Three Kingdoms: Start by buying a governor.

"Build a mound of skulls," Liu Ce ordered.

The soldiers began beheading people, piling up human heads into mountains.

This time the mound was piled particularly high—after all, it was in the royal court, so there had to be a sense of ceremony.

Liu Ce looked at the ever-growing mountain of human heads and suddenly laughed.

"Liu Hong, Liu Hong, the achievements I've given you this time, aren't they enough? You wiped out the Wuhuan and destroyed the Xianbei's stronghold... Now your posthumous title should look better, right?"

He imagined that future historians might write: "During the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong, although he made the mistake of selling official positions, he also defeated the Wuhuan and Xianbei in the north, expanding the territory by thousands of miles, and was still a great ruler of his time..."

While "powerful ruler" might be a bit of an exaggeration, he's at least stronger than "Emperor Ling," right?

"My lord, shall we still go to the Western Xianbei?" Taishi Ci asked.

Liu Ce shook his head and said, "It's too far, we're not going. We'll head south and join up with Tiande, but I reckon the fighting there has already broken out by now."

He mounted his horse, took one last look at the burning royal court, and waved his hand: "Let's go!"

More than three thousand cavalrymen turned their horses around and galloped south.

Behind them was the burning Xianbei royal court and a mound of heads made of thousands of human heads.

...

Let's rewind a few days.

In the northern part of Youzhou, there is a valley.

Xu Da's 20,000 cavalry have been lying in ambush here for three days.

The soldiers, wrapped in grass-colored cloaks, lay prone in the depressions and gentle slopes, their warhorses with bridles and hooves wrapped in burlap, barely daring to breathe.

Jia Xu and Cheng Yu sat next to Xu Da, one leisurely munching on dry rations, the other staring blankly at the map.

"Wenhe, do you think the Xianbei will take this route?" Cheng Yu asked.

Jia Xu swallowed his dry rations and took a sip of water: "Most likely. This road is the shortest, and the grass is lush. The Xianbei people are greedy for speed, so they will definitely take it."

"What if they split their forces?"

"It would be better to divide our forces," Jia Xu said with a smile. "By dividing our forces, we can defeat them one by one."

Just then, a scout reported: "General! Over a thousand Xianbei light cavalry vanguard have already passed the outpost!"

Xu Dali, standing on high ground, waved his hand: "Let it pass, wait for the main force."

A while later, a scout came running up, crouching low: "General! The main force of the Xianbei is here! Nearly 40,000 cavalry, completely unprepared, are heading into the valley!"

Xu Da's eyes lit up: "Send the order: All troops, prepare!"

The order was passed on silently.

In the depression, the soldiers gripped their swords and bows; on the gentle slope, the cavalrymen tightened their reins.

Outside the valley entrance, dust rose in great waves.

The main force of the Xianbei arrived, and the earth began to tremble.

Forty thousand cavalrymen, a dark mass, surged into the valley like a tidal wave.

The three brothers, Kui Tou, Fu Luo Han, and Bu Du Gen, rode at the front, flanked by tribal leaders such as Mi Jia, Que Ji, Su Li, Ke Zui, Que Ju, and Murong.

They walked and chatted, their expressions animated.

"Once we seize Youzhou, I want a hundred beautiful Han women!" Fu Luohan shouted.

"I want ironware, I want ten thousand curved swords!" Que Ji said.

"Food is the most important thing," Ke said, being more pragmatic. "Let's empty the granaries first."

The Xianbei knights on horseback were laughing and chatting happily.

"I've heard that the fine salt from Youzhou is as white as snow, and a single cartload can be exchanged for dozens of slaves!"

"I want to steal ironware! All the iron knives in our tribe are rusted!"

"Han Chinese women are so beautiful, their skin is so tender you could squeeze water out of it..."

They never imagined that what awaited them ahead was not the fertile land of Youzhou, but a death trap.

As soon as the Xianbei central army banner passed through the heart of the valley and the rear guard entered the pass, Xu Da suddenly stood up and waved his command flag: "Kill!"

"kill!!!"

The ambush troops were like tigers unleashed from their cages!

In the depression, nearly nine thousand skilled archer cavalrymen—the Jingbian Camp, the Xiaorui Camp, and the Baima Righteous Cavalry—were the first to rise, their bowstrings twanging in unison.

Arrows rained down like locusts, densely swarming into the Xianbei ranks.

