Chapter 32: Thunderous Methods, Kill The Chicken To Warn The Monkey
“A couple of days ago, people from Hou Village came to the Aslan Tribe.”
“I happen to know some Geluolu language, so I was there during their conversation at the time.”
Inside a tent, Wu Dayong knelt on the ground and recounted the situation from then.
In front of him sat the old master with an indifferent expression and Qin Kaishan full of murderous aura.
“What did the people from Hou Village come for?” Li Xiao asked.
“They wanted to submit to the Geluolu People.”
Hearing this, the old master frowned slightly: “These cowardly bastards.”
Human hearts are immeasurable; fearing death and clinging to life is human nature.
The old master knew very well that when the situation turned unfavorable, hearts would surely waver.
Just like Wu Dayong, but at least this guy was forced to surrender to the Geluolu People.
But the Hou Family people actually wanted to submit voluntarily?
Did they have no Han backbone left?
“At the time, the condition Hou Village proposed was to help the Geluolu People manage all the Han People in Jin Prefecture.” Wu Dayong continued recalling and said.
“And their bargaining chip was to help the Geluolu People sneak attack the Han allied army at a critical moment, and they were willing to offer the heads of Li Dahai and Li Erjiang, the two brothers.”
Hearing this, Qin Kaishan immediately couldn’t sit still and slammed his palm on the table.
“What? Those suicidal bastards, I’ll slaughter them all.” Qin Kaishan said with surging murderous aura.
Burning with rage, he couldn’t suppress it at all.
The old master gently waved his hand, signaling him to calm down, then with a grim expression, looked at Wu Dayong and said: “Er Jiang is dead?”
“Probably not.” Wu Dayong shook his head vigorously.
“At the time, the Geluolu People demanded to flay Li Erjiang alive, and the people from Hou Village agreed.”
“It seems because the two brothers killed some important Geluolu figure, that’s why the Geluolu People hated them so much.”
“But later, the two sides didn’t reach an agreement; the Geluolu People didn’t want Hou Village to manage all the Han People.”
After saying this, the matter became clear.
Li Erjiang was probably captured alive by the people from Hou Village, and Li Dahai’s corpse also fell into their hands.
And they used this to negotiate terms with the Geluolu People.
“The people from Hou Village are simply courting death.”
Qin Kaishan’s temper was the most volatile; he directly flipped the table in anger.
Er Hu, who inherited Qin Kaishan’s temper, was equally furious; the people from Hou Village actually wanted to use his own father and second uncle’s heads as chips for their advancement.
Unforgivable!
And with their spineless nature, they actually wanted to manage all the Han People in Jin Prefecture?
What the hell are they!
“Grandpa, bro, let’s go exterminate Hou Village.” Er Hu shouted.
Da Hu didn’t speak, but his expectant gaze meant the same; he wanted even more to exterminate Hou Village and rescue his father.
“Da Long, what do you think?” The old master’s face was icy cold as his gaze turned to Li Xiao, as if waiting for Li Xiao’s decision.
Now, Li Xiao was the Fort Master of Hexi Fort.
Facing the gazes of everyone, Li Xiao said coldly.
“Kill!”
“Exterminate the clan!”
These traitors couldn’t be appeased without killing, and without exterminating the clan, it would be even more unworthy of the Han soldiers who died in the Battle of North Mountain.
Moreover, this action would let everyone know the fate of becoming a traitor.
Use thunderous means, kill the chicken to warn the monkey.
Deter the other Han People’s fortifications in Jin Prefecture.
The old master nodded gently: “They definitely must be killed.”
But he sighed and said: “It’s a pity the battle at Sanhe Fort just ended; we can’t spare too many men to go to Hou Village.”
The old master was being polite; the real reason was that the Four Fort allied army soldiers were war-weary.
The battle that night had caused no small casualties among the Four Fort soldiers; they definitely needed to rest and recuperate.
Most importantly, the spoils from the battle at Sanhe Fort were astonishing.
The Aslan Tribe was already a major tribe among the Geluolu, with strong strength and large amounts of cattle, sheep, and livestock.
After that, in the Battle of North Mountain, the Jin Prefecture Army was utterly defeated.
All the heritage of the Jin Prefecture Governor’s Mansion fell into the hands of the Geluolu People.
The amount divided by the Aslan Tribe was also astonishing.
Then, the Aslan Tribe captured Sanhe Fort, and all the cattle, sheep, and property originally belonging to the Han commoners were robbed by the Geluolu People.
Although many people in Sanhe Fort were still alive now, quite a few families had been completely wiped out.
And even for those still alive, reclaiming their cattle, sheep, and property from the Four Fort allied army wouldn’t be easy.
Being able to get back a portion would be good.
Therefore, this astonishing wealth in Sanhe Fort would all be divided among the Four Fort allied army.
In this situation, how could the soldiers have the mood to continue fighting?
Unless the enemy came attacking proactively, to protect family safety and wealth, the soldiers would surely fight to the death.
But to make them risk their lives again to attack Hou Village.
What did Hou Village have?
Did it have more cattle and sheep than Sanhe Fort?
Understanding this, Li Xiao’s brows also furrowed slightly, and his mood soured instantly.
“Fucking bullshit.” Li Xiao cursed under his breath.
