Chapter 160: Queen, You Wouldn’t Want Your Husband To Die, Would You?
“What about the Xia Kingdom?”
“You came from the Hexi Corridor, so you must know something about the cities within the Xia Kingdom.”
“Chat with this Governor about the local customs and practices of the Xia Kingdom.”
After three rounds of drinks, with the banquet atmosphere at its peak, Li Xiao revealed his true intentions and asked about his real goal.
“Xia Kingdom?”
Hearing Li Xiao’s question, Fan Zhongxin didn’t realize anything was wrong. Having drunk quite a bit, his face was flushed, and his speech became bold as he recounted the things he had encountered along the way.
“The capital of the Xia Kingdom is Xingqing Prefecture, a major city comparable to Zhongdu and Lin’an, with a population of several hundred thousand.”
……
“Hexi Corridor?”
“It has quite a population too. The most prosperous are Liangzhou and Wuwei, and anyone traveling the Silk Road must rest in Xiliang Prefecture.”
“West of Liangzhou are Shandan City and Ganzhou City, both with considerable populations and bustling prosperity.”
“Further west are Suzhou, Guazhou, and Shazhou.”
“Although these three prefectures don’t match the eastern ones in population, they are still key cities in the Hexi Corridor, guarded by many troops!”
Drunk Fan Zhongxin, to show off his knowledge, even mysteriously pulled a map from his chest.
Afraid that Li Xiao and the others wouldn’t know the exact locations of the cities he mentioned, he pointed them out on the map.
“This is the route map I drew during my travels as a merchant. This is Xingqing Prefecture~”
For anyone in business, roads are the most important thing.
Fan Zhongxin had a habit: every time he reached a new place, he would mark the road conditions and terrain on the map.
Li Xiao took a look and found the map very simple, only roughly marking the positions of mountains, rivers, and roads, with nothing else.
It was really crude, but it had some reference value.
Comparing it to his mental image of the Hexi Corridor, he gradually formed a rough idea of it.
“By your estimate, how many people live in Shazhou City, and how many garrison troops are there?” Li Xiao withdrew his gaze from the map and asked Fan Zhongxin calmly.
“Garrison troops?”
Hearing this term, the somewhat tipsy Fan Zhongxin instantly sobered up.
Heavens, what had he just told the Great Governor?
Why did he even pull out the map?
Realizing this, Fan Zhongxin broke out in cold sweat and stammered, “Th-this~”
“I don’t know~”
“I dare not speak too much. If I ruin the Great Governor’s important matters, it would be an unpardonable crime.”
Fan Zhongxin said with a mournful face.
He seemed to have guessed something major.
The Jin Prefecture Army was apparently preparing to move against Western Xia.
Is this kind of military secret something a merchant like me should know?
Fan Zhongxin would rather his ears were deaf, lest the Jin Prefecture Army silence him to keep the secret.
“Mister Fan, no need to be nervous. We’re just chatting casually. Just tell us what you know.” Li Xiao smiled faintly at Fan Zhongxin.
This time, he definitely had to say something.
Otherwise, angering the Great Governor would mean regret too late under harsh punishment, so he might as well confess everything.
“Near Guazhou City, the population is about seventy to eighty thousand, and since it’s the location of the Xiping Military Command, there are about ten thousand troops…” Fan Zhongxin said tremblingly.
The Xiping Military Command was one of the twelve military commands established when Western Xia was founded, equivalent to the twelve regional army districts.
The Xiping Army District was responsible for guarding the westernmost end of Western Xia, defending against the Kingdom of Qocho.
From the army district perspective, Shazhou Dunhuang, Guazhou, and Suzhou Jiuquan were all defense areas of the Xiping Military Command, with Guazhou as the main one.
If Guazhou had around ten thousand garrison troops, then Shazhou and Suzhou would each have about five thousand.
In total, the Xiping Military Command had about twenty thousand troops.
