Ch.75Merger (1)

Bang!

The minister slammed his fist on the table, unable to contain his anger at the news delivered by the messenger.

“How dare he act on his own!”

The messenger, facing the minister’s wrath, remained silent.

The adjutant standing beside him spoke up, trying to calm Wei Xiaoyun.

“Please calm yourself, Your Excellency. At least he returned safely.”

The thought of a high-ranking Western Xia official being captured by the Mongols was terrifying.

The minister had to swallow his anger at the adjutant’s words about how fortunate it was that such a terrible thing hadn’t happened.

“Huff…”

“Your Excellency…”

“What is it?”

“The Left Army Commander wishes to see you…”

At the messenger’s words, Wei Xiaoyun firmly shook his head.

“I will not see him for the time being.”

The adjutant nodded at the minister’s words.

Then he gestured for the messenger to withdraw.

The messenger bowed to the minister before leaving.

“All our forces should be focused on Xingqing, and even that’s not enough…”

“Please calm your anger. Soon all troops will be gathered at Xingqing.”

The minister nodded at the adjutant’s words.

It was almost time for the 400,000-strong army to assemble.

There was no need to worry too much about such matters.

While he was thinking, another messenger approached.

After bowing, he immediately began his report.

“All 400,000 troops have been assembled.”

“Finally…!”

Wei Xiaoyun clenched his fist.

The time of humiliation at the hands of those barbarians was now over.

It was time to crush the enemy with 400,000 troops.

“Tell all forces to prepare for battle. It’s time to slaughter those Mongol bastards who don’t know their place!”

The minister spoke boldly.

At the same time, he gestured to his attendant to help him don his armor.

After fully armoring himself, the minister headed straight to the parade ground where the troops had gathered.

Wei Xiaoyun smiled with satisfaction at the sight of the numerous people gathered there.

Of course, since they were hastily assembled forces, there were many beardless boys and hunched old men among them.

Even considering that, this force could be called tremendous.

After all, there were 50,000 troops gathered at this parade ground, and there were eight more such units.

Leading such a massive force into battle would surely make those wretched Mongols flee in fear.

With these thoughts, Wei Xiaoyun climbed onto the platform in front of the parade ground.

And looking at everyone, he shouted loudly.

“Today! Is the day we teach those wretched! Mongol bastards from the steppe a lesson!”

“…”

“What’s he talking about?”

“Not my problem anyway.”

“My friend outside the walls says the Mongols are better than our forces.”

The soldiers remained indifferent despite the minister’s speech.

This was because news of the situation outside the walls had somehow made its way into Xingqing.

Because of this, many citizens had become skeptical about the war.

So they weren’t showing an enthusiastic response to the minister’s grand speech.

“Sons! Daughters of Western Xia! Rise up with strong loyalty to His Majesty…”

But the minister wasn’t the kind of politician to be affected by such reactions from the soldiers.

He continued his speech, striving to raise morale.

Of course, there was a simple method of forcing a response by using rank or status.

But using such methods could cause resentment, so the minister continued speaking with patience.

“…We are one people, Western Xia citizens who have withstood attacks from the Central Plains! Therefore, we cannot submit to the rule of those wretched Mongols!”

After much difficulty, the minister’s speech finally ended.

The speech seemed to have had some effect, as the atmosphere was better than before.

The minister was about to order the troops to march.

At that moment, a messenger urgently approached the minister’s side.

“Y-Your Excellency! It’s… it’s terrible!”

“What is it?”

“Th-that… w-water is rushing toward Xingqing.”

“Water…?!”

At the messenger’s words, the minister immediately ran up to the top of the wall.

Climbing the high wall, he could immediately see what the messenger meant.

“Wh… what is this…”

A fierce current of water rushing toward Xingqing.

That current was coming precisely from the upstream of the Yellow River.

* * *

“It seems Khasar has successfully executed the water attack.”

Bekhter nodded at my words.

Bekhter and I were standing on a hill, watching the water beginning to surround Xingqing.

Seeing the water flowing more slowly than I expected, I was experiencing firsthand what this water attack strategy was really like.

In movies, dramas, and novels, water is often shown dramatically rushing in and breaking down gates.

But unlike those dramatic effects, the overflowing river surrounded Xingqing and then simply stagnated.

The reason water was pooling around the walls appeared to be because they had dug out the ground to prevent tunneling.

Anyway, we had achieved all our strategic objectives.

So I gave orders to Bekhter.

“Persuade as many of the enemy refugee units around the walls as possible, then attack the gates.”

“I will carry out your orders.”

Bekhter was leading the vanguard in this Xingqing conquest.

For this reason, I also entrusted my son with the role of leading the refugee units.

