Chapter 61: The Doom of the Moman Tribe

Soon after, the Eastern Capital Army broke camp and set out, and Li Xiao rode out from the main camp as well.

"The fortress master is out."

"Fortress master, are you alright?"

"Brother Dalong, the Khitans didn't do anything to you, did they?"

Upon seeing Li Xiao, the hundred Hexi cavalrymen stationed outside the camp instantly swarmed forward, shielding Li Xiao in the center and showering him with questions.

Touched by their concern, Li Xiao felt a modest warmth in his heart and laughed heartily, "What could possibly happen to me?"

"The Khitans wouldn't dare do anything to me."

"Let's go, we'll talk back at the base."

Shortly after, Li Xiao led the hundred Hexi cavalrymen galloping toward Tazhai.

Upon returning, Li Xiao immediately summoned Qin Kaishan and the others to hold a high-level military council for the Seven Fortresses.

"This man Xiao Simo is no ordinary person; he is deeply calculating, highly aggressive, and extremely ambitious."

"Aside from the fifteen thousand cavalrymen at the Yin Mountains and the Northern Sea, Xiao Simo has also gathered five thousand troops from the Great Desert, who are currently on their way."

Li Xiao briefly introduced Xiao Simo and shared other intelligence obtained from the commander's tent.

Hearing this, Qin Kaishan and the others turned grave.

"A force of twenty thousand?"

"The total number of Han people in Jinzhou doesn't even amount to that!"

"Is this Xiao Simo really planning to attack the Naimans?"

"If a war with the Naimans breaks out, our Jinzhou will be doomed."

Qin Kaishan and the others spoke with heavy hearts.

Li Xiao gently shook his head, "This battle is already inevitable; none of us can stop it."

Although irreconcilable contradictions existed between the Naimans and Western Liao, direct frontal warfare between them had historically been rare.

Yet now, due to Li Xiao's appearance and the elimination of the Aslan tribe, the situation in Jinzhou had been brought under control.

Xiao Simo's Eastern Capital Army would not be bogged down in the quagmire of war within Jinzhou.

He now possessed absolute confidence to eliminate the Karluks and then march directly against the Naimans.

This was a war that should never have existed in history.

Yet it was about to happen.

It made Li Xiao wonder whether future developments would stray entirely from the trajectory of history.

For instance, would Xiao Simo succeed in rebellion?

"What should we do?" Luo Ping asked with a furrowed brow.

Li Xiao let out a cold chuckle, "What else can we do? Do we even have a choice?"

"Xiao Simo's twenty-thousand-strong army is right here in Jinzhou. Do we honestly expect to remain aloof or harbor double intentions?"

At these words, everyone let out helpless sighs.

In the face of absolute power, any scheme or trickery was utterly meaningless.

"Prepare yourselves. We will break camp this afternoon and join the Eastern Capital Army in subduing the Karluks," Li Xiao commanded.

Upon hearing this, the commanders nodded and dispersed.

This time, the Eastern Capital Army would simultaneously attack the Maiman and Qibi tribes.

And Li Xiao's assigned task was to assist in the attack against the Maiman tribe at Wuyazhai.

Yet at this moment, the Karluks of the Maiman tribe remained oblivious to the gravity of the situation, still immersed in visions of a prosperous future.

"Wuguli, your flock is about to scatter, be careful," an old herdsman shouted loudly, cracking his whip as he pointed at a young Karluk in the distance.

The young man named Wuguli laughed indifferently, turned on his horse, and lashed out with his whip.

He cursed directly, "Vile Han slaves, you are too slow."

"Go round up those sheep. If even a single sheep is missing, I'll chop off both your feet."

The sheepskin whip was extremely tough, raising bloody welts the instant it struck human flesh. The two Han men nearby were clad in ragged clothes.

Their bodies were covered in scars. After being whipped, they gritted their teeth fiercely, burying the hatred deep within their hearts as they hurriedly chased after the flock.

To prevent them from escaping, the Karluks never permitted them to ride horses.

"Haha, these Han slaves run really slowly, not even as useful as my dogs."

Watching the retreating figures of the two Han slaves, the Karluk named Wuguli gave a light snort, his face full of disdain.

The old herdsman chuckled softly and merely cautioned, "Don't beat them to death, otherwise there won't be enough people to look after your sheep."

Such was the custom of the grasslands. Who told these Han people to lose the war and become slaves of the Maiman tribe?

The old herdsman paid it no mind and turned back to tending his own flock.

"If future days could always be like this, how wonderful that would be."

Originally, he had been nothing more than an ordinary herdsman, struggling to feed a large family with just a dozen sheep.

Yet who would have thought that after defeating the Jinzhou army and capturing Wuyazhai, the Maiman tribe would suddenly strike it rich.

Even the old herdsman was allotted dozens of sheep.

Life instantly became prosperous, bringing smiles to his face every day.

"Uncle Nie'elun, do you think we can win?" asked a young Karluk, approaching with a worried expression.

The old herdsman's cloudy eyes looked toward the horizon and he chuckled, "Don't worry, the Yabghu has already sent men to the Naiman tribe to ask for reinforcements."

"Even if the Eastern Capital Army arrives, we will be safe."

The Karluks were backed by the Naimans.

Ever since the Aslan tribe was destroyed, the offensives of the Maiman and Qibi tribes had suffered successive setbacks.

Consequently, the chieftains of the two tribes put their heads together, realizing that relying solely on their own strength was likely insufficient to integrate the Jinzhou Han people and subsequently resist the Eastern Capital Army.

They had no choice but to seek help from their financial backer behind the scenes—the Naimans.

"Little Luoga, rest easy. At this moment, the Naimans are probably already massing their troops at the Altai Pass."

