Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 120 Zhenbei
The Yanmen Pass was far more difficult to conquer than the Feihu Pass, making it a prime example of ancient terrain and military engineering.

The Arctic general handed over the affairs of the south to the garrison commander of Yanmen Pass and led his men to Tongzhou.

Shishan Pass is unlikely to stop the Khitans. Now the Khitan king has sent Yelü Yanji, the Northern King, with 50,000 cavalry to march south.

To the west of Nongjiakou were the Mongols, and to the north and northeast, the vast grasslands were inhabited by the Khitans. The fortress defending the area was Shishankou.

After arriving in Tongzhou, Beijiwu met directly with Adaihai, who had been waiting for him.

Two men in their thirties accompanied Adaihai, and the three of them knelt down upon seeing Beiji Wuhou.

"Chieftain! The Borjigin clan has no intention of breaking the alliance, nor will it obey the Southern Dynasty emperor's orders to attack you. When we needed help the most, it was the Mountain Farmers who gave us tea, salt, and charcoal to get through the winter."

“Baturda ordered his two children to be here as hostages to prove that we did not obey the Southern Emperor.”

Beijiwu nodded. "Alright, the mountain farmers will remember this. This year, the grasslands and water plants will be more lush than in previous years. I hereby announce the cancellation of the debts you previously incurred. This year, I will also lend you grain, salt, ironware, and tea, with the interest rate remaining at one-tenth of the annual rate."

Adaihai said gratefully, "Thank you. If you need warriors, the grassland men of Guihua City are willing to fight alongside the mountain farmers!"

Having rested enough, Beijiwu stood up and walked towards the door.

“The Khitans have brought 50,000 cavalry. You three go back and tell Borjigin to send all the soldiers to the Khitans.”

"I will defeat the Khitans, but I may not have time to deal with the fleeing people. You can take one-tenth of the things and people you get back, and send the rest to the farmhouse."

After saying that, Beiji Wu left with his men.

As Adaihai watched Beijiwu's departing figure, she stood up and translated Beijiwu's words to her two husbands' sons.

Both Mongols knew of the Arctic Warrior's prowess and immediately rushed back to inform Borjigin.

While the Mongol cavalry were traveling from the Mongolian grasslands to the grassland highway, Beijiwu had already quickly reached Nongjiakou via the newly built dirt road.

"Has Shishankou been defended?"

Arctic Military directly inquired.

Lu Siming replied, "They shouldn't have arrived yet. It will take a considerable amount of time to assemble 50,000 cavalry; it should be within the next few days."

As Beiji Wu was about to head to Shishankou, Lü Siming reminded him, "Master, the guard at Shishankou is Yang Xiangyun. He's quite capable and should be able to hold out for a while. It's just that things are a bit uncertain about Changchengtun."

"I don't know how capable Gao Shimian is."

Bei Jiwu knew a little about his men. "When the Mongols came to attack before, didn't Shishankou and Changchengtun defend against them?"

His men were not novices; they were all men who had actually stood up against the steppe cavalry.

Lu Siming said embarrassedly, "Changchengtun lacks the natural defenses of Feihukou and Shishankou. Gao Shimian is a timid and obsequious person who seems easy to be deceived."

Gao Shimian surrendered only after being tricked by Lü Siming; he was indeed deceived.

Beijiwu didn't care. "I'll go to Changchengtun. Meng He will go to reinforce Shishankou. Lang Wubing and Xue Chonghu will follow me. Wang Xiang will lead the iron cavalry to wait at Shishankou. If I break through, we'll immediately launch a pincer attack!"

The crowd replied in unison, "Yes, clan leader!"

Beijiwu led three thousand light cavalry to the northwest grasslands, while Meng Hetong led infantry and Wang Xiang led iron cavalry to reinforce Shishankou.

In Tongzhou, Wuzhou, and other places, people were still on guard against the Mongols from the west, lest their homes be raided.

