I really became a king.

Chapter 434: Looking at Wolf Mountain from a Distance

Half a day later, Jiang Yi and his group arrived at Heishui Pass.

The pass is as its name suggests, with a pitch-black surface throughout. Although not as majestic as the Demon Realm Pass, it is also one of the most dangerous passes in the world.

For countless years, this Black Water Pass has basically been controlled by foreign races outside the pass, and has become a springboard for foreign dynasties such as Xifan to attack the Middle-earth Dynasty.

But now, the ownership of Heishui Pass has completely changed. On the high city wall, a large flag with the word "Yi" written on it flutters in the wind, indicating that it belongs to Prince Yi's Palace.

The person in charge of guarding Heishui Pass at this time was Su Qingfeng, the leader of the Wind Department. Upon hearing the news that Jiang Yi was coming, Su Qingfeng led a group of generals to meet him ten miles away.

Also coming with them were new nobles of the Eight Banners of Khorkhan, such as Bormu, the leader of the Zhenglan Banner, and Nalanzhu, the leader of the Zhengbai Banner.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Seeing Jiang Yi coming, all the generals dismounted and knelt on one knee.

"Everyone, get up." Jiang Yi waved his hand while riding on his horse, and then asked, "What is the current situation at Black Water Pass?"

Su Qingfeng stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, the Western Tibetan army is coming in droves, and it looks like they want to retake Black Water Pass."

Jiang Yi nodded and said, "Let's go and enter the pass first." After that, he rode his horse towards Heishui Pass. Su Qingfeng, Bolmu and Nalan Zhu all followed behind him.

As for Prince Guo Jiang Huan and Mo Ruhai, they just watched quietly from beginning to end without saying a word. This was also the first time for both of them to enter Black Water Pass. Although they tried their best to remain calm, they were still a little excited.

This Black Water Pass is the same as the Demon Realm Pass. In addition to the thick and tall city walls, there is also a town, but it is much smaller than the Demon Realm Pass.

But the total population is about 100,000. The people who lived here before were all foreigners from outside the Great Wall. After the Black Water Pass changed hands, hundreds of thousands of foreigners from outside the Great Wall also disappeared.

As for where they went, Jiang Yi didn't ask but could guess roughly. After all, the Khorhan people and the foreign ethnic groups outside the Great Wall had a deep hatred for each other.

In this way, Jiang Yi entered Heishui Pass. Beside him, in addition to the big flag with the word "Yi", there was also a flag of King Dali.

The residents of the entire town gathered on both sides of the road. When Jiang Yi passed by, they knelt down in groups without any prior arrangement. They looked at Jiang Yi as if he were a god, full of reverence.

For them, the Prince Yi in front of them was their savior, who had rescued them from the slavery of the foreign races outside the Great Wall. From then on, they were no longer slaves and began to live with dignity like human beings.

The ancestors of these new residents of Blackwater Pass were all from the Middle-earth Dynasty. Later, for various reasons, they drifted to the prairie outside the pass and, like the Korhan people, became the lowest slaves on the prairie.

However, unlike the Korhan people's horse slaves, they were called "armored slaves", which means they were slaves of the armored men. In addition to being responsible for the breeding of some war horses, they were also responsible for the forging and maintenance of the armor and weapons of the armored men.

Because they were born into the royal family of Middle-earth, their situation was even more miserable than that of the Khorhan people. They had no autonomy at all and were slaves for generations, with no chance of ever rising up.

After taking control of Heishui Pass, the first order Jiang Yi issued was to rescue the remaining people from Middle-earth.

After all, the population of Western Frontier under the rule of Prince Yi's Mansion is too small. In order to completely consolidate the rule, more people must be gathered, and these remnants who have been concerned about Middle-earth for generations are the best choice.

Because they have been wandering on the grassland for generations, these Middle-earth survivors have the bravery of the grassland in their bones. Moreover, because they have been in contact with war horses and weapons since childhood, they may not be skilled in archery and horsemanship, but once they get on a horse, they can become qualified cavalrymen.

In the Xifan Dynasty and the Baiyue Dynasty, and even in the Quanshi Dynasty in the far north, there were several vassal armies composed mainly of the remnants of the Middle-earth.

However, unlike the servant vanguard battalion under Prince Yi's Mansion, these servant troops are real servant troops. They are slaves in peacetime and cannon fodder in times of war.

The cruel living environment also forged the Middle-earth survivors into a fearless and brave person, making them another feared cavalry on the prairie after the Korhan Cavalry.

The Xiban Dynasty has a powerful cavalry composed almost entirely of the survivors of the Middle-earth. They are fierce in fighting and fearless in charging. This is also the main purpose of Jiang Yi's coming to Heishui Pass today, which is to subdue this powerful cavalry.