This number was also reasonable, as Western Xia mainly guarded against the nomadic peoples in the north and the Jin Dynasty in the east.
There had almost never been wars with the Kingdom of Qocho.
Twenty thousand Xiping troops were sufficient.
After figuring out the general situation of the Hexi Corridor, Li Xiao had Fan Zhongxin escorted out of the large tent and gave him that Uyghur beauty to serve him well.
However, Fan Zhongxin remained uneasy, fearing Li Xiao would kill him to prevent leaks of military secrets.
But since Fan Zhongxin was talented, Li Xiao wasn’t planning to do that yet.
“Elder Brother, are you planning to attack the Xia Kingdom?”
After Fan Zhongxin left, Da Hu came to Li Xiao’s side and asked.
“Correct, I have that idea.” Li Xiao nodded.
“Did the Xia Kingdom provoke us?” Er Hu asked puzzledly.
Li Xiao shook his head: “Can’t we attack them if they haven’t provoked us?”
“I just don’t like the look of the Xia Kingdom and want to take them down.”
Li Xiao drank the Western Wind Fierce from his bowl and chuckled.
Attacking Western Xia was something Li Xiao had planned long ago.
The root cause was that Jin Prefecture had too few people, especially too few Han people.
Only over twenty thousand.
Far from enough to support Li Xiao in launching several large-scale wars.
He needed a sufficient number of Han people as the foundation for his power to be long-lasting and stable.
Besides Western Xia having a large number of Han people that met Li Xiao’s needs, the surrounding forces and states were not in his consideration for now.
So, Western Xia was definitely a target.
He had to give Jin Prefecture’s Han people a big boost.
“Of course we can fight. Elder Brother says who to hit, and we hit them.” Er Hu had also drunk a lot and shouted boldly.
“Yeah, who says we can only counterattack if they trouble us first? So what if we bully the Xia Kingdom?” Li Dashan laughed heartily.
The group of generals had all drunk quite a bit and laughed wildly. These brave and battle-hardened warriors with illustrious military merits didn’t take a mere ten thousand Western Xia troops seriously at all.
However, Han Jiuyuan, sitting beside Chen Chong, said worriedly: “Great Governor, since ancient times, expeditions require a righteous cause.”
“Attacking others without cause is not the way of the royal army.”
As soon as Han Jiuyuan spoke, Da Hu laughed: “Lord Han, I remember you grew up in Kuyun-Ordu.”
“How did you develop such a sour corrupt scholar tone?”
Er Hu cursed loudly beside him: “What royal army? Bullshit royal army? We’re just bandits!”
“Didn’t you hear the Uyghur people call us ‘Northern Barbarians’?”
The two brothers chimed in, giving Han Jiuyuan no face.
It made him blow his beard and glare, but he was helpless.
Li Xiao worried the guy might pass out from anger, especially since he still cared about his pretty daughter.
So, he waved lightly and said: “Da Hu and Er Hu are right. We’re not the royal army. Those who follow rules blindly and have corrupt thinking don’t deserve to be generals.”
“Moreover, don’t the Kereit Tribe and Naiman Tribe often raid Western Xia to the south?”
“They can rob, so why can’t we?”
“The enemy can invade, and so can we!”
At this point, Li Xiao looked at Da Hu and Er Hu: “But Mister Han has a point.”
“A righteous cause can save us some trouble.”
Hearing Li Xiao speak, Da Hu and Er Hu didn’t dare retort, just looking confused.
“How to have a righteous cause?”
It meant announcing the reason before attacking.
Li Xiao already had the reason ready.
“Didn’t we capture the King of Gaochang, Yue’er Si?”
“That guy is just wasting grain alive. Better to make use of his remaining value!” Li Xiao said with a faint smile.
He remembered that in original history, after Ong Khan of the Kereit Tribe was defeated by Temüjin, he tried to flee to the Naiman people but was mistakenly killed by a Naiman soldier at the border.
