The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 299 The Decisive Battle in the Northern Desert, Advancing to the Onon River
Two hundred li east of Woldu, the summer pastures on the upper reaches of the Tula River are lush with water and grass.

The reeds on both sides of the riverbank grow taller than a horse's belly, and when the wind blows, they create green waves. The sheep tread on the soft meadow, and the sap of the tender grass sticks to their hooves.

This is the habitat of the Ros tribe during spring and summer.

The young woman, Ulunna, squatted by the river to fetch water, watching the flock of sheep grazing happily in the distance, a slight smile appearing on her face.

“Look at that black sheep. It was only knee-high the day before yesterday, but it has gotten so fat in the last few days that it can hardly walk.”

The old women pounding sheepskins nearby laughed: "The grass in the summer pasture is a treasure bestowed upon our tribe by Tengri."

“Last year, my cow was raised here for three months, and the calf it gave birth to was three pounds heavier than in previous years.”

"It's just that Father left in a bit of a hurry."

On the other side, Agula, a girl with two braids, was putting milk curd into a sheepskin bag: "You promised to take us to Zhezhe Yundu Mountain to participate in the celebration, but you went there first."

The girl's father was the leader of the Chuluos tribe, and he had gone to Zhezheyundu Mountain to pay homage to Temujin, so he was unable to attend the Woluduo Alliance.

Ulunna straightened up and looked at the mountains in the northwest, saying, "I heard that Lord Wang Khan is going to pass the Khanate to Chief Temujin, and Father is rushing to offer his congratulations."

"A few days ago, before we set off, he said that as long as our Khoras tribe was the first to surrender, Chief Temujin would reward us with pastures in the lower reaches of the Kerulen River—the winters there are much warmer than here."

Ulunna is the sister-in-law of the young girl Agula.

In other words, these women were all noblewomen from the Chuluos tribe, which is why they could so leisurely discuss important matters of the grasslands, cattle, sheep, pastures, and so on.

Meanwhile, the slaves and female slaves were still working themselves to the bone, earning a pitiful reward from their masters to fill their starving bellies.

As the women chatted and laughed, Ulenna suddenly frowned slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes.

Looking up at the sky, I wondered, "Is it going to rain?"

But the sky was clear and there was no sign of thunder, so why did I feel a faint, low, muffled sound coming from it?
Not only her, but all the older women felt it too.

At first, everyone thought it was a herd of horses running by, until the tremors became more and more intense, even causing ripples to appear in the river.

Agula suddenly looked terrified and pointed at the western horizon, screaming, "What's that?"

At this moment, a white wave is surging in from the horizon, its chilling presence gleaming in the sunlight.

It wasn't a flock of sheep, nor a herd of horses, but countless cavalrymen clad in white armor, the red edges of their armor as glaring as blood.

A white flag with a red border and the sun and moon symbol fluttered on the foremost flagpole, its fluttering in the wind as if to tear apart the clear sky of the grassland.

"It's the cavalry!"

An elderly woman was the first to scream, her smile instantly freezing on her face.

Ulunna also realized what was happening, reached out to pull the stunned Agula, and abandoned everything to run into the mountains.

But the ground beneath their feet trembled more and more violently, and the iron hooves of the Northern Frontier Army were already upon them.

Holding a hook-and-sickle spear, Wang Jiu charged forward with the main force, his palms already sweating.

Although he had served as a soldier in the Western Xia before, it was all minor skirmishes. This was his first time participating in such a large-scale cavalry charge.

The sight of the iron cavalry galloping across the battlefield stirred his heart, and the terrified enemies seemed as insignificant as ants in his eyes.

Gradually, Wang Jiu adapted to the intensity of the attack and completely forgot his tension and anxiety.

"Kill~"

The roar of Commandant Zhao Wu came from ahead.

Wang Jiu spurred his horse's flanks, his face contorted with rage: "Kill!"

On the battlefield, the more afraid of death one is, the more likely one is to die.

Once you've eliminated all the enemies in front of you, no one will threaten your safety anymore.

These were Zhao Wu's words before the battle began, and Wang Jiu kept them firmly in mind.

"Fire arrows!"

Accompanied by the roar of the Northern Frontier Army commander, countless arrows shot towards the Chuluosi tribe.

