"This is insane!" Attila cursed.
The Left Virtuous King's face was etched with bitterness. "This king will personally slay all his kin, save for his own son, in a desperate bid to preserve the spark of the desolate lands!"
Everyone's pupils contracted.
The Left Virtuous King had over twenty beautiful wives and concubines, as well as more than ten precious daughters, each like a budding flower.
"This king understands the brutality of this act, but we are left with no other choice!" the Left Virtuous King said, his face filled with sorrow. "If we spare them, Liang Xiao might not treat them well, and worse, he could extract intelligence from them, putting the entire desolate lands at grave risk! Moreover, if Liang Xiao were to take them back to Da Qian as slaves, they would become hundreds of thousands of cheap laborers for Da Qian, a transaction without cost..."
Seeing no one could retort, the Left Virtuous King's sorrow transformed into ferocity. He stated grimly, "Rather than let them suffer endless humiliation, it is better we do it ourselves! After all, their fathers, brothers, and sons have already been beheaded by Liang Xiao. Let them reunite in the netherworld soon! In this way, the families of our ministers and surviving soldiers can be preserved!"
The Chanyu's hand, holding the wine cup, trembled, spilling a flask of "A Hundred Years of Intoxication" onto the ground.
Hu Yan Shura could no longer hold back his words. "Although the Left Virtuous King's actions are heartless, they are also a last resort! If the Da Qian cavalry brings enough cattle and sheep, these captives and their descendants will be reduced to slaves in Da Qian, living a life worse than death!"
As soon as he finished speaking, more ministers began to voice their support.
After all, the Left Virtuous King had said that their own relatives would not be among the deceased...
The Chanyu looked at Attila, hoping his son might have a solution.
Attila simply shook his head silently, his face filled with despair, and turned to leave.
The Left Virtuous King reminded him, "Chanyu! Even this is not enough! We must divide our forces and retreat in multiple directions into the desert, lest Liang Xiao captures us all in one sweep!"
The Chanyu closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and nodded. "Act decisively. Do not let them suffer."
On this day, the encampment of the desolate lands became a living hell on earth.
Three hundred thousand old, weak, women, and children of the desolate lands were driven to a line formed by piled corpses. They knelt, begging.
"We beg the Chanyu, we beg the Left Virtuous King, we beg the wise Attila, do not abandon us!"
The cavalry of the desolate lands dared not meet the pleading eyes of the populace, their cleavers gripping tightly as they approached.
In an instant, screams filled the air, and blood flowed everywhere!
No matter how the slaughtered people begged for mercy, the cavalry of the desolate lands did not stop their butchery.
They knew very well that if these people did not die, their own kin would be next!
Attila closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face.
The Chanyu and the Left Virtuous King turned their backs, cursing hatefully, "Rest assured! Our desolate lands will one day see the downfall and extermination of Da Qian, and Liang Xiao's clan wiped out, to appease your spirits in the heavens!"
At this moment, the kings of the desolate lands still attributed all their failures to Liang Xiao and Da Qian.
The cavalry of the desolate lands, taking their own relatives, set off again.
Leaving behind the corpses of three hundred thousand civilians, their blood forming a river, causing vast swathes of wild grass to wither!
Meanwhile, Liang Xiao's sixty thousand Da Qian cavalry had continued their advance, reaching the north of Yin Mountain.
"Deputy Marshal, traces of extensive digging have been found, along with some damaged digging tools!"
Upon receiving the report, Liang Xiao was secretly alarmed and went to inspect the site personally.
The land was scarred, with countless pits, large and small!
Beside these pits lay over a thousand damaged tools, including shovels, pickaxes, and long-handled spades.
"Could someone have discovered the treasure of the ancient Xiongnu king?"
Liang Xiao gazed at the pits, his mind filled with doubt.
Judging by the traces, the enemy had definitely not found the treasure, and might have even returned empty-handed.
"One doesn't dig traps like this," Lü Changhe scoffed, but then his face suddenly paled as he realized something.
Could there be a treasure here too?
"North of Yin Mountain, the land where dragons appear..." Liang Xiao murmured the two phrases, his brow furrowed.
Judging by the depth of some of the pits, it was definitely not here!
