The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 166: The army returns, military households

With the arrival of 15,000 Ganzhou troops, Suzhou City was already overcrowded.

The presence of a large number of foreign troops has caused serious damage to local security.

"Mi Qin, the soldiers of the Ganzhou Army have caused another death today."

"They broke into a farmer's house, raped the wife, and killed the man. The people have begun to gather and are ready to ask our officials for an explanation."

"You must strictly control the Ganzhou soldiers, otherwise I will report your actions to the court."

The original Suzhou Garrison has now become the temporary residence of the Ganzhou Military Commander.

The military commander Miqintiele was sitting on a Hu bed, playing with a scimitar with a helpless look.

Sitting opposite him was a civil servant.

Governor of Suzhou.

He was complaining to Miqin Tiele about the atrocities committed by the Ganzhou army.

Since the arrival of the Ganzhou Army, various vicious incidents have continued to occur, including Ganzhou Army soldiers robbing women on the streets, looting shops, and so on.

This posed a serious threat to the public security of Suzhou City, and the people hid in their homes and dared not go out.

Even so, some Ganzhou soldiers would break into farmers' homes and do all kinds of unscrupulous things.

However, in the face of the accusation from the Suzhou governor, Mi Qintiele did not care at all and shook his head slightly.

"Liu Zhishi, you are too soft-hearted."

"They are just some untouchables, how dare they rebel against the heaven?"

"If you dare to cause trouble, my Ganzhou army will not be a pushover." Mi Qintiele sneered.

"What's more, our soldiers from Ganzhou (Zhangye) have traveled hundreds of miles, sleeping in the open air, to come to your Suzhou city (Jiuquan) to protect the people of Suzhou."

"Even if there's no merit, there's always hard work, right?"

"It's just killing a few lowly people and having sex with a few women. What's the big deal?"

Seeing Mi Qintiele's nonchalant expression, Governor Liu was furious: "You~"

I finally understood why the Ganzhou soldiers had such poor military discipline. It turned out that the root of the problem was Mi Qintiele.

"Your Majesty's orders are to defend Suzhou and seek an opportunity to recapture Dunhuang and Guazhou."

"General Mi Qin, you have been here for ten days. Why haven't you taken any action other than asking for food and money?" asked Governor Liu.

"Do I have to report to you, a governor, on how I command my army to fight?" Mi Qintiele snorted, very dissatisfied with the tone of Governor Liu.

Although the rank of the Inspector and the Commander-in-Chief is the same, one is civil and the other is military stationed in the local area.

But what is the identity of this person surnamed Liu?
How dare a mere Han Chinese speak to me in such a tone?
"I, the commander-in-chief, will make the decision on how to recapture Dunhuang and Guazhou. There is no need for you, Governor Liu, to worry about it. You should just take care of your own business." Mi Qintiele said.

Is the Northern Frontier Army so easy to deal with?
What's the difference between asking him to recapture Guazhou and Dunhuang and going to die?
It was on his way to support Dunhuang that Du Luo Jianzan was ambushed by the Northern Frontier Army. His entire army was wiped out, and not only was he captured, but his entire family was also imprisoned.

This is a lesson learned from the past.

Mi Qintiele had to consider not only himself but also his family members in Xingqing Prefecture.

After all, there are many cavalrymen in the northern border and they are good at field battles.

The distance between Suzhou and Guazhou is five hundred miles, and it is all vast Gobi Desert. Who knows if the Northern Frontier Army has an ambush?

If he sent troops blindly, he might end up like Doro Jianzan.

Therefore, Mi Qintiele’s mentality was not to seek merit, but to avoid mistakes.

To hold Suzhou City is victory.

"You~" Governor Liu was very angry.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart and said, "I just want to remind you that Suzhou is just a small city and can't support so many mouths."

"Suzhou's grain reserves can only supply the Ganzhou army for half a month at most."

"Half a month later, General Mi will be able to take it easy!"

After saying this, Governor Liu waved his hand and walked away.

Although Miqin Tiele was a Tangut noble, Governor Liu was no pushover either.

The Western Xia Kingdom had been established for two hundred years, and the Han people had already firmly taken root here.

To put it bluntly, more than half of the officials in the Western Xia court were Han people.

