The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 162: The First Expedition to Xixia, Yumen Pass
The desert is solitary and straight, and the long river falls into the sun.

The desert is like a golden sea of desolation, stretching to the horizon with no end in sight.

The setting sun hangs in the western sky, unrestrainedly pouring out its last rays of light. Although magnificent, it also reveals endless desolation.

The strong wind whistled past, carrying yellow sand all over the sky and making a miserable "woooo" roar.

In this vast and monotonous sea of sand, two thin figures are riding horses along the Silk Road.

They were thin and ragged. Their worn clothes were covered with patches and dust, soaked with sweat and then dried, clinging tightly to their thin bodies.

"Brother, they are catching up."

A boy with a slightly childish face said in a hoarse voice.

Looking back, a few hundred meters away, they saw a dozen Tangut cavalrymen slowly approaching them.

"Hold on a little longer. It's getting dark. We can hide in the desert and they won't be able to find us."

Yang Shouzheng said in a low voice.

Due to long-term heavy labor and lack of food, their bodies are weak and have reached their limit.

What's even more terrifying is that the war horses under them have also reached their limit after running all day.

The two brothers could only stab the horse's back with a dagger to stimulate the warhorse to walk faster.

His younger brother, Yang Shoujing, suddenly laughed, blood oozing from his cracked lips: "Remember the Lantern Festival that year?"

"Dad took us to visit Xingqing Prefecture, and you fell in front of the sugar painting stall."

Yang Shouzheng immediately scolded: "Save your energy."

He naturally understood what his brother meant. This was his final farewell.

This time they are in a life-and-death crisis.

Even if they could escape the pursuers, the temperature in the desert at night was extremely low, and they didn't know if they could survive until tomorrow morning without enough food and clothing.

So, my younger brother wanted to stay behind to cover our retreat.

"Brother, I can't do it anymore. Go quickly and I'll hold them off."

Yang Shoujing said, his hand tightly grasping the hilt of the knife, his young face full of ferocity.

"Bastard, none of us can die until our great revenge is taken." Yang Shouzheng roared angrily.

At this time, the pursuers behind were getting closer and closer, and they could even see each other's faces clearly.

"Yang Shouzheng, you can't escape." A Dangxiang general shouted loudly.

Yang Shouzheng recognized him. His name was Wu Mijin and he was the chief supervisor of the criminal slave camp.

Moreover, this person was once his father's subordinate, but because he violated military regulations and was severely punished by his father, he began to bear a grudge against him.

Afterwards, the Yang family was convicted, the father was killed, and all the male members were exiled to Dunhuang.

The Yang brothers fell into the hands of this man and were always controlled by him.

But not long ago, their youngest brother, a ten-year-old boy, was beaten to death for stealing.

The two brothers could no longer suppress their anger and decided to escape.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to repair the city wall at Yumen Pass, he killed the guards, seized two war horses, and fled all the way west, waiting for an opportunity to take revenge in the future.

But Wu Miqin led his men to chase them relentlessly, determined to kill them.

"Wumijin, even if I die, I will take you with me." Yang Shouzheng lay on the horse's back, dodging the arrows from behind, and roared angrily.

"Hahaha, Yang Shouzheng, you're just like your damn father, your whole body is just a tough mouth."

"Once I catch you, I will smash your mouth." Wu Miqin laughed.

The Dangxiang cavalry were in hot pursuit, each of them riding two or even three horses, so they were very fast.

However, the horses ridden by Yang Shouzheng and his brothers were exhausted because they had not had rest for a long time.

"Second brother, I'm afraid we can't escape. These bastards are chasing us too closely." Yang Shouzheng smiled bitterly.

Yang Shoujing gritted his teeth, his eyes full of determination: "Brother, at worst we can fight them, but we can't let ourselves be captured like this."

"Even if I die, I'll take a few Dangxiang bastards with me."

The Yang family was originally a prominent family in Western Xia, and their father was also a brave general who had made great military achievements for the court.

Last year, the Tibetans went north to plunder, and the Western Xia army responded hastily.

