The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 238 Sword Pointing at the Hexi Corridor, Suppressing Buddhism

Ganzhou, formerly known as Zhangye State, is located in the middle of the Hexi Corridor.

It borders Liangzhou (Wuwei) to the east and Suzhou (Jiuquan) to the west.

The Gansu Military Command, one of the twelve military commanderies of the Western Xia Dynasty, had its commander's office located in Ganzhou.

The main purpose was to guard against the Tibetan tribes south of the Qilian Mountains from raiding the Hexi Corridor, while also being able to provide timely support to the Guazhou Xiping Military Command in the west and the Heishui Town Yan Military Command in the north.

Furthermore, thanks to the commercial prosperity of the Hexi Corridor, Ganzhou, located at an important pass, also became an indispensable commercial and transportation hub.

On this day, the cold wind howled, and the twilight cast long shadows on the city gate tower.

Su Luoasha, the head constable of the West Gate, hid in the gate tower, humming a little tune and occasionally sneaking a sip of wine.
Although guarding the city gates was hard work, Su Luoasha, a Tangut, was much more at ease than the poor Han soldiers.

He had complete control over the entry and exit searches at the entire West Gate.

Most importantly, it earns a lot of money.

Sitting on a bench, humming a Qiang folk tune, he reached out from his sleeve and gently shook the wooden box, immediately hearing the clattering sound of copper coins and silver coins.

A satisfied smile immediately appeared on Suroasa's face.

"Hehehe, Captain, how much money did you make today? Ten strings of cash?" A middle-aged Han soldier, with his hands in his sleeves, approached with a smile and asked.

Suroasa glanced at him and sneered, "You old fool, you don't put in any effort when it comes to working, but you're always eager to split the money."

The Han soldiers, upon hearing this, were not annoyed and replied with smiles, "It's just that we have many children at home!"

Suroasa shook his head slightly. The poorer the old melon pulp, the more children it can produce.

He himself only managed to raise five children by working as a constable, but this guy had seven, the youngest of whom was still breastfeeding.

After saying that, Suroasa opened the wooden box, and the old soldier peeked out and said, "Heh, more than ten strings of cash."

"It looks like at least twelve strings of cash."

"Alright, that's enough. Stop spouting nonsense with your big mouth."

Of these twelve strings of copper coins, most of them had to be given as tribute to the higher-ups. The soldiers could only get a small portion, but little by little, even just two hundred coins could be equivalent to two or three days' wages for an ordinary laborer.

Therefore, although guarding the city gate is often exposed to wind and sun and is very hard work, everyone is eager to do it.

Seeing that the sun was about to set, Suroasa squinted slightly, then waved casually and said, "Close the door, let's go back and have some drinks~"

At this time, there were not many people entering the city anymore; on the contrary, some people who had entered the city during the day had not yet come out.

Suroasa didn't care about them; they were a bunch of poor bastards. Who would open the door for them if they had no money?

Let them sleep on the streets tonight; it's their bad luck if they freeze to death.

However, just as the suspension bridge was about to be lowered, a loud shout was suddenly heard from afar.

"Wait, wait a minute~"

"Sir, wait a moment."

Suroasa was taken aback by what he heard. He looked up and saw the outline of a convoy appearing on the Gobi Desert outside the city.

There were more than a dozen large trucks, loaded with an unknown amount of goods.

Two men wearing tattered fur coats rode horses ahead of time towards the city gate.

"Wait a moment, sir, our convoy will be here soon."

A young man with a dark complexion jumped off his horse, seemingly relieved, and bowed to Suroasha, pleadingly.

"Wow, that's rare."

"The old man is almost at the bottom of the mountain, and people are still coming into the city?"

Suroasa turned to the soldiers and chuckled, then said to the man with a serious expression, "The city gates are about to close."

"Let's go into town tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Li Qiufu immediately put on a troubled expression and said, "Sir, please be lenient. It's really not safe to be outside the city so late at night."

After saying that, he secretly slipped a hard lump into Suroasha's sleeve.

Feeling the texture in his palm, Suroasa's eyes lit up with joy; there were at least five taels of silver.

But then he glanced at the large trucks behind him and asked casually, "What's on them?"

