The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 247 Rewards for Merit: Money, Grain, and Women
The setting sun, like blood, stained the broken walls and ruins of Ganzhou City into charred silhouettes.

The golden sun and moon battle flags had long stood atop the city walls, fluttering in the cold wind.

"Da da da da da~"

Accompanied by the deep sound of horses' hooves, three hundred imperial guards slowly walked toward the city gate.

They all held long spears, pointing them diagonally to the sky, and in the setting sun, they resembled a reddish-yellow steel wall.

In the middle of the group, Li Xiao, dressed in dark gold dragon-patterned cotton armor and fully armed, held a dragon-headed cavalry saber in his hand, rode a magnificent black Ferghana horse, stepped over the pile of rubble under the city gate, and headed into Ganzhou City.

"Grand Protector!"

"Grand Protector!"

Qin Chunsheng, Lin Dazhuang, and other generals of the First Garrison all dismounted and stood at the city gate to greet Li Xiao.

It was already evening, and after a whole day of cleaning, the city of Ganzhou had been basically cleared.

All the soldiers and civilians who were still alive in the city were driven to prisoner-of-war camps outside the city and guarded by the Fourth Division.

When it came time to attack the next town, it was the fourth town's turn to raid it.

The first town would then take over from the fourth town, looting villages outside the city, guarding prisoners of war, and so on.

Comparatively speaking, the profits in the city are greater, so rotation is necessary.

Both towns were Li Xiao's direct subordinates, so he couldn't show too much favoritism.

"Have you found Mi Qin Tiele yet?" Li Xiao nodded slightly to the group and then asked.

After the first town entered the city, it quickly quelled the unrest and dragged out the rioting soldiers one by one.

However, they never saw Milton.

Li Xiao suspected that the old man might have disguised himself and was hiding among the prisoners of war outside the city, or perhaps he was still hiding in some secret place within the city.

In short, the chances of escaping are low when a city is besieged by a large army.

Therefore, he ordered the Fourth Division to screen the prisoners of war and the First Division to conduct a further search within the city.

Mi Qin Tiele was his defeated opponent. Although he could no longer cause trouble, he was still the military commander of Gansu and still had influence.

If we can capture him, we can kill him in public.

It can not only boost morale, but also intimidate the Western Xia army.

"We've caught him," Qin Chunsheng said.

"Mi Qin Tiele was hidden in a cellar under a house in the east of the city. More than a dozen large boxes were also found, filled with gold and silver treasures, with a total value of no less than 300,000 taels."

"We were able to find his hiding place thanks to the spies from the Embroidered Uniform Guard who infiltrated the city." Qin Chunsheng was also trying to claim credit for Gou Sheng and the others.

It was Mi Qin Tiele who was unlucky.

Among the soldiers who dug the cellar for him were five spies from the northern frontier.

Afterwards, Mi Qintiele ordered his men to silence them, but the five men noticed something was wrong and incited the other soldiers to resist.

Ultimately, with the help of other spies, three people survived.

Thus, the location of the cellar was exposed. Upon learning the news, Qin Chunsheng immediately sent people to the east of the city, where they found Mi Qintiele himself.

He had prepared a large amount of food and water inside, seemingly waiting for the Western Xia reinforcements to recapture Ganzhou, or for the Northern Frontier to voluntarily abandon Ganzhou before coming out.

"Bring him up," Qin Chunsheng shouted.

Soon, Mi Qin Tiele was brought in.

At this moment, his arms were tightly bound, his hair was disheveled, and his face was pale. He looked nothing like a high-ranking official; instead, he resembled a beggar.

"Kneel down."

The two soldiers behind him shouted and kicked him in the knees, causing him to kneel heavily on the ground.

Mi Qintiele grimaced in pain, his body curled up on the ground, but he managed to lift his head with difficulty.

He flashed an ugly smile, his expression full of fawning and flattery.

"I am Mi Qin Tiele, the military commander of Gansu. I have met Your Excellency, the Grand Protector of the Northern Frontier."

As he spoke, his gaze was also subtly observing Li Xiao.

He looked shocked, having previously heard that Li Xiao, the Grand Protector of the Northern Frontier, was unusually young.

But seeing it with my own eyes still left me quite surprised.

His figure was as imposing as an iron tower, his short black hair stood up neatly, his eyes beneath his sword-like eyebrows were as cold as blades, and his light stubble added to his murderous aura.

On the dark gold armor, black dragons coiled around the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers. With every gesture, a cold and fierce aura, carrying a murderous aura, swept over you, and his sharp eyes seemed to be able to see through people's hearts.

