The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 145: Golden State People Don’t Fight Golden State People
The Ili River winds down from the majestic Tianshan Mountains, passes through the Ili Valley, shuttles through the Seven Rivers Basin, and finally flows into Lake Balkhash in a mighty manner.

It was early summer now, and as usual, the glaciers had melted and the water level in the Ili River had begun to rise, reaching as high as a horse's back in some deep places.

However, this year the lower reaches of the Ili River present a completely different picture.

The height of the river had hardly changed significantly compared to when the Northern Frontier Army marched south to the royal court more than half a month ago.

This was simply because a dam had been quietly built at a narrow location in the river several dozen miles upstream.

This dam is like a solid barrier, blocking all the river water rushing from upstream.

And this is Li Sanhe's masterpiece.

After receiving the news that the central army was defeated and Xiao Simo was seriously injured, Li Xiao made a prompt decision and immediately sent Li Sanhe to lead a group of people to rush here secretly to start building a dam in order to provide cover for the retreat of his main force.

Since then, the river water upstream has begun to accumulate in large quantities, and the flow has become increasingly fierce and turbulent.

Li Sanhe had to lead everyone to reinforce the levee day and night to prevent the flood from discharging prematurely.

Fortunately, the long suffering finally came to an end.

That afternoon, Li Sanhe was in the river, extremely busy.

His face was tanned black by the scorching sun and his body was covered in mud. At this moment, he no longer looked like a captain of the Jinzhou Army. He looked like an old farmer working hard in the fields.

At this moment, a young soldier's excited shout suddenly came from not far away: "Wolf smoke!"

"The smoke is burning!"

"Qian Hu, there's a smoke signal downstream!"

Hearing this, Li Sanhe quickly turned his head and looked towards the western sky.

Sure enough, there was a billowing smoke rising from there.

A smile suddenly appeared on Li Sanhe's face and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"it is good!"

"Great!"

Li Sanhe laughed heartily, then waved his hand and shouted, "Little guys, retreat to the shore!"

"Today I'll show you what it means to be earth-shattering."

"Big Eagle, Little Five."

"You two are the best swimmers, so the task of digging the embankment will be given to you two."

"As ordered!"

The two young men responded decisively.

Afterwards, all the soldiers quickly retreated to the north bank, only Ma Daying and Xiao Wuzi stayed behind.

They selected a target, looked at each other, and then swung their hammers, digging hard again and again.

As the two men dug a gap, the river water that had been accumulating upstream for a long time seemed to find an outlet for release.

Like a wild beast that has escaped from its cage, it rushed madly towards the gap.

As the gap grew larger under the impact of the water, the two men tried their best to run towards the river bank.

In a flash, the entire dam collapsed completely under the impact of the surging water.

The roaring and surging Ili River, carrying endless power, swept toward the downstream like a wild horse.

"Hahahaha~"

Amid the roaring sound of the rushing river, Li Sanhe stood on the shore and laughed heartily.

"The pigs of the royal court."

"I'll give you a good bath today."

"Then let grandpa slaughter it and eat the meat."

At the same time, Wang Ting downstream had begun to cross the river.

The river was very shallow, just above the horses' knees.

The first to go into the water were the two thousand Kangli soldiers. They drove their horses, waded through the river, and slowly walked towards the other side.

However, before they reached the center of the river, they suddenly heard the sound of a bowstring.

"Fire arrows!"

Standing on the other side of the river were the Centurions of the Divine Arm Crossbow Squadron. This time they did not use the three-stage shooting tactic, but all lined up in a row on the shore.

Under Chen Laojiu's command, one hundred crossbows roared and shot towards the Kangli army.

"Ahhh~"

There were constant screams, war horses neighing, soldiers yelling, and a large number of soldiers fell into the river.

Soon, the river water was dyed red.

At the same time, other soldiers on the opposite bank also raised their bows and arrows, ready to wait for the Kangli cavalry to get closer so that they could shoot thousands of arrows at once.

Seeing this scene, Xiao Linta's face became even gloomier.

His eyes were blazing, and he roared angrily, "Damn it."

"It's the Divine Arm Crossbow Team under Li Xiao's command."

He knew that during the Naiman War, Li Xiao seized one hundred divine arm crossbows from the Naiman people, which were extremely powerful.

It can cause fatal damage to the target from three hundred meters away.

This made Xiao Linta quite wary.

"Suleiman Bey."

"The speed of the Kangli cavalry was completely restricted by the river water. They were just lambs to be slaughtered in the river."

"At present, the only ones who are not afraid of the rebels' arrows and crossbows are the Iqta cavalry." Xiao Linta turned his head and looked at Suleiman with a burning gaze.

