After the brutal battle, the white snow, within an area of two hundred paces, had turned to dirty water mixed with blood.

Shen Cangfeng saw that all the people from the western tribes, except two, had been executed on the spot, and the soldiers were excitedly chopping off the heads so that they could go back to claim the credit. Happy laughter and cheerful voices were everywhere. He handed over his spear to Shen Die and went to the side with Shen Youjia to ask about what happened in his battle. Apparently, what he was most concerned about was, "Your excellency, have you decapitated Muxiuer with your own hands?"

However, having heard this, Shen Youjia, who had been excited, looked upset. He touched his nose and awkwardly coughed a few times before whispering, "Er... The King's Ten Eagles were indeed fierce. Although I set up several traps and six of them died, they fought desperately to find a way out for Muxiuer and the last one who was alive helped Muxiuer to escape!"

The moment Shen Youjia had appeared, Shen Cangfeng knew that this nephew of his, while also his senior officer, hadn't been able to capture Muxiuer. Otherwise, he would have thrown Muxiuer's head over to break the spirit of the people from the western tribes. Since Shen Cangfeng had risked his life to get this opportunity, if things had gone wrong, Shen Cangfeng himself would have been the dead one. Although Shen Cangfeng was now only a Lieutenant, a vice sixth-ranked official, while Shen Youjia was a Lieutenant General, a vice fifth-ranked official, Western Liang was in the Shen Family's hands. Their official ranks were considered at the Royal Court, but their real status depended on their positions in the family.

In terms of their status in the family, Shen Youjia, from a distant family in a collateral branch, could never be a match for Shen Cangfeng. In terms of seniority, although he was older, he still had to call Shen Cangfeng "uncle".

Having ignored everyone's advice, Shen Cangfeng had risked his life for this operation and had even written a letter beforehand to Shen Xuan and others, in case things had gone wrong and the family had put the blame on Shen Youjia. However, Shen Youjia, who had been given such a great opportunity, had only been able to helplessly watch Muxiuer escape. To boost the morale of his troops, he had to pretend to look happy after the great victory. But now being questioned by Shen Cangfeng face to face, he was dejected.

Shen Cangfeng was also regretful. According to the intelligence on the enemy's situation that Shen Youjia had gathered over the years when he had been stationed at the border, Muxiuer Chanyu was in his prime and quite ambitious. Since he had just become the Chanyu, once he completely secured his position, there would certainly be no peace at the border.

In order to get rid of the potential danger, Shen Youjia had sent many soldiers on suicide missions to assassinate him. Though it had taken a heavy toll on the lives of the soldiers from the Thorn Hedge, yet no one had gotten past the King's Ten Eagles to assassinate Muxiuer.

Having known of this situation, Shen Cangfeng had proposed to take advantage of Muxiuer's eagerness to march his troops to the east after he had secured his position. He had suggested that they could use him as bait and pretended not to know that the person from the Great Vi had been bribed by the western tribes so that they could lure Muxiuer to come to the battle personally. Then, Shen Youjia could outflank them from behind to surprise Muxiuer. In the best case, they would try to kill Muxiuer.

In order to get Muxiuer to take the bait, Shen Cangfeng had ruined his own reputation. While Shen Youjia had been discussing the details with his subordinates, Shen Cangfeng had been playing the role of an overambitious spoiled young master in the city of Western Liang. He also got several uncles from the Mingpei Hall, who had old grudges against Shen Xuan and his brother, to stage a fight in the family together, so they had "forced" Shen Cangfeng to agree to go to the East River Town to garrison the border.

Muxiuer did fall for the trap, thinking that Shen Cangfeng was just an idiot who relied on the power of his seniors and took advantage of the useless Emperor of the Great Vi, wanting to gain a military exploit in Western Liang. In terms of their grudges against Mingpei Hall, Muxiuer had heard of this from his spies, so he had believed it and had brought his troops over happily.

However, no matter whether it was Shen Cangfeng or Shen Youjia, both of them had misjudged the ability of the King's Ten Eagles. Though he was so closely hemmed in on all sides, Muxiuer had successfully escaped, which was really disappointing.

Shen Cangfeng pondered for a moment, saying, "Your excellency, don't be frustrated. Although we couldn't capture Muxiuer this time, he has just become the Chanyu and he hasn't secured his position. Your excellency, haven't you said that his half-brothers were unhappy about his succession over the late Chanyu? He could escape from you, but do you think he will be able to escape them among his tribes when he returns?"

