The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 265 The Northern Frontier Gathers Heroes, the Xia Army Fears War
The midday sun hung overhead, scorching the earth like a red-hot iron disc.

More than twenty Western Xia laborers stumbled and ran through the withered grass, each one looking panicked and extremely tense.

Despite being exhausted, hungry, and thirsty, no one dared to stop and rest.

"Don't stop! The barbarians from the northern frontier are catching up soon. Let's go!" Old Zhao shouted. Because of his age and experience, he was quite respected among the laborers and led them in their escape.

"The warhorses of the northern barbarians are very fast. If we dare to stop and catch our breath, we'll probably be dead!"

Zhang Gouzi ran along in a terrified manner, his straw sandals already torn by pebbles, blood seeping from his feet mixed with mud, leaving a winding dark red trail behind him.

But they dared not stop for the first time.

The thought of the battle not long ago filled everyone with genuine fear.

The Northern Frontier Cavalry was simply terrifying. Before they could even react, the entire Yuanchuan Warehouse had been breached by the Northern Frontier forces.

Zhang Gouzi watched helplessly as two Western Xia soldiers, after failing to besiege a Northern Frontier cavalryman, were killed one after the other.

The Northern Frontier Cavalry not only had close coordination, but their individual combat capabilities were also superior to those of the Western Xia regular soldiers.

In contrast, Zhang Gouzi and his group were actually just a group of laborers responsible for transporting grain.

Given the state of the battle, they naturally turned tail and ran. They met other people along the way and ran together.

By this time, they had already run more than twenty miles.

"I can't go on. You guys run."

"I can't run anymore. Even if I'm caught by the people of the Northern Frontier, I won't run anymore," said an older laborer, panting heavily.

He plopped down on the ground, unable to run any further.

His actions instantly triggered a chain reaction, and the other laborers felt their breath catch in their throats, with several of them collapsing to the ground.

A boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old, with tears streaming down his face, said in a hoarse voice, "We shouldn't have come to Yuanchuan."

"My mom said transporting grain won't kill anyone, sob sob~"

The boy's words brought even more sorrow to the others, reminding them of their families far away in Hedong, and they couldn't help but shed tears.

However, some people said, "Perhaps the people of the northern frontier won't kill us?"

"How could that be? Aren't they all said that the barbarians of the Northern Frontier kill anyone they see? They don't even spare children?"

"They will definitely kill us."

“That’s right. I saw them kill a lot of regular soldiers in the granary before.”

"When we came here, I remembered there was a village not far ahead. Let's go see if there's anything to eat."

The laborers all spoke at once, none of them daring to gamble with their own lives.

But at that moment, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from afar.

"Gee, gee, gee~"

The laborers' chatter abruptly ceased, and everyone held their breath in unison.

Suddenly, a cloud of dust rose from the distant horizon.

Dozens of northern cavalrymen clad in yellow armor galloped in like streaks of golden lightning, whipping up clouds of yellow sand.

Holding spears and bows, their weapons gleamed coldly in the sunlight, resembling a horde of demons emerging from the depths of hell.

The moment they saw them, all the laborers felt the hairs on their backs stand on end. Zhao Laonian was the first to react, and exclaimed in horror, "They're barbarians from the Northern Frontier!"

"run!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs, and the crowd snapped out of their daze and scattered in panic, but they were no match for the warhorses of the Northern Frontier cavalry.

The sound of horses' hooves thundered, growing ever closer.

In a short while, the northern cavalry surrounded them in a crescent shape. The white mist exhaled from their horses' snorts, carrying the stench of blood, made it hard for everyone to breathe.

Zhao Laonian and the others huddled together in fear, while the Northern Frontier cavalry, holding bows and arrows, circled around them.

"Whoa~"

The leader was a captain who reined in his horse, pointed his saber at the laborers, and shouted, "Put down your weapons! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

"Go back and fetch grain. If even one person escapes, I, the captain, will chop off all your heads."

The captain was originally from Dunhuang, and his accent was slightly different from that of the Guanzhong region, but the laborers could still understand him.

"It seems we don't have to die?"

“These people from the northern frontier won’t kill us.”

"You want us to transport grain?"

