Colonial Era: From Remnants to European Dominator

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

The vastness of the grasslands stretches as far as the eye can see. For experienced herdsmen, determining direction is simple: they follow the direction of the sun, add the direction of the streams, the lushness or sparseness of the grass, and even the direction of the wild horse herds in each season. This way, they can basically determine where they are and where they should go.

"Who said the sheep is yours? It's mine!!"

Several grassland men on horseback, dressed in simple leather armor, surrounded the herders who were grazing nearby. They whipped their sheep and drove them away. The shepherds blew their horns, but before they could even finish one note, the whips lashed out at them.

"You bastard, kneel down before me!!"

With the scimitar pointed at his head, the herdsman concealed his resentment, hastily dismounted, and knelt on the ground, enduring the humiliation. His very kneeling was met with a mocking jeer.

"What a bastard, kneeling down like a rat."

"Even a rat is better than it; it might even eat poop."

"Eat shit, come on, feed him shit!!"

The herdsman, who had been kneeling in obedience, immediately stood up and drew a short knife from his waist:

"The descendants of Tengri will not tolerate humiliation, not even at the cost of their lives."

The men who had humiliated him changed their expressions slightly, but quickly made up their minds. The leader spurred his horse forward without using any fancy tricks, simply adding a whip. The warhorse shot forward like an arrow, reaching the herdsman. Before he could even hold his knife properly, he was knocked several meters away.

The herdsman, enduring the pain, got up, and as soon as he straightened his back, his head was gone. He fell to the ground like a ball, being kicked around by scattered horses' hooves, as if it were a form of entertainment.

However, this scene was witnessed by a troop of armored cavalry that had arrived from not far away. Upon seeing this, the centurion Yan Anyun, who was leading the troop, immediately lashed out with his whip, striking the air directly.

"A bunch of thugs, they've really ruined Kingsoft's reputation."

Despite the scolding, that was all. After all, these newly recruited tribal savages were difficult to manage. If they were to resort to violence, it would likely cause unnecessary trouble. Such matters could only be reported to the young general and await his decision.

As news of trouble caused by tribal cavalry, or even more brutal incidents, piled up in Li Yuanheng's military tent, he was receiving his father-in-law, Gekezaisang.

When the two first met, Ge Ke kept calling him "good son-in-law," which made Li Yuanheng, who had only known him for about ten days, feel a little awkward. However, out of politeness, he could only follow suit and call him "father-in-law," feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"Good son-in-law, why is your father so generous this time, sending so many people? It must have cost a lot of money."

This time, Geke also gathered many soldiers from affiliated tribes, either reducing their offerings or giving them some compensation. Although it wasn't much, it was still comparable to the income from offerings over many years. Therefore, Jinshan Prefecture was particularly envious and puzzled by the fact that more than two thousand people were gathered at once. They were envious because they were really rich and could come up with so many weapons and leather armor to arm themselves at once. They were puzzled because they didn't need to sacrifice themselves for the Dzungars. Wouldn't it have been enough to just do a token gesture like in previous years?

"My father made the decision, how could I, as his son, object? I suppose he was thinking of the Khan's past favors."

Li Yuanheng's explanation made Geke laugh. What nonsense about old feelings! The Dzungar royal court has never cared about these remote border tribes. If they do care, it's basically an order to fight. They would never think of them for anything good. They simply don't treat them like human beings.

Ge Ke naturally didn't believe Li Yuanheng's words, but being an old fox, he wouldn't expose him. He simply took a sip of the freshly brewed milk tea, said "good," and ignored the fact that his mouth was hot.

"I've come here this time to join forces with you, my good son-in-law, and share the burdens of our time together."

"Arrows and swords have no eyes; it's better to take care of each other."

Li Yuanheng glanced down at the still steaming milk tea, inhaling the irresistible aroma of tea and milk, and responded with a calm expression:

"I wonder how many soldiers my father-in-law brought?"

"Not much, four hundred."

After Geke finished speaking, the atmosphere became tense. Li Yuanheng's eyebrows twitched. He took the towel offered by a servant, wiped the milk curds off his hands, and spoke slowly:

"Father-in-law, you may not know this, but I also have to go to Yili City; it's a completely different route!"

"Yili? What are you going there for? War is about to break out. Does my son-in-law want to broaden his horizons?"

"It's not because of worldly experience, but because the Khan was deeply moved when he heard that my Jinshan Prefecture had sent 3,000 troops. Later, he heard that my son-in-law had won a great victory over the Qing dogs in Kobdo last year, so he was summoned and rewarded."

"It would be an honor indeed, and I should certainly go. It's not that I don't want to travel with my father-in-law, but rather that we are on different routes!"

The phrase "different paths" almost completely destroyed Geke's calculations, and made him curse the current Dzungar Khan in his heart as a treacherous dog. He hadn't even had a chance to use his good son-in-law yet, but this dog was so readily using him from thousands of miles away, ordering him to go whenever he wanted and to send troops whenever he wanted. Why didn't he have such good fortune?

"Yes, yes, son-in-law has done such a great thing, he should naturally be favored by the Khan. Go ahead, son-in-law. What am I, an old man? Four hundred men are enough to deal with those Jurchen dogs. Their arrows are not as accurate as mine. Go ahead, son-in-law, don't worry about me."

