area51novel Chapter 50 The Western Xia People on the Grasslands
Chapter 50 The Western Xia People on the Grasslands
September is the time when the Mongolian grasslands are at their most fertile, yet also the time when they gradually become sparse.
The golden grass has been replaced by large patches of withered brown short grass, which bends down and bounces up again in the increasingly cold wind.
In the distance, the snow line of the Altai Mountains stretches as far as the eye can see, a white line covering the mountainside.
The sky, mountains, and earth seemed to merge into one, creating a hazy, gray scene.
A huge lid pressed down gently, carrying heavy cotton wool.
In the Great Ordos camp, Genghis Khan's principal wife, Börte, and her many underage grandchildren were suddenly awakened from their sleep.
The shouts of battle rose up from afar, shaking the heavens.
"What happened?"
Börte awoke from her deep sleep with a hint of confusion, but not much panic.
Having followed a husband like Genghis Khan, this voice had accompanied her for half her life.
"Khedun! It's the Western Xia! The Western Xia are attacking us!"
"The situation is urgent; please lead the princes and retreat immediately!"
"Retreat westward, towards Burkhan Khaldun!"
The veteran general Zhelemie, who remained at the main camp, shouted loudly.
"Mongolian warriors, take up your scimitars and bows, and join me in protecting the elderly and women!"
Zhelemie then shouted loudly again. His right sleeve was empty, so he could only hold the knife with his left hand, a mark left by Yang Kang during the Battle of Yehuling.
At this time, the Great Ordos was completely empty.
Genghis Khan took most of his elite troops with him, while the troops left behind in the east were mostly engaged in the war against the Central Plains under Muqali's command.
At this time, the army of the Great Ordos numbered only five thousand, most of whom were elderly men.
There were only about three thousand men who were truly capable of fighting, while the invading enemy numbered nearly ten thousand.
Although Zhelemie was brave and fearless, with his old and disabled body, leading a small force against an overwhelmingly superior force, and the Western Xia cavalry who had launched a surprise attack, even a seasoned general like him was like a skilled cook without rice to cook, and he quickly fell into a disadvantageous position.
"Warriors of the Golden Family, take up your swords and protect the elderly and women!"
A teenager suddenly shouted, mounted a horse much taller than himself, brandished his scimitar, and led several other young boys to protect the retreating elderly and weak.
"Mongke, protect your younger brother Kublai Khan!"
The boy's mother, Queen Sorghaghtani of Tore, cried out loudly.
On her back was Ariq Böke, who couldn't speak yet, and at her feet dragged Hulagu, who was still too young to understand.
Six-year-old Kublai Khan already had his own ideas, and at Möngke's roar, he instinctively grabbed his knife and rushed out.
Möngke turned his horse around, pulled his younger brother Kublai Khan onto the horse, and held him in his arms.
Amidst the crowd, Princess Huazheng also picked up the bow and arrows left behind by Guo Jing and kept shooting at the charging enemies.
In the distance, Zhelemie brandished his scimitar with his left hand amidst the chaos of battle, roaring furiously incessantly.
However, he was old and disabled, and his fighting ability was not as good as before.
Furthermore, the Western Xia cavalry's surprise attack on the Great Ordos was unexpected by everyone. Although Börte had long suspected that the Western Xia had rebellious intentions, she did not expect them to have the audacity to launch a surprise attack on the grasslands.
The defenses hastily set up by Zhelemie were breached one after another.
A squad of Iron Falcon cavalrymen clad in black leather armor charged up behind the group of women and children, raising their long swords and aiming for the head of young Möngke.
Möngke tightly embraced his younger brother Kublai Khan and cried out in horror.
Sorghaghtani, the mother of four princes including Möngke, and who was dragging her children along, cried out in alarm.
"Mongke!"
In the blink of an eye, a hand flew in from afar and caught the falling longsword.
A figure swept in from the horizon, transforming into a whirlwind that stirred up a cloud of dust. Amidst the dust, men and horses were shattered, and Mongke lost control of his steed.
As the horse lurched, Kublai Khan, the younger brother in Möngke's arms, was thrown out.
With a deafening roar, amidst the billowing blood mist, Kublai Khan landed in Yang Kang's arms.
"Uncle, are you a deity sent by the Eternal Heaven to save me?"
