Chapter 1300

Just now, these Xiongnu surrendered generals under his command had been exceptionally vicious toward the Xiongnu!

"Clean up the battlefield, treat the wounded, and bring all prisoners back to the camp. At that time, this general will personally request merit for all of you!"

Following Gao Yang's order, the soldiers under his command were all like they had been injected with chicken blood, beginning to clean up the battlefield with glowing faces.

Gao Yang looked into the distance, a smile slowly appearing on his face as he muttered to himself, "So many days have passed, the grandfather must be worried sick, right?"

"..."

Three days later.

Great Qian's main army camp.

"It's been ten days, a full ten days have passed, and there is still no news of the Piao Yao Captain!"

"This brat went to catch a few tongues (scouts), where did he catch them to? Could he have run to the Xiongnu's rear?"

Inside the tent, Lu Zhen's furious voice rang out.

He was agitated, and his tone was somewhat anxious.

The Tiger-Brave Middle General Li Zhenxiao was also full of frustration, his tone low as he said, "The Piao Yao Captain's subordinates are all elites, all cavalry; in ten days, even traveling thousands of miles is not a problem."

"But now there is still no news; this is likely because they have fallen into the hands of the Xiongnu, or even... the entire army has been wiped out, otherwise how could there be no news at all?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Jingbian slammed his fist on the table, his face full of anger.

"Lord Gao is too impulsive; the Xiongnu have been cunning since ancient times, as everyone in the world knows. The grasslands are their territory; are they so easy to deal with?"

"If he has fallen into the hands of the Xiongnu, this will not only be a huge blow to our army, but even to Great Qian!"

Wang Zhong's face was full of pain, his fists clenched tight.

That look of sorrow was no less than Gao Tianlong's.

No other reason, just because his son Wang Xiao was still under Gao Yang's command.

If Gao Tianlong lost his grandson.

He, Wang Zhong, would lose his son!

How could he not be sorrowful?

Wang Zhong secretly regretted it in his heart.

He had misjudged, completely misjudged.

He actually believed this fellow Gao Yang; this was clearly because things had been too smooth lately, and the guy had gotten carried away.

Daring to raid the Xiongnu rear with eight hundred men—if that wasn't crazy, what was?

Now it was fine, his son was also dragged into it.

At this time.

A voice came from outside the tent.

"Report!"

"An eight-hundred-mile urgent report from Changancheng!"

The messenger walked in, knelt on one knee, and respectfully presented a memorial.

Although Gao Tianlong was heavy-hearted, he still took the memorial after respectfully bowing and scanned it quickly.

Lu Zhen asked urgently, "Grand General, what did His Majesty say?"

Gao Tianlong closed the memorial, first taking a deep breath to suppress the complex emotions in his heart, then said in a low voice, "His Majesty said that the situation on the front lines changes in an instant, so whether to fight or make peace on the front lines is entirely up to this old man to decide!"

These words caused the expressions of Lu Zhen and the others to soften.

As Wu Zhao said, from the Xuanshui River bend, even with an eight-hundred-mile urgent dispatch, it would take at least three days.

But the opportunity for battle on the front lines often disappears in an instant; if Wu Zhao ordered them to withdraw, then even if they found the main Xiongnu force these past few days, they could only withdraw.

Otherwise, it would be disobeying an imperial decree!

On this point, Wu Zhao gave the front lines the greatest trust, doing almost everything an emperor could do.

But it was precisely this imperial decree that made Gao Tianlong feel even more guilty.

He had failed Wu Zhao's trust.

This battle had been fought too stiflingly!

Then, Gao Tianlong continued.

"This is the first point!"

Wang Zhong couldn't help but ask, "Then what is the second?"

For a moment, everyone's gaze gathered on Gao Tianlong.

They had a premonition of what Wu Zhao's second decree would be.

Gao Tianlong took a deep breath and said slowly to everyone, "His Majesty has a decree: at all costs, find the whereabouts of the Piao Yao Captain."

"Alive to see the person, dead to see the corpse!"

Once these words were out.

Everyone present felt their hearts jump, shocked, and then their faces turned ugly.

Although they had guessed Gao Yang's importance in Wu Zhao's heart, they hadn't expected it to be this important.

This phrase "alive to see the person, dead to see the corpse" carried too much weight.

"The Xuanshui River bend is vast and boundless, stretching as far as the eye can see; where should we go to find him?"

"We've searched for a hundred miles in the vicinity!"

Li Zhenxiao said bitterly, his face extremely ugly.

Sun Jingbian's expression was gloomy as he said, "We must find him even if we can't, otherwise, upon returning to Changancheng, what awaits us will surely be His Majesty's thunderous wrath!"

Gao Tianlong took a deep breath and looked at everyone, saying, "The Piao Yao Captain is this old man's grandson; he disobeyed military orders and underestimated the Xiongnu—this is his fate!"

"When we return to Changancheng, this old man will personally explain the reasons to His Majesty and take full responsibility; I will never implicate you all!"

"For the failure of this battle, this old man will also take full responsibility!"

Once Gao Tianlong said this, everyone's expressions softened slightly, but then they hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

"Grand General, your words are too heavy; we didn't mean that!"

"The tree that stands above the forest will be destroyed by the wind; we just hate that Lord Gao was too careless and underestimated the Xiongnu too much," Li Zhenxiao said.

Sun Jingbian also hurriedly said, "Yes, raiding the Xiongnu and launching a great detour raid on these Xuanshui grasslands with just those eight hundred men—it's as difficult as ascending to heaven!"

"The Piao Yao Captain is, after all... too young!"

The generals spoke up one after another.

But it was also at this moment.

Outside the tent.

The messenger's voice rang out suddenly like a sonic boom.

"Grand General, the Piao Yao Captain has sent word that he is about to return to camp!" ===== CHAPTER 1302 =====