The Xianbei people were dumbfounded.

Warhorses fell in droves, and before the knights could get up, they were pierced by subsequent arrows.

Chaos erupted at the valley entrance in an instant, with people jostling each other, horses trampling each other, and screams and neighing of horses blending together.

"Don't panic! Form ranks! Form ranks!" the leader roared under the protection of his personal guards.

But the command flag was shot off, so the orders couldn't be transmitted at all.

The valley was narrow, and with 40,000 cavalrymen crammed together, it was difficult for them to even turn around, let alone organize a counterattack.

Just then, the heavy sound of horses' hooves came from the direction of the valley center.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Like the beating of war drums.

The Xianbei looked on in horror and saw a dark mass of heavily armored cavalry charging towards them—three thousand Iron Pagoda soldiers, both men and horses clad in armor, their long spears like a forest, like a steel torrent rushing straight into the center of the army!

"Heavy cavalry! It's heavy cavalry!" someone roared in despair.

The Ironclad Cavalry charged slowly, but their momentum was unstoppable.

The heavy cavalry at the front, their long spears held level, collided with the scattered Xianbei formation like a hot knife through butter.

The spear swept across, tearing men and horses apart; the horses' hooves trampled, turning flesh and bones into mud.

They tore a bloody gash through the Xianbei ranks!

"Flank from both sides!" Xu Da waved his command flag again.

On the gentle slopes to the left and right, three thousand Flying Cavalry and three thousand Tianbao Cavalry charged down the hillside, suppressing the enemy with arrows while stabbing the fleeing Xianbei soldiers with horse spears, completely blocking the valley entrance.

Meanwhile, the two thousand Guiyi Camp Wuhuan cavalry, who had already made a detour and arrived at the pass, blocked the way.

These former Wuhuan people, now, to show their loyalty, kill Xianbei even more ruthlessly than the Han army.

The Xianbei rear guard tried to escape, but ran headlong into the curved blades and had no choice but to turn around and squeeze into the center of the valley—which made things even more chaotic.

Kui Tou's eyes turned red.

He realized that the enemy forces on the rear were the fewest, numbering only around two thousand.

"All troops, charge the rear! Break through!" he roared the order.

The Xianbei cavalry charged backwards like trapped beasts.

Although the Guiyi Camp was brave, its numbers were too small, and it gradually became unable to hold them off.

Xu Da, who had a clear view from his vantage point, waved his command flag: "Open the breach!"

The Guiyi Camp immediately made way for them.

The Xianbei people felt as if they had been granted a general amnesty and rushed out in a hurry.

Kui Tou, Fu Luo Han, Bu Du Gen, and several other Xianbei leaders from the east and central regions escaped with more than 20,000 remaining soldiers.

Xu Da, however, did not pursue. He waved his command flag again: "Stop! Leave three thousand men to clear the area. The rest, regroup and be wary of a counterattack!"

His cavalry immediately halted their offensive, quickly tallied their gains, seized warhorses, and dealt with the remaining enemy forces—they were well-trained and swift in their actions.

In this battle, through ambush and interception, the Xianbei suffered more than 10,000 casualties, but captured more than 10,000 warhorses and countless weapons and armor.

On Xu Da's side, the number of casualties was less than three hundred.

Jia Xu stroked his beard and smiled: "General, your military strategy is as steady as Mount Tai."

Cheng Yu nodded with a stern face and said, "We should remain cautious. Although the Xianbei have been defeated, they still have more than 20,000 remnants. We must not underestimate them."

Kui Tou and his men fled to a nearby place, and only stopped when they saw that the Han army was not pursuing them.

After counting the number of people, there were only a little over 20,000 left.

"Aaaaah!!!" Enraged, Kui Tou drew his sword and slashed wildly. "These Han Chinese are despicable! They only know how to launch sneak attacks! They've caused us to lose so many warriors! A disgrace! A disgrace!"

Fu Luohan gritted his teeth: "Brother, this revenge must be taken!"

Budugen remained relatively calm: "Let's rest first, then we'll engage the Han army in a decisive battle."

For the next few days, the two sides faced off on the grassland.

Kui Tou wanted to attack, but Xu Da's formation was tight, leaving no opportunity; he tried to bypass Xu Da's forces, but Xu Da's cavalry always intercepted him in advance.

Let's just wait it out like this.