The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 177 The Demise of the Naiman, the Dire Situation of the Sun Khan

"kill!"

The troops of the First Town of Jinzhou surged forward, like an impregnable fortress.

When they charged close to the Naiman soldiers, the front-line cavalrymen shouted in unison and accurately stabbed at the Naiman soldiers' throats and chests.

Screams rose and fell, and the Naiman soldiers fell like waves of wheat, their blood instantly staining the earth red.

Although the soldiers of the First Town suffered losses, their thick cotton armor protected them from most of the damage.

Subsequently, more and more Jinzhou soldiers charged into the Naiman soldiers' lines, and wherever they went, the enemy fell from their horses.

The screams of the Naiman people rose and fell.

As a centurion of the Second Ten Thousand Households Office of the First Town, Wei Xuan took the lead, charging left and right through the enemy lines, his spear cleaving open the heads of several Naiman soldiers one after another.

Blood splattered all over his yellow armor, making him look like a ferocious demon.

“Baihu, the barbarians are trying to escape!” a captain shouted.

In a short time, Wei Xuan's centurion army, like a hammer, pierced through most of the Naiman army's lines, leaving behind a field of corpses.

The surrounding Naiman people, seeing this terrifying sight, were already filled with fear and began to retreat in fear of battle.

Seeing this, Wei Xuan completely ignored the ordinary soldiers who had been terrified, and instead looked at a large flag in the distance.

"Brothers, follow me to capture Buyilu Heihan alive and achieve unparalleled feats."

"kill!"

Wei Xuan, covered in blood, brandished his blood-soaked spear and roared as he pointed it forward.

"Capture Bu Yilu Heihan alive!"

Behind them, numerous Yellow Armor soldiers roared and charged toward the direction where Buyiruhei Khan was.

"Great Khan, the Liao dogs are too powerful, we can't stop them."

"Great Khan, retreat quickly! Our brothers have suffered heavy casualties; if we don't leave now, it will be too late."

"The Jinzhou cavalry are coming."

Amidst the chaos of the army, Buyiluheihan, his face pale and purplish, his eyes wide open, roared angrily, "Don't retreat! Hold them off!"

I thought the Naiman cavalry was invincible on the grasslands, but I didn't expect the Jinzhou cavalry to be even more valiant.

Although the two sides were roughly equal in strength, almost all of the Jinzhou army soldiers were clad in armor, making them virtually immune to fatal damage from ordinary attacks.

Moreover, the weapons of the Jinzhou army were sharper and could easily pierce the leather armor of the Naiman people.

Most importantly, the soldiers of the Golden State Army cooperated more closely, often in groups of two or three, working together and supporting each other.

Some blocked the attack, some tripped the horses, some thrust their spears straight at the enemy, and some used hooks and sickles to pull the enemy off their horses.

These soldiers all live in one place and undergo targeted training on a regular basis, which is also a strict requirement that Li Xiao imposes on each centurion's office.

Therefore, in terms of both weaponry and tactics, the Jinzhou soldiers completely overwhelmed the Naiman.

But the arrogant Bu Yiluhei Khan could not accept the reality before him and was still shouting that he wanted to regroup.

"Great Khan, look! The Jinzhou army is really coming!"

At this moment, a general shouted in terror, and Buyiluheihan's face froze for a second.

Turning his head, he was horrified to find that a Jinzhou army of over a hundred men had broken through the Naiman soldiers' blockade and were charging towards him.

Wherever they went, the Naiman soldiers fell off their horses, and some didn't even have the courage to fight them, turning around and running away.

As a result, this Jinzhou army was approaching him at an extremely fast pace.

Moreover, several other armies were fiercely attacking from both flanks of this Jinzhou army.

"Useless, a complete bunch of useless trash."

"Quickly, stop them!"

“Anyone who dares to run away, I will kill their whole family.”

Bu Yilu Heihan screamed in terror, his voice cracking.

However, it was all in vain. In the chaos of the battlefield, the soldiers, filled with fear, thought only of saving their lives.

Who would recognize him?
"Great Khan, we can't hold them off any longer."

"move!"

Under the earnest persuasion of his generals, Buyiruq Khan had no choice but to turn around and flee.

Seeing a group of cavalry fleeing under a Naiman banner, Wei Xuan immediately shouted, "The man in iron armor and wearing a tiger-skin hat is none other than Yiluhei Khan."

