End of Chapter 284

To be honest, everyone still felt that this battle was a bit surreal; it was a complete anticlimax.

Who could have imagined that the Mughals' combat effectiveness would be so pathetic? It could be said that they collapsed at the first blow.

In Zhao Meng's words, the enemy routed before he had even broken a sweat.

After the main armies linked up, Zhao Meng sought out Xue Linfeng.

"Commander, the army still has strength to spare, and the Beiwei Army is about to arrive. Do you think we should..."

Xue Linfeng naturally understood Zhao Meng's meaning and immediately fell silent, lost in thought.

After a moment, he finally made up his mind.

"Pass down the order: the army will rest for five days before beginning the counter-offensive."

Having received an affirmative answer, Zhao Meng and Chen Dao excitedly went down to prepare.

Xue Linfeng, however, could not idle. On one hand, he had to send people to Toungoo to report to Gao Yao, and on the other, he had to send people to urge Xia Luqi and Gao Yang forward.

Most importantly, he had to send someone to ask Gao Yuan for instructions; otherwise, he could not afford the charge of mobilizing troops without authorization.

Hearing that the front line had already achieved a great victory, wiped out the main Mughal force, and captured the Mughal Empire's heir, Humayun, made Gao Yang and Xia Luqi extremely anxious.

After laboriously traveling over a thousand miles, who wouldn't be worried about not even getting a sip of the leftover soup!

On the other side, Xue Linfeng had already commanded the army to begin the counter-offensive.

The Mughals once again proved their pathetic combat effectiveness.

Despite having cities, they chose to leave the fortifications for a field battle while at an absolute numerical disadvantage.

If their combat power were formidable, a field battle might be acceptable, but their fighting strength was terrifyingly low.

While the Mughals defending the city were still slowly arranging their formations, Zhao Meng and Chen Dao charged in with the Cavalry.

They collapsed almost upon contact, and the Xuanjia Army infantry following behind transformed into a prisoner-capturing squad.

It was the same for one city, and the same for two; in less than two months, several prefectures around the Naga Hills were cleared.

This was hard on the auxiliary soldiers and laborers sent by Gao Yao behind them.

To deliver supplies to the soldiers at the front, they traveled day and night, running until their legs grew thin, yet they still couldn't keep up.

By the time Gao Yang and Xia Luqi hurried to the scene, the campaign was basically over.

"Old Xue, this isn't very kind of you. You didn't even leave me a single sip of soup!"

"Hahaha, sorry, my bad, my bad!"

Seeing Xia Luqi's resentful gaze, Xue Linfeng laughed so hard his tonsils were visible. He patted Xia Luqi on the shoulder and pulled him and Gao Yang to the map.

"Look here, Sylhet, Chala, and Sonargaon are all major strongholds;"

"Not only do they have solid city defenses, but they also have large populations, fertile land, and abundant resources;"

"Furthermore, I've heard that these three places are not only guarded by fierce generals but also have over ten thousand garrison troops."

Xia Luqi and Gao Yang exchanged a glance, knowing that this was the choicest meat closest to the bone. Both immediately showed looks of joy.

"Hahaha, I knew you were an honest man, Old Xue, knowing how to look out for your brothers."

Gao Yang also smiled and cupped his fists toward Xue Linfeng.

"Many thanks for Commander Xue's kindness."

Once the two had left, Xue Linfeng finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In truth, he wasn't being humble about the military merits; it was simply that his subordinates had been fighting for several months and were exhausted.

The Mughals' combat effectiveness remained pathetic; the one stationed in Chala was supposedly a member of the Mughal royal family.

Not only was his status noble, but he was also one of the war gods of the entire Indian Peninsula.

However, facing Xia Luqi in a duel, they had only exchanged three rounds before he was run through by a spear and breathed his last.

Seeing their war god slaughtered so easily, the Azha soldiers immediately scattered in a rout.

The soldiers of the Beiwei Army spent all their energy on the pursuit; at this moment, they felt their iron armor was incredibly cumbersome.

