About three hours later, the battle outside Kolo City finally ended.

Of course, it would be more accurate to call it a massacre than a battle.

Throughout the entire campaign, the more than 30,000 defenders of Keluo City never engaged in combat with either the Xianbei or Xiongnu cavalry.

Subsequently, 20,000 troops entered the city, and Li Ru immediately ordered the four city gates to be sealed off and the residents inside the city to be purged.

The screams and wails continued all night long, only gradually subsiding at dawn the next day.

Thus, Keluo City, which Kangju regarded as a southern barrier against enemy invasion, was completely destroyed by Li Ru, clearing a major obstacle for Cao Cao later on.

Subsequently, Li Ru once again dispersed his 20,000 cavalrymen to continue a thorough sweep of the tribes within a hundred miles on both sides of the marching route, while the tribes further away were also wiped out by He Lian and Xie Zhiyu, who had been dispatched to other areas.

The 40,000 cavalrymen who entered Kangju territory were like locusts passing through, slaughtering all the Kangju people along the way.

November 25th.

Cao Cao's large army finally arrived at the riverbank fifty miles south of Keluo.

While sending people to check on the situation in Keluo City, Cao Cao also began discussing the next steps for attacking the city with his advisors.

"Gentlemen, this city of Keluo is a key border town in southeastern Kangju. According to intelligence, it has a total of 30,000 garrison troops and 5,000 cavalry, with ample food and weapons."

If our army wants to breach the city within five days, we must be prepared to suffer certain casualties…!

Standing before the map, Cao Cao explained the situation of Keluo City to everyone in detail.

Xiahou Dun immediately stood up and said, "General, let me lead the auxiliary troops to attack the city!"

The auxiliary troops were all composed of young men from the Western Regions, and they wouldn't care how many casualties they suffered.

"Report!!"

Just as Cao Cao was about to agree, he heard a slightly panicked shout coming from outside the tent.

Cao Cao frowned slightly and looked outside the tent: "Come in!"

A scout followed the guard in, his expression showing a hint of panic.

"How's the situation going?"

"Reporting to the General, when I approached the city of Keluo, I discovered more than 30,000 corpses of Kangju soldiers lying on the west side of the city."

Moreover, the city gates were wide open, the city was extremely quiet, and there was a pungent smell of blood.

"I then sneaked into the city to investigate and found it littered with heads and the corpses of Kangju people. Tens of thousands of residents, regardless of age or gender, had all been slaughtered..."

In the end, the scout couldn't help but swallow hard, his face showing lingering fear.

Having served as a scout for so many years, he considered himself to be well-informed, but the sights within the city of Kolo truly terrified him.

Even hell is not as devastating as the city of Kolo.

"What did you say?"

Upon hearing the scout's description, everyone in the tent gasped in surprise, even Cao Cao was taken aback.

Cao Cao had considered the possibility of massacring the city.

After all, given the inherent flaws of the Kangju people, they are truly difficult to assimilate.

But Cao Cao had only ever thought about killing all the men; he had never considered killing them all.

Ultimately, it comes down to education. Over the years, the image of the Han army as a benevolent and righteous force has been deeply ingrained in people's hearts.

Even Cao Cao dared not easily allow the Han army to bear the stigma of massacring the city.

Now that the city of Keluo has been completely slaughtered, Cao Cao was both shocked and relieved.

"The army shall set off immediately for Kolo City!"

After the initial shock, Cao Cao immediately ordered his army to head towards Keluo City.

When the army arrived at Kolo City and saw the scene inside and outside the city, a series of vomiting sounds immediately filled the air.

A foul stench filled people's nostrils.

Even generals like Xiahou Dun and Hua Xiong were deathly pale.

Cao Cao, on the other hand, did not show any change in expression.

Because it's so dark, no one can tell.

"This Li Wenyou is really..."

Seeing the devastation in Keluo City, Cao Cao couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.

If you think Li Ru was ruthless, he was clearing obstacles for himself and preventing casualties among the Han army; if you think his massacre of the city was against the natural order, he did it to preserve the reputation of the Han army and eliminate any worries about future rule.

For the sake of the Han Dynasty, they were willing to bear the name of a butcher, and even be infamous for eternity.

In response, Cao Cao couldn't help but feel a sense of respect for Li Ru.

At the same time, several scouts who were investigating the situation also came to Cao Cao's side.

"Reporting to the General, our subordinates and others have conducted a thorough investigation of the surrounding tribes. All the people in the tribes have been slaughtered, but the tribes' food supplies have been gathered together and sealed off!"

Cao Cao nodded: "Understood. Immediately notify the supply train at the rear and have them send 50,000 men to collect the grain!"

"yes!"

The scout agreed and then sped off in the rear.

After calming himself down, Cao Cao gave the order to the messenger beside him:

"Pass down the order: the army shall immediately disperse and clear away all the corpses inside and outside the city, and gather them up for burning to prevent a plague outbreak next year!"

"yes!"

The messenger agreed and then rode away.

Soon, Cao Cao's order spread throughout the army, and the 20,000 Han soldiers and 30,000 auxiliary soldiers quickly sprang into action.

It took the 50,000-strong army two full days to clear away all the corpses inside and outside the city and then burn them in one place.

While Cao Cao sent someone to inform Liu Yu to prepare for the migration next year, he also wrote a secret report on the situation here and sent someone to take the report to Luoyang.

Just as Cao Cao was leading his army to the next city, Liu Shu, a member of his staff, approached him.

"General Cao, I have prepared a pursuit order here. Please take a look!"

Cao Cao was slightly taken aback: "A pursuit order?"

Liu Shu said solemnly, "That's right. The Xiongnu and Xianbei have plundered Kangju and slaughtered the people. Their crimes are heinous. Our Han army is determined to exterminate them and uphold justice!"

This proclamation is hereby issued and distributed to all neighboring countries to ensure their cooperation with the Han army's actions!

"this……"

Upon hearing Liu Shu's words, even Cao Cao hesitated for a moment.

One minute they're joining forces for an expedition, the next they're issuing a pursuit order to distance themselves. This is certainly inappropriate.

Seeing Cao Cao's hesitant look, Liu Shu stepped forward and whispered, "General, this is all Wen You's idea. Otherwise, our Han army will have no legitimate reason to advance westward!"

"Sigh~ Alright, I'll leave this to you!"

Upon hearing that it was Li Ru's idea, Cao Cao no longer hesitated and handed the pursuit order back to Liu Shu.

"This humble servant takes his leave!"

After leaving the main tent, Liu Shu gathered all the literate men in the army together and began copying the contents of the pursuit order.

Then, convoys of fast horses, carrying orders to pursue, galloped off in all directions.