Chapter 242: Build A Jingguan, Exterminate The Clan
In the Commander’s Office of Dunhuang City.
Ever since hearing the news that the Northern Frontier Iron Cavalry had marched south to Heishui City and Dunhuang City, not a smile could be seen on Mi Qin Tiele’s face.
He hadn’t even visited a brothel for many days, always looking worried and troubled.
“Commander, there’s an order from the Bureau of Military Affairs.”
One day, while Mi Qin Tiele was training his troops in the camp, a personal guard carrying a secret box wrapped in white cloth rushed over.
“Bring it here.”
After Mi Qin Tiele quickly opened it, he found two letters inside.
One was an official document from the Bureau of Military Affairs, and the other was a private letter from Deputy Minister of the Bureau of Military Affairs Waiming Shian.
After reading the official document, Mi Qin Tiele’s expression became even more grave.
“Commander, what does the Bureau of Military Affairs want us to do?” a nearby general asked.
Mi Qin Tiele handed the letters to his deputy general and said in a deep voice, “They want our Ganzhou Army to immediately reinforce Heishui City and absolutely prevent the Northern Frontier Barbarians from setting foot in the Hexi Corridor.”
“It also orders Duke Zhengze and the Zhenyi Commandery Prince to lead fifty thousand troops to support us.”
Duke Zhengze was the respectful title for Waiming Shian, indicating his considerable prestige within the army.
Afterward, Mi Qin Tiele opened Waiming Shian’s private letter.
The letter only mentioned one thing: he must hold Heishui City, buy time for the main force of the Western Xia army, and absolutely prevent the Northern and Western routes of the Northern Frontier Army from joining forces.
Waiming Shian’s battle plan was to defend the west and attack the north, gathering the superior forces of Western Xia to first eliminate the Northern Frontier Army on the western front.
This was because the Northern Frontier Army on the western front had only a little over ten thousand men, making them easier to deal with, prioritizing the easy task before the difficult one.
Then, they would march north and defeat the main force of the Northern Frontier Army in the north.
This plan had no flaws. Waiming Shian was indeed a veteran general, but what troubled Mi Qin Tiele was that the old man was sending him to the northern front to fight to the death against the Northern Frontier Army.
Outside Heishui City were thirty thousand main troops of the Northern Frontier Army.
With his own twenty thousand Ganzhou Army and the less than ten thousand garrison troops in Heishui City, could they hold back the Northern Frontier Army?
“Are there any reports from Heishui City?”
After putting down the letter, Mi Qin Tiele asked the deputy general beside him.
The deputy general shook his head slightly, “After the last report of Heishui City being besieged, there has been no further news.”
“Could something have happened to Heishui City?” someone speculated.
“It shouldn’t have. The situation in Heishui City is no worse than in our Ganzhou City. With three-zhang high city walls, as long as there is enough grain, those Northern Frontier Barbarians absolutely won’t be able to climb over.”
“The prairie barbarians are not good at siege warfare. I suspect that Heishui City is currently surrounded on all sides, which is why no news is getting out.”
“What if there are spies in Heishui City?”
The generals of the Ganzhou Army discussed amongst themselves.
Mi Qin Tiele, however, was extremely annoyed and said angrily, “Go, send someone to Heishui City. Make sure to gather detailed information.”
The reason he lived so comfortably in his position as Commander was not only his skill in currying favor and frequently participating in team-building activities with his superiors, but most importantly, his habit of planning before acting.
Just like during the previous Hexi battle, he only dispatched troops to retake Dunhuang and Guazhou after confirming that the Jin Prefecture Army had already left.
In short, it was one thing: being cautious!
Without a sure thing, he wouldn’t dare to rush to his death.
Afterward, Mi Qin Tiele returned to his large tent and asked, “How many soldiers have been assembled so far?”
“Reporting to Commander, there are a total of twenty-five thousand men,” the deputy general replied.
“In another ten days, we can add another ten thousand.”
Western Xia could no longer maintain a massive army.
Even the local army commands only kept a small standing army, and during wartime, conscription was carried out temporarily.
However, these conscripted soldiers were mostly just for numbers and logistics, similar to civilian laborers.
Therefore, although the Ganzhou Army had reached twenty-five thousand men, the actual combat-ready troops were probably less than ten thousand.
“Continue conscripting. The more troops, the better,”
Mi Qin Tiele said grandly, waving his hand.
