Shock, anger, sorrow, despair… all negative emotions assailed the remaining barbarian subjects.
Attila looked at the wailing populace and finally spoke.
"We must not sit idly by and wait for death, nor can we become sacrifices to the powerful! The blood feud with the Great Qian must be avenged, but for now, we must find a way to escape alive! I plan to lead you to retreat towards the northeast!"
As soon as the words fell, the barbarian subjects near the high platform were greatly surprised, "Isn't that a barren land?"
Attila replied, "There is an old saying in the Great Qian: when facing death, one finds life! Precisely because it is a barren land, if we divide our forces into three, the Great Qian cavalry will have the least possibility of pursuing in that direction, as they would not believe we would retreat to such a place where death lurks at any moment! But for us, it is better to actively seek survival than to be slaughtered by the Great Qian soldiers!"
For the sake of survival, the crowd could only choose to support him.
Attila ordered five thousand men to lead the civilians and retreat northeast, while he himself led five thousand to remain in place and await orders.
After the others had retreated, Attila finally gave the order, "Clear the hoof prints in the northeast direction! Then follow me to trample the northwest and north, and do not look back!"
The five thousand cavalrymen, armed with long wooden staffs resembling brooms, cleaned the tracks for five li along the way, then returned to their encampment. They then repeatedly trampled the northwest and northern directions, carefully controlling their warhorses so that they did not turn back, but only walked backward. Finally, countless hoof prints were left in the desert.
Judging by the hoof prints, it looked more like the barbarian forces were in a desperate retreat towards the northwest and north, with only a small portion fleeing northeast.
After the feint was over, Attila led the five thousand cavalry and galloped swiftly from the northwest, finally finding the hoof prints of the Chanyu's troops. Following these hoof prints, they retreated northeast and reunited with their barbarian subjects.
On this day, the Xiongnu prince, with quick wit, protected over two hundred thousand barbarian subjects abandoned by the Chanyu, leading them to escape into the northeastern desert, preparing to take a detour to the North Sea and escape westward.
The next morning, after a hearty meal, the Great Qian soldiers continued their pursuit northeast.
It was easy to get lost deep in the desert, but the hoof prints left by hundreds of thousands of barbarian warhorses served as the best guide.
After pursuing seventy li, it was already noon.
"Deputy Marshal! Ten barbarian guards were found at the abandoned barbarian encampment. They request an audience with you!"
When Liang Xiao received the news, the soldiers became vigilant, "Do not let them approach the Deputy Marshal. What if they are assassins! Let us go and see!"
Even Nan Jiyun, Lü Changhe, and Zhuo Ying did not support this.
As a Heavenly General, Liang Xiao's martial prowess was unparalleled, but he couldn't guard against cunning enemies who might prepare assassination methods specifically for him.
Nie Yuan volunteered to scout for Liang Xiao, sizing up the ten young barbarians.
"I am Blaid, son of the Chanyu's concubine. I have come to pledge allegiance and present one hundred maps of the barbarian lands to the Marquis of Anguo of Great Qian!"
After introducing himself, the leading youth kowtowed to Nie Yuan.
"I am General Nie Yuan, under the Deputy Marshal. State your purpose truthfully!" Nie Yuan commanded with a frown.
"The Chanyu and the Mu Hong nobles have been slaughtering our people, incurring heavenly wrath. I hope the Great Qian royal army will capture both the Left Xian King and the Chanyu!" Blaid said hatefully.
Nie Yuan was taken aback. After clarifying their intentions, he sent someone to inform Liang Xiao.
"Are they planning to fight amongst themselves?" Liang Xiao and his generals exchanged glances upon hearing the news.
"It seems the slaughter of our people has backfired!" the soldiers sighed.
Three hundred thousand subjects, all killed to prevent them from being captured by the Great Qian soldiers and acting as guides, was an act of extreme cruelty!
