Chapter 203: The Xiongnu Who Took the Blame

Yiwu!

A small and unremarkable town surrounded by mountains.

However, this small town, which might not even be as big as Jilu Fortress, has long been the focal point where the Great Han and the Xiongnu fight for control of the Western Regions.

It is well-hidden and can hide troops; streams flow through the mountains, making it suitable for farming and stationing.

It has good terrain outside the pass, but is also limited by that terrain, so it will always be a bridgehead and never a strong fortress outside the pass.

After four days of slow travel and rest, Mo Xiaobai and his soldiers stood on a peak with an altitude of only six or seven hundred meters, gazing at the fortress built against the mountains below.

“Maogong, Fengxiao, Yiwu City is right there below. Do you have a complete plan on how to finish this campaign in one go?”

At being asked by Mo Xiaobai, Li Ji and Guo Jia looked at each other, smiles appearing in their eyes.

The latter thought for a moment and spoke: “My Lord, Yiwu is higher in the west and lower in the east, and this city was built relying on the southern mountains. This means the southwest is slightly higher, while the northeast is lower.”

“However, since it is now the autumnal equinox, strong northwest winds are blowing. My Lord just needs to order two hundred Archers to launch a night attack with fire from the north. The fire will spread southward with the strong wind. Then, the Flying General leads the Cavalry to charge down the mountain. The Xiongnu cannot continue climbing south to escape, so they must leave through the East Gate.”

“By doing this, we can save some troops and station all our forces and horses on the eastern side. Heavy Halberd Soldiers will break the formation, while Rattan Armor Soldiers attack from both sides. The remaining Cavalry only need to intercept and kill the fleeing Xiongnu on the perimeter. I estimate very few of them will escape.”

It was still an ambush, still the strategy of surrounding three sides but leaving one open. But with Guo Jia adjusting it according to the actual terrain, the entire layout became much simpler.

“Good, arrange things according to your plans.”

Mo Xiaobai had smart strategists under him, so he did not need to use many brain cells. He nodded in agreement at once and signaled Zhang He to lead soldiers over to get the equipment.

The equipment for the Heavy Halberd Soldiers was all in his Xumi Bag.

Fortunately, they had the Xumi Bag; otherwise, with Heavy Halberd Soldiers wearing thick armor and carrying long halberds, it would have been impossible for them to ride horses at full gallop for over ten days.

After distributing the Heavy Halberd Soldiers’ equipment, the generals under Mo Xiaobai immediately began their own preparations.

Watching Mo Xiaobai’s soldiers disperse in an organized manner, Grandpa Fatty couldn’t help but sigh in amazement: “Bro, your lineup is truly luxurious. You could take down Yiwu City with just any one of them individually, yet you still let them all go together.”

Mo Xiaobai laughed and explained: “A lion uses all its strength to catch a rabbit. With them fighting, we can keep the casualty rate to a minimum.”

“It is also thanks to the fact that I only want to manage a farm and ranch. If it were any other Lord, they would be envious to the point of madness.”

“That is not that exaggerated. It is just a slight advantage in the early stage.”

“Early stage?”

“Just a slight advantage?”

Luyu and A-Dai exchanged a look, both speechless.

If this counts as just a slight advantage, what kind of advantage counts as a big one?

Unify a Dynasty?

Luyu and A-Dai had nothing more to say. Mo Xiaobai also stopped wasting words. Everything was arranged, so he comfortably found a large tree and leaned against it to sleep.

“Hey, did he really fall asleep?”

“Not too sure, maybe.”

“A big battle is about to happen here. Even if he is tired, he must hold on, right? This friend of ours really has a big heart. How can he sleep when a battle is imminent?”

“Perhaps that is the reason he can become a Great God.”

“Stop it. Grandpa Fatty doesn’t believe it.”

Luyu frowned and muttered, quietly walking over to squat by the tree. He put his eyes close to Mo Xiaobai’s face, but before he could tell if he was faking sleep, he heard the faint sound of snoring.

