The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 251 The Roar of the Western Xia Emperor, the Most Beautiful Woman of Hexi
"This humble servant, He Dagan, Prefect of Shanle County, pays his respects to the Grand Protector of the Northern Frontier."

When Li Xiao entered the city, he saw He Da bent over, his head on the ground, kneeling and bowing to him.

Although he was a Uyghur, he spoke fluent Chinese, with an extremely respectful tone and a very flattering expression.

The dignified prefect of a city behaved like a lackey, fawning over his master.

Li Xiao was taken aback; it was truly rare to see someone so shameless.

"The prefect of Shanle City?"

Then, as if throwing away trash, he calmly waved his hand and said, "Kill him."

What about a prefect?
Li Xiao had killed countless higher-ranking officials, including governors, military commanders, and even tribal khans from the grasslands.

In his eyes, a mere prefect was nothing more than a slightly larger ant.

"As ordered."

The two bodyguards standing behind He Dagan shouted loudly and grabbed He Dagan's small shoulders, preparing to drag him away.

He Dagan immediately let out a pig-like scream: "Wait, wait a minute!"

"Don't kill me, Grand Protector, don't kill me."

"I am willing to offer two hundred thousand taels of silver and two hundred beauties."

"Please, Grand Protector, spare my life."

He Dagan struggled, kowtowing repeatedly on the ground and begging for mercy.

Li Xiao didn't even bother to lift his eyelids.

Shanle City has been breached. Kill him, and all the silver and beauties will belong to Li Xiao.

Seeing that Li Xiao wouldn't budge, He Dagan had no choice but to resort to his trump card.

Ignoring the beatings and pulling from his two bodyguards, He Da shouted at the top of his lungs, "Great Protector, this woman is named Abugema, the Pearl of Hexi, and a beauty of unparalleled beauty in the world."

"The Grand Protector's reputation is renowned. I have long admired the Grand Protector and only wish to serve by his side."

Upon hearing this, the two guards hesitated for a moment as they pulled at He Dagang, and secretly glanced at Li Xiao's expression.

In his heart, he cursed He Dagan for being shameless; how could he do such a thing? He was not a man at all.

But Li Xiao wasn't surprised by this.

Throughout history, how many people have sold their wives to achieve high positions?
Given Li Xiao's current status, if he were to let slip even the slightest hint, the women sent to him could fill hundreds of tents.

But he disdained to do that, or more precisely, he disdained to do that to his own people, but that did not include the wives and daughters of his enemies.

However, when Li Xiao saw Madam He Dagan, he nodded slightly in his heart.

It must be admitted that this so-called 'Pearl of Hexi' does have some beauty.

Her skin was fair and delicate, like a warm and lustrous pearl; she had a slender and tall figure and the unique resilience of a Uyghur woman.

Her legs were thin and weak. She knelt in front of Li Xiao, looking pitiful. The rope marks on her fair ankles were even more pronounced.

"Keep your head up."

Li Xiao's commanding voice spoke.

Upon hearing this, the woman's heart trembled violently. She slowly raised her head, revealing an exquisitely beautiful face.

With a high, straight nose and distinctly foreign features, her small, pale face was pale, and teardrops clung to her eyelashes, trembling slightly from time to time, sending chills down one's spine.

All the so-called celebrities of later generations pale in comparison to this naturally beautiful face with its exotic features.

Li Xiao nodded in satisfaction and said, "Keep her here."

Before He Da could even breathe a sigh of relief, Li Xiao changed the subject, saying, "But that doesn't mean your sins will be forgiven."

After saying that, the two guards behind him attacked again, frightening He Dagan's face, which had just recovered, to turn pale and anxious again.

He cursed Li Xiao in his heart for being shameless. He had already given Abugma to him, yet he still wanted to kill him.

This is like eating and wiping one's mouth clean, then refusing to admit it.

But in Li Xiao's eyes, this was clearly his spoils of war.

He Daqian is trying to get something for nothing by taking his own things and then giving them to himself.

He wants the woman.

