knife

Chapter 229 Only the Final Battle
It's not uncommon for a team to be ambushed and wiped out.

The fact that two or three teams were ambushed one after another can be loosely explained by the fact that those commanders were all idiots who didn't know how to learn from the previous lessons.

However, seven or eight teams in a row were completely outmaneuvered by the enemy, and one after another they were killed so badly that even the messengers couldn't escape.

This is highly abnormal.

Jebe had fought all his life, so he knew that such a thing could only mean one thing: the enemy was fully aware of his actions.

That's why they make arrangements in advance and then wait for their troops to come to them one by one.

"There's a traitor!" Jebe's lips turned deathly pale with anger. "National affairs are nothing but child's play to these people. I'm going to kill them all."

Seeing Zhebie on the verge of losing control, Qin Gong grabbed him.

"General, we have no evidence! Because of the grain requisition issue, there is already a lot of resentment towards you in the southern border region. In addition, with the Wild Boar Ridge incident, public opinion is already very unfavorable to you. If we take action against Lengge and his group without evidence, it could easily incite a military mutiny or a civilian uprising!"

Jebe plopped down, panting heavily, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

Even someone with a peak ninth-grade martial arts cultivation level would be helpless in the face of such a situation.

The Wild Boar Ridge Incident, as Qin Gong described it, involved Jebe providing Li Guohua with money, weapons, and armor according to an agreement. However, some individuals, with ulterior motives, portrayed it as Jebe, the commander-in-chief of Southern Xinjiang, trading money with the Qin army to buy victory. They claimed it was using the hard-earned money of the people of Southern Xinjiang to make peace with the enemy.

This incident, combined with the previous tyrannical practices of Lengge and his men in southern Xinjiang, caused Jebe's reputation to become utterly ruined shortly after he took office and barely had time to settle in.

Although it was Lengge who did the extortion, robbery, and plundering.

Kelengge has been in southern Xinjiang for so many years. He used to be a good official who cared about the people's feelings. How did he turn into a villain who does all kinds of evil?

He was forced into this situation by that scoundrel Jebe.

Jebe may be invincible on the battlefield, but faced with such a complex situation, he was momentarily at a loss and did not know how to deal with it.

After all, Longgou Fort was practically bought back with money, and he did indeed reach an agreement with the Andong Protectorate.

The most convincing rumors are actually nine parts truth and one part falsehood.

The various preconditions presented to the general public are all undeniable facts, but the most crucial point is completely contrary to the truth.

But ordinary people don't have the time or resources to distinguish the truth from falsehood of the whole thing; they have their own simplest and most basic understanding.

A shrewd schemer will always use this to guide public opinion.

"General, the only way to turn the tide right now is through a resounding victory on the battlefield!" Qin Gong said. "There's no need to send small detachments to their deaths. I'm afraid the intelligence will be delivered to the other side before they even leave their barracks. After all, the Second Prince has been cultivating the Southern Frontier for many years. It's impossible for us to win back the hearts of the people in a short time. But victory is enough to cover up everything that's unfavorable to us. The victor will not be blamed!"

Jebe nodded: "The main force will attack, heading straight for Tai'an City."

Although the current headquarters of the Anxi Protectorate is located in Baoping City, Jebe believes that their actual center of power should still be in Tai'an City, which is the heart of the entire Anxi Protectorate.

Once Tai'an City is captured, it's like having the heart of the Anxi Protectorate firmly in one's grasp, after which one can do whatever one wants.

Jebe was a true man of action.

Once a decision is made, there is no more hesitation.

Three days later, 30,000 cavalrymen set out from Longgou Fort, each carrying ten days' worth of rations. Led by Jebe, they marched straight towards Tai'an City.

The city of Tai'an originally had a population of over 200,000, but only about 50,000 lived within the city itself; the rest were scattered around the city.

The people living around Tai'an City were among the wealthiest in the area outside the Great Wall.

Jebe's other purpose in heading straight for Tai'an City was to force Xiao Changche and Li Dachui into a decisive battle with him.

If they hide or retreat into the city, then I will burn the area around Tai'an City to the ground and kill everyone I can see. I want to see who can't bear the consequences in the end.

The final battle was something that Xiao Changche and Li Dachui had been looking forward to.

If they could defeat Jebe's forces in one battle, then the affairs of the entire border region would become much simpler for the Anxi Protectorate. Li Dachui wanted to reclaim Qinglongxia and Yezhuling.

This is a rare opportunity.

If the battle for the throne in Yandu were to end and the new emperor were to secure his position and turn his attention southward, it would be much more difficult to seize those two places easily.

Li Dachui was not so arrogant as to believe that the Anxi Protectorate was on par with the Northern Yuan.

When others get serious, the Anxi Protectorate can only defend itself.

Jebe's vanguard had just left Longgou Fort when the Anxi Protectorate received detailed intelligence.

However, this time the intelligence was truly dispensable.

