The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 239 Turning 'Heluochuan' into a Place Name

The Blackwater River is also known as the Weak Water.

Originating in the Qilian Mountains, the river flows through Shandan, Ganzhou, Heluochuan and other places, heading straight north, crossing the vast desert, and reaching Heishui City, creating the vast Juyan Lake oasis.

Both sides of the Blackwater River are vast, boundless deserts.

Only coastal areas are suitable for human habitation.

Therefore, when the Northern Frontier Army marched south to the Hexi Corridor, it only needed to follow the direction of the Blackwater River basin to reach the Qilian Mountains directly.

Three days later, the vanguard of the Northern Frontier Cavalry arrived at Heluochuan.

This is a Gobi desert located in the middle reaches of the Heishui River, about 400 li away from Heishui City.

Because a large number of Uyghurs belonging to the Heluochuan tribe lived here, this area was also known as Heluochuan.

"The Uyghurs of Heluochuan are no good."

“They are quite xenophobic, especially hostile towards us Han Chinese.”

In the midst of the army, Yang Shoujing, a centurion of the Wuwei Army, rode on his horse and looked at Li Xiao, who was half a body length ahead, and explained in a deep voice.

Having come from a military family in Western Xia, he certainly understood the situation in Western Xia better than Li Xiao.

Yang Shoujing had more authority to speak on the issue of ethnic relations, especially in the Western Xia Dynasty.

"The Heluochuan Uyghurs originated from the Ganzhou Uyghurs of that time."

"Two hundred years ago, the Ganzhou Uyghur regime was defeated by the Tanguts. Many Uyghurs in the Hexi Corridor were massacred, or fled to Gaochang, while many others stayed and integrated with the Han and Qiang people."

"But the Heluochuan Uyghur tribe has always maintained its independence and adhered to Uyghur traditions..."

The once mighty Uyghur Khanate, which dominated the grasslands, was destroyed. Its remnants split into three parts, which respectively established the Karakhanid Khanate, the Gaochang Uyghur Khanate, and the Ganzhou Uyghur regime.

The Ganzhou Uyghurs were a formidable enemy of the Jinshan Kingdom during the Western Han Dynasty.

It was the war with the Ganzhou Uyghurs that led to the destruction of the Jinshan Kingdom.

The fact that every Han Chinese family in Dunhuang and Guazhou wore mourning clothes back then was a consequence of the evil deeds sown by the Uyghurs of Ganzhou.

Later, the Tanguts rose to power, and the Ganzhou Uyghurs became a formidable enemy of the Tanguts in their control of the Hexi Corridor.

Li Yuanhao personally led a large army on several expeditions before finally destroying the Ganzhou Uyghurs.

Many Uyghurs gradually lost their ethnic independence and assimilated into the Han Chinese through intermarriage with Han Chinese in Hexi.

However, the Heluochuan area is almost entirely inhabited by Uyghurs, who refuse to intermarry with other ethnic groups and maintain their Uyghur ethnic characteristics.

Most importantly, due to historical reasons, they harbor strong hostility towards the Han people.

Li Xiao believes that the Northern Frontier Army must strike hard against these die-hards.

Moreover, for the sake of the prosperity of the northern frontier, he also has a responsibility to help the Heluochuan tribe integrate into the greater Chinese family.

"Since these Uyghurs are so despicable, there's no need to show them any mercy."

"Issue the order: do not sheath your swords for three days, and wipe out Heluochuan."

Li Xiao's voice was calm, as if he were just recounting a trivial matter like killing a chicken.

Most importantly, the Heluochuan tribe is located in the Gobi Desert on the west bank of the Heishui River. If they wish, they can send troops at any time to cut off the passage between Heishui City and the Hexi Corridor.

They must be wiped out, otherwise the Northern Frontier Army will feel a chill down their spines while fighting in the Hexi Corridor.

"Turn Heluochuan into just a place name," Li Xiao shouted.

……

The Heluochuan tribe has a population of approximately 20,000.

It is divided into more than a dozen villages of varying sizes, scattered across the Gobi Desert on the west bank of the Blackwater River.

Sanggar Village is the largest of these villages, with a population of about two thousand.

But in reality, this village, which is said to be the largest in Heluochuan, is just a collection of a few hundred crooked mud-brick houses pieced together.