But Suleiman frowned slightly when he heard this.

"Secretary Xiao, I'm afraid our Karakhanid army will find it difficult to resist these crossbows."

According to the previous agreement, the soldiers under Xiao Linta would charge in the front, and the army of the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate only needed to follow behind and reap the benefits.

But at this moment, Xiao Linta actually ordered the Iqta cavalry to cross the river and charge?
Are you kidding me?
These five hundred Iqta cavalrymen are the treasures of their Eastern Karakhanid Khanate.

Seeing this situation, Xiao Linta became even more furious. He had made such a promise, but the current situation did not allow it.

"Bey, you've seen the current situation."

"Whether it's the Kangli people or my cavalry, if they continue to cross the river, they will only die."

"The Iqta cavalry are heavily armored and are not afraid of ordinary bows and arrows. They only need to hold a shield in front of them to minimize the damage from the divine crossbow."

"It is entirely possible to cross the Ili River and break through the enemy lines."

Having said this, Xiao Linta's eyes narrowed, his voice became deeper, and he dismissed those around him.

"What's more, the rebels looted the imperial palace and the residences of many nobles."

"The gold, silver and treasures looted were worth no less than a million."

“So much money, right in front of me.”

"Aren't you tempted?"

Hearing this, Suleiman licked his lips slightly, his eyes rolled slightly, and his heart began to beat fast.

That was a treasure worth at least millions of gold dinars. If he only needed to embezzle a portion of it, he would enjoy endless wealth and glory for the rest of his life.

How could I not be tempted?

Although he didn't want the Iqta cavalry to take risks, he was more eager for this wealth.

And what Xiao Linta said was right. At the moment, except for the Iqta cavalry, other troops are no match.

"it is good!"

Suleiman gritted his teeth and said fiercely.

"After defeating the rebels, the credit will go to me."

"We'll split the treasure 40-60, you get 40 and I get 60."

Of course, not all the treasure, but the part of the treasure they embezzled, divided into 40% and 60%.

Most of them would definitely be handed over to Yelu Zhilugu.

Hearing this profit sharing ratio, Xiao Lin raised his eyelids.

It is said that the Uighurs are good at business and even better at calculations, and today he finally saw it.

What a bloody pit.

But there is no way, we still have to rely on Suleiman.

So, Xiao Linta's ferocious face was distorted, and he nodded heavily and said, "Okay."

"That's it."

Soon, five hundred Iqta cavalrymen, wrapped in heavy armor, held shields in front of them and urged their horses into the water.

The heavy sound of horse hooves stepped on the river, and they walked towards the other side step by step with difficulty.

Behind them were 3,000 light cavalry guards from the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate.

In order to defeat the rebels in one fell swoop, Xiao Linta ordered 3,000 Xiongbu Pi Shi troops to go out.

At this moment, there were nearly 8,000 royal court soldiers in the Ili River.

They dispersed and advanced slowly, almost filling up the entire river channel of several miles.

It was like a swarm of locusts, a dark mass that was extremely oppressive.

"Fire arrows!"

The Crossbow Centurion reloaded their arrows and fired again.

But this time, the ones walking in the front were five hundred armored cavalrymen.

They are as indestructible as five hundred tin cans.

Ordinary arrows shot into his body, making crackling sounds but causing no harm.

Even if the crossbow penetrated the shield and hit the armor, its power would be almost completely destroyed.

Only a few Iqta cavalrymen fell into the river.

"Damn it, the Iqta cavalry is coming."

Jiu Meng Anhe said angrily.

Seeing that the enemy had crossed the center of the river and was getting closer and closer to the north bank, the weapons of the Northern Frontier Army had limited damage to the Iqta cavalry.

This made Jiu Meng Anhe extremely anxious.

I couldn't help but look upstream.

At this moment, the originally calm river surface suddenly became covered with layers of huge waves.

Suddenly, bursts of low roars sounded, slowly covering up the chaos and noise on the battlefield.

The roar came from far away and got closer, like thousands of troops galloping towards us.

In a flash, the surging flood rushed towards us like a giant dragon with bared fangs and claws, carrying endless power.

Jiu Meng An He's face was filled with joy: "Here it comes!"

“The dam broke, hahahaha!”

"The sons of bitches in the royal court are doomed."

Who can resist the power of nature?
At the same time, the soldiers of Wang Ting's army, who sensed the abnormality of the river water, also looked around with puzzled expressions.

Suddenly, a royal soldier's eyes widened in horror, his finger trembling as he pointed in the direction of the flood, his voice sharp and piercing with fear.

"Oh my God, what is that?"