Those enemies who were preparing to fight back on horseback fell to the ground with screams of agony.

Warhorses neighed, cattle and sheep scattered in terror, and the entire tribe was in chaos.

As the cavalry charged into the camp, Wang Jiu's horse smashed the wooden frame of the first yurt.

Screams from a woman and roars from a man could be heard from inside.

Sensing the approaching danger, he instinctively swung his spear, and with a "thud," the spearhead seemed to have pierced something.

Commandant Zhao Wu swung his spear and felled a shepherd wielding a scimitar. Seeing Wang Jiu's foolish appearance, he roared, "Use your strength! Are you just standing there waiting to die?"

When Wang Jiu came to his senses, he saw that the tip of his spear was stuck in the ribs of an old shepherd. The old shepherd's eyes were wide open, and he still wanted to fight back despite his injury.

Wang Jiu's face turned fierce as he swung his spear forcefully, instantly piercing the old shepherd's neck.

Blood gushed out, staining the ground beneath Wang Jiu's feet red, and also baptizing his courage.

"Kill~"

Ulunna fled into the mountains with her sister-in-law and several other women, but they were quickly caught up by the Northern Frontier Army.

Two soldiers from the northern frontier reached out from behind, pulled them up, and pressed them onto the backs of their horses in front of them.

"Ah~"

"let me go."

"Let go, help!"

Ulunna and the others shouted and struggled desperately, flailing their arms and legs, but this only drew more excited shouts from the Northern Frontier soldiers.

An old woman knelt on the ground, kowtowing and crying out in anguish, "Tengri, what have we done wrong?"

"Your mistake lies in not recognizing your destiny!"

The person who responded to her was a man in his early twenties, wearing white cotton armor. He was originally a slave of the Kereit tribe, but after being captured by the Northern Frontier Army, he distinguished himself in battle and is now a squad leader in the Sixth Division.

With a fanatical expression toward Li Xiao, he shouted in the language of the Kereit tribe: "The Grand Protector is the true chosen one, the only Tengri Gur Khan."

Meanwhile, the killings continued within the camp.

In the eyes of the soldiers in the northern frontier, anyone who did not participate in the Woldo Alliance was an enemy, and they would show no mercy.

“We are not Genghis Khan’s people!” a young soldier in a fur robe cried out, but the only response he received was an arrow piercing his throat.

"What are you howling about? Your leader didn't come to the alliance meeting, so you're just Temujin's dog."

Wang Jiu saw an old shaman rushing towards him, carrying a staff with jingling copper bells, and the old man chanting incantations that no one could understand.

Before he could even get close, Zhao Wu flicked him away with his spear.

"Tengri... open your eyes..." The old shaman looked at the blue sky and white clouds, and more and more blood foam rose from his throat.

“We offer you the best rams every year, why do you send these demons to slaughter our tribe?”

The voice grew weaker and weaker until he died.

The sounds of fighting, crying, and horses' hooves mingled together.

As the sun rose directly overhead, the fighting gradually subsided.

The summer pastures of the Chuluos tribe turned blood red, and the surviving tribespeople were driven to a valley, where the men were forced to kneel on the sand with their hands tied behind their backs.

The women squeezed to the other side, including Ulenna and her sister-in-law.

Seeing her husband's head displayed at the very top, Ulunna, inside the fence, suddenly broke down in tears, crying out, "Tengri..."

"The chieftain only went to submit to Temujin, why are we being treated like this?"

"Count the spoils!"

The commander shouted loudly and spurred his horse over the corpses; the blood on his white armor had already congealed into a dark brown color.

The soldiers began searching through each tent, piling up all the supplies, including ironware, furs, meat, milk, and grain.

Wang Jiu was sent to herd the sheep. Thousands of sheep had run all over the mountains and fields, and he needed to drive them all back.

The presence of these cattle and sheep ensures they have enough oil and milk in their bellies, and also reduces their dependence on grain.

As the sun set, the spoils were divided up.

Wang Jiu received five sheepskins and two ewes.

Zhao Wu patted his shoulder and laughed, "Not bad, your harvest this time is enough for an ordinary family to eat for more than half a year."