"Grab him!"

At that moment, Wei Xuan led his men to break through the Naiman's lines and pursue the fleeing Buyiluhei Khan.

As Buyirukhan fled, the Naiman banner fell heavily to the ground, and the soldiers completely lost their will to fight.

Shortly after, Wei Xuan returned with his men.

"Reporting to the Grand Commander, the enemy chieftain has been captured by my men."

Wei Xuan approached Li Xiao, dismounted, and said excitedly.

At this moment, he was covered in blood, and his yellow cotton armor had turned crimson, soaking wet as if it had been soaked in blood.

As he spoke, he ordered his men to bring Bu Yilu Heihan up.

"Your Majesty!"

Two Jinzhou soldiers kicked Buyilu Heihan hard in the knees, forcing him to kneel in front of Li Xiao.

"utterly disheveled" best describes the state of Bu Yiluhei Khan at this moment.

His clothes were filthy, as if he had rolled in a mud pit, and the tiger-skin hat that symbolized his majesty had fallen off somewhere.

His face was covered in bruises, and blood was still flowing from the corner of his mouth; he had clearly been severely punished.

Li Xiao slowly spurred his warhorse to stand before him, examined him closely, and shook his head slightly: "So, you are Bu Yilu Heihan?"

"I thought he was someone extraordinary, but it turns out he's nothing special."

How dare someone like him ask Xiao Simo to marry Xiao Yanyan?
At this moment, Buyiluheihan looked at Li Xiao, his heart filled with shock and disbelief.

Is this Li Xiao, the Grand Commander of Jinzhou?

Wearing a full set of yellow cotton armor with red trim, and a thick neck brace around her neck.

His cheeks were also covered by cloth armor, but Li Xiao's face was still clearly visible.

They are far too young.

Bu Yiluheihan never expected that he would be so thoroughly defeated by such a young upstart.
I was unwilling to accept it, and felt extremely frustrated.

But history is written by the victors and the vanquished by the vanquished. He couldn't understand what Li Xiao was saying, but he could understand the meaning of "a wise man submits to circumstances."

He immediately admitted defeat, bowing his head and saying, "In the presence of the Grand Commander of Jinzhou, I, Toqto'a Boluo, the Khan of the Naiman tribe, am willing to lead my tribe to submit to the Great Liao Kingdom."

Hearing the translation, Li Xiao laughed and said calmly, "What are you? You dare to submit?"

"Kill him!"

"Pickle the head and send it to the Eastern Capital."

The translator did not translate the order to Bu Yiruq Khan, but he understood something from the murderous expressions on the faces of the surrounding soldiers.

He cried out in terror, "You can't kill me!"

"I am the Great Khan of the Naiman, the Khan of all Khans on the grasslands."

"I want to see the Emperor of the Liao Dynasty, I want to see the King of the Six Courts."

Soon, a golden-armored guard stepped forward, raised his sword, and beheaded Buyilukhan.

Afterwards, Li Xiao ordered his men to count the prisoners of war, while he himself led his men back to the main battlefield.

At this point, the battle was nearing its end.

Li Xiao ordered, "Raise the banner of Buyiluhei Khan."

Taiyang Khan was in a panic, as the Jinzhou army's offensive was extremely fierce.

The Naiman army was in retreat, but at that moment, a commotion suddenly broke out at the front.

Someone shouted in terror, "The reinforcements from Jinzhou have arrived!"

Upon hearing this, Tayang Khan immediately turned his head and saw a cavalry force dressed in yellow cotton armor charging towards him from the distant grassland.

The warhorses galloped, and the earth trembled deeply.

The army exuded a menacing aura, and the bloodstains on their bodies were faintly visible, reflecting a chilling red light in the sunlight.

A look of horror immediately appeared on Sun Khan's face. His army was no match for the Jinzhou army.

Now that reinforcements from Jinzhou have arrived, how can we fight?
"Where is Toghtobir?"

Why hasn't he arrived yet?

Sun Khan roared in anger, instinctively thinking that he had been abandoned by Toghto Bolor.

A moment later, soldiers from the first town in the distance shouted in Naiman:

"Buyiru Khan is dead. Surrender and you will not be killed!"

“Buyiluhei Khan is dead.”

More importantly, a banner was raised in the Jinzhou army, which belonged to Buyilukhan.

Below the flag, there is a Golden State soldier with a head held up by the muzzle of his rifle.