It didn’t matter if they weren’t elites; a larger number would give him some confidence to scare the Northern Frontier Barbarians.
After all the generals had left, Mi Qin Tiele called for his advisor and asked, “How is the collection of military aid funds going?”
“Reporting to Commander, over a thousand strings of cash have been collected.”
Mi Qin Tiele was displeased upon hearing this. “Why only a thousand strings?”
It sounded like a lot, but for an army of tens of thousands, it was completely a drop in the bucket.
Seeing Mi Qin Tiele’s anger, the advisor panicked slightly and said aggrievedly, “Commander, those lowly people are not paying.”
Military aid funds originated from the Later Tang period. The Imperial Court, under the guise of military aid, forcibly levied money from the common people. Regardless of their wealth, they had to pay according to a certain standard, placing a heavy burden on them.
When the news of Heishui City being besieged arrived, Mi Qin Tiele realized that his opportunity for wealth had arrived.
The money collected was ostensibly for military aid, but how much it actually amounted to was entirely up to him to decide.
But it seemed this collection was not going smoothly.
“Hmph, a bunch of lowly people, ungrateful! How dare they illegally resist taxes?”
“The military aid funds collected are not going into this Commander’s pocket, but are for the great cause of resisting the north.”
“Why can’t these lowly people understand?”
“If there’s no money, the soldiers will go hungry, have no strength to kill the enemy, the Northern Frontier Barbarians will break through Heishui City, and our Ganzhou City will also be in peril. By then, they will be plundered.”
“This Commander is doing this for their own good.”
Mi Qin Tiele slammed the table, enraged. A bunch of lowly people, ungrateful, don’t blame him for resorting to force.
The advisor beside him quickly said, “Yes, yes, Commander is wise. Those lowly people are truly ungrateful.”
“But if you’ll permit me to speak, the Imperial Court has already added a tax levy this year. The lowly people might genuinely be out of money.”
“Moreover, we have already conscripted for military service. If we push them too hard, it could cause trouble if those lowly people start a riot.”
With the order from the Commander’s Office, every household had to provide one male laborer for military service.
If these conscripted soldiers were to riot, it would truly be a matter of losing one’s head.
“Then what do you suggest? Should the army go into battle on empty stomachs?” Mi Qin Tiele snorted.
The advisor inwardly disdained him.
The Gansu Army Command did not lack funds; they were all embezzled by Mi Qin Tiele.
That’s why, now that war had broken out, they had to extort from the common people.
But at this tense moment, a slight misstep could easily lead to a mutiny.
The advisor then suggested, “Lowly people may be penniless, but the wealthy households have money!”
As soon as he spoke, Mi Qin Tiele’s eyes widened instantly. “Are you crazy?”
“To dare to extort money from wealthy households, do you have an extra head?”
The advisor quickly said, “Not all wealthy households. We will definitely not provoke those who are too powerful.”
“Moreover, in your jurisdiction of Gansu and two prefectures, you are like this.” The advisor gave Mi Qin Tiele a thumbs-up.
“Those who cannot be provoked are ultimately a very small minority.”
The local powers in Ganzhou were deeply intertwined, but Mi Qin Tiele, who held military power, genuinely feared provoking only a few families.
They all had connections in the Imperial Court; the rest were not a problem for him.
The advisor’s suggestion was to collect military aid funds from the small landlords and merchants in Gansu and two prefectures.
And for fairness, to give those people no grounds for complaint, they could also collect money from those few wealthy households with connections in the Imperial Court at the same time.
At worst, they could secretly return it to them afterward.
After hearing this suggestion, Mi Qin Tiele’s eyes grew brighter, and a smile appeared on his face.
He gently patted the advisor’s shoulder and said, “Good, Zhong’e!”
“This Commander did not misjudge you.”
“You are destined to be an official.”
“In the future, this Commander will recommend you to the Imperial Court and help you rise rapidly,” Mi Qin Tiele said, making promises.
Li Zhong’e immediately looked as if he was deeply moved. “Thank you, Commander, for your nurturing. I will never forget your great kindness.”
After professing his loyalty, Li Zhong’e took the troops given by Mi Qin Tiele to get to work.
This time, he would use a knife in one hand and buns in the other, and he had to procure a sum of money for the expedition.
Although he couldn’t touch the great nobles, the class of small landlords and merchants were their pigs.
Once they were fat, they would be slaughtered.
