Zhang Liao and his eight hundred cavalrymen were welcomed into the city by Ding Yuan and Zhang Yang.

The soldiers wept with joy and gathered around him.

Ding Yuan was surprised to find Zhang Liao there, but not Lü Bu, so he anxiously asked:

"Wen Yuan, why did you come back alone? Where's Feng Xian?"

"These eight hundred cavalrymen are well-equipped and very strong. When did Yanmen Pass acquire such elite troops?"

Zhang Yang looked at the cavalry with envy.

He is now a subordinate marquis under Ding Yuan, in charge of only one hundred cavalrymen.

Zhang Liao led eight hundred cavalrymen in a formidable display of power, routing two thousand Xiongnu outside the city who fled in disarray, abandoning their armor and weapons.

How could this not be considered envious and boastful?

“My lord, Fengxian and I parted ways at the fork in the road. He went to Yanmen, and I went to Shanwu!” Zhang Liao said truthfully.

"Is there no good?"

Ding Yuan was startled, "Then these cavalry..."

"That's right, this is the Marquis's army!"

Zhang Liao, still young at heart, couldn't suppress his pride. "Your Excellency has four thousand cavalrymen like this!"

The use of the title "Lord Marquis" in his speech indicated exceptional respect.

hiss!

Four thousand elite cavalry!

Ding Yuan gasped.

"Does this prince really have such an elite army?"

"Um!"

Zhang Liao thought for a moment, but didn't mention that Liu Wei also had elite infantry units such as the sword and shield battalion, the archer battalion, and the spear battalion—the best of the Han army's best.

Of course, he held back, and didn't mention that Liu Wei had just wiped out 40,000 to 50,000 troops under the command of the Southern Xiongnu Chanyu Qiangqu with a single flood.

Even the Qiangqu Chanyu is dead!

If this were said aloud, it would definitely leave Ding Yuan and Zhang Yang speechless.

The Southern Xiongnu Chanyu died, and tens of thousands of Xiongnu cavalry were killed.

If such a major event were to reach Luoyang, it would be like a nuclear explosion.

"So, this prince really is going to reclaim the four prefectures of Yunzhong?" Ding Yuan murmured.

"My lord, now that Wen Yuan has arrived, let's put aside these matters for now and break through the encirclement while the Xiongnu are escaping!"

Zhang Yang ignored these warnings and anxiously tried to dissuade him.

Zhang Liao also said, "My lord, I will escort you!"

"On my way here, I passed by the Xiongnu camp, and a large number of Xiongnu cavalry followed me!"

"If we head east to Yanmen Pass, we'll probably run into the Xiongnu."

"Let's head towards Luo County first, then head south to Pianguan!"

"good!"

Ding Yuan nodded, "Then leave a secret signal here, so even if Fengxian arrives, he'll know we've safely evacuated!"

"Salt, iron, supplies, and armor..."

"Brother Jianyang, retreat is the priority. Hide these supplies here for now, and we'll come back for them another day!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yang quickly advised, "Even if the Xiongnu come again, they won't suspect that these supplies are still here when they see us retreat!"

He was afraid that Ding Yuan might act impulsively and ask everyone to lead him away again.

If it weren't for these burdensome salt and iron, they would have broken through long ago.

"Very well! Let's do as Uncle Zhi suggests and hide here!"

Ding Yuan agreed to Zhang Yang's suggestion, "Wen Yuan, what about this cavalry unit..."

"Come with us, until we escort the master to the side pass!"

Ding Yuan glanced at Zhang Liao and suddenly realized that Zhang Liao didn't seem as close to him as before!

Previously, Zhang Liao always addressed himself as "subordinate," but from the moment he saw Ding Yuan again, he never called him that again.

Could it be...?

"We'll depart in half an hour!"

The most important thing now is to break through and get out of here as soon as possible; Ding Yuan didn't think about that anymore!

Half an hour later!

Zhang Yang had already hidden the 50,000 catties of pig iron, 10,000 catties of coarse salt, and 1,000 sets of armor in a dry well, and then retreated to cover them with an earthen wall.

After the remaining six hundred-odd soldiers from Bingzhou ate the rations distributed by Zhang Liao, they lined up and set off.

Zhang Liao seized many warhorses from the fleeing Xiongnu and handed them over to Ding Yuan, Zhang Yang, and others.

Eight hundred cavalrymen led the way, and the group marched out of the ruined city and headed southwest!

Before long, six or seven thousand cavalrymen appeared outside the ruined city!

"Grand Commandant, they've escaped!"

After a cavalry unit went to scout the ruined city, they quickly reported back to the Left Grand Commandant.

"They slipped away so fast!"

The Left Grand Commandant cursed angrily.

He was ambushed by Zhang Liao last night, who passed through his camp, and he felt deeply humiliated.

The next morning, they assembled their troops and gave chase, only to find that they had found nothing there!

"What happened! Shi Tu Gu still had two thousand soldiers, how come they're all gone?"

Immediately, the Left Grand Commandant frowned.

The place was completely clean, not even a single corpse was left. This is unbelievable!

Even if that thousand cavalrymen came to relieve the siege last night, the thousand-strong cavalry commander in charge of the siege here, no matter how weak he is, should be able to hold them off for a while!

Little did he know that Zhang Yang and his men buried the Xiongnu people along with their comrades' bodies.

Tell me, are you particular or not?

The 1,000-man cavalry commander named Shi Tu Gu did indeed flee.

Fearing defeat and execution by the Left Grand Commandant, he fled with his thousand men, disappearing without a trace.

"Grand Commandant, they must be heading back to Bingzhou towards Pianguan."

One of the thousand-man cavalry commanders said, "Could it be that Shi Tu Gu led troops to pursue them?"

Should we give chase?

The Left Grand Commandant was even more frustrated.

Those tens of thousands of kilograms of salt and iron were probably taken away by them too!

"Forget chasing the ball, let's go back to Meiji! Qiangqu Chanyu is gone, but Zuo Guli King is still in Meiji guarding a bunch of women and children!"

"If we don't go back soon, our wives and children will become prisoners of the Han people!"

"That useless Corpse Bone, let's just ignore him and let him fend for himself."

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