The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 268 The Kai Xi Northern Expedition

(Map to be added in the previous chapter)

"Moo moo moo~"

Inside the city gate of Huangzhou, the more than thirty yaks that had been quiet suddenly began to bellow restlessly.

They shook their thick, long hair, their hooves pawing the ground restlessly, their cloudy eyes fixed on the tightly closed city gate, as if sensing some invisible threat.

Upon seeing this, Li Benzhong quickly instructed his men to calm the yaks.

At the same time, he looked in horror towards the direction outside the city gate. Although he couldn't see anything because the city gate blocked his view, out of instinct for danger, Li Benzhong seemed to sense that some terrifying and ominous creature was rapidly approaching.

"Could it be those cavalrymen from the northern frontier?"

Li Benzhong's expression tightened as he recalled the old farmer's words.

The army of the northern barbarians occupied the Hexi Corridor and appeared west of the Yellow River, although the outcome of their battle with the Western Xia army is still unknown.

But at this moment, the only threat to the Hehuang Valley is the barbarians of the northern frontier.

"Quick, find a place to hide!" Li Benzhong shouted.

The roar grew closer, and the once clear blue plateau horizon was now torn apart by a white line.

Dozens of white banners with red borders and sun and moon symbols surged like waves, their totems swirling in the sunlight as if to tear the entire sky apart.

The leading cavalrymen were all strong and capable men, dressed in white cotton armor with red trim, overlaid with iron plates.
As it gallops, it constantly lets out wild roars to intimidate its enemies.

"Gee, gee, gee~"

"Ho ho ho ho~"

The sound of horses' hooves thundered, and the earth trembled.

The cavalry was led by Da Hu.

The Yellow River pontoon bridge was burned down, and only Xining Prefecture remained outside the control of the Northern Frontier Cavalry west of the Yellow River.

Therefore, Da Hu volunteered to Li Xiao to lead the campaign against Xining Prefecture.

However, the Hehuang Valley is too far from Liangzhou City, making it difficult for the Northern Frontier Army to completely occupy the area.

Because once the Western Xia army returns to Hexi, it will directly sever the connection between the Hexi Corridor and the Hehuang Valley.

Therefore, although the Hehuang Valley is rich, it is not yet time to truly occupy this place.

Li Xiao's real target was the population located in the Hehuang Valley.

Most of them have lived here for generations and have already begun to adapt to the plateau environment.

Li Xiao planned to abduct these people and use them as a base to build and train a force adapted to high-altitude mountain warfare, in preparation for future campaigns against Tibet.

"Order each commander to surround the four gates of Huangzhou and not let a single person escape," Da Hu shouted in a deep voice.

"As ordered."

"Ho ho ho ho~"

Thousands of cavalrymen roared in unison, their voices soaring into the sky as they surrounded the four gates of Huangzhou City. The sound startled even the eagles on the plateau, which circled rapidly, too afraid to approach.

Huangzhou City was just a large fortified village, not very large in scale, and the city walls were only made of stone and mud, no more than ten feet high.

At this moment, the garrison commander of Huangzhou City was standing on the city wall, watching the overwhelming white torrent of iron, gripping the long sword at his waist, his face pale and his throat tight.

The Sun and Moon battle flag drew ever closer, and one could almost feel the chilling aura emanating from it.

“Northern barbarians, they are indeed northern barbarians.”

"Damn it, they actually made it to Huangzhou."

Just then, the deputy general next to him suddenly shouted, "Commander, get out of the way!"

As he spoke, he tackled the garrison commander to the ground on the city wall.

At this moment, the front-line Northern Frontier cavalry had already nocked their arrows and drawn their bows. Arrows rained down like locusts, their sharp, piercing sound cutting through the air as they shot straight toward the city walls.

A series of screams rang out as some soldiers on the city wall were unlucky enough to be hit by arrows.

Just as the defenders on the city wall were thrown into chaos, the Tiger Cannon of the Northern Frontier roared.

“Boom boom boom!~”

The earth trembled violently amidst the deafening roar.

The palm-sized iron bullets, like black meteors, whistled as they crashed towards the city wall.

The shell hit the watchtower in the southeast corner squarely, and the tower collapsed instantly, with wood chips and bricks flying everywhere. The three soldiers inside screamed in panic and were instantly buried under the rubble.

Almost all the other shells also landed on this section of the city wall. Although they could not collapse the wall in a short time, they still caused great damage to the wall.