Two more days passed, and a soldier wearing worn sheepskin, looking like a refugee, arrived dusty and travel-worn.
After revealing his identity, he soon met Mi Qin Tiele.
“Are you a personal guard of Commander Waiming?”
In the Commander’s Office, Mi Qin Tiele looked at a man in the hall whose face was dark, skin sallow, and peeling.
“Your Commander wrote to me last time, saying he was ill and Heishui City lacked medical supplies, asking this Commander to help him send two doctors.”
“Calculating the journey, those two doctors should have arrived in Heishui City. How is your Commander’s condition?”
Mi Qin Tiele asked absentmindedly while opening the letter.
The man in the hall, however, clearly paused, frowned, and said, “Reporting to Lord, our Commander’s health has always been very good, and he has not been ill recently.”
The man spoke bluntly, not knowing at all how to give Mi Qin Tiele an easy out.
But Mi Qin Tiele did not mind. He simply nodded slightly and stopped speaking, focusing instead on reading the letter.
Although the man had proven his identity, out of a general’s caution, he had tested him and found no issues.
Therefore, he believed the man’s identity.
The letter was opened to reveal neat regular script, clearly not written by Waiming Zhongshi; it was likely someone else wrote it on his behalf.
It was also sealed with Waiming Zhongshi’s private seal.
The letter only stated one thing: the Northern Frontier Army’s offensive was fierce, and they requested the Ganzhou Army to provide support as soon as possible.
After closing the letter, Mi Qin Tiele asked the man a few more questions.
Learning that Heishui City was still holding strong and the Northern Frontier Army was still being stubbornly held outside the city immediately relieved him.
“Good, I understand everything. Stay in the city for now. Once the order from the Bureau of Military Affairs is issued, our Gansu Army will depart immediately,” Mi Qin Tiele said.
Then, he had the messenger taken away, pondering for a moment.
The order from the Bureau of Military Affairs was for him to lead the Ganzhou Army to reinforce Heishui City. Nai Ling Sicong had also told him in a private letter that he must hold Heishui City.
Now, he had also learned that Heishui City was still holding strong.
Therefore, Mi Qin Tiele made up his mind.
He stood up, looked at the generals in the hall, and sternly commanded, “Issue the order: we will march in two days, heading north to Heishui City to fight a decisive battle against the Northern Frontier Barbarians.”
“As you command,” the generals roared in unison.
Two days later, Mi Qin Tiele left five thousand troops to garrison Ganzhou City, and he himself led twenty thousand infantry and cavalry towards Heishui City.
…
At the same time, on the west bank of the Blackwater River, a group of disheveled people were riding horses, struggling through the Gobi Desert.
Less than thirty people, mostly young and strong men, with only a few young women.
They were all survivors from Heluo Chuan who had narrowly escaped the butcher knives of the Northern Frontier Army.
“If we cross the two mountains ahead, we’ll reach the Blackwater River. Following the Blackwater River south, in two more days we’ll be saved.”
In the group, a middle-aged man leading them encouraged the others.
They were already extremely exhausted. The scorching sun and the biting wind had taken their toll, and without water replenishment, everyone had reached their physical limit.
Their most urgent hope now was to reach Heishui City as quickly as possible so they could drink their fill.
However, as they were about to cross the mountain ahead, they suddenly saw a horrifying sight.
“What, what is that?”
As the cold wind whipped sand and grit across the cracked earth, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old woman from Heluo Chuan suddenly trembled as if struck by lightning, pointing fiercely forward.
Where there should have been undulating sand dunes, a gray-white spire now abruptly rose.
It was not a natural creation, but a tombstone built from tens of thousands of deaths.
Staring at this terrifying scene, everyone was dumbfounded, their expressions filled with horror, their faces pale.
The middle-aged man walking at the front’s eyes narrowed sharply, a sound like a bellows escaping his throat, and he stammered:
“This is…”
“These are our people, these are all our brothers from Heluo Chuan,”
a young man suddenly cried out in despair.
The emotions of the others also became agitated, their eyes turning red, their fists clenched.
Judging by their hair ornaments and appearance, those heads were undoubtedly from Heluo Chuan.
The women who saw this scene screamed and retreated.
But the men’s faces contorted with rage, and they rushed forward quickly, the fire of anger burning ever fiercer in their hearts.
“Damn prairie barbarians.”
A young man from Heluo Chuan, Ah Wei, stood beside a scorched skull, his face ferocious. “I will pile their bones into mountains too!”
