"The Han soldiers are truly worthy of being called divine generals; they actually pursued the Xiongnu cavalry with infantry!"

"Yes, and they ran so fast, it was like they were rushing to make a name for themselves!"

"As expected of the mighty Han army, they are truly formidable!"

The Kushan defenders on the city wall were amazed as they watched the Han soldiers who dared to pursue the Xiongnu on foot.

In their minds, infantrymen were already deadly when they tried to hold off cavalry, so trying to pursue cavalry was nothing short of a pipe dream.

Can you believe that infantrymen could chase after cavalry?

But this bizarre scene unfolded right before their eyes.

After chasing for about half an hour, Xiahou Yuan's Han soldiers had run nearly fifteen miles away and disappeared from the sight of the Kushan garrison.

Meanwhile, Li Ru's Xiongnu cavalry waited quietly in a depression ahead.

"stop!!"

Seeing the Xiongnu cavalry waiting ahead, Xiahou Yuan also stopped the troops, and then led a few guards toward Li Ru.

"My name is Xiahou Yuan, and I greet Mr. Wen You!"

Upon approaching, Xiahou Yuan also respectfully bowed to Li Ru.

"General Xiahou, there's no need for such formalities!"

Li Ru smiled slightly, then asked, "Where is Brother Mengde now?"

"My elder brother is leading a large army towards the Eastern Capital. They should arrive in about ten days!" Xiahou Yuan replied truthfully.

"That's good!"

Li Ru smiled and nodded, then took out a map from his pocket and came to Xiahou Yuan.

"General Xiahou, this map marks the places where our army hid grain and valuables along the way. Please give it to Brother Mengde when he arrives!"

"Yes, sir!"

Xiahou Yuan respectfully accepted the map and carefully put it into his pocket.

"Alright, from now on, I will do my best to cooperate with General Xiahou's actions. You'd better seize the opportunity!"

Li Ru chuckled, then mounted his horse and led the Xiongnu cavalry, galloping southwest.

As they retreated, the Xiongnu cavalry left behind some food, valuables, banners, and cloth bags filled with ears.

"Thank you, sir!!"

Watching Li Ru's departing figure, Xiahou Yuan once again gave a proper military salute.

Afterwards, Xiahou Yuan ordered his men to pack up the "seized" supplies and then headed towards Qingshui City.

"They're back! The Han army is back!"

"My God, did they win?"

"I think so. Look at all the extra food and banners in their ranks!"

Upon seeing the returning Han army, the soldiers guarding Qingshui City were also shocked and discussed among themselves.

"Congratulations to the Han army on their first victory! The Han army is truly a divine army!"

The garrison commander of Qingshui City also approached Xiahou Yuan with a flattering expression, groveling at the Han army's footsteps.

"The mere Xiongnu are not worth mentioning."

Xiahou Yuan waved his hand smugly, then ordered his men to bring over the cloth bags filled with ears.

Upon seeing the ears inside the bag, the garrison commander of Qingshui City turned pale and nearly vomited on the spot.

"General Xiahou, this...this is...?"

"These are the Xiongnu barbarians that our army has killed! Unfortunately, the Xiongnu ran too fast, and our army only killed two thousand of them."

Xiahou Yuan sighed, then looked at the garrison commander of Qingshui City and said in a deep voice, "Should we report these battle achievements to our brothers?"

"Report it... we definitely have to report it!"

Upon learning that these were the ears of the Xiongnu, the garrison commander of Qingshui City hurriedly nodded and said, "General Xiahou, rest assured, I will immediately order someone to draft a battle report and submit it to His Majesty. The brothers' rewards will not be shortchanged by a single penny!"

"Haha, that's good!!"

Xiahou Yuan laughed heartily, then led his soldiers back to Qingshui City.

Soon, news of the Han soldiers pursuing and killing Xiongnu cavalry for dozens of miles and killing two thousand enemies was written into an urgent report and sent to Luoyang.

When the news spread, the people of the city were overjoyed and took the initiative to bring out the delicacies from their homes to send to the Han army's camp.

In their view, it was the timely arrival of the Han army that saved their lives and property, so it was only right that they give something back.

However, the Han army had strict discipline and would not accept the people's gifts for nothing. While accepting the food, they also stuffed the jewelry they had previously received into the hands of the people.

As the saying goes, what is taken from the people should be used for the people; this is exactly the case!

This was the first time they had ever encountered an army that gave them money in return for their food, and this army had even saved them. All of this greatly won the favor of the Kushan people.

The next day, Xiahou Yuan also ordered Han soldiers to take the captured grain and go out of the city to help the refugees who had been stranded there.

Those refugees who had been repeatedly rejected by various cities and were wandering around were deeply moved when they saw the food delivered by the Han army.

On the third day, Linmo City, located southwest of Qingshui City, sent a letter requesting help, saying that the Xiongnu were preparing to attack the city.

Upon receiving the news, Xiahou Yuan immediately led 20,000 Han soldiers to the scene without hesitation.

Upon seeing Xiahou Yuan arrive, Li Ru led his troops in retreat once more, and the Han army pursued them again.

After a series of pursuits, the Han army once again achieved a great victory, capturing a large amount of food and supplies, and also achieving the remarkable feat of killing 3,000 enemies.

Soon, another piece of good news arrived, heading towards the Eastern Capital.

The Han army led by Xiahou Yuan followed the same method, distributing the supplies seized from the Xiongnu to nearby refugees and vigorously promoting the image of the Han army.

In this way, whenever Li Ru led the Xiongnu cavalry to a city, Xiahou Yuan would always lead the Han army to arrive in time.

The image of the Han army as brave and invincible, as well as kind and loving towards the people, spread far and wide, and they were deeply loved by the Kushan people.

Even the Kushan soldiers held the Han army in high esteem.

When news of victory reached the Eastern Capital, Damoshi and his officials were excited but also faced a dilemma.

According to statistics, a total of eight battle reports were sent from various places, and the Han army led by Xiahou Yuan killed more than 17,000 Xiongnu.

As per the previous agreement, they were responsible for awarding rewards and honors to the Han army for their military achievements during the campaign.

However, according to the current military merit system of the Han Dynasty, killing an enemy soldier is rewarded with twenty acres of fertile land, a promotion of one rank, and a reward of one hundred taels of silver.

The reward money was manageable; with the support of two major families and the Buddhist sect, a few million silver coins wouldn't be a problem. The real issue was the fertile land and the title, which left them at a loss.

We can't just use Kushan lands and titles to bestow rewards, can we?

Even if you're willing to give it, people might not accept it! It's definitely unreasonable not to give it.

Just as Damoshi and others were struggling with their predicament, Cao Cao's army of 30,000 finally arrived in Luoyang.

Damoh then approached Cao Cao to discuss the matter of bestowing rewards.