In the Heavens

The howling cold wind blew across the prairie, yellowing the green grass and the hearts of the Wala people.

Everything was as Li Mu expected, and the "black disaster" came as scheduled this winter. Since the beginning of winter, there has been no rain on the grassland.

The Altai Mountains, which were supposed to be covered with ice and snow, are now withered and yellow, with no sign of ice and snow to be seen.

The water levels of Uvsu Lake, Khuvsgul Lake, Kyrgyz Lake, and Halawusu Lake in Oala have all dropped significantly, and some small lakes have even dried up directly.

Even the Selenge River, the Orkhon River, the Kherlen River, the Kobdo River...the current flow has shrunk significantly.

Due to the lack of water, the pastures have become thinner, and the animals have been forced to lose weight. Epidemics are prevalent, sows are aborting, and disaster is spreading across the prairie.

The Vala Royal Court, which occupies a land with lush water and grass, is okay, and it can still support it at last. This is not the case in remote areas. In order to reduce water consumption, many tribes are forced to slaughter livestock.

Livestock is an important means of production to maintain the livelihood of herdsmen. In normal times, people are reluctant to kill and eat meat.

Except for the rich and powerful who can eat meat every day, the livestock in the hands of ordinary herdsmen are sold for salt, grain, tea, cloth...

Regardless of the fact that everyone raises a lot of livestock, in fact, only milk, goat milk, and mare milk belong to them, and some wild vegetables can be dug for a meal.

If you can add some fried rice, fried noodles, and a bowl of broth, it will be a fairy day.

"The sky is blue, the wild is vast, and the wind blows the sand to make me charming!"

A large number of livestock were slaughtered, and the entire grassland became silent. Herdsmen, who have overdrawn a large amount of survival resources, have to go out and grab them if they want to survive.

...

In the Royal Court of Oara, Ashi Timur Khan, who listened to the constant complaints of his younger brothers, also felt the pressure now.

It's not easy to be a Khan in the grassland, loyalty is worthless here, and the law of the jungle is followed.

For example, right now, because of problems with water sources and pastures, the grasslands have been turned upside down. Countless tribes disappear every day due to competition for pastures.

Ashi Timur didn't care about the disputes among the small tribes, but now the big tribes are following suit.

If no action is taken, there may be a new round of tribal annexation wars at some point. Then the victor will challenge the royal court, or the royal court will take the first shot to kill the potential threat.

Seeing that everyone was arguing endlessly, Ah Shi Timur profusely reprimanded: "Enough, if you think quarreling can solve the problem, then go out and argue slowly!

The once-in-a-century black disaster has come, and now we only need to discuss one issue: go north, go west, or go south.

I don't want to hear anything that has nothing to do with it.

As long as this problem is solved, the plundered loot is far more valuable than what you are fighting for now! "

Grassland Jungle Law 1: Lack of food - go out and grab it.

Law of the Grassland Jungle 2: To ease internal conflicts - go out and grab.

Law of the Prairie Jungle Three: Lack of things - go out and grab them.

...

In a word, no matter what the problem is, it can be solved by going out and robbing.

If you still can't solve the problem, it must be that you haven't grabbed enough, and it will be fine if you grab a few more times.

Believe it or not, Ashi Timur Khan is a staunch supporter of the law of the grassland and jungle. It was with the help of the law of the jungle that he was able to gain everyone's support and become Oara Khan.

It's just that he has always bullied the weak chickens in the west. With the continuous expansion of Wala, the weak chickens have been eaten up, and now they have become entangled.

To the north of Oara is the Shibier Khanate, a country that is poorer than Oara, and it is also plagued by black disasters.

Such a poor ghost is obviously not a good target for robbery. Even if the Subier Khanate was destroyed, Oara would not be able to raise enough supplies.

To the west is the Kazakh Khanate, which seems to be a little richer than Wala, but this neighbor is not easy to mess with at all.

The sphere of influence extends to the Irtysh River in the east, the Ishm River, Turgai Prefecture, and Omsk in the north, the Caspian Sea in the west, and the Syr Darya River in the south. Ding's population is no less than one million, and he has three hundred thousand soldiers.

We are all nomads, and we all follow the same law of the jungle. If you go to rob the Kazakh Khanate, it will be the decisive battle of the steppe cavalry.

In the past years, the two sides have not had less contests, but the ending is a bit touching. Everyone declares that they are the winners, but they don't see the real gains.

