Han Khan

Chapter 26, Capture

The battle finally ended, and the whole scene was horrific.

There were dead bodies everywhere, blood everywhere, and burning tents and haystacks everywhere.

"The outcome has been decided!" Zhang Sheng felt relieved when he saw this scene.

Immediately order all centuries, including the newly formed Uighur cavalry century, to engage in the final battle.

Under the command of the captain, the slave soldiers began to clean up the battlefield in an orderly manner.

They showed no mercy to the injured Uighurs and decisively delivered the fatal blow.

And strip off each piece of leather or iron armor, whether it was intact or torn.

He also gathered up the bows, spears, swords and arrows that were scattered everywhere.

All the healthy horses were driven to one place, while those with broken legs and injuries were slaughtered on the spot for future use.

At this moment, another group of fierce and brave Jinhan cavalry were chasing the panicked and fleeing Uighur cavalry and herdsmen at lightning speed.

"Chase these fleeing criminals. Except for women and children, don't let go of anyone standing!" Wang Duoji drew out his hunting bow, shot one man to death with one arrow, and then waved his mace, chasing after the fleeing Uighurs.

Inside the camp, the sound of horse hooves was still steady and dense.

The Uighur centurion Salu led more than a hundred cavalrymen. These Uighur light cavalrymen, who had just become the regular troops of the Jin and Han armies, were also chasing the fleeing enemies everywhere. Their crazy eyes showed their excitement at the moment, and their sharp sabers looked so cold at this moment.

More than a thousand Jin and Han cavalry galloped in the camp in the wide valley, chasing the fleeing Uighurs, driving away and tying up the captives. The troops were divided into three groups. While the Uighurs were in panic, the Jin and Han cavalry continued to attack, trying to solve the problem once and for all and conquer the Kucha Uighurs.

Then, the Jinhan cavalrymen were seen waving their whips, driving a large number of Uighurs back to the camp from all corners of the valley, and then they were forced to kneel on the ground.

These captives were roughly dragged out from various places by the Jin Han people. They were trembling all over and kneeling on the ground.

Faced with the upcoming unknown trial, their faces were filled with fear and despair, as if they had already seen their tragic fate as losers.

Behind them, war horses galloped and flames blazed. The originally peaceful valley gradually turned into a hell on earth with corpses strewn all over the ground.

Tugeldagan's troops number over ten thousand people, I wonder how many of them can escape?

Yesterday's prosperity was like a mirage, and now all the Uighurs have become dead bodies or captives, and their cattle, sheep, horses, and camels will also be captured by plunderers.

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"These foods have a unique flavor." Zhang Sheng said in a deep voice while sitting in the tent and looking at the food on the blanket.

Sitting in the tent were the three captains of the personal guards, Koza, Yin Shanxiong and Boniek, and the three centurions, Hun Ziji, Zhang Chengming, Liang Xingde and Xue Shantong, all of whom were busy eating.

Cheese, cow, sheep, and horse milk, kumis, milk lumps, butter, and milk skin are often eaten because people in later generations also live in pastoral areas. The diet of Dunhuang also integrates Han and Hu elements.

Therefore, people are not averse to these foods.

On the blanket were some Uighur naan and some fresh wild fruits. The naan was freshly made and tasted very good. He had eaten too much beef, mutton and horse meat in the past few days and felt quite sick of it.

During these days, there was no shortage of meat. The dead and wounded war horses were slaughtered and used as meat, and there were so many captured cattle and sheep that they were used as military rations.

"We will return to the Dajingze camp tomorrow." Zhang Sheng put down the extremely sharp dagger in his hand with a gloomy face, wiped the corner of his mouth casually, then picked up a bowl of steaming and fragrant kumis, looked at the people in front of him calmly, and said slowly.

His voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable majesty that could not be ignored.

"As for the spoils of this battle... we will distribute them among everyone after we return to the Oizawa camp.

Whether it is cattle, sheep or horses, they will be distributed to everyone according to a certain ratio. All regular soldiers who participate in the battle will receive generous rewards!"

Zhang Sheng knew very well that in such troubled times, he had to give his soldiers enough benefits, otherwise who would be willing to follow him and fight to the death?
After all, these soldiers do not have a fixed salary. If they only risk their lives every time they go to the battlefield without any substantial gains, then over time, I am afraid that no one will be willing to continue to follow them to fight on the battlefield.

In fact, at the beginning, Zhang Sheng did not restrict the soldiers' looting behavior.

At that time, as long as the soldiers gained something on the battlefield, except for a part of the spoils that they had to hand over to their superiors, the rest could belong to themselves.

However, he later discovered that although doing so could motivate the soldiers, it also brought some negative effects - because everyone was only thinking about getting more benefits for themselves, the army's discipline became very loose and difficult to control.

