Realm of Power

The wind and snow filled the sky like a white curtain covering the land ahead. In the cold weather, a team of 220,000 prairie people was like a long dragon, slowly advancing from east to west along the wilderness.

The sound of horse hoofbeats came, and a hundred meters away from the prairie people, a group of black-armored cavalry held up the eagle flag and stopped their horses.

The imperial cavalry officer at the front looked at these prairie people as if he was scanning his territory like an eagle. The tassel on his helmet was like fire, and his black armor was like ink. Behind him, more than a hundred imperial cavalry lined up in a row with three swords in their hands. Even in the wind and snow, the imperial cavalry spears flashed by with a chill that made people feel embarrassed.

"Stop, people in front. This is already the territory of the empire. It belongs to the grassland department. Is there a surrender order? If not, you must leave immediately!" The imperial cavalry officer looked down at this long group of grassland people with no end in sight. The imperial eagle flag was blown upright by the cold wind in his hands. Instead of showing any fear, he raised his right hand with a stern expression and shouted loudly.

"Sir, don't be angry. We are from the Grassland Keran Department. We don't dare to delay after receiving the empire's surrender order. Forty-seven thousand three hundred and sixty-nine people in our department have come to surrender!" An old voice came. A frightened old man hurriedly greeted him. Wearing relatively gorgeous clothes, and even wearing a Central Asian silk robe, it looks a bit nondescript, but this is the popular way of wearing it among the prairie nobles in the northwest region. The old man took out a metal token from his arms. , said repeatedly with great respect.

In front of this murderous imperial cavalry officer, the tens of thousands of grassland troops came to a complete standstill.

At this time, it can be seen that this grassland team of tens of thousands of people is completely different from the arrogant and tough appearance when they were raging in the northwest. Instead, everyone bowed their heads and did not dare to look directly at the opposite side. The imperial cavalry was accompanied by countless ox-carts and horse-drawn carriages, crowded with old, weak, women and children. Everyone's face turned purple due to the cold wind, and they huddled together on the bullock cart to keep warm. A pair of pairs of frightened eyes looked at the imperial cavalry in front of them like gods of war in the snow. It was this kind of cavalry that held more than 10,000 men in the Combustible Department under In his hands, life or death is unknown. The lifeblood of the entire combustible department is considered to be in the opponent's hands.

"Combustible Department?"

The imperial officer glanced at the complicated Obarro text on the surrender order and saw that it did have the words "Combustible Ministry" on it. A cavalryman from behind reached out his hand. The cavalryman took out a book and put it in his hand. The officer opened it and read it. After a while, I can basically confirm this surrender order. It was indeed given by the Empire to the Combustible Ministry. In fact, it is unlikely that this surrender order was forged, because the name of the tribe was written in Obarro script on the token. Without knowing the Obarro script, the surrender was forged. Ling, it is difficult to match the name of the tribe.

"We are indeed the Combustible Department." The old man from the Combustible Department did not dare to show any sloppiness on his face, and he spoke respectfully. He put his hand on his chest and saluted the imperial official.

"Since there is an order of surrender, I will make it clear to you even if you enter the empire's territory in compliance with the rules. This is already the territory of the empire. Even if there is an order of surrender, if something violates the laws of the empire, it will not be allowed. "After confirming the other party's true identity, the imperial officer nodded and The name was given to the cavalry behind him, and he waved his hand. The imperial cavalry spread out on both sides to get out of the way. The officer said sharply at the same time, "Twenty miles ahead, there are camps for all ministries to return. Five miles ahead of you." Lunbu and Kudabu have already arrived first, and they are late. I can't guarantee that everyone can get food."

"Yes, I understand." When the old man heard that Wuli Lunbu and Kudabu were ahead, his expression suddenly tightened and he nodded repeatedly. He didn't feel relieved until the imperial cavalry was far away. He turned to the long dragon that stopped behind him. He raised his hands and said, "You all heard it, the reception camp is not far ahead, everyone hurry up."

"Grandpa, can the Empire really be trusted? What if the Empire doesn't accept our Combustible Department?"

A prairie girl wearing a felt hat and cheeks as red as apples appeared next to the old man. Her eyes followed the imperial cavalry in the distance with a hint of dignity. She wore a pure white prairie fox fur. Wrapped in the eye-catching grace of a girl She has a long silky strand draped over her round shoulders, and a pair of eyes that are like deep pools of autumn water under the dark eyebrows that are rare for prairie women. It is no wonder that she has such hesitation. There are hundreds of thousands of prairie tribesmen. , Even the royal court dare not accept it, the empire dares? But looking around, except for the empire who has such strength, who can do this?