Before the start of the fight, no one can guarantee that they will win. What's even more tragic is that even if you win, you may not be able to gain enough.

After all, what the grassland people are best at is not fighting, but running. When encountering an enemy that can't be done, just move the tent and run away.

To the south are the Eastern Chagatai Khanate and the Ming Dynasty. You can tell from the name that the Eastern Chagatai Khanate is not a soft persimmon.

As one of the four great Khanates of Mongolia in the past, the territory of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate started from Hami in the east and connected with the Ming Dynasty, reached Balkhash in the west to Fergana, stretched from the Irtysh River in the north to the Karakorum Mountains in the south .

The most important thing is that the Eastern Chagatai Khanate is the old opponent of Oala. In the past less than a hundred years, the two sides have fought more than 60 times.

From the fact that both countries live very freely, it can be proved that no one can do anything about the other's battle. Don't count on loot, after all, no one is rich these days.

It seems that the best choice is the Ming Dynasty. After all, they are the only ones who are a little richer among the surrounding neighbors. If they grab a few cities at will, they can live a good year.

The only problem is that Daming is not easy to mess with. A few years ago when he went south, he bumped into an iron plate, and Wala still has lingering fears.

Especially a few days ago, the Huashan faction made a fuss on the grassland, which made the upper echelons of Wala even more frightened.

Daming's official army is nothing more than that, even if they are defeated, they can still escape. But when you meet a martial arts master who doesn't play by the rules, you will really kill yourself.

According to the information in everyone's hands, no one who collided with the Huashan faction and a group of people escaped unscathed.

Even if they turned around and ran away immediately, only ordinary cavalry could escape, and all the high-level tribesmen and commanders were separated from their bodies.

It is not that there are no martial arts masters on the grassland, but there is no one who can face the innate master.

According to the information obtained by everyone, when they met that pervert from the Huashan School, there was almost no difference between a martial arts master and an ordinary person. Anyway, they all died with one sword.

In Wala's eyes, Li Mu is already the embodiment of the "God of Killing". In case the "God of Killing" Qin Wang assassinates him, the army may not be safe.

"Go south, sweat!"

A young tribal leader on the lower right seemed to be unable to hold his breath, and spoke first.

"The things we need can only be found in Daming. No matter how dangerous the road to the south is, I must go there.

If you are worried about the risk, then take the tribes in the east to go south together. When necessary, we can also join forces with other Khanates.

This black disaster has spread to the entire grassland, and everyone has suffered heavy losses. If you don't want to see a large number of tribesmen starve to death, the only way is to go south. "

...

It is not only the Wala people who are eyeing the Ming Dynasty, the entire grassland is not peaceful due to natural disasters. The prairie tribes that were originally attached to Ming Dynasty also asked Emperor Shenwu for help.

According to the past practice, if the request for help is not satisfied, then going south to the Grass Valley has become an inevitable choice.

Friendship, loyalty, and reputation are all worthless in front of survival. No one can stop everyone's desire to survive.

Rescue is impossible. The local calamity has not been overcome, no matter how generous the Ming court is, it is impossible to send supplies to the grassland people at this juncture.

Ever since he heard the news of the black disaster breaking out in the grassland, Emperor Shenwu, who had enough "sense of war", ordered preparations for war early.

The smoke of gunpowder has begun to fill the air, and the situation inside and outside the Great Wall has become tense. Now there is only one fuse missing, and the flames of war will be ignited.

...

Not caring about major affairs in the world, now Li Mu plunged headlong into the pit of immigration. Although the Huashan School has rich immigration experience, the number of people who migrated each year in the past was only 8,000.

Now if you gather them casually, there are more than 10,000 people. Fleeing the whole village and fleeing the whole family is normal in this clan era.

Natural disasters continue in the Northwest, and everyone's family has been emptied long ago. It is only because of the incomparable nostalgia for my hometown that I hold on to a glimmer of hope that the coming year will be smooth and rainy, and I barely support it.

In order to survive, all parts of the Northwest even spontaneously restricted the population. The younger generation reduced the production of human beings, and the old and the weak took the initiative to seek death in order to reduce the consumption of rations.

But in the end, it was defeated by reality. This earthquake became the last straw that broke the camel's camel, forcing everyone to embark on the road to survival.

Looking at the statistical data in his hands, Li Mu's heart was very heavy. Refugees gathered from all directions are basically young and strong, and there are very few old, weak and young children.

