115 Zhu Xie Ge Bo
"Guards, bury him on the west bank of the river and erect a tombstone."
In the fifth year of Xingwu, in autumn.
The Black Flag Army consisted of 80,000 soldiers, each clad in black armor, armed with muskets, swords, and arrows. Their banners fluttered in the wind, and their warhorses neighed.
The newly established artillery battalion had twenty cannons and several carts of various gunpowder, something that had never been seen on the battlefield before. It can be said that, looking at the Eastern world at that time, Daliang was the first country to possess large-scale firearms.
After the firearms were revealed, all the small, covetous neighboring countries fell silent and dared not harbor any further ambitions.
The logistics and provisions were all prepared by Gu Zongfang. The flour mill was shut down for half a year to develop fried noodles that could be eaten after being soaked in water. They were served with dried meat from the meat mill and various dried fruits. They ate better than most ordinary people in Daliang.
In addition, these 80,000 people were selected from the best of the best after the expansion of recruitment; each one is an elite, capable of doing the work of ten.
After this battle, the Black Flag Army became famous for its fierce fighting power. They were as swift as black lightning, inspiring fear in all who heard of them. But that's another story.
At that time, Emperor Xingwu personally led his troops to the Shule River to see off his soldiers.
Emperor Xingwu personally presented the sword to the General of the Northern Garrison and, before his departure, offered him a bowl of farewell wine, saying, "I await your triumphant return."
"Your Majesty, please wait patiently for good news." The General of the North drank a full bowl of wine.
Behind Emperor Xingwu were Shen Suqin, Yan Lin, Su Yubai, and others, as well as a group of officials from Jinzhou.
Xiao Pingchuan's gaze swept across the room, lingering on Shen Suqin for a moment before he clasped his hands in a fist salute.
It was late autumn. The sun was high in the sky over the Shule River, the water was calm, and the reeds along the riverbank rustled, like a bugle call to battle.
Xiao Pingchuan: "Let's go!"
"Let's go!"
"Let's go!"
For the first time in history, the Great Liang took the initiative to march towards the Shatuo.
Shen Suqin squinted at the tall figure at the head, thinking to herself that she was indeed discerning; General Xiao was still the most handsome among them.
Once you step outside the country, there's a long stretch of yellow sand along the way.
Xiao Pingchuan's troops stretched for miles, always maintaining an upright military posture, clearing mountains when they encountered them, and obeying orders without question.
With such a grand declaration of war, the Shatuo were naturally prepared to fight.
The two sides collided head-on fifty kilometers from the capital of Shatuo. Here, in the vast desert, all that could be seen was endless yellow sand.
The Shatuo people lived amidst sandstorms year-round, and they thought they could gain a great advantage by taking advantage of the terrain.
But as they approached with lightning speed, wielding their scimitars, something was even faster than them.
After a thunderous explosion, their bodies were suddenly ripped open with large holes. The Shatuo soldiers covered their wounds in fear, knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, thinking it was a punishment sent down by the gods.
It turns out that in recent years, the water source in Shatuo has become increasingly scarce, the pasture has become sparse, and the yellow sand has eroded the area, causing flocks of sheep to starve to death in large numbers.
Every spring, the Shatuo territory would also be hit by particularly large sandstorms. The wind and sand would obscure the sky and the sun, and people would not recognize each other. After a few sandstorms, the Shatuo capital would almost be buried in the yellow sand.
Later, rumors circulated that the new king of Shatuo had offended the mountain god, who then sent down divine punishment, forcing the Shatuo royal court and its people to atone for their sins.
As a result, resistance to the new king's rule began within the Shatuo tribe, and Zhu Xiegebo also began to stir. Several forces fought each other, and the dynasty's rule was on the verge of collapse.
It can be said that even without the Black Flag Army, the Shatuo would have disintegrated from within a few years.
Unfortunately, what they didn't know was that the one who started the rumors was none other than General Xiao Pingchuan, who was overlooking the flames of war from outside the city.
