Chapter 174: Naiman Consort, Eligible To Enter The Great Governor’s Mansion
The spring snow had just begun to melt, and the winding streams started to flow gently. The Haqi Tribe awakened from the long, harsh winter.
This was a Naiman Tribe with only seven or eight hundred people, living near the Uruhei Mountains in the Keduohe River basin.
Hundreds of tents were scattered neatly on the sunny hillside. Women were preparing lunch, children were laughing and running between the camps, and men gathered together with worried expressions.
“The snow on the grassland is the most unpredictable.”
“This year’s heavy snow was like madness, falling day and night, thick enough to bury even the cairns.”
“Yeah, so many cattle and sheep just lay there stiff, truly heartbreaking.”
“If this continues, our tribe will starve before summer arrives.”
The men sat around on stones, discussing how to cope with this year’s food crisis.
“Sigh, Buyiru Khan’s orders swept in like the wind, demanding that every household hand over ten sheep as taxation!”
“What? Ten sheep? This is pushing us to the brink! Do they want us all to starve on this grassland?”
“Better to kill those Kereit Tribe slaves early and save some rations to get through these hard times.”
Last year, in the war between the Naiman Tribe and the Kereit Tribe, Ong Khan fell into a trap and was defeated, forced to retreat. Some of the Kereit Tribe soldiers became slaves of the Naiman Tribe.
“No, I heard that this year the two Great Khans are determined to cross the Golden Mountain to campaign against Jin Prefecture.”
“If we kill all the Kereit Tribe slaves, who will charge ahead and fight to the death for us when the time comes?”
The group of men discussed back and forth but came up with no good solution. Everyone’s face was filled with worry.
“Let’s go into the mountains to hunt. If we’re lucky and catch a bear, it will feed my family for a long time.”
The speaker was a sturdy man. He had two younger brothers, and the three brothers’ martial prowess was unmatched in the tribe.
They were also expert hunters. Others feared the black bear greatly, but the three brothers wished to take the initiative to hunt it.
Hearing this, the others could only shake their heads helplessly.
Their tribe was close to the Golden Mountain, so besides herding, the tribesmen would also go into the mountains to hunt.
Although the others couldn’t compare to the three brothers and didn’t dare hunt black bears, they could still catch some small animals.
Just like that, three more days passed, and the Haqi Tribe’s peaceful life was shattered by a sudden sound of hooves.
A man covered in blood burst out from the mountains and staggered into the tribe.
“There are, there are enemies~”
“Red-armored demons~”
After leaving just these two phrases, the man fainted from excessive blood loss.
The chieftain stepped forward and was greatly shocked upon recognizing the man’s face.
“Is that Tengge?”
“What happened? Why is only he back? Where are his two brothers?”
This man was the youngest brother among the bear-hunting three brothers.
At this moment, his face was deathly pale, with an arrow piercing straight through his back and out from his chest.
“Such astonishing penetrating power—who shot him?” the chieftain said in shock, looking at the arrow wound.
Human bodies aren’t that fragile, especially since Tengge was wearing several layers of sheepskin for warmth.
Normally, even if hit by an arrow, it wouldn’t cause such a severe through-and-through wound.
But Tengge’s injury was shocking.
The chieftain observed that the arrowhead that hit Tengge was extremely sharp; a light poke instantly tore the sheepskin.
“Hiss~”
The watching men all drew in sharp breaths.
Compared to the arrowheads made by their Naiman Tribe, its penetrating power was countless times stronger.
“Trouble, big trouble.”
“Call everyone over.”
Ordinary tribes couldn’t produce such sharp arrowheads; it must mean terrifying enemies had appeared.
While the chieftain was summoning everyone to prepare for battle, a cavalry unit followed the blood trail and found the Haqi Tribe’s location.
There were about one hundred twenty of these cavalrymen.
All wore dark red cotton armor, like a wave of bloody red tide shuttling out from the mountain forest, closing in on the Haqi Tribe.
Some soldiers had one or two fresh heads tied to their horses’ backs, with blood dripping continuously from the severed necks.
The heads belonged to men from the Haqi Tribe who had gone into the mountains to hunt, including Tengge’s two brothers.
After some entanglement, the soldiers of the Second Town vanguard centurion used their equipment and numerical advantage to behead them all for post-battle merits.
“Centurion Lord, from the tents, this tribe has about two hundred men,” a red-armored cavalryman said gravely.
“The myriad household commander is right behind. Take this tribe first and offer it to him,” the centurion said gravely.