The man was murdered!

Seeing Li Xiao's ruthlessness, He Dagan was both angry and afraid.

But he also realized that Abugma had thrown good money after bad, so he quickly added more money.

"Grand Protector, Grand Protector~"

"Even a little person can be useful~"

“I have hidden 100,000 taels of silver in a secret room in the manor outside the city. I can offer this to the Grand Protector.”

"Furthermore, the deputy commander of the city gate of Liangzhou is my cousin. I can persuade him to surrender to the 'Heavenly Army' and cooperate with the Grand Protector to seize Liangzhou."

He Dagan kept kowtowing and shouting, blood seeping from his forehead, mixing with the yellow sand and dripping onto the ground.

Li Xiao raised his hand to stop his personal guards: "Stop."

Then, he looked at He Dagan with a suspicious gaze: "Can you help me take Liangzhou City?"

"Yes yes yes~"

He Dagan nodded frantically, though he had no such ability whatsoever.

The walls of Liangzhou are high and it is heavily fortified with troops. Even if his cousin were a higher-ranking general, let alone a mere deputy general, he might not be able to succeed.

But in order to save his own life, He Dagan had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept the situation first.

She had confidence in Abugma's abilities, and thought that if she could put in a good word for him with the Grand Protector later, things might be fine.

"it is good."

Li Xiao smiled, nodded in satisfaction, and pointed at him with his riding crop, saying, "Your head now belongs to me."

"I will temporarily keep it on your neck. If we can conquer Liangzhou City, you will be a hero of my northern frontier, and I will reward you handsomely."

"But what if we can't take Liangzhou City? Humph!"

Li Xiao snorted and a cold smile appeared on his face, causing He Dagan's body to tremble instantly.

"Tonight, the army will be rewarded. Prefect Hedagan, please remember to attend."

After saying that, Li Xiao slowly rode away.

He Dagan, on the other hand, looked completely exhausted, collapsing to the ground and breathing heavily.

At night, bonfires lit up the city of Shanle, and corpses were everywhere, their blood staining the yellow sand and turning it into blood plasma.

Meanwhile, outside Li Xiao's golden tent, the generals of the Wuwei Army and the Fourth Division gathered together.

The main purpose was to report on the battle situation and the spoils of war, and to discuss the next course of action.

"To think that such a beauty could exist in such a small city as Shanle, it truly broadens my horizons," Li Xiao said with a smile, looking at Abugma.

He Dagan sat below, completely unmoved, with a servile smile on his face.

"The Grand Protector is mighty and truly a hero of the world."

"I will surely be able to lead the warriors of the northern frontier to defeat the Liangzhou army."

"Conquering Xingqing Prefecture isn't that difficult~"

"How wonderful it would be to capture all the empress and concubines, drink wine and admire the moon together, and chat with strangers all the time!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiao laughed: "Hahaha~"

"Prefect Hedagan is quite a charming man."

"Tonight, I'll reward you by having you serve outside the tent."

Upon hearing this, He Dagan's face instantly froze, his lips trembled, and he was on the verge of tears, only able to force a smile and say, "Thank you for the reward, Protector-General."

After the troop-rewarding banquet, the energetic soldiers did not rest but instead prepared to fight through the night.

Outside the golden tent, dozens of guards stood guard, holding scimitars and bows and arrows, constantly patrolling, as if some villains were trying to assassinate Li Xiao.

However, every member of the Wuwei personal guard wore a contemptuous and sneer expression as they passed by He Dagan.

"So cowardly, how can one be worthy of being called a man?"

One of the guards scoffed and continued his patrol.

At this moment, He Dagan was no longer humble and obsequious as before. His face was dark and gloomy, his expression ferocious, and he clenched his teeth.

He nearly clenched his fists until they broke, and his eyes were practically spitting fire.

"You bitch~"

Human nature always subconsciously avoids its own mistakes. He did not realize that it was his own incompetence and weakness that led to the current result, and instead preferred to blame Abu Gma.

