The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 142: The Palace is Looted, Zhilugu is Furious

Hu Siwoerduo, the palace!
Following Li Xiao's orders, the Jinzhou Army poured into the Western Liao Palace like a tide.

This palace, a symbol of supreme power and glory, was instantly shrouded in fear and chaos.

The vermilion gate of the palace collapsed with a heavy crash, raising a cloud of dust.

Li Xiao took the lead, holding a cavalry sword and wearing white armor, with countless Jinzhou soldiers fighting like wolves and tigers behind him.

"Search me, don't leave any corner unsearched!"

His voice resounded like a huge bell throughout the palace square and echoed in every corner of the palace.

"As ordered!"

The Jinzhou soldiers behind him scattered like hungry wolves and rushed towards various palaces and pavilions.

The swords in their hands flashed coldly in the sunlight, and each of them had the attitude of a victor, ruthlessly breaking the tranquility of the palace.

"The rebels have entered the palace."

"The rebels have entered the palace."

The palace maids screamed in terror and fled in all directions, but were easily stopped by the soldiers.

The eunuchs collapsed to the ground, trembling, their usual majesty gone.

Li Xiao rode a warhorse and led a team of white-armored personal soldiers, walking slowly in the palace that was being looted.

He looked down at everything around him with an indifferent gaze.

Once upon a time, this palace was a symbol of the Western Liao imperial power and a place revered by countless people. But now, it was under his feet and dominated by him.

Next to him was a middle-aged man named Chen Chong.

He was the Secretary of the Central Secretariat of Western Liao and the second-in-command of the Secretariat. He helped the Minister of the Central Secretariat handle affairs, review imperial edicts, sign memorials, etc.

After Li Xiao led his troops into the city, he decisively surrendered.

"Master Li."

“The palace is mainly divided into four parts.”

"The hall directly across from us is where the court meets for meetings. However, because Yelu Zhilugu often goes out hunting, the hall is usually empty and is only used for important meetings."

"On the left and right sides of the main hall are the library, the craftsman's workshop, the imperial kitchen, the warehouse, etc."

"Further back is the harem, which I have never entered."

"In my opinion, many of the treasures in the palace should be hidden in the harem."

"Rumor has it that Emperor Renzong loved collecting and once built an underground secret room in his harem, which contained many treasures."

Emperor Renzong was the second emperor of Western Liao, Yelü Yilie.

He is well-known for his love of gold, silver, jewelry and all kinds of rare treasures.

Although Yelu Zhilugu must have taken away a number of treasures when he was hunting outside, there must be more left in the palace.

"Search!"

"Search every corner carefully."

"Interrogate all the old eunuchs and the palace maids and eunuchs in charge, and make sure to find the secret room." Li Xiao ordered in a deep voice.

Before this, Li Xiao had no intention of attacking the palace, he just sent troops to surround the palace.

Because this place is more sensitive.

It was impossible for him to make Xiao Simo unhappy just for the mere treasures in the palace.

Therefore, Li Xiao planned to wait for Xiao Simo to arrive and let him send someone to take over the palace personally.

But now it seems that Xiao Simo will have no chance of entering this palace.

Li Xiao was about to evacuate Hu Siwoerduo, so he naturally had no worries at this time.

Just rob it and move all the valuables such as gold, silver, jewelry, etc. back to Jinzhou.

Soon, a soldier shouted excitedly: "Found it, the entrance is here!"

After interrogating an old eunuch, the Jinzhou army quickly learned the location of the secret room, which was located under a rockery in the harem.

Li Xiao rushed over quickly upon hearing the sound and directly ordered the soldiers to force open the door of the secret room.

Afterwards, he only let his personal guards go in, and Li Xiao followed closely behind.

The secret room was dimly lit and filled with a faint musty smell.

But when the light of the torch shone into the secret room, everyone was stunned by the scene before them.

The secret room was filled with boxes and cabinets of treasures, which were dazzling to the eyes.

