The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 242 Building the Jingguan (Mound of Jing), Exterminating the Clan
Ganzhou City, the Military Commander's Office.

Ever since he learned that the Northern Frontier Cavalry had marched south to Heishui City and Dunhuang City, Miqin Tiele's face had been devoid of smiles.

She hadn't even been to a brothel for many days, and she looked worried every day.

"Commander, an order has come from the Privy Council."

On this day, just as Miqin Tiele was training his troops in the military camp, a personal guard hurriedly came by carrying a secret box wrapped in white cloth.

"Bring it here."

Milton quickly opened the package and found two letters inside.

One was an official document from the Privy Council, and the other was a private letter from Wei Ming Shi'an, the Vice Privy Councilor.

After reading the official document, Mi Qintiele's expression became even more solemn.

"Commander, what do we need the Privy Council to do?" the general next to him asked.

Mi Qin Tiele handed the letter to his deputy and said in a deep voice, "Order our Ganzhou army to immediately go and support Heishui City. We must not let the northern barbarians set foot in the Hexi Corridor."

"He also ordered Duke Zhengze and Prince Zhenyi to lead 50,000 troops to support us."

Zhengze Gong was the honorific title for Weiming Shi'an, which shows that he had a certain prestige in the army.

Subsequently, Mi Qintiele opened Wei Mingshi'an's private message.

The letter only mentioned one thing: he must defend Blackwater City to buy time for the main force of the Western Xia army and must not allow the Northern Route Army and the Western Route Army in the northern border to join forces.

Wei Ming Shi'an's battle plan was to defend the north and attack the west, gathering the superior forces of Western Xia to first eliminate the Northern Frontier Army on the western front.

Because the Northern Frontier Army on the western front only numbered over 10,000, it was relatively easy to deal with, so we proceeded from the easy to the difficult.

They then marched north and defeated the main force of the Northern Frontier Army.

The plan was sound; Wei Ming Shi'an was indeed a veteran general. However, what worried Mi Qin Tiele was that the old man had sent him to the northern front to fight the Northern Frontier Army to the death.

There are 30,000 main force troops of the Northern Frontier Army outside Blackwater City.

With his 20,000 Ganzhou troops and less than 10,000 garrison troops in Blackwater City, how could he possibly stop the Northern Frontier Army?

Has there been any news from Blackwater City?

After putting down the letter, Mi Qintiele asked the deputy general beside him.

He shook his head slightly: "After the news of Blackwater City being besieged last time, there has been no further news."

"Is something bad going to happen to Blackwater City?" someone speculated.

"Probably not. The situation in Blackwater City is no worse than in our Ganzhou City. The city walls are three zhang high. As long as there is enough food, those northern barbarians will definitely not be able to climb them."

"The barbarians of the grasslands are not good at attacking cities. I guess Blackwater City is already surrounded on all sides, so no news can get out."

"What if there's a spy in Blackwater City?"

The generals of the Ganzhou army discussed among themselves.

Mi Qintiele was very agitated by what he heard and said angrily, "Go, send someone to Blackwater City to find out the details."

The reason he was able to live such a comfortable life as the military commander was not only because he was good at flattery and often went on team building activities with his superiors, but also because he planned carefully before acting.

Just like in the previous Battle of Hexi, he only sent troops to recapture the two cities of Dunhuang and Guazhou after confirming that the Jinzhou army had left.

In short, it all boils down to one thing: survival!
He dared not go to his death without being sure of his chances.

After returning to his tent, Mi Qin Tiele asked, "How many soldiers have been assembled so far?"

"Reporting to the Commander, there are a total of 25,000 men," the lieutenant replied.

"In another ten days, we can add another 10,000 people."

The Western Xia dynasty is no longer able to maintain a large army.

Even local military commands only maintain a small standing army, and conscript soldiers temporarily during times of war.

However, these temporarily conscripted soldiers were basically only used to fill numbers and do logistics, much like civilian laborers.

Therefore, although the Ganzhou army had reached 25,000 men, the number of those who were actually capable of fighting was probably less than 10,000.

"Continue to recruit, the more troops the better."

Mi Qintiele waved his hand grandly and said.

It doesn't matter if they're not elite troops; having a large number of them will give him some confidence and intimidate the northern barbarians.

