The adjutant wailed, "It's said to be a crushing defeat!"
The Right Wise King, enraged, kicked over the adjutant and personally went to meet the Left Wise King to inquire about the situation.
Seeing the Left Wise King's appearance, the Right Wise King was stunned.
The Left Wise King's beard and hair had been shorn, his face was dejected, his eyes vacant. The generals behind him were weather-beaten and on the verge of tears.
"Left Wise King, what is going on?" the Right Wise King exclaimed in shock.
The Left Wise King merely offered a wry smile and muttered, "General Tian has attacked, General Tian is still alive…"
"What General Tian?" The Right Wise King's pupils contracted. He asked repeatedly, hearing the same answer from the Left Wise King every time. He then turned to the Left Wise King's strategist.
The strategist, full of shame, explained, "Our army suffered a setback in Yanzhou. Seventeen thousand of our men may have been beheaded by Liang Xiao and General Tian…"
Seventeen thousand beheaded?!
The Right Wise King's personal guards around them trembled, dropping their weapons to the ground.
"Nonsense! We have so many cavalry. Even if we couldn't win, we could retreat safely. How could seventeen thousand be beheaded?!" the Right Wise King cried out in disbelief and anger.
The barbaric cavalry had always been renowned throughout the land for their speed. Their greatest strength was in harassment: they could pursue when they could win, and flee when they couldn't.
The entire Great Qian Kingdom had only about a hundred thousand cavalry in total. How could they possibly behead seventeen thousand men, over a hundred thousand riders!
The strategist, his voice trembling, recounted the events to the Right Wise King, filling everyone with dread.
"The soldiers of Great Qian are no longer what they were?"
The area was already freezing, but everyone felt a chill that shot straight to their scalps, causing them to shiver.
"It's over. I fear the Chieftain will spit blood with anger when he learns of this battle!" the Right Wise King sighed.
The barbarians had taken centuries to form their current unified front of two kings and one chieftain. Their unprecedented unity had given them the confidence to invade Great Qian from the south.
And yet, the Left Wise King, their most formidable warrior, had been utterly defeated by Liang Xiao and General Tian…
"Liang, Liang Xiao is General Tian, Liang Xiao is General Tian…" the Left Wise King just kept repeating.
The Right Wise King watched, shaking his head helplessly. "The former number one commander of the barbarians is now so terrified. He's boosting the enemy's morale and crushing our own. How could Liang Xiao, who commands and strategizes on the battlefield, possibly be General Tian? And he's still leading the pursuit! Even if General Tian is alive, we can be wary of him in the future and limit our ability to kill him!"
The Left Wise King did not respond, merely repeating the same phrase.
Looking at the Left Wise King, who had lost his spirit, all the barbarian generals present were filled with terror!
Even their commander had developed a psychological shadow, so what could they do?
Eighteen thousand barbarians, after a head-on clash with the enemy's infantry and a pursuit by cavalry, resulted in seventeen thousand beheaded. This was enough to destroy the confidence of all the barbarians!
They had launched this grand invasion of Great Qian this year, hoping to break its backbone. Instead, had they had their own backbone broken?
The Right Wise King, catching a glimpse out of the corner of his eye, noticed that the hands of some soldiers holding their weapons were starting to tremble.
And these were elite soldiers!
Seeing this, the Right Wise King felt utterly disheartened. He glared at the Left Wise King and sighed, "Retreat! Inform our allies in Shuofang to retreat together and fall back to Helan Mountain!"
Gazing at the vast siege engines the barbarians had prepared in the distance, the Right Wise King was overcome with sorrow.
This year, they had lost utterly!
But with even the Left Wise King in such a state, and his own abilities inferior to the Left Wise King, what could he do?
"Back to Helan Mountain. I don't believe the people of Great Qian would dare to advance all the way to Helan Mountain!"
As the order was relayed, the entire army was shocked. Forced into a defensive stance, they organized their retreat.
Two hours later, a flying messenger arrived.
"Report! Outside Yanzhou City, the heads of over seventeen thousand of our barbarian warriors have been displayed. These heads are being transported north!"
