After receiving Zhao Rong's report, Bai Xiaowen smiled. "It's good that Pang De hasn't forgotten his former lord. But the fact that he said all that means he's more than halfway won over."
Bai Xiaowen immediately led his troops in a fierce assault on the Wuhuan.
With a fine robe and a famous sword in hand, Pang De burned with the resolve to give his life for a lord who valued him. He swung his long saber through the battle lines, cutting down enemy officers. Nothing could stop him.
After studying the Map of Mountains and Rivers, Bai Xiaowen planned an attack from both flanks. He ordered Yan Rou to lead a force on a rapid march around the Wuhuan army's rear.
The Wuhuan broke on the main battlefield, only to run into Yan Rou's ambush. Their defeat became a rout.
Tadun, the chieftain and chanyu, sent an envoy to sue for peace. He offered to return this year's annual gifts and begged the Duke of Yan and Grand Marshal to spare them for the sake of the friendship between their peoples.
Bai Xiaowen refused to negotiate. He tore up the letter, rebuked the envoy, and led his army in pursuit.
That night, the moonlight was dim. A strange wind suddenly swept across the plain.
Bai Xiaowen, who was studying a terrain map in his tent, gave a soft exclamation. He put away the Map of Mountains and Rivers and smiled. "There was something odd about that gust of wind. Daoist Master, why not cast a divination?"
Ge Xuan, who was also in the command tent, promptly cast a divination using his sleeve. "The wind has stirred the commander's banner. It foretells an enemy raid on the camp."
Bai Xiaowen had already seen the red dots representing Tadun and the