The pierced-chest tribe spent a day and a night arguing, with the attackers ultimately gaining the upper hand, driven by their inherent wildness. However, when they regrouped and prepared to descend the mountain, they were astonished to find that the area below had drastically changed.
Countless long, sharp wooden sticks blocked the roads, fences, and watchtowers, rising from the ground with a defense even tighter than that of their tribe.
Men would fall silent upon seeing this, and women would tremble with fear, completely devoid of any desire to attack! Speechless, the pierced-chest tribe didn't know what to do. Should they continue their attack as planned, or abandon the plan and think of another way?
In their predicament, the Pierced Chest Clan decided to halt their attack. After all, knowing there are tigers in the mountains and still venturing into them requires confidence, which they currently lacked.
"We've found the reason! We've found the reason!" Yuchi Baoqing excitedly rushed into the tent.
"What did you find the reason?" Qin Mu asked, looking up. During this time, the scouts had searched the entire mountain range where the Piercing Chest Clan was located, but they hadn't found any clues. Half a month had passed, and he was getting a little impatient.
"Right on the back mountain, there's a collapsed area where one of our brothers fell in and accidentally discovered that the back mountain was actually a mining area. That must be why they built a city here," Yuchi Baoqing explained.
"Bronze ore?"
"Yes. And it's a rich mine." Yuchi Baoqing nodded.
The Yuchi family was skilled in forging, so Yuchi Baoqing would not be mistaken. Qin Mu, of course, believed that he could not be wrong, and asked with a slight frown, "Have you found the direction of the mine? Does it lead to the city?"
“We haven’t found an exit yet, but even if we’re not inside the city, we’re not far from it. We can try digging a tunnel from the mining area into the city,” Yuchi Baoqing suggested.
“That’s a good idea, we can give it a try,” Qin Mu agreed.
Finding a solution brought joy to everyone. Qin Mu organized a group of elite soldiers and personally led them, along with Yuchi Baoqing, to detour around the back mountain. Looking at the naturally collapsed pit, they estimated it was likely caused by the collision of the landmass during the previous cataclysmic event, which exposed the mine shaft.
We entered the mine shaft from the collapsed pit. It was very spacious, and it was clear that a lot of areas had been excavated. This is why Yuchi Baoqing called it a rich mine, since a poor mine wouldn't need to excavate so much.
As Qin Mu walked deeper into the mine, it became wider and wider. Eventually, he realized that these guys had practically hollowed out the mountain, which explained why he didn't feel any stuffiness at all.
As they approached the cave entrance, Qin Mu and his men stopped, while the scouts cautiously went to investigate where the mine exit was.
"These chest-piercing tribes are really lucky and know how to make use of their resources. The stones used to build the city must have been mined from this area. No wonder there are no quarries nearby," Qin Mu said thoughtfully, touching the wall of the mine tunnel.
“Yes, there are plenty of stones in the mining area that can be used, so of course they wouldn’t miss the opportunity. I guess that’s why they thought of building a city,” Han Chen nodded.
"Commander, the exit is inside the city!" The scout ran back excitedly, lowering his voice to say.
"Great! Send word to send people over! The outer perimeter should also be prepared, so that if anything happens inside the city, they can immediately coordinate a feigned attack!" Qin Mu also lowered his voice.
Discovering the exit was inside the city, the wait was filled with anxiety and fear of being suddenly discovered and losing everything. Fortunately, luck was on their side, and there weren't many unexpected incidents. This was probably because the army was besieging the city, and the Pierced Chest Clan had no time to mine. For them, the most important thing was to defend the city.
Qin Mu and Yuchi Baoqing led the way towards the exit, cautiously peering outside. They discovered they were in a corner behind the city walls, more than two kilometers from the central castle. The area was very open, with only a few houses nearby, and no one in sight. Further away, they could see figures moving in the firelight on the city walls.
"Heaven is on my side!" Qin Mu thought to himself with delight. He could tell that this place was a weapon forging site, built to utilize the nearby ore. However, since mining had stopped recently, forging had ceased, and the furnaces that used to burn were now extinguished.
"Baoqing, you and Yi'ai head towards the castle; Huailiang, you go left; Liu Renshi and Xi Junmai, you two take your men and go right. Be careful! There's no fighting going on in the middle, so don't alert the enemy! If a fight breaks out, find a way to open the city gates," Qin Mu instructed in a low voice.