The other soldiers also turned their heads, and the blood instantly drained from their faces.

"Damn, that's a flood."

"The flood is coming, run quickly."

"That's too late."

"No~"

The soldiers stood there with their mouths wide open, frightened by this sudden natural disaster. Their screams were instantly drowned out by the roar of the flood.

The shouts, screams, and sounds of bows and crossbows on the battlefield came to an abrupt end.

Instead, there was a dead silence, with only the roar of the rushing flood echoing between heaven and earth.

In this huge change that seemed like a natural disaster, the soldiers of Wang Ting’s army came to their senses and became all in chaos, running desperately towards the banks of the Ili River.

However, the flood was so fast that many soldiers were swallowed up by the surging waves before they could run a few steps.

The flood hit them mercilessly, and many war horses were overturned by the waves, and the cavalry on their backs were also swept into the water.

The cavalrymen struggled desperately in the water, waving their hands wildly, trying to grab something to save their lives, but there was only surging water and floating debris around them.

Especially the 500 heavy cavalry, who have now become the most miserable existence.

Others can float after falling into the water, but they sank directly to the bottom of the river and could not move at all.

The Wang Ting army, which was originally a dark mass and extremely oppressive, now completely lost its previous prestige under the ravages of the flood, leaving only chaos and despair.

On the battlefield, only the roar of the flood and the desperate cries of the soldiers echoed for a long time.

On both sides of the Ili River, everyone was shocked by the scene before them.

But the mood is completely opposite.

Soon, cheers were heard from the Northern Frontier Army on the north bank.

Wang Tingjun committed so many evil things that even God couldn't stand it and wanted to take them away.

The faces of the prisoners were filled with despair.

Originally, they were waiting for Wang Ting's army to cross the river, and then join forces with him to completely encircle and annihilate the Northern Frontier Army.

But now, the dream is shattered.

They lost their only chance to save themselves.

From now on, everyone will become slaves of the Northern Frontier Army.

Unless you make great contributions, you will stay in the gold mountain and mine until you die.

On the other hand, Wang Ting’s army on the south bank was in chaos, especially Xiao Linta, who was sitting there in a daze while riding his warhorse.

His lips trembled slightly, his face was as pale as paper, and his whole body exuded a cold chill, as if he was in an ice cellar.

Looking at the flood, his eyes were filled with shock and despair, and he couldn't believe what he saw.

"How can this be?"

"No, no."

He kept shaking his head, his hands subconsciously gripping the reins, his knuckles turning white from the exertion.

"No way."

He seemed to be in a trance, muttering to himself over and over again, his voice full of helplessness and confusion.

On the side, Suleiman watched the flood ruthlessly engulf the 500 Iqta cavalry and 3,000 cavalry of the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate, and he was about to collapse.

The veins on his neck bulged instantly, and the muscles on his face twisted in extreme pain.

"No!"

"My cavalry, my brothers!"

Suleiman turned his head and looked at Xiao Linta with red eyes, breathing heavily in anger.

"They are all gone, all gone!" "How can I explain this to the Khan, how can I explain this to their families?"

"It's all you!"

Suleiman roared angrily, pointing at Xiao Linta and cursing, "If you hadn't let my soldiers cross the river."

"They won't die in this flood either."

"I want you to pay for their lives."

Suleiman was going crazy.

These 500 Iqta cavalry and 3,000 light cavalry are the elite of the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate.

Many of them are even children of aristocrats.

But now it has been destroyed by a flood, which not only caused serious damage to the Eastern Karakhanid Khanate, but more importantly, the families behind these soldiers will definitely not forgive Suleiman.

Even though he was the Khan's younger brother, he could not withstand the anger of so many nobles.

"What the hell are you crazy about?"

"piss off."

Amidst Suleiman's angry curses, Xiao Linta also came to his senses.

Before, there were Iqta cavalry, and Xiao Linta had to coax Suleiman.

Now that the Iqta cavalry is gone, how dare this bastard still be so arrogant in front of me?

Xiao Linta will not tolerate him anymore.

"We've fallen into a trap. This flood is definitely Li Xiao's conspiracy."

"Damn~"

Xiao Linta looked at the battlefield ravaged by the flood and cursed angrily.

The sounds of soldiers struggling and shouting in the river were endless, but he had no time to care about them.

He knew in his heart that the Northern Frontier Army would launch a fierce counterattack next.

"withdraw!"

Xiao Linta yelled at the top of his lungs: "Retreat quickly!"

He was preparing to escape from this nightmarish place with the two thousand Jinzhou soldiers who had not yet had time to enter the water.

The two thousand Jinzhou troops were his last political capital.

