Chapter 166: Army Returns In Triumph, 100,000 Military Households
With the arrival of fifteen thousand Ganzhou Army soldiers, Suzhou City was already overcrowded.
The appearance of a large number of foreign troops caused serious damage to local security.
“Commander Mi Qin, today Ganzhou Army soldiers have caused another death.”
“They broke into a farmer’s home, raped the wife, killed the man, and the common people have already gathered, preparing to demand an explanation from our government officials.”
“You must strictly restrain the Ganzhou soldiers, otherwise this official will definitely report your actions to the Imperial Court.”
The original Suzhou garrison commandery has now become the temporary mansion of the Ganzhou Commander.
Commander Mi Qin Tiele was sitting on a folding stool, helplessly toying with a saber.
Sitting opposite him was a civil official.
Prefect Liu.
He was accusing Mi Qin Tiele of the Ganzhou Army’s atrocities.
Since the arrival of the Ganzhou Army, all kinds of vicious incidents have been happening constantly, with Ganzhou Army soldiers openly robbing women on the streets, looting shops, and other such events occurring one after another.
This posed a serious threat to the security of Suzhou City, and the common people all hid in their homes and dared not go out.
Even so, some Ganzhou Army soldiers still broke into farmers’ homes and committed all sorts of heinous acts.
In response to Prefect Liu’s accusations, Mi Qin Tiele was completely unconcerned and gently shook his head as he said.
“Prefect Liu, you are just too soft-hearted.”
“They’re just some lowly people, do they dare to rebel?”
“If they dare to cause trouble, our Ganzhou Army is not to be trifled with.” Mi Qin Tiele sneered.
“Moreover, our Ganzhou（ Zhangye） soldiers have been living in the open, traveling hundreds of miles to your Suzhou City（ Jiuquan）, all to protect the common people of Suzhou.”
“No merit, but there must be hard labor, right?”
“It’s just killing a few lowly people and playing with a few women, what’s the big deal.”
Seeing Mi Qin Tiele’s indifferent attitude, Prefect Liu was furious: “You~”
He finally understood why the Ganzhou soldiers had such poor military discipline—the root of the problem was Mi Qin Tiele himself.
“His Majesty’s order is to hold Suzhou and seek opportunities to recapture Dunhuang and Guazhou.”
“Commander Mi Qin, you’ve been here for ten days, just endlessly demanding provisions—why is there no action?” Prefect Liu questioned.
“Does this commander have to report his battle plans to you, a mere prefect?” Mi Qin Tiele snorted lightly, dissatisfied with Prefect Liu’s tone.
Although the prefect and the commander were of the same rank, one civil and one military, stationed in the locality.
But what status did this Liu fellow have?
A mere Han person, how dare he speak to him in such a tone?
“How to recapture Dunhuang and Guazhou is for this commander to decide—no need for Prefect Liu to worry. You should manage your own affairs.” Mi Qin Tiele said.
Were the Northern Frontier Army so easy to deal with?
Sending him to recapture Guazhou and Dunhuang—what difference was there from sending him to his death?
Duoluo Jianzan had encountered an ambush by the Northern Frontier Army on his way to support Dunhuang, resulting in the total annihilation of his army. Not only was he captured, but his entire family was imprisoned.
This was a lesson from the past.
Mi Qin Tiele had to consider his family in Xingqing Prefecture, even if not for himself.
After all, the Northern Frontier Cavalry were numerous and skilled in field battles.
The distance between Suzhou and Guazhou was five hundred li, all vast Gobi Desert—who knew if the Northern Frontier Army had ambushes?
If he blindly marched out, he might end up with the same fate as Duoluo Jianzan.
Therefore, Mi Qin Tiele’s mindset was to seek no merit, but no fault.
Holding Suzhou City was victory.
“You~” Prefect Liu was annoyed.
Taking a deep breath, he suppressed his anger and said: “This official just wants to remind you that Suzhou is just a small city and cannot support so many mouths.”
“Suzhou’s stored grain can supply the Ganzhou Army for at most half a month.”
“After half a month, Commander Mi Qin can fend for yourself!”
With that, Prefect Liu waved his hand and strode away.
Although Mi Qin Tiele was a Tangut noble, Prefect Liu was no pushover either.
