The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 517 If the enemy can go, I can go too
Xu You stroked his goatee, a hint of pride flashed in his eyes, and he said slowly: "Don't worry, Chanyu. Qin Shou is stubborn and self-willed. Now that he has returned empty-handed after leading the army in person, he must be unwilling to accept it. In my opinion, he will soon be unable to hold back and lead his army deep into the grassland."

A Xianbei general in the tent couldn't help but ask: "But if the Tang army really comes after us, how should we deal with it?"

Xu You smiled sinisterly: "This is exactly what we want. The grassland is vast and boundless, and the Tang army will have difficulty in supplying food and grass after a long journey. We only need to lure the enemy deep into our territory, wait until they are exhausted, cut off their food supply, and then surround and annihilate them."

Ke Bineng was overjoyed when he heard this, and clapped his hands and said, "Okay! Let's follow your plan. Order all troops to continue retreating northward, but leave traces along the way so that the Tang army can track them."

However, at this moment, a scout rushed into the tent: "Report! The main force of the Tang army did not pursue, but instead divided into several groups and marched in two directions, east and west!"

"What?" Xu You's face suddenly changed, his goatee stood up, and he immediately asked, "Which direction did they go?"

The scout replied, "They are heading east to attack the Duan tribe's territory, and west to approach the Murong tribe's pasture. There are also small groups of cavalry harassing the tribe we left in the south!"

Xu You's forehead suddenly broke out in cold sweat, and he murmured, "What a good Qin Shou, he actually used this trick."

Kebi Neng also realized that the situation was not good, and asked anxiously: "Sir, what should we do now? The Duan and Murong tribes have always had grudges against us. If the Tang army attacks them..."

Xu You gritted his teeth and said, "The Chanyu must send troops to rescue them immediately! Otherwise, once these two tribes are defeated by the Tang army, it will not only weaken our strength, but also make other tribes alienated!"

"But if so, our strategy of luring the enemy would be compromised." Ke Bineng hesitated.

"Don't worry about that!" Xu You interrupted, "Qin Shou is forcing us to take the initiative to fight! If we sit back and watch our allies being attacked, the Chanyu's prestige on the grassland will be gone!"

Ke Bineng's face was gloomy, and he finally made up his mind: "Send an order! The whole army will turn around and rush to support Duan's army! At the same time, send a fast horse to notify Murong's army, and let them hold on and wait for help!"

When the Xianbei army hastily turned around, the news reached the army tent. Qin Shou was standing on a high slope, looking out at the grassland. Xun You smiled and said, "Your Majesty, this is a great idea. Ke Bineng really can't keep his cool."

Qin Shou said calmly, "He has no choice but to move. Pass the order down, and order Zhang He to fight and retreat, and lead the main force of the Xianbei to the north of Youzhou. I want to teach this grassland Chanyu a lesson he will never forget."

"Yes!" The messenger left quickly.

Xun You seemed to be thinking: "Your Majesty, do you want to surround the enemy and attack the reinforcements?"

Qin Shou's eyes flashed with coldness: "That's right. Ke Bineng thought that I would fall for his trick of luring the enemy, but he didn't know that I had already seen through his trick. This time, I want to let him know what it means to 'if the enemy can go, I can go too'!"

"I don't know who helped Ke Bineng. If we can catch him this time, we will definitely nail him to the pillar of shame." Xun You's eyes flashed coldly.

From the actions of the Xianbei people, it can be seen that the person who gave advice to the other side was still somewhat capable. If the Tang army had implemented the strategy decided at the beginning, it might not have been able to achieve its goal, and might even have been surrounded by the Xianbei people.

Now it is the Xianbei people who are being led by the nose, and the situation on the battlefield has completely changed.

"We will find out sooner or later. Now let's go meet the Xianbei tribe. If Kebi can break into Bingzhou, I will also go to the grassland." Qin Shou's face was filled with murderous intent.

The dawn on the grassland was dyed blood.

Qin Shou reined in his horse and stood on a high hill, his black cloak fluttering in the north wind. He looked at the billowing smoke rising in the distance. It was the vanguard cavalry led by Zhang Liao burning the Xianbei camp. In the morning light, the Tang army's cavalry could be vaguely seen surging across the withered meadow like a tide, and the sound of horse hooves shook the earth slightly.

"Report--" The scout came on horseback and reported loudly: "General Zhang has broken through the Tufa camp and beheaded a thousand people!" Xun You clapped his hands and laughed: "The Tufa tribe is one of the major Xianbei tribes. After following Kebi Neng to the expedition, they still had a thousand warriors left, but they were easily defeated by your majesty."

Qin Shou snorted coldly: "Let's move on and let Zhang Hu do things according to the rules."

"Yes." Xun You did not dare to be negligent and quickly agreed.

At this time, on the east side of the grassland, Zhang Hu's black-armored cavalry were trampling over corpses. The Xianbei people's hastily built wooden wall had been smashed to pieces by catapults, and several charred corpses were hanging on broken sharp wood, emitting a pungent burnt smell.

"General, what should we do with the prisoners?" The deputy general pointed at the hundreds of Xianbei women and children kneeling in the blood and mud.

Zhang Hu looked at the smoke and dust that was escaping in the distance and said in a cold voice: "Your Majesty has ordered that all men over the age of fifteen be executed, and the rest be escorted to Youzhou."

"Yes."

The soldiers did not dare to delay and quickly issued the order to massacre.

Shrill cries suddenly resounded across the grassland. Xianbei men were pinned down in a pool of blood, and heads fell to the ground as the Tang army raised and lowered their swords. Women were tied together in a long line with ropes, and the sobs of children were drowned in the howling north wind.

On the hillside in the distance, several Xianbei scouts saw this scene with their eyes bloodshot. They turned their horses around and whipped their horses hard to gallop towards the east - that was the direction where Kebineng's army was.

Three days later, at the Xianbei central army tent.

"Chanyu! The Tang army has slaughtered the Tufa tribe, and all men, women, old and young were captured!" The scout knelt in the tent, his voice hoarse.

Ke Bineng stood up suddenly, and the bronze wine cup fell to the ground with a harsh sound. "Qin Shou——!" His eyes were red, and his chest was heaving violently.

Xu You's face was gloomy, his goatee trembling slightly, and he said in fear: "Chanyu, the Tang army is forcing us to fight. If we don't go to him, he will continue to attack our tribe."

"Then let's fight!" Ke Bineng roared, "Send orders to all tribes, gather all warriors! I will chop off Qin Shou's head with my own hands and sacrifice it to my fellow men of the grassland!"

Xu You said anxiously: "Shan Yu, this cannot happen! The Tang army is doing this to provoke us. If we attack rashly, we will fall into their trap!"

"Do you want me to watch my tribe being slaughtered?!" Ke Bineng grabbed Xu You's collar, murderous intent in his eyes.

If the people who died were from the Duan or Murong tribes, he would definitely not be so anxious, but since it was his own tribe that died, Kebi Neng felt a little anxious.

Xu You forced himself to remain calm and lowered his voice, saying, "Chanyu, the Tang army has divided its forces to harass us, but the main force has not yet appeared. Qin Shou is a cunning man, and I'm afraid there is another ambush. We should be careful."

"How can we be careful? The enemies are almost reaching Longting." Ke Bineng said anxiously.

"Chanyu, we are here to rescue Murong and Duan. It would be better for us to let these two tribes be the vanguard and our main force stay behind. When Qin Shou has a decisive battle with the two tribes, we will attack together." Xu You said hurriedly.

(End of this chapter)