheming.
Throughout the entire Battle of Baideng, apart from Liu Ji's greed for merit and recklessness, no one had a negative IQ, which is more reasonable.
Chapter 355 The Boy
Why was the Qin Dynasty able to subdue the Xiongnu so easily, while Liu Ji was defeated so badly by the Xiongnu that he could only rely on peace talks to protect himself?
Some people, in an attempt to cover up Liu Ji's predicament, pointed out that the Xiongnu army Liu Ji encountered was on a completely different level from the Xiongnu army during the Qin Dynasty. They argued that the Xiongnu were unprecedentedly powerful after Modu unified the grasslands, implying that it was only natural that Liu Ji could not defeat them.
This statement seems to make some sense, but its core is simply comparing the Xiongnu in two different periods. It is an indisputable fact that the Xiongnu grew stronger, but were the Xiongnu in the early Han Dynasty really stronger than the Han Dynasty? Not necessarily!
Historically, because Liu Ji suffered such a crushing defeat at the Battle of Baideng, people had the misconception that the Xiongnu were extremely powerful and invincible.
In reality, the Xiongnu only defeated Liu Ji, an emperor who knew nothing about military affairs, in that battle. Any general who was ennobled based on real military achievements would not have suffered such a crushing defeat.
The military strategies and command capabilities of the Central Plains far surpassed those of the Xiongnu. Liu Ji had a large number of brilliant historical generals, but he was unable to utilize them, which was the main reason for his defeat to the Xiongnu.
The Qin Dynasty's victory over the Xiongnu wasn't achieved by Qin Shi Huang personally leading the charge. Was it foolish to not use a readily available general? Or was it simply excessive cunning?
If the Battle of Baideng had been commanded by those generals under Liu Ji who had made great contributions, even if they couldn't defeat the Xiongnu, they could at least have fought to a standstill.
The strength of the Han Dynasty, or rather the strength of the Central Plains, has always surpassed that of the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu population on the grasslands was far smaller than that of the Central Plains, and apart from horses, they had far fewer other resources than the Central Plains.
The Han army might not be a match for the Xiongnu on the grasslands, but as long as the generals weren't too incompetent, the Han army would usually have the upper hand outside the grasslands, or at the very least, they could manage a draw.
If the Xiongnu were really that strong, would Modu, a ruthless man who single-handedly broke through the Yuezhi, killed his own father, and even gave away his wife, really have spared the Han Dynasty just because of a marriage alliance?
Since they were both nomadic peoples, why didn't later ethnic groups like the Mongols think that the Central Plains were unsuitable for nomadic life? The claim that Modu's wife persuaded him is just fooling a fool.
Even during the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing, the Xiongnu attacked the Han Dynasty multiple times after the marriage alliance, but they failed to conquer it. Apart from the loss of Jiuyuan, Beidi, and half of Shangjun during the reign of Emperor Liu Ji, the Han Dynasty did not lose a single city or territory until Emperor Wu of Han rose to power.
Therefore, the Han Dynasty actually had the ability to protect itself. It was just a matter of whether it dared to fight back and in what way it would protect itself. It could offer women and a lot of wealth to the Xiongnu without them having to fight it. By feeding the Xiongnu, it could naturally protect itself.
However, this approach only focuses on the immediate situation, and in the long run, it will only make the Xiongnu stronger and stronger, and their appetite will become increasingly insatiable.
From this perspective, Emperor Wu of Han's fierce counterattack against the Xiongnu, even at the cost of his own resources, was a very correct choice.
In short, the Han Dynasty was actually capable of fighting the Xiongnu. Moreover, when it came to attacking and defending cities, the Han army believed that it was much more experienced than the Xiongnu. In fact, this was indeed the case. There were only a few cities on the grasslands, so where would the Xiongnu practice their siege skills?
Therefore, when Zhongxing Yue's army launched a surprise attack on Xiaoguan, the Han army was able to hold off the Xiongnu army thanks to the strong walls of Xiaoguan, but that was all.