However, compared to others, He Dagan hated the Northern Frontier Army and Li Xiao even more.

"You lowly barbarians, you deserve to be torn to pieces!"

"He was just a slave who raised horses for my Uyghur Khanate, and now he has murdered his master! He is outrageous! Outrageous!" He Dagan roared in his heart.

Every Uyghur can never forget the glory of the Uyghur Khanate.

During the An Lushan Rebellion, the Uyghur cavalry swept across the Central Plains, killing countless people and abducting numerous women.
Now, it's just the cycle of fate; the Uyghurs are weakened, and it's only natural that they'll be purged by the Northern Frontier Army.

But He Dagan was unconvinced. Hearing the sounds coming from the tent, his eyes flashed with hatred.

"You traitors of the Northern Frontier, I will repay this humiliation a hundredfold in the future!" He Dagan gritted his teeth, his heart filled with rage.

Shortly after, Li Xiao came out.

With his shoulders bare, his strong muscles were clearly visible under the moonlight, bulging rapidly like a coiled dragon as he swung his arms.

A shadow loomed over He Dagan, as if endless malevolent energy was surging towards him, instantly giving him a sense of fear, like being targeted by a ferocious beast.

He Dagan immediately suppressed his hatred and anger, his face becoming as obsequious and ingratiating as ever.

In his view, he was enduring humiliation and biding his time.

Li Xiao could naturally sense the hatred deep in his heart, but so what?

Not only did he not care, but he also said with a satisfied look, "Prefect Hedagan, you are very good."

"Once Liangzhou City is captured, you will be the Prefect of Shanle City in my northern frontier."

As soon as he finished speaking, He Dagan was overjoyed.

He paid such a heavy price, wasn't it all for the wealth and glory of the Hedagan family?
Now, not only has the Hedagan family survived, but they can also continue to serve as the governors of Shanle City.

It made him feel that his efforts hadn't been in vain. Embarrassment? He didn't care.

Only by surviving can one have the right to seek revenge.

"Thank you, Great Protector. Thank you, Great Protector." He Dagan kept kowtowing.

After he left, the skinny monkey standing next to Li Xiao said, "Great Protector, this Sari cripple is very cunning and treacherous, a complete villain."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiao nodded slightly: "Of course I know he's a scoundrel, not even worthy of being called a human being."

"Then why?" the skinny monkey asked, puzzled.

"The title of Prefect of Shanle is just a formality. As long as my Northern Frontier Army doesn't leave, Shanle will still be my territory in the Northern Frontier."

"It's not that I trust him, nor that I'm lusting after his beauty; it's just that I suddenly had an idea," Li Xiao said with a faint smile.

He certainly didn't believe that He Dagan had such great ability to help the Northern Frontier Army take Liangzhou.

Even if He Dagan's cousin opened the gates of Liangzhou, so what?
What Li Xiao truly cared about was not that city wall, because no matter how tall the Liangzhou city wall was, it would eventually be destroyed by the Divine Might Cannon.

What Li Xiao truly feared was the tens of thousands of troops inside Liangzhou City.

If Wei Ming Shi'an's army cannot be dealt with, even if Liangzhou City is captured, tens of thousands of soldiers will inevitably be killed or wounded.

Therefore, He Dagan's so-called cousin was dispensable to the Northern Frontier Army; he was like a chicken rib.

But that doesn’t mean He Dagan himself was useless.

Keeping him around might give Li Xiao a pleasant surprise.

……

Xingqing Prefecture will not hold court today.

Li Chunyou was having an affair with Lady Wang in Consort Shu's palace.

Wang came from a prominent Tangut family; his father and brothers both served as officials in the imperial court.

She was well-educated and reasonable from a young age, loved to follow Han etiquette, was very talented, and was skilled in calligraphy and painting. She was known as the "First Talented Woman of Western Xia".

At this moment, Li Chunyou was admiring the "Nine Songs" painting that Wang had painted for him.

But soon, the accompanying eunuch came in and whispered, "Your Majesty, the Privy Councilor has requested an audience with you on important matters."