The news spread, sending tremors of shock through the entire army, who retreated without fighting, fleeing to Helan Mountain!
In Yunzhou, scouts also received news: "The Right Wise King of the barbarians has suddenly led his troops in retreat!"
Lu Yi and the others were both surprised and delighted. "They have indeed retreated without a fight!"
"Marshal, should we arrange for some cavalry to harass them?" suggested the strategist of Yunzhou.
The generals all rose and volunteered to fight.
Lu Yi pondered for a moment and nodded. "Dispatch ten thousand cavalry, equipped with strong bows and crossbows. Absolutely do not engage closely. Take what you can get and withdraw!"
Ten thousand Great Qian cavalry departed from Yunzhou and began to harass them along the way, shooting and killing barbarians in the rear. This threw the Right Wise King into disarray. He repeatedly considered counter-attacking Yunzhou but gave up, instead assigning elite cavalry to defend the rear.
The Great Qian cavalry then retreated back to Yunzhou.
The flying messenger dispatched by the Right Wise King rushed to Shuofang with the news. The barbarian forces stationed outside Shuofang City were all struck with terror and retreated en masse.
However, the Shuofang defenders had limited cavalry. To prevent Shuofang from falling, they abandoned the idea of pursuit and harassment.
The barbarians, who had launched a full-scale invasion with all their national strength in three routes, now retreated like cornered dogs, shamefully falling back to Helan Mountain!
Upon receiving the news, the soldiers and civilians in various regions of the northern border were all invigorated. Everyone burned incense and prayed, honored their ancestors, and celebrated the great victory in Yanzhou!
In just a few days, morale and popular support in the northern border reached an unprecedented high, even surpassing the year General Tian repelled the barbarians!
After all, this year, General Tian had also led troops into battle!
Meanwhile, printing houses across the Great Qian resumed their work. Liang Xiao's "Anguo Restaurant" also began opening in cities and towns outside the capital and Yanzhou, encroaching on the food and beverage industry of the He family in the capital.
The common people, hearing that these were restaurants under the banner of Marquis Anguo, flocked to them for a taste. After experiencing the affordable and convenient hot pot, the He family's restaurants saw almost no repeat customers…
To the west of Yanzhou, a lone rider approached at breakneck speed.
Liang Xiao received the messenger and then ordered Klisti and Buti to be summoned.
"Alagard!"
Buti and Klisti were startled to see the arrival.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Princess, greetings, Father!" The middle-aged guard Alagard immediately bowed to them and explained his purpose.
It turned out that the Guishuang Dynasty had suddenly begun acting uncharacteristically, exerting pressure on the various countries in the Western Regions, especially the Kingdom of Qiuci. They were demanded to sever ties with Great Qian, and even to oppose Great Qian!
However, the King of Qiuci did not wish to offend Great Qian and had dispatched Alagard to seek aid.
Alagard carried the King of Qiuci's token and a letter of appeal. He traveled from the western border, through Shuofang and Yunzhou, receiving support from the various garrison commanders. He had originally intended to come to Yanzhou to request fresh horses to travel to the capital. Upon hearing that Liang Xiao was in Yanzhou, he came to see him first.
After understanding the situation, Liang Xiao comforted him, "There is no need to worry. We predicted such a situation might arise a month ago and therefore dispatched someone with urgent messages to the western border to maintain contact with the Kingdom of Qiuci."
Alagard was both surprised and delighted to learn that Klisti had married Liang Xiao and was even expecting his child, and that Buti also held an official position in Great Qian.
"You can stay and work in Great Qian," Liang Xiao suggested.
Alagard shook his head. "Thank you for your kind offer, Marquis Anguo, but this humble servant must share the fate of Qiuci!"
Liang Xiao smiled in admiration and ordered Alagard to be well-treated, preparing to take him to the capital to meet the emperor the next day.
As time passed, the great victory in Yanzhou spread wider and wider. The soldiers and civilians across the Great Qian were all invigorated by the news of the triumph!
Coupled with the increased treatment for soldiers, countless young and strong men in various regions finally put aside their worries and eagerly enlisted.