Ending in a way no one expected.
When Li Xiao first read this, he wondered: even if Ong Khan was down and out, how could he have no guards around him?
So Li Xiao understood a truth: history is a little girl dressed up by anyone, or a little eunuch castrated by anyone.
The banquet ended with everyone satisfied.
By the end, the moon was high in the sky.
Though Li Xiao reeked of alcohol, his tolerance was always good, and he was completely fine.
Stepping out of the large tent, he took a deep breath of fresh air, feeling his mind even clearer.
The camp was filled with the cries of female captives and the laughter of officers and soldiers, a decadent atmosphere.
Listening made Li Xiao a bit aroused. He thought of casually finding two pretty female captives for the night, but suddenly remembered the Queen of Gaochang.
So he immediately turned and led people toward a distant tent.
Several sturdy women were outside the tent. Seeing Li Xiao arrive, they hurried to bow.
Li Xiao waved them off and shouted: “This is no business of yours. All withdraw.”
Then, reeking of alcohol, he lifted the tent flap and went in.
The Queen inside was sleeping clothed, having just fallen asleep. Hearing the noise, she looked up in shock. Seeing it was Li Xiao, panic flashed across her face.
“You, what do you want to do?” the Queen said in terror, hurriedly pulling the sheepskin mat to cover her chest, looking at Li Xiao with a tense expression.
“What do I want? Hehe, on such a fine night with a beauty, what does Her Majesty the Queen think this Governor came for?”
Li Xiao’s lips curved in a meaningful arc as he advanced step by step.
The Queen was terrified, her eyes darting around in panic, retreating repeatedly, but the small tent offered no escape.
In just a few breaths, Li Xiao’s towering, mountain-like body pressed close.
She forced herself to stay calm and said angrily: “General, I am the Queen of Gaochang. You cannot defile me. Please show some self-respect.”
“The Kingdom of Qocho is gone. What kind of queen are you?”
“Yue’er Si is about to die, so you’re no longer a married woman.” Li Xiao sneered, his large hands sliding to her slender waist, holding her tightly in his arms.
“What? You want to kill His Majesty?”
The Queen looked at Li Xiao in disbelief, forgetting to resist.
“This Governor not only wants to kill him but also to take Hami, killing everyone in the royal family.” Li Xiao said coldly.
Hami?
Her son Qibidu was still in Hami.
“No, you can’t kill him.”
The Queen began struggling violently. She might not care about Yue’er Si, but she couldn’t ignore her son.
The woman’s resistance was fierce, angering Li Xiao. He slapped her face, knocking her to the ground.
Angrily, he said: “Men, go cut off Yue’er Si’s dog head.”
“At dawn tomorrow, march and take Hami, killing all royal family members~”
Hearing this, the Queen panicked, ignoring the pain in her cheek, and hurriedly knelt before Li Xiao.
Clutching his legs, she begged: “No~”
“Please, spare His Majesty and the royal family!”
The woman begged bitterly, mainly worried about her son Qibidu being killed by Li Xiao, with Yue’er Si secondary.
Li Xiao laughed. Couldn’t he handle you?
So, he grabbed her cheek and lifted her face, examining the Queen’s appearance more closely in the moonlight.
In her thirties, fair-skinned and beautiful, well-maintained with no signs of age.
Her figure was curvaceous, adding a mature charm.
Most importantly, her status: Queen of Gaochang!
The conquest from that status and position was enough for Li Xiao to overlook everything else.
“Such a fine woman, taken by that old thing Yue’er Si—truly a waste.” Li Xiao thought to himself.
His mind immediately pictured the Princess of Gaochang, inheriting her mother’s beauty, in her prime at sixteen, graceful and pure.
“No rush~” Li Xiao thought.
The woman continued begging: “Though His Majesty offended the General, he has long regretted it and often repents before me.”
