Attila said unwillingly, "Don't you want to make Liang Xiao pay blood for blood?!"
The crowd shook their heads, "Spare us!"
Looking at his terrified tribesmen, Attila could only smile, but his heart was filled with immense sorrow.
The once mighty and savage barbarians had now become like startled birds, turning pale and trembling at the mere mention of Liang Xiao's name!
Even he himself, upon thinking of Liang Xiao, felt an inexplicable tremor of fear...
With their allies, over half a million people, slaughtered at will, and the bones of the Right Wise King made into a bronze statue, forced to kneel forever!
Was this truly something a scholar from Great Qian could do?
Despite all this, in contrast to his subjects, he was still the least fearful of Liang Xiao among the entire barbarian tribe...
"We have lost too many soldiers and horses, and we cannot form more cavalry! The Xianbei will rebel sooner or later, and the Tianri tribe to the west will surely be coveting us! We cannot stay here any longer!"
"We must expand southwest. There are vast plains and grasslands there, suitable for our development and plunder! Remember, we barbarians were driven out by Liang Xiao and the Great Qian! From tomorrow onwards, for ten years, no barbarian shall mention the name of Liang Xiao, the Marquis of Anguo of Great Qian! Ten years later, we will return to Great Qian from the west. I, your Emperor, will lead the iron cavalry and fight Liang Xiao again!"
All the barbarians nodded obediently.
At this moment, they harbored no attachment to the land they had lived on for generations, only wishing to be as far away from Liang Xiao as possible, preferably never to meet again.
As for the decisive battle in ten years? They could not believe it would ever happen.
Attila saw the reactions of his people and felt tears welling up, "Liang Xiao, I will fight you within my lifetime!"
This generation had been utterly crippled by Liang Xiao. At least ten years later, he could use those once innocent children to build a new cavalry and have a chance to return to Great Qian...
"Consolidate all tribes! Those who do not wish to die in the Mobei, follow me in expanding southwest!"
Having lost the Hexi Corridor and the Hetao region, the barbarians resolutely abandoned their barren and harsh northern homeland and followed Attila as a tribe.
Under Attila's leadership, the barbarians, driven out by the Great Qian, turned their backs on their past and charged southwest, becoming a new nightmare for the western continent!
Subsequently, a new legend emerged on the western continent, sweeping across the southwest.
The leader, Attila, was crowned "The Scourge of God" by the religious sects of the western continent!
The troops responsible for guarding the Three Mountains and the northern Hetao region of Great Qian had been replaced by the northern soldiers who had previously been responsible for defending the city.
Lu Yi led two hundred thousand troops, traveling from the Helan Mountains through Shuofang and Yunzhou, heading towards Yanzhou. It would take several more days.
However, Lu Yi did not let the cavalry advance separately but marched collectively, strictly guarding secret military equipment such as longbows, Shenbi bows, and Modao, prohibiting the dissemination of technology.
Three days after the children were born, Liang Xiao finally felt at ease. He bid farewell to his family and, with Nan Jiyun and others, rushed to the capital.
"The Marquis of Anguo, the Great General of Cavalry, Liang Xiao, leads his army back in triumph and will soon return to the capital to report!"
The entire capital was already abuzz with rumors.
The common people looked forward with anticipation, hoping to welcome Liang Xiao's triumphant return with the grandest of ceremonies.
In the West Palace Villa, Xiao Qing and Zhen Mi were so overjoyed that they could barely speak.
Six children born on the same day, and all safe and sound!
Their Xiao Gege was also returning to the capital!
"Oh my, I don't even know how I should reward him..."
Xiao Qing muttered, but the smile on her face could not be hidden.
"Sister Shuang'er promised Mi'er something, and she must not forget it..." Zhen Mi timidly reminded.
"Naturally, but you are only twelve years old, it's still too early. Serve me for a few years first~" Xiao Qing said with a smile.
Zhen Mi was finally satisfied and bowed to Xiao Qing, "Your Majesty, please have pity on your concubine~"
While the two girls were playfully amusing themselves in the West Palace Villa, the surviving aristocratic families were all filled with dread.
Dugu Qun, Ouyang Ji, and He Wanli, the three patriarchs, with their hair now entirely white, looked even more weathered than before.
Dugu Xiao and others gritted their teeth, wishing they could fly to Liang Xiao and devour him alive.
Throughout the nation, if there was anyone suffering the most, it would be these enemies of Liang Xiao!
"The barbarians have been defeated, too thoroughly! After he returns to the capital, he will surely continue to rectify the court and replace our officials in various regions one by one, won't he?" He Wanli trembled.
"So what? We can't rebel now. Who would dare to support us?" Dugu Qun could only offer a bitter smile.
In the secret chamber, dozens of people from the three great families were all dejected and helpless.
The King of Nan, the southwestern warlords, the Sun Moon Army, the Guishuang Dynasty, the Great Liang Kingdom, the Peacock Dynasty, the Izumo Kingdom, the Taiji Kingdom... not a single force supported them in rebelling at this time.
The Great Qian army had beheaded forty-seven million soldiers, and their losses were said to be less than ten thousand. Such astonishing military achievements had already shocked all the major powers!
As for the northeastern tribes like the Xianbei, they were preoccupied with internal strife and were struggling to cope!
Now, no force wanted to be the first to bear the brunt of the Great Qian's crossbows, nor did they want to hear news of Liang Xiao appearing before their army...
His might permeated the entire realm!!
"Back then, if we had maintained a better relationship with Liang Xiao and negotiated properly, would we have ended up in such a predicament..." Ouyang Ping muttered to himself.
The Ouyang family, due to competition with Liang Xiao's bookshops and the support of other allies, had invested forty million taels of silver in total and were on the verge of collapse!
This had almost emptied the entire Ouyang family's assets, which were then gobbled up by former small and medium-sized aristocratic families like the Gu family.
Now, they did not even dare to provoke the Gu family, fearing that the Gu family would run to Liang Xiao for support and conspire to frame them.
The He family was also in a difficult situation.
In the capital and Yanzhou, Liang Feng's various restaurants and inns were doing booming business, squeezing out their food and beverage industry.
And outside the capital, wherever there was a He family restaurant, there was an "Anguo Restaurant," which was Liang Xiao's property...
They had barely managed to develop things like "hot pot," but it was too late. The market had already been snatched by the Liang brothers!
It was rumored that in Xichuan, Liang Xiao's cousin, Liang Yun, was also running a restaurant!
As for the Dugu family... they had donated millions of taels in a pledge of loyalty, which had inflicted some considerable damage.
The He family in the north, supported by the Dugu family, had their property confiscated, with their assets starting at one million taels of silver!
"Whose hands bought the Ouyang family's land?" Dugu Qun asked.
"It's said to be Gongsun Ye's men. Could this old dog truly be supporting Liang Xiao!" Ouyang Ji said dejectedly.
The Ouyang bookshops across the country were now piled high with The Four Books and Five Classics and two literacy primers, totaling forty million taels of silver. Based on the Ouyang family's previous sales volume, it would take them a hundred years to sell them all...
Everyone was shocked but helpless.
Due to the decrease in agricultural taxes, the land of the large landowners was experiencing a price drop because tenant farmers were becoming increasingly difficult to find!
"The Marquis of Anguo of Great Qian returns to the capital!"
Early in the morning, Liang Xiao finally returned to the capital with his soldiers. After thanking the cheering citizens lining the streets, he headed directly to the imperial palace.