Water Margin begins as a captain in Yanggu County

Chapter 338 Your Majesty, please wait and see.

The war began as soon as it was declared!

Ten thousand riders galloped across the grassland, while eagles soared high in the sky, their eyes reflecting a torrent of steel rushing forth...

Su Wu came here to establish his authority on this grassland as quickly as possible, so that everyone would learn to bow their heads and speak to him when they saw him.

Hurzahus, facing him, was stunned as the Song cavalry suddenly charged forward. He hadn't expected the Song soldiers to attack so suddenly.

He merely assessed his position and mentioned the roles of host and guest. The Song army, with its ten thousand cavalry, had entered the grasslands; logically, they certainly weren't there to fight!

What did the Song people want? It was self-evident. Hurzahusi was also extremely clever. He figured that the Song people hadn't come to fight, so there were bound to be benefits to be gained.

So he came, wanting to gain benefits from the Song people, and also to establish his authority among the nine tribes of Dadan, even becoming their agent to negotiate with the Song people on their behalf...

If the various tribes of Dadan can be truly integrated, then on this land, Hurzahusi will no longer need to take the Jurchens or the Song people seriously...

Hurzahus, he thought everything through perfectly...

He simply summoned the leader of the Song people to see him, that was all!

Have the Song people gone mad? Do they really think that with ten thousand men they can be invincible on the grasslands?
Hurzahus was instantly astonished, a whole host of thoughts racing through his mind. The person beside him hurriedly asked, "Great Khan, the Song people are attacking? What should we do?"

The real question is whether to fight or not. If we don't fight, we can turn around and run away. But if we do fight, we have to rush in immediately.

Hurzahus glanced back, still deep in thought. Behind him stood the Khans of the various tribes of Nadadan, all waiting for his news.

If he just runs away like this, who will take him, Beilu Khan, seriously in the future?
Hurzahus turned his head again, gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and said, "Fight the enemy! Fight the enemy!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Hurzahus's horse was the first to gallop forward!
Hurzahus has never been a coward! Never!

He should have built a great foundation on the grasslands! But his foundation became the biggest obstacle to Temujin's rise to power!

How could he possibly allow himself to be disgraced at this moment?

On the grasslands, only the strong are respected; that has always been the case!

The horses' hooves thundered as they rose up and headed towards the vast grassland nestled between the two low hills.

In fact, Su Wu hadn't personally charged into battle for a long time!

In the past, we couldn't defeat the Jurchens; now, can't we defeat the Kereit?

Su Wu had long been holding back a lot of energy!

"Charge! Kill them all!" Su Wu looked down on everything the Kereit people had, but he did admire their horses.

On the grasslands, it's the most brutal reality of the survival of the fittest!

The grass clippings kicked up by the horses' hooves carried a pleasant fragrance of spring grass.

When Su Wu's spear pierced the first Kree Knight, the stench of blood rose, and the fragrance of grass was no longer detectable.

Under the sunlight, the armor gleamed, reflecting in Hurzahus's eyes. At that moment, Hurzahus felt a pang of regret.

He knew that the scouts had come to report that the Song people had many iron armors.

Just now, from afar, he also saw that the Song people had a great many iron armors.

At that moment, he saw it with his own eyes: a scimitar had struck a knight on the shoulder. Only then did he truly realize that the Song people's armor looked like this...

So thick, so fine, so hard!
Having already entered the fray, there's no point in thinking about anything else at this moment; the only thing to do is keep charging forward.

Battles on the grasslands have always been simple: center against center, flank against flank, spread out and fight!

Kree's arrows couldn't penetrate the iron armor, but the Song people's arrows were accurate every time.

The Song cavalrymen, their faces obscured by iron armor, displayed no expression whatsoever; only their eyes pierced fiercely from the gaps, making them appear exceptionally menacing.

The Kree's cavalry did not have many iron armors, perhaps only three or five hundred sets. They did have quite a few leather armors, but even more were made of tanned cowhide.

