Chapter 112: Xiao Lintta’s Sneaky Plot
The next morning, more than a dozen nomadic cavalrymen came from the northwest direction.
They wore tattered sheepskin jackets stained with long-dried blood, their heads half-bald with a few braids left.
Their faces were filthy, unrecognizable from their original appearance, their skin cracked by the cold wind and covered in dead skin.
This group was precisely people from the Uliji Tribe.
Leading them were the young chieftain Amo and the high priest.
As for the other general E Tu Lu, he stayed in the tribe to guard the home.
The two of them led people to Wuya Village to lodge a complaint with Xiao Simo.
“Whoa whoa whoa~”
The group slowly came to a stop by a small river.
Having ridden horses for so long, even the high priest at his age couldn’t endure it; he let out a heavy sigh and dismounted.
He said to the group, “We’re not far from Wuya Village now; at most, it won’t take more than two hours to arrive.”
“Rest first, tidy up our appearance, then go seek an audience with the governor.”
“Good.” Amo nodded lightly.
The others also led their war horses into the river to drink.
They took out rock-hard dried meat from their horseback and started eating.
But at that moment, a soldier suddenly shouted, “There seem to be people over there.”
Looking in the direction he pointed, Amo spotted three cavalrymen standing on a small hill a few hundred meters away, observing them.
Seeing the tense expressions on everyone’s faces, the high priest told them to relax.
“We’re not far from Wuya Village here.”
“They should be Khitan scouts.”
The main force of the Eastern Capital Army was still at Wuya Village; any commander would set up scouts at least twenty li outside the camp to detect enemies and prevent surprise attacks.
“Should we go greet them and state our identity?” Amo said with a furrowed brow.
Although his father held absolute authority in the tribe, he had not yet inherited the leader position and clearly lacked that prestige.
Some matters even required the high priest’s final say.
“If they come to inquire, state our identity; if not, no need to say more.” The high priest shook his head lightly.
Sure enough, after observing for a while, the three scouts quickly left.
Amo and his group also relaxed, rested a bit longer, then continued hurrying toward Wuya Village.
But they didn’t know that these three scouts were not Khitan people, but pure Han people.
It was just to cover tracks that Li Xiao specially had these scouts responsible for reconnaissance and vigilance swap clothes temporarily with the guards under Xiao Yanyan.
And as Amo and his group continued forward, they increasingly felt something was off.
Finally, when they reached a stretch of hills, they discovered a group of cavalrymen who had been waiting there for some time.
Amid the grassland hills, these cavalrymen lined up in a row, stretching across heaven and earth, completely blocking the path ahead.
The high priest and Amo’s faces changed almost simultaneously as they instinctively pulled their reins.
“Whoa~”
The war horses stopped, and the dozen people stood stunned in place, their faces filled with terror and confusion.
The horses uneasily pawed the ground, their whinnies especially piercing in the silent wilderness.
They had never imagined that someone had set up a trap here, waiting for them to charge right in.
“Bad, we’ve been ambushed.” The high priest said in terror.
Judging by the scene before them, the opponents were definitely enemies, not friends.
Most of these people wore earthy yellow sheepskin jackets with patched leather armor over them, yet under the glaring sun, they exuded an oppressive aura.
Leading them was a young man, tall and imposing, with a stern face, sitting steadily on a black fine horse like an unshakable mountain peak.
In his hand he gripped a horse spear, its tip swaying lightly in the breeze, flashing with cold light, as if silently declaring their intent.
But when the high priest peered at the man’s appearance with his old eyes and saw clearly, his face drastically changed, and he shouted in horror.
“It’s Li Xiao, he is Li Xiao.”
The old man’s voice turned shrill, as if he had seen some terrifying demon.
Then, in a terrified shout: “Run, run quickly.”
“Everyone scatter and run.”
“As long as one person escapes, go straight to Wuya Village and tell Lord Xiao what happened here.”
With that, the dozen people scattered and fled.
On the other side, Li Xiao slowly raised his arm, pointing the horse spear at Amo and his group.
With this action, the entire cavalry unit surged forward, a strong sense of oppression sweeping across the grassland.
And at the same time, in the rear and on both flanks of Amo and his group, Li Xiao’s cavalry appeared everywhere.
At this moment, though the grassland was vast, they seemed trapped in a huge cage, surrounded by cold iron walls with no escape.
In the end, these dozen Uliji tribesmen had a few shot dead, most captured.
Especially the high priest and Amo, who were specially targeted; they hadn’t run far when their war horses were shot and injured beneath them.
Ultimately, they were disheveledly captured.
