With the efforts of Zang Tu and Zhang Sheng and other leading parties, the captured Han soldiers opened their mouths on the same day, explaining that the approximate strength of the Han army was more than 400,000, and that the main elite was the standing soldiers of the Han army stationed in Guanzhong, and some local garrisons were drawn from all over the Central Plains, and the rest were all local county soldiers temporarily recruited by the Han army after the autumn harvest, and such an army was still the largest number.

In terms of weapons and equipment, the situation is similar, the Guanzhong garrison has the best equipment, the local garrison is second, and most of the temporarily conscripted county soldiers have received inventory bronze weapons left over from the former Qin, and only a small number of veterans who have performed well in training or have experience in the war can receive iron weapons, and almost all of the arrowheads are bronze arrows left over from the former Qin. - I really can't blame Xiang Kang and Han Ting for being stingy about this, the main reason is that the productivity of this era is too bad, and in just a few years, the Han army really can't replace all the iron weapons, and there are too many bronze weapons left by Qin Shi Huang and Hu Hai, so it's a pity to give up and not use them - anyway, it is more than enough to deal with the poorly equipped Xiongnu army.

After asking about these circumstances, Zang Di and Zhang Sheng and the other leading parties of course quickly reported to Mao Dun, Mao Dun listened and pondered, and only said after a while: "According to this, although the Central Plains barbarian army we encountered this time seems to have more than 400,000 on the surface, in fact, only the Guanzhong garrison and the local garrison of the Central Plains barbarians can really pose a threat to us?" ”

"The Great Khan is wise, as it should be." Zang Di hurriedly complimented, and said: "In addition, as far as your subordinates know, there are only about 120,000 tyrant troops stationed in Guanzhong all year round, excluding the army that must stay in Guanzhong, Xiang Kang's tyrant should only bring 80,000 or 90,000 at most, and Weichen estimates that tyrant Xiang Kang should have also transferred about 100,000 local garrisons from all over the Central Plains, so the tyrant army that can really pose a threat to us should be less than 200,000." ”

Mao Dun nodded, and suddenly said: "But we can't underestimate the enemy, after all, our elite main force is only a hundred thousand people, and the rest are all temporarily recruited grassland youths, and their combat effectiveness is slightly worse." ”

"Great Khan, rest assured, although the combat effectiveness of the grassland Qingzhuang temporarily recruited by us is not as good as our elite cavalry, it is definitely stronger than the county soldiers temporarily recruited by the tyrant Han army." Zang Di hurriedly encouraged Mao Dun and said: "As for the reason, it is also very simple, we grassland young and strong have practiced riding and archery since childhood, not like the county soldiers of the tyrant army, they are familiar with farm tools since childhood, in addition, our soldiers take meat as the staple food, their stature is generally taller, and their arm strength is much stronger than that of the soldiers of the tyrant army, so it must be our army that takes advantage of the auxiliary army." ”

"Listening to your tone, King Donghulu, do you think you should fight this decisive battle?" Mao Dun heard Zang Di's off-string sound.

"Great Khan Shengming, his subordinates hope to fight to the death with the tyrant army." Zang Di immediately replied: "The tyrant Xiang Kang raised an army to fight a decisive battle with us, as long as we win this decisive battle, it is equivalent to defeating the national army of the tyrants, and then we can not only definitely get Yanmen Daijun and other places, but also take the opportunity to enter the rich and prosperous hinterland of the Central Plains, seize countless cities, land, grain and grass, and directly expand the territory of our Xiongnu Khanate to the big river (Yellow River) and even the Yangtze River." ”

Mao Dun smiled, and immediately understood Zang Di's little abacus - he tried his best to encourage himself to fight this decisive battle with the Han army, and if he won the battle, Zang Di would definitely be able to take the opportunity to restore the country, and if he lost Zang Di, as long as he ran to the grassland, all the consequences would be borne by the Xiongnu Khanate, and it would not affect any of Zang Di's own interests. However, Mao Dun didn't bother to break Zang Di's little abacus, but said again: "King Donghulu, have you considered this problem?" Last night, the Central Plains army obviously had elite available, why did they send a county soldier north to meet the army of Mayi? ”

"It's ......." Zang Di was speechless, and immediately understood that the shrewd Mao Dun was suspecting that the Han army was deceitful and luring the enemy, but for his own hope of recovering the country, Zang Di still stubbornly said: "This is not surprising, the tyrant army may want to test our hypocrisy and reality, as well as test the combat effectiveness of their auxiliary army, so they deliberately sent the auxiliary army north to meet the army of Mayi." ”

Zang Tusheng's reason for being stubborn was only logically reasonable, and Mao Dun didn't bother to listen to Zang Di's continued quibble, but just casually ordered: "Go down and rest, whether to fight this decisive battle, Ben Khan has to think carefully." ”

After sending Zang Di away, the Hun scouts also sent news, basically confirming that the strength of the Han army was indeed more than 400,000, and at the same time, it had basically been drawn to the city of Mayi, and it was less than sixty miles away from the battlefield of Bantianling. Do you want to fight or not? ”

The eloquent Mao Dun is indeed shrewd, after carefully weighing the pros and cons again and again, Mao Dun still feels that he had better not take risks, as for the reason is also very simple, the foundation of the Huns is too thin, once the decisive battle is lost, the Hun army wants to restore to its peak state It will take at least ten or twenty years, if the army loses too much, the consequences will definitely be even more unimaginable. On the contrary, the Han army, even if it failed in the decisive battle, it could take advantage of the large population and thick foundation to quickly reorganize more armies and make a comeback.