Persuading the refugee units was crucial to the Xingqing campaign.

Although it wasn’t part of the original plan, winning over the people’s hearts was important if we wanted to make Bekhter the king of Western Xia.

According to Elunka’s report, these were people who had been driven outside the walls with nothing but sharpened bamboo spears.

As they harbored resentment toward Western Xia’s leadership, they could be persuaded.

After Bekhter left, Elunka, who had been standing behind, immediately approached me.

“They won’t be able to hold out for long.”

Xingqing with its 400,000 troops.

That meant they had to supply provisions for 400,000 people every day.

Usually in such cases, supplies could be brought in from nearby villages or requisitioned from other cities.

But the water attack had cut off all supply routes to Xingqing.

And since those inside Xingqing couldn’t come out, they were essentially trapped in what amounted to a giant prison called Xingqing.

It would take at least a few weeks to drain all the water around the walls.

And even that would be difficult without creating drainage channels from outside the walls.

“In the end, all that’s left is for them to open the gates and come out to fight.”

Elunka nodded at my words.

Now that Xingqing had fallen victim to the water attack, Wei Xiaoyun had only one decision he could make.

To open the gates and fight.

When the gates opened, we planned to attack their exit point with trebuchets.

Of course, Wei Xiaoyun could choose not to open the gates and try to hold out.

But in that case, unable to sustain the supplies consumed by 400,000 troops, terrible things could happen inside Xingqing.

Hungry soldiers were known to easily change their minds.

* * *

A week after Xingqing fell victim to the water attack.

It had only been a week, but the interior of Xingqing was practically on the verge of rebellion.

This was because the food consumed by 400,000 soldiers was enormous.

This was a burdensome amount even for a major city like Xingqing, comparable to the great cities of the Central Plains.

In response, Wei Xiaoyun had reduced rations by half or implemented alternate-day rationing.

Despite these self-help measures, the stockpiled grain in Xingqing was depleting faster than he had anticipated.

“Your Excellency. If the soldiers don’t receive their rations again, they might revolt.”

“Revolt…? Ha! Who would dare harbor treasonous thoughts here in Xingqing, where His Majesty resides?”

Wei Xiaoyun spat out the words as if incredulous.

But he knew better than anyone how precarious the current situation was.

However, showing this outwardly could destabilize everything, so the minister feigned composure in his response.

“The water will recede soon. When it does, we can defeat the Mongols and restore our supply routes.”

“But…”

At his adjutant’s concerned words, the minister rose.

And as if there were no problems, he issued orders with a dignified posture.

“Release all the grain. Feed the soldiers well and let them rest thoroughly.”

“A-all of it, Your Excellency?”

“If it’s not enough, I’ll use all the wealth of our Wei family to supplement the grain.”

“Y-Your Excellency…”

The adjutant, trembling at Wei Xiaoyun’s sacrifice, nodded.

Then he rose to carry out the orders.

After the adjutant left, Wei Xiaoyun, now alone, muttered to himself.

“In the end, it’s all or nothing…”

As the minister overseeing all state affairs, Wei Xiaoyun knew exactly how much grain was stored in Xingqing.

Therefore, he knew better than anyone that they couldn’t hold out for the two weeks needed for the water surrounding Xingqing to completely recede.

That’s why he had no choice but to decide to feed the soldiers well now and let them rest to restore morale.

“Rather than withering away, we’ll open the gates tomorrow and fight the Mongols.”

Soldiers who had completely lost morale were little more than scarecrows.

It was impossible to face the Mongols outside the walls with such men.

Therefore, despite the unfavorable battlefield conditions with water up to their ankles, Wei Xiaoyun chose to fight while maintaining morale.

“We have 400,000 troops. With 400,000 troops, we can do anything.”

Wei Xiaoyun said these words to steady himself.

Just as he was preparing for tomorrow’s battle, a loud noise was heard from far away.

At the commotion, the minister immediately called his attendant to find out what was happening.

“What’s causing such a disturbance?”

“Y-Your Excellency…! Some unruly soldiers have gathered and are forcibly opening the gates!”

“What?! What are the gate guards doing?!”

“Th-that… the gate guards have also joined them…”

“Gather the soldiers immediately. The moment the gates open, battle will begin.”

It was too late to stop the gates from opening.

Therefore, Wei Xiaoyun summoned soldiers to block the Mongol troops that would rush in the moment the gates opened.

The attendant moved urgently to carry out the minister’s orders.

After he disappeared, Wei Xiaoyun gritted his teeth and looked toward the gates.

“Mongol bastards… I’ll make you regret attacking Xingqing… attacking Western Xia.”