A fierce wind swept dust and smoke across the sky. Not a trace of green could be seen in any direction; earth and sky seemed the same color, desolate in every way.
Corpses lay strewn across the hard, dry ground, each bearing a different manner of death. Blackened, dried bloodstains were everywhere, along with shattered armor and weapons, with scattered arrows jutting from them. The surviving soldiers cleared the battlefield.
On the Han Army's central command carriage, Luo Shi removed his faceplate and helmet. Sweat soaked his hair and face, and strands of hair even clung to his cheeks.
He looked older than Luo Sheng. Years of unceasing life on horseback had taken a tremendous toll on his body.
"Have the enemy kills and our casualties been tallied?"
The Military Judge made his calculations and answered with considerable excitement, "Reporting to the Great Protector: our army took a total of one thousand three hundred and twenty-four heads from the Xiongnu and their Auxiliary Army. Among them were three hundred and four elite Xiongnu and one thousand and twenty Mixed Hu.
"The Temple Army suffered fifteen casualties, the Western Regions Han Army one hundred and three, and the Western Regions Auxiliary Army five hundred and four."
It sounded like a considerable victory. After all, the heads taken were almost twice their casualties. Even in Emperor Xiaowu's time, that would have been an excellent casualty ratio.
Yet Luo Shi's brow furrowed deeply. He had led his army a thousand li to reach this place, and it was not for so small a victory.
He wanted the trade route along the Northern Foothills of the Tianshan Mountains open. He wanted unobstructed passage all the way from Guanzhong to Hexi, then on to Wusun and Dayuan. Only then could people from the Central Plains