The Skyfire Army, numbering over ten thousand men, marched rapidly towards the Qikou Pass.
In just one day, they caught up to the Abac, Heyijike, and Molle tribes, who had fallen behind.
They had originally thought that the Tang army would stop after capturing Jieli. They never expected them to not only stop but to catch up so quickly!
Upon seeing the three-wheeled carts being pulled along with chains, both Heyijike and Molle made an instant decision.
Surrender!
Damn it, if they didn't surrender soon, all the women in their tribes would likely become widows!
Abac was no longer capable of speaking. His wound continued to bleed, and the previous night, he had reluctantly cauterized it with a red-hot steel knife.
The pain had made him howl all night, and he was still being carried now.
Heyijike and Molle halted their advancing forces, raised their tribes' wolf banners, and turned their horses to charge towards the Skyfire Army.
"Dong 1-0, Dong 1-0, Flying Two reporting, there are people approaching ahead, over!"
Fang Er received the report from the air cavalry via walkie-talkie.
"Pass down the order, halt the advance."
After the troops stopped, Fang Er opened the armored vehicle door and stepped out. Su Feng carried a small stool out of the carriage for Fang Er to sit on.
Heyijike and Molle were stopped about a hundred meters from the Skyfire Army by Pillar.
"Halt! Who goes there!"
The two men dismounted from their warhorses.
"We are the leaders of the Bayan and Heyi tribes, two of the eighteen tribes of the grasslands.
Please inform the General, we wish to surrender and request you cease hostilities."
"This is a small token of our respect, please accept it, General."
As they spoke, the two men each took a piece of gold from their chests and tried to press it into Pillar's hand.
Pillar weighed the gold chunks in his hand and said disdainfully, "Wait!"
After uttering those two words, he turned and walked towards Fang Er.
"Marquis, these two fellows are the leaders of the Bayan and Heyi tribes, they say they've come to surrender.
This is their bribe for me.
Pillar said, handing the gold chunks in his hand to Fang Er.
"Keep it if I give it to you. Your Marquis doesn't think much of this small amount!"
"Bring them over."
"Yes, Marquis."
Before long, the two men walked over with Pillar. Along the way, Pillar briefly informed them of Fang Er's official position.
Upon seeing Fang Er's appearance, the two men couldn't help but be stunned. Such a young Marquis!
After recovering from their surprise, they immediately knelt on the ground.
"Leader of the Bayan tribe, Molle."
"Leader of the Heyi tribe, Heyijike."
"We pay our respects to the Marquis of Liaodong!"
"Our tribes wish to surrender to the Great Tang, we beg the Marquis to take us in!"
"Oh? You attack when you wish, and surrender when you wish? Where does that leave the Great Tang's honor?"
Fang Er said with a cold smile, looking at them.
Molle quickly replied, "Please, Marquis of Liaodong, calm your anger. Those actions were all instigated by Jieli. We were forced into them."
"We beg the Marquis, for the sake of our sincere submission, to spare the lives of our people."
"Tsk tsk tsk! You wish to submit? Very well, but this Marquis has three conditions."
Fang Er lit a "Red Flag Canal" cigarette and blew out a smoke ring, his expression playful.
"Please, Marquis, state your conditions. We will certainly comply!"
Heyijike and Molle nodded repeatedly.
"No rush, no rush. It's not too late to speak after hearing the conditions!"
"First, all members of your two tribes who have shed the blood of Great Tang citizens shall be executed! Do not attempt to deceive me!
Otherwise, if this Marquis discovers it later, I shall ensure that not a single soul from your tribes is spared, not even the chickens and dogs!"
"Second, you shall compensate the Great Tang for the military expenses incurred during this campaign, totaling fifty thousand taels of silver and one hundred thousand piculs of grain!
This Marquis knows that your grain supplies are not abundant. One sheep will be calculated as one picul of grain, a cow as three piculs, and a horse as five piculs.
"Third, upon submitting to the Great Tang, you become subjects, and shall pay tribute annually, ten thousand sheep, and three thousand cattle and horses each."
Fang Er spoke with ease.
Yet, the two men were already sweating profusely.
A slight breeze blew, feeling cool.
"Marquis, this, this, this is simply too much! Could we perhaps have a little less?"
Molle, gathering his courage, looked up and asked.
Heyijike also chimed in.
"Marquis, even if you were to kill all of our two tribes, we wouldn't have this many cattle and sheep!"
"Hmm? Are you that poor?"
Fang Er scratched the back of his head. Did he not ask for much?
Were they not saying, "Chiluo Plain, beneath Yinshan Mountain, where the wind blows and grass lowers to reveal cattle and sheep"?
"In that case, regarding the compensation, this Marquis can make a concession. You may repay it in installments: fifty percent, thirty percent, twenty percent over three years.
Furthermore, the grasslands are vast. If you do not have it, do other tribes have it?"
As Fang Er spoke, he gestured in various directions across the grasslands.
"If you fulfill these three conditions, this Marquis guarantees that your two tribes will live in peace from now on!"
Molle's eyes darted around.
"Then, Marquis, what if someone attacks our tribes?"
"This Marquis will lead men to settle the score for you!"
"Then, Marquis, what if I lead men to attack others, and we are defeated?"
"This Marquis will still lead men to settle the score for you!"
"I surrender! Let alone these three conditions, even if there were three more, I would agree!"
Molle bowed down to the ground and kowtowed three times.
Damn that Jieli! If he could have even half of what the Marquis of Liaodong described, we wouldn't have abandoned him like this!
Listen to what he said! Whether we are attacking or being attacked, he'll stand up for us. This is better than a father!
Thinking of this, Molle's eyes even welled up with tears.
Damn it, why didn't I surrender to the Great Tang sooner!
Heyijike also understood the meaning behind Fang Er's words.
"I surrender too! I'll go find those who shed the blood of our Great Tang citizens right away!"
Fang Er blinked in surprise.
"Whoa, so I've become a citizen of the Great Tang just like that?"
ps: Third update.