The sparkling gems, huge pearls, golden ingots and silver ingots sparkled brightly in the firelight, and each ingot was of great weight.

The pure white and delicate ivory is carved into various exquisite ornaments, and various kinds of jade and jade exude a warm luster.

There are also many gold dinars lying quietly in a box in the corner. After years of wear and tear, they are still shining brightly.

The most mysterious ones are undoubtedly the three night pearls.

They were placed in a specially made brocade box, emitting a cold light, and even in this secret room lit by torches, they could still attract everyone's attention.

When Li Xiao saw this scene, his pupils gradually widened.

Of course, there was also something that made him laugh and cry, which was a row of shiny things placed on the cabinet.

"Is this Liuli?"

Li Xiao picked up a piece of lifelike glass and looked at it carefully.

Isn’t this just glass that has not been cleaned of impurities?

In this era, it is regarded as a priceless treasure.

Li Xiao was left in a state of confusion.

When I open my own glass shop in Jinzhou in the future, I can have as much of this stuff as I want.

No, things are valuable because they are rare.

Start with less and make it prettier.

They were sold at exorbitant prices to the wealthy people in Central China and Central Asia.

The Indian turtles should like it too.

"Why is it so empty over there?"

"The contents were taken away?"

After Li Xiao came to his senses, he focused his attention on the other two empty rooms.

It can be clearly seen that there are some footprints and box marks on the ground.

It was supposed to be filled with gold, silver and jewelry, but it was taken away not long ago.

The one who responded to Li Xiao was an old eunuch in his fifties, whose body was covered in blood and had just been tortured.

Obviously, the old eunuch was not a tough guy, and he confessed everything after a simple interrogation.

As the deputy chief steward of the harem, his most important task on weekdays is to guard the secret room.

In order to open the secret room, one must get the order from Yelu Zhilugu, and two other old eunuchs must be present at the same time.

Therefore, no one knew the situation inside the secret room better than the old eunuch.

"Yes~"

"Your Majesty has spent a lot over the years, frequently withdrawing gold and silver from this treasury."

"There is another part that His Majesty gave to His Highness Wusitu as a gift a month ago." The old eunuch said in a trembling voice.

Li Xiao's face immediately darkened.

Yelu Zhilugu needed the Kangli people and the Iqta cavalry to help him quell the rebellion, but the money in the national treasury had been almost squandered by him on a daily basis.

Therefore, even the money in the royal private treasury was squandered by him.

So by now, two-thirds of the entire secret room has been emptied.

Li Xiao's heart was bleeding, this was money that should have belonged to him.

"Yelü bastard!" Li Xiao cursed angrily.

But I have to say that there is a lot of money in the royal private treasury.

Even though most of them were used by Yelu Zhilugu, the remaining number was still astonishing.

"How much money is here?" Li Xiao asked.

He also added: "All converted into gold."

The old eunuch pondered for a moment, then said uncertainly, "There are probably three hundred thousand taels left."

Three hundred thousand taels of gold is really a lot!

"The Yelu family has really thick blood." Li Xiao said with a sigh, feeling slightly envious.

Over the past decade, Yelu Zhilugu has been indulging in pleasure and must have wasted a lot of money.

But even so, there are still more than 300,000 taels of gold left, which is enough to show how rich the family fortune accumulated by four generations of the Yelu family is.

Especially the first generation Yelu Dashi, when he marched westward to Central Asia, he must have raided the treasuries of many countries.

Now, at least Li Xiao can still drink some soup.

"Seal all these gold and jewelry." Li Xiao ordered in a deep voice.

Then he looked at Dahu and said, "Dahu, you must personally lead people to guard this batch of gold. No accidents can happen."

Da Hu nodded heavily, showing a fierce expression and said, "Brother, don't worry."

"Even when I sleep, I sleep on top of these boxes."

Li Xiao nodded slightly, and then asked the soldiers to carry the boxes out one by one.

All loaded onto trucks and transported to the military camp.

As for those glasswares, Li Xiao didn't take them seriously at all. They would take up too much space if he brought them back to Jinzhou.

