Mao Chenglu arrived on horseback, his face blue with rage. He pointed at the arsonists and cursed, "Fools, aren't you? This is all our territory and our houses from now on, and you're just going to burn it all down?"
The flag captain scratched his head and said defensively, "General, isn't this what we did before?"
"That was in the past." Mao Chenglu strode over, spitting all over the flag chief's face. "Before, it was harassment. Harassment meant looting and destruction. Now it's occupation and recovery. Do you understand?"
"I understand." The flag officer nodded quickly and called out to his accomplices, "Don't just stand there, put out the fire quickly. This is our house."
Mao Chenglu rolled his eyes, feeling helpless. He had led his troops on numerous raids against Jianzhou, burning, killing, and looting, and was well versed in them. Now, facing a long-term occupation, many of his soldiers hadn't yet adjusted their mindsets.
Mounting his horse again, Mao Chenglu continued his inspection of the town. At the time, a town was the equivalent of a village in later times. With two or three hundred households, it was quite large in Liaodong.
Jianzhou Wei?! There won’t be any more.
Mao Chenglu pursed his lips slightly and revealed a hint of sneer.
Hetuala, you damn place where the dragon was born, watch me raze it to the ground.
"General Mao." Several people came running from a distance. The first one was Nara Zhongming, the commander of Jianzhou Guard. He bowed and greeted Mao Chenglu from afar.
Mao Chenglu returned the greeting with a bow, although he was not very happy in his heart, but his father had told him that this was arranged by the emperor and there must be a deep meaning behind it, so he should not be rude to him.
"Commander-in-Chief." Mao Chenglu looked at the Zhenyi people behind Nara Zhongming, all of whom had the surname Yehenara, and said with a smile, "Have you recruited a lot of new tribesmen?"
Nara Zhongming nodded and said, "The Yehe Nara tribe and the Jianlu have a deep hatred for each other. Hearing the news, they are coming in droves. When we attack Hetuala City, the Yehe will be the first to reach it, destroying the city and annihilating the slaves."
"Good, good." Mao Chenglu nodded repeatedly in praise, and said, "I would like to discuss with you whether we should advance the entire army towards Hetuala, or send a part of the army north to take Tonghua?"
Nara Zhongming thought for a moment and said, "In my opinion, it would be best to march the entire army towards the Jianlu's stronghold. Capture Hetuala, then march north to take Sarhu, and cut off the Jianlu's retreat in Liaoshen."
"As for Tonghua—" Nara Zhongming shook his head and said, "There are only a few Jianlu there, so it's not difficult to attack. Maybe they've already heard the news and fled."
Mao Chenglu thought for a moment and said, "Very good. After a night's rest, we will march towards Hetuala."
………………………….
The warhorse galloped forward with unstoppable momentum, and the saber flashed coldly and was stained with blood.
After three rows of twenty people pushed through, dozens of Jiannu soldiers were lying dead on the ground, with only a few ownerless war horses neighing and running around.
Almost all Jurchens could ride horses, and their system was one of both soldiers and civilians.
But the gap between soldiers and civilians was still huge. The hundreds of fleeing Jurchens were intercepted by the flying cavalry. Except for a few who escaped into the deep mountains and forests, the fate of the rest was already determined.
After Du Du gathered his men, there were no regular Jianlu troops that could compete with the Ming army. However, the thousands of mixed troops of flying cavalry and spear cavalry were enough to sweep across the land, unstoppable.
The Ming troops that infiltrated in small groups gradually gathered together to form a large force of thousands of people. They joined forces with the cavalry and slowly pressed towards Hetuala.
"There's horse meat to eat again!" Kong Youde didn't know whether to be happy or sad. He sighed and put out the cigar in his hand.
We carried dry food with us, and we were quite successful in fighting to support ourselves. The only problem was that we had nowhere to buy tobacco, so we had to smoke it sparingly.
Seeing Kong Youde's behavior, Liu Xingzuo suggested, "I saw some soldiers smoking pipes, and they can even roll their own tobacco with paper. The two boxes of tobacco leaves they brought will last them a long time!"
Kong Youde quickly waved his hand and said, "We are officers. How can we be as embarrassed as soldiers?"
Liu Xingzuo chuckled and said, "I don't like tobacco, but I like Shaodaozi. It's spicy and strong. After drinking it, my body feels like it's on fire."
"Shaodaozi is good." Kong Youde nodded in agreement and said with a smile, "Jinzhou has a winery. It was opened by a well-known brand in Beijing. It will be convenient to drink in the future. As for this tobacco factory, it would be good to build one after the Liao Dynasty is pacified."
"Since we have a winery, the tobacco factory won't be left behind." Liu Xingzuo paused and asked in a questioning tone: "Brother Kong, do you think we should wait for the Mixed Association, or--"
Kong Youde pondered for a moment and said, "Send someone to inform them that we should move more slowly and try to meet up at the foot of Hetuala City, okay?"
Liu Xingzuo nodded and said, "This is the safest way. If our army acts alone and Jiannu Ajige and Dudu join forces, we won't be able to win the battle."
"Flying cavalry is not easy to train, so it's better to use them with caution." Kong Youde looked at the infantry behind him. "Infantry, it only takes two or three months to train."
Liu Xingzuo laughed and said, "Don't underestimate the infantry. If they form a formation, even the flying cavalry wouldn't dare charge easily. Furthermore, it's precisely because the infantry is so well-trained and has such powerful firepower that the Jian Lu's demise is imminent. Their superiority in numbers is something the Jian Lu cannot change."
"That's right." Kong Youde nodded and said, "From defending the city to forming battle array in the field, it was truly the infantry who made the contribution, breaking the Jianlu's spirit one blow at a time."
Liu Xingzuo opened his mouth and wanted to tell what he had learned from the Jianlu, but he felt that it was not a glorious thing, so he swallowed his words back.
"Hehe, there's horse meat to eat again." Looking at the battlefield where fierce fighting had taken place, the flag officer touched the "water bottle" on his waist and grinned.
The messenger was right beside him, and he said jokingly, "Sir, is the reward enough to buy some wine?"
"Where can I buy it?" The flag officer rolled his eyes and said disdainfully, "You said the Jianlu are staying in this remote place, there's not even a store that sells alcohol."
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