The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 225 Northern Frontier Cavalry Raids Southern Frontier

One hundred miles west of Kashgar lies a town called Kuxian, which was later known as Korla.

It was once just a small city under the rule of the Gaochang Kingdom, but now it is nominally under the rule of the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate.

Inside the magnificent city lord's mansion, Abdul was reveling in music and revelry.

Two more girls then each hugged his thighs.

He was surrounded by beautiful women on both sides, watching the alluring dance of the girls not far away with a look of enjoyment on his face.

He was enjoying the grapes that the young girl had stuffed into his mouth with her delicate hands, and he was living a very pleasant life.

But the extravagant time did not last long, and a servant rushed in in a panic.

"Master, something terrible has happened."

"Kashgar has been captured by the people of northern Xinjiang."

Upon hearing this, Abdul suddenly opened his eyes wide and immediately sat up from the woman's breasts.

"what?"

"Kashgar has been captured? How is that possible?"

Abdul was deeply shocked, his face filled with disbelief.

The Kingdom of Gaochang and the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate practiced a slave system similar to land grants.

The city lords had immense autonomy over their territories, practically acting as local emperors.

As long as they paid their taxes on time and provided soldiers during wartime, the king rarely paid them any attention.

The city lord's power was mostly hereditary, and his family had ruled Kushen City since the time of Abdul's great-grandfather.

The people in the city had been slaves of the Apdul family and other minor nobles for generations.

At the same time, the Apdul family has also intermarried with other families for generations.

The Ahmed family of Kashgar is related to the Abdul family by marriage.

The two are cousins.

Now that Kashgar has been captured by the people of northern Xinjiang, Abdul is also anxious.

It's not that I really care about family ties, but rather that I have a sense of crisis, like the saying "when the rabbit dies, the fox feels the same way."

"Yes, great master, you heard right, Kashgar is finished."

"Only a few people escaped," the servant said with a sorrowful expression.

"Quickly, let them in."

"The city lord will personally interrogate you. What exactly happened?" Apdul asked in a panic.

Then he roared at the girls in the hall, "Get out! All of you, get out!"

With a crisis looming, he had no time to think about women.

Soon after, a young nobleman was brought in.

"Human" is a term reserved for nobles; commoners are not considered human.

Moreover, when a crisis occurs, nobles have priority privileges and their chances of escaping are far greater than those of ordinary commoners.

Upon seeing Apdul, the filthy nobleman burst into tears and said, "It's all over, all over."

"Kashgar is gone."

"Devils, all those people are devils!"

The man seemed to be so frightened that he was somewhat mentally unstable, and his words were incoherent, but Abdul understood him.

From the moment the northern cavalry was spotted, Kashgar fell in less than half an hour.

The fighting power of the northern border army is terrifying.

Moreover, after the demons stormed into the city, chaos ensued, and the wealthy nobles became their primary targets.

Even the wife of this minor nobleman, who was separated from his family during the escape, has probably been sent to the military camp and met with cruelty.

After hearing the man's words, Abdul was also stunned, his face turned pale, and his expression was full of fear.

The city lord, who was usually aloof and arrogant, couldn't help but tremble with fear.

He muttered to himself, "Buddha, why do you allow these shameless barbarians to run rampant on our land?"

"They're a bunch of devils!"

Abdul was utterly terrified by the actions of the Golden State Army and fell seriously ill.

The news quickly spread like wildfire throughout the city.

The nobles were as anxious as ants on a hot pan, and the commoners were equally panicked, wanting to flee the city for refuge. However, those who ran away without the orders of their noble lords would have their hands and feet cut off.

The next day, the Jinzhou army marched in a mighty force toward Kuxian City.

Although Kuxian City is surrounded by the Kunqi River on its north, south, and west sides, the Kunqi River is only an inland river in the Taklamakan Desert.

It was the dry season, so the Jinzhou army easily crossed the river and attacked from the north.

"Boom boom boom~"

The earth trembled under the iron hooves, and the Jinzhou cavalry swept across the yellowish-brown wasteland like a crimson tide.

The crimson sun and moon battle banner fluttered in the wind, its sun and moon patterns seemingly radiating a ferocious aura, scorching the earth.

The soldiers, all clad in cotton armor and carrying hook-and-sickle spears, wore ferocious expressions as they gazed at the small town in the distance, bursting into unrestrained, maniacal laughter.

At this moment, every soldier in Jinzhou seemed to have transformed into a killing machine, causing the nobles in Kuxian City to tremble in fear.

"It's all over, everything's over, waaaaah~"

Standing on the city wall, Abdul looked at the mighty Jinzhou cavalry. His already sickly body trembled with fear.