"They're all cheap leather goods, some raisins, and some alcohol," Li Qiufu quickly explained.

"Where to?"

Xingqing Prefecture!

Do you have a travel permit?

"Yes, this is the travel permit issued to us by the fiery Lady Mee'e of Blackwater City."

Upon hearing this, Suroasa's face twitched slightly.

He had heard of the name "Hot and Spicy Meow".

The brother-in-law of Lord Weiming Zhongshi, the military commander of Blackwater City, is quite a capable man.

Not to be offended.

But these aren't cheap, hot goods; it's not something that can be settled with just five taels of silver if a dozen or so large carts want to enter the city.

"Leave one carriage behind, and you may enter the city."

Li Qiufu's expression changed drastically: "No, no, sir."

“We were originally a small business, and we didn’t make much money.”

"If you leave behind a large truck, we'll go bankrupt."

After saying that, he reached into Suroasha's sleeve again: "Sir, please have mercy."

Another five taels of silver were handed over, and a smile immediately appeared on Suroasa's face.

"Alright, since you're so sensible, go in."

"Thank you, General Xie."

May the general live a long and healthy life, and have many children and grandchildren.

Li Qiufu's face lit up with joy, and he kept saying nice things as he led the caravan through the city gate.

After entering the city, they quickly made contact with someone and arrived at a large courtyard.

"How's it going? Did it go well?"

There were more than twenty men in the courtyard. The leader was a strong man in his twenties, dressed in work clothes, with a big beard, and looked very rugged and fierce.

Li Qiufu nodded slightly and said, "Manager, everything is going smoothly."

The man known as the head manager was actually a centurion in the Sixth Garrison of the Northern Frontier, and Li Qiufu was a captain under him.

How many people did you bring this time?

“Thirty-two in total,” Li Qiufu said.

"enough!"

The head manager nodded emphatically.

There were originally more than twenty people in the courtyard, and there were also more than thirty people in another courtyard.

They all secretly entered the city during this period under various identities.

There were nearly a hundred people in total.

That's enough to create chaos in the city.

"Manager, are the weapons ready?" Li Qiufu asked.

This is the key to their success.

"Of course it's ready." The head manager smiled faintly, then pointed to several coffins not far away.

"Two days ago, we hid the crossbows in a hidden compartment of the coffin and brought them in secretly."

Upon hearing this, Li Qiufu immediately adopted an admiring expression and whispered, "You are truly clever, Commander, to have come up with such a solution."

If it were hidden under a fur coat, it would likely be discovered by the soldiers guarding the city, but no one would carefully search the coffin for any hidden compartments.

As long as the money is right, even a corpse can be brought in.

"Stop flattering me, kid." The head manager chuckled.

He then said seriously, "Now, we just need to wait for the army to arrive so that we can coordinate from the inside and outside and turn Ganzhou City upside down."

On the other side, at the city gate.

Just as Li Qiufu and his men entered the city, and Su Luoasha was about to have the drawbridge lowered, the sound of horses' hooves rang out again in the distance.

"Wait, don't close the city gates."

Upon hearing this, Suroasa became furious.

Why are they all rushing to hang themselves?

Looking up, I saw only one person this time, a man on horseback, looking travel-worn.

"Halt! The city gates are closed. Try to enter the city tomorrow."

Suroasa said impatiently, ordering his men to quickly put away the drawbridge.

After all, judging from the man's poor appearance, he didn't seem to be rich.

"I am a personal guard of the Weiming Commander of Blackwater City. I have urgent military information to report to Commander Miqin."

“If you, a mere captain, delay important matters, even ten heads wouldn’t be enough to cut off your head.”

The cavalrymen reined in their horses and stopped outside the drawbridge, roaring angrily.

Suroasa was instantly stunned.

"The personal guards of Commander Weiming?"

"What identification do you have?" he shouted, sounding rather unsure of himself.

"Open your dog eyes and take a look."

The cavalryman pulled out a token and threw it over.

Su Luoasha picked it up and looked at it. Although she didn't know if it was real or fake, it did indeed have the words "Zhenyan Military Command" written on it.

So he dared not delay and immediately led a group of people to escort him into the city.

