HLnovel Chapter 646
Chapter 646
"There's nothing we can do about it, you're just lucky."
Hu Zongxian said with no small amount of pride.
"My lord, Lord Meng's remains have been recovered."
At this moment, a group of soldiers with somber expressions arrived before the group, carrying a coffin.
When Hu Zongxian and Zhao Zhenji saw the coffin, they both had solemn expressions.
"Kill them all, and let them be buried with Lord Meng."
Hu Zongxian drew his sword and shouted.
Zhao Zhenji, who was standing nearby, did not object to this. They had fought alongside Zhou Chu in Tibet for two years and had seen all sorts of treachery and deceit. Once, Zhao Zhenji had spared the life of a local landlord because he was soft-hearted, and as a result, those people turned around and brought their troops to attack them.
Since then, Zhao Zhenji has come to understand a principle: mercy towards the enemy is cruelty towards one's own people.
The soldiers, who were already prepared, drew their swords and killed the officials.
After these officials were killed, the people of the entire Yarkand capital were thrown into panic. So Hu Zongxian had a notice posted, inviting the local Mongol leaders to come and meet them.
"As you all have seen, we have captured Said Khan and we will definitely take him back. Most of these officials have also been killed by my men. Yarkand is destined to be incorporated into the Ming Dynasty. If you all know what's good for you, you might even be granted the title of Duke by His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty in the future."
Hu Zongxian looked at everyone and said.
After he finished speaking, the translator next to him repeated what he said in Mongolian.
Only a small portion of the people in the Yarkand Khanate understood Chinese; the majority spoke only Mongolian, so translators were needed.
When the high-ranking Mongols heard this, their eyes lit up. Most Mongols did not have a strong sense of loyalty to the emperor or patriotism. This was not unique to Mongols; it was a common characteristic of nomadic peoples on the grasslands. Almost every time a Great Khan died, a new round of war would begin between the various tribes, and the winner would be able to establish a state and become the new Great Khan.
Therefore, these people had no intention of rescuing Said Khan; instead, they were thinking about how to maximize their own interests and become future dukes appointed by the Ming Dynasty.
"Gentlemen, now that we have killed all these officials, the order of the capital and the pacification of the people still need your help. Whoever does a good job, I will report to His Majesty the Emperor truthfully."
Hu Zongxian began to paint a rosy picture for everyone.
Upon hearing this, the people perked up and began to offer suggestions. They also sent people to spread the word from house to house, saying that the Ming army would not harm them, which reassured the people of Yarkand.
Hu Zongxian dispatched about a thousand soldiers to escort Said Khan and at the same time escort Meng Ji's remains back to the Ming Dynasty.
These thousand soldiers were mainly there to escort Said Khan, since no one would try to steal Meng Ji's remains.
These soldiers carried Meng Ji's coffin and Said Khan to the train station east of Wuhai, put the coffin on the train, and Said Khan also boarded the train.
Looking at the steel behemoth before him, Said Khan was horrified. In a daze, he felt as if he had become out of touch with the world. When did the Ming Dynasty become like this? When did this steel behemoth appear?
Regardless of Said Khan's doubts, five hundred soldiers boarded the train to escort Said Khan, while the other five hundred led the horses back the way they came.
Transporting Meng Ji's coffin across the grasslands wouldn't be very fast. Although the train only travels eighty li per hour, it can run continuously for twelve hours a day, covering nearly a thousand li in a day. In terms of speed alone, it even far exceeds the marching speed of light cavalry.
Of course, if the train is full of people, the speed will be greatly reduced, but even so, it is still much faster than the marching speed of ordinary soldiers.
If it weren't for the warhorses, the Tiger Army and the Black Tortoise Army could have easily launched a surprise attack on the Yarkand Khanate by train.
Most importantly, the trains are now mainly responsible for transporting supplies for Lin Lu's army; otherwise, Lin Lu would have preferred to have his army travel by train to Wuhai.
Although the 50,000 people had to be divided into countless trips, it was still much faster than marching slowly.
However, Lin Lu also knew that the main purpose of this 50,000-strong army was to deceive the people of the Yarkand Khanate. Moving too fast would be bad. Only when the army was always in their sight would they be caught off guard when the Tiger Army and the Black Tortoise Army arrived.
Warfare is based on deception, combining orthodox and unorthodox tactics. This army of 50,000 is the orthodox force, while the Xuanwu Army and the Tiger Army are the unorthodox forces. Unorthodox forces often have remarkable effects and can quickly end a war.
In less than three days, after changing trains in Datong, Meng Ji's remains and Said Khan arrived in the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
This made Said Khan increasingly doubt whether he was dreaming. After all, Yarkand was more than two thousand miles away from the capital of the Ming Dynasty, and he had arrived in less than three days.
When officials in the capital learned that Said Khan had been captured alive and sent to the capital, and that Meng Ji's remains had also been brought back, they were all somewhat dazed.
How long has it been since His Majesty issued the decree to wage war against Yarkand? Less than half a month, right? Has Said Khan been captured?
When Wang Xian learned of this news, he was stunned.
He knew about Zhou Chu's battle plan for Lin Lu. According to Zhou Chu's strategy, Wang Xian had thought that Yarkand might be destroyed soon, but he never expected it to happen so quickly.
"Lord Zhou's military skills are indeed unpredictable."
Wang Xian couldn't help but sigh.
Although Lin Lu was in charge of the troops, Wang Xian, as the Minister of War, was well aware that the decisive factor in this battle lay with Zhou Chu, because the strategy was formulated by Zhou Chu.
Just like during the Hongwu era, the strategy for each Northern Expedition was formulated by the Hongwu Emperor. Xu Da and his ilk were merely charging into battle. The only time they were defeated by Wang Baobao was because Lan Yu did not follow the strategy formulated by Zhu Yuanzhang, underestimated the enemy, and advanced recklessly, which led to the collapse of the army.
At other times, as long as they followed the strategies formulated by Zhu Yuanzhang, Xu Da and others never suffered a defeat, and many of the generals were even cultivated by Zhu Yuanzhang himself.
The current Zhou Chu reminded Wang Xian of the Hongwu Emperor. Both General Lin Zhixin, the Grand General of Pacification, and General Lu Yunjin, the Grand General of the Northern Garrison, were cultivated by Zhou Chu.
Upon receiving this news, Emperor Jiajing stood up excitedly in the palace.
"Issue the decree to announce Meng Wenxuan's death throughout the city. He will be given a grand funeral three days from now, and all civil and military officials must attend."
Emperor Jiajing spoke solemnly.