His pale face looked even more mournful, and he said in a desperate voice, "Those demons have really come."

"Kuxian City is doomed, and the Abdul family's legacy is doomed."

"Woooooo~"

The other minor nobles also looked grief-stricken, and the thought that Kuxian City would also be slaughtered filled everyone with despair.

No one mentioned escaping, since going outside the city would only hasten their demise.

"Fight them."

"Even if we die, we will make those damned barbarians pay a bloody price."

“That’s right. We are the descendants of the great Kutlug Bilgeqqa Khan. Those people in the northern frontier are nothing more than slaves who raise horses for our Uyghur Khanate.”

"Let's go for it!" the nobles shouted.

Gutlug Bilgeq Khan, also known as Gutlug, was the founder of the Uyghur Khanate. He united with the Karluk and Basimi tribes to defeat the Later Turkic Khanate, accepted investiture from the Tang Dynasty, and became the Khan of the steppe.

However, the glory of the Uyghur Khanate was long gone, and these Uyghurs who came to the Western Regions had long lost the courage of their ancestors.

They all shouted that they would fight to the bitter end, but they couldn't hide the fear deep in their eyes.

At this moment, the Jinzhou army outside the city shouted: "Surrender and you will not be killed."

"If they resist stubbornly, massacre the entire city."

Upon hearing this, the nobles in the city were all stunned. The fighting spirit on their faces vanished instantly, and they looked at each other in bewilderment.

Finally, their attention turned to Abdul.

After all, the Abdul family were the true masters of Kuxian City, and they were merely feudal nobles under the Abdul family.

Finally, the seriously ill Abdul said in grief, "To preserve the civilians of Kushen City, and for the continuation of our families, let us surrender."

After all, Balasal was larger than Kushan, with higher walls and a larger population, yet it still couldn't withstand the barbarian attack.

Therefore, no matter how much Ku Xiancheng struggles, it will ultimately end up the same way.

It would be better to surrender and hope that the Jinzhou army would keep its promise.

After saying this, he named a nobleman and sent him out of the city to contact the Jinzhou army.

Soon after, the gates of Kuxian City were opened wide, and the Jinzhou cavalry entered the city.

Warhorses galloped and roared, stirring up yellow sand that filled the entire town.

The soldiers, clad in cotton armor and wielding long spears, swept their disdainful gazes over the trembling civilians lining the streets.

They charged recklessly toward the city lord's mansion.

Immediately afterwards, chaos erupted in the city lord's mansion.

However, the Jinzhou army did keep its promise and did not massacre the city.

……

At night, the Jinzhou army camp was brightly lit, and the screams of women could be clearly heard.

Inside the central command tent, Erhu's towering figure sat at the head of the table, his shoulders bare, revealing his well-developed chest and abdominal muscles.

His thick arms were covered with muscles like those of a dragon, almost as big as an average woman's thighs.

On his lap sat a beautiful young woman of about sixteen, with fair skin, blue eyes, and a tall, slender figure. She was no less beautiful than the bride from Kashgar.

"Come on, drink!"

Erhu was in a great mood and laughed heartily as he handed the wine glass to the girl.

But the girl's body stiffened; she was almost frightened to tears by Erhu's fierce aura. Her voice trembled as she said, "General, I don't drink alcohol."

"Huh? You don't?"

Erhu's face immediately darkened.

"Hmph, do you know what happened to the last woman who couldn't drink?"

"Yes, it's in Kashgar, a woman named Aliya, who seems to be the city lord's daughter-in-law."

“She refused to drink the wine I brought, so I chopped her up and fed her to the dogs.”

"Hehehehe~"

"And you, little one, do you want some?"

A cruel smile appeared on Erhu's face as he held the girl even tighter.

Startled, she turned pale and nodded repeatedly, "Drink, drink, I'll drink."

As he spoke, he slowly opened his mouth and drank the wine that Erhu handed him in one gulp.

But the Uyghurs only drank wine; they had never tasted a strong liquor like West Wind Lie.

So the girl choked and coughed, the spilled wine wetting her clothes at the front of her chest.

Her fair face immediately turned bright red, and her eyes became somewhat unfocused.

"Hahaha~"

Upon seeing this, Erhu burst into laughter: "Good, you truly are my little darling. I'm growing to like you more and more."

"Baby," he learned that word from Li Xiao. He had used it to call his bride, Aliya, just a couple of days ago, but he never expected that he would be so unlucky in love. That woman betrayed Erhu's deep affection.