First, he went to the post station and handed over the news of the invasion from the northern frontier to the post station staff, instructing them to immediately send people to deliver it to Xingqing Prefecture day and night.

Official post stations were directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court and were not affected by local authorities.

However, it was already late and the city gates were closed; leaving the city required the order of the military commander.

Therefore, the official post station clerk and Weiming Zhongshi's personal guards could only go to the military commander's office to request an order to leave the city.

However, upon arrival, they were informed that the commander of the Gansu military command was no longer in his residence, but had gone out of the city to inspect the defenses.

This made them even more anxious.

"The military situation is urgent and cannot be delayed."

"Where did Commander Mi Qin go?"

"We don't know either!" the steward of the military commander's office said, his eyes darting around.

"We have already sent someone to inform the commander-in-chief. You just wait."

"It's too late. The Northern Frontier army is already at the gates of Blackwater City. Every moment we wait increases the danger to Blackwater City," the guard said anxiously.

"It doesn't matter if Commander Mi Qin doesn't see us, but please open a crack in the east gate so that the messenger can leave the city."

But the steward of the military commander's office shook his head vigorously, saying, "No, no."

"No one may open the city gates without the order of the military commander."

"Sigh~" The guard sighed heavily, angrily flicked his sleeves, and plopped down on the steps outside the commander's mansion.

He'll be sleeping here tonight.

Meanwhile, Mi Qin Tiele was indulging in pleasure at Baihualou, the largest brothel in Ganzhou City.

"Come on, Commander-in-Chief, have another drink!"

Mi Qin Tiele leaned against the brocade couch in the private room on the second floor, while the Hu woman in his arms fed him fine wine with a golden wine cup.

The agate plate was piled with freshly skinned venison jerky. He took a bite, and the salty, gamey taste mixed with the fragrance of grape wine went straight down his throat.

"Hahaha, okay."

"This is the kind of life that people should enjoy."

"This place is simply heaven on earth."

Mi Qintiele laughed heartily. There were five or six women in the room, and he was quite comfortable, embracing them on both sides.

Moreover, tonight he must display his might and subdue all these women completely.

Life is full of troubles, so we should enjoy ourselves while we can.

Mi Qin Tiele drank the wine offered by the beauty, his face flushed, his eyes glazed, and he began to sing loudly. "Hmph, what official position, what title, what military merit, I don't care about any of it."

"All I need are beauties like you."

"Hahaha~"

Laughter from a man and a woman filled the room.

But Mi Qintiele was filled with bitterness.

Two years ago, the northern frontier raided the Hexi Corridor, captured Dunhuang and Guazhou, and abducted 100,000 people.

Mi Qin Tiele was ordered to fight and led his Gansu troops to aid Dunhuang. After a fierce battle, they finally recovered the lost territory and drove away the Northern Frontier Army.

Unexpectedly, such a great achievement did not receive any reward from the imperial court.

Instead, they simply rewarded him with some gold and silver and sent him on his way.

Moreover, for the next two years, he remained in the position of Commander-in-Chief of Gansu without moving.

Mi Qin Tiele was not convinced.

He could only vent his grief and anger by indulging in wine and women, spending his days in pleasure.

He had his way with almost all the beauties in the Hundred Flowers Pavilion.

The atmosphere had been perfectly set, and just as he was preparing for a real battle, the voice of his personal guards suddenly came from outside the door.

"Commander, Steward Liang has sent someone to report."

"There is important military business that requires the Commander to return."

Mi Qin Tiele, disheveled, lay on top of a Hu woman, his face flushed, and said unhappily, "My most important military task right now is to properly reward these beauties."

"The others~"

"We'll talk about it after I'm done."

After saying that, Mi Qintiele continued to tear at Hu Ji's clothes and gnawed at her neck.

The guards outside were also getting anxious and shouted, "Commander, the barbarians from the northern frontier are invading from the south. Blackwater City is in danger. We request reinforcements."

Upon hearing this, Mi Qintiele immediately deflated.

All his senses vanished, and he exclaimed in alarm, "The barbarians from the northern frontier are invading from the south?"

"It's broken, it's broken."

"Something bad is going on."

Although he has always claimed that he defeated the Northern Frontier Army and recovered Dunhuang and other places two years ago.

