The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 141: Northern Frontier's Great Cause Collapses

Husiwoerduo was originally the capital of the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate.

After being conquered by Western Liao, the capital was moved to Kashgar, which is the Kashgar region in later generations.

However, there are still a large number of Uighurs living in Husiwoerduo City.

It even accounts for more than 70% of the total population.

Although most of these people were commoners, there were also quite a few nobles and wealthy businessmen.

At this moment, in a room, a dim oil lamp swayed in the wind, illuminating the cold walls around it. The atmosphere was so oppressive that it was suffocating.

A Uighur noble was tied tightly to a cross, wearing a gorgeous but torn robe, and the turban on his head was thrown on the ground.

His face was swollen like a pig's head, and his body was covered with more than a dozen whip marks. It was obvious that he had just been tortured.

"Tell me, where is the money hidden? Stop resisting in vain." A Jinzhou Army soldier stepped forward, grabbed his collar and roared viciously.

He spoke in Chinese, but there was someone translating simultaneously next to him.

The Uighur noble clenched his teeth, his face filled with anger and indomitable will.

He cursed in Uighur: "You pagans, God will not let you go!"

"The wealth was given to me by Allah. How can you greedy people covet it?"

"I will never yield to you, and your evil deeds will be judged."

His voice trembled with anger, and his eyes were as big as copper bells as he glared at the Jinzhou Army in front of him.

The soldier was so angry that he raised his hand and slapped the powerful man hard in the face.

A crisp "pop" sound echoed in the room.

A trace of blood instantly flowed out from the corner of the powerful man's mouth, but he just smiled coldly.

The laughter was filled with sarcasm: "You think you can make me speak by using violence?"

"You are wrong."

"In the teachings of God, upholding faith and justice is our mission."

"You are only exposing your own ugliness and ignorance by forcing people like this."

Another soldier couldn't stand the words of Allah from his mouth and kept silent about his faith.

Without any further ado, he picked up a bowl of salt water and poured it on his wound.

He screamed in pain like a pig being slaughtered.

Outside the door, Tietou shook his head and asked Han Jiuyuan, "Are these Uighurs always so brave?"

"You're not afraid of torture, yet you're still so stubborn?"

Han Jiuyuan shook his head slightly: "No."

"Ordinary Uighurs are very timid, but they can't squeeze much money out of them."

"As for a senior believer like him, whose mind is full of God, his words are indeed a bit hard."

The Uighur Khanate was defeated by the Kyrgyz Khanate and came to the Western Regions, where they established the Gaochang Uighur Khanate and the Karakhanid Khanate.

The two countries share the same origin, but different beliefs.

The Gaochang Uighur Khanate in the east still believed in Buddhism, while the Karakhanid Khanate in the west was rapidly becoming green because of its proximity to the Arab world.

Therefore, a large number of "warriors" who dedicated themselves to Allah were born.

The nobleman named Oguzi was a diehard among them.

As they spoke, Tietou and Han Jiuyuan walked into the room.

Seeing the miserable state of Oguzi, Tietou's expression did not change at all, but Han Jiuyuan frowned slightly, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Oguzi, we are old acquaintances."

"I don't want to be so violent, but you have to cooperate with me."

"Just hand over 100,000 gold dinars honestly, and I promise not to harm your Oguzi family in the slightest." Han Jiuyuan stepped forward and persuaded.

But what he got was a cold laugh from Oguzi, who spat a mouthful of blood at Han Jiuyuan.

"Han Jiuyuan, put away that wolf-like smile of yours."

"As soon as the rebels entered the city, you couldn't wait to become a dog."

"You are a complete villain." Oguzi cursed loudly.

"You don't have to lie to me. Given the past grudges between our two families, how could you really let me go?"

Han Jiuyuan shook his head helplessly. He did have his own private reasons for doing this.

The first family they contacted was Oguzi, because the two families did have a grudge against each other.

Husiwoerduo was originally the territory of the Uighurs, but the establishment of Western Liao led to a large number of Khitan nobles and Han people pouring into the city.

This is equivalent to taking a piece of the cake from the Uighurs, and hatred naturally arises.

Over the years, under the deliberate guidance of the Khitans, the Han nobles and the Uighur nobles have been fighting openly and secretly, and many families have died at the hands of the other side.

