The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 168 Husband, Please Give Me a Child

“Is this the Golden State?”

On a carriage, the girl's head kept turning, looking up at the scenery around her.

The vast and lonely grassland stretches as far as the eye can see, with only one or two villages and patches of farmland occasionally visible.

Compared to Gaochang City, Jinzhou is simply a countryside.

There isn't even a decent town.

"Yes, this is the Golden State. We will live here from now on."

"I don't know if there will be a chance to return to Gaochang!" Sitting next to the girl was a mature young woman who looked to be around thirty years old.

She has fair skin, a graceful figure and a beautiful appearance.

These two people were the Queen of Gaochang and Princess Ayina, mother and daughter.

As trophies, Li Xiao naturally brought them back to Jinzhou.

What's more, they did not come with ordinary people, but were escorted by Li Xiao's personal guards.

Therefore, at this moment, the mother and daughter as well as Tajiguli were sent directly to Hexi Fort.

Looking at the wilderness in the distance, many people were riding horses and running towards them, seemingly coming to greet the relatives of the Jinzhou Army.

Some Jinzhou soldiers also immediately went over to greet them happily.

The scene of laughter and family reunion is touching.

But the faces of Aina and her daughter were filled with loss and loneliness.

"They returned home, but our home is gone," Aina said with a hint of bitterness.

I thought of Gaochang City and my father.

"Don't cry, Ayi Na, you have to be strong." The queen gently wiped away the tears from Ayi Na's face.

She whispered, "We women are like dandelions on the grassland, destined to be blown to pieces by the wind."

“Wherever the wind takes us, that is our home.”

Since ancient times, beauty has been a standard feature of the strong.

Originally, she was just an ordinary woman in Gaochang, but because she was beautiful, she was abducted by the King of Gaochang and made queen.

Now, it’s just that a more powerful man has snatched me away.

It's just that I have a daughter around me.

The queen was very clear about the future fate of the mother and daughter, which was nothing more than sharing a husband.

I'm afraid this kind of life will continue for a long time.

But it's not hopeless.

"Aina, we are not without anything. We still have Chibito."

"As long as he can become the king of Gaochang, and as long as Gaochang becomes stronger and stronger, we will one day leave Jinzhou."

"But before that, we must not do anything to anger the Northern Barbarian leader. We must do our best to please him and make him happy."

"Persuade him to give Chibito more power and a higher status."

Hearing his mother's words, Aina's face turned slightly red. He naturally knew what happened between his mother and Li Xiao.

I even heard my mother's loud voice many times at night.

And now, her mother wants her to do the same thing.

Is it to push her into the fire pit?

No, maybe it's hope for a new life.

As a woman, I have no choice in this chaotic world.

Can only passively rely on the strong.

The figure of Li Xiao appeared in front of Aina's eyes.

After all, this was the youngest, strongest, most powerful man she had ever met.

In another carriage, Tajiguli was also looking at the scenery of Jinzhou.

It was summer at that time, and Gaochang was already very hot, but the weather in Jinzhou was very cool, and the breeze blowing on the cheeks was very comfortable.

"It would be great if I could spend the summer in Jinzhou and the winter back in Hamil."

As Aarkus's most beloved daughter, Tajiguli has always been carefully cared for. She has not experienced the cruelty of life and is naturally not so sentimental.

"But Dad asked me to stay in Golden State, get pregnant as soon as possible, and raise him."

As she spoke, Tajiguli gently stroked her belly. Thinking of the intimate time she had spent with Li Xiao along the way, her cheeks couldn't help but turn slightly red.

There was a hint of longing in his eyes.

At this moment, a woman's loud voice was heard outside the car, which scared Tajiguli.

"Heizi, where is my man?"

"Why hasn't he come back?"

Chen Erqiang's wife looked around, searching for Chen Erqiang in the crowd, but she didn't care. She quickly asked another young man from Hexibao.

Next to her, there was another girl who looked equally nervous, standing on tiptoe looking for someone.