The middle-aged Heluo Chuan headman also clenched his knife hilt, gritting his teeth and saying fiercely, “Blood for blood.”
Looking at the scene before him, his wife’s image flashed in his mind. She had been abducted by the Northern Frontier Barbarians, and he didn’t know where she was now.
“The lives of Heluo Chuan men are not mere weeds.”
“One day, we will return and kill all the prairie barbarians.”
“Revenge.”
“Let the barbarians’ blood drench the grasslands, and let us bring all their heads back to Heluo Chuan to mourn our departed tribesmen.”
These ferocious roars from the Heluo Chuan people, the blood of their kin, stimulated everyone’s minds, and their desire for revenge grew stronger.
But in the next moment, the sound of hooves approached from the distance.
“Giddy up, giddy up!”
“Giddy up!”
Everyone’s faces suddenly turned to shock, and they turned to look. In the distance, near a hill, billowing yellow dust suddenly rose.
Warhorses galloped, like muffled thunder crushing the heart, a cavalry force of over thirty men emerged from the horizon, charging forward with the stench of blood.
They were all clad in bright yellow cotton armor, and under the sunlight, they resembled golden-armored warriors.
The people of Heluo Chuan who saw this scene were stunned.
Suddenly, a woman’s loud scream rang out.
“Devils, they are devils.”
The cavalry before them were exactly like the devils who had trampled their homes and slaughtered their loved ones.
The woman’s mind involuntarily conjured the scene of their village being breached.
The Common People within the village lay one by one in pools of blood, their parents and brothers slaughtered. That day, the world seemed to turn blood red.
Only she herself, protected by slaves, managed to escape by chance, and then met other people fleeing from different villages.
Only then did she learn that many villages in Heluo Chuan had been attacked by these devils.
They slaughtered wantonly, their blood staining the Yellow Sand, and Heaven and Earth wailed for the tragic fate of the Heluo Chuan people.
Now, they had all fled here, only to be discovered by the Prairie Barbarians.
“Run~”
The middle-aged Heluo Chuan man at the lead suddenly let out a roar.
He mounted his horse and, without regard for anything else, turned and fled.
The crowd immediately scattered like ants from a disturbed nest. The women’s headscarves were torn off by the wind, their braids whipping wildly behind them; the men stumbled and rolled down the sand dunes, desperately cracking their horsewhips.
Although they had sworn a blood oath to seek revenge against the Northern Frontier Barbarians for this bloody hatred.
But when the Northern Frontier People truly appeared before their eyes, those terrifying images resurfaced in their minds.
They became cowardly, they became frightened.
They wanted revenge, but not now.
Because they knew very well that at this moment, their weakened selves had no Strength to confront the Northern Frontier Barbarians head-on.
Even if the numbers were equal, the facts had already proven that they were bound to lose.
Because not long ago, three villages had joined forces to ambush a contingent of Northern Frontier Cavalry, but the outcome had left everyone utterly horrified.
The joint forces of the three villages suffered a crushing defeat, slaughtered mercilessly by Northern Frontier Cavalry numbering less than a third of their own.
The corpses of the Heluo Chuan people covered the Gobi Desert, their blood staining the Land, while the Northern Frontier Barbarians’ losses were negligible.
The huge disparity in Strength forced them to face their own capabilities, understanding that seeking revenge now was a pipe dream, and they could only wait for an opportunity.
Therefore, all they could do at this moment was to flee.
On the other side, this Northern Frontier Cavalry force had not expected to encounter these people either; the Captain leading them was stunned for a moment.
But immediately, surprise appeared on his face.
“It’s the Heluo Chuan people!”
“Pursue them, don’t let a single one escape.”
For the Northern Frontier Army, the Heluo Chuan people were easily gained Military Merit, and they had to capture them.
The women running at the very back were quickly caught. The woman who had shouted about seeking revenge against the Northern Frontier Army was directly ensnared by a lasso thrown by a cavalryman, dragged across the gravel, leaving long bloody trails.
Subsequently, the Northern Frontier Cavalry drew their bows and nocked arrows, turning this Gobi Desert into their hunting ground.
These Heluo Chuan people had fled for a long time in the Gobi Desert, their bodies exhausted, their horses weary, and they had not had water for a long time.
The warhorses’ speed quickly diminished after only a short run.
In the end, all of these people became prey for the Northern Frontier Army.
