The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 279 Going the opposite direction
The vast desert stretches endlessly.

The group of dozens of riders walked listlessly, and many of them had peeling lips from the sun.

"almost."

China was also exhausted, so he rallied his spirits and encouraged his men.

He knew there was a puddle not far away.

Chi Na knew the terrain very well, where the green areas were, where the wasteland was, which direction to go to enter the desert, and where the water source was, although he dared not say that he had a complete grasp of this land.

But I'm definitely one of the people I know best.

really.

In less than half an hour, they spotted a puddle in the distance.

The group replenished their water and regained their energy at the puddle, finally having the strength to speak again.

"Erdun Taiji is a real scoundrel."

"Next time I find a chance, I must kill him."

The crowd began to curse.

China's face was ashen.

Ever since Wang Xin killed Batel, making an example of him to warn others of the consequences of secretly helping him, and by focusing on actions rather than intentions, many Taijis dared not help him.

The tribes that remain in the Shanyu region are mostly cowards.

They've long lost the courage of an eagle.

They were like field mice in the desert, daring only to live in their burrows and not daring to offend Wang Xin.

China loathed these people.

The one they hated the most was Erdun Taiji.

This man wanted to prove his loyalty to Wang Xin. Even when Wang Xin was not around, this man still tried to capture him. He had originally wanted to save time, so he passed through the man's territory. He was discovered by a herdsman, who then told Erdun.

Erdun actually led his men to attack us.

Having lost dozens of brothers and suffered a severe blow, Erdun still wouldn't let him go and wanted to kill him. Fortunately, he was familiar with the terrain and managed to escape Erdun's pursuit by hiding in the sand dunes.

"Wang Xin returned to the capital for a promotion, and according to the information we've gathered, he has already returned to Datong."

China couldn't care less about Erdun.

He worriedly said, "Wang Xin has already achieved his goal. That damned Great Zhou court promoted him. Wang Xin will be even more difficult to deal with in the future. Based on my understanding of him, his next move will be to deal with Da Bansheng."

Wang Xin committed numerous massacres outside the pass.

Many people wish they could eat his flesh.

Chi Na was originally a Taiji in the Shanyu region. He lost his territory by rebelling against Wang Xin, but he gained the support of many Hu people by virtue of his reputation for rebelling against Wang Xin.

Despite several failures, he still has dozens of loyal followers.

Everyone wanted to kill Wang Xin.

Upon hearing the news from Chi Na, everyone looked sorrowful.

"As the Zhou people have an old saying, good people don't live long, but evil ones live for a thousand years. Even Heaven doesn't take away a villain like Wang Xin. He's truly hateful," a Hu man cursed.

The morale of the crowd was low.

That barbarian was originally a warrior of his tribe. Later, when Wang Xin arrived, the tribe was defeated, the slaves began to rebel, and he lost all his wealth, becoming a lone wolf on the grassland.

Who among us isn't a lone wolf?

"Let's go back to Osaka."

China finally stated its goal.

They couldn't directly say they were going to give up, as that would be tantamount to admitting defeat. Their already low morale might be further damaged, and they might all leave the very next morning.

Without his own men, he is worthless.

First, state the threat posed by Wang Xin, explaining that the reason for demanding the return of Daban Sheng is to defeat Wang Xin.

really.

Someone said, "We can't let Wang Xin achieve his goal so easily. We must go back to Dabansheng and tell Wu Entaiji to help Wu En defeat Wang Xin."

No one objected.

Anyone can pledge allegiance to Wang Xin as long as they can defeat him.

Although the Shanyu tribe and the Dabansheng tribe were hostile in the past, things are different now. Faced with a powerful enemy like Wang Xin, they would accept even surrendering to the Dabansheng tribe.

Seeing that the people did not object, Chi Na encouraged them further. "Wu En is Ou Yan Hu's most valued son. He may inherit Ou Yan Hu's strength in the future. It's not a bad thing for us to side with Wu En."

They were different from the Zhou people.

The Zhou people inherited the throne by the eldest son, while the Hu people inherited it by the youngest son.

Wu En was not only Ou Yanhu's youngest son, but he was also left behind by Ou Yanhu to guard the house, which shows his high status.

After calming themselves down and resting overnight, everyone set off early the next morning.

It's no longer safe for the Shanyu to stay in the region.

Wang Xin's killing of Batel was truly shocking.

Where can you find such an overbearing and unreasonable person?

Since he was unreasonable and they couldn't beat him, those who stayed behind naturally tried their best to prevent Wang Xin from attacking them.

Next, it will be our turn to suffer.

The situation where the Shanyu region was originally free to go anywhere, with people providing cover everywhere, and even supplying them with supplies in secret, suddenly turned into a situation where everyone hated them, and they became rats crossing the street.

Wang Xin's army initially numbered 1,500, then 2,000, then 2,500, and now it is 3,000.

Each expansion is limited.

Therefore, even with the addition of new recruits, the army's combat effectiveness has not declined significantly.

