Under Li Xiang's command, a bloody storm immediately erupted on the Turkic steppes, leaving only the elderly and children in many tribes. But even so, Li Xiang's army still had to carry things as usual. There was no pity in this.
There must be something hateful about pitiful people. If you had honestly helped the Tang army to defend the border, you could have lived a good life. But now you are colluding with the Xueyantuo people. It was obvious that the Xueyantuo people came to attack you, but later you mixed in with them and attacked our Tang army. Should we still give you face?
If they encountered any young people, they would immediately tie them up and take them to the army.
The young general Ma Chuan received this order and swept through three tribes in one day. The fourth tribe was in front of him and his brothers were already familiar with the route.
More than two hundred cavalrymen surrounded them from all sides. There were also some people in the tribe holding bows and arrows. Once such a person was found, there was no need to even think about it. Just raise your left hand and use a crossbow to kill him.
When you picked up the bow and arrow, it meant that you had already regarded the Tang army as the enemy in your heart. Since both sides are enemies, what else is there to say? Just kill them. Look at the miserable situation around our camp. You Turks also helped. If you didn’t help, how could our people die so miserably?
"Catch everyone out! If anyone doesn't come out, I'll set fire to the camp."
Ma Chuan said loudly that for these herdsmen, tents are their place of survival. If all the tents are burned, they probably won't be able to survive tonight. They all know the temperature at night. They can survive in the sun during the day, but when the temperature drops to minus ten degrees Celsius at night, it will only take a few minutes to freeze to death.
There are about a thousand people in the tribe, including more than a hundred young and strong men. This tribe is much better than other tribes. The rest are old, weak and sick.
“Separate the men and women.”
At Ma Chuan's command, his soldiers began to separate them. Some couples, men and women, hugged each other tightly. After the soldiers warned them three times, if they still did the same, they would be very sorry and would be whipped in the face.
It took about an incense stick of time to separate these people.
"Send him to the army, send him to do menial work..."
Ma Chuan began to select these men personally. Some of them looked like warriors and had all their limbs intact. So these people had to be made into the Turkic army and continue fighting with our army. Now we have only occupied the Turkic region, and we still have to continue to attack northward.
People from Xueyantuo should not think that you can get away with it by running back. You have committed such a serious crime in the territory of our Tang Dynasty. We will catch you back even if we have to ride a thousand miles.
"I don't want to be a soldier. I don't want to be a soldier for you..."
A young man sat in a puddle and backed away like crazy. He didn't want to be a soldier for the Tang Dynasty.
"I'll give you one last chance. Have you thought about it and told me whether you're going or not?"
Ma Chuan raised the knife in his hand. If you say you won't go again, then you will be killed as a warning to others. Ma Chuan saw that many people in the tribe were not convinced. Although killing you would mean losing a labor force, your head would still be very useful in making more people obedient.
"Let's go, sir, let's go..."
A woman ran out from the side and slapped the man several times, knocking him unconscious. She looked like his mother.
"I won't go, I won't go..."
The man said in a crying voice, Ma Chuan took out his knife again, and the woman beat the man like crazy, insisting that he go to the Tang army. If he went to the Tang army, he would at least have a chance of survival. If you continue to say you don't want to go, the general in front of you may take your life.
"I would rather burn my house down than give it to you."
Just when I finished tidying up, an old man in his fifties appeared. His son had died in the war, and now he had no worries. He took a torch in his hand and set his tent on fire.
Ma Chuan sneered and said, "Just burn it, but in order for others not to do the same, I have to teach you a lesson."
"Tie him and those old men up..."
Before Ma Chuan finished speaking, his soldiers understood what was going on. They tied up the old man who lit the fire and several other old men, hung them on their horses, and started dragging them away. It’s not that the Tang Dynasty’s army was too cruel. When the Turks invaded the interior, we Han people became like two-legged sheep, much more cruel than we are now. So in order for us to survive, no matter how hard they do, it’s not excessive.
"Listen up, everyone. Everything now belongs to the Tang Dynasty. If anyone dares to destroy these things without permission, this will be your fate. Not only will you die, but someone in your tribe will also die. If you continue to do this, think about the innocent people around you."
Ma Chuan's words were imprinted in these people's minds. Originally, a few people wanted to burn down the tribe, but when they saw the old, weak, sick and young people in the tribe who were struggling in the cold wind, they no longer had the mind to do so. If they burned down the tents in the tribe, these people would be the first to die!
"Leave them ten days' worth of dry food, and take all the rest. From now on, you must hand over twenty cattle and sheep every month. If you fail to do so, you will be killed."
After leaving a word, Ma Chuan took the more than one hundred young and strong men away. These people could either serve in the army or do some menial work as porters. In short, don't expect to have a good life in the future.
Behind Ma Chuan, the cries of women were heard. These people pounded the ground, hoping that their Kunlun God would come out to save them. Unfortunately, the gods could not hear this at all. What you did to us was too much. Now we are just paying it back. Everything has its roots.
It took Li Xiang fifteen days to clear the entire grassland and organize 20,000 Turkic soldiers. These people had not received any training, but Turkic people are born to fight on horseback. This is something they learned in the womb. Li Xiang was going to drive these people to attack Xueyantuo with us, and also to let them atone for their sins, otherwise he really couldn't help but kill them.