Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 164 The weak and the strong
The King of Yanqi had no choice at all because Yuanqu City had been breached, there was chaos in the city, and he could not escape.

The King of Yanqi, with disheveled hair and a terrified face, had a seemingly unruly Hun escorted out of the royal city first.

Huo Xian looked down at him and asked with a smile, "Captain of the Tongpu Army, this is not a high-ranking official, and it is not worth offering him as a captive. Come on, kill him as a sacrifice and hang his head for public display."

If it were someone else, they might think that Tongpu Duwei was a high-ranking official, but in Huo Xian's eyes, he was just that. He was not a real Xiongnu noble or high-ranking official, so he could only be used as a sacrifice.

The servant captain had never expected the Han army commander to be so straightforward. He was about to beg for mercy, but he couldn't help it. He was not a coward, and the ancestral gods would bless his soul.

The Marquis of Fuguo, the left and right generals, the left and right commanders and others were also escorted out. They were also Yanqi nobles. Although Huo Xian thought that this might be the King of Yanqi trying to exclude dissidents, there was no need to delve into it.

These people were not worthy of Huo Shan's surrender, so their natural fate was to become tools for the Han army to demonstrate its military prowess.

Looking at the King of Yanqi, Huo Xian gave an order directly, "Send someone to convey the order immediately. Yanqi's army has been defeated, and the army must return immediately!"

There are basically no soldiers left in the city, but don’t forget that part of Yanqi’s army went to support Cheshi, so it is naturally necessary to transfer that part of the troops back now.

As for whether Huo Xian has made up his mind to annihilate that part of the army, or to use it for his own purposes, etc., it depends on the situation. In short, the strength of the Western Region coalition forces must be completely disintegrated now.

The King of Yanqi naturally did not dare to resist, and now he could only survive. Moreover, now that he was in such a state, of course he had to do things according to the will of the Han army.

Huo Xian continued to give orders, "Order the city to send us treasures, food, and horses. We will replenish what our army lacks in the city. What do you think?"

After listening to the translation, the King of Yanqi pleaded, "Grand Marshal, please give the people of Yanqi a chance to live!"

Huo Xian sneered and asked, "You paid tribute to the Xiongnu with food, taxes, horses, etc. willingly. Now that your army has been defeated and your country has been destroyed, how dare you bargain with me?"

The King of Yanqi immediately didn't know how to answer, and seemed to be a little lacking in confidence, because what Huo Xian said was also true.

In front of the Xiongnu, Yanqi was well-behaved. Even though they were constantly exploited and oppressed, no one dared to say anything.
Huo Xian said straightforwardly, "These things are not up to you now. I have the Heavenly Soldiers here, and I am much stronger than that captain."

In fact, the so-called servants are slaves. In the eyes of the Xiongnu, they regarded the Western Regions as their servants.

There is really no choice now. The city has been broken, the soldiers are gone, and the food, fodder, and supplies have basically become the spoils of the Han army. Now there is no qualification for negotiation at all.

Accepting his fate might offer a chance of survival, but if he dared to resist, it would basically mean instant death. These Han troops looked more powerful and domineering.

Huo Xian continued to give orders, saying, "Arrange the people in the city to put out the fire and rescue people, arrange the servants to cook rice and reward the army. Can you do these things?"

The King of Yanqi naturally did not dare to disobey Huo Shan's wishes. These things were not difficult to say, and if they were done conscientiously, they could also gain more capital to survive.

The situation has already become like this. It is time to face the reality and it is better not to have any extra thoughts.

In addition to the necessary defense work, some soldiers also need to take time to rest. After taking down Yuanqu City, it seems that everything is fine, but this is only a stage of the battle.

It is still too early to end the war completely, and there may be many more battles to come.

Huo Xian immediately called the scouts and said, "Send a message to Marquis Yiqu and Marquis Congpu. If you see the coalition forces of the Western Regions disintegrating, kill them without thinking too much. The more you kill, the better!"

Huo Xian felt much more at ease after arranging these things. Now that the "rear base" of the Western Regions has been disrupted, when the opportunity arises, it is natural to seize it.

After a brief rest, Huo Xian still felt groggy. After forcing himself to wake up, he asked, "How is the city now?"

Chen Ju, who was dozing off, immediately replied, "Sir, the various tribes have also reported the battle situation. There is basically no major damage in the city, only some people escaped, and according to your wishes, there is no need to pursue them."

Huo Xian nodded slightly, then asked, "Has the ruler here sent someone to convey the order?"

Chen Ju said, "Send a trusted person to go over and say that he is recalling the army. We have also sent people to follow. When the news of Yuanqu City being captured spreads, their army will surely be in chaos."

Such good news naturally needs to be spread. On the one hand, it is to boost the morale of the Han army, and on the other hand, it is to allow Gongsun Ao and others to be prepared.

In fact, it would only take one or two days for the reinforcements from Cheshi to be defeated. Only after these hidden dangers were resolved could Huo Xian arrange his troops to resist the next great enemy.