Because veterans still make up the vast majority, new recruits can quickly transform into veterans in such an environment. After experiencing one or two battles, they become elite soldiers.

Three thousand elite soldiers.

Four thousand militiamen.

A total of seven thousand soldiers.

The flags fluttered, displaying their majestic power.

The ruins of Shanyu City.

When Erdun and the other Taijis received Wang Xin's order, none of them dared to delay and all rushed over ahead of time. By the time Wang Xin arrived, all the Taijis in the Shanyu region had arrived.

There are less than twenty-six Taiji left.

The smallest Taiji is no longer considered a Taiji; it's just a slightly larger tribe with a dozen or twenty tents and about a hundred people.

The tents that cost the most money were from Erdon.

His tribe still has hundreds of tents and thousands of people, and can muster three to five hundred able-bodied men.

Wang Xin lamented, "When I first came to the Shanyu region, there were about 30,000 to 50,000 people in the entire region. Now, there are less than 10,000 registered. This is the result of years of war."

The Taijis looked complicated, unsure how to respond.

Wang Xin remained unconvinced and calmly asked, "Do you know why?"

"They won't follow the Zhou rituals!"

Erdun straightened his back and answered quickly, like the most obedient child in the class. Wang Xin nodded, knowing he had answered correctly. Erdun looked like a child who had just eaten fruit, his face full of joy.

The other Taijis remained silent.

Wang Xin scanned them one by one, looking for any unruly individuals.

It was so scary.

As Wang Xin's gaze swept over them, the Taijis' hearts nearly jumped out of their chests. They all sat up straight, behaving like well-behaved children in class.

Wang Xin sighed.

He actually sighed.

The Taijis, who had survived the ordeal, felt a surge of happiness.

“Practicing the Zhou rites shows that one is a civilized person. Civilized people will not resort to knives and guns, but will sit down and reason with each other. Those who do not practice the Zhou rites are barbarians. Barbarians only know how to plunder and do not engage in production, so they can never be at peace. Today you rob me, tomorrow I rob you, and it is full of killing.”

Wang Xin said calmly, "In just one or two years, so many people have died or been injured in the Shanyu region. This shows the consequences of not following the Zhou rites. You should all take this as a warning."

Even the worst reason is better than no reason at all.

Wang Xin didn't care about the attitudes of the remaining people. If they had the strength to defeat him, even if he poured his heart out to them now, the outcome would still be that they would raise their knives and slaughter him.

The strong shall be king.

The eternal truth in dealing with foreign countries.

If you win, it's a conflict; if you lose, it's an invasion.

“General Wang is right, we Hu people should all learn the Zhou rites,” Erdun said, taking the lead.

Wang Xin paid no attention to what the Taijis said.

It doesn't matter what you say.

What matters is what you do.

Wang Xin said, "Next, I will build a new city on the site of the old Shanyu City. The new city will be called Yunchuan City. From now on, the Shanyu region will be governed by Yunchuan City. All the young men and women that your tribes send to serve each year will be sent to Yunchuan City." Erdun's forehead was covered in sweat.

The other Taijis looked at Erdun.

Boil the frog in warm water.

When they chose to surrender, Wang Xin did not push them to their deaths, but he gradually blocked their future.

From the division of territory to the transportation and service of various departments, and even now to the construction of a city on their land, with the support of city walls, no one can do anything to Yunchuan City.

Wang Xin smiled and looked at Erdun.

This person didn't have much prestige before; he was just a minor Taiji.

Having eliminated the Chanyu, Shuoerhui, Batel, and others, he became the most powerful Taiji in the land, as the saying goes, "When the tiger is away, the monkey becomes king." Other less powerful Taijis depended on his attitude.

Should we kill him?

Wang Xin hesitated; the man's attitude was extremely respectful.

But what does it matter if you're respectful?
Knowing that it would make him hesitate, he decided to prepare in advance and avoid doing things that would make him hesitate. Wang Xin narrowed his eyes.

Erdun suddenly jumped up.

He knelt down in front of everyone and said, "I, Erdun, swear to Heaven that I will always be loyal to the Great Zhou. General Wang wants to build Yunchuan City, and I will be the first to support it. I will send a hundred able-bodied men to do the work."

"hiss!"

Everyone was in an uproar.

Erdun doesn't care about the fate of the tribe?
All the able-bodied men were sent to do the work, but who would do the work for the tribe?
Wang Xin withdrew his gaze.

For the sake of a hundred able-bodied men, spare his life for now.

Datong is a border region.

Disaster victims generally do not come to Datong.

Therefore, there were not many disaster victims in Datong.

The merchant guild needs to recruit herdsmen, we need to recruit militia, and the factory needs to recruit workers. Now we are actually short of manpower. Building Yunchuan City is a big deal. Once Yunchuan City is built, we can then push through Dabansheng.

They built fortifications step by step, and seized water sources and pastures.

Next comes the battle of attrition.

Let's see who can outdo whom.

Very cruel.

But clearing land is a cruel thing.

Which nation didn't risk their lives to reclaim wasteland?

I'm willing to work my ass off.