As thunder roared, the Shatuo soldiers discovered that they had been pierced by holes in their bodies for some unknown reason, and the blood could not be stopped. They thought that the mountain god was finally angry and was going to kill them personally.
So they disregarded everything else and immediately knelt on the ground, praying for mercy from the mountain god of Nichijin Mountain.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Pingchuan immediately ordered everyone to be captured, or face death. Thus, the Black Flag Army, capturing prisoners and fighting their way through, reached the Shatuo capital with virtually no losses.
The towering city gate and majestic towers in front of them, set against the backdrop of the towering Nichijin Mountain behind them, give the entire Shatuo royal court an inviolable sense of mystery.
Countless Liang soldiers stood in neat rows at the foot of Mount Nichijin, their gazes resolute. In the center of the soldiers, Xiao Pingchuan stood tall and proud, a heavy sword half his height beside him, his black cloak fluttering in the wind, his aura of killing intent soaring to the heavens.
"War drums!" he said in a low voice.
The war drums sounded, their thunderous roar echoing through the sky.
"gun!"
The cannon was in place, solid and heavy, but no one knew its power.
"Attack!"
The cannons fired, and with a deafening roar, the city gate of the Shatuo capital was struck hard, teetering on the brink of collapse. A second blow sent the gate crashing down, causing the ground to tremble violently.
Next came the thick city wall, which was blasted down in one go with a single cannon shot.
The Shatuo soldiers were terrified, their eyes wide with fear, their legs trembling, yet they still managed to fiercely resist with their scimitars. But this feeble resistance proved utterly ineffective against the muskets and cannons.
Previously, the Shatuo soldiers had always been perceived as fierce, and even during the last battle between the two sides, the Black Flag soldiers maintained this impression.
But this time they found that the Shatuo soldiers were nothing special, because even the sharpest scimitars were not as fast as muskets.
The Black Flag Army stood high above, looking down on the Shatuo people, easily reaping their lives without even getting close.
When firearms clash with cold weapons, it is destined to be an overwhelming defeat.
As cannons blasted open the city gates and collapsed the city walls, explosions erupted simultaneously throughout the royal city, throwing the city into chaos. The Shatuo soldiers were completely disoriented and didn't know which way to turn.
Xiao Pingchuan stood outside the city, looking up at the towering Nichijin Mountain, where eagles circled overhead, seemingly drawn by the bloody atmosphere.
He withdrew his gaze, his eyes piercing through the battlefield to meet Zhu Xiegebo, who was leading his troops in resistance a few hundred paces away.
Despite being blinded by the flames, the opponent continued to slash wildly with his scimitar.
Xiao Pingchuan withdrew his gaze, raised his heavy sword, and charged into the battlefield. Wherever his sword pointed, enemies fell in droves.
Beside him, the Black Flag warriors fought with increasing ferocity, switching from musket ammunition to spears and swords as they ran out, slashing and thrusting with deadly precision.
The entire Black Flag Army, like a black dragon, charged into the Shatuo with unstoppable force, entered the royal city, and forcefully breached the Shatuo royal palace.
The royal palace is built on the highest point in the city, nestled against the mountain, and is simple and solemn.
Xiao Pingchuan climbed the steps, with Xu Youcai, Zhao Chengchun, Chai Shun, Kui Lang and others fighting their way for him in front of him. Blood stained the steps, and with each step he took, a life was laid on top of it.
We finally arrived at the main hall.
Inside the main hall, the Shatuo princes and nobles were all prostrate, while Zhu Xiegebo stood on the throne, holding the new king's head in his hand, facing off against Xiao Pingchuan who stood at the palace gate.
"Ha," Xiao Pingchuan scoffed, "Isn't it a bit too late for you to seize the throne now?"
Zhu Xiegebo threw the head in his hand into the courtyard and said in a rough voice, "I didn't seize the throne. He was the one who wanted to abandon the city and run away, so I killed him."
