Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 895 - 734: Han Hai as the Tang, Tian Mountain as the Edge

Chapter 895: Chapter 734: Han Hai as the Tang, Tian Mountain as the Edge

The valley fell silent for a good twenty or so breaths before the herders began to buzz with restlessness.

Most of them were suspicious and uneasy, and many were tempted but remained indecisive.

They pushed and shoved each other, hoping someone else would take the lead.

The Mongolian nobles tied to the pillars were furious, cursing loudly.

Li Xuan couldn’t understand them well, nor was he interested.

However, Zhang Yue curiously asked Shang Hong beside him, "Daxueshi Shang, do you know what they’re saying?"

"They’re all cursing the County Prince of Fenyang, and none of it is very nice," Shang Hong replied with a hint of helplessness in his eyes. "They’re cursing that the County Prince will definitely be punished by Changsheng Heaven and the Bodhisattvas, that he will become a pig or dog in his next life.

They’re also saying that the Khan of Wala is reorganizing the army, and Taishi Yexian will certainly defeat the Jin Dynasty, avenging their humiliation just like the incident at Tumu Fort fourteen years ago. The eighty thousand warriors of the plains will annihilate us.

They’re also warning the Mongolian herders to consider the consequences, as Taishi Yexian will surely flay them upon his return. But there are also those who wish to surrender, claiming that they are nobility passed down for a thousand years in Mongolia and that we should not treat them this way."

Zhang Yue merely curled his lips, thinking that he should not have asked.

Finally, one of the slave herders stepped forward, a short but very sturdy herder, who boldly walked up to one of the Qianhu Nayan and plunged a dagger into the belly of the Mongolian Qianhu.

Immediately, the Jin Army, already prepared, handed over twenty lamb kids, ten ewes, two oxen, two horses, a tent, Wenshu, and so on to the man.

Li Xuan’s eyes also shone with appreciation, "This is a brave man! I’ll reward him personally with ten ewes and ten teal of gold. Also, ask if he has a wife; if not, he may choose one to wed from among the single Mongolian girls and the concubines of the Nayan."

The translator quickly translated Li Xuan’s words, and the short and sturdy herder’s face immediately revealed a look of surprise.

With such an example set, the crowd in the distance became even more agitated.

As time passed, more and more people stood up and thrust daggers into the bodies of the Mongolian nobles and warriors.

Many even had twisted faces showing a look of hatred.

In less than a moment, those pillars on which the Wanhu and Baihu had once stood high and mighty were now full of holes and covered with blood.

Although the spellcasters of the Jin Army tried their best to save them, more and more Mongolian nobles died.

The herders did not understand the method of slow slicing; each of their stabs was genuine and forceful, causing internal organ damage and substantial blood loss to the Mongolian nobles.

However, even as the nobles died, the herders still came one after another to plunge their daggers into them.

Because there were so many people, the accountants and scribes prepared by the Jin Army gradually became overwhelmed, and they had to form a long queue to be dealt with one by one.

Li Xuan watched for a while, then lost interest.

At the same time, he noticed that among the herders, there were still many who stood still, unwilling to move, numbering around five thousand or so.

The expressions on their faces were mostly numb, and some even had eyes filled with indignation and sorrow.

Li Xuan was unconcerned, instructing Zhang Yue, "Give them half a day; if these people still won’t move by then, let the Datong Army behind them take them into custody. They can be used as laborers in the mines later on, as the copper mines will probably be short of people."

"Understood!" Zhang Yue responded, then sneered, "They don’t want the chance to be human, so let them continue to be dogs."

Shang Hong, however, had no objections, as he was all too happy for the possibility of getting more manpower for the Oyutolgoi Mine.

Li Xuan, looking meaningfully at Shang Hong, said, "After this northern campaign, I will petition The Court to set up six Zhihuishi Divisions in Mongolia, and also to appoint two Zongdu to oversee the military and political affairs of MoBei and MoNan. I wonder, Brother Shang, if you are interested?"

He believed in Shang Hong’s capabilities, and since Shang Hong was also fluent in Mongolian, it seemed a waste for him to have an ambiguous standing in The Court instead of gathering achievements in the localities to regain entry into The Court.

Shang Hong frowned thoughtfully, his first reaction being that Li Xuan was pushing out dissenters. He then felt tempted, thinking that if the mine called ’Oyutolgoi’ could be developed, it would be enough to leave his name in history.

But after careful consideration, Shang Hong remained non-committal, "This matter is of great importance. Please allow me to consider it carefully, Your Highness."

He worried that once he was sent to the localities, he might never return to The Court in his lifetime.

The current situation in The Court required him to be extremely cautious. Shang Hong believed he had to hold out until the Emperor came of age to take government matters into his own hands.

Furthermore, the idea of setting up ’provinces’ and ’Zhihuishi Divisions’ in Mongolia seemed utterly preposterous to him.

Li Xuan understood Shang Hong’s tactful refusal, smiled, and pressed the issue no further.

The north and south Mongolia provinces in the future were the easiest places in Jin to achieve political merit.

To register and assimilate the households on the Mongolian Plateau, to introduce ’Silage’ practices.

This was an unprecedented grand event throughout the dynasties, a meritorious policy with immeasurable virtue.

Li Xuan would offer Shang Hong this chance only once; if he missed it, he hoped that Shang Hong would not regret it later.

※※※※

Li Xuan only stayed in Erlianhaote for three days. Once the ninety thousand troops from Datong Town arrived, Li Xuan handed over the follow-up matters to the Zongbing of Datong and the Xunfu of Datong. He then led his sixteen thousand Iron Cavalry, hastily returning to Saihan Mountain.

