You became an emperor by letting me AFK.

Zhang Zhongsi waved his hand, and his men brought in about ten barbarians.

They were prisoners of war.

They had captured a few scattered individuals during the siege, and along the way they followed the enemy's attack route, they captured several more scouts—a pleasant surprise. These scouts certainly knew about the tribes of the northern deserts; the only problem was, how to get them to talk?

Torture is not difficult, interrogation is not difficult, the difficulty lies in how to distinguish between true and false intelligence.

The 4000 cavalrymen who had been assembled relied entirely on these intelligence operations. They were fighting alone deep in the grasslands, facing numerous dangers, as unreliable intelligence could lead to their demise.

Moreover, the torture should not be too severe.

The guide must be alive and healthy, otherwise what if he suddenly dies in the heavy snow and freezing cold?

Difficult.

"Don't worry, I'm blessed by Heaven, and I can distinguish lies."

Feng Tianyin gave an affirmative answer without hesitation, while also taking the opportunity to praise the creator. In reality, mind reading doesn't exist; it's achieved through the precise scanning and analysis of micro-expressions and body language by artificial intelligence.

To the average person, it certainly looks like identifying a lie.

This power even grew stronger, because with the slight increase in spiritual energy within his body, it seemed he could actively release pressure...

"My lord, spare my life."

It shouldn't be that a little force would terrify the barbarians in front of them, right? Little did they know that after seeing the high priest, they could no longer muster the will to resist and dared not lie.

That inexplicable, mind-shaking power was like the oppressive aura of a great shaman, but even stronger.

Having had their psychological trauma touched, they were naturally terrified.

Not to mention that he was already a prisoner, with the power of life and death in the hands of the enemy. When he met the renowned Feng Tianyin, his legs naturally trembled, and he simply knelt down.

"Then tell the truth."

The questioning went more smoothly than expected.

Feng Tianyin felt that the other party was giving out information like pouring beans from a bamboo tube, and seemed completely terrified.

As for?

She was starting to doubt whether her charm or her intimidation was more powerful. However, her subordinates kept egging her on, insisting that "the High Priest's imposing presence terrified the enemy" was exactly what it sounded like.

A group of barbarians cried and begged for their lives while recounting information.

"I agree, but you must act in concert with the army. As long as you do a good job as guides, joining the Great Qian will not be difficult."

Feng Tianyin immediately agreed.

They naturally agreed with great gratitude and provided detailed information.

This includes, but is not limited to, information on the population, leadership, resources, distribution, and general network of relationships of the various tribes in the northern desert. Some of this information is new, while the rest is corroborated by information from the Great Qian Dynasty, confirming that it is indeed correct.

In addition, there is another piece of latest information:

Earlier, Great Khan Erbala and Khan Etu had joined forces, with the former helping to gather up the latter's somewhat disorganized remnants of the army.

The real main force has just arrived.

They assembled a full 1 cavalrymen, all of whom were elite barbarian warriors.

They spared no expense; this was the elite force of the allied army unified by the Great Khan, all of which was given to Etu Khan for command as compensation for the losses suffered by this friend in this war. Eager for revenge, he naturally volunteered to lead the vanguard once again.

The two hit it off immediately: one would lead troops to fight the decisive battle, while the other would return to the northern desert to gather more troops.

As the commander-in-chief, the Great Khan doesn't need to travel back and forth personally. His task should be to cooperate with Gegentana to stabilize the rear, while persuading the various tribes to send more people.

He is quite considerate of his subordinates and is willing to delegate power to them with confidence.

"pity."

Zhang Zhongsi sighed, "If that Great Khan truly possessed unparalleled prestige, he should have committed all his forces to fight to the death in this battle."

The need for repeated lobbying and encouragement inherently indicates a lack of unity and cohesion.

Just like the allied forces in the Western Regions valleys back then, they seemed powerful and always outnumbered the Great Qian forces on paper, but so what? Internally, they were in chaos, command was ineffective, and everyone had their own agendas. Once they faced adversity, they immediately fell apart.

The organization of barbarian tribes was not as good as that of city-states.

If they were truly civilized and advanced enough, then Linchun should have become a super-large city-state, but that's not the case.

The loosely organized tribes meant that their development was not uniform, making it difficult to unify them.

"We'll eat these 1 people."

Zhang Zhongsi gazed intently into the distance, while Feng Tianyin nodded in agreement. The commander and the commander-in-chief had reached a consensus: this battle must be won.

"Are you crazy? Those are 1 elite troops? The cavalry of the Great Qian people can't compare."

This time it was the prisoners' turn to offer earnest and heartfelt advice.

Although they expressed their submission, it didn't mean they were willing to die with them. Keep in mind that this side only had 4000 men at most, while the other side had 10000, and they were more skilled in cavalry tactics and had home-field advantage…

Given the combination of various factors, the chances of Daqian winning are slim, and it is easy for them to be completely wiped out.

Too risky.

Suddenly, Feng Tianyin spoke up: "Isn't your capture proof that you didn't expect us to launch an attack? Your mindset is that the Great Qian prefers defensive warfare, at least in its dealings with the North."