About 150,000 Xiongnu people became the only burden to Maodun, so that Maudun could not make up his mind even if he understood that he should abandon them, and as a result, when Maudun hesitated, the Han envoy suddenly came to the Xiongnu army and proposed to Maudun the peace conditions for the release of Li Zuoche's troops and the return of the land south of the Great Wall.

Xiang Kang and Chen Ping expected that when they learned that the Han army was willing to resolve the border conflict through negotiations, King Zuoxian, the first important minister of the Xiongnu who was worried about his tribal people, was really ecstatic, and immediately tried his best to instigate Mao Dun to get off the donkey and send important ministers to the Han army camp to negotiate with Xiang Kang face-to-face. The second important minister of the Xiongnu, Youxianwang, who occupied the fertile land of water and grass in the Hetao, jumped three feet high, not only resolutely opposed the peace talks with the Han army, but also had a quarrel with Zuoxianwang again in front of Maodun, and the quarrel was turned upside down, and the sun and moon were gone.

Mao Dun did not stop the quarrel between the left and right Xian Wang this time, and after thinking for a while, Mao Dun suddenly said to the Han army envoy: "Go back and tell your emperor, just say that Ben Khan is here to take revenge on him this time, and the land you asked for has always been the pasture of our Huns, and we finally took it back, how can we give it to you again?" Let him die of this heart, and if he has the ability, he will come here with the army and fight to the death in a dignified manner. ”

Hearing Mao Dun's words, of course King Youxian was ecstatic, and even called the Great Khan wise, while King Zuo Xian was on the spot, and the envoy of the Han army was also a little dumbfounded, and hurriedly said through the translator: "Great Khan, listen to your tone, are you not going to accept peace talks?" ”

Mao Dun nodded calmly, and said: "If you have the courage to fight, come, Ben Khan and you will accompany you to the end!" ”

Seeing that Mao Dun insisted, the Han army envoy had no choice but to quickly surrender his hand, but as a result, as soon as the Han army envoy left on the front foot, the Xiongnu nobles present naturally asked one after another: "Great Khan, do you really plan to fight a decisive battle with the army of the Central Plains barbarians?" ”

"Didn't you realize that the Central Plains barbarians were deliberately playing tricks on us?" Mao Dun sneered and said: "If they really want to save the barbarian army surrounded by us, they only need to send troops here and use the army to pick up the barbarian army down the mountain, why do they need to rescue them through negotiations?" Also, the barbarians of the Central Plains have been scheming and have finally won the opportunity to fight a decisive battle with us, so how can they ask us to return the land through negotiations? ”

"The barbarians of the Central Plains took the initiative to negotiate, but they just wanted to stabilize us." Xiang Kang, who was used to bullying Xiang Yu, finally met his opponent, and pointed out Xiang Kang's true purpose very directly, and said: "Let us be negligent and take it lightly, and then suddenly send troops to kill us by surprise, if we are fooled, we will definitely suffer a big loss." ”

"Great Khan, then will we fight this decisive battle?" King Youxian hurriedly asked.

Mao Dun hesitated again, and only after a while did he say: "Don't worry, let me think about it again, pass the order, each soldier will receive dried meat that can be eaten for five days, and also ask our military personnel to prepare for migration." As for whether to fight or not, I will make a decision tomorrow before the sun sets. ”

Hearing Mao Dun's words, the Xiongnu nobles nodded yes one after another, but Zuo Xian Wang's face changed, and he immediately understood that the situation was not good, and vaguely guessed that Mao Dun might choose to break his tail to survive and give up his people......