The heavy armor hindered their pace, which meant that despite their best efforts, many Azha managed to escape.

"General Gao, don't say it, these kunlun slaves aren't much at fighting, but their escape speed is truly fast."

Gao Yang had been catching prisoners all day and was also panting with exhaustion.

"No wonder my older brother said not to think about incorporating the people here into the army, but to send them directly to the mines."

Xia Luqi glanced at the prisoners and laughed loudly.

"Hahaha, you don't say, you really don't say. These dark-skinned fellows are indeed suitable for mining, but..."

"But what?"

"They're so dark that if they go into a mine shaft, I'm afraid you won't even be able to see them."

"Hahaha!"

At the end of the first month of the second year of the Jianan era, the initial conflict between the Nanyue Kingdom and the Mughal Empire officially ended.

This war was provoked by the Mughal Empire and ultimately concluded with a total victory for the Nanyue Kingdom's counter-attack.

A total of eight prefectures were captured, over sixty thousand enemy troops were beheaded, and the empire's heir Humayun, hundreds of nobles, high officials, and generals, and over a hundred thousand soldiers were taken prisoner.

Upon receiving news of the great victory, Gao Yuan finished celebrating and wrote a letter to arrange the governance of the territory.

Regarding the local men, Gao Yuan didn't want to keep a single one; along with the older women and male children, they were all to be made slaves.

These slaves would be sent to various places to be responsible for heavy and dangerous physical labor such as mining, logging, and tilling the land.

As for those young women who were accustomed to submissiveness and full of exotic charm, they became the bargaining chips to attract immigrants.

As long as one was willing to immigrate, they would not only receive an ox and thirty mu of 'Subsistence Land' but also be allocated two women and a year's worth of rations.

This condition was simply too attractive; for a time, many single young men eagerly signed up.

It should be noted that under Gao Yuan's rule, there was no 'Permanent Property Land'; all cultivated land belonged to the state.

However, the common people could obtain a certain amount of 'Subsistence Land' which they could farm permanently, and their descendants could likewise inherit the right to farm it.

There were only three ways to obtain new Subsistence Land. First was by having children; regardless of gender, one could obtain ten mu of Subsistence Land from the government office.

Second was through land reclamation; the government office would provide rewards in a certain proportion based on the amount of land reclaimed.

Third was through extra rewards like this immigration method.

For all Subsistence Land, only a ten percent land tax was collected annually, with no other additional fees.

Therefore, the common people still placed great importance on the opportunity to obtain Subsistence Land.

Moreover, with oxen being distributed, rations provided, and the problem of being single solved, why wouldn't they do it?

In this way, over two hundred thousand immigrants entered the Indian Peninsula, instantly filling up this newly occupied area.

For the time being, Gao Yuan did not establish new institutions for this land, leaving it all to Gao Yao's management.

Of course, he also gave Gao Yao the quota for one division's establishment, allowing the Pugan Circuit's military strength to expand to a full sixty thousand men.

As for the captured Humayun and the group of nobles and high officials, after more than a month of negotiations between Wu Guiyi and Modi.

The two sides finally reached a prisoner exchange agreement, which was formally executed after being sent to the heads of both countries for signature.

The content was very simple: one high official or noble in exchange for one ox and five young women; Humayun was exchanged for one hundred oxen and five hundred young women.

Watching the long procession of women and oxen being sent into Chala City, Gao Yao and the others looked at each other and smiled.

"Don't say it, this useless prince is actually quite valuable."

"Indeed, if I could, I'd want to catch him a few more times."

"It seems the Lord was right; in Mughal, the status of women is indeed inferior to that of an ox."

"I heard that when Minister Wu wanted a few more oxen, they weren't willing and would rather give a few more women."

"How tragic."

"Tragic indeed. By bringing them over, we are actually giving them a good home."

"Look at how happy those young rascals are. Are they really that desperate for women? They're almost drooling."

"Hahaha, they're all full-blooded young lads after all. Alright, alright, let's go down and distribute the rewards to them."