Every Song cavalryman could clearly see the enemy's face, and see the tension, fear, and pain on that face...

The spear is sharp; you can only thrust and stab, not needing much skill, just a steady, accurate, and ruthless brush past.

It appears to be a cavalry battle, but in reality... it's nothing more than a one-sided crushing defeat.

It seemed as if the two armies were facing off, and after a while, Su Wu turned back, but the Kereit cavalry had already stopped turning around.

Countless Kereit men fell from their horses, and countless valiant horses of the grasslands became ownerless.

At this moment, Su Wu was inexplicably certain of one thing: he could not allow ironware to flow into the grasslands, and he had to control this matter.

These Kereit people may not be cowardly, but they are truly poor...

It is also said that the later Temujin, the Menggu people never conquered the world by riding and archery, but by heavy cavalry!
The fact that the Mengu people were able to obtain a large number of armors is a crime committed by the Jurchens!
The first problem is that the national system is incomplete, the control capacity is weak, and there is almost no border control...

The second crime was that the Jurchens became corrupt too quickly. When Temujin rose to power, he was able to successfully bribe Jurchen officials and envoys time and time again...

The third crime was that the Jurchen economy collapsed too quickly, and the treatment of soldiers became increasingly worse. They also began to issue paper money that kept depreciating, and used worthless paper money to pay soldiers' rations and salaries, causing many soldiers to have to find their own way to make a living. This also led to military equipment constantly flowing into civilian areas and then into places where it shouldn't be...

By the time the Jurchens realized what was happening, the Jurchens had already begun to truly arm themselves, and their military was in such a state of disarray that they had no chance to resist.

Once the ancient people truly possessed the Central Plains and had skilled craftsmen, everything would be irreversible.

Before this, in every dynasty, no matter who established the regime, the first thing they always did was to control the export of ironware to the grasslands.

The regime established by the Jurchens was a complete sieve.

The Jurchens were clearly the biggest contributor to Genghis Khan's rise to power.

Another example is the Ming Dynasty's defeat in Liaodong, also stemming from this, and the likes of the Shanxi merchants...

Before the Jin Dynasty, which was like a giant sieve, the grasslands had never truly defeated the Central Plains!

Just like Su Wu entering the grasslands today, he fought against Hurzahusi. He swept through the enemy in one fell swoop, and Hurzahusi could not even take a second hit.

For the first time, Su Wu truly grasped a bit of the feeling that Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, and Li Jing had in mind, and he simply urged his steed forward, shouting, "Chase after them!"

This military order was given to those nearby. Those nearby would hear it and closely follow Su Wu in pursuit, while those further away would watch Su Wu's movements and act accordingly.

The grassland is vast, with dirt and grass clippings flying everywhere, and perhaps there are animals like marmots hiding underground, trembling.

Eagles are circling, and vultures are coming too... They weren't many to begin with, but at some point, they started circling in flocks in the air...

Beside Su Wu, a young boy with a lithe face was being held captive by an iron mask, his panic concealed by the mask. He was mimicking Su Wu's actions, sometimes stabbing, sometimes urging his horse on...

Or when there are no enemies in sight, he would occasionally look up at the Song king beside him.

He had never seen a king like this before, a king who would start a war at the slightest disagreement.

He had never seen such a powerful army, an army that could rout the Kereit people in a single battle.

Chase, follow and keep chasing.

They chased them until the sun went down, until the Kereit men could no longer be seen fleeing on horseback.

The knights were gathering, eating dry rations and drinking water, and removing their armor.

Laughing out loud...

The young boy, Zha Hemu, stared blankly to the left and right.

Some people are also asking, "Your Majesty, how much are these thieves worth?"

Su Wu replied, "It's worthless, ten strings of cash, I guess..."

"Your Majesty, the price is so low?" a soldier asked with a smile.

Su Wu replied with a smile, "Then it will increase by one string of cash, making it eleven strings!"

