A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

"He's retreating."

Liu Jingshuang stood on the high slope on the east side of Eagle Beak Gorge, her phoenix eyes fixed on the moving torchlights deep in the gorge.

Wei Zhao reined in the horse, and the white horse took two steps in place. He followed Liu Jingshuang's gaze.

Flags were indeed still standing at the mouth of the gorge, and campfires were still burning, with the outlines of tents appearing indistinctly in the night.

But Liu Jingshuang wasn't looking at those things—she was looking further away at the dense, black dots wriggling along the mountain path.

"The retreat was not executed at the right pace."

Liu Jingshuang's hand rested on the hilt of the knife, her brows furrowing more and more tightly.

"What's wrong?"

Wei Zhao asked.

"So organized."

Liu Jingshuang turned her head and glanced at him.

"When a defeated army retreats, the front runs and the back chases, the organization is in complete disarray, and everyone is looking after themselves."

She pointed her finger toward the canyon.

"Look at them—the front and rear formations taking turns providing cover, the supply train in the middle, and the cavalry bringing up the rear. This isn't escaping for their lives!"

"This is a premeditated strategic shift."

Wei Zhao didn't rush to reply. His mind was already racing.

The command value of 1,100 is like a precision instrument, breaking down every word Liu Jingshuang said into data and stuffing it into the simulation model.

An orderly retreat, alternating cover, and cavalry covering the rear—these details, when put together, certainly don't resemble a rout.

Huo Qingluan rode up to his side without him noticing. She remained silent, clutching the command flag in her hand and staring at the distant firelight.

"Jing Shuang is right."

Huo Qingluan spoke, her voice not loud, but her pronunciation was very clear.

"The retreat was too steady, as if it had been rehearsed in advance."

She frowned slightly, turning the command flag halfway through her hand.

"Could it be a feigned defeat?"

"Did they deliberately create an opening to lure us into the canyon, then use the terrain to ambush us?"

Liu Jingshuang narrowed her phoenix eyes.

"That's possible. He suffered a great loss in the last battle and knew he couldn't win in a head-on fight, so he lured us into the mountains—his home ground."

"Our cavalry were half destroyed as soon as they entered the canyon, and the heavy armor made it difficult for them to even turn around on the mountain road."

Both of their analyses sounded reasonable.

But he always felt that something was wrong.

What's wrong with that?

He mentally reviewed the entire situation again.

He has now mobilized the entire city, deploying over 200,000 troops, clearly intending to block Tuoba Ye at Yingzui Gorge.

In the last battle, 50,000 cavalry killed nearly 50,000 enemy soldiers, with a casualty ratio of one to seven. Such overwhelming data is enough to make any normal general wary.

Would Tuoba Ye dare to be defeated by bombing?

What did he use to ambush them?

Last time, nearly 300,000 men were wiped out by 50,000 cavalry. Now he has a maximum of 200,000 men left, and he still needs to send 10,000 men to the gorge to make a show of force.

If a real fight broke out, did he think he could win?

Unless he's gone mad.

But Tuoba Ye wasn't crazy. Someone who could operate within the Western Qiang for three years, sideline his father, and win over the tribal leaders couldn't be that stupid.

There is also an even more crucial piece of information—Tuoba Yue.

The news has spread: Tuoba Yue has inherited the throne, holds the royal decree, and is leading his troops into battle, with Eagle Beak Gorge as his target.

With over 200,000 Wei family soldiers in front and Tuoba Yue's large army behind, the situation of being attacked from both sides has been set up.

In this dead end, would Tuoba Ye still dare to use explosives to lure and entice?

He tried to lure them in, but he only managed to lure the Wei family army in. When Tuoba Yue's troops arrived, he was surrounded and killed.

"It wasn't destroyed by bombing."

Wei Zhao suddenly spoke.

Liu Jingshuang and Huo Qingluan looked at him at the same time.

"Jing Shuang, Qing Luan, think about it—given the current situation, what leverage does Tuoba Ye have to play the bombing game with us?"

Wei Zhao tapped his fingers twice on the gun barrel.

"He was beaten so badly in the last battle that the morale of the entire army plummeted."

"We have over 200,000 men blocking the way in front, and Tuoba Yue has already brought his troops from behind, they could appear right behind him at any moment."

He looked into Liu Jingshuang's eyes.

"In this situation, he failed to blast us away. He wanted to lure us into the canyon, and then what?"

"Should we wait for Tuoba Yue to surround him from behind, and then we can all spend the New Year together in the mountain valley?"

Liu Jingshuang's hand stopped on the hilt of the knife.

Huo Qingluan's command flag stopped turning.

The two of them almost simultaneously showed a look of sudden realization.

