My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 388 The barbarians fear power but do not appreciate virtue; how can we be lenient? Xiao He: I will wipe them out completely, eradicate them at the root!
Deng Ai looked down at Tadun, who had fallen to the ground, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It must be said that this chieftain is quite capable; his reaction in the face of battle was truly impressive, almost causing him to suffer a major setback.

Unfortunately, the old man was unlucky; he never expected that he would have captured the precious sword Qinggang from Cao Cao.

That's just fate...

"Come here, tie up this chieftain and hand him over to Grand Commandant Xiao for disposal."

Deng Ai thrust his silver spear forward and shouted sharply.

The White Horse Cavalry flanking them rushed forward and captured Tadun, who was howling like a pig being slaughtered.

"With this great achievement, Your Majesty should at least promote me to General of Siping, and increase my fief by at least five hundred households..."

Deng Ai stared at Tadun's mangled body, his eyes gleaming as if he were eyeing a fat sheep.

"They captured the Great Chanyu alive?"

"Recapture the Great Chanyu!"

The Wuhuan guards, who were not far away, were all horrified and enraged as they watched their Chanyu being captured.

Dozens of Wuhuan cavalrymen, like trapped beasts, roared and pounced on Deng Ai.

"You worthless wretch, you're asking for death!"

Deng Ai snorted coldly, his eyes burning with killing intent again, and spurred his horse, dragging his spear, to charge at the oncoming Wuhuan people.

Guns rang out and fell, guns rang out and fell...

The Wuhuan people were like weeds, and he harvested their lives in droves.

At the foot of the Yanshan Mountains, the vast wilderness is now stained with blood…

As the sun began to set in the west, the sounds of battle finally subsided, and the blood mist slowly descended.

The Chu soldiers were already cheering and cleaning up the battlefield.

Surrounded by his personal guards, Xiao He stepped into the battlefield.

Guan Ping, Zhang Bao, and other generals came to report the results of the battle.

Thirty thousand Wuhuan cavalrymen killed over ten thousand and captured over five thousand alive, leaving only less than ten thousand Wuhuan survivors who fled north to Yanshan.

As for the captured warhorses, weapons, flags, and drums, they were countless…

"Grand Commandant, the Wuhuan people only have 30,000 elite cavalry at their disposal. Now, they have lost nearly 20,000 in this battle, which is a heavy blow."

"After this battle, the Wuhuan people are no longer a threat."

"Grand Commandant, you have dealt a heavy blow to the Wuhuan army with three thousand repeating crossbowmen, eliminating the border threat to Youzhou in one fell swoop. This achievement can be considered the greatest military campaign launched by our Great Han Dynasty against foreign powers in more than a hundred years!"

Ma Su, beaming with joy, bowed to Xiao He.

Guan Ping and the other generals all laughed heartily and bowed to Xiao He in unison.

Xiao He, however, remained much calmer, offering only a faint smile:
"Although we have severely damaged the Wuhuan army in this battle, it may not have eliminated the border troubles of Youzhou. Do not forget that more than 10,000 Wuhuan soldiers escaped."

"The 300,000 Wuhuan people who are entrenched outside the Great Wall are still there, and they will rise again sooner or later."

"The only way to truly eliminate the border threat from the Wuhuan people is to eradicate them completely!"

The last four words were spoken with emphasis, their killing intent as cold as ice.

The generals stiffened.

Ma Su was the first to grasp Xiao He's deeper meaning and hurriedly asked:

"Does the Grand Commandant mean to continue leading us north, across the Yanshan Mountains and the Great Wall, straight to Guangping, and wipe out the remaining Wuhuan soldiers and their followers in one fell swoop?"

Xiao He nodded slightly and sneered:

"Since we've already started this battle, we must fight it thoroughly and wipe them all out!"

All the generals understood Xiao He's meaning, and their spirits were greatly lifted.

"The Grand Commandant is right. We must eliminate these Wuhuan people completely!"

"That's right, we have to sweep them all away and wipe them out completely!"

"Let's go beyond the Great Wall, wipe out the Wuhuan people's stronghold, and slaughter them completely..."

The generals were all excited and shouted battle cries.

The strategy of pursuing them beyond the Great Wall and eliminating them completely was thus decided.

Next, the question is how to proceed. Just then...

