Chapter 158: Capturing The King Of Gaochang Alive, Shanxi Merchants Traverse The Realm
“The city has fallen.”
A cry filled with boundless terror erupted on the street, like a boulder dropped into a calm lake, instantly causing a huge uproar among the crowd.
Immediately, shouts echoed from every corner of Gaochang City: “The Northern Barbarians have broken in.”
“Flee for your lives!”
The children cried out in fear, and the women wept uncontrollably.
No one had expected that in just a few days, Gaochang City, which all the Uyghur people were proud of, would be breached by the Northern Barbarians.
Fear and despair were etched on the faces of all the common people.
Some quickly returned home to lock their doors and windows, while others blindly followed the crowd on the street, running around aimlessly.
Someone shouted, “There are no Northern Barbarians at the East Gate, escape through the East Gate!”
Thus, the crowd began to surge towards the East Gate like a tide.
Under this immense wave of panic, no one could remain calm enough to think why the Jin Prefecture Army was no longer at the East Gate.
Everyone’s heart held only one thought: to escape this city that was about to be consumed by war.
In this chaotic stream of people, a group of figures stood out, clearly different in appearance from the surrounding Uyghur people.
Leading them was Fan Zhongxin, a merchant from the Central Plains.
He was not tall and was slender, and at this moment, he was also bewildered by this sudden turn of events.
His eyes were wide open, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
He kept muttering, “Trouble, trouble.”
“How could we have encountered the barbarians breaching the city.”
He then shouted to his companions behind him, “Guard our horse carriage closely, don’t lose it.”
“This is all we have.”
The Fan Family had been in business for generations, but because they had offended some magnates, almost all of their fortune had been depleted.
To make a comeback, Fan Zhongxin used the Fan family’s last savings to buy a batch of valuable goods such as tea and silk from the Central Plains, and embarked on the Silk Road with his younger brother and a group of fellow villagers.
A pound of ordinary tea in the Central Plains could only sell for a few dozen copper coins, but transported to the Western Regions for sale, it could fetch thousands of copper coins.
With profits a hundredfold, who wouldn’t be tempted?
The profits were great, but the risks were also considerable.
Along the way, they encountered bandits, exploitation by officers and soldiers, and all sorts of harsh weather. They even nearly died in the desert due to getting lost.
But fortunately, they successfully reached Gaochang City.
In Gaochang City, they sold all the goods they brought, earning a hundredfold profit.
They were just preparing to buy some goods from the Western Regions to transport back to the Central Plains.
Unexpectedly, the northern barbarian army marched south, surrounded Gaochang City, and they could not get out.
After only a few days, the barbarians breached Gaochang City.
Fan Zhongxin could only follow the crowd to escape the city.
If discovered by the barbarians, not only their gold and silver would be stolen, but their lives would also be in danger.
“Elder brother, where are we going?”
His younger brother, Fan Zhongyi, holding a knife, guarded the horse carriage tightly and asked loudly.
“Didn’t the Uyghurs say there were no barbarians to the east?”
“We’ll leave the city from the East Gate first, then immediately head south.”
He was not like the stubborn Uyghurs who couldn’t think; Fan Zhongxin saw the problem at a glance.
The barbarians must have set a trap to the east, waiting for these Uyghurs to fall into it.
Therefore, following the main group to the east would only lead to death, and staying in Gaochang City was even worse.
Based on experience in the Central Plains, when barbarians breach a city, it is inevitably followed by burning, killing, and looting; staying in the city would also mean death.
Thus, Fan Zhongxin could only pray that the barbarians would focus on pursuing the main Uyghur forces and overlook his small fry who was sneaking away in a different direction.
“It’s over, it’s over, what should we do…”
“The barbarians are cruel; they will kill us all.”
“I heard that everyone in Liuzhong City is dead.”
Under the terrifying propaganda of the Uyghur high command, the fear of the Jin Prefecture Army was deeply ingrained in the Uyghur people.
Their voices trembled, choked with sobs, as they shouted and squeezed towards the city gate.
Fan Zhongxin and his group also struggled forward with the crowd. Every step was incredibly difficult. People around them pushed and shouted, making him almost lose his balance.