It may be impossible to rest properly. Now is the critical period of the war. We are not racing against time, but we should use time reasonably. The opportunity is fleeting, so we must seize it when we can, and then consider other things.

Calling the trembling King of Yanqi over, Huo Xian said in a cold voice, "If you offend the majesty of the Han Dynasty, you will remember this fate!"

Although the King of Yanqi was angry, he was more terrified and fearful. "Great Sima, our small country with few people is really stupid. We dare not offend the might of Tianhan again!"

This is also in line with the characteristics of some nomadic peoples and slave societies. When they cannot win, they surrender decisively and become vassals of powerful countries. There is no psychological burden or pressure on these people.

This has always been their way of survival. The law of the jungle is normal in the Western Regions and in the slave society. If you can win, then don't be polite. If you can't win, just surrender and beg for your life.

Huo Xian did not think much about it and continued, "Send the prince to Chang'an as a hostage. If you dare to rebel again in the future, I will definitely forgive you!"

These may be more of a warning, because after the Han army leaves, the Huns may come back and kill them, and then the countries in the Western Regions will have to beg for mercy.

That means that some of the current promises and so on are basically just empty words. It is not surprising if someone goes back on their word, as alliances can sometimes be broken.

Huo Xian did not intend to investigate further at this time, and now was not the time to start straightening out the forces in the Western Regions. If the Xiongnu were not driven out, the situation would likely continue to change.

If you want to completely control the Western Regions, the basic premise is to drive out the Western Regions' forces. Only then will the Western Regions countries choose to truly stand on the side, instead of wavering between Qin and Chu like they do now.

Ren An, Tian Ren and others came in high spirits. This time, it was not particularly difficult to break the city. They caught the enemy by surprise and achieved a lot.
Huo Xian asked, "How many heads were beheaded in this battle?"

Ren An immediately replied, "Reporting to the Grand Marshal, from the Marquis of Fuguo, the left and right generals, the left and right commanders and below, a total of 3,720 heads were beheaded. Countless cattle, horses and sheep were captured, and a lot of baggage was also captured."

Huo Xian was also quite sincere, beheading nearly 4,000 people. People who didn't know would think that all the soldiers of Yanqi were killed in this battle. But in reality, it is estimated that some young and strong people also became the military merits of the Han Dynasty.

Huo Xian smiled and said, "Ren An, you will be responsible for leading the troops to garrison and drive the baggage, cattle and sheep to the place where the farms are being cultivated. Select the young and strong slaves in Yanqi to serve as garrison slaves."

There is no need to worry about whether some people in Yanqi will starve to death this winter. Their leader chose to help the Huns, so their people naturally have to be prepared to be implicated in the event of a wrong choice.

It is normal for the Han people to take away the spoils of war. It is also normal for some Yanqi people to become slaves, because Yanqi itself is a slave country.

The bottom line is that the country's national strength is not enough and it is involved in the competition among major powers. At this time, it is defeated and naturally has no choice.

The Han Dynasty was struggling to supply its own baggage, and Huo Xian did not expect to make the Han Dynasty strong through war. But if he could reduce his reliance on the imperial court, that would be acceptable.

After receiving the order, Ren An asked tentatively, "Should we report to the court that the Grand Marshal has conquered cities and destroyed countries and has made great achievements in the Western Regions?"

Not only Ren An was eagerly looking forward to it, Tian Ren, Kang Da and others were also full of expectations. It seemed like a "small win", but it was really not a small win.

Whether it is destroying a city or a country or killing thousands of people, it is a great achievement. It would not be a problem to be awarded one or two more marquises in this battle. Naturally, we must work hard to seize the opportunity.

Huo Xian immediately laughed and scolded, "You are satisfied with just this little military achievement?"

Ren An and others felt that the Grand Marshal was a full man who did not know the hunger of a hungry man. This marquis might not think that these military achievements were anything great, but others did care about them.

"Well, it's just a small victory after all, so we should report it to His Majesty." Huo Xian smiled and said, "You must remember that this trip is not to destroy a small country, we are here to fight the Xiongnu!"

Ren An and others also obeyed military orders. Naturally, they were willing to follow the Grand Marshal to fight the Huns and wanted to establish more merits.

However, they also cared a lot about the credit for conquering Yanqi, as it was the key to their continuous progress towards becoming marquises. Who would complain about having great military merits?

Huo Xian smiled and said, "Ren An will lead his troops to stay behind, and the rest of you will follow me north after you have rested. We should wipe out the reinforcements from Cheshi in one fell swoop!"

The city has been broken and the morale of the Cheshi reinforcements has been disrupted, so we must continue our efforts and destroy those reinforcements that want to support Cheshi in one fell swoop, and severely weaken the strength of several Western Regions countries.

Only by destroying the main forces of these countries can we not only be free from worries, but also control these countries in the future!

(End of this chapter)