Wang Heizi was holding the son his wife had recently given birth to in his arms, his face full of smiles. Upon hearing this, he said with a smile, "Don't worry, Erqiang family."

"Erqiang is fine. He and Dashan stayed in the desert and became a captain. He will be back to see you soon."

Upon hearing this, Chen Erqiang's wife's face immediately showed surprise.

"Really?"

"Of course, a genuine Qianhu!"

The centurions and captains in the desert were all promoted from the old Jinzhou army. As for the eleven thousand-man army, they were selected from the four forts in Hexi.

He is the most direct descendant of Li Xiao's direct descendants.

Chen Erqiang grew up with Li Dashan and they have the best relationship. This time Li Dashan stayed in the desert, and Chen Erqiang chose to stay to help him and was also appointed as a captain.

Although the strength of the Jinzhou Army has increased dramatically, Qianhu is still at the top of the Jinzhou food chain.

Therefore, Chen Erqiang's wife was overjoyed and kept muttering: "Great, great."

And next to her, Erya also gradually felt relieved, because her brother Wei Xuan had not returned either.

I think that like Chen Erqiang, he was also assigned to other places to command troops.

As expected, Wang Heizi said, "That kid Wei Xuan didn't stay in Jinzhou. He's still guarding the prisoners of war."

"Although it's still a centurion, it has more people under its jurisdiction."

"From now on, centurions like us will be in charge of two hundred households."

Wang Heizi was also a centurion and was very proud.

As Jinzhou's business grew bigger and bigger, the people of Hexibao also benefited from it.

At the very least, he is a captain.

For example, one-third of the thousand households came from Hexi Fort.

Because of Li Xiao, the fate of the entire Hexi Fort has completely changed.

"Two hundred households?" Arya murmured softly.

She only hopes that her brother is safe, but she also knows that in these troubled times, if she wants to live a better life, she must fight.

Wei Xuan works so hard not only to avenge his parents and relatives, but also to allow his brother and sister to live with more dignity.

"Brother Wang, who are the people in those carriages?" Erya asked curiously, looking at the carriages that were getting farther and farther away.

Because just now, when the carriage passed by, I happened to see a girl sitting inside.

His facial features were obviously different from those of the Han people, so he must be a Hu person.

"Oh, them."

"It's the Uighurs!" Wang Heizi looked at the carriage and smiled with understanding.

"The person sitting in the carriage in front is the daughter of the Prime Minister of Gaochang, who was given to the Grand Commander as a concubine."

"In the carriage at the back sits the Gaochang King's queen and princess, both of whom are our prisoners of war."

Hearing this, Erya's expression remained unchanged, but a hint of bitterness appeared in her heart.

"His concubine?"

"Yes, he is already married, so I can only be a concubine."

At this moment, the scene of that night appeared in Erya's mind again.

Sanhe Fort was destroyed and the Karluks were rampant. Just when he was about to be killed by the Karluks, the young man appeared.

It was like a demon in the dark night that killed the Qarlug people, but to Arya, that figure was like a god.

I thought everything would go smoothly, but I didn't expect that he would marry the princess.

Everything happened so suddenly that Erya found it difficult to accept.

I just don't know if he still remembers the girl he rescued in Sanhe Fort.

……

However, at this moment, Li Xiao really couldn't care about so many things, but was concentrating on working hard.

After the storm, he hugged Xiao Yanyan gently and tenderly.

The rough palm caresses the tender skin, which makes people feel excited.

Xiao Yanyan was also sweating profusely, and her slightly heavy breathing hit Li Xiao's face, making him unable to help but get up again.

"No more."

"enough."

"Take a break!"

Xiao Yanyan looked terrified and pushed Li Xiao away. If this continued, she might not be able to leave the tent tomorrow.

"Who just said he wanted to fight me for three hundred rounds?" Li Xiao laughed.

For a man, this is one of the things to be proud of.

It's as comfortable and spiritually satisfying as winning a great battle.

