69novels Chapter 65 The Fateful Cycle of Wild Fox Ridge, A First Glimpse of the Innate Realm
Chapter 65 The Fateful Cycle of Wild Fox Ridge, A First Glimpse of the Innate Realm
In the autumn of the first year of Qianwu.
The wind on the grasslands was much colder than in previous years, as if this land, with the departure of Genghis Khan, no longer favored them. Winters grew colder and colder.
Inside the large tent in Karakorum, Chagatai spread a map on the table and traced a line from Karakorum southwards, finally stopping at Wild Fox Ridge.
"This is it."
Chagatai said with certainty.
The thousands of households inside the tent all held their breath.
"Thirteen years ago, my father Khan led 100,000 iron cavalry south to attack the Jin Dynasty. The Jin Dynasty, with its tens of millions of people and a million-strong army, was like a two-legged sheep in the hands of my Mongols, powerless to resist."
"At Yehuling, my father Khan led an army of 100,000 to defeat the Jin army of 400,000 in one fell swoop. The Jin dynasty never recovered, which led to the later rule of the Mongols."
Chagatai raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the faces of everyone in the tent.
Looking at the awe in these people's eyes, he felt for a moment as if he were Genghis Khan himself.
"Now, the Han Chinese who almost rushed to my father Khan at Yehuling, the traitor who killed Ögedei, has replaced the Great Jin with his kingdom, which is located south of Yehuling."
"I will bring you here once more, just as my father Khan did, to crush this shameful traitor and wash away the disgrace of my Golden Family!"
"This time, I'm going to storm Yanjing and leave no one alive!"
Chagatai's face was indifferent.
In a corner of the main tent, Subutai, who was welcoming Chagatai to the throne, remained silent and did not speak.
He watched Chagatai's finger trace across the map, as if watching a young man walk step by step toward a cliff.
"Great Khan."
Subutai finally spoke, his voice low and steady, yet carrying the weariness of old age.
"The Daqian Yanshan defense line has at least 200,000 troops."
"They may not be stronger than the Jin army back then, but the Great Qian is not the Great Jin. The Great Qian still has Yang Kang."
Subutai poured cold water on the high spirits of Chagatai.
"General Subutai."
"No matter how strong Yang Kang is, he is still only one person."
"Can he fight off a hundred men, or even a thousand?"
"We crushed his army, and no matter how capable he is, he cannot escape death."
Chagatai retorted without hesitation, and the tent fell silent.
His memory of Yang Kang was still stuck in the Battle of Wild Fox Ridge. He didn't know that Yang Kang now was more than capable of defeating a thousand men.
"General Subutai, do you know who Yang Kang sent to command?"
"The commander of the Yanshan defense line was none other than his wife, Empress Yang Miaozhen."
Chagatai gave a cold laugh.
"He knew I was coming, yet he sent a woman to block my way, Chagatai?"
He slammed his hand on the cutting board, his face contorted with humiliation and anger.
"Back when we were in the Western Regions, Yang Kang looked down on me, thinking I was inferior to Juchi and Ögedei."
"But I never expected him to be so arrogant, actually thinking that a woman could stop me."
"I'll make her pay for disrespecting me. When I catch that woman, I'll make sure her queen suffers the most horrific humiliation before dying a miserable death!"
Chagatai said through gritted teeth.
"Great Khan! The Jin army commander Wanyan Jiujin that Genghis Khan faced back then was nothing more than an arrogant and short-sighted commander."
"But although Yang Miaozhen is a woman, she is more than a hundred times stronger than Wanyan Jiujin!"
"You must not underestimate her!"
Subutai said anxiously.
Upon hearing this, the generals in the tent exchanged bewildered glances.
They had already discerned Subutai's opposition to the operation.
"You mean, you want me to let go of my brother's hatred, forget the humiliation Yang Kang inflicted on my Golden Family, and cower on the grasslands like a coward?"
Chagatai said coldly, his eyes fixed on Subutai, his anger already evident in them.
"Great Khan, even without those armies, Yang Kang is no ordinary person who can stand against him."
"Batu is plotting further conquest of the West, and we should join him."
"Focus more on the weaker, more accessible places, rather than confronting the monster Yang Kang head-on in the East."
Subutai offered sincere advice.
The deserters who had been routed in the Battle of Guanshan had already returned to Karakorum, and he had learned from those people what kind of monster Yang Kang was now.
Subutai had his doubts about those people's words, but as a survivor who personally stopped Yang Kang in the Battle of Wild Fox Ridge, he knew that whatever terrible things that person did were justifiable.
