The cold wind from the north swept across the grasslands.
On the road outside Shanhai Pass, the barbarian generals were firmly bound to stakes. At this moment, the arrogance they displayed in Qingzhou Province was gone; all that remained was fear.
Lei Ming’s gaze swept across the faces of these barbarian generals, noting each of their expressions.
He knew very well that the hands of these barbarian generals were stained with the countless blood of the Great Yu Empire’s common people. Whether men, old people, women, or children, they spared no one.
Because he had personally witnessed how the barbarian cavalry treated the people of Youzhou. If the barbarians didn’t still need people to provide them with grain, fodder, and labor, the people of Youzhou would have long been slaughtered by them.
For him, he wished that such a cruel nomadic people would be exterminated sooner rather than later.
“Execution!”
Lei Ming said coldly. The barbarian merchants on the road at this moment couldn’t help but close their eyes.
Despite the continuous friction between the two sides, the private trade between the Great Yu Empire and the barbarians had not ceased.
The Great Yu Empire mainly purchased furs and animal fats from the grasslands, while barbarian merchants purchased daily necessities such as white sugar, clothes, and spirits from the Great Yu Empire.
It was particularly worth mentioning that the Golden Tent Khanate nobles also seemed very interested in the Great Yu Empire’s luxury goods. Perfume, pendulum clocks, glass, and mirrors were all highly sought after in the Golden Tent Khanate.
Thus, there was the strange phenomenon of deadly combat coexisting with very busy smuggling trade.
Xiao Ming turned a blind eye to this private trade. Evidently, this trade was very beneficial to him. The barbarians needed to exchange large quantities of furs for daily necessities from the Great Yu Empire, which in one aspect also stimulated the development of the Great Yu Empire’s industry.
However, in terms of strategic resources, Xiao Ming maintained very strict control. Especially saltpeter and iron were strictly prohibited from being sold to the barbarians. Lei Ming was stationed at Shanhai Pass and was also responsible for supervising merchants’ trade activities on weekdays, preventing some merchants from taking risks for high profits.
As Lei Ming gave the order, the soldiers standing before the captive generals dipped lead bullets into bowls filled with crow’s blood.
Then they loaded the bullets into their firearms and aimed at these generals.
With the actions of the Great Yu Empire soldiers, the barbarian generals finally lost control. Now, their only hope for death was also destroyed by the Great Yu Empire. All that remained in their hearts was fear.
The barbarian merchants’ faces were pale. This method of executing their tribesmen had never appeared in the Great Yu Empire. If this matter were to spread back to the grasslands, it would surely provoke the wrath of the Great Khan.
But now everything had changed. Today, the Great Yu Empire was no longer afraid of them. And when they saw these generals, they understood that this time, the Khanate’s invasion of Bashu had suffered a disastrous defeat.
Lei Ming’s lips curled into a smile. This was the outcome he desired.
It was time for the Golden Tent Khanate to recall the fear of being dominated!
“Fire!”
With a single command, the soldiers holding firearms aimed their muzzles at the barbarian generals’ chests. As the sounds of “bang, bang, bang” rang out, the barbarian generals slumped one by one, and those who were not yet dead were directly stabbed to death by soldiers wielding bayonets.
After executing all the barbarian generals, Lei Ming looked at the barbarian merchants on the road. He said, “You needn’t worry. I will not harm you. These individuals committed heinous crimes in Bashu, massacring hundreds of thousands of my Great Yu Empire citizens. Such sins cannot be atoned for even by killing them ten thousand times over. Please convey what you have seen to your Great Khan, and tell him that the Emperor of the Great Yu Empire says: if he wants war, the Great Yu Empire will fight to the very end!”
After a pause, he added, “Additionally, the body of your Prince Bodo is also here. You may transport it back to your Great Khan.”
With that, Lei Ming gestured, and two soldiers immediately carried Bodo’s corpse out and threw it in front of the barbarian merchants.
The barbarian merchants dared not speak. They did not want to be killed by unclean things. Carrying Bodo’s corpse onto a wagon, they urged their horses and hurried towards the grasslands.
Watching the barbarian merchants depart, Lei Ming said to the generals of Shanhai Pass, “This humiliation of the barbarians will surely enrage the Great Khan of the Golden Tent Khanate. Now, you must immediately prepare your army for war, to prevent a large-scale barbarian invasion.”
“Yes, General!” The generals returned to the pass upon hearing this.
At this moment, Lei Ming took out the map he carried. The oral decree this time also contained operational orders targeting the barbarians.
In the coming period, they would likely seize six barbarian cities: Pingzhou, Jinzhou, Liaozhou, Yingzhou, Jianzhou, and Raozhou.
These six cities were arranged in a column from south to north, in the northeast direction of the Great Yu Empire. These cities were inhabited by the Golden Tent Khanate’s semi-agricultural, semi-pastoral tribesmen and the slaves they plundered from various places.
These six cities had now become important food supply points for the Golden Tent Khanate. It was precisely because of this that the Golden Tent Khanate felt so confident in fighting the Great Yu Empire.
Looking at the six cities on the map, Lei Ming clenched his fists. At this moment, he was excited.
For him, he had finally waited for this day. After all, the land outside the pass was once part of the Great Yu Empire’s territory, only lost due to continuous encroachment by the barbarians.
And these six cities were also originally built by the Great Yu Empire. The Golden Tent Khanate simply took what was already there.
After confirming the locations of these six cities, he put away the map. Besides preparing for war, he had another very important matter.
Along with the oral decree for the generals came the order for military structural reform from the Grand Council. From now on, his military rank was no longer Governor-General, but Army Commander.
This winter, they were destined not to launch an offensive. However, during this period, they could implement the military structure and conduct some corresponding reorganization training.
While Lei Ming was executing the barbarian generals, Qi Guangyi, with Luo Hong’s cooperation, finally tracked down the remaining barbarian cavalry.
After nearly a month of fleeing, Achige and the cavalry he led were in a desperate situation.
Due to a lack of fodder and logistical support, they could only rely on raiding villages for supplies. As for prefectures and counties, they were helpless, as these had tall city walls.
But even so, what was in the villages was not enough to feed them, because many of the common people there had fled into the fortified villages, leaving little behind.
“Achige, if you let your soldiers surrender, I can spare your life. Otherwise, today will be your death day!”
Along the way, Qi Guangyi had been relentlessly pursuing Achige’s army. Wherever he went, the common people would tell him Achige’s direction.
“The descendants of the Golden Tent Khanate will not surrender to you Great Yu Empire fools!” Achige roared, leading his remaining eight thousand men to charge at Qi Guangyi.
Qi Guangyi’s gaze was icy. He drew his saber and shouted, “Soldiers, send these beasts of the Golden Tent Khanate to hell! Charge!”
The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/caleredhair