Several times, he almost fell to the ground, but luckily he was quick-witted and grabbed the edge of the horse carriage, thus avoiding being trampled to death.
After finally squeezing out of the city gate, they saw that most of the common people continued to walk eastward.
Judging by their direction, they were likely heading towards Hami, which was the second largest city in the Kingdom of Qocho, and should be able to resist the Jin Prefecture Army for a while.
However, Fan Zhongxin dared not follow the crowd and headed directly south after leaving the city gate.
Towards a less populated area.
And a small number of common people were also heading south.
However, just as Fan Zhongxin was waiting for his camel to pull the horse carriage south at a fast pace, a low rumbling sound suddenly came from behind him.
A rough voice also rang out.
“Make way, make way.”
“Everyone get aside.”
Fan Zhongxin was instinctively greatly alarmed, thinking the barbarians had caught up.
He turned his head and saw a unit of Uyghur cavalry charging fiercely, kicking up a cloud of dust, moving very fast as if fleeing for their lives.
Leading them was a burly strong man, who, with his men, constantly swung their horsewhips, driving away the Uyghur common people blocking their path.
Looking further back, there were more than two hundred cavalrymen in armor, wielding sabers and spears, escorting several elaborately decorated horse carriages in the middle.
“Quick, quick, move aside.”
“Get to the side, don’t block them.”
Fan Zhongxin quickly told his men to move the horse carriage out of the way.
The common people do not fight with officials; this was a rule he had learned after suffering.
Moreover, these Uyghur soldiers looked like trouble, and they all appeared to be fleeing in panic.
If they continued to block the way, it was hard to guarantee what violent actions they might take.
As expected, when some Uyghur common people with slow legs were still blocking the road and couldn’t dodge in time, the general quickly lost patience.
He rode his horse directly forward, knocking all the common people blocking the way to the ground. The other soldiers followed closely, crushing them into mincemeat.
“Ahhh~”
Amidst the screams of these common people, the Uyghur general, with an angry expression, cursed, “A bunch of lowly people.”
“Dare to block His Majesty’s path, beware of having your nine clans executed. Quickly, get out of the way.”
The Uyghur society was still a slave society, and the class disparities were very evident.
Therefore, in the eyes of these Uyghur nobles, ordinary Uyghur common people were not considered ‘people’ at all.
They were beasts, tools.
At a time of national crisis, these beasts did not think of serving the country or fighting the barbarians, but instead risked their lives to flee.
They deserved to die.
“It’s all because of you cowards, who only dare to flee and not fight, that the royal capital has fallen.”
“All of you deserve to die.”
The Uyghur general cursed the common people while leading his soldiers in a hasty escape.
Seeing this scene, Fan Zhongyi was very indignant and couldn’t help but think of his own brother being bullied by magnates in the Central Plains.
If it weren’t for that, why would they, brothers, risk their lives to do business in the Western Regions from thousands of miles away?
“Hmph, a bunch of beasts, only know how to run, if you have the guts, go and fight the barbarians yourselves,” Fan Zhongyi said through gritted teeth, hatefully.
A paternal uncle beside him gently shook his head and sighed, “What sense is there in talking to these people?”
“No matter where it is, the lives of the common people are like grass, and the magnates are the first class.”
But at this moment, Fan Zhongxin’s face was extremely grim.
Because he had just learned what the Uyghur general said from the translator.
His Majesty?
That means these soldiers are the Royal Palace Imperial Guards.
They were escorting the King of Gaochang to escape?
“It’s bad, it’s bad, this is a big problem,” Fan Zhongxin clapped his hands, his face anxious.
“Let’s go, hurry, head east!”
Hearing his words, Fan Zhongyi and the others were confused. “Elder brother, didn’t you just say we shouldn’t follow those common people? The target is too big.”
Fan Zhongxin was extremely anxious and hurriedly explained, “But now, those soldiers are the biggest target for the barbarians!”
“Hurry, or it will be too late.”
But as soon as he finished speaking, a low rumbling sound came from afar.
Fan Zhongxin and the others were all stunned, and instinctively stopped, looking in the direction of the sound with dread.