Western Xia had been established for two hundred years, and Han people had long taken firm root here.
To put it bluntly, more than half of the officials in the Western Xia Imperial Court were Han people.
Prefect Liu also had backing factions and was not afraid of Mi Qin Tiele.
“Hmph, damned bastard.”
“Vile Han barbarian.” After Prefect Liu left, Mi Qin Tiele cursed viciously.
Han people were the worst.
Great Xia was clearly a nation established by their Tangut people, yet the Han people were becoming more rampant, gradually encroaching on the Tangut people’s interests.
If not for the emperor’s wariness of the Han people and refusal to let them touch military power.
Otherwise, today’s Western Xia would probably have become completely a Han people’s nation.
“Hmph, sooner or later, I’ll drive all you Han barbarians out of the Imperial Court.”
Just as Mi Qin Tiele was venting verbally, a personal guard hurriedly came to report.
“Commander, the scouts sent to Guazhou City have returned.”
“They report that the Northern Frontier Army is withdrawing.”
“Withdrawing?” Mi Qin Tiele was surprised.
They were leaving just like that?
“Commander, let’s hurry and pursue them?” the personal guard suggested.
Mi Qin Tiele gently shook his head: “No, we cannot pursue.”
“This is bait from the Northern Frontier Army—there are definitely ambush troops waiting on the road.”
“Hmph, such a petty trick to fool me? This commander is not a waste like Duoluo Jianzan.”
Mi Qin Tiele sneered.
The personal guard beside him immediately showed an admiring gaze.
“I see.”
“The commander is brilliant. The Northern Frontier Army is indeed cunning. Fortunately, the commander is here, or Great Xia would suffer another big loss.”
Mi Qin Tiele nodded in satisfaction—this kid was talented and needed vigorous cultivation.
A few more days passed, and the scouts reported again: “Guazhou has become an empty city, with no enemy troops or common people in sight.”
Mi Qin Tiele paid it no mind and told them to continue scouting.
A few more days went by, and the scouts reported: “Dunhuang has also become an empty city. It seems the Northern Frontier Army has really withdrawn.”
Hearing this, Mi Qin Tiele finally believed it.
Unable to contain his great joy any longer, he stood up and shouted loudly: “Brothers, the time to earn merit has come.”
“Pass my order: set out immediately to recapture Guazhou and Shazhou.”
“Yes, sir!”
Immediately, the Ganzhou Army set out in grand array, leaving Suzhou City, ready to harvest military merit.
The distance between Suzhou and Guazhou was five hundred li; they proceeded cautiously for over ten days before finally arriving at Guazhou.
By now, Guazhou City was deserted, with parts of the rammed-earth city wall already collapsed.
Traces of saber slashes and axe chops were everywhere, showing how intense the previous battle had been.
Seeing this, Mi Qin Tiele deeply felt his decision was wise.
The Northern Frontier allied army had fifty thousand infantry and cavalry, with formidable combat strength. With his mere ten thousand-plus men, going there would just be delivering heads.
Soon, the scouts reported: “Commander, the city is empty. We’ve searched every room carefully—not even a rat in sight.”
Hearing this, Mi Qin Tiele nodded in satisfaction.
It seemed the Northern Frontier allied army had truly withdrawn, with no ambush set in the city.
So, he waved his hand: “Enter the city.”
Inside and outside the city, not a soul in sight—it had become a ghostly city in the desert.
Everywhere was in disarray, as if the common people had left in great haste.
Undoubtedly, they had all been taken away by the Northern Frontier allied army.
But Mi Qin Tiele didn’t care about that; instead, he said to the military scribe: “Report victory to His Majesty.”
“After our army arrived at Guazhou, we engaged in fierce combat with the Northern Frontier Army. By His Majesty’s heavenly might and the officers and soldiers’ dedication, the enemy fled in panic. Now our army has successfully retaken Guazhou City.”
As he spoke, Mi Qin Tiele grinned—this was his achievement.
Western Xia had many famous generals in its founding period, but nowadays, among all commanders, who had battle records like his?
Who had recaptured as much territory as him?
Afterward, he led the army to Dunhuang City, which had similarly become an empty city.