The sound of horses' hooves rose as Deng Ai returned with a troop of men.

"Grand Commandant, Ai has captured Wuhuan Chanyu Tadun alive. Please grant him your judgment!"

Deng Ai dismounted and excitedly clasped his hands in a gesture of gratitude, asking for credit.

Then, the righteous followers caught up and pinned a Hu chieftain with a missing arm down in front of Xiao He.

Deng Ai captured Tadun alive!

The crowd erupted in cheers once again.

Originally, everyone thought that Tadun, the Hu chieftain, was lucky and escaped death, fleeing north of the Great Wall with his remaining troops.

Who would have thought that Deng Ai would actually capture Tadun alive!
With the loss of the Chanyu, the surviving Wuhuan army was leaderless and even less able to resist the Chu army's pursuit beyond the Great Wall.

The difficulty of completely annihilating the Wuhuan people and eliminating them at the root will be greatly reduced!

"Well done, Shizai! Capturing Tadun alive is a great achievement!"

"I will personally petition for your merit. This time, the King must at least best grant you the title of General of Siping!"

Xiao He was also excited about this unexpected joy and patted Deng Ai on the shoulder, praising him highly.

Deng Ai chuckled and scratched the back of his head, a hint of smugness inevitably showing on his young face.

Xiao He's gaze then fell on the mutilated body kneeling on the ground.

“Tadun, you disregard my true self and the generals of my Great Chu, yet you were extremely arrogant in that challenge letter.”

"How do you feel now that you're kneeling here?"

Tadun, who was lying on the ground, shuddered. An overwhelming sense of humiliation overwhelmed him, surpassing even the pain of his severed arm.

He never imagined he would end up like this.

Just yesterday, he was full of vigor and confidence, and ordered Tian Yu to write that challenge, fantasizing about defeating Xiao He.

Unexpectedly, just one day later, he knelt before Xiao He as a prisoner.

If it weren't for the excruciating pain from his severed arm keeping him constantly alert, he might have thought he was dreaming.

"Grand Commandant, why waste words with this barbarian chieftain? I'll kill him with one stroke!"

Guan Ping, standing beside him, scoffed dismissively and made a move to draw his sword.

All the generals on the left and right hated Tadun's arrogant challenge, and they all drew their swords, wanting to tear Tadun to pieces.

Tadun trembled with fright, and the shame in his eyes instantly turned into endless fear.

"Grand Commandant Xiao, please calm down. I have long admired the King of Chu and originally intended to lead my Wuhuan people to submit to the Great Chu. However, I was confused for a moment and was bewitched by Tian Yu. I overestimated my abilities and offended Grand Commandant Xiao."

"I confess my guilt. I am willing to lead my Wuhuan people to submit to the Great Chu. I hope Grand Commandant Xiao will give me a chance to atone for my sins."

Tadun clutched his severed arm, his forehead pressed tightly to the ground, begging for mercy with a servile and groveling expression, filled with deep regret.

Xiao He's murderous intent remained unwavering.

That's how the Hu people are; they have no integrity or sense of shame, and they always fear power but do not cherish virtue.

You show them kindness, and they express gratitude verbally, but in their hearts they are waiting for an opportunity to pounce and bite you when you become weak.

The Wuhuan were wiped out early, before the Five Barbarian Invasions, which is why they didn't get a share of the spoils.

Otherwise, the Five Barbarian Invasions would most likely have turned into the Six Barbarian Invasions.

As someone who had been through it all, Xiao He knew best that this period of "inward migration" of the various Hu peoples was by no means the time to bestow favors upon them.

The best course of action is to confront each other head-on and eliminate the threat completely.

"Kill this chieftain! Display his head at the foot of Yanshan Mountain, so that all the Hu people will remember what happens when they oppose our king!"

Xiao He didn't hesitate for a moment, coldly waving his hand.

Tadun was greatly shocked, clearly not expecting this Grand Commandant of Chu to be so ruthless.

He surpasses even Gongsun Zan and Cao Cao in their time!
"Grand Commandant Xiao, let me explain, you—"

A scream of agony rang out, and Zhang Bao and the other generals rushed forward, each wielding a knife and a sword, and in an instant, they chopped Tadun into mincemeat.

(End of this chapter)