Although fleeing famine in a calamity year, those who can survive are young and strong, but the road to fleeing famine has just begun, who will abandon their family members before the critical moment?

Even if the power of the individual is small, but the one who fled with the family, it can't be so miserable, right?

Li Mu no longer wants to know the story behind it, nor does he dare to know it. Human nature is terrible, he is not willing to learn.

As soon as he came down from Chaoyang Peak, he heard Wang Buyao shout: "Master, I just received the news that the Tartars have started attacking the border!"

Although the Hu people's invasion is not as simple as a routine, but there will always be such a wave every now and then. On average, the Ming Dynasty is harassed by grassland tribes dozens of times a year.

Of course, such frequencies are distributed across the vast territory of Ming Dynasty, and when it comes to a specific border node, it usually only takes a few years.

If you are lucky, it is possible for Taiping to last for decades. If you are unlucky, it is not uncommon to be harassed several times a year.

Worthy of Wang Buyao's yelling, it is obvious that this time the Tartar Kou Bian is out of the ordinary, which makes him, the intelligence elder of the Huashan faction, moved.

Li Mu asked with concern: "Where did the Tartars launch their attack? Which grassland forces participated? How many troops?"

After taking a breath, Wang Buyao said in a deep voice: "According to the information we have collected, almost all the grassland tribes adjacent to Daming are involved.

Even if a few companies did not participate, I am afraid that they will join the invading army before long.

It is preliminarily inferred that it should be related to the grassland black disaster. Since the beginning of winter this year, there has been no rain in most areas of the grassland.

If something unexpected happens, most of the tribes on the grassland will choose to go south in the end.

The major forces that have already sent troops include: Tatan, Oala, and the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, and perhaps the Jurchens in the east will also join.

With the power of the imperial court, it may not be able to withstand it. If the Northwest Seven Guards fall, we will have to fight the Eastern Chagatai Khanate in advance. "

"Strike first to be strong, and then to suffer."

Li Mu was not surprised by this result. Emperor Shenwu issued a conquest order, and the friendship between neighbors naturally ceased to exist.

Even without this black disaster, I am afraid that war would still be unavoidable. It is nothing more than the outbreak time, which will be pushed back a few months.

Even so, Li Mu was still very dissatisfied. He hadn't even gone out to find the bad luck of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, but they closed the door first.

Looting the Northwest?

Frankly speaking, Li Mu is very suspicious that the top leaders of the East Chagatai Khanate have had their brains flooded, or that they intend to kill people with a knife.

Looking at the refugees gathered in Guanzhong, one can see how miserable the northwest region is now. Everyone was so poor, and someone came to snatch it, it was simply not letting people live.

Rabbits will bite people when they are in a hurry, not to mention the tough folk customs of the Great Northwest. As long as someone raises their arms, the complex situation in the Northwest is a natural meat grinder.

The most important thing is that the Eastern Chagatai Khanate didn't even inquire about who is in charge in the northwest region, and it is clear that he, the town of Beigong, is not in the eyes of him.

Looking in the direction of the Central Plains, Li Mu said calmly: "Don't worry too much, the northwest region has long been corrupted, no matter how bad the situation is, it won't be too bad.

The frontier army is not just paper. It may not be possible to go out to fight in the field, but it can last for a while if it is guarded by the city.

Now there is less than a month left before the martial arts conference is held. At that time, masters from various factions will gather, just in time for the Great Northwest Defense War.

If the main force of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate can be retained with the help of the power of the Middle Earth Martial Arts, the next Western Expedition will be easy to fight. "

It is better to come early than to come early. Just in time to launch the invasion at the time of the martial arts conference, Li Mu didn't know how to describe the god luck of the East Chagatai Khanate.

Unless they can get together and stay still, once the prairie army divides up and plunders, they are sending themselves to a point of no return.

Maybe a hundred first-class fighters are no match for 10,000 cavalry in the front; but a first-class fighter can definitely kill a hundred grassland cavalry with ease.

Armored cavalry can still struggle a bit. If they don't have armor on their bodies, they can take away several people in one face-to-face in front of the masters of the rivers and lakes.

When encountering a master who is good at using poison and concealed weapons, dozens of people may have fallen down without even seeing anyone.

If there are tens of thousands of people in the martial arts world, they can survive the tossing of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, and everyone doesn't have to mess around in the rivers and lakes.

...