They saw a cloud of dust rising in the distance, and over a thousand soldiers in white armor surged forward like a churning tide.
Like a group of demons pouring out of hell, they were formidable and unstoppable.
Seeing this scene, Fan Zhongyi and the others were already pale with fright. They clung tightly to Fan Zhongxin, their weapons trembling slightly, and their legs shaking like sieves.
“Barbarians, the barbarians are here.”
“We’re doomed.”
“Elder brother, what do we do now?”
Fan Zhongyi’s voice was filled with sobs.
Previously, they had only heard from the Uyghurs how fierce and terrifying the barbarians were.
But when they faced them in person, they realized they had underestimated the enemy.
Over a thousand soldiers didn’t sound like much, but when they were all mounted on warhorses and spread across the grassland, one could perceive their terrifying aura.
It was like black clouds pressing down on the city, ready to engulf Fan Zhongxin and the others at any moment.
Fan Zhongxin gritted his teeth, large beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. “Damn it, we’re still implicated by those Gaochang soldiers.”
He knew that his small group was not worth such a large-scale mobilization by the barbarians; they were simply caught in the crossfire.
“This time, it’s over.”
Fan Zhongxin felt a pang of sorrow. He didn’t have any hope for the treasures on the horse carriage.
It would be good enough to save their lives; the best outcome would be to become slaves of the barbarians.
In the blink of an eye, the White Armored Army tightly surrounded Fan Zhongyi and the other Uyghur common people, as well as the more than two hundred Uyghur Imperial Guards.
In their terror, they huddled together, standing back to back.
The White Armored Army soldiers, mounted on warhorses and wielding spears, quickly circled them.
They continuously let out “Roar, roar, roar” shouts, like man-eating beasts, putting immense psychological pressure on the Uyghurs.
“Your Majesty, we are surrounded,” the Uyghur general shouted at the horse carriage in terror.
Inside the horse carriage, Yue’er Si’s face was ashen, and his body trembled like a sieve.
“How could this happen? We still couldn’t escape after all?”
“I am not reconciled!”
Just then, the White Armored Army soldiers who were roaring around them slowly reined in their warhorses, and a passage opened in the middle.
A young general, completely clad in cotton armor, slowly rode forward on a tall horse.
He approached the encirclement, pulled on the reins, looked down at the surrounded people from his horse, and a faint mocking smile curved his lips.
“Those who dare to resist will be killed without mercy!”
Following Li Xiao’s command, the White Armored Army soldiers raised their bows and arrows.
In an instant, the air seemed to condense with frost, and the tense atmosphere grew even more intense, as if it could suffocate people.
Seeing this, the Uyghur soldiers and common people all stared wide-eyed with terror, their faces filled with despair and helplessness.
“No, don’t.”
“Please, don’t shoot.”
“We surrender, we are willing to be slaves.”
First, it was the common people who knelt on the ground, a rustling sound.
Then, some Imperial Guards could no longer withstand the fear of death, and moreover, with Gaochang City fallen, they had no hope of victory.
Thus, when the first soldier laid down his weapon, more and more soldiers followed suit.
Like the common people, they knelt and surrendered.
Of course, there were still some stubborn elements. Yue’er Si had been king for so many years; without his confidants, he would have been killed many times over.
“Kill~”
More than a dozen soldiers, like warriors facing certain death, charged towards the White Armored Army, holding their spears.
Li Xiao, mounted on his horse, watched all this coldly and simply waved his hand, giving the order to fire.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”
Dozens of arrows tore through the sky, carrying a sharp whistle, and poured down towards the charging Uyghur soldiers.
In the blink of an eye, all these soldiers were shot into porcupines, falling from their horses with screams.
Fan Zhongxin and the others also knelt on the ground, watching the tragic scene with horror.
Fan Zhongyi trembled all over, his teeth chattering. “Elder brother, what… what should we do? Will we also…”
Fan Zhongxin’s face was also ashen, and he secretly lamented in his heart.
“Be quiet, let’s hope we can survive this ordeal.”
Soon, the wolf-like White Armored Army soldiers rushed onto the horse carriage and directly dragged Yue’er Si out, throwing him to the ground.
