Chapter 254: Hatred For Destroying My Family, Hatred For Wife Snatching
Shanle City.
At this time, the Prefectural Governor’s Mansion had already become the Northern Frontier Army’s command post.
He Dagan’s family had no choice but to go to a villa in East City. The courtyard was only two compounds deep and occupied less than an acre of land.
Far inferior to the luxurious grandeur of the Prefectural Governor’s Mansion.
In the back courtyard, outside the main room, He Dagan was speaking kind words to four Northern Frontier Soldiers. Only after receiving their assurances was he allowed to enter the room.
But he could not stay long; he had to come out after saying a few words.
“Bitch, what are you doing?”
He Dagan walked into the room and immediately saw Abugema sitting in front of the bronze mirror, dressing up. He stormed forward aggressively to question her.
His eyes were blazing with fire, his face ferocious, scaring the two maidservants into trembling, but Abugema ignored him completely.
She didn’t even glance at him, continuing to dress up in front of the bronze mirror.
She was already naturally beautiful, and after dressing up, she looked even more radiant, with added charm and allure.
“Don’t you already know?”
Abugema’s beautiful eyes lightly swept over him, and she sneered.
Then she continued to admire her own appearance. One had to admit that women still needed a man’s nourishment.
She had originally thought all men in the world were like He Dagan, but only after meeting Li Xiao did she understand what a true man was.
She felt much younger, her skin fair and tender, smooth and glossy.
Her previous days—tsk tsk, what a waste of life.
But seeing her contemptuous demeanor, He Dagan felt as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.
“Bitch, how can there be such a promiscuous woman in the world?”
He Dagan roared in anger, his face flushed red, glaring fiercely at Abugema as if he wanted to devour her.
At the same time, he guiltily glanced toward the door, afraid that the four Northern Frontier Soldiers outside would hear.
Those four were there to escort Abugema to the Shandan Military Horse Farm to meet the Great Protector.
They were too damn bullying.
But he did not dare disobey Li Xiao’s orders, so he could only vent his anger on Abugema with words.
As he spoke, he grabbed Abugema’s arm, stared at her face, and said hatefully: “You shameless slut.”
“Back then, for you, I killed so many people, and now that I’ve lost power…”
He Dagan stabbed at Abugema’s heart with the most vicious words.
Her expression grew increasingly indignant, clear tears slowly streaming down, wetting her collar. She cried and laughed: “He Dagan, drop that whorish face of yours!”
“Isn’t this the outcome you wanted?”
“And now you’re demanding that I be some chaste and virtuous woman?”
“Hmph, your hypocrisy is truly disgusting.”
Abugema had originally been a loyal and virtuous woman, until the moment He Dagan personally discarded her.
From that moment, she was completely disillusioned with this man, no longer believing any of his lies, and no longer caring if he was her husband.
Now, she only wanted to do what she wanted.
“You~”
“Bitch~”
As he spoke, He Dagan raised his hand, wanting to slap Abugema’s face.
But Abugema stared straight into his eyes without fear, sneering: “Hit me!”
“If you have the guts, hit me.”
“Anyway, I’m going to see the Great Protector. If he sees the slap mark on my face then, hmph~”
He Dagan panicked. His raised arm froze in mid-air, his face turning purple, his back teeth nearly grinding to pieces.
Abugema snorted coldly, flung him off directly, stood up in her gorgeous clothes and full makeup, and walked toward the door.
Before leaving, she turned her head and mocked: “He Dagan, what kind of man are you?”
“To tell you the truth, the two years I spent married to you weren’t as pleasurable as the two nights with the Great Protector.”
With that, she slammed the door shut heavily, took the two maidservants, and followed the four Northern Frontier Soldiers out of the residence.
He Dagan’s pride was utterly wounded by those words.
His face flushed red, eyes wide, arm pointing tremblingly in the direction Abugema left, stammering: “You you you~”
Before he finished, he spat out blood, his vision went black, and he fainted from anger.
Over the next few days, He Dagan fell ill, lying in bed in a daze, looking as if he were about to die.
Until this evening, when his window was suddenly pushed open quietly from outside.
He Dagan thought it was a servant and mumbled groggily: “Who is it?”
But the intruder did not speak.
He Dagan suddenly had a bad feeling, opened his eyes wide, and was about to shout for the servants when the intruder covered his mouth.
“Elder Brother, don’t shout, it’s me.”
Hearing the familiar voice, He Dagan’s eyes widened instantly.
Borrowing the moonlight, he carefully observed the man: around thirty years old, wearing tattered hemp short robes, face dirty, looking like a refugee.
But He Dagan recognized his identity at a glance.
“Apu? How is it you?”
This man was named He Dagan Apu, He Dagan’s cousin, serving as Deputy General of the City Gate Department in Liangzhou City.