Upon hearing this, Li Chunyou instantly lost interest in appreciating the painting and said softly, "My beloved consort, put the painting away. I will come to keep you company after I am done with my work."

Lady Wang was well-educated and reasonable, and upon hearing this, she showed no dissatisfaction: "Political matters are of utmost importance, Your Majesty should not keep Lord Nailing waiting any longer."

Seeing Wang's understanding demeanor, Li Chunyou said with pity, "The reason for sending Sicong here must be for the Battle of Hexi."

"I understand," Wang said softly.

The Battle of Hexi is the most important war for Western Xia at present. Even a woman like her, who lives deep in the palace, knows the brutality of the barbarians in the north.

Li Chunyou went to great lengths for this battle, dispatching a large number of troops from the Central Plains to Hexi.

So, Wang helped Li Chunyou straighten his robes and said earnestly, "The ancestors of the Weiming clan will surely bless this battle to be successful and bless our Great Xia iron cavalry to sweep away the northern barbarians."

"I hope so!" Li Chunyou said in a deep voice, but he was actually not in a good mood.

If Wang Sicong were to urgently enter the palace to request an audience at this time, things would likely turn out quite badly.

Sure enough, when he saw Nailing Sicong in the study, the first thing he heard made him lose his composure.

"Your Majesty, something is wrong."

"Within a month, the northern barbarians successively conquered five towns in Hexi: Heishui, Dunhuang, Guazhou, Suzhou, and Ganzhou."

"The armies of the three major military commands of Xiping, Zhenyan and Gansu were completely wiped out, and more than 400,000 soldiers and civilians in Hexi fell into the hands of the northern barbarians."

This caused Si Cong to kneel on the ground and cry out in anguish.

Upon hearing this news, Li Chunyou was even more shocked, and he jumped up from his chair: "What?"

"All five prefectures in Hexi have fallen?"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Li Chunyou shouted in panic, his body trembling, his face flushed, and his blood rushing to his head.

Immediately afterwards, everything went black, my body swayed, and I almost fell to the ground.

With the help of a eunuch, Li Chunyou sat down in a chair, his eyes fixed on Nailing Sicong, and said in a trembling voice, "Privy Councilor, why?"

"Why did those barbarians conquer most of Hexi in less than a month?"

"What about Liangzhou City? How is it now?"

Faced with Li Chunyou's questioning, Nai Ling Sicong had no idea how to answer.

He was completely baffled too.

There have been wars in the past when nomadic tribes from the grasslands invaded, but they would only plunder the villages outside the city and then leave; they had no ability to attack the city.

The last invasion of the northern frontier was similar; they only captured Dunhuang and Guazhou before leaving.

But no one expected that the northern frontier army would be so ferocious this time.

In less than a month, they reached Ganzhou City.

The siege proceeded faster than the battle reports from the Western Xia.

This completely caught the Western Xia rulers and their officials off guard.

"Your Majesty, according to the descriptions of the defeated soldiers from Hexi, the barbarians of the northern frontier are very different from the steppe barbarians such as the Kereit and Naiman tribes."

“When they were fighting, they were not a disorganized mob like the Kreik tribe. On the contrary, they had strict command and worked closely together.”

"Moreover, the Northern Barbarians have sharp armor, fast warhorses, and a terrifying weapon that can unleash a thunderous sound," Nailing Sicong reported.

However, Li Chunyou had no interest in listening to these 'explanations.' In his view, they were all excuses for the incompetence of the frontline generals to shirk responsibility.

"Bang~"

Having regained some strength, Li Chunyou overturned the table in front of him and roared menacingly, "Don't give me this useless nonsense."

"The armor of the soldiers in the northern frontier is sharp? Haha, that's the funniest joke I've ever heard."

"A group of savages who collect horse dung in the freezing cold can actually make weapons? And they're even sharper than the weapons of our Great Xia?"

"There are weapons that can produce thunderous sounds? Are there really gods in this world helping the barbarians?"

"Ha~ Privy Councilor, don't you find these reasons laughable?"

