Covering the sky: Starting with the holy body, the immortal Taoist comes to attack

Chapter 159 Jie Clan
With the physical deaths of Cheng Luo and his hundreds of guards.

The most loyal remnants of the Sima clan were also wiped out.

Gu Xuan, through sheer military force and the bestowal of favors in the name of the Zhou king, ultimately gained control of the northern border army.

It was during this time that he was cleaning up and reorganizing the army.

This shocking news spread far and wide with the flight of carrier pigeons, astonishing everyone.

The capital was placed under martial law to prevent any sporadic rebellions by the Sima family.

On the western frontier, two large military groups led by Ma Qi and Yuchi Rui, amidst shock and fear, also received a proclamation of consolation from the capital. This was naturally a measure that Gu Xuan and the core court officials had already discussed.

The Jie and Quanrong tribes, who had repeatedly burned, killed, and looted within the territory of the Great Zhou, reacted immediately, showing a certain degree of vigilance and retreat.

In an instant, the whole world was shaken!

This is not because Gu Xuan failed to do a good job of blocking intelligence.

Rather, the truth cannot be hidden forever; such a major event that occurs under the spotlight is difficult to completely conceal.

Not to mention, Cheng Luo's military management skills were limited, and his army had long been infiltrated by various forces, turning it into a sieve.

After a period of cleanup and reorganization within the northern border troops, Gu Xuan...

Only then did he realize how much damage the Sima clan's autocracy had brought to this ancient human dynasty, as well as some potentially fatal hidden dangers.

The most important point is the rise of the Jie tribe.

The Jie people were originally one of the northern tribes, and for many years they had been one of the servants of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Their followers are described as having jackal heads, human bodies, and sharp teeth and claws. Because they live in the harsh and cold northern lands, they are often cruel and tormented.

The current leader, named Nuchi, can be considered a great ruler of the Jie tribe. For decades, the Jie tribe has grown and prospered under his leadership.

He and his father were originally just minor border officials appointed by the Great Zhou Dynasty, responsible for negotiating trade in mountainous goods between the Great Zhou and the Jie people.

however.

Taking advantage of the power vacuum created after the Sima clan seized power, the father and son expanded their influence extensively.

In just a few decades, through skillful maneuvering and divide-and-rule tactics, he gradually annexed many small tribes in the northern border.

Ultimately, it developed into the powerful force that dominates the north today.

By the time Sima Shang's generation took over power and realized what was happening, it was too late.

Unless an army of 100,000 is mobilized, it is possible to pacify the Jie tribe, but there is also a high chance of failure and total annihilation, due to the treacherous terrain of the northern border.

However, considering the interests of his own family, Sima Shang would obviously not do such a thing.

Therefore.

In recent years, the Sima clan has mostly adopted a policy of appeasement towards the Jie people.

Even though the Jie tribe repeatedly invaded and killed and plundered people within the territory of the Great Zhou, the Sima clan still mainly focused on appeasement.

They even went so far as to sacrifice the city of Xijing (Luoyang) to gain the assistance of the Jie tribe.

In Gu Xuan's view, if this situation continues, the Jie people may very well overthrow the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, just like the Manchus he knew.

This is absolutely alarmist, as the situation in the North is deteriorating little by little, and its military is in disarray.

The Jie tribe leader, Nuchi, was a man of great talent and strategy. Among his sons were also outstanding individuals. Moreover, the Jie tribe, regardless of gender or age, had all grown up in harsh conditions and were all brave and daring to fight.

In contrast.

The Great Zhou Dynasty, led by the Sima clan, constantly yielded and retreated to the Jie tribe due to various internal and external troubles.

The Jie tribe, taking advantage of the decline of the human race, acted arrogantly in various ways.

Gu Xuan's predecessor, before ascending the throne, was a member of the royal family. He was sent as an envoy to the Jie tribe by the powerful minister Sima, where he was whipped and humiliated by Nu Chi.

And that's not all.

The Jie people, relying on their merit in helping the Sima clan resist the western Quanrong tribe, ran rampant within the territory of the Great Zhou.

Even the magnificent capital city was turned into an entertainment venue by them.

Within the capital, there are several thousand Jie people who live there. They engage in monopolistic business, extort money from others, and take the welfare benefits provided by the Zhou government every day. Yet, they also kidnap people's children in groups, beat and kill officials, and even gang up on them.

Some even committed crimes in the capital during the day, stabbing people until their intestines spilled out. After being arrested by officials from the Ministry of Justice, they openly broke into prison, injuring officials as they fled.

