The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 307 The Third Campaign Against Western Xia, Woluohai City
It was a caravan, with a large number of carts and camels pulling goods, and many female slaves following behind.

More importantly, the two commanders even came out to greet them in person.

This made Zhang Liujin extremely curious. Who was this important person who had come? Who had such great influence?

The captain Huang Laonian, who arrived later, told him this.

"This is not some important figure, but the caravan of the Hexi Trading Company."

"Hexi Trading Company?"

Zhang Liujin's eyes widened; this was the first time he had ever heard of this organization.

Old Man Huang nodded and said, "Wherever our iron cavalry from the northern frontier conquers, the camel bells of the Hexi Merchant Guild will ring out."

Then, Zhang Liujin understood.

The Hexi Trading Company came to sell goods.

Rare items such as salt, cotton cloth, cotton clothes, earthenware pots, iron pots, strong liquor, tinderboxes, soap blocks, and bronze mirrors are all available.

Zhang Liujin looked on with longing, wishing he could buy a little of everything, but unfortunately he was short of money.

They haven't even finished paying off their debts yet.

What do you need a bicycle for?!

Let's focus on making sure we have enough to eat first, and we can worry about the rest later.

This is also the current situation of the herders in the various prefectures of northern Mongolia.

No money.

"Manager Wu, although you have brought some good things, we ordinary herders can't afford them."

"Aren't you afraid of making a wasted trip?"

Liu Cunxun, holding his son, greeted the manager of the motorcade.

This caravan from the Hexi Trading Company not only brought various supplies, but also the families of demobilized generals like Liu Cunxun and Wu Yong, allowing them to reunite in the northern desert.

Seeing his wife and children, Liu Cunxun was overjoyed. He waved his hand and bought a lot of household supplies for his wife and children, and even bought two pieces of candy for his two sons.

In other words, these demobilized generals had money, which they obtained from looting on the battlefield and from military merit rewards.

The other ordinary people really have no purchasing power.

Manager Wu chuckled and said, "It's alright, Commander Liu. Our caravan is like Jiang Taigong fishing; those who are willing will take the bait."

"Good stuff will sell."

In reality, he was killing two birds with one stone, selling some to these demobilized generals in small quantities, while smuggling the majority of the goods into the Central Plains through the Shanxi merchant Fan family.

That's what real astronomical profits are like.

However, some things cannot be smuggled.

Female slave.

The people of the northern frontier are not enough to support themselves, so naturally they cannot sell their population to others.

Therefore, these female slaves brought from Ordo could only be consumed internally.

"Commander Liu, there must be quite a few bachelors in your commandery."

"If anyone is willing to buy a wife, they can come to me and I can give you a low price."

Upon hearing this, Liu Cunxun nodded slightly.

Their biggest problem was the lack of women.

In the tribal era, commoners had wives, but slaves did not!
The Northern Frontier Army only cares about liberating slaves, not about giving out wives.

The noblewomen of those tribes were all prisoners of war of the Northern Frontier Army, and had long been taken away or sold.

"Okay." Liu Cunxun nodded heavily.

However, he still said, "Although everyone in our Thousand Households' Mansion wants a wife, we're all dirt poor, so..."

Manager Wu nodded and said, "You can pay on credit."

Adding debt to herders is an old tradition.

As long as they don't die, they'll eventually pay back what they owe.

When they learned that they could buy wives, many bachelors cheered.

Even those who were dirt poor came to watch.

But Zhang Liujin took a liking to a woman at first glance.

"I want her!"

Zhang Liujin pointed at a woman in her twenties from the grasslands and shouted excitedly.

Simply because this woman was the wife of his former master.

The master was a minor nobleman who was killed on the spot by the Northern Frontier Army.

The mistress was demoted to a slave and taken away.

Zhang Liujin never imagined that he would see her again.

Moreover, this woman's appearance and figure are impeccable; how could a woman from a tribal noble family be anything less than perfect?

Even now, in his impoverished state, dressed in tattered clothes, his once handsome face now bears the marks of hardship and weariness.

Zhang Liujin doesn't care.

But the only thing that bothered me was her stomach.

"Which son of a bitch got her pregnant?" Zhang Liujin's heart was bleeding.

The goddess he once longed for but could never have was being kicked away by those soldiers from the northern frontier.

They have no sense of compassion at all!

