Chapter 22: The Old Blind Man And The Old Cripple
The next morning, the sky was overcast, and since the previous evening, a misty drizzle had been falling from the sky.
Above the horizon, dark clouds blanketed the sky, accompanied by the cool summer breeze, stirring the heart.
The summer in the Northern Frontier was like this, rainy and cool.
Amid this misty drizzle, a cavalry of over a hundred men was advancing quickly toward Hexi Fort.
When they were several hundred meters away from Hexi Fort, the cavalry’s speed gradually slowed.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa~”
Riding at the front of the group was an old man around sixty years old.
He wore a yellowish hemp robe, with a sheepskin jacket over it, sheepskin boots on his feet, graying hair, dark skin, a face full of wrinkles, and a tall, burly build.
In his only remaining eye gleamed a piercing gaze like that of a hawk or falcon, as he glanced at the distant Hexi Fort.
“Looks like the Geluolu People haven’t reached Hexi Fort yet!” The old man breathed a sigh of relief and said.
Then, he said to a young man beside him, “Let’s go, into the village.”
With that, the two led over a hundred knights slowly toward the village.
At the same time, people in Hexi Fort noticed their arrival.
Several knights came galloping out from it.
Still quite far away, Er Hu’s excited loud voice could be heard.
“Grandfather, Grandfather~”
In the distance, the one-eyed old man heard Er Hu’s voice, full of vigor, and laughed heartily: “That kid Er Hu is still so lively!”
A young man beside him, who resembled the old man, also laughed heartily: “That’s because he inherited your personality!”
Soon, the two groups met.
“Grandfather, Second Uncle, you’ve finally come. I’ve missed you.”
Er Hu dismounted in a rush and leaped toward his grandfather in excitement.
“Hahaha, Er Hu, you’ve gotten even sturdier, haha!”
Grandfather dismounted as well and pulled Er Hu into a tight embrace.
He wanted to lift him up like when he was a child, but he could no longer do so.
“Heh, you’ve gotten so heavy!”
“Er Hu, let go of your grandfather first. With such strength, your grandfather can’t take it.” Second Uncle chuckled beside them.
While they talked, Li Xiao and the Old Master also dismounted.
Grandfather ruffled Er Hu’s head, looked at the Old Master, took a gentle breath, grinned, and said with a laugh, “Boss, I’ve arrived.”
The Old Master looked at him too, his expression unchanged, nodded lightly, and simply said one word: “Good!”
Qin Kaishan shook his head: “Ha, Boss, you’re even more terse than before.”
The Old Master snorted lightly and fell silent.
Li Xiao, listening to their exchange nearby, felt speechless.
This one-eyed old man was his grandfather, named Qin Kaishan.
He and the Old Master were lifelong iron brothers, the kind who would block blades for each other on the battlefield.
Li Xiao thought that when old brothers reunited, it should be with uncontainable excitement, fierce hugs and back-thumps, even sleeping side by side and talking through the night.
But in reality, there was no sign of their passionate reunion; it was calm as water.
Li Xiao could only attribute it to the unique way old folks communicated.
True brotherly bond couldn’t be expressed in words; everything was unspoken.
“Da Long, come here, let Grandfather take a look. You’ve already become a grown man.”
“Hahaha~”
After greeting the Old Master, Grandfather looked at Li Xiao, his face blooming with a smile again, and beckoned to him.
Li Xiao stepped forward, smiling lightly as he greeted, “Grandfather, Second Uncle.”
But in truth, his mindset was still from a later era, unable to be too close with relatives like Grandfather.
So when Grandfather ruffled Li Xiao’s head, Li Xiao could only force a smile.
Fortunately, the Old Master bailed him out: “Da Long is now the Fort Master of Hexi Fort.”
Hearing this, Grandfather paused, happy for Li Xiao yet somewhat saddened.
So he gently patted Li Xiao’s shoulder and said, “Let’s go, take me to pay respects to your father.”
In fact, Li Xiao’s Second Uncle had also gone to North Mountain earlier and hadn’t returned.
It was just that no news had come back, leaving the Qin Family with a sliver of hope.
“Mm, home first.”
The Old Master nodded lightly, mounted his horse, and added, “Old Zhao just arrived too.”
Hearing this, Qin Kaishan said in surprise, “That old cripple got here pretty fast.”
With that, the group headed into the village.
Once inside, Qin Kaishan indeed noticed more people in Hexi Fort, with some courtyards crammed full of war horses laden with tents, weapons, and food.
Many others were squatting in rooms, devouring horse meat.
“These are people from Tazhai?” Qin Kaishan asked, pointing at them.
The Old Master, riding his horse, nodded lightly and said, “Mm.”
“They just arrived not long ago. Da Long has already arranged for them to rest.”
“Later, have Da Long assign you a few courtyards so your Gushan Fort people can get some sleep too. There’s work tonight.”
Work to do tonight?
Qin Kaishan realized Hexi Fort was gearing up for a major operation.
But before he could ask details, the group arrived at the Li Family courtyard.
From afar, Qin Kaishan could see several figures standing at the courtyard gate.
Most striking was an old man with only one leg, his face full of weathered lines, using a spear as a crutch to support his body.