"Haha... Eleven strings of cash is good! Your Majesty is mighty!" Everyone laughed heartily.

"The mighty king!"

"The mighty king!"

Su Wu looked up at the setting sun over the grassland, wanting to see how it differed from the Central Plains.

There really is a difference; the setting sun on the grassland is even redder.

Zhahemu was still stunned, not knowing why he was in a daze. He had been in a daze ever since he got off the horse.

Perhaps he suddenly transformed into a... warrior?
Perhaps he felt as if he were in a dream...

It was as if he was intimidated by these warriors of the Tang Dynasty.
It’s hard to explain…

"Take off your helmet!" came the king's voice.

In fact, Zha and Mu couldn't understand, but they understood the king's actions.

Zhahemu blankly took off his iron helmet and looked at the Great King of the Song Dynasty.

Su Wu asked with a smile, "Were you a warrior just now?"

The interpreter has arrived!

Zhahemu quickly replied, "Yes, that's me!"

"Did he kill someone?" Su Wu asked again.

"It seems like one or two were killed..."

"Is it one or two? There's a reward..." Su Wu held a hard flatbread in one hand and a water pouch in the other, chewing with his cheeks bulging.

Still watching the setting sun is a beautiful sight, and the grasslands are also beautiful. For some reason, the outline of the Milky Way in the sky is exceptionally clear.

Even when the last rays of the setting sun are gone, the Milky Way and the stars will be visible.

“One, and I don’t know if the other one is dead!” Zha and Mu answered blankly.

"Then count as one, and you'll be considered a brave warrior!" Su Wu replied with a smile, turning around to take a flatbread from a leather pouch on a spare horse and hand it over.

Zha and Mu grabbed the food and ate it; they were truly hungry.

"What is your Khan's name?"

"In the name of the Great Khan, I beg for mercy!"

"Do you think he'll make you my warrior?"

Zhahemu nodded without hesitation and said firmly, "Yes!"

"Haha..." Su Wu laughed, many things were quite interesting.

Su Wu then said, "You should start learning Chinese."

“Okay!” Zhahemu nodded vigorously.

“However, after you’ve eaten and drunk your fill tonight, you still have things to do,” Su Wu added.

"Willing to serve the Great King!" This is a very formal phrase on the grasslands. It is believed that Zhahemu said it once, taught to him by his elders. That time, he said: "Willing to serve the Great Khan."

"I'll have a general take you north first, to the Great Khan's palace. Tell him I need to see him by noon tomorrow!"

After Su Wu finished speaking, he swallowed a mouthful of hard flatbread with a mouthful of water. These military ration flatbreads were always this hard, so that they could be easily preserved.

"Yes!" Zhahemu bowed respectfully, covering his chest.

"Eat up, eat your fill, here's some water!" Su Wu handed over the water pouch. Looking at the setting sun again, he saw that it had disappeared, and the Milky Way was shining even brighter.

Zha and Mu were wolfing down their food.

Su Wu casually asked, "Do you know what the stars in the sky are called in the Tang Dynasty?" Zhahemu shook his head, his ears swaying from side to side as he did so; the kid had a pair of protruding ears.

"It is called 'Han'. The Milky Way is vast and the stars are brilliant. Han is the starry sky of the Milky Way."

"Chinese?"

"Yes, that's the sound. You've learned your first sentence of Chinese. We are Han Chinese, the Tang Dynasty was, the Song Dynasty was, we are people who came from the stars!"

Su Wu taught diligently.

Fifteen-and-a-half-year-old Zhahemu looked up at the starry sky, then at Su Wu, seemingly puzzled as to how a person could come down from the stars to the human world.

"Eat quickly!" Su Wu left to find Yue Fei, and told Yue Fei to take Zha and Mu to the north first.

Let Yue Fei truly experience the glory of the Han and Tang dynasties.

The horses galloped through the night, the moonlight truly beautiful. Perhaps the reason the Milky Way is called the "Silver River" lies in this shimmering light, bathing the earth in a silvery-gray hue...

