choke element

Chapter 987 Enemy Force (Part )

"It's terrible? The Mongols have already entered the fortress?"

Several women hiding deep in the cave screamed in fear, and someone immediately covered their mouths, fearing that their voices would be heard by the ferocious beasts outside.

As if to support Wu Xian's words, a fierce shouting and screaming mixed with voices came from the gaps between the earth, rocks and wood blocking the cave entrance.

"We are still resisting, but the people in the fortress can't hold out for much longer." Wu Xian bared his teeth and said, "You should have listened to me and made peace with the Mongols... What's the point of fighting like hell when you are about to die?"

At this point, he sneered.

There was an old woman beside Wu Xian, who wanted to blame him for hiding in a cave with women and children despite being a man of honor. But just as she opened her mouth, she saw Wu Xian's dark face with two cold eyes flashing, which was extremely vicious. The old woman was frightened, muttered a few words in embarrassment, and retreated.

The woman pushed aside half a step, revealing a little girl behind her. The little girl had big eyes, had changed into coarse clothes, and had smeared mud on her face.

When Wu Xian saw the girl, his tone softened: "Hui Er, don't be afraid. Your uncle has already made up his mind. He will go out and rescue them right away."

A rat who hid in a cave with women and children can still be so arrogant. I don’t know if he is crazy or his face is thicker than a city wall!
The girl blushed and showed a little joy, but the old woman and the other women could not hide their disgust.

Everyone knows this guy called Wu Xian. He is a frequent visitor in the dozen or so mountain strongholds nearby.

I heard that he was from Weizhou and was a Taoist priest. In his early years, he cheated people everywhere by cheating and deceiving people. When the Mongolian army invaded for the first time, he gathered his people to fight against the Mongolians and resisted the Jurchen local officials who had returned. He was then recruited by the Jurchen emperor and was granted the official position of Weizhou governor.

Later, when the Zhou Dynasty rose to power, Wu Xian planned to repeat his old tricks, first fight a battle and then wait for the price to sell, to win a lot of wealth. Unexpectedly, the Zhou army was fierce and killed his subordinates in one battle, and blood flowed like a river.

Wu Xian fled to the mountains with only two or three trusted confidants. Without the capital to accept the imperial edict, he could only mingle with bandits.

But he was born with a temperament that only wanted to cause chaos in the world. He always felt that he was talented and was born to do great things and get rich. It would be best if he could live a free and happy life. Therefore, he traveled around in recent years. He sneaked back to Baoduzhai in Weizhou several times to gather his people in the south, and went to the grasslands to the north several times to collude with the Mongols. He did accumulate some reputation.

It's a pity that such people were born at the wrong time.

If the Great Zhou had not risen, the Jin Dynasty would have continued to decline until it fell apart, and the world would have been hundreds or thousands of times more chaotic than it is now, and all kinds of ambitious people would have taken the opportunity to rise up. However, the rule of the Great Zhou was already quite stable, and countless warriors from the border had become frontier generals in power.

How tight is their control over the border? How familiar are they with the methods of the mob?

Wu Xian made several efforts and gained a reputation that was not sure whether it was good or bad, but his family assets were exhausted and his old subordinates died in pieces. Wu Xian's clan members also suffered misfortune, some were forced to migrate to the Central Plains, and several of his brothers died in battle.

In recent months, Wu Xian's hatred for the Great Zhou has grown deeper and deeper, so he has turned to propaganda to persuade the bandits to join hands with the Mongols.

According to him, the Mongols and the Great Zhou were about to fight again, and the situation was like two giant beasts colliding. The first to die would not be the beasts themselves, but the weeds, scale insects and the like that were struggling to survive under their feet.

At this time, it was impossible to expect to get away with it easily. So no matter what, they had to hold on to a big leg to protect themselves, and joining the Mongols was the best choice.

First, they were used to being wild and could not stand the restraint of the imperial court. Second, the rule of Mongolia was rough, and Qianhu Nayan was a local tyrant on the grassland. If they all surrendered to Mongolia, they would definitely be given the title of Qianhu.

More importantly, in recent years, Mongolia has become weaker than the Great Zhou. The weaker it is, the more it needs to be rewarded with generous benefits to win over its support. We can just take something out of the Mongolian pockets and eat a few fat meals first!

Some people refuted Wu Xian's suggestion, saying that the benefits from the Mongols were not taken for free, and that their side would inevitably be driven by the bandits to serve as scapegoats.

But Wu Xian laughed out loud, saying that it was natural for the newly surrendered people to do this. How could the surrendered people in this world be treated as family members from the beginning? One must pay a price to gain people's trust? And the bandit leaders have been kidnapping mountain people and escapees for decades, instigating them to rob and plunder. What's the problem with this?