There are also powerful groups behind Governor Liu, so they are not afraid of him capturing Tiele.

"Humph, you bastard."

"You lowly Han barbarian." Mi Qin Tiele cursed harshly after Governor Liu left.

The Han people are the worst.

Daxia was clearly a country established by the Dangxiang people, but the Han people became more and more rampant and were gradually eroding the interests of the Dangxiang people.

If the emperor had not been on guard against the Han people, he would have refused to let them get involved in military power.

Otherwise, Xixia would probably have become a completely Han country today.

"Humph, sooner or later, all of you Han barbarians will be driven out of the court."

Just when Mi Qintiele was enjoying his argument, a personal soldier came hurriedly to report.

"Commander-in-chief, the scouts heading to Guazhou City have returned."

"The report says the Northern Frontier Army is retreating."

"Retreat?" Miqintiele was surprised.

Leaving now?

"Commander-in-chief, let's chase them quickly?" suggested the personal soldier.

Mi Qintiele shook his head gently: "No, you can't chase."

"This is a bait set by the Northern Frontier Army. There must be an ambush waiting for us on the road."

"Humph, you still want to fool me with such a trick? This commander is not a loser like Du Luo Jianzan."

Mi Qintiele said with a sneer.

The personal guards beside him immediately showed an admiring look.

"I see."

"The commander is brilliant. The Northern Frontier Army is indeed treacherous. Fortunately, we have the commander in charge, otherwise Daxia would have suffered a great loss again."

Mi Qintiele nodded with satisfaction. This kid is a talent and needs to be trained vigorously.

A few days later, the scouts reported again: "Guazhou has become a deserted city. There are no enemy troops or civilians to be seen."

Mi Qintiele didn't care and asked people to continue investigating.

A few days later, the scouts reported: "Dunhuang has become a deserted city. It seems that the Northern Frontier Army has truly retreated."

After hearing this, Miqintiele finally believed it.

Unable to contain his joy any longer, he stood up and shouted, "Brothers, it's time to perform meritorious deeds."

"Pass on my order to send troops immediately to recapture the two states of Gua and Sha."

"As ordered!"

Immediately, the Ganzhou army set out in a mighty force, leaving Suzhou City and preparing to reap military glory.

There are five hundred miles between Suzhou and Guazhou. They walked carefully for more than ten days before finally arriving at Guazhou.

At this time, Guazhou was already deserted, and part of the loess city wall had collapsed.

There are traces of swords and axes everywhere, which is enough to show how fierce the battle was at that time.

When Mi Qintiele saw this, he felt that his decision was wise.

The Northern Frontier Allied Forces have 50,000 infantry and cavalry, and their combat effectiveness is quite strong. With only more than 10,000 of our own people, we would be sending ourselves to die if we come.

Soon, the scout reported: "Commander-in-chief, the city is empty. We have searched every room carefully and haven't seen even a rat."

Hearing this, Miqintiele nodded with satisfaction.

It seems that the Northern Frontier Allied Forces really withdrew and did not set up an ambush in the city.

So, he waved his hand and said, "Go into the city."

There was no one inside or outside the city, as if it had become a ghost town in the desert.

Everything was in a mess, as if the people here were in a hurry.

There is no doubt that they were all abducted by the Northern Frontier Allied Forces.

But Miqintiele didn't care about this. Instead, he said to the military clerk, "Report the victory to His Majesty."

"After our army arrived in Guazhou, we engaged in a desperate battle with the Northern Frontier Army. Thanks to Your Majesty's divine power and the soldiers' dedication, the enemy fled in panic. Now, our army has successfully recaptured Guazhou City."

As he said this, Miqintiele grinned and laughed. This was his achievement.

There were many famous generals during the founding period of Western Xia, but among all the generals today, who can have such a record as him?

Who has recovered more territory than him?
Afterwards, he led his army to Dunhuang City, which had also become a deserted city.

Another victory report was sent to Xingqing Prefecture, with similar meaning: after a hard battle, the Ganzhou army repelled the Northern Frontier Army and recaptured Dunhuang City.

The Hexi Corridor is completely worry-free.