In the end, they went on a rampage, massacring, raping, and plundering humans in the northern cities of the Great Zhou Dynasty, including Xijing Luocheng, committing all sorts of atrocities.

Countless people were brutally murdered, and countless women were raped and taken into the Jie tribe as slaves.

An old scholar who had managed to escape once tearfully petitioned the Sima clan, requesting that they send troops to suppress the rebellion. His words were filled with sorrow: "The northern lands are desolate, the Jie people are everywhere, and our human race has almost been slaughtered to the last man."

However, Sima Shang suppressed the news of these tragedies, citing insufficient military strength and the need to prioritize the overall situation.

Sima Shang's abilities were limited; he was good at internal power struggles but not at external ones.

The act of seizing power and stabilizing the opposition had already consumed a great deal of his energy, making it impossible for him to spare any more resources to deal with an external threat of the level of the Jie tribe.

But now...

With the arrival of Gu Xuan, everything will undergo a complete change!

Through his investigations and visits within the border troops, he also gained insight into the thoughts of many border soldiers.

In fact, many of these battle-hardened veterans had long since reached their breaking point with the Jie tribe.

Because most of them were people from the northern border, many of their relatives had died tragically at the hands of the Jie people.

Prior to this, military power was held by the Sima family, Cheng Luo, and others.

It would be impossible for these low- and mid-level soldiers to act on their own, as supplies and weapons were major problems.

Having learned all this, Gu Xuan had already made up his mind.

……

In fact.

Upon receiving news that the current Zhou king had arrived in the northern frontier and subdued the border troops, the Jie chieftain Nuchi reacted immediately.

He sent out various scouts to gather intelligence in order to find out Gu Xuan's next move.

Not only that, he also plundered two small northern towns, killing all the men and raping and abducting the women before returning to the Jie tribe's territory and establishing a scorched-earth policy.

have to say.

Nuchi's actions were extremely malicious and insidious.

Everyone knows that the territory in which the Jie people live is a remote and dangerous place.

Over the years, apart from His Majesty Emperor Gaozu of the Zhou Dynasty, who once led his army to successfully conquer it, no subsequent Zhou kings have been able to do so.

Clearly, Nuchi was very hostile to the current Zhou king, and one could even say he harbored deep malice and fear towards him.

In a sense, Sima Shang could be considered his ally or benefactor.

Over the years, he had cooperated with the Sima clan, each taking what they needed, and each of them had obtained a great deal of profit from the behemoth that was the Great Zhou Dynasty.

However, the entire Sima clan was wiped out by Gu Xuan, and Nu Chi could no longer pursue his interests with impunity as before.

An enemy of a friend is, of course, an enemy!

Moreover, from Nuchi's own perspective, at this opportune moment when the Jie tribe is on the rise, he really doesn't want to see the rise of a generation of iron-blooded Zhou king!
That could very well disrupt this once-in-a-millennium opportunity for the Jie tribe to grow and expand.

Therefore.

He ordered his Jie army to plunder two cities in the northern border before retreating to defend them.

His plan was to provoke the surrounding armies, then use his strategically advantageous and easily defensible location to ambush and annihilate them. In this way, he would show the human race what a truly formidable Jie tribe's encirclement and annihilation tactics were like!

If successful, it would further cripple the actual military strength of the Great Zhou human race in the northern border, which would be more beneficial to the subsequent development of the Jie tribe.

Even if the Zhou king and the surrounding Zhou army remained patient, he would still profit without losing anything.

however.

The Jie tribe's upper echelons, led by Nuchi, underestimated Gu Xuan.

……

After Gu Xuan killed Cheng Luo.

It took about ten days to reorganize this border army unit in northern Xinjiang.

As the supreme ruler of the Great Zhou, he had sufficient legitimacy and authority. Although not all the rewards were immediately implemented, they were still enough to win over the hearts of many soldiers.

More importantly, on that day on the high platform, Gu Xuan's unparalleled martial prowess had already won the admiration of almost all ordinary soldiers.

You should know that in the army, martial prowess is the most important quality!

His Majesty the King of Zhou is able to reproduce the astonishing martial prowess of His Majesty the Great Ancestor. Such a being is worthy of the utmost loyalty and following of all soldiers.

In their view, if anyone could lead them to recreate the former glory and prosperity of the human race, it would probably be His Majesty King Zhou.

This is absolutely comparable to the Sima clan and Cheng Luo.

Speed ​​is of the essence in warfare.

Gu Xuan selected 300 elite soldiers from among the more than 30,000 border troops.

Among these three hundred people, the most important ones had a deep-seated hatred for the Jie tribe, and at least one of their relatives had been killed by the Jie tribe.

