Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 813 - 672

Chapter 813: 672

When Yu Jie killed the white wolf of Yin Mountain, the Mongolian Shaman Abas and another sacred white wolf no longer dared to linger within the gates of Zhangjiakou and fled beyond the Great Wall.

This man and wolf had just escaped when the white wolf from the sacred land of Buerhan Mountain began to breathe heavily and spit blood.

The state of the Mongolian Shaman Abas was not much better; not only was his energy extremely weakened, but both his arms had also been broken by Yu Jie’s Hao Qi and were slowly healing.

However, the more troubling injury was within his Primordial Spirit, where Yu Jie’s Liuli Haoqi remained entwined around the core of Abas’s Divine Consciousness.

This caused his eyebrows to furrow tightly, enduring immense pain at every moment.

Yet Abas couldn’t afford to worry about these issues at the moment, as he looked anxiously towards the south.

At the outskirts of Zhangjiakou, Li Xuan had already gathered eighty thousand infantry and a total of forty thousand cavalry, assembling at the western bank of Qingshui River.

However, they were not assuming a defensive position but advancing in an attacking stance. Under the cover of the Yunzhong warship, they slowly pressed forward towards the Wala Cavalry under Yexian’s command.

Abas couldn’t help but smile bitterly, "This County Prince Fenyang knows military tactics deeply and possesses both courage and strategy, he not only annihilated hundreds of thousands from the Datan, but also seized the opportunity to ambush the Taishi’s Wala forces."

The Khan of Vala, Yexian, also grimaced, "Greedy! This child is no different from a fierce wolf!"

He felt that this County Prince Fenyang was the true descendant of wolves, greedy to such an extent.

Did he intend to collapse the fortune of our Meng Wu people in one battle at Zhangjiakou?

Yexian felt helpless, his knights had traveled hundreds of miles continuously and truly reached their limit, no longer able to endure a tough battle.

Yexian also lacked sufficient troops, with only less than two hundred twenty thousand cavalry.

— That was all he could temporarily redirect here.

With the soldiers exhausted and insufficient horses, any slight mishap could lead to the risk of the entire army being annihilated.

Yexian hesitated briefly before grunting, "Let all units tighten the reins of their horses and set up camp on that hill for a brief rest."

He hadn’t anticipated that after the death of the Jingtai Emperor, they would face such a fierce and formidable opponent.

If only he had known, he would have let the Jingtai Emperor live a bit longer; at least this County Prince Fenyang wouldn’t have risen to power so quickly.

"But what about the people from the Datan?"

Abas sighed, "At this rate, not one of them will be able to pull out."

Yexian certainly hadn’t planned to give up on rescuing them and said with a dark expression, "I will give you my twenty thousand Qiexue troops, along with two thousand Samans. Shaman, see if you can temporarily create a gap along the Great Wall line to let our people out."

— He wasn’t sure how effective this would be, but evacuating even one was worthwhile, every little bit preserved a portion of Yuan Qi.

※※※※

Jin Army ultimately couldn’t annihilate all the Meng Wu people on the southern side of the Great Wall, roughly thirty-seven thousand cavalry from the Datan remnants escaped through the path forcibly opened by the Samans.

They utilized powerful earth-based spells to move mountains and fill stones between the mountains, which caused a section of the Great Wall to collapse, allowing these Datan remnants to escape.

This was mainly due to the disruption caused by the Wala Cavalry, forcing Li Xuan to consolidate one hundred twenty thousand Jin Army around Zhangjiakou, leading to insufficient troops, providing an opportunity for these Datan remnants to slip away.

Still, the results of this battle could still be called splendid, as out of the four hundred twenty thousand cavalry led by Totaabuqa Khan moving south, besides the seventy thousand left at Qingshui River to guard the livestock, a total of two hundred twenty thousand out of the remaining three hundred fifty thousand were killed in battle, and ninety thousand surrendered.

Even among the seventy thousand cavalry at Qingshui River, forty-three thousand died.

