Chapter 217: Nine Battles, Nine Victories, Thus Awe‑Inspiring Across the World!

One should know that the twenty percent Jia Jing mentioned is not a small amount, even though a portion of it will go to the generals and officers.

But when divided among the six thousand soldiers, each receives at least a few dozen taels and at most a few hundred taels.

For ordinary soldiers this is already a rare fortune, equivalent to a military salary that would last dozens of years without food or drink.

This is also why the troops yearn for victory: not only can they earn merit and save their lives, but also obtain a large share of the spoils.

It is believed that once this money is distributed, the combat morale of the soldiers in the three border regions and four towns of the northwest will soar to unprecedented heights.

Niu Jizong and the others once again bowed and accepted the orders, their faces full of joy.

Having broken through the Northern Yuan royal court in this battle and seized so much treasure, they as commanders can claim a considerable share.

This is also the Da Han Empire's customary practice: a portion of the loot is turned over to the court, while the majority is distributed to meritorious soldiers according to their contributions, beyond reproach.

Jia Jing paused briefly, then said:

"These captives must be tightly guarded, especially Ba Tu Mengke, the Great Khan Ha Tun, Man Du Hai, as well as the Great Lama and the High Priest."

"Although this time we have broken through Wolf Mountain in one stroke, we still need them to make the remaining Northern Yuan forces submit."

Great Khan Ha Tun is Ba Tu Mengke's principal wife, and Man Du Hai enjoys a high reputation in both Northern Yuan and the Da Han Empire.

She commands the royal household affairs and the allegiance of several steppe tribal groups, making her a highly esteemed figure in Northern Yuan.

The Great Lama is the Northern Yuan's state teacher, the highest representative of Tibetan Buddhism on the northern steppe; the religious influence needs no further explanation—just look at later Iran for proof.

The High Priest is the spiritual leader of the steppe's primal faith and is likewise a pivotal figure on the plains.

Niu Jizong and the others' expressions hardened, and they bowed and said:

"Yes! My lord!"

"Alright, go make the arrangements! Niu Jizong immediately sent men to Yulin to report the victory."

"By now the twenty thousand cavalry of Bashang Daying should have arrived; let them transport the prisoners and the loot."

"Zhu Que, bring the merit register; this lord will draft a memorial to the court to report the victory and claim merit for you all!"

After the post‑battle arrangements, everyone's spirits lifted, and they strode away.

Jia Jing rose, examined the map carefully, pondered the subsequent campaign plans, and then began drafting a memorial to Jing Sheng Di.

…

More than two months later.

Shenjing City.

In the spring of that year, Shenjing City was especially bustling and festive.

Since February, the northwest has seen a combined force of several hundred thousand troops from False Qing, Hun Xie, and Northern Yuan invading, and the situation is dire.

The ordinary citizens of Shenjing City were initially panicked, fearing the battle would be hard to win and that the Da Han Empire might be in trouble.

Some gentry even thought the Da Han great house would collapse, making the capital Shenjing City unsafe, and many began planning to move to Jiangnan.

Various defeatist and war‑avoidance voices echoed throughout Shenjing City, leaving many uneasy.

However,

Before the gentry and citizens could act, the outcome of the northwest campaign far exceeded expectations.

Since the court resolutely adopted a war stance and dispatched Jingwu Marquis Jia Jing to command the border forces, the Da Han Empire has won battle after battle, as if on a cheat code.

Urgent dispatches from six hundred li away have arrived one after another from the northwest to Shenjing, and spoils, captives, and loot have been shipped in car after car into the city.

At first, many across the city were skeptical: are these victory reports real?

When did our Da Han become so formidable?

Even though Jingwu Marquis is a rare great general, even though he once achieved a great victory over False Qing.

Nevertheless, his military career has not been long, and this time he faced a combined force of several hundred thousand from three states—how could he win repeatedly so easily?

Could there be something fishy about this?

It is also because the Da Han Empire has had few border victories in recent years, leaving its people and officials momentarily baffled.

They are unaccustomed to receiving a dispatch every ten or twenty days, and even suspect some may be fabricated!

Later, when tens of thousands of Northern Yuan heads and captives, including the Northern Yuan Great Khan Ba Tu Mengke, were escorted into the capital, and the court's reports began publishing the news of the northwest triumph,

Everyone seemed to awaken from a dream, and the hundreds of thousands of Shenjing City's residents burst into jubilant cheers, the city boiling with excitement!

And right after the first dispatch and Tuo Tuo Bu Hua's trophy box arrived in the capital, the court officially issued an edict promoting Jingwu Marquis Jia Jing to First‑Class Champion Marquis and elevating him to Third Rank General of the Expeditionary West.

Subsequently, throughout March and April, victory reports from the northwest never ceased.

Under Champion Marquis Jia Jing's command, the Da Han border forces not only annihilated the centuries‑old Northern Yuan but also swept across the steppe, crushing every tribal state.

Continuous victories kept shaking Shenjing City and fueling heated discussion.

For more than two months, every teahouse and tavern in Shenjing City has centered its conversation on the northwest front.

Countless people debate Champion Marquis Jia Jing's upcoming campaign strategies, and many wonder whether the Da Han military might has returned to the level of the founding and succeeding emperors.

Countless people discuss where the Champion Marquis has already reached, when he will be ennobled, and when he will recreate the former heroic deeds of Huo Piaoqi.

Throughout Shenjing City and the surrounding Three Auxiliaries, for these two months everyone's gaze has been fixed on the northwest and on Champion Marquis Jia Jing.

Even the once‑renowned Huo Piaoqi has regained fame, with Da Han commoners repeatedly comparing him to Jia Jing.

They compare whose achievements are greater, whose loot is larger, who is younger, who is more valiant, who is more handsome, and so on.

In these months, the most requested stories by storytellers in Shenjing City are the "Records of the Grand Historian – Biography of General Wei's Cavalry" and various apocryphal tales about the former Champion Marquis.

Whenever topics or stories about the Champion Marquis are told, the hall erupts in applause and countless rewards are given.

Even the court made an exception and lifted the night curfew.

Since the Grand Emperor's northern hunt, Shenjing City has observed a nightly curfew, with every household shutting doors and only the drum of the night watch heard in the streets.

But since the northwest triumph and the destruction of Northern Yuan,

Jing Sheng Di personally issued an edict lifting the curfew for three months.

The court permits the people to greet victories with drums and music, celebrating spontaneously with fireworks, lanterns, opera, and the like, to hail the Da Han's flourishing state and mighty military.

Thus, whenever night fell, the streets bustled.

The lamp wicks lit Shenjing's main streets as bright as day, with food stalls, sundry stalls, and calligraphy/painting stalls lining the street.

Countless people let off firecrackers, beat drums and gongs, and sang operas; the patrol's Five City Military Command paid no attention, and sometimes they were even dragged along to share a drink.

Some said it was the sign of a prosperous age, with the Da Han Empire returning to its heyday and experiencing a revival once more.

Others said it was the founding emperor Taizu manifesting his spirit, sending down such an able ruler as Emperor Jing Sheng and such a capable minister as Jia Jing to support the Han house.

This day was the fifteenth day of the fifth month in the tenth year of the Jing Sheng era.

Just past noon, a sudden rush of hoofbeats came from outside Zhengyang Gate in Shenjing.