This is Li Xiao, the Grand Protector of the Northern Frontier!

"The Grand Protector's reputation is legendary, but seeing him in person today, I realize that the rumors are far from accurate." Despite his current disheveled state, Mi Qin Tiele still praised Li Xiao in a flattering tone in order to save his own life.

"Your figure is like a pine tree standing tall in the snow, and the black dragon with the sun and moon pattern on your armor shows your divine might. Your eyes are as sharp as an eagle piercing through the clouds, and you have the power of a thousand troops pressing down on you even before you speak."

"You are truly a once-in-a-century dragon! Even if Bai Qi and Han Xin were reborn, they would not be able to match even a fraction of your battlefield prowess!"

Upon hearing Mi Qintiele's words, Li Xiao immediately smiled.

"Haha~"

"Hahaha~"

Astride his warhorse, with his hand on the hilt of his dragon-headed sword, he looked down at him and said with a faint smile, "Success or failure at any moment is not enough to judge a hero; true men are those who can bend and stretch."

"That phrase is very fitting for Commander Mi Qin!"

Upon hearing Li Xiao's tone, Mi Qintiele's face lit up with a slight smile.

I thought I was going to survive.

But then Li Xiao's tone shifted: "You are not the first military commander to fall into the hands of my Northern Frontier, but you are the first military commander to kneel and beg for mercy before me."

"I have never seen such a shameless general as you."

Li Xiao scoffed dismissively.

Like Weiming Zhongshi before, although he was defeated, he vowed to die rather than surrender, and Li Xiao even admired his integrity a little.

But despite being both Tanguts and military commanders of Western Xia, Mi Qin Tiele was far inferior to Wei Mingzhongshi.

In particular, it was said that Mi Qin Tiele was not a good person, which caused widespread resentment among the soldiers and civilians of Ganzhou City.

There's no point in keeping such a person around.

"If you surrender before my northern army officially starts the war, I might spare your dog's life."

"But now, if I spare you, how can I face the soldiers of the northern frontier who died in the Battle of the Great Wall and last night's siege?"

After saying that, Li Xiao waved his hand and said, "Go in peace. I will take good care of your wife and daughters."

Upon hearing this, Mi Qintiele panicked and began to beg for mercy, saying, "Great Protector, Great Protector, spare my life!"

“I have money, I am useful, I can help you take the lead to Xingqing Prefecture.”

"From now on, I'll be your dog."

Mi Qintiele cried out in panic, "He really doesn't want to die!"

The world is full of wonders, and there are countless beauties to enjoy; how can one possibly die?
Even if he loses all power in the future, as long as he can be given a stable and wealthy life, he will not hesitate to betray Western Xia.

Unfortunately, his usefulness was too low, and Li Xiao looked down on him.

Amid screams, he was dragged away by two soldiers and, in front of a large number of prisoners of war outside the city, his head was chopped off.

Then, the head was tanned and hung on a flagpole on the city gate.

And on the flagpole, there are two more heads.

They are Wei Mingzhongshi, the commander of the Yan Army in Heishui Town, and Suorendewang, who was appointed as the commander of the Xiping Army in Guazhou two years ago.

The latter, after Li Dongjiang's Western Route Army successively captured Dunhuang and Guazhou, fought to the death and refused to surrender until the very last moment, dying in the Xiping Commander's Mansion.

Compared to Soren Dewang, Miqin Tiele truly embodied the fear of death to the fullest extent.

In fact, it's the same everywhere. There are those who vow to die rather than surrender and who bravely sacrifice themselves, and there are those who are greedy for life and cowardly and grovel.

Li Xiao merely glanced at the three heads on the flagpole and said softly, "I wonder if we'll have a chance to collect all twelve heads this time."

The Western Xia had twelve military command offices, which were equivalent to twelve local military regions.

Now, the Northern Frontier Army has eliminated the Yan Army Commandery in Heishui Town, the Xiping Army Commandery in Guazhou, and the Gansu Army Commandery in Ganzhou.

Three of the twelve military commands have already left, leaving nine.

If all twelve heads were collected, the Western Xia dynasty would be destroyed.

Of course, what Li Xiao wanted most was the head of the Western Xia emperor.

……

In the evening, the Northern Frontier Army slaughtered cattle and sheep to reward the troops.

Inside the Commander's residence, the person sitting at the head of the table had become Li Xiao.

At this moment, he was listening to Gou Sheng's report, looking satisfied and nodding from time to time. Although he already knew about Gou Sheng and his men's actions from Zhang Shitou's report, it was still Li Xiao's habit to personally hear reports from frontline personnel.