Another victory report was sent to Xingqing Prefecture, with much the same content: after hard fighting, the Ganzhou Army repelled the Northern Frontier Army and recaptured Dunhuang City.
The Hexi Corridor was now completely secure.
Following this, Mi Qin Tiele’s fame quickly spread throughout Western Xia, giving him the makings of a famous general.
At the same time, the vanguard of the Jin Prefecture Army had arrived at Hami City. Li Xiao looked back at the vast endless Great Desert.
He thought to himself with regret: “The commander of the Western Xia relief army is really one cowardly bastard.”
It had wasted Li Xiao’s preparations.
After all, the Jin Prefecture Army was escorting one hundred thousand common people, which was prone to mishaps.
So Li Xiao had set up ambushes on the withdrawal route, preparing to severely damage any pursuers.
But unexpectedly, he waited in vain—there were no pursuers at all.
“But this is fine too. After digesting this batch of common people, next time the Jin Prefecture Army enters the pass, it won’t just stop at Guazhou City.”
That night, Alkus requisitioned large quantities of cattle and sheep from Hami City and slaughtered them all to reward the Jin Prefecture Army.
In the large tent, Li Xiao held a greasy lamb leg in one hand, tearing into it with big bites.
His other hand was around Tajiguli’s soft, boneless shoulder, his palm boldly slipping inside her collar to grope.
Tajiguli’s face was flushed red, shy to the point of dripping water.
Alkus sat in the tent and, seeing this scene, was not angry but pleased, his old face full of smiles.
Tajiguli was his daughter; for her to be favored by Li Xiao, he was overjoyed.
“I hear the Great Governor has just married and has no heirs yet~”
“If Tajiguli~”
“No, no~”
“Better to plan after the Princess of Chu.”
Alkus knew the difference between major and minor kings—Xiao Yanyan was Xiao Simo’s sister, of noble status.
If he provoked her, and she demanded “leave the child, take the mother,” Alkus would have no time to cry.
But the next second, he heard Li Xiao call: “General Alkus.”
Alkus quickly composed himself: “Here!”
“In this battle, General Alkus has worked hard.” Li Xiao said with a faint smile.
“Serving the Great Governor is no hardship.” Alkus smiled.
This was definitely false—the Gaochang Army had been forced into battle by Li Xiao and surely harbored resentment.
Now that the war was over, Li Xiao should give them some rewards.
After all, he would need to use Alkus in the future.
“Prince of Gaochang Baershu launched a rebellion and killed the King of Gaochang.”
“Now, the most qualified to inherit the throne of King of Gaochang is Qibidu.”
“But he is still young and needs a steady, respected heavy minister to assist in governing.”
“I will suggest to the Great King to appoint you, General Alkus, as Prime Minister of Gaochang.”
Hearing this, Alkus was overjoyed.
He excitedly stood up, bowed to Li Xiao, and said: “Thank you, Great Governor.”
“This general will henceforth strictly obey the Great King and Great Governor’s orders, guarding Gaochang for the Great King and Great Governor…”
A bunch of pledges of loyalty, which Li Xiao didn’t believe a word of.
But it didn’t hinder his use of Alkus.
In this period, Li Xiao’s expansion had been too fast, his foundation unstable, and he truly lacked spare manpower and troops to control Gaochang.
He could only indirectly control it through Alkus, this “Uyghur traitor.”
Though treacherous and opportunistic, he was indeed a good dog.
After all, if he wanted to be a powerful official, or even sit on the throne of King of Gaochang in the future, he couldn’t do without Northern Frontier support.
“In two days, this governor will return to Jin Prefecture. Besides taking Tajiguli, I’ll leave you twelve thousand able-bodied men.”
“Settle these people well and have them obediently farm the land.”
“From now on, all grain produced in Gaochang Kingdom will be purchased by my Jin Prefecture.” Li Xiao said gravely.
Hearing this, Alkus was even more excited.
Never mind the rest—for now, the key was that Li Xiao was leaving.
From then on, Gaochang would be under Alkus’s control.
Prime Minister of Gaochang, holding heavy troops—a modern-day Cao Cao~
Alkus thought about it and felt his blood boiling.
The future looked promising!
“This general will surely manage those lowly people well and grow more grain for the Great Governor.” Alkus immediately pledged loyalty.