Like a neglected patch on the Gobi Desert, desolate and impoverished.

But this place is the largest devil's den on the west bank of the Blackwater River.

As night falls, only a handful of lights illuminate the village of Sanggar.

A cold wind blew into the room through the cracks in the window, causing the torch to flicker.

The women sat around the stove, boiling a paste mixed with sand and alkali water, while the men, after dinner, walked with heavy expressions towards a large courtyard in the middle of the village.

That was the village chief's house. Although it was drafty, it was the most luxurious house in Sanggar Village, consisting of seven or eight rooms.

At that moment, from one of the rooms came a woman's pitiful screams and gasps, as well as a man's cruel laughter.

It was as if something was being whipped.

To this, the man from Heluochuan simply shook his head and smiled knowingly: "That idiot, he's playing around with women again."

After saying that, he went straight into the main room.

Inside the room sat a man in his thirties, his eyes half-closed, yet he exuded a terrifying aura.

He was the chieftain of Sanggar Village, Sanggarhari.

The man's identity is that of Sanggarhari's cousin, Sanggarsonglin.

"Brother~"

"You're here!"

Sanggarhari opened his eyes and nodded gently: "Sit down first and wait for the others to come over."

"it is good."

The atmosphere fell silent, the only sound being a woman's screams coming from the next room.

Taking this opportunity, Sangarhari chatted casually, saying, "Sudler has high standards and an arrogant personality; he looks down on ordinary women."

"The Han Chinese woman he captured this time was exactly what he wanted."

"You've already spent the whole day with that woman, why aren't you taking a break?"

"Hmph, what a useless piece of trash."

Listening to Sanggarhari scolding his son, Sanggarsonglin chuckled and said, "What's the big deal about playing around with a few women?"

"However, elder brother still told Sudler to be careful and not let that Han barbarian's woman get pregnant."

"The bloodline of our Sangar family must not be tainted."

"It would be best to find Sudler a wife from Heluochuan with noble blood as soon as possible."

"Hmm~"

Sanggarhari nodded gently and said, "He will understand."

Soon, Sudler, whom they had been talking about, walked in. He was a young man of about seventeen or eighteen, tall and strong like a bear.

His head was half-bald, his beard was unshaven, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his expression was full of post-coital fatigue. The woman's voice in the other room had also disappeared.

"Father, Third Uncle, these Han barbarian women are really nice. Their skin is so smooth, and even their voices are different."

"I'll keep this Han barbarian woman as my concubine."

It's clear that Sudler thoroughly enjoyed conquering Han Chinese women.

Hari simply nodded: "Okay, but you must marry a girl from the Huleqin family as soon as possible and give birth to a noble bloodline for our Sanggar family. After that, I won't care what you do."

"The daughter of the Huleqin family!" Sudler felt a pang of heartache.

That girl was pretty, but I heard she was a tigress, very fierce. It's more comfortable to play with Han barbarian women.

Soon, seven or eight more men arrived. They were all leaders of Sanggar Village, forming a relatively stable ruling class in the village.

Villagers under the tribal system were practically no different from slaves.

"The Han barbarians and Tanguts we captured this morning have all confessed."

"Blackwater City was attacked by the barbarians of the grasslands, and they all escaped beforehand," Sanggarhari told the crowd.

This morning, they blocked a group of people coming from Heishui City on the west bank of the Heishui River.

There were men and women, Han Chinese and Tangut people, all with their families.

So he was taken back to the village by these people from Heluochuan.

Men were tortured and interrogated, and women were also whipped and interrogated.

Ultimately, the information gathered indicated that Blackwater City was under attack by nomadic tribes from the steppes.

"Hmph, the people of Blackwater City are simply a bunch of useless trash. Back when Li Yuanhao was in power, he made the grassland barbarians run away with their tails between their legs."

“Now, the barbarians have actually attacked our stronghold,” Sanggar Pine Forest said disdainfully.

When those Han Chinese escaped, Khara-Khoto had not yet been besieged, and they were unaware that Khara-Khoto had been breached in just one day.

“I’ve been to Blackwater City more than once. Its walls are tall and sturdy, and the barbarians of the steppes will definitely not be able to breach Blackwater City in a short time,” a Sangar man said with certainty.