Zhongxing sneered, "Come on, elites from the East and West Factories, charge! We'll take this pass today!"
"Here you go!"
Two thousand warriors dressed in strange costumes split into two groups, one in the east and one in the west, and joined the siege. The effect was immediate, and the Xiongnu army, led by these two thousand eunuch warriors, gradually began to climb the city walls.
"Who are these people? They're incredibly powerful!" Sun Ang, the commander of Xiaoguan Pass in the Northern Lands, exclaimed in shock. "All troops have been deployed to the city walls for defense! The enemy has launched a general offensive!"
He originally planned to divide his troops in two, rotating them for rest and rotation, so as to maintain combat effectiveness and prevent the entire army from becoming exhausted.
But now, it's clear that half the troops are not enough to hold them off; the entire army must fight with all its might.
In a sheltered spot at the corner of the city wall, a slightly tired-looking boy took a bite of dry rations, drank some water, and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his elbow.
At this moment, Sun Ang's military order arrived, and the surrounding soldiers all sighed and slowly got up.
"Are those guys up there useless? I just came down from the city to rest, and they've already lost the city!"
"Stop complaining. Military orders are absolute. If the city falls, we'll all die. Let the capable do more work."
"Quickly! Reinforce the city walls immediately! It looks like the Xiongnu have scaled them!"
...
The boy quickly stuffed the remaining rations into his mouth, then grabbed the bow and arrows beside him and followed the other soldiers back up the city wall.
Then they saw that a fierce battle had indeed broken out on the city wall. The Han soldiers were doing their best to drive the Xiongnu soldiers who had climbed the city wall down. However, some of the Xiongnu soldiers wearing black cloaks and carrying swords were quite powerful. One of them could easily fight against three or five Han soldiers.
Without a word, the young man drew his bow and aimed at one of the Xiongnu experts who was about to kill a Han soldier.
Whoosh!
The Xiongnu expert sensed danger and hurriedly used his sword to block, but the arrow was too fast.
puff!
The Xiongnu expert died from an arrow wound, and then...
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
The boy climbed to a high place and fired arrows in rapid succession, each shot hitting its mark.
Puff puff puff...
Sun Ang happened to witness this scene. "Who is this person? What amazing archery skills! He's running out of arrows. Send someone to send him some immediately, and bring him to see me later!"
"Yes!" the guard replied, and quickly took a bundle of arrows and headed towards where the boy was.
The boy had already run out of arrows, but occasionally arrows from the Huns would still be shot up from the city wall. He picked them up and shot them as he went, displaying a calmness and composure beyond his years.
"Here are your arrows! Your archery skills are amazing. The general wants to see you. Come with me!" The guard tossed a bundle of arrows to the boy as he spoke.
The boy took the arrow, quickly put it into the quiver, then drew the bow to its fullest extent and shot the arrow, hitting a Xiongnu expert who was about to climb the city wall in the distance.
"The military situation is urgent. General, we can meet later. Let's defeat the Xiongnu first. Do you have any more arrows? These aren't enough!"
"Uh, well, alright then, I'll go find you some more arrows!" The guard thought that the general's order seemed to be to take this person over later, so he decided to wait.
"Thank you for your trouble!" The young man didn't stop as he spoke, firing arrows in rapid succession, specifically targeting the elite soldiers in black.
The black-clad men on the city wall had been wiped out, so the young man moved on to support other areas in danger, and his arrows still hit their mark every time.
Many Han archers, seeing the boy's superb archery skills and having exhausted their arrows, voluntarily handed him their own.
The young man didn't hold back, taking the arrows and shooting them down. After shooting down all the men in black who were climbing the city walls, he began to aim at those below. No matter how agile those men in black were, they were all killed with a single arrow.
Whenever a skilled fighter was spotted scaling the city walls, the young man would immediately fire a shot at them, and if the distance was too great, he would rush to their aid.
Before they knew it, the boy had already fought his way to a place not far from Sun Ang.