However, the specifics are not a secret.

The Northern Frontier barbarians were terrifyingly powerful, and he didn't dare to even meet the Northern Frontier army.

Now, those barbarians from the northern frontier have come again?

Although Heishui City and Ganzhou are several hundred miles apart, the Heishui River runs through the two towns.

Once the Northern Frontier Army breaches Heishui City, they can simply march south along the Heishui River and directly enter Ganzhou City.

"Damn it, hurry up and change your clothes."

Miqin Tiele kicked the woman off the bed and shouted at the guards outside the door.

He needed to return immediately to assign tasks and prepare for the Northern Frontier Army.

……

In the deep of night, the bonfires of Heishui City illuminated the entire Ci'en Ancient Temple.

This temple, with a history of three hundred years, was turned into a desolate place under the ravages of the northern cavalry.

“Drag out all the bald monks for me. The young and strong ones will be assigned to the army to fight, and the old bald monks will be sent to the garrison to work.”

Deputy Commander Wei Bajin rode his warhorse directly into the temple courtyard.

He brandished his cavalry saber and directed the actions of the soldiers in the northern frontier.

The soldiers broke down the doors of the houses and drove all the monks out, shouting and howling all around.

"What do you want to do?"

“How dare you act so recklessly under the Buddha’s tutelage!” a young monk in a kasaya said angrily.

He took out his staff, ready to fight the soldiers from the northern frontier.

"Ha ha?"

"Has this bald monk gone mad from chanting scriptures?"

A young servant in front of him sneered, increased his horse's speed, and sent the young monk flying.

The Grand Protector's order is: anyone who resists will be killed without exception.

Whether civilians, soldiers, or even bald monks, anyone who picks up a weapon becomes an enemy of the Northern Frontier Army.

"Stop~"

"Stop it right now!"

Seeing the young monk being thrown away, another middle-aged monk in a kasaya immediately became furious, his face contorted with rage, and his eyes reddened.

"You killed Huiming?"

Looking at the old monk and the group of young monks behind him, Wei Bajin sneered: "So what if we kill them?"

"Could he be your biological son? And that old bald monk is even crying."

Upon hearing Wei Bajin's words, a hint of unease flashed across the old monk's face, but it was immediately overwhelmed by hatred.

"Barbarians from the Northern Frontier!"

The old monk's voice pierced through the firelight, roaring menacingly, "How dare you commit such sins in this sacred Buddhist sanctuary!"

"Disciples, heed my command! Follow me to vanquish the demon!"

But before he could finish speaking, Wei Bajin raised his hand and fired an arrow.

The arrow pierced the old monk's throat, and blood gushed out instantly. The old monk, leaning on his staff, looked incredulous and collapsed.

"How dare you!"

He never expected that the barbarians of the northern frontier would actually dare to kill him.

He was the enlightened Zen master.

It wielded enormous influence in Khara-Khoto and even throughout the entire Western Xia Buddhist community.

The barbarians of the northern frontier killed him. Aren't they worried about the anger of Buddhist believers? Aren't they afraid of Buddha's retribution?

But Wei Bajin was not afraid at all.

Because most of the senior officers in the Northern Frontier Army were Han Chinese from the original Jinzhou Nine Forts and Eighteen Villages.

The Han people in northern Xinjiang have no religious beliefs, except for the worship of their ancestors.

Therefore, the army commanded by these northern border generals who had no faith naturally had no scruples when dealing with these religious temples.

If you disagree, we'll kill you!

"Don't you bald monks always say that Buddha protects you?"

"My northern frontier's blade is already at your throats, where is Buddha to save you?" Wei Bajin sneered.

After saying that, he rode his warhorse directly into the main hall of the temple, the Ci'en Hall. Looking at the golden Buddha statue on it, with its chubby body and a laughing face that stretched from the corners of its mouth to its ears, he saw a gleaming golden Buddha statue.

"He's so fat, he must be covered in the people's hard-earned money."

"Somebody come!"

Wei Bajin coldly shouted, "Melt down this Buddha statue!"

Even though it's not a pure gold Buddha statue, it would still be worth a lot of money if it were pure copper plated with gold.