Manager Wu glanced at the woman and explained, "When we bought her, we didn't notice she was pregnant. She was quite pretty, and we spent a lot of money on her."

However, this is all normal.

After capturing female slaves, the Northern Frontier Army would often take advantage of them themselves, sometimes even several times.

Depending on the circumstances, one could either use two-thirds of her value to redeem her and take her home as a concubine.

Alternatively, they could sell it directly to the Hexi Trading Company.

Then the Hexi Trading Company sold them to single men who needed wives.

"how much is it?"

Zhang Liujin didn't care about anything else; all he wanted was to buy this woman.

After all, this was a knot in his heart.

As for getting pregnant, it's not a big deal.

Whether on the grasslands or in the Central Plains, there are many widows who remarry while still carrying children.

Many people like this flavor.

“Even though I’m pregnant, I still need eight strings of cash,” the steward said.

Zhang Liujin gritted his teeth and said, "I'll buy it!"

Eight strings of copper coins, that's a lot.

But Zhang Liujin didn't care.

As long as this woman becomes his wife, everything will be worthwhile.

However, he knew he couldn't pay off his debts by simply cutting back on food and clothing, so Zhang Liujin decided to join the army.

Although these villagers were all capable of fighting on horseback, they would train every few days.

But they could only be considered militia members, and their chances of going to the battlefield were very small.

Only by becoming a true soldier of the Six Garrisons can one plunder and achieve merit on the battlefield.

If they can win just one battle, they can pay off half of their debts.

This was the experience that Commandant Huang Laonian told him.

With the establishment of sixty-five thousand-household prefectures, the wars among the various tribes of the grasslands gradually subsided, and the Central Sea and the East Sea gradually returned to normal.

The herders continued their pastoral life on the grasslands, the only difference being that they could only stay in the pastures of their own prefecture and could no longer roam freely.

Meanwhile, the northern border region has stationed a military force in the Central Sea and the East China Sea as a rapid reaction standing force.

Wei Xuan was appointed General of Zhonghai, and Da Hu was appointed General of Donghai.

In addition to commanding their elite cavalry units of ten thousand households, the two men could also conscript militia during wartime.

Sixty-five thousand households constitute sixty-five thousand steppe cavalry.

They were all assigned to the militia. Even if they were not as elite as the Six Garrisons, if they were brought to the Central Plains, they would still be a force capable of sweeping across a region.

……

"Boom boom boom~"

Shortly after the decisive battle in the northern desert, the thunderous roar of cavalry corps echoed along the northern border of the Xia Kingdom.

"Commander, we have entered the territory of Xia Kingdom. There is a Xia Kingdom boundary marker ahead."

While resting, Mo Jun, the commander of the Fourth Garrison, pointed to a distant mountain peak and spoke to Li Dongjiang, the commander of the Second Garrison.

Not long ago, Li Xiao ordered Li Dongjiang to lead two commanders of ten thousand men from the Second Division and one commander of ten thousand men from the Fourth Division, totaling fifteen thousand elite cavalry.

In addition, there were twenty thousand households of nomadic militia from the grasslands.

A total of 35,000 troops immediately marched south to reinforce the Hexi Corridor.

It was only because those shameless bastards from the Xia Kingdom took advantage of the fact that the northern frontier was being conquered and the Hexi Corridor was being sparsely defended, that they mobilized a large army in an attempt to reclaim the Hexi Corridor.

Fortunately, Li Xiao left Luo Meng with 10,000 elite troops and ordered him to recruit local militia to assist in the battle, thus preventing the Xia Kingdom from succeeding in its plan.

"What's the situation in Gansu? Has any news come in?"

While the army was resting, Li Dongjiang sat on a rock, gnawing on dry, hard jerky, and asked the messenger next to him.

"Reporting to the Commander, there is no new information from Gansu at the moment," the messenger said.

The last message was sent by Luo Meng half a month ago.

The main force of the Xia army launched a fierce attack on Hulang Pass, but it was firmly defended by some elite troops and militia of the Fourth Division, who took advantage of the terrain.

Xia Jun then dispatched a large cavalry force to attack Hexi from the north.

Luo Meng personally led the main force of his cavalry to meet the enemy, and the two sides clashed in a decisive battle in the Gobi Desert north of Tiger Wolf Valley.

