Colonial Era: From Remnants to European Dominator

Truly, the Holy Lord possesses the might of a dragon and tiger, and has the compassionate heart of a bodhisattva to save the people.

These are the lines from a poem by Wang Haizhou praising Li Yuanheng, but at that moment, Li Yuanheng was in a terrible predicament.

"The tribe burned all the edible things before we conquered it. All that's left are five skewers of dried meat and two bags of old wheat. If we eat those, I'm afraid we won't last three days."

Looking at Li Yuanheng, who was gradually becoming somewhat serious, Hu Wu cautiously continued speaking:

"I did get quite a bit of silver and money, a total of more than 30,000 taels, less than last time, but I got seven more sable pelts, which was quite an eye-opener."

"There are just more people living this time, and we're worried we won't be able to afford to support them."

Li Yuanheng looked at the tribespeople who were still rebuilding their homes, and then looked sternly at Hu Wu, who was trying to slip away:

"How many people survived, and how many were captured?"

Hu Wu counted on his fingers:

"Four hundred and thirty-five people survived. As for the prisoners, they escaped quickly this time, and there were less than twenty in total, which is less than last time."

"And what about the dead?"

"Including the dead??"

Hu Wu scratched his head, somewhat puzzled, and pulled out a military register from his pocket. In the Jinshan Prefecture army, this register was mainly used to record troop supplies and pay, but during wartime, it could also record a battle merit—a kind of economical tradition.

"Forty-two are dead, their heads have been cut off and erected into a mound of skulls, which is currently frightening those live pigs!!"

"That's enough—"

Li Yuanheng's words left Hu Wu somewhat bewildered, but his next sentence startled him so much that he almost dropped the military register to the ground:

"Kill them along with those twenty-odd others, make them into jerky, and send them with the army on their journey."

"ah!!"

Hu Wu was so shocked his face turned pale, while Li Yuanheng opposite him said righteously:

"The Qing demons killed their brothers and sisters, burned their food, and left them without food, so naturally they must pay with their flesh—"

"Saving lives is a great act of merit, and I believe they are willing to give their own lives to atone for the sin of slaughtering living beings!!"

"We are performing a ritual to help the deceased find peace; we are doing a good deed. Don't overthink it."

Li Yuanheng's words kept replaying in Hu Wu's ears. In just a few words, this ruthless grassland man felt that the things he had done in the past were actually good deeds.

Not long after Hu Wu left with "good intentions," smoke began to rise from the wasteland not far away. The smoke was initially small, but gradually expanded, and it was mixed with a "burnt" and musty smell.

As for shouts, there were none. After all, the fishing and hunting tribe may not know much else, but they are most skilled at slaughtering pigs and animals.

Moreover, Hu Wu had given prior notice:

"Don't make a sound, or you'll upset Dalang, and then you'll all be cooked too."

Meanwhile, Li Yuanheng, the instigator, ate the naan bread he brought with him and drank millet porridge, filling his stomach without caring about anything else.

---------

On the wilderness, a group of soldiers with yellow poles were surrounding and killing several isolated border soldiers. Compared to the guards around Li Yuanheng, these newly recruited "yellow pole infantry" were composed of tribal strongmen and a few surrendered border soldiers, and their tactics were much simpler.

Whether it's archery, spears, swords, or chaotic brawls, it can be as barbaric as it gets.

If it weren't for the daily training they had received, most of them, except for the surrendered soldiers, would probably still be in a primitive hunting state, relying more on talent to master killing skills.

"If we can find a way out on the left, there's still a chance to survive."

The border army leader, stepping on the severed limbs of his comrades, fiercely cleaved the spear thrust at him with his knife. Then, with a pull of the spear shaft, he actually managed to snatch the spear from the hands of the opposing soldier.

"kill!!"

Upon seeing this, the remaining men were greatly encouraged and immediately charged towards the left flank of the crowd.

This scene was witnessed by a yellow-faced soldier. He avoided the crowd, took off his crude spear, picked up a Qing knife that had not yet been captured, held it in his hand, and felt the lingering warmth of its former owner. His courage was noticeably greater than before.

"Get out of here!!"

The border army's commander was clearly a seasoned veteran, whose skills in killing had reached a level of perfection. His reactions to attacks from both long and short weapons were mostly quick and decisive counterattacks, a stark contrast to the retreating and fighting tactics of most of the soldiers around him. He tended to use close-range tactics as a means of retreat and offense as a means of defense.

The border soldiers following behind him, except for two unlucky ones who were swallowed up on the escape route, mostly followed closely and lived a few more minutes.

With slashes and cuts, the soldier's blade had become dulled along the way. But before he could even catch his breath, several spears charged at him, their combined force dense and fierce, reminiscent of hunters surrounding their prey.

Unfortunately, humans are not beasts after all, and their ability to think allowed the soldier to lead the group to avoid danger time and time again.

"Whoosh----"

It was arrows. When the crowd thinned out, a few people couldn't resist shooting arrows at the remaining soldiers, killing more than half of them in just a few shots.