“Come on, that’s unscientific!” He waved his hand continuously in front of Mo Xiaobai, but there was no reaction at all. Grandpa Fatty could only shake his head and stand up.

Just as Grandpa Fatty nodded to A-Dai to show that Mo Xiaobai was indeed asleep, Li Guang suddenly interjected: “Throughout our journey here, My Lord has never rested properly. During the short stops each day, he would go to the front and rear lines to check on everyone. He is the one who sleeps last among us, yet often wakes up the earliest.”

After Li Guang finished speaking, Grandpa Fatty and A-Dai looked at each other.

If Li Guang had not said it, they really would not have known about this, because during the short two watch periods of sleep every day, they both just collapsed and fell asleep immediately.

But thinking carefully, they realized Li Guang was right. Every time they woke up, they could see Mo Xiaobai walking around everywhere.

“We, indeed, are not as good as him.” A-Dai said with a bitter smile. Just this small thing showed him the gap between himself and Mo Xiaobai.

“Awesome, Grandpa Fatty admits defeat.” Luyu nodded repeatedly as well. He had to admit that even if Mo Xiaobai was a illegitimate son of the Will of the Universe, he would still be the most extraordinary one.

After the sigh of amazement, the two of them also wanted to learn from Mo Xiaobai and take a nap first. However, they kept thinking about the upcoming battle and could not sleep, tossing and turning.

Finally, they gave up and stood up, sitting with Li Guang and Li Xin, waiting for the night to fall.

…

When Mo Xiaobai woke up from his deep sleep, the crescent moon was already hanging high in the sky.

Mo Xiaobai was not woken up by the sound of fighting below, but was “lured” awake by the smell of burning smoke brought by the fire.

In simple terms, he was hungry!

He struggled to open his eyes and sniffed the air around him. Just as Mo Xiaobai was about to ask if someone was roasting something, the thought of a big battle tonight suddenly flashed through his mind.

“No, I actually overslept?”

Turning over and getting up, Mo Xiaobai found that only a dozen or two Territorial Cavalry, along with A-Dai and Luyu, remained around. He immediately walked over and asked: “How are Maogong and the others fighting? Have they captured Yiwu City?”

“Here, look for yourself.”

With Grandpa Fatty gesturing with his mouth, Mo Xiaobai glanced down and saw a stretch of flames, which seemed to be at the peak of intensity.

“Your trusted Great General told us to tell you that once you wake up, we can go down the mountain directly.”

“Then what are we waiting for, let’s go!”

Mo Xiaobai clapped his hands, his mouth moving slightly. “I saw a roasted lamb in my dream just now. That stuff smells so good. Later, I will treat you to some!”

“Don’t. You keep the lamb for yourself. I know what the scene below looks like even without seeing it. Who can eat anything like that?” Grandpa Fatty shook his head decisively. He seemed to already foresee the tragic state of the Xiongnu in the sea of fire.

As the three led the Cavalry escort down the mountain, the entire battle situation had entered the final stage.

He Chun and Yang Zhi were cleaning up the aftermath inside the city, or more accurately, looking for things to fight the fire.

“Jianli, how did it burn like this?”

Riding a horse into the city, Mo Xiaobai looked at the collapsed wooden houses and his mouth twitched in annoyance. The destruction was so severe that rebuilding would be very troublesome.

“Reporting to My Lord, those Xiongnu did only foolish things. They actually raised no less than a hundred Yaks inside the city. The fire arrows from our night attack accidentally injured the Yak herd. Then, they ran into the strong wind. The over hundred Yaks ran wildly inside the city. When this subordinate entered, it was already like this.”

He Chun also had a face full of helplessness, while deciding to pass the blame to the Xiongnu.

Who let those fools raise cows in a concentrated way inside the city? Now the cows were burned to death, not to mention the houses were destroyed almost completely.

There was not even a place to rest a foot to have a good night’s sleep inside the city.