Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 352: Lasso and Lion

Wanqi Chounu followed his personal guards and walked over. He saw that in the caravan's cage, there was a mighty beast with a golden body. Its face was surrounded by golden mane, and there was a fierce light flashing in its vertical eyes. Its sharp teeth and claws showed that it was a top predator.

Wanqi Chounu just felt that he looked familiar.

Chen Chong, covered in blood, stepped forward and asked the leader of the caravan:

"Suyan?"

Wanqi Chounu then remembered that these were the stone-carved mythical beasts at the entrance of the Buddhist temple.

Is there really any alive?
Wanqi Chounu looked at the leader of the caravan, who prostrated himself and said:

"My two generals, we are a caravan under the command of the Pingxi General's shogunate. This batch of goods is to be sent to Yongle City to be presented to General Su."

"We bought this beast from the Hephthalite caravan at a high price after we encountered them in the Western Regions."

Upon hearing that it was a caravan under the Shogun's office, Chen Chong did not take it lightly. Instead, he checked their tokens and asked them about the situation of this group of horse bandits.

The leader of the caravan knew that they were also the troops under Su Ze's command, so he naturally said:
"After we entered Gaoping County, we were targeted by this group of horse bandits. Judging from their language, they should be Turkic."

"Turks?"

The leader said proudly: "Turkic is actually very similar to Rouman, but there are still subtle differences. I can speak more than a dozen languages ​​of the Western Regions and the grasslands, so I dare to make this judgment."

Wanqi Chounu looked at the leader of the caravan. Are there only so many talents under General Su? If a caravan leader is like this, it's no wonder that his old boss Hu Chen can't beat him.

Chen Chong frowned and said:

“Why did the Turks appear in Gaoping County?”

The caravan leader said:

"The root cause is still our northwest."

"?"

"The Turks were originally iron slaves of the Rouran people, responsible for smelting iron for the Rouran people. This was originally a good job."

Chen Chong and Wanqi Chounu both nodded. They were both descendants of military families from the frontier, so of course they understood this principle.

Whether among farming or nomadic peoples, iron is an important weapon and production tool, and tribes that can smelt iron are often not too backward.

Although they are slaves, skilled slaves are always treated better.

"But since Princess Shouyang became a khedu and started trading with our Great Wei, better and cheaper ironware has been sold on the grasslands, leaving the Turks without jobs."

"In addition to iron smelting, they are also good at fighting, so they began to plunder nearby tribes. This group should have come from the northern grasslands."

Chen Chong's face wrinkled, but Wanqi Chounu said nonchalantly: "The Rouran people can't beat the general, so why should we worry about the Turks?"

Chen Chong said:
"General Wanqi, we haven't seen the nomadic tribe for three days, right?"

Wanqi Chounu nodded, and Chen Chong said:

"You once told me that there are several Qiang tribes here. It seems that the grasslands along the way are lush and fertile. Why are there no people grazing there?"

Wanqi Chounu's heart also skipped a beat. Chen Chong said:

"We should interrogate these Turkic horse bandits. Please ask Captain Su to help interpret."

The caravan leader immediately responded and said:

"We are all working for the general, so it is our duty!"

When Chen Chong finished the interrogation, Wanqi Chounu received shocking news.

A total of one thousand Turks moved south from the grassland and entered the northern part of Gaoping County. The missing Qiang tribes were defeated by the Turks, the livestock of these tribes were seized by the Turks, and the tribal herdsmen became slaves of the Turks.

At this moment Wanqi Chounu's face changed. So many Turks heading south had already posed a threat to Gaoping City. It would be disastrous if the Turks stole their retreat during the attack on Qinzhou.

Wanqi Chounu immediately said:

"We will return to Gaoping City and report to the governor, asking him to send troops to wipe out this Turkic tribe!"

Chen Chong shook his head and said:

"These Turks are bandits. They come here just to rob. If we mobilize a large army to attack them, they will just flee back to the grasslands."

Wanqi Chounu asked anxiously:

"Then what do you think, Sima Chen?"

Chen Chong said: "The caravan has dozens of capable guards, plus the Qiang cavalry we recruited earlier. This time we are in the dark while the Turks are in the light. Can we give it a try?"

Wanqi Chounu was shocked by Chen Chong's plan. Are young people nowadays so unsportsmanlike?

Including the Qiang light cavalry recruited by Wanqi Chounu, there were less than three hundred people in total. Chen Chong wanted to attack a Turkic tribe of one thousand people with only three hundred people?
Moreover, the Turkic tribes annexed many Qiang tribes.

Chen Chong said:
"Captain, those Qiang people were captured as slaves. They would definitely not die for the Turks."

Wanqi Chounu's eyes lit up. If there were only a thousand or so Turkic bandits, there might be a chance to defeat them. Besides, wasn't this an opportunity for him to make progress?

It turns out that reading books makes you more knowledgeable!
Wanqi Chounu made up his mind that if he could make a contribution this time, he would ask for grace from the governor Yu to send his son to study in Chongwen Pavilion.

By the way, I have to change my surname to a Chinese one, otherwise I will be looked down upon in Yongle City.