"Those few barbarians said they can provide reliable maps of the barbarian lands, and they ask for no reward. They only hope that after the Left Xian King and the Chanyu are captured, the Great Qian royal army will allow them to return!" the messenger explained.
Zhuo Ying could not help but sneer, "Do they really believe we won't doubt the authenticity of the maps? Even if the maps are real, wouldn't our army be able to penetrate deeper into the desert more easily with them?"
Liang Xiao sighed, "It seems there are capable individuals among the barbarians. They know our supplies are limited, and with the harsh climate in the northern desert, we cannot conquer the entire barbarian territory this year."
The generals suddenly understood.
"Tell Blaid that this general will not let the Chanyu and the Right Xian King go," Liang Xiao ordered.
Upon receiving the message, Blaid made up his mind. He turned around, dug a hole, and opened a chest, presenting it to Nie Yuan, "Here are the maps. Please, Great Qian royal army, verify their authenticity!"
Nie Yuan, after seeing the contents, ordered the chest to be brought to Liang Xiao.
One hundred old and new maps were taken out by the soldiers for examination. Liang Xiao, looking at the maps from afar, nodded slightly, "This Blaid is quite reliable. He even prepared dozens of old maps from decades or even a century ago, for fear we would doubt their authenticity."
Lü Changhe scoffed, "Half of the maps here clearly show their age, with many handprints and markings. All the map contents are similar, it seems… well, it can't be fake!"
The soldiers were even more puzzled.
Several maps even marked the escape route of the Chanyu and the Left Xian King!
Even Liang Xiao was deeply curious about Blaid's motives.
Just then, a scout returned with a report, "The enemy has retreated in the northeast, northwest, and northern directions. The northwest and northern directions have the most hoof prints, while the northeast has sparse hoof prints!"
Liang Xiao pondered for a moment and personally went to see Blaid.
"This general can guess your intentions. In fact, you wish to protect the contingent heading northeast."
Hearing this, Blaid's heart pounded.
Is this the Marquis of Anguo of Great Qian?
He didn't fall for Attila's trick at all!
Just as Blaid was about to plead, Liang Xiao smiled, "But rest assured, this general has no intention of pursuing northeast."
Blaid was stunned and could not help but say, "This servant does not understand the meaning of the Marquis of Anguo!"
"No need to ask further. Until this general is satisfied with the results, you will obediently act as captives. After the matter is resolved, you may be allowed to return!"
With a heart full of trepidation, Blaid accepted being bound and placed under strict guard in a carriage at the rear.
"Deputy Marshal, the enemy might have used some kind of diversion. They sacrificed the other two routes, so why are we giving up the pursuit to the northeast?" Lü Changhe finally could not resist asking.
Liang Xiao picked up a map and pointed to the terrain in the northeast. The generals saw that it clearly showed a large number of whirlpools, while the northwest and north had many small green dots, representing oases.
"According to the markings on the barbarian maps, the denser the whirlpools, the stronger the wind and sand, and the more dangerous it is. Since the barbarians chose such a deadly area, they are obviously gambling with their lives. The lives of the barbarians are not as valuable as those of the Great Qian soldiers. I do not wish for too many Great Qian soldiers to be buried in the desert!"
The generals suddenly understood and were deeply moved.
The Great Qian's preparations were thorough, but if they were to venture into extremely harsh environments and could not retreat before winter, it would also be a matter of life and death!
Liang Xiao sighed, "The person leading this contingent northeast has great determination and vision, even sacrificing the other two forces. In the future, he will undoubtedly be a formidable barbarian leader. He even sold out the Chanyu. Even if our army catches up to them, this person will undoubtedly escape at any cost. In short, we must not underestimate the barbarians because of the success of this campaign..."
"By the way..." Liang Xiao looked towards the mountain range to the east, at one of the high peaks, "Is that the 'Heavenly Mountain' of the barbarians?"
Zuo Wushang nodded, "It must be! The barbarians consider this mountain sacred, and the name on the map is correct. It is Mount Langjuxu!"