Chapter 15: Painting Flatbread, Centurion?
After saying something to the Old Master, Li Xiao took some people to the riverside.
Actually, after they finished cleaning up over there, they would definitely come over too, since there were plenty of good things left by the Geluolu People and Khitan People, and Hexi Fort had no reason to let them go.
After arriving at the riverside, it was equally a scene of devastation here.
More than twenty corpses lay scattered haphazardly along the shore, most of them Khitan People.
Another dozen corpses were soaking in the river water, most of them Geluolu People again.
Blood stained the river water and the grassland red, while riderless horses grazed with heads down not far away, as if everything happening before them had nothing to do with them.
“My condolences~”
Standing by the riverside, after checking all the corpses, Li Xiao offered programmed condolences to Xiao Yanyan.
In fact, Li Xiao had long known there couldn’t be any survivors by the riverside.
After the Geluolu People charged ashore, they would definitely slaughter the Khitan People, and finish off any who weren’t dead yet.
Xiao Yanyan understood this reasoning too, and looking at the corpses of these Khitan Warriors, her expression was dejected and sorrowful.
These were all warriors from the Sixth Courtyard Department, who had loyally followed her all along!
Now, they had all died in Jin Prefecture, which made Xiao Yanyan hate that bastard Da He Chu Luo Duo even more.
“Si Gele!”
Xiao Yanyan said harshly; this was a curse in the Khitan Language.
Li Xiao couldn’t understand it, but knew it wasn’t anything good. However, this woman probably wasn’t targeting him; she was likely cursing the Geluolu People!
Next, Li Xiao and the others began gathering war horses, looting spoils of war, and fishing the corpses out of the river, burying them along with those on the shore.
While doing these things, Xiao Yanyan stayed by Li Xiao’s side and suddenly asked, “Have you ever thought about leaving here?”
Li Xiao unceremoniously slung a Khitan People’s bow and arrow over his back, looked up at Xiao Yanyan, and asked, “What do you mean?”
“Come be my guard~”
Before Xiao Yanyan could finish, Li Xiao interrupted her directly: “No interest!”
“I haven’t finished yet~ If you come to my side, I won’t treat you poorly~” The promises Xiao Yanyan made to Li Xiao were nothing more than money and status.
She would help Li Xiao rise meteorically in the future, and so on.
After all, she had seen Li Xiao’s prowess with her own eyes.
Superb archery, hitting an enemy in the chest from a hundred meters away, brave and skilled in combat—no ordinary few could withstand a single stroke of his saber.
Killing Geluolu People was like cutting melon and chopping vegetables.
Such a valiant man was exactly what Xiao Yanyan longed for most.
After experiencing Da He Chu Luo Duo’s abandonment and the successive deaths of more than two hundred Khitan Warriors by her side, Xiao Yanyan felt very insecure, having never been so helpless before.
Li Xiao’s appearance had become a dazzling light in Xiao Yanyan’s heart at that moment, saving her from desperation.
So, her attitude toward Li Xiao was naturally different.
She wanted to get this youth!
But it was a case of the mistress willing while the man uninterested; Li Xiao had no interest at all in the glory and wealth Xiao Yanyan promised.
He just found it ridiculous!
This woman had been high above others for too long, thinking that as long as she beckoned, ordinary people would grovel before her?
“I have zero interest in what you’ve said to me!”
“I just want to stay in Hexi Fort!”
“I don’t want to go anywhere else!” Li Xiao refused again without hesitation!
Li Xiao had ambition!
He wanted greater power, but relying on the Khitan People was definitely not a good idea.
Although some Han People served as officials in the royal court, they were basically civil officials in charge of civil affairs, while all the armies were firmly controlled in the hands of Khitan Nobles.
The Khitan People were also quite exclusionary, looking down on Han People deep down!
Li Xiao’s identity as a Han Person had already determined that in the Khitan-dominated royal court, he wouldn’t have much of a ceiling.
The only way out was in the Northern Frontier, leveraging the fact that there were many Han People here to quickly gather more Han People and build an elite army.
That way, he could carve out a place for himself in the chaotic times that were about to come.
Hearing Li Xiao repeatedly refuse Xiao Yanyan, the two Khitan Warriors by her side were displeased.
One of them who could speak the Chinese Language said with an ugly expression, “Han Person, Kun Ji thinks highly of you to let you be her guard—don’t be ungrateful!”
He himself was a guard~
This Han Person was so unwilling to be a guard—was he looking down on guards?
Guards might not sound like they had much status, but as long as you got on good terms with the master, your future prospects were boundless.
Ordinary people would break their heads to have the chance to be Kun Ji’s guard!
For this Han Person to be so ungrateful was truly damnable!
The other guard couldn’t understand their words, but sensed the tension in the atmosphere, so he slowly placed his hand on the hilt.
Looking ready to draw his saber at any moment.
Seeing this, Li Xiao sneered disdainfully and said to the guard who spoke the Chinese Language, “Do you believe I’ll make sure you don’t see tomorrow’s sun?”
Cold, firm, carrying a faint killing intent.
So many Khitan People had already died by the Dragon Bone River; Li Xiao wouldn’t mind two more.
Or three Khitan People!
“Shut up, Duōgá!”
Xiao Yanyan scolded this Khitan Warrior and stopped the other Khitan Warrior’s action.
She itched to give these two idiots a few hard slaps.
What was the situation now?
