The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 16 Amazing Result: Nineteen Heads

After more than half an hour, the people in Hexi Fort finally cleaned up the battlefield.

Weapons, arrows, war horses, dried meat and food were all taken away, and all the clothes of both the Karluk and Khitan people were stripped off and taken away.

Then they would use knives to cut open their stomachs and chests, and it wouldn't be long before their bodies were eaten by wolves and vultures.

Sky burial!

Afterwards, Li Xiao and Li Dashan ran to the old man and reported:
"Uncle, we just collected a total of 153 horses. 126 of them are intact, and 21 are injured but still able to move."

"In addition, there are more than 130 spearheads, 84 scimitars, 92 longbows, and more than 800 arrows."

"There aren't many gold, silver, or copper coins, only about seventeen or eighteen strings of cash."

"And then there are some individual daggers, bone flowers, axes, etc."

In this battle, Hexi Fort reaped a rich harvest. Not only the spoils of the Qarluk people, but also the weapons and horses of the dead Khitans were all taken into its pocket.

Among these spoils, the most valuable items, apart from the more than one hundred horses, were the more than ninety longbows.

When nomading on the grassland, bows and arrows are the most indispensable items, but not everyone is qualified and capable of wearing them.

Many low-level herdsmen can only use a spear as a weapon.

This is mainly because it is rather difficult to make a qualified longbow. It requires birch, ox horns, tendons, etc. of sufficient age as raw materials, and can only be made by experienced craftsmen.

Therefore, every longbow can be a family heirloom in a nomadic family.

A very important reason why we were able to harvest more than 90 longbows this time was that both the fleeing Khitans and the pursuing Qarlugs were the elite of their respective tribes.

The weapons used are relatively sophisticated, with a high proportion of bows and arrows.

But in the end, these were still a benefit to Hexi Fort.

"We'll take the intact horses back, and we'll slaughter the injured and dead horses and make jerky out of them."

"Weapons, copper coins and other things will be divided according to the number of enemies killed." The old man said in a deep voice while sitting on the stone.

Distribution according to merit is also the consistent rule of Hexi Fort, and no one has said anything about it.

However, Li Xiao has some ideas about these horses.

"Grandpa, I suggest that both the horses seized this time and the original horses in Hexi Fort should be properly managed in the future."

The old man and Li Dashan were both confused when they heard this.

Li Xiao explained: "Since the Han Dynasty, the Central Plains dynasties have had horse policies, which are about studying how to reproduce horses and how to raise them well."

"We should also pay attention to it."

"Separate the stallions and mares and don't let them mate freely."

"Select those stallions that are tall, powerful, strong, have good endurance, and are not prone to illness, and let these stallions be responsible for mating with the mares."

"Offspring born this way will be stronger and less susceptible to illness."

"When the foals grow up, we'll breed them in the same way again. Repeat this cycle, and our Hexi Fort's war horses will become stronger and stronger."

During this era, most nomadic peoples had no awareness of breeding superior horse breeds, but instead allowed stallions and mares to mate freely.

As long as they can give birth to foals, good horses can be used for fighting and bad horses can be used for work. It’s that simple.

The reason is that there is no shortage of horses on the grassland.

With large-scale breeding, many good horses can be produced.

However, few people know that this laissez-faire breeding method will only make the horses' genes more complex and gradually reduce the overall quality of the horse herd.

Li Xiao had noticed this problem before, so he took the opportunity to put forward his ideas to the old man.

After listening to Li Xiao's explanation, the old man and Li Dashan also understood that this was just choosing a fixed stallion for breeding!
"What about the other stallions?" Li Dashan asked with a click of his tongue.

"What else can we do? We can keep them or castrate them, but at least we can't let them harm the mares." Li Xiao shrugged and said.

Survival of the fittest is the law of nature.

Just like humans, handsome, rich, and powerful men all represent high-quality men, and naturally have the right to choose a mate first, or even the right to choose a mate universally.

Horses that grow tall and strong also have more chances of leaving behind offspring.

"Well~ I feel sorry for those guys." Li Dashan shook his head and said.

He just felt that those guys who were not chosen to be studs were really pitiful.

Not only do they live at the bottom of the horse herd, they also work hard all their lives, their labor is exploited by their masters, and they are even sent directly to the battlefield to become artillery fire.

In the end, they don't even have the right to leave offspring. They are not allowed to touch a mare, and in order to make it concentrate on its work, it may be castrated.

On the other hand, those strong horses may do nothing all their lives, but their owners use the resources earned by the hard work of those inferior horses to take good care of them and feed them.

There are all kinds of fillies to choose from, it’s a real winner among horses!
"That's the way of nature. Only the strong can survive and do whatever they want."

"And the weak don't even have the right to speak." Li Xiao shook his head and revealed the truth of the world without exaggeration.

