The reason why Xingxing Lake is called Xingxing Lake is because it is the place with the most lakes on the Gulang grassland. On that grassland of less than 10,000 square kilometers, there are hundreds of lakes of different sizes scattered around, like stars. There is abundant water and grass around it, so it is named Xingxing Lake.
Going further west from here is the vast desert. The seven Shatu tribes in the past went through hardships and crossed the vast desert to reach the Gulang grassland. Xingxing Lake was their first habitat after entering the Gulang grassland.
In the past two years, the seven Shatu tribes have been unlucky and have been declining. First, the Wumu tribe and the Wuli tribe of the seven Shatu tribes had an internal conflict and a war, which greatly damaged the strength of both sides. Later, the Wumu tribe defected to the Black Jie people and invited a wolf into the house. The Wuli tribe and the other six tribes of the seven Shatu tribes fought a great battle with the Black Jie people. After being defeated, the seven Shatu tribes all defected to the Black Jie people, and under the instigation of the Black Jie people, they wanted to take over Baishi Pass and invade Ganzhou by taking advantage of the civil strife in the Han Empire and then invading Ganzhou. However, they did not expect that their plan had already been seen through by Yan Liqiang, the governor of Qiyun. The 50,000 elite troops gathered by the seven Shatu tribes were finally trapped in Baishi Pass by Yan Liqiang, the governor of Qiyun, and were killed by Yan Liqiang without a single one left.
After experiencing so much civil unrest and turmoil in a short period of time, the Seven Shatu Tribes had already been severely damaged and were no longer the same as before. But at this moment, the arrival of the Killing the Hu Order was like stabbing the already weak and dying body of the Seven Shatu Tribes several more times, chopping off the hands and feet of the Seven Shatu Tribes.
The seven Shatu tribes that once had the final say on the Gulang grassland suddenly became the prey of countless rangers and militias of the Han Empire. Many small and medium-sized tribes were destroyed in just a few months. Even the large tribes were also severely damaged. People disappeared every day without reason. The entire seven Shatu tribes suddenly became frightened birds. As a last resort, the seven Shatu tribes that were originally scattered everywhere had to gather again and retreat to Xingxing Lake in order to survive. The nobles of the seven Shatu tribes were still hoping that this time, Xingxing Lake could bring good luck to the seven Shatu tribes like it did decades ago, so that the seven Shatu tribes that were in distress could recuperate here and survive this disaster.
The Seven Shatu Tribes had already received the news that Yan Liqiang had led his troops out of the pass this time. These days, watching the army led by Yan Liqiang heading towards Xingxing Lake, the Seven Shatu Tribes had no good solution. They had no courage to send out their own army to meet the enemy far away from Xingxing Lake. The Seven Shatu Tribes no longer had the determination and guts to do so, and letting the army led by Yan Liqiang rush directly to Xingxing Lake and meet the enemy completely passively did not seem to be a solution. The senior leaders of the Seven Shatu Tribes discussed it over and over again, and finally chose a relatively compromising and safe method - just when Yan Liqiang and his army were still hundreds of miles away from Xingxing Lake, they sent out 40,000 troops today to launch an active raid, in order to catch Yan Liqiang and his army off guard. It would be best if they could win in one battle. Even if they couldn't, they could also find out the details of Yan Liqiang and his army and teach them a lesson. At least they couldn't let the Han army rush to their noses while eating hot pot and singing all the way. In that case, their morale would probably fall to the bottom before the two sides even started fighting.
Why 40,000 people? Because these 40,000 troops are more than half of Yan Li's powerful army. They have the advantage in numbers and can act quickly. At the same time, they are not afraid of the Han rangers and militia forces around Xingxing Lake. To put it another way, even if the 40,000 people suffer some losses, the troops sent out can quickly withdraw to Xingxing Lake, where there are backup.
The 40,000-strong army, which was placed with great hopes, left Xingxing Lake to go on the expedition. The high-ranking officials of the seven Shatu tribes were waiting for news at Xingxing Lake with hope. However, what no one expected was that what they waited for was a piece of tragic news that chilled them to the bone!
