My hotel is full of emperors throughout history.

A secluded valley surrounded by rolling hills.

In the center of the valley, large swathes of the once lush grass have been dug up, revealing the dark soil beneath and deliberately placed tripwires and traps.

Behind the low ridges on both sides, there were dense figures and countless arrows ready to be released, occasionally reflecting a cold glint in the gradually intensifying sunlight.

Further away, large herds of cattle and sheep, driven together, mooed uneasily.

They are not only bait, but also pre-planned fuel for fire attacks.

Chanyu Yizhixie stood on a high ground, his face ashen, his sharp eyes scanning the "pocket" he had carefully set up.

He was surrounded by various Xiongnu nobles, including the chieftains and the chieftains of the Xiongnu.

Everyone was clad in armor, their eyes gleaming with a wolf-like, bloodthirsty, and expectant light.

"The scouts will report again!"

Yi Zhixie's voice was hoarse.

Where has the Han army arrived?

"Great Chanyu!"

A scout arrived on horseback and dismounted.

"Yesterday, the vanguard of the Han army stopped fifty li away to take stock of their spoils and slaughter cattle and sheep in celebration, showing no intention of continuing their northward advance. Today... today they seem to remain stationary."

"Untouched?"

An impatient pawnbroker shouted.

"What are they waiting for? To eat and drink their fill, so they can fall into our trap?"

Yi Zhixie raised her hand to stop the commotion, a calculating glint in her eyes.

"Liu Ju, that brat, and Huo Qubing, that madman, have won several battles in a row thanks to those strange iron chariots. They must be incredibly arrogant now. The mountains of spoils are slowing them down, but they're also making it hard for them to give up."

He sneered, pointing to some ornate tents and artifacts that were deliberately scattered in the valley, barely visible to the eye.

"Add fuel to the fire. Scatter some more of the royal gold artifacts we 'accidentally' left behind during our retreat. Have the scouts feign panic and make their 'escape' as convincing as possible. Make sure the Han army believes we are terrified and have collapsed, and that the royal wealth is within our grasp!"

"Great Chanyu, what a brilliant plan!"

Everyone echoed this sentiment.

"That good-for-nothing Hunxie King lost his pastures and followers, making him the first piece of meat in the bait."

Yi Zhixie's tone was stern.

"The Han army has tasted the sweetness of victory and now that they see even more 'fat meat,' how could they not pursue? Once their entire army enters this 'Vulture Valley'... Hmph."

He surveyed the ambushing troops around him, his voice suddenly rising in pitch and echoing through the valley.

"My comrades! The Han people, relying on their demonic chariots, have invaded our grasslands and slaughtered our people!"

"Today, right here, let us wash away our shame with their blood! Cut off the heads of Liu Ju and Huo Qubing, and their golden crowns will adorn my great banner!"

"Their demonic chariots will become our spoils! The Eternal Heaven will surely protect the true eagles of the grasslands!"

"oh--!"

A low roar, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing, came from all directions, suppressing the boiling fighting spirit.

The generals and soldiers sharpened their swords, ready to charge at the Han army.

A day has passed.

The soldiers lying in ambush in the valley held their ground under the scorching sun and night dew, their eyes bloodshot and their muscles aching from maintaining combat postures for so long, but their spirits were high from anticipating the impending massacre.

The Han army did not come.

Two days have passed.

The oil used to ignite the haystacks had begun to evaporate, and the soldiers lying in ambush at the front were starting to get restless, exchanging puzzled glances in hushed tones.

The cattle and sheep cried out more and more desperately because of hunger and thirst.

The Han army still did not arrive.

The third day, early morning.

A lone eagle circled high in the sky, emitting a clear and sharp cry. In the valley, only the rustling of the wind through the grass, the heavy breathing that could not be concealed, and the suppressed coughs could be heard.