Everyone knew the seriousness of the situation, nodded, and silently took action.
During this period, Qin Mu had examined the city dozens of times. He discovered that it was indeed a city built specifically for the Winged People. Apart from its height and openness, it had no other special features, not even a moat. Of course! This was a good thing for them.
This is an irregularly shaped city, similar to other cities in the Central Plains. It was built to protect the people inside and to facilitate their lives. Therefore, the city is very large, mainly because it is very long. It was built from the hillside, and the entire mountaintop is within the city.
Soldiers kept emerging from the mine and quietly followed their comrades ahead, all of which made Qin Mu feel a sense of tension. He was certain that he hadn't felt this way in a long time, not until tonight.
Tense and exciting, his adrenaline surged. Suppressing his excitement, Qin Mu slowly advanced. The scouts ahead had already cleared a safe path.
Perhaps because there had been no siege, the patrols of the Piercing Chest Clan were all on the city walls. As for inside the city, although there were patrols, they were not dense, and the common people did not go out at night, so they walked over peacefully.
"ah!"
"ah!"
"kill!"
A scream shattered the silence of the night, followed by more screams and shouts of killing.
"Kill! Break through the castle first!" Qin Mu shouted.
"Kill!" The soldiers, who had been holding back for so long, shouted excitedly, brandishing their weapons and charging toward their destination.
The people of the Pierced Chest Clan didn't know what had happened, but they knew that something had changed in the city. Those in the distance could only watch blankly and fearfully, as they had no orders and had no idea what to do.
The fiercest fighting took place near the castle, where the last thousand elite troops of the Pierced-Chest tribe were stationed. Upon spotting the enemy, they charged in.
However, their manpower was indeed too small. Over 12,000 people entered the city this time, with 8,000 heading straight for the castle. Of course, these 8,000 included those tasked with blocking enemy reinforcements. Even so, they still outnumbered the enemy guarding the castle. Those elite troops quickly fell in droves.
"Dong! Dong! Dong!" A series of urgent and muffled bell tolled from the castle.
The chest-piercing tribesmen inside the city changed their expressions drastically upon hearing the bell, foreshadowing that the castle needed reinforcements!
"Quick! Quick! Lead men to rescue the king!" many of the pierced-chest tribe generals shouted. Although they were few in number, they always considered themselves a nation.
The chaos within the city clearly broke the morale of the Piercing Chest Clan and made their defenses even more disorganized, allowing Cheng Huailiang and his men to easily capture the city gate.
"Send the signal!" Cheng Huailiang shouted excitedly, then charged towards the enemies who were trying to retake the city gate, sword in hand.
With a sharp "beep!", it soared into the air, the sound carrying far and wide.
"Beep!" Not long after, a signal arrow also rose up three kilometers away.
Cheng Huailiang raised his head slightly, looked into the distance, a sinister smile on his face, and shouted loudly, "Stop them!"
The Pierced Chest Clan was naturally very anxious about the loss of the city gate and desperately wanted to take it back.
The city of the Piercing Chest Clan was built primarily for defense against the Feathered Clan, so it had many gates. Besides the main gate, there were five other gates to facilitate the entry and exit of the city's inhabitants. Although the gates were not large, they were sufficient for the army to enter the city, as some enormous beasts needed to be transported back to the city for dismemberment.
The Guanxiong tribe was strong and numerous, and the soldiers stationed near the city gate quickly forced Cheng Huailiang and his men to retreat step by step.
To see what was happening, they had to force the enemy back to the city gate. Cheng Huailiang finally heard footsteps behind him and was overjoyed. He fought hard to force the enemy back and rushed forward to prevent the reinforcements from being blocked.
The reinforcements surged in like a tide, rushing out from both sides of Cheng Huailiang and his men, and attacking the Guanxiong tribe.
The latter half of the city was thrown into chaos. The guards of the first half of the city were about to go to provide support when they discovered that the enemy, who had been silent for almost a month, had actually come to the city. Countless torches suddenly lit up, and huge shouts of battle rang out.
The pierced-chest tribe hurriedly climbed onto the city wall, but they found that the enemy was just waiting outside their firing range and had not attacked the city.