After all, Li Xiao is now sixteen or seventeen years old, full of energy and strong physique, so it is not a problem for him to crush Xiao Yanyan.

"How do I know who it is?"

"It's not me anyway!"

Xiao Yanyan said with a pout.

Then, the couple talked about what had happened during this period.

Li Xiao mostly glossed over the course of the war, focusing on how many victories he had won, how much money and property he had looted, and how many civilians he had captured.

"One hundred thousand people?"

"Jinzhou can't afford to support so many people." Xiao Yanyan was shocked.

Although Jinzhou is rich and a treasure land, it has not been developed on a large scale.

Many places are still barren, and it is very difficult to support 100,000 people.

"Besides, how do you manage 100,000 people?"

"That's more than 20,000 households, plus our original population~"

"Jinzhou will have more than thirty thousand households in the future?"

Xiao Yanyan said that even the people in Dongdu did not have so many.

"If we can't manage a thousand or a hundred households, then we'll just add tens of thousands more."

"It's just appointing a few generals and concentrating power." Li Xiao said in a deep voice.

When Temujin unified Mongolia, he established ninety-seven thousand households.

Jinzhou now has only more than 30,000 households, which is far less than the later Mongolia.

Therefore, Li Xiao had to continue to enter the pass and could not stop plundering Western Xia.

The people of Dunhuang and Shazhou have lived in the harsh Gobi environment since childhood. They are extremely strong both physically and mentally.

They are brave and good at fighting, and are definitely the best source of soldiers.

With the addition of these people, Jinzhou's strength will more than double. No matter what, they must be supported.

"It's just tens of thousands of people. We can definitely afford it, and we must be able to afford it." Li Xiao's eyes were serious and his tone was full of determination.

"Besides, more than 50,000 people have already stayed in the desert, and Jinzhou only needs to support more than 50,000 people."

"During this period, the Hexi Merchants will purchase large quantities of grain from the Great Desert and Gaochang to ensure the food supply in Jinzhou."

"If there's really no food left, I can just take them out to plunder."

"Last time, Yelu Wusitu led the Kangli cavalry and caught us off guard. If we have the chance, we can go to the Kipchak steppe and seek revenge on him."

Li Xiao snorted coldly and said that he still missed the people of Kangli.

Although the Kipchak steppe is cold and barren, a rotten ship still has three thousand nails, and the land is very vast.

In history, the Golden Horde, one of the four great khanates of Mongolia, was born and dominated most of Europe.

The resources are rich and can feed a large population. Li Xiao plans to go there to collect grass and grain and steal cattle and sheep in the future.

While strengthening the strength of Jinzhou, it also weakened the strength of the Kangli people.

Speaking of Yelu Wusitu, Xiao Yanyan thought of the war between Dongdu and Wang Ting.

"After the royal court learned of the Gaochang Kingdom's attack on the desert, Yelu Zhilugu personally led his army north."

"Fortunately, Jiu Meng An He stopped Wang Ting's army, and my eldest brother provided timely support."

"Only after the news of your victory over Gaochang Kingdom spread did Yelu Zhilugu withdraw his troops and return to the south of the Ili River." Xiao Yanyan said in a deep voice.

Although the Dongdu Army repelled Wang Ting's army, there was no smile on her face.

Instead, she lay in Li Xiao's arms with a worried look on her face, and said in a deep voice, "At that time, everyone advised my eldest brother to stay in Dongdu to guard it, but he was worried about the situation in Qihe and insisted on leading the expedition himself."

"The battle was won, but my brother's condition got worse."

Thinking of the news from Dongdu, Xiao Yanyan felt a surge of panic in her heart.

My parents died early, and only this elder brother stayed by my side and took care of me as I grew up.

In fact, he is no different from his father.

Thinking of Xiao Simo's increasingly serious condition, Xiao Yanyan felt extremely distressed and was very afraid that one day she would receive bad news.

"It's okay, I'm here."

"I will always be by your side."

"Besides, big brother is a lucky person, nothing will happen to him."

