Chapter 111 Blame the Jurchens
The prairie in summer is bright and full of vitality, with tents set up on the knee-high grass.

This is the temporary base of Ikh Ju League. An uneasy atmosphere hangs over the place. Some herdsmen who escaped brought news of a great war in the rear, and the entire camp fell into panic.

In front of a large and luxurious tent surrounded by stars, several princes of the Ikh Ju League were like ants on a hot pan, constantly stretching their necks to look into the distance.

“He’s back!” Someone shouted, and everyone looked up.

At the end of the prairie, a group of flying black dots were getting closer and closer.

The black spot was getting closer and closer, and everyone could see clearly that it was indeed the rear army. To be exact, it was the remnants of the rear army. There were only a hundred or so people, and each of them had a bloody face and disheveled hair, and looked in a miserable state.

The surrounding Mongols became agitated.

Several princes of the Ikh Ju League also changed their expressions.

The rear army of the Ikh Ju League, which returned with a crushing defeat, finally found the main army. The spirit that had been supporting them was lost, and many wounded soldiers fell off their horses.

A nobleman rode up on horseback, galloped in front of the crowd, and dismounted. He knelt on the ground and cried loudly: “We are defeated. All three thousand men are dead.”

The disastrous defeat of the rear army was expected by everyone, but no one expected it to be so disastrous, with only a hundred out of three thousand men returning.

The noble cried, “If those slaves hadn’t entangled us, we wouldn’t have been defeated so miserably.”

One of the princes cursed: “Damn you slaves, I’m going to skin them alive!”

Another prince said: “Rebellion! Rebellion! The slave dared to fight with the master!”

The princes looked at them and shook their heads.

The noble said: “Your Majesty, we must avenge this vengeance.”

A prince shook his head and ordered his attendants, “Help him down and treat his wounds.”

The Han people occupied their pastures, plundered their livestock, and distributed them to the serfs, causing the serfs to side with the Han people. They helped the Han people transport food and fodder, pass on information, and even attacked scouts, making it increasingly difficult for them to detect the Han people’s scouts in time.

Every time they gave up a piece of pasture, it meant losing it forever, and the Han people’s policies would completely undermine their roots there.

So, they can’t retreat anymore.

The princes exchanged knowing glances and turned to walk towards the big tent.

At this time, a burst of hurried horse hoof sounds came over, and everyone looked over.

A Mongolian general and four guards came galloping on horseback, and stopped in front of the big tent. The horse kept snorting.

The general dismounted from his horse, panting, took two steps forward and knelt down: “Your servant, your servant has waited so long.”

“Have you met the princes of Ulanqab League?” a prince asked anxiously.

The general: “First, I waited for three days before I finally got into the camp and met several princes. They said that Prince Heshuo He had seized their military power, and the generals commanding the army were all Jurchens, and the food and supplies were also in the hands of the Jurchens. The fighting over there was very brutal.” He quickly took out a letter from his arms and presented it with both hands.

The prince snatched the letter from his hand, tore it open and read it. The other princes all leaned over to look at it.

The prince’s face turned pale, and the expressions of the other princes also changed.

“It’s over! The Ikh Ju League is over.” The prince clutched the letter.

The other princes were all stunned. Without reinforcements, how could they resist the Han army? The Han had fire guns, cannons, armor, and the help of those slaves. How could they fight? !

One of the princes could not help but say: “It’s all the fault of the Jurchens! Damn the Jiannu, if they hadn’t insisted on attacking Yulin, we wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

The crowd was indignant, and several princes started shouting:
“That’s right. If our main forces had not been defeated in Yulin, we wouldn’t have been bullied by a yellow-haired kid!”

“And the armor and weapons. We were the ones who took down the Vanguard Camp. If not half for each of them, at least leave some for us.”

Before he could finish his words, everyone started cursing, cursing all of Qian Xiaosi’s ancestors.

