The battle at Trube took place on January 1st, when the people of Central China should have been celebrating the New Year.
For the grassland herders, there has always been a traditional New Year, also known as the Festival of Gratitude. It is held on the eve of the rainy season every year. The herders thank the master for providing them with jobs and the ability to survive for their families, and they offer the most precious gifts to express their gratitude.
On January 1st of 956, the herdsmen of the Tru tribe decided to celebrate Allah’s Apostle Day on this day.
In front of Mayor Wang’s felt tent, there are herds of cattle and sheep, all of which the herdsmen want to present to His Royal Highness.
After Mayor Wang reported the matter to higher authorities, the prince finally responded through the wireless radio, broadcasting to all herders using a loudspeaker. The general meaning was that the cattle and sheep would not be collected anymore, and you should live a good life. When your life gets better in the future, you are welcome to come to Heishanbao to play. When you do, bring me some local specialties as gifts, and I will be very pleased.
His Royal Highness the Prince had a deep and magnetic voice, full of kindness, which made the herdsmen feel as if they were bathed in holy music. Many of them cried for joy, feeling that the heaven and the earth were big, but not as great as the Prince's kindness.
Just as the herders followed the prince's instructions and led their cattle and sheep back home, the sound of gunfire from distant sentries warned that the battle in the Tru Valley had begun.
There was almost no suspense. Ma Quanyou's grassland cavalry brigade had five reorganized battalions and more than 2,700 people, all of whom came out in full force.
I thought that during the New Year, when the Chinese were generally in a festive mood, they would inevitably relax and lack the will to fight.
He even massacred the Tru tribe, who had completely forgotten their roots, and used their blood to atone for their sins.
But unexpectedly, the cavalry brigade got into the encirclement and ambushes were everywhere in the Tru Valley.
What Brigade Commander Ma Biao didn't expect was that his adjutant Ma Shengyi shot him in the head.
As a result, the raid turned into a one-sided massacre.
…
On January 12, Prince Montenegro arrived in Wuhan to entertain the troops.
This is already the extreme northwest area. Further west is the White Sea. The remnants of Ma Quanyou and Chen Xingchang retreated into that area.
Wuhan is already a desert, hilly and mountainous area where border residents live together. The White Sea to the west is even more barren, with swamps and grasslands on the edge, making it difficult for large troops to move, let alone mechanized troops. After the swallowing swamps and grasslands, there is a huge inland sea - the White Sea. Further west, it suddenly turns into a plateau area thousands of meters high, with towering mountains and endless desert.
This strange terrain was something Lu Ming had never seen in his previous life, and it was also unique in this world.
Those stationed in Wuhan are mainly the Black Mountain Fort Mountain Division and the Air Service Regiment 1.
Air Crew B Regiment, also known as the Black Sparrow Unit, has been fighting continuously and has made outstanding contributions. It has returned to Montenegro for rest and recuperation.
When Prince of Black Mountain Fort arrived in Wuhan to comfort the troops, the Huangyuan tribes in the Western Prairie in the Sanyuan area changed their flags and surrendered. As a result, the Western Prairie was peacefully recovered and the Sanyuan Prairie was officially incorporated into the territory of the Principality.
…
"Captain Wang" is currently the head of the Special Work Department of the Ukrainian side of the Montenegrin Security Bureau.
In the Wuhan area, if we must divide the ethnic groups, there are more than a dozen ethnic groups among the border residents, mainly yellow-skinned farmers, black and red-skinned mountain people, white-skinned herdsmen, desert people, and so on.
But none of them can be considered Central Asians or Westerners.
There are many local languages, and they are not as civilized as the steppes in accepting the languages of Middle-earth.
The area is vast and sparsely populated, so Wuhan was designated as a special border county directly under the principality, and the county magistrate was directly appointed by the cabinet.
But this county is surprisingly large, with an area of more than 100,000 square kilometers, which is equivalent to many autonomous prefectures and provinces in the south.
Wuhan County has been an important border trade town since ancient times. Trade roads from northern Xinjiang and Haixi come from the east and north and converge here.
When Chen Xingchang nominally ruled this place, he divided the Wuhan Road and only appointed a Wuhan Daoyin. He was not able to truly rule this place at all. The Daoyin was beaten to death by angry border residents because he angered the public when collecting taxes. At that time, Chen Xingchang was defeated on the battlefield in the northern border and had no time to take care of this place.
Later, Chen Xingchang's and Ma Quanyou's troops retreated into the Baihai Sea and passed by in a hurry.
