Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 100 Attack
The Marquis of Dingxi died; he lost his gamble.

The consequences caused by the Marquis of Dingxi are still unfolding.

Deceived, Arctic Warrior was no longer so easy to talk to, and swung his long spear fiercely at the terrified approaching iron cavalry.

His arm strength was astonishing, and in his rage, the blade sent sparks flying from the two nearby iron cavalrymen!

The violent collision of metal against metal produced sparks visible to both sides' vanguard forces.

The first and second armored cavalrymen were both cut in half at the waist by the armor.

Arctic Warrior raised the hilt, reversed the long spear in his hand, slid his hands behind him, and then thrust it out suddenly.

A soldier who raised his long sword to strike was immediately pierced through the chest.

Zhang Bing, the son of the Marquis of Dingxi, shouted from the rear: "Iron Net Formation! Beiji Wu has no way to retreat, charge! All troops, charge!"

Zhang Bing took command of the army in place of his deceased father. At the age of forty, he knew very well that if he did not kill Beiji Wu at this time, the Zhang family would be in dire straits!

Marquis Dingxi did not expect that the Arctic Martial Arts Association would jump down to save people.

The Wenchao army, which wanted to return, also did not expect that the Arctic Martial Arts Tournament would jump down directly.

"Kill! All troops, attack! Advance! Those who retreat will die!"

Arctic Martial roared.

The people inside the city walls dared not block the way anymore, and Xue Chonghu knew that he was now standing between life and death.

"Kill!" Xue Chonghu shouted, "Kill those corrupt officials!"

Xue Chonghu's shouts quickly gave everyone a sense of security.

At this point, you have to choose one side: either help Wen Chao's army or help Shan Nong's army.

At least the Shan Nong army treated everyone as human beings, while the Wen Chao army completely disregarded them.

Of course, the most important one was Beiji Wu. At this moment, Beiji Wu didn't care about the iron net formation. He moved with lightning speed, quickly cutting a bloody path through a group of cavalry, and went straight for the prisoners who had just regained their freedom.

"Those who surrender will not be killed!"

Using the cover of cavalry and warhorses, Beijiwu evaded the crossbows and catapults.

Xue Chonghu and Meng Hetong led several hundred men out.

Within a minute of the battle starting, a large number of the defending troops were trapped inside the city gates and unable to leave, leaving only the thousand or so men on guard duty outside to fight.

Many of these thousand people have already died, and many more are fleeing, or even planning to turn against them.

The city gates were slowly opening, and more and more people rushed out.

Some people dropped their weapons and ran away quickly, wanting to go home.

Some people were at a loss and rushed out with the group, only to be forced to act when others did.

Some refused to move and were stabbed to death by the people behind them, who then stepped on their corpses to get out.

Some people came out but still refused to fight, and were killed by both sides.

There is no way for the middlemen to survive on the battlefield.

Arctic Warrior saw more than a hundred armored soldiers carrying an iron net on long poles, who began to quickly surround him.

The iron net formation encountered more than a thousand spearmen, while archers on the city walls were also firing at those trying to surround them from the flanks.

Beiji Wu wasn't afraid of this. He quickly attacked from the side, covering more than ten meters in just a few breaths, and also killed a few troublesome cavalrymen along the way.

Seeing that the people in the city who were about to mutini had suddenly stopped and were even helping the Hu people kill their own people, Zhang Bing immediately shouted:

"We are Han Chinese! How can you help the barbarians kill Han Chinese?"

Beiji Wu shouted, "Those you killed were all Han Chinese! Han Chinese killed Han Chinese and ate Han Chinese! The mountain farmers don't kill Han Chinese! Nor do they eat people!"

As soon as he shouted, five flying stones immediately followed.

A hundred-pound flying stone landed in the iron cavalry formation, hitting the iron cavalrymen in front of Arctic Warrior.

Three stones fell to the ground, also knocking the warhorse and its rider off to the ground.

The remaining two stones, one of which killed a Wanzhou cavalryman instantly, and the other struck the cavalryman's arm.

The cavalryman screamed in agony.

Arctic Warrior shouted, "I'll save you after I win!"

Upon hearing this, the Wanzhou cavalry nearby paused for a moment, but ultimately continued their actions in perfect unison.

"Surround him!"

Several cavalrymen abandoned their horses and charged towards Beijiwu from their mounts.

Once these people grab you and your actions are thwarted, you'll be riddled with arrows.

Arctic Warrior ran quickly, and the cavalry behind him rushed over.