Then, he drew his silver wolf head cavalry saber and shouted loudly: “Kill!”
Soon, the people of the Haqi Tribe spotted them and said in shock and anger: “Enemies.”
“Red armor—it’s the red-armored demons Tengge mentioned.”
“Mount up quickly, stop them.”
The red-armored soldiers all wielded hooked scythe spears, like demons charging out from hell, rushing into the tribe in the blink of an eye.
“Kill!”
The centurion swung his hooked scythe spear, using the war horse’s momentum to instantly topple a Naiman soldier.
Then he swung his spear, beheading another Naiman man.
At this moment, a Naiman soldier seized the chance, charging from behind and thrusting his spear fiercely at the centurion’s back.
But the next second, something terrifying happened to the Naiman man—it couldn’t penetrate.
“How is that possible?”
“Iron armor?”
He never imagined that armor that looked like mere cloth could be so tough.
By now, it was too late to withdraw the spear.
The centurion’s hooked scythe spear slashed down instantly, piercing straight through his chest.
“Hmph, ignorant fools.”
The centurion snorted angrily. This was the new cotton armor just issued.
Brand new, and now punctured in the back by a Naiman man.
He’d have to sew it up with needle and thread later—such a hassle.
The Haqi Tribe soldiers picked up bows and arrows and long sabers, charging at the red-armored soldiers.
But their equipment was crude, and they were no match for the well-trained cavalry.
Despite having nearly two hundred men, they were not even a match for one clash with the red-armored soldiers.
The battle was a one-sided massacre, with blood staining the freshly greening grassland.
“Who exactly are you people?”
“Why slaughter my Haqi Tribe?” the chieftain roared in fury, his voice laced with sobs.
His response was the centurion’s cold sneer.
Because every herdsman was a soldier—not killing them meant his own men would die.
The spear fell, and blood burst from the chieftain’s chest. His corpse fell slowly with eyes wide in anger and unwillingness.
The battle ended.
The centurion reined in his horse amid the corpse-filled tribe and said gravely: “Tally casualties, finish off the bodies, count prisoners and spoils.”
Soon, the screams of women rang out in the tribe.
An hour later, a large force of red-armored soldiers arrived.
The commanding general was Er Hu.
He led two thousand four hundred red-armored troops under him as the vanguard, arriving first in Naiman territory.
“Myriad household commander, my unit has cleared this area.”
“We killed one hundred thirty-six enemies, captured eighty-nine war slaves, three hundred twelve female slaves.”
“Additionally, over three thousand sheep and over one thousand horses.”
Hearing this, Er Hu merely said indifferently: “The Naiman people’s days aren’t easy either.”
“Distribute these female slaves to the officers and soldiers. Tonight, eat mutton.”
Hearing Er Hu’s words, smiles appeared on the faces of the officers and soldiers.
Though not enough to go around, they could just line up!
Meanwhile, dozens of miles away from Er Hu, Da Hu similarly led his two thousand four hundred white-armored troops to assault another Naiman Tribe.
The white-armored army swung gleaming long spears, wantonly slaughtering Naiman soldiers.
“What a human tragedy.”
Da Hu, clad in white cotton armor, rode on horseback at a high vantage, his calm gaze sweeping over this chaotic land.
His expression was cold; he watched this Naiman Tribe perish by his hand without the slightest emotion.
“Myriad household commander, this Naiman Tribe is a die-hard loyalist of Sun Khan.”
“They deserve death.”
Beside Da Hu, a centurion in white cotton armor said softly.
This man was named Balte, a Naiman man.
Originally from the Huormar Tribe, after being conquered by Li Xiao, he joined the Jin Prefecture Army.
In the subsequent wars, Li Xiao reorganized the Huormar Tribe, pulling out elites like Balte and dispersing them to other units.
He also placed some Han people into the Donghai Chiliarchy.
Now, in the Donghai Chiliarchy, aside from Chiliarch Bu Ermahei and a few officers who were Naiman, most had become Han people.
Li Xiao had fully restructured this Naiman tribe.
Balte was one of Da Hu’s centurions, serving as guide for this campaign against the Naiman Tribe.
His main task was to locate Naiman tribes—they Naiman men could find them with certainty.
“In that case, kill all the tribe nobles, demote the men to war slaves, the women~”
“Handle them as you see fit!”
Hearing Da Hu’s words, the chiliarchs behind him chuckled.
One chiliarch even laughed: “That Naiman woman just dragged away looked good—should send her to the myriad household commander’s tent.”