The distance was too far to see clearly, but I could intuitively feel the sun's heat.

That was his elder brother, Buyiruq Khan, Toqto'a Boluo.

At that moment, Taiyanghan's pupils dilated instantly, his face turned pale, and he staggered, almost falling off the chariot.

"died?"

"Is Toghtobir dead?"

"Damn, how could this happen?"

The situation on the battlefield was not what he had imagined at all. In fact, in a short period of time, the Jinzhou army had established an absolute advantage.

Taeyang Khan knew that without reinforcements, he was doomed.

The Naiman tribe is doomed.

In the future, the grasslands may not even have a place for them to live.

"Go, go, go quickly."

"leave here."

Without needing his subordinates to offer any excuses, Taeyang Khan abandoned his luxurious chariot, mounted his warhorse, and led his personal guards in a hasty retreat.

With Taeyang Khan gone, the Naiman army completely collapsed, and a large number of soldiers surrendered.

The setting sun, like blood, draped the battlefield in a dark red veil.

Li Xiao, clad in yellow armor and riding a black warhorse, slowly walked across this land that had just witnessed a life-or-death battle.

The crimson clouds stretched his shadow long, like a sharp sword, piercing straight through the kneeling crowd in surrender.

The horses' hooves kicked up clouds of dust, mingling with the lingering smell of gunpowder and blood in the air.

Looking around, the mountains and plains were filled with Naiman soldiers kneeling in surrender.

They were disarmed and their weapons were scattered haphazardly to one side. Some of them had wounds and were covered in blood, while others were covered in mud and looked utterly disheveled.

Many people had vacant eyes, and their faces still bore the marks of fear and despair brought on by the war.

Just then, a military commander rushed over and reported the news.

"Reporting, Grand Commander."

"The Naiman bandit chieftain Tayang Khan has fled northeast."

"Lords Li Dahu and Li Erhu are leading their troops in pursuit." Li Xiao's expression remained unchanged as he said in a deep voice, "Order the two of them to capture and kill the Sun Khan at all costs, regardless of his life or death."

After this battle, the Naiman tribe lost all its elite troops, leaving only a group of old, weak, women and children.

It can be said that the Naiman tribe, which was once extremely powerful on the grasslands, has been completely wiped out by the Jinzhou army and is now consigned to the dustbin of history.

The reason for capturing Taeyang Khan was to eliminate any potential threats and prevent him from rallying his old Naiman followers and opposing the Jinzhou army.

Only the sweat of a dead sun can put people at ease.

As time quietly passed, and the sun set, the Jinzhou army finally cleaned up the battlefield.

The final battle report was presented to Li Xiao.

"Grand Commander, in this battle, our army suffered 103 dead and 221 wounded," Zhang Xinghua, the former governor of Dunhuang, said softly to Li Xiao.

Currently, Li Xiao has three main civil officials under his command.

Chen Chong, formerly the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, is now in charge of land reclamation in the desert.

Han Jiuyuan, the former Minister of Revenue of the Wangting government, who is also Li Xiao's father-in-law, is now in charge of part of Jinzhou's finances.

The remaining one was Zhang Xinghua, who had no formal mission but served as a secretary in the army, responsible for the army's logistics and post-war statistics.

Li Xiao was originally eating large mouthfuls of roasted horse meat, but after hearing about the battle casualties, he slowly put down the pieces of meat.

He said in a deep voice, "These brothers are all excellent."

"The bodies of the fallen soldiers should be properly collected, brought back to Jinzhou, and buried in the Martyrs' Cemetery."

"In accordance with the standards, the soldiers' families will receive compensation, and one of their sons will be chosen to inherit their positions."

"Wounded soldiers should be treated the same way and not neglected."

Zhang Xinghua nodded solemnly: "Yes, sir!"

For soldiers who die in battle, their families will receive the highest standard of compensation, and will also receive preferential treatment and care from the government in their daily lives.

For those wounded soldiers who are unable to continue fighting, in addition to monetary compensation, they will also be promoted half a rank in their official position.

If he were a squad leader, he would be appointed as a deputy captain, but he would step down from the front line and instead be responsible for assisting the captain in handling civil affairs.

In short, Li Xiao will treat these meritorious soldiers with the best possible care.

Otherwise, if the soldiers are neglected, more and more people will be unwilling to fight for their lives.

"How many enemy soldiers were killed? How many were captured?"

