HLnovel Chapter 166 Qiang People: Come and hit me!
Chapter 166 Qiang People: Come and hit me!
Lin Ke almost burst out laughing. Zhao Chongguo's move was really cunning! It seems that experience truly matters!
"After the Qiang people kept complaining, Zhao Chongguo finally found out which 'little cutie' had started it all! Meanwhile, Emperor Xuan of Han was getting anxious when he heard that the front lines were just eating and drinking without fighting! Why aren't they starting the war?!"
"So Emperor Xuan of Han sent someone to ask what was going on! Zhao Chongguo explained it to the people sent by Emperor Xuan of Han in detail."
"In Zhao Chongguo's view, if the Han army goes out, the Qiang people might not be able to win and will run away. If they run away, we will have to chase them. If we chase them, we will have to take food and other things with us. If we take them, our horses will be slower. If we do that, it will be easy for us to catch up. All of this is enough for us to eat and drink for several months!"
"Furthermore, if we pursue them from the front and they cut off our supply lines from behind, wouldn't that be a huge loss of face and damage to the prestige of the nation? Actually, Your Majesty doesn't need to be afraid. This old minister already knows which tribe did it. We should take out the leader first, and then appease the other tribes that followed suit. The Qiang people will then be no problem!"
Qiang people: You old fool!
A scholar-official from the Han Dynasty: To be honest, he does have a bit of a clever mind!
An old farmer from the Sui Dynasty said: "The name 'Xianling Tribe' is not very auspicious!"
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: Reading this passage from the Zizhi Tongjian, it's amazing how patient both Emperor Xuanzong and General Zhao were!
Liu Xun of the Han Dynasty: ...
"When Emperor Xuan of Han received Zhao Chongguo's explanation, he held the opposite opinion. So Emperor Xuan sent another letter to Zhao Chongguo, telling him to hurry up and attack! Stop wasting time!"
Faced with Emperor Xuan of Han's questioning, Zhao Chongguo gave a lengthy explanation, but the gist of it was: "We won't fight!"
"In fact, Zhao Chongguo's thinking is quite wise. The Qiang tribes are attacking because, in the end, the Qiang tribes are composed of various different tribes, so naturally the tribes are not so united."
"Moreover, Zhao Chongguo had tried to win people's hearts and minds back then, so the Qiang tribe is indeed a bunch of scattered people now. But if we fight now, they might just unite against a common enemy."
"The Han army should keep the Qiang people off guard until they strike decisively."
"General Zhao didn't have to wait long before the opportunity to start the war arrived. The Qiang people saw that the Han army wasn't attacking them but instead was eating and drinking all day, so they finally lowered their guard."
"On the other side, seeing that the Qiang people had lowered their guard, Zhao Chongguo swiftly rushed into the tribe of the Xianling troops and then drove them to the riverbank."
"Now the Qiang people were powerless to resist. Several drowned while crossing the river. Apart from those who turned and surrendered to the Han army, some still managed to escape."
In another timeline, Emperor Xuan of Han, who was preparing to write a reply urging Zhao Chongguo to attack, slowly typed a few exclamation marks!
As expected of General Zhao! Let's leave the fighting to the professionals!
I am waiting for his triumphant return from the rear!
……
"After General Zhao drove the Qiang people away, he ordered the entire army not to burn down their villages or graze their livestock on their pastures; and not to kill or harass the Qiang people."
"Then the other surviving Qiang people saw this and thought, 'Hey, the Han people are actually quite nice; they didn't beat us up!' So they all submitted to the Han."
"As for those fleeing vanguard troops, Zhao Chongguo was not in a hurry to pursue them. In his view, they were all ordinary people. Who would want to fight if they had nothing better to do? So he first withdrew the costly cavalry, and the other 10,000 infantrymen settled down to farm on the spot to achieve self-sufficiency."
"In his mind, those Qiang people who had fled would surely return and surrender after witnessing the good life of the surrendered Qiang people. After all, how could hiding elsewhere compare to living a good life in their hometown tribe where they could eat and sleep well?"
An old farmer from the Song Dynasty: Did these Qiang people get terribly wronged by the Xiongnu? They didn't join them and they're still alive and well!
A spoiled young master from the Tang Dynasty: The old general's battles over the past few decades were not in vain at all!
A general from the Ming Dynasty: A skilled and capable veteran!
……