After the generals left, Mi Qintiele summoned his advisors and asked, "How is the collection of funds for military aid going?"

"Reporting to the commander, we have already collected over a thousand strings of cash."

Mi Qin Tiele was immediately displeased: "How can it only be one thousand strings of cash?"

It sounds like a lot, but for an army of tens of thousands, it's just a drop in the ocean.

Seeing Mi Qin Tiele lose his temper, the staff member panicked and said aggrievedly, "Commander, those lowly people won't pay!"

The "military aid money" originated in the Later Tang Dynasty. Under the guise of military aid, the imperial court forcibly levied money on the people, regardless of their wealth, and imposed a heavy burden on them.

When news of the siege of Blackwater City arrived, Mi Qintiele realized that his chance to make a fortune had come.

The money collected was nominally intended to aid the army, but the exact amount was entirely up to them.
But now it seems that the money wasn't collected smoothly.

"Hmph, a bunch of lowly people, they don't know what's good for them, daring to illegally resist taxes?"

“The money collected to help the army doesn’t go into my pocket; it’s for the great cause of resisting the Northern Expedition.”

"Why can't these lowly people understand?"

"If we don't have money, the soldiers will go hungry and won't have the strength to fight the enemy. This will allow the northern barbarians to break through Blackwater City, and my Ganzhou City will also be in grave danger. At that time, we should plunder them."

"I'm doing this for their own good."

Mi Qintiele slammed his fist on the table and said angrily, "A bunch of lowly people, they don't know what's good for them. Don't blame me for using my knife."

The aide beside him quickly added, "Yes, yes, yes, Commander, you are wise. Those lowly people are truly ungrateful."

"But please forgive my bluntness, but the imperial court has already increased the land tax this year, so the common people may really be out of money."

"Moreover, we have conscripted soldiers. If we push them too far, it will cause trouble if those lowly people start a riot."

With the conscription order issued by the military governor's office, every household was required to send one male to join the army.

If we provoke these soldiers into making a scene, it could really be a matter of losing our heads.

"Then what do you suggest we do? Are we going to let the army fight on empty stomachs?" Mi Qin Tiele snorted.

The staff members were filled with contempt.

The Gansu military commander's public funds weren't lacking; rather, they had all been embezzled by Mi Qin Tiele.

So now that there's a war, the only option is to increase the levies on the civilians.

However, in such a tense moment, a single misstep could easily lead to a mutiny.

The advisor then suggested, "The common people have no money, but the wealthy have money!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Mi Qintiele's eyes widened instantly: "Are you crazy?"

"If you dare to charge big clients, do you have an extra head?"

The aide quickly said, "We're not talking about all the big shots; we definitely won't mess with those we can't afford to offend."

"And you are this in the two prefectures of Gansu~" The aide gave Mi Qintiele a thumbs up.

"Those who are too powerful to mess with are ultimately just a very small minority."

The local forces in Ganzhou were deeply entrenched, but Mi Qin Tiele, who held military power, dared not provoke only a few.

They all had connections in the court, so the rest were no problem for him.

The advisors suggested collecting money from small landowners and merchants in the two prefectures of Gansu to help the army.

Moreover, to ensure fairness and leave those people with nothing to say, money can be collected from several wealthy families with connections in the central government at the same time.

At worst, I can just secretly return it to them later.

Upon hearing this suggestion, Miltiades' eyes shone even brighter, and a smile appeared on his face.

He gently patted his advisor on the shoulder and said, "Good, Zhong'e!"

"I was right about you."

"You're born to be an official."

"In the future, I will recommend you to the imperial court to help you rise rapidly in your career," Mi Qin Tiele promised.

Li Zhong'e immediately said with tears of gratitude, "Thank you for your guidance, Commander. I will never forget your great kindness."

After pledging his loyalty, Li Zhong'e took the troops given to him by Mi Qin Tiele and went to work.

This time, he needs to have both a knife in one hand and steamed buns in the other; he must raise a sum of money to go on the expedition.

Although they couldn't touch the great nobles, the small landowners and merchants were like pigs they raised.

Once they've fattened up, it's time to slaughter them.

Two days later, a soldier dressed in tattered sheepskin, looking like a refugee, arrived, looking travel-worn.