Climbing up the high city wall, there is a vast green grassland outside the wall. At a glance, the sky is high, the water is long, and the plain is flat.

In the past, there should have been herds of cattle and sheep dotted across the prairie, but now, the entire prairie is a little depressed, the smoke of war has not yet dissipated, and the whole world is still filled with a faint smell of blood.

"Nalanzhu, Bormu, where have your two flags advanced to now?" Jiang Yi asked, looking at the lush grassland with water and grass.

Upon hearing this, the leader of the Blue Banner, Boermu, and the leader of the White Banner, Nalanzhu, bowed together, and Nalanzhu replied, "Your Highness, our two banners' troops have now conquered the periphery of Keke Lake."

Keke Lake is an inland lake covering tens of thousands of acres. It is also an important water source on the prairie outside the Great Wall and has always been a battleground for military strategists.

Because around Cocoa Lake are large tracts of fertile fields, this is also the only grain-producing area in the entire prairie. In addition, there are various rare fruit specialties that are listed as tributes to the Xifan Dynasty.

Seeing that Jiang Yi didn't say anything, Nalanzhu whispered again: "The vanguard troops of the Zhenglan and Zhengbai flags have bypassed Keke Lake and arrived at the foot of Langju Mountain."

Langju Mountain? This name made Jiang Yi feel genuinely familiar, because he was reminded of the "Fenglangjuxu" in his previous life.

"Bring me the map."

Jiang Yi waved his hand, and Jiang Yuan pulled out a round animal skin scroll from behind. Two of his personal soldiers slowly unfolded it from the left and right, revealing a square map.

This map starts from the Demon Realm Pass, extends to part of the Quanshi Dynasty in the north, covers most of the Baiyue Dynasty in the south, and covers the entire Xifan Dynasty in the west, including the Black Water Lake where the Xifan Royal Court is located.

This map was drawn bit by bit by Khor Khan during his heyday, and it was also a valuable gift presented to Jiang Yi by Su Moer, the leader of Khor Khan's Zhenghuang Banner.

However, in the eyes of several flag owners such as Kulun, Eye, and Kulun, this treasure map should be Su Moer's dowry. It's just that Prince Yi in front of them pretended to be confused. He accepted the map but didn't mention a word about Su Moer's identity.

Looking at this map, there was some inexplicable regret in the eyes of Bolmu, Nalanzhu. Although the two of them did not get along well with the other six flags, they had great respect for Su Moer, the only golden bloodline of Khor Khan.

Like several other flag owners, they both hoped that Su Moer could have a status in Prince Yi's Palace. Only in this way could Korhan occupy a place in the lineage of Prince Yi's Palace.

Although the seven flag owners had not met secretly, they had reached a tacit consensus on one thing. That was that Su Moer was no longer suitable to lead the Korhan Zhenghuang Banner. In their expectation, the Zhenghuang Banner should be led by their master Jiang Yi himself. After Su Moer gave birth to a child, the Zhenghuang Banner would be officially handed over to the young master and become the real head of the Eight Banners.

However, this was just an idea in their minds. Not to mention Jiang Yi, they didn't even dare to mention it in front of Su Moer. After all, it was not their turn to arrange the master's affairs.

Fortunately, Su Moer might have had plans in this regard, and she took the initiative to hand over the Zhenghuang Banner in her hand to her own prince, and moved into the villa of Prince Yi's Mansion in the East Demon Realm.

After taking a look at the one thousand Khorhan's personal soldiers selected by their own prince himself, Nalanzhu and Bormu felt a little regretful. It would have been great if these people were replaced by the Plain Yellow Banner.

But he was not really discouraged. Although his prince did not make a clear statement, he transferred the Zhenghuang Banner to Hanshan City, where a major battle would take place.

These seven flag leaders were also holding back their efforts, determined to make the Korhan Zhenghuang Banner show its iron-blooded might in that great battle. Who knows, if the prince is so pleased, he might even incorporate the Zhenghuang Banner into his own army.

Jiang Yi was unaware of Nalanzhu and Bolmu's little thoughts. At this moment, he was concentrating on staring at the map in front of him, with an obsession of exploration that never got boring in his eyes.

In his previous life in the 21st century, Jiang Yi loved looking at the world map very much. Of course, he only looked at it cursorily, but it did not hinder his interest in entertaining himself.

Especially whenever I see the vast tracts of land north of the Great Wall and west of the Western Regions, I always feel a sense of ambition and inexplicable loss in my heart.

Especially those large freshwater lakes, which made him beat his chest and stamp his feet in his heart, lamenting why they were not in China...

Just like now, looking at the vast map in front of him, Jiang Yi was fascinated, especially the lakes and green mountains marked on it, which made his eyes shine.