That's enough.
"General Subutai, it seems you've grown old, so old that you've even lost your courage."
"Since you think so highly of Batu, then go and accompany him on his western expedition."
"I will take care of the disgrace of the Golden Family myself."
Chagatai angrily waved his hand and, without hesitation, drove out Subutai, the man who had personally placed him on the throne of the Great Khan.
"Great Khan..."
Subutai anxiously got up and took a step forward, wanting to persuade him to stay again.
"I don't need your permission, I am the Khan of Mongolia."
"Go to the West and find Batu; he will be willing to follow your teachings."
Chagatai spoke arrogantly.
Subutai remained silent for a long time after hearing this.
He looked into Chagatai's eyes, and in those eyes he saw the shadow of Genghis Khan.
Chagatai's appearance, in almost every aspect, whether it be bravery, perseverance, or courage, bears a resemblance to Temujin.
But it seems that he hasn't quite mastered each aspect.
"Your subject... obeys."
Subutai bowed and withdrew.
Stepping out of the tent, the cold wind of the grassland rushed towards him. He closed his eyes in the wind.
Subutai is 58 years old this year.
At this time, having been banished to the western grasslands, he knew that he might never have the chance to return in his lifetime.
Or perhaps, even if I come back, I'm afraid I won't see these people again.
After Subutai left, Chagatai assembled an army of 400,000 men and marched in a grand procession from Karakorum toward Yefuling.
However, of the 400,000 troops, apart from his 100,000 elite Mongol troops, the remaining 300,000 were poorly trained, lacked coordination, and were supplementary recruits.
The movements of the Mongols were reported to Yang Kang in Yanjing and to Yang Miaozhen, the commander-in-chief of the Yanshan defense line, through secret agents long ago.
"Your Majesty, Chagatai is coming on strong."
"Isn't it too risky for the Empress to lead the expedition alone? Why doesn't His Majesty personally lead the army?"
In Yanjing, Yelü Chucai looked at the battle report and asked with a worried expression.
Unlike other eras where officials tried their best to prevent the emperor from personally leading a military campaign, the foundation of the Great Qian Dynasty was, in essence, Yang Kang's terrifying, inhuman martial prowess.
All subjects, including even a composed civil official like Yelü Chucai, harbored a superstitious belief.
No matter what kind of opponent, as long as Yang Kang takes action, he will surely capture them easily.
But if it were someone else, they would more or less feel lingering fear.
"Before I married Miaozhen, I promised her that even if she married me, she would never be confined to the deep palace."
"Besides, which empire is truly supported solely by its emperor? I am an emperor, not a monarch."
Upon hearing this, Yang Kang replied nonchalantly.
What's the difference between an emperor and a monarch?
Yelü Chucai was also swayed by Yang Kang's sudden out-of-place words.
"But Your Majesty, what if..."
He quickly regained his composure and continued asking questions.
"There aren't that many 'what ifs'. You should know how capable your empress is, Jinqing, so don't worry too much."
"Besides, if I intervene, things might get out of hand."
Yang Kang said with a light laugh.
Yang Kang had no idea that it was his decision to send Yang Miaozhen on the expedition that would make things truly irreversible.
In the autumn of the first year of Qianwu.
Empress Yang Miaozhen of the Great Qian Dynasty led an army of 200,000 and deployed them on Yehu Ridge, where they unexpectedly encountered Chagatai, who was leading an army of 400,000 southwards.
The situation was remarkably similar to the Battle of Yehuling at that time.
The flags of the two armies spread across the mountains and plains like a dense swarm of ants, turning the autumn hillsides and fields black from afar.
The light reflected from the swords momentarily overshadowed the brilliance of the sun in the sky.
Chagatai, mounted on his horse, wearing a magnificent and precious helmet, gazed arrogantly into the distance.
The beautiful face clad in red armor was hidden beneath a hideous mask.
Chagatai did not realize that he was making the same mistake his enemies had made in the Battle of Wild Fox Ridge.
He came in too much of a hurry; his 400,000-strong army didn't have time to deploy.
Just like her adversary Genghis Khan, Yang Miaozhen took advantage of the fact that his army was still in a state of disarray and personally led the central army to charge towards Chagatai's 100,000-strong Mongol central army.
Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun each led the left and right wings of the Imperial Cavalry, riding alongside Yang Miaozhen to assist her.
It thrust forward like a long spear, striking towards Chagatai's central army.
