On that day, Sun Ce and the others traveled north, guided by the Dingling captives toward the Dingling tribe. Upon arrival, Sun Ce, Wei Yan, Ma Chao, and their elite legions, along with the Military Spirit Legion borrowed from Gao Shun, charged directly forward.

This nearly overwhelming combat power, not to mention the Dingling tribe, which had already lost the King of Dingling, three Inner Qi Manifestation Generals, and large numbers of elite cavalry. Even at its peak, the Dingling tribe would likely be swept away without complete defense against such a powerful assault.

Thus, the Dingling people in the north had made no effective defense and were forcefully dismantled by Sun Ce and the others.

After wiping out the Dingling tribe, more than two hundred thousand captives were taken, and Sun Ce's killing intent was not heavy. After executing all the defiant ringleaders, he began marching south with these twenty-thousand captives.

It was at this moment that Wei Yan first discovered that there were other Hu people on the grassland. After capturing a group, he finally understood the situation.

Initially, Huyan Chu moved southward, while in the north, Kun Wan, the Right Prince of Xiongnu, was continuously gathering miscellaneous Huns to provide cannon fodder for the Northern Huns.

This method of gathering was extremely crude, roughly extracting the young and strong from encountered tribes, killing those who dared to resist. Given the strength of the Northern Huns, most of the miscellaneous Hun tribes submitted upon discovery.

Once these young and strong were extracted, the second wave of Northern Huns would return to obliterate the tribe, taking all the edible food to convert into military provisions, which is why the Northern Huns never lack military supplies.

This method inevitably leaves some to escape; many who evade such calamities either notify friendly tribes or unite to avoid the Huns.

As a result, although this time the Northern Grasslands were heavily damaged by the Huns, taking decades to recover, the miscellaneous Hun tribes weren't completely wiped out.

Wei Yan discovered this situation and immediately informed Sun Ce, who wasted no time in continuing to capture more captives, dragging others along for the ride. Sun Ce acted recklessly, relying on the Han Dynasty's current dominance over the Four Seas; otherwise, such a method with captives could have resulted in revolts long ago.

As a result, more captives were caught, extending farther distances, and after obliterating several tribes, the captives numbered three hundred thousand. At this stage, even if Sun Ce wanted to move quickly, he couldn't, and his marching speed was forcibly slowed down.

Fortunately, the Han Dynasty didn't face any enemies at this time, and Sun Ce had no urgent military duties. Otherwise, with so many captives, Sun Ce truly wouldn't know how to resolve the issue of rapid marching.

"Having captured so many captives, how to resolve this issue later? Including those captured from the Northern Huns, we've captured at least fifty to sixty thousand captives," Ma Chao looked at the massive host of captives behind him, filled with helplessness.

"Just toss them to Chen Zichuan when we get back." Sun Ce replied bluntly, he had no solution but knew someone who did.

"But this dragging pace isn't feasible—it's too slow. Going back, we don't know how many more days we'll need," Guan Ping said, looking helplessly at Sun Ce and Ma Chao.

"We've reached this point, there's no choice. Even if it takes another ten days, we have to bring these people back; otherwise, all previous efforts will have been wasted." Wei Yan was equally frustrated, but faced with the effort spent capturing tens of thousands of captives, abandoning them was impossible!

"Just have to grind through it slowly." Huang Xu said, looking troubled.

"It's not a big deal, no need to rush," said Ma Zhong, completely unconcerned. At this stage, any discussion is pointless; better to quickly devise a way to bring the captives back.

"Ah, we were too enthusiastic while capturing," Xiahou Ba sighed.

"Bringing them back could even fetch a high price if sold, so we should head back; let's stop delaying," said Qidong helplessly, "Each captive could be worth ten to twenty thousand coins. With thirty thousand captives behind us, even the Five Great Merchants couldn't directly shell out this much cash."

Upon hearing this, everyone no longer felt displeased; these captives represented substantial wealth.

"But what does Marquis Chen want with so many captives?" Xiahou Lian asked curiously.

"I don't know, I just remember Marquis Chen always complaining year-round about manpower shortages," Ma Zhong said after looking up at the sky for a while. If memory serves, every year he saw Chen Xi's official announcements for recruitment, recruiting all types as long as they're young and strong.

"Probably to build roads and irrigation canals," Guan Ping thought for a moment and said, recalling hearing related information, though he didn't pay close attention.

"Ah, do you know of any interesting stories or tales, something to chat about on the road—we don't know how many days we still have to travel, some idle banter wouldn't hurt," Ma Chao sighed.

"I suggest using that time to nurture a good long spear; your spear's been broken several times already," said Sunx Ce, casually pinching Ma Chao's long spear, instantly leaving a fingerprint on the shaft.

"You bastard!" Ma Chao was instantly furious. He had nurtured this long spear for several days, and Sunx Ce's antics had added another weak spot.