choke element

Chapter 991 Iron Fire (Part )

Wu Xian felt a little toothache.

He gasped a few times, and without paying any attention to the fighting ahead, he leaned back and lay down in a pile of lush weeds between the rocks. He had always been a man with ideas, but he had been running around for the past few days without eating or drinking properly or resting. He was extremely tired and his mind was not as flexible as before. After a while, he felt a pain in his head.

In recent years, the economy of the Central Plains has been developing continuously. Not to mention the merchants traveling to the border areas, those people are naturally rich. The lives of ordinary Han people and even ordinary Mongolians are gradually getting better, and everyone can see it.

Many military farms were opened up, pastures were established, and workshops and mines emerged from scratch. All of these would bring prosperity. Officials and herdsmen who had switched to being farmers or workers gathered in various places, expanding military fortresses into market towns, which in turn continuously absorbed Mongolian herds or other specialties, forming a virtuous cycle.

Anyone who is included in this cycle will gradually have money and goods in their hands, which will prompt them to exchange for other goods or buy something.

Perhaps one day, the Northern Frontier Defense Line will no longer be a line of defense that devours the Central Plains' finances, but will be a place that produces wealth, and may even attract people from the Central Plains to migrate here continuously.

In this process, perhaps only the Mongol noyans of the thousand or hundred households would lose some rights, but they would have the opportunity to live in a prosperous environment and their descendants would be integrated into civilization. Compared with the grassland regime, the newly born Great Zhou Dynasty in the Central Plains was an overwhelming civilization after all.

As for the bandits, it was the same. What they lost was insignificant, but the benefits were obvious. At most, they hesitated for a few times and surrendered when it was time.

Although the Great Zhou's control over the northern border is still based on garrisons and roads, and has not yet completely covered the entire area, leaving room for countless people on the border to hesitate, the positions of many people have become increasingly inclined towards the Central Plains.

If the Great Zhou lost its advantage over the grasslands, the trade between the Central Plains and the grasslands would inevitably cease, and so many border residents would not be able to profit from the supplies along the way. The mountain stronghold where Wu Xian was located alone would lose dozens of strings of money and several stones of grain every month, and would soon fall into the same extremely poor situation as before.

Moreover, the military performance of the Great Zhou was enough to prove that it was a behemoth that rose up after trampling on powerful enemies and possessed great power.

Soon after the news of reducing the troops in the northern border spread in Zhongdu, the Mongols began to prepare for war with all their strength, and it seemed that they were unwilling to miss any opportunity. In fact, anyone with a discerning eye felt that the Mongols were too weak.

It was obvious that the Great Zhou had exposed a flaw, and the Mongols knew it might be a flaw, but they had to bite the bullet and charge. Because if they didn't fight, they would appear to be afraid of the Great Zhou, which would be very detrimental to Genghis Khan's prestige; moreover, if they didn't fight, so many surrendered people from afar would gather on the grassland, and every day, a large amount of grass would be consumed for food and horses, and the pastures of many tribes would be seized. In the long run, this situation could not be maintained at all.

So although the Mongols seemed to be taking the initiative, they actually had to fight. They had to use their least proficient siege skills to crash into the defense line that the Great Zhou had built up over the years. Then they had to use their exhausted army to fight against the Great Zhou's field army that was far more powerful than before.

Under such circumstances, the bandits would sooner or later turn to the Great Zhou. So it was not without reason that the Mongols rushed out with their iron cavalry and killed like crazy. They could not only cut off the connection between the two lines of defense of the Great Zhou, but also clean up a large number of unreliable people, which was killing two birds with one stone.

but……

Wu Xian gritted his teeth for a while, then laughed miserably, his gums broke and blood flowed out. The weather was not cold, but he was blown by the mountain wind, and from time to time he could feel the smell of fireworks passing over his face, and he felt cold all over.

If the Mongolian army mastered the iron cannon, the advantage would be back to the Mongolian army, right? Regardless of the victory or defeat of the two armies, or whether the Mongolians could take over so many cities and passes in the Central Plains, the Mongolians would definitely swallow up all the farms, pastures, workshops, and roads from the north of Yanshan Mountain to the depths of the grassland. Everyone in the northern border had to crawl under the rule of the Mongolians.

Wu Xian felt from the bottom of his heart that there was no problem with this and he could accept it!

Youyan Haner had served the Khitans and the Jurchens, so what was it with serving the Mongols? They were all familiar operations, and Wu Xian was very sure that if he served the Mongols, he would be a very loyal and very useful subordinate.

Ordinary people think about things simply. Whoever allows them to live a good life with light taxes and levies is a good court and a good emperor worth relying on. However, most of the Han people wandering in the frontiers have struggled out of the harsh reality. In their eyes, they not only have their own interests, but also the reality of survival.

What is more important than eating meat is, of course, staying alive. If you follow the stronger one, you will survive. Everyone will naturally follow the stronger one.

Since the Mongols had mastered such a powerful device as the Iron Fire Cannon, why didn't they leak a little information beforehand? I, Wu, was very smart and had already kowtowed to the Mongols in person and surrendered, and from then on I served them at their service.