There were 30,000 men fighting, and the rest were responsible for farming and logistics.

Although many women were pregnant and many men were busy fighting and defending the city, the work of farming was not delayed.

Women can also drive oxen and horses to plow fields; they don't need that much strength and stamina.

The newly recruited 40,000 people also joined the logistics work, including tasks such as managing water conservancy facilities and making arrowheads, straw sandals, and bandages.

The Mongols are also grazing their horses and sheep in the Arctic, taking the few remaining sheep to the grasslands to help them recover.

Because of the melting snow, water was everywhere under the eaves.

The transportation of provisions was difficult, and the tens of thousands of troops gathered in the river valley basin were extremely crowded. Moreover, since most of the poor had been killed, it had become much more difficult to conscript laborers and women from the local area.

Since they couldn't find money and women in the villages outside the city, they naturally looked for them in the city.

The army passed through the city wave after wave, sweeping away layer after layer of debris.

The mountain stream blocked the southern army and slowed down the steppe cavalry.

Outside Shishan Pass, Yelü Yanji, the Northern King, looked at the city ahead and immediately issued an order.

"Attack! The Southern Dynasty army has launched a three-pronged attack. This city is poorly defended; take it immediately!"

They didn't try to persuade them to surrender; they attacked directly.

The combined force of tens of thousands of troops attacking a city can exert an extremely terrifying deterrent effect.

By using psychological warfare to break down the resistance of soldiers and civilians, they will become someone who only knows how to run away and dares not resist.

Unfortunately, the surrounding area was covered in mud, so there was no dust to be stirred up. Otherwise, a large group of people coming over would have created a huge cloud of dust, giving the impression of a massive army.

Of the 50,000 troops, only 10,000 were deployed; the rest were responsible for clearing out nearby villages and plundering people and supplies for military rations.

As soon as the cavalrymen in front came within fifty meters, the archers on the city wall suddenly appeared from the crenellations, released their arrows, and quickly disappeared.

Arrows rained down wave after wave, but the cavalrymen continued to charge forward.

Even if the cavalrymen jumped over the five-meter-wide moat, they would be helpless.

Swords and spears could not break down the city gate.

The cavalry below the city wall were quickly wiped out by gunfire. After more than a hundred cavalrymen died, the vanguard officer quickly came over and shouted a message.

"The mountain farmers' fate is sealed. Those who recognize the times are the heroes. If you surrender, my lord is willing to give you high positions and generous rewards!"

His response was a dense rain of arrows.

Yang Xiangyun didn't need to answer; the others answered for him.

There is no question of surrender.

At first, I didn't like the hairstyle of the mountain farmers, but after a while I found that short hair was good, as it was convenient for washing my hair, sleeping, and wearing hats.

The Khitans' hairstyles were extremely ugly. Compared to the Khitans who robbed on horseback, most people preferred the agricultural tribes who relied on farming.

Most importantly, anyone who dares to say they are surrendering can be killed by the troops to stabilize morale.

They had been fighting many battles before, and the people were not afraid of the 50,000-strong army outside.

"Shoot harder!" Yang Xiangyun shouted with a laugh, "Once the clan chief arrives, we won't have a chance to make a name for ourselves! Kill as many as possible!"

The archers on the city wall laughed and said, "I wanted to kill a few more too; these barbarian dogs all ran away!"

The Khitans had retreated to the rear, and the Southern King Yelü Yanji gave an order to his deputy general Yelü Hongge.

"Go and capture all the Han people nearby, and make them knock on the door. If they don't open it, throw them into the river."

Yelü Hongge replied, "We've already gone. There's no one left in the nearby villages. They must have known we were coming beforehand."

Yelü Yanji calmly said, "Keep searching. There must be some Han Chinese who are disobedient and don't know how to hide inside."

"Yes!" Yelü Hongge ordered his men to continue the search.

According to the Khitan people's historical impression of the Han people, the Han people would not live in one place, and there would definitely be many living in other places.