"They should have told me sooner! I was terrified."

Upon hearing this, the laborers felt a surge of relief, as if they had escaped a calamity.

It turns out that the barbarians of the northern frontier only made them laborers to transport grain.

This is so easy; that's what they do for a living.

Seeing the group of laborers nodding hastily, the captain snorted softly.

"Remember this: if you lose even a single grain of food on the road, I'll chop off one of your fingers."

"If you lose ten grains of rice, you might as well lose your head."

"Yes, yes, we understand." The laborers nodded quickly.

Meanwhile, Wangshe Village, not far from here, was also being plundered by the Northern Frontier Army.

The scorching sun beat down on the barren fields of Wangshe Village. Zhou Erniu straightened his aching back and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his coarse cloth sleeve.

He gazed at the drooping seedlings in the fields, silently calculating how many more days of drought they could survive.

Around mid-afternoon, several households from the surrounding area sat together to drink water and rest; men, women, and children were all there.

In this era, working is not just for men; the whole family works together, and even children have to do what they can.

But during the break, I heard an old man sighing in the field next door.

"Hey, I heard that land rent and land tax are going to increase this year."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Erniu and the other men immediately became anxious, and the women also looked flustered.

"Why?"

"We're already paying enough, and now they're raising the price? Are they trying to kill us?"

"Yes, if prices rise any higher, we'll all be begging for food."

"It would be better not to farm next year, and we might as well all starve to death."

"Old Huang, where did you hear this news from?"

The group asked, their faces filled with anger yet tinged with a sliver of hope.

Old Huang said, "My nephew is in Zhuoluo City, right? He found a job at the county government office, I heard from the officials."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Erniu and the others instantly lost their temper, and their last shred of hope vanished.

Because this news is very likely true.

"We're fighting the barbarians in the north, and I heard we're running out of food. We'll just have to work harder on the land," Old Huang said.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Erniu clenched his fist and pounded it into the yellow earth with gritted teeth.

"Damn it, why are those barbarians from the northern frontier coming to our Great Xia Kingdom?"

"Yes, if it weren't for the barbarians from the northern frontier, our lives would be a little better."

"I heard that the county government is going to conscript us to be laborers."

"This time we need to mobilize a lot of people, Erniu, Lao Zhang, Xiao Huzi, we probably can't escape it."

"Well, being a laborer is nothing, it's just about putting in some physical labor."

"However, we should get these lands sorted out before we leave, otherwise we won't be able to produce any food!"

Zhou Erniu and the others cursed the Northern Frontier Army while working hard under the sun.

But at that moment, Zhou Erniu's wife suddenly screamed, and the hoe in her hand fell to the ground with a clatter.

"Oh, that's it, that's it!"

Hearing his wife's exclamation, Zhou Erniu quickly looked up and saw that on the distant dirt road, the flying dust was like rolling dark clouds.

The densely packed cavalry figures appeared and disappeared in the dust, their yellow cotton armor gleaming like burning flames in the sunlight.

"So many cavalry!"

Zhou Erniu's eyes widened. He didn't recognize the Northern Frontier cavalry, but even the Western Xia cavalry was a disaster for ordinary people like them.

Military disasters do not only refer to external enemies.

Some undisciplined troops frequently harm the people.

However, the imperial court needed them to fight wars to maintain its rule, so it would often only give them a minor punishment as a warning.

Therefore, when ordinary people see the army, they instinctively feel fear.

"Run!" someone shouted, and the field erupted in chaos.

Zhou Erniu carried a hoe in one hand and grabbed his son in the other, running quickly towards the village.

The deafening sound of horses' hooves came from behind him, like thousands of war drums beating at the same time, making his feet go numb.

Just then, a northern cavalryman suddenly drew his bow and nocked an arrow. With a "whoosh," the arrow pierced the air and struck the ground directly in front of Zhou Erniu.

The powerful force caused the tail fin to vibrate violently.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Erniu turned pale with fright and immediately stopped in his tracks.

"Rustling sound~"

As more and more northern cavalrymen drew their bows and arrows, they quickly brought all the people in the fields under their control.

The northern cavalry slowly withdrew their arrows and surrounded the civilians.