In this mountainous area alone, I can gather 10,000 elite soldiers for Genghis Khan! They are all men who can travel long distances, fight tough battles and are not afraid of death! With 10,000 people as the vanguard for the Khan, wouldn't that be much more cost-effective than just killing people like now?
In these few days, all the friends who had lived with Wu Xian for several years died suddenly. He was born a Taoist priest and knew a lot of martial arts. The children and girls in the village liked him, but they all died.

Even though Wu Xian has a cold temper, he can't help feeling sad.

What made him sad was not the deaths of those people, but the fact that their deaths were meaningless and they died in the unnecessary killings by the Mongols.

The last time the Mongolian army broke into the Central Plains, they killed millions of people and burned hundreds of cities, but at least they were following the orders of the Mongolian Khan. Those who surrendered were not only not killed, but they could also get some kind of position from the Mongols to ensure their own safety.

But now they were completely unreasonable. They were just killing for the sake of killing, not giving anyone a chance to survive.

It is said that dogs rely on the power of their masters. These Khwarezmian people are dogs conquered by the Mongols, but they are even more brutal than the Mongols! Maybe they are afraid that the Han people will surrender to the Mongols in large numbers and dilute the important positions they have received, so they kill people recklessly!
In this case, what should I, Wu, do?
It is said that the Mongols, with such a powerful weapon in their hands, would have the upper hand for a while. However, I have my heart set on the bright moon, but the bright moon shines on the ditch. The Mongols are killing people to an unreasonable degree. It is not necessarily that I have to seek death there, right?

No choice.

We still have to find a way to go south, and quickly.

He had to rush to a pass where Zhou troops were stationed in the shortest possible time, tell them that the Mongolian troops had gunpowder weapons, and remind them to take precautions. Then, with this achievement, he could exchange for an opportunity to leave the northern border, go south, stay away from the battlefield, and find a safe place.

Wu Xian made up his mind again.

He retreated cautiously to the other side of the cliff that separated him from the mountain stronghold. Then he pulled out the sword from the body of the henchman he had just killed and tied it tightly around his waist.

He couldn't outrun the blockade of the Mongolian cavalry with his two feet, so he had to get a good horse to travel. He looked into the deep valley beside him and saw that the warhorse that had fallen down was already dead, which made him feel sorry.

Then I have to see where the other people who are chasing me are.

We have to set a trap to get rid of these people, and then take their horses before we can get away!

Wu Xian laughed sinisterly twice and ran away.

At this time, the battle in the mountain village he was concerned about was coming to an end. The Mongolian soldiers crossed the road like wolves and tigers, fighting to their heart's content, killing everyone they saw, regardless of gender or age. There were piles of severed heads in several places in the village; blood kept gathering in the low-lying areas and then seeping into the soil, turning the entire ground purple-black, and the fishy smell overwhelmed the sulfur smell produced by the explosion.

The leader of the village was still resisting, but he had no subordinates to protect him. He waved his sword wildly and shouted non-stop, but was forced into a corner by two extremely strong Mongolian warriors.

One of them swung his sword and slashed fiercely, causing the leader to defend himself with all his strength. Another rushed up from the side and stabbed his thick iron spear into his chest. After a dull scream, the leader lost his strength and collapsed to the ground. The Mongolian warrior with a knife came forward and hugged his soft neck, cutting bones and muscles horizontally with a long knife, letting the blood gushed out like a fountain, spraying on his face and body.

The road leading to the back of the village was occupied by the Khwarezmians who were running towards it in high spirits. Yuri Timur led a group of his men and rushed to the valley behind the mountain where women and children were hidden. It seemed that these bandits liked to move women and children and place them somewhere else before the battle.

Unfortunately, this time, the Mongols were determined to massacre as many people as they wanted. No village or secret place where people could hide could escape.

After a while, the Mongolians running around in the village knelt down and kowtowed. Mu Huali walked into the village slowly, without saying anything, and first pressed his thighs with both hands, hunched over and took several breaths.

He started climbing the mountain when the battle was fierce, and when he approached the village, the battle was almost over. The Mongols aged very quickly after they got a little older. Moreover, he had been injured during the Western Expedition. The hamstring of his left leg was torn by an arrow and could not heal. He had no strength to climb up.

But Mu Huali was still as smart and capable as ever, and Genghis Khan still trusted him, so everyone got used to following his instructions. Everyone also knew that if they could perform well in front of Mu Huali, their successors would most likely be treated differently by Genghis Khan.

Anyway, killing people is something that everyone does easily. Not to mention the Mongols, the Khwarezmians were a little restrained at first, but after sweeping through several mountain strongholds and killing thousands of people in one breath, they became more and more angry and their hands slipped.

Several Mongolian officers were about to step forward to show off their achievements when they suddenly saw a Huoluchi with a bow and arrow on his back hurried up from the foot of the mountain and stood behind Mu Huali.

The officers stopped in a hurry, bent over and remained motionless.

I could vaguely hear Huo Luchi whispering, "...Just found on the other side of the mountain ridge, I'm afraid he saw us fighting...He's very skilled, six of us died, and our horses were taken away...We've sent people to chase him, but it's not certain..."

"Very good." Mu Huali nodded.

Huo Luchi was somewhat stunned, and continued subconsciously: "Even if the yellow sheep escapes to the horizon, it can't escape..."

Mu Huali patted him on the shoulder and said, "It's not a problem if a few gazelles escape. It would be even better if they are smart ones."

(End of this chapter)