Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 932 The barbarians do not know the nobility of the Han people

To be honest...

When the Liao cavalry returned victorious, many mid- to high-ranking officials in the Han army secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Especially after seeing the hundreds of Mongol soldiers captured by the Liao cavalry, even a shrewd man like Liang Su couldn't help but smile with delight.

There is no other reason.

Liu Huai placed far too much importance on the Mongol people, to the point that the morale of the Han army's civil and military officials was raised, fearing that the approaching force was the most powerful army in the land.

Some people even regard the Mongol cavalry as ancient ferocious beasts sealed on the grasslands.

As everyone grew tense, even the assimilated Jurchens and Khitans who had actually fought against the Mongols became insecure.

This is unavoidable. Since Liu Huai is the commander-in-chief of the Han army, his prestige from winning every battle will also cause his followers to become blindly obedient.

How could the King of Han's words not be the truth?

Now, the King of Han has even abandoned the foolproof plan of recuperation because the Mongols have come to the Central Plains to participate in the war. How can the Mongols not be powerful?

Therefore, many people regard these tens of thousands of Mongols as tens of thousands of unarmored Khazameng'an.

But now that we see them, why are these Mongols generally half a head shorter than the Han soldiers?
Although the Mongols' long-term horseback riding caused their bowlegs, judging from their thin appearance, they were by no means the elite soldiers of the world.

Could this be the outer garrison of the Mongols?

Xiao Zhongda, standing in the crowd, seemed to have a huge weight lifted from his heart. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he muttered to himself, "I thought the Mongols had changed, but aren't these still the same people?!"

Guan Chongyan, standing to the side, asked, "What, you've seen him before?"

Xiao Zhongda nodded repeatedly, and seeing the surrounding generals turning to look, he raised his voice a little: "Not only have I seen them, but I've also fought them. I followed His Majesty... Ni Liang to sweep across the grasslands and clashed with the Mongols more than once."

These men were indeed skilled riders, and while they were certainly fierce, they were no match for us.

Originally… well, I thought they had come up with some new tactics and strategies, but now it seems they're still the same incompetent bunch.

"Enough!" He Boqiu scolded on the spot: "You can say such things in private."

Xiao Zhongda realized he had spoken out of turn and immediately shut up.

If the Mongols are belittled to nothing, wouldn't that mean the Liao cavalry's achievements were not substantial enough?
He still hadn't secured a position as the head of his own household, and he couldn't afford to offend the Liao cavalry, who shared the same roots.

Dian Lun ignored the crowd of onlookers and, after having Xie Maozhang Gu take the prisoners to the military judge, he took Batel to the central command tent.

After offering some words of encouragement, Liu Huai looked at Batel and asked, "Can you speak Chinese?"

Batel raised his round face, looked at Liu Huai for a long while, and then said in broken Chinese, "I...can..."

Seeing this, Liu Huai immediately called over several naturalized Khitans to act as translators before continuing to ask, "What's your name?"

“Bartel…”

"From the Qiyan tribe?"

"Merqi tribe".

"Oh, how many people from your tribe came in total? And how many of the Mongols came?"

"Our tribe has sent over four thousand people, but the Mongol tribes from the entire grasslands are countless. Their arrows can blot out the sky, and their swords are powerful enough to flatten entire mountains..."

"Dian Lun, give this bastard ten lashes to bring him to his senses." Upon hearing this, Liu Huai waved his hand impatiently: "He has quite a lot of adjectives."

Dian Lun ordered the armored soldiers to hold Batel down, ripped off his tattered leather coat, and lashed him ten times with a solid whip.

"Are you being honest now? If you are, then tell the truth obediently how many Mongols have come."

Battelle was almost in tears.

Even though he was tough at first, he became more compliant after seeing so many armored cavalry and warriors along the way.

Moreover, there is no rule of "rather die than surrender" on the grasslands.

When the Xiongnu were powerful, the grasslands were full of Xiongnu people; when the Xianbei were powerful, the grasslands were full of Xianbei people; when the Turks were powerful, the grasslands were full of Turks.

When the Han Dynasty was powerful, the grasslands were filled with Liu's nephews; when the Tang Dynasty was powerful, the grasslands revered the Li family as the Heavenly Khan.

This is the grassland version of "might makes right": since you are powerful, I will submit to you and become a part of you.

What psychological barriers could there be in surrendering to the Han people now?
only……

"I really don't know how many people came in total. There were so many people, it was boundless and impossible to count them all."

"Give him ten more lashes, make him think carefully..." "I've figured it out, fifty or sixty thousand... fifty or sixty thousand..."

"Fifty or sixty thousand? Why don't you say ten thousand to one hundred thousand? Give him ten more lashes."

Dian Lun really hit him hard, and soon Battul's chest and back were covered in blood and gore.

Seeing that Batel seemed to have told the truth, Liu Huai waved his hand, ordering the armored soldiers to take him away.

"King Han! I can also be a Han citizen! I know what the King Han said, I can be a Han citizen, and I can fight for the King Han!"