Secondly, they are exceptionally brave and skilled in martial arts; each of them is capable of taking on ten opponents and can fight freely in the mountainous and forested terrain of the Jie tribe.

Such talents are not many in the entire northern border army, but they are not few either.

Because the geographical environment of the northern frontier is inherently a harsh and cold place, even among the human race, many people grow up in this environment from childhood, which is no different from the Jie people.

In a sense, the individual combat ability of the human race is no weaker than that of the individual Jie race.

Judging from past wars, in battles involving around one or two thousand people, the human race and the Jie race were evenly matched, and sometimes the human race even had the upper hand.

But once the number rises to over 10,000, it becomes a competition on a completely different level.

For decades, before the Sima clan seized power, the Zhou dynasty had sent a large army to try to wipe out a part of the Jie tribe.

In that battle, the 20,000-strong human army faced a 10,000-strong Jie army and suffered a crushing defeat, shocking the court and the public.

Of course, this is related to factors such as the terrain and climate at the time.

But that battle also greatly boosted the confidence of the Jie people.

Although the Great Zhou later sent nearly 70,000 troops to annihilate the Jie tribe, the two sides eventually made peace due to issues such as food supplies.

It was in that battle that the Sima clan completely seized power, forcing the then-King of Zhou to abdicate and consolidating their authority.

Some even speculate that this process may have involved some kind of conspiracy between the Sima clan and the Jie tribe, but it was just unknown to others.

After Gu Xuan carefully selected three hundred people.

He made the greatest promise of reward he could make to these three hundred elite soldiers.

This includes multiple rewards such as military merit, land, and hereditary succession.

Gu Xuan's only requirement was that he follow him to achieve this military objective!

After issuing an order to Jiang Bushi and other experienced guards.

Gu Xuan led these three hundred elite special forces soldiers, each carrying enough military rations, traversing mountains and valleys, their goal being the core of the Jie tribe.

……

As we approach early winter, the weather is starting to get colder.

Under such conditions, it is unlikely that any army would initiate a war.

Otherwise, they would face absolute cold and death, especially in the frigid North.

therefore.

Whether it was the Jie chieftain Nuchi, his many generals, or even ordinary Jie tribesmen, they had all begun preparing for winter.

Their lives have improved a lot over the years.

The main reason, of course, was that they had plundered a large amount of wealth from within the territory of the Great Zhou.

This includes a lot of grain, fodder, livestock, and so on.

And more importantly, there are human women!

In that one raid on Xijing Luocheng alone, they abducted thousands of human women, most of whom were forced into becoming their slaves, and a small number were even used as food during their march.

This is what the Jie people call "two-legged sheep".

This day.

The capital of the Jie people, also known as Hara City.

Within the city walls stand rows of rugged, savage wooden and stone houses—the dwellings of the Jie people.

And so, smoke rose from the chimneys.

From almost every house, the terrified pleas for mercy of human women and the lewd laughter of the Jie people echoed far and wide.

In the very center, there was a simple palace.

Inside the tent.

A tall and imposing leader sat on a tiger-skin throne; it was none other than Nuchi, the leader of the Jie tribe.

At this moment, he was holding a meeting with his generals and subordinates before the throne, and it was nearing its end.

All these beings, though they all look humanoid, are by no means human. They have faces like jackals, black fur, and sharp teeth. Most of them are filled with cruelty and torment, and each one has a foul smell.

"Warriors, the people of Zhou have been living in peace for too long and have become cowardly. The opportunity for the rise of the Jie tribe is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity!"

"However, that Prince Zhou recently eliminated the Sima family, which is quite impressive."

"Don't underestimate this. Once you get back, be careful."

And this moment.

All these Jie generals heard the strange noises coming from the city.

At this moment, most of the Jie people had already eaten dinner, and as the saying goes, "when you're full and warm, you start to think about sex," so it was time for them to take advantage of the human women they had captured.

These generals immediately became distracted, wishing they could end the meeting immediately and return to their own tents.

Seeing this, Nuchi frowned slightly, but ultimately didn't take it to heart, because he himself was thinking of doing the same thing.

Only one young man, Taiji, the fourth son of Nuchi, frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the scene in the city and the performance of the generals.

He was certain that if this continued, the morale of the Jie tribe's army would likely collapse.

However, even if he wanted to change this trend, he would have to wait until after he ascended to the throne.

At that very moment, a strange sound suddenly emanated from the city.

It sounded like the hissing of knives and spears piercing flesh, yet it also seemed to be mixed with some kind of dying scream.

At first it was barely audible, but as the wind blew, it gradually became clearer!
(End of this chapter)