As he spoke, He Dagan quickly looked toward the door and saw no movement; the servants seemed to be fast asleep.
“Don’t look, Elder Brother, no one knows I came.” Apu sat on the chair beside him, grabbed a teapot, and gulped down water.
“Why did you come? The city is full of Northern Frontier People now. If they discover your identity, it’ll be disastrous.”
He Dagan struggled to sit up, saying nervously.
But Apu said confidently: “As long as you don’t betray me, Elder Brother, the Northern Frontier barbarians won’t find me.”
The He Dagan family had taken root in Shanle City since the founding of Western Xia. After more than ten generations of accumulation, they could truly be called the local emperors of Shanle City.
Although the city was now occupied by the Northern Frontier Army, sneaking in one or two people was still no problem.
“I’m your elder brother; how could I betray you?”
He Dagan dragged his weak body to another chair and sat down seriously: “But meeting me at this time is really dangerous.”
“The Northern Frontier People haven’t killed me, but they’ve never trusted me. There might even be their spies in the residence.”
Apu nodded: “I understand, so I’m only here to see you.”
He then said angrily: “Elder Brother, I’ve learned all about our family’s situation.”
“Those Northern Frontier barbarians are simply a bunch of beasts.”
“Even if they were cut into a thousand pieces, skinned and disemboweled, it wouldn’t quench the hatred in my heart.”
Apu had been hiding in the city for several days and had a general understanding of what had happened.
The He Dagan family was finished. Their century of accumulated wealth had been looted clean by the Northern Frontier barbarians. Most tribesmen were captured—either killed or demoted to slaves.
The women had become playthings for those barbarians.
Even He Dagan himself had only preserved his dog’s life by sending his madam to the Great Protector of the Northern Frontier.
Hatred for the destruction of his family, hatred for wife snatching, hatred for the killing of kin—every single one was courtesy of the Northern Frontier People.
Apu did not believe He Dagan felt no hatred.
As these matters were mentioned, pain and anger naturally appeared on He Dagan’s face.
His fists clenched, teeth gritted, the rage in his chest nearly tearing it apart.
Especially thinking of that bitch Abugema now lying under Li Xiao’s knees in ecstasy—it made him want to tear that dog of a man and woman apart alive.
The two years she spent with him weren’t as pleasurable as two nights with that man?
Those words were the greatest humiliation to He Dagan.
“That’s right, those Northern Frontier People are a pack of wolves in human skin.” He Dagan’s eyes were bloodshot as he said hatefully.
Seeing his emotions seemed genuine, Apu finally stated his purpose: “Elder Brother, the Northern Frontier barbarians destroyed our ancestral hall, bullied our tribesmen, killed our blood kin, and plundered our wives and daughters.”
“Such a great enmity is irreconcilable. If we don’t avenge it, how can we face the ancestors of the He Dagan family?”
Apu’s face was taut as he said hatefully.
Although their branch had settled in Liangzhou, Shanle City was still his root, and they returned every year for ancestral worship.
“But right now, there’s an opportunity for revenge.”
“The Zhenyi Commandery Prince already knows about Shanle City and the plight of our He Dagan family and other great families, so he specially sent me to contact you.”
“When His Highness’s army arrives outside Shanle City, Elder Brother, you can contact the others to act together, open the city gate, and welcome the royal army into the city.”
“We’ll not only skin and dismember all the Northern Frontier People in the city, tear their corpses to shreds, but also march on the Shandan Military Horse Farm and capture the Great Protector of the Northern Frontier, Li Xiao.”
“Then, Elder Brother, you can personally slice off that thief’s flesh piece by piece and make him beg for mercy before you.”
Hearing Apu’s words, He Dagan was tempted.
According to his information, the horse farm on the southern route was in a stalemate, with an unclear situation.
On the central route, Zhenyi Commandery Prince Li Anquan was leading thirty thousand troops into the Yanzhi Mountain Ancient Road. How many Northern Frontier garrison troops were in Shanle City?
Less than ten thousand—success was highly likely.
If he could lead people to open the city gate, he would be a great meritorious official of the court. Not only would he escape blame for losing the city, but he would also be greatly promoted and rewarded.
Thinking of this, driven by hatred, He Dagan gritted his teeth and said: “Do it!”
……
Military Horse Farm. After several days of bloody battles, the intensity of the war had eased, and both sides had entered a standoff.
This evening, Li Xiao received a secret report from Shanle City: the big fish had taken the bait.
“He Dagan really is a fool. Now it depends on whether that Li Anquan is smart enough.”
Li Xiao sat in the golden tent, murmuring to himself.
He had laid a casual idle move, and unexpectedly, the Western Xia people had bitten.
“Tell Deputy Commander Luo to proceed according to plan.” Li Xiao said to the messenger. If the Western Xia army dared enter Shanle City, he would play a big game.