Both sides suffered casualties, but overall, the Northern Frontier Army won more battles than it lost.

However, the Xia army had a large number of troops and could be replenished continuously.

The longer the delay, the more disadvantageous it will be for Luo Meng's troops.

Faced with this situation, Li Dongjiang did not choose to rush to the aid of the Hexi Corridor, but instead prepared to relieve the siege of Wei by attacking Zhao.

Heading directly south from Zhonghai, they will launch a frontal attack on the northern border of the Xia Kingdom, and their southward advance will directly threaten the safety of the Xia Kingdom's capital, Xingqing Prefecture.

At that time, the Xia state had to withdraw its army from Hexi to defend its capital.

How far is this place from the city of Woluohai?

Li Dongjiang stood up and looked into the distance. Apart from the army in the northern frontier, there was only the vast Gobi Desert.

Although it was nominally part of the Xia Kingdom's territory, there was no sign of human habitation.

Only by continuing south and reaching the northernmost border town of Wuluohai in the Xia Kingdom can one be considered to have truly arrived in the Xia Kingdom.

"Reporting to the Commander, it is about two days' journey from here to the city of Woluohai," the guide said.

Li Dongjiang let out a soft breath, his gaze deep and unfathomable, and said heavily, "Continue forward."

A day later, the vanguard scout team of the Second Town encountered a border patrol team from the Xia Kingdom in the Gobi Desert.

After a fierce chase, the Xia Kingdom patrol suffered a crushing defeat.

Only a few soldiers managed to escape back in the chaos, pursued and killed by scouts from the northern frontier.

Lijili City.

It is a satellite town north of the city of Woluohai, garrisoned by several hundred soldiers and almost entirely devoid of civilians; it is a military stronghold.

That evening, the soldiers guarding the city stood at the city gate, gazing at the distant Gobi Desert.

"It's already this late, where is Wu Da Nao's group?"

"Who says otherwise? They should have been back in town by now. I hope something went wrong."

A younger soldier interjected, his voice tinged with unease: "Military regulations say the city gates must be closed after sunset, but they're still outside..."

The platoon leader glared at him fiercely: "What nonsense are you talking about! They're all brothers who've been through thick and thin together. How can we leave them out here? Wait a little longer, they might be here soon."

Despite this, his gaze grew even more serious. And just a second later, the sound of rapid hoofbeats suddenly came from afar.

"Finally home."

"Wait, why are there only two people?"

Before the soldiers guarding the city could even breathe a sigh of relief, their expressions changed drastically.

Of the patrol team that originally consisted of more than twenty people, only two returned.

Suddenly, everyone felt a chill run down their spine.

In the blink of an eye, the two fast horses had already rushed to the city walls. The riders were covered in blood, their faces filled with terror, as if they had seen a ghost.

"Quickly! Close the city gates!"

"Go tell the leader, the Northern Frontier people—the Northern Frontier people are coming to kill us!"

Another person yelled, "Close the city gates quickly! It'll be too late if you wait any longer!"

"What?" Upon hearing this, the soldiers guarding the city were shocked.

People from northern Xinjiang?
Since the Battle of Hexi, this name has become a nightmare for the entire Xia Kingdom, and it can even stop children from crying in the common people.

Now I hear that the imperial court is sending a large army to recover the Hexi Corridor, but why are these northern people going to Wuluohai City instead of reinforcing Hexi?
Chaos erupted instantly at the city gate, and the gate was hastily slammed shut.

As the sun sank completely below the horizon, the entire Gobi Desert became eerily quiet.

In the midst of this deathly silence, a deafening roar suddenly echoed from the distant land.

"Boom boom boom~"

The sound grew closer and closer, like muffled thunder rolling across the ground, or like ten thousand horses galloping, and even the city walls beneath their feet seemed to tremble slightly.

The soldiers on the city wall peered out and were instantly terrified by what they saw, turning pale with fright.

"The people from the Northern Frontier, the people from the Northern Frontier have really come to kill us."

"Quickly, everyone get to the city wall!"

In the moonlight, endless shadows emerged from the darkness, warhorses galloped endlessly, and the dust they raised blotted out the sky.

A huge crimson sun and moon battle banner fluttered in the evening wind, and the soldiers under the banner were all dressed in crimson cloth armor, and they surged toward Rijiri City with fierce momentum like a tide.