Sanggarhar nodded slightly; he shared the same thought. In this era, it was as difficult for the steppe barbarians to breach the city walls as it was for infantry to defeat cavalry.

"Right now, there's one thing I'm most worried about."

"With Blackwater City besieged, the imperial court will surely send troops to reinforce it. The Gansu Military Command is closest to Blackwater City, so it will definitely send troops from the Gansu Military Command."

"At that time, the Commander's Office will issue a conscription order to Heluochuan."

"I'm afraid the men of Heluochuan can't escape this," Hari said with a heavy expression.

As descendants of the Uyghurs, they are most familiar with the fighting prowess of the nomadic tribes of the grasslands.

Their archery skills, in particular, were a major headache for all armies in the Central Plains.

If they were to face the grassland people, the men of Heluochuan would certainly suffer considerable losses.

But not sending troops is not an option either.

Heluochuan still maintains the independence of the Uyghur people and has not intermarried or integrated with other Han or Tangut people, but these are all conditional.

If even soldiers are not willing to be provided, then what use is Heluochuan to the imperial court?

"Hmph, let's fight then."

"They're just a bunch of barbarians from the grasslands!"

"Back then, we were all just slaves under the feet of our ancestors."

"Now they're all high and mighty?"

“But the spirit of us men of Heluochuan has not been extinguished. Let them see who the true masters of the grasslands are!” Sanggar Sudler shouted.

He had an air of fearlessness.

The Heluochuan people, located in the Gobi Desert, are a typical example. They are wild, unruly, and unruly.

Even the imperial court found it quite troublesome and ultimately could only turn a blind eye.

As long as the people of Heluochuan don't cause trouble, they can provide military service.

They don't even need to pay taxes, since Heluochuan is too desolate and doesn't produce much grain.

After discussion, it was decided that if the Gansu Military Command required them to provide soldiers, they would send some.

After all, if the barbarians from the grasslands really breached Blackwater City, then Heluochuan would probably not be at peace.

……

The next morning, Sudler stormed out of his room, cursing.

"Damn, these Han barbarian women are so fragile, they actually died."

"Go chop up his man and feed him to the dogs."

The woman from last night, unable to bear the humiliation, committed suicide during the night, which made him very angry.

After killing the woman's husband, they captured another young Han Chinese woman and threw her into the room.

Just as they were preparing to make a big splash, a rapid sound of copper bells suddenly rang out from the village.

"Ta-da!"

Sudler stopped abruptly and stood up angrily.

The woman looked terrified, frantically clutching her clothes, tears streaming down her face.

"Hmph, stay in your room and wait for me to come back."

He smiled cruelly, chained the woman up, and closed the door.

They quickly walked to the city wall and asked, "What happened?" It was called a city wall, but it was actually just a mud wall a little over a meter high. They stood behind the mud wall and shot arrows outwards.

At this moment, a large number of people had arrived behind the wall, and someone responded, "Enemy forces are approaching."

Turning his head, he saw a large group of cavalrymen standing quietly a hundred meters away.

There were about a hundred people, all wearing yellow armor, almost blending into the yellowish-brown Gobi Desert.

Everyone was armed with long spears and wearing helmets with plumes, with various weapons such as scimitars and bows and arrows on their horses.

The leader held a wooden stick in his hand, plugged one eye, and looked at the village with the other.

Inside the group, there was another person holding up a strange flag.

The flag is yellow with a white circle around it, and the flag also features sun and moon patterns.

"Who are they? How dare they spy on our Sanggar Village?"

Sudler asked with a menacing look, "Could it be bandits?"

Sanggar Pine Forest looked at him as if he were an idiot and shook his head, saying, "Have you ever seen any bandits with so much armor and weapons?"

The hundred or so people in front of me were almost all fully armed and were undoubtedly a regular army.

But his nephew asked such a silly question, which he considered a sign of poor intelligence.

Sudler is not up to the responsibility of Sanggar Village; his own son is the best candidate for the next village chief.

However, this idea is still in the planning stages.

"It's definitely not the Blackwater Army or the Ganzhou Army. Could it be barbarians from the grasslands?" someone exclaimed in shock.

