Jinzhou.
After several days of rest, the Northern Expeditionary Army, following Niu Ben’s plan, advanced towards the three cities of Yingzhou, Raozhou, and Jianzhou.
At the same time, news from the secret guards also reached the General Staff Department in Jinzhou.
“The barbarians are evacuating their tribesmen from the cities,” Niu Ben said, somewhat surprised. This was news just delivered by the secret guards.
The secret guard who delivered the intelligence said, “No mistake. The news comes from Shengdu. The barbarian Khan has now ordered the massacre of slaves and the burning of cities.”
“Beasts!” Niu Ben slammed his fist on the table. The barbarians, after their defeat, were even more brutal and savage.
Stepping out of his tent, Niu Ben called for a team of hunter cavalry and said, “You are to immediately inform Luo Xin, Lei Ming, and Lu Fei to accelerate their march and occupy the three cities as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, General.” The hunter cavalry turned and left. The main army had not departed long ago, so they could still catch up.
After giving the order, Niu Ben turned to return to his tent. At this moment, a team of cavalry suddenly arrived.
The cavalry stopped in front of Niu Ben, throwing five people, bound on horseback, to the ground. The leading cavalry captain said, “General, we discovered five suspicious Japanese while on patrol.”
Niu Ben frowned slightly. He looked at the five people on the ground. These five were dressed as merchants, were not tall, and at first glance, seemed to have little difference from the Great Yu Empire people.
“Did they say anything?” Niu Ben asked.
The cavalry captain said dejectedly, “General, we asked, but we couldn’t understand a single word of their gibberish. We should let the imperial court dispatch translators.”
“Qingzhou Province is too far. A round trip would take half a month. Go to Liaozhou now and ask Ye Qingyun. He has been in Goryeo and should know a few people who understand their language, after all, Goryeo and Japanese pirates have always colluded.”
The cavalry captain responded and turned to go to Liaozhou. Jinzhou was very close to Liaozhou, only a day and a half’s ride.
Watching the cavalry depart, Niu Ben ordered, “Strictly guard the five. You must not let them die.”
“Yes, General.” The guards immediately took the five away.
At the same time, the hunter cavalry who had left the city separately pursued the three main armies.
An hour later, Luo Xin, who was heading towards Raozhou, received Niu Ben’s order. He immediately ordered to accelerate their march towards Raozhou City.
However, in his opinion, even if they accelerated, they would probably only find an empty city upon arrival. But the secret guard’s message was timely; now, every second counted, and there might still be hope.
Compared to Luo Xin’s worries, Lei Ming, who was heading to Yingzhou, was very calm, because Yingzhou was too close to them and too far from the barbarians, so they could easily arrive ahead of time.
And Lu Fei was even more composed than the other two, because Jianzhou was originally the most barren of these six cities. He did not expect Jianzhou City to provide any supplies. The Great Yu Empire only wanted this city to demonstrate its sphere of influence, and at the same time, to serve as a bridgehead for attacking the grasslands and expanding northward.
However, despite this, Niu Ben’s order could not be disobeyed. He also issued an order for a forced march.
After his order was given, the soldiers immediately jogged. Forced marches were a mandatory training item for new recruits, in addition to forced marches with heavy loads.
So, facing the order, the soldiers were very calm.
Three days later, the army led by Luo Xin appeared in Raozhou, which should have taken four days to reach.
Qi Guangyi, who had arrived earlier, said, “After the barbarians withdrew from Raozhou City yesterday, barbarian soldiers began burning the city. When our cavalry arrived, a portion of the barbarian cavalry withdrew from Raozhou City without engaging us. Now, there are still some barbarian cavalry and infantry remaining in the city.”
Luo Xin said, “Since the barbarians have already migrated west, they will surely not fight to the death with us in Raozhou City. Once the city gate is breached, they will surely flee in panic. At that time, you can send out cavalry to pursue them.”
Qi Guangyi nodded.
This time, Niu Ben sent him to Raozhou City with a purpose. Now that the barbarian cities were basically taken, all that remained were the barbarian tribes on the grasslands. To drive out these barbarian tribes later, they would still need these cavalrymen.
After all, cavalry had too much mobility on the grasslands; ordinary infantry simply couldn’t keep up.
The two settled on a battle plan. At this point, Luo Xin had the artillery set up their positions and began bombarding Raozhou City’s gate.
Under the power of the new shells, Raozhou City’s gate was vulnerable. Two shells shattered the entire wooden gate.
“Sound the charge bugle!” Luo Xin was full of confidence. The victory in Jinzhou City made him realize a truth: the barbarians were merely paper tigers. In the face of absolute military might, the barbarians could only retreat.
As his words fell, the sound of the charge bugle rang out. The soldiers, their morale high from successive victories, charged towards Raozhou City, roaring.
“Soldiers, once we take Raozhou City, we can sleep soundly!” Luo Xin shouted.
His words energized the soldiers, who had been on a forced march for three days. They mustered their last bit of strength and charged into the city.
At this time, the barbarian soldiers inside the city were like startled birds. Soldiers who had fled from Jinzhou City described the Great Yu Empire’s firearms as terrifying, and frightening legends about “ground fire” had also spread.
“Run! The Great Yu Empire is attacking!”
Some barbarian soldiers, seeing the Great Yu Empire soldiers with firearms, turned and ran. Now, all the tribesmen in the city had withdrawn. The remaining orders were for massacre and burning the city.
But compared to their own lives, they were clearly unwilling to risk massacring those slaves who were as cheap as grass in their eyes.
“Bang, bang, bang…”
The Great Yu Empire army, upon entering the city, practically chased the barbarian soldiers, firing at close range before fixing bayonets and charging.
At this time, in Raozhou City, the Great Yu Empire held the upper hand in both the number of soldiers and combat effectiveness. Facing the fierce offensive, barbarian soldiers continuously retreated from the East Gate towards the West Gate.
Two hours later, the Great Yu Empire army completely occupied Raozhou City. However, due to the barbarians’ destruction, the city was filled with flames, and the soldiers once again engaged in firefighting efforts.
Outside the city, Qi Guangyi had long been waiting for the barbarian soldiers fleeing from the city. He roughly estimated that just over ten thousand barbarian soldiers had escaped from the city.
And most of them were infantry.
Glancing at the rolling smoke inside the city, Qi Guangyi’s eyes turned cold. Cruelty must be met with cruelty when dealing with the brutal barbarians.
“Kill! Leave no one alive!” Qi Guangyi spurred his warhorse. He charged ahead, alone, into the chaotic mass of barbarian soldiers.
In an instant, his high-speed charging warhorse directly knocked barbarian soldiers flying. At the same time, Qi Guangyi slashed left and right, and barbarian soldiers continuously let out dying wails.
Behind him, thirty thousand cavalry, like a rolling torrent, swept over the escape route of the barbarian soldiers, leaving no one behind wherever they went.
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