Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

The change of ownership of the Golden Tent and the capture of the Chanyu were like the removal of the backbone of the Northern Di royal court.

The remaining wolf riders and able-bodied men from various tribes, having lost their command center, were reduced to a complete rabble.

The collapse was like a landslide; the cries, the clashing of horses' hooves, and the sounds of clashing weapons were gradually replaced by the sounds of a more organized and ruthless encirclement and suppression.

Xiao Chen did not rush to pursue the fleeing soldiers.

He knew that the most important thing at this moment was to completely destroy the foundation of this power center on the grasslands and use this shocking victory to strike the will of the Northern Barbarians to the greatest extent possible.

"Zhang Meng."

"Your subordinate is here!" Zhang Meng, covered in blood and with tattered armor, rode up on horseback, his face still flushed and fierce from the fierce battle.

"You will lead your main force and all available cavalry in three columns to pursue and annihilate the routed enemy. But remember,"

Xiao Chen's voice was resolute: "Only the ringleaders will be punished; those coerced will be spared. All those who surrender will be taken in, but not killed indiscriminately! The primary targets are the tribal leaders and nobles, especially the trusted sons of Duji!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zhang Meng accepted the order, a fierce glint in his eyes, and led his elite troops in a rapid pursuit of the scattered Di people.

This time, it was no longer a blind massacre, but an efficient arrest and targeted elimination.

Without unified command, the Di people were unable to organize effective resistance and often collapsed at the first contact, dismounting and surrendering one after another.

"Zhao Tie".

"Your subject is here!"

"You will lead the Iron Falcons to take over the defenses around the Golden Tent and control all entrances and exits. Anyone who attempts to break into the Golden Tent will be killed without mercy. But be careful,"

Xiao Chen's gaze swept over the shadowy figures of women and children inside the golden tent. "Distinguish between soldiers and civilians, and pay special attention to protecting Han prisoners."

"Understood!" Zhao Tie waved his hand, and a thousand Iron Falcon heavy cavalry, like the most solid rock, surrounded the core area of ​​the Golden Tent completely.

The heavy hooves and cold iron armor formed a forbidden zone of death.

"Yang Town".

"Your subordinate is here!"

"Shenji Battalion, clear the perimeter of the camp, focusing on the stables, grain depots, and armories. All flammable materials are to be centrally secured. Anyone who resists or attempts arson is to be executed on the spot!"

"Yes, sir!" Yang Zhen immediately led his team into action.

Despite having experienced intense combat, the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion displayed astonishing discipline, quickly dividing the area, controlling key points, and using torches and simple tools to guide the panicked Di women, children, and livestock to the designated area.

Xiao Chen himself, accompanied by a small number of personal guards, entered the golden tent that once symbolized the highest power on the grasslands.

The tent was in a mess.

The precious carpet was covered in wine stains, food scraps, and congealed, blackened blood.

Exquisite porcelain and jade artifacts were smashed to pieces.

The throne, covered with a white tiger skin, also had several deep cuts made on it.

Several noblewomen of the Di people, dressed in gorgeous furs and adorned with gold and silver jewelry, huddled in a corner, holding terrified and crying children, their eyes filled with fear yet tinged with a stubbornness as they stared at the intruding "heavenly soldiers."

Beside them were several women, dressed in rags, with withered faces, clearly Han Chinese. When they saw Xiao Chen's clothes and flags, their eyes first widened in disbelief, then burst into unbelievable ecstasy and tears. They struggled to kneel down, but were unable to move due to weakness and fear.

Xiao Chen's gaze swept over the survivors without lingering, and he went straight to one side of the tent, where the "spoils of war" were piled up like a mountain.

Silk, porcelain, bronzeware, tea, books... many still bear the labels of Central Plains merchants, and some even have the official seals of the government engraved on them.

These are clear evidence that the loot was taken from border towns and villages of the Great Xia Dynasty.

His eyes were as cold as iron.

Each of these stolen goods is soaked in the blood and tears of the border people.

"Issue the order," he said to Zhao Tiedao beside him, "that all the property captured from the Han people be registered and properly stored. After the war, all property whose original owners or counties/towns can be identified must be returned. Those whose owners cannot be identified should be compensated at a discounted price to the affected counties for relief and reconstruction."

"Yes!" Zhao Tie replied solemnly.

This order, far more effective than mere killing, will win the hearts of the people and demonstrate the might of the royal army.

The next half day was spent on the complete liquidation and takeover of the entire royal court.

The results were more fruitful than imagined.

In the core area of ​​the royal court and surrounding pastures alone, more than 150,000 sheep, more than 30,000 cattle, nearly 20,000 warhorses, and thousands of camels were seized.

These livestock were the very foundation of the Northern Di people's survival, and now they had all fallen into the hands of the Xia army, a devastating blow to the grassland economy.

In addition to the more than 10,000 stubborn resisters who were killed, more than 300 nobles, leaders and their families from various Di tribes were captured, along with more than 50,000 ordinary herdsmen and slaves.

The initial count of the Han Chinese who were abducted was over 8,000, including men, women, and children. Most of them were emaciated and had a blank expression, but there were also many young and strong men whose eyes had been rekindled with hope.

Materials: Gold and silver ingots, gold and silver wares, jewelry, piled up like mountains, their value roughly estimated to be incalculable.

The number of furs (mink, fox, wolf, sheep) is in the tens of thousands.

Although the grains (mainly fried rice, cheese, and dried meat) were not plentiful due to the dietary habits of the Di people, they were enough to feed tens of thousands of people for more than a month.

