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

Yong'an City, Imperial Tent.

Liu Bei stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the map, and remained silent for a long time.

The three words "Baibo Valley" were always imprinted in his mind.

Xiao He has been heading south for several days. Has he reached Baibo Valley yet?
Did Huchuquan lead the entire division to raid the grain?
Did Xiao He's plan successfully lead Huchuquan into Baibo Valley?
Will this battle annihilate the Xiongnu cavalry and leave no future troubles?

...

One worry after another flowed through my mind.

"With the Grand Marshal personally leading the army, how could we not be victorious? Your Majesty need not worry too much. I believe the good news is already on its way."

Ma Su, who was attending to Liu Bei, understood Liu Bei's feelings and comforted him with a smile.

Liu Bei was slightly startled, then gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"Yes, Bowen was a master strategist who never lost a battle in his life. No one knows Bowen's abilities better than I do."

"If that's the case, what else do I have to worry about?"

Liu Bei's worries dissipated, and his expression relaxed. He stopped paying attention to the map.

So he simply sat down, poured himself a glass of wine, and began to sip.

The wine had just entered my throat.

Chen Dao entered excitedly, cupped his hands and said:

"Your Majesty, the Grand Marshal has returned in triumph, bringing with him the Xiongnu Chanyu Huchuquan!"

Liu Bei was overjoyed and slammed his wine cup down on the table with a "bang".

"I knew it! With Bowen in charge, victory is assured!"

"Let's go and greet Bowen."

Liu Bei laughed heartily, immediately got up and left the tent, leading his ministers straight to the camp gate.

At this time, all the soldiers in the camp had learned of Xiao He's return and the capture of the Xiongnu Chanyu. Their morale was greatly boosted and the entire camp was in an uproar.

When Liu Bei led his officials to the camp gate, Xiao He had already entered.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty, I have lived up to your expectations in this battle, annihilating 40,000 Xiongnu cavalry."

"All the generals fought bravely, and Zilong even captured the Xiongnu Chanyu Huchuquan alive. I have returned ahead of you to report to Your Majesty!"

Xiao He smiled and stepped forward to bow.

Liu Bei dismounted, rushed forward to help Xiao He, and laughed loudly:

"Bowen, Bowen, I knew it! With you personally in charge, how could we possibly lose!"

"Excellent! Excellent! This battle has annihilated the main force of the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu can be destroyed, and Bingzhou can be obtained!"

Liu Bei was overjoyed and burst into laughter.

The ministers on either side were also extremely excited and burst into laughter.

"Guards, bring Hu Chuquan here!"

Xiao He turned around, smiled, and beckoned.

A moment later, several Han soldiers dragged a blood-soaked mutilated body to Liu Bei's presence.

"Boom!"

Hu Chuquan was thrown to the ground and knelt down in front of Liu Bei.

The smile on Liu Bei's face vanished, replaced by a chilling and ruthless killing intent. He looked down at the Xiongnu Chanyu with cold eyes.

"Hu Chuquan, what else do you have to say!"

Liu Bei spoke slowly, his voice as cold as ice, sending chills down one's spine.

Hu Chuquan shuddered, and with trembling difficulty, he raised his head. The moment he saw Liu Bei, his whole body trembled violently.

Shame, fear, unease...

At that moment, he felt a mix of emotions and didn't know what to do.

"Bowen, what do you think I should do with this Huchuquan?" Liu Bei asked, turning his gaze to Xiao He.

Xiao He already had an idea and replied without hesitation:
"I have told Your Majesty that those who are not of our race will surely have different hearts."

"Especially the Xiongnu, who fought against our Han Dynasty for hundreds of years, surrendering and rebelling again, rebelling and surrendering again, countless times."

"For hundreds of years, countless soldiers and civilians of our Han Dynasty have sacrificed their lives to fight against the Xiongnu."

"I believe that Your Majesty should learn from past mistakes and must never repeat the mistakes of our dynasty, which was too lenient and allowed a tiger to grow up and become a threat."