…
“Impossible… How could a 40,000-strong army be wiped out by more than 20,000 Han people? Even if it were 40,000 sheep, at least a few could run back…” In a large tent in the center of Xingxing Lake, the young chief of the Wumu tribe, Ge Dan, stood in the tent, roaring with a pale face. He was hysterical, waving his hands meaninglessly in the air. “Impossible, absolutely impossible. Shaug is not a reckless person. Even if they are frustrated, most of them can run back. The Han army has less than 30,000 people. How could there be more than 10,000 archers…”
Gedan's father is Ugusa, the former chief of the Wumu tribe. Since Ugusa was killed, Gedan has become the new chief of the Wumu tribe and has won the trust of the Black Jie people. Because of the support of the Black Jie people, Gedan's position among the seven tribes of Shatu is now the same as that of Sultan, the former chief of the Uli tribe.
At this moment, in this big tent, except for Ge Dan, almost all the high-level figures of the other seven Shatu tribes gathered here. However, the high-level figures of the seven Shatu tribes at this time were almost all new faces. Those experienced figures had died one after another in the past one or two years for various reasons. After the Killing Hu Order, many nobles of the seven Shatu tribes lost their heads because they were more valuable. At this time, those who remained and could gather in this big tent were almost all "newcomers".
Take the Uli tribe, which was once the first of the seven tribes of Shatu. After Sultan died in battle, he purged Sultan's family in the Uli tribe, led his tribe to surrender to the Black Jie, and became the chief of the Uli tribe. However, in the battle of Baishi Pass, Nigu was shot and killed by Yan Liqiang. Then there was chaos in the Uli tribe. The person who succeeded Nigu's position was another elder named Durgai in the Uli tribe. But Durgai did not sit on the position of chief for a few days. After the order to kill the Hu was issued, Durgai's head was put on the special list of the order to kill the Hu because his head was worth five thousand acres of grassland. A few days later, Durgai was beheaded in his tent by a Han ranger. The current chief of the Uli tribe has become Heba, a man in his thirties who was originally unknown among the nobles of the seven tribes of Shatu. He had a cunning look in his eyes and a wretched face. At this moment, he was lowering his head in the big tent, his eyes darting around, and no one knew what he was thinking.
There was an unusual silence in the big tent. Everyone felt a deep chill. Some people were even shaking and looking pale.
No one spoke. Everyone hoped that the news was false. However, the news that came one after another made everyone feel as if they were falling into the abyss. The first to bring the news were the scouts sent by Xingxing Lake. Those scouts put on Han clothes and disguised themselves as Han rangers to go out and spy on the news. Six groups of people, more than 20 in total, went there, but only three came back in the end. The news they brought was the same. The 40,000 troops they sent out had been completely wiped out by the governor Qi Yun and Yan Liqiang, and not a single one came back alive.
After the scouts' news arrived, the divine eagle of the Zora priest, the last one among the seven tribes of Shatu who could still drive his own spirit bird, flew to the battlefield before sunset. All the Zora priest saw were the corpses of 40,000 warriors from the seven tribes of Shatu on the battlefield...
The one who finally confirmed the news was Shawugu. If nothing unexpected happened, Shawugu should have sent people back to Xingxing Lake to report today's battle situation. However, none of the 40,000 troops returned.
No one could answer Ge Dan's words. The air in the big tent seemed to be frozen.
Gedan panted in the tent like a wounded wolf, his fierce eyes swept across one face after another, and finally stopped at the face of Heba, the chief of the Wuli tribe, and asked bluntly, "Heba, you are the chief of the Wuli tribe, tell me, what are you going to do with the current situation?"
Heba, who was named, shrank his head, looked up at Ge Dan with red eyes, and said carefully, "Well... didn't the Black Jie people tell us to hold back the Han army at Xingxing Lake, and they would send troops to join us in attacking the Han army? Well... should we contact the Black Jie people to see if their army has arrived?"
It would be fine if the Black Jie were not mentioned. As soon as the Black Jie was mentioned, Ge Dan's eyes twitched. Yes, this was the news that Prince Taimiba had someone bring when they contacted the Black Jie before. But now so many days have passed, the Han army is about to rush to Xingxing Lake, and the Black Jie are still silent. Not even a hair has been seen. Based on Ge Dan's understanding of the Black Jie, Prince Taimiba might be hiding somewhere in the Black Jie camp, guarding against another strong Han warrior rushing to take his head, and waiting for news that the Han and the seven Shatu tribes are both defeated. It would be best if one side was destroyed by the other. This would be best for the Black Jie, and then he would clean up the mess...
(End of this chapter)