Then, Li Xiao summoned Fourth Garrison Myriad Household Commander Tie Tou and Mo Jun.
Tie Tou was Li Xiao’s playmate from the Wuwei Army.
Mo Jun was once one of the Eight Great Chiliarchs of Jin Prefecture. Though a Hu person, he was loyal to Li Xiao, as Li Xiao had avenged his father’s death by killing Xiao Lintta.
The two, wearing bright yellow-trimmed cotton armor, handed their sabers to the personal guards outside the tent and strode into the golden tent.
They saluted with hand to chest: “Greetings, Great Protector.”
Li Xiao looked up from the sand table before him and said gravely:
“There’s a change in Shanle City. Each of you lead your subordinate troops and set out at dawn tomorrow to support Shanle City. Obey Luo Meng’s orders.”
The Yanzhi Mountain Ancient Road had treacherous terrain, easy to defend and hard to attack.
The battles at the horse farm had previously been intense, urgently needing Northern Frontier main forces to suppress the situation.
Thus, Li Xiao had only left Luo Meng with his own myriad household and fewer than five thousand Gaochang Auxiliary Army to guard Shanle City.
But now, with the war’s integration, the Kuli Army had gradually adapted to their identity as Northern Frontier infantry.
So Li Xiao could free up some forces here to support Shanle City.
Tie Tou and Mo Jun nodded and saluted: “Understood.”
After the two left, Li Xiao studied the sand table a bit more, then donned his armor to inspect the camp and visit the wounded.
However, compared to the horrific, bloody scenes in the Western Xia field hospital, the Northern Frontier field hospital had an added smell of garlic and strong liquor.
It was allicin.
“How many wounded are in the camp?” Li Xiao asked the centurion of the field hospital.
This man was Qian Zhongyong, originally a physician from Jin Prefecture. Skilled in surgical wounds, he had saved many soldiers, so Li Xiao appointed him centurion in charge of the field hospital.
In later generations, his status would be equivalent to the director of 301 Hospital.
“Great Protector, there are over two thousand eight hundred wounded in the camp, including eight hundred fifteen seriously wounded, and four hundred forty-two new wounded today.”
“Since the war began, six hundred thirty-eight have recovered enough to leave the camp…”
Qian Zhongyong reported the field hospital’s situation to Li Xiao. Overall, the Northern Frontier casualty rate was not too high.
Moreover, since the war started, Qian Zhongyong had arranged for large-scale extraction and boiling of allicin.
To this end, the Northern Frontier Army had nearly stripped the Hexi Corridor bare of garlic, and they had also brought large quantities of fresh garlic on the campaign.
Applying this allicin to soldiers’ wounds, along with internal consumption diluted in water, effectively alleviated infections.
It had saved at least half of those needing amputation. After recovery, they could return to the battlefield or handle logistics work.
Thus, Qian Zhongyong greatly favored allicin and revered its inventor, Li Xiao.
“The Golden Jade Powder developed by the Great Protector truly shocks heaven and earth, moves gods and ghosts.”
“With Golden Jade Powder, those rotting sores that once left physicians helpless all vanish.”
“This isn’t developing medicine; it’s clearly snatching people from the King of Hell!”
Qian Zhongyong saluted Li Xiao with hand to chest, full of admiration: “In ancient times, Shennong tasted a hundred herbs to save the people from disease; now, Great Protector, you developed Golden Jade Powder to save countless officers and soldiers from death’s door.”
“Such merit will shine through the ages.”
Who says doctors only know how to save lives and don’t understand human relationships and etiquette?
The old man Qian understood very well, flattering Li Xiao with this rhetoric almost every time they met.
Though he knew it was flattery, Li Xiao was very tolerant toward capable men like old Qian, rewarding him generously on a regular basis.
“Heh, developing Golden Jade Powder was just this Protector’s casual act.”
“I didn’t aim for eternal fame; I only seek to save more Northern Frontier officers and soldiers’ lives, so the common people under heaven no longer suffer the agony of rotting flesh. That satisfies this Protector.” Li Xiao sighed with a compassionate air.
This drew another round of flattery from old Qian.
After Li Xiao personally checked each wounded soldier’s condition, night had fallen, and he returned to his tent to rest.
Tonight was another solitary sleep.
As for He Dagan’s madam?
That was deliberately to anger him.
Though Li Xiao loved women, he knew when to restrain himself.
This was wartime; the officers and soldiers were risking life and death against the enemy. If he indulged in nightly revelry in the golden tent, what would the Northern Frontier officers and soldiers think of him?
Thus, including Li Xiao, all troops followed one rule during combat: no women allowed.
Only after victory could everyone indulge fully, releasing the fear of death each felt.