Subsequently, Miqin Tiele's reputation quickly spread throughout Western Xia, and he seemed to have the potential to be a famous general.

At the same time, the vanguard of the Jinzhou Army had arrived at Hamil City. Li Xiao looked back at the vast desert.

He secretly said with regret: "The leader of the Xixia reinforcements is really a coward."

Li Xiao’s efforts were in vain.

After all, the Jinzhou Army was escorting 100,000 civilians, so it was easy for something to go wrong.

So Li Xiao set up an ambush on the way of retreat, preparing to inflict heavy damage on the pursuers.

But unexpectedly, he waited in vain and there were no pursuers at all.

"But this is also good. After we have absorbed these people, the next time our Jinzhou Army enters the pass, we won't just attack Guazhou City."

At night, Alqus requisitioned a large number of cattle and sheep from the city of Hamil, slaughtered them all and used them to reward the Jinzhou army.

In the big tent, Li Xiao held the greasy lamb leg in one hand and tore it into big bites.

The other hand was hugging Tajiguli's soft and boneless shoulders, and his palm was reaching into her collar and rubbing her unscrupulously.

Tajiguli's face flushed red and she was embarrassed.

Aarkus was sitting in the tent. Seeing this scene, he was not angry but happy, with a smile on his old face.

Tajiguli is his daughter, and he is so happy that Li Xiao likes him.

"I heard that the Grand Commander just got married and has no children yet~"

"If it's Tajiguli~"

"No, no~"

"It's best to wait until the Princess of Chu comes before making any plans."

Alkus can distinguish between the big and small princes, but Xiao Yanyan is Xiao Simo's sister and has a noble status.

If she was angered, she would kick out both mother and son, leaving Aarkus without even having time to cry.

But the next second, he heard Li Xiao's call: "General Aarkus."

Aarkus quickly collected his thoughts and said, "Here!"

"General Aarkus worked hard in this battle." Li Xiao smiled faintly.

"Working for the Grand Admiral is not hard." Aarkus said with a smile.

This must be false. The Gaochang army was forced to fight by Li Xiao, and they must be full of complaints.

Now that the war is over, it’s time for Li Xiao to reward him.

After all, Aarkus will be useful in the future.

"Prince Balshu of Gaochang launched a rebellion and killed the King of Gaochang." "Now, the most qualified heir to the throne of Gaochang is Qibiduo."

"But he is still young, and needs a mature, prudent, and popular minister to assist him in governing the country."

"This city will recommend to the king that you, General Aarkus, be appointed Prime Minister of Gaochang."

Upon hearing this, Aarkus was overjoyed.

He stood up excitedly, bowed to Li Xiao and said, "Thank you, General."

"From now on, I will faithfully obey the orders of the King and the Grand Commander, and defend Gaochang for them..."

Li Xiao didn't believe a single word of the words of loyalty.

But that didn't stop him from using Aarkus.

During this period, Li Xiao's expansion was too fast and his foundation was unstable. He really did not have enough manpower and troops to control Gaochang.

It can only be controlled indirectly through the "traitor Uighur" Alkus.

Although this person is treacherous and fawning, he is indeed a good dog.

After all, if he wants to be a powerful official, or even sit on the throne of King Gaochang in the future, he cannot do without the support of the Northern Frontier.

"In two days, Bendu will return to Jinzhou. In addition to taking Tajiguli away, he will also leave you with 12,000 strong men."

"Please settle these people down and let them farm honestly."

"From now on, all the grain grown in Gaochang Kingdom will be purchased by Jinzhou." Li Xiao said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, Aarkus became even more excited.

Let’s not worry about what happened next. The most important thing is that Li Xiao is leaving.

From then on, Gaochang was under the control of Alkus.

Gaochang Prime Minister, holding a large army, a modern Cao Cao~
Aarkus felt his blood boiling just thinking about it.

The future is promising!
"I will definitely manage those untouchables well and grow more food for the Grand Commander." Alcus immediately expressed his loyalty.

During this eastern expedition, Li Xiao brought back 100,000 soldiers and civilians.

For at least a year, these people will not be able to be self-sufficient.

Jinzhou is also unable to provide daily rations for so many people, so it needs to be purchased from the desert and Gaochang Kingdom.

