Colonial Era: From Remnants to European Dominator

Inside the official residence, the music that had been irritating the Qing soldiers standing guard outside finally ended, replaced by a chilling atmosphere.

"Stupid, such a stupid dog's head deserves to be kicked ten times!"

The newly appointed Kobdo garrison commander, Hanse, had one foot on a head stained with blood and brain matter, with a braid on his head, while holding a trembling Mongolian woman whose clothes were half-open.

"What you say makes sense, sir. If he hadn't missed the opportunity, the entire Hushan tribe would have been wiped out, allowing those Turkic barbarians to show off their power."

Wearing the uniform of a sixth-rank cavalry officer, Halun, from the Mongol Eight Banners, looked down at the unlucky rogue before him. Although he was very displeased, he still did what was appropriate:

"My lord, Kobdo is such a poor place. I have to scrape together what I have to give you. I hope you will not be angry."

Having said that, he took out a silver note from his pocket with the Shanxi bank printed on it. The note had a face value of one thousand taels. Although one thousand taels was nothing in the Central Plains, it was an enormous sum of money in Kobdo, a poor and remote place. You should know that a fat sheep here only costs two or three taels of silver. One thousand taels could buy hundreds of fat sheep. This was quite a lot in the local area. But even so, there was no market for it. The reason was that the sheep were all limited.

After all, due to the local climate and environment, most of the people living here are fishing and hunting tribes, so there are not many fat sheep. Even if you have money, you can't get too many sheep.

That is why the Hushan tribe, which was wiped out, is so important. They were one of the few nomadic tribes in the area that had migrated from Mongolia, and the responsibility of raising horses and sheep usually fell on their shoulders.

Now that this tribe is gone, we don't know who to look for sheep and horses next year.

The price of sheep is bound to rise next.

However, this thousand taels of silver, which would be considered a fortune in the local area, was met with only a sarcastic sneer when it fell into Hanse's hands:

"This is the frontier, after all. You dare to offer such a small amount. If this were in the capital, you wouldn't even be able to get through the gate with this amount of silver. It would probably only be enough for a few cups of tea."

"Please forgive us, sir, we are really too poor. We have no more money, truly no more."

Harlan's pleas for mercy were tinged with sobs. He was usually a figure who was like a living devil in the area, but at this moment he looked like a slave begging for his master's forgiveness.

Hanse glanced sideways at Harun kneeling before him, his contempt practically written all over his face.

"What are you crying about? I didn't eat you. A thousand taels or a hundred taels, it's all a token of my appreciation. Besides, the woman you picked is just my type, so I couldn't possibly treat you badly, could I?!"

"Besides, you always complain about being poor. Of the sable furs that are paid as tribute to the imperial court every year, don't you keep a few for yourself?"

The area around Altai is rich in sable, so local tribes had to pay a certain amount of sable pelts to the Qing court every year.

Hanse held the Mongolian woman's chin in his hand, feeling her trembling, which fueled his pleasure. Halun, kneeling on the ground, witnessed this, a flash of murderous intent crossing his eyes, but it quickly vanished, replaced by even more obsequious flattery.

"Your arrival at this fortress is a blessing for us Kob people. In my humble opinion, none of the previous garrison commanders possessed your valiant and heroic bearing. As for the sable furs, sir, there's a quota for them every year. Would I dare to embezzle them?"

"Okay, shut up!!"

Several puffs of hot air escaped from Hanse's nostrils:

"Whether you're greedy or not is none of my business, but the imperial court must provide the required number of sable furs. Otherwise, not only will your head be in danger, but mine will be too."

"Tell me, why have all the garrison commanders over the years failed to wipe out the Turkic barbarians on the other side of the mountain? Do they have three heads and six arms, or do they truly have a massive army?"

Harlan thought for a moment, then answered in a low voice:

"Reporting back to Your Excellency, the Altai Turkic tribe is no ordinary tribe. They have built cities and established residences, raising their own people. Although their army is not large, it is fierce and skilled in battle. I have been fighting them for nearly twenty years, mostly relying on reinforcements to protect our cities. Even when the imperial army is pressing in, the Dzungars cannot escape. Thus, these Turkic bandits have established themselves at the foot of the Altai Mountains. After decades, it is probably difficult to shake them without at least ten thousand troops."

"More than 10,000? What a joke! If the imperial court could spare more than 10,000 troops, they would have already marched out of Yumen Pass and stormed the capital, annihilating the Dzungar people. How could they have allowed these Turkic bandits to run rampant?"

Upon hearing this number, Hanse's arrogance diminished considerably. After all, although the Qing Dynasty was currently enjoying peace and prosperity with a wise ruler in power, it couldn't withstand the sheer number of enemies. Troops had to be stationed in the west, in the south to guard against the Han Chinese, and even more so in the north. The Dzungar Khanate was like a mountain looming over the hearts of several generations of Qing emperors, requiring hundreds of thousands of troops to be stationed there every year. How could they possibly launch a large-scale war, spending vast sums of money and resources to travel thousands of miles to the foot of the Altai Mountains to eliminate the so-called Turkic barbarians?