In this Eastern Expedition, Li Xiao brought back one hundred thousand soldiers and common people.
At least for a year, these people could not be self-sufficient.
Jin Prefecture itself could not supply rations for so many people daily, so they needed to purchase from the Great Desert and Gaochang Kingdom.
The corridors north and south of the Tianshan Mountains had fertile soil and abundant water and grass, with many high-quality grain fields.
Military farming had already begun on the Great Desert side, and with Gaochang Kingdom’s grain, they should hold out for a year or two.
Moreover, when attacking Gaochang City earlier, the Jin Prefecture Army had seized large amounts of provisions from the city—enough to feed one hundred thousand for a long time.
As for the twelve thousand able-bodied men Li Xiao left behind, they were all captives from the attack on Gaochang City.
Originally twenty thousand, after the Western Xia campaign, only fifteen thousand remained.
Then, Li Xiao selected three thousand young and strong ones with military merit, low origins—originally Gaochang slaves or poor people—as prisoners of war to take back to Jin Prefecture.
The remaining over ten thousand were either too old or physically disabled—bringing them to Jin Prefecture would just be a burden.
Might as well hand them to Alkus to manage and continue farming.
After the banquet, Li Xiao carried Tajiguli into the tent and tormented her fiercely all night.
This time, Li Xiao did not return to Gaochang City but led the army north from Hami, crossing the Tianshan pass via Liutiao Gully into the Great Desert.
Over ten thousand soldiers plus one hundred thousand common people—marching in endless grandeur, extremely spectacular.
Wang Da Niu was the squad leader guarding Yumen Pass.
Bringing his wife, two sons, and two daughters, with one horse and two camels pulling all their belongings, he arrived in the Great Desert.
“Dad, our grain is running low—how much longer until Jin Prefecture?”
His eldest son, only fifteen, led a camel and asked Wang Da Niu worriedly.
He could clearly feel that the grain on the camels had dwindled by more than half.
If this continued, the whole family would starve.
“How much longer?”
Wang Da Niu led another camel, looked up at the boundless desolation on all sides, endless and hopeless.
A trace of desolation and helplessness flashed across his face, and he gritted his teeth: “Hold on a bit longer—we’ll be there soon.”
Unfortunately, he didn’t know how much longer either—he just didn’t want his wife and children to lose hope.
“Dad, I’m tired. I want to go home!”
His four-year-old youngest daughter cried and fussed.
Like many children raised in the desert, her face was sallow, skin rough—a little dirt girl.
From the long march, her shoes had long worn out; fortunately, as grain dwindled, she could ride the camel.
But the prolonged monotonous marching was absolute torment for a four-year-old.
Not just her—the other children wanted to go home too!
“Go home?”
“We can’t go back.” Wang Da Niu said with a bitter smile.
It wasn’t something they could return to just because they wanted to.
To be precise, they were all prisoners of war.
The Jin Prefecture people hadn’t killed them, broken their families, or robbed their grain and livestock—that was already great mercy.
So Wang Da Niu didn’t dare demand more—just obediently follow to Jin Prefecture.
After all, compared to other prisoners of war of this era, his family was extremely fortunate.
“From now on, Jin Prefecture is our home.” Wang Da Niu’s wife, a woman with a slightly aged face, comforted their daughter.
The eldest son said gravely: “Those Jin Prefecture Army soldiers said that once we reach Jin Prefecture, they’ll allocate us land. I don’t know if it’s true.”
Wang Da Niu shook his head with a bitter smile—his son was a bit naive.
Those high-and-mighty figures—how would they care about ordinary common people like them?
Wang Da Niu guessed the Jin Prefecture Army just needed them to farm; as for land ownership, no need to dream.
Being a tenant farmer in Jin Prefecture to scrape by and not let the family starve—that was enough for Wang Da Niu.
Thus, countless common people, like Wang Da Niu’s family, arrived in the Great Desert amid confusion about the future.
But gradually, shock appeared in their eyes.
Because after crossing the Tianshan Mountains, what appeared before them was endless farmland.
In summer, Tianshan’s snow and ice melted and flowed down, nourishing vast fertile land on both sides.
