Qian Lai smiled and explained, "Great sir, you misunderstand. When I said 'beat,' I didn't mean you, but rather those chieftains who outwardly obeyed you while inwardly defying you, and those who came from Shaohe to join you."

"kindness?"

Ma Yi was slightly taken aback, then thought of those tribal leaders who retreated when fighting but rushed forward when robbing for money.

Ma Yi couldn't help but ask, "But do they have the courage to fight the Han army?"

"My lord, please take a look at this!"

Then Qian Lai took out another slip of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Ma Yi.

As Ma Yi took the note, he glanced at Qian Lai's cuff, wondering how much he had hidden there!

"What are the Han army up to? They're blatantly robbing those chieftains and then distributing their wealth to those lowly people?"

Ma Yi was somewhat bewildered by the information on the note; he really didn't quite understand the Han army's actions.

The reason Ma Yi didn't raid and burn the He tribes in the first place was because he was worried that the chieftains would unite against him. But the Han army didn't care about that. Weren't they afraid of causing panic among the other tribes and then uniting against them?

Qian Lai thought for a moment, then said, "It's probably to win people over. After all, the big shots just defeated them, which gave them an opportunity to take advantage!"

Ma Yi asked, puzzled, "If you want to win people's hearts, you should win over the leaders. What's the use of winning over those lowly people?"

Qian Lai smiled. "Perhaps their attempts to win them over failed, which is why the Han army became angry and embarrassed. They were also worried that those lowly people would cause trouble, so they distributed their wealth to those lowly people to appease them. After all, the Han and the Qiang are two different groups!"

"Heh~"

Ma Yi couldn't help but chuckle. "What kind of people are those lowly commoners? The Han army tries to win them over and appease them for a long time, but after they leave, those lowly commoners will still become our property."

"What the great man said is right. The Han army's actions can be seen as helping the great man get rid of those people."

Qian Lai then continued, "Moreover, after the Han army retreats, those lowly people and their possessions, cattle and sheep will all become ownerless. I believe that given their greed, they will not be able to resist."

"Brilliant! Guard Qian is indeed a rare talent!"

Upon hearing Qian Lai's analysis, Ma Yi's eyes lit up, and an excited expression appeared on his face. He then said:

“Those greedy fellows are no match for the Han army. Once they suffer a defeat, I will have a reason to kill them and take over their tribes. At the same time, I can use this defeat to ask Beigong Boyu for money.”

"Most importantly, the Han army has retreated, and the various tribes of Shaohe are now leaderless. Then the entire Shaohe region will be mine, hahaha~"

Ma Yi became more and more excited as he thought about it, and couldn't help but burst into laughter. At the same time, his gaze toward Qian Lai became increasingly fiery.

A person who can devise a plan that kills three birds with one stone will greatly help him realize his ambitions in the future.