To the First Emperor of Qin: The state has decreed this!

Chapter 409 A Difficult Problem? Let's Go Invite a Celestial Master!

Xiang Liang stared at the Chanyu and quickly analyzed the pros and cons: "One hundred thousand Qin cavalry have already charged into the enemy lines. Our right flank is in chaos and unable to organize any resistance!"

If we fight head-on now, the royal army will surely be wiped out!

"Great Chanyu, the most urgent task is to retreat immediately, preserve our elite troops, and minimize losses!"

The Chanyu's hand gripping the sword bulged with veins. He listened to the increasingly close screams and the neighing of the Qin army's charging warhorses outside the tent, and reason prevailed over his rage.

He knew Xiang Liang was right; escaping was the top priority.

With a clang.

The Chanyu threw down his scimitar, grabbed Ji Dan by the collar and pulled him in front of him, gritting his teeth as he asked, "I will spare your life for now! Since you are a celestial master, come up with a plan for me right now!"

The Qin army is moving so fast, how can we escape unscathed?!

Ji Dan was being strangled so tightly that she could hardly breathe, and cold sweat streamed down her forehead.

At this critical moment, he racked his brains for ways to stop the Qin army.

A few breaths later, a ruthless glint flashed in Ji Dan's eyes.

"Chanyu... The Qin army is at its peak, but there are ways to break through it. If we want to retreat, we need to implement a plan of sacrificial soldiers to cover the rear and scorched earth to block the enemy!" Ji Dan said breathlessly.

"Enough with the nonsense! Just tell me what to do!" the Chanyu roared.

Ji Dan quickly said, "The Chanyu can immediately order all the elderly, weak, women, and children who cannot be taken from the royal court, along with the frightened cattle, sheep, and horses, to be driven to the front to meet the Qin army's charge!"

Upon hearing this, both Xiang Liang and the Chanyu were taken aback.

Ji Dan continued, his tone cruel: "At the same time, set fire to all the felt tents and supplies that cannot be taken away, inside and outside the royal court! The fire, fanned by the wind, will not only obstruct the Qin army's vision but also create a massive conflagration to block their path!"

"Although the Qin army is brave, it will surely be thrown into chaos and its momentum halted when faced with tens of thousands of frenzied livestock and the elderly and weak blocking its path! The Chanyu can then take advantage of this chaos to lead his royal guards and retreat into the depths of the desert from the north!"

Upon hearing this plan, Touman Chanyu's face flashed with wild joy.

This is indeed a treacherous plan that can buy time for the Qin army at the moment.

As for the elderly, weak, women, and children who died in their place, they were utterly insignificant in the face of life and death.

"Good! What a brilliant scapegoat to cover the retreat!"

The Chanyu was overjoyed and turned to give orders to the general outside the tent.

"Pass down the order! Set fire to all the outer felt tents! Drive the slaves, the old and weak, and the maddened cattle and sheep to the south to block the Qin army! The royal guards will immediately escort this Chanyu to retreat north!"

With the Chanyu's order, the Xiongnu royal court descended into chaos.

Fires blazed in the wind and snow, and countless old and weak Xiongnu, along with their screaming livestock, were driven toward the direction of the Qin army's charge.

Under the protection of his guards, Touman Chanyu, along with Xiang Liang and Ji Dan, mounted their horses and fled into the depths of the desert under the cover of night.

……

One hundred thousand Qin cavalrymen advanced rapidly through the snow.

The snowboards made a rhythmic sound as they rubbed against the snow.

Clad in heavy armor, Meng Tian charged at the forefront of the ranks. The outline of the Xiongnu royal court gradually came into focus in his vision.

Just then, a huge fire suddenly shot up in front of them.

The firelight illuminated the night and also the scene blocking the Qin army's path.

Meng Tian reined in his warhorse, his eyes wide open.

The 100,000 Qin cavalry following behind him also slowed down, and finally stopped their charge in front of the firelight.

What blocked their way was not the elite Xiongnu warriors wielding scimitars, but tens of thousands of Xiongnu old, weak, women and children.