"This thief should be killed!"

"The Xiongnu must be destroyed!"

Xiao He, with a stern and indignant tone, delivered his verdict.

Upon hearing this, Hu Chuquan's expression changed drastically, and he looked at Xiao He with a horrified gaze.

Those terrified eyes looked as if they were looking at a demon.

He clearly hadn't expected that this Grand Marshal of the Han Dynasty would be so ruthless.

Killing him is one thing, but to exterminate his entire Southern Xiongnu clan is another.
"Bowen is right. Those who are not of our kind are bound to have different intentions!"

"This thief truly deserves to be executed!"

To Hu Chuquan's even greater surprise, Liu Bei nodded emphatically, agreeing with Xiao He's suggestion.

Why didn't Liu Bei, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, play by his own rules?
According to past practice, even starting with Emperor Wu of Han, the strategy towards the Xiongnu has always been to subdue them rather than to wipe them out of the world.

It was precisely by adhering to this strategy that, after the Xiongnu split, the ancestors of the Southern Xiongnu led their people south to surrender to the Han Dynasty.

Because their ancestors predicted that although the Han people were brave and martial, they were too civilized and open-minded, and considered themselves a land of etiquette. Their policy towards other ethnic groups was to appease and subdue them, rather than to eradicate them completely.

That's why they dared to surrender to the Han, and that's why they repeatedly surrendered and then rebelled, and then surrendered again.

Because they knew that as long as I swallowed my pride and submitted a petition to the Han emperor to surrender and admit my mistakes, the Han emperor would let bygones be bygones and the punishment would be nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

This is also the source of Huchuquan's confidence to take a gamble and lead the Xiongnu cavalry south to become enemies of the Han Dynasty.

If they won the gamble, they would permanently acquire the four commanderies, fulfilling a dream that the Southern Xiongnu had not achieved for over a century.

If we lose the bet, we can simply surrender to the Han Dynasty again and be punished with three cups of wine.

In any case, the Han emperor would still follow the old precedent and allow him to continue to lead the five Xiongnu tribes. The Xiongnu could continue to occupy Bingzhou and wait for the next decline of the Han Dynasty.

But Hu Chuquan never expected that Liu Bei, the new emperor of the Han Dynasty, would actually kill him!
We must also destroy the Xiongnu!

"Your Majesty, Huchuquan confesses his crime. I am willing to surrender to the Han Dynasty. I am willing to lead the five tribes of the Xiongnu to be vassals of the Han Dynasty for generations to come."

Hu Chuquan panicked and, despite the excruciating pain, knelt down and begged to surrender.

Liu Bei remained unmoved, turning his gaze to Xiao He to inquire about specific measures to be taken.

Xiao Heze cupped his hands in greeting and sneered:

"Your Majesty, killing this traitor is easy, but I think we should make use of him."

"Your Majesty's idea is that Your Majesty should immediately mobilize the entire army to march north and attack Jiexiu Pass again."

"At that time, we will behead this traitor at Jiexiu Pass, in front of Xiahou Dun and the soldiers of the puppet Wei."

"In this way, we can use this bandit's head to intimidate the Wei army!"

Liu Bei's eyes lit up, and he nodded with delight:

"Bowen's method of execution is excellent. This is a good opportunity to let Xiahou Dun know that his plot to collude with the Xiongnu has failed!"

Upon hearing this, Hu Chuquan was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and began frantically kowtowing and begging for mercy.

This is not over yet.

Xiao He raised his hand and pointed west, then continued:

"Now that the main force of the Xiongnu has been destroyed, the Xiongnu people who are entrenched in the Upper County of Xihe are leaderless and have no power to resist."

"Your Majesty should divide your forces into two groups, cross the river and attack Xihe Commandery, annihilating the Xiongnu people in one fell swoop, and also cutting off Xiahou Dun's retreat route to Guanzhong."

"In this battle, we will annihilate both the Xiongnu and Xiahou Dun's 80,000 Wei troops in Bingzhou, achieving two goals at once!" (End of Chapter)