Inside the military tent at Gaoping, Han soldiers gathered, with Duan Jiong seated in the main seat.

Soon, two Han soldiers brought in a young man.

"You are the son of Dianmu, Dianxian?"

"The defeated general is none other than Dian Xian."

Dian Xian did not deny his identity. His words were neither sad nor happy, but rather bland. He neither begged for his life nor showed any hatred because Duan Jiong was his father's killer.

Looking at the young man in front of him, Duan Jiong frowned slightly. He felt that this young man was very dangerous. It was not hard to tell from his behavior that he was a more difficult person to deal with than Dian Mu.

"Take him away. Tomorrow, when the army sets off, behead him as a sacrifice to the flag."

Duan Jiong then waved his hand, and two soldiers took Dian Xian away.

"Tian Yan, make arrangements tonight to help this Dian Xian escape."

"Yes, sir!" Tian Yan accepted the order and then went to make the arrangements.

"General, we finally managed to capture him, why let him escape...?"

Guo Si was somewhat confused, and Dong Zhuo, standing beside him, also looked at Duan Jiong with a puzzled expression.

"I have my own reasons, and you will understand when the time comes." Duan Jiong did not state the reason directly, but looked at Dong Zhuo and said, "Zhongying, go and bring that Shehetai in."

"promise!"

Dong Zhuo nodded and walked outside.

Soon, Shehetai, timid and hesitant, followed Dong Zhuo step by step into the military tent.

Duan Jiong revealed a slight smile: "Shehetai?"

"Reporting to the General, I am Shehetai,"

Shehetai immediately knelt down, speaking haltingly, whether from excitement or fear, it was unclear.

"Hmm~ You performed well today. If it weren't for your sudden realization and defection, our army would have had a much harder time winning!"

"General, you flatter me. All of this is the result of your strategic planning and the extraordinary bravery of the Han army."

That Dianmu is courting death, daring to defy the Emperor and offend the might of the Han Dynasty. Heaven intends to destroy him; I am merely following Heaven's will and do not deserve such praise from you, General.

Shehetai's words were eloquent and righteous, as if the dead were not his Qiang compatriots, but his mortal enemies. However, from Shehetai's perspective, Dianmu was indeed his great enemy.

"Regardless, you have made contributions. Those who have made contributions must be rewarded. This is the rule set by His Majesty. I will report your contributions to His Majesty truthfully!"

Although he disliked Shehetai intensely, Duan Jiong still put on a friendly demeanor and continued, "Until His Majesty's bestowal of honors arrives, the Xianling Qiang tribes will be temporarily managed by your tribe!"

Upon hearing this, Shehetai was overjoyed. "Thank you, General. I will definitely restrain the Xianling Qiang tribes when I return and guard the border for the Han Dynasty. I will never betray them in this life."

Duan Jiong nodded in satisfaction. "It's rare that you have such a kind intention. Take your men back."

Upon hearing this, Shehetai stood up, bowed, and backed to the entrance of the military tent before turning around and walking out.

"General, with just that scoundrel Shehetai and his rabble, I'm afraid it will be difficult to unite the various Xianling Qiang tribes, won't it?"

Looking at the retreating Shehetai, Dong Zhuo looked at Duan Jiong with some confusion.

Duan Jiong sneered, "Hmph~ I know he can't do it, so I'll still help him out."

Seeing the bewildered looks on the faces of the generals in the tent, Duan Jiong sighed helplessly. These men were good at killing enemies, but they didn't like to use their brains.

"For many years, the various tribes of the Xianling Qiang have repeatedly surrendered and then rebelled again. Do you know why this is?"

Upon hearing Duan Jiong's question, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Dong Zhuo thought for a moment and then said, "The Qiang region is bitterly cold and lacks resources, making it difficult to support their people. That is why they frequently raid the border regions of our Han Dynasty."

"Yes, Zhongying is right, but that's not the most important thing."

"Oh? Please enlighten me, General!"

Looking at the eager expressions of his generals, Duan Jiong nodded with great enjoyment: "The main reason is that the power of the various tribes of Xianling Qiang is unbalanced. In recent years, the tribes of Dianmu have been annexing other tribes and have almost reached unification."

Therefore, at Dianmu's command, all the small and medium-sized tribes of the Xianling Qiang obeyed without question. Thus, a unified Xianling Qiang is not a good thing for our Han Dynasty.

Upon hearing this, Dong Zhuo's eyes lit up, and he said loudly, "That Shehetai is just the leader of a small tribe. He has neither prestige nor strength and cannot command the respect of the people. That's why you let him go back and support him in conquering other Xianling Qiang tribes. In this way, the Xianling Qiang tribes will fall into endless chaos and will no longer be able to invade our Han Dynasty."

"Not bad, it seems Zhongying has made a lot of progress recently!"

Duan Jiong smiled and nodded, acknowledging Dong Zhuo's guess.

"Hehe~ It's all thanks to the general's guidance."

"Haha~ Haha. I never expected Zhongying to be so humble."

The generals burst into laughter.

"Alright, this battle has been a great victory. The Qiang people are no longer able to invade. The border is temporarily at peace, but we cannot let our guard down."

Thinking of the contents of Chen Fan's letter to him, Duan Jiong suddenly felt that those guys in the court were really cunning. He was just killing people, but they not only killed people, but also made the victims gleefully stick their heads out.

Then Duan Jiong looked at the military officers and said, "Immediately record the details of this battle and send it to His Majesty via express mail, which will cover eight hundred li."

"promise!"

The military commander shouted loudly and then turned and left.

Guo Si stepped forward and asked hesitantly, "General, what should be done with these Qiang prisoners?"

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