Zhang Xin led his army beyond the mountain pass.
After crossing the Yanshan Mountains, the landscape suddenly opened up into a vast, boundless expanse—the Inner Mongolian Plateau.
Though called a plateau, with mountains to the south, it felt more like an endless plain. In summer, it would have been a sea of green—but now, with winter approaching, the grass was dry and yellow, and the land felt cold and lifeless.
Splitting the Army
Here, Zhang Xin divided his forces into three.
Guan Yu led 2,000 men northeast, sweeping Xianbei tribes near the Greater Khingan Mountains Zuo Bao led 1,500 north across the grasslands, assisted by Zhao Yun and Yang Yi Zhang Xin himself led 2,500 elite cavalry west, with Lü Bu as vanguard and Yan Rou as guide
Each carried a copy of the detailed maps.
First Strike
Before long, Lü Bu's scouts reported a Xianbei settlement ahead.
Zhang Xin gave only one order:
"Destroy them."
Lü Bu charged first.
The settlement held a few thousand people, but most of its warriors had already left. Only a few hundred defenders remained.
A Xianbei herdsman, sensing distant tremors, lay down to listen.
"About five hundred riders…" he muttered in relief.
That was normal this time of year.
But when he looked up—
These were not Xianbei.
Dark red armor.
A banner bearing the character "Lü."
The Han army.
Panic exploded.
"Enemy attack! The Han are here!"
Too late.
Lü Bu smashed through the wooden fence with a single halberd strike and stormed in. His cavalry followed like a tidal wave.
The herdsman barely had time to turn before a halberd pierced through his chest.
Slaughter
The village descended into chaos.
Some resisted.Some fled.Some hid.
Han captives within the village, seeing salvation, grabbed whatever they could and joined the killing.
By the time Zhang Xin arrived with the main force, the village was already surrounded.
The remaining Xianbei dropped their weapons.
They surrendered.
Zhang Xin didn't hesitate.
"Kill them."
This time, he showed no mercy.
Unlike the Wuhuan, the Xianbei were too numerous. If spared, they would return again and again.
This campaign wasn't just about victory—
It was about securing decades of peace.
Soon, every man in the village was dead.
Only infants were spared.
The Xianbei women trembled, whispering:
"Demon… evil spirit…"
Aftermath
Zhang Xin gathered the Han captives.
"Who leads here?"
A middle-aged man was pushed forward.
"From now on, everything here belongs to you," Zhang Xin said. "Return through Xixi. I've already arranged for your resettlement."
"Take what you can—livestock, supplies, and people."
The captives wept with gratitude.
"May we know your name, General?"
"Prefect of Yuyang. Protector of the Wuhuan. Zhang Xin."
They bowed deeply.
Moving On
Zhang Xin redistributed weapons, burned the granaries, slaughtered excess livestock, and took the best warhorses.
After a short rest, his army moved on—carrying dried meat, heading deeper west.
Behind them, the freed Han captives began their own journey back.
But as order broke down, something darker emerged.
Years of humiliation turned into vengeance.
Some dragged former Xianbei masters into tents.
Others followed.
An old scholar cried out in outrage—
"No one listened."
Laughter and weeping filled the village.
By the time silence returned, the survivors gathered what they could and began moving south—toward Han lands.
The Campaign Begins
Ahead, the steppe stretched endlessly.
Behind, fire and blood marked Zhang Xin's path.
This was no ordinary war.
It was annihilation.