However, the commander made many stupid moves on the battlefield and made serious mistakes in command, which resulted in heavy losses for the Western Xia army.

After the war, in order to appease public anger, the commander-in-chief, relying on his kinship with the queen, pushed all the blame for the defeat onto the deputy general, the father of the Yang brothers.

As a result, their father was unjustly killed and the whole family was imprisoned or exiled.

The once glorious Western Xia Yang family ended in such a tragic way.

How could the two brothers not hate the imperial court, the powerful, and the Dangxiang people?
Since there is no way to escape, I will die with them.

"It's a pity that I can't avenge my Yang family." Yang Shouzheng felt sad in his heart, and then his face became ferocious.

He reined in his horse, held his spear in hand, and prepared to fight the pursuers to the death.

At this moment, Yang Shoujing next to him suddenly said, "Brother, look."

"what is that?"

At this moment, Yang Shoujing looked forward with a heavy expression, and Yang Shouzheng followed suit.

In the reflection of the blood-red setting sun, ten cavalrymen suddenly appeared on the sand dunes in the distance.

The distance was too far to see their appearance clearly, I could only see that they were wearing white armor.

A hint of astonishment first flashed across Yang Shouzheng's eyes, and then a spark of hope quickly ignited.

Although the identities of these people are unknown, they are definitely not Tangut cavalry.

So, he took his brother and continued to escape without hesitation, running towards the white-armored soldiers.

"They're coming, Shito~"

A soldier in white armor frowned and looked at the young man next to him who was also wearing white armor.

His name is Ding Erdan, a boy from Hexibao who grew up with Li Xiao.

But the White Armor Army does not keep idle people. Every one of them is an elite carefully selected from all the Jinzhou Army.

Therefore, Ding Erdan was able to become a sergeant in the White Armor Army because of his own abilities.

During this expedition against Western Xia, Ding Erdan's Shihu Army was selected to be the pathfinder cavalry of the army.

The main purpose is to investigate whether there is an ambush ahead, whether the road conditions allow the army to pass through, where the water source is, where is suitable for camping, etc.

It was just that I happened to meet the Yang Shoujing brothers.

"It looks like they are from the Xia country, and they are being chased by the people behind them." Another white-armored soldier said.

"What to do? Shito!"

"Would you like to help out?" the soldier asked with a smile.

Ding Erdan smiled coldly, snorted and shook his head: "I don't even know him, why should I help him?"

"Nothing!"

"They are all from Xia Country, so they must know about the situation in Dunhuang. Let's arrest them and interrogate them."

The other side only had seventeen or eighteen cavalrymen, but on our side there were as many as ten white-armored soldiers.

The advantage is mine!

At this moment, the Yang brothers had already run over.

They looked up at the sand dunes. The afterglow of the setting sun happened to shine directly from behind the white-armored soldiers. The strong light made them squint their eyes.

All I could see were ten pitch-black figures, and I couldn't tell who the other party was.

However, the fierce aura emanating from Ding Erdan and the others made the Yang brothers feel a chill in their hearts.

All of them brothers grew up in the military camp with their father, so they naturally understood that this was a kind of evil spirit that was condensed from the blood and corpses of enemies on the battlefield for a long time.

These ten people are terrifying.

"Heroes out front, my two brothers are being hunted by the Tangut thugs and are suffering from injustice. We beg you to lend us a hand!"

His voice echoed in the vast desert, with a hint of hoarseness and despair.

Yang Shoujing followed closely behind, clasping his hands and raising them high: "My fellow men, our Yang family is a family of loyal warriors, yet we have been framed by traitors and our family has been destroyed."

"Now I just hope to survive and avenge my family."

"If you can lend a hand, my two brothers will reward you handsomely."

Although Yang Shoujing was young, he had a much higher emotional intelligence. He knew that if people helped him without any empty words, they would not help him, and he had to reward them with benefits.

Everyone knew the principle of a cunning rabbit having three burrows, so the Yang family also made preparations in Dunhuang and buried some treasures as capital for their future success.

