knife

Chapter 443 No Regrets
Xiang Jun looked at An Xuan, whose black hair was flying in the wind, and felt a mix of emotions.

What an unruly guy he used to be!
But now, they have been completely subdued by Protector Li and Protector Xiao.

Protector Xiao said that as long as we are strong enough, even the most valiant and warlike tribes can only turn their greatest strength into singing and dancing.

Li Duhu said, "One hand wields a big stick, the other offers honey; we must grasp both and make both strong."

The treatment of An Xuan was a powerful implementation of these policies.

Now, An Xuan has become the most powerful weapon in the hands of the Northern Protectorate. In this war to destroy the Yuan Dynasty, he will become the key to victory and the outcome of the battle.

Jebe had conquered the tribes of Anxuan and others for many years, but the Yuan people always adopted a policy of high pressure, intimidation, and exploitation, which finally aroused the resentment of these tribes.

If there were no other options, these tribes would have to endure their mistreatment in silence. But once they had other options, they would choose the other option without hesitation.

Because no matter what choice you make, things probably won't be worse than they are now.

"In this battle, we will face Ren Duozhong's Southern Camp!" An Xuan said, "This is a tough nut to crack. If we want to take it down, we will have to pay a huge price. But for the future of the tribe, our generation is willing to pay this price. We just want our children to have a quiet pasture, a piece of land to cultivate freely, a house to shelter them from the wind and rain, and in the dead of winter, when the snow is raging, the elderly will no longer have to walk into the snow to save food."

Seeing the saddened An Xuan, Xiang Jun smiled and said, "General An, this battle is actually not as difficult as you think!"

An Xuan said, "I have seen Ren Duozhong's Southern Camp, and it is not a weak force!"

Xiang Jun nodded and said, "That's not true, but General An, we in Beiting always plan carefully before we act. Jebe wants to weaken your strength, so he always puts you at the forefront. Every one of you who dies in battle is one less. But for us, your young and strong men are excellent laborers who can create more wealth on this vast land in the future, so how can we bear to see you die needlessly in battle?"

An Xuan's eyes flashed. "So, there have been some other changes in this battle?"

Xiang Jun laughed and said, "General An, have you heard of the Eagle Bandits?"

Upon hearing the mention of the hawk bandits, An Xuan's expression immediately darkened. "How could I not know? They have repeatedly crossed the border and robbed our already meager cattle, sheep, and grain. They are a group of horse bandits that deserve our utmost hatred!"

"These bandits are also among our people!"

Xiang Jun's words made An Xuan's expression turn extremely interesting. He stared at Xiang Jun, opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word for a long time.

"The Yandu authorities are actively courting the Eagle Bandits, robbing both you and the Tiele tribes everywhere, which is obviously at Akdun's behest!" Xiang Jun said. "After your intention to attack Renduozhong's southern camp was discovered, Renduozhong will inevitably contact the Eagle Bandits to attack you from both sides. Once the Eagle Bandits receive sufficient rewards, they will naturally come willingly. However, once on the battlefield, who the Eagle Bandits attack will be beyond their control!"

An Xuan remained silent for a long time.

As an experienced general, he certainly knew what such a sudden change on the battlefield meant!
Especially when both sides are evenly matched, the one who is betrayed has no choice but to be defeated or killed.

"When did the Eagle Bandits get won over by the Northern Court?" An Xuan asked with some difficulty.

"The Eagle Bandits have always been a force of the Beiting Protectorate!" Xiang Jun said with a smile. "Many of their leaders are my colleagues!" An Xuan was completely speechless.

Of course, this is definitely a good thing for his tribe.

The one less death in battle means one more able-bodied man for the tribe in the future.

"I've heard Zhebie mention that both Protector-General Li and Protector-General Xiao have their eyes on the Guanzhong Plain, wanting to contend for the throne?" An Xuan asked with interest, "How big is the Guanzhong Plain?"

Xiang Jun stretched out his finger and sketched a rough picture on the ground. Then he drew a few rough lines in it and pointed to one of the areas, saying, "This is outside the pass."

An Xuan looked at this piece and asked, "Is this the only place outside the pass?"

Xiang Jun chuckled: "The key isn't the size of the territory, but the number of people and the amount of wealth! Right now, the Beiting Protectorate only has three million people. Even if we conquer the Northern Yuan, we'll only have two million more. But the Great Qin alone has ten times that number, and if we add the Great Chu, it'll be ten times more. As for wealth, hehe, let's not even compare, there's no comparison. In the eyes of those inside the pass, we outside are all poor wretches!"

An Xuan took a deep breath. In his opinion, the people of the Northern Protectorate were already incredibly rich, far beyond their reach. Yet, even so, they were still considered poor by the people inside the pass.

"Can we participate when we march into the interior of China in the future?" he asked excitedly.

"General An, are you familiar with the military system of Beiting?" Xiang Jun asked in return.

"I've learned a bit about it!"

An Xuan would naturally try to learn about the situation of the person he was going to join through various channels, and the military system was naturally one of the most important things he needed to understand.

“General An, a fierce general, will naturally participate,” Xiang Jun said. “However, the troops that General An will lead may not be the same as your current group of men. In our Northern Court, we believe that even if the soldiers do not know the generals and the generals do not know the soldiers, we can still win battles.”

"How can this be?"

“Of course it’s possible!” Xiang Jun said, “Because that’s what we’ve always been doing. General An, to tell you the truth, in our Beiting, it’s absolutely impossible for the generals below to rebel right now, because not only the officers, but even the soldiers won’t follow you. When you arrive in Beiting, you will naturally understand these things in depth.”

"Isn't this stripping them of their military power?"

"Military power can only remain in the hands of the Protectorate!" Xiang Jun said solemnly. "A general can only have command authority, and what we aim for is that even if a general is replaced on the battlefield, it will not have a significant impact on military command! In other words, when it comes time to vie for supremacy, your subordinates may be under the command of others, while you command another group of people. Of course, the achievements you and your current subordinates have made will also benefit your entire tribe, allowing them to obtain more benefits and advantages."

An Xuan was silent for a moment, then said, "We've been fighting all the way south for so many years. To be honest, I'm really tired. As long as we can settle down and let our people live peacefully, my personal power is secondary. If I can use my efforts to bring more benefits to my people, then of course I will gladly go!"

"General An, you will never regret your choice!" Xiang Jun said confidently.

(End of this chapter)