"you're right."

A hint of seriousness flashed in Liu Jingshuang's phoenix eyes.

"There's no reason for him to lose at this time."

"So what exactly is he doing?"

Huo Qingluan's voice turned cold.

Wei Zhao stared at the firelight moving along the mountain path in the distance, and the gears in his mind suddenly meshed together.

Tuoba month.

These three words were like a nail, piercing his mind with a "bang".

"He's not trying to seduce us."

Wei Zhao's voice suddenly turned somber.

"He's running."

"run?"

"Where do you want to run?"

"Run back."

Wei Zhao spoke slowly and deliberately.

"His target isn't us—it's Tuoba Yue."

Upon hearing this, both Liu Jingshuang and Huo Qingluan were stunned.

The sound of horses' hooves echoed across the Gobi Desert, and the wind whipped up sand and dust as it poured out of the canyon mouth.

Liu Jingshuang was the first to react, her phoenix eyes widening slightly.

"He gave up fighting us and turned around to fight Xiaoyue?"

"He knew he couldn't beat us in a head-on fight."

Wei Zhao's fingers tightened on the gun barrel.

"He also knew that dragging it out would only make him more and more passive—caught in a pincer movement, and time was not on his side."

"So he chose the only way to survive: abandon the main battlefield, retreat with the whole army, and devour Tuoba Yue before she joins us."

Huo Qingluan gripped the command flag tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"Tuoba Yue only has three thousand elite troops and one hundred thousand slave soldiers at his disposal..."

"Yes, that's his plan."

Wei Zhao lowered his voice even further.

"Kill Tuoba Yue, reclaim the royal decree, and ascend the throne—then he will no longer be a rebel."

A crisp sound came from behind the tent.

Su Qingyun had somehow caught up on horseback, carrying an abacus that rattled as the wheels bounced.

"Wait a moment--"

Su Qingyun interrupted everyone's train of thought.

"I was just doing some calculations."

Wei Zhao looked at her.

Su Qingyun narrowed her long, phoenix-shaped eyes slightly, and spoke a beat faster than usual.

"The Western Qiang invaded this time, claiming to have 400,000 troops, but in reality, they had just over 300,000 capable soldiers."

"Just feeding these 300,000 people has already drained the entire Western Qiang region of its resources."

She moved the abacus beads twice, making a crisp sound.

"Now Xiaoyue has brought 130,000 people out of the palace—3,000 elite troops plus 100,000 slave soldiers—where will their provisions come from?"

Wei Zhao's fingers stopped.

Food supplies and logistics.

His mind seemed to have been accelerated—his intelligence of 1100 points pieced all the fragments together in an instant.

Slave soldiers.

What were slave soldiers in the Western Qiang region?

They are at the very bottom, not even qualified to go to the battlefield.

Their only value was moving grain, transporting supplies, setting up tents, and feeding horses.

In other words, slave soldiers were logistics.

The 100,000 slave soldiers were not 100,000 combat soldiers, but 100,000 porters, 100,000 cooks, and 100,000 livestock.

Tuoba Yue took away the logistical lifeline of the Western Qiang.

"The 100,000 slave soldiers that Tuoba Yue took away..."

Wei Zhao spoke slowly, his voice somewhat hoarse.

"Are they the same people who provided logistics for Tuoba Ye's nearly 300,000-strong army?"

Su Qingyun stopped turning the abacus beads.

She looked up and met Wei Zhao's gaze.

"pretty close."

Inside the tent—no, on the high slope—everyone fell silent.

Wei Zhao leaned back on his horse and went through the entire chain of logic in his mind again.

Tuoba Yue took away the slave soldiers who provided logistical support, which was tantamount to cutting off Tuoba Ye's food supply line.

With over 200,000 men under his command, Tuoba Ye would not be able to hold out for long without logistical support.

So he has to go back.

It wasn't for the throne, it wasn't for face—it was for food.

If he doesn't go back, more than 200,000 people won't even have food to eat, and they'll scatter on their own without a fight.

Tuoba Yue only had three thousand elite soldiers who could fight, while the remaining one hundred thousand were slave soldiers who used sharpened wooden sticks as spears.

Tuoba Ye's 60,000 loyal troops charged forward, it was no different than stepping on ants.

He wasn't running.

Wei Zhao suddenly sat up straight and gripped the white wax spear tightly.

"He's in a hurry—to kill Tuoba Yue before we can react!"

Liu Jingshuang's expression changed completely.

"Those ten thousand who remained at the mouth of the gorge—"

"They're just dragging us down."

Wei Zhao yanked on the reins, and the white horse neighed.

"Even if it only takes half a day, it'll be enough for him to kill his way to Tuoba Yue."