Li Xiao said in a deep voice, holding Xiao Yanyan tightly in his arms to comfort her.

Not long after, Xiao Yanyan's emotions stabilized, and then as if stimulated, she turned over and sat directly on Li Xiao.

"Husband, give me a child~"

……

After returning to Hexi Fort, Li Xiao spent several days in bed with Xiao Yanyan.

This woman seemed to have turned into a wild beast, wanting to have a child like crazy day and night.

The main reason is that she is not young anymore, she is already 22 years old.

At this age, the average woman's child is already able to hold a knife.

However, there was no movement in Xiao Yanyan's stomach.

Overflowing with maternal love, she couldn't wait any longer.

What's more, as Li Xiao's career grows bigger and bigger, Jinzhou's influence becomes stronger and stronger, everything requires an heir to inherit this foundation.

Xiao Yanyan believes that it is her responsibility to give birth to a child for Li Xiao.

Li Xiao does not reject this.

Although I feel that I am still young, considering my current achievements and what I need to do in the future, having a child can also make more people feel at ease.

For the great cause of Jinzhou, Li Xiao has been working like an old ox these days, devoting himself to the work and almost wearing out his skin.

It was not until Xiao Yanyan could no longer bear it that Li Xiao was finally able to escape.

After a short rest, he led his men to patrol Jinzhou.

The main purpose is to inspect the resettlement of more than 50,000 people.

"Grand Governor!"

Upon learning the news that Li Xiao had led the White Armor Army, a captain hurried to greet them with his five centurions.

"How are these people being resettled? Are there any problems?"

Li Xiao dismounted, took off his helmet and handed it to Tietou next to him, looking into the distance.

The endless grassland is full of cattle, sheep and people, and it is bustling and lively.

This is the northern part of Jinzhou, which is mainly a pastoral area. Li Xiao has settled most of the people here to live.

"The military household registration has been completed, and the people all know who their captains and centurions are."

"The pastures for each household have been divided up, and it seems to be sufficient for now."

"But in the future, as the people's flocks of sheep grow larger and larger, our pasture will definitely not be enough."

"When these people were in Dunhuang and Shazhou, they also grazed sheep, but they didn't have so many sheep."

"And they were all very happy after borrowing the sheep..."

The person who spoke was named Zhao Erdao, the second son of Zhao Tiezhu from Tazhai.

He was one of those who followed Li Xiao to form the Four Forts Coalition and attacked Sanhe Fort at night.

Moreover, he and Li Xiao are relatives.

Li Xiao has an aunt who married into Tazhai and is Zhao Erdao’s sister-in-law.

After experiencing so many wars, Zhao Erdao has now become a captain.

Li Xiao came here this time to see if he could manage these one thousand households.

After all, this is different from managing a thousand soldiers, and there are more daily chores to deal with.

"Not enough pasture? Then continue expanding northward."

"To the west of Jinzhou is the North Sea. We dare not take action, but those wild men in the north can still give you trouble."

"Expand northward!"

"The bigger our Jinzhou territory is, the better." Li Xiao said in a deep voice

After listening to Zhao Erdao's report, Li Xiao led his men directly into the crowd.

He stopped a woman and asked, "How many people are there in your family? How many sheep have you borrowed?"

The woman looked to be in her twenties, with rough skin and a rag on her head. She was very nervous when she saw Li Xiao and his group.

She had already recognized that the tall man in front of her was the Grand Commander.

And those standing behind him were either thousand households or hundred households.

For a moment, she was so nervous that she couldn't even speak.

Seeing this, Li Xiao forced a kind smile on his face and asked Zhao Erdao and others to retreat, leaving only a few personal soldiers by his side.

Then he asked, "Sister, they've left and can't hear us talking, so don't worry about anyone taking revenge on you."

"Otherwise, I will never forgive them."

With Li Xiao's comfort, the woman gradually relaxed.

"How many sheep can each person borrow here?" Li Xiao asked.

"Twenty...twenty!"

