The most arrogant in history

Upon receiving the military order, the Northern Expedition Army immediately accelerated its advance and launched an outflanking attack on the Hun army.

Cheng Yulong's light cavalry vanguard arrived first and engaged in a battle with the Hun army.

At that time, the north wind was howling and a blizzard was raging. Cheng Yulong's troops were at a disadvantage and were blinded by the wind and snow. The gunners could not aim and had a hard time fighting.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Cheng Yulong hurriedly ordered to set up camp on the spot, dig trenches, build a defense line with barbed wire, and fight a positional battle with the Hun army.

Huang Jian's army followed and joined the battle.

Ye Kun's vanguard general Huang Jingzu, with an army of 20,000, went around to the rear of the Hun army and began to encircle them.

Tianxian Chanyu finally couldn't hold on any longer and retreated northwards to break out.

Ye Kun personally led an army of 50,000 in hot pursuit.

On the prairie, the chasing and fighting lasted for more than a month. Until mid-May, only more than 20,000 remnants of Tianxian Chanyu's tribe were left. They were driven to the eastern part of the North Sea and disappeared without a trace.

He Zhongshu and the Little Xian King also completed the search in the western part of the grassland and joined forces with Ye Kun's army in the southern part of the Beihai.

Ye Kun's army seized millions of cattle, sheep and horses, and captured more than 200,000 Xiongnu herdsmen, who were escorted in batches and transferred to the Yinshan camp.

Some Xiongnu herdsmen voluntarily surrendered to Ye Kun and were treated preferentially.

The Beihai camp stretches for twenty miles with flags waving.

Ye Kun summoned all the generals and held a stone engraving ceremony here.

The military craftsmen worked overtime overnight and flattened a mountain wall here, which was more than ten feet high, and carved four large characters "Dahan Beihai" on it.

There are small words below, recording this battle and announcing that the North Sea has been part of China's territory since ancient times.

Huang Jingzu's blood boiled, and he said: "Father, the remnants of the Xiongnu have not been completely wiped out. I am willing to lead the troops to continue hunting down Tianxian Chanyu, exterminate his clan, and cut off his roots!"

Ye Kun shook his head and said with a smile: "That's not necessary. The Tianxian Chanyu clan has basically been exterminated by me. If the remaining 20,000 people do not surrender, they will gradually die out in the future."

The area north of the North Sea is no longer suitable for human survival.

Even in the future industrial intelligent era, humans are unwilling to live here.

Tianxian Chanyu's cattle, sheep and other livestock were all lost, and the more than 20,000 survivors will find it difficult to survive, let alone develop.

Surrender and integration into the Chinese nation is their only choice.

Huang Jian asked, "Your Majesty, do you mean to persuade Tianxian Chanyu to surrender?"

"Well, I am also giving him a way out. After all, the ancestors of the Xiongnu are also Chinese." Ye Kun nodded and said:

"If we send troops to exterminate them, it may take another year, at least 200,000 people, to completely exterminate Tianxian Chanyu. If we can persuade him to surrender, then we only need a small piece of land to settle them. After 20 years, they can be assimilated."

Huang Jian said: "In this case, I am willing to be your envoy to find the remnants of Tianxian Chanyu and persuade them to surrender!"

Ye Kun nodded and ordered Huang Jian to take a group of prisoners to search eastward for the remnants of the Huns and persuade them to surrender.

Cheng Yulong asked again: "Your Majesty, after this great victory in Beihai, should we send troops to stay here?"

Ye Kun pointed at the map and said, "From Beihai to Yinshan, a distance of four or five thousand miles, I drew a line and planned to build a brand new Great Wall here."

"Ah, the Great Wall?"

Everyone was surprised.

Building a Great Wall that is thousands of miles long is no joke!

Ye Kun said: "The Great Wall in history was a series of square cities connected together. I plan to build about ten small cities in a straight line from the southern end of Beihai to the Yinshan Camp. If we build roads between the small cities, this will be a Great Wall.

With ten small cities and avenues, we can station troops there permanently and control the prairie forever."

Cheng Yulong asked, "But it's freezing here, what will the soldiers eat? All the food and fodder are transported from the south, and I'm afraid we can't afford it."

Any large-scale garrison must be self-reliant.

Thousands of miles of supply lines would have been impossible to maintain in ancient times.

Moreover, it snowed on the prairie for half a year, so even if there was food and fodder, it couldn’t be transported!

Ye Kun was confident and asked with a smile: "Then how did the Huns survive on the prairie?"

Cheng Yulong was stunned: "They live by the water and grass, grazing and hunting."

"If they can herd and hunt, so can we."

Ye Kun pointed at the map and said, "The prairie is not suitable for farming, but it is not without any arable land. There is still a small amount of arable land. And there are many coal mines on the prairie. If we find coal resources and solve the fuel problem, we can settle on the prairie."

Cheng Yulong laughed and said, "It seems that there has never been a city built on the prairie. The Huns graze their livestock everywhere, and a fixed place cannot support them."

Ye Kun nodded: "So, we will build a small city instead of a big one. The pastures around the small city can feed thousands of people. If there is not enough food, we can transport it here."

"It's not easy to transport food over a road of thousands of miles."

"Easy." Ye Kun smiled.

"Our steam-powered vehicles will be able to transport military rations in less than three years. There are tens of thousands of troops stationed in the north, and only tens of thousands of dan of food are needed each year. This can be transported in a month."

Cheng Yulong smiled and said, "Since the emperor thinks it's feasible, let's give it a try."

Guan Yong clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to stay in the prairie and devote my old bones to China."

Ye Kun pondered in silence.

Guan Yong is already in his early fifties. He has fought in battles all his life and his body is covered with wounds.

I’m afraid he can’t stand the climate in the north.

Guan Yong smiled and said, "Your Majesty, are you afraid that I will die on the prairie?"

"Yes, you are old, I want to transfer you back to enjoy your life."

Ye Kun smiled and said, "But to build the prairie, we also need a Marshal-level figure to take charge."

The young Xiongnu king clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, I am originally from the Xiongnu. I am the most suitable person to manage the prairie for Your Majesty."

"You can't. I plan to move all of you Western Xiongnu people to the interior."

Ye Kun said lightly.

After finally taking over the prairie, Ye Kun must carry out a blood transfusion on the prairie, move all the original nomadic peoples to the inland, replace them with his own people, and control the prairie!

The young Xiongnu king was shocked: "Your Majesty, are you going to drive my tribe out of the grassland as well?"

"What's so good about the grassland? It's so cold and there's no place to live."

Ye Kun patted the young virtuous king on the shoulder and said, "Letting you move to the interior is to let you enjoy the prosperity. The prosperity of Zhuo County is beyond your imagination."

The young virtuous king was sweating profusely, and he knelt down and said:

"Your Majesty, in the past ten years, we, the Western Xiongnu, have been loyal and devoted, following General He Zhongshu to fight against the Northern Xiongnu. Tens of thousands of our people have died in the battle. Now our tribe only has more than 200,000 people. Your Majesty, please have mercy and let us stay!"

It’s hard to leave your homeland.

The same goes for the Huns. They are accustomed to a nomadic lifestyle and cannot leave this vast grassland.