This can also help to discover whether anyone is concealing the battle achievements of rank-and-file soldiers, so as not to discourage these soldiers who have truly risked their lives.

"it is good!"

"He is both brave and resourceful, able to incite a mutiny within the Ganzhou army right under their noses, causing them to turn on each other, and still manage to bring most of his brothers back unharmed."

"Gousheng, you're pretty good."

Li Xiao laughed heartily, quite satisfied with Gou Sheng's actions.

This not only allowed the Northern Frontier Army to capture Ganzhou City ahead of schedule, but also effectively reduced the casualties of the Northern Frontier Army.

It should be understood that if the attack on the city were to be delayed until the second day, it would not only result in a large waste of cannonballs and a reduction in the lifespan of the Shenwei cannons, but would also cause more casualties among the soldiers.

However, Gou Sheng's antics caused infighting among the city's defenders, allowing the Northern Frontier Army to enter the city smoothly.

However, more than twenty of the hundred brothers who followed Gou Sheng died in the city.

"Generals die in a hundred battles, brave soldiers return after ten years."

"Since war has broken out, casualties are hard to avoid."

"But we who are alive must do justice to those brothers who died in battle."

Li Xiao stood up and spoke in a deep, serious voice.

Looking at Jiu Meng'an beside him, he said, "Jiu Meng'an Sima, write down the names of the soldiers who died in the city following Gou Sheng Baihu. Collect their bodies properly and put them all in the Forest of Meritorious Deeds."

“Family compensation must be paid in full, and then double the amount should be paid in the name of the local government.”

Jiu Meng'an nodded emphatically: "Don't worry, Grand Protector, I will personally oversee this matter."

Gonglielin, equivalent to a martyrs' cemetery, is located in a mountain in the north of Longcheng. It is the burial place of the martyrs who died fighting for the northern frontier since the Jinzhou Governor's Office period.

He also set up an altar and erected a monument, and Li Xiao would personally go to worship there every year.

Then, he looked at Gou Sheng and the others and said, "You are the ones who made the greatest contribution in the battle of Ganzhou City."

"This capital will reward you handsomely."

“Including the brothers who died in battle, each of you will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver.”

"Gou Sheng, appointed as a probationary deputy commander; Zhao Erniu, appointed as a probationary centurion..."

Li Xiao immediately rewarded these people with one hundred taels of silver each, which far exceeded the reward standard for ordinary soldiers and was a huge sum of money in this era.

You could buy a hundred sheep or twenty cows, or even ten beautiful female slaves.

The main reason is that the work done by people like Gou Sheng is truly dangerous, and their contributions are genuinely significant.

Throughout history, the greatest military achievements have always been those of beheading generals, capturing flags, and being the first to break through enemy lines.

In addition, if the scouts can complete their missions well, the merits they make will be no less than those of the four merits.

In war, intelligence is of paramount importance.

These scouts ventured deep into enemy territory, even close to the enemy camp, to gather intelligence. This was an extremely dangerous type of soldier who was often surrounded by the enemy.

The intelligence they bring is crucial for generals' troop deployment.

Therefore, every scout was an elite soldier.

Once the scouts obtain intelligence, they will be rewarded handsomely.

Moreover, there is an unspoken rule in the Northern Frontier Army that a considerable number of the shihu (military officers) and duwei (military captains) have experience as scouts.

Every scout is a prospective officer and is given priority for promotion.

This time, Gou Sheng and his men made a significant contribution, opening the gates of Ganzhou city entirely with less than a hundred of them.

The danger was greater and the difficulty more intense, so Li Xiao was generous in offering a substantial reward.

This demonstrates the respect that the northern frontier holds for its meritorious service and its firm commitment to upholding the ironclad rule of "military merit first".

Then, Li Xiao drew his dragon-headed cavalry saber from his waist, the blade slicing through the air with a sharp sound, and slammed heavily onto the table.

Splinters flew everywhere, and a table snapped in two. He surveyed the crowd in the courtyard: "Remember! In my northern frontier, battle merits are life itself!"

"As long as you're willing to risk your life, even a beggar can become a general."

"But if anyone dares to tamper with military merits, this sword of mine will not discriminate."

Upon hearing this, all the generals turned serious, not believing that Li Xiao was joking at all.

They all stood up, patted their chests heavily, and said, "We will obey the Grand Protector's orders."

Clear rewards and punishments, with heavy rewards and heavy punishments, is a rule that Li Xiao has always emphasized.