……
Five hundred miles east of the Keduohe River lay a low basin surrounded by tall mountains that blocked the raging cold winds.
The basin had a mild climate, abundant water and grass, and lakes formed from melting snow in the surrounding mountains, named Tannu Uriankhai.
Around the lakes, herds of cattle and sheep were scattered like stars across the grassland, leisurely grazing on fresh tender grass.
On the other side of the lake stood countless tents like colorful mushrooms sprouting from the earth.
These tents varied in size and color, arranged in a unique order.
At the center of this tent cluster stood a golden large tent—this was the Naiman Royal Court.
The dome of the large tent was inlaid with countless brilliant gems, shimmering with rainbow light under the sun like a brilliant galaxy.
The ground was covered with soft Persian carpets, and Sun Khan sat high on a luxurious tiger-skin throne, laughing maniacally.
Beside him sat the splendidly dressed Naiman Consort Gurbesu.
Sun Khan held a golden wine cup, his gaze sweeping over the Naiman nobles in the tent, a smug smile on his face as he said loudly: “Everyone! Today is my beloved consort’s birthday—drink freely!”
As soon as he spoke, an elderly noble stepped forward respectfully: “May the consort remain forever young, as vibrant as flowers blooming on the grassland; may the Great Khan’s dignity endure eternally like towering mountains!”
“Good, hahaha~”
Sun Khan and the consort both laughed.
Soon, cheerful music filled the tent—stirring horsehead fiddle and crisp hand drums intertwining.
A group of dance girls performed grassland dances, their eyes revealing seductive charm.
Amid this revelry, a personal guard quietly entered and whispered a few words in Sun Khan’s ear.
In an instant, Sun Khan’s face changed.
He slammed the golden wine cup heavily onto the carpet.
“Hmph~ This Khan hasn’t gone to settle scores with those Northern Frontier barbarians yet, and they come first to kill my tribesmen?”
“Bring the man in.”
At Sun Khan’s roar, the music and dancing in the tent stopped instantly. The nobles exchanged glances; from his furious tone, they could tell it involved the Northern Frontier.
Soon, a man in a weathered sheepskin jacket, his dark face full of frostbite scars, was brought in.
“Tell me, what exactly happened?”
“Reporting to Sun Khan, our tribe was attacked by Jin Prefecture people.”
“They had many, many people, wearing red and yellow armor. Their arrows were very sharp, piercing anything.”
“Their armor was also very tough; our sabers couldn’t penetrate.”
……
The man spoke in terror, trembling uncontrollably at the memory.
Too terrifying.
Those Jin Prefecture people were unkillable—pure demons.
“Bastard, how could Jin Prefecture people be that terrifying? Are you bewitching morale?” Sun Khan said angrily.
Just the year before last, he had fought the Northern Frontier Army.
The Northern Frontier Army was strong in combat, but their equipment was similar to the Naiman.
Most soldiers wore leather armor and wielded spears; only a few had iron armor.
This soldier claimed the Jin Prefecture people were all impervious to saber and spear?
Sun Khan didn’t believe the Jin Prefecture Army could all be equipped with iron armor.
“Great Sun Khan, this lowly one truly isn’t lying.”
“Right, there’s also this letter—the Jin Prefecture people told me to deliver it.”
With that, the soldier pulled out a piece of cloth and silk.
Sun Khan took it and flew into a rage upon reading.
“To Baibuhua personally: Now the Northern Frontier’s power is at its zenith, with strong troops and horses, all sides paying homage.”
“Wherever the Jin Prefecture iron cavalry points, nothing can withstand it; under heaven, none dare challenge its edge.”
“Though Naiman has the advantage of mountains and rivers, and the bravery of its tribesmen, compared to Jin Prefecture, it is like fireflies to sun and moon—utterly incomparable.”
“At this moment, those who understand the times are heroes.”
“Now, I specially propose surrender terms: First, lead the Naiman tribesmen to sincerely submit to the Northern Frontier, recognize the Northern Frontier as common lord, revere the lord of the Northern Frontier, Great King of the Sixth Courtyard Department, as father, and obey orders henceforth.”
“Second, offer ten thousand taels of gold, one million sheep, two hundred thousand horses, one hundred thousand cattle as tribute—this shows your sincerity in surrender and forms the foundation to spare your tribe from calamity.”
“Third, I hear the consort is exceptionally beautiful and wise; if she enters the Jin Prefecture Governor’s Mansion, she will surely enjoy honor.”
“Now, the Jin Prefecture army advances eastward. If you stubbornly resist, the Jin Prefecture iron cavalry will flatten Naiman.”
