Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather.

Chapter 702 Second Master is really too ruthless!

"Let's rest here for a day, and then set off again at night!"

Yang Mingzhi gave the instructions.

The fighting of the night wouldn't have exhausted the soldiers, but it was their first time participating in such an intense battle, and they needed time to summarize and digest the experience gained in the battle.

Of course, they also need time to rest, replenish supplies, and retrieve arrows.

The arrows used by the archers were not ordinary arrows, but arrowheads forged by the Zhu family of Dihuo Island using Dihuo steel. The shafts were made from branches of the ancient banyan tree, and the fletchings were made from goose feathers.

Making a powerful bow is extremely difficult, and making arrows also requires a great deal of effort.

During these three years, Yang Mingzhi not only trained strong archers, but also studied the craftsmanship of making strong bows and arrows.

Crafting a set of bows and arrows and training a skilled archer is a task of unimaginable difficulty.

Even with the resources and foundation of the Yang family, Yang Mingzhi only managed to train this thousand strong archers after three years, which shows how difficult it is to train strong archers.

In other factions, let alone a thousand, even three or four hundred would be extremely rare.

Previously, the Shenmu Sect only had fewer than four hundred strong archers. Was it because they didn't want to train more strong archers?
of course not!

It's because they are unable to train more skilled archers.

Moreover, there are some differences between the archers of the Shenmu Sect and the archers of the Yang family. The archers of the Shenmu Sect can only be considered the lowest level of archers, as long as they can draw the bow.

The Yang family's archers have many requirements, far exceeding those of the Shenmu Sect's archers.

Yang Mingzhi was able to train these thousand strong archers under three conditions that other forces would find difficult to meet.

First, the aerial roots of the banyan tree are actually a cheap material. Without the aerial roots of the banyan tree, the cost of making a powerful bow would be more than that of crafting a weapon made of earth fire steel.

The Zhu family can forge more than 300 pieces of fire-steel weapons every year, but they cannot produce 300 powerful bows.

Secondly, the necessary conditions for becoming a strong archer are arm strength, endurance, and eyesight. Not all martial artists above the fifth level of the Acquired Realm can become strong archers.

To become a powerful archer, one must possess extraordinary arm strength, endurance, and eyesight far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Arm strength and endurance are relatively easy to improve with training.

But my eyesight is failing.

They either need to cultivate special techniques or consume precious medicines and spiritual fruits that can enhance eyesight.

Both of these methods require a significant amount of time and resources.

The Yang family possesses a spiritual spring, which provides comprehensive benefits to the body, including hearing and vision.

This is something that other forces cannot compare to.

Thirdly, there is the Yang family's foundation. Today, the Yang family's foundation is not only reflected in resources, but also in the number of martial artists, training methods, personal connections, and other aspects.

Needless to say, the number of martial artists is considerable. Although Shenmu Island has a small population, the Yang family has a large number of acquired martial artists, who form the foundation of the Yang family.

Training troops was also the Yang family's forte. From Yang Zhengshan to Yang Mingzhi and Yang Minghao, and then to the many guards and soldiers, they were all extremely skilled at training troops through constant exposure.

As for personal connections, take the Zhu family of Earthfire Island for example. Getting them to help forge Earthfire Steel Arrowheads is not something an ordinary force can do.

The Zhu family was very unwilling to do this kind of low-skilled work. It was only because the Yang family and the Zhu family were close that the Zhu family was willing to help them.

Other forces might be able to meet one or two of the three conditions, but meeting all three is almost impossible.

Shenmu Island couldn't do it before, Da Rong couldn't do it before, and the Zhu family can't do it now.

These thousand archers may seem ordinary, but in reality, they are the result of the Yang family's strength and resources.

They weren't armed to the teeth, but everything about them was built with vast resources and money.

The Tatar tribe wasn't really weak; rather, the enemy they faced was far too powerful.

They are so powerful that they cannot comprehend it.

The destruction of the Tatar tribe's territory was just the beginning. In the days that followed, Yang Mingzhi led two thousand Shenmu soldiers and swept through all the Tatar tribes like a deadly hurricane.

At first, they only attacked one tribe per day, but as time went on and the large tribes were destroyed, they began to divide their forces. To deal with some small tribes, they did not need to send out all two thousand Shenmu soldiers; a few hundred soldiers were enough.

As they moved, the southern part of the Monkh Mountains was plunged into complete panic.

Countless Tatar tribesmen fled their homeland with their families, but Yang Mingzhi would not let them escape so easily.