"Truly a talented general!" Sun Ang nodded to himself, then shouted at the top of his lungs, "I am Sun Ang, the garrison commander of Xiaoguan Pass. May I ask your name, young warrior?"
Upon hearing that this man was Sun Ang, the garrison commander of Xiaoguan, the young man dared not be negligent. After killing one of the elite Xiongnu soldiers with an arrow and confirming that it was safe, he turned around, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "I am Li Guang from Longxi!"
Chapter 356 Breaking Through
"What a fine Li Guang of Longxi! To have such archery skills at such a young age is truly remarkable!" Sun Ang exclaimed in admiration.
"General, you flatter me. I still have to fight the enemy. May I ask if there is anything else you need?" Li Guang asked, clasping his hands in greeting.
"Go forth and kill the enemy, brave warrior! We'll have a proper chat after we defeat the Xiongnu!" Sun Ang said this, but deep down he wasn't very confident that he could defeat the Xiongnu.
Because the battle had only been going on for a short time, the rotation system had already been abolished. And since the Xiongnu had a large number of soldiers, they couldn't all attack at once, so taking turns attacking the city was inevitable.
This would make the physical strength of the Xiaoguan garrison a major problem. Even an elite force like Li Guang would eventually be exhausted and might not even be able to draw their bows in the end.
"Yes!" Li Guang knew in his heart that he could only do his best in this battle, and whether he could hold the line depended on when reinforcements would arrive.
Or perhaps, they won't come at all.
There is still a long way to go from Xiaoguan to Guanzhong, and there are several places with terrain that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. If the reinforcements are led by Li Guang, while advancing towards Xiaoguan, they should build several lines of defense along the way, and the closer they are to Guanzhong, the stronger they should be.
In the event that Xiaoguan Pass falls and there is no time to send reinforcements, we can retreat and use the newly built defenses along the way to defend against the enemy. Under no circumstances should we allow the Xiongnu to invade Guanzhong.
Of course, thinking about these things now is of no use at all. The Xiongnu have already launched a general offensive, and if they cannot withstand it, everything will be over.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
To conserve his energy, Li Guang stopped running around and stayed at the city gate to assist in the defense. This was also the place where the Xiongnu attacked most fiercely, and Sun Ang could see him from the city tower.
Moreover, it seems that the Xiongnu generals who commanded the siege were also on this side of the city gate, two in total, positioned on the left and right sides of the gate. If one of them could be shot and killed, the achievement would be considerable.
At this moment, four skilled members of the Eastern Depot below the city walls were constantly deflecting arrows shot down from the walls with their swords, protecting their tall, gray-haired young leader.
"Master! There is a very skilled Han archer on the city wall. Why don't we take action and kill him?" said the second-in-command of the Eastern Depot, clasping his hands in a fist salute.
The head of the Eastern Depot glanced at the head of the Western Depot. "Hmph, that old fellow is quite composed. Very well, let the Eastern Depot take the lead! Go, bring me that kid's head—no, bring me the heads of that kid and the Han army general!"
"Yes, sir!" The second-in-command of the Eastern Depot responded and strode towards the city wall with astonishing speed.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
Several archers spotted the target, but a volley of arrows was fired.
Clang clang clang...
The second-in-command of the Eastern Depot brandished his sword and managed to deflect all the arrows. Then, as he approached the city wall, he leaped up as if he could fly, and instantly reached the top of the wall.
This astonishing act stunned the Han soldiers guarding the city. Could a person jump that high?
The head of the Eastern Depot nodded inwardly; this move was enough to intimidate most of the Han army.
"Heh heh, ignorant Central Plains folk, this is called lightness skill!" the second-in-command of the Eastern Depot sneered, then drew his sword and charged straight at Li Guang, "Prepare to die, kid!"
Li Guang also realized that this person was coming for him, and decisively drew his bow to its fullest extent and shot a fast and accurate arrow.
Whoosh!
Clang!