They also captured over two hundred thousand warhorses, more than three hundred thousand ordinary horses, and over two million livestock. They also seized several dozen cannons brought by Totaabuqa Khan, countless tents, weapons, and more.

— Even the past battle of ’Buyuer Sea’ that completely defeated the Great Yuan didn’t yield as much as this campaign.

Not to mention that in this battle, they also captured the Mongolian Khan Totaabuqa, together with three ’Taiji’ from the Golden Family.

After the battle ended, Li Xuan immediately ordered to send out a victory report to the Capital City.

Actually, they sent a battle report to the Capital City every hour, updating The Court with the overall situation of Xuanfu and other areas.

But this time it was the official ’swiftly spread good news’, which was significantly different from before.

Afterward, Li Xuan gathered the local generals at the Fortress of Fenghuang Mountain in Zhangjiakou.

He first asked the ’Deputy Zongbing of Huailai’ Fan Guang: "After this battle, I intend to request The Court to add forty thousand cavalry to Xuanfu, together with the existing eighty-five thousand cavalry from Xuanfu and Datong under General Fan’s command. Are you confident in leading this army and ensuring that within two thousand li north of Xuanfu’s Great Wall, there will be no Meng Wu herding grounds?"

Fan Guang immediately clenched his fists and without any hesitation replied, "This is easy! With these one hundred twenty thousand cavalry in hand, not to talk about two thousand li, even within two thousand five hundred li, the Meng Wu won’t dare to peacefully graze their livestock!"

"General Fan is exceptionally courageous and skilled, I am at ease. However, Yexian is cunning and well-versed in military tactics. General Fan should still be as cautious as possible after crossing the border,"

Li Xuan nodded slightly, then turned to General Zhenshuo, Zhu Guoneng, "The task of raiding across the border is entrusted to General Fan, while General Zhenshuo will oversee both Xuanfu and Datong. I need the Great General to sit in these two places for two years to ensure nothing occurs in the north."

Zhu Guoneng’s spirits lifted, and he immediately smiled, "Your Highness can rest assured! As long as Zhu is here, Xuanfu and Datong will definitely be as secure as Taishan! And since the County Prince Fenyang has heavily damaged the Meng Wu, I reckon it will be ten years before they dare look south again."

He actually preferred to be stationed out in the regions rather than wasting time in the Capital City, dealing with intrigues among the court officials.

Regarding Li Xuan’s two-year term, Zhu Guoneng was indifferent, knowing that The Court would not allow him to control Xuanfu for long.

However, did the arrangement by the County Prince of Fenyang imply that within those two years, he was confident in eliminating internal strife, or even pacifying Lu River?

Li Xuan shook his head, "Your task is not easy. I must withdraw one hundred twenty thousand troops from Xuanfu to reinforce Shaanxi. Besides this, the General Zhenshuo must also cooperate with the inspectors of Xuanfu and Datong to recruit the Mongolian herders outside the Great Wall, choosing lands for settlement to boost our military strength! I want not tribes, but regulated households and counties set up by the Weisuo, controlled by appointed officials."

Before Emperor Xuan, the Jin Dynasty had a large number of Weisuo north of the Great Wall, which recruited numerous Mongolian herders and small roaming tribes, amounting to a million in number.

But after Emperor Xuan, due to strategic contraction, the situation between Jin and the Mongols shifted.

The numerous fortresses beyond the Great Wall could no longer be defended, and over a million herders were lost completely.

Zhu Guoneng still answered without hesitation, "Not a big problem. I can issue a military order. Within two years, we will recruit over three hundred thousand herders and form an army of forty thousand that can fight."

Abandoning the territories beyond the wall after Emperor Xuan was because the Jin Army had essentially lost the capability to sortie and decisively combat the Mongols.

However, today’s situation is similar to that time, with the Mongols suffering consecutive defeats.

The two battles at Xuanfu almost completely broke their backbone, and the Jin Army now had the strength to sortie and battle the Mongols.

Zhu Guoneng was very familiar with the territory beyond the wall; it was too wasteful to abandon the vast two thousand five hundred li pasture north of Xuanda. There were also plenty of oppressed herders struggling to survive on the Mongol side.

