With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

While the cavalry were cleaning up the battlefield, they also captured nearly a thousand trembling Northern Xiongnu soldiers in the muddy puddles outside the camp.

Most of these people escaped from the camp in the chaos, trying to flee to a distant place, but without their warhorses, how could two legs outrun four?

They were quickly surrounded by infantry led by Zhu Shaofeng, the magistrate of Jingbian County. When Lin Ye led the Northern Han cavalry back, under the threat of swords and spears, these frightened birds had no choice but to surrender.

Of the five thousand elite cavalrymen of the Northern Xiongnu who attacked, only about a thousand were able to escape by sheer luck.

This included most of the centurions and chiliarchs, as well as those powerful shaman warriors.

After all, ordinary soldiers are helpless against a herd of maddened warhorses, but for these high-ranking martial artists, it is not a hopeless situation.

Second-rate martial artists, in particular, with their superb lightness skills, can even dodge and weave on the back of galloping horses, or use the momentum to leap and avoid collisions.

As long as they are lucky enough to avoid running into the cavalry spearhead personally led by Lin Ye, their chances of escaping alive will greatly increase.

In addition, there were some ordinary Northern Xiongnu soldiers who were stationed on the outermost edge of the camp and had not yet been drawn into the core battlefield.

Sensing danger as soon as the chaos began, he seized a warhorse and fled north without looking back, thus narrowly escaping death.

But for the entire Northern Xiongnu army, this was undoubtedly a complete and utter defeat.

The Northern Han cavalry also suffered heavy losses in this battle, with nearly 500 casualties.

Most of them were killed when they failed to avoid the frenzied horses while charging into the enemy camp, or when they were killed by the Northern Xiongnu warriors in a desperate counterattack.

Lin Ye's two thousand cavalrymen from Xiang County had suffered more than five hundred casualties after a fierce daytime battle defending the city.

The night raid resulted in nearly 500 casualties. In just one day, the elite cavalry has been reduced by almost half, suffering a severe blow.

The already limited cavalry of Jingbian City had been transferred to other locations for support before the war even began.

After all, for a small border county whose main function is to defend the city, the role of cavalry is far less important than that of infantry.

Therefore, tonight's raid, which can be described as a high-stakes gamble, was almost entirely sustained by the Lin family's cavalry on their own.

Despite the heavy sacrifices made, the results were equally brilliant.

Of the five thousand elite cavalrymen of the Northern Xiongnu who attacked, fewer than a thousand were able to escape, including a large number of warriors and officers who fled in panic.

Even including the losses from defending the city during the day, our side suffered fewer than two thousand casualties.

With fewer than two thousand casualties, the enemy lost more than four thousand men. This near two-to-one casualty ratio is an absolute remarkable victory in the history of the war between the Northern Han and the Northern Xiongnu, who were historically on the defensive.

Moreover, this battle also resulted in the "decapitation" of the Northern Xiongnu commander.

The young captain, along with several of his centurions, were killed in the central command tent.

Bathed in the morning light, the cavalrymen, their heads held high and chests puffed out, filed into the wide-open Jingbian city gate.

At the city gate, countless people had gathered. They had waited anxiously all night, and now that they saw the soldiers returning in triumph, the crowd erupted in thunderous cheers.

When the people saw that behind the cavalry was an endless herd of warhorses, their cheers reached their peak.

Although the captured Northern Xiongnu warhorses had been frightened and scattered last night, they did not run far. Most of them were gathered back by the Northern Han cavalry, and now there are nearly three thousand of them being driven slowly into the city by the soldiers.

Lin Ye rode on the Crimson-Eyed Tiger Guard, his gaze sweeping across the crowd. He noticed that Magistrate Zhu Shaofeng was among them, smiling and waving to the returning soldiers.

This grand welcoming scene must have been arranged by the county magistrate.

However, beneath the joy lies a hidden pain.

These three thousand warhorses were only the survivors of last night's chaos.

Many more warhorses were either severely wounded and killed in the charge, or had already fled into the wilderness in terror and disappeared without a trace.

A single fright and a collision caused heavy casualties to this originally large cavalry force; it was fortunate that they were able to recover these losses.

In the following days, Lin Ye completely abandoned his responsibilities, leaving the treatment of the wounded, the guarding of the prisoners, and the inventory of the spoils of war to Lin Qiang and County Magistrate Zhu Shaofeng.

He then engaged in a rare martial arts sparring session with Liu Yun, Zhu Shaowei, and others on the open ground atop the city wall.

After this battle, Zhu Shaowei, who was originally arrogant and a second-rate captain, now sincerely admired Lin Ye and even showed a hint of his willingness to follow him.

However, due to his family and homeland, he never truly said it aloud.

Time passed quietly and peacefully. News from all over the country was constantly transmitted to Jingbian City through the communications soldiers.

There were reports of lords' armies fleeing in fear, leading to the fall of cities and the plundering of the people. There were also reports of victories, with lords' armies and local garrisons joining forces to defend the cities and prevent their fall.

Of course, the great victory at Jingbian City was also reported back to Lulong City by the Daobing soldiers as soon as possible.

General Zhenwei, Nangong Wan, even sent a congratulatory letter in person, praising Lin Ye's achievements and promising to reward him according to his merits after the war.

At this point, Lin Ye's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down completely.

Lin Qiang had already arranged for spies to conduct thorough reconnaissance within a radius of dozens of miles around the county town, in case the remnants of the Northern Xiongnu launched a surprise attack.

Three Green-Falcon Riders were also constantly patrolling the area to conduct reconnaissance, while several Gargoyles were in the air to ensure that the Northern Xiongnu army could be detected in time if it attacked again.

Having a rare moment of leisure, Lin Ye began to plan for the post-war period.

With this great victory, and with the support of the Qingyuan Sword Sect in the court, it should be a foregone conclusion that I will give up the lair of the second-rate Daoist soldier, the Flaming Lion, in exchange for the three counties granted by the court.

Half a month later, the peaceful morning in Jingbian City was broken by a message from a Daoist soldier from the Zhenwei General's Mansion.

According to reconnaissance by various scouts, the cavalry units of the Northern Xiongnu that had been scattered and plundering various places have now returned laden with spoils and are gradually gathering at the Northern Xiongnu headquarters outside Lulong City.

They have clearly plundered enough and intend to consolidate their forces, making it highly likely that they will launch a new offensive against Lulong City.

To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, General Zhenwei Nangong Wan has issued a military order.

The lords' armies no longer need to garrison the scattered cities; they must immediately break camp and return to Lulong City to defend this vital gateway to Beiyuan County.

Military intelligence is urgent, and military orders are absolute.

Upon receiving the message, Lin Ye acted decisively without hesitation.

He left over 300 cavalrymen, still severely wounded and unable to travel far, to recuperate in Jingbian City. Then, he mustered his remaining 1,200 elite troops, who were still capable of fighting, and hastily bid farewell to the Zhu brothers and many soldiers and civilians in Jingbian County.

He came with one man and one horse, but returned with one man and three horses.

As for the remaining nearly a thousand warhorses, it was simply impossible to take them all with us due to the limited number of people.

Lin Ye waved his hand and left it all to Jingbian City as a gift for fighting the enemy together.