Faced with the barrage of artillery fire, the soldiers on this section of the city wall fled in panic, some even jumping directly down to the bottom of the wall.

It's over ten feet tall, it won't die.

But the artillery fire in northern Xinjiang can really kill people.

After the three rounds of shelling ended, not a single soldier could be seen on this forty-meter-long section of the city wall.

Before the smoke and dust had even cleared, a Northern Frontier Commandant named Liu Fu brandished his sword and roared, "Kill!"

Behind them, more than thirty elite cavalrymen, under the cover of their comrades' arrows, immediately charged toward the foot of the city wall.

Arrows fired from the city wall retaliated, but they struck the soldiers' cotton armor without causing any damage. Instead, the defenders' positions were exposed, and they were then subjected to concentrated fire from the Northern Frontier Army outside the city.

"Set up the ropes!"

Amid Liu Fu's roar, more than thirty cavalrymen swung out iron hooks and ropes, their sharp barbs digging deep into the cracks in the city wall.

The soldiers used the stirrups to propel themselves into the air, their arms bulging with veins as they yanked on the ropes, and in just two quick tugs, they surged onto the city wall.

"Charge! Kill!"

"The barbarians are coming up! Quick, stop them!"

The garrison commander of Huangzhou saw this scene from afar and was shocked. He shouted in a hoarse voice.

He even personally led his men to attack this empty section of the city wall.

If we can't drive these northern barbarians out, Huangzhou City is doomed.

At this moment, Liu Fu was the first to climb onto the city wall. Before his feet even touched the ground, he drew his chain hammer from his waist and swept it horizontally.

"drink!"

The garrison commander of Huangzhou City charged forward with two personal guards wielding curved swords, but the next second, the iron caltrops of the chain hammer instantly wrapped around his neck, and with a violent swing, blood splattered onto the parapet like ink.

Immediately afterward, two more soldiers followed. One drew his sword and slashed down quickly, while the other thrust with his spear. In just a few breaths, three enemy soldiers fell on the city wall.

More and more soldiers from the northern frontier rushed onto the city walls, quickly forming ranks in groups of three.

In a very short time, they fought their way through, jumped off the city wall, scattered the guards at the city gate, and opened the city gate directly.

The Northern Frontier Army has extensive experience in siege warfare.

The city was bombarded by artillery, attacked by infantry, and then cavalry charged after the city was breached.

As for smaller city walls like Huangzhou, under the cover of cannons and arrows, armored cavalrymen used ropes to jump onto the city walls, opened the city gates, and let the army into the city.

In numerous wars, these two methods proved invincible, making the capture of the small city of Huangzhou a piece of cake.

"Tsk tsk tsk~"

As the wooden city gate slowly opened, Da Hu drew his cavalry saber, his face cold and stern, and shouted in a deep voice, "Commander of the Central Army, kill!"

Da Hu ordered his commanders to charge into the city.

The other two commanders, around 1,000 men, continued to plunder the areas surrounding Huangzhou City.

The key areas are population, food, and the Hehuang horses and yaks.

Li Xiao plans to use Hehuang horses for crossbreeding to see if he can breed a warhorse that is adapted to the high-altitude environment, has abundant stamina, is not prone to disease, and is also fast.

As the city's defenses completely collapsed, the Northern Frontier Army surged into Huangzhou City like a white tide, and the people screamed in terror as they fled in all directions.

The elderly women, clutching their grandchildren's hands, stumbled and hid in the narrow alleyways; the young men, in their panic, overturned roadside stalls, and the young women, holding their nursing babies, hid in their homes and locked the doors tightly.

A troop of soldiers from the northern frontier, clad in white armor, galloped down the main street. Their red-tasseled helmets fluttered in the wind, and their horses' hooves pounded the ground with a relentless clatter.

The leader, a centurion named Feng Changsheng, held a long spear with a blood-dripping head protruding from its tip. He chased after the fleeing crowd, shouting in Chinese, "Everyone, squat down on the ground! Don't run around!"

"Anyone who runs around or moves about recklessly will be killed without mercy."

After Huangzhou was occupied by the Western Xia, some Tangut people were relocated there, but the efforts of the Song Dynasty were not in vain, and the population of the city was still mostly Han Chinese.

After a moment's reaction, the Han people who had migrated from Guanzhong and Longxi regions finally understood what the centurion meant, speaking with a strong Yan-Yun accent.

They all squatted down on the ground, afraid that if they were a step too late, they would end up like the owners of the guns with their heads stuck in the tips of their heads.