In order to solve this problem, after careful consideration, Zhang Sheng had to forcibly stipulate that all spoils of war must be distributed uniformly after the war.

In this way, it can ensure fairness and justice, prevent people from embezzling or hiding spoils, and effectively rectify military discipline, making the entire army more united and obedient. You know, if the spoils are not distributed, let alone the so-called "projection of the Lord of Heaven on earth", even if it is a real god descending to earth, I am afraid there is no way to make this army obey orders?

"Yes, Your Highness!" Upon hearing Zhang Sheng's words, the captains of the hundred soldiers, the captain of the guard and other officers in the tent all responded in unison with solemn expressions, expressing that they had no objection to his decision.

Obviously, they are also very satisfied with this arrangement - with a clear reward mechanism as motivation, they will naturally be more motivated for the next battle!

However, when they learned that the spoils would be distributed, they revealed an unconcealable joy in their eyes.

At this time, Yin Shanxiong stepped into the tent, his face full of joy, but his breathing was a little unstable. He knelt on one knee and took a few deep breaths before reporting to Zhang Sheng: "Your Highness, we have seized a lot today!

“In this battle, we not only captured more than 6000 people, but also seized thousands of high-wheeled carriages and hundreds of thousands of cattle, sheep, horses, camels, donkeys and other livestock.

There were also a large number of iron ingots, gold and silver, furs, leather, honey, medicinal materials, as well as porcelain bottles, pottery jars and other sundries.”

Zhang Sheng was also very happy to hear the news. The Uighur tribe itself was a large tribe of more than 10,000 people, and he knew that they had a lot of wealth, but he didn't expect that it would exceed his expectations.

"Let's go out and have a look." Zhang Sheng put down the food and mare's milk in his hands, picked up the sword beside him, put on the iron helmet, and walked out of the tent with everyone.

When he went out of the tent, he saw that the hillside was densely packed with Uighur people and prisoners of war kneeling. There were more than forty rows of them, with more than a hundred people in each row, all surrounded by Jin and Han soldiers.

Zhang Sheng looked at the prisoners in front of him, all of whom were in tattered clothes and trembling with extreme fear.

The bandit chieftain Tugeldagan and his guards have been executed.

On the Jinhan side, 18 people from the Royal Guards were killed, 94 people from the Jinhan Centurion were killed, and over were injured.

The 85-man Uighur cavalry century had 61 killed and about wounded or disabled. It was no longer sufficient and needed to be reorganized.

Of the 1000 Uighur slave soldiers, more than 400 were killed, more than 200 were injured or disabled, and more than half of the troops were reduced.

More than 6000 Uighur tribesmen were captured, and there were more than 900 prisoners of war. Together with the Uighurs who were hit by the fire bulls, those who fled and were chased, and those who participated in the battle, a total of more than 5000 people died.

So now, the whole valley is filled with rivers of blood and corpses everywhere.

The smell was disgusting and the sight was suffocating.

"Your Highness, we will camp here tonight and return tomorrow. These bandits...", murderous intent flashed in Zhang Xibao's eyes.

Zhang Sheng glanced at the captives in front of him, all of whom were dejected and listless. "Take people to identify Tugerdagan and his guards' parents, male brothers, descendants, nephews, and all those who are related to him.

Behead him here as a warning to others. Disband the other prisoners and imprison them separately.”

To annex a tribe or clan, all previous vested interests must be killed. The tribesmen are particularly particular about bloodline and status.

Only by killing all those people with so-called bloodline and status, and removing the leaders, can the Jin Han people firmly control these captives.

Zhang Xibao has always been calm and steady in doing things, and he always completes every task excellently.

Setting up camp, slaughtering livestock, cooking meat porridge, dispatching scouts, and placing secret sentries, all affairs were handled in an orderly manner.

Nearly a hundred Uighurs who had connections with Tuger were dragged out and beheaded one by one in public.

These people have the best clothes and armor among the Uighurs, and it can be seen that they live a good life.

The Jinhans and the captives were watching.

At this time Zhang Sheng spoke.

"I am a special agent of the Jinhan tribe. According to tradition, I want to behead all of you." When he said this, the captives cried and begged for mercy.

Zhang Sheng waved his hand to signal for silence. Several prisoners wanted to stand up, but because they had no weapons, they were instantly killed on the spot by the Jinhan soldiers. Their bodies fell to the ground, hitting the prisoners' hearts heavily.

The gushing blood instantly calmed the captives, and they were killed without hesitation.

The Jin Han warriors who surrounded them now aimed their spears and bows and arrows at the Uighur captives.

Seeing that the captives had quieted down, Zhang Sheng continued.

"However, the God of Heaven above is merciful and has allowed me to spare your lives. From now on, you will all be my slaves and belong to the Jinhan tribe. If you dare to rebel, you will be killed without mercy." Zhang Sheng pointed to the sky and said in a deep voice.

(End of this chapter)