choke element

Chapter 1024: The Great Tide (Part )

The night was getting darker and darker, with clouds occasionally passing through the sky, blocking the moonlight.

Bo'ole, who was talking and laughing in low voices by the campfire, looked up and saw nothing. The night was like an endless ink painting, enveloping them. They could only hear the rustling of branches and leaves of the bushes below the slope swaying in the wind.

Someone was particularly suspicious, thinking that there seemed to be some kind of movement hidden in it, so he stood up and patrolled between several fences. He soon heard a snapping sound and couldn't help jumping up.

He called a few companions, raised their bows and arrows, and slowly moved forward. After walking for a long time, he looked carefully and found that there was nothing unusual. It turned out that the sound that sounded like footsteps came from the Yellow River a few miles away from the high ground. The river ice was slightly broken down by the cold wind and squeezed against each other.

The Bo'oles heaved a sigh of relief and turned back. Some of them said to their companions with relief that they had not alarmed the centurion with such a small matter.

The Mongolian army's military law was strict and detailed, and there were a set of requirements for those on night duty. The Mongolians had suffered from the Han'er's night raids in Liaodong before, so they would not be careless at this time. At this time, there were more than 50 Batu'er and centurions who were responsible for patrolling and supervising the herdsmen.

But the area where their army moved was too vast after all. Over the years, from north to south, from east to west, they had experienced too many complex and different environments. The tricks that worked for the grassland might not be suitable for the desert, and the key points summed up in the desert and mountains could not be used in the great rivers of the Central Plains. Moreover, they had come a long way, and their understanding of the local mountains and rivers was only ten days?

In the end, no matter how careful you are, there will inevitably be mistakes.

When the group of Bo'ole left, several people crawled forward in the continuous shadows on the river bank.

The undulating sand piles formed by the Yellow River over the years formed those shadows under the moonlight. During the day, the Mongolians tried to cross the continuous sand piles to test whether the river was frozen solid. But the sand piles were mixed with years of mud, and when they were frozen hard, they could easily hurt the horses' hooves. So at night, everyone subconsciously stayed away from that area.

So these people secretly hid near the prisoner camp and handed in weapons through the fence. They were all short weapons and two crossbows.

"Don't worry, you are not the only one taking action!" Someone said in the darkness, "Judge Liu's subordinates have spread out to at least ten places. These ten places will surely be turned upside down tomorrow."

The origins of the garrison on Nanjing Road have always been complicated. There are old soldiers from the Jin Army and former members of the Red Coat Army. Cai Baer has connections with both, so he used to be somewhat alienated from upstarts like Liu Ran who rose to high positions by relying on their closeness to the emperor.

He had been in the army for more than ten years, and the edges of his character had been smoothed over by his superiors. He was envious and jealous of these upstarts on a daily basis, but could only complain verbally and curse in private.

But during this Mongolian invasion, Cai Baer was beaten to a pulp by the Mongolian cavalry and was shamefully captured, almost waiting to die in despair. Liu Ran, on the other hand, was able to fight outside, dispatching personnel and transporting weapons under the eyes of the Mongols. How could Cai Baer not admire him?
Cai Baer laughed a few times and said to his companions, "First, bring in those herdsmen and kill them, and take away their bows and arrows. Next... call Yuan Haowen and ask him to make up a reason to lead us to kill the centurion and steal their horses. What to do next? I don't need to teach you, right? Work harder and motivate everyone! Beat the shit out of the Mongols!"

The veterans who served in the Great Zhou army either had a family background of officials or bandits, or they started their careers as rebels. The ability to fish in troubled waters and stir up trouble was ingrained in their bones. Their tenacity, stubbornness, and pride were also ingrained in their bones.

The Mongols obviously did not understand this well enough. They did not understand that the Han Chinese and the country they had established were extraordinary and different from any country conquered by the Mongol army before.

Those countries, such as Khwarezm, seem to be giants, but in fact they are just a combination of many tribes and ethnic groups forced together under violence and interests. There is no real connection within those countries, nor is there a basis for their long-term existence.

When the Mongols displayed overwhelming violence, those states naturally collapsed, and the people who made up those states naturally surrendered, transforming from slaves of the old masters to slaves of the new masters.

When the Mongols invaded last time, the Han Chinese were already in a state of exhaustion after being suppressed by another conqueror for a long time. The collapse of the Han army at that time was just like the collapse of many great powers in the Western Regions under the Mongol attack.

But the situation is different now. With the strong rise of the military group, the Han people's bones and tendons have gradually regained their hardness, and their muscles have regained their strength.

When they struggled to push away the old conquerors and stood firmly on the land where they had lived for thousands of years, every minute and every moment, this nation was like a giant drawing strength from the land, becoming stronger and more confident.

