A lone smoke rose slowly beside Qiangyin County, where hundreds of guards and border residents were cremated.

Liu Qing led the army and looked solemnly.

Their deaths meant that Qiangyin County was completely reduced to an empty city.

"Zilong, arrange two teams of people to escort us."

"Here!" Zhao Yun said.

"The rest of us will return to Pingcheng temporarily to discuss strategies to defeat the enemy." Liu Qing ordered.

"My lord, the leader is newly defeated and has fled north. If you want to kill this man, it's best to take advantage of the victory and pursue him. If he catches his breath, it may be difficult to find him again in the vast grassland," Guo Jiada said.

Liu Qing thought for a while and realized that what Guo Jia said was very reasonable, but if he chased into the vast grassland like this and was unfamiliar with the place, would it be a taboo for military strategists?

Guo Jia looked at Liu Qing and seemed to see his doubts, "My lord, the Xianbei people live in small tribes by water and grass. Once they enter the grassland, they can capture prisoners and use them as guides. Moreover, there are many Xianbei cattle and sheep, but

Eat locally.”

Liu Qing thought about it again and again. Guo Jiazhi's soldiers were very fast and could indeed catch Xianbei off guard. If the problems of guides and supplies could be solved, there would indeed be no other worries.

"Fengxiao's plan is quite bold, but it won my heart, Zilong! The cavalry assemble!"

As usual, Liu Qing left behind those who patrolled and reported the news, and then personally led Zhao Yun's two thousand cavalry, Chu Yan's five hundred bow cavalry, and more than fifty guards from his headquarters led by Dian Wei. Following the obvious traces left by the Xianbei cavalry's retreat,

Enter the north.

…

Deep in the grassland, a small tent stood in a depression sheltered from the wind. At this time, a dense number of horses gathered outside the tent, gnawing grass with their heads lowered. There were more than a dozen campfires rising around it, and there were a few horses on top.

Freshly slaughtered and raised.

In the small tent, the leader was sitting on the fur bed in the middle, holding a knife in his hand, cutting off slices of freshly roasted lamb chops, and putting them into his mouth.

In front of him, there was a person kneeling. To be more precise, someone was kneeling on the ground. He was a Xianbei herdsman.

"Master Kuitou, many ewes are already pregnant, please be merciful!"

The leader looked at the beggar with disdain and said with disdain: "Just a few dozen sheep. When I return to the big tent, I will give them back to you!"

However, I am afraid that no one on the grassland would believe what Kuitou said.

There is a saying in the grassland that you would rather believe that there are ghosts in the grassland than believe Kuitou's mouth, because this person has no faith at all. After the death of He Lian, the former Xianbei monarch, Kuitou took advantage of the young age of He Lian's son Qian Man to rape him.

He occupied the position of monarch and drove the Qianman clan out of the big tent and became homeless.

"Sir, please have mercy! Please leave me a few sheep!" The herdsmen continued to beg for mercy, and from time to time outside the tent, the bleating screams of sheep being killed were heard.

Being interrupted from eating meat, Kuitou was also annoyed and said to the person next to him: "Leave one for him."

Not long after the guards left, they came back and reported: "Sir, the killing has been completed."

The herdsman's face turned gray, it's over, it's all over!

While the herdsmen were calm, the leader scraped the mutton chops cleanly, licked the knife, and then licked the corners of his mouth.

"The sheep you raised are good, very plump and juicy!" Kuitou touched his belly. He had not eaten for two days and was finally satisfied. In a blink of an eye, he turned his attention to the herders' wives and daughters huddled aside.

The small one seems... too small.

"Come here and serve me, let me see if you are as plump and juicy as ever!" Kuitou looked at the woman and said.

When the herdsmen heard this, they quickly kowtowed, "Sir, please let us go, please let us go!"

The leader waved his hand, and the guards dragged the herdsman out. The other two separated the mother and daughter and dragged the woman onto the bed.

The woman struggled for a while and broke away from her guard. She took out a dagger from somewhere and pulled it out with a "clop" sound!

When the leader saw it, he immediately panicked and jumped up from the bed, "Kill them!"

The guard couldn't help but slashed with his sword, and the mother and daughter fell into a pool of blood without even screaming.

The leader was sweating coldly. He had just returned from Yanmen with his life. He was already frightened. He was not afraid of being killed on the battlefield, but the woman holding the dagger shadowed him.

When he came back to his senses and looked at the mother and daughter in a pool of blood, he felt a headache again.

"Drag him out." He said calmly.

As soon as I went out, the roars of herdsmen could be heard outside the door, and the curses were very unpleasant.