“Listen up, you lowly people! Standing before you is your grandfather from the northern frontier.”

"Now, you are all slaves of Grandpa Northern Frontier."

A middle-aged man dressed in the attire of a minor official of the Western Xia Dynasty, riding a rickety horse, spoke condescendingly to Zhou Erniu and the others.

He was one of the minor officials in charge of Yuanchuan Granary. When the granary was breached, he surrendered to the Northern Frontier Army immediately.

He became a glorious 'lackey and traitor'.

Eager to impress his new master, he immediately thought of using his familiarity with the area to lead the Northern Frontier Army to plunder the surrounding villages.

Our first stop was Wangshe Village.

When Zhou Erniu and the others heard that these cavalrymen were actually from the Northern Frontier Army, their expressions changed drastically.

"What? They're from the northern frontier?"

"Weren't they saying they were still fighting in Hexi? Could they have flown here?"

"I've heard that the barbarians of the Northern Frontier are ruthless and vicious. I hope they won't wipe us all out?"

During this period, Western Xia had been carrying out demonizing propaganda against the northern frontier, so much so that when Zhou Erniu and others heard that it was a northern frontier cavalryman, they were all so frightened that they dared not breathe.

His wife and children in his arms trembled and cried softly.

Fortunately, at this moment, the official raised his head and continued, "But don't worry, Grandpa from the Northern Frontier won't kill you, and he will even reward you."

"As long as you behave well and work honestly, Grandpa Beijiang keeps his word and will give each of your families at least twenty acres of land."

"The landowner of these lands is naturally Grandpa from the Northern Frontier."

"But we will only collect 20% of your land rent and 20% of your land tax; the remaining 60% of your grain will be yours."

Upon hearing these words, Zhou Erniu and the others were instantly stunned.

Sixty percent?

It's important to understand that the farmland they're renting now costs 55% of the land's value each year. And that's just the price for ordinary farmland; for fertile land, it can reach 60% or even 70%.

In addition to the land tax collected by the imperial court, the people worked hard all year, but in the end, they received nothing.

People starving to death happened frequently. One of Zhou Erniu's sons starved to death during the famine two years ago.

So when he heard that renting public land in northern Xinjiang could yield 60% of the income, his eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"Of course it's true?" the clerk said matter-of-factly.

"Grandpa from Northern Xinjiang is a man of his word, he keeps his promises."

"Moreover, this was personally issued by the Grand Protector himself."

"Who is he? He wouldn't lie to a bunch of lowly people like you."

Hearing the official's words, the people believed him somewhat, and many of them were tempted.

Moreover, with the Northern Frontier Army now facing their own swords, they have no room for hesitation.

If they disobey, just kill them.

At this moment, the soldiers of the northern frontier had already withdrawn the arrows they had just fired.

Then, a deputy commander named Yue Ma stepped forward, his indifferent gaze sweeping over the people.

Although these people still looked fearful, one could see ambition and hope in the eyes of some of them.

Sun Dachuan's lips curled into a half-smile as he said calmly, "I am Sun Dachuan, the deputy commander of the First Garrison of the Northern Frontier."

"What Clerk Liu just said is all true."

"Our Northern Frontier welcomes heroes from all over the world, regardless of their background. As long as they are willing to serve our Northern Frontier, whether it is fighting on horseback, transporting grain and forging armor, training horses and farming, or even cooking."

"Not only will it ensure the safety of your entire family, but it will also guarantee you enough to eat every day, give you more money, and more women~"

After saying that, Sun Dachuan casually tossed a money bag, which clattered to the ground.

"This is a string of copper coins. Whoever can tell me where the grain in the village is, this money is his."

Strong fortresses are usually breached from the inside first.

Sun Dachuan's move was also to buy horse bones with a thousand pieces of gold, and the effect was very good. Many people's eyes showed interest.

But Zhou Erniu was the first to step forward, carefully holding the copper coin in his hand. Seeing that the surrounding soldiers did not move, he spoke in a deep voice.

"I'll take you there."

The fields in Wangshe Village are basically all owned by the same household.

Wangli family!
You can tell from their name that they are a Tangut family.

