Time was not on the side of the Huns.

As the gates of Juyongguan opened, thousands of light cavalry filed out first, alternately covering with the crossbowmen on the city wall, supporting the following infantry to slowly open up their formation.

The Huns took advantage of the chaos and attacked several waves, but were forced to retreat under the powerful rain of arrows from the crossbowmen.

Now that the matter has come to this point, there is no longer any way to say whether to take a detour or not.

The time for withdrawal has passed. Unless the Han army blocking the front is conquered, it will never be possible to regain the initiative on the battlefield.

The same goes for the Han army.

Going out of the city to fight is a very important tactic in defending the city. Failure to hold on often occurs when the strength of the enemy and our forces is too disparity, or the morale of the defenders in the city is too low.

But now that Tang Qi had given him a sharp weapon, everyone from the generals down to the soldiers could not help but have the desire to fight.

The terrain in front of Juyong Pass ends with steep cliffs on both sides of the valley.

It is impossible to ambush, and it is difficult to deploy all the troops.

Even if the weather starts to dry in late autumn, the grass underfoot is still a little wet.

It's somewhat unfriendly to the cavalry.

This is also one of the reasons why the Huns went south in autumn. In addition to the lack of green and yellow weather in spring and summer, the climate is also relatively humid, which is not conducive to large-scale cavalry operations.

The Han army, which was mainly infantry, would not be too affected by dryness and moisture.

Li Guang was in the cavalry formation and shouted at the cavalrymen to spread their wings, revealing a large array of bows and crossbows led by Chen You in the center.

Tang Qi stationed his horse beside Chen You. The second general wanted to persuade him to stay on the safe wall, but Tang Qi sternly refused and had to arrange for him to be listed in the Chinese army's formation.

The prefect Lu Fang was self-aware and did not go out. Instead, he nervously watched every move of the two armies from the tower.

However, Huo Qubing and his 500 Yulin cavalry surrounded Tang Qi and faithfully performed the duty of guard.

The sky was cloudless, and the late autumn sunshine shone on everyone, making everyone feel warm all over.

The grass beneath my feet seemed less wet.

Just the climate the cavalry likes best!

The Huns' army was not slow to respond, and soon formed a formation.

Thousands of infantry from the servant army served as the vanguard, the cavalry from the vassal tribes covered the two flanks, and the elites from the Huns themselves were on standby in the center.

Zhao Ponu immediately mounted his army, surrounded by many thousands of households and small leaders, and facing Li Guang and Chen You from afar.

The atmosphere on the battlefield was solemn and on the verge of breaking out.

Both sides were very quiet. Li Guang and Zhao Ponu were observing each other's troop formations and waiting for the other side to move first.

In a head-to-head confrontation, in most cases, the person who comes from behind often gets there first!

A stick of incense has passed.

The soldiers at the forefront of both sides began to sweat beads on their foreheads, the palms holding their weapons became sticky, and their breathing gradually became rapid.

But the chief generals of the two armies still sat quietly on their horses, their expressions not wavering at all.

"Looking at their formation, they really don't look like Huns." Huo Qubing whispered to Tang Qi, "Even Zhao Xin can't bear it as well as him."

Tang Qi agreed: "The Huns come and go like the wind, and they are not of a temperament to fight peacefully."

Even though he came from a later generation, after traveling through time, he knew a lot about the Xiongnu, the Han's old enemy, either directly or indirectly.

There was not much difference in the strength of the two sides, and when they fought openly and openly, the Xiongnu could rarely get an advantage from the Han army.

In most cases, the Huns like to take advantage of the mobility of their entire cavalry to play hide-and-seek with the Han army on the vast plains.

And take advantage of the information gap to create a military advantage on local battlefields, just like hunting.

Even if they have to fight in frontal formation, the Huns like to look for opportunities in constant movement and harassment, like foxes on the grassland.

"If it were Zhao Xin leading the army, he would have rushed up by now." Chen You suddenly said, "From this we can see that the leader of this vanguard army is indeed not Zhao Xin."

He was breathing heavily as he spoke, obviously feeling agitated by the tense atmosphere.

So much so that I said nonsense.

After finishing speaking, Chen You also realized that something was wrong. He looked around and found that Tang Qi and Huo Qubing were both indifferent. They didn't even change their sitting postures. He couldn't help but feel ashamed.

"Both of them are calm when facing battle for the first time, but the last general is too easily influenced."

Tang Qi smiled and said nothing.

Huo Qubing clearly achieved military merit in the war against the rebellion. This "Piao Yao Lieutenant" was also obtained through military merit, but he didn't refute it.

The person who said it said it very normally, and the person being said actually accepted it very normally.

This shows what kind of status the war against Hungary held in the hearts of the Han Dynasty people.

And Zhao Ponu's calmness in the face of battle is very strange among the Xiongnu army.

"Let the gentlemen sit down," Huo Qubing reminded.

Chen You suddenly realized and hurriedly ordered.

"Boom!"

Tens of thousands of crossbowmen and infantrymen sat on the ground at the same time, their expressions were solemn, and they did not relax at all.

"Wanhu, aren't you still moving?"

The other generals of the Xiongnu were far less calm than Zhao Ponu.

"The Han people have a few more crossbowmen, but as long as they rush over, they'll be fine!"

Zhao Ponu was noncommittal, but when he saw the mood around him becoming unstable, he couldn't help but sigh.

In terms of strength alone, there is really no comparison between the Xiongnu army and the Han army.

"Then let's charge." Zhao Ponu compromised, "Qiju, you go pick five thousand servants and infantry and let them stand in front."

"Let all the vassal tribes rise to the top and be sure to defeat them in one battle!"

Qiju was a leader of a vassal tribe of Wuhuan. He was transferred to the subordinate king by Yi Zhixie, and was later given to Zhao Ponu by Zhao Xin as a reward.

In other words, the 50,000 tribesmen living below are all the private property of Zhao Ponu.

Moreover, as the private property of Zhao Ponu, Ju himself was treated a little better than ordinary vassal tribal leaders, and he also had a certain say in the central account.

But that's just a little bit.

For example, when fighting to the death, he would be the first to attack, not the Huns.

"Work hard. When Juyong Pass is breached, you can choose the second weapon slave inside and reward you with three vassal tribes!"

Zhao Ponu also knew that he would be dissatisfied if he stayed here, so he threw the meat out at the right time.

Qiju's eyes lit up: "Thank you Wanhu!"

He must obey military orders, but aren't there those cannon fodder from the Western Regions and warriors from other vassal tribes ahead of them?

He couldn't hide behind the Huns, but at least he could place his warriors in a relatively safe place!

Qiju left excitedly.

Soon, there began to be commotion around the formation.

Five thousand selected servant infantry were driven into formation in the front, with 30,000 Wuhuan, Donghu and Kangju cavalry at the rear and on both wings.
Chapter completed!