Chapter 8: The Southern Alliance

“Husband, do you know approximately how many tribespeople live on the western mountains now?” These past days, Jingni hadn’t had the chance to take stock, but she was sure King Lin would know for certain.

Jingni had grown more and more concerned with tribal affairs, and Lin Shu was happy to let her manage such matters. “There are seventeen thousand people left in the western mountains now; at least a thousand died in battle.”

Jingni’s eyes lit up. “So now our tribe numbers nearly forty thousand. That means we can muster at least fifteen thousand warriors.”

“The tribes of the eastern mountains are even more numerous, at least fifty thousand people. And the southern alliance around the North Sea Lake has even more than that—maybe a hundred thousand.” Based on reports from the priests, Lin Shu estimated there were in total two hundred thousand people in the Belgar Lake water system.

Nearly two hundred thousand tribespeople—this made Jingni all the more eager. The stronger their power, the safer she would be. If Lin Jun could truly unify the northern steppe, he might even help her take vengeance and utterly wipe out the threat of the Luo Net.

When Major Zhu Ba set out, he took three thousand men with him, but when he returned, he brought back six thousand warriors. Now, they could easily muster ten thousand fighters.

After arming the newly joined western warriors, Lin Shu himself set out with a force of seven thousand.

This time, the army carried only dried fruits; as for meat, they would fish again upon reaching North Sea Lake.

Once their nets were full, the seven thousand armored troops began marching toward the eastern mountains.

A force of seven thousand armored soldiers was simply invincible among the scattered wild tribes. In just ten days, they subdued the western side of the mountain range.

Aside from those who perished in battle, over twenty thousand people from the western tribes remained. Lin Shu selected five thousand new warriors to join the army. After several days’ rest and equipping, the troops were ready to march again the next night.

The night was cold and windy, snowflakes fluttered, but the man and woman inside the carriage burned with heat.

After their tender moments, Jingni whispered, “Husband, tomorrow let’s divide our forces into three. Let me lead a detachment through the central mountains.”

“Oh! It’s freezing out—wouldn’t it be better to stay in the carriage?” Lin Shu protested, reluctant to be apart from her; he had grown used to her presence.

Jingni shook her head, a hint of melancholy in her eyes. “Didn’t you once say parting makes the heart grow fonder? It won’t be long—if the snow isn’t too heavy, we can head south immediately. Otherwise, when spring comes and the southern tribes scatter to pasture, they’ll be much harder to deal with!”

“Very well, then! But it will be hard on you, my wife. In a few days, I’ll make it up to you.” Lin Shu also wanted to subdue the southern alliance this winter. Once spring came, he would have a cavalry to strike eastward to the great sea.

“Hmph, go away!” Jingni blushed and shook her head. She’d chosen to leave for a few days, not wanting her husband to become too absorbed in matters of passion. The man acted as though he hadn’t seen a woman in decades—every spare moment, his mind turned to such things!

Jingni had guessed right—in his days on Earth, Uncle Chubby had found the nights interminable! Thanks to the bio-conditioning on the spaceship, Uncle Chubby could still keep up, but as a result, he had to spend seven hours a day lying in the carriage.

Still, Lin Shu felt uneasy letting Jingni go alone, so he gave her five thousand warriors. Major Zhu Ba took four thousand northward, while Lin Shu himself led three thousand south and east into the mountains.

Speed was of the essence in war. Facing the sudden, three-pronged assault, the tribes had no choice but to surrender in droves. The few who dared resist were quickly dealt with.

In only six days, all the eastern mountain tribes were subdued—thirty thousand people in all, from whom ten thousand warriors could easily be gathered.

Once leather clothing and iron tools had been made for the people, Lin Shu led his twenty-thousand-strong army southward through wind and snow. The warriors were hardy enough, and with their new leather coats for warmth, the army could still march, if only barely.

In the far north, winter sealed the land in ice. Over a month ago, the southern tribes had already gathered in the valleys for the cold season. These semi-nomadic, semi-hunting tribes had dug caves into the earth and stone walls around the valleys.

During this era, even the Xiongnu and Donghu people suffered terribly from the cold. Their only advantage lay in having a bit more food and sheepskin, but none would willingly campaign in this dreadful season.

Marching through snow brought its own dangers; it was easy to lose direction, and when the world was a vast expanse of white, even the human eye could not tell east from west, north from south. But with the carriage’s starship lighting the map and locking in the route, the army would not lose its way.

The carriages followed the traces of charcoal fires left by the nomads, and soon located the exact site. The journey of three or four hundred kilometers, through wind, snow, and deep drifts, took the army over ten days.

Fortunately, most provisions were stored in the carriages, lightening the burden on the soldiers.

In this cursed weather, the southern alliance’s herdsmen sent no mounted patrols into the wilds, but the movement of twenty thousand troops could not be concealed. The very sound of their triple-layered iron mail, clinking as they marched, was impossible to miss.

“Khan! A great army is outside the valley—so many, so many people!”

“Khan, I counted at least twenty or thirty thousand! All are strong foot soldiers!”

Lin Shu’s army was resting not far outside the valley, each warrior cocooned in a fur sleeping bag. Only with these thick bags could they endure the nights, though it meant waking halfway through to clear away ice and snow, and keeping a few men on watch to ensure the air holes were not blocked.

“Chieftains, who do you think they are? Donghu or Xiongnu?” Zabu Lie Khan, the grand chief of the wild tribes and a half-blooded noble of the Xiongnu, had pushed his tribes to rapidly become more nomadic in recent years.

Given a few more years, these snowland tribes could march toward the mild, lush grasslands. When, a century later, the Xiongnu weakened and fled, these northern tribes would move onto the steppe, and in decades or centuries, fill the wilderness to become new overlords.

In this era, the grasslands were rich in water and grass, teeming with animals, with no trace of desert or wasteland. For this reason, the population was considerable.

A bearded chieftain laughed, “Who cares who they are? Anyone who dares bring twenty thousand men here is marching to their death.”

“Khan, we should rally our warriors and strike out at once!” There were forty thousand strong warriors in the valley—that was the chieftains’ source of confidence.

Zabu Lie Khan was about to agree when the high priest shook his head. “Khan, any enemy bold enough to come here must be no ordinary army. We don’t know what weapons they bear, but they must be better than our stone axes, wooden spears, or bone arrows!”

Then a commander of a thousand entered, saying, “Khan, they are tribesmen from the north!”

“What! Impossible!” Zabu Lie could not believe it. If the divided northern tribes could unite twenty thousand men, they would not have let the Donghu people bully them for so long.

The commander nodded firmly. “Khan, their speech and build are certainly those of the northern wild tribes.”

Though of the same blood, the now-prosperous southern alliance did not acknowledge their kin.

“Damn it! If it’s them, that makes things difficult. For now, do nothing—let’s wait and see!” Remembering the wild tribes’ madness, Zabu Lie had no desire to fight them to the death.

“Yes, let’s send someone to talk to them. These poor devils are probably desperate, here to steal our food!”

Knowing it was the wild tribes, no one suggested going to war. When those wild men went berserk, they never retreated easily—defeating them would bring heavy losses. And if the southern alliance suffered too many casualties, the Donghu or Xiongnu would surely seize the chance to wipe them out.

After half an hour’s discussion, no one was willing to parley with the wild tribes, so Zabu Lie had to send his own high priest to negotiate with the enemy.

Even knowing that most of the wild men two kilometers away were hiding and sleeping, the alliance had no intention of sending out troops. After all, they were of the same blood and tribe, without any deep-seated hatred.