The soldier dared not turn around, relying only on instinct to dodge the arrows, wielding his longsword to cleave the blades that were also attacking him, and his movements became faster and faster.

"Survive" was the only thought in his mind at that moment, and it was this thought that drove the soldier to escape into the gap he could see.

But fate can be so unpredictable. The will to survive in a prey will inevitably attract new predators. When the soldier finished his escape route again and was about to catch his breath, he was stopped by a steel knife.

His eyes darted around as he dodged, and the words "Fifth Year of Yongzheng" appeared in his vision. Then he began to block the frenzied attack.

As he parted the blade, a tan face came into view. The moment this face appeared, his already overburdened heart skipped a beat. After all, a monstrous appearance with a yellow face, lion's nose, and wrinkled skin would startle anyone who saw it.

"I want your head."

The yellow-skinned soldier spoke in Turkic, his eyes resolute and sharp, like a real wild beast standing before his leader, startling the latter into slowing his pace.

"Things that eat shit and drink urine."

Cursing under his breath, after several exchanges, the soldier leader had long intended to retreat. After all, the tiger's mouth of his left hand holding the knife was still sore. No one had expected that this ferocious yellow-skinned dog was so strong.

"I want it!!"

The yellow-skinned soldiers brandished their steel swords without showing any fatigue, swinging them more than a dozen times in succession, completely demoralizing the opposing side. They gave way and, taking advantage of the encirclement by the main force, fled deeper into the enemy territory.

"It's mine, don't take it."

Although they spoke haltingly, the fierce demeanor of the yellow-skinned soldiers caused many soldiers eager to claim credit to stop in their tracks and remain to clear out the stragglers from the border troops.

Before long, one of the yellow-skinned soldiers went out and another returned, carrying a bloody human head. Upon closer inspection, it was the very same arrogant border soldier who had just been so arrogant.

---------

How many people are still alive?

"Reporting to Elder Brother, including this one, the total is three thousand eight."

Li Yuanheng muttered "almost four thousand," while Hu Wu beside him followed up with:

"The spoils we obtained, converted into silver, amount to no less than 250,000 taels, along with 19 sable furs, and enough grain and meat to get us home."

The meat Hu Wu mentioned naturally included dried meat. After all, Kobdo was a harsh place, and apart from sable, there were not many valuable things. Most of the food was transported from afar, and the few places where food could be grown were controlled by the Qing demons or occupied by close tribes. The lives of ordinary tribes could be described as "bitter and cold".

Normally, it's already a blessing to be alive. That's why even though the border troops killed many people, they only managed to save fewer than four thousand. It wasn't that they didn't want more, but rather that there weren't many people in the area to begin with.

Taking this group of people away means those border generals will probably have to find a way to recruit people from the northern deserts, or even Ningguta and the outer Northeast to fill the quota.

"What are those soldiers doing?"

"Our scouts report that they have stopped looting and have instead gathered troops to ambush and kill us."

"I reckon they want to get their people and property back."

Hu Wu blew his nose and grinned, revealing his black teeth:

"They've probably lost their minds. We're about to leave, why waste our energy? What will those bastards attack then, birds or something?"

Li Yuanheng stroked the "silver fish tally" given to him by the tribe he had pledged allegiance to. The tally was inscribed with the official text "Tianbao Second Year". If he was not mistaken, the tally was left by the Tang army. Judging from the material, this person was at least a fifth-rank official.

"Hu Wu, do you know what the most important thing has always been in hunting for supplies?"

"What??"

Hu Wu's eyes widened, not understanding what this had to do with Caogu.

"It's about being able to come back a second time, not just a one-off deal."

Li Yuanheng seemed to have truly fought many battles at this moment, his hand gently stroking the silver fish-shaped tally imbued with historical charm, his gaze seemingly piercing through the military tent and reaching into the future:

"Even if we manage to rob those soldiers, their pockets will still be full of money."

After considering for a moment, Li Yuanheng immediately gave the order:

"Take the letter on my desk to that prince and tell him that if he wants to live here in peace and doesn't want to lose his life, he should send me two things. If he does well, I'll give him something in return. Otherwise, I'll leave today, eat my fill, and come back tomorrow, over and over again. I'll see how many heads he has that I can chop off completely."

"Perfect??"

Hu Wu was somewhat puzzled, but before he could ask further, Li Yuanheng opposite him gave another order:

"Tell the brothers to prepare the troops and horses, and to secretly store provisions. We will set off tomorrow."

"Go home and divide the silver!!"

As for Hanse, who received the letter, all he wanted to say at that moment was:

"These traitors are utterly shameless! I have never seen such brazen people!!"

After the cursing, they tacitly exchanged the items they needed, preparing to use these things to report to the Qing Emperor and, incidentally, make up for what they had lost.

No, he had it all planned out; he needed to make a profit, otherwise he would really suffer a huge loss this time.

As for who would come to meet the emperor, it was naturally Aisin-Gioro Hongli, who possessed unparalleled martial prowess.