Since ancient times, this had been the granary of the Western Regions, nurturing countless people to thrive.
Originally, most of this land belonged to Uyghur people.
With the outbreak of the Beshbalik War, Li Xiao settled accounts with the Great Desert Uyghur people, confiscating all their land for the Governor’s Mansion.
Although the Camp Cultivation Department was established, leading over ten thousand prisoners of war in military farming, vast lands still lay idle.
Weeds grew fiercely alongside the seedlings.
What Wang Da Niu’s family saw was this scene: under the blue sky, the land was a sea of green.
All around were boundless fields of good land; in the breeze, green seedlings swayed gently like a green ocean, brimming with vitality.
“Is this Jin Prefecture?”
“I thought it would be very barren, but unexpectedly there are so many farmlands—much better than Dunhuang.” Wang Da Niu sighed.
Dunhuang’s soil was severely desertified, with only a little land suitable for farming.
Wang Da Niu’s family had land at Yumen Pass, but yields weren’t great.
Wang Da Niu still had to take bribes from merchants at the city gate for the family to eat their fill.
He had thought Jin Prefecture would be even more barren than Dunhuang, but instead they saw this spectacular sight.
Fields everywhere.
“We’ll live here from now on?” His wife said hopefully, eyes shining.
Even if farming for others, the grain share for the family would surely be more than in Dunhuang.
Thinking this way, smiles appeared on Wang Da Niu’s family’s faces.
Soon, a group of Jin Prefecture Army soldiers in leather armor rode war horses up to them.
All the common people’s gazes turned, seeing one soldier pull out a roster.
Along the way, Li Xiao had done simple registration of all the common people.
Mainly to count population and households for easier management.
The soldier shouted with the roster: “Wang Da Niu!”
Hearing his name, Wang Da Niu froze, even tensing up—not knowing if good or bad, but with family nearby, he couldn’t dodge either.
So, steeling himself, he stepped forward: “I’m Wang Da Niu.”
The young Jin Prefecture Army soldier glanced at him and said gravely: “Anyone called must respond ‘here.'”
“Don’t say anything else random.”
This was Li Xiao’s military rule—all soldiers must respond ‘here’ when called by a superior.
With that, the soldier shouted again: “Wang Da Niu.”
“Here!” Wang Da Niu responded immediately.
The soldier nodded in satisfaction: “Bring your family out and stand over here.”
Shortly after Wang Da Niu’s family came over, seven more households arrived.
Finally, two Jin Prefecture Army soldiers on horseback appeared before them.
One man around thirty looked at the eight households and said: “I’m Zhou Dasheng, your squad leader from now on.”
“The one beside me is Liu Erleng, your deputy squad leader.”
“From now on, we’re all military households of the Jin Prefecture Army.”
Zhou Dasheng and Liu Erleng were originally Great Desert common people who followed Li Xiao south to Gaochang, then campaigned in Western Xia, earning considerable merit.
This time, they were appointed as primary and deputy squad leaders to manage Wang Da Niu’s eight households.
Not just them—many Jin Prefecture soldiers had been promoted.
Especially veteran Jin Prefecture people—guaranteed at least a squad leader.
These over twenty thousand households of common people would all be dispersed and managed by veteran Jin Prefecture people and meritorious soldiers.
“Military households?”
Wang Da Niu and the others exchanged glances. Military households had long existed—each household at least providing one able-bodied man for service.
In return, military households enjoyed certain welfare, treatment, and social status.
Like Tang Dynasty Fu Bing, Yuan Dynasty military households, Ming Dynasty Wei Suo soldiers, Qing Dynasty Eight Banners soldiers—all were military households.
The essence of military households was soldier-farmer unity: farming and herding in peace, campaigning in war, hereditary status, with their own land and grassland.
In a dynasty’s early period, military households were envied by all; only in mid-to-late periods did the system decline.
But now, the Western Regions had vast unclaimed land—perfect for developing military farming and military households.
“Our military household isn’t for nothing.”
“Look!”
“That farmland belongs to our ten households.”
Following Zhou Dasheng’s pointing finger, Wang Da Niu and the others looked over, incredulity instantly on their faces.
“All of it, ours~”
Wang Da Niu’s voice trembled, his tone extremely excited.
