Feng Bin's fleet took advantage of the fact that the river had not yet frozen, and hurriedly shuttled between Xia Yang and Pishi, and shipws of charcoal and stone were transported to many war-ready warehouses in Sanfu.

Tong Yuan agreed to return to Pi's with an empty ship, and it was estimated that Xu Rong and Wei Qi had been waiting there for a long time.

In the county town of Pishi, some of the main generals of the Dreadnought Army, important officials in Hedong, and Huchuquan and other Xiongnu leaders gathered together to hold a meeting to prepare for the war.

This operation had been brewing for a long time, and there were now three brigades of the Third Guard of the Dreadnought Army and a number of directly subordinate troops in Hedong, and the Tuntian Army was close to 20,000 men. Huchuquan's Xiongnu soldiers and horses can also mobilize 5,000 to 10,000 as needed.

Moreover, these horses are all well-equipped and well-trained soldiers and horses, and it is hard to imagine that so many people have armor in other princes.

If you consider the total of more than 5,000 elite troops of the Hedong Shi clan, and more than 6,000 soldiers and horses from all over the country, even in the face of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, they are not weak.

However, Xu Rong, Hu Chuquan, Qubei and others were very sure that the enemy's soldiers and horses gathered in Xihe County with Zuoguo City as the center were probably close to 70,000, plus the slaves who were temporarily pulled into battle, and some other tribes riding on the wall, the total number could exceed 100,000.

Hearing that there was a large gap in numbers, Pei Zheng, Pei Ji, and Sun Zi were all sweating on their foreheads in the cold weather, and Liu Fu, Wei Gu, and Fan Xian were even more restless, and even the experienced Hedong Taishou Wangyi had a serious face, feeling that the prospects of this operation were not very optimistic.

Xu Rong said, "But we have the right time, the right place, and the right people. This operation is also winter, the most difficult season with the highest requirements for material and logistics, and our army will win. ”

Tong Yuan and Xu Rong's choice to prepare for the restoration in November made others very puzzled. It stands to reason that when the Central Plains attacks the grasslands, it will choose spring, when the horses are the most hungry and thin. Or in the summer, it is convenient for the march of large armies.

But he chose early winter. At this time, the war horses of the nomads were the most powerful, and it was also the time for them to try to harass the farming peoples and forcibly seize the autumn grain.

The choice of November was the result of repeated discussions between Tong Yuan, Xu Rong and Zhang Ji. Several important reasons include the state of the Yellow River at this time and the inability to transfer the livestock of the nomads in winter.

First of all, let's take a look at the overall strength of the old Xiongnu royal court. Their troops totaled more than 700,000 people, and the total number of troops they could organize was estimated to be more than 150,000.

In terms of distribution, they mainly live in the vicinity of Hetao, Shangjun and Luliang Mountain on both sides of the Yellow River, mainly in northern Shaanxi and Luliang in Shanxi.

It is estimated that Xihe County can organize 70,000 to 100,000 soldiers and horses. The enemy in Shangjun and Hetao is estimated to be close to this number, but they are scattered in various places, and it is estimated that the offensive is not as concentrated and sharp as that of Lishi.

The river in winter is able to divide the enemy. A section of the loop will be flooded, and it will be almost impossible for any animal or animal to pass through. Only from the south of Longmen and Xiayang will it not freeze and can continue to open the ship.

And the most critical places where the enemy is located, Xihe County and other places, that is, the section from Yulin to Luliang and Hukou in later generations, will neither flood nor freeze, but it will not be unblocked. Because during the winter months, there is a little ice floe floating on this section of the river, and although it does not accumulate to the level of flooding, it is very difficult to navigate by boat, and it is difficult for herds and large groups of people to cross the river.

Although Tong Yuan also planned to block the river in the spring and summer with a fleet of boats trained by Feng Bin and other slender men and fishermen.

But the result is estimated to be more than 20 merchant ships, and more than 1,000 sheepskin rafts. The picture is too beautiful for him to look at, and the result is unpredictable......

In short, choosing this time to attack can be done by closing the door and beating the dog.

On the other hand, winter nomadic tribes need to drive their livestock into the city or find a suitable place to spend the winter, and it is difficult to move the livestock in the cold winter. In the same way, the old and weak also need to stay in fixed settlements, waiting for the arrival of spring.

Therefore, later Li Shimin, Zhu Yuanzhang arranged for Li Jing, Lan Yu and others to attack in a big way in winter and achieved such immortal achievements as exterminating the clan and destroying the country.

After listening to the analysis, everyone felt that it was indeed a feasible way to decide the Huns in a war. However, Taishou Wang Yi said, "Nomads often have sufficient winter clothing, and they often raid various places in autumn and winter, so it is better for our army to be cautious." ”

Although Wang Yi is not from Hedong, he has been in power for many years, has a good relationship with the local scholars, and is fifty years old, and can be regarded as the elder of most of the people present, his words also attracted everyone's attention.

Xu Rong, who was about the same age as Wang Yi, smiled and said, "Because of this, this winter operation is actually a big battle against each other. The other side is also well aware of this truth, so our army judges that the other side will rush to attack. ”

Wei Qi also added: "The other side's materials are far less abundant than ours, and the mobilization of a large number of herdsmen in winter consumes a huge amount, so it is easy to rush to attack, which is convenient for our army to fight." ”

Speaking of this, he looked at Tong Yuan, then at the personnel present of the 11th Brigade, such as Qubei and Xu Huang, and said, "We have been preparing for this for a long time, so we will wait for the enemy army to come over and enter our predetermined battle area, and then we will see who is the lord of the state." ”

Tong Yuan nodded and said, "The Taiyuan soldiers and horses of the Eleventh Brigade Hao Zhao are the best at defending, and they have recently entered the west of Jiexiu, just waiting for the other party to come." ”

As soon as Tong Yuan, Xu Rong, and Wei Qi spoke, everyone was relieved. Subsequently, we made full analysis and discussion, and carefully arranged the responsibilities and arrangements. The more everyone listened, the more confident they became, and they were all eager to try to let the Huns know the power of the Han Dynasty.

The combat mobilization meeting ended successfully, but Tong Yuan knew in his heart that it was best to solve the opponent within three months in this battle.

First of all, although materials are abundant, they cannot be consumed without moderation. If you swallow the Hetao in one go, this consumption is too loser, and it will usher in the powerful Xianbei, a new strong enemy.

And then, he couldn't digest such a large piece of land. To be honest, being able to restore Xihe and Shangjun is already the limit of his current size. If it exceeds three months, it is likely to delay production such as spring ploughing, and the benefits may be greatly reduced at that time.

The most important point is that he judged that Chang'an's side was the most important.

He calculated very carefully, and this operation took advantage of the tradition of inconvenient communication in winter to temporarily hide his strength and achievements from the Chang'an side.

When Li Dao and others are infighting, and Emperor Han Xian intends to flee to him, or Zhang Ji's side, let Li Dao and others know his strength.

In other words, he didn't want to interrupt the internal strife between Li Dao, Guo Yan, Fan Chou and others, if the strength was exposed too early, the three of them felt threatened, and temporarily put aside the contradictions and disputes, then Tong Yuan's greatest advantage was that the prophet of the historical process would be invalid.