The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

With the surrender of the right-wing prince, the left-wing prince also quickly ordered a surrender. So what if they were defeated? They couldn't be a grassland prince, but being a leader was the same.

Thus, the remaining 20,000-plus elite Mongol troops began to lay down their weapons and surrender one after another.

The princes on the left and right wings, protected by their personal guards, quickly approached Subutai.

Shhhhhh.

Just then, as the two princes were about to pay their respects, more than a dozen armor-piercing arrows shot out from behind Subutai.

With two screams, the two men were shot dead on the spot, their eyes, necks, and chests riddled with arrows. They both showed expressions of confusion and resentment.

"You bastard!"

Upon seeing this, Subutai turned around and reprimanded him almost immediately, while simultaneously whipping his personal guards behind him several times.

"Who gave you permission to shoot those arrows?"

"Are you blind?"

His expression was as if he wanted to devour someone, but the whip only struck the helmet without making a sound. It was obvious that Subutai was going easy on him.

In fact, before Subutai set off, Galdan had already instructed that all the Khorchin nobles should be killed, because with these maggots around, Mongolia could never be unified.

During Genghis Khan's reign, the entire Mongol population dwindled from nearly a million to only five or six hundred thousand. While the population appeared to have decreased sharply, the result was a surge in fighting power.

After the great battle, Subutai swiftly accepted the surrender and then marched straight towards the Horqin Grassland.

There are still 200,000 women and children here, who form the foundation of the Great Khan's rule over the southern and northern deserts and the Western Regions.

Meanwhile, Wanyan Wu continued to pursue and kill the Eight Banners soldiers.

At first, it was just his personal anger, but once those Blue Flag soldiers got hooked on killing, they started acting independently. After all, it's easier to beat a drowning dog and collect ten heads.

They pursued the enemy all the way from the Tongliao River to the Shuangliao River. Originally, there were five or six thousand Eight Banner soldiers, but now there were less than two thousand left, and they all knelt on the ground, refusing to resist even if they were beaten to death.

Those who surrender will not be killed!

Knowing that the time was almost right, Wanyan Wu immediately issued an order to his army to accept surrenders. If the fighting continued, there would be no fresh blood to replenish the Blue Banner soldiers' ranks.

The Eight Banner soldiers, terrified by the killings, would become as docile as kittens after being incorporated into the Blue Banner Army.

In just ten days, the entire grasslands of northeastern Liaoning were swept away by the army, and all the population was driven to Guihua City.

Subutai's army then marched south to Shengjing.

They began to recapture all the cities in Liaodong.

The so-called recapture was nothing more than a show of force. The main force of the Eight Banners had been almost completely wiped out, leaving only bondservants and slaves who didn't dare to resist.

……

On the first day of the fourth lunar month, after traveling for more than a month, Zhou Peigong finally arrived at the city of Xi'an. Looking at this ancient city, Zhou Peigong sighed deeply.

"This ancient capital, with its thousand-year history, has now become nothing more than a backdrop!"

"How pathetic and lamentable!"

In just over a month, Zhou Peigong had persuaded the Green Standard Army in various parts of Shanxi to surrender, and organized 30,000 Shanxi soldiers for the Han Dynasty to promptly block the passes.

To recruit so quickly, Zhou Peigong used one trick: paving the way with money. This will also be someone's signature skill for making a name for themselves in the future.

With this move, Zhou Peigong dismissed the civil officials in Datong and Taiyuan using official Qing documents and orders before the military and government in Shanxi could react.

Then, using the name of the Han Dynasty, they raised the wages of the Green Standard Army soldiers, increasing the wages of all infantrymen from one and a half taels to two taels, and the wages of cavalrymen from two taels to two and a half taels.

All officials of the rank of commander-in-chief and above will receive a 30% raise.

Each person was also given three months' worth of back pay.

Zhou Peigong then concentrated nearly 20,000 Green Standard Army soldiers from Shanxi in Taiyuan. After a series of appointments of Han military officers, the army was further expanded to 30,000.

