He Lian panicked when he learned that the Han dynasty had rejected his peace offer and hadn't even bothered to mention any conditions.
He did consider escaping, but leading tens of thousands of defeated soldiers away safely was virtually impossible.
Upon hearing He Lian's question, Li Ru stepped forward and looked at the envoy: "Tell me again, in detail, the scene and conversation you had with the Emperor of Han!"
"Yes, sir!"
The envoy respectfully agreed, then said slowly, "The Emperor of Han received me at the Juyan Prefectural Governor's residence. At that time, he was wearing a black imperial robe..."
The messenger then described in detail the scene, Liu Hong's words, actions, and expressions.
As Li Ru listened, he appeared deep in thought.
After the envoy finished speaking, Li Ru's solemn expression eased.
"Sir, do you have any good ideas?"
Seeing Li Ru's appearance, He Lian hurriedly asked.
Li Ru nodded: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, there is still room for maneuver in this matter."
"Oh? Please sit down and tell me in detail, sir!"
He Lian's expression changed, and he quickly pulled Li Ru to sit next to him.
After taking his seat, Li Ru immediately said, "Your Majesty, I have just discovered three suspicious points."
Firstly, the Han emperor would only wear the black robe when performing sacrifices or receiving envoys from other countries, which shows that the Han emperor recognized your identity.
Secondly, the Han emperor only mentioned the Xianbei's past offenses against the Han, but made no mention of this war, indicating that what truly angered him were the Han people who had suffered in the past.
Thirdly, the Han general's statement that he was giving them five days to reorganize their troops for a decisive battle indicates that the Han army's objective was not to annihilate them.
"What you say makes sense, sir. With the strength of the Han army, they could have easily crushed and annihilated our army yesterday, but they chose to withdraw. It is indeed unbelievable!"
After listening to Li Ru's analysis, He Lian nodded in agreement.
Li Ru said solemnly, "Therefore, I believe that the reason why the Emperor of Han refused this peace request is to put pressure on Your Majesty and then propose a condition that you may not be able to accept!"
He Lian was slightly taken aback: "What are the conditions?"
"Just now I noticed that the Emperor of Han said something. He said that the only condition of the Han Dynasty was that my tribe disappear from this grassland. Perhaps this 'disappearance' is his real purpose."
In the end, Li Ru's tone became very solemn, emphasizing the word "disappeared".
"What do you mean by that, sir?"
Despite Li Ru's clear explanation, He Lian was still somewhat confused.
Li Ru didn't say much to He Lian, whose intelligence was somewhat questionable. Instead, he explained, "Young master only understands the surface meaning. In fact, the true intention of the Han emperor should be for our tribe to move away from the grasslands and flee to another place!"
"Move away from the grasslands?"
He Lian was slightly taken aback: "Sir, do you mean that the Han Dynasty wants us to go west, just like Xie Zhiyu?"
"good!"
Li Ru nodded and said in a deep voice, "In the eyes of the Han Dynasty, the grasslands are vast. Even if our tribe is defeated now, as long as a small part of them escapes back to the grasslands, they will surely rise again in the future and threaten the borders of the Han Dynasty."
The only way to eliminate any worries is to drive all of my people away from this grassland, and then have the people of the Han Dynasty replace the grassland people in herding sheep and horses.
"I never expected that the big man had this as his plan!"
After listening to Li Ru's words, He Lian finally understood.
"It is clear that the emperor of Han has a very long-term vision. He is not concerned with short-term gains, but rather with things that will happen ten or even several decades from now."
Such figures, relying on the mighty power of the Han Dynasty, are far beyond our ability to contend with.
Li Ru sighed, a helpless expression appearing on his face, implying to He Lian that he had no better ideas.
Seeing that even the usually confident and composed Li Ru looked helpless, He Lian's expression immediately turned ugly.
"But sir, we live freely on this grassland. How will we survive after we migrate west? How will we fulfill our father's dying wish to strengthen the Xianbei?"
Li Ru sighed softly: "Your Majesty, the Yuezhi, who were driven from the grasslands by the Xiongnu, were able to survive and establish a state after migrating westward. Our tribe can certainly do the same."
Furthermore, the most important thing right now is to save the lives of these tens of thousands of soldiers. As long as these tens of thousands of soldiers are alive, we still have a chance to fulfill the late king's last wish.
If the person is gone, then you have nothing left!
"this……"
Hearing this, He Lian was speechless.
This expedition has essentially drained the Xianbei of all their able-bodied men. If most of them die here, it's uncertain when they will be able to rise again.
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!!"
Just then, a Xianbei soldier suddenly ran in with a panicked expression.
"What's the matter that you're in such a panic?" He shouted angrily at the soldier who had suddenly barged in.
The soldier swallowed hard and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, the Han army...the Han army has left the city and is heading straight for our camp!"
"What?"
Upon hearing this, He Lian jumped to his feet, looking out of the tent with a panicked expression.
"Sir, is the Han army getting impatient and about to make their move?"
"Your Majesty, please calm down!"
Li Ru then stood up and looked at the soldier: "How fast is the Han army advancing? How many troops have they deployed?"
The soldier replied, "They are moving very slowly. There are about 40,000 cavalrymen, followed by many infantrymen and civilians!"
Li Ru thought for a moment, then turned to He Lian and said, "Your Majesty, it seems the Han army is putting pressure on you again. If I'm not mistaken, they will definitely set up camp not far away and keep a close eye on our army!"
"this……"
He Lian's expression turned panicked: "Should we retreat?"
Li Ru shook his head: "It's no use. If we retreat, they will follow. If they mistakenly think that our army is trying to escape and launch an attack, that would be bad!"
Right now, all we need to do is instruct the soldiers not to panic and not to leave the camp without permission!
"Sigh, that's all we can do!" He sighed and nodded helplessly.
Soon, He Lian's orders were relayed.
Although He Lian's orders stated that the Han army would not attack them, the Xianbei soldiers were still terrified.
Looking at the Han soldiers, tall and strong, in bright armor, five miles away, the Xianbei soldiers in the camp couldn't help but feel panicked, as if they were being crushed by an invisible mountain, making it hard to breathe.
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