Mythical Three Kingdoms

Seeing the large columns of cooking smoke carried by the southern wind, Huyan Chu’s expression became somewhat grave. The completely unmasked Han Army camp, along with the smoke billowing forth, had caused the morale of the entire barbarian camp to dip.

The camp of 100,000 Han troops had plunged this coalition of Northern Frontier barbarians, which represented half of Youzhou’s combat power, into silence. The previous clamor vanished when they truly faced the 100,000-strong Han Army; the barbarians felt fear.

The more than 200,000 barbarians were indeed daunting, but how to say this, a properly organized 100,000-strong Han Army could make a million barbarians detour. In this era, within the reach of the Central Plains, the Han Dynasty stood invincible, undefeated since the Martial Emperor pointed his sword at the Sky Dome.

A mere 200,000 barbarians under the tight formations of 100,000 Han troops didn’t even have the qualification to confront them. Such an unrestrained display made the previously arrogant barbarians in the north once again feel the might of that empire peaking on the summit.

”This can’t go on,” Qiu Linbei followed behind Huyan Chu and, seeing him silent, spoke after a long while.

”Have our scouts and War Eagles confirmed the enemy’s overall strength?” Huyan Chu paused and inquired.

”Already confirmed, 100,000 troops, complete with infantry and cavalry, with several top-notch commanders among them,” Qiu Linbei said after a moment of silence. ”Our miscellaneous Huns have already been cowed by such military might, and the enemy has no intention of specifically searching for us, seeming very arrogant.”

”If this continues, morale will plummet straight, and the miscellaneous Huns may be too afraid to advance in battle,” Qui Fu said with a grim expression as he flicked his horsewhip, sharing a concern for his kinsmen’s lives with Xubo Cheng.

”How about I take some men to probe them?” Chouhun proposed, being Huyan Chu’s staunch loyalist, ready to back him up when no one else would speak.

As Huyan Chu pondered, a Xianbei scout approached to report the current situation: a western Jie clan unit had been attacked by the Han Army and returned defeated.

”Hmm? The Han reinforcements arrived really fast,” Huyan Chu frowned. ”You may leave.” The scout quickly departed, feeling an innate fear whenever he stood before these leaders.

”All right, gather all the chiefs. Let’s take out the Han reinforcements first,” Huyan Chu said with a cold smile.

Originally, Huyan Chu deployed troops from east to west to besiege the private soldiers of aristocratic families to attract the Han Army’s attention, leading them to believe they were advancing westward to annihilate reinforcements, build momentum, and then engage the Han Army with a victorious spirit.

This strategy forced the Han Army to act first, exposing their troop strength and exact movements, then using cavalry to execute a large-scale encirclement and conducting a ferocious attack during the enemy’s relief march. Destroying them in the combined 200,000-strong encirclement wouldn’t be difficult.

The result was clear. When the Han Army received news that the offspring of their Kunlun Deity began annihilating the sons of the Han Dynasty, they indeed reacted but did not abandon camp to rescue as Huyan Chu anticipated.

Instead, they abandoned previous stealth for an overt display, positioning themselves openly, prepared to engage them on the grasslands.

A Han Army of 100,000 men is no easy challenge. Given that the Northern Huns now number less than 90,000 in their main force, even with exceptional performance, winning such a battle would be a Pyrrhic victory for a Chanyu aiming to enlighten the Hun descendants.

Besides, the main forces of fewer than 90,000 Northern Huns weren’t all here, and Huyan Chu wouldn’t risk his clan’s elite for some epiphany.

Frankly speaking, even during the era when both Huns and the Han Dynasty were at their peak, a corps of 100,000 Han troops wasn’t something the Huns were willing to engage without absolute confidence, let alone now.

Thus, seeing the Han Army present its military might in openness, Huyan Chu dismissed any thoughts of direct confrontation, instead shifting focus to the Han reinforcements; since the main force wasn’t rescuing those spontaneously advancing Han sons, naturally, there would be other reinforcements handling it.

Though Huyan Chu always regarded the inexplicable kindness of the Han Dynasty with disdain, it was indeed a crucial point of leverage.

As Huyan Chu predicted, a Jie clan unit had been routed by the Han Army, signaling the arrival of the reinforcements he awaited.

Although Han reinforcements weren’t good news for the Northern Huns, consuming a reinforcement path would boost morale significantly for both the Huns and the present miscellaneous Huns.

Learning of this, Huyan Chu immediately convened the miscellaneous Hun leaders and Hun chiefs for a meeting.

Huyan Chu didn’t disclose the facts but informed the miscellaneous Hun leaders that the Han’s military might was formidable, and passing through was unwise. Therefore, he planned to lead them west to annihilate the yet-to-be-established Han troops, bypassing the area.

Upon hearing the news, the miscellaneous Hun chiefs visibly brightened. Despite being led by the Northern Huns, they still harbored fear towards the Han Dynasty, something even the Northern Huns couldn’t alter.

As for the Northern Huns, Huyan Chu briefly shared his conjecture, preparing everyone mentally, with some Huns already showing cruel expressions on their faces, for the Han and Hun enmity was etched deep into their cores, unresolvable.

With a command from Huyan Chu, the barbarians stationed there obediently moved westward. For the lower-tier miscellaneous Huns, the presence of 100,000 Han troops nearby was threatening enough to cause a collapse, and being able to leave was indeed a relief.

On the other side, Zhao Yun and the others looked at Jia Xu, as this recent strategy of expanding camps and creating false impressions made them uneasy, especially since Jia Xu hadn’t specified when this would end.

”Today marks the tenth day,” Jia Xu counted the days, asking Lul Xun beside him.

”Yes, General Zang and General Wei have been on their expedition for ten days now,” Lul Xun nodded, confirming the days for him.

”Let’s go, inform General Zhao; it’s time for us to act too,” Jia Xu said after a moment of silence. Although he couldn’t precisely determine the number of Northern Huns and miscellaneous Huns, as Fa Zheng mentioned, they all had a rough estimate.

Compared to Jia Xu’s 50,000-strong Han force, the total of Northern Huns and miscellaneous Huns was around 200,000, a figure Jia Xu deduced roughly.