The north-south corridor of the Tianshan Mountains has fertile soil, abundant water and grass, and many high-quality grain fields.

Military settlements have already begun in the desert, and combined with the food from Gaochang Kingdom, they should be able to survive for one or two years.

What's more, when attacking Gaochang City before, the Jinzhou Army also seized a large amount of food and grass from the city, enough to feed 100,000 people for a long time.

As for the 12,000 able-bodied men left behind by Li Xiao, they were all captives captured during the attack on Gaochang City.

There were originally 20,000 people, but after the war with Western Xia, only more than 15,000 were left.

Afterwards, Li Xiao selected three thousand young and strong prisoners of war who had made military achievements and came from humble backgrounds and were originally slaves or poor people in Gaochang, and prepared to bring them back to Jinzhou.

The more than 10,000 people left behind are either too old or physically disabled. If they are brought back to Jinzhou, they will only be a burden.

So they just handed it over to Alkus to manage and let them continue farming.

After the banquet, Li Xiao carried Tajiguli into the tent and tossed her around all night.

This time, Li Xiao did not return to Gaochang City, but led his troops directly north from Hamili, crossed the Tianshan Pass from Liutiaogou, and entered the desert.

More than 10,000 soldiers, plus 100,000 civilians, formed a vast and endless force, which was very spectacular.

Wang Daniu is the leader of the defense team at Yumen Pass.

He brought his wife, two sons, two daughters, a horse and two camels, and all his belongings to the desert.

"Dad, we're running low on food. How long will it take to get to Jinzhou?"

His eldest son, who was only fifteen years old, was leading a camel and asked Wang Daniu worriedly.

He could clearly feel that more than half of the food on the camel was gone.

If this continues, their whole family will starve.

"How much longer?"

Wang Daniu was leading another camel and looking around. It was endless and desolate, with no end or hope in sight.

A trace of desolation and helplessness flashed across his face, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Hold on a little longer, we'll be there soon."

Unfortunately, he didn't know how long it would take to reach Golden State, but he just didn't want his wife and children to lose confidence.

"Dad, I'm tired and I want to go home!"

The little daughter, who was only four years old, cried.

Like many children who grew up in the desert, her face was sallow and her skin was rough, she looked like a complete country girl.

Because of walking for a long time, the shoes on the little daughter's feet were worn out. Fortunately, as food became less and less, she was able to ride a camel.

But the long and boring march was definitely a torture for a four-year-old child.

Not only does she miss home, the other children also want to go home!
"go home?"

"We can't go back." Wang Daniu said with a wry smile.

It's not like they can go back just because they want to.

To be precise, they were all prisoners of war.

The people of Jinzhou did not kill them, did not destroy their families, and did not steal their food and livestock. This was already very merciful.

Therefore, Wang Daniu didn't dare to ask for too much, and just followed him to Jinzhou obediently.

After all, compared with other prisoners of war of that era, their family was very lucky.

"From now on, Jinzhou will be our home." Wang Daniu's wife, a slightly old-looking woman, comforted her daughter.

The eldest son said in a deep voice, "Those Jinzhou soldiers also said that they would give us land after we arrived in Jinzhou. I don't know if that's true."

Wang Daniu shook his head and smiled bitterly, thinking that his son was a little naive.

How could those high-ranking figures look down upon ordinary people like them?
Wang Daniu guessed that the Jinzhou Army simply needed the people like them to farm the land, and there was no need to think about the ownership of the land.

Wang Daniu was satisfied as long as he could make a living as a tenant in Jinzhou and not let his family starve to death.

In this way, countless people, like Wang Daniu's family, unknowingly came to the desert with confusion about the future.

But slowly, shock appeared in the eyes of these people.

Because after crossing the Tianshan Mountains, what came into view before their eyes was endless farmland.

In summer, the ice and snow of the Tianshan Mountains melt and flow down, nourishing a large amount of fertile land on both sides of the north and south.

Since ancient times, this place has been the granary of the Western Regions, nurturing and multiplying countless people.

Originally, most of these lands belonged to the Uighurs.

With the outbreak of the Beshbaliq War, Li Xiao liquidated the Uighurs in the desert and took all their land into the hands of the Governor's Office.