Having heard this, Shen Youjia suddenly saw the light, saying, "That's right! Muxiuer could stop his brothers, because, in addition to his scheming, his King's Ten Eagles had helped protect him! However, now there is only one Eagle left and I have shot that Eagle. I even cut off one of Muxiuer's ears! When he returns, even if he can retain his Chanyu title, he won't be able to march his troops to the east for several years. Instead, he will have to try to secure his position, in case someone usurps his throne!"

Having said this, he frowned, musing, "If so, Muxiuer will certainly hide his troops in the depth of the grassland! By then, it will not be easy to find them. If we go in too far, our supplies won't be able to catch up with us, so we could easily die of starvation!"

What he said showed his concern for Shen Cangfeng, as Shen Cangfeng would report his post in the capital in three years' time and claim the accolades for his achievements. Things like almost capturing the Chanyu would certainly give him lots of credit, but if their enemies from the western tribes went far away to hide, it wouldn't be easy to even find them, let alone kill them for the reward.

"Maintaining order on the border is the first priority." Shen Cangfeng shook his head, saying, "Since I arrived in Western Liang, except for cities, the places I have seen, like villages and towns, are very desolate and poor! Although the lands in Western Liang are not as good as the ones in Jiangnan, there are many places suitable for cultivation. However, due to the banditry of the people from the western tribes, people have to abandon them to the wild. It is a pity. If this battle can make Muxiuer keep his tribes hidden for a few years, people here can rebuild their lives."

"What you said is very true, my uncle." Since Shen Cangfeng used "I" to call himself, Shen Youjia knew from now on they should discuss things by using their family titles and stopped addressing him as "Lieutenant". He said, "But if we truly want to maintain order on the border, our best option will be to get rid of the people from the western tribes!"

Shen Youjia said that because he didn't believe Shen Cangfeng would see "maintaining the order on the border" as the first priority. In Shen Youjia's mind, Shen Cangfeng would definitely be the next Family Head. It had taken much effort by the current Family Head, Shen Xuan, to give him the opportunity to come to the border to make achievements. So, how could Shen Cangfeng not be eager to achieve something, yet now be considering farming problems when Muxiuer was hiding and recovering?

He thought Shen Cangfeng said these things deliberately to pose as a noble caring person. Believing himself to be an astute observer, Shen Youjia quickly flattered him and tried to find another reason for him.

Shen Youjia thought, "I have given you a good excuse, so you will want to go after Muxiuer now, won't you?"

However, Shen Cangfeng pondered for a moment but still shook his head, saying, "The weather is too cold now. We are far less familiar with the grassland than the people from the western tribes. If we go after Muxiuer now, we could easily be ambushed. Besides, a beast at bay will put up a desperate fight. We only destroyed five hundred of their horsemen, and there are still thousands of their soldiers gathering around their King, not including all the other tribes scattered over the grassland. When they have heard that the King was attacked, those who haven't joined the King's tribe must come to their aid! In my opinion, it is better to go to the East River Town to garrison the border, set the defense in order, then we send scouts to check out the situation, and then make a plan."

Shen Youjia frowned. It wasn't because he was so eager to flatter his uncle that he had to find another reason for Shen Cangfeng to pursue the enemy. It was because since he had been stationed on the frontier for many years, he had witnessed thousands of people from the Great Vi, including his comrades and relatives, being killed by the people from the western tribes. He hated the people from the western tribes as deeply as hell.

They hadn't been able to capture Muxiuer, which really annoyed Shen Youjia. If Shen Cangfeng hadn't been a very important person, and there hadn't been only a few elite soldiers carefully selected from the Thorn Hedge to follow Shen Cangfeng in order to fool the people from the western tribes, Shen Youjia would have delayed the rescue and pursued Muxiuer until they got him since, in his mind, Muxiuer had relied on his soldiers to get out!

He had thought that as Shen Cangfeng, a young man full of spirit, had acted as bait but failed to capture Muxiuer, he wouldn't accept the result, so after they had cleaned up the battlefield and taken a break to recover, Shen Cangfeng would require them to keep chasing the enemy. Shen Youjia had even ordered his men to be ready to pursue the enemy and prepared a spot on the sled for Shen Cangfeng, but surprisingly, no matter how he politely tried to persuade Shen Cangfeng, Shen Cangfeng didn't agree.