Next, under the guidance of the Turkic captives, Wanqi Chounu and Chen Chong led the army and indeed discovered the Turkic tribe hidden in the valley.

After observing the tattered equipment of the Turks, Wanqi Chounu's last bit of hesitation disappeared. He immediately jumped on his horse and led his troops towards the Turkic tribe.

In that battle, Wanqi Chounu defeated the Turkic tribe, captured 300 Turkic knights, and rescued 800 Qiang people who had been captured as slaves.

What surprised Wanqi Chounu even more was that Chen Chong's martial arts skills were not inferior to his, and he had beheaded one more enemy than himself.

In short, the battle was a great victory. Wanqi Chounu was counting his military achievements and was very happy. He forgot all the unhappiness about Chen Chong.

This boy is so brave. If he can grow up successfully, he will definitely be a powerful general under General Su.

Through his personal bravery and ability, Chen Chong also won the true support of Wanqi Chounu's followers. An outsider like him actually became the second-in-command of this team of a hundred men.

Su Ze's shogunate had a very subtle attitude towards generals like Wanqi Chounu, wanting to use them while also guarding against them.

They are considered an affiliated force, just like those wealthy and powerful soldiers who brought their servants to join Su Ze, but they are not Su Ze's own direct descendants.

But now that the territory is getting bigger and bigger, even with the help of the system, it is impossible for Su Ze to turn all the troops into his own direct subordinates.

The loyalty of these franchised forces is not guaranteed, and most of the time they can only fight favorable battles and security battles.

As for why Wanqi Chounu and his followers were not disbanded and mixed?

There is no way. Nowadays, if the army wants to gather combat effectiveness, it basically relies on the relationships between people.

What kind of relationship is the strongest? Of course, it is the relationship between father and son.

Father and son and brothers, these are the most reliable relationships on the battlefield. Tribal brothers have grown up together since childhood, so they will naturally have fighting power when fighting together.

Since ancient times, soldiers from the same hometown or the same nationality have always been the most combat-effective. There are countless legions named after the regions where they are located.

For example, Wanqi Chounu, these troops have been raised by him for many years, and they are elite soldiers he has brought up since childhood. If these soldiers are separated and mixed into other armies, their combat effectiveness will definitely not be brought into play.

Although there was Luoyang elegant dialect at that time, the dialects in different places were very different. In addition, the Northern Wei Dynasty had a mixed population of Hu and Han people. For example, the army of Wanqi Chounu used Chinese military orders, and these troops could only be led by Wanqi Chounu.

This is also the purpose of Su Ze arranging these student soldiers to the grassroots level of the military camp. It is not only to train their practical combat capabilities, but also to use them to influence Wanqi Chounu's followers and control these joined troops at critical moments.

Wanqi Chounu made great contributions, and Chen Chong counted and checked the military merits one by one. Everyone was in high spirits, listening to Chen Chong explaining the honor system and what rewards they would get after making great contributions.

At this time, even the most unruly members of Wanqi Chounu's tribe shouted "General, you are wise" and thanked Chen Chong with gratitude.

Chen Chong looked at the mighty beast in the cage. Once upon a time, it was a top predator in the wild, but now it was lassoed by humans and was as obedient as a raccoon.

Military merit and rewards are also the "traps" that Su Ze gives to the soldiers. When a set of evaluation system of the shogun's shogunate is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, the soldiers will want to earn General Su's military merits rather than earning rewards from Wanqi Chounu.

When they have been awarded titles of honor and land as rewards, they will not easily follow the military leaders in rebellion.

As long as the general trend is established and the noose is set up layer by layer, the affiliated forces under his command will become more and more loyal. At that time, they will not dare to rebel even if they are asked to do so. It will take some time to wipe out these mountain strongholds.

Chen Chong also glanced at Wanqi Chounu. He also happily counted how many Turkic slaves he had captured. The rescued captured tribal slaves could serve as a source of soldiers, and finally met the recruitment target of Yu County Magistrate.

Wanqi Chounu has also been caught in the "rope" of fame and fortune, and will soon become a disciplined beast that will only pounce on the prey designated by General Su.

But Chen Chong didn't think that Wanqi Chounu had lost his freedom. He was free enough when he was in the Six Garrisons, but that was a freedom without a future.

Now everyone has motivation. As long as they work hard, they can see the road ahead. Yesterday's comrades can change their status and lives if they are rewarded today. Naturally, everyone is scrambling to put a "noose" around their own necks.

The group escorted the Turkic captives and the young and strong men of the tribe back to Gaoping City. After the military judges under Yu Jin confirmed the military merits, the rewards were immediately sent to Wanqi Chounu's military camp.

Military judges record the merits in the soldiers' roster, and the honors will be reported to the Shogun's office for evaluation after the war. However, in every battle, soldiers can know how much military merit they have accumulated and how far they are from the next level of honors.

Those who achieved success were very proud of themselves, while those who did not vowed to work harder next time.

Wanqi Chounu rested for three days, and then the drum for gathering troops was sounded in Yu Jin's county magistrate's mansion.

(End of this chapter)