“Kneel down~”
“Behave~”
Four soldiers bound them and escorted them before Li Xiao.
The high priest was old and had no strength to struggle, but the hot-blooded young Amo was very uncooperative and finally took several hard punches to the stomach from the soldiers before quieting down.
“Li Xiao~”
The high priest was pressed to kneel on the ground, lifting his head to look ahead.
A young man on a war horse was slowly approaching.
Behind him was a very beautiful woman with exquisite features, snow-white skin, and a haughty demeanor.
The high priest immediately realized this woman’s identity.
Great Liao princess, Xiao Yanyan.
“Hmph hmph, they all say you Li Xiao became deputy governor by licking women’s asses; now it seems the rumors are true.”
The high priest sneered, his aged voice humming.
Hearing this, Xiao Yanyan was instantly displeased; her beautiful eyes glared, her face frosting over as she scolded, “Old thing, are you courting death?”
Truth be told, Li Xiao really hadn’t licked her.
On the contrary, she had squatted down to suck.
But having such a thing said by an old man felt like an insult to her and Li Xiao.
Yet Li Xiao showed no emotional fluctuation, still sitting tall on his war horse, looking down at the two.
In a low voice, he said, “I’m not very familiar with Wuliji.”
“But at least we were once comrades who fought side by side; now it’s come to this.”
“Truly not what I, Li Xiao, wished for.”
As soon as Li Xiao finished speaking, Amo spat viciously at him.
“Pah~”
Unfortunately, too far; it didn’t reach.
“You despicable villain, drop the fake compassion; it makes me sick.”
Amo shouted angrily, struggling fiercely, nearly breaking free from the two burly men holding him.
Naturally, he took another beating.
Li Xiao sneered disdainfully: “Wuliji’s death had nothing to do with my men; we didn’t kill him.”
“Moreover, if you obey me honestly, I can spare your lives.”
“In your dreams.” Amo said angrily.
“Falling into your hands today is my grandfather’s bad luck.”
“Kill or torture me, I Amo won’t even flinch.”
This guy seemed not too bright, too reckless.
Li Xiao had no interest in wasting more words with them and directly ordered: “Use every means to make them talk.”
“Must get them to confess about Xiao Lintta.”
“Yes, sir!”
Zhou Dali and Qian Sanbiao nodded heavily.
Then, they had the Uliji people dragged aside for interrogation.
Li Xiao’s intent was clear: even if by forced confession, drag Xiao Lintta down.
Since Xiao Lintta struck first with dirty tricks, Li Xiao no longer cared if his own methods were dirty.
Even unfounded slander would do; drag him down and let everyone be punished together.
Some people aren’t afraid of death, but that’s only on the battlefield, dying once and done.
But once captured by the enemy, facing various tortures, basically no one can hold out.
These Uliji people weren’t all tough either.
Some even knelt begging for mercy after a few whips.
But when one finally spoke, Li Xiao realized he didn’t need to frame Xiao Lintta without evidence this time.
“Confess everything honestly, and not only will I spare your life, I’ll reward you with ten sheep.”
Li Xiao and Xiao Yanyan sat on a patch of grassland covered with sheepskin, watching the man kneeling before them.
He was the high priest’s guard and knew about the deal between the high priest and Xiao Lintta.
“Right, call over that idiot son of Wuliji too, let him hear.”
After a brief exchange, Li Xiao understood that guy was just a reckless, brainless fool.
Just like his father, both used by Xiao Lintta.
“Kneel down~”
As Amo was brought over, the man began recounting what happened.
“A few days ago, a Khitan person found the high priest, saying he was under Governor Xiao.”
“He wanted to make a deal with the high priest.”
“Wanted the high priest to find a way to bewitch Wuliji into turning hostile against the Han people.”
……
“Finally, after negotiation, the high priest agreed to Governor Xiao’s request, but the condition was that headman E Tu Lu replace the Wu Liji leader as chiliarch.”
Hearing this, Amo, bound nearby, was instantly stunned.
How could he not understand: this was actually a conspiracy jointly set up by the high priest and Xiao Lintta.
The goal was to make the Uliji Tribe go to war with the Han people, letting them reap the benefits.
“Who exactly killed my father?”
“And why is E Tu Lu replacing my father as chiliarch?” Amo’s eyes bloodshot, he glared ferociously at the guard.
Facing Amo who looked ready to devour him, the guard paled and said nervously, “Wu Liji leader~”
“On the battlefield then, it was the arrow shot by E Tu Lu~”
“And E Tu Lu is actually the high priest’s son.”
Hearing these two explosive pieces of news, Amo’s stunned his pig head.
He widened his eyes and said incredulously, “What?”