"Hey, could this be the treasure map passed down from generation to generation by the golden bloodline of Korhan?" Prince Guo Jiang Huan came forward, looked at the entire map carefully, and asked in surprise.

"What the Imperial Uncle said is true. This is exactly the treasure map." Jiang Yi replied with a smile, but his eyes did not leave the map.

"It is indeed a treasure map that has been passed down for countless years. It is truly amazing." Jiang Huan exclaimed.

The map in front of him was obviously drawn with unknown precious materials, and it looked no different from other maps except for its simplicity. However, a closer look revealed that it was completely different from ordinary maps.

Every mountain, every lake, including rivers and canyons, are lifelike, and the topography of the entire area is clear at a glance.

The most important thing is that this map was obviously made with special techniques. It can be seen clearly even under the scorching sun. And according to legend, even in the pitch-black night, this map can still be seen clearly.

Jiang Yi first looked around Cocoa Lake for a while. Cocoa Lake, which covers an area of ​​tens of thousands of acres, is surrounded by endless fertile fields, probably at least hundreds of thousands of acres. It is simply a natural granary.

Outside these two days, there is a whole circle of towering ancient poplar trees, which, like guards, tightly protect Cocoa Lake and fertile fields.

Logically speaking, Coco Lake should be heavily guarded, but the Xifan Dynasty was careless. In order to hold the horse-herding meeting, almost all the garrisons of Coco Lake were transferred to Heishui Pass.

In addition, Cocoa Lake is located in their hinterland and has no defense at all. Only the vassal army composed of the remnants of Middle-earth is stationed there.

As a result, the Heishui Pass was defeated so badly that there were no extra troops stationed there. The Western Fan nobles in Heishui fled north in panic and went straight to the west of Langju Mountain.

Looking at Jiang Yi who was pretending to be obsessed, Prince Guo Jiang Huan and Mo Ruhai looked at each other, feeling uncontrollably excited but also a little heavy in their hearts.

They had long known that the Prince Yi in front of them had already captured Heishui Pass, but they thought that they had only captured Heishui Pass, and therefore fell into the crazy counterattack of the Western Tibet Dynasty.

But now it seems that the speed at which Prince Yi's power is expanding is terrifying. If they are not mistaken, this Keke Lake is already in their pockets, and even the Wolf Mountain in the distance is just around the corner.

If Keke Lake is an important water source and natural granary on the prairie, then Langju Mountain is the most prominent strategic location on the prairie.

Moreover, the terrain of Langju Mountain is special. To the east, it is flat and unobstructed, with a gentle slope, which can be said to be a plain. However, to the west, it is high and commanding, with dangerous terrain, which is naturally a kind of suppression situation.

In other words, Langju Mountain is almost a flat grassland with almost no defenses for the Demon Realm Pass, but for the Xifan King Court on the Black Water Lake in the west, it is a natural dangerous pass.

“If we can really take over Langju Mountain, the position of Prince Yi’s Mansion in Western Xinjiang will be largely consolidated…” Jiang Huan sighed to himself.

This is just Heishui Pass. What about Niangzi Pass hundreds of kilometers to the south?
The fact that Prince Yi could leave Niangzi Pass and head north with peace of mind shows that the situation there has basically stabilized.

Come to think of it, as long as they control Niangzi Pass and use their cavalry to guard the only passage in the Shiwan Mountains, it will be much more difficult for the Baiyue Dynasty to counterattack than for the Xifan Dynasty.

As for Nalanzhu and Bolmu, they looked at the Coco Lake on the map with eager eyes. It might be the best place for the Korhan to reproduce and thrive.

Jiang Yi sensed something, glanced at the two of them, and said with a smile: "Coco Lake is not suitable for Korhan."

Upon hearing this, Nalanzhu and Bolmu laughed dryly and leaned forward, feeling a little bitter in their hearts. They also guessed that their prince would definitely not give this Feng Shui treasure land to them, Korhan. After all, the strategic location was too important.

"It's not impossible for you to want Coco Lake, but are you sure you want to get off your horse and farm?" Jiang Yi asked with a smile. Seeing that Boermu and others seemed to be a little confused, he simply pointed to a place and said:

“This is the best place for Korhan to live!”

The place that Jiang Yi pointed at was Langju Mountain, or to be exact, the area west of Langju Mountain.

Bolmu, Nalanzhu, and the new nobles of the two flags who were accompanying them all had their eyes brightened up when they heard this.

Indeed, for the Korhan cavalry, the vast area west of the Wolf Mountain is their best place to gallop, because their ancestors originated west of the Wolf Mountain.

Of course, Korhan's glory also disappeared west of Wolf Mountain.

What they have to do now is to regain the glory of their ancestors and let Korhan's iron hoof trample the entire west of Korhan!
(End of this chapter)