……
Shanle City. After confirming the ‘anti-Northern’ plan, He Dagan began actively gathering his old subordinates.
He prepared to secretly assemble a force—not too many men, just enough to keep it secret, seize the city gate at the critical moment, and welcome the army outside.
Meanwhile, after receiving the news, Li Anquan ordered the army to intensify the offensive, occupying one dangerous pass after another on the Yanzhi Mountain Ancient Road.
Forcing the Northern Frontier Army and Gaochang Auxiliary Army to retreat step by step, nearly exposing Shanle City to the Western Xia Army.
Thus, the atmosphere in the city grew even more tense.
The Gaochang Auxiliary Army bustled daily, transporting large quantities of supplies into the city.
This day, He Dagan took his advisor and two servants to contact a few surviving old subordinates.
On the way back, they happened to encounter two Northern Frontier Soldiers leading a team of Gaochang Soldiers escorting over twenty large carts through the street.
“Make way, make way, don’t block the road.”
The leading Northern Frontier Army soldier saw He Dagan and the others and immediately shouted loudly.
As if he would run them over if they didn’t move.
He Dagan hurriedly dodged to the side, his face full of humiliation and anger.
“Hmph, enjoy your pride for two more days. Then I’ll personally skin you dogs alive.”
He Dagan had originally been a lofty prefect, always surrounded by attendants on outings, riding in luxurious horse carriages, receiving ‘homage’ from lowly people.
When had he ever been like this—no carriage, walking on foot; no attendants, just two old servants left.
And bullied by lowly Northern Frontier barbarian soldiers.
He could not endure such a humiliating life for even a day.
He wished he could open the city gate tonight and let the court army in.
After the convoy passed, He Dagan murmured puzzled: “Why are the Northern Frontier barbarians hauling so much fodder into the city?”
The advisor beside him’s eyes turned, and he whispered: “This subordinate guesses it’s because the court army is about to arrive outside the city.”
“The barbarians fear being besieged on all sides, so they’re preparing enough fodder in advance to avoid war horses competing with men for grain.”
“Of course, it could also be that the fodder hides other things they don’t want us to see.”
This explanation seemed reasonable, and He Dagan nodded in agreement.
He sneered: “Looks like these barbarians plan to fight the court army to the death.”
“Hmph, ridiculous.”
In two days, he would show those barbarians his power.
Shanle City would always be the He Dagan family’s Shanle City.
If he didn’t cooperate, no one could stay—they’d all slink away in defeat.
“Lord is right.” The advisor nodded lightly beside him, flattering.
“The Northern Frontier barbarians are blind; their mistake was offending you, Lord.”
He Dagan nodded lightly; those words were spot on.
The next morning, as the morning mist just cleared, a piercing gong sound suddenly came from the watchtower on Shanle City’s East Gate.
Twenty thousand Western Xia iron cavalry surged across the wasteland like a black tide toward the city gate.
Li Anquan’s ‘Zhenyi Commandery Prince’ banner fluttered under the blazing sun, armor and weapons reflecting cold light. The Western Xia soldiers, though weary, were all spirited.
All because Shanle City was within reach.
After breaching the city, they could loot to their hearts’ content.
Exchange Northern Frontier Soldiers’ heads for military merit, use Shanle City’s women to warm their beds, use the city’s wealth to let their wives and children live well.
Looting was the mainstream of warfare in this era, the foundation of soldiers’ strong combat strength.
So what if Shanle City once belonged to Western Xia?
Now it was a Northern Frontier thieves’ den.
They weren’t robbing Great Xia subjects, but Northern Frontier barbarians.
As for who were the Northern Frontier barbarians, naturally the brave Great Xia soldiers would decide.
“Order the whole army to camp, rest for a day, and attack the city tomorrow.”
Under the command banner, Li Anquan waved his hand and issued the order.
The Western Xia army had fought through the entire Yanzhi Mountain Ancient Road and indeed needed rest.
But in truth, Li Anquan was preparing for tonight’s action.
After camping, Li Anquan summoned Apu to the tent and asked gravely: “Can you contact your cousin? How is his preparation?”
Apu said: “Your Highness, with our army besieging the city, the Northern Frontier barbarians have strengthened the city’s defenses. This general fears he cannot enter.”
“But rest assured, Your Highness. This general stakes his whole family’s heads that my cousin will not betray Great Xia.”
Li Anquan nodded lightly upon hearing this.
He had already learned about Shanle City from other channels and knew the He Dagan family’s plight.
He believed that fool with grass for brains harbored irreconcilable hatred toward the Northern Frontier barbarians.
But he doubted whether He Dagan had the ability to open the city gate and if his subordinates might leak the secret.
At this moment, however, any worries were just needless anxiety.
He just needed to wait for the third quarter of the hour of the tiger.
