Ch.289Fury of the Plains (4)

Death loomed over the Song Dynasty.

The news of Linan’s fall and destruction was enough to drive the entire Song Dynasty into terror.

“The Mongols are coming! We must flee now!”

“If we don’t escape, we’ll die!”

Rumors even spread that the Song Emperor had abandoned Linan.

In this situation, the common people couldn’t afford to stay in their villages waiting for the Song army’s protection.

“W-wait… over there!”

“Those flags and that elaborate palanquin… could it be the Emperor?”

“Emperor or not, let’s quickly follow them!”

A magnificent palanquin appeared before the fleeing citizens.

From the numerous soldiers guarding it, they could tell it was indeed the Emperor’s palanquin.

For the common people, following the Emperor was the best option.

Even if the Mongol army arrived, troops would move to protect the Emperor.

Of course, the chances of those troops protecting the citizens were slim.

Still, it was far better than remaining in the village with no idea when the Mongol forces might arrive.

“Please take us with you!”

“We beg you!”

The people said these things while closely following the Emperor’s procession.

Seeing this, the soldiers raised their weapons to block their approach.

“Get back!”

“Don’t block His Majesty’s path!”

From the soldiers’ perspective, there could be spies among the civilians.

With potential threats to the Emperor’s safety, they couldn’t protect the Song citizens no matter who they were.

Anyway, as the commotion continued, the Emperor in the palanquin revealed himself.

“What’s happening?”

The Minister of the Left approached him.

“I apologize, Your Majesty. The citizens wish to follow your procession.”

The Emperor showed reluctance.

As Emperor, protecting these people was his duty as a ruler.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been proper to grant the citizens’ request.

But this was wartime.

In this situation, the Emperor was trying to escape the Mongol pursuit by moving to Sichuan.

With the entire Yangtze region potentially under the influence of the Mongol Pirates, wasting time was foolish.

“Hmm…”

The Emperor wore a sour expression.

Understanding this, the Minister of the Left immediately turned and issued orders to the soldiers.

“Drive them away at once!”

When the Minister’s order fell, the soldiers raised their weapons.

Seeing the weapons, the citizens became frightened and began to back away.

“H-hieek!”

“B-back off!”

Despite the citizens retreating, the soldiers’ menacing atmosphere remained unchanged.

This was because some citizens were cautiously trying to hide behind others and sneak in.

If these numbers grew, it could lead to chaos.

“No choice. We need to make an example.”

The military commander in charge of the escort drew his sword.

Then he approached the citizen at the very front.

“M-my lord?”

“Did you not hear the order to step back?”

“I-I’m sorry. I’ll imme—AAACK!”

Slash.

The man’s headless body tumbled to the ground.

He died without finishing his last words.

When this person died, a sudden silence fell over the area.

In the citizens’ eyes, both despair and anger began to surge.

“Not only do they fail to protect us, but they kill us…”

“Damn them…!”

The citizens put down their bundles.

Then they pulled out farming tools from among them and glared at the Emperor’s forces.

Though each individual’s combat ability was very low, their numbers exceeded the Emperor’s escort.

Sensing the dangerous atmosphere, the military commander raised his sword to intimidate the citizens.

“Drop your tools and leave immediately! Otherwise, I’ll kill you!”

But the citizens only glared back without moving an inch.

Seeing this, the officials urged the procession to move on.

“The situation looks dangerous. We must move immediately.”

“If we waste more time here, we’ll face unpleasant consequences.”

“We need to go through Hunan, and this delay isn’t good.”

Though their words sounded reasonable, they were speaking out of fear that the citizens might harm them.

The Emperor shared this concern and urged the evacuation procession to move.

“Leave the citizens and move quickly. Hurry!”

At the Emperor’s urging, the soldiers maintained their defensive line while moving.

The citizens could only watch them heading toward Sichuan via Hunan with eyes full of anger.

* * *

After burning Linan, I tracked the Emperor’s evacuation procession.

“They’re heading to Sichuan via Hunan, sir.”

I nodded at the messenger’s report.

With the entire Yangtze region under the influence of the Mongol Pirates, the fastest route to Sichuan was effectively blocked.

In this situation, the only option for the Emperor was to go via Hunan.

“If they’re going via Hunan… they’ll pass through Tanzhou.”

Hunan’s strategic point was Changsha, famous as the land governed by Han Xuan in the Three Kingdoms period.

At this time, Changsha was called Tanzhou, with Changsha County, Yiyang County, Hengshan County, and Xiaoyang County under it.