After a quarter of an hour, the Yellow Sand was stained with blood, and more than a dozen headless corpses were scattered around.
The remaining Heluo Chuan people huddled together, trembling, their fearful gazes fixed on the surrounding Northern Frontier Cavalry.
They held bows and arrows, circling the Heluo Chuan people.
Soon, with the Captain’s order: “Loose arrows!”
“Whizzz~”
The last dozen or so Heluo Chuan people died under the Northern Frontier arrows; only a few women survived.
In front of these women, the Northern Frontier Army swiftly swung their blades and severed the heads of the Heluo Chuan men.
In Heluo Chuan tradition, beheading an enemy meant suppressing their soul, preventing them from becoming evil spirits and seeking revenge.
Therefore, the Northern Frontier Army was merely following the tradition of the Heluo Chuan people.
After killing these Heluo Chuan men, they then tied up all the remaining women and threw them onto the horses.
The Captain glanced around and ordered, “Continue the patrol; do not let any Heluo Chuan person slip through.”
They were not Troops of the Fourth Garrison, but belonged to the First Division.
Their mission was to patrol day and night in the desert and Gobi on both sides of the Blackwater River.
If they discovered Common People fleeing from the direction of Heishui City, they were to be immediately detained.
If they found any escaped Heluo Chuan people, the men were to be killed on the spot, and the women were to be escorted back to the camp and demoted to slaves.
The purpose was to blockade the Blackwater River and delay the spread of news about the fall of Heishui City as much as possible.
As the sun set, this Northern Frontier team completed their mission and was relieved by another Captain’s army on night duty, after which they returned to the camp.
The main camp of the Northern Frontier Army was established south of Heluo Chuan, by the Blackwater River.
The Tents of the First Division and the Sixth Garrison were spread along the river, stretching for over ten li, resembling stars in the sky.
At this moment, Li Xiao was sitting in his tent, looking at a piece of paper in his hand by the light of a Torch.
This was a message from a spy in Ganzhou City, reporting the movements of the Ganzhou Army to Li Xiao.
“Twenty thousand Ganzhou Army moving north.”
With only a few simple words, Li Xiao’s mood greatly improved, and a slight smile appeared on his face.
“Good~”
“Finally managed to lure out the fish that is Ganzhou.”
The Personal Guard sent to Ganzhou City was genuine, but not at the request of Weiming Zhongshi.
It was Li Xiao’s stratagem.
Using the lives of his family members as a threat, he made him bring the news that Heishui City had not yet fallen to Mi Qin Tiele.
This was to lure out the Ganzhou Army.
Ganzhou City was high, and its garrison numbered over twenty thousand, unlike Heishui City.
Even with an insider and powerful siege weapons like the Divine Might Cannon, Li Xiao did not want to initiate a siege warfare lightly.
The casualties would be too high, especially in street fighting after breaching the city, where it would be difficult to distinguish between numerous soldiers and Common People, leading to many unnecessary casualties.
Therefore, Li Xiao planned to lure the main force of the Ganzhou Army out of the city and annihilate them in a single battle on the Northern Frontier Army’s home ground.
Then, attacking Ganzhou City would undoubtedly be twice as effective with half the effort.
Of course, all of this was based on the premise that the news of Heishui City’s fall had not spread.
Otherwise, given Mi Qin Tiele’s cautious nature, he might have holed up and refused to come out.
So, Li Xiao had someone deliver false news.
However, even if Mi Qin Tiele had already learned of Heishui City’s fall, it wouldn’t matter.
Then they would proceed with the original plan to attack the city; it would just take a few more days.
But now it seemed Li Xiao’s efforts were not in vain; Mi Qin Tiele had indeed fallen for the bait.
Subsequently, Li Xiao summoned Luo Meng, Da Hu, and other Chiliarchs, and instructed them, “The Fourth Garrison’s clearing operation in Heluo Chuan is almost complete. Leave one Chiliarch from the Fourth Garrison to finish up.”
“The rest will break camp tomorrow morning and cross the Han Great Wall into the Hexi Corridor.”
The Blackwater River was a narrow riverbed, with desert on both sides, which was not conducive to cavalry maneuverability.
Therefore, Li Xiao decided to set the battlefield for ambushing the Ganzhou Army in the Hexi Corridor, where the wide terrain was most suitable for cavalry to charge.
In contrast, Ganzhou’s mixed infantry and cavalry army would find it extremely difficult to move in such terrain.
