I am not Yuan Shu

Chapter 381 Mr. Lü Feng Captures Tan Shihuai
Seeing that Tan Shihuai's only stubbornness was his mouth, Gao Jian panicked and quickly stepped forward to grab Tan Shihuai's arm.

"Great Khan! If you don't leave now, you'll be in danger! You are the Great Khan! You cannot be in any danger! Go now!"

Tan Shihuai's eyes widened, and he gasped for breath. He flung Gao Jian aside and roared, "Even if I die here, I will never run away! Never! I am the Great Chanyu! I am the King of the Grasslands! I have never lost! In the past, now, and in the future, I will never lose! Never!"

Gao Jian looked at the roaring Tan Shihuai in disbelief, completely unable to understand why he was still being so stubborn.
Can't you die if you don't stick your tongue?

Is it really that difficult to admit defeat?
Can't you see the facts right in front of you?

"Great Chanyu! Mount your horse quickly!"

Out of loyalty, Gao Jian still insisted on pleading with Tan Shihuai to let him quickly mount his horse and leave this place, heading north, so that there would still be a glimmer of hope. However, Tan Shihuai still refused.

No one knew better than him what would happen if they returned to the Xianbei grasslands after their defeat.

It's better to die here than to be humiliated!

In the next instant, Gao Jian was horrified to discover that the Han cavalry had completely defeated Tan Shihuai's personal guard cavalry.

The Imperial Guard cavalry had been almost completely wiped out and could no longer stop the advance of the Han cavalry. Gao Jian even saw with his own eyes that the head of the last Imperial Guard cavalryman was cut off by a Han general. The head fell to the ground, and blood spurted several meters high from the headless corpse.

The Han cavalry quickly reorganized their formation and continued their charge towards Tan Shihuai's location. They were covered in blood, looking like fierce killing gods crawling out of hell.

Now no one can stop them.

Gao Jian was horrified and quickly turned around, wanting Tan Shihuai to leave immediately.

However, he did not see Tan Shihuai.

Just as he was wondering, he turned his gaze and was very surprised to find that Tan Shihuai had already run to the side of the warhorse not far away and was mounting the horse.

He leaped onto his warhorse, turned it around, and galloped off to the north at breakneck speed. Few of his personal guards remained, as he was moving so fast that most of them didn't even have time to react.

Especially those guards who were still holding the flag and holding their ground.

As for his insightful opinion, his mind went blank, and he couldn't process it for a while.

Didn't you say you weren't leaving?
Why did you leave?
Wasn't the plan to die here?

and……

If you're going to run, take me with you!
Gao Jian was so shocked he almost jumped out of his throat. He staggered towards his warhorse, trying to mount it with trembling hands and feet, but his body was too weak and he couldn't get on the horse no matter how hard he tried.

Dead legs! Dead hands! Give it your all!!!

Gao Jian struggled against his own body with great difficulty, and in the next instant, the blood-soaked god of war, Lü Bu, had already rushed to his side.

Gao Jian didn't even have time to see how his personal guards who hadn't managed to escape were beheaded one after another by the Han cavalry. He only had time to see a blood-stained longsword rushing toward his face, with no time to dodge.

Lu Bu cleaved Gao Jian's head in two with a single stroke. In the blink of an eye, he saw the Xianbei guards protecting the commander's flag. With a roar, he spurred his horse forward and hacked them all to death with a few swift strokes. Then, with a mighty strike, he cleaved the central command flag belonging to Tan Shihuai in two.

After the commander's flag fell, Lü Bu saw several figures fleeing in disarray not far away.

Needless to say, that's the sandalwood tree!

Old dog!

Don't go!

Lu Bu spurred his horse and gave chase.

He runs, he chases, he can't fly.

Tan Shihuai had already exhausted all his strength to escape, truly exhausted all his strength. He had even drawn blood from the rump of his beloved warhorse, pushing its speed to the limit, even beyond the limit.

But Tan Shihuai still felt it wasn't fast enough; he needed to be even faster and at a higher speed!
However, Lü Bu had no intention of playing a race with him. Lü Bu cherished his warhorse and tried his best to prevent it from suffering too much damage. So, during the pursuit, he seized the moment when Tan Shihuai was panicked and lost his way, and drew his bow and arrow—

The arrow flew from the bowstring and struck Tan Shihuai's warhorse's rump with deadly accuracy.

With just that one arrow, the warhorse, already at its limit, could no longer endure it. It stumbled forward, rolled a few times, and broke its neck, dying instantly.

And what about the sandalwood tree?
To be fair, he was an expert equestrian, having grown up on horseback since childhood. However, these kinds of things often have little to do with skill level; it mainly depends on luck. If you're lucky, you might not get hurt, but if you're unlucky, you could break your neck and die—that's a common occurrence.

Tan Shihuai was quite lucky. His warhorse died, but he landed on top of it and was not killed by the direct impact. He was shaken several times and was completely disoriented. After several rolls, his brains were almost smashed into tofu.

But his luck ran out.

Lü Bu quickly caught up and saw Tan Shihuai panting with his eyes open. Overjoyed, he felt incredibly lucky. He dismounted, pinned Tan Shihuai to the ground, and tied him up with ropes. As for the remaining guards, they were all killed by the Han cavalry.