They don't have farmland in the county; they can only cultivate and live on some land in areas far from the city center.

These people are often outnumbered and weak, and even if they have villages, they cannot form a resistance.

However, the mountain farmers are different. They have extremely efficient organizational skills, with the lowest level being a banner chief, who is in charge of ten people. Moreover, the banner chief usually serves as a liaison and record-keeper in the village.

The land was cultivated collectively, and the villages were also collectively inhabited. People ate and worked together, helped each other build houses, and stayed or left together. Shishankou was Yang Xiangyun's territory, and Beijiwu had long ago granted Yang Xiangyun the authority to manage this area freely.

Unless invaded by an enemy, they can handle everything on their own without any supervision or restrictions.

Yang Xiangyun also learned from the management model of Beijiwu, from farming to population management, and established his own Yangjia Village.

Under such circumstances, unless it was for herding horses and sheep, Yang Xiangyun would never send his men out of Shishankou to face the Khitans, let alone during wartime.

Although it was a thousand households, the Arctic Army did not limit the population. Yang Xiangyun had more than a thousand men under his command. The mixed-race people of Hu and Han descent who used to live in Shishankou were also included in the Yang family clan.

"Lord Qianhu!"

Yang Xiangyun looked back and saw a cavalryman dismount and walk quickly toward the stairs, and soon came running over.

The messenger quickly reported, "Lord Qianhu! The clan chief has dispatched a thousand cavalry and two thousand infantry. The infantry will arrive in two hours, and the cavalry will arrive in about half an hour. The clan chief will be here shortly. He has instructed you to hold this place firmly."

Yang Xiangyun smiled easily and happily, "Don't worry, go back and tell the clan leader that everything is fine here. We can hold out for a year, let alone a short while!"

"Yes!" The messenger immediately went back to report the news.

Yang Xiangyun shouted to the people in the city: "Brothers! At Feihu Pass, a thousand or two men held off an army of fifty thousand, killed more than ten thousand, and forced the Jizhou army to retreat."

"We must strive to do better!"

"So what if they're just a few tens of thousands of Khitans? We people from Shannong County have always been able to fight outnumbered! What are we afraid of?!"

The soldiers inside the city already knew that Arctic Wu was coming to reinforce them, and their morale was greatly boosted.

A large group of people surnamed Murong Tuoba Yuwen Yelü shouted in unison, "Kill! Kill the barbarian dogs!"

A new collective consciousness is emerging, one that does not distinguish people by surname or bloodline, but rather they work together toward a common goal, sharing the same language and the same admirers.

Yelü Yanji, who was outside the city, was unaware of the true situation of these people, but he knew that the Khitans had to eliminate this rising mountain peasant.

"Send more men, bring more two-legged and four-legged sheep, I want to ride my horse and leap over the corpses of Han people into the city walls!"

The city wall at Shishankou is only eight meters high, and there are no other natural defenses nearby except for the five-meter-wide moat.

Although it remains a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, this place has been breached by the Khitans several times, and it is easy to defeat the defending troops inside.

More than two hours later, Yelü Hongge returned on horseback.

"Your Majesty, we can't find a single person here. It's possible that the Tatars came to plunder before, so they no longer live outside."

Yelü Yanji's expression darkened, but he quickly found a solution.

"Split into two groups and go to more distant places to find villages and slaves to come and work. Our craftsmen and provisions won't arrive until tonight. You take 20,000 men to the Great Wall Guard and see if we can get in there!"

"Yes!"

Yelü Hongge knew that the provisions he brought this time would not last for three days.

They originally planned to plunder grain on the spot, but there were no villages nearby to plunder, nor any place to rest.

We can't hold out like this for long; we must find the Han Chinese outside the city as soon as possible!
With the mission of finding Han Chinese, Yelü Hongge led 20,000 cavalrymen northwestward, intending to bypass the Great Wall Guard.

