area51novel Chapter 40 Three Arrows Settle the Yellow River
Chapter 40 Three Arrows Settle the Yellow River
In the third month of spring, Muqali led a large army south from Yanjing.
Hebei fell in the blink of an eye, and the historian of Zhending led his troops to surrender.
Although Shi Tianze has joined the World Society, the choice of the Shi family of Zhending is ultimately beyond his control.
Within the Shi family, Shi Tianni had already secretly submitted to the Mongols. With their combined efforts from within and without, there was virtually no real resistance in Hebei.
Although the historian achieved his success by protecting the territory and securing the lives of the people, he could only shrink his power and preserve his core under the Mongol army's onslaught, ultimately contributing nothing to the overall situation in Hebei.
The Mongol army maintained its stability and strength by constantly plundering wealth from other countries, which was the core reason for the survival of the Mongol Empire.
Neither Muqali nor Genghis Khan could or would change the nature of the army.
After the city fell, the Mongol army, as always, began a protracted campaign of burning, killing, looting, and arson.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees from Hebei were forced to leave their homes in search of a living, and their first choice was to flee to Shandong, where the Tianxiahui (a secret society).
Among the refugees were a large number of defeated Jin soldiers and conscripted men.
Muqali could not allow these people to flood into Shandong and become part of Yang Kang's forces, so he sent Shi Moming'an with 30,000 cavalry southwards, heading straight for the Shandong border.
This was both a necessity for the war and a test of the Shandong forces.
Muqali needed to determine Yang Kang's attitude in his upcoming campaign against the Jin.
If Yang Kang were to actually send troops to intercept Shi Moming'an, Muqali would immediately turn his attention to the Jin Dynasty, halting his campaign against the Jin and using all 150,000 troops to suppress Yang Kang, or even kill him within Shandong.
But if Yang Kang doesn't take action, his persona as the reincarnation of the Overlord and the successor of Yue Fei will instantly collapse.
The reputation of a benevolent ruler who has painstakingly cultivated the protection of the people and the peace of the land will be lost and he will be ridiculed by the world.
Although it will not bring direct military losses, it will completely turn him from the hope of all the people into a clown in this struggle for power.
This is something he absolutely cannot accept.
Mu Huali's probing actions created a dilemma that almost completely enraged Yang Kang.
For a fleeting moment, he even had the urge to lead his troops to kill Mu Huali, but in the end, Yang Kang abandoned this irrational idea.
He had more important things to do than to be angry.
. . . . . .
April, Yellow River ferry crossing.
The cries drowned out the surging flow of the river; the lamentations of humanity gathered, moving even heaven and earth.
On the north bank, Shi Moming'an led 30,000 Mongol cavalrymen, relentlessly pressing towards the 100,000 refugees he was pursuing.
What was originally a scene of despair was transformed into a frozen painting in an instant.
On the south bank, Yang Kang and his wife Yang Miaozhen led three hundred Iron Pagoda cavalrymen to this place.
Yang Kang's direct disciples, Nie Feng and Bu Jingyun, were also prominently listed.
He did not cross the river, nor did he send a large army to press the border. He simply walked alone with Yang Miaozhen onto the embankment on the south bank.
"Your Highness, I was ordered by King Muqali to pursue the fleeing Jin army. This has nothing to do with you."
"Please hand over these remnants of the Jin army to avoid trouble."
Ming An ordered his soldiers to shout loudly.
At this moment, he was three or four hundred paces away from Yang Kang across the river. He could only look up at Yang Kang on the south bank and could only see his blurry figure and face.
Shi Moming'an had witnessed Yang Kang's bravery in the Battle of Yehuling.
As a former high-ranking official of the Jin Dynasty, he naturally knew about those martial arts stories and had heard rumors about Yang Kang's martial arts skills.
Even though Yang Kang only brought three hundred men, it was enough to make him prepare for battle.
Yang Kang remained silent, calmly watching Shi Moming'an on the opposite bank.
With a slight movement of his double pupils and a thought in his mind, the other person's appearance became as clear as if it were right in front of him.
Yang Kang stood there, motionless for a long time.
Most of the refugees on the north bank crossed the river overnight. Shi Moming'an could not contain his irritation and was about to raise his hand to order his soldiers to go ashore and kill the refugees.
At that moment, Yang Kang suddenly moved.
He took down his bow and nocked an arrow.
The arrow shot out like a meteor, covering a distance of hundreds of paces.