One of Han Jiuyuan's uncles was murdered tragically by Oguzi's father.

Not only the Oguzi family, but other Uighur nobles will definitely be visited one by one by Han Jiuyuan.

If we don't bleed these Uighur nobles, do we have to sacrifice the interests of the Han nobles?
As the fire tongs fell on his chest, emitting a burnt smell like barbecue, Oguzi screamed again.

But he still gritted his teeth and muttered as if reading an imperial decree: "You can torture my body, but you can't shake my faith."

"I believe that Allah's mercy will protect me, and you who do evil will one day repent in Hell."

"Wealth is nothing but a thing outside of my body, but I will never let it fall into the hands of you blasphemers."

His eyes were firm, as if what was before him was not fierce soldiers and cruel torture, but a sacred battle to defend faith.

When Han Jiuyuan heard this, he knew that he couldn't get anything out of Oguzi.

Then, with the look of a gentleman expressing his sorrow, he sighed, "Go and bring his son here."

He just didn't believe that everyone in the Oguzi family was a tough guy.

And what Oguzi guessed was correct. The two families were originally enemies. Now that they have started fighting, Han Jiuyuan will never leave any way for the Oguzi family to survive.

Just as the soldiers were going to bring Oguzi's son into custody, another of Li Xiao's personal soldiers arrived.

He said to Tietou: "Captain, the commander has given an order."

"Within two days, no matter what means, at any cost, regardless of the consequences, you must raise five million strings of copper coins."

Hearing this, Tietou nodded slightly and replied, "Okay, I understand."

Han Jiuyuan next to him frowned and said with an embarrassed look.

"Why did it suddenly become so much?"

Five million copper coins, which is roughly five million gold dinars.

Of course, other items such as gold ingots, silver bars, silk cloth, etc. are all fine.

Li Xiao's order was to get property equivalent to five million copper coins.

And with only two days to spare, it was a daunting task.

According to Han Jiuyuan's estimation, the wealth accumulated by the Oguzi family definitely does not exceed 300,000 gold dinars.

In other words, we need to find at least twenty families of equal status to Oguzi and ask them to contribute their wealth.

This made Han Jiuyuan a little confused.

Although there are many powerful and noble people among the Uighurs, there are more small nobles than big nobles.

Oguzi was already one of the greatest nobles.

"Five million is a bit much, but the great Liao Kingdom can't be unable to raise even this little money."

Tietou sneered.

Just have someone bring Oguzi's son in and make sure to drain all of Oguzi's family assets.

……

Li Xiao had no choice but to issue such an order.

Just now, when he was discussing the human body structure with the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Daha family, Jiu Meng Anhe found him.

I told him a shocking news.

Xiao Simo was seriously injured and his life or death was unknown. The central and right armies suffered heavy losses.

Li Xiao was stunned when he heard this.

"How could this be?"

Jiu Meng An He's face was gloomy, and he gritted his teeth and whispered, "It's the Kangli people."

"Yelü Zhilugu hired 20,000 Kangli cavalry to fight for him."

"And that bastard Xiao Linta betrayed the king."

"Because of his mischief, the main force of the central army encountered a night attack by Kangli cavalry at Blackrock Mountain, suffering heavy losses."

"Then the central army encountered a joint siege by the Kangli cavalry and the main force of the royal court."

"If Xiao Tuladuo hadn't led the right wing army to arrive in time, the central army would have been completely wiped out."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiao's face also became solemn and he slammed the table in anger.

"Xiao Linta?"

"I've long seen that he's not a good person."

"But I didn't expect that he was nothing at all."

"How dare you collude with the royal court?"

"Damn shit."

Li Xiao cursed angrily.

He knew that Xiao Simo's subordinates were not clean and that Yelu Zhilugu was a traitor.

He had suspected it was Xiao Linta before, but had no evidence.

Unexpectedly, Li Xiao guessed it right.

The bastards rebelled at the critical moment, causing heavy losses to the central army.

After pretending to scold Xiao Lin, Li Xiao calmed down and said in a deep voice, "Such an important battle situation, our army didn't receive any news at all."

"It's just such a waste of time."