Although Yang Miaozhen's martial arts skills were not as good as Yang Kang's, the two had practiced martial arts together for many years, and Yang Kang had cleansed her marrow day and night to cleanse her internal energy.
At this moment, in terms of strength, although Yang Miaozhen did not have the exaggerated strength of ten thousand jin like Yang Kang, she still had the superhuman strength of two or three thousand jin.
With the Imperial Guards of the Dragon Cavalry protecting them, the war's developments exceeded Chagatai's plans from the very beginning.
The Mongol cavalry were not much weaker than in Genghis Khan's time. They grew up on horseback and their scimitars were fierce and powerful.
However, the army of the Great Qian Dynasty was no longer the army of the former Jin Dynasty.
The 150-strong Dragon Cavalry Imperial Guard was an army unlike any they had ever seen in the human world.
The first rank of cavalry charged down as the Mongol warriors swung their swords, the curved blades striking the armor of the Imperial Cavalry, sparks flying, and their hands cracking from the impact.
The armor was embroidered with the fierce Qilin beast, with an inner layer woven with iron wire and an outer layer of fine steel scales. Ordinary curved swords couldn't even leave a white mark on it.
Before the Mongol warriors could react, the spears of the Imperial Cavalry had already pierced through the horse's belly from below.
The warhorse neighed and fell to the ground, throwing the Mongol soldier off its back.
The Mongol cavalry following behind continued their charge, trampling over their fallen comrades, but the Dragon Cavalry's formation remained unmoved.
A Mongolian centurion roared and charged at Yang Miaozhen, his curved blade aimed straight at her face.
Yang Miaozhen didn't even spare a glance. She swept her spear horizontally, the end of the spear striking the centurion's waist. The centurion's body was broken in half, his lower body still on the horse's back, but his upper body had already flown off.
Blood splattered on the faces of three Mongol soldiers nearby. They were stunned for a moment before being overwhelmed by the Daqian infantry that rushed up after them.
The two armies clashed for less than half an hour, and the northern slope of Wild Fox Ridge was already covered with the corpses of men and horses.
The bodies of the Mongols were piled up in three layers. The soldiers behind them continued to charge forward, stepping over the corpses of their comrades. But when they reached the Imperial Cavalry, they were like waves crashing against rocks, shattered time and time again.
With a flick of her iron spear, Yang Miaozhen pierced the chest of a Mongol commander and casually tossed the corpse away.
Blood dripped from the tip of the gun, falling drop by drop to the ground, where it was quickly trampled into mud by the footsteps that followed.
Not long after the two armies clashed, Yang Miaozhen personally led two thousand assault troops to reach Chagatai's central army with overwhelming force.
Chagatai, just as angry as his father, shouted and immediately summoned more than a dozen of his generals to stop Yang Miaozhen.
Unfortunately, Yang Miaozhen at this time was not the same Yang Kang who had only a hundred ordinary Iron Pagoda soldiers following him during the Battle of Yehuling.
Her martial arts skills were far superior to those of the sixteen-year-old Yang Kang, and the Imperial Guards of the Dragon Cavalry around her were far superior to the hundred or so Ironclad Cavalry of that day.
The dozen or so commanders of Chagatai rushed forward, but only managed to block Yang Miaozhen for a moment.
Yang Miaozhen thrust out her spear, instantly piercing through several brave Mongol generals blocking her way, turning them into a string of gourds. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed them into the air, tearing them to shreds.
Before Chagatai could react, Yang Miaozhen led the Imperial Cavalry to break through his central army.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Chagatai had no choice but to turn his horse around and start to flee.
Yang Miaozhen snorted coldly, leaped onto her horse, and chased after Chagatai in the direction he had fled.
A white light flashed in the sky, as if a god had sent down thunder to punish the world.
Chagatai was not surprised at all when Yang Miaozhen's iron spear pierced through his body.
The immense force lifted him off his horse and pinned him to the ground.
Chagatai struggled helplessly, swaying and howling on the spear, but there was no way for him to break free.
From this moment on, the Mongols' destiny came to a complete end.
At the very moment the spear pierced through Chagatai, a glint of light flashed in Yang Kang's eyes, who was far away in Yanjing.
A mysterious force suddenly surged into Yang Kang's body.
An indescribable transformation quietly began to take place in him.
His integration with Xiang Yu remained unchanged, but his physical strength subtly increased, and even the upper limit of his true qi increased.
His double pupils trembled slightly, and a wondrous aura began to surge into Yang Kang's body, guiding his transformation, as Yang Kang looked on with curiosity.