The next morning, when the Milky Way was still shining and the sun was rising, the riders, having eaten flatbread and drunk water, set off again, with an additional three or four thousand horses.

Nahuzha Husi himself did not know whether he was dead or alive. If he was dead, he did not know where he died. If he was alive, he did not know where he had escaped to.

Su Wu knew that at this very moment, the Jurchens must be wreaking havoc on the eastern grasslands, just like Su Wu, slaughtering everyone in their path.

Over there, from north to south, there are the Chazhala tribe, the Wugu tribe, the Dilie tribe, the Heichezi Shiwei tribe, the Mogeshi tribe, and even further west, there are the Menggu tribes...

At this moment, the Jurchens must be moving extremely fast and using incredibly ruthless methods. Since they cannot show kindness to others, they can only display their power.

Su Wu was in a hurry and needed to speed things up.

Heading north, after a long while, Su Wu looked up at the sky. It was almost noon. Su Wu looked north but could not see anyone coming from the north.

Su Wu frowned as well. Could it be that... such a battle was not enough to frighten people?
Just as Su Wu was wondering what was going on, the knight finally appeared in the north.

Zhahemu returned excitedly, stepped forward, clutched his chest, and said, "Your Majesty, my Khan is coming to greet me. He is not far behind me and asked me to inform Your Majesty first, so that Your Majesty will not be impatient!"

Su Wu smiled slightly, "This is much more sensible now."

"Okay, come and lead the way!" Su Wu raised his hand to beckon.

Zhahemu hurriedly stepped forward and said, "The Khan has agreed, saying that I will be the King's warrior from now on!"

"Is that so?" Su Wu asked with a smile.

"Yes, the Khan said he would take good care of my elder brother, mother, younger brother, and younger sister..." Zhahemu seemed to be very happy himself.

“Then from today onwards, you must quickly learn Chinese well!” Su Wu added a word of advice.

"I will definitely study hard!" Zhahemu answered earnestly, clutching his chest and bowing deeply.

Heading north, an hour later, a black line appeared at the edge of the field of vision—a long line of cavalry.

Two or three hundred riders galloped in from afar; they were about a hundred men under Yue Fei, and also about a hundred riders from the Yedu Gua tribe.

Su Wu stopped his horse and waited.

The swift horse galloped forward, accelerating even faster, as if afraid that Su Wu would wait too long.

Zhahemu exclaimed joyfully, "Your Majesty, the Khan has arrived! The Khan has already arrived!"

Su Wu nodded and said, "You did a good job!"

Zhahemu's face showed a hint of smugness.

Qi Daili dismounted his horse twenty or thirty paces away, quickly flew forward, and bowed deeply before Su Wu's horse, covering his chest in a salute: "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Su Wu smiled and nodded: "That saves a lot of trouble, come closer and let's talk!"

Qi Daili took two or three steps closer, stopped beside Su Wu's horse, and looked up at Su Wu on horseback: "I wonder what orders Your Majesty has?"

Su Wu had his own words to say: "You are well aware of the current situation. Now it is a struggle between our Great Song and the Jurchens. The tribes of the grasslands are not having an easy time of survival. This time, they are probably also struggling to survive in the cracks. I came from the south, and the Jurchens came from the east. This grassland has become a battlefield!"

Qi Daili nodded repeatedly: "Your Majesty, I, Ye Dugua, will never associate with the Jurchens!"

"That's hard to believe. It's not that I'm blaming you, but rather that you're also helpless. When I came, you stopped being as powerful as the Jurchens; when the Jurchens came, you stopped being allied with me. This is a helpless situation..."

Su Wu insisted on revealing these matters, which embarrassed Qi Daili. However, he still wanted to express his loyalty, so he said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I, Ye Dugua, am now adjacent to the Song Dynasty, and I am of one mind with the Song Dynasty!"