"And this is only the first tribe. Tomorrow we'll go to the Datu tribe, where there are even more cattle and sheep, and the women are even prettier."

Wang Jiu lay on the captured sheepskin rug, looking at his spoils with excitement on his face.

This is just the first tribe; there will be many more to come.

"Indeed, war is the best way to get rich," Wang Jiu muttered to himself.

Suddenly, they heard a woman's cry coming from the next tent, as if the entire grassland was weeping for the Chuluos tribe.

As the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn, Wang Jiu stepped out of the tent.

Looking at the mound of skulls in the distance, countless crows and vultures were pecking at the heads. In just one night, many of the corpses had become skeletons.

This thousand-household army from the northern frontier was herding sheep and women toward the next tribe.

The white banner with red borders fluttered in the morning breeze, as if proclaiming a new era for the grasslands—an era paved with blood and bones.

In the days that followed, the Northern Frontier Army continued its advance toward the Qiyan tribe, destroying numerous enemy tribe camps along the way.

Many of the soldiers in the Northern Frontier Army were former members of the Naiman and Kereit tribes. They grew up on the grasslands and knew every mountain valley and river like the back of their hand.

In addition, Jamukha and Zaghaganbu's subordinate troops led the way.

The Northern Frontier Army is like a hawk with eyes, always able to accurately spot nomadic tribes trying to hide in the gaps between the grasslands and forests.

Meanwhile, this news quickly reached the Qiyan tribe's army.

Although the Northern Frontier Army was fierce, it was ultimately unable to exterminate every tribe, and some always managed to escape.

Sometimes, the Northern Frontier Army would even deliberately let some old women go.

The purpose was to spread the power and terror of the Northern Frontier Army across the grasslands, thus intimidating the morale of all the troops.

The people of the grasslands fear power but not morality. Only by being more ruthless and vicious than them, and making them feel fear, can the northern desert be at peace.

……

Since Temujin conquered Zhezheyundu Mountain, many tribal leaders have come to pay their respects to him.

On this day, a cavalryman ran breathlessly into the tent of the leader of the Adar tribe.

"Chief, the Chuluos tribe has been wiped out!"

Upon hearing this, the leader of the Adar tribe was instantly shocked.

"what?"

"The leader of the Chuluosi tribe... is still at Zhezheyundu Mountain, how could he just disappear like that?"

Meanwhile, other tribal leaders also received more information that the Northern Frontier Army had successively slaughtered more than a dozen tribes of varying sizes.

The chieftains all fell silent, worried that they might be the next tribe to fall.
So, some leaders who were closer to each other in private gathered together.

The chieftain of the Dosar tribe, dressed in sable fur, turned pale. He had just received a message from his son at the pasture, saying that the white-armored cavalry of the Northern Frontier Army had crossed the upper reaches of the Longju River and were less than ten days' journey from their tribe's summer pasture.

"At least the Jin dynasty only killed some men to reduce the population."

An elderly man with a wrinkled face said tremblingly, "People in the northern border regions don't even spare nursing babies..."

These words made the chill inside the tent even stronger.

The leader of the Adar tribe suddenly stood up, his face filled with fear, and said, "I should never have come to this godforsaken place."

“Back when the Woludo Alliance was held, I said we should go and pay our respects to the Great Khan Tengri…”

What's the point of saying all this now?

The chieftain of the Dosar tribe interrupted him, his voice hoarse: "Our tribe's elite are all here, while our families and livestock are still in the old camp."

"If the Northern Frontier Army were to attack, there wouldn't even be a single warrior willing to fight back with a sword."

However, at this time someone said, "However, the Northern Frontier Army did not kill everyone; they still released some old women."

"Hmph, what's the use of letting them go? Are they good for fighting or for having children?" the chieftain of the Dosa tribe scoffed.

The old woman, unable to fight or bear children, was the most useless person on the grassland.

Did the Northern Frontier Army release them to demonstrate their leniency?

"The people from northern Xinjiang wanted them to carry messages for us."

"What?"

"The people of the northern frontier said that as long as we tell them the location and strength of the Qiyan army, they can do so at any time."

"That would give us a chance to atone for our sins and spare our tribe..."

"If we can help the Northern Frontier Army capture or kill Temujin, we can be granted the title of Marquis of Ten Thousand Households, live and die with the Northern Frontier, and share eternal wealth and honor."