"How many ewes and how many rams?"

……

“How many were returned in the first year?”

"Two!"

……

Soon after, Li Xiao nodded with satisfaction, gave the woman a foot of cotton cloth, and let her leave.

He then asked several people and got the same answer.

This shows that Zhao Erdao and others did not deceive their superiors or subordinates, but instead carried out Li Xiao's orders truthfully.

Jinzhou Venture Group has just started and is far from being corrupted.

According to Li Xiao's order, every citizen who comes to Jinzhou can borrow twenty sheep from the Grand Marshal's Office.

For a family of five, that would be one hundred sheep.

As for the sheep that the Grand Marshal's Office lent to these people, where did they come from?

Li Xiao captured no less than one million cattle and sheep in the battle against Naiman and the Western Expedition. Except for those given as rewards to the soldiers, the rest were all raised on the Jinzhou grasslands, and some Jinzhou people were arranged to look after them with female slaves.

Therefore, Li Xiao lent these cattle and sheep to these people through loan.

If each person borrows twenty sheep, he or she needs to return two sheep to the Grand Marshal's Office in the first year and four sheep in the second year.

In the third year, he returned six sheep, in the fourth year, he returned eight sheep, and in the fifth year, he returned ten sheep.

At this point, all debts have been repaid.

During the five years, the people paid back to the Grand Commander a total of thirty sheep, including principal and interest, and they had to be adult sheep, not old sheep.

During this time, any additional lambs born and raised become their own.

Each ewe gives birth to two babies a year or three babies in two years, with each litter containing as few as one or two lambs and as many as four or five lambs.

Therefore, the interest on ten sheep over five years is really not much.

Ewes can produce milk and old sheep can be slaughtered for meat.

In addition to the belongings they brought from Dunhuang, they could also borrow food from the Hexi Trading Company if they were really short of food.

With these, it is enough for the people to survive in Jinzhou.

As for cattle and horses, they were also borrowed from the Grand Marshal's Office in the same way.

In this way, the people solved their basic survival problems, and the Grand Marshal's Office also solved the problem of feeding cattle and sheep.

In fact, it is equivalent to these people helping the Grand Marshal's Office to feed livestock for five years.

"I thought the Grand Commander brought these people to Jinzhou to have them cultivate the land, but I didn't expect that he would actually let them graze."

Zhang Xinghua, the former governor of Dunhuang, said softly that he is now also a staff member of the Grand Marshal's Office.

He was very concerned about the lives of the people from Dunhuang and Guazhou who came to Jinzhou, so he volunteered to follow Li Xiao to conduct research at the grassroots level.

The result he saw surprised and satisfied him.

"The Golden State has a lot of pastureland but little arable land."

"The soil is hard and contains a lot of sand and gravel, making it difficult to cultivate. It would take several years to cultivate enough arable land for a family to be self-sufficient."

"I don't have that much time to waste in Jinzhou."

Li Xiao was walking on the grassland, looking at the smiles on the faces of the people in the distance, and said in a faint voice.

He brought these people to Jinzhou not to farm.

But it is for fighting, so we certainly cannot tie them up to reclaim wasteland and keep them away for several years.

"As for food?"

"Just hold on for a year. Next year, there will be a steady supply of food shipped in from the desert and Gaochang."

Burying oneself in the fields for a long time can easily make people lose their martial spirit, and their character will become honest and without fighting spirit.

However, the nomadic life in the high altitude can strengthen one's will and always maintain a strong physique.

Li Xiao’s plan is to separate pastoralism and farming.

The people of Jinzhou mainly engage in grazing and rely on meat and milk for food, and their food mainly comes from the desert.

The people in the desert own a large amount of high-quality arable land, and they produce grain and sell it to the Hexi Trading Company in exchange for money to buy meat and dairy products from Jinzhou.

There is good complementarity between the two major regions.

When war comes, the two places will send troops at the same time, which will be enough to recruit a large cavalry corps in a short period of time.

(End of this chapter)