This day, one hundred thousand Great Gan soldiers, led by Liang Xiao, arrived at the largest lake in Mobei.
The Northern Sea, also known as the Vast Sea, had crystal clear waters where fish could be seen swimming.
So vast was the Vast Sea that even with Liang Xiao's extraordinary eyesight, he could not see the opposite shore!
This day, the mighty winds of the Vast Sea shimmered on the rippling surface.
The Mobei Vast Sea was thus incorporated into the territory of Great Gan!
Liang Xiao held the map of the barren lands and gazed into the distance, murmuring to himself, "It's quite like Lake Baikal, isn't it?"
One hundred thousand soldiers, each leading several horses, arrived at the lake one after another to drink. The men drank first, followed by the horses.
Even in the height of summer, the air here remained cool, even a bit cold.
Hundreds of thousands of warhorses quenched their thirst by the shore of the Vast Sea, contentedly.
The Left Worthy King and the Chanyu were bound to carts, their spirits utterly broken.
They were consumed by worry for their own futures, paying no heed to the fate of the tens of thousands of barbarian captives.
Liang Xiao ordered the entire army to rest. They pitched tents by the riverbank, built fires, and began to eat roasted meat and drink mare's milk wine.
Drinking was forbidden before a triumphant return, but now that the barbarian tribes were in disarray, these spoils of sheep's milk, mare's milk wine, and other provisions from the barbarian lands could be used to reward the soldiers.
As for the barbarian captives, basic daily necessities would be provided to ensure they did not starve or freeze to death.
"When these warhorses return home, they can brag to the horses back home about how they swept through the barbarian lands and drank from the Vast Sea. They'll even have priority when mating with mares!"
In the center of the camp, Yue Qingtian, gnawing on a large ox leg, boomed like a bell, startling the soldiers.
"General Yue, do warhorses truly understand such matters?" a captain of the Great Gan Iron Guards asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
Yue Qingtian snorted, "I'm happy, what's wrong with a little boasting? These fine steeds have brought glory to their ancestors!"
Nie Yuan, sitting beside him, took a piece of roasted meat from the rack and tasted it. Frowning, he urged Yue Qingtian, "Stop boasting for now. This beef is a bit bland. Hey, hey, add some salt..."
The soldiers enjoyed a rare moment of relaxation, and even Liang Xiao was in excellent spirits.
With the capture of the Left Worthy King and the Chanyu, and the sweep through the southern desert, reaching the northern Vast Sea, the barbarian tribes were all but annihilated, their nation on the brink of collapse!
As for that barbarian prince, Attila, who dared to lead hundreds of thousands of barbarians to survive in the treacherous lands to the northeast, he was indeed a formidable character. However, it would take nearly a hundred or two hundred years for the barbarian tribes to rise again in this great desert!
The environment of the desert was simply too harsh. Millions of barbarian people, with the loss of nearly five hundred thousand troops and countless livestock and supplies, had lost the ability to invade Great Gan to the south.
There were no longer any armies in the southern desert capable of threatening the soldiers of Great Gan. Therefore, after capturing the barbarian Left Worthy King and Chanyu, Liang Xiao dispatched over a hundred cavalrymen in various directions to return to the northern frontier, Yan Zhi Mountain, Helan Mountain, and the northeast to deliver the news.
"We lost Yan Zhi Mountain... worthy of the Deputy Marshal, he can stop the barbarian children from crying at night!"
After learning the situation from the barbarian captives, the soldiers couldn't help but chant the barbarian dirge, their hearts filled with pride. They cast grateful and admiring glances towards Liang Xiao's tent.
He loved his soldiers as if they were his own children, meticulously planned his strategies, and personally led his troops into the vast desert...
The soldiers were unaware of the truth behind "Heavenly General," so Liang Xiao had already become the embodiment of Great Gan's military spirit after "Heavenly General."
The barbarian tribes had lost more than just Yan Zhi Mountain and Qilian Mountain; it was likely they would never dare to approach the Vast Sea again!
Bredda was also brought over by the soldiers.
"Bredda, you're here too? Have you all been wiped out?" the Chanyu exclaimed in shock, seeing his son, just like the Left Worthy King.
Bredda merely shot a hateful glare at the two of them, ignoring them. Even though he was bound hand and foot, he still tried to move towards Liang Xiao in the distance.
