Soon, Lü Bu, along with Wang Chen and his soldiers, escorted the spoils of war, including cattle, sheep, and horses, and left the area, heading towards the Bingzhou camp.

Not long after they left, a southwest wind suddenly blew across the tribe, carrying the bloody smell of the Jingguan (a mound of corpses) towards the northwest.

Just as Lü Bu led the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry back to the Bingzhou camp, a secret letter from Liu Hong reached Zhang Huan.

Immediately, Zhang Huan sent someone to invite Ding Yuan, the then Prefect of Jiuyuan, to the camp.

"Hiss~ Why does Your Majesty hate this Jie person so much?"

When Ding Yuan heard that the emperor was planning to completely exterminate the Jie people, he couldn't help but gasp.

Zhang Huan smiled and explained, "Besides the fact that these Jie people are inferior, the main reason is that they have sided with the Xiongnu! If our Han Dynasty does not take action to eliminate them now, there will inevitably be more people who side with the Xiongnu in the future."

"Hmm! I see. Then, I wonder what I can do?" Ding Yuan suddenly realized, and then asked.

"His Majesty does not intend to send troops directly, but plans to use salt and refined iron as a bargaining chip to get the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and others to attack the Jie people!"

"At this time, it is not appropriate for our Bingzhou camp to directly intervene, so we have no choice but to trouble your government to send someone to communicate with the grasslands!"

Ding Yuan nodded immediately, "No problem! Many buildings in Jiuyuan City do indeed need a large number of slaves for repair!"

Just as Zhang Huan and Ding Yuan were talking, a messenger with an excited expression suddenly ran in.

"Report!!"

"What is it?"

"Reporting to the General! Military Commander Lü Bu has led 5,000 Bingzhou wolf cavalry on a raid of over 200 li."

After an encounter battle and a surprise attack, the Shi Kingdom's invading Southern Xiongnu forces were annihilated in one fell swoop, with 3,000 heads taken and countless cattle, sheep and horses captured. Our army suffered only 40 dead, 10 seriously wounded, and more than 200 lightly wounded.

They also built a mound of skulls next to the Southern Xiongnu tribes as a deterrent!

"Excellent!! What a fine Lü Bu! Truly a tiger general!!"

Upon hearing the messenger's report on the battle situation, Zhang Huan immediately cheered with delight and lavished praise on Lü Bu.

"Congratulations, General! With such a valiant general in our ranks, it's only a matter of time before our Bingzhou army becomes the strongest army in the Han Dynasty!"

Ding Yuan, standing to the side, was also overjoyed. After all, the stronger the Bingzhou army was, the more stable Jiuyuan under his rule would be, and the better political achievements he could make.

Zhang Huan laughed and said, "Indeed! Haha~ The Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry achieved such a brilliant victory on their first battlefield appearance, actually winning a decisive battle and even building the capital..."

Zhang Huan's laughter abruptly stopped at the end, and he realized what was happening. He then stared wide-eyed at the messenger.

"You just said that Fengxian built a mound of skulls for them??"

The messenger was taken aback and said, "Uh... yes, General."

"Hiss~"

Zhang Huan and Ding Yuan exchanged a glance, then gasped in shock.

The construction of Jingguan (a mound of skulls) has always been a way for countries to deter their enemies after war breaks out.

However, this time Lü Bu only sent troops under the pretext of rescue and did not formally declare war on the Northern Xiongnu and Jie people. Rashly building a Jingguan (a mound of corpses) for the enemy would not only fail to intimidate them, but would also give them an excuse to attack the Han Dynasty.

The most important thing, and what Zhang Huan was most worried about, was that Lü Bu's move might attract attacks from those pedantic people in the court, causing Lü Bu to be accused of provoking conflict.

Ding Yuan couldn't help but say, "This Lü Bu has some nerve! Luckily, we have the Emperor's secret letter now! Otherwise, he would have made a grave mistake!"

"Yes! Otherwise, it would really be difficult to handle!" Zhang Huan said somewhat resentfully.

Now that the emperor has sent word, it seems that those people in the court will not be able to stir up any trouble.

Forty li north of Yuyang, Huangfu Song, who had been promoted to the rank of Commandant of the Youzhou Army, was ordered to support the Southern Wuhuan and was leading five thousand Youzhou cavalry to garrison there.

Upon arriving at this place, the Youzhou cavalry, being new recruits, despite their superior weaponry, still faced a considerable disadvantage against the eight thousand invading Northern Wuhuan people.

Therefore, to avoid excessive losses, Huangfu Song always let the Southern Wuhuan people take the lead, while the Han army was responsible for flanking attacks and retreating when the enemy advanced. There was never a direct conflict with the Northern Wuhuan.

Therefore, the Northern Wuhuan people were unable to break through the two armies' defenses for a long time, and Huangfu Song and Qiuliju's troops also failed to inflict any significant casualties on the Northern Wuhuan.

Inside Yuyang City, Huang Zhong, Ma Teng, Gongsun Zan, and Gongsun Du, after traveling day and night, finally arrived.

Just as Huang Zhong and his three companions were preparing to rest for a day before heading to Huangfu Song's post the next day, a messenger from Luoyang caught up with them, carrying Liu Hong's urgent imperial edict.

After Huang Zhong and his three companions finished reading the edict, Huang Zhong immediately summoned a member of the Imperial Guard and ordered him to take Liu Hong's edict to Huangfu Song.

Huang Zhong then looked at Ma Teng and the other two and said in a deep voice, "Shoucheng, Bogui, Shengji, in my opinion, we don't need to rest anymore. We must get to Commandant Huangfu as soon as possible!"

Gongsun Du nodded and said, "Hansheng is right. His Majesty's edict is so urgent that something major must have happened elsewhere! It's good to report as soon as possible!"

"good!!"

Ma Teng and Gongsun Zan also nodded in agreement.

Immediately, the four thousand soldiers who had just arrived in Yuyang and had not yet had time to rest rushed to Huangfu Song's camp.

Although the soldiers were exhausted after traveling for more than ten days, they were the emperor's personal guard, the elite of the Han army. Everyone else could complain and cry out that they were tired, but they could not.

Inside the central command tent, Huangfu Song sat at a table, his brows furrowed as he stared at a map before him.

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