Bo'erzhijin Elinchen slammed the table, fury erupting from him like fire.
"Wushen—what outrageous nerve!"
At once, his personal guards and the tribal chieftains who supported him stood up in unison, stepping forward, hands hovering near their weapons, the air sharp with the promise of violence.
Yet what truly caught his breath—
Behind the Wushen tribe leader, the chieftains of Otok, Bersut, Dalat, Hangjin, and a large number of smaller tribes also rose. Without hesitation, they stepped forward as one, forming a wall in front of the Wushen tribe leader.
In that single instant, the balance of power in the council hall flipped on its head.
Bo'erzhijin Elinchen's face darkened.
"You—!"
None of the opposing chieftains spoke. They merely rested their hands on their sword hilts, eyes steady, posture unmistakably clear.
The Wushen tribe leader threw his head back and laughed loudly.
"My Wushen tribe refuses to surrender to the Later Jin. What are the Later Jin, really? A pack of Manchu barbarians! And what are we? The proud descendants of Genghis Khan himself! How could we ever bow our heads to barbarians?"
His voice thundered through the hall.
"We should follow the old path—trade with the Han, ally with the Han, and together crush those Manchu barbarians!"
The chieftains behind him echoed in unison, voices overlapping.
"The Wushen tribe leader speaks the truth! The Han are rich—only by trading with them can we survive! Following barbarians leads nowhere!"
Bo'erzhijin Elinchen's rage burned hotter.
"The Han are weak! They can't defeat the Later Jin. Sooner or later, they'll be wiped out! If we side with the Han now, we'll be buried alongside them!"
The Wushen tribe leader sneered coldly.
"The Han are weak? Are you certain you're not mistaken?"
He gestured casually behind him.
"Ask these brothers of mine—who among them truly believes the Han are weak?"
A wave of awkward silence rippled through the chieftains.
Not long ago, every one of them had been thoroughly "educated" by Zao Ying's cavalry. The memory was still fresh—too fresh. To call the Han weak now would be to admit their own utter humiliation.
The Otok chieftain stepped forward first.
"Whoever dares say the Han are weak, I'll be the first to oppose him! The Han are absolutely stronger than the Manchu."
The Bersut chieftain followed immediately.
"In this world, no one is stronger than the Han. Against the Later Jin, we can still struggle. Against the Han—there isn't even room to fight back."
Bo'erzhijin Elinchen roared, veins bulging.
"Have all of you lost your minds?!"
The chieftains looked at him with expressions that were… strange. Almost pitying.
The Wushen tribe leader snorted.
"In any case, we will never agree to surrender to the Later Jin. Bo'erzhijin Elinchen—if you insist on going down that road, don't expect us to show you any courtesy."
Bo'erzhijin Elinchen laughed harshly.
"Fine! Fine! Fine! So you're rebelling now? If I'm afraid of you, then I'm no true descendant of Genghis Khan!"
The Wushen tribe leader's eyes flashed.
"Good. Then we'll settle this on horseback."
He turned and bellowed,
"Let's go!"
At once, a large group of chieftains followed him, turning their backs on the council hall and striding out without hesitation.
From behind them, Bo'erzhijin Elinchen roared,
"Come back! All of you—come back!"
No one turned around.
The wolf pack had already chosen its alpha. And it was no longer Bo'erzhijin Elinchen.
In a single day, the Ordos tribe split cleanly into two massive factions.
One gathered beneath Bo'erzhijin Elinchen's banner.
The other rallied around the Wushen tribe leader.
Both sides understood perfectly—
A great war was now unavoidable.
At the Cavalry Battalion's training grounds.
A group of "reserve cavalrymen" stood on the sidelines, watching the veteran riders thunder back and forth across the field, hooves pounding, banners snapping in the wind. Their eyes burned with naked envy.
These so-called reserve cavalrymen were not new recruits.
They had been with the Cavalry Battalion for a long time already. The problem was simple—Gao Family Village lacked horses. There were never enough warhorses to go around.
During training, they could only borrow the veterans' mounts to practice riding, reloading flintlock rifles, and firing from horseback.
"It's torture, not having a horse," one reserve cavalryman muttered. "At this rate, maybe we'll only see battle after the veterans retire."
Another lowered his voice.
"If someone gets wounded… or killed… maybe then—"
Before he could finish, he slapped himself hard.
Smack.
"I was wrong," he said solemnly. "I shouldn't even think such things."
The reserve cavalrymen nearby exchanged looks, sighed, and then—
Smack. Smack. Smack.
They all slapped themselves.
That thought had crossed their minds too. Each slap was deserved.
"Not bad," a voice suddenly spoke from the chest of the first man—the Cotton-Thread Dao Xuan Tianzun. "At least you knew to punish yourselves."
The reserve cavalrymen jumped in fright.
"Ah—greetings, Dao Xuan Tianzun!"
The Cotton-Thread Dao Xuan Tianzun chuckled softly.
"It's normal for humans to have dark, selfish thoughts from time to time. As long as you don't act on them, don't put them into practice, you can still be considered good people—and forgiven."
The men flushed red, embarrassment written all over their faces.
The Cotton-Thread Dao Xuan Tianzun continued,
"Don't worry. A batch of new warhorses will arrive very soon."
Everyone's eyes lit up.
"Really?!"
"They'll be here any moment now."
Almost the instant those words fell, a cavalry troop appeared on the southern official road in the distance. At their head rode none other than Tie Niaofei.
Before even reaching the camp gate, he waved enthusiastically from afar, laughter booming.
"Instructor Zao! Zheng Daniu! Long time no see!"
Zao Ying and Zheng Daniu, who had been awkwardly chatting atop the camp wall, broke into wide grins.
"Steward Tie! It really has been a long time!"
The three were old friends—companions from their days transporting supplies through Shanxi to the border armies of Xuanfu and Datong, and from their pursuit of the Eight Great Jin Merchants.
But after Dao Xuan Tianzun turned his gaze toward the Mongolian grasslands and relocated the Cavalry Battalion from Shanxi back to Wangjia Fork Fortress in northern Shaanxi, they had been separated.
Reuniting now filled them with unrestrained joy.
Zao Ying laughed loudly.
"Steward Tie, what brings you to northern Shaanxi?"
Tie Niaofei laughed just as hard.
"Delivering goods, of course! What else could I be doing for Dao Xuan Tianzun besides that? This time, I've brought warhorses seized from those Manchu dogs during the defense of Xuanfu and Datong."
Zao Ying's eyes lit up instantly.
Gao Family Village desperately needed warhorses. This was truly joyous news.
"Hahaha!" she laughed. "Now my reserve cavalrymen finally get mounts of their own!"
Tie Niaofei smiled.
"Once I hand them over, I'll head back to Shanxi. I still need to keep supplying Xuanfu and Datong. Those border armies are miserable—the imperial court ignores them completely. Without supplies, they won't survive the winter. Rebellion would be their only choice."
Zao Ying let out a long sigh.
"I finally understand Lao Nanfeng."
Tie Niaofei burst out laughing.
"That guy doesn't need anyone's understanding. All he cares about is what song-and-dance performance is on tonight at the Puzhou Grand Theater, how many beauties are dancing, and whether any of them will show off a slim waist while swaying around."
Zao Ying froze for a moment—then laughed so hard her shoulders shook.
"You're absolutely right. That's exactly how he is. Hahahaha!"