Chapter 850

Ancient Tree Qiang

Ancestral Spirit Mountain

Ancestral Spirit Mountain Pass

The northern mountain range that the Ancient Tree Qiang People call Ancestral Spirit Mountain is a necessary route for troops moving south from the north.

Chen Wuji

Xu Zengyi merely glanced at it on the map and then designated this place as a garrison for the large army.

Holding the Ancestral Spirit Mountain pass is tantamount to setting up a toll station on this necessary route.

But when Chen Wuji led his troops here, he was surprised to discover that there was actually a small settlement of about two thousand people.

A settlement of two thousand people guarding such a strategic point left Chen Wuji stunned at the time.

Although the terrain here is gentle and the pastures abundant, settling here, the ancestors of the Ancient Tree Qiang either had extraordinary foresight or knew nothing about military strategy, thus digging a grave for their descendants.

Looking back now, the ancestors of the Ancient Tree Qiang were probably the latter.

The Ancient Tree Qiang never developed, and once war broke out, those stationed in this contested military hotspot would be the first to bear the brunt.

Qiang People

Chen Wuji picked at a sheep's leg bone with a dagger; this piece had little meat, but after being braised, the texture of the meat clinging to the bone was superb.

The bodies of more than ten Elders trembled slightly; they half-squatted, braced their hands on their knees, and gave a wry smile, saying: 'Do I still have a chance to consider?'

"Yes, there is—either exterminate your clan or listen to me; the choice is still in your hands." Chen Wuji said with a light laugh.

The ten-plus Elders strained to control their expressions, speaking in a mournful voice: "General Chen, please give my people a way to live? We have not killed Da Yu's people, nor have we done the evil deeds you speak of. Those things, I indeed know exist, and not just once or twice."

"But, General Chen, every place has good and bad people; as the saying goes, grievances have a source and debts have a debtor. You cannot blame the evil deeds committed by others on all the Qiang People; you should go settle accounts with those Qiang People who did wrong and committed crimes."

Chen Wuji nodded deeply in agreement, saying, "The ten-plus Elders' argument, I wholeheartedly agree."

"Indeed, by rights it should be so, but the ten-plus Elders have mistaken one thing: I am not now taking revenge; I am conducting a punitive expedition against the Qiang Land. At your age, you surely understand what I mean by 'punitive expedition'—I intend to make this land mine."

"As for me, I cannot stand two-faced, double-dealing people; it's a pity, but the Qiang People give me the impression of being two-faced, double-dealing, with no bottom line. This is not my fault; you should blame your own clansmen. Based on this understanding, if I don't tie you up with a rope and put a hoop on you, I won't feel at ease in my heart."

"Moreover, haven't I given you a way to live?" Chen Wuji said, his gaze deep, carrying a heavy, mountain-like authority of a superior as he looked at the ten-plus Elders, "Ten-plus Elders, you really need to think it over; speak only after you've figured it out, otherwise I might get angry."

The ten-plus Elders' bodies trembled slightly; they painfully closed their eyelids, "I choose the former, please… General Chen, give your orders."

"That's right." Chen Wuji clapped his hands, helping the ten-plus Elders sit properly in a chair.

"I believe that in a few years, the ten-plus Elders will surely be grateful for their choice. Losing your clothing and faith, learning our script—you now think it's a bad thing, but later you will certainly not think so."

The ten-plus Elders gave an embarrassed smile.

Digging up their roots completely, yet saying it's not a bad thing…

If it weren't truly unavoidable, if there really were no room for choice, he would genuinely want to twist this guy's head off to see whether, at that time, he would still be so smooth-talking and eloquent.

Chen Wuji's eyelids drooped sharply, "Ten-plus Elders, do you still hold a grudge against me?"

Although he is not an expert, the instinct honed from years of fighting in bloodshed makes him now quite sensitive to people's emotions.

This Lao Deng, just now seemed to have killing intent.

The ten-plus Elders hurriedly waved their hands, "General Chen, you misunderstand; I was thinking that we should be a bit harsh with the clansmen—this sort of thing they would surely oppose, and without preparing some harsher measures, I fear I would struggle to carry out General Chen's orders."

He was genuinely frightened.

He had only thought about it briefly in his mind, never expecting Chen Wuji to notice.

Chen Wuji chuckled lightly, "Old sir, that would be best; I've given you the opportunity, but don't play with the lives of your entire clan. I built a memorial mound from so many Qiang People's heads—I truly don't mind adding a couple thousand more of yours."

"Go, I want to see the results before sunset!"

The ten-plus Elders nodded repeatedly, their faces full of panic as they agreed and rose to leave the felt tent.

This was originally his felt tent, but now he doesn't even have room to speak here.

Just as the ten-plus Elders stepped out, Xu Zengyi entered holding a document, saying, "My lord, why bother saying so much to him? Drag them to the execution grounds—once the knife falls on their necks, all those with weak knees will submit."

Chen Wuji picked up a knife, scraped off a bit of tendon from a sheep bone, put it in his mouth, stretched his left leg, and said, "Bored out of my mind, just chatting casually with this old geezer—we are a righteous army, we can reason with them."

Xu Zengyi's mouth twitched slightly.

The words "righteous army" are indeed correct, but as for reasoning…

Anyway, saying that made his face feel a bit embarrassed.

"After looking around, what results did you see?" Chen Wuji asked.

Since the army set up camp here, Xu Zengyi has been busy nonstop, every day leading people around to gather information.

"The result is that we are just standing guard here, waiting like a tree for a rabbit!" Xu Zengyi said confidently.

Chen Wuji glanced sideways, "That confident?"

"Exactly that confident—if the Court Army wants to move south, there is no other road they can take; only this place!" Xu Zengyi said with absolute certainty.

"The reason?"

"This mountain range… let's just use the name of the Gu Mu Qiang for now—Ancestral Spirit Mountain is an extension of Shenxian Ling; in the north the terrain is rugged, even where it's not that steep, wagons struggle to pass; this is the mountain pass closest to Nan Jun. Unless they are willing to detour nearly two hundred li, there the passes are more numerous, the mountain range undulates gently, wagons can even go south along the foothills, but if they detour, they'll come close to Yang Jinglve's territory."

Chen Wuji nodded, "Two hundred li isn't that far either; we still need to guard against it."

Fighting in this Qiang Land, this counts as the greatest advantage.

The distinct terrain greatly restricts the play of tactics.

The crisscrossing mountain passes are the sole route out.

Unless the Court Army carries no provisions, with so many mountain passes they will inevitably have to take one.