After more than half an hour, the tribe fell into silence. Except for the eldest princess, all the others were killed, including several of her maids. Li Xiang did not intend to leave anyone alive.
"You come and watch her on the way. If anything seems wrong, you can kill her first and ask for permission later."
Li Xiang handed the princess to Li Si next to him, and then continued to lead the team forward. The princess also saw it. No wonder they sent several search teams but couldn't find Li Xiang, because Li Xiang and his group were so fast. They didn't drag their feet anywhere, and were not distracted by the cattle, sheep and slaves. Everything they did was to complete the strategic task as quickly as possible. Such an army was really terrifying.
What the people on the grassland value most is speed. When they were fighting with the Tang army, they could raid several cities on the border overnight. This caused smoke to rise everywhere on the border of the Tang Dynasty overnight, and it was impossible to tell where their main force was. It was as if the entire border area was caught in the war, which brought enormous pressure to the Tang army.
But now the Tang army also knows how to play this trick, and they are even better at it than them. Take Li Xiang in front of them for example. He led his army on a long-distance raid and killed four tribes along the way. More than 8,000 Tuyuhun civilians were killed, including more than 3,000 combat-capable cavalry. This was only two days ago, an average of two tribes a day. If they were allowed to continue killing at this speed, Tuyuhun would not be able to hold on.
In the evening of the next day, Li Xiang finally ordered his troops to rest and begin planning the next route.
"Why don't you interrogate me?"
The eldest princess sat not far from Li Xiang. During these two days, the eldest princess tried every possible way, but unfortunately Li Xiang didn't talk to her at all. So whenever she was in such an environment, the eldest princess wanted to communicate with Li Xiang in order to test Li Xiang's heart.
"There's no point in interrogating you. First, you won't tell me the truth, and second, interrogating you would be a waste of my time. So it's better for me to just be honest and rely on myself. Besides, this is where you live, with abundant grass and water. There's a tribe not far away, so there's no need for me to interrogate you. You don't have to worry about that. I won't torture you. I don't hit women."
Li Xiang said without raising his head, drawing lines on the ground that others could not understand.
You don't beat women, you only kill women...
The eldest princess silently repeated this sentence in her heart. During these two days, they passed through four tribes in total. In these four tribes, as long as there were Han slaves, they would be killed regardless of gender, age or young. This was the order given by Li Xiang.
In the past, when Tuyuhun and the Tang Dynasty fought, all the casualties were the civilians of the Tang Dynasty. Because the Tang Dynasty's army would not go deep into the grassland, the civilians of Tuyuhun did not suffer much damage. Even if the military losses were too great, they could be quickly replenished, so any war would not cause too much damage to Tuyuhun.
But the situation is different now. After this man broke out of Liangzhou City, he went south and killed all the way. When the army passed through the border, there was no grass left. Almost all of them, including some children in the tribe, were killed. The population of Tuyuhun was not large to begin with. If Li Xiang continued to move forward like this, one-tenth of their people would be killed in half a month. This would be equivalent to the extinction of their race for Tuyuhun.
"I beg you to stop the killing. We Tuyuhun are not like you, the Tang Dynasty. If you continue to kill us, we may not be able to survive. Our population is too small. Please release me and I will go find my father Khan. I will ask him to negotiate with you. You can make any demands. If you don't believe me, then I will write a personal letter and ask someone to deliver it, okay?"
The eldest princess was telling the truth. During the time she followed Li Xiang, she was really frightened by his men. Whenever these people arrived at a place, they seemed to have no emotions. They burned all the supplies for survival and killed all the young and middle-aged people, leaving only some old, weak and sick people. If there were Han slaves in the tribe, even these old, weak and sick people would not be left behind. Tuyuhun had only so many people and could not withstand Li Xiang's destruction from the root. Even if there was a ceasefire now, these tribes might be wiped out on the grassland. You know, some of their tribes have survived for hundreds of years.
"Do you think I'm a fool, or do you think your father is a fool? We've only lost a few tribes. Can you Tuyuhun people negotiate with us? Last time I negotiated with your Prime Minister Midu, I made my demands clear. Unfortunately, you didn't respect what I said. I'll only give you one chance. So, in this situation, I must continue to kill until you're heartbroken. Then, no matter what conditions I propose, perhaps you won't refuse."
What Li Xiang said was true. Although they attacked several tribes last time, the damage they caused was too small for such a vast grassland. This also led to Prime Minister Midu not taking them seriously and even thinking that his side still had the strength to fight. Therefore, Li Xiang had to create a bigger incident and make you bleed more, so that you Tuyuhun could feel the pain.
"Your Highness, torches have been spotted thirty-five miles ahead, heading towards us."
While the two were talking, their scouts came over to report immediately. Although it was already night, there were still scouts in the sky. They could do things better at night. On the pitch-black grassland, fire could be said to be the best identification tool. A row of torches was found fifteen miles ahead. They should be the cavalry on the grassland.
"Get into combat mode immediately and shut this woman's mouth. If she dares to make any noise later, send her on her way."
Li Xiang took a bite of the beef jerky in his hand, then gulped down a mouthful of cold water. The princess beside him saw it all. She had assumed the Tang royal family, greedy for comfort, would never endure such hardship. But after two days of observation, she realized that Li Xiang could endure even more hardships than some of the people on the grasslands. No wonder his soldiers supported him so much. This time, the grasslands had indeed faced a formidable enemy...