Wu Xian’s words were quite touching, but many people still had concerns.

In the end, the village did not come up with any decision. Instead, the Mongols suddenly mobilized their elite troops, boldly crossed the jagged border, and rushed directly into the mountains!

Three days ago, the first mountain stronghold attacked by the Mongolian army knelt on the spot. Its leader not only took the Mongolian official position, but also assigned people to act as guides to lead the Mongolians to rush through the mountains. The Mongolian army successively captured several strongholds and gathered more and more people.

Yesterday, the Mongol outposts appeared, and the fortress was in chaos. However, some people were still unwilling to work for the Mongols and wanted to see the situation again.

Wu Xian had no intention of dying with these idiots. He had no moral integrity, and when the other bandits were preparing to defend themselves, he had already blended into the group of women and children and fled to a hidden cave, waiting for the chaos to subside.

Sure enough, the so-called "see what happens" soon developed into a battle. And since the battle has begun, how it ends is not up to the bandits, but depends on the mood of the Mongols.

During the day he hid in the cave, Wu Xian occupied the best position to observe the outside world. He kept looking out, calculating how long the stronghold could hold out, and guessing when the Mongolian bigwigs above the rank of Qianhu Nayan would come back to the battlefield in person.

According to the Mongolian custom in the past, anyone who dared to resist must be killed. But this time it might not be the case.

Because the mountainous area in this area strictly belongs to the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Mongols came here to target the bandits who are familiar with the terrain and want to recruit them for their own use. Therefore, they will not kill many people, just a token of their gratitude. After getting rid of those stubborn idiots, the next step is to bribe and intimidate them.

Wu Xian planned to return to the mountain village at this stage.

He has been traveling to the grasslands for the past few years and has learned fluent Mongolian, which allows him to communicate smoothly with Mongolians. He also believes that his own abilities and knowledge far exceed those of ordinary bandits.

Even if others were to serve as the vanguards of the Mongols, they could at most lead people over mountains and across a few passes. But Wu Xian had been a governor and a senior military officer of the Jin Dynasty!
From here to Cizhou and Mingzhou, what roads is he not familiar with? What terrains for garrisoning and fighting have he not stepped on? What city checkpoints in some places does he not know the key to attack and defense?
Wu Xian dared to say confidently that with his good memory and eloquence, he could defeat 100,000 people alone and could definitely impress the Mongolian generals! By taking advantage of the Mongolian momentum to unite the nearby bandits, he could also expand his own strength and live a happy life!
At this time, another loud noise came from the direction of the mountain stronghold. It was the most reliable line of defense of the fortress, the brick and stone watchtower, that was hit. The Mongols were not good at attacking cities and camps in the past, but after a few years, they seemed to have improved a lot. They actually managed to make a battering ram in the deep mountains?
Anyone who has such ability must be a Han craftsman who was involved in the Mongolian army in the early years, and anyone who can bring Han craftsmen with him must be a big shot in the Mongolian army!
Wu Xian took a deep breath and pushed away the dirt and rocks at the entrance of the cave.

Many people in the cave let out suppressed and terrified cries. Some people rushed forward to stop him, but he struggled to shake them off.

He strode down the mountain path.

The mountain road was rugged and winding. In order to save time, Wu Xian slid down the slope several times, only occasionally pulling on branches and vines to slow down.

The time was about right, and the time to rush to the village was just enough for the Mongols to kill those who disobeyed. Several bandit leaders who were familiar with Wu Xian had been informed from the beginning, and would hide behind the village, and immediately defect if they saw the situation was not right. If Wu Xian caught up with them at this time, he could use the power of the Mongols to recruit all the people in the village in one go.

Wu Xian had a complete speech that he had been thinking about for a long time, which was enough to impress the Mongols. He also had several tokens given by the Mongol Qianhu Nayan on hand, which were enough to prove his identity of working closely with the Mongols.

With all the preparations in place, the Mongols were just tools.

He also thought about how to designate some people in the village to die and some to live after impressing the Mongols. Those who should die included several bandit leaders who always despised Wu Xian. Those who should live were a group of people who were friendly with Wu Xian, and those who had beautiful wives, concubines and daughters at home, such as the father and relatives of "Hui Er" in the cave.

Of course, if they couldn't figure it out and were unwilling to surrender, they would have to be forced to surrender with the lives of their wives and children. Wu Xian secretly mixed in with the women and children and hid in the cave in order to find out where his family members were living... He was quite sure that this cave, which was difficult for outsiders to find, also hid the property and food accumulated by the bandits over the years.