The white-armored soldiers still stood quietly on the top of the mountain, looking at the two brothers, and a hint of thought flashed in Ding Erdan's eyes.

Were these two prisoners from Western Xia? And the sons of convicted officials?

Then their understanding of the Western Xia Kingdom must be deeper than that of ordinary people.

It does have some practical value.

As for the Tangut pursuers behind, they were the ones the Jinzhou Army wanted to kill.

So, Ding Erdan slowly drew his cavalry sword and said in a cold voice, "Kill!"

The ten white-armored soldiers sprang into action instantly, like arrows shot from a bow, swiftly rushing down the sand dunes. Their white cotton armors emitted an icy sheen in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Like a silver torrent, it instantly passed the Yang brothers and swept towards the pursuing Dangxiang troops.

The sound of horse hooves was like thunder, breaking the silence of the desert, and the raised dust rose up in the sunset.

The Yang brothers looked at this scene in astonishment, and the flame of hope instantly ignited in their originally desperate eyes.

Yang Shouzheng gripped the spear tightly, veins popping out on the back of his hand, and shouted, "Kill~"

The two brothers followed the White Armor Army and attacked the Dangxiang cavalry.

When Wu Mijin saw this scene, his face turned pale instantly.

While cursing the sudden turn of events, he shouted at his soldiers, "They are outnumbered."

"Kill me."

Wu Mijin naively thought that since his army had twice the number of the Baijia Army, he would naturally have the advantage.

Killing the Yang brothers was a request from above, and he had to carry it out, otherwise he would be doomed.

"Fire arrows."

When the two sides were about fifty steps apart, Ding Erdan and Wu Mijin shouted almost at the same time.

The sound of arrows whistling was heard, followed by the screams of some Tangut cavalrymen who were hit by arrows and fell off their horses.

The arrows forged with Hexi steel used by the Hexi Armory easily pierced the leather armor of the Dangxiang people.

However, when the Dangxiang people's arrows landed on the white-armored soldiers, they were all bounced back.

It's impossible to penetrate it.

"what?"

Seeing this scene, Wu Miqin's eyes widened instantly, and he said in disbelief: "How is it possible?"

Arrows flew into each other's air, and their side was completely at a disadvantage, losing six or seven people, but the other side was completely unharmed. This was completely unacceptable to Wu Mijin.

Where did these cavalry come from?

Gaochang people?
The next second, the White Armor Army rushed to the front.

Ding Erdan held a hook-and-sickle spear in his hand, locked onto a Tangut cavalryman, squeezed his legs against the horse's belly, and the warhorse neighed as it rushed towards the enemy.

Seeing this, the cavalryman panicked and quickly raised his spear to fight back. However, his spear tip failed to penetrate Ding Erdan's cotton armor, and his own chest was instantly pierced by the sickle spear.

"Hoho~"

With the sound of bones rubbing against each other, Erdan pulled out his hook-and-sickle spear, and the corpse fell heavily off the horse.

This is the advantage of the hook-and-sickle spear. The forked sickle in the front can not only hook the horse's legs and grab the enemy and pull them off the horse.

What is more important is to prevent the gun tip from penetrating too deeply into the enemy's body and being unable to be pulled out at the critical moment.

In just a few breaths, the battle was over.

In a one-on-one or even one-on-two situation, the white-armored soldiers were not at a disadvantage at all thanks to the defense of their cotton armor and the sharpness of their weapons.

The Yang brothers followed with murderous intent, but found that they were only a dozen steps slower and had no chance to attack.

Most of the Dangxiang cavalry were killed, and only three people including Wu Mijin were knocked off their horses.

He fell to the ground in fear and begged for mercy.

"This~"

The Yang brothers were horrified. They had never seen such terrifying cavalry.

Where do they come from?

At this time, Ding Erdan slowly turned his head and looked at the Yang brothers, Wu Mijin and others with a cold gaze.

A deep voice asked, "Does anyone know where there's a water source nearby?"

"If you know, you can avoid death."

