When Xiang Lin, Zhao He, and Xuan Liang led the soldiers to form a "gate" shaped encirclement, from the east, west, and south, after pushing forward fifty miles every day, the Huns obviously did not find a good way, and they were afraid of the bows and arrows in the hands of the Xiao soldiers, so they did not dare to meet them head-on, and could only retreat with the advance of Xiang Lin and others.

The cavalry of Xiao Guo gathered in front of Xiang Lin and the others now is no longer more than 500 people as Xiao An originally reported, but close to 1,000 people.

In order not to let the other party rest at night, Xiao Yiran adopted Zhao He's construction, and every night, sent a small number of cavalry to constantly harass the opponent's camp. You don't need to get close to each other, just get within the range of the bow and arrows, and every once in a while, release a burst of cold arrows.

For ten days in a row, the Huns withdrew more than 500 miles from the land, not to mention, and they never slept peacefully. In this cold winter, even the fierce Huns can't stand it. What's more, because he didn't dare to face the soldiers of Xiao Guo head-on, he was still very aggrieved. can endure for ten days, and it is basically to the limit of the other party's tolerance. When they had just had the idea of retreating, Wei Long launched an attack from behind in time.

Xiao Yiran, who had been sending people to pay attention to the movements of the Huns, immediately received a report from the scout:

"Emperor, I found that there was a commotion behind the Huns, and it seems that they are under attack."

"Listen to Lin, Xuanliang, and Zhao He."

"Listen to Lin."

"Xuan Liang listens to orders."

"Zhao He listens to orders."

"You lead your troops to rush forward, first with bows and arrows, and then throw explosives packs, not seeking to destroy the number of enemies, just to beat the opponent in fear."

"Yes."

When Xiang Lin and the three of them surrounded him from three sides, and after the dense arrows were fired at the Huns, in order to flee for their lives, the other party had to face the soldiers of Xiao State. Before the two sides could get closer, a round of explosives exploded in the Hun cavalry group.

Bomb the cavalry with explosives packs, and the most attacked are the war horses. The horses of the Huns were blown up and fell to the ground and neighed. Without war horses, the cavalry only relied on the javelins in their hands, how could they be the opponents of the bows and arrows and imperial crossbows in the hands of the soldiers of Xiao State. In less than half a day, except for a small number of Hun cavalry who escaped, most of the cavalry were shot. When Xiao Yiran came to the battlefield, the war was basically over. Looking at the war horses all over the ground and the corpses of the Huns, Xiao Yiran felt a little unbearable.

Open the history books, and each one has a record of war. In the history of human development for thousands of years, it is possible to imagine how many people died in wars, although it is impossible to find out the specific figures. Just in the first battle at the beginning of this year, and the battle in front of us, four or five thousand soldiers were killed. This number is already 10% of the number of Xiao people, and this is only a small war. If it is one of those wars for the throne and the overthrow of a regime, how many people will die?

"Xiang Lin, lead the soldiers and bury these Huns who died in battle."

"Yes, Emperor."

"Emperor Qiyu, Xuan Liang hopes to lead the cavalry to pursue the Huns and smash their lair to prevent the other party from coming back."

"Xuan Liang, it's not so easy to wipe out a large, ethnically diverse group. Don't go for the time being, now the weather is very cold, which is not conducive to the march, and when spring comes, let's see the movements of the Huns. ”

There is another reason why Xiao Yiran prevented Xuan Liang from leading his troops to pursue. She knew that the reason why the Huns went south to harass was nothing more than to survive. Now in the cold winter, the Huns, who have never been engaged in farming, are the saddest thing in winter. They only came here to loot some food, just like Xiao Yiran conquered other ethnic groups at the beginning, just to strengthen the ethnic group, although the methods are different, the ultimate goal is to ensure that their respective ethnic groups can survive for a long time. If you look at it from a fair standpoint, there is no question of who is right and who is wrong. Therefore, Xiao Yiran didn't want to create too many killings.

After collecting troops and returning to Zhao County, Xiao Yiran said to Xiao An and Xiang Lin:

"These Huns have always been non-farming, and only hunting for a living. Winter is the saddest season for them, so they go south, just to grab some food. Of course, if they are allowed to succeed, they will also loot the population. In the future, on the premise of closely monitoring the other party, it is best if you can communicate with the other party. We can exchange the food in our hands with them for prey, or animal skins. These things can only be done by you. ”

"Emperor, if you exchange food for them and let them develop and grow, won't it bring a greater threat to Xiao Guo?"

Zhao He was the first to raise his doubts.

"There are pros and cons to doing everything. Giving them food will not only keep them from harassing us, but also, as you feared, will make them strong quickly, and when they become stronger, they will bring a greater threat to Xiao Guo.

It's just, is there a point you've thought about? Even if we don't exchange food with each other, will we be able to prevent the Huns from becoming stronger? It's just a matter of slowing down the speed and time it takes to become stronger. ”

"Can't you really wipe them out in one fell swoop?"

