Chapter 602: Shen Tu Mou's Submission
"Marshal, Lao Ma..." Chen Ruiwen spoke in tears.
"Marshal, we must avenge Old Ma!" Liu Fang also burst into tears. They were all from the same lineage of the Eight Dukes and Twelve Marquises, with similar statuses and had been playmates since childhood. Now Ma Shang was killed in battle. How could Liu Fang, Chen Ruiwen and others not be sad?
Although the other generals did not speak, their faces were equally sad.
"General, please allocate a troop to me so that I can avenge my father!" It was Ma Chuang, the son of Ma Shang, who fell to the ground in tears!
Jia Cong stood up, stepped forward to help Ma Chuang up, and then looked at the generals.
After a long while, Jia Cong's face was as gloomy as water as he said, "The Xishan coalition forces have more than 20,000 soldiers and are now heading east from Hongya towards Jiajiang!"
"Niu Chong!"
"I will be here!"
"I will allocate 2,000 of your troops. Hongya is now empty, and we must seize it! The bodies of Ma Shang, Sun Ze, and 8,000 of their comrades are there . I cannot rest easy if the enemy takes over! I have already allocated 3,000 troops for support. They are now on standby 50 miles southwest of Danleng. After you gather the troops, you can launch a surprise attack on Hongya."
"I obey your orders!"
"Chen Ruiwen, Liu Fang! Each of you will lead 5,000 cavalrymen to the west of Jiajiang tomorrow and stop the coalition forces outside Jiajiang. I will send orders to Shi Nai and Guan Jin to assist you."
"The rest of the troops will move camp tomorrow!"
After the generals received their orders and left, Jia Cong said to Lu Feng, "Go and invite Shen Tumou over!"
Soon, Shentu Mou entered the big tent.
"General, are you going to march into Jiading?" Shentu Mou asked after he sat down.
After a moment's silence, Jia Cong spoke, "During the Battle of Hongya, eight thousand soldiers from Daqian fought a bloody battle for twelve days against a fifty-thousand-strong coalition force from the Xishan tribes. All eight thousand soldiers were killed, and over half of the coalition forces were injured. Now, the Xishan troops are crossing Hongya to Jiajiang! Since they're here, I'll go and see them off."
Jia Cong's calm words made Shentu Mou shiver uncontrollably!
Give someone a ride? Where are you sending them?
"The Marshal asked me to come here because..."
"I originally wanted to give you more time to consider, but now I have no patience . Now, I give Elder Shentu two choices!"
"First, I will let you go. You can return to Jiading or directly to Qiongbu Prefecture. As long as you no longer oppose me, it's fine."
Looking at Jia Cong's indifferent expression, Shen Tumou was sweating profusely! He had reason to suspect that Jia Cong's sending them away was the same as his sending them off just now.
Jia Cong is not a fool, how could he let go of such a large army?
Shen Tumou took a deep breath and smiled, then said carefully, "I wonder what the Marshal's other choice is!"
"Although Qiongbu Prefecture is located in southern Xinjiang, it is ultimately nominally part of Daqian territory. Therefore, I have received permission from the imperial court. Once southern Xinjiang is pacified, I will select a tribal leader who is friendly to Daqian as the King of Qiongdu."
This one sentence made Shentu Mou's expression completely stunned.
As the chief elder of the Xuhen Tribe, how could he not know what the King of Qiongdu represented?
Is a title important? It's both important and unimportant. But with the title of King of Qiongdu, one would have a legitimate position. Not to mention the major clans, even the smaller tribes would flock to him. Furthermore, if he were to be crowned by the Great Qian, while he would be ostracized by the other major clans, he would still have the support of the Great Qian.
He knew full well that Daqian was simply sitting back and watching the fight unfold. But so what? Which of the dozens of tribes in southern Xinjiang could remain indifferent to the title of King of Qiongdu? Furthermore, after this battle, the power of the tribes in southern Xinjiang would likely decline drastically. It would be difficult for them to remain isolated from Daqian as before.
"Marshal, is this true?"
"What is there in Elder Shentu that is worthy of my deception?"
Shen Tu Mou's breathing became much heavier. He should be the first person in southern Xinjiang to know this news. If he couldn't seize the opportunity, he would really miss a great chance.
"General, although the tribes in Southern Xinjiang are diverse, they also have the heart to turn to the Central Plains! General, you have not abandoned us and have treated us with courtesy and sincerity. How can Shen Tumou let your kindness go to waste!"
"Please allow me to persuade all the troops to submit completely. The men under my Xuhen tribe are willing to obey your orders!"
Jia Cong nodded slightly. "Elder Shentu is a man of insight. He has saved us all from the suffering of war. I will remember this favor and repay you later!"
"Since Elder Shentu is interested, then I will speak frankly!"
"Currently, the various tribes in Southern Xinjiang have nearly 14,000 soldiers. Elder Shentu will select 3,000 elite soldiers from among them to lead personally as guest commanders, equivalent to the Qiang tribe. The remaining soldiers will be assigned to their respective tribes. Rest assured, Elder Shentu, since you are now under my command, I will treat you all equally and will not mistreat your men harshly."
The Qiang troops had been following Jia Cong in his campaigns, but after conquering Chengdu, Wujie returned to Maozhou first.
After all, Wu Jie was now the leader of the Qiang people, and with the transition of power, the tribe was unstable. Therefore, he also needed to return to take charge.
Giving Shen Tumou 3,000 soldiers was, firstly, to win him over, and secondly, to contain him. By having him set up a separate camp within the main army, even if he wanted to cause trouble, it would be difficult to affect the entire army. With Shen Tumou in hand, these surrendered soldiers would be easier to control by disrupting the rest of the army.
"I thank you for your trust, Marshal!" Shen Tumou said immediately. "I am quite familiar with all the officers and soldiers in the army. I hope you will be merciful and transfer them all to my command. The rest of the troops will be at your disposal."
Shentu Mou was a sensible man. He returned the favor and tried his best not to cause trouble for Jia Cong.
Jia Cong naturally agreed, and then all the Xuhen troops who surrendered were dispersed to various armies. Not only did Jia Cong's troops receive reinforcements, but they were even three times stronger than before.
When Jia Cong arrived from Longtai Town, he had approximately 32,000 soldiers under his command. After these successive battles, although the casualties were far less than those suffered by the other tribes in southern Xinjiang, they still suffered 7,000 to 8,000 casualties. Now, with the addition of the more than 10,000 soldiers from southern Xinjiang, the number of his soldiers under his command has once again reached nearly 40,000.
After the two of them agreed, Shen Tumou did not delay and went directly to the military camp to give orders to his troops, asking them to obey the orders of the generals. Then, more than 10,000 surrendered soldiers were scattered and distributed under the command of the generals.
The next morning, Niu Chong, Chen Ruiwen, and Liu Fang were the first to break camp. Soon after, the rest of the troops followed suit! The army headed west, along the southern slopes of Qingshen Mountain, along the borders of Jiading Prefecture, Longzhou, and Meizhou, heading straight for Jiajiang.