If that were to happen, it would either mean the Qing emperor was truly enraged, or the Dzungar Khanate was on the verge of collapse and was conveniently wiping out these Turkic barbarians. Otherwise, Khansai really didn't know how he could muster over ten thousand elite troops to come to Kobdo, this godforsaken, impoverished backwater. Could it be for the so-called "thousand taels of silver"?

"But the more this is the case, the more we cannot sit idly by. Otherwise, what would I be doing here? My ancestors followed Emperor Shunzhi into the pass and fought no less than twenty battles, killing those Nikan people so badly they were scared out of their wits. They have never been afraid of anything."

When talking about his ancestors, Hanse launched into a boastful and proud speech, then waved his hand dismissively:

"A bunch of Turkic barbarians, what do they know about horsemanship and archery? Gather your troops, send out more scouts, and I'll show these barbarians what it means to be a Manchu bannerman, what the Great Qing Dynasty is, right here at the foot of Kobdo!!"

While Harun outwardly flattered and agreed with everything he witnessed, he inwardly considered the other man as dead. Upon returning home, he even told his son:

"Since your father took up his post in Kobdo, there have been four garrison commanders. This one is probably the one who will die the fastest. If anything happens in a few days, you should guard the city gate. As long as the imperial reinforcements arrive, these Turkic barbarians will retreat on their own."

"What should we do with this new garrison commander?"

Faced with his son's question, Harun suddenly became kind, as if a bodhisattva had descended to earth, and said with compassion:

"If that's the case, then your father can only provide a coffin and a proper burial for the garrison commander. As for the money and servants he brought, they can only be confiscated and put into the treasury to serve the country!"

"Sigh, who knows, the imperial court might even reward me for my meritorious defense of the city. This garrison commander is truly pitiful!"

---------

On the frontier, crying out is a useless lament, especially for the Terin people who live in a fishing and hunting tribe.

When they were captured, they showed no fear whatsoever, only indifference, as if defeat was inevitable. Not to mention their men, even their women displayed such cooperation when facing the gray-armored soldiers that some of the guards who had just seen blood were at a loss.

Witnessing all this, Li Yuanheng simply ate the lamb leg he had "borrowed" from the Hushan tribe, quietly enjoying the peaceful afternoon. His finger then traced lines across the dusty map in front of him, each time inadvertently brushing over the eye-catching line in the middle:

"Kobdo!!"

Li Yuanheng was very familiar with this city. In his previous life, he and his second uncle fought against the Qing demons here. When he first transmigrated here, he also left traces of the Qing demons' blood here.

It was precisely because of this that he understood this city so well. As the largest fortress of the Qing army near the Altai Mountains, although there were not many troops stationed here, it was able to coordinate with other fortresses in the surrounding area, forming a strategic triangle. This is why it had a record of rarely being captured in various wars. It had been a full twelve years since it was last occupied.

Over the course of twelve years, this fortress city was repaired and strengthened once again. According to Li Yuanheng's estimate, a few hundred men could hold off thousands, and a thousand men could not be breached without an army of ten thousand. This was Kobdo City, a true iron fortress.

Not to mention the Qing Dynasty reinforcements that came from other places later.

For this reason, Jinshan Prefecture has always raided for supplies and plundered people, but rarely has any intention of attacking this city. They usually just bypass it, but they don't dare to go too far. After all, it is a fortress, and although it is said to be defensive, it is actually extremely offensive.

If you bypass it today, it might cut off your supply lines and supply lines tomorrow. Therefore, the best way to deal with such fortified strongholds is to advance with light troops and guard them with a large army.

Or, lure the snake out of its hole!

"Brother, we've spotted quite a few Qing cavalry twenty li away. Could you—"

Hu Wu made a throat-slitting gesture, while Li Yuanheng continued sprinkling precious spices on the lamb leg, saying as he did so:

"The new garrison commander comes from the capital. What do you think is his purpose in coming here?"

"Naturally, it's to accumulate merit so I can go back and deceive that dog emperor."

Hu Wu then added:

"If you ask me, the best way to deal with such a vile and cunning scoundrel is to cut off his head and send it to that dog emperor's kennel, scaring him so much he'll pee his pants!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanheng almost spat out the mutton in his mouth from laughing. He then wiped his mouth, suppressed his laughter, and continued speaking in a serious tone:

"As the saying goes, 'the emperor is far away,' this beast wants to make a name for himself but is also afraid of trouble. Look at these scouts he's sent out, sometimes a dozen, sometimes four or five, but there's no sign of the main army. Are the scouts saying that this new garrison commander is going to reorganize his troops and fight us in a big battle?"

"Indeed, brother, this is a great opportunity!!"

Hu Wu was beaming with joy.

"A good opportunity indeed! I'm here to make money, not to suffer losses. You've forgotten our purpose this time: to train our troops, capture slaves, and replenish our forces, not to shed our own blood."

Li Yuanheng tore off a piece of lamb leg and stuffed it into his mouth, then stood up:

How many vacancies are left?

"There are 327 people, but if we select more, we are actually short 359 people."

As the mutton in his throat slid down into his stomach, Li Yuanheng tightened his belt, calmly looking at the apathetic yet incredibly hardworking fishermen, a light he had never seen before suddenly appearing in his eyes:

"What did they make their fortune from? Let's rob that this time!!"