It wasn't because she didn't drink, but because when the woman learned that her brother had been killed by the Jinzhou army and her husband had been beaten half to death, she was reminded of the relatives who had been killed in Gaochang City.

In despair, he tried to assassinate Erhu with a wooden hairpin while Erhu was charging, but Erhu easily captured him.

Compared to Aria, the girl in his arms was much more obedient at this moment.

After getting the girl half-drunk, Erhu's gaze then turned to the several Uyghur nobles standing in the tent.

The first one was Abdul.

"Lord Apdul, Umina will stay tonight. Do you have any objections?" Erhu said in a calm voice.

Abdul nodded hurriedly, bowing deeply, and said with a fawning smile, "Of course I have no objection."

"It's a blessing that Umina was able to stay."

"I couldn't be happier."

We have no choice but to keep it. Kuxian City has already been occupied by the Jinzhou army, and it will inevitably suffer a terrible fate in the end.

Being proactive can earn you some goodwill.

Moreover, daughters are meant for marriage alliances, so if the Jinzhou army can spare Kuxian City, then Umina's sacrifice will be well worth it.

"Hehehe, he's quite a good father in Abdul City." Erhu chuckled.

He nodded and said, "Don't worry, since we're practically relatives now, I'll definitely keep my promise and bypass your Kuxian City."

As soon as the words were spoken, the Uyghur nobles breathed a heavy sigh of relief, their hearts filled with joy and relief at having survived a calamity.

"Thank you, General."

"Thank you for your leniency, General."

Abdul and the others quickly bowed in gratitude.

But Erhu simply raised his hand slightly: "However~"

He glanced at Abdul and the others, a faint sneer on his face, which made their hearts leap into their throats once again.

"Although I can spare you, my Jinzhou army has suffered greatly from the long and arduous expedition, and we cannot simply return like this!"

Hearing Erhu's words, Abdul and the others breathed a sigh of relief again and said happily, "That's right, that's right."

"We certainly won't let the general make a wasted trip."

If something can be solved with money, then it's not a problem.

Although Kuxian is just a small town, it is located on the only road from Gaochang to Kashgar, and many merchants frequently come and go.

So, I still have some money.

They didn't care about dignity or glory; they just wanted the Golden State Army to leave as soon as possible.

They could then brazenly act as lords in Kuxian City, continuing to enjoy themselves, continue to exploit the lowly people, and regain the wealth they had lost.

So, Abdul revealed the amount of compensation they had previously agreed upon.

But Erhu snorted coldly: "Not enough!"

His previously smiling face darkened instantly, and he said in a cold voice, "Within three days, I expect to see one thousand taels of gold, two thousand sheep, five hundred warhorses, and two thousand bushels of grain."

"There are also five hundred young and strong slaves, and five hundred women between the ages of fourteen and twenty-five."

"Moreover, Kuxian City will have to deliver two hundred taels of gold, one thousand sheep and two thousand shi of grain to the Northern Frontier every year from now on."

The reason Erhu left Kuxian City was because there weren't enough people in the northern frontier to occupy it.

Even if the entire city of Kuxian were slaughtered, it would only benefit others.

Therefore, according to Li Xiao's idea, Erhu first subdued these towns one by one, and paid tribute to them every year, making them the blood bag of the northern frontier.

We can then migrate more people from the Central Plains to this area later, and then completely resolve the issue with the locals, or assimilate them.

However, after hearing Erhu's condition, Abdul and the others were all stunned.

"This, General, this is too much!"

"Yes, General, Kuxian City is just a small city, it simply cannot produce so many things."

"General, for Umina's sake, please show mercy."

Hearing the nobles' pleas, Erhu's expression did not soften in the slightest; instead, he slammed his hand heavily on the table.

"Bang~"

"Are you trying to bargain with me? Where do you think you are?"

Erhu stared fiercely at these guys and said in a cold voice, "If you don't see these things I mentioned in three days, then..."

"There is no need to keep Kuxian City."

“People with knowledge, death in the city!”

Erhu's words struck them like a boulder, as they looked at the menacing, knife-wielding guards around them.

Apdul and the others trembled with fear, nodding frantically: "Yes, yes, yes, we will definitely have everything ready in three days."

Having said that, he fled the cannibalistic tent in a disheveled state. The weak Abdul even stumbled several times and had to be helped away by others before he could leave, trembling.

Seeing this, Erhu snorted coldly: "Hmph, a bunch of shameless bastards, do they really think I have a good temper?"

Li Xiao's mission for this trip south was very clear: to plunder and bring back all usable resources to the northern frontier.

Gold and silver are secondary; the most important things are food and women.