It cost less than one million taels of silver in total.

Is it worth it?

That would definitely be a great deal.

The second reason for their success was that these Green Standard Army soldiers were so heavily suppressed by the Manchus that although these generals controlled troops, they did not have the ambition of Wu Sangui.

……

When the Green Standard Army soldiers collecting taxes at the city gate saw Zhou Peigong and his party of more than a dozen riders, all of whom were riding tall horses, they immediately picked up their muskets, lit the fuses, and prepared to fire at any moment.

"Good soldiers! Even tax collectors can muster this kind of discipline!"

"Wang Fuchen is indeed a master commander!"

Zhou Peigong was not angry when he saw this. Instead, he praised Wang Fuchen on the spot. In his eyes, Wang Fuchen should submit to the Han Dynasty and become a famous general of the time!

"I am Zhou Peigong, an envoy of the Great Han Dynasty, representing His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty, to present some gifts to Admiral Wang Fuchen!"

Upon hearing that it was both an envoy and the emperor, the head of the tax collectors dared not be negligent and immediately sent someone to deliver the message.

Not long after, a Green Camp commander left the city.

"My admiral requests your presence!"

With all the Eight Banner troops withdrawing, Wang Fuchen, free from the constraints of the Manchus, used his position as a military commander to quickly occupy Guanzhong, amassing an army of nearly 40,000 and swiftly blockading Hanzhong.

Without a master, Wang Fuchen lived directly in the government office, handling both military and political affairs.

Wang Fuchen was only forty-two years old at the time. He had an imposing appearance and a long beard that reached his chest. He sat under the plaque with the bright mirror hanging high.

Zhou Peiming immediately stepped forward, bowing respectfully without being servile, and said, "Zhou Peigong, envoy of the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty, greets General Wang!"

Zhou Peigong did not address the governor as "Admiral" but as "General Wang," intending to warn Wang Fuchen.

Wang Fuchen didn't speak upon hearing this, but merely glanced at it indifferently before continuing to look at the documents. Zhou Peigong wasn't in a hurry either, and simply stood there without moving.

After a full half-incense stick's time had passed, Wang Fuchen feigned surprise and reprimanded the guards outside the door.

"How do you do your job?"

"Our distinguished guest has arrived, and you haven't even served tea?"

Wang Fuchen deliberately showed disrespect, wanting to test Zhou Peigong's composure. If Zhou was as arrogant and rude as Wu Sangui, then he would simply be thrown out.

After all, on the surface, after the Manchus were driven out of Hebei by Galdan, Wu Sangui still had a greater chance of seizing power on the land of China.

Zhou Peigong took a sip of hot tea. "General Wang, I have come to Xi'an only to persuade you to return to the Han Dynasty and save the people of the Northwest from their suffering!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Fuchen stroked his long beard, revealing a dismissive expression. "The Great Han Dynasty you speak of was nothing more than an establishment by the Dzungar Mongols. How can such deception and behavior be convincing? In the end, it will only be a victim of the Three Feudatories' swords!"

Zhou Peigong knew perfectly well what Wang Fuchen meant; he simply felt that the Han Dynasty had just been established and was relatively weak.

So he took out a map of China from his pocket, which also showed the southern and northern deserts, Liaodong Peninsula, the western regions, Tibet, and so on, and slammed it directly onto Wang Fuchen's desk.

"Our great Han now possesses the most fertile lands of the Western Regions, Ili, and the Altai Mountains. We have also conquered southern Mongolia, Liaodong, Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, and other places. The imperial court commands 100,000 elite cavalry. Not to mention the southern provinces, even in your Guanzhong region, has a single warhorse still flowed in?"

These territories are all newly acquired, and there is even ongoing warfare in Shandong and Liaodong. As for having 100,000 elite cavalry, it's all just Zhou Peigong bragging. But the last point is true: the Han Dynasty has begun to restrict warhorses.