Chapter 108: The Beginning Of Political Struggle
Inside Hexi Fort, the atmosphere was tense like a fully drawn bowstring.
The Old Master stood behind the wall, watching the movements of the Uliji Tribe, his face gloomy, his brows furrowed into a “chuan” shape.
But he remained completely silent.
Meanwhile, the people beside him were filled with righteous indignation, all demanding to go out and fight those bastard Uliji people.
“Old Fort Master, let’s fight.”
“The people of the Uliji Tribe have already started harvesting our grain.”
“Yeah, Old Fort Master, we can’t just watch our grain be taken by them.”
“Without grain, what will we eat for the next year?”
Everyone was burning with anxiety, especially those youths, full of youthful vigor, gripping their bows, arrows, and spears tightly, as if ready to charge out and fight the enemy to the death at any moment.
Faced with the crowd’s anger, the Old Master had only one word.
“Wait!”
Right now, Hexi Fort only had a group of elderly, weak, and children left; they couldn’t gain any advantage against the Uliji people and would only suffer pointless casualties.
After fighting so many years of battles, the Old Master was no longer a hot-headed youth.
Without people, even mountains of grain would be utterly useless.
Besides, Hexi Fort and Sanhe Fort together had several thousand mu of grain fields; the Uliji Tribe couldn’t finish harvesting them in just a few days.
When Li Xiao returned with his troops, these guys would have to spit out everything they had swallowed.
And so, time arrived at the second day.
While the busy Uliji was tense, he suddenly heard a scout report.
“Han people, lots of Han cavalry have come.”
“What? How did they come so fast?”
“How many are they?” Uliji’s face changed drastically, and he quickly asked.
“At least three or four hundred.”
“Damn it, how did these Han people come so fast?”
“Xiao Lintta clearly promised to hold them for five days.” Uliji said angrily.
But at this moment, it was too late to blame Xiao Lintta; it wasn’t suitable to stay here long.
He quickly called his men, took the grain harvested that day, and hurried away.
On the other side, Li Dashan led the young and strong of Hexi Fort home, preparing to harvest the grain.
He was originally in a great mood, after all, he had already become a chiliarch; he just needed to wait for this autumn harvest to finish, and once the hundreds and thousands of households were fully formed, he could take office.
But unexpectedly, on the way back to Hexi Fort, he received news that made him burn with rage.
Hexi Fort had been surrounded by the Uliji Tribe.
“Those bastards are courting death.”
Cursing angrily, he immediately urged his men to speed up, returning to Hexi Fort in less than a day.
Seeing the large swathes of farmland already harvested by Uliji cavalry, and those guys dragging big bags of grain, fleeing in panic.
Li Dashan’s eyes turned red.
He leveled his spear and shouted loudly: “Brothers, kill these dog-mother bastards, charge!”
They had been fighting the Naiman people on the front lines, earning countless merits, but upon returning, they saw their home nearly stolen.
Every Hexi young and strong was furious, shouting in unison, full of killing intent, charging fiercely toward the Uliji Tribe’s encirclement.
The rules of battles between grassland tribes were actually very simple: fight if you can win, run if you can’t.
Even if the strengths of both sides were similar, they wouldn’t fight unless absolutely necessary.
Every leader would weigh the pros and cons, considering if they could win the consequences of war.
Even if they won, would they be taken advantage of by other tribes?
So most grassland wars were pursuits and prolonged battles.
Thus, facing the Hexi reinforcements, the instinctive reaction of the Uliji Tribe was to run fast.
They couldn’t fight.
But unlike when they came, every horse’s back on the way back was loaded with much more grain.
Their speed couldn’t pick up at all.
Watching Li Dashan and the pursuers led by the Old Master getting closer.
Uliji could only grit his teeth and order the grain all thrown away, feeling heartbroken.
“Damn turtle bastard!”
He wasn’t cursing the Old Master and Li Dashan, but Xiao Lintta.
That guy had sworn he could delay Li Xiao’s troops for at least five days.
But unexpectedly, on the second day, Li Xiao’s reinforcements arrived.
He felt like he had been played by Xiao Lintta.
So, while cursing and circling on the grassland with the Hexi cavalry.
He also sent someone quickly to Sanhe Fort to notify them to withdraw immediately.
At least they had a day and a night; he only hoped they could harvest more grain there.
But what he didn’t expect was that before he could tangle long with the Hexi cavalry, he received an even more shocking message.
“Amo, why are you here?”
Looking at his disheveled son before him, and the terrified tribesmen behind.
A feeling that something was seriously wrong welled up.
Observing carefully, he had originally left two hundred male laborers at Sanhe Fort, plus nearly a thousand elderly, weak, women, and children.
But now appearing before him were only over a hundred male laborers and five or six hundred women and children.
Not to mention Sanhe Fort’s grain, even their tribe’s own cattle and sheep, tents, and other supplies had all vanished.
“What happened? Amo?”
Uliji widened his eyes and said angrily.