Xiao Pingchuan nodded. "So who's in charge now?"
Zhu Xiegebo patted his chest: "Me."
"Should we lower it?" Xiao Pingchuan asked directly.
"No surrender!"
"Can."
"What will happen to my brothers?" Zhu Xiegebo asked again.
Xiao Pingchuan replied, "Kill them until they surrender."
He knew that Zhu Xiegebo was asking what to do about the Shatuo people.
The noble maids who were prostrate on the ground below the hall trembled with fear, just like the new king.
Zhu Xie Ge Bo panicked: "A trade, to save your life, you make your demands."
Xiao Pingchuan plunged his heavy sword into the floor and said, word by word, "The Shatuo Kingdom was destroyed and merged into the Great Liang. My lord, Emperor Xingwu, allowed the Shatuo people to cross the Shule River to the east and move to Yiyang County, where they have multiplied and thrived for generations."
Zhu Xiegebo looked at the nobles and princes below and asked, "Where are they?"
Xiao Pingchuan: "Kill."
A prince suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, and jumped up, wanting to perish together with Xiao Pingchuan.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Xiegebo pierced his chest with a single slash.
“Okay,” Zhu Xiegebo replied. “I want to see them cross the river with my own eyes.”
"good."
The following day, Zhu Xiegebo personally removed the banner of the Shatuo king and announced the destruction of the Shatuo kingdom, stating that he would soon relocate his entire clan to Daliang.
Upon receiving the order, the Shatuo people, who had been trembling with fear for many days, were at a loss. They looked up at Mount Nichijin and silently asked the mountain god if he had truly abandoned them. Some refused to surrender and spent their days outside the Shatuo palace cursing Zhuxiegebo, calling him spineless and a sinner who had caused the downfall of the Shatuo kingdom.
Xiao Pingchuan asked Zhu Xie and Ge Bo, "Do you regret it?"
Do you regret surrendering?
Zhu Xie Ge Bo: "Living is the most important thing."
Five days later, the Shatuo people moved east.
Xiao Pingchuan divided his army into one hundred squads, which were scattered throughout the ranks. Anyone who tried to escape was to be executed on the spot.
The Shatuo people were dazed, thinking they would be captured and enslaved, or sold and killed at will.
Later, they stopped in a lush and fertile place in Yiyang County of Daliang and stopped going forward. Only then did they realize that they were not going to their deaths, but had found new refuge.
At that time, it took a full month for the Shatuo people to arrive at the Shule River.
Zhu Xiegebo stood on the west bank of the river, watching the people cross the river one by one from afar.
He used to be the one crossing the river to help his people find food; now they have to cross it themselves to find a way to survive.
"Will they still go hungry?" Zhu Xiegebo asked.
Xiao Pingchuan stood beside him: "If you're diligent, you won't have this problem."
"You're going to lock them up?"
"No, Emperor Xingwu has designated a decent piece of land for them to be self-sufficient. Of course, he will find officials from Daliang to govern it, but once they cross the river, they will be Daliang citizens and will be treated equally."
"You promise."
Xiao Pingchuan looked at him: "Do you believe my guarantee?"
"I believe you never break your promise."
"Okay, I promise."
After saying this, Zhu Xiegebo stepped back, knelt down in the direction of the Shatuo royal city, then held his long sword to his neck and slashed it in fiercely, blood splattering on the spot, clean and swift.
The people who witnessed all of this were stunned at first, then silently shed tears and slowly knelt down in front of his body.
Xiao Pingchuan stepped aside.
The wind rises, yellow sand flies, sand dunes rise and fall and stretch into the distance, the sky is vast, eagles circle but cannot descend, and mournful cries drift into the distance.
Zhu Xie Ge Bo opened his eyes wide and looked back at the road he had come from. Before long, he was covered by a thin layer of yellow sand.
"Guards, bury him on the west bank of the river and erect a tombstone," Xiao Pingchuan said.
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