However, after the purge of Liu Dongqi's military forces, the Liang officers and soldiers in the Shaye army were either killed or kicked out of the army. In addition, some white generals promoted by Liu Dongqi were also purged, causing the combat effectiveness of the Shaye army to plummet.
This also turned tonight's night raid into a massacre...
The next morning, Sun Hao looked at the various statistics about the night attack in his hands, and his first reaction was that maybe there was a mistake.
The 20,000 heavy cavalry and 10,000 vanguard soldiers, who were the main force of the night attack, suffered less than 100 casualties, of which only 46 centurions were killed.
Among the 5,000 White Horse Volunteers who were responsible for intercepting and killing the fleeing soldiers in the surrounding area, not a single one was injured.
Of the 80,000 troops of the Shaye Kingdom, nearly 40,000 were killed or trampled to death in the night attack, and the other 40,000 or so voluntarily laid down their weapons and chose to surrender.
Because of his uncle Liu Dongqi, Sun Hao attached great importance to the 80,000 troops of the Shaye Kingdom, otherwise he would not have exchanged 35,000 centurion generals from the "Tough General Converter".
However, the combat effectiveness of the Shaye army was much lower than Sun Hao had previously estimated.
In addition, Sun Hao and his men also seized a large amount of food, property, weapons, armor and war horses. The total value of the seized gold and silver coins exceeded 8 million strings of cash.
If Sun Hao absorbed all these gold and silver coins into the "Hero Converter", he could increase the conversion value by more than 800,000 points. However, Sun Hao was not going to absorb these seized gold and silver coins.
With the addition of another 35,000 centurions, the military expenditure pressure on the Western Regions Protectorate will further increase. Sun Hao plans to keep the money seized this time as military expenses.
Yang Zaixing urged his horse to Sun Hao's side and asked, "My lord, what should we do with the 40,000 captives from the Shaye Kingdom?"
Sun Hao was silent for a moment, then said in a cold tone: "We still have to go to the deception camp next, and I'm worried that bringing these 40,000 prisoners from the Shaye Kingdom with us will cause trouble.
Make the captives take off their uniforms and armor, and then drive them into the valley to the east."
Yang Zaixing did not think it was wrong to kill more than 40,000 Shaye prisoners. He immediately nodded and said, "Don't worry, my lord. I know what to do. I will take care of it."
After Yang Zaixing left, Sun Hao smiled bitterly and asked Xiong Kuohai and Pei Yuanqing beside him: "Ahai, Aqing, tell me, am I too cruel?
After all, that's over 40,000 lives, and with just one word from me, they're gone."
Xiong Kuohai then said, “My lord, I have heard a saying that those who achieve great things do not pay attention to trivial matters.
Just as the lord said, we are about to set up a false camp in the coalition camp. If our false camp fails because we bring these 40,000 captives from the Shaye Kingdom, then the millions of Liang people in the Western Regions Protectorate will be affected.
If our Western Region Army is defeated by the coalition forces, then millions of Liang people will definitely suffer bloody revenge from the coalition forces.
My lord, you had to order the execution of these 40,000 prisoners of war for the sake of the millions of Liang people in the Western Regions Protectorate. It's understandable!"
Pei Yuanqing then said, "My lord, although Xiong Kuohai usually talks nonsense, what he said this time is really to the point.
The Hu people of the Western Regions have killed countless Liang people over the past few hundred years. My lord, by killing 40,000 Hu prisoners of war, you have achieved some justice for those Liang people who died tragically."
Xiong Kuohai said to Pei Yuanqing dissatisfiedly: "When did I start talking nonsense? You must give me an explanation!"
Pei Yuanqing curled his lips and said, "Who said a few days ago that he would sweep through the coalition camp single-handedly?"
"That's because my lord forbade me to go. Otherwise, I would have let you see how I swept through the coalition camp."
Listening to Xiong Kuohai and Pei Yuanqing's habitual bickering, Sun Hao's original discomfort disappeared.
Sun Hao knew very well that only if he had a heart of stone in some matters could he lead hundreds of thousands of loyal generals and soldiers, and protect his wives, concubines, and children, and survive in this chaotic world.
Yang Zaixing rode to the location of the 40,000 Shaye prisoners, and called over Zhao Yun and Ma Chao, who were in charge of guarding them. "The lord has decided not to spare a single prisoner. After removing their uniforms and armor, have them all drive to the valley to the east."
Zhao Yun and Ma Chao looked at each other and nodded solemnly.
Zhao Yun then said in a deep voice, "Although I feel a little sorry for this, my lord's decision is absolutely correct. We must handle this matter more efficiently."
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