The cavalrymen were faster than humans and could run for at least five miles.

Arctic Warrior continued to stall for time; his stamina and running speed far surpassed those of the warhorses and cavalry behind him.

The only thing to worry about were ballistae and archers, but those had long been left behind.

Arctic warriors can utilize the mobility and lethality of cavalry without the aid of horses!

Once the catapults, ballistae, and archers could no longer keep up with the Arctic Warriors, the cavalry alone could no longer put any pressure on them.

Arctic Wu stopped, and the lance he was carrying once again came in handy.

One of the charging cavalrymen was knocked away, and the remaining cavalrymen quickly surrounded Beijiwu and circled around to his rear.

More than fifty cavalrymen charged toward Arctic Warrior, tightening the encirclement and blocking Arctic Warrior's room to maneuver.

Beijiwu gripped the long spear with both hands, as if lifting a heavy sack with a rope, and spun around three times rapidly.

When they accelerated to the fourth lap, more than a dozen legs of the approaching cavalry horses were broken.

Arctic Warrior stopped circling, placed one foot on the yellow earth behind him, and looked coldly at the fallen knights.

"If you don't surrender, you'll all die." A knight firmly replied, "It's better to die here than to go back alive!"

Arctic Warrior respected his wishes, picked up his weapon, and thrust it at him head-on.

The people nearby drew their weapons, but the Arctic warriors deflected them and cut off their heads.

Beijiwu leaped and snatched a horse, then charged at the nearby cavalry again.

After a few more minutes of fighting, the remaining Wanzhou cavalrymen all made way.

"We surrender!"

Arctic Martial looked at them coldly, "Your credibility has plummeted to rock bottom. Immediately dismount and move 300 meters away from here. If you dare to come near me, I will kill you all!"

Seeing Beiji Wu panting heavily, the Wanzhou Iron Cavalry hesitated for a moment, then glanced at the hundreds of corpses on the ground before finally choosing to back down.

After dismounting, the more than four hundred cavalrymen led their equally exhausted warhorses away.

Arctic Wu returned to the battlefield. Of the 10,000 infantrymen who came out of Hukoubao, only 4,000 or 5,000 had emerged, while the cavalry were all trapped inside the city.

"Surrender without killing!"

Arctic Warrior rode his horse and charged into the flank of the army, reaping the lives of countless soldiers as easily as cutting vegetables.

The prisoners exchanged earlier had long since fled. When Beijiwu returned to the battlefield and started cutting grass haphazardly, the rear troops, having lost their commander, also began to flee.

Arctic Wu killed more than 2,000 people, took in 14,000 surrendered soldiers, and another 4,000 escaped.

"Cavalry, follow me! Attack Tongzhou Guard! The men behind, with these catapults and ballistae, attack Gaoliu Guard!!"

The Arctic troops split into two groups, abandoning Hukoubao to attack Tongzhouwei and Gaoliuwei.

Tongzhou Guard and Gaoliu Guard were both regular guard posts like Beiyuan Guard. In particular, Tongzhou Guard was more than ten times larger than Beiyuan Guard in terms of both area and population.

Between Hukoubao and Gaoliuwei and Tongzhouwei, there are also large areas of farmland and villages, as well as many thousand-household garrisons located near the town.

They abandoned those thousand-household garrisons and rushed directly to Tongzhou Garrison.

Speed ​​is of the essence in war, and Beijiwu caught up with those who had previously fled.

"Kill all those standing! Go to the post station to change horses!" Beijiwu directly killed a man who was riding a horse and trying to run away.

The cavalry behind them quickly caught up with the valuable prisoners, along with Arctic Warrior, and killed most of them.

At night, they stormed through various post stations and also took the opportunity to break through a thousand-household garrison blocking the mountain road.

After changing horses, the group arrived outside Tongzhou Guard, where the people had already received all sorts of bad news.

Tongzhouwei is located outside Yanmen Pass, serving as a transitional zone between the Central Plains agricultural civilization and the northern grasslands. It controls the passage between the Yinshan Mountains and the Taihang Mountains, making it an essential route for nomadic peoples moving south or for the Central Plains dynasties to launch northern expeditions.

Surrounded by mountains on three sides, with Hongtao Mountain to the west and Cailiang Mountain to the east, this area is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and has been the site of city defenses throughout history.

This place has always been a key military stronghold, capable of quickly supporting surrounding passes such as Shahu Pass and Desheng Fort, forming a deep defense.