“Seize your wives and daughters, destroy your ancestral temples, scatter your bones, slaughter your tribesmen…”
The signature at the end was Jin Prefecture Great Governor Li Xiao.
Seeing this persuasion-to-surrender letter written in Naiman script, Sun Khan was about to explode with rage.
“Damn bastard, shameless vulture, despicable wretch…”
Sun Khan hurled every vile insult he could think of at Li Xiao.
He drew his saber and angrily hacked at some tables and chairs in the tent.
At this moment, Li Xiao had become the person he hated most.
“Great Khan~ what does the letter say?”
A noble in the tent asked curiously.
Sun Khan glared at him angrily—this was his uncle, so he couldn’t rebuke too harshly.
Nor did he want to tell these people the letter’s contents.
Thus, he snorted coldly: “The Northern Frontier barbarians are arrogant, actually wanting this Khan to surrender?”
“Wishful thinking.”
“Even if we fight to the last soldier, my Naiman Tribe will never surrender to the Northern Frontier.”
None of the three conditions Li Xiao proposed were acceptable to him.
Especially offering his consort—that was like taking his life.
“Jin Prefecture people invade my territory, kill my tribesmen—this Khan will slaughter them all.”
“Pass the order: all tribes assemble immediately. This Khan will personally lead the expedition,” Sun Khan said furiously.
Li Xiao’s letter of persuasion to surrender had completely ignited his fury, with reason gradually consumed by anger.
Afterward, more and more reports came in: almost all Naiman tribes near Jin Prefecture had been overrun by the Jin Prefecture Army, with only a few escaping.
The Jin Prefecture Army’s formidable combat strength was undeniable.
By the Keduohe River, biting cold winds howled like wild beasts across the vast grassland.
Li Xiao led the main force of the Jin Prefecture Army to arrive and camp by the riverbank.
In the center of the camp, the golden sun and moon battle flag fluttered in the gale, like a blazing sun radiating golden light, symbolizing the dignity of the Jin Prefecture Great Governor.
Beneath the battle flag stood a massive golden large tent.
Li Xiao stood in the tent, facing a simple sand table made based on Naiman descriptions—rather crude.
“Great Governor, in these past few days, our army has eliminated thirteen Naiman tribes, captured twelve hundred war slaves, over two thousand female slaves, cattle and sheep~”
Listening to Zhang Xinghua’s report beside him, Li Xiao nodded lightly, his gaze fixed on the sand table.
Prisoner tallies and such minor matters could be left to Zhang Xinghua, this internal affairs official.
He was considering which route to take to Tannu Uriankhai.
“Great Governor, I suggest the northern route here. Though the roads are rugged, the Naiman won’t expect us there—hit them with a surprise,” Er Hu suggested.
Li Xiao nodded lightly, saying no more.
There were mainly three routes to Tannu Uriankhai, each with its characteristics.
In the end, Li Xiao chose the shortest and flattest route.
Even Er Hu’s proposal to split forces—with the main army attacking via this road and him leading a small force on a side path for a sneak attack—was rejected by Li Xiao.
The reasoning was simple.
If Li Xiao had only a few thousand troops against tens of thousands of Naiman, he would certainly choose surprise.
But at the stage of large-scale operations, he couldn’t rely solely on risks.
He should prioritize steadiness, advancing firmly step by step.
“No need to discuss— we’ll take the Maergu Mountain route,” Li Xiao said decisively.
He then issued combat orders: Da Hu and Er Hu remained the vanguard, each leading their two thousand four hundred soldiers ahead.
Because Li Xiao was preparing to cultivate the younger generation of generals, gradually making Da Hu, Er Hu, and others the main force in army operations.
Er Bao and San Bao also performed well in the army.
Both had become centurions.
“Any movement from the Kereit Tribe?”
After assigning all tasks, Li Xiao thought of the Kereit Tribe again.
His original agreement with Ong Khan was to mobilize at spring’s start, pincering the Naiman from east and west.
As for post-war division of interests, though Li Xiao promised land and population to the Kereit Tribe.
Agreements were made to be torn up—whoever believed otherwise was a fool; Li Xiao had no intention of honoring it.
Mainly, he couldn’t forget about Tieszi and dreamed of killing him.
But now, the Kereit Tribe’s army showed no movement, infuriating Li Xiao.
Was the Son of Destiny really so hard to kill?
“No word on the Kereit Tribe. The captured Naiman prisoners haven’t heard of any Kereit invasion either,” Zhang Xinghua said, shaking his head.
