The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 127 A Lion-like Man
The long winter in the northern border finally came to an end quietly, and the sun gradually became warmer, bringing new life to this silver land.

In the wilderness, the thick layer of snow slowly melted, revealing the tips of grass that had been dormant for a long time. The tender green buds couldn't wait to poke their heads out from the moist soil, looking curiously at this new world.

The Han people in Jinzhou were not idle throughout the entire winter.

Li Xiao gathered all the craftsmen in Jinzhou and set up a "Hexi Weapons Shop".

Specialized in casting weapons.

The old man and a group of trusted brothers carried out the first step of weapons manufacturing.

That is, refining Wootz steel.

Then the Wootz steel ingots were delivered to other blacksmiths one by one.

These blacksmiths forged Wootz steel into various weapons according to their respective tasks.

The most common ones are arrowheads and nail plates.

Arrows forged from Wootz steel are harder than ordinary arrows and have stronger armor-piercing capabilities.

The armor plates forged from Wootz steel also have stronger protective power than ordinary iron plates and are an important component of cotton armor.

During this long winter, the Hexi Arms Shop forged a total of more than 100,000 arrowheads, more than a thousand cavalry swords, more than two thousand hook-and-sickle spears, and a thousand sets of cotton armor.

It’s not that we don’t want to make more cotton armor, but there is not enough cotton.

Assuming that each set of cotton armor requires seven kilograms of cotton, one thousand sets of cotton armor would require seven thousand kilograms of cotton.

All the cotton that Li Ergunzi had bought from the desert twice before was consumed.

So, when the long winter in the northern border passed and the ice and snow on the road began to melt, Li Ergunzi prepared to set off again and head for the desert.

Hexi Liquor Store.

Dozens of men were carrying jars of West Wind liquor out of the house and loading them onto the carriage.

After a winter of brewing, Hexi Fort already had three thousand jars of Xifenglie in stock, filling several courtyards.

At the same time, it also directly promoted the development of the pottery industry.

Most of the pottery in Jinzhou comes from a family in Heishanzhai.

Because of the orders from Hexi Liquor Store, this family became rich and started hiring people to help make pottery.

Jinzhou had its first pottery factory.

In front of the carriage, Li Xiao and Li Ergunzi stood side by side, watching the carriage being filled with a large number of wine jars.

Li Xiao turned around and asked, "We have a lot of goods this time. Does the caravan have enough manpower?"

Although the liquor store already has 3,000 jars in stock, there is a saying that scarcity makes things valuable.

So this time, Li Ergun will only take away 1,500 jars.

There has been no supply for the entire winter, and the merchants in the desert are sure to consume all 1,500 jars at this moment.

"I hired another twenty people from Hedong Fort and Tazhai, so we have enough manpower." Li Ergunzi nodded.

Then he added, "However, we purchased a lot of food and cotton the last two times, so those merchants in the desert might raise the prices."

Price increase?

Li Xiao shook his head gently: "It's okay, as long as they can get these two things, it doesn't matter if they are a little more expensive."

After all, Xifeng Lie itself is also making huge profits.

In addition, the 10,000 strings of cash that Xiao Simo had rewarded him with had not been used yet.

So Li Xiao was not stingy with this money.

"Besides, with the rising prices of grain and cotton, more people will be planting in the desert this year."

"The price will fall after some time." Li Xiao said in a faint voice.

It's just the law of the market, not worth fussing about.

The most important thing now is to buy more food and cotton, enhance Jinzhou’s ability to resist risks, and make more cotton armor.

Watched the caravan leave Hexi Fort.

Li Xiao led his group of friends and started training day after day.

Even in winter, the Hexi Military Academy continues to operate normally.

However, those thousand households and hundred households had already left, leaving only this group of young people.

After a winter of study.

Except for a few who are really stupid, most other teenagers can recognize three to five hundred words.

Simple written communication is fine.

What Li Xiao is teaching them now are mainly some insights and experiences from combat.

Of course, most of the time he practiced martial arts with these young people, taught them riding and archery skills, how to command cavalry battles, etc.

And just when Li Xiao was leading this group of teenagers to practice sprinting on the snow.

Suddenly, I saw Sanfeng riding towards me.

"Brother, big pot~"

Even from a long distance away, Sanfeng started shouting loudly.

After the New Year, Sanfeng is already nine years old, but in Li Xiao's eyes, she is still an innocent child.

But before anyone knew it, Sanfeng had indeed grown a little taller.

In a few years, I will be old enough to get married.

But she also has an older brother who is the deputy governor of Jinzhou, and her other uncles and brothers are also a lot of powerful people.

So even though they are still young, some people have already started to have overt or covert thoughts about them.

There are too many people who want to marry into the Li family.

Not only Sanfeng, but also Erfeng and Sifeng from Li Xiao's second uncle's family, and even the daughter of the Li family's concubine who lives further away.

As long as they are unmarried, they become popular.

Li Xiao certainly knew that the ultimate fate of these girls in the Li family was arranged marriage.

But he certainly wouldn't let them get married in a hurry.

Especially Erfeng, Sanfeng and Sifeng, Li Xiao will definitely have to choose carefully from them when the time comes.

"Brother, grandpa asked you to go home."

"somebody is coming."

Sanfeng stopped on horseback in the distance. Although she was wrapped up like a little white bear, her face was red from the cold wind, like a frozen apple.

"Who's coming?"