The slaughter spread from one tribe to every hill and every meadow.

When Han Fei arrived at the Tatar tribe with his 30,000-strong army, all he saw were corpses scattered everywhere and a tribe without a single living person.

Yang Mingzhi only had two thousand soldiers, and there was no one to clean up the battlefield, so they were only responsible for killing, leaving everything else to Han Fei later.

So Han Fei led the elite troops of Sanwan Chongshan Town to become ragtag soldiers cleaning up the battlefield.

"Damn, Second Master is really ruthless!"

Standing on the territory of the Tatar tribe, Han Fei looked at the corpses and dried bloodstains scattered on the ground. He could no longer contain his horror and let out a sigh.

"Give the order to the laborers behind to speed up."

He didn't want to follow Yang Mingzhi around cleaning up the battlefield; he wanted to catch up with Yang Mingzhi and fight alongside him.

However, his idea is unlikely to be realized, because Yang Mingzhi has already moved the battlefield. Most of the Tatar tribes have been wiped out, and the remaining tribes that have not yet been dealt with are also fleeing in all directions.

Yang Mingzhi was too lazy to chase after the fleeing Tatar tribesmen; his target had become the Chici tribe.

However, the Chila tribe cannot be dealt with in the same way as the Tatar tribe, by first attacking their banner territory.

News of the battle on the Tatar side has reached the Red Thorn tribe, and the Red Thorn tribe has made preparations to fight back.

Even if Yang Mingzhi was arrogant, he would never lead two thousand soldiers to attack a city with an army of forty or fifty thousand. Therefore, he changed his strategy towards the Chici tribe. Instead of going to the Chici tribe's territory first, he went to attack and kill those small and medium-sized tribes.

The small and medium-sized tribes were almost powerless to resist him. He was like a bulldozer, flattening all the small and medium-sized tribes he encountered.

As the killings increased, the infamous reputation of the two thousand Shenmu soldiers gradually spread.

However, at this time, few people outside knew the details of these two thousand Shenmu soldiers. They only knew that this was an archer unit, not many in number, and extremely fierce in battle, with few able to dodge their arrows.

They were like cruel death gods, reaping lives across this vast land.

The Tatar tribe and the Red Thorn tribe gave them many names, such as Grim Reaper, Demon, and Butcher.

By mid-September, Yang Mingzhi had been leading two thousand Shenmu soldiers in a rampage around the Menghe Mountains for over half a month. The Tatar tribe had become a thing of the past under his rule; the Tatar tribe no longer existed in this world.

Although many members of the Tatar tribe still fled, having lost their banners and settlements, they were no longer considered members of the Tatar tribe.

They faced only two fates: either they would freeze to death in the approaching winter, or they would join other tribes and become members of those tribes.

And the Red Thorn Tribe is about to become a thing of the past.

On September 18th, Yang Mingzhi led two thousand Shenmu soldiers to the banner territory of the Chici tribe, Kukuhe Village.

Kuku and Tun can also be called Kuku City. Among the Hu people, Tun means city, while Kuku means blue.

Kuku City is bordered by the Menghe Mountains to the east, with green mountains forming a screen, and to the west, there are vast grasslands. A river flows around the city, and this river is called the Green Mountain River.

When spring arrives, this place is blessed with beautiful mountains and clear waters, and the green grass stretches like waves. From a distance, the city looks as if it is inlaid on a green ribbon, hence the name Kukuhetun.

Kuku City is connected to Menghe Mountain Pass, so it can be said to be a fortified city with walls even higher than those of Chongshan Pass.

Originally, Kuku City was just a small tribe. It was a place with beautiful scenery, fertile land, abundant water and grass, and was located near the Menghe Mountains, making it very rich in resources.

After hundreds of years of development and growth, the small tribe has become the present-day Chici tribe, and Kuku City has sprung up along with it, with three more passes added to Menghe Mountain Pass.

If Yemi City was the largest and most prosperous city of the Wulianghu tribe, then Kuku City was the most magnificent city of the Wulianghu tribe.

Conquering such a city was no easy task, but Yang Mingzhi was not in a hurry.

At this time, Kuku City was crowded with people. Many Hu people from tribes that had been wiped out by the Shenmu soldiers had fled to Kuku City. There were people from many tribes under the rule of the Chici tribe, as well as many people from the Tatar tribe.

Even without counting the Hu people stationed in the Menghe Mountain Pass behind them, the city still had a population of over 300,000.