Wu Xian walked through the woods at a leisurely pace.

As he ran, branches snapped and hit his skin, causing his face to burn. But he did not slow down at all, and he almost lost his balance several times. The gravel and dirt on the hillside followed him closely, rolling down.

Wu Xian was getting impatient. The mountain range that stretched for thousands of miles was a barrier to survival for many people, but it was a prison for Wu Xian. He had long wanted to leave this prison and show his talents. It didn't matter if he worked for the Mongols or for whom, but he had to do it happily!

Thinking of this, he smiled and walked briskly.

Soon he was out of the woods and only had to turn a high cliff to see the village.

He suddenly stopped.

Even through the strangely protruding rock formations on the edge of the cliff, he could feel the temperature rising rapidly.

Wu Xian's heart suddenly beat a few times, and he pressed his body against the rock wall, slowly moving the last few feet like a gecko. What appeared before him was a fire.

It was late autumn now, the forest had long turned yellow, and the autumn wind howled through the valley. The wood used to build the village and the thatch used to cover the roof had all dried up. What the hell, after the Mongols invaded the village, they didn't even try to persuade them to surrender, but just set fire everywhere?

The fire took advantage of the wind and burned into a large area in an instant! In the blink of an eye, the fire had already rolled over the cliff, and the heat wave burned Wu Xian's face. And the flames were clearly filled with shrill screams, at least dozens, no, hundreds of dying screams! It was like countless evil spirits were writhing in the flames and smoke to claim their lives!
The Mongols crossed the northern moat defense line and drove all the way here, but they burned down the mountain stronghold? What was the point of doing this? So many bandits, all good fighters and killers, who were willing to work for the Mongols, were just killed like this?
What are they crazy about? Don't they know that bandits are very useful?
Wu Xian cursed and retreated, but the slope behind him extended to a higher place. It was easy to go down, but difficult to go up. He took a few steps back, and his heel was entangled by vines, and he fell backwards. After finally getting rid of the entanglement, the fire had already swept over, and the smoke rose from all directions, choking Wu Xian from throat to lungs with severe pain!

Seeing that he was about to die here, Wu Xian made up his mind and rushed to the fire. As expected, the mountain wind blew from low to high. He rushed out of the fire after several dozen steps. Then he lost control and fell down, rolling down the slope.

His roar was drowned out by the mountain wind and the sea of ​​fire, and no one noticed. Not far away on the high cliff, hundreds of cavalrymen wearing pointed iron helmets and chain mail were galloping along the mountain road towards the cave that was supposed to be hidden.

At the front of the cavalry team, the young captain of Bayawu's tribe, Nayan Yueli Timur, laughed wildly and urged his subordinates to speed up.

This young and brave tribal leader had fought wars he had never fought in his life in the past six months, slaughtered so many people that he could never imagine how many people he had killed in his lifetime, plundered wealth that was unimaginable when he was a minor officer in Khwarezm, and of course, released the beastly nature hidden deep in his body.

He once thought that the Mongolian army was the most terrifying army in the world. But now he understood that as long as they got used to slaughtering and plundering, everyone could become a Mongolian, and a makeshift army could be as terrifying as a pack of prairie wolves.

Now he no longer looked like the young boy he had before. Instead, his eyes were bloodshot and his nostrils were flaring, like a ferocious beast ready to eat its prey.

Leading the way in front of Yueli Timur were several bandits who had killed their companions and set fire to the mountain stronghold. They all shouted frantically: "Quick! Quick! Go up the mountain! There are food, wine, meat, gold, silver, treasures, and women in the cave!"

Surrounding him were the Boyawu people, the Cumans, and the ordinary Mongols who had joined the army recently. Under the high-intensity and high-density slaughter and plunder, they were no longer their original selves. Their eyes were bloodshot, and their faces were devoid of human life, only indifference to life and death and undisguised boiling animality.

"Thieves are thieves. They haven't improved at all over the years and have no moral integrity! They were unable to slow down the Mongolian army at all, and many of them defected to serve as guides!"

Wang Shixian, who was in Zhongdu, put a thick stack of military reports back on the table, picked up a pen, and marked on the map in front of him: "At this moment, the important passes under the two northwest and southwest recruiting offices, from Yangmen Town, Huihe Fort, to Baidengtai, Niupiguan, and even Fengzhou and Yunnei to the west of Jiujiuquan, have all sounded the alarm. At least forty garrisons reported that they were surrounded by more than ten thousand cavalry... The enemy's strength is a bit scary!"

(End of this chapter)