"These are gifts for the General and all the soldiers. I hope the General will not find them too offensive!"

Damoshi approached Xiahou Yuan, pointed to the wooden crates, and gave a fawning smile.

Xiahou Yuan laughed loudly, "Hahaha, Your Majesty is too kind. With these, my brothers will have an even greater chance of winning!"

Damoshi also smiled and said, "Then I, the King, will be here to wish the royal army a great victory!"

"Your Majesty, please rest assured and await our good news. Farewell!"

Xiahou Yuan bowed to Damoshi and then ordered his men to carry the jewels out of the palace.

Upon returning to the main camp, Xiahou Yuan didn't hesitate and immediately distributed one hundred boxes of jewels to his 20,000 soldiers.

After the jewelry was distributed, Xiahou Yuan summoned his deputy and gave him instructions:

"Tell the brothers that since we've taken their money, we have to get things done. Killing the enemy can wait, but we must let them see how fast we can go!"

"Yes, General!"

Soon, Xiahou Yuan's order spread throughout the entire army.

After the soldiers collected their rewards, they quickly got to work.

In less than half a day, everything was ready, and then they left Dongdu and headed towards Qingshui City.

The Han army's swift movements truly demonstrated to Damoshi and the officials of the Eastern Capital what the speed of the Han army meant.

An army of 20,000 men left just like that. How terrifying must such an army be?

Just as Xiahou Yuan led his troops to Qingshui City, Li Ru's 40,000 cavalrymen also swept away the towns and villages near Qingshui City.

Inside the tent, Li Ru listened to his subordinates' reports and summarized the gains of the trip.

Since entering the eastern region, the Xianbei Xiongnu have destroyed more than 4.5 million mu of fertile land, driven out more than 1.2 million refugees, burned down 16 cities, and killed more than 50,000 monks.

All of this severely weakened the third prince, while the Xianbei and Xiongnu reaped a great harvest, obtaining a large amount of grain and money.

After listening to his subordinates' report, Li Ru stroked his chin and began to consider the matter of retreat.

Just as Li Ru was pondering, a soldier suddenly rushed in.

"Sir, a Han army force of 20,000 men is heading towards Qingshui City. They are only 30 li away and are moving very fast. They should arrive before sunset!"

"Ha, they've finally arrived!"

Upon hearing the soldier's report, Li Ru smiled with relief.

Then, Li Ru looked at a Xianbei officer and instructed him: "You lead 20,000 soldiers to escort the grain and wealth obtained on this expedition to the King first. I will lead the remaining 20,000 soldiers to deal with them here!"

"Sir, money is fine, but we have 1.5 million shi of grain hidden in the rear. Our 20,000 men can't carry that much with us!"

Li Ru waved his hand: "Take as much as you can, and leave what you can't take. Don't destroy it, I have a use for it!"

"Yes, sir!"

The Xianbei officer agreed and then led several of his men out of the tent.

After the Xianbei officer left, Li Ru also looked at the Xiongnu officer standing to the side.

"Are the ears of those Buddhist monks all ready?"

"In reply to you, sir, everything has been prepared. Following your preservation method, those ears are as fresh as ever!"

Li Ru smiled slightly: "Alright, count out two thousand of them and come with me to the foot of Qingshui City!"

"yes!"

The Xiongnu officer agreed and then left the tent to begin preparations.

Soon, Li Ru led the remaining 20,000 Xiongnu cavalry to the west of Qingshui City and assumed a posture of preparing to attack the city.

The defenders of Qingshui City were quite frightened when they saw the Huns suddenly approaching the city.

Although Qingshui City has 30,000 troops, most of them are newly recruited. They have never been on the battlefield, do not even have a decent set of armor, and their weapons are tattered.

From the general to the ordinary soldier, no one believed they could stop the Xiongnu's attack.

One of the guards whispered, "General, why don't we surrender? They don't kill people anyway. If we surrender, we can blend into the ranks of the refugees and maybe save our lives!"

"Lower...?"

Upon hearing his subordinate's words, the garrison commander hesitated for a moment.

"Report, General, reinforcements... the reinforcements of the Great Han have arrived!"

Just then, a soldier guarding the east side of the city ran over excitedly.

Just as the defenders of Qingshui City were in a state of panic, Xiahou Yuan led 20,000 Han soldiers to the east of Qingshui City.

"Hahaha, good! Quick, come with me to welcome the Han army!"

Upon hearing that the Han army was approaching, the garrison commander immediately stopped hesitating and led his men toward the east of the city.

Upon learning of the arrival of reinforcements from the Han Dynasty, a burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the city walls of Qingshui City.

The people inside the city welcomed Xiahou Yuan and 20,000 Han soldiers into Qingshui City as if they were saviors.

As soon as they entered the city, Xiahou Yuan ordered the Han soldiers to climb the city walls and take over the defense of Qingshui City.

Soon, a large red banner with a black border bearing the Chinese character "Han" was raised high atop Qingshui City, fluttering in the breeze.

"All troops retreat!!"

Upon seeing the familiar flag atop the city wall, Li Ru immediately issued the order to retreat.

"Yes, sir!"

Soon, the Xiongnu soldiers packed up quickly and withdrew from the area.

"They've retreated! The Xiongnu have retreated!!"

"These barbarians, they're afraid!"

"Hahaha, we don't have to die!"

Seeing the Xiongnu people retreating outside the city, the original garrison of Qingshui City couldn't help but shout excitedly.

Amid the cheers, the guards looked at the Han army with a newfound sense of awe.

They had also heard that the Han army was very powerful and had defeated the Xiongnu and Xianbei people more than once.

To their surprise, the Han army was so powerful that they scared away the extremely ferocious barbarians just by showing their faces.

What kind of reputation must one have to achieve this?

"Open the city gates and give chase!!"

Just as the Kushan soldiers were looking at the Han soldiers with awe, Xiahou Yuan's shout startled them awake.

"General... are you going to pursue the Xiongnu cavalry?"

The garrison commander of Qingshui City also trembled, looking at Xiahou Yuan with disbelief.

Xiahou Yuan glared at him: "What? Do you think that my mighty Han army can't defeat a bunch of Xiongnu barbarians?"

"No...no!"

The garrison commander of Qingshui City hurriedly waved his hand and shook his head, explaining, "I just saw that your army has traveled a long way and the soldiers all look tired. They should get a good rest for the night!"

"The Xiongnu are nothing but a few foes; even if our army is exhausted, we can easily defeat them!"

"Then you'd better stay on the city wall and watch how my Han army kills the enemy!"

After uttering those words, Xiahou Yuan immediately ordered the city gates to be opened and led 20,000 soldiers in pursuit of the Xiongnu.