After revealing their identities, they soon met Mi Qintiele.

"Are you Commander Weiming's personal guard?"

Inside the commander's residence, Mi Qin Tiele looked at a man with a dark complexion, sallow skin, and flaky skin below the hall and asked him a question.

"Last time your commander wrote to me, saying that he was sick and that Blackwater City was short of medical care and medicine, and asked me to send two doctors over for him."

"Judging by the distance, those two doctors should have already arrived in Blackwater City. How is your commander's condition?"

As Mi Qintiele opened the letter, he asked casually.

The man below the platform was visibly taken aback, and frowned as he said, "Reporting to my lord, our commander has always been in excellent health and has not fallen ill recently."

The man spoke bluntly, showing no intention of giving Mi Qintiele a way out.

However, Michaltele did not take it to heart. He simply nodded slightly and stopped talking, instead focusing on reading the letter.

Although the man had already proven his identity, out of a general's sensitivity, he still probed further but found nothing amiss.

Therefore, she believed the man's identity.

The letter was opened and found to be written in very neat regular script, clearly not by Tadashi Akina, but by someone else.

Finally, it was also stamped with Tadashi Akina's personal seal.

The letter only mentioned one thing: the Northern Frontier Army's offensive was extremely fierce, and it requested the Ganzhou Army to provide support as soon as possible.

After closing the letter, Milton asked the man a few more questions.

He breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that Blackwater City was still holding firm and that the Northern Frontier army was still being held back outside the city.

“Alright, I understand. You may stay in the city for now. Once the Privy Council issues its orders, my Gansu army will set off immediately,” Mi Qintiele said.

He then had the messenger taken away and pondered for a moment.

The Privy Council ordered him to lead the Ganzhou army to support Heishui City, and Nai Ling Si Cong also told him in a private letter that Heishui City must be defended.

Now we've learned that Blackwater City is still holding out!
Therefore, Mi Qin Tiele made a decision in his heart.

He stood up, looked at the generals in the hall, and said with a serious expression, "Issue the order: two days from now, we will send troops north to Blackwater City to fight a decisive battle with the northern barbarians."

"Yes, sir!" the generals shouted in unison.

Two days later, Mi Qin Tiele left 5,000 troops to garrison Ganzhou City, while he led 20,000 infantry and cavalry to Heishui City.

……

Meanwhile, on the west bank of the Blackwater River, a group of disheveled people were riding horses, struggling to make their way through the Gobi Desert.

There were fewer than thirty people, mostly young and middle-aged men, with only a few young women.

They were all Heluochuan people who had narrowly escaped the slaughter of the Northern Frontier Army. "After crossing the two mountains ahead, there is the Blackwater River. If we go south along the Blackwater River, we will be saved in two days."

Among the group, a middle-aged man who was leading the way encouraged the others.

They were exhausted. Under the scorching sun and amidst the biting wind and frost, without any water, everyone had reached their physical limits.

Our most pressing hope now is to reach Blackwater City as soon as possible so that they can have a good drink.

However, just as they were about to cross the mountain ahead, they suddenly witnessed a horrifying scene.

"What, what is that?"

A cold wind swept across the cracked earth, carrying sand and gravel. Suddenly, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl from Heluochuan trembled as if struck by lightning and abruptly pointed forward.

What should have been a stretch of undulating sand dunes now stands out as a gray-white spire.

That is not a creation of nature, but a tombstone piled up from countless deaths.

Everyone was stunned by the horrific scene, their faces pale with fear.

The middle-aged man at the front narrowed his eyes sharply, a hissing sound like a broken bellows escaping his throat, and said in a trembling voice:
"This is."

“These are our people, these are our brothers from Heluochuan.”

A young man suddenly broke down and screamed.

The others also became agitated, their eyes reddening and their fists clenched.

Judging from their hairstyles and appearances, those heads undoubtedly belonged to people from Heluochuan.

The women who witnessed this screamed and backed away.

The men, however, had ferocious expressions and rushed forward quickly, their anger burning ever brighter in their hearts.

"You son of a bitch, you barbarian from the grasslands."

A young boy named Awei from Heluochuan stood beside a charred skull, his face contorted with rage: "I'm going to pile their bones up into a mountain!"