Even some baggage was stolen by border residents because it moved too slowly and had insufficient guards.
This shows how tough the local people are.
Since ancient times, this place has been far away and the emperor is far away, and the one who truly has the final say in Wuhan City is the Chen family.
They are the descendants of officials who were exiled here during the Zhongzhou Dynasty. They have gradually multiplied and spread out, but it is hard to say that they are Zhongzhou people. Instead, their living habits and customs have become like those of the border people, and they have even spoken the local dialect.
Lu Ming had encountered many such situations in his previous life. In the feudal dynasty era, before the south was developed, many barbarian leader families were once people from the Central Plains. For various reasons, they entered the barbarian areas and integrated into the barbarian tribe. Relying on the knowledge brought from the Central Plains, they led their families to become gradually stronger, but they themselves became members of the barbarians, living a barbarian life and speaking the barbarian language.
Before Qi Huaide became the governor of Northern Xinjiang, almost all the governors of Wuhan were surnamed Chen.
After Qi Huaide came to power, he appointed several temporary officials to Wuhan, but the results of their actions were not very good. Those who only wanted to make money could get many benefits by getting along well with the three major Chen families.
Especially in today's era, a large amount of low-priced industrially produced daily necessities are transported here and then sold to border tribes in exchange for local specialties or unique gold sand, which makes huge profits.
Wuhan City also has its own abnormal prosperity.
The new county magistrate was a man named Chen, but he was very young, just in his early thirties, and had attended university in the provincial capital of northern Xinjiang.
But apart from the three most powerful families of the Chen family, their branches had been merchants for generations. By the time of County Magistrate Chen Shunming, his father was good at managing the family. He opened a business in Wuhan City, made some money, and sent his son to study in a big city.
After graduating from university, Chen Shunming went to Shengjing to develop his career. He developed well and was admitted to work at the Montenegro Concession Affairs Administration.
Now, he has been appointed as the county magistrate of Wuhan County.
However, Chen Shunming knew very well that the affairs of the county were still temporarily led by Minister Wang, and all work was based on the premise of preparing for the march into Baihai and ultimately defeating the remnants of Chen Xingchang and Ma Quanyou.
…
The office of the Special Work Department of the Wuhan Branch of the General Bureau of Security is a typical building of the local nobles - an octagonal walled house, which incorporates the Central Plains style of the building, similar to the Hakka architectural style of the previous life.
It is a square castle-like building with various houses and small buildings inside, surrounded by two-story buildings on all four sides. There is a watchtower on each side, commonly known as a four-corner tower. On the outer wall, there is a watchtower several meters high at each of the four corners, forming an octagonal defense structure.
Inside the octagonal house of the Special Work Department, hundreds of people, including staff from various departments and armed personnel, were stationed there.
This place is referred to as "No. 1 Wuhan Street" in various correspondence within the Principality.
At this time, in the south office building of "No. 1 Wuhan Street", in the office on the second floor, Lu Ming looked out the window at the town whose architectural style was very different from that of the mainland, and the border residents in various strange costumes. He had a strange feeling in his heart, as if he had really reached the end of the world.
Turning back, he looked at the documents on the table, which mainly analyzed the ethnic groups here and investigated the three major families of the Chen family.
In addition, there is sporadic intelligence from the White Sea.
The remnants of Ma Quanyou and Chen Xingchang who fled to the extreme northwest of the White Sea numbered two to three thousand people. In the barren land of hundreds of thousands square kilometers, there were probably only more than a hundred thousand border residents, and their life was hard. It was impossible to support two to three thousand soldiers and a small amount of family money. Even if these two to three thousand people settled down and supported themselves, they would actually be competing with the border residents for limited survival resources.
However, no accurate information has been released yet.
In fact, the life of border residents in the barren land northwest of the White Sea has always been a mystery, and the population and tribal living conditions are all estimates.
There are also legends that there are still descendants of the barbarians there, but they have already degenerated. Although they are tall, they are no longer giants like their ancestors. Instead, they are generally around two meters forty-five inches tall, and are no longer afraid of warmth like their ancestors.
But for the specific situation, we still have to wait for intelligence.
There was a staff officer beside Chen Xingchang who had already been bribed by the Military Intelligence Department, but he had lost contact recently and had not sent any telegrams back.
The Military Intelligence Department had already transferred his contacts to the Wuhan Special Work Department, and had been waiting for his secret message for several days.
The remaining White Sea bandits must be pacified as soon as possible, only then can the Northern Territory be truly stabilized.
The price he paid for this was enmity with the eldest prince, but in the long run, this price was worth it.