The prince shouted, “It’s useless to say too much now. Let’s think about what to do next. Should we stay and fight the Han people to the death, or should we accept the invitation and withdraw to the Ulanqab League, preserve our strength, and wait for the opportunity to counterattack?”

Everyone was silent. If they retreated this time, would they still have a chance to come back?

Not to mention the Han army, even the serfs who benefit from Han policies will not let them fight back!
After a while, an elderly prince sighed and said, “I won’t leave.”

Everyone looked at him for a long time without saying anything.

How could he not understand? He took a deep breath and continued, “All my people died at the hands of the Han people. Our pastures and livestock also fell into the hands of the Han people. Each of you should bring me 2,000 people. I will stop the Han people for you, and at the same time avenge you and buy you time to evacuate.”

The princes looked at each other and nodded in unison.

He put his hands behind his back, looked at the grass swaying in the wind in the distance, and said, “You can leave tonight. With the help of those slaves, the Han scouts will be able to find this place in three days at most.”

On the first day of every lunar month, the moon and the sun rise and set at the same time, and the moon is not visible all night.

There is no moon tonight, only a sky full of stars.

When the Morning Star was the only lonely star shining in the sky, a streak of white had already appeared faintly in the eastern sky.

Li Hu knew that it was already past noon, so he picked up the telescope and looked towards the other end of the grassland.

After being given benefits, the freed serfs immediately took action. They not only helped Li Hu find the hiding place of the remnants of the Ikh Ju League, but also searched the area within 50 miles around the hiding place to confirm that there were no traps or ambushes.

The army bypassed the edge of the desert at one o’clock in the morning, rested for half an hour, and then continued to advance northward.

At five o’clock in the morning, scouts brought news that the remnants of the Ikh Ju League were found twenty miles away, and the army immediately formed a battle formation.

A gust of wind blew, and the red flag fluttered in the wind.

Li Hu looked up at the sky. The morning star gradually dimmed, and the white line in the eastern sky gradually widened, like a fish belly.

“Here it comes.” Xie Jing called out softly behind Li Hu.

The remnants of the Ikh Ju League appeared on another side of the grassland. They also stopped their horses and waited for the order to attack. A great battle to determine the sovereignty of the Hetao region was about to begin.

The morning breeze blew strongly across the grassland between the two armies. The war horses kicked the ground uncontrollably. The Mongols drew their scimitars and everything was ready.

The gunners adjusted their gun positions and aimed at the Mongolian battle formation.

The sound of the horn blew tragically over the prairie.

Li Hu raised his hand, the rumbling war drums sounded, and the cavalrymen drew their sabers.

At this time, the remnants of the Ikh Ju League rushed over, roaring, riding horses and waving swords.

Then, the sound of artillery bombardment, shouting, and fighting resounded across the grassland in the early morning. Flags with the Chinese character “Li” swept past like a hurricane, and thousands of troops rushed in amid the artillery fire.
The battle started in the early morning and it took only half an hour to defeat the remnants of the Ikh Ju League, and the battle was settled at the beginning of the 9th hour. It was so smooth that it was unbelievable.

Li Hu was still sitting upright on his horse, looking the bloody-faced and disheveled Mongolian prince up and down before him, and then said, “It is said that Mongolians are good at singing and dancing. The 18th of this month is the birthday of the retired emperor. The emperor is very filial and has ordered all provinces to present birthday gifts. What do you think, should we also prepare a birthday gift?”

Xie Jing and others laughed and answered, “Yes.”

Li Hu: “Take him away and clean him up, then send him to the capital along with the victory report to celebrate the emperor’s birthday.”

Everyone laughed again.

Li Hu also laughed, but he was laughing at the emperor. The emperor emeritus was under house arrest and had the blame laid on him, but he was still able to celebrate his birthday with great fanfare. It was truly amazing!

I don’t know what the situation is in Beijing.
(End of this chapter)