"My lord, the barbarians are attacking!"

On the street, one of his subordinates shouted in alarm to Li Benzhong.

No one expected that the Northern Frontier cavalry would break through Huangzhou City so quickly; they had thought it would take at least a few days of back-and-forth fighting.

It now seems that the fighting power of the northern barbarians far exceeds their imagination; they are not only brave in open battle, but also adept at siege warfare.

"Hold on, go into that alley," Li Benzhong commanded loudly, trying to appear calm.

Before the words were finished, a deep, rumbling sound of warhorses suddenly rang out at the end of the street.

A hundred meters away at the street corner, a dozen warhorses trampled the mess on the ground and charged forward like a madman.

Li Benzhong saw clearly that they were wearing a grayish-white armor he had never seen before.

It lacks the cold, metallic feel of armor; instead, it's as rough as linen.

The surface was covered with dirty mud, obscuring the original colors. Some people's armor was stained with blood, and several fresh heads hung on the horse's back.

The scene was horrifying.

Even though Li Benzhong came from the Southern Song army and had many military achievements, he still felt immense pressure when faced with this scene.

This was the first time he had ever seen the Northern Frontier cavalry. They were fully armed, exuding a menacing aura, like demons descending from hell.

Most of his face was hidden inside a mask, with only his eyes revealing a fierce glint, staring intently at Li Benzhong and his group like a hungry wolf locking onto its prey.

"kill!"

"Capture those Tibetans."

Feng Changsheng's expression was cold and stern as he brandished his hook-and-sickle spear and shouted loudly.

Li Benzhong and his group were clearly dressed as Tibetans, and they were also accompanied by more than thirty yaks.

They were clearly easy prey, so why would Feng Changsheng let them go?

It should be noted that Huangzhou's wealth was only relative.

Although it is suitable for growing grain, most of the grain and fodder had long been transferred to Yuanchuan Granary.

Apart from a few Tangut nobles, ordinary people had no surplus wealth and were extremely poor.

Therefore, in terms of wealth alone, the Northern Frontier Army was definitely operating at a loss after this raid on the Hehuang Valley.

Li Xiao even needed to allocate a portion of his funds to incentivize this 10,000-household army.

However, Li Xiao didn't lose out either, since the people and warhorses of the Hehuang Valley were a valuable asset.

Therefore, when Feng Changsheng encountered this 'Tibetan merchant caravan', he was naturally even more excited. The thirty-odd yaks alone were worth a lot of money, not to mention the many goods they carried.

"Ho ho ho ho~"

"kill!"

With a deep shout, the cavalrymen suddenly clenched their horses' bellies, and the warhorses charged forward like arrows released from a bow.

The sound of horses' hooves shook the ground slightly, and the air was filled with the clanging of armor and heavy breathing, along with the pungent smell of blood.

Li Benzhong's hand gripping the hilt of his sword was sweating profusely. He had never imagined that the Northern Frontier cavalry could be so terrifying. In that brief moment, it seemed as if even time itself had been frozen by the murderous aura emanating from them.

"Retreat, retreat quickly into the alley."

He planned to use the terrain in the alley to slow down the charge of the northern cavalry.

But Feng Changsheng didn't give him much time to retreat. Although Li Benzhong led some people into the alley, some people stayed outside.

Faced with the surging northern cavalry, these Imperial City spies, who came from the Southern Song army, instinctively wanted to fight back.

"Fire arrows."

Feng Changsheng brandished his scimitar, and the northern frontier soldiers charging ahead simultaneously drew their bows and nocked arrows.

With a sudden whooshing sound, before the Imperial City Guard scouts outside could even dodge, several triangular arrows pierced their chests, pinning them to the earthen wall by the street.

Several cavalrymen charged forward on horseback, their spears flashing coldly, and sent several scouts who were riding on yaks and parrying with their spears flying.

Then, they caught up with a scout who was trying to escape into the alley. The Northern Frontier cavalryman bent down and pierced the scout's throat with his spear. As he was lifted high, the spurting blood stained his gray-white armor.

In a short while, the street was littered with corpses. The Northern Frontier Army reined in their horses, turned around, and revealed a sinister smile as they looked toward the alley.

"You lowly Tibetan slaves dare to wield weapons and commit violence? Do you think the armor and weapons of my Northern Frontier Army are just for show?"

Feng Changsheng gripped his curved sword and said coldly.