Yi Zhixie stood on the high ground, having barely slept for three days. His beard was tangled, his eye sockets were sunken, and cracks finally appeared on his gloomy and composed mask.

Not right.

Something's completely wrong.

Based on the Han army's previous rapid advance, especially the momentum of their iron chariots clearing the way, they should have entered this pre-ordained death zone in a day and a half at most.

Why did it stop?

Still a hundred miles away?

What are they waiting for?

Why does it take so long to clean up and seize the loot?

Or...did they discover something?

"Great Chanyu!"

Another scout came rushing in from outside the valley, almost tumbling and crawling. His face no longer showed the feigned panic of the past few days, but only genuine fear and bewilderment.

"Report...report to the Great Chanyu! The Han army...the Han army has broken camp!"

Izhixie's spirits lifted, and the surrounding nobles also straightened up abruptly.

"direction?!"

Yi Zhixie asked urgently.

The scout swallowed hard, his voice dry, yet it struck everyone like a thunderbolt.

"No...not north! South! The entire Han army has turned around, taking all their spoils, prisoners, and...and those iron chariots, and is retreating at full speed towards the Great Wall! Look at the banners and the dust; there's no hesitation. They're really...really retreating!"

"..."

Dead silence.

The deathly silence was even more terrifying than the previous waiting.

Yi Zhixie's facial muscles twitched violently, as if she hadn't heard clearly, or as if she had heard the most absurd joke in the world.

"South...retreat?"

He turned to look at the scout, his voice fading.

"Yes...yes, Great Chanyu. Absolutely true. The column was very long, but the march was orderly, the rearguard was tight, and the scouts were sent out extremely far, so our men couldn't get close at all."

"impossible!"

One of the gang leaders suddenly drew his scimitar and roared.

"They were clearly riding high! They were clearly insatiably greedy!"

"Why would they retreat?! Let's investigate again! It must be a feint, a way to lure us out of the valley!"

"Yes! Let's investigate further!"

However, the news brought back by more scouts completely shattered their last hope.

The Han army was indeed retreating.

They were moving quite fast. There was no sign of them turning back.

They even seem to have taken away the last of the usable hay from the pasture.

"..."

Yi Zhixie swayed suddenly and had to reach out to grab the saddle to steady himself.

He slowly turned his head and looked once again at "Vulture Valley," which he had meticulously prepared for three days and where tens of thousands of elite troops were ambushed.

The dug pits, the taut bowstrings, the warriors basking in the sun, the cattle and sheep and the treasure used as bait...

At this moment, upon learning that the Han army had already returned south, all of this seemed so ridiculous, so... glaring.

"Liu Ju, you brat... Liu Ju!"

Yi Zhixie squeezed out the name through gritted teeth.

"You...you actually held back? Not greedy for credit, not reckless...you just took the meat that was already in your mouth and left?"

He laid a trap, waiting for the greedy eagles to pounce, only to crash and bleed.

But the eagle, in the final moment of its descent, gracefully flapped its wings, carrying its prey, and calmly flew back to its nest.

He was left standing by the trap, in a ferocious pose, like a foolish hunter.

"ah--!!!"

A roar, a mixture of rage, frustration, and disbelief, echoed across the grassland.

"Great Chanyu, please calm your anger!"

They hurriedly tried to comfort him, but everyone's face showed confusion and disappointment.

It seems they've already lost before the battle even began.

"Withdraw...ambush."

With immense difficulty, Yi Zhixie finally managed to utter the command through clenched teeth, each word seeming to be stained with blood.

"Send men to follow them from a distance and confirm that they have truly withdrawn from Mobei. Also,"

The murderous glint in his eyes hardened once more.

"Summon the leaders of all departments to renegotiate the strategy."

"The Han people... are much more difficult to deal with than we thought. This time we were caught off guard and couldn't make any preparations. Next time... if we're fully prepared, it won't be so simple!!!"

Yi Zhixie looked south.

"We have a long road ahead of us; the war is far from over!"