Chapter 45: Golden Saber
The people from Sanhe Fort arrived at Hexi Fort last night.
Sanhe Fort, which originally had around a thousand people, now had fewer than five hundred left.
Plus more than five hundred from Hou Village, as well as more than two hundred female slaves from the Aslan Tribe that were divided up.
Hexi Fort had now become a super large fort with a population exceeding two thousand five hundred.
With formidable strength, but the situation was also quite chaotic.
In order to properly settle the herdsmen from Sanhe Fort and Hou Village, Li Xiao was exhausted.
However, as the Fort Master, in order to prevent power from slipping away, some things definitely required his personal involvement.
Doing things is actually a process of seizing power.
It was not until the moon was high in the sky that Li Xiao, slightly fatigued, walked toward home.
Arranging these miscellaneous tasks was even more tiring than fighting, mainly because it wore out his voice.
Some herdsmen’s comprehension was too poor; no matter how many times he explained, they didn’t understand, and Li Xiao was so frustrated he nearly collapsed.
He desperately wanted to invoke military law and implement militarized management.
Riding back home with Er Hu, the courtyard gate was open, and crying sounds came from the room.
It was Li Xiao’s mother and grandmother.
Li Dahai’s corpse had already been brought back, and the two women cried miserably upon seeing it.
Li Xiao felt uneasy in his heart as well, but he could only follow the Old Master’s instructions: no grand funeral, just keep the spirit for three days before burying him in the ancestral grave.
However, just as Li Xiao was about to enter his home, he heard movement from the neighboring courtyard.
“Creak~” With a sound, the thick wooden plank door was opened, and a woman walked out from the adjacent room.
“Xiao Yanyan?”
Seeing her, Li Xiao suddenly felt a sense of being worlds apart.
Although he had only left Hexi Fort for two days, it felt to Li Xiao as if a long time had passed.
Mainly because the two consecutive major battles in those two days left him mentally exhausted, making time seem to pass very slowly.
“Miss Xiao, you haven’t slept yet?”
Li Xiao told Er Hu to go back first, then rode his horse into Da Hu’s courtyard, preparing to have a nighttime talk with Xiao Yanyan.
He naturally didn’t think Xiao Yanyan’s appearance was coincidental; she must have been waiting specifically for him!
“Couldn’t sleep, came out for a look.”
Xiao Yanyan stood at the doorway, wearing only a thin robe, her jet-black hair cascading over her shoulders, arms crossed in a lazy pose as she leaned against the doorframe.
Her smiling face looked at Li Xiao as he dismounted: “I heard you won a great victory?”
“Eliminated the entire Aslan Tribe?”
Yesterday evening, the Four Fort Allied Army had already returned with the spoils of war.
The news of Sanhe Fort’s great victory spread as well, and everyone was immensely excited.
When Xiao Yanyan heard this news, her expression was quite splendid.
Shock, joy, disbelief.
She had personally witnessed the Battle of North Mountain and had nearly committed suicide while being pursued and killed by the Geluolu People.
She knew full well how formidable the Geluolu People were.
But she hadn’t expected that Hexi Fort, with merely six hundred people, would eliminate the entire Aslan Tribe in one battle, instantly wiping out a third of Jin Prefecture’s Geluolu Rebels.
This battle record shocked Xiao Yanyan immensely.
It also highlighted Da He Chu Luo Duo’s incompetence; a war with overwhelming advantage had been turned into such a mess by him.
Xiao Yanyan had cursed that guy harshly in her room for an entire day.
Moreover, Xiao Yanyan had heard that the plan to night attack Sanhe Fort was proposed by Li Xiao, and in the battle, he had personally killed more than twenty Geluolu People.
These pieces of news excited Xiao Yanyan greatly, increasing her interest in this youth Li Xiao even more.
She decided to forgive his previous rudeness toward her.
Give him a chance to apologize and please her.
So, Xiao Yanyan had been waiting specifically for Li Xiao tonight!
“Not entirely eliminated; a small number of Geluolu People escaped in the darkness,” Li Xiao said.
He walked forward, his gaze scanning Xiao Yanyan up and down.
Very beautiful!
At just over twenty years old, she was in the prime of her blossoming beauty.
Even in her previous male disguise, Xiao Yanyan had been very beautiful.
Now, back in women’s clothing, she was even more stunning.
After washing off the dirt from her face, she revealed a flawless white complexion, with her hair loose, appearing exceptionally elegant under the moonlight.
Just like a proud snow lotus flower.