Originally just an ordinary Tangut slave, he made great contributions by following Li Yuanhao, so the land around Wangshe Village was granted to the Wangli family.

The surrounding people were mostly tenants of the Wangli family, but in reality, they were practically slaves.

After a year of hard work, each mu of land yields only a little over 200 jin of grain. Half of that has to be handed over to the Wangli family, and the other half has to be paid as taxes.

People often starved to death; Zhou Erniu's youngest son starved to death in the same year.

He was also beaten by the wicked servants because he could not afford to pay the land rent to the Wangli family.

Ultimately, it was her eldest daughter who voluntarily sold herself into servitude that saved Zhou Erniu.

However, her daughter died suddenly ten days after entering the Li family's residence, and her body was never recovered.

Therefore, Zhou Erniu harbored only hatred towards the Wangli family.

He was eager to shift the blame eastward, and persuaded the Northern Frontier Army to cause trouble for the Wangli family.

"Sir, the largest landowner in our Wangshe Village is the Wangli family. Their house is in the village ahead, and they have a lot of grain inside."

Zhou Erniu highlighted the wealth and ruthlessness of the Wangli family, emphasizing that the Wangli family owned a caravan, which meant they had many camels and carriages.

Sun Dachuan nodded with great satisfaction.

The Grand Protector sent them to plunder the surrounding area, not targeting ordinary people, but rather wealthy families.

The Northern Frontier Army needed a large number of oxcarts, horse-drawn carts, and camels to transport grain, which were only available to wealthy families.

Those people are all poor, they can't even get enough to eat, what's there to rob?
So, upon learning of the Wangli family's news, Sun Dachuan laughed and said, "Alright, that string of copper coins is yours."

“Take us to that Tangut bald dog’s house, and I will avenge you.”

After saying this, Sun Dachuan left a few soldiers to guard the civilians, while he led the majority of his men to the Li family's stronghold.

It was called a village, but it was really just a circle of earthen walls, where the Wangli family and their servants lived.

Soon after, the village was breached, and all the members of the Wangli family and their slaves were captured.

"Papa papa ~"

"Say it or not? Say it or not?"

"Ahhhhh~"

Screams echoed continuously in the courtyard.

The current head of the Wangli family, Wangli Asa, was hanging by his hands from the door beam, and a soldier from the northern frontier was whipping him fiercely.

With his delicate skin, he had never experienced such torment before. After a few blows, he begged for mercy, saying, "I'll talk, I'll talk."

"There's a cellar under the third room in the backyard; all the silver is hidden there."

"There's also grain. Besides the warehouse in the side yard, there's another yard at the edge of the village, which is also full of grain."

"Stop hitting me, I've already told you."

Liasha cried and screamed, seemingly revealing a great deal.

But Sun Dachuan was still not satisfied. While ordering people to search for the location he had described, he also said, "Keep fighting."

"This little bit of money and provisions isn't even enough to cover the feed for the horses that we brothers have traveled this far. Are you trying to feed beggars?"

Then, Liasha's cries became even more pitiful.

Sun Dachuan led his men to the backyard, where the female members of the Wangli family were imprisoned.

Most of them were maids, and a small number were women from the Wangli family.

"Beautiful women all end up in the homes of the powerful and wealthy!"

Looking at these women, Sun Dachuan murmured with emotion.

People like Zhou Erniu, whom I met before, all had rough skin and dark complexions, and were far from beautiful.

But looking at the women in the Li family's inner quarters, even the least attractive of them were prettier than the wives of ordinary people.

It's considered a sin for a poor family's daughter to be too beautiful.

"You, you, you~"

Sun Dachuan randomly picked a few women, all of whom were the most beautiful.

He intended to present these women to Li Xiao and the skinny guy as a tribute.

He himself also chose a rather pretty one, who was none other than Lisa's daughter.

I've heard that he's a notorious villain who has repeatedly ordered his wicked servants to kill people, causing many families to be ruined and people to die.

Sun Dachuan planned to give her a good beating and teach her a lesson so that she would never dare to do evil again.

The next morning, Sun Dachuan returned to Yuanchuan Warehouse with his findings.

