Tears of Tuoba Hong
Since when, the wind in Mobei has brought with it a sticky and decaying smell, blowing through the camp of the Beishuo coalition forces and into the hearts of every tribal warrior.
Rumors, like moss in the dark night, quietly grew in every corner of the camp.
"Is Changshengtian...still protecting us?"
"Great Khan, can you really lead us to victory?"
Once the seeds of doubt are sown, they will grow wildly in the soil of reality.
Some people began to calculate privately that the number of Beishu warriors who fell in this strange land had exceeded 30,000.
Thirty thousand cavalrymen! This number is enough to devastate any tribe.
Men on the grasslands are born warriors, but it takes more than a decade for each warrior to mature. This rate of decline is too rapid, so rapid that it is frightening and unbearable.
By the campfire, there is no longer only heroic singing and intoxicating kumis, but more oppressive silence and intriguing whispers.
"Among the three thousand warriors brought by my Awule tribe, less than half are still standing..." A tribal leader with a scar on his face took a sip of liquor and spoke in a hoarse voice.
The leader of another tribe nearby sighed heavily, "It's the same with our Tuha tribe. If we keep fighting, even if we defeat the Southern Dynasty and seize the gold, silver, and women, almost all the men in our tribe will be dead. What's the point? If we return to the grasslands, I'm afraid even our pastures will be swallowed up by the wolf cubs!"
As a result, small groups of cavalry from the tribes began to "disappear" during night patrols, or simply asked Tuoba Hong to leave on the grounds that the tribe had encountered a snowstorm and needed help.
Inside the golden tent of the royal court, Tuoba Hong listened to the report from his trusted generals with a gloomy face. He waved everyone away irritably and sat alone on the wolfskin mattress, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness.
This is the most fundamental difference between him and Ning Lingyi.
His power is built on the submission of countless tribes.
He is the Khan and the leader of the alliance, but not the only ruler. He needs to weigh the interests of each tribe and appease their emotions, just like controlling a group of unruly wolves.
And what about Ning Lingyi? Her will was the will of the Southern Dynasty. Her army was like a steel sword, tempered by thousands of hammers, its blade and body united, stabbing wherever it pointed.
"We can't retreat, at least not now."
Tuoba Hong knew better than anyone that if he withdrew his troops now, the Southern Dynasty would have a chance to catch its breath and recuperate. With Ning Lingyi's methods, in five years, or at most ten years, the Southern Dynasty army equipped with such terrible firearms would take the initiative to march north and destroy his royal court!
At that point, it wouldn't be a question of whether he could go south, but rather whether Beishuo could survive. The battle had to continue! Even if it cost lives, it would exhaust the Southern Dynasty's national strength and cripple Ning Lingyi's foundation.
He had received secret information that a man named Nong Zishi was wielding a butcher's knife in the rear, using the heads and property of countless corrupt officials to forcibly support the cost of this war.
The contradictions within the Southern Dynasty were already acute, and civil unrest was imminent! He only needed to hold on a little longer, to delay a little longer, and the balance of victory might tilt towards him.
"Order! All tribes muster their forces. Three days from now, launch an all-out attack on the Southern Dynasty's central camp. Anyone who hesitates will be held responsible for the consequences!"
He forcibly suppressed all objections and launched a gamble with all his might.
For more than a month, the Heshuo front became a real hell on earth. The Beishuo cavalry was like a surging tide, attacking the Southern Dynasty's army wave after wave, regardless of casualties.
Arrows covered the sky like locusts, the sound of swords clashing pierced the eardrums, and the roars, screams, and wails of war horses intertwined together, forming a melody of death.
Every day, every moment, countless lives are lost.
Corpses piled up like mountains, blood soaked the ground beneath our feet, and even the howling north wind could not blow away the thick smell of blood. This was hell on earth.
The soldiers of the Southern Dynasty used their flesh and blood to build an insurmountable line of defense. They used spears, bows and crossbows, swords and shields, and even their lives, to resist the enemy's attacks inch by inch.
One month and seven days.
When the war subsided, what remained on the battlefield were the bodies of more than 10,000 Northern Shuo soldiers and more than 30,000 Southern Dynasty soldiers.
Tuoba Hong immediately stood on a high slope, looking at the Shura field, speechless for a long time.
He didn't lose, but he didn't win either.
Despite their all-out attack, they failed to break through Ning Lingyi's defense. The people of the Southern Dynasty used more than 30,000 lives to withstand his powerful attack.
Fine snowflakes began to fall from the sky, and winter was here again.
Tuoba Hong raised his head and let the cold snow fall on his face. He knew that he might... no longer have a chance.
The weather will become increasingly severe, fodder will become increasingly difficult to obtain, and the army's weariness for war and longing for home can no longer be extinguished.
It's obvious that Ning Lingyi is under more pressure!
Her treasury must have been empty long ago, and it was all thanks to Nong Zishi's "knife" who levied heavy taxes in the rear. There must be resentment within the Southern Dynasty. If it drags on for another year or two, civil unrest will surely break out!
But he couldn't wait any longer.
That day, he summoned all the generals to discuss the next military affairs, but found that the two leaders of medium-sized tribes who were supposed to be present, along with thousands of their followers, had left without saying goodbye and returned north overnight.
Although the other leaders were still in the tent, their eyes were flickering and their attitudes were ambiguous, and no one volunteered to fight.