Despite this, Li Yuanheng clearly heard that the word "son-in-law" was missing the word "good," but he remained enthusiastic and invited the grassland soldiers to dance. He danced with his father-in-law for a while before taking his leave.

Riding on horseback, clutching the document detailing the crimes of the grassland soldiers, Li Yuanheng's eyes flashed with a cold light that quickly dissipated. Dealing with such ignorant people required a combination of kindness and severity; simply resorting to force would not suffice.

----------

The sun was blazing, its heat intense and scorching, and it beat down on the group of unfortunate souls who had been caught red-handed. The leader's head was hanging directly from the treetop in front of him, clearly visible to everyone.

The commotion had already started, but it was suppressed by the Eagle Division knights in gray armor riding tall warhorses. A few who wanted to lead the rebellion were shot through the head before they could even start. The feeling of being out of control of one's own life sent chills down one's spine and made one break out in a cold sweat.

The sun beat down relentlessly, and people collapsed one after another, until a voice in Turkic called out, "The young general has arrived!" brought a glimmer of hope to everyone.

A commotion arose again, this time not of discontent, but of peering out. Twenty paces away, a short-bearded general clad in armor, with a tiger's saddle on his shoulder, approached them, protected by a group of armored cavalry. As soon as he stepped forward, a precious sword was drawn, accompanied by a sharp sound:

"From this day forward, you are no longer the herdsmen of the tribe, nor are you slaves. You, and your descendants, will all be members of my Eagle Wolf Army."

This time, the commotion wasn't just a few people, but almost everyone. After all, this was a big deal. If they joined this so-called Eagle Wolf Army, it would mean that even after the war, they would no longer belong to their own tribe. They would become outcasts, losing the tribe's protection and having to rely solely on the young man in front of them. This was something most people couldn't accept, let alone a group of people who had led the disturbance and been caught red-handed.

"I'm from Sangxi, I disagree—"

"I'm from the River Abyss Tribe, and I won't agree to this either!!"

"I am----"

With one person taking the lead, almost everyone rebelled, and the momentum suddenly grew, almost overwhelming everything else. It wasn't until the knife got impatient and chopped down the nearest person that the momentum subsided slightly, but it was still very strong. After all, no one wanted to stay in an unfamiliar new tribe, even if the tribe was so powerful. In the end, it couldn't overcome the sense of security that came with familiarity and the constraints that came with family.

Leather riding boots pressed down on the warm head, the knife still clutched at his side. The knife's owner, facing the rising and falling discontent, wore a relaxed smile.

"Those who join the army will receive one tael of silver per month; those with families will first receive three taels of silver to support their families."

These words were like a thunderclap. Although there were still discontents, they had greatly decreased compared to before. After all, this was money. Everyone knew how poor the grasslands were. The reason these people were able to participate in this war was partly due to the pressure of conscription, but more importantly, it was because they could legally "hunt for grain." After all, if they stayed in the tribe, they would probably only be destined to eat grass roots and birds for the rest of their lives. It was better to come out and take a gamble.

But what this young general is saying is different. Once they accept it, they will go from being a ragtag army temporarily called in to serve as human shields to becoming a regular army with military pay. The difference between them cannot be summarized in a simple sentence.

That's just human nature; the more you say something is good, the less people believe it. The silence didn't last long before the commotion started again, this time because of money.

Witnessing all this, Li Yuanheng remained calm and composed, but in his heart he had completely looked down on these grassland soldiers, regarding them as mere decorations sent to Yili to put on a show and establish a prestige. He feared that if they were to be given important positions, another batch of people would die and another wave of blood would be shed.

"Scatter silver----"

It was truly a display of boundless generosity; several large chests of silver were scattered on the ground, shining like dazzling white stars under the sun, making it impossible to look away.

"Mine, it's mine----"

"That's mine, get out of my way!"

The crowd was in chaos, but quickly quieted down again, because the knife had arrived.

"Line up to receive your money, register your names, and if you don't have a name, choose one on the spot, based on a randomly drawn surname."

This distribution of silver was not only given to the unlucky few who had survived the scorching sun, but almost all of the remaining two thousand people received it. However, almost everyone only received one or two taels of silver. The remaining three taels of silver, supposedly for supporting their families, were later given to them upon returning home, under the pretext of preventing embezzlement by their respective tribes.

The actual plan was that if you survived, there would be no problem with giving you money or armor, and you might even be recruited into the musketeer team. But if you died, the one or two taels of silver you had just been given would be taken back, so you wouldn't lose out either way.

For Li Yuanheng, using one tael of silver to stabilize the morale of the army was more cost-effective than using just over two thousand taels of silver in total, as it laid the groundwork for the subsequent policy of registering all citizens.

If it were the Central Plains army, the cost of setting off would probably be more than one tael of silver. To be honest, the grassland soldiers are much cheaper. Apart from being a bit lax in their style and a bit nomadic, they are good in every way. They bring their own warhorses, eat simply, are born with the essence of guerrilla warfare, come and go like the wind, and plunder like fire.

This is why the grasslands are mostly the ones that hunt for grain; the cost of mobilizing for war is simply too low, ridiculously low.