If I made you cannon fodder, how did you manage to achieve your goal of conquering the wolf's l

Deep in the grassland, the vast snowfield begins to melt, revealing mottled black soil.

Inside the Black Wolf tribe's royal tent, the atmosphere plummeted to freezing point.

Ashina, the leader of the Black Wolf tribe, sat on his throne, listening to the reports from the fleeing remnants of his army.

The frontline supply camp was burned to the ground, the deputy general was beheaded, and hundreds of fine warhorses were stolen. For the Black Wolf tribe, which had been rampaging across the border, this was an unprecedented humiliation.

Ashina drew his scimitar and beheaded the fleeing soldier who had brought the news.

"Send orders to all tribes!" Ashina's voice echoed like thunder within the royal tent. "Assemble three thousand iron cavalry! Tomorrow morning, follow me south! I will raze Black Stone Fortress to the ground and hang the heads of every Daqian man inside on our horses' necks!"

With the order issued, a real war began.

Three thousand elite troops, enough to conquer a poorly defended prefecture of the Great Qian Dynasty, are now being used to deal with a dilapidated border garrison.

……

Inside Blackrock Fortress.

The third day after the Yunzhou army retreated.

As temperatures gradually rise and the snow on the ground melts into mud and water, this weather is the perfect time for the grassland cavalry to charge.

On the training ground inside the fort, fifty Zhenbei cavalrymen were practicing changing horses and slashing.

The neighing of warhorses mingled with the whistling of steel blades as Xu Qingshan stood on high ground, inspecting this nascent cavalry force.

On the northern horizon, a thick column of black smoke rose, the beacon tower of Blackstone Fortress located ten miles outside the fortress.

Immediately afterwards, the second and third smoke signals were lit in succession.

The smoke signals an imminent threat.

The drills on the training ground stopped simultaneously, and everyone turned to look north with solemn expressions.

Not long after, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from outside the city gate.

Aman rode a fast horse, its back covered in mud and sweat, rushing into the inner fortress like a whirlwind.

She leaped off the horse, barely catching her breath, and ran quickly to Xu Qingshan.

"Centurion, they're here!" Aman's voice carried an undisguised tension. "The main force of the Black Wolf tribe, a vast, dark mass, stretching as far as the eye can see. Judging by their banners, their leader is personally leading the troops; there are at least three thousand elite cavalry!"

Three thousand.

Upon hearing this number, the surrounding squad leaders all gasped in shock.

At most, Blackrock Fortress has only 108 people capable of wielding swords.

One hundred against three thousand is a 30-fold disparity in troop strength, not to mention that the enemy are all regular grassland troops who move like the wind, well-equipped and full of killing intent.

"How far are we from here?" Xu Qingshan asked calmly, without the slightest hint of panic.

"Less than ten li." Aman wiped the mud off his face. "They're advancing extremely fast, burning down all the abandoned villages along the way. By evening at the latest, the vanguard will reach the walls of Blackrock Fortress."

Xu Qingshan turned and walked towards the lobby.

"Beat the drum to summon all officers of rank of squad leader and above to the main hall for a meeting."

The somber drumbeats sounded again.

A moment later, Xiao Hongluan, Tie Niu, Zhou Laoqi, Su Jinniang, Shen Qinghe, Bai Zhi and others all arrived, and the atmosphere in the hall was oppressive.

Xu Qingshan sat in the main seat and briefly recounted the intelligence that Aman had gathered.

"Three thousand iron cavalry..." Zhou Laoqi swallowed hard. "Centurion, our city walls are full of holes. Even if we block all the carts and horses, we still can't stop three thousand men from charging in waves."

"Yes." Tie Niu gripped his axe tightly. Although he was rough and tough, he understood the situation clearly. "We are not afraid of death, but if they surround us in the fortress, a few rounds of rockets will leave us with no chance to fight back."

Xiao Hongluan stepped forward, her delicate brows furrowing slightly: "The outer walls are dilapidated, and the inner fortress is too small. If we are trapped in the inner fortress by three thousand troops, we will be cut off from water and food within three days, and we will be sitting ducks. Holding the city to the death will surely lead to defeat."

Everyone chimed in, analyzing their predicament.

The gap in strength was too great; any scheme would appear pale and powerless in the face of such absolute power.

Su Jinniang looked at Xu Qingshan: "Centurion, what do you think? If we ask for help, we obviously can't count on Yunzhou City. They'd love to use the barbarians to get rid of us."

Xu Qingshan stood up and glanced at everyone present.

