The Tyrant of the Great Qian Dynasty: Not only will I refuse to arrange a marriage alliance, but I w

Chapter 54 Scorched Earth on the Grasslands

The army was at the foot of Mount Langjuxu, and the Northern Barbarian royal court was within reach.

Inside the command tent, all the generals were fully dressed and their fighting spirit was high.

They surrounded the sand table, their eyes fixed intently on Su Zhe, waiting for his command.

"Your Majesty, the enemy is within reach and completely unprepared; this is the perfect opportunity to launch a surprise attack!"

"This humble general requests to be the vanguard, leading the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry straight into the enemy camp and taking Huyan Lie's head!"

"Your Majesty, strike while the iron is hot! Delay will only lead to unforeseen consequences!"

Calls for battle rose and fell. In their eyes, this was a golden opportunity bestowed by heaven, and there was no reason to miss it.

Faced with the generals' enthusiasm for volunteering for battle, Su Zhe merely raised his hand and gestured for them to stop.

The tent fell silent instantly.

"The entire army shall remain in place and set up camp in a concealed location outside the mountains, and shall not reveal their whereabouts."

Su Zhe's order chilled everyone's hearts.

Did you press the pause button?

Why?

Chen Baipao frowned slightly. He stepped forward, cupped his hands, and asked, "Your Majesty, this humble general does not understand. The enemy's main force was completely annihilated in the battle of the capital. The current royal court is nothing but an empty shell, strong on the outside but weak on the inside. If we attack with overwhelming force, they will not be able to mount any effective resistance. Why wait here and miss this opportunity?"

Su Zhe did not answer directly, but instead pointed to the location of the royal court on the sand table.

Then his finger traced over the dozen or so small tribes scattered around the royal court, marked with tiny black flags.

"The Northern Barbarian Royal Court is not an isolated city."

His voice was steady, revealing a keen insight that penetrated the surface and went straight to the heart of the matter.

"Around it, there are a dozen or so tribes, large and small, that remain loyal to it to this day. These tribes are the tentacles and fangs of the royal court. If we launch a surprise attack now, we can indeed catch it off guard and even take it all in one fell swoop."

"However, once we are embroiled in a fierce battle and unable to resolve the conflict in a short time, these vassal tribes will pounce on us from all sides like wolves that have smelled blood. At that point, we will be caught in a pincer attack, turning from hunters into prey."

Su Zhe's analysis calmed down the generals who had been acting rashly.

They only saw the fat meat in front of them, but ignored the pack of hungry wolves lurking beside it.

"Then... what should we do?" a general asked.

Su Zhe lifted his gaze from the sand table and placed it on the small black flags, a hint of coldness creeping onto his lips.

"Huyan Ba ​​used a scorched-earth policy, and so do we."

"However, our 'fortified defense' is our Mo Dao formation and heavy cavalry."

"Our 'clearing the fields' means to completely eradicate all the 'weeds' surrounding the royal court, one by one!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the air in the command tent was filled with a chilling, razor-sharp feeling.

Upon hearing this, the generals were taken aback at first, but then their eyes blazed with an even stronger fighting spirit than before.

His Majesty's goal has never been simply to crush the royal court, but to eradicate the war potential of the entire Northern Barbarians!

He wanted to achieve his goal in one decisive battle, a complete and utter annihilation!

Without further hesitation, Su Zhe began to issue a series of clear and decisive orders.

"Cao Zhang!"

"Your subordinate is here!" Commander Cao Zhang of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry stepped forward in response.

"I order your tribe to continue expanding the reconnaissance and blockade area, turning the entire northern foothills of Langjuxu Mountain into an ironclad fortress. I want the royal court and all its vassal tribes to be so isolated that not even a bird can fly between them! Sever all ties between them!"

"This humble general obeys the order!"

"Chen Baipao!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"I order you to immediately lead 10,000 Great Snow Dragon Riders, along with the guide from the Qingyang tribe, to 'visit' those vassal tribes."

The word "visit" was used by Su Zhe with profound meaning.

Chen Baipao understood immediately; he knew this would be a blood-stained "visit."

Su Zhe walked up to him, his voice lowered but becoming clearer and more powerful.

"Your task is simple. Give these tribes two choices."