This was essentially a bounty on Temujin's head.

The "ten thousand households" mentioned here are not the powerful ten thousand households in the six towns, but rather those with the same status and treatment as the ten thousand households.

But their status and wealth are real.

The tent fell silent instantly. The leaders of each tribe exchanged glances, seeing wavering in each other's eyes, but no one spoke.

As the northern army continued its advance, Temujin's unease grew stronger.

He made a decisive decision and ordered the army to move.

After observing and understanding the Northern Frontier Army for several days, Temujin realized that the Northern Frontier Army was more powerful than he had imagined.

Their combat strength was no less than that of the Jin Dynasty's elite troops, and they were far beyond the capabilities of the Qiyan tribe and the allied forces of various tribes.

"We must leverage our strengths."

Temujin stood on a high place, looking at the distant, rolling grasslands, and said in a firm tone.

"Use the vast terrain of the grasslands to constantly engage the Northern Frontier Army, stretch their battle lines, exhaust their energy, and then look for opportunities to launch surprise attacks."

This has always been the case in wars between nomadic peoples and the Central Plains: they would hide in the vast grasslands, making it impossible for the Central Plains armies to find their positions, causing them to scatter in all directions.

When they are exhausted, the nomadic army will raid the supply lines and even throw diseased cattle and sheep into the river, causing an outbreak of plague in the Central Plains army.

It was through this constant back-and-forth that the fighting strength of the Central Plains army was depleted.

But Temujin forgot that the Northern Frontier Army was not a Central Plains army, but a heavily armed nomadic army.

They are more familiar with the grasslands than the grassland people.

Li Xiao had already thoroughly studied Temujin's tactics.

Just a few days after Temujin led the Qiyan army and the allied forces of various tribes away from Zhezheyundu Mountain and headed north into the depths of the grassland.

A scout arrived at Temujin's camp, panting heavily.

The report stated, "Great Khan, the main force of the Northern Frontier Army did not go to Zhezhe Yundu Mountain, but is heading in our direction."

"what?"

Temujin suddenly stood up, his expression changing drastically.

His heart skipped a beat; he immediately knew that someone must have leaked the army's whereabouts.

However, there were many tribal leaders under his command, and countless suspects, making it impossible to investigate.

Left with no other choice, he ordered his army to turn around in an attempt to shake off the pursuit of the Northern Frontier Army.

A few days later, the scout hurriedly reported again: "Great Khan, the Northern Frontier Army is chasing us again, and they are less than 500 li away from our troops."

Temujin's expression grew increasingly grim, and he once again ordered his army to change direction.

This time, he went all out and ordered the execution of several tribal leaders who had harbored disloyal intentions, hoping to deter those who were tempted to rebel by making an example of them.

Even so, just a few days later, the news brought by the scouts was still terrifying: "Great Khan, the Northern Frontier Army is less than two hundred miles away from us."

Temujin sat in the chair, his heart heavy with sorrow.

He conquered the Kereit Khanate through a surprise attack, which was incredibly powerful, but it was also criticized by various tribes on the steppe.

They had no choice but to submit because of his power.

Now, an even more powerful northern army has invaded the grasslands like a tiger, causing the tribal leaders to harbor rebellious intentions.

The allied forces under Temujin's command had become a dilapidated house with leaks everywhere.

Unless he abandons his main force and flees in panic with only a small number of elite troops, he will have no way to escape the encirclement and killing by the Northern Frontier Army.

But it took him a lot of effort to defeat the Kereit tribe and bring so many tribes under his control.

With the prospect of becoming the Great Khan of the Northern Desert looming, how could he possibly give up such a prestigious position and glory?

Finally, a resolute glint flashed in Temujin's eyes. He suddenly stood up and loudly ordered, "Pass on my order: the entire army shall form ranks and engage the Northern Frontier Army in a decisive battle."

He had to do it now.

Continuing to flee would only demoralize the Qiyan army.

The warriors of the grasslands all submit to the strong; they would never respect a leader who only knows how to run away.

Moreover, the Northern Frontier Army was pursuing them too fast, and Temujin had seized a lot of cattle and sheep from the Kereit tribe, so he couldn't move very fast with them.

