Ch.70Xingqing (2)

Khasar listened silently to my story, then looked at me as if he had something to say.

Since Bekhter also had distinguished himself by destroying the Iron Riders unit, I raised my hand to give him permission to speak.

“Great leader. Khasar’s strategy seems excellent. However, to execute this tactic, we need to divert the enemy’s attention.”

Khasar nodded in agreement with those words.

“Indeed. As Bekhter says, the key to this tactic is preventing the enemy from noticing what we’re doing.”

With Khasar’s support, Bekhter looked at Munglig.

Munglig moved to Bekhter’s side, seeming to understand what he was about to propose.

“Great leader. I request permission to command five thousand swift cavalry.”

This was a reasonable request from a general who had proven himself in battle.

However, I couldn’t show favoritism to my son in front of the khans, so I had to clearly ask his reasoning.

“What is your reason?”

“To implement Khasar’s proposed tactic, the enemy must not know that our forces are building dams.”

If we openly built dams in a way that suggested we were planning a water attack, the enemy might rush out.

“Therefore, as I mentioned earlier, I want to attack villages near Xingqing to divert the enemy’s attention.”

Earlier, when Khasar was expressing his opinion, he mentioned scorching the villages around Khara-Khoto.

Now Bekhter was saying he wanted to take on that role.

“If Lord Munglig assists me, we can raid villages near Xingqing to capture the enemy’s attention while creating refugees who will disrupt Xingqing from within.”

“Very well.”

Bekhter’s words made sense.

Therefore, I had no reason to refuse my son’s request.

“However, I have something to tell you and Munglig in advance.”

Munglig and Bekhter looked at me with puzzled expressions.

“Unlike when we attacked Khara-Khoto in summer, the goal of this battle is to occupy Xingqing. So restrain from taking lives as much as possible.”

Munglig and Bekhter nodded, indicating they would follow my orders.

Then they knelt on one knee in respect and bowed.

“We receive your command.”

“We will follow the great leader’s orders.”

* * *

“P-please spare us!”

“If you just spare our lives…”

The villagers near Xingqing trembled as they begged the Mongol soldiers for mercy.

In response, the Mongol soldiers pointed toward Xingqing.

“Do not resist. If you leave the village peacefully, we will not take your lives.”

Hearing the Tangut merchant translate Bekhter’s words, the Western Xia people bowed in gratitude.

The villagers hurried to leave before the Mongol soldiers changed their minds.

Seeing this, Bekhter blocked their path.

Mistaking this action, the villagers thought the Mongols had already changed their minds and began pleading again.

“P-please spare us. We’ll leave all our valuables behind. Just let us escape with our lives…”

“Do not worry. You may take all your valuables. If you cannot take everything, you may leave it here. I give my word as commander that what you leave behind will remain untouched.”

“…W-what?”

The Western Xia villager blinked in disbelief at Bekhter’s words.

This was understandable since nomads were typically known for plundering.

Yet here was the nomad leader not only promising not to plunder but also to leave their property untouched, which naturally caused confusion.

“If you don’t trust me, you may leave one male family member behind. However, I will only allow one person.”

“Uh…”

“If you refuse, we have no reason to show further mercy.”

At Bekhter’s suddenly chilling tone, the villager shook his head as if there was no choice.

“Th-thank you. I-I’ll stay behind.”

“A wise choice.”

Thus, one man remained to protect each household while the rest headed toward Xingqing.

The villagers from nearby Western Xia settlements could only blink in confusion.

“Are they really not going to harm us?”

“That’s what it seems like.”

“They even advised us to take food so we wouldn’t starve on the way.”

As the bewildered villagers stood there, a Mongol soldier approached them.

The mounted soldier addressed the people.

“If you go straight east from here, you’ll reach Xingqing. There are Mongol soldiers along the way, so follow that path.”

“…”

“Th-thank you.”

They were even providing guidance to ensure the villagers didn’t take other routes.

Because of this, the villagers felt little hostility toward the Mongols, aside from the fact that they had to suddenly leave their homes.

Of course, not everyone in the village felt this way.

Some hot-blooded young men tried to resist the Mongol soldiers.

“We cannot leave our village!”

“We will defend our own village!”

Seeing those who wanted to resist, the Mongol soldiers didn’t immediately subdue them.

They simply surrounded them on horseback, isolating them to prevent harm to other villagers who were evacuating.

“Ha! Y-you must fear us! L-leave our village now!”

“Y-yes! W-we are not afraid of you!”

Among the Mongol warriors who were calmly watching these men, a man appeared.

The village men looked at him with surprised expressions.

“W-what… he’s h-huge!”

“W-what did he eat to get so many muscles…?”

“I-is he even human?”