The middle-aged chieftain of Heluochuan also gripped the hilt of his knife tightly, gritted his teeth, and said fiercely, "A blood debt must be repaid in blood."

Looking at the scene before him, the image of his wife flashed into his mind. She had been kidnapped by the barbarians of the northern frontier and her whereabouts were unknown.

"The lives of men from Heluochuan are not worthless."

"One day we will definitely come back and kill all the barbarians of the grasslands."

"revenge."

"Let the barbarians' blood stain the grasslands, and bring all their heads back to Luochuan to commemorate the souls of my people."

The ferocious roars of the Heluochuan people and the blood of their clansmen stirred the minds of everyone, intensifying their desire for revenge.

But the next second, the sound of horses' hooves came from afar.

"Gee, gee, gee~"

"Gee~"

Everyone's faces paled instantly. They turned to look and saw a cloud of yellow dust suddenly rising from a hill in the distance.

The warhorses galloped, like muffled thunder crushing the heart. A cavalry force of more than thirty men emerged from the horizon, rushing towards them in a stench that filled the air.

They were all dressed in bright yellow cotton armor, and under the sunlight, they looked like golden warriors.

The people of Heluochuan were stunned for a moment upon seeing this scene.

Suddenly, a woman screamed loudly.

"The devil, it's the devil."

The cavalrymen before them looked exactly like the devils who had trampled their homes and slaughtered their loved ones.

The woman couldn't help but recall the scene of the village being breached.

The villagers fell one by one into pools of blood; their parents and brothers were all slaughtered. On that day, the world seemed to turn blood red.

She was the only one who managed to escape by chance, under the protection of slaves, and then encountered other refugees from other villages.

Only then did they realize that many villages in Heluochuan had been attacked by these demons.

They carried out a massacre, their blood staining the yellow sand red, and heaven and earth seemed to mourn the tragic fate of the people of Heluochuan.

Now, even though they have already fled here, they have still been discovered by the barbarians of the grasslands.

"Run!"

The middle-aged man from Heluochuan who was leading the group suddenly let out a roar.

He immediately mounted his horse and rode off without a second thought.

The crowd scattered like ants in a swarm. The women's headscarves were torn off by the wind, and their braids danced wildly behind them; the men stumbled and tumbled down the sand dunes, whipping their horses with all their might.

Although they swore a blood oath to avenge this deep-seated hatred against the barbarians of the northern frontier.

But when the people from northern Xinjiang actually appeared before my eyes, those terrifying images resurfaced in my mind.

They became timid and afraid.

They want revenge, but not now.

Because they knew very well that at this moment, they were too weak to confront the northern barbarians head-on.

Even if both sides have the same number of people, the facts have already proven that they are destined to lose.

Not long ago, three villages joined forces to ambush a cavalry force from the northern frontier, but the result shocked everyone.

The three-fortress allied forces suffered a crushing defeat, routed by the northern frontier cavalry, whose numbers were less than a third of their own.

The corpses of the Heluochuan people littered the Gobi Desert, and their blood stained the earth red, while the losses of the northern barbarians were negligible.

The vast difference in strength forced them to confront their own limitations and realize that seeking revenge was now a pipe dream; they could only wait for an opportunity.

Therefore, the only thing they could do at that moment was to run away.

On the other side, the Northern Frontier cavalry also did not expect to encounter this group of people, and the leading captain was stunned for a moment.

But then, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"They're from Heluochuan!"

"Chase them, don't let a single one escape."

For the Northern Frontier Army, the people of Heluochuan were an easy victory, and they had to be captured.

The women who were running at the back were quickly caught up. The woman who shouted that she wanted to take revenge on the Northern Frontier Army was caught by a lasso thrown by the cavalry and dragged, leaving a long trail of blood on the gravel.

Immediately afterwards, the northern cavalry drew their bows and arrows, turning this Gobi Desert into their hunting ground.

These people from Heluochuan had been fleeing in the Gobi Desert for a long time, and were exhausted and had not had water for a long time.

The warhorse only ran for a short while before its speed quickly decreased.

In the end, all of these people became prey for the Northern Frontier Army.

Fifteen minutes later, the yellow sand was stained with blood, and more than a dozen headless corpses were scattered around.