Li Xuan, on the matter of recruiting herders to serve as cavalry, did not hold much expectation; he solely aimed to weaken the Mongol forces by any means possible.

It was a simple principle: an increase in our strength by one part would decrease the enemy’s by one part.

Increasing our own force by forty thousand cavalry would mean Yexian of Vala would have forty thousand fewer men.

Shaofu Yu Jie silently observed from the side.

Li Xuan was dealing with matters concerning the Weisuo army, which fell under the jurisdiction of the Five Armies Du Du, and thus the Ministry of War could only advise without interjection.

The County Prince of Fenyang, with three consecutive victories, had also established a lofty reputation within the Jin Army, making him the undisputed ’number one figure in the army.’

Li Xuan was already capable of deciding all matters concerning the Weisuo army with a single word.

Li Xuan then instructed the generals from Xuanfu to temporarily leave, only keeping General Fang Ying of Xuanfu behind.

He pointed at the map, "The hundred twenty thousand troops withdrawn from around Xuanda will be commanded by General Fang, passing through Shanxi to reach Tongguan. I need you to stay in Taiyuan for a few days to assist the Shanxi Inspector and the Zongbing of Taiyuan, Guo Tai, in cleansing the poisonous remnants of the Li Emperor. You may convey to these two officials on my behalf that they must thoroughly cleanse the army of all negative elements, showing no mercy."

"Your subordinate will faithfully comply with Your Highness’s orders!" Fang Ying’s expression turned solemn; his attitude towards Li Xuan was especially respectful.

Li Xuan continued, "After settling the matters in Taiyuan, you should march south swiftly, reinforce Tongguan, and take the position of Zongbing of Henan, commanding all the Weisuo troops in Henan. I want you to make a big show of preparing to attack Xi’an. The Court will also coordinate with you."

Upon hearing this, Fang Ying couldn’t help but be slightly moved, "Merely create a facade?"

"Just to create a facade!"

Li Xuan smiled, thinking to himself that talking to a clever person was indeed satisfying, "You must not only force Prince Yi to consolidate his troops and halt his expansion but ideally convince everyone that The Court’s next move is to campaign against Shaanxi. How about it, is it feasible?"

Fang Ying pondered deeply and secretly marveled at the military strategy of the County Prince of Fenyang.

He immediately clasped his fists, "Your subordinate will ensure it is done flawlessly!"

With this matter properly arranged, what followed was the discussion of awards and recognitions.

Li Xuan and Shaofu Yu Jie were currently the heads of the Jin military; the specific list of awards could be discussed and decided between them.

At most, the list would later be submitted to the cabinet and co-signed by Jianguo Princess for formality’s sake.

However, the awards for the lower-ranked soldiers caused Yu Jie quite a headache, as the national treasury was virtually empty and could no longer provide Silver Coin.

The rewards for the Shenji right and left camp and Ji State Army had not been properly prepared by The Court either.

But with such a grand victory at Xuanfu, The Court could not show no appreciation.

Eventually, Li Xuan suggested allocating three hundred thousand of the captured inferior horses, along with over two million livestock from the south bank of Qingshui River, as rewards as well.

This not only would console the soldiers but also relieve The Court’s burden of providing for the horses.

After much hesitation, Yu Jie agreed.

This award was very substantial, but considering Xuanfu’s position near Beijing’s flank, it was essential to stabilize this army so they could have the resources to quell rebellions.

When this news spread, acres of Xuanfu’s army, hundreds of thousands strong, erupted in jubilant roars and heightened morale!

It was at this time that Li Xuan climbed to the top of the city walls, looking towards the north.

He noticed the Vala cavalry were quietly retreating northward.

A sharp gleam appeared in Li Xuan’s eyes as he observed closely, vigilant and piercing, "Send orders to all units; we press forward!"

He had not abandoned the idea of taking advantage of the situation to annihilate the Vala forces. Should Totaabuqa Khan show any vulnerability during the retreat, he would pounce without hesitation, swallowing them whole.