There’s a saying that hits the nail on the head: ordinary people become complacent with money, and soldiers with enough money become cowardly.
The Four Fort allied army was in exactly this state now.
They no longer wanted to fight pointless wars; they just wanted to quickly divide the spoils, go home, guard their wives and kids by the warm kang, and count the money.
Wait until the Geluolu People really attacked again, then pick up their sabers to fight.
So, Li Xiao’s expectations for these ordinary herdsmen dropped once more.
They might have top-tier individual combat strength, but they also had all sorts of flaws.
And yet, Li Xiao’s prestige right now couldn’t change them at all.
Even the old master couldn’t achieve that.
Unless like the wild boar skins, using absolute military force to unify the tribes, exterminating any who refused.
Over time, hearts could surely be united.
But achieving that wasn’t easy either, and it would also take a long time to unify.
“We must build a true iron cavalry.” Li Xiao said solemnly in his heart.
Relying on a bunch of herdsmen with sabers to conquer the world was wishful thinking.
“Although that’s the case, I still want to attack Hou Village; Second Uncle must be rescued.” Li Xiao looked at the old master and said firmly.
Difficulties certainly existed, but for Li Xiao, this might be an opportunity.
Da Hu had been somewhat disappointed, but after hearing Li Xiao’s firm words, light returned to his eyes.
“Bro~” he murmured excitedly.
“How to fight?” the old master asked; he naturally wanted even more to rescue his son.
“Victory lies not in numbers but in quality; battles are won not by bravery but by strategy.” Li Xiao said solemnly.
His gaze swept toward the old master and Qin Kaishan.
“We don’t need too many men; a hundred will suffice.”
“The men, I will select personally.” Li Xiao said.
He already had a plan in mind for how to select them.
Seeing Li Xiao’s confident demeanor, the old master nodded slightly.
“Good, you are the Fort Master of Hexi Fort; such matters are for you to decide.”
Selecting a hundred brave fighters from the current Four Fort allied army was still very simple.
Not everyone would degenerate into cowardice, blinded by wealth.
Although this battle wouldn’t be easy, since Li Xiao was confident in taking Hou Village and rescuing Li Erjiang with just a hundred men, the old master was willing to trust him.
His eldest grandson was no ordinary person.
Risks certainly existed; everyone wanted their sons and grandsons to live safely, but in the Northern Frontier, wanting no strife didn’t mean there would be none.
Men must strive against heaven and earth, contend for power in the human world.
Otherwise, they would sooner or later be enslaved and oppressed, ultimately losing their lives, with the whole family dying miserably.
“Take whoever you want from Gushan Fort; if anyone is afraid to die and go, your grandfather will whip them to death with a horsewhip.”
Qin Kaishan also stated, looking furious.
His subordinates, these bastards, only wanted to go home guarding the spoils; this already made Qin Kaishan lose face.
But if they couldn’t even muster these last hundred men, then their four old guys wouldn’t deserve to be Fort Masters.
After learning all the details about Hou Village from the old master and the other, Li Xiao already had a rough plan in mind for breaking through Hou Village.
No time like the present; Li Xiao prepared to set off as soon as possible.
But as he and Da Hu were about to leave the room, his gaze turned to Wu Dayong kneeling on the ground.
Meeting Li Xiao’s calm gaze, Wu Dayong trembled and hurriedly said: “Fort Master, Fort Master, I’ve told you everything I know.”
“I have merit!”
“I can still atone with merit; I’m willing to be a vanguard and charge toward Hou Village.”
Seeing him kowtow like pounding garlic, a flash of anger passed through Li Xiao’s eyes.
He couldn’t help thinking whether he had groveled like this in front of the Geluolu People.
“Ching~”
The moment Wu Dayong raised his head, a sharp sound rang out.
Li Xiao’s cavalry saber instantly slashed his neck, and blood spurted out fiercely.
“Although I’m grateful you told me about Second Uncle, sorry, I still can’t let you live.”
Li Xiao said in a low voice.
If even someone like Wu Dayong could atone with merit, then there would only be more people surrendering to the enemy in the future.
Not killing him would be unworthy of the hundreds of Sanhe Fort Han commoners who died miserably at the hands of the Geluolu People!
“You~”
Wu Dayong glared with wide eyes, clutching his neck desperately, but he couldn’t stop the gushing blood.
Soon, his body crashed heavily to the ground, the light in his eyes gradually fading.
Regarding Li Xiao’s action, the old master and the other showed no change from start to finish; even if Li Xiao hadn’t acted, they would have killed Wu Dayong.
Li Xiao’s clean decisiveness and unyielding nature instead comforted the two.
After killing, Li Xiao looked at Da Hu and Er Hu behind him and ordered: “Take the corpse out.”
“Then go to the prisoner of war camp and kill his son too.”
Regardless of whether his son was innocent, since Li Xiao had killed his father, to prevent future revenge, Li Xiao must kill him too.
Cut the grass at the root!
“Yes.”
Da Hu and Er Hu exchanged a glance and nodded heavily.
Then the two together dragged Wu Dayong’s corpse out.
“Grandpa, Grandfather, I’ll go select the men first; you rest for a bit!”
With that, Li Xiao turned and left, and at this time, orange-red light had already dyed the eastern horizon.