Hearing the translated Mongolian language, Liu Huai beckoned for his guards to bring Batel back. He then stood up and stood in front of him, looking him up and down before sighing and saying, "Look at you, you can't speak Chinese, you don't know how to perform Han etiquette, and you wear barbarian clothes with the left lapel over your right. How can you be considered a Han person?"

Before the sentence could be translated, Batel shouted as if grasping at a straw: "King of the Han people, I am willing to be a Han person!"

Liu Huai reached out and touched Batel's bald head, but then turned to Dian Lun and frowned, saying, "Was my previous appeasement a bit too much, to the point that even the Hu people don't know how precious the Han people are?"

As one of the first Jurchens to be assimilated, Dian Lun trembled upon hearing this. He then threw down his riding whip and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty! The Mongols are barbarians whom even the wild men beyond the Great Wall would look down upon. They are uncivilized and savage, completely different from us who speak Chinese and read the classics."

There is no reason not to worry.

Half of Adian's tribe is still outside the pass. If this Mongol barbarian angers the Han king and causes the policy of registering people as equals to change, wouldn't it mean that Adian's distant relatives can only be second-class citizens for life?
As for the possibility that the Han army might lose, Dian Lun never even considered it.

Whether the Han army could fight or not, the Mongols didn't know, but how could he not know?

Seeing that Dian Lun's words were sincere, Liu Huai did not continue the topic: "The mines in Xuzhou have always been short of people. It's a good opportunity to send them there to start mining. Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be killed without mercy."

As they were speaking, Batel was gagged and dragged away. A moment later, a staff officer prepared the battle documents and handed them to the commander's tent.

Liu Huai flipped through the documents, then his eyes widened in surprise: "This time, the Mongols came with more than two thousand men. The number of people you captured and killed totaled more than 1,200... This is a great achievement."

Such a result in a battle between light cavalry is truly unprecedented.

Dian Lun answered honestly: "The Mongols were newcomers and did not know the geography. They were driven by our army to a pond with no way to retreat, which is why our army achieved this victory."

Liu Huai nodded slowly, then asked a question that Dian Lun hadn't expected: "Where did the rest of the Mongols go?"

Dian Lun was somewhat confused by what he heard, but still told the truth: "Some people wanted to swim across the pond, but in this weather, eight or nine out of ten have already died; others escaped back to the Jin bandit camp, where they were met by Jin cavalry, and we were unable to pursue them."

As for the rest, they probably scattered and fled.

Liu Huai sighed: "There's nothing we can do about it. I've already dispatched the White Horse Army to pursue them. You should go and rest first."

Dian Lun quickly bowed and withdrew, but still had some doubts in his heart.

At most, only two hundred Mongol cavalrymen escaped. Given the status of the King of Han, why would he be so worried?

However, by the next day, the entire Han army leadership understood why Liu Huai valued the Mongol people so much.

The two hundred fleeing Mongols raced eastward, killing as they went, destroying villages and markets along the way. They even blocked a small town called Lingdian, slaughtering everyone there, from the old to the weak, women and children, and burning the town to the ground.

On the third day, the enraged White Horse Army finally cornered the two hundred Mongols by the Qinshui River. After the battle, they took no prisoners, but instead had them all skinned alive and thrown into the Qinshui River.

When the news reached the central army of the Han army, the generals were suddenly awakened to why Liu Huai valued the Mongol cavalry who came to Hebei to fight so much.

Their combat strength may be negligible, but their destructive power is simply unheard of.

Even the brutal Jurchens, when establishing their own state, would realize that they were building a regime and should not kill everyone.

However, the Mongols seemed to regard killing and destruction as an end in themselves, and would even stop plundering for the sake of killing. They were happy to do things that were purely harmful to others and did not benefit themselves.

This army is practically a beast army; what would happen if they were allowed to enter Hebei and the Central Plains?
"My lord! We absolutely cannot let the Mongols leave Hebei! Otherwise, our army's supplies will be completely overwhelmed!"

During the small military meeting, Liang Su's face was gloomy and grim.

Although the Han army could transport supplies via rivers, a large number of laborers and civilians would be needed for the transfer. If the Mongol cavalry were allowed to burn and kill along the way, the Han army's logistics would immediately collapse.

If it were in territory that had already been recovered, perhaps they could still find a way by relying on the garrisons and the garrison troops. But now, several northern prefectures are newly annexed territories. Not to mention the garrisons, even the administrative officials are in a mess. Facing tens of thousands of fierce Mongol cavalry, the outcome is predictable.

Standing before the sand table, Liu Huai carefully observed the enemy's and his own forces' positions. Amidst the expectant gazes of the Han army generals, he slowly asked, "Do you think the Jingnan army is elite?"

The group looked at each other, unsure of where to begin.

However, Liang Su immediately replied, "Naturally, they are elite."

Looking at the land of Huolu on the sand table, with its six small black flags representing 60,000 Mongol troops, Liu Huai slowly asked, "In Mr. Liang's opinion, could it have the elite troops of Emperor Gaozu of Han?"

Now, the generals in the tent were even more confused.

Liang Su, being a man well-versed in classics and history, immediately recalled something, and then stared in disbelief, not even noticing his pen fall to the ground.

(End of this chapter)