"If the Eastern Capital Army dares to come, we will join forces with the Naimans and teach those Khitans a severe lesson," Wuguli said, riding up to the two of them with a loud laugh.

"Once we defeat the Eastern Capital's army, the entire northern frontier will open its doors to us."

Wuguli was full of confidence and pinned high hopes on the Naimans.

This was largely because the chieftain of the Maiman tribe, wishing to prevent panic among the people, constantly brainwashed them by propagating the doctrine of inevitable victory in war.

Young men like Wuguli had swallowed those lies hook, line, and sinker.

"But even if we defeat the Khitans, aren't the Naimans still around?"

"When will we Karluks ever truly rebuild our Khaganate?" Little Luoga asked doubtfully.

The Khitans would leave, but the Naimans would oppress them anew; why was the destiny of the Karluk people so tragic?

"Don't think too much about it. These are merely trials on our path to rebuilding the Karluk Khaganate, and we will surely succeed," the old herdsman smiled and told Little Luoga.

Yet the very next second, the smile on his face slowly faded, replaced by an expression of growing puzzlement.

A low rumbling sound seemed to echo in his ears. He looked up at the sky, which was cloudless and stained with crimson sunset glow.

"I'm growing old; even my ears are starting to go deaf," the old herdsman smiled faintly and shook his head, thinking he was experiencing auditory hallucinations.

Yet soon enough, the flock of sheep around him seemed to sense something as well, bleating incessantly.

Thousands of cattle and sheep grew restless, panic-stricken as they vied with one another to scatter and flee, leaving the old herdsman and the others powerless to control them.

He no longer had the leisure to care for the flock, for at that moment he finally realized he was not hallucinating—something real was happening.

"There are enemies!" the old herdsman shouted in terror.

He quickly vaulted onto his horse, his bark-like black hands gripping a bow and arrow like a pair of iron pliers.

Karluks raised on the grasslands were all too familiar with this phenomenon: the sound of a massive herd of horses charging.

The surrounding Karluks quickly gathered around the old herdsman.

"Where on earth did such a large cavalry force come from?" Wuguli exclaimed in shock.

The others were equally baffled, "Judging by the sound, there must be several thousand men at the very least. Jinzhou couldn't possibly have this many cavalry troops."

"Could it be the Eastern Capital Army?"

The old herdsman's wrinkled face turned gravely serious.

Gazing in the direction from which the sound came, he said in a deep voice, "We are in trouble."

"Fall back immediately."

Daring not to delay, abandoning even their flocks outside, the Karluks scrambled frantically back toward Wuyazhai.

Having learned the lesson from the night raid on Sanhe Fortress, all the members of the Maiman tribe had crowded inside Wuyazhai.

No one dared to pitch tents outside the fortress walls any longer.

At this juncture, every single Karluk within Wuyazhai had been alarmed. They all seized their weapons and rushed behind the trench fortifications.

Their expressions tense and solemn, they stared fixedly into the distance where the rumbling originated.

As the roar grew louder and louder, they finally caught sight of the silhouette of this army.

Disbelief was written across every face until the old herdsman's parched lips finally burst into a roar: "It's the Khitans! The Eastern Capital Army is here!"

At that moment, the entire Maiman tribe plunged into panic.

The Naiman reinforcements they had anticipated never arrived, but the Eastern Capital Army had come instead.

The boundless army resembled a dark cloud, directly surrounding the small stronghold of Wuyazhai.

Under the weight of overwhelming military might, the Karluks of Wuyazhai were like a frail leaf in a storm.

Overthrow was imminent.

"Damn it! I said long ago that we should have left Jinzhou as soon as possible and defected to the Naimans."

"What use is your hindsight? You said the Eastern Capital Army wouldn't arrive this fast."

"It's clearly because you couldn't bear to part with the Han people's livestock and women, and wanted to conquer yet another Han fortress before leaving."

"Enough! What's the use of arguing about this now?"

"Send men to ask the Naimans for reinforcements immediately!"

"Right, the Khitans won't breach the fortress easily; we can surely hold out until the Naimans arrive."

With the arrival of the Eastern Capital Army, the people of the Maiman tribe fell into utter chaos, shouting, pointing fingers at one another, and descending into disorder.

In truth, when the arrival of the Eastern Capital Army was first discovered, the people of the Maiman tribe still had a chance to flee.

Yet the majority could not bear to abandon their livestock and wealth.

Moreover, believing the Naimans would come to their rescue, they tacitly chose not to leave, opting instead to defend the fortress.

On the other side, Xiao Simo, clad in a heavy brocade robe, stood upon a high slope, gazing far into the distance at the outline of Wuyazhai.

He shook his head slightly and said, "These Han people are truly troublesome. Back in the Central Plains, they loved building city walls, and upon coming to the grasslands, they still throw up all these ramparts and trenches."

A Khiyan general nearby chuckled heartily and said, "No help for it, the Han people's courage has always been this small!"

The Khitans had ruled the Han people of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun for centuries, and deep down they still retained a strong sense of inherent superiority over the Han.

"Great King, attack!"

"Great King, let my men go! Before sunset, we'll surely take this fortress."

"Great King, let me do it!"

The Khitan generals eagerly vied for the command, but Xiao Simo shook his head instead, "Our Khitan warriors are the eagles of the grasslands; we should fight unfettered."

"Such mundane tasks of storming fortresses should be left to others!"

With that, Xiao Simo turned his gaze to his guards, "Pass down the order."

"The Jinzhou Han forces, together with the left and right wings of the Wulijian, Haratu, and Hechila tribes, shall jointly attack Wuyazhai."

"Before sunset, I want to see the chieftain of the Maiman tribe kneeling before me."