That night, the Exorcising the Dragon Army's night raid failed. The next day, neither side fought again, and early that morning, the senior commanders of both armies confirmed the news that Qutu Da had taken Chanyuan City and Niu Da had fled west.
By now, the Exorcising the Dragon Army had naturally suffered a heavy blow. The exhilaration of having held their own on the battlefield earlier had not quite been swept away entirely, but little remained.
Interestingly, however, the government army was not entirely jubilant either. Their meeting had even ended on another sour note.
The reason could not have been simpler. The Exorcising the Dragon Army feared that, with Chanyuan taken, Qutu Da would have nothing holding him back and would swiftly reach the battlefield. The generals of the Hejian Grand Camp, meanwhile, generally feared that, having taken Chanyuan and earned enough merit to satisfy his obligations, Qutu Da would stop advancing east... just like a certain someone who had taken a leader's head and then settled into his nest.
That could be considered a sincere conclusion reached by putting themselves in his shoes.
In short, among the government army's senior commanders, that day was essentially a continuation of the chaos after their return the day before. With everyone harboring their own ulterior designs, the situation did not ease but grew still more confused and tense.
This left Xue Changxiong even more frustrated.
Still, amid his agitation, anger, disappointment, and unease, he did not stop attending to military affairs. That morning, Luo Shu and Li Li led the Youzhou army east toward Yangxin as planned, leaving the battlefield to take up positions there. The order to dismantle the "main supporting pillars" had also gone out the previous night.
And just after the Youzhou army departed, someone suddenly requested