A gentle breeze blew by, and Cao Cao, riding on horseback, looked at the Xianbei camp not far away and the Xianbei soldiers in a panic, a smug smile appearing on his lips.

"Dismount and set up camp!"

"Here you go!"

With the order to set up camp given, the entire Han army began to move quickly.

Under the watchful eyes of the Xianbei soldiers, the infantry following behind the cavalry began to continuously transport various supplies to the rear of the army.

Meanwhile, the engineering corps in the rear were also constructing necessary facilities such as camps, stockade walls, and arrow towers in an orderly manner.

Smoke rose from the ranks of the cooks, drifting towards the azure sky.

Looking down from the sky, the entire Han army resembled a massive swarm of ants, with a clear division of labor and orderly operations.

Under the astonished gazes of the Xianbei soldiers, in just two hours, a continuous camp stretching from west to east, large enough to accommodate 40,000 cavalry and 40,000 infantry, appeared five miles away from their camp.

Such rapid movements allowed the Xianbei soldiers to experience what the speed of the Han Dynasty truly meant!

The thick stockade walls and densely packed arrow towers, in particular, instilled a sense of powerlessness and despair in the Xianbei soldiers.

The fact that the Han army was so close made it unsettling, even knowing that they wouldn't attack now.

"Sir, if we really do move west, do you think we'll be able to come back in the future?"

Looking at the rows of Han army camps in the distance, He Lian gave up the idea of ​​struggling and began to consider the westward migration that Li Ru had mentioned.

"Your Majesty, whether you return or not is not important. What is important is that you ensure the survival of the entire Xianbei people."

There was no real, irreconcilable hatred between the grasslands and the Han Dynasty. The constant conflicts were simply a matter of wanting the people under their control to live better lives.

The late king's dying wish was to lead the Xianbei to prosperity and create a powerful steppe nation.

As long as this goal can be achieved, isn't it the same no matter where you are?

Just like the Yuezhi of the past and the Xiezhiyu who now dominate the Western Regions, isn't this also a new path?

Li Ru also explained his proposal to He Lian in detail, presenting it in a reasonable and well-founded manner.

After listening to Li Ru's words, He Lian also fell into deep thought.

"Your Majesty, I once discovered in a parchment scroll that in the far west, there exists a vast grassland, and to the south of the grassland lies a very wealthy country."

However, that country has neither the Great Wall nor city walls like those of the Han Dynasty. If we could relocate there, we could rely on our powerful cavalry to take whatever we want from them, and then strengthening the Xianbei would be a piece of cake!

Seeing He Lian deep in thought, Li Ru also offered a huge temptation at the opportune moment.

"Oh? There's such a wonderful place in that far west?"

Upon hearing Li Ru's words, He Lian couldn't help but ask with a look of interest.

"Indeed, I mentioned this matter to the late king before. The late king was also very fascinated by the place and said that after defeating the Han Dynasty, he would launch a expedition."

Unfortunately, fate has not been kind to us. Our late king is gone, and our army is no longer capable of fighting the Han Dynasty. Staying here will only mean certain death!

In the end, Li Ru couldn't help but sigh with a melancholy expression.

“What you say is true. I grew up on the grasslands. I only raise an army to plunder the territory of the Han Dynasty when the people of the tribe are on the verge of starvation.”

Ultimately, we didn't really have much hatred for the Han Dynasty; we just wanted to survive.

Since there's a way to survive in the west, and we can still fulfill Father's last wish, there's no need for us to stay here and wait to die!

Faced with Li Ru's repeated persuasion, He Lian finally understood the key point.

Li Ru quickly added, "Your Majesty is right. I believe you should continue to send envoys to the Han army camp to inform the Han Emperor of this matter!"

"Very well, I will arrange for the men to be sent immediately!"

Having figured things out, He Lian didn't hesitate and immediately sent someone with his letter to the Han army camp.

The Han army camp.

Twenty brightly armored Han soldiers stood upright in two teams, guarding the entrance to the camp and staring intently at the Xianbei camp in the distance.

"Someone's coming!"

A sharp-eyed soldier was the first to spot several riders appearing in the distance.

The other soldiers immediately straightened up and raised their weapons, aiming them forward.

Before long, the messenger sent by Tan Shihuai, accompanied by several attendants, stopped fifty paces away from the Han army camp. He then dismounted and walked towards the camp gate.

Who goes there?

One of the officers guarding the camp immediately gripped the hilt of his sword and shouted a question.

"I have come on the orders of King Helian to request an audience with His Majesty the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. I hope you will convey my message to His Majesty!"

The Xianbei envoy bowed to the officer guarding the camp and politely explained his purpose.

The officer guarding the camp sneered, "My duty is to guard the camp; I don't have time to relay your message!"

"this……!"

Upon seeing the other party's attitude, the Xianbei envoy was taken aback.

The officer guarding the camp said impatiently, "What do you mean 'what do you mean'? This is our important territory. Outsiders are not allowed to approach at will. Now get out of here!!"

"I have important business to discuss with Your Majesty. Here is a letter written by my king himself. You will understand once you take a look!"

Despite his displeasure at the Han army's attitude, the Xianbei envoy still politely produced He Lian's handwritten letter.

"Hmph, I can't read, I won't look!!"

The officer snorted dismissively, not even glancing at the letter.

Upon hearing this, the surrounding Han soldiers couldn't help but chuckle, barely managing to suppress their laughter.

Today, the Han army is developing rapidly with the continuous development of its military administration and staff departments.

Literacy was already a basic requirement for promotion to the rank of general or officer in the military.

Not to mention the officer in front of him, even lower-ranking sergeants and corporals must learn to read and write, at least to be able to understand and write some urgent reports.

The reason the garrison officer claimed he was illiterate was simply to deliberately make things difficult for the city.

"Well……"

Seeing the Han army officer who spoke so confidently about being illiterate, the Xianbei envoy couldn't help but twitch his lips, standing there at a loss for what to do.

"If you don't get lost, I'll get rough with you!!"

Seeing that the Xianbei envoy was still lingering there and refused to leave, the officer guarding the camp immediately drew his long sword and pointed it at the other party.

"You...you need to understand that if you ruin everything, it's not something a lowly camp officer like you can bear the consequences of!!"

Seeing the Han army's arrogance and unreasonable behavior, the Xianbei envoy was so angry that he trembled and couldn't help but utter a threatening remark.

"What a load of bull! If you don't leave now, believe me, I'll kill you right here and now!"

Seeing that the other party still dared to threaten him, the officer guarding the camp immediately raised his long sword and looked at the other party with a fierce expression.

"Okay, I'm leaving, I'll leave right away!"

Seeing that the Han army was about to make a move, the Xianbei envoy turned pale with fright and hurriedly turned and left.