The disadvantages are also obvious: Tongzhouwei is far from the core area of ​​the Central Plains, and the transportation of supplies requires crossing the Taihang Mountains, making the canal transport inconvenient.

The local climate is arid and receives little rainfall. It is located near the desert and has been frequently conquered and ruled by nomadic peoples, and has long been affected by war.

Beijiwu looked at the braziers on the city wall and the guards waiting in full battle below.

Tongzhou Guard was ready, and the garrison general Miao Kangsheng shouted, "Beiji Wu! I have already reported to the Emperor about the Marquis of Dingxi's unauthorized decision! Withdraw your troops now and await the Emperor's decision!"

"If you launch a direct attack, not a single coward in my Tongzhou Guard will stand up to you! We swear to die with you!!"

Beijiwu shouted, "If I kill you, they'll surrender! You want to be a loyal subject, but you insist on dragging others down with you!"

"You are the ones who have betrayed us! We were exchanging prisoners peacefully, and you attacked me! That Marquis of Dingxi killed the Han soldiers who wanted to go home, and then let them block my way!"

"And you? You told me not to attack, yet you risked the lives of the entire city's inhabitants to be buried with you, in exchange for the lives of your whole family and your so-called reputation for loyalty!"

“Our Shan Nong tribe does not kill Han Chinese who surrender, so we treat all surrendered soldiers as our own people. Your general and Generals Niu and Ma have both surrendered to us and are doing well. Why don’t you surrender?”

Miao Kangsheng cursed, "Bah! I am not like those disloyal, unjust, and unfilial people! I would rather die than surrender to you, you barbarian dog!"

Beijiwu laughed and said, "Listen up, soldiers and civilians in the city, do you love your country? Does the country love you? Is the general who makes you die with him worthy of your loyalty? He received ten thousand taels of silver from the court and has a harem of wives and concubines. How much do you get every month?"

Miao Kangsheng's throat hurt from shouting, so he immediately ordered, "Fire the arrows!"

Beiji Wu was already two hundred paces away, shouting as he retreated, "If you defend the city, aren't you afraid they'll eat you? The Mountain Farmers don't kill those who surrender, nor do they eat people! If I enter the city, I won't kill the unarmed, nor will I plunder the people!"

"The Mountain Farmers are a righteous and benevolent army! If I break my promise, I am willing to lose this divine power and become a mortal!"

"If you don't open the city gates and surrender tonight, I'll fight my way in myself, and that will surely increase the bloodshed!!"

Arrows rained down on Beijiwu, but the soldiers below the city remained steadfast, neither daring to advance nor able to return to the tightly closed city gates.

Beijiwu whispered to the others, "Start a fire, let the horses rest, and I'll go in from the side."

The crowd responded, "Yes!"

Arctic Martial turned to the side, taking advantage of the darkness to find a less crowded and easier place to land.

An hour later, the voice of Arctic Martial came from the city wall.

"I have killed the corrupt official! Open the gate immediately! I will not kill civilians or surrendered soldiers!"

"I am the Northern Warrior of the Mountain Farmer Clan! Those who surrender, let us work together to change the world and reclaim the riches of these corrupt officials!"

The soldiers in Tongzhou Guard lived with their families. After the Arctic Wu invaded, a large number of the garrison quickly surrendered in order to protect their families.

Originally, the force was over 5,000 men, but some were conscripted to fight the Arctic Army. Now, the 3,000-plus men are no match for the Arctic Army. In addition, the Arctic Army does not kill prisoners, so the 3,000-plus men and their more than 20,000 family members all surrendered.

After Tongzhouwei surrendered, the rest also surrendered without resistance.

Within three days, Tongzhou Guard, Tongzhou Vanguard, Tongzhou Rearguard... ten guard posts and more than seventy thousand-household posts surrendered one after another.

Beiji Wu led his troops into Tongzhou Wei, distributed money and food to the soldiers in the city, and arrested and killed all the royal relatives and noble families who were hiding in various places. Their land was confiscated, and their maids, servants, wives, concubines and daughters were distributed to unmarried officers and soldiers.

It was five or six days later when Emperor Wen of the Wen Dynasty stopped receiving battle reports.

At this time, the Northern Army gained control of a valley basin area extending from Ruzhou in the north to outside Yanmen Pass in the south, with a length of 500 li in the northeast and southwest and a width of 200 li in the east and west. It completely conquered the nine provinces behind the mountains of the Sixteen Provinces of Yanyun and obtained the fifteen guards and eighty-one garrisons of the nine provinces.

(End of this chapter)