Although Shen Youjia's position was higher than Shen Cangfeng's, Shen Cangfeng's status was special. Before Shen Cangfeng arrived in Western Liang, he had been ordered to assist Shen Cangfeng to make achievements and never allow Liu Youzhao in Eastern Hu to outdo Shen Cangfeng!

Now that Shen Cangfeng did not agree to take advantage of the victory to go in pursuit, Shen Youjia couldn't force him to go with him. This place was not safe. If he left all the people here to protect Shen Cangfeng, how could he go after Muxiuer? If he took all the men with him, and something happened to Shen Cangfeng, he could never make it up by killing ten Muxiuers!

If it hadn't been Shen Cangfeng himself who had come up with the plan to draw the snake out of its nest and who had risked his life to act as bait, Shen Youjia would have wondered if this third uncle from the main branch of the family was a coward, being afraid of going after them!

He was puzzled and felt down. Their troops soon arrived at the East River Town. The old guard had got the news and had long prepared rooms to accommodate everyone. Although the guard knew that Shen Youjia and Shen Cangfeng would come, and they did their best to make preparations, most of the houses were empty in the East River Town because the town was close to the border and was often robbed. There weren't even many intact houses as they had been at the war for years.

The guard gave up his own house to them, and he had to ask Shen Youjia and Shen Cangfeng to share a hall, living in the east wing and west wing respectively. Having been guided to the place, Shen Youjia ignored the guard's greeting, going into the place with a long face. He drank three large cups of strong wine in succession and ordered the rest of the people to leave. Under the alcohol's influence, he angrily asked Shen Cangfeng, "Uncle, you made this plan. But because of my incompetence, Muxiuer and one of the King's Ten Eagles escaped. However, this is a victory, which should be regarded as a great victory, much bigger than the previous year's victory in Fengzhou! Now we are winning, so we should kill them all! But why are you being so cautious?"

This was a bit disobedient of him to ask this as a nephew, but Shen Youjia wasn't convinced. He couldn't calm himself down if he didn't ask why.

Shen Cangfeng raised his head and drank the wine in his cup. On hearing this question, he put on a smile, saying, "You have said Muxiuer hasn't secured his position in his tribe, haven't you?"

Shen Youjia paused, saying unthinkingly, "Yes, but..."

"Muxiuer is good at scheming. Even though he has been defeated, if we immediately chase after him, he will probably use the opportunity to threaten his tribe. So, to avoid the whole tribe being defeated by us, his tribe won't dare to make the rash decision on changing the Chanyu!" Shen Cangfeng squinted, took out a brocade handkerchief from his sleeve, wiped the wine at the corner of his mouth, and said slowly, "In that case, we have given him a chance to live. So, it would be better to stop at the East River Town. We can not only let the soldiers take a break to recover but also wait to see if Muxiuer's own people will kill him for us!"

Having heard these words, shocked, Shen Youjia broke out in a cold sweat, saying, "Uncle, you are wise! If we go after him, Muxiuer will certainly do that! If you hadn't thought of this, I... I would have almost made a huge mistake!"

Shen Cangfeng comforted him, saying, "You hate the people from the western tribes to the core. I know it is because you have been stationed on the border for years. You are so eager to win."

Having heard Shen Cangfeng's explanation, Shen Youjia agreed that they shouldn't go in pursuit, but he had another thing on his mind. It was to pray to the gods that Muxiuer would be killed the moment he returned to his tribe.

After Shen Youjia fell asleep, Shen Die fetched water to the east wing to help Shen Cangfeng to clean up and handed him a letter from Shen Xuan, "It just arrived."

Shen Cangfeng took the letter and unfolded it. He smiled first, saying, "Nian Lemu never disappoints me!" Then he frowned, "My second sister... They need to find a way to solve this."

Having read the last two lines, he was relieved, thinking, "Changying is recovered and it will be a boy. It's really good! She will not feel lonely these three years with a child to keep her company. Father and Mother value children, so they will treat her very well. Even if there are still people in the capital causing trouble for her, Mother will help her."

He was delighted for a while and then started thinking, "This will be my lineal eldest son. If I were in the capital, I would personally name him, but now I think it will be Father who gives the name. Well, maybe I'll give him a nickname?"

Thinking about the unborn child, Shen Cangfeng seemed to be more relaxed under the pressure of being the bait during the daytime and the exhaustion of killing. He began to recall the books he had read, trying hard to find a lucky and lovely nickname for the child.