This place also had no connection to the "land where dragons appear," unless the landscape had drastically changed over millennia.
However, pursuing the people of the desolate lands was more important now, and Liang Xiao did not rush to investigate the treasure.
At least, no enemy dared to stay and dig for treasure now. If the treasure was still there, once Da Qian gained complete control of the desert, they could dispatch a large army and laborers to excavate it.
It was unrealistic for the Da Qian cavalry to dig and transport the gold back.
The sweeping of the desert was also meant to cover the treasure. Even if the people of the desolate lands knew of the ancient Xiongnu king's treasure, they would not dare to seek it with the menacing Da Qian army capable of striking at any moment!
The rear guard of forty thousand cavalry also arrived to rendezvous. Liang Xiao's army pressed on, finally entering a continuous mountain range in the northern desert.
In the transition between spring and summer, the nights here were still bitterly cold, while the days were scorching hot.
Fortunately, the soldiers were well-prepared, wearing padded armor at night and removing it during the day to avoid ailments like "unarmored wind."
The Da Qian cavalry set up camp at the foot of this endless mountain, enduring a cold night.
At dawn, Liang Xiao led his generals to the foot of the mountain and, gazing at the range, asked with confusion, "What mountain is this?"
Hong Qu explained, "If this humble officer is not mistaken, it should be one of the sacred mountains of the desolate lands, Yanran Mountain!"
Liang Xiao was surprised and ordered the soldiers to search urgently.
"Deputy Marshal, it is indeed Yanran Mountain!" Zhuo Ying led Liang Xiao on a detour of a hundred paces to the foot of another section of the mountain.
Liang Xiao's gaze fell upon a stone tablet, already somewhat blurred.
YANRAN MOUNTAIN.
Seeing the conspicuous characters, Liang Xiao smiled knowingly and sighed, "It is time to record everyone's achievements. Today, we shall carve stone on Yanran Mountain!"
The morale of the army soared!
Thus, Liang Xiao hastily held a ceremony at the foot of Yanran Mountain, offering sacrifices to the south and also composing an inscription.
"In the third year of Jian Yuan, the cyclical year Jia Zi, one hundred thousand soldiers of Da Qian swept across Mo Nan, occupied the royal court of the desolate lands, penetrated Mo Bei, drove out the desolate tribes, and carved stone on Yanran as proof."
The soldiers were both surprised and delighted, but soon became displeased. "The Deputy Marshal, as the commander of this expedition, has not mentioned himself at all. How can this be?"
"Don't dwell on such details," Liang Xiao dismissed with a wave of his hand.
"It must be mentioned! If future generations forget even the Deputy Marshal, how can they remember us!" the soldiers exclaimed.
Helpless, Liang Xiao had to rewrite it on a new piece of paper.
"In the third year of Jian Yuan, the cyclical year Jia Zi, Liang Xiao, the Marquis of An Guo of Da Qian, led one hundred thousand soldiers to sweep across Mo Nan, occupied the royal court of the desolate lands, penetrated Mo Bei, drove out the desolate tribes, and carved stone on Yanran as proof."
Due to potential changes in his official position, Liang Xiao did not mention his title. Of course, at this time, he was not yet aware of his enfeoffment as General of Cavalry, and this was merely out of prudence.
The soldiers were finally satisfied.
Liang Xiao's inscription was very precise, not specifically mentioning the rank or the branch of service of the one hundred thousand soldiers. This was for the glory of Da Qian.
If it were stated as one hundred thousand cavalry, then some logistical soldiers and the infantry guarding the northern border would not have their contributions recognized.
Every soldier of Da Qian had contributed. These one hundred thousand were merely the cavalry representing Da Qian in their push into the desert.
Among the accompanying logistical troops were numerous artisans ready for duty. They took Liang Xiao's calligraphy and urgently carved five stone tablets, placing them in various locations within Yanran Mountain, with the largest erected at the summit.
After carving stone on Yanran, Liang Xiao led his army to depart. After pursuing for a hundred miles, they discovered the ground littered with the corpses of the people of the desolate lands, their blood flowing like a river.
"What is going on here..." Hong Qu trembled.
Could it be that Liang Xiao's premonition had come true?