Suleiman behind him cursed Xiao Linta's ancestors for eighteen generations, but he was not a fool.

He knew that saving his life was the most important thing, and that he could not save those Iqta cavalrymen if he stayed here.

So, he gritted his teeth and reluctantly followed Xiao Linta to evacuate with his few remaining guards.

However, fate did not seem to let them off easily.

Just as they had walked a short distance, a low roar of war horses suddenly came from the distance, as if rumbling thunder was rolling in from the horizon.

"Boom boom boom~"

Everyone was like a frightened bird at this moment, their faces changed drastically.

Following the sound, I saw Li Xiao leading 3,000 cavalrymen rushing over like a steel torrent.

A thousand white-armored soldiers charged forward. The blood on their armor had long since dried up, but the bloody smell still filled their faces.

Although everyone looked dirty and messy, these white-armored soldiers still exuded a chilling aura in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Their eyes were cold and fierce, like a group of evil spirits returning from hell, and the spears in their hands flashed coldly in the sunset.

When Xiao Linta saw this scene, his heart sank to the bottom.

The soldiers around him also showed fear on their faces, and the weapons in many of their hands began to tremble slightly.

"What should we do, Governor?"

A general asked nervously. From the name, it was known that he was Xiao Linta's confidant in Jinzhou.

"Why panic!"

Xiao Linta shouted loudly: "Form a battle array and prepare to fight!"

Although his voice was still loud, he knew in his heart that their chances of winning against the aggressive Li Xiao troops were slim.

Suleiman next to him was extremely devastated at this moment.

"Damn it, it was those devils from last night."

"They're coming, we're done."

Suleiman seemed to be both wise and brave on a daily basis, but he had many common problems among the royal family generals.

When the wind is in their favor, each one is more powerful than the other.

But when a crisis occurs, the heart starts to panic.

In summary, the reason why Suleiman became the commander of this army was mainly because he was Karakhan's most trusted brother.

"Shut up!"

"If you dare to mislead the army again, I will kill you." Xiao Linta cursed Suleiman angrily.

"You~"

Suleiman's face turned as red as a pig's liver.

That bastard Xiao Linta, when he asked me for help before, he kept calling me "Little Sweetie".

Now that I have no capital left, even Mrs. Niu doesn't call me anymore, and she even wants to kill me?
The world is fickle and the law of the jungle is vividly demonstrated at this moment.

Xiao Linta's face was as gloomy as water. He watched Li Xiao's cavalry getting closer and closer, feeling unwilling.

"This Li Xiao is really haunting!"

Soon, three thousand cavalrymen were distributed in a fan shape, blocking Xiao Linta's army on the grassland.

Li Xiao pulled the reins, and the warhorse raised its front hooves high and let out a long neigh.

He looked down at Xiao Linta and others, his eyes full of indifference.

"Xiao Linta, Suleiman, you can't escape today!"

He shouted, his voice echoing across the grassland.

Looking at his old enemy, he was now triumphantly standing before him like a victor.

Xiao Linta's eyes blazed with fire, and he shouted loudly: "Li Xiao, don't be so complacent."

"Xiao Simo is dead."

"The main force of the rebels has been eliminated by the royal court."

"We will soon be able to razed the Northern Frontier. By then, the entire Golden State and the people behind you will be reduced to dust."

"It's not too late for you to mend your ways now."

"Give up resistance and follow me to see His Majesty Jurghan."

"I beg for forgiveness from His Majesty Jurghan, and perhaps I can even spare the lives of your family."

"Don't continue to be stubborn."

Xiao Linta shouted loudly, and still wanted to persuade Li Xiao to surrender.

As to whether Yelu Zhilugu would really pardon Li Xiao, it is not certain.

Just get through this first and save your own life first.

But Li Xiao didn't believe a word of his words.

He shouted angrily, "Shut up."

"You traitor."

"You are not qualified to mention Lord Xiao's name."

"Lord Xiao has been extremely kind to you, yet you betrayed him and became a lackey of the royal court."

"People like you deserve to be cut into pieces."

Hearing Li Xiao's words, Xiao Linta roared even more angrily: "Is your favor as heavy as a mountain?"

"Hahaha!"

"If Xiao Simo really cared about me, he wouldn't have let someone become the governor of Jinzhou."

"He is clearly afraid of me and on guard against me."

"Xiao Simo is a complete hypocrite."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiao snorted coldly and had no intention of clearing Xiao Simo's name.

The main thing is not to interrupt and waste time talking to Xiao Linta, this stray dog.

"It's no use talking more."

"Surrender, Xiao Linta, you can't escape today."

Xiao Lin angrily said, "Don't even think about it."