There was only a little over a thousand bushels of grain, all of which was plundered from the Wang family. There was also a considerable amount of gold, silver, and copper coins.

Most importantly, there were over a thousand people, including men, women, and children.

Meanwhile, other troops of the Northern Frontier Army also returned one after another.

They almost wiped out the surrounding villages, and apart from the villagers who fled into the deep mountains and forests, everyone else was brought back by the Northern Frontier Army.

In Li Xiao's golden tent, there were also more women.

Although she wouldn't be considered a beauty of unparalleled grace, she was still much better than the average woman.

They were all gifts from his subordinate generals.

Li Xiao accepted it all.

Even if he couldn't use it all himself, giving it as a reward to meritorious soldiers would better reflect Li Xiao's care.

Meanwhile, news of the attack on Yuanchuan Warehouse quickly spread to the east of the Yellow River.

The first to receive the news was the Baotai Military Command, located north of Roulang Mountain.

It coordinates with the Southern Army Command of Zhuoluo City to defend against the Jin Kingdom to the south.

"what?"

"Yuenchuan Kura was attacked?"

Upon hearing this news, the military commander of Baotai was greatly alarmed.

Yuanchuan Granary has more than 300,000 shi of grain!

Moreover, in order to transport these grains, the imperial court conscripted many laborers, carts, and camels, all of whom were stationed at Yuanchuan Granary!

Now they've all fallen into the hands of the barbarians of the northern frontier?
“It’s absolutely true, my lord!” the envoy from Zhuoluo City said urgently.

"The city of Zhuoluo only has seven thousand soldiers, most of whom are newly conscripted laborers."

"We are simply powerless to reclaim the Yuanchuan Warehouse."

"My commander has specially ordered me to come and deliver this message, requesting that you immediately dispatch troops to provide support."

Upon hearing this, the commander of the Baotai Army looked grave and asked in a deep voice, "How many troops do the barbarians of the northern frontier have?"

To emphasize the critical situation in Zhuoluo City, Yeli Wojie specifically instructed him to exaggerate the strength of the northern frontier forces.

If Zhuoluo City truly cannot be defended, it will lessen my responsibility.

The messenger replied without hesitation, "There are at least 30,000 cavalry."

"hiss!"

"What, thirty thousand?"

Upon hearing this, the military commander of Baotai Army gasped in shock.

His expression changed drastically. How the hell was he supposed to fight this?
In previous wars, nearly 10,000 elite troops of the Baotai Army were wiped out in Hexi.

It was as if their backbone had been broken. Although they hastily conscripted soldiers, they were all just laborers.

Let him lead a motley crew to fight against 30,000 northern cavalry in open battle.

What's the difference between that and courting death?
“Our Baotai Military Command bears the heavy responsibility of protecting the southern border of Great Xia. Without the orders of His Majesty and the Privy Council, how can this commander mobilize the army without authorization?”

"You may rest here for now. I will send someone to Xingqing Prefecture to report immediately."

Having said that, without giving the messenger a chance to object, he had him escorted out.

Then, the commander of the Baotai Army looked in the direction of Zhuoluo City and muttered to himself, "Yeli Wojie, it's not that I don't want to help you, but this kind of battle is impossible to fight."

"I cannot lead my brothers from the Baotai Army to their deaths."

"The Great Xia Kingdom is at a critical juncture of life and death. We must preserve every bit of our strength in preparation for a counterattack."

I hope you have good luck!

He had made up his mind that unless a large-scale reinforcement from the imperial court arrived, the Baotai Military Command should not easily cross into Hexi.

"Somebody come!"

"The general is here!"

The commander of the Baotai Army summoned his confidant and whispered something to him.

In short, it all means the same thing.

If it is discovered that the Northern Frontier Army shows any signs of continuing its eastward advance, the Yellow River pontoon bridge should be burned immediately.

We must not allow the Northern Frontier Army to cross the Yellow River.

Otherwise, the ragtag army of Baotai would not have been able to stop the charge of the Northern Frontier cavalry.

If the Baotai Military Command is destroyed, the southern border of the Great Xia Kingdom will be lost, and Xingqing Prefecture will be directly exposed to the iron cavalry of the northern border.

(End of this chapter)