She had requests of them, even her life and property in their hands, and these two idiots still dared to threaten?
“Don’t mind them; their companions’ deaths have made them a bit emotional. I’ll discipline them properly when we get back!” Xiao Yanyan said.
“No problem, my temper isn’t great either~” Li Xiao shook his head lightly.
Xiao Yanyan smiled helplessly, understanding that Li Xiao’s intentions couldn’t be changed in the short term.
“Since you don’t want to leave your hometown, I won’t force you~”
“But I promised to repay you earlier~ I naturally won’t go back on my word.”
“When I return to the Eastern Capital, I’ll have someone send a hundred strings of copper coins and a hundred bolts of cloth and silk!” Xiao Yanyan said.
Hearing this, Li Xiao glanced at her and chuckled, “So, you want me to send people to escort you to the Eastern Capital?”
Xiao Yanyan smiled slightly too: “If you have enough manpower, that would naturally be best.”
Now she only had two guards left by her side, and the Eastern Capital was still at least eight hundred li away.
Over such a long distance, besides possibly encountering Geluolu People on the road, they might also run into other nomadic tribes unfriendly to Khitan People.
Three people traveling would be too unsafe; it would be best if Hexi Fort sent some people to escort them.
But Li Xiao still shook his head and said, “Sorry, we’re short on manpower too.”
“The Geluolu People will arrive soon; if we send out people, Hexi Fort will be in danger!”
Although this woman offered generous compensation
The Jin Prefecture Army had just suffered a major defeat, and who knew how many of Hexi Fort’s hundred young and strong men would return!
Adding up all the men left in the village who could wield a saber or shoot a bow and arrow, there were only a little over three hundred.
At a time like this, how could they send people to protect this woman to the Eastern Capital?
That would be deserting in the face of the enemy!
“Alright then~” Xiao Yanyan shook her head; she had only been testing the waters anyway.
If Hexi Fort could send people to escort her back to the Eastern Capital, that would be ideal; now rejected, she wasn’t too disappointed.
“Then, can we rest in the village for a few days?” Xiao Yanyan asked as a fallback.
She was quite self-aware!
She knew very well that after leaving the royal court without an army’s protection, her status as princess wasn’t all that useful.
Because the Western Liao Dynasty had always implemented a loose rein policy toward the major forces within the country.
The Northern Frontier was the same; besides setting up Xiangwen Prefectures in each prefecture, the villages and nomadic tribes of the Northern Frontier maintained a high degree of independence.
Besides tax collection and conscription, they didn’t necessarily give face to the royal court on other matters, let alone to a princess in name only.
Of course, if the demands weren’t excessive, they could give that face.
“Staying to rest is no problem, but we might erupt into battle with the Geluolu People again at any time; if you stay too long, you might not get a chance to leave!”
Li Xiao said in a flat voice.
Hearing these words that sounded like intimidation, Xiao Yanyan smiled lightly.
“It’s fine, I’m not afraid~”
“I believe you’ll protect me like you did just now, warrior!”
Li Xiao shook his head indifferently, unsure where this woman got her confidence from.
He had only met her for the first time; were they that close?
If they encountered life-threatening danger, she’d be the first one Li Xiao would abandon!
No interest in chatting more with this woman, Li Xiao continued gathering things from the battlefield, picking up the longbow that had belonged to a dead Khitan Warrior and slinging it casually over his back under the gaze of these three Khitan People.
The two Khitan Warriors glared furiously, but Xiao Yanyan didn’t care; they couldn’t take these weapons anyway.
She continued following behind Li Xiao, watching this youth busily at work.
Thinking that she might need these Han People’s protection for the next few days, she decided to do Li Xiao another favor.
“I won’t stay in your village for free; besides the property I promised earlier, I can also give you some free information.”
Li Xiao didn’t respond, lowering his head to gather sabers and bow and arrows, while also searching these corpses for any valuables.
Xiao Yanyan could only continue: “The Eastern Capital Governor’s Mansion intends to implement household registration for the Four Prefectures of Northern Frontier, setting up chiliarchs, centurions, and other offices to manage the villages and tribes!”
“With your martial arts and archery, if you establish merit in the upcoming battles, you should have a chance to become a centurion~”
Hearing Xiao Yanyan’s words, Li Xiao’s expression didn’t change, but he was secretly surprised inside.
Household registration?
He hadn’t heard a thing about it!
History had no record of the Western Liao Dynasty implementing household registration for its subordinate villages and tribes.
In fact, the Khitan royal court’s control over the grassroots had always been weak; even the Western Liao royal court didn’t know how many tribes, villages, and people there were in the subordinate affiliated states and loose rein prefectures outside their direct territories.
This was mainly because the Western Liao’s main ethnic group, the Khitan People, lacked sufficient numbers.
Unable to penetrate to the grassroots to directly rule every tribe and village.
So they could only implement the loose rein policy, not interfering in the internal affairs of affiliated states, affiliated tribes, and villages.
Retaining only the powers of conscription, tax collection, and diplomacy to achieve nominal unification.
But if they could fully implement household registration, the significance would be different, greatly strengthening the Western Liao’s control over the grassroots.
However, later historical records on the Western Liao were limited, with many sources lost.
It was also possible that the Western Liao had implemented household registration policy in a small area.
“Centurion? Chiliarch?”
Just from the names, he knew what offices they were!
Li Xiao glanced at Xiao Yanyan; this woman had painted one hell of a flatbread!