It was the vanguard of the Second Garrison, five thousand elite cavalry led by Baliara.

The rest of the troops had already set up camp and were resting.

The garrison commander of Lijili City turned ashen-faced upon seeing the terrifying sight of the northern frontier army outside the city.

"Has the messenger... left yet?"

The subordinate beside him quickly replied, "Master, they've already left!"

"According to the pace, we will arrive at the city of Woluohai in two more hours."

As soon as the two patrol soldiers returned to report the news, the garrison commander immediately sent someone on horseback to report to Woluohai City.

Even so, when he saw the vast expanse of northern cavalry outside the city, all that remained in his heart was despair.

Lijili City had only a few hundred soldiers, while there were at least five or six thousand cavalrymen outside the city, a tenfold difference in troop strength.

The low city walls offered no defense whatsoever; the battle was lost without even being fought.

The soldiers on the city wall were terrified, many of them pale-faced and filled with fear.

At this moment, a Northern Frontier Commandant dressed in red armor rode up to the city.

The soldiers on the city wall all raised their arrows and aimed them at him.

The captain didn't care at all and shouted, "Brothers of Lijili City, stop making unnecessary sacrifices!"

"Lay down your weapons and surrender; this is your only way to survive."

"Otherwise, once the city falls, not a single chicken or dog will be spared."

……

"I used to be from Blackwater City, and I was a soldier just like you. I served in the Zhenyan Army Commandery, and later I surrendered to the Northern Frontier. Now I'm a captain in the Northern Frontier Army."

He married three concubines and they had five children.

"We are all Chinese, we are all brothers and sisters, Chinese people do not fight Chinese people."

"As long as you submit and work hard, I guarantee you will all live a good life in the northern frontier."

Hearing the words of the Northern Frontier Commandant, many soldiers in the city began to waver.

They were both soldiers, but the difference between them was huge.

In recent years, the Xia Kingdom has mainly engaged in defensive warfare, and most of the wars have taken place within its borders, leaving them with no opportunity to plunder.

However, a large portion of the daily military pay would be embezzled or deducted.

Therefore, even ordinary lower-ranking officers did not have a very good life, let alone the lower-ranking soldiers.

They were both soldiers, but after surrendering to the northern frontier, one of them had already married three concubines and his life was becoming more and more promising.

And what about yourself?

Many soldiers felt resentful.

More importantly, they are now isolated and helpless.

It seems that Lijili City will be breached before reinforcements from Wuluohai City arrive.

"Master, what should we do?"

The soldiers stared longingly at the general guarding the city.

The commander of the banner was a mid-level officer in the Xia army, in charge of about five hundred soldiers.

He gripped the city wall tightly, his face contorted with rage, as he thought of the legends about the Northern Frontier Army.

The 80,000-strong imperial army was annihilated in the Hexi Corridor, and then swept through Hexi, forcing the main force of the imperial army to cower in Hedong and dare not fight.

Moreover, the people of northern Xinjiang are extremely vicious and ruthless; they are truly capable of massacring entire cities.

The commander was determined to hold out, but the soldiers below were terrified.

Seeing their fearful and struggling expressions, the leader knew that if he didn't make a decision soon, some of them might be carrying their heads to surrender to the people of the Northern Frontier.

"Fine, open the city gates!"

As the city gate slowly opened, Baliara chuckled.

This is the formidable reputation of the northern frontier.

The next day, Bali'ara's vanguard army captured another town.

Luo Sicheng!

This is a border trading town, specifically established for grassland trade.

However, with the outbreak of war, the border markets have been temporarily closed, but many merchants still have a lot of goods and gold and silver stored there, waiting for the border markets to reopen so they can take advantage of the grassland people.

But now, it all benefits the Northern Frontier Army.

……

"what?"

"Lijili City and Luosi City have both fallen?"

Upon learning this news, Gao Yi, the military commander of the Black Mountain Weifu Army in the city of Wuluohai, was so shocked that he stood up from his chair.

How many soldiers from the Northern Frontier Army have arrived?

"About, about several thousand people," the Luo Sicheng garrison commander said, looking disheveled and lacking confidence.

Because he only saw three or four thousand northern frontier troops attack the city before Luosi City fell.

The exact number of troops that had come was completely unknown.

"Commander, the Northern Frontier Army is truly terrifying. They have a weapon that is extremely powerful."