With a twang of the bowstring, the banner of Commander Shi Moming fell to the ground.
The Mongol soldiers on the north bank were all in an uproar. From a distance of several hundred paces, an arrow pierced and broke the flagpole.
Those in the military can naturally understand how incredible all of this is.
"Even Jebe, the greatest archer in Mongolia, could never have achieved this distance and this level of precision."
"I have long heard that Yang Kang's martial arts are unparalleled and his archery skills are superb. Seeing him today, I can confirm that his reputation is well-deserved."
"But is this an attempt to demonstrate against us?"
"Or do you really want to meddle in this?"
Shi Moming'an was not frightened by Yang Kang's arrow, but instead said with some doubt and confusion.
He was a born general, and had witnessed countless battles on the battlefield.
Even though no one he had ever seen could do what Yang Kang had done, Shi Moming'an, a veteran of many battles, would never be intimidated by a single arrow.
He felt a surge of humiliated anger welling up inside him, and immediately raised his hand to give the order. All the Mongol soldiers drew their scimitars and nocked arrows.
They are already prepared for a major battle with Yang Kang.
"What a brave and courageous Shi Moming'an!"
Yang Kang inwardly approved, and once again drew his bow and shot an arrow at Shi Moming'an.
The arrow left the bowstring and shot into Shi Moming'an's eyes almost in the blink of an eye.
Before his earlier embarrassment and anger had faded, he saw a cold glint shooting straight toward his head.
An instinctive fear surged through his body like an electric current. The next moment, an arrow pierced the red tassel on his helmet, causing it to tilt slightly and fall off.
The Mongol army was in an uproar, their formation was thrown into disarray, and the guards were about to charge forward on horseback.
Shi Moming quickly shouted to stop him.
"General! Yang Kang has humiliated us so severely; does he intend to oppose our Mongols?"
"Let's kill him and those remaining defeated soldiers today!"
"A guard said menacingly."
Upon hearing this, Shi Moming glared angrily at him, then dismounted and picked up his helmet.
"That arrow either missed or was aimed at the red tassel on my head."
Shi Moming felt an indescribable fear as a result.
The guards around him were all in an uproar upon hearing this.
"General, are you joking? How could this be?"
"He was only three or four hundred paces away from us; it was already an incredible feat for him to shoot down the flagpole."
"Is it a myth that he was aiming for the red tassel on your helmet?"
Shi Moming'an's deputy general looked grim and muttered to himself, a bead of cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
"If Yang Kang's archery skills have truly reached such a level, then it means that the fate of each of us is almost entirely in the hands of his single thought."
"If a fight really breaks out, I'm afraid that before the army even crosses the river, we will all be shot dead by Yang Kang alone."
"However, he could have shot at my throat, but instead he only shot at the red tassel on my head."
"It seems Yang Kang doesn't want to fight us."
Shi Moming carefully examined his helmet for a moment, then let out a long sigh and said.
He truly did not want to make an enemy of Yang Kang unless absolutely necessary. Even if the enemy only had three hundred men, he knew that he would be the first to die if a fight broke out.
While Shi Moming was in a daze, Yang Kang took out a third arrow and shot it into the sky.
The arrow traced a long arc in the air and landed precisely on the stone tablet in the center of the ferry crossing on the north bank of the Yellow River, penetrating three-tenths of an inch into the stone.
"The area south of this boundary is the territory of my World Society."
"General Ming'an, take care of yourself."
Yang Kang put away his bow and arrows and spoke for the first time.
His voice, amplified by his powerful internal energy, seemed to travel straight across the river.
All the Mongol soldiers on the north bank and the displaced people who were anxiously crossing the river heard his voice.
The people were overjoyed, and many elderly people couldn't help but cry as they anxiously ran towards the south bank.
After a long silence, Shi Moming finally ordered the entire army to retreat thirty miles to make way for the refugees.
Nie Feng gripped the hilt of his knife tightly, his knuckles turning white.
Bu Jingyun unconsciously held his breath, his eyes fixed on Yang Kang's figure.
The two fifteen-year-old boys wouldn't understand the meaning behind it, but they both remembered the scene.
One person, one river, and 30,000 troops standing silently.
On that day, Yang Kang and Yang Miaozhen stood on the south bank of the Yellow River, watching nearly 100,000 refugees cross the river and return to Shandong.
From that day on, a folk song was sung among all the refugees who had fled from Hebei.
"King Yang's three arrows settled the Yellow River, and the people sang songs as they entered Qingzhou."