Jiu Meng An He nodded gently: "After that night attack, the king sent someone to pass on the order for our army to move closer to the central army."

"Unfortunately, the messenger was intercepted by Wang Ting's army and failed to find our army."

"If our army had received the news earlier and rushed over to support, perhaps the king would not have been in danger."

Jiu Meng Anhe said with a look of regret.

He regretted that the left-wing army failed to rush to support, and he also regretted that he failed to recognize Xiao Linta's true face sooner.

Even he didn't expect that Xiao Linta, who had fought together to kill enemies and drank with women together, would become a traitor.

Thinking of the past, he felt quite uncomfortable.

Li Xiao nodded gently: "Yes, if our army reaches Black Rock Mountain, we will kill the Kangli people without a single survivor."

Xiao Tuladuo's right-wing army took the southern bank of the Ili River, most of which was plains, so they quickly received orders to meet up with Xiao Simo smoothly.

In contrast, Li Xiao's left-wing army took the Hasupo Mountain route and was on high ground at the time, making it difficult to find.

This was a few days ago. After Li Xiao arrived at Tara Mountain, he still had not waited for the other two troops.

Only then did they send people to look for it, and they eventually brought back the news.

"How is Lord Xiao? How did he get injured?" Li Xiao said with a serious face.

The central army suffered heavy losses and Xiao Simo was seriously injured.

No matter which news it was, it was a fatal blow to the entire Dongdu army.

"In the Battle of Blackrock Mountain, the royal court's powerful crossbow shot through his iron armor." Jiu Meng Anhe said.

Li Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly: "Although Xiao Linta is a rebel, there is still something fishy around Lord Xiao!"

Perhaps it was a backup plan left by Xiao Linta, or perhaps it was a chess piece laid by Yelu Zhilugu early on.

In short, there is only one reason why Xiao Simo could be shot with a powerful crossbow in the chaotic battlefield.

Xiao Simo's position was exposed and he was hit by a large-scale long-range shot from the enemy's powerful crossbow team.

"Yes, those traitors are the most hateful." Jiu Meng Anhe said angrily.

"What are Governor Xiao Tuladuo's preparations?" Li Xiao asked.

Now Xiao Simo is seriously injured and his condition is unknown. The main force of the army must be under the command of Xiao Tuladuo.

"Xiao Tuladuo is preparing to retreat to the north bank of the Ili River." Jiu Meng'anhe said.

The main force of Wang Ting's army, together with the Kangli cavalry, totaled nearly 40,000 soldiers and horses.

Even if the troops of the central army and the right wing army were added together, they would still be at a disadvantage.

Under such circumstances, the Dongdu Army would not be able to cross Black Stone Mountain at all, and would even be in danger of being wiped out.

Therefore, Xiao Tuladuo had no choice but to retreat northwards, and he also specifically told Li Xiao that it would be best if he could go together.

Li Xiao nodded lightly, his face heavy and his voice filled with grief, he said, "What a pity!"

"Success is at hand but failure is near."

They have already broken through Hu Siwoerduo. As long as they can destroy the main force of the royal court, they will be able to completely change the world.

Unfortunately, because of Xiao Simo's serious injury, everything will come to an abrupt end.

Because the entire northern border revolves around Xiao Simo alone.

No one else has the ability or prestige to replace Xiao Simo.

Xiao Tuladuo is not good enough, and Jiumeng Anhe is even worse.

Even Li Xiao is not qualified to convince the public for the time being.

If Xiao Simo was fine, then even with the help of the Kangli people, Li Xiao would definitely bring people to Black Stone Mountain to help in the battle.

There is a great possibility of turning defeat into victory.

But now, Xiao Simo was seriously injured. Not only would problems arise within the Northern Frontier Army, but even those nobles in the royal court who were originally prepared to defect to the Northern Frontier would become worried.

At this time, even if the royal court army was defeated, it would be impossible to rule the royal court and change the world.

The only person who can be the backbone is Xiao Simo's legitimate son, Xiao Helun.

But unfortunately, he is still in Dongdu and is too young.

Even if he sits in this position, he will most likely be a puppet.

Therefore, the safety of the entire northern border depends on Xiao Simo alone.

If anything happens to him, the good situation of the Dongdu Army will be ruined.

The northern border will also face a fierce counterattack from the royal court.

