Chapter 1088: Internal Strife

Gusts of hot wind from the south blew northward, and the aroma was carried even further away.

More and more Beidi soldiers in the trenches smelled this scent.

More people began to drool, and their stomachs started to rumble.

At this moment, some Beidi soldiers entered the trenches carrying baskets to distribute food to the soldiers inside.

Each person received a bowl of roasted wheat grains and two or three slices of mutton or beef.

Although this fare was not too bad, it was far inferior to the times before when they could eat meat in large mouthfuls and enjoy Beidi specialties like milk skin.

But this was only the beginning.

Over the next month, they discovered that the Great Song army did not launch an attack after a fierce bombardment as they had done in Yongzhou.

Instead, they were unhurried, launching a round of shelling at irregular times every day, simply ensuring they could not have a single day of peaceful rest.

The duration of the shelling was very short, either a quarter of an hour or half an hour.

During this month of sporadic shelling, more than thirty thousand Beidi suffered casualties.

Among them, over eight thousand were soldiers, and more than twenty thousand were Beidi herdsmen.

These soldier casualties naturally did not mean much to them.

But as the Great Song army's siege dragged on, everyone realized something was wrong.

Because the food they could eat was becoming less and less.

The two or three slices of meat for the soldiers were gone, leaving only the cooked wheat grains, and gradually even the cooked wheat grains became scarce; every meal left them hungry.

"We have been deceived; we should not have taken in so many herdsmen. Now these herdsmen are a burden."

Seeing the situation becoming increasingly difficult, Wulanba and other Beidi generals also realized something was wrong.

At this moment, they were arguing fiercely about this matter in the tent.

"What is the use of saying this now? At the time, all of us agreed to this," another Beidi general said bitterly.

Back then, facing the herdsmen under their own royal tents, no King would have considered today's situation.

They all thought the Great Song army would launch an immediate attack as they had in the past.

In that case, these herdsmen could have become a force for them to resist the Great Song army.

Some even mocked the Great Song army for having a lapse in their meticulous plans.

Now, they finally understood the insidiousness of the Song People.

It turned out their true purpose was for these herdsmen to consume the Khan Court's grain and grass.

But even though they understood, it was already too late.

"Everything has its pros and cons. At least with the shelling these days, our soldier casualty numbers are lower than expected," Wulanba said slowly.

He felt somewhat guilty, because at the time he had only focused on the immediate benefits and had not thought of the terrible consequences that might follow.

Today, their soldiers and herdsmen combined, nearly a million people were crowded into a small Khan Court; although the scale was massive, the inside had been hollowed out.

At this moment, he suddenly missed his father.

If he were here, he would certainly not have made this mistake.

After pondering for a moment, he continued, "Since things have reached this point, we must take decisive measures. I believe we must first secure the soldiers' rations. As for the herdsmen's rations, stop them immediately. Furthermore, only keep some useful herdsmen; let the other herdsmen leave through the valley on the north side of the Khan Court and head north to find food."

After Wulanba's words fell, all the Beidi generals fell silent.

After a long while, a Beidi general suddenly stood up and said: "What is the difference between this decision of the General and letting those old and weak herdsmen die? It is still very cold in the north this season; what food could they possibly find?"

"Audacious Kelin, how are you speaking to the General?" The general who spoke was Kelin, the King of the Red Flame Royal Tent.

As soon as his words were out, he was immediately rebuked by Labu, the King of the Blood Wolf Royal Tent.

Kelin did not sit down; he ignored Labu's rebuke and continued, "General, I am doing this for the Beidi. If we do this, I fear the hearts of many Beidi herdsmen will turn cold. We have no need to sacrifice the Beidi for the foolish decisions of the Ross country. We should take advantage of the fact that we still have grain and grass, immediately pass through the northern valley, move first north and then west; perhaps there is still a way to survive."

"Scoundrel!"

When Kelin said the first sentence, Wulanba was not yet angry.

But because Kelin denied the decision of Nikolai the Great in front of Ivan, endless rage suddenly surged in Wulanba's heart.

To him, if this sentence reached the ears of Nikolai the Great, it would certainly affect the relationship between the Beidi and the Ross country.

At a time like this, he would absolutely not allow anyone to slander the Ross country.

"Men, drag Kelin out and give him forty lashes, and strip him of his Colonel rank. Being in the Ross country's army yet insulting the Ross country, he must be punished," Wulanba shouted.

The Red Flame Royal Tent had already been destroyed by the Great Song army, and in his heart, Kelin no longer had much value.

He could just use him to make an example of others.

Hearing his order, two Beidi soldiers immediately entered the tent and dragged Kelin out.

Kelin still refused to submit and cursed, "Wulanba, you are not fit to be our Beidi Khan! In order to marry the cousin of the Ross country's Emperor, you are going to take our Beidi lives as a dowry! We have no need to fight the Great Song army here at all, there is no need..."

His voice grew more and more distant, and finally, he was dragged out of the Royal Tent. Before long, the sound of a whip striking a body rang out, accompanied by Kelin's screams.

Forty lashes were enough to cost Kelin his life.

"Do exactly as I just said, execute it immediately. Whoever dares to say another word of dissent will be dealt with by military law immediately," Wulanba snorted angrily.

After speaking, he waved his hand, signaling the generals to leave.

Under Wulanba's orders, the generals began to select some strong herdsmen to stay behind.

The remaining herdsmen were driven toward the valley.

These herdsmen were cold and hungry, and being driven to the north, knowing they would surely die, they could not help but wail in droves.

But the Beidi Cavalry did not care about them at all; whips constantly struck their bodies, driving them forward.

Kelin, who had been beaten to the point of being on the verge of death, listened to the wailing and slowly clenched his fists.

He hated the Great Song people, but he also knew that neither the Tusman people nor the Ross country people were kind.

What he and some Beidi generals wanted more was to find a real future for the Beidi.

It was just that Wulanba was so stubborn that the future of their Beidi was destined to be buried here.

Furthermore, he vaguely guessed that what Wulanba was doing now was exactly what the opposing Great Song generals truly wanted.

Originally, the Northern Di had already exhausted almost all of their wealth to support the Battle of Yongzhou.

Life during this period had already become far worse than before.

In their hearts, they had long since accumulated dissatisfaction toward Muleihongzhen and his son, the Viscount.

Now, Wulanba treating the Northern Di herdsmen so cruelly would only lead to the situation intensifying further.

After all, no one was willing to head to the freezing snow plains to wait for death.

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard bursts of roaring sounds not far away; it seemed the Northern Di Cavalry were fighting among themselves.