…………

On the side of the Han army, the envoy of the Han army who rode south on a fast horse brought Mao Dun's reply back to Xiang Kang on the same day, but Xiang Kang was also stunned when he heard it, and said in disbelief: "Categorically refused? How can it be? Could it be that Maudon was so quick to make up his mind to fight us? ”

"Impossible!" Chen Ping said categorically: "This battle is too big for the Huns, although Mao Dun refused simply, but his army is too powerful, even if it is in the last hour before the decisive battle to make up his mind to retreat, it is still too late, the minister expected, Mao Dun should not have made the best decision, there is still a possibility of choosing a poisonous snake to eat his wrist, the strong man broke his arm, and decisively gave up his people to flee with only the army." ”

Xiang Kang nodded slowly, then turned to Uncle Zhou next to him and asked, "Zhou Aiqing, how are our preparations for the decisive battle?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, all the pre-battle preparations can be completed by tonight at the latest." Uncle Zhou replied: "Tomorrow we will spend one day advancing to the vicinity of Bantian Ridge, and the day after tomorrow we can start a decisive battle with the Hun barbarians." ”

Xiang Kang thought about it, and said after a while: "Then let's do it, first pull the army to the vicinity of Bantianling, anyway, we have bitten the Hun barbarians, even if they let their army run, at least they can annihilate their hundreds of thousands of military subordinates." ”

The tactical mobility is not as good as the Hun army, and the initiative is grasped by the enemy, even Uncle Zhou can only nod passively, and then urge the army to step up preparations for a decisive battle, but to the surprise of Xiang Kang and Zhou Shu and others, late that night, a Xiongnu envoy who claimed to be the confidant of the Xiongnu Zuoxian King suddenly came to the Han army camp and made a request to the Han army to meet Xiang Kang, and the situation was reported to Xiang Kang.

After a while, the envoy of King Zuo Xian was led to Xiang Kang, and after saluting respectfully, the envoy of King Zuo Xian went straight to the point and said that King Zuo Xian of the Xiongnu hoped to conclude a non-aggression pact with the Han army, and on the condition that he would not violate the border of the Han army in the future, in exchange for the Han army to open up the net, not to kill his subordinates, and also expressed his willingness to give ninety percent of the cattle and sheep to the Han army, as a gift to thank the Han army for releasing his people and returning to the grassland.

Mao Dun also ran into an opponent this time, just after listening to the conditions put forward by the envoy of King Zuo Xian, Xiang Kang immediately understood that Mao Dun had basically made up his mind to retreat, and in his heart, Xiang Kang first forced himself to calm down, and then used the excuse that he needed time to think about it, and temporarily sent the envoy of King Zuo Xian away, and finally said to Chen Ping, who rushed to hear the news: "Did you hear it?" Maudun's side may have made up their minds to abandon his people. ”

Zhang Liang and Chen Ping nodded together, and then Chen Ping added: "Otherwise, King Zuo Xian would not have sued for peace alone behind the back of the Maodun barbarians, and wanted to trick us into opening up his people's network." ”

"This northern expedition, I'm afraid we won't gain a lot." Xiang Kang said with a wry smile: "Even if Brother Xiang Zhuang will definitely send troops to intercept it, Guangwujun will definitely pursue it with all his might, and it will never be possible to severely damage the main force of the Huns, at most, it will kill twenty or thirty thousand Hun cavalry, kill all their military personnel, hurt the fur of the Huns, and not hurt their vitality." ”

"There's no way around it." Uncle Zhou smiled bitterly and said: "Who told us that our cavalry is too small, and the tactical mobility is not as good as the Hun cavalry, and there is no way to severely damage the Hun cavalry by the cavalry alone, on the contrary, there is also the danger of being severely damaged by the Hun cavalry." ”

At this moment, Xiang Kang naturally regretted that he did not equip the Han cavalry with saddles and stirrups in advance, but there was no regret medicine to take in the world, and Xiang Kang could only wail helplessly: "I only pity Guangwujun and my brother Xiang Guan, who paid such a big price, and finally lured the main force of the Huns to the battlefield of Bantianling, but in the end we still have no way to annihilate the main force of the Huns." ”

The speaker was unintentional, the listener was intentional, hearing Xiang Kang mention the trapped Li Zuoche and Xiang Guan, Uncle Zhou's heart suddenly moved, and he wanted to speak when he opened his mouth, but when the words came to his mouth, Uncle Zhou forcibly swallowed them back into his stomach, and after thinking for a while, Uncle Zhou said: "Your Majesty, what you just said made your subordinates suddenly think of a way, maybe you can give us the opportunity to win a decisive battle with the main force of the Huns." ”

"What's the solution?" Xiang Kang hurriedly asked.

Uncle Zhou quickly told his plan, but Xiang Kang laughed when he heard it, and said, "Zhou Aiqing, in fact, you want me to carry out this plan in person, right?" ”

Uncle Zhou nodded with a wry smile, and said: "But it's too dangerous, Your Majesty, you are a golden body, and you must not take such a risk in person, so Your Majesty took the initiative to ask Ying to let me go, fortunately, Your Majesty is a captain of the Han Dynasty, ranking the third duke, and there should be hope." ”

"There is no hope." Xiang Kang shook his head decisively and said: "Mao Dun is too shrewd and knows how to make trade-offs, he won't take such a risk for you, or I will go myself!" ”

"Your Majesty!" Uncle Zhou, Chen Ping, Zhang Liang and others screamed together.

"That's it!" Xiang Kang said decisively: "I will go in person, and I will go tomorrow morning!" ”