The person who appeared before them was none other than Munglig.

He looked at the resisting villagers with a satisfied smile.

“I am Munglig, leader of the Mongol army. Why do you wish to remain here?”

After the merchant translated Munglig’s words, the villagers immediately answered.

“W-we cannot leave the village…!”

“I-I’m the only one left in my family. S-so I must stay and protect it!”

“I cannot leave my sick parents behind!”

Hearing their various reasons for not leaving, Munglig nodded in understanding.

Then he signaled to his soldiers.

Young men with builds similar to Munglig’s stepped forward.

“W-what are those? Th-those muscle mountains?”

“A-are all Mongols like th-that?”

Unlike the confused Western Xia people, Munglig and his Kheshig acted as if this situation was natural.

They struck powerful poses that highlighted their muscles, leaving the muttering villagers staring blankly.

“Uh…”

“W-what’s happening.”

“Asei! Muscles!”

At Munglig’s shout, the Kheshig immediately struck different poses.

“Cha-ap!”

“Hoop!”

“…?”

“…”

“Indeed, muscles. They immediately quelled the confusion.”

Seeing the villagers fall silent, Munglig looked satisfied.

He approached them and spoke.

“If you become soldiers of Mongolia, you can gain muscles like these.”

“…?”

“…Why would we need muscles…?”

“I-I don’t know. B-but it’s scary…”

“Hahaha! Don’t be afraid. If you serve the Ulus, you can stay here without leaving your village.”

“R-really…?”

“W-we don’t have to leave…?”

“As a Kheshig serving the great ruler of the steppe, I do not lie.”

“Uh…”

“If we s-serve the U-Ulus… does that mean we’ll be sent into battle?”

“If you want to earn merit, that would be fine. But if you don’t want to participate in battle, you can substitute with labor service.”

In Western Xia, all adults, regardless of gender, had to join the army.

As a result, all citizens had military experience.

Therefore, they didn’t have much resistance to military service.

Their only concern was having to take up arms for nomadic enemies and kill their own countrymen.

So the option to perform labor instead of fighting in battle was appealing.

“What kind of labor?”

“I cannot tell you that. When you become Mongol soldiers, I will let you know.”

At Munglig’s firm response, the villagers nodded.

Then they began talking among themselves.

“The conditions don’t seem bad…?”

“Are you crazy? Working for nomads.”

“At least it’s not forced. And it’s the only way to stay here.”

“We could resist until the end.”

“Do you think they’ll still offer peaceful dialogue then?”

“…”

The murmuring gradually subsided.

Eventually, a man who had been watching carefully approached Munglig.

“I will serve the Ulus. Please accept me.”

“A good choice. Asei. Move over there.”

The man nodded and walked to where Munglig pointed.

Seeing this, other villagers began to follow him.

“I-I want to join too.”

“D-do we really just have to perform labor?”

Hearing their questions, Munglig laughed heartily and spread his arms.

With a smile, he shouted loudly.

“Welcome to voluntary enlistment! Asei!”

* * *

Hearing the news brought by the messenger, Wei Xiaoyun, the chancellor of Western Xia, blinked in disbelief.

This was because hundreds, possibly thousands of refugees from villages near Xingqing were heading toward the city.

“Refugees pouring in…”

“Wh-what should we do, Your Excellency?”

“Accept them and give them bamboo spears.”

“B-bamboo spears, sir?”

The Yellow River flowed near Xingqing, allowing bamboo to grow well.

As a result, these bamboos were sometimes cut sharply at the end and used as weapons.

However, such weapons had significantly lower durability compared to iron weapons, so they were typically used for practice.

Giving such weapons to refugees meant only one thing.

“The refugees are also citizens of Western Xia. They must fulfill their duty as citizens by protecting the emperor and the country.”

The country existed for the emperor and nobility.

Therefore, citizens were expected to sacrifice for them.

“Won’t that lower morale?”

Wei Xiaoyun shook his head at the messenger’s question.

“If we simply accept them, they will consume all the supplies within Xingqing. This might be part of the Mongols’ plan.”

“Ah…”

“Therefore, we will accept them but place them at the front lines.”

This essentially meant using them as arrow shields.

The chancellor’s words were cold, but his decision was very rational.

Currently, Xingqing was already struggling to supply its 400,000 troops.

In such a situation, there were no resources to spare for refugees who couldn’t contribute.

Since they couldn’t let the enemy use these people either, he thought it better to use them as arrow shields.

“The Mongols are playing tricks. We won’t be easily fooled.”

Wei Xiaoyun gritted his teeth as he said this.

The chancellor’s rational judgment.

However, he failed to realize that this decision would turn the hearts of Western Xia’s people against them.