But it can also be recycled.

So it was given as a reward to the Beihai generals under Jiumeng Anhe and the leaders of the Qihe tribe.

He gained a lot of goodwill and made these people grateful to Li Xiao.

Of course, Li Xiao would not forget the generals in the Jinzhou Army.

Don't favor one over the other.

I don't consider it a treasure, but others treasure it very much.

Li Xiao took out three night pearls separately.

But he did not keep it himself, but gave it to his personal guards for safekeeping.

Still remember, Li Xiao had seen some rumors in his previous life.

The reason why the night pearl glows is because it is mixed with some radioactive elements.

Although he didn't know whether it was true or not, Li Xiao was a little scared of this thing.

"They are just a few broken stones. I, Li Xiao, don't care about them."

"Playthings will ruin your ambition." Li Xiao said secretly in his heart.

Whoever wants it can give it away.

Wait until we get back to Dongdu and see if Xiao Simo likes this thing.

The looting of other palaces and pavilions continued.

The Jinzhou soldiers rummaged through the boxes and cabinets wantonly, taking out every precious item in the palace.

Precious calligraphy and paintings were piled up on the ground casually, exquisite porcelain was smashed to pieces, and gorgeous silk bedding was thrown on the cart casually.

The soldiers even overturned the emperor's throne. The entire palace fell into chaos and looting, and the former solemnity and sacredness were no longer there.

At the same time, all the people in the palace were driven to the square in front of the main hall, there were hundreds of people.

This number is much smaller than that of the imperial palace in the Central Plains, but it is mainly because Yelu Zhilugu went out hunting and took a considerable number of people with him.

These people were divided into two groups. The palace maids were gathered together, hugging each other and crying in fear, while the eunuchs knelt beside them, not daring to make a sound.

There were also some soldiers guarding the palace whose weapons were confiscated and they knelt on the ground, not daring to move.

The most eye-catching thing was the dozen or so women and children dressed in gorgeous clothes.

After the old eunuch's explanation, Li Xiao knew that these women were all Yelu Zhilugu's concubines.

However, most of them were out-of-date and unfavored concubines who were sent to stay in the palace.

Those who were truly favored were always kept by Yelu Zhilugu's side.

Li Xiao rode his warhorse and slowly passed by these women. He saw a concubine who was about thirty years old. She was trembling but hugging the young princess tightly, tears welling up in her eyes.

I also saw a concubine who was about forty years old. She was holding Buddhist beads, clasping her hands together, and silently reciting Buddhist scriptures.

The vast majority of Khitans still retain their faith in Buddhism.

"I remember that the pseudo-Khan Yelu Zhilugu had a daughter named Princess Hunhu."

"Are you here?"

Li Xiao turned his head slightly, looked at Chen Chong and asked.

The Secretary of the Central Secretariat is actually equivalent to the deputy secretary-general of the emperor.

It not only helps the emperor handle government affairs, but also involves some private matters.

Upon hearing this, Chen Chong immediately replied, "Princess Hunhu is the pseudo-Khan's most beloved daughter. She is only eight years old this year and has always been by his side."

Li Xiao heard this and thought it was a pity.

I also want to see how beautiful the famous Princess Hunhu is.

But think about it, she is only eight years old this year.

I just feel that it’s not too late to wait and see each other again in a few years.

"What about these?"

"Are they all daughters of the pseudo-Khan?"

Li Xiao looked at the five girls in front of him, each of them snuggling up to their mother.

The youngest was only five or six years old, and the oldest was about fourteen or fifteen years old.

The older ones have already married.

"That's right, these are all princesses of the pseudo-Khan." Chen Chong nodded.

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Xiao saw one of the princesses glaring at Chen Chong.

"You bastard Chen Chong, you are a treacherous traitor who betrays his master for personal gain."

"My father has treated you with kindness, as great as a mountain. He has bestowed upon you wealth and honor, and promised you a high position and generous salary. Yet, you have betrayed your conscience and done such a treasonous act, even worse than that of pigs and dogs. You truly are unworthy of wearing the human skin."

