Chanyu Qilian felt like killing himself now. Just that brief delay had resulted in such a crushing defeat. The Left Xian King was one of the Xiongnu's most important pillars of strength, and the losses this time were probably far from small.
By the time Chanyu Qilian arrived with his army, Zhou Yafu had already formed his battle lines and even cleared the battlefield. The baggage they had discarded earlier had been gathered into stockpiles, and many dead warhorses had been carried in and were being butchered. The meat would not keep for long, but eaten immediately, it could still provide two meals.
The situation now was that Zhou Yafu's army held a stretch of hills formed by three connected heights, while Chanyu Qilian's Xiongnu army surrounded them. Things did not look good for the Han Army, but Zhou Yafu was not particularly flustered.
"Although our provisions are inadequate, the Xiongnu are short of provisions too. In particular, they have so many horses that their consumption is even greater. Now that they have surrounded us, they will have to bring provisions in from elsewhere. Great Han's other three armies are also heading here. Right now, the Xiongnu have us surrounded, but when the time comes, we will have them surrounded. Victory and defeat remain uncertain."
Zhou Yafu analyzed the situation in detail. The Han Army and the Xiongnu were like a man fighting a wolf with a hemp stalk-both sides were afraid. Looking at the densely packed war chariots, Chanyu Qilian naturally knew he could not charge their formation and throw his men's lives away. With the power of the Han Army's bows and crossbows, who knew how many would die? Zhou Yafu was equally unwilling to fight outside his formation. Once the Han Army emerged, the Xiongnu could only