Because of the scale of the operation, there was absolutely no intention to keep it a secret from anyone.

Jebe intends to use overwhelming strength to crush his enemy.
One force can overcome a hundred strategies.

No matter how many schemes and tricks you have, they will all be no match for absolute power.

However, this is Zhebie's opinion.

Meanwhile, the Anxi Protectorate was overjoyed.

Isn't this the moment everyone's been waiting for?

The mere thought of annihilating 30,000 elite cavalry of the Northern Yuan in a single operation is enough to send shivers down one's spine.

"Thirty li west of Tai'an City, one side faces the Qingshui River, and the other three sides are vast grasslands, making it the perfect place for a decisive battle!" Xiao Changzha stood in front of the sand table and said with a smile, "Vice Protector Li, tell everyone about our current resources!"

Li Dachui said, "Gentlemen, after the establishment of the Anxi Protectorate, the army was reorganized. Now our regular cavalry force, the Tianlang Army, has a total of five thousand men. Well, don't be sullen, of course, we can muster more than that. The five thousand men I'm talking about are the regular cavalry of the Anxi Protectorate. These cavalrymen are paid and supported by the Anxi Protectorate."

Cui Hu had only recently joined the Anxi Protectorate and was still getting to know many things about it. Hearing this, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Protector Li, besides these five thousand men, how many more can we muster?"

“We can still muster another ten thousand cavalry!” Li Dachui said. “Please note that the ten thousand cavalry I’m talking about are quite capable in combat, not just any random person who can ride a horse and fight. These people are currently assembling. They are also a type of government soldier, they don’t receive military pay, and they keep all the spoils they capture. Within three days, these ten thousand cavalry will be fully assembled.”

"Fifteen thousand cavalry against thirty thousand, it's not that much of a difference!" Cui Hu nodded and smiled.

Once the number of participants in a war reaches a certain level, the difference in numbers will no longer have such a significant impact.

Just like how ten thousand people might beat up a thousand people.

But 100,000 people might not be able to beat 10,000 people.

Although it sounds like ten against one.

Li Dachui laughed strangely: "Minister Cui, this time, our cavalry is not only no less than Jebe's, but even more numerous."

"Isn't there only 15,000 cavalry?" Cui Hu asked in astonishment. "Do you think I can't count?"
"What I'm talking about is only what we have at our disposal. In fact, we also have allies!" Li Dachui said with a smile, looking at everyone in the room. "Now that things have come to this, there are some things we don't need to hide from you anymore. This time, the encirclement and annihilation of Jebe can be considered to be a perfect storm of favorable timing, favorable conditions, and favorable human relations. Even the Yuan Kingdom's own people are helping us. Such an opportunity only comes once. If we miss this opportunity, we will never find such a good chance again."

"Friendly forces?" Cui Hu thought for a while before he realized, "Could it be that Governor Li is referring to Chen Liang's army stationed in the Andong Protectorate in Yuntai Wilderness?"

Cui Hu suddenly realized why he hadn't seen Inspector Zhang Ruo for so long. It turned out that Chen Liang had already defected to the Anxi Protectorate long ago.
"He's not going into the pass with Linghuye?"

"The men of Qin are the first to defend against foreign aggression!" Li Dachui said. "Besides Chen Liang's troops joining, the army controlled by the Chang family outside the pass will also join this hunt."

Compared to Chen Liang's defection, it was Li Dachui's statement that the Chang family would also join that truly caused a sensation at the meeting. The relationship between the Chang family and the Linghu family was extraordinary, and they could be described as mutually beneficial and mutually dependent. Now that Linghu Ye has entered the pass, the Chang family has switched their allegiance to the Anxi Protectorate. Do they not have any confidence in Linghu Ye's journey into the pass?
"Those who act unjustly gain much support, while those who act justly find little. Linghu Ye betrayed the interests of Great Qin, disregarding the lives and safety of millions of Great Qin citizens outside the Great Wall in his dealings with the Yuan people to achieve his personal ambitions. How can such a person go far?" Li Dachui said. "Whether it's Chen Liang or the Chang family, they are both natives of the area outside the Great Wall. How can they stand by and watch their homeland fall into the hands of barbarians? Losing it is easy, but taking it back is difficult! Look at Qingtongxia and Yezhuling. It's been twenty-six years. Do the new generation born there still consider themselves Great Qin people? No, they now consider themselves Yuan people. That's the most heartbreaking thing!"

At this point, Li Dachui glanced at Cui Hu and continued, "Chief Clerk Cui, after all, those of you who have been away from your homeland for decades and still managed to maintain your original aspirations are rare cases, and they have their own unique characteristics that cannot be replicated!"

Cui Hu nodded slightly.

If it weren't for Princess Chang Le protecting them, even if they weren't all dead, they would have been completely assimilated by the Yuan people long ago, and the next generation would only know about the Yuan and not the Qin.

(End of this chapter)