They had been running from afternoon until evening, and just as the Khitan cavalry were exhausted, a Khitan man shouted, "Smoke!!"

Looking over, everyone indeed saw a hill in the distance.

The desert is solitary and straight, and the long river falls into the sun.

"Charge!! They must be Han Chinese!!"

Yelü Hongge shouted with a smile.

Tens of thousands of cavalrymen galloped swiftly in the setting sun, their army rushing towards the earthen mound.

On the earthen slope, a young man was eating. He looked at the vast army in front of him with an extremely surprised expression.

After dropping the soup bowl, the boy mounted his horse.

"Quick! Don't let him get away! There must be a village nearby!"

Even though they were more than 200 meters apart, Yelü Hongge was worried that he would run away.

The Arctic warrior mounted his horse and watched as a group of cavalrymen drew closer, straining to see if they were carrying bows and arrows or other weapons.

When the two sides were about twenty meters apart and were still accelerating towards each other, Beijiwu charged forward on horseback.

The Khitans at the front raised their long knives on horseback. Their heads were bald in the middle, with half-meter-long braids hanging down on the sides.

Beijiwu raised his 2.5-meter-long sword and slashed down with both hands!
Khitan Nuer was split vertically into two pieces, from head to belly, and then naturally separated on both sides.

The terrifying scene caused the cavalry and warriors in front to stare wide-eyed.

Everyone seemed to have forgotten to breathe, forgotten to attack, and stared at that person with fear in their eyes.

"Arctic Martial Arts!"

Beijiwu was worried that they wouldn't understand what he was saying, so he spoke very slowly.

Mountain farmers, Arctic warriors!
"Kill!!!" Xue Chonghu and his men rode their horses around from one side of the hillside, shouting loudly.

Lang Wubing also rushed over from the other side, and the group, having eaten and drunk their fill, quickly charged towards the Khitan cavalry.

Without further ado, Beijiwu rode his horse toward the general of these men.

Yelü Hongge made the worst decision of his life: "Kill!!!"

Twenty thousand cavalrymen launched a fierce attack on three thousand cavalrymen.

Led by Beiji Wu, the three thousand cavalrymen quickly broke the thirty thousand cavalry into several sections.

The two sides fought for more than three hours. Arctic Martial felt that there were a lot of people this time, and no matter how many he killed, he couldn't kill them all.

Yelü Hongge was already dead. With Yelü Yanji leading troops to reinforce, Wang Xiang and others were attacked from behind, and the fighting, which could have ended, continued for more than an hour.

The two sides fought under the moonlight until 11 p.m., and the battlefield, stretching for twenty miles, was littered with corpses and blood.

Arctic Warrior killed the last Khitan who came looking for death, and looked around, panting heavily.

Are they all still alive?

"Chief, I'm still here!"

Beiji Wu couldn't tell who was who anymore, so he stuck his big sword into the ground.

"Take a rest and take the injured back."

Yang Xiangyun led his soldiers over, holding torches as he looked at Beijiwu, who was covered in blood.

"Master! Are you injured?"

“No, it’s all someone else’s blood.” Beijiwu urged, “Stop talking nonsense, get the troops back. There’s no need to clean up the battlefield, everyone’s exhausted. Just take the brothers who can speak back, and leave the rest to fate.”

Yang Xiangyun asked, "What should we do with the prisoners? Four or five thousand have surrendered."

“Kill them,” Beijiwu said. “You all go back. I’ll kill them. They’re all wounded right now, and a lot of people have died this time. We can’t control so many people right now. We have to kill them.”

Yang Xiangyun was startled, but knew this was the best solution. "Sir, let me do it. You must be tired today."

Beijiwu went over with his sword, but his warhorse was already exhausted, so both sides fought on foot.

"Working together will make things faster."

The mountain farmers' bottom line was a little lower than it actually was, but Yang Xiangyun and the many warriors who had lost their comrades didn't care.

eye for eye!
(End of this chapter)