A feint attack! A diversionary tactic! Everyone understands this, but what can they do? Who knows if they'll actually launch an attack? So they can only cautiously hold their ground. In any case, a group of people has already been mobilized to reinforce the palace.
The flames of war spread wider and wider, with long lines of torches already extending towards the front half of the city.
The slaughter took place under the cover of night, screams echoing through the night sky. More and more city gates were opened, and more soldiers rushed into the city.
Inside the royal palace of the Pierced-Chest tribe, a warrior clad in bronze armor and wearing a crown stared grimly at Qin Mu and his companions. He was the king of the Pierced-Chest tribe. Just moments before, he had witnessed his wives and sons die under the swords of the Tang Dynasty. He felt a deep hatred for these men, but was powerless to do anything, for even his loyal subordinates lay dead in pools of blood.
"I curse you all to die a horrible death! I'll be waiting for you down there!" With a venomous glare at the crowd, the last king of the Pierced-Chest tribe roared and then leaped from the top of the hundred-meter-high castle.
"Okay! Wait here, we'll be down in a bit." Qin Mu peeked at the figure on the ground and said with a pout.
"Hehe!" Yuchi Baoqing covered the wound on his arm and grinned.
After descending the castle and confirming that the King of the Pierced-Chested Tribe was indeed dead, Qin Mu ordered that his armor and crown be preserved. These were to be presented to Li Shimin. As for the body, of course, it was unnecessary. Qin Mu decided that in this massacre, aside from keeping a few dozen for exhibition, none would be spared, including those intended for exhibition—they would all be castrated first. He liked to be meticulous in his actions, preventing any potential disasters!
The slaughter lasted all night, and the Tang Dynasty completely controlled the city. Except for the wounded, the others cleansed the city once again.
This city needs to be preserved, after all, Yazhou has become so large now that one city is not enough.
Opening a road to Wucheng from here would be a priority after the war, Qin Mu planned on the map. The scouts had never stopped exploring the island, so their maps were becoming increasingly comprehensive.
After clearing the city, Qin Mu realized how much wealth he had obtained. These chest-piercing tribes had lived here for who knows how many years, and they had hollowed out several mountains. If the mine hadn't been discovered in advance, those guys who had hidden underground might have escaped.
It turns out that ten days ago, the Piercing Chest Clan made a decision to select three thousand young women, one thousand young men, and five thousand children to enter the underground mine. As soon as they discovered that the city had fallen, and once Qin Mu and the others had all entered the city, they would secretly leave and preserve the fire.
Qin Mu and his group discovered the mine ahead of time, so they took the opportunity to investigate what was going on there, and that's how they discovered the hidden Piercing Chest Clan.
Just beneath the city walls lies a space that rivals the city itself, a large portion of which is the royal mausoleum. Successive generations of the Guanxiong tribe's royal family are buried here, with mountains of bronze artifacts buried with them, including their palaces, bronze pillars, bronze vessels, bronze gates, and even a large cauldron over ten meters long, placed in the square.
Every household in the Guanxiong tribe possessed bronze artifacts, including bronze swords and javelins with bronze heads, demonstrating a more extensive use of metal implements than even the Tang Dynasty.
If it weren't for the cumbersome bronze armor, they could probably have all the people wearing it. You can imagine how much bronze these guys actually possess.
For the Tang Dynasty, copper was money. Although Qin Mu did not have the right to mint coins, so much copper could still bring considerable benefits. At the very least, Li Shimin would reward the soldiers who went to war.
Besides bronze, there are also many other miscellaneous ores, as copper veins often contain associated minerals. Common minerals like gold, silver, and iron are present, as well as a significant amount of copper concentrate.
There were also gemstones. From these things, Qin Mu could guess that the island must be rich in mineral resources. However, he wondered how much the tribes who had lived there for countless years had mined. If they had all been dug out like this mountain, it would have saved them some trouble.
Like jade, gemstones can be used to activate the Moon Pearl. Qin Mu already knew this. Since returning from the grasslands, he no longer lacked such resources. However, the products from places with high spiritual energy are still somewhat different. At least the purity of the gemstones is noticeably higher.
Bronze weapons are good, but they are still inferior to those forged from fine iron, even those of the Piercing Chest Clan. Therefore, Qin Mu and his group did not intend to stay, except for those special ores.
70
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