The weapons (bows and arrows, scimitars, spears, and a small amount of armor) were countless.

Most importantly, they also seized a large quantity of silk, cloth, porcelain, tea, medicinal herbs, and other supplies looted from the Great Xia Dynasty, as well as a considerable number of books and paintings.

In the area specifically for storing arrows and weapons, several secret warehouses were also discovered, containing a number of well-made arrowheads and even unfinished iron armor parts. This shows that while the Northern Barbarians were raiding southwards, they were also secretly accumulating strength, intending to carry out a longer-term plan.

Xiao Chen kept all of these things in his heart.

The entire royal court area was divided into different functional zones: a prisoner-of-war camp, a livestock pen, a supplies storage area, and a wounded treatment area.

The discipline of the Great Xia army withstood the test in the face of tremendous victories and rich spoils.

Apart from a very small number of soldiers who took advantage of the chaos to loot and harass women and were dealt with on the spot by military law, the vast majority of soldiers were able to strictly follow orders and focus on controlling the situation and taking stock of supplies.

Xiao Chen personally inspected the settlement of Han prisoners.

When he saw his compatriots, who had suffered greatly from bullying and were barely clothed, cry out "Long live the Emperor!" and prostrate themselves on the ground with tears of gratitude after recognizing him as the Emperor, he simply took off his cloak and covered a little girl who was shivering from the cold.

"Get up, everyone."

His voice was not loud, but it carried a comforting power: "The bandits have been defeated, and you have suffered. Officials will register you shortly and arrange for you to return home and reunite with your families."

A louder cry erupted from the crowd, this time from joy.

After noon, Zhang Meng returned from his pursuit with good news: the main enemy forces had been wiped out, and more than ten important leaders and two adult sons of Duji had been captured. Only a very small number of elite wolf cavalry, protecting Duji's younger brothers and young children, managed to break through the encirclement in the chaos and their whereabouts were unknown. The sporadic resistance outside the royal court had also been quelled.

Thus, the core command center of the Northern Di's invasion of the south—the royal court at Langjuxu Mountain—was completely destroyed.

Its political, military, and economic pillars suffered a devastating blow.

Xiao Chen climbed to a high cliff with a wide view on the southern slope of Langjuxu Mountain.

Looking down the mountain, the once bustling and prosperous royal court has now been divided into orderly areas by the black dragon flag of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Cattle and sheep roamed the mountains and plains, and the captured Di people were herded together like ants, with supplies piled up like mountains.

Further across the grasslands, wisps of black smoke could be seen rising sporadically, indicating that Zhang Meng's detachment was either pursuing and eliminating the remaining enemy forces or destroying supplies that the Di people hadn't had time to take or that were inconvenient to carry.

"Your Majesty," Zhao Tie said, holding a preliminary battle report, his voice trembling with barely suppressed excitement, "in this battle, our army suffered over eight hundred dead and over two thousand wounded. We annihilated over ten thousand enemy soldiers and captured... countless more! In particular, we captured that treacherous dog Ashina Duoji alive! This... this is simply an unprecedented victory against the Northern Barbarians since the founding of our nation!"

Xiao Chen stood quietly, the mountain wind whistling and blowing his blood-stained cloak.

His gaze passed over the chaotic camp and landed in the far-off, vast grasslands.

He knew that the real challenge might have just begun.

How should we deal with this huge group of prisoners? How should we digest this enormous spoils of victory? How can we prevent the remnants of the Northern Barbarians from rising again? And what about the escaped remnants of the Duoji tribe—will they become a new threat?

But at this moment, on this Langjuxu Mountain, he only wanted to do one thing.

He drew the Emperor's Sword from his waist, its blade reflecting a chilling light in the sunlight.

"Bring me my writing brush, ink, and stone."

A moment later, a large, relatively flat bluestone, found on the cliff, was carried over.

Xiao Chen rolled up his sleeves, picked up his brush, dipped it in thick ink, and wrote two powerful characters on the stone surface—

"Zhenbei"

Signed: Xiao Chenming, the Emperor of the Great Summer

Then, he handed the Emperor's Sword to Zhao Tie: "Use this sword to carve this."

Zhao Tie took the still-warm sword with both hands, tears welling in his eyes. He then, with all his might, carved the two characters deep into the stone, stroke by stroke. The sound of metal clashing echoed through the empty valley.

After carving the last stroke, Zhao Tie returned the sword.

Looking at the words deeply engraved on the rock, Xiao Chen seemed to see countless years to come, and the dragon flag of the Great Xia would fly over this grassland for a long time.

He looked up and gazed south, towards the direction of the Great Xia.

Then it slowly turned north, towards the even more vast northern desert.

"Give the order to the entire army," Xiao Chen's voice clearly reached the ears of all the generals behind him, "Order the troops, appease the prisoners, and inventory the supplies. Return to base in three days!"

"This battle is not merely for wiping away shame, but also—to forever guard the northern frontier!"

"At Langjuxu Mountain, I hereby inscribe this stele to commemorate my achievements, following the example of my predecessors, and I also swear here: From my time onward, those who dare to defy the might of the Great Heaven, though far away, shall be punished; though powerful, shall be slaughtered! This mountain bears witness, and Heaven and Earth shall bear witness!"

The sound was not loud, but it seemed to transform into rolling spring thunder, resounding loudly on the summit of Langjuxu Mountain and in the hearts of every soldier of the Great Xia.

The spoils were piled up like mountains, and the royal court had been breached.

But this army, this empire, will not stop.

Their gaze has already turned to the far north and to the distant future.