Xuan Liang asked puzzled.

"The Huns are different from other ethnic groups, they have no fixed residence, and the north is a vast desert, not to mention that the strength of our Xiao State is not enough to completely destroy them, even if it is increased several times, more than ten times the number of troops can not be done.

Just like you did when you conquered the barbarians of the Southwest some time ago. Maybe by the time you get to their station, they'll already be moving. Will you not even see the figure, how can you destroy the other party? ”

The memory before the rebirth told Xiao Yiran, how many dynasties in history had wanted to exterminate the Huns, but what dynasty had done it? The most typical should be Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. After decades of reckless military force, in the end it only destroyed the military strength of the Xiongnu to launch harassment wars, making it difficult for the Xiongnu to pose a huge military threat to the Han Dynasty for a period of time. At the same time, it also caused great damage to the Han Dynasty, and the result was "waste in the sea and halving the hukou". This also directly led to the gradual decline of the Western Han Dynasty from the heyday of the reign of Wenjing.

Of course, what Xiao Yiran thought in his heart could not be told to Xuan Liang and others.

"You must know that war is always a double-edged sword, as the saying goes, if you hurt the enemy for a thousand, you will lose eight hundred, and you should be able to understand this truth. Therefore, I still hope to be able to live in peace with the Xiongnu in the future. Of course, if the other party must fight, then resolutely beat them to the disabled and afraid. ”

"Xiao An, at present, the bows and arrows, imperial crossbows, explosives, etc. in our hands should not be handed over to the white autonomous county for the time being, so as to prevent them from spreading to the hands of the Huns."

"Yes, Emperor."

"How does Xiaoqiu feel about being the commander of the women's independent battalion?"

"The emperor is far from being at ease with the emperor."

"Hehe, you'll be honest."

"Xiaoqiu is also in her twenties, almost thirty, right? In the future, we should pay more attention to cultivating successors, and I think those of you who have followed me from the beginning will retire after 30 and enjoy pure blessings, including me. In a few years, if one of my clansmen can replace me, I will also enjoy pure happiness. ”

"Emperor, how can you do that?!"

Xiao An took the lead, and everyone looked at their emperor with some trepidation.

"I just have this idea, and I'll talk about it when the time comes."

Xiao Yiran looked at Xiao An and said softly:

"Xiao An, you have to hurry up and train a successor, and then move back to Wangshan City, you are a left prime minister, you can't always be in the position of Taishou. When you go back, plus Li Yu and Xuan Yi, I can also make it easier. ”

"Yes, I will strive to hand over the position of Taishou within a year."

"Did someone choose someone in mind?"

"Emperor, what do you think of Xiaoqiu?"

"Emperor, I can't do it. It's already very difficult to just lead a women's independent battalion, but you can't manage a county. ”

"Look at what scares you. No one starts with it, they all learn slowly. I think Xiao An's mention is good. You learn more from Xiao An in the future, and I still hope that you will take over Xiao An's position. ”

"Yes, Emperor."

Hearing the emperor talk about this, Xiaoqiu could only agree first.

After everyone dispersed, Xiao Yiran stayed in Xiao An's Taishou Mansion that night, and summoned Wei Long and Wei Tian to sleep for him. Early the next morning, under the escort of Xuanliang Zhaohe, he returned to the capital.

There is one thing that has always bothered Xiao Yiran, and that is the formulation of the calendar. According to historical records, the calendar of the Han people did not appear until the time of the emperor. Xiao Yiran is not good at moving the lunar calendar in his memory directly. For several years, the elderly members of the Presbyterian Church have been determining the sun and moon according to the waxing and waning of the moon. Since then, the New Year will be more than a month earlier every year, and this year's New Year will be shortly after the beginning of winter, and next year I am afraid that it will be the end of autumn.

"How do you explain the leap month to them?"

Xiao Yiran has been thinking about this question lately. The lunar calendar before rebirth is basically five years and three leap months. In this way, the change of solar terms and the change of time sequence can be compatible. In order to allow the clansmen to plant and harvest according to the changes of the solar terms.

After thinking about it, I didn't think of a good way. Xiao Yiran had to ask the elders at the elders' meeting:

"Do you feel that the temperature is different every year for New Year?"

"Yes, Emperor, we have noticed. When I first moved to Wangshan Castle, the New Year was in the cold winter, and the second year was already shortly after the start of winter, and last year I had basically just planted winter wheat, and it was the new year. ”

"So, we're going to change our approach. Otherwise, in two years, the New Year will be in the middle of summer. ”

Xiao Yiran didn't explain the reason, and directly explained how to set a leap month in the lunar calendar before rebirth. Each year there are six large months, thirty days per month, and six small months, twenty-nine days per month. In that case, the year is three hundred and fifty-four days. Every thirty months add one month, so that there are exactly two leap months in five years. Although it is not yet completely consistent with the calendar before the rebirth, it is not much different.

Naturally, the members of the Presbyterian Council could not give any opinion on this mysterious calendar, and they would do whatever the emperor said.