Moreover, Xiao Tuladuo has already made the decision to withdraw his troops, which means that Xiao Simo is probably seriously injured.

"Retreat! Leave Husiwoerduo in two days."

"Return to Ili Hebei." Li Xiao said in a deep voice.

Hu Siwoerduo can't stay here any longer. If the main force of the royal court returns from Black Stone Mountain, Li Xiao's army will be in danger.

"Good~"

"I'll go and arrange the withdrawal." Jiu Meng'anhe nodded heavily.

As he stood up, he said, "In addition, Xiao Tuladuo also sent a message asking our army to be careful of the royal court's army."

"Yelü Zhilugu not only invited 20,000 Kangli cavalry, but also hired 500 Iqta cavalry from the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate. Their combat effectiveness is quite formidable."

"The right-wing army suffered a great loss at their hands."

Hearing this, Li Xiao frowned slightly and whispered, "Five hundred Ikta cavalry?"

"Even they are here."

"Yelü Zhilugu really invested a lot of money."

"I don't know what benefits he promised to the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate that would be worth spending all his money and risking his life to help him."

Jiu Meng An He shook his head slightly: "Who knows?"

"Anyway, this time, our Dongdu Army is in big trouble."

After Jiu Meng An He left the tent, Li Xiao took off his disguise and sat alone with a serious expression.

While in the Eastern Capital, he made a thorough study of the royal court and the Eastern and Western Karakhanid Khanates.

Naturally, I know the famous Iqta Cavalry Corps.

Iqta is a military feudal system in the Islamic world, in which the ruler grants land to generals, officials, or religious leaders for management.

These officials and generals were called Iqta.

They can form a certain number of troops within their own territory, and when war breaks out, they will obey the king's orders and go to fight.

It is somewhat similar to the feudal aristocracy in Europe.

The Iqta cavalry is also similar to the European knights.

Only a very small number of the most elite warriors are qualified to become Iqta cavalry.

The Iqta Lord will equip them with equipment and have them fight under his orders.

The cavalry's equipment varies depending on the financial resources of each Iqta lord.

The Eastern Karakhanid Khanate inherited the main body of the former Karakhanid Khanate and was adjacent to the commercially developed Khorasan region. The iqta lords there were all very powerful.

According to Xiao Tuladuo's intelligence, these 500 Iqta cavalry came from dozens of Iqta territories.

They are fully armed, well-equipped, strong in combat, and wear full sets of iron armor.

Equivalent to 500 armored cavalry.

And like European knights, each Iqta cavalryman was equipped with three to five auxiliary soldiers.

Fights as a light cavalry follower.

Therefore, the five hundred Iqta cavalry were actually five hundred armored cavalry, assisted by more than two thousand light cavalry.

The strength cannot be underestimated!

They were much more powerful than the 5,000 ordinary Eastern Karakhanid Khanate troops who were annihilated by the Eastern Capital Army in the Battle of Saksu.

Those 5,000 soldiers were probably just cannon fodder temporarily recruited by the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate.

The Iqta cavalry is their trump card.

Thinking of this, Li Xiao felt a little heavy-hearted.

After all, among the left-wing troops, the only ones who could truly compete with them were the armored cavalry led by Erhu, the Black Armor Army.

But there are only a hundred people.

Once the Iqta cavalry turned to attack the left wing army, the left wing army would probably suffer heavy losses.

So Li Xiao called Li Sanhe over directly.

"Uncle San, I have something important for you to do."

……

After Li Sanhe left, Li Xiao also left the tent, and didn't even care about the beautiful mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Daha family.

Li Xiao doesn’t have time to deal with them now, he has to make money quickly.

As the withdrawal order was issued, the entire Husiwoerduo City fell into chaos again.

Tietou and Han Jiuyuan's torture became more urgent. In order to achieve the goal of 5 million strings of cash, the two men worked almost all night long and tortured all the nobles in the city.

Before this, the two had restrained their actions.

After all, once Xiao Simo ascended the throne, Husiwoerduo would become his territory, and Li Xiao did not let them go too far.

Just collect one million copper coins and give rewards to the soldiers.

But as the battle of Blackrock Mountain changed, Li Xiao's mentality also changed.