If these 'Tibetans' gave up resistance, he might spare their lives for the sake of the goods, and take them back to the northern frontier to work as slaves.

But these ignorant fools actually dared to resist?

Feng Changsheng could not tolerate it.

"Fire arrows! Shoot them all dead!" Feng Changsheng shouted.

The alleyway was narrow, only wide enough for two horses to ride abreast. Once inside, the advantages of the Northern Frontier Cavalry would be lost.

For cavalry, the bow and arrow was the most cost-effective cold weapon.

Meanwhile, in the alley on the other side, Li Benzhong was pressed against the damp brick wall, his fingernails digging deep into the cracks. The horrific scene before him caused his pupils to contract repeatedly.

Those brothers who remained outside were reduced to mangled corpses in the blink of an eye.

Having seen countless battles in the past, he was now shocked by the ruthlessness and strength of the Northern Frontier Army.

Even the most elite soldiers in the Song army were no better than this.

"Sir, what should we do? The third brother and the others are all dead," someone said in terror.

They set off from Xingzhou and passed through the territory of the Tibetans without incident, but they were so unlucky as to encounter the barbarians of the northern frontier.

Are you really going to die here?
However, the Imperial City Guards were engaged in a high-stakes business, going deep behind enemy lines to gather intelligence. Out of ten, it was considered good if five of them could return alive.

Therefore, there are also many fierce and courageous people among them.

"What are you afraid of! Blood for blood, let's fight them to the death!"

"Yes, let's fight our way out."

"Killing one is enough to make a profit, killing two is even more profitable."

The other spies also turned red-eyed, and their uneven roars echoed through the narrow alley.

"shut up."

Li Benzhong roared angrily, his gloomy gaze sweeping over the remaining dozen or so people.

He then looked at the Northern Frontier cavalrymen outside the alley, who were drawing their bows and arrows. He had only intended to secretly gather intelligence on the Northern Frontier barbarians, but he hadn't expected to expose his identity.

But they never expected that their Tibetan clothing would cause them so much trouble.

“We are all soldiers of the Song Dynasty, and none of us are cowards who fear death.”

"But even if we are to die, we want to die with value."

"Our great Song Dynasty's most pressing threat is the Jin people and the Xia people."

"The barbarians of the northern frontier are enemies of the Xia Kingdom, so they are friends of our Great Song Dynasty."

"We'll settle our scores with the third brother and the others later. For now, we must be patient for the sake of the country."

Li Benzhong shouted at the crowd, extinguishing the anger and will to fight to the death in the hearts of these spies with his cold words.

The spies of the Imperial City Guard were all elites selected from the Southern Song army, so their individual combat capabilities were naturally outstanding.

But at present they had no warhorses, no suitable weapons, and no armor.

Faced with a large number of fully armed northern cavalry, they had almost no chance of winning.

Li Benzhong was not afraid of death, but he did not want his brothers to make unnecessary sacrifices.

Moreover, if they could make contact with the people of the northern frontier and persuade them to intensify their offensive against the Xia Kingdom, or even join forces to attack the Jin army in Guanzhong, they could achieve their goals.

Then the blood of the third brother and others was not shed in vain.

Li Benzhong held absolute prestige among the group of spies, and his words instantly quelled the discontent of the others.

No one was shouting to fight their way out anymore. Nobody wanted to die if they could live; they were just unwilling to accept it.

"Don't shoot arrows, we surrender."

“We are not Tibetans, we are Song people.”

"We want to see your general; we have important matters to discuss."

Upon hearing the Guanzhong dialect coming from the alley, Feng Changsheng paused for a moment and immediately raised his hand to stop the Northern Frontier soldiers who were about to shoot arrows.

"A person from the State of Song?"

Although he couldn't tell whether Li Benzhong's words were true or false, this matter was indeed beyond his control.

"Raise your weapons and slowly come out."

……

On the walls of Zhuoluo City, golden sun and moon battle banners fluttered in the setting sun.

After the remnants of the Southern Army surrendered the city, this place became Li Xiao's temporary command post for his campaign in Hexi.

On the tiger-skin chair, Li Xiao stroked a gilded wine cup, listening to Yeli Wojie, the former commander of the Southern Army, sitting below him, quietly pledge his loyalty.

This Tangut general understood the principle that "a wise man submits to circumstances," and surrendered before the city fell.

Li Xiao naturally didn't make things difficult for him.

Instead, he prepared to spend a fortune to buy horse bones and tell everyone.

