The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 100: Victory News Spreads to Hexi

As the sounds of dogs barking and horses' hooves rang out in Hexi Fort, people from every household went out to check the situation.

On the other hand, the old man quickly put on his raincoat and was about to go out when he found someone stopped in front of his door.

"Who?"

The old man shouted in a low voice.

Then, a voice that surprised him came from outside the door.

"Grandpa, it's me, open the door quickly."

Hearing this very familiar voice, the wariness on the old man's face disappeared instantly.

It turned into a hint of excitement.

"Erhu?"

That’s right, this is exactly Erhu’s voice.

The old man quickly opened the wooden gate and asked nervously, "Erhu, why are you back?"

He will never forget that just over two months ago, it also rained heavily that day.

Several young and strong men in the village came back from the battlefield and brought him news that almost made him despair.

So at this moment, the old man tightly grasped the corner of his clothes, fearing that Erhu would hit him again.

Fortunately, although Erhu was wet, panting, and looked very embarrassed at this moment, he had a smile on his face.

While pulling the old man into the house, he said happily: "Grandpa, we won."

Hearing this, the old man breathed a sigh of relief and almost felt like fainting.

At this time, Li Erjiang also came from the next yard with a weapon in his hand and happened to hear what Erhu said.

"Did you win?"

"What are the casualties? Where are Dalong and Dahu?"

The old lady in the inner room and Qin Dani and others heard the noise and came out, waiting for Erhu's answer with anxious looks on their faces.

"Of course I'm fine, my brother and Dahu are fine."

"There's not even a scratch on your skin." Erhu laughed.

Of course, there are some exaggerations, and minor injuries are inevitable, but they are not serious.

Upon hearing this, Qin Dani and the others breathed a sigh of relief and smiled with relief on their faces.

"As long as it's okay, it'll be okay."

"May God bless me, may the Jade Emperor bless me." The old lady looked relieved and began to mutter.

It seems like he is fulfilling a vow.

"Erhu, tell me the details."

The old man quickly asked Erhu to sit down and told Qin Dani to prepare clean clothes for Erhu to change into, and prepare some food and drinks, etc.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, he immediately asked about the specific situation of the war.

Speaking of this, Erhu's spirits immediately perked up, and he said excitedly: "Grandpa, Second Uncle, you didn't see what happened at that time."

"The Naimans are guarding the various mountain passes in Jinshan, making it impossible for the Khitans to attack them. However, this has caused Xiao Simo great worry."

"At the critical moment, it was my brother who was worried that if the war dragged on for too long, the 20,000-plus troops would overwhelm our Jinzhou."

"That's why he led us over the Alai Mountains and Jinshan Mountain, and attacked the Naiman people from behind."

When Erhu talked about these glorious deeds, his saliva was flying and he was very excited.

How wise and courageous Li Xiao was. He killed the soldiers on the march and used both soft and hard tactics to subdue the three thousand troops.

How brave and good at fighting he was, how many Naiman soldiers he killed, etc.

Soon, Qin Dani brought clean clothes, and the old lady also warmed up some food.
Erhu ate voraciously while talking about the battle.

During this process, more and more villagers came over.

They all heard the sound of Erhu riding a horse and went out to see if there was any enemy invasion.

I didn't expect that it would be Erhu who came back to report the victory.

While the villagers were excited, they all gathered at Li Xiao's house and listened to Erhu's story with great interest.

"No one expected that the Naiman Khan would actually pretend to surrender and then attempt to launch a surprise attack on the Khitan army's center on the battlefield."

"The situation was critical at the time. Xiao Simo personally led his men to rush forward and nearly died."

"At the critical moment, it was my brother who led our group of Han men to break through the Naiman Khan's army, chasing him all over the mountain and saving Xiao Simo."

"It also saved the entire army from danger."

"If it weren't for my brother, the Khitans would have been defeated long ago. How could they have wiped out so many Naimans?"

As Erhu was eating, food scraps kept flying out of his mouth.

No one cared at all, and even their eating manners were not much better.

All were attracted by the tense and exciting battle.

"What happened next?" Li Erjiang asked hurriedly.

Although I guess what Erhu said must be exaggerated, the army led by Li Xiao should have played an extremely important role in the war.

"Where is the Khan of the Naimans? Has he been captured?"

"No."

Erhu shook his head, looking regretful: "Let those two guys get away. The grassland is so big, there is no way to chase them."

"But in the previous battle, we personally captured a prince of the Naiman people."

"It made Xiao Simo happy for a long time."

When everyone heard this, although they were a little disappointed, they were also quite excited.

"It's not easy to capture the Naiman prince."

"It's more than easy, it's clearly a great achievement." "By the way, Erhu, Dalong led you in achieving so many merits. Did the Khitans give you any reward in the end?"

Hearing the question from an elder, Erhu immediately became more energetic. This was the highlight. He put down his bowl and chopsticks and started to show off.

"Of course there will be rewards. We are a group of Han Chinese men, and everyone will be rewarded handsomely."