The princess's eyes were wide open, her eyebrows were raised, her face was full of anger, her voice was like a scolding, and her eyes seemed to be spewing fire.

"You are such a disloyal and unrighteous person, no different from that traitor. One day you will be punished by heaven, and your soul will be sent to the Avici Hell, where you will suffer all kinds of torment and will never be able to be reborn."

"Today, you have aided and abetted the evil, inviting the wolf into your home, bringing shame to my royal family and destroying my country. How can you still have the dignity to stand in this world?"

"If our ancestors of the Liao Dynasty are still alive, they will not let a traitor like you off lightly!"

Her chest heaved violently, her hands were clenched into fists, her nails almost digging into her palms, and her body trembled slightly, revealing her anger and unwillingness.

Listening to her angry curses, Chen Chong's face turned as red as liver, and her chest heaved violently with anger.

"You, you, you~" He pointed at the girl and almost fainted.

But thinking that Li Xiao was right next to her, she had to suppress her anger and didn't dare to lose her temper easily.

The more I think about it, the angrier I get.

Li Xiao watched the scene with great interest, narrowing his eyes slightly and looking at the princess with an angry face with interest.

"Interesting. As expected of a Liao princess, she's quite courageous."

Li Xiao chuckled and spoke, his voice neither too loud nor too low, with a hint of nonchalance.

"However, times have changed. No matter how much you curse, you can't change the established situation."

When the princess saw Li Xiao speak, she was not afraid at all. Instead, she turned her angry gaze towards him, her eyes full of contempt and disdain.

"You thief, you are just relying on your temporary force to commit such robbery."

"Although the Liao Dynasty has suffered a temporary setback, justice will prevail, and the world will have its own public opinion. The evil you sow today will surely be repaid in the future!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiao just shook his head slightly. The smile on his face remained unchanged, but it became a little colder.

"Public opinion?"

"In this world, only the strong are qualified to make fair judgments."

"If you were more sensible and obedient, I might be able to spare your life. Otherwise..."

"I don't mind sending you to the military camp to be ravaged by countless soldiers."

After hearing what Li Xiao said, the girl's body trembled slightly, and she gritted her teeth and shouted, "You dare?"

"Xiao Simo is my cousin."

"Aren't you afraid of his punishment?"

Girls are smart and know how to use their strengths.

Li Xiao had to admit that he was just trying to scare her.

Xiao Simo and Yelu Zhilugu were almost fighting each other, but they were still a family after all.

We are all relatives, even if our bones are broken, we are still connected by tendons.

This grand Jingnan Campaign was actually just a family dispute.

Li Xiao could attack anyone else, but when facing people from the Yelu family, he was more cautious.

"Hehehe~"

Li Xiao smiled.

The look he gave the girl was even more interesting.

"You're right. It's not a good idea to let the soldiers ravage you."

"Then let me come in person."

As he spoke, a hint of amusement appeared on Li Xiao's lips: "Come to my tent tonight and sleep with me."

"Later, I will ask Lord Xiao to give you to me as my concubine."

"When that time comes, you will be at my mercy."

"Hahaha~"

Having said that, Li Xiao laughed and turned away.

"You bastard."

"Shameless bastard, even if I die, I will never let you succeed."

The girl was so frightened that her face turned pale, but she forced herself to remain calm and cursed.

But Li Xiao had already walked away. Riding on his horse, he listened to the girl's angry scolding, shook his head and smiled gently, "What a little hot pepper."

"By the way, what's her name?"

Chen Chong immediately said, "This is the Princess of Zheng State, her name is Yelu Jin."

Hearing this, Li Xiao turned his head with a little surprise.

During this period of time, Li Xiao has been learning Khitan language with Xiao Yanyan and has made great progress, and can now communicate in simple terms.

"Jin" means tenacious vitality and perseverance in Khitan language.

What really puzzled Li Xiao was the title of Princess Zheng.

"Who is her mother?"