A large number of elderly Huns with white hair, women in thin clothes, and children crying in their arms were driven to the front lines.

Around them were herds of frightened and frenzied cattle, sheep, and horses.

The fire burned behind them, blocking their retreat and also obstructing the Qin army's view of their continued northward pursuit.

"Help……"

"Don't kill us..."

The cries and screams blended together.

Many Xiongnu women and children knelt in the snow, kowtowing and begging for mercy from the fully armed Qin army.

The frightened cattle and sheep ran wildly through the crowd, and people were trampled to the ground.

The Qin warriors at the forefront gripped their long spears and daggers tightly, but their arms remained suspended in mid-air.

They were a battle-hardened army, having killed countless people on the battlefields of the six kingdoms.

They never back down or show mercy when facing an enemy armed with weapons.

But at this moment, faced with these defenseless women, children, and infants kneeling and weeping, the Qin soldiers simply couldn't bring themselves to do it.

The Qin army had strict military discipline, but even soldiers had their bottom lines.

Slaughtering the defenseless elderly and children goes against the morale of the army.

"General, this..."

A lieutenant rode up to Meng Tian's side, looking at the chaotic scene before him, his tone hesitant.

Meng Tian looked at the wall of fire and the crying women and children in front of him, his face turning ashen.

He drew his longsword from his waist and slashed at the air beside him.

He understood that this was a treacherous scheme by the Xiongnu Chanyu.

They used the old, weak, sick, disabled, and livestock to form a human wall to block the Qin army's charge.

Once the army's charge stops, it becomes difficult to reorganize and regain speed.

The raging fire ahead and the tens of thousands of women and children completely cut off the pursuit route.

"Touman Chanyu, how could he be so ruthless! He even used his own people as shields!" Meng Tian gritted his teeth.

He looked up at the area behind the wall of fire.

With the wind and snow raging and visibility impaired, Touman Chanyu and the Xiongnu royal guards must have taken advantage of this opportunity to flee into the depths of the northern desert.

The best opportunity to pursue the Chanyu has already passed.

"Commander Meng, what should we do now? Should we just charge straight in?" the lieutenant asked, gripping the reins tightly.

Meng Tian looked at the children shivering in the snow, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

"Don't kill him."

Meng Tian ordered in a deep voice, "Order the entire army to cease the charge! Spread out your formation, surround these Xiongnu people, and control the crazed cattle and sheep."

Send some people to extinguish the fire ahead!

"Yes, sir!" The lieutenant accepted the order and immediately relayed it.

The 100,000 Qin cavalry quickly dispersed, forming a huge encirclement that controlled tens of thousands of Xiongnu women, children, and livestock in the center.

The soldiers dismounted and began clearing the fire and calming the frightened livestock.

As Meng Tian rode on his horse, looking at the tens of thousands of terrified faces, he felt extremely anxious.

Although they captured the Xiongnu royal court, they let Touman Chanyu escape, so this surprise attack was not entirely successful.

Even more challenging is how to deal with the tens of thousands of elderly, weak, women and children right now.

Kill them all?

Not only would it be against the will of Heaven and the people, but if this were to be reported back to the Central Plains, it would surely be met with condemnation from the civil officials, and might even damage the reputation of the Qin Dynasty in the north, and incite the other Xiongnu tribes to fight to the death.

To spare their lives or keep them alive?

With 300,000 Qin troops fighting in the northern border, food supplies were already scarce.

That's tens of thousands of mouths.

The Qin Dynasty's grain supplies were meant to feed its soldiers, so how could they possibly be used to feed these prisoners of war from an enemy state?

In this extremely cold weather with heavy snow blocking the mountains, if they are left unattended, these people will all freeze and starve to death within a few days.

They can't kill them, they can't afford to raise them, and releasing them is even more inappropriate.

These tens of thousands of women and children became a huge hot potato.

Meng Tian frowned and paced back and forth in the snow.

After pondering for a long time, Meng Tian stopped and turned to look at his personal guards.