As he spoke, Erhu looked at Fourth Grandpa and said with a laugh, "Fourth Grandpa, Sixth Uncle has been granted the rank of Qianhu official this time."

"And Uncle Luo from Hedong Fort, my eldest sister's father-in-law, is also a thousand-household official."

The men in Hexi Fort were somewhat confused when they heard this. Fourth Grandfather asked directly, "Erhu, what is a thousand-household official?"

"A thousand-household official? It means someone who can manage a thousand households." Erhu scratched his head and said, remembering that this was how Li Xiao explained it to him at that time.

Sure enough, as soon as these words were spoken, everyone exclaimed in surprise.

"Wow, you're in charge of a thousand households? We only have more than 200 households in Hexi Fort, right?" someone said with eyes wide open.

"What you said is all outdated. Now, including Houzhai and Sanhebao, we have a total of 400 households."

"That's more than two Hexi Forts."

"How can a Qian Hu official be so high-ranking? He's almost as high as a governor."

"Fourth Uncle, congratulations! Old Six has made it big."

Everyone exclaimed and looked at Fourth Grandpa with envy and congratulated him.

Of course it tastes sour, but who can blame her for giving birth to a good son?
At this moment, Fourth Grandpa was smiling with a mouth full of yellow teeth showing, and he looked very happy.

"Hehehe~"

"Okay, okay~"

I didn’t know what to say, I just laughed.

His son has made great progress, and he, as a father, is also proud of it.

The third grandfather looked jealous. He also had two sons who went to the battlefield, but they were not as capable as the fourth son.

So he asked Erhu, "Where are your third and fourth uncles? How are they?"

On the one hand, they asked whether he was safe and whether he was injured. On the other hand, they asked what official position he was awarded.

"My third and fourth uncles are both centurions, just like me."

"But our centurion title is not a formal one. It is a title my brother gave himself." Erhu scratched his head and explained.

In addition to military merits, this reward also has to take into account the interests of Jinzhou's local forces.

The original castle lords and leaders also contributed to this war.

If there are no major problems, they will be appointed as centurions and continue to manage the adjusted fortress.

After all, this time the household registration cannot be too drastic, otherwise it will easily arouse the hatred of the local forces.

What Xiao Simo meant was to cut the meat with a blunt knife, and slowly replace these castle lords and leaders with temporary officials.

For example, after a period of time, several hundred households will be rotated.
"In addition to the people originally from Jinzhou, there are more than a thousand other people from the desert and Beihai who are willing to follow my brother to live in Jinzhou."

"So, our centurion is actually in charge of them."

These more than a thousand foreign soldiers are elite soldiers who have come down from the battlefield. They are an important force, and Li Xiao must use his own people to manage them.

Anyway, Li Sanhe, Li Sishui and Erhu were just temporary centurions in this army during the battle.

Now it is considered a regular job.

After hearing Erhu's explanation, Third Grandpa nodded slightly and a smile appeared on his face.

Both sons are in charge of a hundred households. Although they are not as good as Xiao Liuzi, they are still pretty good.

It was considered as giving him some relief.

"Where is Dalong? After all this talk, what official title did Dalong get?" Li Erjiang looked at Erhu, who was already talking dry-mouthed, poured him a bowl of water and placed it in front of him, and asked.

Li Dashan and Luo Ping have both been conferred the rank of Qianhu, so could Li Xiao be given a lower rank?
"my brother?"

"That's even more amazing." Erhu felt his mouth dry when he talked about Li Xiao's reward.

"My brother is now the deputy governor of Jinzhou, and he also holds the position of a thousand-household official."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was even more surprised and there was an uproar.

"What? Dalong became the deputy governor?"

"Is this true?"

"How could a Han Chinese be the governor of Jinzhou?"

"The deputy commander-in-chief is still a Khitan." Erhu interrupted quickly.

"That's pretty impressive too." Li Erjiang said with a smile on his face, revealing his big molars.

The third grandfather beside him nodded and said, "Dalong has won honor for us Han people."

"He is worthy of being a descendant of our Li family."

The Governor of Jinzhou is the highest-ranking official in Jinzhou. Although he cannot have the final say, he still has considerable control over the local forts and tribes, and they have to listen to the Governor on major matters.

Although Li Xiao is a deputy governor, he is also the second in command of the entire Jinzhou.

Even the ancestor of the Li family was just a military leader and a middle-level officer in the Western Expedition Army.

It cannot be compared with the high-ranking and powerful position of deputy governor.

So, at this moment everyone was rejoicing that after so many years, their Li family finally produced a high-ranking official.

Of course, this is just how they viewed the governor's power in the past.

They didn't know that after the people were registered, the governor's power would increase significantly, and he would combine military and political power in one person, completely transforming into the local emperor of Jinzhou.

Although Li Xiao was only a deputy governor, his actual power was not much less than that of the governor of Jinzhou.

It can even almost compete with it.

If they understood this, the young and old men in Hexi Fort would be even more shocked and ecstatic.

(End of this chapter)