"Hongluan is right. Holding the city to the death will only lead to defeat." Xu Qingshan's voice was calm and powerful. "Black Stone Fortress is now a broken cage with drafts on all sides. If we lock ourselves in, we will only wait to die."

"Then what do we do? We can't just surrender, can we?" Hou San asked anxiously.

"Of course not." Xu Qingshan walked to the wall with the border map hanging on it, pointed his finger at the location of Black Stone Fortress, and then drew a line outwards, pointing to the vast desert and wasteland.

"In war, we can't do things the way the enemy wants." Xu Qingshan turned around, his eyes flashing with a cold light. "They think we'll cower behind the wall, but we'll do the opposite of what they want."

"Order the entire army," Xu Qingshan made the final decision, "Abandon Blackstone Fortress and send the entire army out of the city."

These words shocked everyone present.

"Abandon Blackrock Fortress?" Shen Qinghe's eyes widened. "Centurion, we finally managed to establish ourselves here with great difficulty, with provisions, weapons, and so many women..."

"As long as a person is alive, they have a place to stand. What's the use of guarding a pile of broken bricks when a person is dead?" Xu Qingshan interrupted her and began to make arrangements in a clear and organized manner.

"Qinghe, take your men to the granary. Pack all the high-quality grains into carts. As for the old wheat and soybeans that you can't take, bury them on the spot. Don't leave a single grain for the barbarians."

"Understood," Shen Qinghe replied through gritted teeth.

"Lihua, go to the well." Xu Qingshan looked at Zhao Lihua. "Throw all the moldy herbs and filth we seized into the well in the city. The barbarians have traveled a long way, and they will definitely look for water first when they enter the city. I want them to fall ill after just one sip."

"Bai Zhi, smash all the pig iron and bellows in the blacksmith shop that you can't take with you."

"yes!"

As Xu Qingshan issued his instructions, the strategy of scorched earth gradually became clear in everyone's minds.

"Centurion, where should we retreat to?" Tie Niu couldn't help but ask.

"The Azure Wolf Plains," Aman spoke up, pointing to a vast area northwest of Blackstone Fortress on the map. "The terrain there is complex, mostly low-lying snow valleys and frozen slopes. We are outnumbered, and with the mobility of the Zhenbei Cavalry, entering the Azure Wolf Plains is like fish entering the sea. If their three thousand men want to surround and annihilate us, they can only disperse their forces."

Xu Qingshan nodded: "That's right. We'll break into smaller groups and maneuver around them in the desert. They have a lot of people, and they'll consume a lot of supplies. We have fast horses and repeating crossbows. As long as we're not surrounded by their army, we can take bites off their flesh one by one."

The doubts in everyone's eyes gradually faded, replaced by a resolute fighting spirit.

Retreat means death; it's better to break free of the cage and fight for a way to survive in the vast world.

"Go and get ready," Xu Qingshan waved his hand.

The entire Blackrock Fortress immediately came into operation.

No one complained or dawdled; everyone quickly loaded the supplies onto the carts.

The women and wounded soldiers were positioned in the middle of the column, guarded by fifty spearmen led by Xiao Hongluan, while the outer perimeter was occupied by fifty Zhenbei cavalrymen personally commanded by Xu Qingshan.

As dusk fell, the setting sun shone like blood.

On the northern horizon, the muffled sound of horses' hooves could already be faintly heard, and the dust they raised obscured the sky, like a huge dark cloud sweeping towards Blackrock Fortress.

The south gate of Blackstone Castle was wide open.

A group of over a hundred people, along with dozens of carriages and extra warhorses, quietly withdrew from the fortress they had just taken control of and sped off towards the Canglang Plain in the northwest.

Behind them was a deserted city where wells had been poisoned, granaries had been emptied, and supplies that could not be taken away had been buried deep inside.

Half an hour later.

The vanguard cavalry of the Black Wolf tribe roared as they charged to the walls of Blackstone Fortress.

They expected a fierce siege, but found the city walls deserted.

When three thousand elite cavalrymen burst through the dilapidated city gates and surged into the inner fortress like a black tide, all they found was a scene of utter devastation and empty barracks standing desolate in the cold wind.

Ashina, the leader of the Black Wolf tribe, rode on his horse, looking at the desolate, empty city, his anger burning fiercely in his chest.

"The giant rat escaped! Chase it!"

Ashina roared, drawing his scimitar and pointing it at the messy hoofprints outside the city.

"Disperse your troops and search! Even if you have to turn this wasteland upside down, find them and chop them to pieces!"