“His Majesty knows his mistake. The General is broad-minded, please spare his life.”
“Moreover, my son Qibidu is royal, but he’s still a child, knowing nothing.”
“I beg the General’s magnanimity to spare Qibidu’s life.”
The woman begged bitterly before Li Xiao, her queenly pride long gone.
Li Xiao pinched her cheek and sneered: “The Queen makes sense. This Governor can spare their father-son lives.”
“Even grant Yue’er Si freedom.”
“But~” Li Xiao chuckled.
“Freedom always comes at a high price.”
“But this Governor believes the Queen is smart and knows what to do.”
“After all, you don’t want your husband to lose his life, do you?”
The woman was stunned, then her face flushed slightly, glaring angrily at Li Xiao.
But with things as they were, for her son’s safety, she had no choice.
Soon, when Li Xiao roughly threw her to the ground and prepared to press on, her clever mind took over again.
Fearing Li Xiao would toy with her and renege later, she pushed and shouted.
“Wait, wait, what about my husband?”
“You said you’d free him. When will you let him go?”
Li Xiao ignored that and roared in a low voice: “We’ll talk later.”
Between Gaochang City and Hami, there was a river called the Hami River, which had dried up in later generations.
Even in this era, it was just a small river.
Only in summer did snowmelt from the Tianshan Mountains make the water flow rise.
At this moment, by the Hami River, a cavalry troop stopped to water and rest their horses.
The snow water flowing from the Tianshan Mountains was cold and sweet, but bloodstains occasionally appearing by the river added a touch of killing to the serenity.
Soon, not far from the river, the cavalry found a pile of corpses being gnawed by vultures.
“These are our people.”
A soldier recognized the clothes and said in horror.
Another soldier frowned: “They must be garrison troops from the royal capital, pursued and killed here by the Northern Barbarians. Who knows if any survived.”
Nearby soldiers cursed angrily: “Damn Northern Barbarians.”
They were soldiers from Hami, sent by Alkus’s order to negotiate peace with the Jin Prefecture Army.
Essentially, it was surrender.
But the army never lacked brave men. Seeing compatriots slaughtered by the Jin Prefecture Army, these soldiers naturally felt sorrow for their kin.
At that moment, a middle-aged man in a silk round robe from the group immediately scolded the soldiers.
“All of you, shut up.”
“If you don’t want to die, don’t ask for trouble.”
This man was Alkus’s advisor, named Ainiwa.
In the end, he had decided to personally go as envoy to the Jin Prefecture Army to discuss submission.
Naturally, he didn’t want trouble from the soldiers.
“You all saw it. These were all royal court imperial army, our Kingdom of Qocho’s most elite, bravest warriors.”
“But now, they’ve all become corpses gnawed by wild beasts. What does that mean?”
“The Northern Frontier Army is far more ferocious and terrifying than we imagined.”
“If we keep fighting, Gaochang will truly perish.”
“I tell you, whoever asks for trouble will get no mercy from me.”
Faced with Ainiwa’s scolding, all the soldiers fell silent.
Emotionally furious, but reality was more terrifying.
Slavery was prevalent in Gaochang, with strict class divisions. The soldiers feared nobles to their bones.
Seeing the soldiers all behave, Ainiwa nodded slightly and ordered.
“Let’s go. The water here is no longer clean.”
“Find a spot upstream to rest!”
He had no desire to drink water polluted by corpses.
Though both Uyghur people, as a minor noble, he despised these lowly poor soldier scum from his bones.
Fearing their ‘filth’ would taint his noble soul.
The group of over a dozen found a clean spot upstream and rested a bit.
Soon after resuming, they were spotted by Jin Prefecture Army scouts.
Ainiwa quickly stated their identity and purpose, signaling no hostility.
So, after a scout went to report and returned, Ainiwa’s group proceeded toward Gaochang City under scout surveillance.
