Gao Chongxing was deeply moved. Wang Chong had entrusted him with taking in An Dushan's former troops sent over by the Xianbei Tribe.
These men had distrusted Wang Chong and joined the Eight Grasslands Tribes Allied Army. Now the grasslanders had sold them to Wang Chong like livestock, and their status and treatment naturally fell far short of those of his own subordinates.
Gao Chongxing could only give them as much consideration as his authority allowed.
As a major tribe second only to the Turks, the Xianbei had taken in six generals under An Dushan, with more than thirty thousand surviving soldiers in total. Naturally, they would not hand them all over to Wang Chong. They kept the generals they considered useful and handed over only the troops. Even if they brought these men back to the Great Grassland, they could not treat them as members of their own tribe. They would serve only as cannon fodder in struggles with other tribes over pastureland, so the Xianbei felt little reluctance about tossing them to Wang Chong.
After receiving these tens of thousands of troops, Wang Chong once again split them up and distributed them among his generals. He had considered using his newly swollen strength to block the Eight Tribes Allied Army and let none escape, but he soon dismissed that dangerous thought. The Eight Grasslands Tribes' strength remained intact, and they were set on returning home. He did not know how many men he would have to lose to defeat them. Besides, battle was perilous, and victory was by no means certain.
Letting the Turks and Xianbei leave, then easily wiping out the other six far weaker tribes-that was the cleverest choice.
Before long, the first wave of Xianbei arrived beneath Tongguan City. Wang Chong watched them throughout and