Chapter 667 The Heart of the Empire
Barter reported to Suluhenidi proudly: That is the heart of the New Song Empire. The city is divided into four districts, and the population of each district is hundreds of thousands. The train invented by the son-in-law is even more amazing. It can carry a thousand soldiers and horses in one trip, including weapons.
Suluhenidi was stunned, her mouth opened wide as if she was about to scream.
Barter still felt that he had not scared his old mistress, the Queen Mother, and added: This is only a trial run. The third young master said that when it is officially put into operation, the train will carry 5,000 people.
Suluhenidi wanted to scream "Ouch!" but she held it back. Her face turned red as if she had seen a man's privacy, and she had a strange expression on her face.
She thought of her son-in-law Zhao Yulin who lived in Chengdu, and she was a little excited. She wanted to go to Chengdu to see what Zhao Yulin looked like and also wanted to take a ride on the legendary train.
Unfortunately, the itinerary arranged by Hulan for her was only along the Yellow River. After passing Daming Prefecture, the team changed to land route and returned to Datong Prefecture along the Great Wall.
Because Sulu Henidi stayed on the prairie, Hulan used her name to issue orders in Datong Prefecture, and the surrender of various tribes was surprisingly smooth. Very few people loyal to Hubili Khan took up swords to fight against the Shenwei Army. This made it convenient for Wu Jie to quickly complete the recovery and naturalization.
Zhang Zhi swept away the remaining enemies along the coast of Beihai, paid tribute to the place where Su Wu grazed sheep, and erected a monument to commemorate him.
Baturu led the cavalry all the way to chase after Wang Hanchen.
Wu Jie came to the place where General Huo Qubing was conferred the title of Lord of the Wolf and asked the experts on inscriptions to engrave the remnants of inscriptions left by Huo Qubing. The civil officials around him suggested that they leave the story of the army going north to recover the grasslands next to it, but he asked them not to do so and only put the date of the supplement below.
He said, from now on, this is the territory of the New Song Dynasty. The reason why the Third Young Master strictly forbade the indiscriminate killing of innocent people is to unite the people of the grassland closely so that we will never be separated again.
Shamar Khan of the Western Regions, Hubili, was commanding the army to attack the enemy in the royal tent when an urgent report on the military situation in the rear arrived.
Ever since the Shenwei Army launched an attack on Mobei, urgent military reports have been flying to him one after another. Today is already the third military report.
The Shenwei Army divided into three groups and marched towards Harhelin from Liaoyang, Datong and Jiuyuan respectively. The daily advancement speed was more than 50 miles, which was extremely fast. Harhelin might have fallen.
Today's letter was sent from his mother Sulu Henidi, telling him that she did not want to see another killing on the grassland, and that she would lead the remaining royal court members to surrender to the New Song Dynasty and find his sister Hulan.
Hubili knew that his mother couldn't let go of Hu Lan, and had expected this day to come, but he still couldn't face the reality.
Seeing that his face looked very ugly, Dong Qinwei carefully made him a cup of Qingcheng tea for rinsing his mouth, but it touched his sore spot.
Regardless of the scalding hot tea, he grabbed the tea bowl, slammed it on the ground, and yelled: Attack, attack. Take the city across from me.
Dong's personal guard immediately stepped back to pass on orders and supervise the battle.
This time, the commander Wulianghe deployed all the catapults and bombarded the city with cannons. More than 20 intact hot air balloons were launched into the air for combat.
They no longer had thunder bombs. After Shi Tianze's veterans learned how to make explosive packs, the Mongolian army's sky troops transported 20-jin packs to the sky above the city of Shamarkhan, lit the fuses and threw them down. The violent explosions were like ghosts that frightened the rebels in the city.
In just half a day, Hubili's troops captured the city and slaughtered all the rebels inside. Even three-year-old babies were not spared. They were all chopped in half and their bodies were left in the wilderness to feed dogs.
After Wulianghe captured the city, he waved his hand and ordered a pursuit, beating the enemies to death if caught. His cavalrymen rode out on their horses.
When Shi Tianze entered the city of Hamarhan, he saw corpses of women, children, the elderly and the young everywhere. The soil under his feet was bloody. He felt kind-hearted and sighed that such killing was wrong.
Wulianghe said coldly: The Khan has ordered that no one should be left alive. We must use this bloody method to frighten the enemy and make them give up resistance.
However, I am grateful to God for his mercy, so I have left behind some beautiful women to be distributed among the soldiers after the Khan has selected them. General, why don’t you go and choose one first?
Shi Tianze knew very well that this was a common deterrent tactic used by the Mongolian army, and that one battle would decide the outcome.
But he was really old, so he shook his head and said no.
Ever since the Shenwei Army began to counterattack the Mongolian Army, his Shi family army has been running around to fight. The number of his troops has been decreasing, and more and more of his sons have died. Now there are only two sons with him, and one of them has become a cripple because his left leg was sawed off.
The Han army under this fellow had been charging in the front since the Western Expedition and had been the most powerful rear guard during the retreat. They had suffered heavy casualties and there were only a few left. A large number of wounded soldiers were left on the way to the Western Expedition. He had less than 10,000 combat-capable soldiers in his hands, and Wuliang Hedu had to use them as a reserve force.
At this time, a messenger from the front army came running to report: more than a hundred rebel generals including Kuo Chuan and other princes and soldiers were killed, and Ali Buge was captured alive.
Wulianghe was overjoyed and told them to go and have a look. Then he turned around and jumped on his horse and left.
