Chapter 547 Where the Scimitar Points

September 25th, Saibei.

There is a towering hillside on the endless grassland, and on the hillside stand six majestic stone tablets.

Due to years of exposure to wind and rain, the stone tablet has long been mottled and the inscription has become blurred.

Even so, whenever Mongolians pass by here, they will still come to the stone tablet and worship devoutly to express their respect and admiration for Genghis Khan.

This place is called "Wangguipo". The six stone tablets standing on the slope represent Genghis Khan's six bloody battles in the Western Xia.

Wangguipo was a must-go place when leading the army to the west. Every time Genghis Khan passed by here, he would order people to erect a stone tablet to pray for the blessing of heaven and a great victory.

However, after six campaigns against Western Xia that lasted for twenty-two years, Genghis Khan failed to achieve his goal.

After the last battle, Genghis Khan never returned and died in a foreign land. From then on, the hill was named "Wangguipo", which means "looking forward to the return of the Khan".

In late autumn, cool breezes blow across the grassland, bringing a hint of winter chill.

At noon, on the Wanggui slope, several horses were leisurely nibbling on the withering grass. Four men in Mongolian robes were sitting under a stone tablet, each with a solemn expression and not saying a word.

They were Yan Wuji, Su He, Sui Zuo, and Tao Amu, who had just come out of the Khan's palace. In the morning, they had reported everything that had happened in Huashan to the Mongolian Khan.

Sui Zuo begged for forgiveness and repeatedly asked the Mongol Khan for battle, hoping to lead his troops to wipe out the Central Plains martial arts world and avenge the shame of Mount Hua.

Yan Wuji was different. He used the faction of Sui Zuo's life as an excuse to show that the various factions in the Central Plains did not dare to go against the Mongolian court, and he argued with reason in order to continue to surrender.

The two men had a heated argument in the Khan's palace, neither of them giving in, and the quarrel was fierce.

Interestingly, after learning the whole story, the Mongolian Khan did not give a direct reply, but ordered them to retreat first and wait for news at Wangguipo.

By now, they had been waiting at Wangguipo for two hours. Since Yan Wuji and Sui Zuo were both dissatisfied, they ignored each other, which made Su He and Tao Amu very embarrassed.

"Persuade to surrender, persuade to surrender, all you know is to persuade to surrender, are you worried that I will take away your credit?"

Finally, the hot-tempered Sui Zuo couldn't stand his inner resentment any more. He glared at Yan Wuji, who looked gloomy, and scolded him, "You first persuaded Luo Tianjin, then Yun Zhuiyue, and you schemed and planned everything, but what was the result? In the end, those bastards became more and more united, while we died or were injured. It was a waste of time and effort, and it brought shame to the Mongols. If the Khan wasn't kind-hearted, how could he allow you to excuse the Han people again and again?"

"What a joke!" Yan Wuji said without showing any weakness, "If you were not ignorant and careless, how could you be knocked unconscious, stripped and thrown into a box? You are a general in charge of troops, but after a massive crackdown, you couldn't even catch a single big fish. You boast that you have a net that is so dense that no one can escape? In my opinion, the Khan is indeed kind-hearted, otherwise you would have been beheaded long ago. How can you sit here and speak nonsense so comfortably?"

"Yan Wuji, I am indeed guilty. As long as the Khan gives the order, my head can be moved at any time." Sui Zuo said angrily, "What about you? Are you innocent? As the Lord of Red Wind Ridge, you claim to have been in the martial arts world for decades. You always like to brag and pretend to be mysterious and omnipotent. What is the result? Facing the person pretending to be me, you were completely unaware? You were made a fool of by others, and you dared to speak so shamelessly?"

"Sui Zuo, don't go too far!"

"Yan Wuji, the failure of Huashan is both your fault and mine. Don't try to clear yourself of the blame!"

"you……"

"General, someone is coming!"

When Sui Zuo and Yan Wuji were at loggerheads, Tao Amu's eyes suddenly lit up. He pointed to a group of galloping horses coming from the north and said excitedly, "Look! They are General Wang's men."

"Shut up!"

In a flash, more than a dozen horses rushed up the Wanggui slope.

The leader was about thirty years old, more than nine feet tall, with regular features, clear contours, majestic and domineering. He was very burly, sitting on a tall horse, like a Vajra Arhat, which made people feel awe.

This man was none other than Wang Dechen, a close confidant of the Mongol Khan, an influential figure on the grassland, and a general who commanded the elite Mongolian troops.

Wang Dechen studied literature and martial arts since childhood. He was an expert in riding and shooting, and had outstanding martial arts, so he was highly regarded by the Mongolian Khan.

Although he was young, Wang Dechen had a lot of battlefield experience. He led troops to fight in all directions when he was a teenager. He was very talented and brave. For more than 20 years, he had been killing people and winning every battle with few defeats. Therefore, he became a household name on the grassland as the "God of War".

It is worth mentioning that Wang Xutong, the former Luoyang general, and Wang Dechen were both from the Wanggu tribe. Although the two were very different in age, they always called each other brothers.

"This humble general pays respect to Commander-in-Chief Wang!"

"Mr. Yan greets Commander-in-Chief Wang." Upon seeing Wang Dechen, Sui Zuo, Yan Wuji and the other three hurriedly stood up and saluted.

"I have brought you good news and bad news." Wang Dechen's voice was deep and manly. "Which one do you want to hear first?"

"bad news!"

Sui Zuo and Yan Wuji said in unison, then looked at each other with surprise on their faces.