Su Wu nodded: "Yes, from now on we are neighbors. Once we cross Yinshan and leave the pastures of the Tanguts, it will be right next to you, Yedu Gua. I have money and provisions, and I also have weapons. We are close by. If you are in any danger, just go south to Yinshan for help, or you can lead your troops across Yinshan yourself. But there is one thing: you are the closest to me, so you must be of one mind with me. Otherwise, in the future... there is no need to say more!"

Su Wu's words were very straightforward, which made him think that the people of the grasslands might also like this kind of straightforwardness.

Qi Daili simply bowed and said, "I am willing to serve as a subject of the Song Dynasty!"

"Very well, I'll bestow upon you an official title, King Dadan, what do you think?" Su Wu bowed slightly, a smile on his face.

How could Qi Daili not be excited? In the past, the Liao people had never bestowed any title of "Dadan King". Not only did they not bestow such a title, they also tried every means to sow discord on the grassland. Why was that?
Divide and conquer.

The Song people have arrived, and this King Dadan... Qi Daili was excited, but also a little worried and doubtful.

Su Wu continued, "Now that we have King Dadan, within the territory of Dadan, Ye Dugua will be the leader, and you will be the leader! In the future, I will send you money and provisions, you can strengthen your troops, and I will make you the true King of Dadan!"

At this point, Su Wu couldn't resort to the divide-and-rule strategy. Instead, he needed to unite the various tribes of the grasslands as quickly as possible, offering them both rewards and punishments.

They were ruthless, yet they could still offer sweet rewards—something the Jurchens couldn't match; the Jurchens couldn't offer sweet rewards.

There are essentially two ways for grassland tribes to grow strong: either they have enough food to sustain their population, or they have enough food to lure people from other tribes to join them.

There's not much to say about the second path: war and plunder.

Qi Daili had no other choice but to bow and say, "I am willing to serve Your Majesty!"

Su Wu looked at Qi Daili, who was around thirty years old, robust but not tall, with a somewhat simple and honest appearance, though it was hard to tell if it was genuine.

It doesn't matter whether it's true or false, as long as we can defeat the Jurchens, the various tribes on the grasslands have plenty of ways to deal with them.

"Mount up, let's go. Please introduce me to King Zubu and the other tribal leaders." Su Wu spurred his horse forward.

Qi Daili then mounted his horse and rode beside Su Wu.

Su Wu also asked, "That Zhahusi..."

"Hurzahus..."

“Yes, send someone to find him and tell them I’m sparing his life. Tell him to come see me and see if he comes or not…” Su Wu’s tone was casual, as if he were just chatting.

What if they come? That's easy to say.

What if I don't come?
Then we still need to fight. First, we need to fight the Kereit. The Kereit are not far away. They are near or to the south of Wugu Mountain, which is near Ulaanbaatar in later times.

"Yes, I will do this well!" Qi Daili was truly humble at this moment.

It's natural to be frightened, and another point is that this is how people have always served their superiors on the grasslands.

When the Khitan envoys came in the past, they were the same, but that did not stop them from their wild nature of being able to betray them at any time.

"Where are the Jurchens?" This question, asked by Su Wu, was actually the most important one.

"The Jurchen envoys have visited Zubu, but their main army is said to still be east of Wugu Mountain and west of the Dilie tribe, probably near Talan City..."

Qi Daili answered very clearly, and Su Wu was able to find the area mentioned on the map in his mind in an instant.

Su Wu pondered for a moment, then said, "It shouldn't be long before the Jurchens know I'm here. They'll probably gather their troops in Talan City, and then head west!"

As Su Wu spoke, he went to see Qidaili.

Qi Daili immediately said, "Ya Du Gua can also gather troops, at least seventeen thousand for the king!"

This guy is really savvy.

Su Wu waved his hand and said, "No need, I brought 60,000 cavalry with me!"

"Sixty thousand?" Qi Daili thought he had misheard. Sixty thousand cavalry? This number shocked him greatly.

