Inside the tent, the thunderous sound of horses' hooves startled the sleeping Xianbei man.

Hearing the screams of the women outside, the Xianbei men, clutching their throbbing heads, jumped up and frantically grabbed their bows and arrows, rushing out of the tent.

Looking at the Southern Wuhuan cavalry bathed in the morning light outside the camp, the Xianbei men also showed expressions of fear and confusion.

At the beginning of their southward migration, Tan Shihuai told them that the Xianbei had made peace with the Han Dynasty and the Southern Xiongnu, and that they could now peacefully herd sheep and horses.

However, this sudden attack caught them off guard and they were unable to react for a while.

Was it that the Han Dynasty and the Southern Xiongnu were dishonest, or that Tanshihuai had deceived them?

They had no idea...

Just as the Xianbei men were stunned, the Southern Xiongnu cavalry were less than half a mile away from the Xianbei tribe.

As the Xianbei men turned around and frantically nocked their arrows, the Southern Xiongnu soldiers had already stormed into the undefended camp.

Lu Bu, who was charging at the forefront, only slightly tugged the reins, and his Red Hare instantly reared up on its front hooves. Then, with a powerful push of its hind hooves, it easily leaped over the fence, and its large front hooves landed directly on the chest of a Xianbei man.

Lu Bu thrust his halberd forward, sending a Xianbei man who had already nocked an arrow flying.

One man and one horse, and a double kill...

Yufuluo, who was behind, also sent 10,000 men to surround the tribe from the north and south after they rushed into the camp, so as to prevent anyone from escaping and revealing their whereabouts.

After killing several people, Lü Bu reined in his horse and stopped fighting, beginning to carefully observe the battle between the Southern Xiongnu and the Xianbei.

At this time, after his training in the Imperial Guard and several raids on the northern grasslands, Lü Bu was no longer as obsessed with personally charging into battle as before. Instead, he constantly recorded the weaknesses and strengths of the Xianbei people from the battles between the two sides.

Although these Xianbei people appeared somewhat flustered at the beginning of the surprise attack, they quickly organized effective counterattacks in twos and threes.

"Perhaps this is an instinct they've developed long ago from living freely in harsh environments..."

After observing for a long time, Lü Bu made his assessment of the Xianbei people while secretly devising a counter-tactic.

Yufuluo, along with his men, charged and fought their way through the chaotic tribe.

"Lay down your weapons and surrender obediently! Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy!!"

Yufuluo brandished his lance and roared at the top of his lungs.

Under Yufuluo's personal leadership, the Southern Xiongnu soldiers were in high spirits, slaughtering every Xianbei man who dared to resist.

As the sun rose fully, the bloody massacre was nearing its end. After killing more than a thousand Xianbei men, the remaining Xianbei all chose to surrender.

Subsequently, under Lü Bu's command, the wolf riders and the Southern Wuhuan soldiers selected a batch of good horses from the tribe's horse herds for use as replacements.

Just as the Southern Wuhuan soldiers were busy cleaning up the battlefield, a Xianbei scout appeared behind a hill about twenty miles north of the tribe.

Gazing at the Southern Xiongnu people in the tribe from afar, the scout observed for only a moment before turning and galloping north.

Before long, the battlefield was cleaned up, and the remaining four thousand or so Xianbei people in the tribe had their hands bound. They were then organized into long lines of one hundred people each.

"Yufuluo, send a thousand men to escort these slaves back to the Great Wall. Also, instruct them to return immediately after handing the slaves over to the Han. The rest of you, follow me on this journey!"

"Yes, brother!!"

Yufuluo loudly agreed and then began to make arrangements according to Lü Bu's instructions.

"Set off!!"

Once everything was ready, at Lü Bu's command, the Southern Xiongnu army left the tribe and continued northward.

In mid-June, the temperature on the grasslands was not much lower than in the inner prefectures of the Han Dynasty. By afternoon, the Southern Xiongnu soldiers, who had been on a long march, were already drenched in sweat.

About half an hour later, following the terrain he remembered, Lü Bu led the Southern Xiongnu soldiers to a tribe stationed at the foot of the mountain.

This tribe is relatively small, with only about three thousand people.

Faced with the surprise attack of the Southern Xiongnu, this small tribe could not even hold out for half a quarter of an hour before it was captured.

After silently calculating the location and distance of the next tribe, Lü Bu ordered his army to rest there.

He worried that if his side moved too fast, the other two routes of the Southern Xiongnu would become separated from this side and thus escape the encirclement and annihilation by the Xianbei.

As the night passed, it wasn't until the sun had fully risen the next day that Lü Bu ordered the troops to assemble, and then they rushed towards the next tribe.

Just as Lü Bu and his men were on their way, the scouts sent out by Tan Shihuai also relayed the news back to Tanhan Mountain.

"Haha~, good, these Southern Xiongnu are courting death!"

Upon learning that the Southern Xiongnu had mobilized an army of 50,000 and had divided their forces into three routes, Tan Shihuai couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The original plan was to inflict heavy losses on the Southern Xiongnu, but unexpectedly, the Southern Xiongnu mobilized their entire force.

Such an opportunity to annihilate the enemy is extremely rare.

"Mr. Wen, what do you think we should do next?"

After laughing, Tan Shihuai turned his gaze to Li Ru beside him and asked about the next move.

Li Ru thought for a moment, and then said, "The Great Chieftain should dispatch 40,000 elite Gaoliu troops, divided into two routes, to attack the left and right routes of the Southern Xiongnu."

"And you should personally lead the remaining 30,000 cavalry to attack Lü Bu and Yufuluo's forces in the central route."

"Hmph, that's utter nonsense!"

As soon as Li Ru finished speaking, Han Sui, who was standing to the side, snorted coldly and retorted:

"Lu Bu is brave and fierce, and Yufuluo's troops are the elite of the Southern Xiongnu. How can 30,000 ordinary cavalrymen annihilate them?"

"Young Master Wen now intends to have the Great Chief divide his strong forces to attack the other two routes, using weaker troops to attack the enemy's stronger forces. What is his true intention?"

Upon hearing Han Sui's words, the Xianbei leaders in the hall began to discuss among themselves.

Even Tan Shihua frowned imperceptibly.

Tan Shihuai also liked Han Sui's suggestion.

After all, it was Lu Bu and the elite troops under Yufuluo who were the biggest headache for him.

To annihilate them completely, we must deploy our elite Takayanagi troops. Ordinary cavalry, let alone encircle and annihilate them, would be lucky to avoid being broken through.

"Mr. Wen, could you please explain the reasoning behind this arrangement?"

After much deliberation, Tan Shihuai decided to first ascertain the purpose behind Li Ru's suggestion.

In Tan Shihuai's view, Li Ru's talent was genuine and he shouldn't make such a basic mistake.

"Has the Great Chief ever heard the story of Tian Ji's horse race?"

Li Ru smiled and, instead of directly answering Tan Shihuai's question, asked about a historical anecdote.

"Of course I've heard of that. Back then, Tian Ji had a horse race with King Wei of Qi, but none of Tian Ji's three horses could outrun his opponent. So Sun Bin suggested that they switch the positions of the three horses, using the weakest one first to wear down the opponent's strongest one..."