The Jin Prefecture Army’s main force was resting inside Gaochang City, with only a few soldiers guarding the prisoner of war camp outside.
It was lunchtime, and smoke rose from many fires in the city.
Just inside the city gate, Ainiwa saw two soldiers pushing a cart loaded with whole cattle, butchered and laid on straw.
Nearby, several veterans skillfully slaughtered cattle and sheep, skinned them, cut the meat—smooth, practiced motions.
At the foot of the city wall, a group of soldiers sat on stones, devouring boiled beef and mutton.
The soldiers wore simple leather armor, with iron shards protecting vital areas, or sheepskin jackets. Many were shirtless, showing defined, strong muscles.
They exchanged bawdy jokes, laughing heartily now and then.
When Ainiwa’s group passed, the soldiers slowly stopped talking, fixing their gazes on them.
Their eyes held curiosity, ferocity, coldness—the killing aura of these battle-hardened Northern Frontier Han men who crawled from piles of corpses made hearts tremble.
Without a word, just staring was enough to make many Uyghur soldiers in Ainiwa’s group scalp tingle and steps heavy.
Especially one eight-foot-tall, shirtless, bald Jin Prefecture man, muscles bulging, holding a lamb leg as thick as a man’s arm.
He chewed voraciously, eyes fixed unblinkingly on Ainiwa and the others.
As if eating not mutton, but human flesh.
This made the Uyghur soldiers even afraid to breathe loudly.
The group finally passed that stretch, sighing in relief, hearing the loud shouts and noise of the Northern Frontier men behind again.
At this moment, Ainiwa couldn’t help sighing: “These Northern Frontier soldiers are truly fierce!”
“Strong and robust, fearless of death.”
“With so many warriors, no wonder the royal capital’s army was crushed.”
The group slowly headed toward the royal palace.
Along the way, soldiers everywhere gorged on meat. During campaigns, as long as possible, the Northern Frontier Army never skimped on soldiers’ food.
The cattle and sheep plundered from Gaochang in recent days were too many—even those accidentally killed in battle were more than the Northern Frontier Army could eat.
Through massive meat intake, Jin Prefecture Army soldiers’ physiques grew ever stronger.
And the beef and mutton Gaochang people usually wouldn’t eat were all looted by the Jin Prefecture Army, to the point of near nausea, fueling great anger.
So, as the group neared the royal palace, the scene changed again—the soldiers here seemed full and sated.
Engaging in post-meal exercise with women.
Women’s voices could clearly be heard from some houses.
As Ainiwa passed a house, a naked woman suddenly ran out, shouting for help in Uyghur language.
But immediately, a shirtless Northern Frontier man emerged from the tent.
He grabbed the fleeing woman, hoisted her over his shoulder.
As he turned to go back in, he spotted Ainiwa and the others, freezing momentarily.
Seeing Ainiwa’s distinctly Uyghur attire and escorted by Jin Prefecture soldiers, the man realized.
He suppressed the urge to draw his blade, then spat on the ground.
Curling his lip in disdain, he swaggered past Ainiwa’s group with the struggling, shouting Gaochang woman and entered the house.
“This, damn barbarians~”
Watching this happen right before them, some hot-blooded Uyghur soldiers’ eyes nearly blazed with fire.
These were their Gaochang women, taken by Northern Frontier people, and these bastards were so brazen in front of them.
They all deserved a thousand cuts.
Unfortunately, no matter how angry inside, the soldiers could do nothing in reality.
They couldn’t save these women.
Any rash move, and the whole group would be chopped into mince by the Jin Prefecture Army.
So, they could only curse: “The Buddha will punish these barbaric Northern Frontier people.”
Ainiwa also sighed and shook his head, powerless.
After all, nomadic peoples had done this for a thousand years.
They never showed mercy to enemies: destroy tents, seize wives and daughters, reduce to slaves.
Cattle and sheep, women, grasslands, war horses, sabers—only victors deserve them.
