Zhang Tian acted decisively. Over two hundred captives, save for the one who spoke the Western Regions dialect, were all cleanly executed.
Their bodies were unceremoniously dumped into the woods outside the town.
Presumably, those wolves and tigers would eagerly welcome such a delectable feast!
The troop set off again. Zheng Zaihao, who had guided them previously, was replaced by Wu Guliang and the sole remaining captive.
This matter needed to be thoroughly understood.
This was the biggest variable Fang Er had encountered since arriving in the Great Tang!
The Shiwei had always been inconspicuous, a mere footnote in history. They shared common origins with the Tujue and Khitan.
However, their future impact on the world over several hundred years was immeasurable!
In official histories, after the Tujue and Khitan submitted to the Great Tang, the subordinate Shiwei also pledged allegiance.
But during the internal conflicts of the late Tang dynasty, they gradually lost contact with the Central Plains.
In the late 9th century, the Shiwei's overlord, the Tujue, was defeated by the Uyghurs. A portion of the Shiwei people (the Mengwu, Greater and Lesser Ruzhi Shiwei) were forced to migrate westward.
In their subsequent long-term development, those who migrated west to the Onon River and Burkhan Khaldun mountains, the Mengwu Shiwei people, gradually assimilated and merged. By the Jin dynasty, they formed the powerful Mongolian people who would later establish the Yuan dynasty.
In other words, these were Genghis Khan's ancestors! And now they were about to be wiped clean and prepared for the pot!
Thinking about it, Fang Er felt something was gravely wrong!
Terribly wrong!
There was no record of such an event in history!
The deviation was too significant. Even if Fang Er had caused a butterfly effect in the Great Tang, directly impacting Eastern Europe was utterly unbelievable!
The journey encountered an unexpected turn. The army did not carry enough provisions.
Therefore, the days that followed involved half marching and half hunting, with the animals in the dense forest suffering the consequences.
Thus, they continued their journey, stopping and starting. Three days later, they flattened another town, eliminating five hundred Slavs and rescuing two hundred Shiwei women.
As for why there were no men, one only had to look at the piles of white bones outside the town.
This fueled Fang Er's anger, which grew with each passing town. After pushing through several more towns and rescuing over a thousand Shiwei women, a mountain appeared ahead.
After traveling a bit further, they discovered a small city nestled on the mountainside.
A reconnaissance balloon ascended, and Zhang Tian reported via walkie-talkie that the city housed no less than ten thousand people.
The troop continued their advance.
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, gazing up at the small city on the slope, a cold smile touched Fang Er's lips.
"Prepare the mortars!"
"Yes, sir!"
Instantly, artillerymen from each company stepped forward, carrying wooden crates containing mortars, forming an artillery battery in front of the troop.
"Report! Mortars are ready, awaiting orders!"
The Deputy Regiment Commander Luo Ben approached Fang Er to report after the artillerymen from each company and platoon were prepared.
"Target: outside the city. All artillery, one salvo!"
"Yes, sir!"
Luo Ben, having received the order, returned to the artillery battery and repeated the command.
"Target: outside the city. All artillery, one salvo!"
"Prepare!"
"Prepared!"
"Fire!"
"Yes, sir! Fire!"
*Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!*
Dozens of shells landed accurately twenty to thirty meters outside the city and then detonated fiercely.
Such unobstructed targets presented no challenge whatsoever to the artillerymen who spent their days practicing with mortars.
Under the concentrated bombardment, the city walls near the impact points seemed to tremble precariously.
The Slavic soldiers on the ramparts, with their fair skin and blond hair, were terrified to the point of nearly soiling themselves. It was too horrifying!
They fled the ramparts instantly. Due to their sheer numbers, some even disregarded the height of the wall and leaped into the city.
Within the small city, in a house near the mountain, emerged a burly man clad in chainmail, standing over two meters tall, wielding a massive axe.
With bulging bull-like eyes, he inquired of the guards at the entrance, "What was that thunderous noise?"
"General, it came from outside the city!" replied the guard, clutching his chest with one hand.
Just then, a soldier who had fled the ramparts arrived to report.
"General, an army of unknown origin has appeared outside the city!"
"They hurled explosive devices that shook the city walls from dozens of paces away. It's terrifying!"
The general in chainmail was startled, perhaps recalling a dreadful scene. He seized the reporting soldier.
"What did you say? Shook the city walls from dozens of paces away?"
"Reporting, General, I dared not lie! It is indeed so!"
The soldier, his feet not touching the ground, dared not struggle, once again confirming the truth of his words.
The general tossed him aside and shouted to his soldiers, "Assemble the army! Accompany me to the ramparts to observe the enemy!"
With that pronouncement, the general strode directly towards the city wall.
The short journey of a few hundred meters left him sweating profusely.
Not from exertion, but from fear.
It was precisely this terrifying spectacle that had driven him to flee his distant homeland to this place, only to find that the natives here possessed similarly demonic weapons!
He walked deliberately slowly, dreading the confirmation of his fears.
By the time he reached the city wall, his subordinate leaders had already arrived in response to the summons.
"General!"
"General!"
Dozens of officers saluted him.
"Descend, observe the enemy!"
"Yes, sir!"
The general ascended the ramparts with his officers.
Fang Er had only ordered a single salvo from each mortar as a warning, hoping the people within the city would be sensible enough to surrender willingly.
It was not due to any softheartedness on his part.
Firstly, he was uncertain if there were any innocent Buyeo or Shiwei civilians in the city.
Secondly, Fang Er was keen to understand what had transpired in distant Eastern Europe to compel these people to flee such vast distances to this location!
After all, according to the map, further east from here lay the Northern Sea!
The general and Fang Er exchanged glances across the distance. He could not see Fang Er clearly, but Fang Er, through his telescope, had instantly identified him.
This burly fellow must be the leader of the city.
"Zhang Tian, shoot the axe from that strongman's hand!"
"Yes, sir!"
Zhang Tian, in the balloon, heard the command through the walkie-talkie and excitedly raised his Yun II model. Through the scope, he located the general on the city wall.
After all, the man's physique was equivalent to two ordinary men.
Since the Duke had mentioned a strongman holding a giant axe, it had to be him!
The Slavic general was completely unaware that someone above was aiming at him.
Following a sudden sharp crack, he felt a forceful impact on his right hand. Staggering, he was steadied by his subordinates.
However, the intense pain caused his grip to loosen, and the giant axe slipped from his hand.
*Crash!*
It struck the ground directly, even cracking a stone on the rampart, testament to the axe's considerable weight.
Only then did the searing pain transmit from his nerves to his brain.
"Arrrgh~!"
A scream erupted from the general's throat. Instinctively, he raised his right hand, only to see his missing thumb, eliciting another cry of agony.
"Suka blyat~!"