On his way back, Li Xuan received a battle report from the north.

One day before, the Zongbing of Xuanfu, Fan Guang, had successfully crossed the desert. Near Qihu Mountain, he crushed the thirty thousand Datan Cavalry and occupied the old site of ’Qihu Mountain’ and the former ’Guangwu city’.

Since the Datan people’s devastating defeat at Xuanfu, their military strength had been substantially weakened, leaving them extremely vulnerable. Moreover, with no new Khan established, internal chaos reigned.

While the Wala Tribes were indeed militarily strong, their location was far on the western side of the grassland, separated from Qihu Mountain by two to three thousand miles.

Although Yexian had already mobilized his entire clan, the Jin Army’s rapid advance meant that the Mongolian people had only gathered over two hundred thousand Cavalry near Ulan Bator to this day.

This was not like the battle at Xuanfu a year earlier when Yexian withdrew from Datong. Back then, several hundred thousand Wala Cavalry were pressing on the Monan region, ready to respond at a moment’s notice, which is why they could swiftly support Xuanfu and approach Zhangjiakou.

But this time, the various Mongol Tribes were entirely unprepared for Li Xuan’s sortie. If Yexian wanted to summon his tribes from the vast reaches of the Mongol territories, it clearly wasn’t something that could be achieved in a short time.

Therefore, Qihu Mountain, this strategic location, had so far only been defended by forty thousand hastily assembled herdsmen from the Datan tribes.

For this battle, Fan Guang didn’t even use revolvers. After driving out the Datan people, he began organizing defenses on the spot, preparing to guide the subsequent Jin troops to cross the desert.

By the time Li Xuan returned to Saihan Mountain, several hundred thousand rested infantry and Cavalry had already set off, traveling northward through the desert in succession.

Either mounted on warhorses or riding in supply wagons, they snaked like a dragon across the desert.

Along the way, small fortresses were being erected, nearly one every thirty miles.

Their length and width were only about a hundred yards, built with locally sourced simple sandcrete and rubble on the outside, and lined with simple steel plates provided by the Shenqi Union on the inside.

Due to their simple construction and minimal labor use, a fortress could be completed in three to five days.

Despite their rough appearance, their defensive capabilities were not inferior to that of small city walls.

About a thousand soldiers resided in each fortress, comprising the army of Weisuo and equipped with improved muskets, and each boasted more than ten Hudun cannons.

Stored inside were enough food and water for two thousand people for ten days, intended to accommodate the supply trains along the way.

Their purpose was to protect the supply lines.

Although they had brought a large number of supply wagons, the various foodstuffs with the army would last only two months.

While Li Xuan was confident he could resolve the situation within two months, as the commander of an army, he needed to consider all possible contingencies.

The saying goes, ’Before you think of victory, think of defeat; before you dream of gains, consider your losses,’ which is the most basic quality of a commander.

Therefore, his requirement for these fortresses was that they should be able to withstand the assault of thirty thousand Mongolian Cavalry for at least three days.

What gave Li Xuan confidence were the use of flintlock rifles and the application of these fortresses. Such fortifications would be difficult for the Mongols to conquer without artillery.

The Jin Army also had a large number of "Yebushou" scouts outside, covering hundreds of miles around the supply routes, while the covert operatives of Xiuyiwei were scattered throughout the grassland.

Large-scale movements by the Mongolian Cavalry were hardly likely to escape their attention.

This provided the Jin Army with ample time to respond and calmly gather forces.

On the 15th of June, Li Xuan and Shaofu Yu Jie arrived at Qihu Mountain together.

The first thing the two did upon arrival was to visit the relics left by Emperor Taizong — the stele inscribed with the words "Hanhai as anvil, Tian Mountain as blade."

Regrettably, the stele had already been destroyed, blown into rubble by the Mongols.

One had to carefully search to find remnants of the inscriptions among the broken stones.

Li Xuan was well aware that the inscription had been damaged and thus did not feel disappointed. His main purposes for coming to Qihu Mountain were to observe the terrain and the remnants of the battlefield.

Afterward, he continued to lead his troops toward Ulan Bator, and after crossing the Hanhai, Li Xuan only left fifty thousand Weisuo troops from Jizhou Town to guard Qihu Mountain, while the rest of his six hundred thousand-strong army continued to advance westward.

No longer traveling in a long column, they spread out to the south and north, forming a fan shape over a hundred miles wide.

Following the rivers and springs of the grassland, they advanced, sweeping through every lush pasture by the water.

Some Datan tribes had not managed to evacuate in time. The Jin Army, as they swept through, actually captured as many as thirty thousand members of the Datan tribes and over a million herd animals.

Li Xuan enacted the bold statement he had made to Shang Hong — all the captured Datan tribes were dealt with resolutely: their leaders executed, their livestock distributed, and their households registered and assimilated.

As the Jin Army reached the southern banks of the Kerulen River, less than seven hundred miles from Ulan Bator, Li Xuan received a military report from Xiuyiwei.

’Yexian’ in Ulan Bator had amassed six hundred and thirty thousand troops and sworn a blood oath with over a hundred Wanhu from both north and south of the grassland.

It was said that this Mongol Taishi, emerging from the Chrolus clan, had secured commitments from the vast majority of Mongol chiefs. If he could successfully lead the Mongols to expel the invaders and defeat Li Xuan of County Prince Fenyang, the head of the Jin Army,

then this hero from the Chrolus family would replace the Borzigin’s Golden Family and become the Khan of all the Mongolian people of the great southern and northern deserts.

Li Xuan, however, was not particularly concerned about this because by that time, the Zhoutian Stars Array located in the Void had completed all the calculations for the "Nuclear Fusion Furnace."