To strike unexpectedly and catch the enemy off guard! This is the ultimate principle of military strategy!

If we act quickly enough, before the Xianbei can react, we can strike swiftly, burn their supplies, slaughter their remaining troops, and then quickly retreat along the predetermined river valley path.

If this battle succeeds, it will severely damage the morale of the Xianbei, deterring them from invading our borders for a short period. Furthermore, it will allow us to capture a large quantity of their supplies and livestock, relieving our immediate crisis.

Li Ru turned to Wugu Lu: "Chief! This is a do-or-die opportunity to turn the tide!"

"Break the boats and burn the boats... turn the tide..."

Wugu Lu muttered to himself, his mind constantly replaying the events of the past few years.

Since the Xianbei began their invasion, the Wuhuan tribe had focused all their energy on dealing with the Xianbei, and had almost no opportunity to raid the Han border. As a result, the tribe had not received any key supplies to recuperate for a long time.

During the battles against the Xianbei, although there were occasional victories, they were all minor ones, with little gain and frequent losses of soldiers and generals.

If this continues, these people will probably be slowly worn down and die.

Rather than continuing like this, we might as well take a gamble!

Thinking of this, Wugu Lu slapped his thigh, making the wine bowl on the low table jump: "Good! Well said, the swords of my Wuhuan warriors are not dull yet!"

As Mr. Li suggested, immediately gather all the men who can ride horses, and head to Baima River!

This time, we must show Tanshihuai who the real wolf of the grasslands is!

His rough roar echoed in the tent, carrying a hint of madness.

Batu opened his mouth, looking at the reckless, bloodthirsty light in Wugulu's eyes, and then at Li Ru's pale profile in the shadow of the charcoal fire. A chill suddenly ran from the soles of his feet up his spine.

He ultimately said nothing, only dejectedly lowering his head.

The other generals in the tent were also moved by their leader's resoluteness and the "splendid scene" described by Li Ru, and a fierce glint of despair rekindled in their eyes.

The rallying cry sounded mournfully amidst the howling wind and snow.

The night was as dark as ink, and the cold snowflakes were whipped by the wind, stinging my face.

On the edge of the Wuhuan royal court, in a corner of an abandoned, half-collapsed sheepfold, a figure huddled up, almost blending into the shadows.

Li Ru wrapped his thin old robe tighter around himself, and cautiously scanned his surroundings. Only after confirming that there was only a raging wind and snow did he slowly pull out a hard object, about the size of a thumb, sealed tightly with oilcloth and wax, from his pocket.

Then, Li Ru took out a dagger, quickly dug a small pit in the frozen ground, buried the hard object in it, and carefully covered it with loose soil and snow, smoothing out all traces.

After doing all this, he did not leave immediately. Instead, he shrank deeper into the shadow of the dilapidated mud wall of the sheepfold and waited quietly.

Time passed slowly, and after an unknown amount of time, a very faint rustling sound came from afar.

A short boy, also wrapped in a tattered fur coat, appeared near the sheepfold.

The boy seemed extremely familiar with the place. He walked straight to where Li Ru had buried the object, then squatted down, groped around in the snow for a moment, quickly dug out the small, hard object, stuffed it into his pocket without even looking at it, and disappeared into the vast snow and dark gaps in the tent in a few flashes.

Only after the figure completely disappeared did Li Ru slowly straighten up from the shadows. He glanced one last time at the brightly lit tent of Wugu Lu in the center of the royal court, silently tugged at the corner of his mouth, and then turned and disappeared into the darkness.

Meanwhile, the wax pellet that had been sent out was drifting at top speed towards the direction of the burly man in the south, amidst the howling north wind.

...

The wind and snow subsided slightly, but the sky remained overcast.

The massive mouth of the Baima River valley resembles the gaping maw of a greedy beast, stretching across the gray landscape.

On both sides are steep cliffs, as if cleaved by a knife and axe, covered with gray snow, silent and menacing.

The valley entrance was so narrow that only five or six riders could barely ride abreast. Looking inside, the deep valley was deathly silent, with only the howling wind whistling and crashing among the jagged rocks, making a mournful sound like the wailing of ghosts.

Wugu Lule stopped his horse on a relatively open snow slope outside the valley entrance, with the last five thousand cavalrymen of the Wuhuan gathered behind him.

A cold wind blew by, and the warhorses snorted restlessly, their hooves pawing impatiently at the snow. The soldiers wrapped their fur coats tightly around themselves, their faces showing the exhaustion of a long march.

Wugu Lu squinted, his hawk-like gaze fixed on the deep, silent valley entrance, a strong sense of unease rising within him.

It's too quiet.

It was eerily quiet.

This was unlike what one would expect from a strategically important flank of the Xianbei royal court. There were no scouts, no camps or smoke signals, and not even a trace of birds or beasts could be seen.

"leader……"

Batu spurred his horse closer, his face full of vigilance: "Something's not right. Could Mr. Li's judgment be wrong?"

"Or perhaps... the Xianbei had already laid an ambush?"

Batu's last few words were almost squeezed out between his teeth, filled with deep fear.

"ambush?"

Wugu Lu's heart skipped a beat, then he turned around sharply and looked at Li Ru, who was half a horse's length behind him: "Mr. Li, why is this valley so deathly silent?"

Li Ru rode on an equally thin old horse, his body slightly hunched in the cold wind, his face still calm and composed, without the slightest hint of panic.

He slowly raised his head, gazing at the towering cliffs on either side of the valley entrance. It seemed as if he had pierced through the gloomy sky and steep rocks, capturing some subtle trace that ordinary people could not perceive.

"Chief, please look!"

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