From the carriage behind, a woman’s scream was heard.
The Queen of Gaochang and Princess Ayina huddled together, crouching on the ground, trembling.
Because the escape was too hasty, Yue’er Si did not have time to take all the consorts with him, and could only take the Queen and Ayna.
The other consorts are all still in the royal palace.
Just then, Li Xiao, riding a warhorse and followed by several personal guards, walked up to Yue’er Si and the others, looking down from a high position and asking.
“King of Gaochang, Yue’er Si?”
Although Yue’er Si trembled all over, and his ornate clothes were stained with mud, he still stood up and asked sternly, feigning courage.
“This King is the King of Gaochang. Who are you?”
It was Li Xiao’s first time seeing Yue’er Si’s appearance. He was pot-bellied, a middle-aged man of forty or fifty, panting after a few steps, let alone riding a horse.
Judging by Baershu’s appearance, he was someone who could bend and stretch, but looking at his father, he was a wretch.
Li Xiao was greatly disappointed.
“This Governor, Li Xiao, Governor of Jin Prefecture, Marquis Wu Cheng, and General Who Conquers the West,” Li Xiao said calmly.
“You are Li Xiao?” Yue’er Si was surprised.
He had thought Li Xiao would be older, at least a young man in his twenties.
But he seemed to be even younger.
Ayna, who was squatting on the ground and trembling, raised her head when she heard Li Xiao’s name and secretly observed him a few times.
“He is Li Xiao?”
Was this the villain who had demanded her for a marriage alliance?
And her fiancé, Da He Chu Luo Duo, whom she had met only a few times, seemed to have died by his hand.
In Ayna’s subconscious impression, Governor Li Xiao of Jin Prefecture should have been a ferocious, meaty, middle-aged man with a tiger-like head and leopard-like eyes.
Unexpectedly, he was a young man of about her age.
He was also quite handsome and dashing.
At this moment, Ayna suddenly wasn’t as scared anymore.
“Li Xiao, you’ve come at the right time. This King wishes to see the Sixth Courtyard Department Great King. Our Gaochang is willing to submit to the Northern Frontier.”
Yue’er Si still tried to preserve the last bit of dignity of the King of Gaochang, standing tall before Li Xiao and saying.
“Submit?”
“What were you doing before?” Li Xiao sneered.
If Yue’er Si had had this attitude before the Jin Prefecture Army entered Gaochang, Li Xiao would not have made such a fuss.
Now that Gaochang City had already been taken, you talk to me about surrender?
He was not qualified at all, just a prisoner of war.
However, since he was the king, Li Xiao was willing to give him some preferential treatment and exempt him from labor.
“Take them all away.”
Li Xiao said in a deep voice.
He no longer paid attention to Yue’er Si, whose fate was already sealed.
He might fall to his death while riding a horse, or he might choke to death while drinking water.
Afterward, the White Armored Army drove the Huihu Soldiers and common people back.
In this war, Li Xiao had surrounded Gaochang City from three sides, leaving one side open, with the intention of letting the people inside escape.
The Jin Prefecture Army were all cavalry, not suitable for street fighting.
But once they got outside the city, it would be the Jin Prefecture Army’s domain.
Moreover, many soldiers and common people escaping also facilitated the Jin Prefecture Army’s occupation of Gaochang City.
“Who are those people?”
On the way back, Li Xiao noticed Fan Zhongxin and his party.
From their appearance, they were clearly different from the surrounding Uyghur people, and their clothing and adornments were also those of people from the Central Plains.
Li Xiao quickly noticed them.
“I will bring them here,” Tie Tou said in a deep voice.
Soon, Fan Zhongxin and the others were brought before Li Xiao and all knelt down.
“Are you from the Central Plains?”
Li Xiao asked in a calm voice.
Upon hearing this, Fan Zhongxin’s eyes suddenly lit up.
He even secretly observed Li Xiao, a young general with a Han face.
“Han people?”
“They are actually Han people?”
Fan Zhongxin was shocked.
So the barbarians that the Uyghurs spoke of were actually Han people?
This made Fan Zhongxin want to laugh and cry, never expecting that one day, they, the Han people, would become barbarians even in the Western Regions, thousands of miles away.