Su Wu nodded seriously: "You do me a favor, which is to ensure that the supply lines for grain and provisions are unobstructed. After all, the supply lines are all your territory. If necessary, I will use money to buy cattle and sheep from you, without cheating anyone, young or old. In the future, you can use money to exchange for goods from the Central Plains with me."

"Your Majesty...is what Your Majesty says true?" Qi Daili couldn't believe it. How could the Song people's king, who came to the grasslands to fight against the Jurchens, not conscript troops from the tribes that had submitted to him?

Su Wu had his reasons. He clearly knew that the cavalry of these grassland tribes were really not very combat-effective compared to the Song cavalry and the Jurchen cavalry.

Su Wu also knew that the Jurchens would definitely launch a full-scale attack, with at most 20,000 to 30,000 troops, perhaps even less than 20,000 to 30,000. Why?

How could the Jurchens not be wary of Su Wu of Yan and Yun? How could they dare to launch a full-scale attack deep into the grasslands? This was the Jurchens' disadvantage: insufficient manpower and insufficient number of soldiers.

Therefore, the Jurchens must have continued to recruit people from various tribes of the grasslands to fight.

Su Wu's strategy was to overwhelm the Jurchens with money, supplies, and manpower.

This time, we will also adhere to this approach.

Therefore, Su Wu recruited all the Song cavalry he could, including his own 45,000 cavalry and 14,000 to 15,000 cavalry from the various Western Army units.

He never even considered using steppe cavalry in this battle.

No matter how many steppe cavalry the Jurchens could recruit, Su Wu only had 60,000 elite soldiers.

Su Wu was going to fight the steppe cavalry that the Jurchens had forcibly conscripted.

If we can crush these entourage in one battle, the morale of the Jurchens will be greatly reduced. At that time, it will be three Song cavalrymen against one Jurchen cavalryman. Let's see if the Jurchen cavalrymen will fight back.

This is the core strategy behind Su Wu's expedition.

Therefore, he did not want Jesus to send out troops or these followers. Sometimes, the followers were a burden. They could not fight tough battles, and if they encountered danger, it was difficult to either take care of them or not.

Moreover, this is also a matter of human nature. Let the various tribes of the grasslands compare whether it is better to be with the Jurchens or with the Song people.

Ultimately, the benevolent way and the hegemonic way must be used in a complementary manner.

Therefore, Su Wu's words to Qi Daili were: "What the Han people say is never false. I don't think much of the able-bodied men in your tribe. You should treat the Han soldiers who come along the way well!"

"Thank you for your kindness and benevolence, Your Majesty!" Qi Daili seemed to be excited as well. Just as Su Wu said, those who live in the cracks are in a dilemma.

If Su Wu were to lead the troops to fight, Qi Daili would certainly not dare not go, but how could he be willing to sacrifice the lives of his clansmen for someone else?

If you really want to fight, you'll have a lot on your mind.

To everyone's surprise, the Song king didn't need him to go at all.

An unexpected joy, I couldn't contain my happiness.

"If we win in the future, you can have a share of those territories of Wugu and Dilie first. You must solidify your title as the Great King Dadan!"

Su Wu only talked a big game.

Hearing this, Qi Daili was deeply moved: "I bow to Your Majesty again!"

"Whether you can suppress the tribes of Dadan or not depends on your ability!" Su Wu added, and the meaning behind his words was more than just a little.

Qi Daili simply declared: "Among the tribes of Dadan, if any dare to rebel against the Great King, I, Ye Du Gua, will be the first to punish them mercilessly!"

"Alright, let's see what you're capable of!" Su Wu nodded. The deal went smoothly, and Su Wu was smiling.

But there's another line: "If you're not capable enough, then I'll really replace you!"

Qi Daili gritted his teeth: "Your Majesty, please wait and see."

Su Wu said no more, thinking that this trip to the Prince's Palace would be very smooth!

(End of this chapter)