It was not until this time that Yang Shouzheng saw the true appearance of these devilish cavalrymen.

He was wearing a kind of armor that he had never seen before, and even his cheeks were covered.

Fortunately, I could recognize that they all had Han faces, especially the one who seemed to be the leader and was speaking, he was actually a teenager, younger than me.

This shocked Yang Shouzheng greatly.

Yang Shoujing next to him reacted faster and quickly replied, "I know, I know."

"There's a small river where we just passed by."

Ding Erdan immediately breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.

When marching in the desert, the most important thing is water.

Especially when camping at night, you must choose a place close to water.

This is Ding Erdan’s mission.

"We've found our campsite for tonight."

……

Yumen Pass, standing on the edge of the desert, is like a lonely watchman, dividing the Hexi Corridor and the Western Regions into two completely different worlds.

As the saying goes, 'The spring breeze does not reach Yumen Pass'.

Although the area east of Yumen Pass is also vast and desolate, it is at least a place where people can survive.

But after passing Yumen Pass, there is a real sea of death, a vast desert that buries countless skeletons.

It is more than three hundred miles to the nearest Hami.

Li Xiao's army took five days to reach the outside of Yumen Pass along the Silk Road in the desert.

The Jinzhou Army, composed entirely of cavalry, was accompanied by more than 30,000 Uighur infantry, so they moved so slowly.

Along the way, many Uighurs died of thirst, exhaustion, and illness, but under the threat of death, the remaining people had no choice but to grit their teeth and hold on until they reached the Yumen Pass.

Early in the morning of that day, a blood-red sun slowly rose from the horizon, dyeing the entire sky golden red.

The gate of Yumen Pass slowly opened, and merchants, leading camels and pulling carts, walked out of the gate one after another and entered the vast desert.

A team of guards stood at the city gate, checking the merchants' goods to see if there were any prohibited items.

It was not until the leader of the team had a few more coins in his hand that he nodded with satisfaction and let the merchant go.

"Boss, it's been two days. Why haven't the Tangut troops you said you'd send back returned?"

"Is he going to die in the desert?"

A young soldier asked curiously.

The team leader shook his head and said, "He must be searching for the fugitive in the desert. Maybe he'll be back today."

When talking about this matter, the garrison soldiers all became interested.

"I heard that the two people who escaped this time were the sons of high-ranking officials in the imperial court."

"The high-ranking official lost the battle and his house was raided. It was a miserable situation."

"I'm telling you, if it was just an ordinary prisoner, why would they bother arresting him with such a fuss? Just do it for show."

"I heard that these two men were famous in the army before. They were brave in battle and were also well-known men. Moreover, they are Han people. It's a pity." A garrison soldier shook his head and sighed.

But as soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding soldiers shut their mouths and stared at him.

This person also realized that he had said the wrong thing and laughed awkwardly.

The distinction between Han and Yi has always been a problem in Western Xia.

Because the Dangxiang were just a small ethnic group when they established the country, after years of development, the population in Western Xia is still mostly Han people.

Among the population of more than two million, there are about 1.5 million Han people, accounting for more than two-thirds.

The other one-third are the Dangxiang, Qiang, Tubo, Tuyuhun and Uighur ethnic groups.

It is precisely because of the huge population difference that the Western Xia rulers were most wary of the Han people.

If what this garrison soldier said was heard by the Tangut officials in the city, he would be skinned alive if not killed.

After all, it is not just a problem of fugitives, but also a problem of ethnic confrontation, which is the most sensitive issue.

"Okay, it's duty time now. Stop chatting and guard the city gate well." The team leader saw another group of merchants coming and stopped the topic.

Not long after, the leader of the team suddenly moved his ears slightly and subconsciously looked outside the city.

The sky was filled with yellow sand, with no end in sight, but he seemed to hear a strange sound.

The next second, the leader's gaze suddenly narrowed: "What is that?"

Suddenly, a black dot appeared in the desert.

"It looks like a group of cavalry. Could it be that the Tanguts have returned?" said a young soldier with better eyesight.