"The late queen interrogated Mi." Chen Chong said with her head slightly lowered.

Li Xiao suddenly understood. No wonder Yelu Jin was named Princess of Zheng State!

The titles of princesses in the Liao Dynasty adopted the names of ancient Chinese countries.

For example, Yelü Abaoji's daughter, the Princess of Yan.

The daughter of Emperor Tianzuo of Liao, she was granted the title of Princess of Shu.

There is also Xiao Yanyan, the princess of Chu.

However, not all princesses can use their country as their title; their mother's family must be of noble origin.

For example, Princess Hunhu, Yelu Zhilugu's most beloved daughter, did not have a high status and could not be given the title of a country because her mother was from a Turkic tribe and was not a pure Khitan.

It was useless no matter how much Yelu Zhilugu loved her.

On the other hand, Yelu Jin's mother, Shen Mi, was chosen by Yelu Pusuwan.

Therefore, this daughter was not liked by Yelu Zhilugu.

But no matter how much she disliked him, Yelu Jin was still a legitimate princess of the country.

Her status is much higher than Princess Hunhu.

After learning the girl's name, Li Xiao didn't say much, but just ordered his men: "Take good care of her."

As for asking her to sleep with him, it was just to scare her.

Li Xiao has always taken Lan Yu as a warning and would never be too arrogant at such times.

Only after Li Xiao left did the women in the square breathe a sigh of relief.

A younger princess threw herself into Yelu Jin's arms, crying, "Sister, what should I do?"

"You're going to be dragged to bed by that bad guy, woo woo."

"He's so scary."

Yelu Jin gritted his teeth when he thought of Li Xiao.

He is about the same age as me, but he is so hateful.

"Don't worry, I won't let him succeed."

"If that bastard dares to mess around, I will bite him to death." Yelu Jin said viciously, grinding his fangs.

……

To the north of Black Stone Mountain, Wang Ting's army and Dongdu's army fought for more than ten days, and finally gained a strategic advantage over Dongdu's army step by step.

Inside the tent, the atmosphere was somewhat relaxed.

Yelu Zhilugu was wearing a fur coat, with a big belly and standing in the middle with his hands behind his back.

Looking at the room full of generals, he nodded with satisfaction.

"Everyone, according to the information from the spies, Xiao Simo is very likely dying."

When the generals heard this, they immediately showed an expression of disbelief, and then became excited.

"really?"

"Your Majesty, that scoundrel Xiao Simo has finally met his end!"

Xiao Linta's face was full of joy, and he couldn't help but ask loudly, with excitement flashing in his eyes.

Listening to Xiao Linta's words, the generals in the tent remained calm on the surface, but there was a hint of disdain in the depths of their eyes.

No matter when or what position, traitors are the most despised.

If he can betray Xiao Simo today, will he betray Wang Ting tomorrow?

It can be said that the moment Xiao Linta decided to betray, his embarrassing status in the royal court was doomed.

Yelu Zhilugu nodded slightly, a smug smile appearing on his face.

"It's true."

"According to reliable sources, Xiao Simo was shot by several arrows and contracted a serious illness. He is now dying."

He paced slowly, his eyes scanning every general in the tent, his voice filled with unconcealable joy.

"Hahahaha, God is really helping our Liao Dynasty."

"Once Xiao Simo dies, the rebels will be leaderless and will become a loose sand. Our army can easily annihilate them in one fell swoop."

Tayanggu laughed loudly and clenched his fists, as if he had seen the dawn of victory.

The others were also talking to each other happily, as if victory was already in sight.

Yelu Zhilugu also nodded with a smile on his face: "Not bad."

"Once Xiao Simo is dead, the rebels have lost their backbone, and our army no longer has to worry about anything."

"And all this is thanks to General Xiao's plan."

"Otherwise, how could we have so easily severely injured Xiao Simo?"

Hearing this, the generals nodded and said, "Yes, yes, it's all thanks to General Xiao."

