It wasn't until the next day when it was fully light that Cao Cao yawned and came out of his tent.
At this moment, the vast grassland was covered with a layer of golden sunlight, and a kick woke up the Wuhuan soldiers who were still sleeping outside the tent.
"Go and fetch Qiuliju!"
The soldier was stunned for a moment, but when he heard the words "Qiuliju", he understood Cao Cao's meaning and quickly ran towards a camp not far away.
After a while, Qiuliju, fully armed, quickly ran over.
"What are your orders, General Cao?" Qiu Liju asked, looking at Cao Cao who was still dressed in his everyday clothes.
Cao Cao had always been a very strict person during previous training sessions, but today it was already broad daylight, and the training session was more than half an hour later than usual.
"Let the soldiers have a good meal, then set off!" Cao Cao looked at the distant horizon and said to Qiu Liju, "Also, send out scouts to investigate the movements and location of Tan Shihuai's army! Tell the scouts that if they encounter Tan Shihuai's scouts, they should flee immediately!"
After listening to Cao Cao's words, Qiu Liju thought for a moment and seemed to understand something.
In his view, Cao Cao was trying to use this surprise attack force to draw the attention of Tan Shihuai's army.
After all, waiting for the attacked tribe to send a report would take too long. This time would be enough for Tan Shihuai to calmly consider and steadily destroy the Yuwen tribe.
The end result was that before the messenger could find Tan Shihuai, the Yuwen tribe was finished.
In that case, what's the point of a surprise attack...?
Soon, the order was relayed, and the Wuhuan soldiers, who were already somewhat accustomed to the Han army's training methods and were ready to depart, were momentarily stunned.
However, the Wuhuan soldiers quickly came to their senses, started a fire to cook, and began to enjoy this rare moment of leisure.
Seeing the performance of the Wuhuan soldiers, Cao Cao smiled with satisfaction.
In other words, these Wuhuan soldiers were inherently wild and had not received much ideological education.
If it were a politically sound army like the Han army or the Red Ribbon Army, Cao Cao would inevitably have to use some persuasion to get things done according to his own ideas.
After dawdling for an hour, the soldiers finally finished eating and drinking.
"Let's go!!" Looking at the mess on the ground, Cao Cao slowly climbed onto his horse and led a group of Wuhuan soldiers eastward.
"Whoa!" Cao Cao, who was running at the front of the group, looked at the horizon where the sky met the sky and the blue and green blended together. He couldn't help but pull on the reins, slow down the horse, and begin to admire the view.
Qiuliju led five thousand Wuhuan cavalrymen and slowly followed behind Cao Cao. To the uninitiated, they would have looked like they were out sightseeing.
Two hours later, the army had only traveled less than sixty li.
Seeing that it was getting dark, Cao Cao gave another order: set up camp, light fires, and start a rebellion.
It wasn't until noon the next day that Cao Cao led his troops to continue their journey.
Not long after they set out, the scouts they had sent out earlier returned.
"Reporting to General Cao, we encountered scouts under Tan Shihuai's command two hundred li to the east. As you instructed, we did not engage them and retreated immediately!"
Cao Cao frowned: "Have you seen Tan Shihuai's army?"
The scout shook his head: "Didn't see it!"
"Alright, let's go downstairs and get something to eat!"
Cao Cao nodded, then waved to the scout.
Qiu Liju, who was standing nearby, also stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "General Cao, according to our calculations, Tan Shihuai's army is at most four hundred li away from our army. Do you think we should change our marching direction to avoid a head-on encounter with them?"
Cao Cao looked up and gazed eastward, then nodded: "You're right, it's necessary to change our marching direction!"
"Pass down the order: the entire army shall move one hundred li north!"
"Here you go!"
Qiu Liju responded loudly.
Soon, the group, which was originally heading east, suddenly turned around and sped north.
Meanwhile, the scouts sent out by Tan Shihuai also reported their encounter with the Wuhuan scouts to Tan Shihuai.
"Who are they? What are their banners and clothes like?"
Upon hearing the scout's report, Tan Shihua frowned and asked.
"Your Majesty, when we discovered them, they had already run far away, so we don't know anything about them!" the scout captain replied.
Tan Shihuai frowned even more deeply, then turned to look at Han Sui beside him, "Wenyue, what do you think is going on?"
Han Sui thought for a moment and then said, "Your Majesty, the place where the scouts of the two armies met is nearly four hundred miles away from the Yuwen tribe, so it should not have been sent by them."
Therefore, I speculate that this should be another team, most likely the other two cavalry units stationed in the Yuwen tribe.
They came out on their own initiative, so they must have other purposes...
Tan Shihuai's expression shifted: "You mean, they're planning a surprise attack on our rear?"
"Very likely!"
Han Sui nodded solemnly, “This tactic was frequently used by the Han Dynasty in the past. And you’ve forgotten, when Murong Tu and the Yuwen tribe attacked the Northern Wuhuan, they suffered a great loss because of this.”
Upon hearing this, Tan Shihuai's face immediately darkened.
In order to eliminate the Yuwen tribe, I have mobilized all my forces, leaving virtually no defenses in the rear.
If what Han Sui said is true, then even if we wipe out the Yuwen tribe head-on, our rear will definitely be destroyed by the enemy.
Without a solid foundation at the rear, one will have nothing left.
However, with their main force already here, leading them back to defend is clearly not a realistic option.
"Wenyue, what do you think we should do?"
Han Sui said solemnly, "Your Majesty, the best course of action at present is to find out the situation of this army as soon as possible and then send troops to intercept them."
"Okay, let's do it this way!"
Tan Shihuai nodded emphatically, then looked at his personal guards and shouted, "Send out all the scouts immediately! We must find the trail of that team as soon as possible!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Soon, several hundred scouts from the Xianbei army, arranged in a fan shape, headed west.
On the other side, Cao Cao and his men, after reaching the predetermined distance, began to head east again.
"Qiu Liju, continue to send more scouts. Also tell them that if they encounter Tan Shihuai's scouts again, they must do their best to wipe them out. One head will be counted as two times the credit!"
As they walked, Cao Cao issued an order that left Qiu Liju somewhat bewildered.
However, Qiu Liju did not ask any more questions. After all, he was still a leader, and if he asked about everything, it would make him look incompetent.
The scouts, upon receiving the order, were overjoyed and galloped towards Tan Shihuai's army with shouts of excitement.
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