After dealing with his own casualties, Li Xiao asked about the spoils.

"In the two wars, a total of about 23,000 Naiman soldiers were captured."

"We have collected more than 5,000 corpses. I am currently ordering men to supervise the prisoners of war in digging pits to bury the Naiman people's bodies," Zhang Xinghua said.

"So, at least four or five thousand enemy soldiers escaped?" Li Xiao nodded and said.

This number isn't much, after all, the Naimans were all cavalry, and they would definitely run away if things went wrong.

In such a chaotic battlefield, capturing more than 20,000 people was already beyond Li Xiao's expectations.

“Kill all the Naiman nobles and generals among the prisoners of war, and leave the ordinary herdsmen and slaves to serve as war slaves.”

“Tell them that they only need to kill three enemy soldiers to regain their freedom and become true soldiers of Jinzhou Town,” Li Xiao said.

The treatment of prisoners of war should continue in the same way as before. In any case, we cannot waste food; we must demonstrate their value.

"As ordered."

……

As night grew darker, the main force of the Jinzhou army, having fought for most of the day and enjoyed a feast of horse meat, began to rest.

But the game in the prisoner-of-war camp had only just begun.

Flames rose all around, illuminating the grassland.

Li Sanhe, dressed in blood-stained red cotton armor, sat casually at the head of the table, eating large mouthfuls of horse meat.

Ten Naiman prisoners of war were kneeling before him.

“Tell them that whoever is the first to reveal the location of his tribe will be spared from death, and I will reward him with ten sheep, making his whole family noble Jinzhou people.”

"If no one speaks up after half a cup of tea's time, then kill them all."

Li Sanhe chewed on the horse meat with large mouthfuls, his cold smile appearing like that of a cannibalistic demon in the firelight.

The Naiman were a nomadic people who did not have a fixed settlement.

If the Jinzhou army were to rely on luck and search for them one by one, it would be a huge waste of time.

Therefore, we still have to rely on these Naiman guides.

However, not all Naiman people are willing to become traitors. They surrendered out of necessity. If they were to reveal the location of their tribe now, wouldn't they become sinners against their tribe?
After all, the Sun Khan had conscripted all the men from the Naiman tribes, leaving only a group of old, weak, sick and young people in the tribes. How could they possibly withstand the ferocious Jinzhou army?
Half a cup of tea's time passed, and the ten Naiman people remained silent, all with their heads down, trembling, not uttering a single word.

Li Sanhe laughed, grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground, wiped the grease off his hands, and chuckled, "Didn't expect you all to be tough guys?"

"In that case, I will grant your request."

"Kill them all."

Li Sanhe spoke casually, as if he were simply slaughtering a group of beasts, and then went about drinking his tea to cleanse his palate.

His Red Armor Army personal guards received orders, and one of them stepped forward, approached the first Naiman, and swung his sword to strike him down.

"Pfft~"

Blood splattered, and the barbarian's head rolled directly to the ground.

This scene terrified the others, causing them to tremble with fear and even wet their pants.

When the sword was placed against the neck of the second man, he collapsed to the ground.

She broke down crying and shouting, "I'll talk, I'll talk!"

Tears streamed down his face; he knew perfectly well what this meant.

While it may bring peace to one's own family, it plunges others in the tribe into an endless hell.

But there was nothing he could do!
After ascertaining the location and number of people in his tribe, Li Sanhe waved his hand and said, "Take him down."

"Order the 100th household to set off early tomorrow morning, taking him with them, to find his tribe."

Subsequently, using the same method, Li Sanhe forced out the locations of more Naiman tribes.

Of course, some people would rather die than submit, but true tough guys are ultimately a minority.

Most people are selfish.

They can save their own lives, reunite with their families, and even become superior Jinzhou residents.

Even if one becomes a traitor, so what?
"If a person doesn't look out for himself, he'll be punished by heaven and earth"—this has been the rule since ancient times.

Early the next morning, the Jinzhou army set off in units of hundreds of households, accurately locating hidden tribes on the vast grasslands, saving a great deal of time.

……

In the depths of the vast grasslands of Tannu Uriankhai, the grand tent of the Naiman Khan's court gleamed dazzlingly in the sunlight.

Before setting off on his campaign, the Khan entrusted all the affairs of the Khanate, large and small, to his queen, Gurbesu.

With power in her hands, she became increasingly arrogant and domineering.