But the leader frowned and said, "That's not right. There aren't that many Tangut cavalrymen."

As time passed, the appearance of the cavalry became clearer and clearer.

In an instant, the leader's expression turned extremely terrified, his face turned pale, and he shouted loudly: "Not good."

"There are enemies."

"Quickly close the city gates and report to the general."

The garrison soldiers also reacted and hurriedly closed the wooden city gate.

Then he rang the bell on the city wall.

"Dang-dang-dang-dang~"

The rapid sound of the bronze bell stunned the people near the city gate.

There has not been a war in Yumen Pass for many years, and the people here are almost forgetting the significance of the bronze bell.

When the team leader and others shouted, these people suddenly realized.

"Enemy, the enemy is coming."

"Quick, go up to the city wall to defend against the enemy."

Hearing the shouting from the head of the team, some local residents of Yumen Pass felt it was ridiculous.

Yumen Pass is the pass leading to the Western Regions. Outside is the endless desert. Who would attack Yumen Pass?
Gaochang Kingdom?

However, there had never been a war between Western Xia and Gaochang Kingdom, and the bordering areas between the two sides were all barren and not worth fighting for.

The people subconsciously thought that the team leader was talking nonsense.

But it was not until a low roar, accompanied by noisy shouts, that the people in the city began to panic.

"what happened?"

"Are there really enemies coming?"

"Where did the enemy come from? Are they from Gaochang?"

The people were terrified, and the commander in charge of Yumen Pass ran out in a panic, not knowing where he came from.

When he climbed to the top of the city wall and took a look, his face instantly turned pale and terrified.

The Jinzhou cavalry marched forward across the vast desert like a galloping steel dragon.

The roar of the cavalry made the earth tremble slightly.

When the vanguard cavalry approached Yumen Pass, the raised dust covered the sky and the sun, like a yellow storm.

The originally blue sky was instantly swallowed by sand and dust, and visibility dropped sharply.

The guards on the city wall opened their eyes wide and looked at the scene in horror.

They tightly grasped the rusty and broken weapons in their hands, but their bodies could not stop shaking.

The figures of cavalry that kept emerging from the rolling dust made them feel despair.

"Who, who, who is this?"

The commander of Yumen Pass was terrified. The scene before him had already made him tremble with fear.

Although Yumen Pass is the last pass of the Great Wall, no war has occurred there for many years.

Its military function had seriously degenerated and it became a post station for business travelers, providing them with accommodation and rest facilities.

Moreover, all merchants passing by had to pay a toll, which was a considerable income, so the purpose of the guards of Yumen Pass coming here was to make money.

But no one told him that there would be a war.

"Quick, quick~"

"Hurry to Dunhuang to report, Yumen Pass is under siege by a powerful enemy, requesting support!"

"The number of people, the number of people, there are one hundred thousand~" said the guard in a trembling voice.

Soon, a large number of Jinzhou cavalry surrounded Yumen Pass.

The cavalrymen lined up in neat rows, with spears pointing straight at them, forming an indestructible steel barrier.

The neighing of war horses, the shouts of soldiers, and the clashing of armor rang out one after another. The guards on the city wall were frightened by the scene and trembled with fear, their faces full of fear and helplessness.

Swords clashed and cavalry galloped across the battlefield.

In the army, Li Xiao, fully clothed in cotton armor, rode on a tall warhorse, looking calmly at the Yumen Pass in front of him.

Completely different from what one might imagine, Yumen Pass is ten meters high, but the city wall is made of thick rammed earth, and has been eroded by wind and sand, and the surface has long been mottled.

Because there has been no war for many years, Yumen Pass has not been repaired for a long time.

Inside and outside the pass, the ground is covered with yellow sand and no grass grows. Only a few tenacious poplar trees sway in the wind, which is very desolate and vicissitudes of life.

It is incomparable to a big city like Gaochang. At best, it can only be regarded as a small county town in the west.

"The spring breeze does not pass through Yumen Pass."

"But I, Li Xiao, must see the scenery inside the pass today."

(End of this chapter)