Of course, what excited Fan Zhongxin the most was Li Xiao’s accent.
A distinct Yan Yun accent!
It sounded exceptionally familiar.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Fan Zhongxin nodded hastily.
“My name is Fan Zhongxin, and I am from Datong Prefecture in the Central Plains.”
Hearing this, Li Xiao scrutinized him more closely.
This was the first time he had seen someone from the Central Plains.
Datong Prefecture is modern-day Datong.
It is currently one of the five imperial capitals of the Jin Dynasty, the Western Capital, and holds a high political status.
During the Liao Dynasty, Datong Prefecture was called Yun Prefecture and was one of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.
Li Xiao and these Han people in the Western Regions all had ancestors from the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun.
Therefore, the accents of the two men were quite similar.
“People from Datong Prefecture, what are you doing in Gaochang?” Li Xiao asked softly, his sharp gaze fixed on Fan Zhongxin.
A spy? Or an envoy?
Should I just chop him with one stroke?
Being stared at by Li Xiao like that, Fan Zhongxin felt a chill on his neck and quickly replied, “Traveling merchant.”
“I am a merchant, and I came to the Western Regions to do business.”
“What did you buy, and what did you sell?” Li Xiao asked quickly.
“Tea, silk, porcelain, and from Gaochang, pepper, spices, jade, colored glaze…”
“What was the price of tea? And how was silk sold?”
“Tea sells for three strings of copper coins per jin in Gaochang City…”
Li Xiao asked a few more questions, and Fan Zhongxin’s answers were all without any problems.
Li Xiao then began to believe his identity as a merchant.
“Shanxi Merchants!”
He hadn’t expected that merchants from Shanxi had already risen in this era, and had even expanded their business to the Western Regions.
Truly a group of adventurous people!
“Since you are a merchant, this Governor will not make things difficult for you.”
“Coincidentally, this Governor has a few things to ask you,” Li Xiao said calmly.
Afterward, he ordered his subordinates to release Fan Zhongxin and his party, returning all their goods and money to them.
“Thank you, Great Governor, thank you, Great Governor.”
Fan Zhongxin and the others quickly expressed their gratitude, feeling as if they had narrowly escaped death.
This Great Governor was quite kind.
It was his first time in the Western Regions.
He had thought that the glory of the Han and Tang Dynasties had passed, and the Western Regions had long since become the domain of the Hu people.
He never expected that Han people would still have such prestige in the Western Regions.
The powerful Kingdom of Gaochang had its capital broken through by the Han army.
And they were called barbarians. In Fan Zhongxin’s view, this title was not derogatory but a synonym for wild and powerful.
It indicated that the Hu people of the Western Regions feared these Han people greatly.
Thinking of this, Fan Zhongxin inexplicably felt a sense of shared honor.
“If this Great Governor rules the Western Regions in the future, then would anyone dare to trouble us Han merchants doing business in the Western Regions?”
Not long after, Li Xiao and his men returned outside Gaochang City and set up a prisoner of war camp on a clearing.
A little later, the Uyghur people who had fled in other directions were almost all driven back.
As for Wen Ta, the Western Liao Minor Supervisor, thanks to Yue’er Si’s confinement of him, he was unable to leave the residence and was directly captured by the Jin Prefecture Army.
“I heard that Yue’er Si was a fierce general in his youth. After being king for so many years, he must have forgotten how to kill people.”
In the large tent, Li Xiao said calmly, “I will not see the person.”
“Go and let Yue’er Si kill him.”
“Your command!”
Soon after, Chen Chong came to report, “According to the identification of the Uyghur people, all the officials and ministers in Gaochang City have been identified. Please instruct the Great Governor.”
Gaochang officials?
In Li Xiao’s eyes, they were nothing but parasites.
He waved his hand and said, “Sulfur Gully needs them. Send them all to mine ore.”
“Your command!”
Li Xiao planned to recruit the Uyghurs for his own use in the future, incorporating them into the greater family of the Chinese nation.
However, the first to be expelled must be these black-hearted, parasitic officials and nobles.
Li Xiao intended to carry out a bottom-up purge of the Uyghurs.