At this time, another conqueror came roaring in and spread fear, thinking that the Han people should be conquered by fear as a matter of course... What would the Han people think?
Through long-distance battles and long-term strategies, the Mongols made the Central Plains of the Great Zhou vulnerable to attack, allowing the Mongol cavalry to run and kill. In Tolui's eyes, this was a success. In the eyes of many Han people, this was also a heavy blow. But it was far from a knockout blow. The giant shook twice and still stood!
If I had been kneeling all along, I would have gotten used to it and it wouldn't be a big deal to continue kneeling. But now everyone has stood up and is proud of themselves, relying on bows and swords in their hands to gain land, wealth and a future in the new dynasty... Why, we have to kneel again?

Even when the Mongol cavalry came with great force, did they ask for our opinions? Did the Mongols think we were all cowards when they killed people wantonly?
The new dynasty of the Han people is rising like the sun, can the Tartars really turn the tables? They are just playing tricks, once the army turns back, the situation will definitely be reversed! Before the army turns back, the more intense the fear spread by the Mongols, the more intense the anger for revenge will be. So many experienced warriors will never accept being killed as long as they can take a breath.

How many Tartars could there be? Ten thousand? Twenty thousand? One hundred thousand? There were at least tens of millions of Han people. There were millions of them in Nanjing Road of the Great Zhou alone! No matter how fierce and ruthless the Tartars were, could they really defeat a hundred with one?

The night was bitterly cold, and the bonfire flickered as the wind blew.

When the Mongolian army camped, they usually avoided making fires to avoid exposing their own troops and horses. However, the main task of the Mongolian cavalry stationed in Pangang was to guard the prisoners, so they deliberately set up more bonfires to show their power.

Beside a campfire, a Mongolian captain and his men followed the custom of not removing their armor or saddles. Their equipment was getting better and better, and most of the seven or eight men were wearing iron armor. With this, they were invincible when they slaughtered Han women and children. But in the winter, the iron armor was freezing cold, and it was hard to wear it, so lighting a campfire would relieve the heat.

This Mongolian centurion surrendered to Mongolia along with the Naiman tribe. Strictly speaking, he was not a Mongolian, but a Turkic Huihui. His name also carried Turkic customs, called Boma Tuli.

Bo Ma Tuli suddenly stood up, his armor rustling, and asked, "Did you hear anything?"

One of the subordinates, squinting with sleep, asked, "Is it the shift replacement here?"

"It's the prisoners who are rebelling! They're rebelling again!"

Bie Ma Tuli shouted loudly and kicked around, urging his subordinates to get up and mount their horses.

A knight was sleeping soundly when he was suddenly interrupted. He was confused and angry: "Didn't we just kill a whole camp of people yesterday? We haven't cut off enough heads, why are we making trouble again?"

In the eyes of these Mongols, the defeated army and the driven people were no different from sheep and posed no threat. In the past, it was common for three or five Mongols to drive thousands of foreign captives. When conquering Hezhong, the Mongols even ordered the captives to dig pits and bury themselves alive.

This time, they broke into the Central Plains and won a great victory. After a great victory, people tend to slack off. Who would have thought that the Han people would riot again after a group of them were killed overnight?

Bie Ma Tuli was getting more and more worried. He pulled the reins of his warhorse and took two steps to the periphery: "Everyone cheer up! Give me a torch!"

A soldier raised a torch, and suddenly his body froze. He listened attentively, but the torch in his hand began to tremble. He heard a sound like the roar of a herd of beasts, and he heard a sound like the roar of a flood! The sound was getting closer and louder!

He dropped the torch and fell flat on the ground.

The next moment, no less than a hundred stones and clods of earth came crashing down, hitting several Mongols and leaving them with bloody heads.

Bo Ma Tu Li was still roaring: "Torches! Light the torches! I want to see where the enemy is!"

His roar soon became meaningless. The tide of footsteps and roars increased from 100 steps to 50 steps, and from 50 steps to 10 steps. The light from the campfire in the back shone on the crest of the tide and on the faces of countless people. The dancing shadows made their faces look extremely fierce and terrifying.

Bo Ma Tuli had never thought that the docile and pitiful animals would become like this. He took a half step back, drew his sword with his backhand, and wanted to rush towards the crowd. He had already found someone who looked like the leader in the crowd, and the scholar who knew Mongolian was also there.

But he couldn't pull out the knife. At least a dozen people rushed over, like a huge wave sweeping him in, some punching him, some grabbing his arms to grab the knife.

Bo Ma Tuli could no longer control his hands and feet. He shouted frantically, opened his mouth and fiercely bit a palm in front of him. The owner of the palm screamed in pain and retreated. More fists rained down on him. Some fingers dug into his eye sockets, causing unbearable pain; others opened their mouths and bit him frantically, biting off several mouthfuls of flesh and blood before shouting, "That's the guy! That's the guy! I'd recognize him even if he was burned to ashes!"