He no longer considered Hu Siwoerduo as his own territory, so he could mess around with it as much as he wanted.

Determined to squeeze out every last copper coin in the city.

After all, once he leaves, who cares about the flood in Hu Siwoerduo?

The whole thing is a mess, and that is something Yelu Zhilugu should worry about.

So, under this circumstance, while many stubborn elements were tortured to death, cartloads of gold, silver, copper coins, cloth, silk and other valuables were continuously pulled into Li Xiao's military camp.

At the same time, the Jinzhou army also carried out large-scale looting in the city, not even sparing anyone.

Blacksmith shop.

The blacksmith shop has been closed since the day the left-wing army attacked the city.

The blacksmith's family locked all the doors and windows, and for several days they ate, drank, defecated and urinated at home.

But on this day, a group of Jinzhou soldiers broke through the gate directly, scaring the blacksmith and his family so much that their faces turned pale.

"Master Jun, there is nothing in my family."

"This is all I have left. You must keep it."

"Please don't make things difficult for our family."

"We all firmly support King Xiao."

Seeing the ferocious Jinzhou soldiers, the blacksmith, who was about 40 years old, hurriedly protected his wife and four children behind him.

He took out all the money he had on him and held it in both hands to hand it to the soldier in front of him.

The leader was none other than Wei Xuan, who had become a lieutenant in the White Armor Army, leading his men to implement Li Xiao's "talent reserve plan."

He stretched out his rough palm and slowly pushed back the few copper coins and some loose silver from the blacksmith's hand.

Under the blacksmith's puzzled gaze, Wei Xuan said, "I don't want silver."

"I want you!"

The blacksmith was stunned when he heard this.

"What?"

"I?"

Wei Xuan nodded slightly and glanced at his family members behind him.

Besides his wife, he has three sons and a daughter.

Among them, the two older sons have already grown up, and are even a few years older than Wei Xuan.

At this time, he was leaning against the wall, looking at Wei Xuan and others with a vigilant and nervous look.

It can also be seen that these two guys have knives hidden behind their backs, ready to fight to the death at any time.

But Wei Xuan didn't care.

It's a good thing to be brave.

Then he said to the blacksmith, "Pack up your important things, take your family, and follow my army back to the northern border."

The blacksmith was even more dumbfounded when he heard this.

"What? Going to the Northern Frontier?"

"Why, why~"

He had heard of the northern border, where the winters were extremely cold, with no human habitation within dozens of miles. It was a desolate place with nothing at all.

The blacksmith really didn't want to give up his current life and run away to that hellhole in the northern border.

This is the imperial capital. If you own a blacksmith shop in the city, you are definitely middle class and live a well-off life.

But when he arrived in the northern border, what was he still?

"How can there be so many reasons?"

"When you go to the Northern Frontier, you can continue to be a blacksmith, and your family can live a stable life."

Wei Xuan said impatiently.

He didn't have the patience to explain to the blacksmith. After all, time was tight and he still had to capture other talents.

"Tonight, pack up your important things."

"Tomorrow morning, gather at the camp outside the city."

Wei Xuan shouted, and threatened before leaving: "Don't even think about escaping. Now everyone in and outside the city is ours."

"If I don't see you tomorrow~"

"Then your family~ hum~"

With that, Wei Xuan turned around and led his men away, heading to the next location.

This was also a blacksmith, but he was a Uighur.

When dealing with the Han people, Wei Xuan could be more polite and allow them one night to pack up their things.

But when faced with the Uighurs, he completely lost his patience.

He ordered the blacksmith and his family to be arrested, put a knife to their necks, and announced to them.

"From today on, your family will be slaves of my Northern Frontier."

"If you want to live, be obedient."

“Otherwise, I will send your entire family to Allah.”

Afterwards, Wei Xuan led his men to search the blacksmith shop, and packed up all the gold, silver, copper coins and other valuable items, as well as blacksmithing tools, finished swords, etc. and took them away.

From then on, the Uighur blacksmith and his family became slaves.

Although they were also slaves, their status and treatment were definitely much better than those of the Curry Army.

As long as he is honest and obedient, and forges enough ironware for the northern border, or has a technological breakthrough in some area.

It is entirely possible to become a free man again.

(End of this chapter)