Chapter 771

Qingzhou Province.

After waiting for almost a month and a half, Xiao Ming finally saw Luo Quan leading his troops back.

During this time, intelligence continuously flowed from Bashu, but he knew very well that these were delayed battle reports. For the first time, he deeply missed the telephones and telegrams of contemporary times.

If he had those things, he wouldn’t be so in the dark.

“Your Majesty, now less than ten thousand barbarian cavalry remain roaming within the Great Yu Empire’s territory. Qi Guangyi is leading the cuirassiers in continued pursuit. It is estimated that within a month, this invading enemy force will be completely annihilated.”

In the council hall, Luo Quan said loudly.

On the third day after Achige fled towards Chang’an, he led a portion of his soldiers back to Qingzhou Province. After ten days of marching, he finally returned to Qingzhou Province.

On the way, he learned that Qi Guangyi had already found a route of barbarian cavalry. After a fierce battle, half of the ten thousand barbarian cavalry were killed, and half were captured.

So upon returning to Qingzhou Province, he immediately reported this to Xiao Ming.

The ministers in the council hall all breathed a sigh of relief. They had been worried during this period and yet felt powerless.

Fei Ji said, “Your Majesty, Bodo has been killed, and the main force of the barbarians has been completely wiped out. The remaining ten thousand barbarian cavalry are unfamiliar with the Great Yu Empire’s territory and people. They can probably be eliminated within a few days. The crisis in Bashu has been resolved.”

“Elder Fei is absolutely right. I hope Your Majesty will not worry too much and affect your imperial health,” Pang Yukun said.

Xiao Ming had been worried about this matter. Sometimes he was even listless in the council hall. The ministers, seeing this, worried and naturally offered their advice.

His brows relaxed somewhat. Xiao Ming said, “Even so, during the barbarians’ rampage, Bashu suffered heavy losses. Hundreds of thousands of common people tragically died, and over a million common people were displaced. This event is undoubtedly a severe blow to the Great Yu Empire’s reforms. A ‘Land of Abundance’ that could originally provide a large amount of tax revenue to the imperial court now has to receive grain for disaster relief.”

The ministers in the council hall fell silent.

Not a word of what Xiao Ming said was exaggerated. The barbarians’ purpose this time was extremely sinister. While plundering, they also burned everything they could.

This left a large number of common people homeless, and the grain that was soon to be harvested was also burned, making the common people’s lives even harder.

“Your Majesty, at least the nascent production teams in Bashu played a significant role. Many common people fled into the deep mountains to avoid the barbarians’ massacre. The lost wealth can still be recovered, but the common people are Bashu’s most precious asset,” Fei Ji said.

Luo Quan echoed, “Your Majesty, indeed. The barbarian massacres mainly occurred in Songzhou, Yazhou, and the cities on the route to Yizhou. Although villagers also suffered casualties, most were spared. Moreover, all the goods plundered by the barbarians have been recaptured by us. Returning these items to the common people can help them get through the winter.”

Xiao Ming nodded. This was good news amidst bad news for him. The relief effort was very timely, otherwise, Bashu would have suffered even greater losses.

After briefly discussing the situation in Bashu, a hint of sternness suddenly flashed in Xiao Ming’s eyes. He said, “The barbarians’ ambition to destroy my Great Yu Empire is unyielding. As long as the barbarians are not eliminated, the Great Yu Empire will not know peace for a day. For the safety of the Great Yu Empire, we must counterattack the barbarians and not allow them to continue acting so brazenly.”

Pang Yukun, hearing this, said with a solemn expression, “Your Majesty, please reconsider. Do not fall into the enemy’s trap. The intelligence from the secret guards is very suspicious. This time, the barbarians’ passage through Tibet was instigated by others.”

“Precisely because someone is instigating trouble, I must deal with the barbarians. Otherwise, once the barbarians grow strong, they will be even more difficult to handle,” Xiao Ming said.

During the Bashu Rebellion, Wang Xuan sent someone back with a piece of intelligence. At that time, Pang Yukun and Fei Ji were both present, and he casually told the two.

Wang Xuan’s intelligence clearly mentioned the appearance of fair-haired, blue-eyed Westerners in Shengdu, the capital of the Golden Tent Khanate, and that this Westerner was even with Beishan.

Based on this intelligence, he easily concluded that this was another British conspiracy after the one involving Japan.

The British, accustomed to using balance-of-power policies in Europe, had brought this approach to Asia.

Their purpose in first going to Japan, and then to the Golden Tent Khanate, was very clear: to simultaneously restrict the Great Yu Empire’s development on land and at sea.

Europe in this timeline, in terms of both technology and politics, was clearly more mature earlier than the Europe of his own time.

However, this also brought him trouble.

In his opinion, perhaps the Great Yu Empire’s technological development had alerted the British, or perhaps his cooperation with the Dutch had angered them.

Either way, the British were now unfriendly towards him.

So, he now had to find a way to thwart the British strategy, and not give the British any more time to foster the Golden Tent Khanate and Japan.

“Senior Grand Secretary Pang worries unnecessarily. The Great Yu Empire’s army is no longer what it once was. This time, in suppressing the Bashu rebellion, the power of firearms was evident,” Luo Quan said confidently.

Xiao Ming nodded. His confidence came precisely from the equipping of the Conqueror Musket.

It could be said that the current Great Yu Empire army was a standard firearm unit. Its equipment and training levels were no less than those of Western armies.

The barbarians, however, were merely a nomadic empire still in the feudal era. They would find it difficult to contend with the Great Yu Empire’s advanced firearms and tactics.

If it weren’t for the barbarians living on the grasslands, possessing strong mobility with their horses, he would have already launched an attack on the barbarians.

However, he still could not go to the grasslands now; the number of Great Yu Empire cavalry was still too small. But he could go to the barbarian settlements.

Besides Shengdu, six barbarian cities were distributed from Shanhai Pass to the foot of Changbai Mountain. These six cities stretched in a straight line.

For a long time, the barbarians had relied on these six cities for supplies to occupy the Yan-Yun Sixteen Prefectures. Now, he wanted to capture these six cities and plunder people and livestock from the barbarians.

For him, the days of the Great Yu Empire becoming poorer with each war were over. Now, he too would become richer with each plunder, just like them.

At the same time, this would be the best tribute to the fallen common people of Bashu.

“Your Majesty, even if we are to fight, it cannot be in winter. The north is bitter and cold, and the soldiers’ clothes are thin. At that time, perhaps the war won’t even begin, and many soldiers will suffer frostbite.”

Seeing that Xiao Ming seemed to have made up his mind, Fei Ji reminded him.

“Elder Fei, rest assured. Although I am very angry, I have not lost my head.” Xiao Ming said. He understood the severity of winter far better than these ministers and would not foolishly fight the Golden Tent Khanate in winter.

Niu Ben and Luo Quan were both veteran generals and naturally understood the reasons.

Having roughly understood Xiao Ming’s current thoughts, Luo Quan said, “Your Majesty, if that is the case, how should we deal with the barbarian generals who have been escorted to Qingzhou Province this time?”