"Besides, the enemy commander is currently blinded by rage and obsessed with revenge. He also has superior forces, so why not launch a fierce decisive battle?"

"He will come, and recklessly outpacing his reinforcements beyond the range where they can support each other."

His words made everyone fall into deep thought.

It is true that a large number of barbarians gathered in Linchun, but it was far away, and not everyone was in Linchun, after all, it was the territory of the Great Khan.

Therefore, quite a few tribes actually settled in slightly different places.

Time difference!

This is crucial, as troop deployment takes time, and the enemy might even be dispersing their forces in Linchun. If we could break through in one fell swoop, wouldn't we achieve tremendous results?

The officers, who understood the adventurous spirit implied in the high priest's words, were greatly encouraged and eager for battle.

If it suits their tastes perfectly, then we must launch a full-scale attack.

Don't forget who was truly behind this battle? It was Heaven's will, which had planned it all along.

Perhaps the conflicts among mortals are merely a corner of the battlefield; the great being high above in the heavens is far more concerned with the overall shifts in the situation. Since it originated from a conflict of faith, victory can only be achieved by striking at the heart of the matter and destroying the sacred site built in Linchun.

Let's do it this way.

Feng Tianyin glanced at everyone's excited expressions and guessed that they were probably imagining some strange things again... But she didn't understand them herself, nor would she try to figure them out; she was simply following orders.

She ordered: "Send out the scouts and make every effort to track the enemy's movements. The rest of you, get ready at the mountain pass."

"Don't underestimate the barbarians. It's difficult for them to win with fewer troops. Don't be careless."

The Daqian army immediately sprang into action.

They moved swiftly and took their positions, even when their formations were scattered, they were still organized into smaller, independent units, demonstrating the tightness of their organization and discipline.

In fact, this army was created by Feng Tianyin for Xia He's "Great Expedition Plan".

Half of them were Imperial Guards who had already served for some time, and the other half were newly selected and immediately thrown into battle. What's this talk of sending out the barbarian elites? Didn't the Great Qian Dynasty also deploy its most core forces?

The quality of an army is more important than its quantity.

Feng Tianyin adhered to this principle from beginning to end, and considering the pressure of rearward replenishment, this was also the limit.

It's even to the point where there's no room for rotation; everyone has to play the entire game.

Therefore, the first battle became crucial.

Only by ensuring a fruitful victory in the first battle can the success of subsequent battles be guaranteed. If this elite enemy force, at the height of its strength, is not wiped out, the outcome of penetrating deeper into the grasslands will become unpredictable and difficult to control, which is not what she wants.

Fortunately, the reconnaissance went smoothly, and news was quickly obtained:

"Reporting to the High Priest, we have confirmed the location of the enemy's main force. Their target should be this mountain pass, which is still half a day's journey away."

"it is good."

As Feng Tianyin predicted, she would seek revenge in the area where she suffered the greatest loss.

Her concern was that the other side might choose the other path when faced with the choice between the two mountain routes, which would delay their return to support. In the end, she chose the side with the tighter defense and decided to crush them head-on.

If you put yourself in their shoes, you can understand.

It's easy to guess that the side that inflicted more losses on the barbarians must have also gathered more troops from the Great Qian Dynasty.

Both sides understood that they had placed heavy bets on their respective troop deployments, and they also knew that swallowing up the other would inflict a severe blow. Being of similar size, they sometimes didn't have many choices, especially since time was not on the barbarians' side, and the harsh winter was approaching.

On the hillside, Feng Tianyin took off her helmet and gazed northward.

It's another cloudy day.

Just now, it seemed that we were briefly shaken by a surge of powerful spiritual energy, but soon it started snowing again. This heavy snow will bury the defeated side.

...........

On the northern slope of Mount Kurong, on the grassland side.

Ten thousand elite barbarian troops, riding swiftly through the light snow, stirred up a snowstorm on the horizon, blotting out the sky and the sun.

Each member is an elite hand-picked member from various tribes, a top-notch hunter, skilled in martial arts such as wrestling, and possessing outstanding qualities in all aspects.

Their eyes were sharp, their faces resolute, and they stared warily ahead.

"Slow down the march."

Upon seeing the mountain pass in the distance, Etu Khan gave the order.

Upon hearing this, the team finally stopped one after another, but as soon as they stopped, they became scattered and disorganized, naturally breaking into smaller groups and losing their formation.

Seeing this, a hint of worry appeared in his eyes. The only problem was the lack of organization, since it was a hastily assembled group.

While their individual qualities are up to standard, the lack of long-term mutual understanding and collaboration is a deficiency.

But it depends on how you interpret it.

Wasn't it because the tribes of the northern deserts were full of martial spirit? In preparation for this battle, the Great Khan specially entertained them with wine and meat in Linchun to boost their morale. Even the horses were fat and strong, sweating like steam as they ran, and breathing heavily.

Even if Erbala personally went to other tribes to recruit the next batch, it would be far inferior to this batch.

"It is an honor to lead you through this barrier."

"Khan, what are you saying? We are so fortunate to fight alongside you. Let's all go and see the scenery of the Blessed Basin."