The flickering torchlight in the treasury made the figures of the generals flicker in and out of sight.
After seeing the reserves piled up in this treasury, Lu Fei said, “General Niu originally wanted us to wait for grain and fodder before attacking Yingzhou. Now it seems unnecessary. With the grain and fodder left by the barbarians, we can completely rest for a few days and then march on Yingzhou, completely cutting off communication between the barbarians and Goryeo.”
Lei Ming said, “You’re right. I’ll send someone to Shanhai Pass to deliver a letter now.”
“No need!”
As his voice fell, a slightly hoarse voice sounded from outside, and then Niu Ben arrived in Jinzhou City, surrounded by guards.
“General.”
The generals bowed upon seeing Niu Ben.
This northern expedition was led by Xiao Ming, and Niu Ben was the corps commander. His position was still a notch higher.
Niu Ben’s eyes swept across the generals. He said, “You all did well this time. It only took one day to capture Jinzhou City, which truly exceeded my expectations.”
“General, this is all thanks to the new shells, landmines, and sharpshooters. Without these, we would probably have suffered tens of thousands of casualties to capture Jinzhou City,” Lu Fei said seriously.
Niu Ben nodded. He had witnessed the power of these shells when he was in Shanhai Pass. Precisely because of this, he had rushed to Jinzhou City beforehand, but clearly, the speed of the siege was faster than he had imagined.
“Hahaha, you needn’t be humble. His Majesty said that it is the soldiers who determine the use of weapons, which means you have all trained your men well.”
With that, Niu Ben glanced at the piled grain and fodder. At a glance, the storehouse was filled with grain, fodder, and supplies. He then said, “Since we are no longer worried about provisions, I will issue new orders to you.”
“Yes, General.” The generals said excitedly. This triumphant momentum made each of them enthusiastically throw themselves into the war.
After inspecting the supplies in the storehouse with the generals, Niu Ben and the others returned to the main camp. He then said, “The battle for Jinzhou City has just ended. I will give you three days to rest. After that, Lei Ming will command thirty thousand infantry and set off for Yingzhou to capture Yingzhou with Ye Qingyun.”
After a pause, Niu Ben continued, “Luo Xin, you will lead forty thousand musketeers and thirty thousand cavalry towards Raozhou City. Lu Fei, the northernmost Jianzhou City will be entrusted to you.”
“Yes, General. I’ve always liked gnawing on tough bones,” Lu Fei laughed heartily.
Among these three cities, Jianzhou was undoubtedly the most difficult to attack. Unlike Raozhou and Yingzhou, Jianzhou was located in an extremely cold region. Even in spring, it was very cold.
According to the map provided by Xiao Ming, 1,600 li north of Jianzhou was the labeled Siberian snowfield. Attacking this city not only required long-distance travel but also defense against the cold winter.
This was also one of the reasons why the Grand Council decided to launch the northern expedition in spring. It was now June. If they delayed until winter, their soldiers would not be able to adapt to the harsh climate.
After all, most of their soldiers came from south of the Great Wall.
Having settled the next strategy, the generals began to prepare for battle. Niu Ben then took charge of the household registration affairs in Jinzhou City.
The Emperor attached great importance to the territories outside the pass, and also to the Guandong people who had regained their freedom.
These soldiers, who lived in the harsh and cold land, had adapted to the climate here and were very suitable for fighting in this area.
Although they had successively captured the barbarian cities in a very short time, they were currently unable to completely encircle and suppress the barbarians’ grassland forces. Now, they needed soldiers to protect these six cities outside the pass.
Clearly, the Guandong people were most suitable for this role.
Moreover, they had an even grander plan: to turn the far northern Siberia into the Great Yu Empire’s territory. But before that, they had many things to do.
The next day, the Great Yu Empire cavalry, who had pursued the barbarian cavalry for a day, returned to Jinzhou City under Qi Guangyi’s command.
Upon seeing Beishan’s corpse, a huge cheer erupted within Jinzhou City. All three of the Golden Tent Khan’s most formidable princes had perished. This alone was enough to cripple the barbarians.
…
Shengdu, the formerly peaceful, prosperous, and strong Golden Tent had become restless.
The aftershocks of the news of Pingzhou’s fall had not yet dissipated when the loss of Jinzhou City struck the banner chiefs of the grassland tribes like a bolt from the blue.
“I will not waste the lives of my tribal warriors by cooping them up in cities to fight the Great Yu Empire. This is utterly foolish.”
The Golden Tent was filled with banner chiefs from the grassland tribes. Unlike the joyous atmosphere of previous land divisions of the Great Yu Empire, now every banner chief’s face was extremely grim.
“Beishan, Bodo, Wuzhugu—they destroyed everything of the Golden Tent Khanate! Now, less than thirty percent of our tribal cavalry have returned. If we continue fighting like this, only women and children will be left in the tribe! This war cannot go on!”
“We can’t fight any longer! The Great Yu Empire has occupied Jinzhou! How can we fight now?!”
“…”
The banner chiefs in the Golden Tent argued fiercely.
Dolgor sat on the Khan’s throne. He slammed his fist down hard. “You only lost soldiers! Now, my three beloved sons are all dead! Are you still satisfied with that?”
The continuous stream of death notifications almost drove Dolgor mad. Those were his sons. Although he was harsh on them on normal days, this was entirely a father’s way of spurring his sons on.
But now, everything had become fleeting clouds.
His eyes held deep-seated hatred. A voice roared in his heart, ‘Revenge!’
But this hatred gradually subsided amidst the timid words of the banner chiefs. Revenge? Did he still have the ability to seek revenge now?
“Everyone shut up!” Dolgor roared.
The banner chiefs, intimidated by Dolgor’s voice, all fell silent.
At this point, Dolgor said, “We cannot just give up. Once we leave this place, I’m afraid we won’t be able to return.”
As his words fell, a strong tribal banner chief stood up. He looked directly into Dolgor’s eyes. “Continue? Dolgor, do you not feel ashamed? It is you who led the Golden Tent Khanate to its demise! My tribe will no longer obey your orders! You are no longer fit to be called Great Khan!”
“Geltu is right! We will no longer dispatch soldiers to follow you to their deaths! The soldiers are terrified! They would rather die on the grasslands than die in a cold city! Our grasslands and the Western Regions still have vast territories! These territories combined are larger than the Great Yu Empire! This is where we should defend!” another banner chief joined in the clamor.
Dolgor looked at Geltu. He was the banner chief of the Grassland Grey Hawk Tribe, and also the only large tribe that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Blood Wolf Tribe. Ever since the Blood Wolf Tribe suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Jizhou, Geltu had been rebellious. After the Blood Wolf Tribe’s heavy losses in the Battle of Jizhou, he became even more arrogant, subtly showing that he did not regard Dolgor as the Great Khan.
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