Didn't they say that Blackwater City was still under siege and hadn't fallen yet?

How did those barbarians from the grasslands end up in the Heluochuan tribe, more than 400 miles away?

Meanwhile, Heiwa, the head of the fourth town across the way, was also carefully observing the situation in Sanggar Village.

“It seems we have found a fat sheep, a tribe of at least a thousand people.”

"Go and inform the commander, and ask him to send reinforcements immediately," Heiwa said to one of his personal guards.

"As ordered."

The cavalryman nodded emphatically and turned to leave.

Under Li Xiao's orders, the Northern Frontier Army, organized into units of 100-household troops, launched a thorough search of Heluochuan, deploying the entire Fourth Division.

Each centurion's unit would be no more than ten li apart.

Therefore, when Heiwa discovered Sanggar Village, within half an hour, several centurions from the surrounding area rushed over.

This is a force of one thousand households, including seven hundred garrison soldiers and one hundred civilians from Blackwater City.

The people of Sanggar Village were all stunned when they saw this scene.

"Damn it, why are there so many people?" Sanggarsonglin said in a panic.

"Could it really be that barbarians from the grasslands have attacked?"

"But, but Blackwater City has several thousand garrison troops and such sturdy walls, could they all be made of mud?"

On the other side, Sudler had completely lost his previous arrogance; his face had turned pale, and panic flashed deep in his eyes.

“We are the descendants of the king of the grasslands, and we must not be looked down upon by these slaves.”

"As long as we can hold the city walls, we will definitely leave these steppe barbarians with a field of corpses," Sudler said, trying to remain calm.

Hundreds of men from Heluochuan gathered behind the wall, drew their bows and arrows, and vowed to defend their homeland to the death.

Upon witnessing this scene, Commander Wang Cunxiao revealed a disdainful sneer.

"A bunch of rabble, wielding weapons from their grandfathers' generation, dare to test the sharpness of my Northern Frontier's swords?"

"Humph!"

In his eyes, these Heluochuan people might be brave and skilled in battle, but their weapons and equipment were really inadequate; even the Kuril army would despise their weapons if they were placed in the northern border region.

Even if they were allowed to fire at will, they probably wouldn't be able to penetrate the armor of the Northern Frontier Army.

"Bring up the Tiger-Suppressing Cannon!" Wang Cunxiao shouted coldly.

Immediately, ten soldiers drove over in two horse-drawn carriages.

Each vehicle was equipped with a Tiger Cannon.

Weighing only 100 jin (50 kg), it can easily be pulled by a horse-drawn carriage.

It was the most suitable firearm for cavalry.

In order to pacify Heluochuan and reduce his own casualties, Li Xiao temporarily allocated two Tiger Cannons to each of the four commanders.

Then, the artillerymen carried the Tiger Cannon down and fiddled with it on the ground.

After consulting with Wang Cunxiao, an artilleryman walked to the Tiger-shaped cannon and shouted, "Fire!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two soldiers lit the fuse, and a few seconds later, a low rumble of thunder echoed outside Sanggar Village.

"Boom!"

Two iron bullets shot out of the cannon muzzle, drawing an arc in the air before crashing into the earthen wall.

One shot missed the target, the other hit the target squarely.

A two-meter-long section of the loess wall was instantly smashed in half.

"What"

Behind another wall, Sudler and his men, who were drawing their bows and preparing to meet the charge of the northern cavalry, were instantly stunned by what they saw.

"how is this possible?"

"What the hell is this?"

“We have committed many evil deeds in our daily lives, and it is the Thunder God who is helping the barbarians punish us.”

"Don't be afraid, everyone. We are protected by Buddha, and even the Thunder God dares not harm us."

The people of Heluochuan behind the earthen wall panicked. Despite Hari and others shouting loudly, many people still unconsciously moved backward.

On the other side, the artilleryman saw a shell miss the target but said nothing.

It's normal; after all, there's always a test shot before the actual shelling.

"fire."

"Boom!"

The second round of shelling began, and both solid shells hit the earthen wall this time, only a few meters away from where they had been hit earlier.

This time, the people of Heluochuan were even more panicked.

Seeing the ever-widening gap in the earthen wall, even the most obtuse person would know that the earthen wall alone could not stop the grassland barbarians.