Looking at the two empty seats, the last bit of hope in Tuoba Hong's heart was completely extinguished.
He was silent for a long time, and finally gave the order:
"Order the entire army to retreat back to the royal court."
The Beishuo army began to move out and return north.
The team had lost the vigor it had when it came, and looked dull and tired. The soldiers lowered their heads and hurried on in silence, wanting only to leave this land that had swallowed up the lives of too many of their companions as soon as possible.
Ning Lingyi stood on the top of Zhenbei City, looking at the Beishuo army retreating from afar, and did not order a pursuit.
Her army was equally exhausted, with heavy casualties. She understood the principle of not pursuing a desperate enemy. Forcing Tuoba Hong to retreat was already a huge strategic victory.
She had long been unable to fight this battle.
She needed time to digest this tragic victory, lick her wounds and recover.
*
The retreat was halfway completed.
While camping in a leeward valley, Tuoba Hong was in the lowest mood.
This time, we went south but suffered heavy casualties and achieved nothing. Now when we return to the royal court, how should we face the mothers who lost their sons and how should we suppress the tribes with dissenting ideas?
At this time, one of his cousins, a prince who was in charge of a large tribe, came to his golden tent with a pot of wine.
"Khan, drink some wine to warm yourself up and relieve your fatigue." The prince had a concerned smile on his face.
"Victory and defeat are common in war. If we return to the grasslands and recuperate for a few years, we may have a chance to make a comeback."
Tuoba Hong was feeling depressed, so he took the wine bag and took a few big gulps.
The strong liquor brought a hint of warmth into his throat, but also slightly relaxed his tense nerves.
But after a few sips of wine, he felt a sudden dizziness, his vision began to blur, and his hands and feet became a little weak.
Something is wrong!
This wine...!
He suddenly raised his head and looked at his cousin: "You...you dare..."
The smile on the prince's face had long since disappeared, replaced by a complex expression that was a mixture of ambition, guilt, and determination.
He took a step back and calmly looked at Tuoba Hong as his body began to shake.
"Khan," he said in an icy voice, "you were ambushed and captured by an elite Southern Dynasty squadron midway through your march. I was unable to rescue you and am deeply saddened. To maintain stability and prolong the reign of our Northern Shuo nation, I can only reluctantly take your place and inherit the throne."
"Traitor! Beast!" Tuoba Hong wanted to draw his sword, but found that his arms were too heavy to move.
He wanted to roar, to call for the guards outside the tent, but no one came in. Had they betrayed him? Endless anger, regret, and sadness overwhelmed him.
He could never have imagined that he did not die on the battlefield, nor was he defeated by Ning Lingyi, but fell into betrayal by his own people.
The last thing he saw before his consciousness completely fell into darkness was his cousin's cold and greedy eyes.
It turns out that this is his Beishuo!
*
This betrayal was not accidental.
As early as more than a year ago, the four wealthy businessmen in Tongbei who were caught by Ning Lingyi, followed her instructions and mobilized their huge financial resources to build a network of relationships in Beishuo for many years, and infiltrated and instigated rebellion among the upper echelons of Beishuo day and night.
Gold, silver, and jewelry, promises and guarantees, future trade privileges...
All kinds of sugar-coated bullets were thrown at the Beishu nobles who were dissatisfied with Tuoba Hong's continued war or had their own ambitions.
Tuoba Hong's prestige was gradually declining with the defeat in the war.
The conditions offered by Ning Lingyi were tempting enough - as long as Beishuo gave up most of the land it had previously seized from Xiqiang to the Southern Dynasty, the Southern Dynasty would sign an alliance with the newly established Beishuo regime, agreeing not to invade each other and open border trade.
For many nobles who only care about the interests of their own tribes, exchanging a "failed" Khan for future peace and huge wealth is a very cost-effective deal.
So, when the lion Tuoba Hong was at his weakest, the jackals lurking in the dark finally showed their fangs.
*
When Tuoba Hong regained consciousness, he found himself in a house belonging to the Southern Dynasty.
He learned about the changes in the outside world in bits and pieces from the people guarding him: after he was "captured", his cousin quickly stabilized the situation, became the new Khan of Beishuo with the support of some great nobles, and soon reached a peace treaty with the Southern Dynasty.
The former territory of the Western Qiang was ceded to the Southern Dynasty, and the two countries swore an alliance to maintain eternal friendship.
"We will be friends forever...haha...hahaha..." Tuoba Hong sneered in a low voice at first, then laughed wildly towards the sky, laughing so hard that tears came out.
He laughed so hard that his whole body shook, and he looked like a madman.
"Beishu will be gone, it will be gone!" He stopped laughing and burst into tears.
The hegemony he pursued all his life and the vast empire he dreamed of integrating the Hu and Han peoples all turned into nothing in this seemingly peaceful treaty.
What he lost was not a war, but the future of Beishuo.
What else could a Khan who relied on betrayal to rise to power and relied on the Southern Dynasty to maintain his rule do? Beishuo's backbone was broken.
Ning Lingyi defeated her greatest enemy without losing a single soldier, and also won the Southern Dynasty a precious western border barrier and time to recuperate.
At this moment, Tuoba Hong finally understood that the gap between him and Ning Lingyi was not just on the battlefield.
He was defeated, completely defeated.
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