"Marquis An Guo..."
Liang Xiao waved his hand, "It's still too early. I'll let you go when our army disbands and returns triumphant!"
Bredda smiled bitterly, "This servant believes the Marquis An Guo keeps his word. I've only come to ask the Marquis An Guo if it's possible not to let these barbarian subjects know that it was our Attila who betrayed them?"
Everyone cast looks of disdain at Bredda.
Bredda quickly explained, "Marquis An Guo can just say that this servant led the way. Don't mention anyone else. This servant doesn't care about being reviled, but these captives have suffered enough. Why should they learn that they've been betrayed?"
Liang Xiao looked at Bredda with admiration and generously agreed.
This person was capable of great deeds, but unfortunately, being a barbarian, he could not be incorporated into his ranks. He would never allow the barbarian people to integrate into the Great Gan ethnicity, thus planting a hidden danger and preventing a future tragedy like the Eight Princes Rebellion in the Western Jin dynasty, where ethnic calamities occurred.
Bredda knelt before Liang Xiao with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly.
"The Great Gan Marquis An Guo is truly a sage descended to earth, benevolent, righteous, and valiant! We barbarian people are thoroughly subdued! When I return, this servant will surely remind Attila never to oppose the Great Gan soldiers again!"
After Bredda left, the soldiers praised him, "The Deputy Marshal is indeed benevolent and valiant, comparable to the famous generals of antiquity!"
The benevolence they spoke of from Liang Xiao was not about sparing Attila's group of barbarians, but rather about his reluctance to put his soldiers at risk, given that the Great Gan soldiers had already rendered the barbarian tribes incapable of confronting them.
Since entering the barbarian lands, over a hundred Great Gan soldiers had been sent back to Qilian Mountain due to acclimatization issues, and ten had died of illness.
And the place Attila went was a death trap that even the barbarians dared not tread lightly, yet they were forced to go there for a glimmer of hope.
"It's a shame that if Heavenly General were still alive, it would have been perfect to drink from the Vast Sea with the Deputy Marshal!" Finally, a white-robed soldier couldn't help but sigh.
Nan Jiyun finally couldn't hold back and said loudly, "Marquis An Guo is a sage protected by Heavenly General. Heavenly General is always with our Great Gan soldiers, so how could he not see? There is nothing to regret!"
"General Nan speaks wisely!" The soldiers suddenly understood.
Lu Changhe and Zhuo Ying pursed their lips and couldn't help but mutter.
Apart from occasional excessive modesty, Nan Jiyun was usually quite honest and meticulous. The more such a person was, the more believable their deception.
Even Liang Xiao smiled faintly and then said, "We will conduct another sweep tomorrow morning to confirm that there are no more barbarian threats in this area of Mobei, and then we will return to Mount Langjuxu to perform the Feng Shan rituals!"
The soldiers rejoiced and cheered, "Feng Langjuxu!!"
Several pieces of exquisite roasted meat were sent to the Left Worthy King and the Chanyu, and two barbarian women were tasked with feeding them, without untying them.
"The Great Gan Marquis An Guo treats us generously!" Eating the fragrant roasted meat, the two barbarian kings felt as if they had been granted a great pardon. After repeatedly expressing their gratitude, they devoured the meat.
Zhuo Ying, who was in charge of their surveillance, and the surrounding white-robed soldiers, merely smiled and remained silent.
Their Deputy Marshal was not a compassionate soul; he was merely allowing these two barbarian kings to live like humans for the time being, especially considering how pathetic they had been since their capture – cowardly and afraid of death, no different from ordinary barbarian soldiers.
Even death row inmates were given a good meal before their execution...
The next morning, the Great Gan cavalry left forty thousand soldiers to guard the captives, while the remaining sixty thousand divided into four divisions and circled the Vast Sea, sweeping along the shores. For three consecutive days, they confirmed that no barbarian enemies could be seen in this area.
Just as the four cavalry divisions were preparing to advance deeper for a thorough sweep, gusts of sand began to blow from the depths of Mobei, hindering their northward advance.
"Deputy Marshal, it's an unusually strong sandstorm! We've asked the barbarian captives, and the sandstorms this year are even more severe. It won't improve for two to three months!"
Upon receiving the news, Liang Xiao whipped his horse south.
"All soldiers, follow me to Feng Langjuxu and return triumphantly to our country!"