Kublai Khan, his face streaked with tears, stared blankly at Yang Kang, who stood before him as tall as a mountain.
Yang Kang looked at the little one in his arms.
At this moment, this adorable little boy with his Mongolian braids had no connection whatsoever with the future founding emperor of the Yuan Dynasty.
I guess so.
Yang Kang smiled and placed Kublai Khan on the ground.
Immediately, his true energy erupted, and a scarlet storm surged up along with billowing dust.
He didn't use any weapons; he simply charged straight at the enemy in front of him.
Having mastered the Nine Yang Divine Skill, he, like Zhang Wuji, mastered the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth to the sixth level in just a few hours.
With his potential further unlocked, Yang Kang now possessed a terrifying strength of 20,000 jin. On the vast grassland, he roared like a human dragon as he charged towards the Western Xia cavalry.
Before him, soldiers and officers were like cotton before steel, easily torn into a shower of blood and flesh.
Fireworks of flesh and blood rose and fell across the vast grasslands of the Great Ordos, accompanied by the tremors of the earth.
A group of Western Xia cavalry noticed the commotion and, more than a hundred of them, bypassed the struggling Mongol cavalry and surrounded Yang Kang.
Yang Kang suddenly leaped high into the air, his true energy trembling, transforming into a heavenly might that shook downwards.
With a roar, the hundred-plus cavalrymen were knocked to the ground and their bodies were crushed by the rapidly passing crimson storm.
Yang Kang casually grabbed a cavalryman, stepped on his body, and suddenly pulled his head and spine out of his body, as terrifying as a scorpion.
Yang Kang trampled on the flesh and blood, roaring loudly.
"With Yang Kang here, who dares to be insolent!"
Accompanied by Yang Kang's roar, amplified by his inner strength, it echoed across the sky.
As Yang Kang roared in Mongolian, he continued his terrifying and unstoppable charge towards the Western Xia cavalry general.
Upon hearing that Yang Kang had come to their aid, including Zhelemie, their spirits were immediately lifted, and they roared as they launched a counterattack against the Western Xia troops.
The group of Western Xia cavalrymen were horrified. The leading general had long heard of Yang Kang's reputation, but he had thought it was just a legend. Now, seeing Yang Kang's terrifying performance, he was shocked.
Fearing that Yang Kang would kill him, he dared not hesitate any longer and immediately ordered a retreat.
The Western Xia army was terrified by Yang Kang's terrifying performance, and their retreat immediately turned into a rout.
Upon seeing this, Zhelemie was overjoyed and immediately organized his army to pursue and slaughter them along the way.
Seeing this, Yang Kang did not give chase. He was just saving people, not working, so there was no need to waste his energy.
He shook off the blood and flesh in his hands, and as he raised his hand to wave at the distant river, the stream suddenly trembled.
The air was filled with mist, which Yang Kang drew to his side, cleansing away the blood and grime from his body.
"Ordinary people are so fragile; bloodstains are so hard to wash off."
Yang Kang casually tossed his hair, inwardly complaining.
He came to Da Ordos only to keep a promise he made to a man: to deliver a letter for Zhu Chi.
Unexpectedly, they encountered the attack on the grassland by the Western Xia cavalry.
As a matter of personal feelings, Tolui was his sworn brother, and since he saw his wife and children in danger, he was bound to help.
From his perspective, the actions of the Western Xia had indeed exceeded his expectations.
He knew that the Western Xia would inevitably turn against him, leading to Muqali's defeat, but he did not expect that the Western Xia would be able to do this.
Historically, the Western Xia did indeed launch raids against the Mongol heartland during Genghis Khan's westward expedition.
However, such an attack that went straight to the Great Ordos and nearly wiped out Genghis Khan's family and princes was definitely not something the Western Xia people could have planned.
There's probably still a trace of Wanyan Honglie in this.
If this succeeds, Genghis Khan might suffer a severe blow and die; he doesn't know.
But the Mongol army, driven by rage, would surely march south in a frenzy, massacring the Western Xia and the Central Plains.
The situation would then completely deviate from his plan, which was not what he wanted.
"You really surprise me, Father."
"It seems that without my mother's and my interference, you can unleash far more power than I imagined."
As Yang Kang pondered these thoughts, he stepped out of the mist.