It turned out that Kuoduan and A Libuge fled into Xu Liewu's territory, but were blocked by Xu Liewu's troops, who refused them entry. The Mongolian troops who caught up with them from behind surrounded and killed them. Kuoduan knew that the Mongolian army was doomed, so he rushed forward to fight for his life, but was soon chopped into a paste.
Ah Li Bu Ge was so frightened that he stood still and naturally became a captive of Hu Bili. When he saw Hu Bili, he burst into tears and confessed his mistakes, swearing to turn over a new leaf.
Hubli believed him again and released him once again, swearing to the world the beautiful image of the Hubli brothers that the love between them is greater than anything else.
Hubili Khan's royal tent was moved to Shamar Khan. He asked Dong Qinwei to demolish all the damaged houses, clean them up and plant crops, because there was no need for them to be lived in.
The city walls did not need to be repaired, and he was not afraid of enemy attacks.
Hamarkhan has a pleasant climate and abundant natural water and grass. Mr. Yao personally burned his brain cells to write the article, describing this place as a paradise on earth, attracting a large number of grassland people driving their cattle and sheep here.
However, Hubili was stunned when he saw an urgent military intelligence report.
The new Song Kingdom entered into the Divine Power Army led by Wang Hanchen, who was stationed in Limali.
Two of Wang Hanchen's fierce generals, Huo Yi and Li Chuan, suddenly launched an offensive, attacked Suye Shui from the flank, and captured the ancient city of Suiye.
This time, the Shenwei Army no longer carried out actions such as driving away the people, but instead stopped the migrating people to carry out propaganda and education, abolish slavery, promote the new Song Dynasty's governing principle of equality for all, and persuade the herdsmen to stay.
Hubili sensitively realized that the Shenwei Army had stabilized Eastern Chagatai and was chasing him all the way.
This guy thought about his mother staying in Harhelin and not coming, which meant she abandoned him and followed Hulan. He felt very wronged and picked up the wine glass to drown his sorrows.
He could not defeat the Shenwei Army and had to leave. Before he could even warm up to Chagatai's city, the Shenwei Army caught up with him. He worked hard like a cowherd, herding cattle and sheep, and after the cattle and sheep were strong and fat, Zhao Yulin took them away without any hesitation.
Hubili was furious and roared to the sky: Where exactly is the territory of the New Song Dynasty? How far will the Divine Mighty Army drive me?
"Woo-wah, woo-wah-wah." Hubili let out a roar like a dragon's roar.
Wulianghe and Dong Qinwei looked at each other and immediately knelt down and said: We are incompetent and have brought shame to the Khan. Let's go back to Alimali and drive away the Shenwei Army.
After venting his anger, Hubili calmed down a lot and asked everyone to sit down and talk.
This guy asked Dong Qinwei: "Brother Dong, you are well versed in Han history. Come on, tell me where the territory of the Han Dynasty was? Where is the territory of the Tang Dynasty?"
Where should I go to find peace of mind?
The two looked at each other in bewilderment, but Hubili seemed to be seeking advice. He ordered his servants to add more wine and food so that the emperor and his ministers could have a drink and talk about heroes.
Dong Qinwei said carefully: In the Tang Dynasty, this place was called Kangguo, and further west there was another place called Anguo, both of which were vassal states of the Tang Dynasty. If you want to say it is the territory of the Tang Dynasty, it would be right there.
Hubili raised his head and drank a cup, saying, "Drink, drink." He asked: If this is the case, then this is not a place for me to stay?
Wulianghe immediately stood up and knelt on one leg to salute, and Dong Qinwei also knelt down hurriedly behind him. They both swore in a deep voice: we must keep Shamalhan safe even if our bodies are torn to pieces.
Hubili waved his hand and asked everyone to stand up, saying that this is not what I meant.
The three began to plan carefully.
Huo Yi and Li Chuan, the vanguard officers of the Shenwei Army's Western Expedition, arrived at the ancient city of Suiye on the bank of the Suye River.
Li Chuan shouted excitedly: "General Huo, look, this is the ancient city of Suiye built by the Tang Dynasty, we are here." The two rode in, and there were dilapidated houses on both sides, many of which were recently burned down, showing people that this place had experienced the suffering of war.
The two came to the residence where the Mongol army's Darughachi was working. Huo Yi said with a smile: From now on, this is the government office where Governor Li is working. Is it still called the Western Regions Protectorate?
Li Chuan immediately begged him not to tease others. Commander Wang has given an order. Let’s discuss the task. The positioning of Suiye must follow the order from Chengdu.
Huo Yi immediately became serious and said earnestly: We brothers have all seen General Li's abilities. He has been with the Third Young Master and Military Advisor Zhu for many years, so he must have learned a lot of secrets. We are far behind him.
Li Chuan hurriedly said that Brother Huo was too kind. Li Chuan was dull and relied entirely on the help of his brothers.
Huo Yi told him not to underestimate himself, and that leaving the grassland people behind would be enough for his brothers to learn. He said that everyone hated Hubili, and only remembered to ride a tiger and drive away the leopard to drive away the enemy, forgetting the importance of people, and if they went forward, they would be alone in the deep.
It turned out that it was Li Chuan's idea to launch propaganda and keep the herders.
Li Chuan said: This is also the suggestion of the third young master. No matter how big or how much territory we seize, we still need people to cultivate and graze in order to reap the harvest.
The third young master believed that one of the main reasons why the Mongolian army was doomed to fail was the bloody massacre. If everyone was killed, who would lead their horses and cook for them? Not to mention herding cattle and sheep and growing crops for them?
Huo Yi exclaimed that it was great and General Li had a brilliant idea.
However, he believed that the Mongolian army had moved westward in large numbers and had not encountered any major resistance along the way. With the troops and weapons they had, they could easily capture another city.