"General Xiao is indeed Xiao Simo's trusted and beloved general. He is completely defenseless against General Xiao. Otherwise, how could he have planted a spy next to Xiao Simo so easily?"

"It's extreme, it's extreme."

"General Xiao is truly loyal and brave."

Listening to the generals' compliments, Xiao Linta's face was very unnatural. How could he not hear their ridicule? But he couldn't get angry.

These people looked down on Xiao Linta, not only because of his character, but also because Xiao Linta came to the royal court and would seize the interests of the royal court generals.

Not long ago, Yelu Zhilugu had appointed Xiao Linta as the deputy envoy of the Northern Privy Council.

This is the second most powerful figure in the military.

Yelu Zhilugu spent a lot of money to attract more rebel generals to join him.

However, Xiao Linta's treatment also made the original generals of the royal court jealous.

There was a sense of being excluded.

"General Xiao is naturally loyal to me and is also extremely brave."

"I believe that with the help of General Xiao, our royal army will be able to defeat the rebels and recapture the northern border." Yelu Zhilugu came to the rescue of Xiao Linta.

Upon hearing this, all the generals nodded.

"Yes! Your Majesty is wise!"

"Also, immediately spread the news of Xiao Simo's death to the rebel camp to shake their morale!" Yelu Zhilugu added, with a cold and evil smile in his eyes.

"According to the order."

Just as the generals were discussing how to make a concerted effort to defeat the Dongdu army.

A personal soldier shouted and rushed into the tent in a panic.

"Report..."

The personal soldier walked into the tent, knelt on one knee, his voice trembling slightly with nervousness.

Yelu Zhilugu turned around suddenly, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes.

"Why are you so panicked?"

"Your Majesty, something is wrong."

"Husiwoerduo has been breached, and the rebels have entered the city."

The messenger lowered his head and did not dare to look directly into Yelu Zhilugu's eyes.

The moment he heard this, Yelu Zhilugu felt a rush of blood to his forehead, the muscles on his face twisted instantly, his eyes widened, as if he wanted to eat the messenger alive.

"What did you say? Say it again."

His voice exploded in the tent like thunder, causing pain in everyone's eardrums.

"Husiwoerduo...has been breached by the rebels."

The messenger's voice grew weaker and weaker, and his body trembled.

"Ah~"

Yelu Zhilugu was furious and overturned the table in front of him to the ground.

The things on top fell to the ground with a clatter.

"How dare these damned traitors be so bold as to attack my capital while my main force is away."

His hands were clenched into fists, his knuckles turned white, and veins bulged on his forehead like angry earthworms.

"Where's Daiga Hudaan?"

"where is he?"

"I entrusted him with the important task of protecting the imperial capital, and this is how he repays me?"

Yelu Zhilugu roared angrily.

"Lord Daha has died in battle." The personal soldier said in a low voice.

When Yelu Zhilugu heard this, his anger froze instantly. After all, it was impossible to blame a person who was responsible and loyal.

He could only vent his anger on Xiao Simo and Li Xiao.

Of course he knew that Li Xiao's left-wing army had bypassed the southern highlands and arrived at the Hala Mountains where Hu Siwoerduo was located.

But I didn't take it seriously at all.

In his opinion, the walls of Husiwoerduo were tall and there were veteran generals like Dahahudaan guarding it.

It would be impossible for Li Xiao to capture the capital in a short period of time.

But no one expected that the imperial capital would fall in just a few days.

Where is the palace?
What about the concubines and daughters he left in the palace?
What about the gold, silver and jewelry he hid in the palace?

Thinking of this, Yelu Zhilugu almost went crazy.

"Ah~"

"Li Xiao, you damn bastard."

"Humble Han slave."

"I will kill all nine of his clans."

At this time, Xiao Linta, who was about to make a contribution and increase his presence, immediately stood up.

"His Majesty."

"I request your permission to lead the army to Husiwoerduo and annihilate Li Xiao's troops."

"Capture and kill the scoundrel Li Xiao and present him to Your Majesty."

(End of this chapter)