“Haha, you old cripple got here fast! Had your son carry you, huh?” From a distance, Qin Kaishan laughed loudly.
The one-legged old man, Zhao Tiezhu, wasn’t one to back down and retorted with a laugh, “Even a cripple like me beat you here. You old blind man must’ve lost your way and ridden into a ditch, right?”
“Hahaha~”
The two burst into laughter, and upon approaching, embraced and punched each other hard a few times.
Li Xiao felt satisfied watching those punches.
Yes, this was the proper greeting for old friends reuniting.
What happened earlier was just an anomaly; the Old Master’s personality was too imposing.
After chatting a bit with Zhao Laotou, Qin Kaishan’s gaze turned to Qin Dani nearby, her eyes misty with tears, and his smile faded.
“Dad~”
Tears streamed down Qin Dani’s face, dripping nonstop.
Seeing her father arrive, she gradually broke into loud sobs.
“Sigh, Dani.”
Qin Kaishan stepped forward and gently patted Qin Dani’s shoulder.
Just a couple days ago, Qin Dani had visited her maternal home, but who would’ve thought such a huge change would come so suddenly.
Not only had Li Dahai died in battle, but even Qin Dani’s elder brother was missing without word.
Qin Kaishan grieved inwardly, but like all fathers, he opened his mouth yet didn’t know how to comfort his daughter.
At this moment, how he wished his old wife had come with him!
“Dahai was a good man, didn’t bring shame to us Han Men.” Qin Kaishan nodded and said.
Seeing this, Li Xiao and Er Hu went forward to help Qin Dani up.
“Mom, you’ve been crying hard these past days; take care of your health.”
“You can’t collapse too!”
After a good while, Qin Dani was finally soothed.
The group entered the room, where Qin Kaishan lit incense before Li Dahai’s spirit tablet, and Li Xiao’s Second Uncle kowtowed respectfully several times.
In this emergency, Li Dahai and the others in the village couldn’t have grand funerals; that would wait until after repelling the Geluolu People.
After all this, they sat down, and Qin Kaishan immediately asked, “Elder Brother, what’s the plan for tonight?”
Zhao Laotou nearby showed no reaction; having arrived earlier, he already knew the Old Master’s decision.
Jin Prefecture’s Han People had Nine Forts and Eighteen Villages, with no shortage of conflicts among them.
But there were also many who were on good terms through marriage alliances.
The Old Master and his group had been close brothers in their youth, sworn like blood brothers.
Later, they even became relatives by marriage.
The Old Master had two sons and one daughter; the eldest son married Qin Kaishan’s daughter, who were Li Xiao’s parents.
His daughter married Zhao Tiezhu’s son.
Additionally, Li Xiao’s eldest sister Li Dafeng had married into Hedong Fort two years prior.
So these forts and villages were all connected by family ties!
They had close relations daily, and upon facing foreign enemies, could swiftly unite and support each other.
“There is a plan. First, let your Gushan Fort people eat, then get a good sleep.” The Old Master said calmly, glancing at Li Xiao.
Li Xiao understood at once, nodded lightly, and said, “I’ll go arrange it.”
With that, he led Er Hu out the door.
As before, he needed to clear out some houses in the village for Gushan Fort people to rest for the day.
One day was enough; there would be battle at night.
So the sleeping arrangements were easy; soon several houses were cleared, each with long earthen kangs, enough for everyone.
Li Xiao also had horse meat brought to them for a proper meal.
Eat as much as they wanted, plenty to go around.
During this, Li Xiao counted the number from Gushan Fort.
“One hundred twelve men.”
Tazhai had also sent just over a hundred.
That made over two hundred combined.
Hexi Fort currently had over three hundred male laborers, but not all could be deployed.
Many like Da Wu and Xiao Heizi who returned from North Mountain were injured and couldn’t fight yet.
The elderly and weak were kept out as much as possible, and some combat-capable ones had to stay to guard the village.
So Hexi Fort could muster just over two hundred for this battle.
That brought the total to over four hundred.
But it wasn’t over; Li Xiao’s eldest sister’s in-laws in Hedong Fort, thirty li east of Hexi Fort, also faced threats from Geluolu People near Sanhe Fort.
Hedong Fort’s strength was somewhat weaker than Hexi Fort’s; aside from those left to guard, they too could only send just over a hundred.
Thus, the Four Fort Allied Army’s total troops would reach around six hundred.
Compared to the eight hundred Geluolu Rebels Li Xiao predicted, the Four Fort Allied Army wasn’t far behind in numbers.
But there was one unignorable issue: the Geluolu People were a nomadic people.
Unless on a long expedition, they migrated as a whole clan for ordinary battles.
Men fought up front, while women and elders handled logistics in the rear.
Sanhe Fort had been captured for two days; the Geluolu’s trailing elders, women, and children might already have reached Sanhe Fort to rest.
At critical moments, these posed a real threat to the Four Fort Allied Army.
This would make the Geluolu People’s numerical advantage even clearer; a direct confrontation offered slim chances, and even victory would come at heavy cost.
“So, only a night raid will do.” Li Xiao thought to himself.
He looked up at the sky, where gloomy clouds blocked the sun and would also hide the night’s moon.
“Today is good weather.” Li Xiao said coldly.