"Antur, there is really no way to go to the empire this time."

The old patriarch Baita looked at his granddaughter and sighed helplessly, "Although the cold winter in the northwest has less snowstorms than the grassland, it is already enough to freeze someone to death. The Yelu family took away all the supplies and supplies. Hundreds of thousands of grassland people were dumped in Xijinggu for food. You have also seen that scene. Dissatisfied with Yeluguda, more than 10,000 people from the Baiji tribe who were related to Yeluguda were killed. This time, the northwest tribes were deceived by Yeluguda. More than 100,000 Qingzhuang soldiers were killed by the empire in one fell swoop. Surrounded and forced to surrender, the entire tribe seemed to have its spine ripped out at once. What hope did these old, weak, women and children have left?

Lao Baita's eyes were deep with a trace of self-mockery, and he smiled bitterly and said, "And because of the collective lack of senior leaders of the tribe, even an old man like me can only come in person to preside over the affairs of the tribe. The Northern Royal Court, the Southwest Long Family, and the Yelu Family The three-party war in the northwest, All the ministries have not yet understood. Yelu Guda, who had vowed to give an explanation to the northwest ministries the day before, transferred all the Yelu family troops the next day, leaving the northwest ministries who were still suffering in the cold. , went directly to fight in Yanzhou."

"When Yeluguda fell in love with me, it was a good thing that my father rejected him because I had a marriage contract with the Kanlin Ran tribe. Otherwise, I would have ended up like the Baiji tribe, taking away all the supplies. This would have directly taken away hundreds of thousands of people from the northwest tribes. The grassland people are desperate. In this cold winter season when there is a lack of winter supplies, all ministries except What else can you do if you are left to fend for yourself?" The girl Antur's eyes were red, her extremely beautiful eyes blinked, and she said angrily. Her rosy cheeks revealed a wild and amazing beauty, and she looked towards the snow-filled landscape in the distance. In the wilderness, I can't see the direction and future in the vastness. I hesitated and said.

"Since the Yelu family is unreliable, why don't we seek refuge with the Royal Court? After all, my Keran tribe is also a tribe of thirty to forty thousand people. The Royal Court will not refuse, right?"

"Wing Ting? Haha" Hearing his granddaughter Antur's words, it was as if he had heard some joke. The corners of Old Baita's mouth showed even more disdain, "My little Antur is so naive. There are no soldiers in this group. The grassland tribes who are left with old, weak, women and children are a burden in this situation in the northwest and in the severe cold of winter."

If there were only 30,000 to 40,000 people in my Keran tribe, the royal court might consider it, but this is the entire northwest tribe's 4 to 50,000 people. How much food would be needed for such a large number of old, weak, women and children in such a cold winter wind? How many materials have been arranged, even if we can really take over all of them, after spending so much effort, it may even drain the capital of the royal court, but in the end, we will not get a single soldier or horse from the tribe. If you are the king Court, what use can these hundreds of thousands of people have?

"What's more, Yelu's hundreds of thousands of troops are about to attack Yanzhou. The Yelu family broke through the outskirts of Yanzhou in just one day and smashed more than 3,000 royal guards to death." Old Baita's eyes flashed with a hint of fear, and his voice paused. After a pause, he continued, "In the past, prairie people relied on The lives of the Yelu Army were high, but this time the Yelu Army had a completely different style of play. The Yelu Army, which had already accumulated considerable siege experience in the Zhongbia region, used countless Zhongbi troops like the Zhongbia people this time. Asia's weapons of war are preceded by slings like a rainstorm The same pressure came up, and the heavy armored army surged up from behind, completely blinding the Wang Ting Guards who were still dreaming of relying on Yanzhou City Wall for defense. It is said that there are thousands of catapults alone, and they are simply overwhelming when fired, and the range is far. Passing the range that the royal court defenders can reach , it’s ironic to say that Yanzhou lacks everything except stones! Wang Ting is already too busy to take care of himself. How can he still have the energy to care about our life and death? Those who betray Wang Ting should accept the punishment of Changshengtian! The royal court responded to requests from various ministries! "