"Sorcery! These barbarians know sorcery; we can't stop them."

"We're definitely going to die."

The people of Heluochuan began to shout and yell. Even though Hari, Songlin and others tried their best to control them and even killed one person, they still could not completely stabilize the morale of the army.

After eight rounds of shelling, a five-meter-long section of the earthen slope collapsed.

Wang Cunxiao, the head of the fourth town, laughed heartily: "A small earthen wall can't save their lives."

"I'll find an opportunity to suggest to the Grand Protector that it would be best to allocate a few Tiger Cannons to each commander, to create a customized system. These things are incredibly useful."

Wang Cunxiao was a centurion in the Wuwei Army. When the Six Garrisons were expanded, he became a chiliarch in the Fourth Garrison and was a direct subordinate of Li Xiao.

Even his name, 'Cunxiao', was given to him by Li Xiao.

"Cold!"

Wang Cunxiao drew his cavalry saber, turned to look at the garrison soldiers and the hundred Kuli troops behind him, and shouted loudly:
"The Grand Protector has given an order."

"If you don't sheath your sword for three days, you'll slaughter every man in Heluochuan."

"kill!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the seven hundred town soldiers and one hundred Kuli soldiers immediately turned ferocious, brandishing their spears and charging into Sanggar Village.

Where the earthen wall had collapsed, there was only a patch of rammed earth on the ground, which was no match for the leaping warhorses.

Leading the charge was a group of garrison soldiers. They controlled their warhorses with their legs, drew their bows, and shot sharp arrows that instantly struck the heads of the people behind the wall.

In contrast, the arrows of the Sangar people could not even pierce the cotton armor; they were merely deflected off the surface.

The arrows they made themselves were of very poor quality, not even close to the level of the military industry in the northern border region.

"kill!"

Heiwa leaped high over the mound, drew his bow and shot another enemy.

At that moment, a Sangar man rode straight towards them.

Heiwa, having become a centurion, was naturally a veteran of countless battles. He quickened his horse's pace, gripped his spear tightly, and the hard spearhead pierced directly through the chest of the Sanggar man.

It crashed into the hook behind it, sending the corpse flying heavily.

On the other side, more than a hundred Blackwater City soldiers also rushed in. Although their weapons and armor were not as good as those of the Northern Frontier.

However, it was also a standard weapon of the Western Xia Dynasty.

They also have some advantages in their battles against the Sanghar people.

"Die to me."

Huang Daquan, a former military household member of Huangshi Village, caught up with a fleeing Sanggar man while holding a long spear and stabbed him hard in the back.

The splattered blood stained his cheeks, but it only fueled his inner turmoil.

The passion that had once been lost has been rekindled.

He then fired another shot, reached out from the horse, grabbed the corpse, cut off its left ear, and threw it on the ground like trash.

"One is left."

Huang Daquan breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes shining with joy.

All it takes is killing three enemies to free your family from slavery and become a soldier in the Northern Frontier Garrison.

What once seemed like an unattainable goal now appears to be not so difficult.

Three enemies are within arm's reach.

Moreover, each head taken will be rewarded with a corresponding material reward.

It could be copper coins, or cattle and sheep.

In short, the propaganda of the Northern Frontier Army is very fair.

Huang Daquan only believed half of it, because the former trolls also spoke very convincingly.

However, once they have truly made a contribution, they are usually lucky to receive a third of the reward.

Now, it remains to be seen whether the Northern Frontier Army can fulfill its promises.

If the rewards for meritorious service were distributed fairly, then Huang Daquan decided to continue working in the northern frontier.

At least through my own hard work, I can provide a good life for my family.

"You little bastards, your Grandpa Huang is here to take you away."

"kill!"

Huang Daquan roared, his face filled with murderous intent, and charged at another Sanggar man.

Beside him, numerous prisoners of war from Blackwater were also charging forward fiercely.

They are not afraid to risk their lives.

I just hope to be treated fairly.

On the other hand, facing the fierce and invulnerable Northern Xinjiang army, the mentality of these Sanggar people was completely shattered.

Some people started to run away, preparing to escape with their families.

"Kill them! Kill them all!"

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

Sudler shouted, his eyes inevitably revealing panic and fear.

(End of this chapter)