The remaining Heluochuan people huddled together, trembling, their terrified eyes fixed on the Northern Frontier cavalry around them.

They were holding bows and arrows, circling around the Heluochuan people.

Soon, at the captain's command, "Fire!"

"Rustling sound~"

The last dozen or so Heluochuan people died from arrows from the northern frontier; only a few women survived.

In front of these women, the Northern Frontier Army swiftly beheaded the men of Heluochuan.

In the tradition of the Heluochuan people, cutting off the enemy's head means suppressing the enemy's soul and preventing the enemy from becoming an evil spirit to seek revenge.

Therefore, the Northern Frontier Army is simply following the traditions of the Heluochuan people.

After killing the men of Heluochuan, they tied up all the remaining women and threw them onto the horses.

The captain glanced around and ordered, "Continue the patrol. We must not let a single person from Heluochuan escape."

They were not soldiers of the Fourth Division, but belonged to the First Division.

The mission is to conduct round-the-clock patrols in shifts along the desert and Gobi along both sides of the Blackwater River.

Once people fleeing from the direction of Blackwater City are discovered, they are immediately detained.

If any escapees from Heluochuan were discovered, the men would be killed on the spot, and the women would be taken back to the main camp and enslaved.

The purpose was to block the Blackwater River and delay the spread of news of the fall of Blackwater City as much as possible.

As the sun set, the northern frontier team completed its mission and was relieved by another night-duty corps, while they returned to their camp.

The main camp of the Northern Frontier Army was located south of Heluochuan, on the banks of the Blackwater River.

The tents of the first and sixth towns are distributed along the river, stretching for more than ten miles, like stars in the sky.

At this moment, Li Xiao was sitting in his tent, looking at a piece of paper in his hand by the light of the torch.

This was a message from a spy in Ganzhou City, informing Li Xiao of the troop movements in Ganzhou.

"Twenty thousand Ganzhou soldiers marched north."

These few simple words greatly pleased Li Xiao, and a slight smile appeared on his face.

"Good~"

"Finally, we caught the fish from Ganzhou."

The personal guard sent to Ganzhou City was real, but he was not the one entrusted by Wei Mingzhongshi.

It was Li Xiao's scheme.

They threatened him with the lives of his family members to force him to tell Mi Qintiele that Blackwater City had not yet fallen.

The purpose was to lure out the Ganzhou army.

Ganzhou City is high and has a garrison of more than 20,000 men, making it far superior to Heishui City.

Even with inside help and powerful siege weapons like the Divine Might Cannon, Li Xiao did not want to launch a siege easily.

The casualties were too high, especially in the street fighting after the city fell. Facing a large number of soldiers and civilians, it was difficult to distinguish them, which also caused a lot of unnecessary casualties.

Therefore, Li Xiao planned to lure the main force of the Ganzhou army out of the city and annihilate them in one battle on the home ground of the Northern Frontier Army.

Then, attacking Ganzhou City will surely be much easier.

Of course, all of this is predicated on the assumption that news of the fall of Blackwater City has not spread.

Otherwise, given Miltiades's cowardly nature, he might very well remain holed up and not come out.

Therefore, Li Xiao sent someone to spread a false message.

However, even if Mi Qin Tiele already knew about the fall of Blackwater City, it didn't matter.

Then we'll proceed with the original plan and forcefully attack the city; it will just take a few more days.

But now it seems that Li Xiao's efforts were not in vain, and Mi Qin Tiele was indeed fooled.

Afterwards, Li Xiao summoned Luo Meng, Da Hu, and other commanders and instructed them: "The Fourth Garrison's operation to clear out Heluochuan is almost complete. Leave one commander from the Fourth Garrison to finish up the rest."

"The rest of you, break camp early tomorrow morning, cross the Han Great Wall, and enter the Hexi Corridor."

The Blackwater River is a long and narrow river with desert on both sides, which is not conducive to the movement of cavalry.

Therefore, Li Xiao decided to ambush the Ganzhou army in the Hexi Corridor, where the wide terrain was the most suitable battlefield for cavalry to gallop.

In contrast, the mixed infantry and cavalry forces of Ganzhou found it extremely difficult to advance in such a place.

(End of this chapter)