Li Dashan shook his head. Although it felt cruel, his twenty years of life experience told him that what Li Xiao said was right.

The old man nodded slightly and looked at Li Xiao with admiration. He had never expected that his eldest grandson, despite his young age, had such a thorough understanding of life and the world.

"Okay, Dalong, I'll do as you say."

"Grandpa is old, and Hexi Fort will be handed over to you from now on." The old man said with a chuckle.

Before, he thought his grandson was too young and needed time to grow up.

But now it seems that Li Xiao's growth rate has exceeded his imagination.

The old man can now be completely relieved.

"Let's go~"

"Go back to the village~" the old man called out loudly to the villagers in the distance, jumped on his horse, and slowly walked towards Hexi Fort.

Li Dashan smiled lightly and understood what the old man meant.

He patted Li Xiao's shoulder and said, "Dalong, we are at ease leaving Hexi Fort to you."

“But remember not to be impulsive.”

"You are still young, we will have plenty of opportunities in the future."

After saying that, Li Dashan jumped on his horse neatly and quickly chased after the main force.

Li Xiao looked at the many villagers in front of him. They were old, young, and less than half of them were young and strong.

Li Xiao did not feel any joy in his heart, but instead felt a heavy pressure.

He sighed and said, "Responsibility!"

……

After returning to Hexi Fort, everyone did not go home immediately, but gathered at the entrance of the village for a meeting.

"Chen Erqiang, for killing three enemies, you were given four war horses, three scimitars, three longbows, two sets of leather armor, a pair of bone daggers, and six hundred copper coins."

"Liu Daba'e, for killing two enemies, you were given three warhorses, two scimitars, two longbows, a set of leather armor, a dagger, and four hundred copper coins."

"Wang Maizi, kill two enemies..."

In the open space at the entrance of the village, Li Dashan stood on a big rock, holding a roll of straw paper in his hand, and read loudly to everyone.

This is a commendation meeting, but also a meeting to divide the spoils.

Show everyone the results of each battle, and distribute the spoils in front of everyone to ensure fairness and justice so that the villagers will not have any complaints.

Most of the names that Li Dashan read out at the beginning, including his own, had two or three battle achievements.

This is mainly because these people were the first to encounter the Karluk people.

There were eighteen people in total. After two battles, it was normal for them to kill two or three Qarlug people one after another.

The results of the battles that followed were relatively ordinary.

When hunting down the Qarluk people, those with outstanding archery skills were able to achieve one or two victories.

But when they actually surrounded and killed the Karluks, it took only two or three people working together to kill one Karluk.

There was no way, there were too few Karluk people and not enough to go around.

Therefore, the spoils should be shared among several people.

As for how to divide a horse or a knife, they have to discuss it among themselves.

Of course, there are exceptions.

When Li Dashan called out a person's name, the villagers fell silent instantly.

"Second Uncle Liu, for killing three enemies, you will be rewarded with four war horses, three scimitars, three longbows, two sets of leather armor, a pair of bone daggers, and six hundred copper coins."

As the words fell, a heavy expression appeared on everyone's face, and their eyes unconsciously looked towards a yard in the distance.

I could still faintly hear crying in the yard.

Uncle Liu was the only person from Hexi Fort who died in this battle.

Although he arrived at the battlefield later with the old man, Old Liu was fighting with his life for his life in order to avenge his son.

By killing three Qarlugs, he earned back his money for himself and his son.

Nowadays, there are only a few orphans and widows left in the Liu family, and the villagers will definitely help them whenever they can in the future.

After reading out the names of everyone including the old man and Li Dashan, Li Xiao's name finally appeared.

"Li Dalong, killed nineteen enemies..."

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole place fell silent, and everyone subconsciously opened their eyes wide.

An expression of shock and horror appeared on everyone's face, and they involuntarily gasped.

Shock filled everyone in Hexi Fort. After the silence, there was a low roar, as if there were millions of mosquitoes buzzing around.

The villagers shared their shock with those around them.

"Nineteen. Dalong actually killed nineteen Karluks?"

"I knew Dalong had killed many Karluks, but I didn't expect so many!"

"Nineteen cavalrymen can kill a century of infantry."

"Is this Dalong's first time on the battlefield?"

"Back when our fathers were on the Western Expedition, two heads were enough to get a promotion. Dalong actually got nineteen?"

"I've lived this long, and even veterans, let alone those who are going to the battlefield for the first time, have never seen anyone kill 19 people in one go."

……

At this moment, everyone in Hexi Fort was in an uproar, all shocked by Li Xiao's amazing results.

Moreover, they all knew that these Qarlug people were killed by Li Xiao in front of others. There was no exaggeration at all, and there was no false reporting of the results of the battle.

Li Xiao actually killed nineteen Karluk people.

At this moment, everyone turned their eyes to the young man standing in the middle of the field.

Adoration, awe, excitement...

(End of this chapter)