Li Chunyou laughed in exasperation, sitting in the chair panting heavily.

He acknowledged that the northern frontier had a large number of cavalry, and the advantages of the grasslands were undeniable.

However, the Western Xia was a major military power.

Its weapons manufacturing capabilities were comparable to those of the Song Dynasty.

The Divine Arm Crossbow, the Wart Armor, the Great Xia Sword, and so on are all representative works of the Western Xia military industry.

Li Chunyou simply couldn't believe that the military might that Western Xia was so proud of would be surpassed by the barbarians of the northern frontier.

He preferred to believe that it was due to the incompetence of the frontline commanders.

The Xia Kingdom had enjoyed a century of peace and had not launched a large-scale war for a long time.

The army became complacent and its combat effectiveness severely deteriorated. Suddenly encountering a large-scale cavalry force from the northern frontier, it lost the rhythm of the war.

As for weapons, Li Chunyou was not unaware of the local generals' secret sale of military equipment.

Therefore, it is very likely that those bastards sold the weapons to the Northern Frontier people, leaving themselves without weapons, and the Northern Frontier people used the weapons of the Western Xia army to turn the tables and beat the Western Xia army.

It must be said that Li Chunyou's guess was very close to the truth.

These were all direct factors contributing to the defeat of the Western Xia army.

But most importantly, the Northern Frontier Army is truly formidable in combat.

Since the Jinzhou Governor's Office era, the Jinzhou Army has waged several large-scale foreign wars every year.

The fighting strength of the Northern Frontier Army has been continuously enhanced through these trials of iron and blood.

“Back then, my ancestors of the Weiming clan braved thorns and brambles, sacrificing the lives of countless Tangut warriors, in order to conquer the Hexi Corridor.”

"That is the western barrier of my Great Xia Kingdom, and its backing. It cannot be lost," Li Chunyou said in a cold voice.

Although the relationship between the Jin and Western Xia has remained good, things can change unexpectedly, and what if Western Xia were to be attacked by a powerful enemy?

Then the Hexi Corridor will become the last retreat route for the Tanguts. At that time, they only need to hold Wushaoling or Hulangxia to isolate the Central Plains army.

Therefore, the Great Xia Kingdom cannot lose the Hexi Corridor.

"Send an order to Wei Ming Shi'an, instructing him to do everything in his power to reclaim the Hexi Corridor and eliminate the barbarians of the Northern Frontier."

"There must be no mistakes!" Li Chunyou shouted in a deep voice.

"Yes, sir." Nai Ling Si Cong nodded emphatically.

The Privy Council's order quickly reached Liangzhou City.

Wei Ming Shi'an's mood grew even heavier.

"Trouble!"

The emperor and his ministers were the first to become restless.

They began urging him to send troops as soon as possible to wipe out the Northern Frontier Army, or at the very least drive them away and recover the Hexi Corridor.

But this war is not that simple.

For a general, the worst thing is to be impetuous and passive in battle.

Now, Wei Ming Shi'an felt like he was not in control of his own destiny.

"What are the movements of the Northern Frontier Army today?" Wei Ming Shi'an asked the deputy general.

"Reporting to the commander, the Northern Frontier Army remains unchanged and has not taken any action."

Since capturing Shanle City, the Northern Frontier Army has halted its advance, only sending scouts to investigate Liangzhou, while its main force remained in Ganzhou, Shanle, and other places without taking any action.

This greatly angered Wei Ming Shi'an.

He had already made all the necessary arrangements in Liangzhou City, preparing to use the city walls and the more than 20,000 cavalrymen in the city to inflict a heavy blow on the Northern Frontier Army.

However, the barbarians of the northern frontier actually changed their ways.

They've switched from offense to defense.

The key issue is that while he has the patience to wear down the Northern Frontier Army, those in the imperial court don't want to wait.

"Damn this war!" Wei Ming Shi'an cursed, but in reality, he was venting his dissatisfaction with Li Chunyou and his ministers.

(End of this chapter)