Just as Zhang Qiao had finished cleaning up the battlefield, Ma Yi led his 10,000 cavalry to a location more than ten miles away from the battlefield.
"Report!!"
Just as they were on their way, the scout that Ma Yi had sent out to gather information ran back in a panic.
Ma Yi asked urgently, "What happened?"
"Reporting to the Great Lord, the tribal leaders have encountered the Han army ten miles ahead!"
Ma Yi's expression shifted, and he asked, "Hmm? How's the battle going?"
"Reporting to Your Excellency, the battle lasted less than half a quarter of an hour before the Han army routed all the tribal leaders, killing more than two thousand and capturing almost all the rest!"
After he finished speaking, the scout couldn't help but swallow hard. He was truly terrified by the Han army's terrifying fighting power.
Ma Yi was also extremely shocked, and then asked urgently, "What about the Han army? What are their casualties?"
The scout thought for a moment and then said, "Judging from their numbers, their casualties should be around five hundred!"
"This...how is this possible??"
Ma Yi stared wide-eyed, mouth agape, eyes bulging in disbelief.
He simply couldn't imagine that the allied forces, composed of tribal leaders and their most elite personal guards, could be so easily defeated by the Han army in a direct confrontation.
Even if it were seven thousand stupid sheep, the Han army couldn't possibly kill and capture them so quickly, could they?
"Let's go, speed up!!"
While Ma Yi was shocked, he also felt a sense of fear and hurriedly urged his soldiers to rush towards the battlefield.
Their movements were also observed by the Han army scouts.
"Report!! General, Ma Yi's troops have suddenly increased their marching speed and are heading towards us!"
"Hmph~ We've finally been waiting for him."
Zhang Qiao sneered, then looked at the Qiang prisoners and said loudly, "Your reinforcements have arrived, why don't you go and greet them?"
Zhang Qiao's words startled the prisoners, who were momentarily confused about his meaning.
"Release them all!"
With a wave of his hand, Zhang Qiao drove the 3,800 Qiang prisoners back to the battlefield. As for the other 200, Zhang Qiao secretly kept them at the rear, wanting them to witness the good show that was about to unfold.
"Go back and tell Ma Yi that I am waiting for him here, and that he should come and face his death!"
Upon seeing the Han army suddenly release them, the Qiang prisoners were once again stunned.
"General, are you really going to let us go?"
A chieftain looked cautiously at Zhang Qiao, feeling as if he were dreaming.
"Hmph~ You can also choose not to leave!"
Then Zhang Qiao looked at the other prisoners and shouted loudly, "I'll count to ten. If any of you don't run away, don't blame me for being ruthless and cutting off your heads to take back as a reward!"
Before the prisoners could react, Zhang Qiao parted his lips slightly and said slowly:
"one...."
"two..."
"Run!!"
Just as Zhang Qiao counted to two, someone among the prisoners shouted and took off running. The others reacted quickly and rushed towards Ma Yi's army.
"Follow them!!"
Seeing the prisoners running for their lives, Zhang Qiao sneered after they had run some distance, and then ordered the entire army to slowly follow behind the prisoners.
Before long, the two leaders who were running at the front met together.
One of them, while running, looked at his companion beside him and asked, "You...you tell me, why did the Han army suddenly release us?"
Another person thought for a moment and said, "They probably want to use us to attack Ma Yi's army formation and create chaos for Ma Yi!"
The man asked doubtfully, "So, Ma Yi didn't collude with the Han army?"
"It should be!"
The man said worriedly, "What should we do then? If we disrupt the tycoon's group, it will be dangerous!"
"No way! Look, this place is wide open; we can easily avoid the tycoon's group!"
The man nodded. "Yes, that's true!"
Before long, the fleeing prisoners felt the ground tremble beneath their feet, and they couldn't help but raise their heads and look intently ahead.
"It's the big shot! The big shot has come to save us!!"
Upon recognizing that it was Ma Yi's army, the fleeing prisoners cheered.
Meanwhile, Ma Yi, who was speeding along, also noticed the prisoners rushing towards him.
One of Ma Yi's bodyguards couldn't help but ask, "Master, what should we do?"
Ma Yi narrowed his eyes, glanced at the guard beside him, and then snorted coldly, "What do you mean, what to do? What do you suggest we do about these deserters?"
"Anyone who deserts in the face of battle will be executed without mercy!!"
With a loud shout, Ma Yi immediately drew his curved sword from his waist and charged straight at the group of prisoners, with the soldiers behind him following closely behind.
In Ma Yi's view, none of these people should be allowed to return alive.
"not good!!"
Seeing Ma Yi rushing straight towards them, the two chieftains at the front realized something was wrong.
But before they could react, Ma Yi and his men had already rushed forward.
Looking at the group of his former kinsmen before him, Ma Yi ruthlessly swung his scimitar, and in an instant, a head flew high into the air.
The head that flew up still bore a trace of fear and resentment. It never imagined that after barely escaping death from the Han army, it would end up dying at the hands of its own people.
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