Fighting is tough, but looting is exhilarating.
This was a true reflection of the Northern Wuhuan cavalry at that time. No one expected that arriving in Goguryeo would be like entering their own backyard, where they could truly take whatever they wanted.
Because most of the able-bodied men in the Goguryeo tribes were conscripted to the Three Hans, the Northern Wuhuan people did not encounter any significant resistance during their raids.
Since suffering a defeat at the hands of the Han army last year, Shefu was now radiant and leading his men in indulging in their plundering spree.
However, to prevent leaks, whenever they encountered a tribe, Shefu would lead his men to approach quietly and only order an attack after surrounding it.
At this time, Shefu had been leading the Wuhuan people into Goguryeo territory for more than ten days, and about twenty large and small Goguryeo tribes had been plundered by them.
Because of Shefu's caution, the news of the Wuhuan people entering Goguryeo territory to plunder over the past ten days has not spread.
In a large tribe belonging to Goguryeo, Shefu was sitting in his tent, listening to Li Ru organize and report the spoils of war.
"Lord Shefu, today we captured a tribe and seized a total of 20,000 shi of grain, 3,000 taels of gold, 2,000 jin of salt, 25,000 sheep, and 4,000 cattle."
A total of 13,000 slaves were captured, but most were elderly people, women, and children; the rest are still being tallied!
Upon hearing the string of numbers reported by Li Ru, She Fu's eyes lit up, and he asked:
"This large tribe is actually so valuable... This grain alone is enough for my 30,000-strong army for two months. It must be a tribe of Goguryeo nobles, right?"
Li Ru smiled and nodded, "Lord Shefu is right! The leader of this tribe is named Teruqing, who is the brother-in-law of King Yi Xiao of Goguryeo. He is greedy and cruel."
"If he hadn't led all ten thousand-plus able-bodied men of this tribe to attack the Three Hans, we would have suffered heavy losses if we had wanted to take this tribe!"
Shefu looked at Li Ru and laughed, "Luckily, Mr. Li reminded us, otherwise how could we have acquired so much wealth so easily?"
Li Ru laughed and said, "I was merely offering suggestions; all of this is thanks to Lord Shefu's wisdom and decisiveness!"
"Haha~ Mr. Li, you are too modest. You should know that your one idea is worth a hundred thousand troops!"
Shefu was clearly pleased with Li Ru's flattery, laughing heartily and praising Li Ru highly, his gaze towards Li Ru filled with fervor.
Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, Shefu spoke up:
"Is this what you Han Chinese people often call 'the mantis catching something' again...?"
"It's a story of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind...! This is a story that took place in the State of Wu during the Western Zhou Dynasty...!"
Li Ru smiled, and then told She Fu the first part of the story...
"Oh right, right, that's it... Haha~ Those fools from Goguryeo were only concerned with sucking the dew from the Three Han states, but they never expected that we, the orioles, would outmaneuver them!"
After listening to Li Ru's explanation, She Fu suddenly understood and couldn't help but burst into laughter. He couldn't help but feel smug about taking advantage of the Goguryeo people.
"Hmph, what an idiot!!"
Seeing Shefu's smug and overconfident appearance, Li Ru couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
She Fu seemed completely unaware of Li Ru's inner thoughts.
"By the way, Mr. Li, which tribe do you think we should raid next?"
After laughing, Shefu looked at Li Ru expectantly and asked about the next move.
Li Ru laughed and said, "We're not going to rob any of them, Lord Shefu, it's time for us to withdraw our troops!"
"Withdraw troops? Why would we withdraw troops when everything is fine?"
Shefu looked at Li Ru with a puzzled expression, clearly not yet satisfied with his robbery.
Seeing this, Li Ru shook his head helplessly, and then explained:
"We have been here for more than ten days. I imagine that the Goguryeo army has already plundered the Three Hans and is returning now."
Furthermore, we have already captured a large amount of food and supplies, as well as more than 70,000 slaves, which is enough for us to use for several years.
"We need to escort them back as soon as possible before the news leaks out. If we're any later and they discover us, and our 70,000-strong army comes after us, our trip will have been for nothing!"
Upon hearing Li Ru's words, She Fu suddenly came to his senses.
"Hmm, Mr. Li is right! Let's get out of here now...!"
Having said that, Shefu quickly turned to look outside the tent and shouted loudly:
"Someone come here!!"
"What are your orders, sir?"
The two guards standing outside the tent heard Shefu's shouts and hurriedly came in.
Shefu looked at the two men and said urgently, "Pass on my order: the entire army must pack up and retreat immediately, taking with them the slaves, grain, cattle, and sheep!"
"promise!!"
The two guards loudly acknowledged the order and quickly walked out of the tent.
"Whew!"
After the two guards left, Shefu breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down.
Before long, the Northern Wuhuan army drove the Goguryeo slaves and the supplies away from the tribe, heading towards the Northern Wuhuan.
"With the help of these things, our strength will surely increase by leaps and bounds. When that happens, we will be able to integrate the various Wuhuan tribes and eliminate those traitors!"
Along the way, seeing cartloads of supplies and slaves worth tens of thousands of bushels of grain, Shefu couldn't help but feel ambitious and full of high spirits.
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