But you can't fight desperately and then shed tears.

We won.

The disaster victims could then transform themselves, gaining their own pastures and their own cattle, sheep, and horses.

Just like Zheng Zhilong's ancestors.

The Southern Song Dynasty fell.

Large numbers of people migrated to Lingnan and Fujian.

They fought against mosquitoes, venomous snakes, and wild beasts, endured miasma, cut down forests, leveled land, built houses, dug ditches, selected stones one by one, and cultivated fields.
Countless people died.

They conquered everything.

The miasma disappeared, the venomous snakes and wild beasts retreated, and the fields were neatly arranged, with a dense network of ditches.

Zheng Zhilong's family migrated to Fujian during that period.

The same is true.

In the agricultural era, there was no profit to be made in the desert.

If I promote industry and commerce in Datong, then the desert will benefit and can begin to expand.

In the tide of a great era.

Now that I'm here, the Great Zhou can't be left behind, can it?
-
The Hetao region.

On the banks of the Heihe River.

Tents were set up in an orderly fashion along the riverbank.

Because of Zhou Jun's restless advances, the Shanyu tribe abandoned its original objective and began to live a nomadic life to avoid being found by Zhou Jun.

“I do not believe that the Taiji of the various tribes under the Chanyu have no complaints.”

Uen said this in front of China.

Looking at Wu En, who was in his early twenties and about the same age as Wang Xin, Chi Na's expression was complicated.

Am I really getting old?
Young people in their twenties these days are really amazing.

“They dare not complain,” China explained patiently, not getting angry that Uen didn’t believe him.

Despite his youthful pride, Uen, sensing danger, did not choose a reckless confrontation but patiently persuaded the tribe to begin nomadic life.

It's important to know that the Ouyanhu tribe is not a small tribe.

The headquarters alone has tens of thousands of tents.

The total number of tents from all parties and departments is at least 30,000.

Most young people wouldn't be able to keep their composure like that.

Although Ou Yanhu took away most of the able-bodied men, the entire Dabansheng area could still produce tens of thousands of men.

Uen quieted down and turned his head.

"What does Chief Darong think?"

Da Rong, along with Ou Yan Hu and Mo Bi Sheng, were once the three most powerful Taiji, who together controlled the Da Ban Sheng area.

Later, Ou Yanhu ambushed and poisoned Mo Bisheng, killing him. Seeing that things had come to this, Da Rong chose to support Ou Yanhu. Ou Yanhu successfully annexed Mo Bisheng's tribe and became the most powerful person in Dabansheng.

Ouyanhu took away most of the young and strong men of the Darong tribe, but left Darong behind to assist Wuen.

It was clearly a separation between Da Rong and his army.

Da Rong did not refuse.

For the sake of Dabansheng, Da Rong is a respectable person.

Chi Na respects Da Rong very much and hopes to hear what Da Rong has to say.

"You can know a person's face but not their heart. We can try to contact them, but we don't expect them to be of any help. At least if there's any trouble in the Shanyu region, they can secretly inform us in time so that we can be prepared."

Eyes and ears are the most important.

On the vast grasslands, those without eyes and ears are deaf and blind.

Da Rong then looked at Wu En and analyzed, "Wang Xin is extremely ambitious. He has finally returned from the capital. Given his behavior over the past two years, he is bound to make some big moves. We do need to be on guard."

"How to do?"

Uen asked respectfully.

Da Rong frowned, then sighed, "Let's head upstream on the Black River."

"Heading north at the very beginning of spring?"

In the past, the practice was to head south after the start of spring, because green grass grows first in the south. Generally speaking, the movement was from south to north. Therefore, the start of spring was the peak season for entering the pass. Many tribes would sneak into the pass to plunder while they were nomadic in the south.

They grabbed a handful and ran, not afraid of Zhou Jun.

Before Zhou Jun could react, they were already far away.

"The Khan hasn't returned yet, let's just wait it out."

Da Rong chose the safer option.

Uen was somewhat reluctant, as many people were dissatisfied with his actions last year, which affected his prestige.

Not everyone can understand this.

Many people are unwilling to understand.

Even if you know that what Da Rong said is the safest option, sometimes what is safest is not accepted by the public.

Uen couldn't help but look at China.

Chi Na was overjoyed, seeing an opportunity, and quickly said, "Wang Xin is gradually encroaching on our territory and will soon build a city in the Shanyu region. If we give up Dabansheng now, Wang Xin will not stop, but will instead encourage him to build the city in Dabansheng ahead of schedule. At that time, it will be difficult for us to come back."

Da Rong had nothing to say.

Zhou Jun could not have done it so quickly in the past.

Building a city outside the pass is not difficult, but the officials of the Zhou army are all very greedy. They will definitely divide up the silver used to build the city, so many military fortresses in Datong are abandoned.

General Wang Xin, was he not greedy at all?
Otherwise, why would building a city be so easy?

The emergence of Ou Yanhu was a blessing for the Hu people, so why did Wang Xin also emerge?

Da Rong was somewhat dissatisfied.

(End of this chapter)