Although the Yingtian Division was established to lead more than 10,000 prisoners of war to engage in military farming, a large amount of land was still idle.

The weeds began to grow rapidly along with the seedlings.

This was the scene that Wang Daniu and his family saw: under the blue sky, the earth was green.

There are endless fertile fields all around. In the breeze, the green seedlings sway gently, like a green ocean, exuding vitality.

“Is this the Golden State?”

"I thought it would be very desolate, but I didn't expect there would be so many farmlands. It's much better than Dunhuang," said Wang Daniu with emotion.

The soil in Dunhuang is severely desertified, and only a small amount of land is suitable for farming.

Although Wang Daniu and his family also have land in Yumen Pass, the harvest is not very good.

Wang Daniu also needs to accept bribes from merchants at the city gate so that the family can have enough food to eat.

They thought Jinzhou would be even more desolate than Dunhuang, but they never expected that what they saw was such a spectacular scene.

There are fertile fields everywhere.

"Are we going to live here in the future?" the wife said hopefully, with a gleam in her eyes.

Even if we farm for others in the future, the food our family gets will definitely be more than when we were in Dunhuang.

Thinking of this, Wang Daniu and his family all smiled.

Soon, a group of Jinzhou soldiers wearing leather armor came up to them on war horses.

All the people looked over and saw a soldier taking out a list.

Along the way, Li Xiao had already conducted a simple registration of all the people.

It is mainly used to count the population and the number of households to facilitate management.

The soldier held up the roster and yelled, "Wang Daniu!"

When he heard his name, Wang Daniu was stunned for a moment and even started to get nervous. He didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, but his family was around him and he couldn't avoid it, good or bad.

So, he stepped out bravely: "I am Wang Daniu."

The young Jinzhou soldier glanced at him and said in a deep voice, "Anyone whose name is called must answer 'yes'."

"Don't answer other nonsense."

This is Li Xiao's rule for managing the army. All soldiers must answer "yes" when they hear their superiors calling them.

Then the soldier shouted again: "Wang Daniu."

"Here!" Wang Daniu responded immediately.

The soldier nodded with satisfaction: "Bring your family out and stand over here."

Shortly after Wang Daniu's family came over, seven more families came over.

Finally, two Jinzhou soldiers appeared in front of them on horseback.

One of the men, about thirty years old, looked at the eight families and said, "My name is Zhou Dasheng, and I will be your Shihu from now on."

"The man next to you is Liu Erleng, your deputy."

"From now on, we are all military households of the Jinzhou Army."

Zhou Dasheng and Liu Erleng were originally people from the desert. Later, they followed Li Xiao south to Gaochang and fought against Western Xia, making many contributions.

This time, the two were appointed as the chief and deputy chief households respectively, responsible for managing the eight households of Wang Daniu.

Not only them, many Golden State soldiers were promoted.

Especially for many old Jinzhou people, the minimum guarantee is one household.

These more than 20,000 households will all be dispersed and managed by the old Jinzhou people and soldiers who have made meritorious contributions.

"Military household?"

Wang Daniu and others looked at each other in bewilderment. The existence of military households has a long history, which means that every household must send at least one able-bodied man to serve in the army.

Correspondingly, military households will also enjoy certain welfare benefits and social status.

Just like the Tang Dynasty's palace soldiers, the Yuan Dynasty's military household soldiers, the Ming Dynasty's garrison soldiers, and the Qing Dynasty's Eight Banners soldiers, all belonged to military households.

The essence of military households is the integration of soldiers and civilians. They farm and graze in peacetime and go to war in wartime. Their status is hereditary and they own their own land and pastures.

In the early period of the dynasty, military households were the envy of everyone. It was not until the middle and late period of the dynasty that the military household system declined.

But now, there is a large amount of unowned land in the Western Regions, which is a perfect time to develop military settlements and military households.

"We are not serving as military households in vain."

"Look!"

"That piece of farmland belongs to all ten of our families."

Following the direction of Zhou Dasheng's finger, Wang Daniu and others looked in the direction, and an expression of disbelief instantly appeared on their faces.

"All of them are ours~"

Wang Daniu's voice trembled and his tone was very excited.

(End of this chapter)