Yang Mingzhi's initial advantage in conquering the Tatar banner with only two thousand men, which had a population of over one hundred thousand, was a result of his superior strategy. Now, however, Yang Mingzhi is facing a city with a population of three hundred thousand, which is well-prepared to defend itself. It is almost impossible for him to conquer this city as he did before.

However, Kuku City was already in Yang Mingzhi's hands.

From the Tatar tribe to here, and within a hundred miles around, all the tribes have been wiped out by Yang Mingzhi.

In other words, Kuku City has now become an isolated city.

Meanwhile, in Chongshan Town, Han Fei was already leading 30,000 troops on their way, followed by 50,000 new soldiers and over 100,000 laborers.

With the arrival of the main army, the fall of Kuku City was only a matter of time.

The situation in Kuku City is now a foregone conclusion, while the destruction of the Wanggu tribe is also on its last legs.

Although Beiyuan Town did not have many elite troops, it had an army of 60,000. While the Ongud tribe was powerful, it had already diverted a significant number of troops to the Uriyang army's camp.

At this time, the troop strength of both sides was actually about the same, but Beiyuan Town still had many excellent generals.

Even though Song Dashan, Yang Chengze, and others, considering their status as innate martial artists, were not inclined to charge into battle, Beiyuan Town still had many powerful martial artists.

There are quite a few martial artists at the eighth or ninth level of the acquired realm, and there are even two who are half-step into the innate realm.

The presence of these powerful warriors has a significant impact on a major battle.

September 22nd.

One hundred miles south of the territory of the Wanggu tribe, the two armies lined up and faced each other.

Song Dashan was not good at cunning schemes, nor did he have many tricks up his sleeve. Moreover, he preferred to defeat his enemies head-on in a fair and square manner.

The Wanggu tribe also differed from the Tatar tribe. While the Tatar tribe could not accurately grasp the unusual movements in Chongshan Town, the Wanggu tribe was able to accurately grasp the routes of some troop movements in Beiyuan Town.

It wasn't that the Wanggu tribe had planted many spies in Beiyuan Town, but rather that the borders between the Wanggu tribe and Beiyuan Town were intertwined, and both sides had deployed many sentries along the border. Once a large-scale army was mobilized, neither side could hide it from the other.

Before the main force of Beiyuan Town even crossed the border, the Wanggu tribe had already received the news and made preparations to meet the enemy.

The Wanggu tribe had no cities to defend, so they could only engage in open battle with Beiyuan Town, which suited Song Dashan's wishes perfectly.

On the battlefield, a chilling atmosphere filled the air. The combined forces of both sides numbered 130,000, and a fierce battle unfolded on this lush grassland.

The Wanggu tribe had many cavalry, and the Beiyuan Town was no exception.

The two armies engaged in direct combat in the center and front, while the cavalry on the left and right flanks patrolled around, looking for an opportunity to join the battle.

With the booming of war drums, the soldiers of both sides clashed like waves.

In the blink of an eye, a large number of the soldiers at the front fell down.

The Wanggu tribe has its advantages, and Beiyuan Town also has its advantages.

The Wanggu tribe had more cavalry, but Beiyuan Town possessed a large number of crossbows.

The crossbow bolts fell into the enemy ranks like hailstones, piercing through the horses and riders of the Hu cavalry.

At the same time, more than 10,000 Hu cavalry on the left flank charged into the central army formation of Beiyuan Town, where a fierce battle ensued.

"kill!"

The roars rose and fell, and the screams of agony continued.

Corpses fell one by one, and severed limbs were thrown into the air. In a short while, crimson blood stained the lush green grass.

As the battle continued, more and more corpses appeared on the grass, and more and more blood stained it.

Song Dashan stood beneath the banner, holding a telescope, gazing at the battlefield, his resolute face filled with indifference.

Song Dashan may lack adaptability, but he was a qualified general.

It will be a success!

The last thing a general should have is womanly compassion.

It's right to love your soldiers like your own children, but when it comes to fighting to the death, you should also let your own children be at the forefront.

He was a veteran of the battlefield, accustomed to its cruelty, so he didn't show much emotion when he saw the soldiers falling one after another. He simply calmly and composedly directed the battle that followed.

"Issue the order to have the central army's heavy cavalry join the battle!" Song Dashan said in a deep voice.

Then the messenger behind him immediately took out a flag and waved it, followed by a deep horn sound.

The next moment, a heavily armored cavalryman, completely shrouded in iron armor, charged out from the right flank from the rear of the central army and rushed towards the enemy's central formation.

(End of this chapter)