Chapter 579: Dead but Not Stiff

"Ningjin Dusi..."

Mule Hongzhen muttered to himself; when he awoke, he found himself inside a carriage.

This had been procured by Wulanba while passing through a county seat.

Upon learning they had decided to retreat north, though he was furious and unwilling, he ultimately said nothing.

In truth, he knew clearly in his heart that the Northern Di had lost this war.

The Western Liang had two royal banners, the Northern Di had four.

Now, the two Western Liang royal banners were essentially wiped out.

The four Northern Di royal banners had also suffered nearly fifty percent losses.

If they continued to fight at Ning City, the remaining troops would also be sacrificed there.

And whether they could achieve victory remained an unknown.

Furthermore, Yan Wang's troops had cut off their rear and captured Jin City.

And this was the reason he ultimately agreed to the northern retreat.

"Cough, cough..." Mule Hongzhen suddenly fell into a fit of coughing.

Although he had awakened, he was still extremely weak.

Moreover, it was currently the sweltering summer, and his wounds were even more agonizing due to the stifling heat.

"Great Khan, do not worry; we will take back the Ningjin Dusi, do not agitate yourself over this matter," Wulanba advised.

Mule Hongzhen nodded, his voice weak, "Once you return to the Wangting, you shall go as an envoy to the Ross nation. Everything has changed; we Northern Di can no longer rely on swords, bows, and cavalry to fight Yan Wang."

In this war, the Northern Di's strength had been severely damaged.

It was essentially equivalent to losing another two royal banners.

Thus, of the ten Northern Di royal banners, only six remained, a loss of nearly half.

And across the vast territory of the Northern Di, the enemies they faced were not limited to just the Great Song.

This would result in his inability to assemble sufficient forces in the east to deal with Yan Wang.

However, this was not the most important thing.

This war made him suddenly realize that the Northern Di must change.

Just as the Northern Di had once transformed from nomadic tribes into a semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral society, they could no longer rely solely on swords, bows, and cavalry to deal with Yan Wang.

After all, they could still withstand Yan Wang's previous firearms.

Within a hundred paces, their bows and arrows were not much worse than the old firearms.

But now, firearms with a range of two hundred paces were extremely lethal to both their Infantry and Cavalry.

Therefore, if they, the Northern Di, remained stuck in their old ways, even if he assembled a massive army again, the result would still be defeat.

The moment he woke up, he had figured out this problem.

For some time, he had consistently rejected Wulanba's proposal, remaining full of wariness toward the Ross people.

But after weighing the options, he still found it even more unacceptable to be defeated at the hands of Yan Wang.

"Yes, Great Khan." Wulanba felt a secret joy in his heart.

Because he spent his days and nights with Ivan, he had long since developed a yearning for the Ross nation as described by Ivan.

If his mission this time went smoothly, it would be of great benefit to the Northern Di.

Mule Hongzhen nodded.

Then he called out, "Tiemuta."

Hearing this, Tiemuta immediately came over from the other side of the carriage.

"What are your orders, Great Khan?" Tiemuta asked.

"After returning to the Khan Court, you are to immediately lead troops to Wuwei and conquer the various Tibet tribes. We will leave the thorn that is Yan Wang alone for now, but in order to stir up internal chaos in the Great Song, you may secretly contact the Dou Family and promise to lend them troops to bolster their courage," Mule Hongzhen said slowly; this was another one of his strategic layouts.

Wulanba's mission to the Ross nation was only the first step.

This was to improve the Northern Di's level of firearms.

The second step was to subjugate Tibet, replenishing their losses just as they had absorbed the Western Liang.

Yan Wang had the advantage in firearms when fighting them, and they would likewise have the advantage in firearms when fighting Tibet.

The war would not be too difficult.

Furthermore, as long as they controlled Tibet, they could borrow a path through Tibet to directly attack Yizhou.

The third step was to recuperate and rebuild the various royal banners that had suffered heavy losses.

After all, every year there were young Northern Di warriors reaching the age to join the army.

It was just hateful that they could only return to the bitter, cold lands of the Black Mountains and Black Waters to live.

Thinking of this, he could not help but feel his blood boil again, and he nearly fainted.

Tiemuta noticed his father's abnormality and said hurriedly, "Great Khan, just rest; leave the rest to me. This time, I also support Wulanba going to the Ross nation."

When Tiemuta said this, he looked toward Wulanba.

He was sincere.

Previously, he had always thought Wulanba was overly friendly toward Ivan.

After suffering losses in front of Yan Wang's firearms, he had changed this opinion.

He believed that many Northern Di generals felt the same as he did.

Hearing this, Wulanba gave his older brother a smile.

At this moment, the depressed mood of losing the Ningjin Dusi seemed to dissipate somewhat.

He secretly swore that he would definitely bring back what the Northern Di needed from the Ross nation.

"Mm, that is good." Mule Hongzhen lowered the curtain.

The carriage continued to move forward, gradually moving away from Jincheng.

After half a day of troop movements, the Northern Di army disappeared to the north of Jincheng.

Following closely behind the Northern Di main force, the Prince's Personal Army led by Commander Mo Yu arrived.

However, they did not continue to pursue them to the north.

Mo Yu was clear that the further north they went, the more desolate it became; it could be said there was not a soul for a thousand miles.

If they pursued, their supplies would become a major problem.

Thinking of this, he led his troops toward Jincheng.

Yang Zhen immediately ordered the soldiers to open the city gates.

Once Mo Yu arrived, he felt completely at ease.

In this Ningjin Battle, they had achieved a complete victory, successfully recapturing the Ningjin Dusi that Great Song had lost for over ten years.

If this news were to be sent back to the imperial court, I wonder what reaction those powerful officials would have?