But if these cattle and sheep are abandoned, the army will only collapse even more quickly.

Therefore, the only option left is to fight a decisive battle.

After defeating the Northern Frontier Army and seizing their supplies, all difficulties were easily resolved.

……

While the Qiyan army was still maneuvering across the grasslands, the Northern Frontier army was rapidly approaching.

The importance of food in this regard is self-evident.

Under normal circumstances, when cavalrymen march, their warhorses always graze with their heads down while moving forward slowly.

After all, grass has very low energy content, and only by eating large amounts of food continuously can the warhorse's massive body and the cargo on its back be provided with enough energy.

However, during wartime, there simply wasn't enough time for warhorses to graze leisurely.

Therefore, the Northern Frontier Army fed their warhorses high-quality grains so that they could eat their fill quickly, saving a lot of time for forced marches and battles.

However, Temujin's army did not have enough food to feed his warhorses.

This is why the Northern Frontier Army was able to quickly close the gap with Temujin's allied forces in a short period of time.

Deep in the grassland, the wind whips the grass into rolling waves.

Before the two armies even clashed, it was the scouts from both sides who first engaged in combat.

Ten scouts from the northern frontier, clad in yellow armor, galloped across the grassland, charging towards the Qiyan tribe's scouts ahead.

Their cloth armor gleamed softly in the sunlight and was much lighter than cotton armor.

His quiver at his waist was bulging and filled with sharp arrows.

"Fire arrows."

With a loud shout from the squad leader, all ten scouts drew their longbows and began to fire at long range.

On the other side, the scouts of the Qiyan tribe were shocked by what they saw. They were shooting from such a distance?

They hurriedly raised their bows and arrows to fight back, but their bows looked extremely rudimentary, and the bowstrings seemed to be pieced together with animal sinews.

"Boo! Hah! Hah!"

The Northern Frontier Army's arrows shot towards the enemy with a sharp whistling sound.

Their bows and arrows were all specially made by the Hexi Armory, and their quality and craftsmanship were all top-notch.

The bow had a longer range and the arrows were sharper. In just one volley of long-range shots, several Qiyan scouts screamed and fell off their horses.

The arrows fired by the Qiyan tribe's scouts seemed weak and feeble, some falling to the ground after only halfway through their flight.

Even if a few shots hit the cloth armor of the Northern Frontier Army, they had no momentum left and were deflected by the tough armor, causing no real damage.

In a short time, the Qiyan tribe's scouts were almost all shot dead, leaving only a few survivors.

Looking at the ferocious Northern Frontier Army before them, their eyes were filled with terror, and they turned their horses around and fled in a frenzy.

The northern cavalry followed the direction they fled, pursuing them at a leisurely pace.

Soon, a huge camp appeared ahead, which was the main camp of the Qiyan tribe's allied forces.

The tents were packed tightly together, stretching as far as the eye could see, with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys as people ate lunch.

The scouts from the northern frontier quickly estimated the enemy's troop strength, observed the camp layout, and memorized the important intelligence.

Soon after, the sound of rapid hoofbeats approached, and a larger force of Qiyan cavalry charged in.

The scout squad leader of the northern frontier made a decisive decision: "Retreat!"

They quickly switched to spare horses, turned around, and galloped towards their own camp.

The news quickly reached Li Xiao's case.

"About 30,000 cavalry?"

This number is not much different from the secret reports secretly passed by those tribal chiefs.

Temujin originally had less than two thousand of his own troops, but after the surprise attack on the Kereit Khanate, he expanded the allied forces to thirty thousand in a short period of time by incorporating the remnants of the Kereit army and the surrounding tribes who defected.

However, most of them were just a motley crew, good at fighting when things were going well, but probably not many were truly willing to risk their lives for Temujin.

Subsequently, Li Xiao summoned the generals of various tribes in the northern frontier to discuss troop deployment and assign their respective tasks.

As the sun set, Li Xiao pressed his palm heavily onto the map of the northern desert.

He looked at all the generals and said in a deep voice, "Pass down the order: the entire army will set off early tomorrow morning and advance towards the Onon River."

"To unite with Genghis Khan!"

"decisive battle!"

(End of this chapter)