As Lü Bu bound Tan Shihuai, cheers erupted from the distant battlefield, where the Xianbei army was locked in a bloody struggle. It was unclear whether the collapse of the Xianbei army was due to the fall of their commander's flag, but in any case, the Xianbei army could no longer hold on and completely collapsed.

The Han army's infantry formation was deployed, and the well-rested cavalry charged out, launching an almost one-sided massacre against the exhausted Xianbei army. The Xianbei army suffered a crushing defeat and was ultimately annihilated.

This wasn't Yuan Shu's first time commanding a large army in battle, but it was his first time leading such a large-scale main battle. To achieve such a victory on his first attempt was like reaching the pinnacle of his life.

The deafening cheers of the Han army resounded throughout the land, making him feel his brain tremble and his blood boil.

He would never forget that exhilarating feeling for the rest of his life.

When Lü Bu, brimming with pride and leading his meritorious cavalry, arrived before Yuan Shu and presented him with the captured Tan Shihuai, Yuan Shu was overjoyed.

He helped Lü Bu up from the ground, gave him a big bear hug, and then looked at Tan Shihuai, whose face was ashen.

"This is the Sandalwood Tree? It doesn't look very imposing, but it's quite sturdy. However, it looks far too old. I heard it's under forty? How come it looks like it's in its fifties or sixties?"

Yuan Shu was very dissatisfied with Tan Shihuai's appearance, feeling that he was not worthy of the title of "warlord of the grasslands".

Lü Bu laughed heartily.

“These bandits on the grasslands are actually quite similar to us who grew up on the border. They endure wind and rain, sleep in the open, and crawl on ice and snow. They appear much more mature than they are in their teens or twenties. How can they be compared to the pampered people of the Central Plains? He is already doing quite well!”

Yuan Shu glanced at the exceptionally handsome Lü Bu and smiled.

"I think so. Otherwise, why would Fengxian appear so heroic and extraordinary? Could it be that Fengxian is the most handsome man in Bingzhou?"

Upon hearing this, Lü Bu was overjoyed and immediately reached out to stroke his cheek.

"This... Hahahaha! Your Excellency flatters me! Your Excellency flatters me! Hahahaha!"

Being complimented on your good looks, especially by your boss, is an indescribable feeling of exhilaration.

As for Tan Shihuai, who had been in a daze, no one cared what he was thinking anymore.

The Han army then continued its advance, pursuing the fleeing Xianbei soldiers for over ten miles, crossing the outer Great Wall and continuing the pursuit until nightfall. The next day, after the army rested, Yuan Shu personally led a team to tally the results of the battle and found them to be very fruitful.

The 30,000 Xianbei cavalry were basically annihilated by the Han army, which killed nearly 6,000 in battle and another 2,000 in the subsequent pursuit, for a total of more than 8,000 dead.

The remaining 17,000 or so were either captured by the Han army or surrendered.

The Han army captured over 40,000 warhorses, countless supplies, and piled up weapons that formed a small mountain. They also seized over 2,000 pieces of armor.

As for the captures, six Xianbei leaders of the rank of Grand Master were killed and twelve were captured, including the Xianbei Great Chanyu Tanshihuai. The leadership of the central and eastern Xianbei was almost completely wiped out by the Han army, resulting in their direct collapse.

This steppe warlord brought twenty years of chaos and loss to the borders of the Han Empire, earning him a fearsome reputation in the border regions and leaving three generations of Han emperors helpless against him.

Until this moment, he was completely defeated and captured alive by Yuan Shu.

With this victory, the main force of the Xianbei tribal alliance was annihilated, and they completely lost the possibility of continuing to dominate the grasslands and compete with the Han Empire for supremacy. The vast grasslands once again entered a state of being without a master.

However, Yuan Shu did not stop. After the army rested for a day, on September 23, Yuan Shu continued to lead the Han army to march towards Qiangyin County.

At this moment, Qiangyin County still had a Xianbei cavalry and a vassal army, with a total strength of over 10,000. However, in Yuan Shu's eyes, they posed no threat. He led his army to attack, crushing the remaining Xianbei cavalry head-on.

Then, Xia Yu, who was in the city of Qiangyin, led the city's troops out to support Yuan Shu. The last Xianbei army was defeated and wiped out by the Han army's attack from both sides.

Thus, Tan Shihuai's Xianbei army was completely annihilated.

Yuan Shu was naturally pleased with the victory, but he was saddened to learn that during the northward march, Tan Shihuai had defeated two strongholds with superior numbers, killed thousands of Tianxiong soldiers and young men of the defense force, and abducted a large number of people.

Yuan Shu was not only saddened, but also furious.

"They destroyed my village and slaughtered my people; it's like losing an arm to me, the pain is unbearable! This villain is utterly hateful!"

Yuan Shu immediately drew his waist knife and severed Tan Shihuai's arm with one stroke, causing Tan Shihuai to wail in agony. He then ordered the army doctor to use the best medicine to stop the bleeding, so that Tan Shihuai would not die like this.

"Once I return to Luoyang and present the captives, I will tear this traitor apart by chariots and five horses! To vent my hatred!"

Yuan Shu was still not satisfied, because a total of 3,061 soldiers and peasants of the defense force had died in the two Liangzhuang battles. So he ordered that 3,061 of the captured Xianbei prisoners of war be selected and beheaded.

After beheading them, their heads were used to build a mound of skulls to comfort their spirits.

(End of this chapter)