Northern Xinjiang is short of food, and relying solely on supplies from Gaochang and the Gobi Desert is far from enough.

Therefore, the only option is to cultivate the land, which requires a large labor force.

So Erhu asked for five hundred strong slaves.

Moreover, many mines in the northern border region also required slaves to extract their ore.

As for the other five hundred young women, it was because it was anticipated that Li Xiao would lead the Jinzhou army on a second eastern expedition to plunder Western Xia in early summer of the following year.

The main purpose was to plunder Han Chinese populations to replenish the northern frontier and stabilize the foundation.

At that time, the population of northern Xinjiang will experience a second surge.

But besides the lack of food, the real problem was the lack of women.

Only by providing women to those bachelors, enabling them to get married and have children, and then leading them to build careers, will they be able to settle down completely in the northern border region once they have something to care about and hope for.

Therefore, the northern border region needs a large number of young women.

After chasing away Abdul, Erhu looked at Umina beside him.

After just one glass of wine, the woman's face was already flushed and her eyes were glazed over.

Erhu didn't stand on ceremony and simply picked him up and carried him into the inner tent.

……

Back at the city lord's mansion, Apdul and the others gathered together to discuss the matter. They felt heartbroken thinking about the things Erhu had asked for.

They could scrape together the money if they gritted their teeth, but they just couldn't bear to part with it.

After all, this is the wealth they accumulated by exploiting the common people for generations.

"Now we can only let the common people suffer," a nobleman said.

Kuxian City belongs to everyone. Now that it's in trouble, it's certainly not enough for the nobles to bear the cost alone. The common people should also share the burden, or even the majority of it.

"Yes, that's right. They're just a bunch of lowly people. What do they need so much money for?"

“We’ve sheltered them for so many years, now it’s time for them to repay us.”

"We hope those lowly people can understand our predicament. We have no choice but to do this because we are considering the bigger picture!"

"We don't want their money, but we want to use their money to force the Jinzhou army to withdraw and protect their safety."

The nobles quickly set the tone for the matter in a few words.

Make the commoners pay, and if that's not enough, they'll make up the difference.

Subsequently, the noble families sent people out of the city to collect money from the villages outside the city.

These villages are scattered, some are very remote, and some are even located entirely in the desert.

It would be too time-consuming and energy-intensive for the Jinzhou army to search for them one by one.

But for these Uyghur nobles, it was an extremely simple matter.

This money and supplies were distributed to each village under the guise of war reparations, allocated according to population size.

Moreover, the ruthless Uyghur nobles increased the original amount by another 50%.

If they cannot come up with the money, they must hand over girls and able-bodied men as compensation.

This behavior aroused public outrage and quickly sparked a popular uprising.

However, the soldiers of Kuxian City, who were obsequious to the Jinzhou Iron Cavalry, were ruthless and merciless when dealing with these lowly people.

Three days later, a thousand taels of gold and other supplies, along with five hundred slaves and five hundred young girls, were sent to the Jinzhou military camp.

Looking at these items, Erhu nodded in satisfaction.

He gently patted Abdul's shoulder: "Father-in-law, don't worry, as long as I, Li Ao, am here, no one will dare to provoke your Kuxian City."

“You nobles will still live a carefree and happy life as long as you pay your annual tribute on time.”

Upon hearing Erhu's words, Abdul was filled with excitement and nodded repeatedly: "Thank you, General. Thank you, General."

Now, his back doesn't hurt anymore, his head isn't dizzy anymore, and he's full of energy.

It was only because he learned Erhu's identity from his daughter.

The younger brother of the Northern Protector-General!
This is an important figure in the Northern Frontier. If the Northern Frontier were to establish a kingdom in the future, he would definitely be a great king.

Therefore, Abdul was extremely excited.

Daughters are meant for marriage alliances anyway; it doesn't matter who they marry.

Now she's with the younger brother of the Northern Protector-General, and although she's just a concubine, she still brings immense benefits to the Abdul family.

From now on, he will have "connections in the court".

As for the annual tribute, it was previously required to be paid to the Khanate every year, but now it has simply been transferred to the northern frontier, so a little more is fine.

Soon after, amidst the farewells of the nobles of Kuxian City, the Jinzhou army, carrying numerous cattle, sheep, grain, treasures, and slaves, set off in a grand procession toward the next town.

"Lying alone in a desolate village, I do not grieve for myself, but still think of defending the frontier for my country."

It is the city of Luntai mentioned in Lu You's poem.

According to Erhu's plan, they would first plunder all the towns on the southern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains, and if they had the chance, they would visit Kashgar.

They forced the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate to hand over their princess.

(End of this chapter)