Whether they are Han Chinese or Tanguts, as long as they surrender honestly, Li Xiao will not only refrain from massacring the city, but will also treat them leniently.

"General Yeli is a man of great integrity. Our northern frontier is also willing to recruit heroes from all over the world, and we need talents like General Yeli the most."

"In a few days, the Protectorate General will add some positions. Would General Yeli be willing to come to the Protectorate General's office to receive the summons?"

Upon hearing Li Xiao's words, Yeli Wujie nodded hurriedly, his voice trembling: "I am willing, I am willing, this humble general is willing to serve the Grand Protector with utmost loyalty!"

He knew in his heart that he could no longer find refuge in the former territory of Western Xia, and that the only way to survive was to cling to the powerful forces of the northern frontier.

But living off our savings isn't a long-term solution; it's best to find a job in northern Xinjiang first.

Li Xiao naturally couldn't let him continue commanding troops, but assigning him some miscellaneous tasks was no problem.

Just after Yeli Wujie finished speaking, the sound of clashing armor came from outside the tent. A member of the Wuwei Army entered the hall, glanced at Yeli Wujie, and said in a deep voice, "Reporting to the Grand Protector, an urgent report from the 170,000 households!"

"Let him in."

Li Xiao raised his hand to signal, and Yeli Wujie naturally understood and took his leave with his hand on his chest.

Soon, a cavalryman covered in mud strode in. His white armor was so worn that its original color was no longer visible, and dark red scabs of blood were still clinging to the seams.

He slammed his right fist heavily on his chest: "Greetings, Grand Protector!"

Li Xiao recognized the man as one of Da Hu's personal guards.

"How is the battle going in Xining Prefecture?"

Li Xiao asked in a deep voice, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's as it fell on the torn armor on the other's shoulder.

It's clear that conquering Xining Prefecture is more difficult, given the high-altitude environment of the Hehuang Valley, which poses a challenge to the Northern Frontier Army.

But if we can't even conquer the Hehuang region on the edge of the plateau, how can we bring the Tibetan Plateau back into the territory of China in the future?

"Reporting to the Grand Protector!"

The guard's voice was firm and clear: "Just three days ago, our army captured Xining Prefecture, and the entire Hehuang Valley is now in our hands."

"In this battle, 20,000 soldiers and civilians were captured, along with over 30,000 warhorses, 2,000 yaks, and more than 10,000 shi of grain..."

Listening to the soldier's report, Li Xiao nodded slightly.

The Hehuang Valley has been contested by the Tubo, Song, and Dangxiang dynasties, resulting in a dwindling population and underdeveloped area, but it is famous for its fine horses from the plateau.

Although the number of Hehuang horses in the area is far greater than 30,000, it is extremely difficult to capture them all, so 30,000 is already an unexpected bonus.

"Order the 170,000th household to quickly gather the spoils and head north to join forces with the main force of our army."

"Passing through Yuanchuan Warehouse, escorting surplus grain."

"We should go back," Li Xiao said in a deep voice.

After this period of transportation, more than 200,000 shi of grain have been transported from Yuanchuan Granary to Liangzhou.

Moreover, Da Hu had seized so many warhorses, yaks, and people that he could escort the remaining 100,000 shi of grain away when he passed Yuanchuan Granary.

With this, the Northern Frontier Army has completed all its objectives in Hexi and will gradually withdraw to the Hexi Corridor.

After reporting these matters, the guards took out a series of secret letters and handed them to Li Xiao.

After confirming the seal was intact, it was torn open, revealing a letter written by Da Hu himself in simplified Chinese characters.

He only mentioned one thing: when the 170,000th Household captured Huangzhou City, they arrested a group of Song spies.

According to their confession, they were on their way to Western Xia to gather intelligence when they happened to encounter the Northern Frontier Army attacking the Hehuang Valley. Some of them were killed, and the rest were captured.

Moreover, the leader of the scouts wanted to meet Li Xiao to convey the Song Dynasty's respect for the northern frontier.

If possible, the other party wanted to return to the Song Kingdom to report to the Song emperor and prime minister and promote an alliance between the northern frontier and the Song Kingdom.

Together they fought against the Jin and Xia kingdoms.

After reading these messages, Li Xiao immediately thought of something.

“The Northern Expedition of Kaixi…” Li Xiao murmured, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the edge of the letter.

In the next few years, a major event will occur in the Central Plains.

More than forty years later, the State of Song launched another Northern Expedition.

(End of this chapter)