But his son looked helpless and said sadly: “We were attacked by Han people.”
“They had more soldiers; we could only abandon the grain and cattle and sheep, barely breaking out.”
The result was losing half the tribe directly.
Nearly a hundred soldiers died in battle or were captured; four or five hundred elderly, weak, women, and children were even more likely captured, or lost on the way while fleeing.
In short, a large tribe of over a thousand people had been crippled by half by the Han people?
Uliji was completely stunned.
He sat dazed on his horse, his body trembling, his vision going black, nearly fainting.
“Damn it, how could this happen?”
Uliji roared in fury.
He had planned to rob Sanhe Fort’s grain while the Han people were too busy.
But instead of catching the chicken, he lost half his life.
Losing all cattle, sheep, supplies, and nearly half the population, how could the Uliji Tribe survive?
“Father, what do we do?” Amo said with a mournful face.
How would Uliji know what to do?
His heart was filled only with regret; if he had known, he wouldn’t have come to Han territory.
And while they were talking, the Hexi cavalry pursuers from the rear caught up.
Meanwhile, scouts reported that Han troops from the Sanhe Fort direction were also closing in fast.
Pincer attack; for the Uliji Tribe, the situation instantly fell into desperation.
Many women and children in the tribe had already become frightened birds, now mostly panicking like headless flies, crying in fear.
Seeing this, Uliji drew his saber and shouted loudly, telling everyone to calm down.
Then he issued orders, telling the women and children to hurry in the direction without Han people.
He himself led all the soldiers to stay and block the Han pursuers.
“Warriors, the Han people killed our relatives, took our cattle and sheep, and want to put us to death.”
Amid the prancing of his war horse, Uliji held his saber high and shouted loudly.
“The Han people want our heads; are you willing to give them?”
“No!”
“No!”
Uliji’s soldiers shouted loudly; seeing their battle intent recover, Uliji swung his saber forward.
“Warriors, charge with me.”
“Kill!”
After being reinforced by over a hundred soldiers from Sanhe Fort, Uliji’s strength had greatly increased.
He now had the qualification to compete with the Hexi cavalry.
He wanted to quickly defeat this Han force before the Sanhe Fort Han army arrived.
Then go eliminate the other Han force.
Backed into a corner and then fight back.
Not only to take back their Uliji Tribe’s cattle, sheep, supplies, and relatives, but also to rob all the Han people’s grain and property in the forts.
The situation had reached this point; both sides had to get serious.
“Kill~”
Uliji Tribe’s cavalry clashed with Hexi Fort cavalry, shouts of killing shaking the sky, blade lights flashing.
Li Dashan led the charge, his spear like a flood dragon emerging from the sea, stabbing straight at the Uliji Tribe’s cavalry.
His heart was full of rage; their own grain robbed, home disturbed—these Uliji people were truly courting death.
His spear tip turned, knocking down one enemy, then sweeping away another cavalry trying to close in.
Uliji was not to be outdone; he brandished his saber, blocking left and right, leading his soldiers in stubborn resistance.
He knew this battle concerned the tribe’s survival; if they lost, the Uliji Tribe would likely be erased from existence on the grassland forever.
“Warriors, for our families, for our cattle and sheep, kill them fiercely!” His voice echoed on the battlefield, inspiring the soldiers’ morale.
Unfortunately, heaven’s will was not on his side.
Shortly after the clash, another cavalry appeared on the eastern land.
“Hahaha, Hedong Fort’s people have arrived.” Li Dashan laughed loudly.
After learning of the Uliji Tribe’s situation, Li Dashan and Luo Ping split up: one rushed to reinforce Hexi Fort, the other went to Sanhe Fort to deal with the enemy.
Luo Ping’s arrival added a heavy chip to this unfair battle.
Directly crushing the Uliji Tribe.
Jin Prefecture had eight chiliarchs, and three appeared on this battlefield.
Facing a two-on-one situation, Uliji, this newly minted northern chiliarch, could only flee in disarray.
Li Dashan had spotted him long ago.
Though they didn’t know each other personally, they had cooperated once on the Naiman battlefield and surely knew each other’s faces and names.
Seeing Uliji trying to flee, Li Dashan nocked an arrow, aimed in Uliji’s direction, and shot.
Shouting: “Uliji, fuck your maternal grandmother.”
But immediately, Li Dashan angrily shook his arm and muttered: “Fuck his maternal grandmother’s.”
Missed!
Li Dashan ultimately wasn’t Li Xiao; he didn’t have that divine shooting skill.
Plus the battlefield was extremely chaotic now, and the distance too far.
So Li Dashan’s arrow missed, not even grazing Uliji’s fur.
But from the other side, before Uliji could rejoice, another arrow flew swiftly.
Directly hitting his back.
“Chieftain, Chieftain~”
The surrounding soldiers were shocked and immediately helped the fallen Uliji back onto his horse.
Shouting in panic: “The Chieftain is hit by an arrow, the Chieftain is hit by an arrow.”
“Withdraw quickly.”