"Like thunder, the city walls of Luosi City collapsed after a few moments."

"Then...then their cavalry charged in."

The city of Lijili was utterly defeated; only a few messengers managed to escape beforehand, and Gao Yi was unaware of the specifics of the battle.

But the news about the garrison commander of Kelusi City was not of much value.

That terrifying weapon had already been used by the Northern Frontier Army during the Battle of Hexi.

Its power was terrifying, and it could also cause widespread casualties to cavalry.

It can be said that the Northern Frontier Army's victory in the Hexi Campaign was largely due to this terrifying weapon.

Now that Luosi City has also fallen, Gao Yi can't help but wonder if Wuluohai City can withstand it.
"Damn it, how did the Northern Frontier Army manage to invade from the northern grasslands?" Gao Yi said angrily, slamming his fist heavily on the table.

"Has the Battle of Mobei already ended?"

However, the battle of Hexi has not yet been decided.

The resistance of the Northern Frontier Army in the Hexi Corridor was very tenacious.

Gao Yi had a premonition that the imperial court was spending a lot of manpower and resources to prepare for the western expedition.

I'm afraid we'll return empty-handed again.

"Quickly, send a message to Xingqing Prefecture: the northern frontier army is pressing in, and Wuluohai City is requesting reinforcements," Gao Yi said in a solemn voice.

After the clerk finished writing the letter requesting assistance, he used the seal and sent it out by fast horse.

Gao Yi ordered the garrison of Wuluohai City to strengthen its defenses and mobilize all forces in the city, regardless of age or gender, to guard the city.

Although the Xia Kingdom committed its main forces to the Hexi battlefield, fortunately, Li Chunyou did not use the troops of Wuluohai City due to the threat from the north.

There are still 20,000 troops in the city, plus men, women, and children, making a total of about 50,000 people guarding the city.

"My Gao family has received imperial favor for generations. Even if I die this time, I, the commander, will never allow the people of the Northern Frontier to cross the border into Wuluohai City!" Gao Yi stood on the city wall, gripping his sword, and shouted firmly.

On the city wall, the soldiers were all busy.

Moving stones, boiling molten gold, repairing bows and weapons, and so on.

Amid this tense atmosphere, Bali'ala led his vanguard army to the walls of Woluohai.

However, instead of attacking the city rashly, they dispatched a large army to block the four gates, prohibiting any troops from entering or leaving.

Another day later, Li Dongjiang led the main force of the Northern Frontier Army to arrive.

Fifteen thousand elite cavalrymen, divided into yellow and red, were all wearing armor.

There were also 20,000 steppe cavalrymen around them, dressed in all sorts of different clothes and with outdated and worn-out weapons, but their fighting power was not to be underestimated.

Historically, Temujin led these steppe cavalry to capture the city of Oroqen several times and carried out massacres of its inhabitants.

"Woooooooooo~"

"Woooooooo~"

As the bugle sounded, the army outside the city galloped on horseback, kicking up dust several feet high.

“Roar, roar, roar, roar~”

Gao Yi was dressed in armor, his expression extremely solemn.

The deep voice said, "The Northern Frontier Cavalry truly deserves to be called the elite of the world."

"If we were to fight in the open field outside the city, our army would probably have little chance of winning."

Looking at the size of the Northern Frontier Army, it numbered around 40,000, twice the size of the Xia army.

This further strengthened Gao Yi's resolve to defend the city and never rashly venture out to fight in the open.

"That thing is the Northern Frontier Army's terrifying weapon?"

Soon, Gao Yi's gaze fell on the open space outside the main gate, where the Northern Frontier Army had erected a row of iron pillars.

It was only about half a person tall, and the dark opening faced the direction of the city gate.

It looked small, but Gao Yi felt a deadly threat from it.

"That's right, it's this thing. It makes a really loud noise. The walls of Luosi City were blasted down by this thing!"

"Commander, it's dangerous on the city wall, let's go down now..."

Before the commander of Luosicheng could finish speaking, the cannons outside the city were already ready.

The sixty Tiger-shaped cannons were arranged in a semi-circle, with all the muzzles pointed at the same spot on the city wall.

A centurion drew his cavalry saber and roared in a ferocious voice.

"fire."

"Boom boom boom~"

(End of this chapter)