In a short period of time, the methods used to eliminate dissidents were swift and decisive, with only one goal: to pave the way for his son to ascend to the throne.

On this day, the warm midday sun shone on the grassland, and Tangnu Ulianghai seemed to be coated with a layer of golden gauze, sparkling in the sunlight.

But Guerbiesu's mind was not on appreciating the scenery at all.

Dressed in a magnificent mink cloak and with light rouge on her face, she stepped into a secluded tent deep within the Khan's court, surrounded by her maids.

At this moment, a man was sitting in the tent; he was Taksu, Gurbesu's cousin.

After Tayang Khan went on his campaign, he left only a thousand soldiers to guard the Khan's court, under the command of Taksu.

It can be said that at this time, the Khanate was completely in the hands of the brother and sister.

Gu'erbie rushed into the tent, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and sneered, "Now that the Great Khan is away on campaign, it is the perfect time for us to act."

“Those little brats have been eyeing the position of Khan all along, keeping them around is always a potential threat.”

Taksus frowned slightly, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes: "But they are, after all, the Khan's sons. If we act rashly, I'm afraid that when the Khan returns..."

"What are you afraid of!"

Gu'er suddenly slammed the teacup down, a sinister glint in his eyes.

"The Khan is hundreds of miles away. By the time he returns, it will be too late. We just need to do it cleanly and neatly, leaving no loose ends, and he won't be able to do anything to us."

After a moment's thought, Taksu slowly said, "What the princess says is quite right."

If someone else were to ascend to the throne, their entire family would surely be purged.

For Taksu, there was no way out.

It would be better to burn our bridges and kill all of Baibuhua's other sons, leaving only Gurbesu's son.

At that time, Bai Buhua had to learn from Li Yuan and accept it even if he had to hold his nose.

"Let's start with Aksai, the eldest son of the current Khan."

Just as the brother and sister were discussing how to kill Bai Buhua's other sons, they suddenly heard a tense voice from the guards outside the tent.

"Your Highness, the soldiers at the front have returned."

Gu'erbiesu frowned and asked in a slightly displeased tone, "Has the Great Khan returned yet?"

He didn't want Baibuhua to come back too soon.

"Great Khan, Great Khan, he has disappeared."

Upon hearing this, Gu'erbiesu and his companion's expressions changed drastically. They immediately summoned the soldiers who had returned from the front lines and inquired about the reason.

The result, however, shocked the two of them.

"Great army, Great Khan, defeated?"

Gu'erbiesu said in an incredulous tone, her beautiful face filled with horror, and her heart began to panic.

I never imagined it would turn out this way.

Originally, it was thought that even if the Naiman army was no match for the Jinzhou army, they could at least retreat unscathed, and at worst abandon Tannu Uriankhai and go to other places to roam.

Once their strength is restored, they will make a comeback.

Unexpectedly, the Naiman army was defeated and completely wiped out.

Taeyang Khan escaped with only a small number of soldiers and was never heard from again.

The siblings, Gurbesu and Gurbesu, instantly lost their composure. They were still plotting how to seize power and make her son inherit the throne of the Sun Khan.

But now, the Naiman tribe is almost gone, so what's the point of fighting for this?
"Your Highness, let's pack our things and move quickly!"

Taksu was the first to react, and said loudly in a trembling voice.

"With the army defeated, many Khanate soldiers must have fallen into the hands of the northern barbarians."

"The Khan's location will inevitably be exposed, and the barbarian army may be marching towards the Khan's court right now."

Hearing this, Gu'erbiesu became even more panicked, but at least some rationality remained.

He quickly said, "Quick, quick, let's go!"

The Khan's men immediately began packing up their tents and moving away as quickly as possible.

But at this moment, Li Xiao's golden-armored army had already crossed the Khan Huhe Mountain and appeared in the river valley grasslands south of Tangnu Uriankhai.

The golden sun and moon battle banners fluttered in the cold wind, and the three thousand golden-armored soldiers were like a surging torrent, their deep rumble shaking the trembling grassland.

Beside Li Xiao, Tie Tou, dressed in a yellow cotton armor with red trim, looked at the endless Tangnu Uriankhai in the distance and laughed loudly: "I heard that the Naiman Queen, Gu'erbiesu, is the most beautiful woman on the grassland."

"It would be fitting to warm the Grand Commander's bed."

(End of this chapter)