Although Huang Xiuer was also very beautiful, her temperament leaned toward charm, while Xiao Yanyan, being a princess after all, carried an innate nobility that Huang Xiuer couldn’t match.
This woman, with her noble yet pure and desirable temperament, naturally had considerable appeal to Li Xiao.
But he was very rational and knew he couldn’t treat Xiao Yanyan the way he did Huang Xiuer and do as he pleased.
Yet the seed had already been planted in his heart.
“That’s still very impressive; even if some escaped, it doesn’t matter much,” Xiao Yanyan said.
Achieving such a battle record was rare even in the Royal Court.
But immediately after, noticing Li Xiao’s gaze lingering on her chest, Xiao Yanyan felt annoyed inside, crossed her arms, and lightly snorted at Li Xiao: “Your gaze is getting more brazen.”
She naturally knew she was very beautiful, but men who eyed her so unscrupulously like Li Xiao were very rare.
Those guys were all outwardly respectful but inwardly filthy.
Whereas Li Xiao was inwardly filthy and bold in his actions too.
“This isn’t brazen; it’s appreciation.” Facing Xiao Yanyan’s rebuke, Li Xiao gently shook his head with a smile.
He didn’t mind this woman’s temper at all and knew she wasn’t truly angry.
“Yearning for beautiful things is human nature.”
“Miss Xiao is so beautiful and captivating; I believe no man under heaven could ignore her.”
Listening to Li Xiao’s words, though Xiao Yanyan kept a straight face, the corners of her mouth involuntarily lifted slightly.
But on the surface, she still tilted her chin up, unconcernedly displaying her white swan-like neck to Li Xiao.
“Hmph~”
“Didn’t expect you to be a smooth-talking man too,” Xiao Yanyan lightly snorted.
Seeing the woman’s reaction, Li Xiao knew his flattery was effective.
No matter how proud a woman was, she always liked hearing compliments.
Saying no with her mouth, but enjoying it inwardly.
In later generations, some average-looking, average-earning men could coax women into a daze with their smooth talk.
That was also a skill, and Li Xiao admired it.
“I’m just stating a fact.” Li Xiao shook his head solemnly.
He then dropped the topic; such things needed to be gradual, just a taste, as pushing further might backfire.
After all, Xiao Yanyan couldn’t be treated like an ordinary woman; she was independent and strong-minded.
“Right, I have a gift for you.”
“It was something I captured at Sanhe Fort this time; it looks very beautiful, saved especially for you.”
With that, Li Xiao turned and walked toward his horse.
Xiao Yanyan was a Khitan princess after all, no matter how much power she held.
Maintaining a good relationship with her was beneficial to Li Xiao without any harm.
Not to mention anything else, Li Xiao was still counting on that “three years tax-free” flatbread!
As for the Centurion and Chiliarch positions~
With Li Xiao’s battle record, getting a Centurion position was definitely no problem.
But a Centurion meant nothing to Li Xiao.
Just the original Hexi Fort had over two hundred households; now there were nearly four hundred.
If after pacifying the Geluolu People, Jin Prefecture’s situation returned to normal, that would be one thing.
But if the Khitan People were determined to implement household registration, Li Xiao would need to secure a Chiliarch position.
Otherwise, future development would be very passive.
“Heh, didn’t expect you to bring me a gift?” Xiao Yanyan crossed her arms and chuckled.
She still preferred Li Xiao’s previous unruly demeanor.
But when Li Xiao took the item from horseback, the light smile on Xiao Yanyan’s face instantly froze.
“This is the spoil of war I took from the Aslan Tribe leader after killing him.”
“It’s a fine dagger, with a hilt forged from gold, very exquisite.” Li Xiao produced a golden dagger.
It was Aslan’s personal golden saber, naturally becoming Li Xiao’s spoil of war.
About sixty centimeters long, the blade was wootz steel, and the hilt featured exquisite gold-forged patterns.
It felt good in the hand, but to Li Xiao, this golden saber wasn’t a weapon; it was more like a personal ornament.
Anyway, on the battlefield, Li Xiao definitely wouldn’t use it to kill the enemy.
Selling it would fetch a good sum, but its value wasn’t as good as using it directly for a gift.
If he could exchange it for a Chiliarch position, Li Xiao would profit big.
But what Li Xiao hadn’t expected was that when he handed this golden dagger to Xiao Yanyan, her eyes actually reddened a bit.
Her excited gaze fixed on the golden saber, full of delight.
