A cool morning breeze blew by, and Cao Cao, who had stepped out of the tent, stretched lazily with a contented look on his face.
"General Cao, we've been here for a day and a night, and He Lian and the others are catching up quickly!" Qiu Liju said with a worried expression as he approached.
"What are you afraid of? We're not here to fight a war!"
Cao Cao said something without a care, and then began practicing the Five Animal Frolics, a exercise often practiced by the emperor.
Seeing this, Qiu Liju's worries dissipated considerably.
Through this period of contact, he also knew that Cao Cao was a wise and shrewd person who would surely achieve great things in the future. With such a person by his side, he didn't need to worry too much.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Cao Cao finally finished his training.
"Report!!"
Just then, a scout on horseback hurriedly ran up to Cao Cao.
"Reporting to General Cao, the ten thousand men from Helian are less than twenty li away from here."
"They arrived really fast!"
Cao Cao chuckled lightly, then looked at Qiu Liju: "Order the entire army to assemble!!"
"yes!"
Qiu Liju nodded heavily.
Soon, the sound of horns echoed throughout the camp.
Upon hearing the bugle call, the Wuhuan soldiers who were sleeping with women in their arms inside the tent pushed the women away and ran out with their clothes in their hands.
After much dawdling, the troops finally assembled, but Cao Cao didn't say much about it.
These Wuhuan cavalry, after all, were not Han soldiers and had not received emergency assembly training. It was enough that they were able to assemble before Helian and his men charged over.
At this time, He Lian's 10,000 troops were only five miles away from Cao Cao and his men.
"Faster, faster!!"
Seeing the Wuhuan cavalry already assembled in the tribe, He Lian's face grew anxious, and he kept vigorously waving his horsewhip.
"withdraw!!"
Turning his head to look at the approaching Helian in the distance, Cao Cao smiled slightly, then mounted his horse and rode south.
Qiuliju led five thousand Wuhuan cavalrymen, closely following Cao Cao as he galloped away.
"Damn it, chase them! Kill those bastards!"
Seeing the Wuhuan cavalry fleeing south, He Lian also lost his mind and led his soldiers to turn around and chase after them south.
Having marched day and night for so long, and finally managed to catch a glimpse of the enemy, no one would just watch them escape.
Unfortunately, after several days of continuous travel, both the soldiers and the warhorses under He Lian's command were exhausted, and their speed could not be increased.
On the other hand, Cao Cao's side, having rested for a day and a night, was full of energy, and the distance between the two sides continued to widen.
Half an hour later, Cao Cao and his men completely disappeared from He Lian's sight.
"Hoo hoo~, these damn bastards, don't... don't let me catch you!"
He Lian, who had stopped, was panting heavily and cursing incessantly, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the distant horizon.
Li Ru, who was standing to the side, rode forward and said in a deep voice, "Young Master, now that those people have fled, you can finally give the King an explanation. Right now, we should return to the royal court first and deal with those Han powerful figures..."
If this drags on too long, and we allow them to continue their antics, I fear the Xianbei people will truly become disloyal to our king!
"Sir, you're right. Let's go!"
He Lian nodded and then led his team toward Tanhan Mountain.
Shortly after He Lian led his army away, a cavalry unit of three hundred men emerged from a distant forest. All of them were dressed in the uniforms of Tan Shihuai's personal guards.
This team was the one sent by Chen Gong and the Detective Division to sow discord between Tan Shihuai and other tribes.
After entering Xianbei territory, they launched surprise attacks on more than a dozen small tribes. Each time, they deliberately provoked trouble, then wantonly plundered and killed the Xianbei herders, leaving a few behind.
The tribes that Cao Cao and He Lian encountered and were slaughtered were only a part of the many.
Just as the group was moving forward, a scout caught up from behind and found the leader of the group.
"Report: Some of the surrounding tribes have already left the pastures and migrated south, while the rest are also making preparations for migration."
"Haha~, great!"
Naqu laughed loudly, then turned to one of his subordinates and instructed, "You must go to Juyan immediately and report the situation to Commander Jia, so that they can prepare to receive the Xianbei herdsmen!"
"Here you go!"
His subordinates responded loudly, and immediately spurred their horses southward.
"Brothers, let's retreat!!"
After his men left, Qu Chang shouted a command and led everyone toward the direction of Yunzhong.
On the other side, Cao Cao's Wuhuan cavalry ran for more than a hundred miles before stopping.
Qiu Liju caught his breath and stepped forward to ask, "General Cao, He Lian has been shaken off. Which route should we take to get back?"
Cao Cao looked southwest and said, "Let's not take any other route, let's go to Juyan!"
"Juyan?"
Qiu Liju was slightly taken aback: "What are you going there for?"
You'll see when you get there!
Cao Cao smiled, offered no explanation, then flicked his whip and spurred his horse toward Juyan.
As a trusted confidant of the emperor, Cao Cao naturally knew about Liu Hong's scheme long ago.
The reason he took the initiative to harass Tanshihuai's lair was because it was very close to Juyan. Now that a great battle was imminent, he had a reason to go there without permission.
Cao Cao felt he absolutely had to go and join in the excitement of this epic battle that was about to begin.
June 10th.
At this time, two days had passed since Liu Hong arrived in Juyan.
Inside the prefectural governor's residence, Jia Xu, carrying a message, found Liu Hong.
"Your Majesty, according to the report from the Investigation Bureau, Chen Gong, the magistrate of Wuquan County, dispatched a small team of three hundred men who disguised themselves as Tan Shihuai's personal guards and successfully stirred up discord among the Xianbei tribes. Those outlying tribes are now beginning to migrate towards the Han Dynasty...!"
According to statistics, once all these peripheral tribes are incorporated into the Han Dynasty, the population of the Tanshihuai Royal Court tribe will not exceed 150,000 at most...
At that time, a single large army can be dispatched to sweep through the royal court of Danhan Mountain.
"Your Majesty, this Chen Gongtai is truly extraordinary. He managed to accomplish something that even an army of 100,000 couldn't do with just 300 men. He's really impressive..."
Even Jia Xu couldn't help but praise Chen Gong's strategies.
Liu Hong smiled and said, "The palace's scheme is indeed brilliant, but the real reason is still the will of the people."
Tan Shihuai considered himself a hero, dreaming of leading the Xianbei to unprecedented heights. However, he neglected the needs of the grassroots herders, using slogans such as so-called glory and future to take whatever they wanted from them, but rarely bringing them anything in reality.
Even those herders, accustomed to oppression, had long harbored resentment.
"This incident was merely the last straw that broke the camel's back..."
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