Among these, Hengshan and Xiaoyang Counties contained Mount Heng, one of China’s Five Sacred Mountains.

Passing through these areas would take too much time, so they would definitely move through Changsha County.

“If they go through Tanzhou, they’ll pass through Changsha County.”

I nodded at Elunka’s answer.

“The Xiang River flows through Changsha County, making it suitable for deploying the Mongol Pirates.”

The Yangtze River had many tributaries despite its narrow width.

One of these tributaries, the Xiang River, flowed through Hunan.

“Shall we deploy the Mongol Pirates?”

I shook my head at Elunka’s question.

Then I looked at Munglig.

“Use cavalry to pursue the Emperor. When you find him, make sure his evacuation procession is delayed as much as possible.”

“You’re not going to capture him?”

Munglig looked at me with a puzzled expression.

If we captured the Emperor immediately, subduing the Song Dynasty would be just a matter of time.

If we had captured him right when we occupied Linan, controlling the entire Song territory would have been worth considering.

But having already chosen to carry out a massacre, governing the Song Dynasty would be pointless.

Moreover, with our policy of no mercy killing nobles and commoners alike, accepting the Emperor’s surrender would be awkward.

Therefore, it was better to let the Emperor escape.

That way, the people’s resentment would be directed toward the Emperor.

“It’s better to let all resentment be directed toward the Emperor.”

“Will that be effective?”

“An enemy you can’t resist versus allies who won’t protect you. Which would you resent more?”

“Ah…!”

To the people of the Central Plains, the Mongols were like a natural disaster.

The raids of nomadic peoples had always been that way.

In such situations, the common people had always suffered.

That’s why they paid tributes to their rulers in hopes of protection.

This was the implicit relationship between ruler and subject.

But the Song Emperor was ignoring this social contract between ruler and subjects.

He was abandoning his people to save himself.

So from the perspective of the Song people, the Emperor was more resenting than the Ulus forces, which were like typhoons or floods—natural disasters.

“However, if the Song Emperor meets a general leading the Song army, the situation could change.”

Elunka’s point was valid.

The reason the Emperor was fleeing now was because he had no army.

If he met a general and gained military power, the Song Dynasty could counterattack.

“Elunka has a point. That’s why we need to ensure the Song Dynasty can never rise again.”

As I spoke, the door of the ger opened.

A messenger approached, bowed, and began his report.

“As you ordered, we deployed cavalry and Mongol Pirates to completely devastate the entire Hubei province.”

Elunka and Munglig looked surprised at my words.

They were amazed that such a small force had devastated an entire region.

“Are you saying you conquered Hubei in such a short time?”

“How…?”

“It’s simple.”

By the battle doctrine of this era, devastating a wide area with few troops was difficult.

This was because all battle fundamentals emphasized the importance of territorial occupation.

This meant that whenever a battle occurred, the premise was that you must occupy that area.

Exerting influence over an area was necessary to secure the rear. Strategies were developed based on this thinking.

This approach was very reasonable in medieval times.

Because it could destroy the very foundation of local powers based in those regions.

But from my perspective, having served in the military in modern times, such territorial occupation seemed very inefficient.

The current goal of the Ulus was devastation.

So it didn’t matter what happened to Song territory.

The plan was to send Central Plains civilization back to the Stone Age.

And to turn their lands into pastures.

So it didn’t matter if we rejected the medieval—specifically, Central Plains—doctrine of territorial control.

Instead, we adopted a method of using highly mobile cavalry to thoroughly destroy an area and then move on.

“The Emperor abandoned them and fled. Having lost their focal point, they lack even the will to counterattack. Therefore, we just need to deploy cavalry for strategic destruction. Then in a short time, that area will be completely devastated.”

Mobile destruction tactics.

In modern times, this was used with drones and air power for destruction.

But in medieval times, without drones or air power, we had to substitute with highly mobile cavalry.

“Using cavalry for scorched earth operations… that’s impressive.”

I shook my head at Elunka’s words.

Though I had explained it in sophisticated terms, this was a tactic our Ulus ancestors had used for a long time.

Bandit horsemen.

This was what Munglig and I used to do in our younger days, crossing the Song borders.

Munglig seemed to notice this and smiled slightly.

“I never thought you’d use our bandit raids from our youth like this.”

“Weren’t those good memories?”

“Yes, they were good memories. Though I nearly died several times thanks to you.”

“Isn’t it because of that experience that we can now ravage the Song Dynasty like this?”

At my joking words, Munglig shook his head.

Elunka, not understanding the situation, could only look around with a puzzled expression.