The people of Blackwater City were desperately poor, while a considerable amount of gold and silver treasures were found inside the temples.

It can be used to fund the military expenses in the northern border region.

Just as the soldiers were about to move the Buddha statue, a soldier rushed in from outside the hall.

"Deputy Commander, we've discovered a cellar in the backyard."

"Upon opening it, we found that more than thirty women were imprisoned inside."

"Through interrogation of the monks in the temple, they admitted that those women were kidnapped by them in various ways for their own sexual pleasure."

Upon hearing this, Wei Bajin's face turned cold, and he sneered, "These bald monks are certainly playing some fancy tricks."

Then I turned to look at the golden statue of Buddha in front of me, above which hung a plaque with the four large characters 'Compassion in Mind' written in gold paint.

Wei Bajin immediately felt a deep sense of irony.

Although the Northern Frontier Army was no good either, having committed numerous acts of looting, rape, and murder, at least their wickedness was aboveboard.

Unlike these bald monks who spout benevolence, righteousness, and compassion, but secretly commit all sorts of wicked deeds, such as theft and prostitution.

"Compassion?"

Where is your compassion?

Wei Bajin looked at the golden Buddha statue and said coldly, spitting on the ground before turning and leaving.

He wanted to first check on the situation of the imprisoned women before reporting back to his superiors.

As for what to do with these bald monks at Ci'en Temple, that depends on the Grand Protector's decision.

The moment he turned around, the half-zhang-tall golden Buddha statue crashed to the ground.

……

Two days later, the situation in Blackwater City was completely stabilized.

Li Xiao is preparing for the next military operation.

As dawn breaks through the gray curtain of the Gobi Desert, the golden sun and moon battle flags flutter in the wind and sand.

Tens of thousands of cavalrymen, like a golden torrent, swept across the sand dunes, setting off from Blackwater City and heading south along the course of the Blackwater River towards Ganzhou and Suzhou in the Hexi Corridor.

Iron cavalry galloped, clashing swords and clanging spears, shaking the very earth.

Li Xiao, clad in dark gold cotton armor, rode atop his warhorse, commanding his army as they marched south.

On the other side of Blackwater City, more than 10,000 captured civilians were gathered together.

More than 4,000 men, along with the elderly, women, and children, stood on both sides.

All around them stood countless soldiers of the Sixth Garrison, dressed in white cotton armor with red trim, on horseback, holding long spears and bows, guarding these unarmed civilians.

Before these people, hundreds of men, their bodies bound, knelt on the ground in a posture as if being executed.

Among them were many monks, as well as many Tangut nobles, officials, and generals.

According to Li Xiao's orders, these people will be executed in the open.

"kill!"

At Li Donghe's command, a centurion's cavalry charged out.

They attacked these officials and monks.

Their spears pierced the chests of these Tanguts, and the enormous impact sent many of them flying.

The Gobi Desert beneath their feet quickly turned into a muddy swamp of blood, filled with screams, wails, and pleas for mercy.

After the cavalry charged to the end, all that remained behind them were piles of corpses and scattered pieces of flesh, a scene resembling a living hell.

The horrific scene caused the people on both sides to tremble and close their eyes in terror.

"These people are all officials, generals, and monks from Blackwater City. They usually act arrogantly and bully the good people..."

"Today, our Northern Frontier Army has avenged you!"

Li Donghe shouted loudly at the people of Blackwater City, which was actually a form of brainwashing. As for how effective it would be, it was hard to say.

Finally, he turned his gaze to the men and shouted, "Warriors of Blackwater City, you will become the warriors of my Northern Frontier!"

"Take up your weapons and follow my northern army south."

"Kill the enemy and earn merit, so that your families can live a good life, and your children can become outstanding people in the future..."

Under Li Donghe's coercion and enticement, the four thousand able-bodied men of Blackwater City had no choice but to take up arms and embark on the southern expedition.

The weapons were all readily available, secondhand goods from the Blackwater garrison.

They were given only the most basic swords, spears, bows, and arrows; the Northern Frontier Army couldn't possibly provide them with better weapons.

Warhorses were also inferior horses, only good for transportation.

All glory and power must be earned by their own hands.

(End of this chapter)