A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

Upon hearing this, Li Erlong's eyes widened, thinking he had misheard, and he quickly asked a question in return.

"We won't kill prisoners of war? And we won't go back?"

Seeing Zhao Daxuan nod affirmatively, Li Erlong immediately became anxious.

"My lord, this is Tartar territory. If we don't go back, are we supposed to occupy this place as well?"

As Li Erlong spoke, his voice suddenly stopped, like a duck being choked.

Just as Li Erlong looked on in disbelief, Zhao Daxuan turned to look at him and grinned.

"That's right! We're going to take over this place!"

"This Black Mountain Pass was originally part of our Great Xia territory. Didn't you see there was another dilapidated pass on the way?"

"It's just that after it was breached by the Tartar army back then, the Tartars were unwilling to spend a lot of money to repair it, so it has been abandoned until now."

"Now that the pass has been destroyed and countless boulders block the main road, the Tartar army will be unable to launch a counterattack in the short term. This is the perfect opportunity for us to occupy this place!"

As Li Erlong listened to Zhao Daxuan's story, his mouth gradually opened wide, his breathing became more and more rapid, but his eyes shone with a frightening intensity.

A few days ago, after Zhao Daxuan finished reporting to Yue Zhenyuan, he happened to glance at a pass marker on the huge map inside Yue Zhenyuan's tent.

However, the sign had been marked with a red cross. Upon inquiry, it was learned that there was a pass here, but the Tartars had not reused it.

The Tartars, used to being arrogant, felt that spending a lot of money to repair this pass and use it to defend against the Xia army was not as good as using the money to raise horses and soldiers!

Fortunately, they abandoned this pass; otherwise, the ambush would not have gone so smoothly.

After returning to the Zhao residence, Zhao Daxuan and Shen Qingci discussed the matter and decided to go all in. After ambushing the Tartar army, they would directly occupy the Black Mountain Pass.

If this pass can be repaired before the Tartar army launches a counterattack, the Great Xia will have a pass in the north that can defend against the Tartar army.

Unlike before, when the Tartars could enter the territory of the Great Xia as easily as eating and drinking, coming and going as they pleased.

"My lord, this is indeed a good idea, but I have also seen that pass, and it is in a terrible state of disrepair. It needs major repairs, which will require a lot of manpower and resources."

As he spoke, Li Erlong seemed to snap out of his daze and looked at Zhao Daxuan.

"No wonder you had Elder Qin arrange for everyone to head north before we left! Were you planning to have them come here?"

Zhao Daxuan smiled and nodded, "That's right."

"And these prisoners of war today, the reason I said I wouldn't kill them is to spare their lives so they can help us build the pass!"

Li Erlong gave a thumbs up, "Brilliant! My lord, you are truly brilliant! My respect for you is as boundless as a surging river!"

When Zhao Daxuan saw Li Erlong start flattering him again in his usual way, he chuckled and shook his head. No wonder so many people like to be high-ranking officials; the feeling of being flattered is really great.

"Let's go. The entire army will retreat to the Black Mountain Pass. Starting tomorrow, these prisoners will be responsible for repairing the pass's fortifications."

"Also, have someone keep a close watch on the Tartars' movements here to prevent them from opening up this passage without our knowledge."

Li Erlong nodded and turned to carry out Zhao Daxuan's instructions.

Soon, the main force of Wangbei Camp retreated to the dilapidated Heishan Pass in the rear and rested there.

Meanwhile, the Tartar army on the other side, realizing that they could not clear the passage in a short time, decisively gave up and turned back to the royal court.

Tuoba Ying looked at Tie Gu'er's gloomy face, which seemed to be dripping with water, and sighed inwardly.

"Iron Gu'er, we will avenge this. Let's go back to the royal court and rescue the Khan first."

Tieguer looked back at the mountain path that the army could not pass through and nodded.

"Let's go! We are the eagles of the grasslands, we will never give up! They just wait for our army's revenge!"

Over the next two days, Zhao Daxuan had Li Erlong lead men to supervise the Tartar prisoners in rebuilding the dilapidated Black Mountain Pass.

However, the Tartar captives' clumsy hands and feet made the construction process extremely slow.

Fortunately, the following evening, Qin Lide led tens of thousands of refugees from outside Zhenbei City, along with 1,500 sword and shield soldiers, to the Black Mountain Pass.

Zhao Daxuan was overjoyed and went out to greet them personally, but when he saw that many of the swordsmen and shieldmen who came with Qin Lide were covered in blood, he frowned.

"Mr. Qin, you must be tired from this trip. Did you encounter anything serious on the way?"

Qin Lide, unable to answer Zhao Daxuan's question, stared blankly at the dilapidated Black Mountain Pass before him, his lips trembling.

His eyes were filled with reminiscence, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses, his voice choked with emotion.

"I never thought this old man would stand beneath the Black Mountain Pass again, sob sob sob..."

As soon as Qin Lide opened his mouth, he couldn't help but burst into tears again.

Seeing this, Zhao Daxuan sighed deeply, and he could somewhat understand Qin Lide's feelings about returning to his homeland.

After all, over the past decade, Qin Lide had long since given up hope of ever setting foot on the land of Youyun Beiting again.

But now, they have not only set foot on the land of Youyun Beiting again, but have also gone much deeper and occupied an important pass.

After a long while, Qin Lide calmed down and looked at Zhao Daxuan beside him with embarrassment.

"Haha, Lord Zhao, it was my rudeness that made you laugh."

Zhao Daxuan looked at Qin Lide intently and shook his head.

"Old Qin is a man of great character, and I truly admire him. How could I possibly laugh at him?"

Qin Lide grinned, looking at Zhao Daxuan with appreciation, and said with a smile, "Did you ask if anything happened on the way, sir?"

Seeing Zhao Daxuan nod, Qin Lide continued.

"Indeed, there are two small Tartar tribes on this small plain after entering the first street of Youyun Beiting and passing the Black Mountain Pass."

"We were attacked by one of the tribes on the way, but don't worry, sir. The tribe only sent five hundred light cavalry, and after leaving behind about a hundred corpses, they ran away."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Daxuan nodded solemnly.

"Elder Qin, beyond the Black Mountain Pass, there are two smaller tribes. Do you know anything about them?"

Qin Lide nodded. "I only know the general situation. Both tribes are small, with a population of about three to five thousand people."

"Among them, there should be about a thousand men capable of fighting, but the elite cavalry number at most six or seven hundred."

"They will have quite a few warhorses and livestock such as cattle and sheep, since they live by herding and hunting."

Zhao Daxuan nodded thoughtfully. "It seems we need to take down these two tribes in the next few days, otherwise they might become a threat at any time!"

Qin Lide nodded in agreement, looking at the dilapidated Black Mountain Pass before him.

"There are two urgent matters. Besides the extermination of the Tartar tribes you mentioned, the other is to repair the Black Mountain Pass here."

"You've had this place occupied for two days now, haven't you? How's the situation?"

Qin Lide looked at Zhao Daxuan and inquired about the progress of the repairs. Zhao Daxuan immediately gave an awkward smile.

"These past two days, it's been these clumsy Tartars doing the work. We don't know anything about repair work, so..."

Qin Lide laughed heartily, waved his hand, and his face was full of confidence when he talked about his area of ​​expertise.

"It's alright, I expected this. Leave the rest to me!"

"Whether it's me or the craftsmen in the refugee group, we all have experience in this area, so it's not a big problem, just a matter of time!"

"You should focus on dealing with the Tartar tribes!"

Zhao Daxuan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Only by facing it personally could he realize that even repairing the pass was a huge project. Without some experience, one would only stumble and fall.