"Okay." Wang Dechen nodded and said, "The bad news is that the Khan was extremely dissatisfied with your actions in the Central Plains, so he ordered Sui Zuo to be removed from his position as General of Xijing, and at the same time deprived Yan Wuji of his power to lead the Huma Gang and the 24 Cities of Mobei."

Hearing this, Sui and Yan's hearts sank immediately and their faces turned extremely ugly.

"Then...what about the good news?" Sui Zuo asked tremblingly.

"The good news is that the Khan has decided not to kill you for now, and will give you a chance to make meritorious contributions while serving your sentence." Wang Dechen continued, "Sui Zuo will return to the camp with his sentence and temporarily take over the post of General Xijing until the new general goes to the Jingbei Camp to take over. Yan Wuji will return to Chifengling to reflect on his mistakes. Before the Khan issues a new order, you must not interfere in the affairs of the Central Plains without authorization, so as not to make things worse and repeat the same mistake."

"Yes." Sui Zuo and Yan Wuji did not dare to disobey the Khan's order and bowed their hands to accept the order.

"May I ask Commander Wang?" Yan Wuji hesitated, "What is the Khan's attitude towards the Central Plains martial arts world? In the end... is it war or peace?"

"Master Yan Ling is wrong," Wang Dechen corrected. "In the eyes of the Khan, any enemy has only two options: surrender or death. How can there be any talk of 'war or peace'?"

"I've spoken out of turn." Yan Wuji's eyes changed, and he quickly changed his words, "I wonder what the Khan's attitude towards the Central Plains is..."

"The Han people are ignorant and stubborn, and the Khan has given them many chances. Today, the Khan has gradually lost his patience." Wang Dechen said unhappily, "Especially the incident at Huashan, which made the Khan extremely angry. The gangsters dared to pretend to be Mongolian generals to deploy troops and even killed more than a dozen deputy generals in the central army tent. This is the greatest shame and humiliation since the establishment of the Great Mongolian Empire. Does Lord Yanling think it is necessary to persuade these unruly people to surrender?"

Wang Dechen's words made Sui Zuo and Yan Wuji's expressions change at the same time.

The difference was that Sui Zuo's face showed ecstasy, while Yan Wuji's eyes were filled with disappointment.

"Could it be that the Khan has decided to send troops to the Song Kingdom?" Sui Zuo asked excitedly, "When will the troops be dispatched? I am willing to lead 30,000 soldiers as the vanguard and swear to capture Lin'an City within three months in order to achieve success and atone for our mistakes."

"Right now, our troops are fighting on the western and southern fronts. If we go to war with the Han again, I'm afraid... the situation will be unfavorable to us." Yan Wuji still did not give up and argued, "If we recruit the various factions in the Central Plains to our side, once we start an army, we can cooperate internally and externally, and then..."

"No need for that!" Wang Dechen interrupted expressionlessly, "War is war. Only a world conquered by strong bows and crossbows, fast horses and curved swords is the most reliable and stable. As for what you said about internal and external cooperation, recruiting and persuading surrender, it is ultimately a crooked way and cannot be accepted by the public."

"Well said!" Sui Zuo's blood boiled with passion and enthusiasm when he heard Wang Dechen's words. He clapped his hands in praise. "General Wang is right. Conspiracies and tricks are tricks used by cowards and weaklings. For us Mongolian cavalry, nothing in the world can resist our bows, horses, swords and arrows."

"But……"

"Master Yan Ling, you are not beside the Khan, how can you know what he is thinking?" Wang Dechen explained, "In fact, several years ago, the Khan had already formulated a strategy to 'destroy the Song Dynasty'. We call it the 'Great Encirclement' strategy. Send troops from Gansu, bypass the Yangtze River, pass through western Sichuan, and destroy Dali. Now, the king of Dali, Duan Xingzhi, has been captured, Dali has been destroyed, and the 'encirclement' of the Song Dynasty has been formed. The current Song Dynasty is just a piece of fat meat in our mouths. As long as we want to eat it, we can swallow it into our stomachs at any time. As for the 'Central Plains Martial Arts World' that you have been thinking about, it seems to be of vital importance, but in fact it is dispensable. The Khan's attention to it before was actually a strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west. One is to be prepared for any eventuality, and the other is to prevent them from joining forces with the Song court. In fact, in the eyes of the Khan, this group of bandits is not even a fly, and is not worth mentioning at all."

"So, the Khan has made up his mind to lead his troops south?" Yan Wuji said thoughtfully, "May I ask when the troops will be mobilized? I am willing to lead the Red Wind Ridge, the Twenty-Four Cities, and the Huma Gang to take the lead and capture the first city for the Khan."

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war, and I won't keep you waiting too long. As for the details of the troop movement, it seems unnecessary for me to explain it to you."

"That's it! That's it!"

As if sensing Wang Dechen's displeasure, Yan Wuji hurriedly bowed and didn't dare to ask any more questions.

Wang Dechen snorted and laughed, and then said: "You don't have to worry. Since the Khan has decided to let you make amends, he will definitely give you the opportunity to make achievements. I just hope that you don't repeat the same mistakes and bring shame to our Great Mongolia."

"Yes."

"Go back! When the time is right, the Khan will make arrangements for you."

After saying this, Wang Dechen ignored Sui Zuo and Yan Wuji's attitudes, glanced at Su He with a meaningful look, then turned his horse's head, shouted loudly, and led his troops away.

Yan Wuji, Su He, Sui Zuo, and Tao Amu were left on Wanggui Slope. The four of them had their own thoughts and different expressions. They stared blankly at Wang Dechen who was gradually disappearing from their sight, and it took them a long time to come back to their senses.

……

(End of this chapter)