"Sir, let's just kill him..." the guard suggested killing him to silence him.

Kuitou nodded and lay down.

Just as the guards were about to go out, a guard suddenly broke in and shouted: "Sir, the enemy is coming!"

"What enemy!" Kuitou sat up suddenly.

"This is the Han army, sir, leave quickly!" the guard said.

Han army! Why did the Han army rush into the grassland? Without thinking much, Kuitou picked up his weapon and rushed out of the tent. Seeing that most of the people could no longer care about food, Kuitou mounted his horse and stood by.

"Withdraw!" Kuitou ordered.

More than a thousand riders receded like a tide and disappeared into the depths of the grassland.

Liu Qing looked at the mess all over the ground. There were whole sheep that had not been roasted all over the ground, and some that had just been skinned and not yet started to be roasted.

There was a small tent not far away, and bursts of crying could be heard.

When I got closer, I found a herdsman holding two corpses, one large and one small, crying.

It is not difficult to imagine that the leader was defeated, went without food for several days, and then plundered his own people.

This kind of thing is too common in troubled times, banditry is like a comb, and soldiers are like a grate.

When the herdsmen saw another large group of cavalry coming, they watched with vigilance.

"Can you speak Chinese?"

The herdsman nodded, but did not respond.

"The one who just escaped was the leader?" Liu Qing asked.

The herdsman nodded again.

"Do you know where the leader's head is?" Liu Qing asked again.

The herdsman nodded again.

Is he a mute?

Liu Qing glanced at the corpse on the ground. Judging from the clothing, it should be the person's wife and daughter. The wound was new and blood was still oozing out.

Liu Qing had an idea and asked, "Do you want to avenge them?"

The herdsman's eyes lit up and he replied in a hoarse voice: "I want to!"

Turns out he can talk.

"Even if the leader is the monarch of Xianbei, do you still want revenge?"

"The monarch of Xianbei is Lord Qianman, and his leader is a traitor. None of the tribes in the south recognize him," said the herdsman.

After hearing this, Guo Jia took two steps forward on his horse and said to Liu Qing: "My lord, there are rumors that the leader has spent three years integrating Xianbei. This is not advisable. Xianbei is not unified."

Guo Jia, who has keen intuition, instinctively smelled a glimmer of opportunity.

"Fengxiao, what do you mean..."

"If we can support a Xianbei who is friendly to the Lord, Yanmen will have no worries. Firstly, it can develop stably and develop coal and iron ore. Secondly, the Lord can set his sights on the Central Plains instead of this borderland. Thirdly, Xianbei

It is rich in war horses but lacks salt, iron and food. If my lords can communicate with each other, our army will no longer have to worry about war horses in the future."

Yanmen develops steadily, will not get stuck in the quagmire, and obtains a steady stream of war horses. These three benefits are all mentioned in Liu Qing's heart.

"What Fengxiao is thinking is exactly what I am thinking. It seems that he can keep Kuitou's head for a few more days," Liu Qing said.

The herdsman listened to the conversation between the two and did not understand it very well. After all, his Chinese was not very good.

"What's your name?"

"My nickname is Mohu."

Is there a famous name? Liu Qing didn't pay much attention to it, and continued: "Just now you said that all the tribes in the south regard Qian Man as their monarch. Are you willing to take me to see Qian Man?"

When Mo Hu heard about Qian Man, he immediately became alert.

"I am the governor of Yanmen County of the Han Dynasty. For my own selfish reasons, the leader invaded Yanmen, killed my soldiers and people, and dragged the Han Dynasty and Xianbei into the flames of war. I will fight with this thief until death. Since you said that the southern tribes do not recognize the leader

If the leader is the leader, then I will kill the leader, help Qian Man regain the throne, and the big man and Xianbei will be on good terms, wouldn’t it be the best of both worlds?”

Mo Hu thought for a while and seemed to think Liu Qing's words were reasonable. Compared with the big tents, the southern tribes were very disparate in strength. With Qianman himself, it would be difficult for him to have a chance to compete with the leader when he grows up. But

If we use the help of a big man, it might be possible.

Mo Hu looked back and looked at the cavalry led by Liu Qing. When faced with such a good opportunity, it should not be up to him, a loose herder in the south, to decide whether to cooperate or not. But if these people are brought to see Qian Man, what will happen?

What should I do if I threaten him?

Looking at Mo Hu who kept looking around and hesitating, Liu Qing said: "To show my sincerity, if you are willing to lead the way, I will leave the army here with only a few dozen personal guards. There will be no threat to Qian Man.

"
To be continued...