Chapter 296: Wulanba

The Grassland.

The accumulated snow melted, and the earth exhaled a lush green.

Fine horses, cattle, and sheep were driven out from wooden pens, spreading across the undulating hills.

The Khan Court.

Tiemuta was listening to a Northern Di merchant in the tent, his expression flickering between light and shadow.

When the merchant finished speaking, he waved his hand to signal the merchant to leave, and walked straight into the Khan Tent.

"Great Khan, the merchant sent word that if we want the Secret Medicine, we cannot forbid our merchants from selling them Warhorses, nor can we forbid merchants from buying their Fine Wine and Perfume," Tiemuta said.

Upon hearing this, Mule Hongzhen frowned, "This Yan Wang is truly as cunning as a fox."

"But no matter how clever a fox is, it cannot outmatch a hunter; we Northern Di are the hunters who will strangle this fox," Tiemuta sneered.

Mule Hongzhen nodded slightly and asked, "How is Jinzhou?"

"Yan Wang's grain and fodder went to Feihu Pass a few days ago; they should be fighting by now, right?" A trace of a smile played on the corners of Tiemuta's mouth.

Although the Border Market had opened, the Northern Di and Great Song had reached a temporary peace.

But throughout the entire winter, the Northern Di had been preparing.

And there were two targets for these preparations: one was Yanzhou, the other Xiliang.

Judging from the information the Dou Family gave him, the Dou Family intended to unite with Xiliang to weaken Yan Wang.

Later, when Jinzhou was captured by Xiliang and the Ma Family father and son died, it confirmed that the Dou Family had not lied to him.

And it made him step up his war preparations even more.

At this moment, they were sitting on the mountain watching the tigers fight.

If Yan Wang's strength was greatly damaged, they would tear up the agreement and send troops to Yanguan.

If Xiliang was defeated, they would take the opportunity to completely wipe out Xiliang.

To remove this enemy in the Northern Di's abdomen.

In this way, the Northern Di's route to attack Great Song would not be limited to just Yanguan.

From Jinzhou,

Or from Qinzhou as well.

And once Xiliang was destroyed, they could concentrate their forces to deal with Yan Wang.

"Keep an eye on Jinzhou; for us Northern Di, this is another important opportunity," Mule Hongzhen looked toward the direction of Great Song.

"Yes, Great Khan," Tiemuta nodded heavily.

As the two were speaking, a guard from before the tent walked in, "Khan, Wulanba has returned."

"Is that so? Let him in," a smile appeared on Mule Hongzhen's face.

But when Tiemuta heard this, a shadow flashed across his eyes.

Wulanba was his younger brother, who had always been responsible for the war in the northern border.

After the war ended with the Northern Di's victory, he continued to station there for a period of time.

Just recently, the Northern Di and the invading enemies seemed to have reached a reconciliation, and Wulanba had led his troops back because of this.

"Great Khan!" Just as Tiemuta was deep in thought, the medium-built and capable-looking Wulanba entered the royal tent and first bowed to Mule Hongzhen.

Then he turned to his brother Tiemuta, spread his arms, and laughed, "Brother, I have been thinking of you while in the northern border."

A thick smile surged onto Tiemuta's face, and he and Wulanba embraced, patting each other on the back.

He knew his father detested infighting among the Northern Di the most.

Naturally, he appeared extremely enthusiastic.

Mule Hongzhen looked at his two sons with satisfaction.

Wulanba then broke free from Tiemuta's bear hug and said, "Great Khan, this time I have brought back a big surprise."

Mule Hongzhen showed great interest and said, "Don't keep me in suspense, speak quickly."

Wulanba laughed out loud and said, "I captured a foreigner in the northern border who calls himself a Missionary."

"And then?" Mule Hongzhen continued to ask.

"He says he knows how to manufacture Artillery," Wulanba chuckled twice.

When fighting the enemies in the Extreme North, he had suffered enough from this kind of Artillery.

Therefore, he had also been searching for the casting method of this Artillery.

Later, when news came that Yan Wang of Great Song had also used Artillery, he became even more anxious.

So, he took greater action in the Extreme North.

Every day he dispatched Cavalry to search the icy wilderness for the enemies of the Extreme North.

Although these enemies' plan to seize the Northern Di's strategic towns had failed.

But they seemed very persistent; later, to his shock, his Cavalry discovered a fortified city built by the enemies of the Extreme North on the even more northern snow plains.

Later still, while his Cavalry was patrolling, they captured a person dressed in a strange manner.

This person was followed by a Hezhe servant.

And the Hezhe were originally a small tribe to the north of the Northern Di.

Later, they were driven to even further places by the Northern Di.

There were also quite a few Hezhe slaves within the Northern Di tribes.

It was precisely by using the Hezhe as a medium that he understood that person's identity.

"What did you say!" Mule Hongzhen stood up from his chair.

Tiemuta also looked shocked.

"Yes, Great Khan, you heard correctly; this Missionary says he knows how to manufacture Artillery," the father's expression made Wulanba even more self-satisfied.

However, thinking of a request the Missionary had made, he said, "It is just that there is a very difficult matter; he says that only if we allow him to preach in Northern Di will he teach us this Art of Cannon Casting."

"Impossible!" Tiemuta shouted, "Great Khan, this is absolutely unacceptable; this is an encroachment upon our Northern Di."

Mule Hongzhen nodded, and he said, "Your brother is right; it cannot be done like this."

The Northern Di people have their own Shaman doctrines and cannot possibly submit to this foreign Missionary.

"Can you not use torture?" Tiemuta said.

Ulanba said, "If torture worked, would I still be bringing this matter up to the Great Khan?"

Pausing, he smiled cunningly and said, "Great Khan, actually this matter is not very difficult to handle. We Northern Di people naturally cannot believe in this so-called Missionary, but there are quite a few Song People in Ningjin Dusi; we can disguise them as Northern Di people to trick him into handing over the Art of Cannon Casting, and then just kill him."

Mule Hongzhen's eyes narrowed slightly.

Between his two sons, Ulanba and Tiemuta.

Tiemuta possesses the patience and bravery of a wolf.

While Ulanba has the cunning of a wolf; what he said is a method.

"Not bad, we shall specifically build a fake Northern Di for him," Mule Hongzhen laughed softly.

Tiemuta smiled and nodded, though there was some jealousy in his eyes as he looked at Ubalan.

He had originally thought this trip to Great Song would provide him with an extra bargaining chip in the struggle for the position of Great Khan.

He had not expected Ulanba to bring back such an important contribution.

If he wanted to overshadow Ulanba's merit, he would have to win greater benefits for Northern Di in the struggle between Yan Wang and Xiliang.

……

Feihu Pass.

The sky was clear without a single cloud.

The field of vision through the Telescope thus became extremely clear.

At this moment, a large number of soldiers set out from Feihu Pass, heading toward the Xiliang camp.

Among them, the long spearmen walked at the very front, the Shield-bearers in the middle, and the crossbowmen in the very center.

Following at the end were thirty-six pieces of Artillery.

Because the narrow and long terrain could not accommodate a large formation.

Sending out too many troops at once would instead block the entire mountain path.

Therefore, for this first attack, Chang Wei only dispatched eight thousand men.

Zhao Xu stood on the city wall, watching the army moving forward.

The Jinzhuzhizhan was about to begin.