After listening to Old Baita's words, the grassland girl Antur's lips pressed together tightly. Wang Ting's army retreated, and the main force of the Yelu family was emptied. In the northwest, there was no longer any force that could stop the southwestern Long family's army from advancing north. , to stop the counterattack of the Central Asians, she knew that just when the Keran Ministry finally decided to cross the border, and took the surrender documents issued by the Empire to the various ministries. Five days before Ling decided to defect to the empire, the 100,000-strong army of the Southwest Long Family, which had been mopping up the south, had brutally wiped out the Xionglin Tribe of more than 20,000 people, and strung the heads of the entire Xionglin Tribe men on the battle flag. On the film, women were subjected to all kinds of humiliation, and even their children were tortured and killed, and the executioners were Central Bians from the area previously guarded by the Xionglin Department.

The northwest was shaken by this incident. The tens of millions of Central Asians who were originally suppressed by the various tribes in the northwest have been rioting frequently. Many tribes have suffered losses and even fallen into deep trouble. Not all tribes in the northwest can have people like the Keran tribe. Fortunately, we can evacuate before this catastrophe,

The final result of those tribes was either to be killed by these violent Central Asians, or by the Long family army that was pressing towards Xijing in the northwest center. They were destined to be unable to return to the green grass. The prairie, this can be regarded as a punishment for leaving the prairie out of greed.

"Let's move forward. We'll talk about it when we get to the camp ahead."

Old Baita patted his granddaughter Antur on the head, and a hint of perseverance belonging to the old prairie people flashed in his eyes: "Actually, I have long thought that going south to Central and Bibia was a mistake. Although Central and Bibia is good, it is too much. It’s comfortable, there’s no wild horses in the prairie, no more heaps of weeds that make people enchanted just by looking at them, and no more the Changshengtian. Huyou, are we still called grassland people? If the empire really can accept us, that would be good. At least the empire controls the Onnacuo grassland. It is said that the Yelu family took away almost most of the tribes, and now there is not even one there. There are no herders, so it would be great if we could be accommodated there!”

The wind and snow were getting worse, and the white snow flakes were almost hitting the face like a knife. The long queue was quickly obscured by the wind and snow. In places where the Combustible Department could not see, there were other northwest tribes who were also struggling. Walking on the road to the west, as the Southwest Long family heads towards the Xijinggu area, the suppressed numbers After the counterattack of millions of civilians in China, almost all the grassland tribes in the northwest region chose to surrender to the empire in a decisive way. This is the nature of the grassland people. They are as tenacious and tenacious as weeds. They can be as brutal as wild beasts, and they can also be tolerant. Like a grass seed buried deep in the snow, quietly waiting for the warmth to come

Relying on the strong and taking the survival of the tribe as the first priority, the imperial army crossed the wilderness and opened up the distance between the mountain provinces. It has completely connected the original Gaul area with the wilderness area. A large amount of food and materials came from Gaul. As early as half a month ago, a steady stream of food had been transported from the mountain corridor into the wilderness.

If you have a pair of eyes over the wilderness area at this moment, you will see that the desolate wilderness has long been scattered by hundreds of wooden camps. Countless smoke is rising from these camps, and countless tents on the periphery are changing in the wind and snow. spreading like a spider web

The prototype of three parallel roads extended from the central region of the empire to the mountains and to the northwest. This was the empire's main achievement during this period. The investment of hundreds of thousands of grassland laborers, plus the capture of nearly 20 The transportation capacity provided by Wan's war horses forged this miraculous scene.

Faced with the opening up of wilderness areas, what is needed most is labor. Fatty calculated that the hundreds of thousands of people from the northwest grassland tribes would not be able to survive for a day or two. Yeluguda sent 100,000 grassland prisoners of war, and the empire ordered every 20,000 people to live for fifty miles. The campsites are built at intervals according to the requirements, with houses and fences built of solid wooden rafts. These campsites will become accessible after the road construction is completed. In the settled camp area, most of the grassland people are nomadic. As long as there is a center, the tribes will naturally spread out in all directions. One tribe will be settled every fifty miles, and these settled tribes must use labor to exchange for winter food with the empire. Food and supplies were something that had been done before when the empire pacified Dongting. It already had considerable experience and operational capabilities.

With food support from the fertile Gaul region and the continuous influx of tribes from the northwest steppes, the wilderness area that was once uninhabited for dozens of miles is moving towards a future that will bring together Central Asia and the important business gathering areas in the Obaro region. Environmental changes (To be continued.) 8