Li Xiao hung the bow and arrow on the horse's back, let Wei Xuan, Sanbao and others practice riding and shooting by themselves, and walked up to Sanfeng and asked.

"They are two Khitans. I have seen one of them before. He is the one who is with the princess."

Hearing Sanfeng's words, Li Xiao smiled.

"This woman, could it be that she is sending me a love letter?" Then, he rushed home with Sanfeng.

At this time, at Li Xiao's home.

The atmosphere seemed a bit awkward.

The old man sat on the armchair in the middle of the main hall without saying a word.

On the left and right sides, there were two Khitans sitting respectively.

One of them was Xiao Yanyan’s former bodyguard, named Duoga.

He understood Chinese and lived with Xiao Yanyan in Hexi Fort for a period of time.

So Xiao Yanyan sent him to deliver the letter.

But what he didn't expect was that Li Xiao was not at home, and the old man was the only man at home.

But the old man is a very quiet person.

So, the three of them sat in the room, staring at each other, and the atmosphere was quite awkward.

After a moment of silence, Duoga could no longer bear it and greeted him with a smile, "It's been a winter since we last met. You seem to be in better shape now."

The old man nodded gently and said calmly: "It's okay, I won't die."

Duoga: “…”

It’s not that he doesn’t know how to find topics, but the old man’s words are so irritating that you can choke to death with just one sentence.

But who made this old man Li Xiao's grandfather?

Li Xiao and the princess had that kind of relationship, which meant that Li Xiao became half his master.

So, even if he was choked to death by the old man's words, he had to smile and compliment him.

"It seems to me that Hexi Fort has become a little different. It is much bigger than the last time I came here." Duga smiled and asked the question in his mind.

This time when he came to Hexi Fort, he really found something different.

Several large courtyards were built on the west side, and some women were coming in and out of those courtyards.

You can still faintly hear the sound of wood and the sound of iron hammering.

Why does it feel like something is wrong with Hexi Fort?

But in fact, those yards are filled with newly built factories and warehouses in Hexibao.

There were women weaving, men forging iron, and many rooms storing weapons forged and wine brewed in Hexi Fort during this period.

So, Hexi Fort does look much bigger.

But in fact, this is far from the real scale of the Hexi factory.

Take blacksmithing for example. Only a small number of blacksmiths who live in Hexibao would forge iron in the factory.

Those who lived far away worked at home and came to Hexi Fort every once in a while to collect Wootz steel ingots, deliver the forged weapons, and receive their wages, etc.

The same is true for the textile industry.

In short, the entire Golden State is very busy this winter.

Hexi Fort gradually became the core of Jinzhou, and everything naturally felt unusual.

In response to Duoga's doubts, the old man simply nodded and said simply, "It's big!"

Then there is no more then.

The smile on Duoga's face turned awkward again.

Chatting with this old man can really give me a heart attack. He always kills the topic.

"Yeah yeah!"

"Drink water, drink water!" Doga could only use drinking water to relieve the awkward atmosphere.

Fortunately, at this time, with the sound of horse hooves, Li Xiao's return made Duoga breathe a sigh of relief.

"Finally home."

"It would be better if we don't see this old man as often as possible in the future."

Then, Duoga stood up and walked outside to greet Li Xiao.

Watching Li Xiao dismount from his horse in the yard, his movements were clean and smooth, completed in one go, full of the unique heroism and elegance of a young man.

Doga had to admit that he was impressed by the handsomeness of this bastard.

He secretly said in his heart: "No wonder he can be so obsessed with the princess."

However, Duoga discovered that after not seeing Li Xiao for a winter, he seemed to have grown a lot taller.

It was almost five and a half feet tall, which would be about one meter and eighty in later times.

Moreover, Li Xiao's physique is stronger than before. His broad shoulders seem to be able to carry a millstone, and his chest is as thick as a towering hill.

Every muscle contains amazing power.

When he stood casually in the yard, he was like a lion standing in his territory, with pride and fearlessness revealed in his eyes.

When his eyes casually swept over, Doga felt as if he was really being stared at by a lion.

I feel like my hair is standing on end and I feel cold all over.

"This shouldn't be possible. We haven't seen each other for only half a year. How come this kid has become so scary?" Doga said in fear.

Standing in front of Li Xiao, he suddenly felt as if he was facing Xiao Simo directly.

In just half a year, Li Xiao's aura has become so terrifying?

Fortunately, after seeing Duoga's familiar face, the indifference and arrogance on Li Xiao's face disappeared.

He then smiled softly, and it was because of Xiao Yanyan that he smiled.

"Doga, my brother, welcome to the Golden State."

Li Xiao laughed, walked forward, stretched out his arms and gave Duoga a hug.

Li Xiao was half a head taller than him and stronger. The scene was like a lion pouncing on an antelope.

Doga was secretly surprised when he felt the power coming from Li Xiao's arm.

After finally being released, he hurriedly said with a smile, "Commander Li, how are you?"

"Okay, very good." Li Xiao said with a laugh.

"I just miss the princess so much!"

Duoga smiled gently and said, "The princess is in the Eastern Capital and she also misses Commander Li very much."

"This is a letter from the princess to you."

As he spoke, Duoga took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Li Xiao.

After Li Xiao took a look at the wax seal on it and found that it was OK, he opened it and started to look at it.

However, when he saw the second half, the smile on his face slowly disappeared.

(End of this chapter)