"They withdrew?"
Guanqiu Jian looked at the scout before him, seemingly struck by a thought.
The Tuoba Tribe's movements had been very strange lately. They had stopped their harassment, and the scouts were encountering fewer and fewer Tuoba cavalry.
Yang Hu had sent an envoy to report that large numbers of Tuoba cavalry were fleeing northeast.
Zhang Te stood beside Guanqiu Jian and began to analyze the situation calmly.
"Could they be attempting a Grand Detour to attack our rear?"
"No... they're afraid we'll block them off. They wouldn't dare enter Youzhou."
"Then what are they trying to do?"
"Most likely abandon their original territory and head for Goguryeo."
"What?"
Zhang Te froze for a moment. Guanqiu Jian smiled and said, "They're different from us. They have no divisions into provinces, commanderies, and counties. Although they've built a few cities, they still primarily live as nomads. They have no precisely defined borders. Anywhere they can drive their livestock can serve as their territory."
"So they aren't tied to the areas around their cities as we are. If they can no longer graze their herds here, they can simply go to Goguryeo."
"As for the common people, when the tribes Beyond the Pass fight, they don't slaughter one another's herders. Those herders are assets to them, and the herders have no notion of refusing to follow someone else for their monarch's sake. Being carried off or taken captive is perfectly normal. Whoever captures them becomes their owner."
"Thus, they can abandon their territory and herders at will and head to Goguryeo to obtain what they want there."
"This Tuoba Liwei certainly has a talent for raising sons. Aside from Shamohan, this Tuoba Chuo and that Tuoba Luguan are both men of courage and judgment who act decisively."
"If they head to