Chapter 104: Revolution

On the boundless grassland, a glance seemed to connect heaven and earth; only a cavalry unit of over a thousand was galloping with all its might. Yet, their figures bore little resemblance to the heroic, fearless, and unrestrained image people imagined.

The faces of these cavalrymen were etched with exhaustion and wretchedness; their dusty, disheveled appearance was heartbreaking. Their hoofbeats echoed across the grassland, but no longer in a majestic, powerful rhythm; instead, they revealed a heavy sense of fatigue.

They constantly whipped the warhorses beneath them, trying to find a shred of life on this vast grassland. But the wind on the grassland seemed to oppose them too, whipping up clouds of dust that made their already exhausted faces even more gray and hazy.

"Father, are we really going to abandon Grandfather and flee alone?" Among the cavalry, a boy riding a galloping horse asked the leader.

The boy was Dushi, the grandson of Wang Han, and the leader was none other than Wang Han's son, Sangkun.

"Dushi, what do you think we could do if we returned with these few of us? If we go back to notify your grandfather, we won't have time to escape. In that case, besides dying with our adoptive father, we can do nothing. Only by preserving our useful bodies now can we avenge your grandfather in the future."

Temujin comforted him while riding at full speed.

"Forget it. At this point, how can we avenge Father? Being able to barely survive and keep one life is already a stroke of luck amidst misfortune." The battle just now with Guo Jing had completely shattered all the pride in his heart.

He had always believed he was a fierce wolf on the grassland; his own slaves and herdsmen dared not look him in the eye. He felt that no one on the grassland could be his match.

Until one day, the pack of wolves he led encountered the soldiers of the gods. These soldiers, wielding weapons bestowed by the gods, easily defeated all the forces on the grassland.

And in the battle just now, the gods personally intervened. When he saw Guo Jing manipulating Lei Ting to slaughter indiscriminately among his troops, he nearly collapsed.

At this moment, he did not want to reclaim his tribe or avenge his father; he only wanted the gods not to kill him.

The speed at which the Kereit army collapsed was simply astonishing. Those fleeing soldiers, in their panic, did not even have the chance to send news to Wang Han. Like withered leaves scattered by a gale, they fled in all directions, unable to attend to anything else.

And Guo Jing, leading his own troops like a nimble leopard, charged fiercely toward Wang Han's royal tent.

The moment Guo Jing burst into the royal tent, Wang Han, reeking of alcohol, was lying on the bed. His obese body, with a protruding belly, looked particularly glaring. Guo Jing did not hesitate for a second; he strode forward and yanked Wang Han up from the bed.

Wang Han, dazed with drunkenness, cursed Guo Jing while struggling. In response, Guo Jing wore an expression of impatience, suddenly shook his hand, and threw him heavily to the ground. In the pain, Wang Han sobered up slightly. He struggled to lift his head, but the sight before him left him stunned and speechless.

A few months ago, that majestic army that had easily crushed their forces appeared in his line of sight once again. But this time, the number of arrivals was three times that of the last time; a black mass surged forward like a tide, with a momentum that shook the heavens.

The shouts of tens of thousands of revolutionaries, the hoofbeats, and the clashing of iron armor intertwined, forming an indescribable shock. Wang Han's heart instantly sank to the bottom. Looking at this army with soaring momentum, he, who had just been arrogant and domineering, now lay limp on the ground as if drained of all strength.

"Great Khan, spare my life! This humble one should not have listened to Temujin's words and led an army to attack the Great Khan. If the Great Khan is willing to spare my life, I am willing to lead the entire Kereit tribe to serve the Great Khan, looking only to the Great Khan for direction." Wang Han's face was deathly pale, his eyes full of pleading. While bitterly begging for forgiveness, he kept kowtowing; each kowtow struck the ground like a heavy hammer, emitting a dull sound.

"Whether to forgive you is not decided by me, but by the working masses who have been bullied and oppressed by you for generations. As long as they are willing to forgive you, I will not pursue the matter." Guo Jing waved his hand, ordering someone to take Wang Han away and detain him; at this moment, he did not want to see this person.

"Hasar, Huduchi, you two regiments stay here and wait for Standing Committee Member Nie to arrive and take over. I will take the remaining people to pursue Temujin?" Guo Jing immediately ordered the two regiments to stay and guard the area.

Hearing Guo Jing's decision, the adjutant nearby quickly advised, "Division Commander, isn't it too risky to pursue with only ten thousand men? Shouldn't we wait for Standing Committee Member Nie's reinforcements before leaving?"

"No need. The Qiyen and Kereit tribes have just been conquered; their recognition of us is not very high, so the troops needed to guard them cannot be careless. Now, the only tribe Temujin has allied with on the grassland is the Naiman tribe. Ten thousand men are enough to deal with the Naiman tribe." Guo Jing, who had just led the army to annihilate the Qiyen and Kereit tribes, was in high spirits.

Back then, even when Temujin assembled a coalition of one hundred thousand, he was still defeated by him. How much more so the tens of thousands of the Naiman tribe? This expedition, even if we fail to catch Temujin, must destroy the Naiman tribe, leaving the future Son of Heaven no place to stand on this grassland.

Gazing at the soldiers who had fought side by side with him, sharing life and death, Guo Jing's heart swelled with heroic sentiment, surging like Jianghe, impossible to restrain.

"Comrades, these past days we first defeated the Qiyen tribe, then annihilated the Kereit tribe. Now, only the enemy of the Naiman tribe remains on the entire grassland, stubbornly resisting. The working masses of the Naiman tribe are waiting for us to liberate them. Comrades, do we have any reason to let them suffer under the oppression of slave owners?" Guo Jing raised his arm and shouted.

"No!" Tens of thousands of cavalrymen responded in unison. Their voices rolled in like Lei Ting, shaking the entire earth. Since they were organized and trained, they had been invincible.

All enemies blocking their path collapsed like rotting wood. Among them were Tatars, Onguts, and Taichiuts, but now they had only one name: the People's Sons and Daughters.

They joined here for various reasons; some wanted their families to get priority in dividing cattle and sheep, others coveted the generous treatment of the army. They were all coarse and ignorant people who knew little.

But the increasingly better situation at home made them understand what it means to serve the people. The officers' equal respect for them and the instructors' teachings made them understand what it means to stand up, what it means to have dignity.

They were not fighting to defend the glory and wealth of noble lords, but for their own families and descendants to live in a world that gets better and better, a world where one does not need to kneel and wag one's tail like a dog at every turn to beg for pity.

This world is worth risking one's life for. At this moment, everyone has a common enemy: the lords who turned them into dogs.

They must make a revolution against them.