"Even if I die, I will never surrender to you, Li Xiao."

He knew that with what he had done, he would definitely be hated by Dongdu, and if he fell into Li Xiao's hands, he would be living a life worse than death.

It would be better to try again, maybe you can still escape.

He gripped the spear tightly in his hand and shouted to the surrounding Jinzhou soldiers: "Brothers, today we are fighting for our lives. Let's fight them to the death."

Xiao Linta shouted with great vigor, but there were very few people who responded, and they were all Xiao Linta's confidants.

More soldiers were in panic at this moment, and their morale was low.

Li Xiao, upon seeing this, sneered, "Xiao Linta, you are no longer popular, so you'd better surrender."

As he spoke, he shouted to the Jinzhou Army soldiers on the opposite side: "Brothers of the Jinzhou Army on the opposite side."

"I am Li Xiao, not your enemy."

"I came here today just to capture and kill Xiao Linta."

"It has nothing to do with you."

"Golden Staters don't fight Golden Staters."

"Lay down your weapons and surrender, and I promise to forgive you for what happened."

"I!"

"Li Xiao!"

"Take you home!"

While Li Xiao was shouting loudly, someone from the Jinzhou tribe beside him was translating and shouting.

The Jinzhou Army soldiers lost their composure when they heard this.

They had come a long way to attack the royal court, but because of Xiao Linta, they had to change sides.

At that time, what I was most worried about was whether my family far away in Jinzhou would be implicated by me.

Therefore, when Li Xiao shouted "Go home", many soldiers were deeply touched.

Who doesn't want to go home?
They no longer want to fight here and just want to go back to Golden State to be with their families.

What's more, if I still follow Xiao Linta now, wouldn't that be courting death?

So at this moment, these Jinzhou soldiers looked at each other and slowly put down their weapons.

Some people began to mutter, "Go home."

"Go home~"

Emotions are contagious, and more and more soldiers began shouting to go home.

They looked excited and thrilled, and shouted at the top of their lungs.

Soon, the shouts became one and resounded through the sky.

"go home!"

"go home!"

……

Xiao Linta, who saw this scene, was completely furious.

"Shut up, shut up."

His eyes were red, he was panting like a cow, and he waved his sword threateningly, directly hacking at two soldiers, but it was of no avail.

It even met with backlash from the soldiers.

"Xiao thief, you killed my father, today is the day for my revenge."

"Brothers, capture Xiao Linta and bring him to Governor Li for a reward."

A young soldier roared angrily with a ferocious look on his face.

He jumped off his horse and knocked Xiao Linta to the ground.

Among the eight thousand households in Jinzhou, five belong to Li Xiao, and Xiao Linta can only supervise three.

But even among these three thousand households, there was only one who truly obeyed orders unconditionally.

These are the thousands of households managed by Xiao Linta’s confidants.

The other two thousand-household armies, from the thousand-household army down to the ten-household army, were all people from nomadic tribes.

Although he obeyed Xiao Linta's orders, it was conditional.

Just like when the Kangli people attacked Xiao Simo’s central army at night.

At that time, Xiao Linta was planning to lead them to attack Xiao Simo's tent from behind and capture Xiao Simo directly.

However, the other two thousand soldiers did not listen to his orders at all and were unwilling to rebel with him.

In desperation, Xiao Linta had to give up his idea and leave the camp with these people.

After all, the situation was critical at the time. Although the two thousand-household soldiers were unwilling to betray Xiao Simo, they also did not want to die with Xiao Simo.

So he simply followed Xiao Linta and left.

But what they didn't expect was that Xiao Linta later liquidated the two thousand-household soldiers.

With Wang Tingjun as his support, he replaced the two thousand-household troops from top to bottom with his own people.

And those former thousand households and hundred households naturally became the souls killed by his sword.

So at this moment, when the situation was not favorable to Xiao Linta, the relatives and confidants of the thousand and hundred households were the first to attack Xiao Linta.

Several young soldiers rushed forward and pinned Xiao Linta to the ground.

His personal guards tried to rescue him, but were hacked to death by the surrounding soldiers.

As for Xiao Linta's confidants who served as thousand households and hundred households, they were also killed or captured by the soldiers.

A purge was launched from the bottom up within the Jinzhou Army.

This scene made Suleiman tremble and his face turned pale.

With a look of panic, he said to the guards beside him: "Surrender."

"We surrender too."

"Go tell Li Xiao that Ben Bey is Karakhan's younger brother~"

"Tell him not to misunderstand. Our Karakhanid Khanate was forced into a desperate situation and had no choice but to become an enemy of the Northern Frontier."

(End of this chapter)