This is also the foundation for the Northern Frontier Army's strong combat capabilities.

The corruption within the Western Xia army shocked Li Xiao.

It was precisely because of parasites like Mi Qin Tiele who kept gnawing at the Western Xia that the once mighty Western Xia army became vulnerable and easily bullied.

The Northern Frontier Army must take this as a warning.

Anyone who dares to undermine the foundation of the army must die.

As time went on, everyone continued eating and drinking, and the atmosphere became increasingly lively.

Jiu Meng'anhe and Gao Zhongyi, the deputy military advisor of the military agricultural camp, took the opportunity to report the spoils of the battle to Li Xiao.

“Ganzhou City is much richer than Heishui City. Although the common people are poor, the wealthy are rolling in money,” Gao Zhongyi said.

"According to the statistics of my subordinates, our army has seized gold, silver, copper coins, etc., with a total value of about 300,000 taels of silver."

"In addition, there is Mi Qin Tiele's wealth, but many of the land deeds for his fields, shops and houses are located in Xingqing Prefecture and other places in the east. It will take a long time to convert them into cash and sell them at a low price."

"Aside from these hard-to-cash items, the other gold and silver totaled 150,000 taels of silver."

Mi Qin Tiele was indeed greedy; his own assets alone were almost half the combined wealth of all the major households in Ganzhou City.

Of course, this only includes gold, silver and copper coins; other valuable materials are not included.

"Dispose of those land deeds," Li Xiao nodded gently and gave the order.

There's no use for the Northern Frontier Army keeping the farmland in Xingqing Prefecture. If they can really break through Xingqing Prefecture, they can just seize the land directly.

The so-called land deed is just a piece of waste paper.

However, the property deeds were still useful, so he ordered, "Give those property deeds to Commander Zhang of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and let him handle them."

"Your subordinate obeys." Gao Zhongyi nodded slightly.

These deeds included some residences and shops, and the Imperial Guards could select the useful ones to use as their own bases.

The remaining useless items can be gradually disposed of at low prices to merchants and nobles of Western Xia, and the proceeds can be used as operating funds for the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Subsequently, Gao Zhongyi reported to Li Xiao about the grain he had captured, which was not much, only about 100,000 shi.

Because most of the grain stored in the city had been taken away by the Mi Qin Tiele, and had already been captured by the Northern Frontier Army in the last Battle of the Han Great Wall.

The remaining 100,000 shi of grain were all stored in the cellars of wealthy households.

It sounds like a lot, but it's really not enough to eat, especially now that the Northern Frontier Army has captured all the soldiers and civilians in the city and is sending them back to the Northern Frontier. They certainly can't be allowed to starve to death.

“For those who are not part of the Kuri Army, just feed them until they are about 50% full each day, just enough to keep them from starving,” Li Xiao said in a deep voice.

In this cannibalistic era, there are no such rules.

Even without the Northern Frontier Army, ordinary people still faced a high risk of starving to death.
The Northern Frontier Army is not their nanny; they will not take care of them in every way. As long as they don't starve, that's enough.

Only those who are valuable deserve to have enough to eat.

"Yes, sir." Gao Zhongyi nodded slightly and then reported on the other supplies captured.

Then Jiu Meng'anhe reported the number of prisoners of war: "We just received a report from the Sixth Division that they have successfully joined forces with the Second Division, captured Suzhou City, and are currently heading towards Ganzhou City."

"At this point, our four garrisons have swept across the five prefectures of Hexi, capturing more than 200,000 people in total."

However, this is not the final number, because there are still many villages outside the city that have not been taken care of, especially the villages outside Ganzhou City, which will be the key targets for the Northern Frontier Army to plunder next.

The total population of the five prefectures in Hexi is estimated to be around 300,000.

The vast majority of them originated from Ganzhou and Suzhou.

"Select all able-bodied men to serve as auxiliary soldiers in the army," Li Xiao said in a deep voice.

Same old rules, let these people be cannon fodder, let them do all the dirty, tiring, and dangerous work.
Rebellion? My family is in the hands of the Northern Frontier Army.

After the military situation was discussed to the last minute and it was getting late, the two men withdrew. Li Xiao noticed that the generals had finished eating and drinking, so he waved his hand, and a group of women were brought in.

There were over a hundred or so birds.

Some people wore ordinary linen clothes, while others wore silk and brocade.

Despite their different backgrounds, they were all exceptionally beautiful.

These people were naturally prisoners of war from the Battle of Ganzhou.

(End of this chapter)