"Either pack up their tents, take their cattle and sheep, and surrender to our Great Qian army. Furthermore, to show their sincerity, they must hand over all the adult warriors in their tribe as a 'pledge of allegiance' for us to incorporate."

"Or..." A cold glint flashed in Su Zhe's eyes, "to be completely wiped off the grassland by the iron hooves of the Great Snow Dragon Riders."

"Understood, sir!" Chen Baipao nodded heavily, then turned and strode away.

Once the military order was given, the war machine of the Great Qian Dynasty began to operate at full speed.

Ten thousand snow dragon riders, clad in white and armored, led by the guide of the Qingyang tribe, transformed into a white storm sweeping across the grasslands, silently rushing towards the vassal tribes that were still immersed in peace.

The first tribe to be "visited" was the "Black Wolf Tribe," which was about fifty miles from the royal court.

When the hundreds of Black Wolf tribe herders saw the silvery torrent on the horizon, they thought it was their warriors returning from the hunt.

But as the cavalry drew closer, they were stunned when they saw the fine armor so different from that of the northern barbarians, the black dragon banner fluttering in the wind, and the banner of their former "comrades"—the Qingyang tribe—leading the charge.

The Snow Dragon Riders did not launch a charge, but instead surrounded the entire Black Wolf Tribe camp, making it completely impassable.

Chen Baipao rode forward, followed by Tuge, the young chieftain of the Qingyang tribe.

Tuge shouted in the grassland language to the panicked tribesmen in the camp, clearly conveying the two choices given by Su Zhe to the leader of the Black Wolf tribe.

Faced with ten thousand silent, menacing, and steel-clad heavy cavalrymen, the leader of the Black Wolf tribe barely engaged in any meaningful thought.

resistance?

What to resist?

He had fewer than a thousand soldiers under his command, and their weapons and equipment were vastly different.

Let alone 10,000 Snow Dragon Riders, even 1,000 could raze his tribe to the ground ten times over.

He chose to give in very decisively.

They relinquished their military power, offered up cattle and sheep, and led their entire clan to join the ranks of the Great Qian army.

The vast majority of tribes made the same wise choice as the Black Wolf tribe.

In the face of strength, any wishful thinking is laughable.

Of course, a few tribes that remained loyal to the royal court chose to rebel.

For example, the "Blood Riders" are known for their bravery and skill in battle.

When Chen Baipao's messenger conveyed Su Zhe's orders, the leader of the Blood Riders killed the messenger on the spot and clamored that he would let these southerners know the power of the grassland warriors.

Chen Baipao showed no mercy to such rebels.

He didn't utter a single unnecessary word; he simply raised the spear in his hand and pointed it forward.

"Crush them."

A few cold words pronounced the Blood Riders' death sentence.

Ten thousand Snow Dragon Riders launched their first mass charge on this grassland.

The sound of horses' hooves was like rolling thunder, shaking the earth.

The silvery-white torrent crashed into the Blood Riders' camp with unstoppable force.

This is a massacre.

The warriors of the Blood Knights were as fragile as paper before the steel walls formed by the Snow Dragon Riders.

Their scimitars, when they struck the dragoons' armor, only sent up a string of sparks.

The dragoons' lances could easily pierce their leather armor and send them flying.

The battle was over in less than half an hour.

The once formidable Blood Riders were thus wiped out.

Their camp was burned to the ground, and their cattle, sheep, and property were immediately distributed as "rewards" to the tribes that first chose to surrender.

The carrot and stick strategy yielded amazing results.

In just three days.

All the vassal "weeds" around the Northern Barbarian King's court were completely wiped out.

It became a truly "isolated city".

Meanwhile, Su Zhe's army, having incorporated tens of thousands of tribal warriors and a vast number of cattle and sheep, received a significant boost in logistical supplies, resulting in an increase in troop strength rather than a decrease.

He used the enemy's methods to trap and kill the enemy in return.

……

The Northern Barbarian Royal Court finally realized that something was wrong.

The messengers they sent out to contact the various vassal tribes disappeared without a trace, none of them returning.

The entire royal court was shrouded in an invisible mist, completely isolated from the grassland world.

An unknown fear began to quietly spread to every corner of the royal court.

At this moment, Su Zhe, standing atop Mount Langjuxu, overlooking the isolated and helpless valley, knew—

The time has finally come.