Chapter 177 - 139: Fame Shakes the Northern Barbarians
Chapter 177: Chapter 139: Fame Shakes the Northern Barbarians
This was, by all accounts, a great victory.
Lu Yuan said calmly, "This is only the beginning. Next, we must unite the people of these three tribes."
"Leave some men to guard the prisoners. Bring the two chiefs with us. We’ll secure the Mantuo Tribe first, then deal with the other two."
"As you command!" Xiao He said at once.
However, just as he was turning to leave, Lu Yuan seemed to recall something. He looked up and said, "Oh, right. One more thing. What about the Mantuo Leader?"
"He escaped, badly wounded. He didn’t return to his tribe, though. We don’t know where he went," Xiao He replied hastily.
Lu Yuan waved a dismissive hand. "Never mind him."
With that, he leaped onto his warhorse. After waving to Xiao Hua in the distance, she immediately galloped over to him.
Xiao He had already assembled the army for departure. They followed behind Lu Yuan, riding swiftly toward the Mantuo Tribe.
Meanwhile, the Northern Barbarians’ Military Hall was completely silent.
No one had slept all night. The tea by their hands had been refilled so many times its color was now faint.
SMACK!
A moment later, Xiao Gu slammed his palm on the table. "Excellent! Truly excellent! I considered that Prince Qin might be defeated, but I never imagined he would win so easily."
"His military strategy is simply divine. In a few more years, I suspect our Prince Qin will be ranked among the Renowned Generals."
"When that time comes, we Northern Barbarians will no longer have to live at the mercy of others."
"This battle not only silences the surrounding Vassal Towns, but it also subjugates three tribes in one fell swoop, adding to the court’s power."
"From now on, we won’t have to constantly worry about Ancient River Pass."
The Grand Minister of Rites’s face was rosier than ever before.
Fu Chuan smiled as well. "I underestimated Prince Qin. After this battle, who under heaven would dare to?"
Prime Minister Li Qing nodded. "Quite impressive indeed. With the forces of these three tribes, plus their stockpiled provisions, we can hold out against the Shengman for much longer."
The atmosphere in the hall instantly became much more relaxed.
The grim anxiety of the previous night had vanished.
Li Qing even joked, "Prince Qin may be a god on the battlefield, but he’s rather lacking when it comes to business. I hear his steward has already bought up land in South City."
"A full thousand acres, all to be developed and sold as housing."
"He’s hired a lot of workers. At this rate, construction should be finished sometime after spring next year."
"That’s over forty million in silver, all about to go down the drain."
Xiao Gu’s eyebrow twitched. "That’s only because you people hog your positions and do nothing, forcing Prince Qin to find new revenue streams. If he loses money this time..."
"...we must all pitch in to help him. We can’t let Prince Qin’s Mansion go bankrupt. He’s still young, after all. We should be the ones guiding him in these business matters."
"Sigh... Grand Minister of Rites, you know our situation. None of the businesses are profitable right now. The merchant caravans in the buffer zones are being used just to buy grain."
"The wealthy merchants have silver, but they spend it elsewhere. They don’t spend it here among us Northern Barbarians. Everyone knows this is a bitterly cold and internally unstable land, so no one wants to stay."
Li Qing’s expression soured as he spoke. He had lowered the prices on many goods, but still, no one was buying.
The Xiao monarch, seated at the head of the hall, said, "I’ll leave these matters for the Prime Minister to worry about. I will not concern myself with them. In short, if Yuan loses money on this venture, you are not to let the Prince’s Mansion go bankrupt. That is all."
Having said her piece, she stood, a rare smile gracing her lips. "Alright. You’ve all been on edge long enough. Go home and rest."
"The battle at Ancient River Pass should be over soon."
As her voice faded, she left the hall.
「And at that very moment.」
Lu Yuan was leading his army of tens of thousands to consolidate the three tribes.
The Mantuo Tribe surrendered almost as soon as the army arrived.
After all, they were originally people of the Northern Barbarians themselves.
They felt little resistance in their hearts.
Over the next five days, the army moved between the three territories.
The Manhun Tribe and the Manhe Tribe both surrendered completely.
The chiefs of both tribes had already been taken captive. When the tribesmen saw their leaders bound before the imperial Military Array, they offered no resistance and surrendered at once.
On the seventh day, Lu Yuan returned to Ancient River Pass, bringing with him the combined 150,000-strong army of the three tribes.
As for the Chief of the Mantuo Tribe, without his tribe’s support, he was like a ship without a rudder. His entire family had been captured. They, along with the other two chiefs and their families—several hundred people in all—were loaded onto carts and escorted toward the Imperial City by the army and experts from Prajna Temple.
A warrant for the arrest of the Chief of the Mantuo Tribe had been issued throughout the lands of the Northern Barbarians.
Local Government Offices were ordered to assist the Observatory and the men of Prajna Temple in the hunt. It was believed he would be found before long.
Inside the campaign tent, an orange-red flame burned brightly beneath a large cauldron.
A whole sheep stewed inside, along with numerous medicinal herbs, including the Northern Barbarians’ famed Six-Bearded Red Ginseng. This was a precious ingredient, highly beneficial even to a master at the Gathering Pill realm. Lu Yuan and Xiao Hua were eating with great relish.
Xiao Hua thoughtfully refilled Lu Yuan’s wine cup from time to time.
She sat close beside him, quiet and demure.
THUD... THUD...
The sound of footsteps came from outside the tent, and the flap was instantly thrown open.
Xiao He strode in, full of excitement. "Prince, we’ve finished inventorying the supplies from the three tribes."
Lu Yuan glanced up at him and nodded. "Let’s hear it."
"This time, we’ve seized 800,000 shi of grain, enough fodder for the warhorses to last until next year, over 500,000 horses, more than a million cattle and sheep combined, and five hundred million in silver."