The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 20 The Fall of Sanhe Fort

In the Western Regions, it gets dark late and gets light late.

Most of the morning hour had passed, and the sun had just risen in the northern border.

After a peaceful night, Hexibao gradually became lively. The village was filled with the sounds of people working and the shouts of people feeding cattle and sheep.

If we ignore the reality of the Karluk rebellion, Hexi Fort at this moment is completely a paradise, and the villagers live a quiet and peaceful life.

At the Li family, Li Xiao also woke up and took a look at Erhu next to him. He was lying on his back with his legs spread out, looking like a human character.

The two arms and two legs were pressed on Li Xiao and Da Hu on the other side respectively.

"Damn, no wonder I had a dream about being possessed by a female ghost!" Li Xiao muttered cursingly.

I couldn't help but glance down. The boy was very angry, but fortunately he was not embarrassed.

Although I couldn’t see the female ghost’s appearance clearly in the dream, her figure was really good.

Li Xiao couldn't help but pay tribute to him!
"Maybe it wouldn't be bad to get a wife~" Li Xiao straightened his shorts that were torn sideways in his dream, and thought secretly in his heart.

People of this era get married relatively early, and many get married at the age of fifteen or sixteen.

Li Xiao is considering whether to compromise with Qin Dani and the old lady?
No matter whether she is a loli or a young woman, it is more comfortable than sleeping in the same bed with these two idiots.

Li Xiao shook his head slightly. The threat from the Qarluk was still hanging over his head, so the matter of finding a wife had to be postponed.

"Woke up."

Li Xiao kicked Erhu on the butt.

Erhu opened his hazy eyes with a confused expression. He had just dreamed that a sheep was bumping into his butt.

"Let's go cut grass today and store as much fodder as possible." Li Xiao said to Dahu and Erhu.

In autumn, nomadic herders would harvest the grass and store it as fodder for their cattle and sheep during the winter.

Although it is summer now, the Karluk cavalry may arrive at Hexi Fort at any time. If we continue to graze on the grassland as before, it will be dangerous if the Karluk cavalry attacks.

So these days people in Hexibao go to the grassland to cut grass, pull it back on carts, and store it for cattle and sheep to eat.

If we really encountered an attack by the Qarlugs, we could just abandon the cart and ride back on horseback.

"Oh~Okay."

After listening to Li Xiao's words, Erhu was stunned for a few seconds, and then he and Dahu got up.

They each wiped their face with clean water in the yard and then started to eat breakfast.

We ate the leftover horse meat from last night, accompanied by some millet porridge.

Li Xiao also asked Dahu to deliver three identical breakfasts to the yard next door.

Xiao Yanyan paid for the meal, so she had to be treated well.

Just when Li Xiao and his family were having dinner, Li Dashan suddenly ran over in a hurry.

"Uncle, come over quickly and take a look. Da Wu, Xiao Hei Zi and the others are back."

Hearing this, the old man suddenly stood up and looked at Li Dashan with excitement.

"what?"

"came back?"

“How many people came back?”

The old man's action frightened the old lady. She quickly supported him and said angrily, "Be careful, don't let the wound bleed."

The old man seemed not to hear anything, his eyes fixed on Li Dashan, as if he hoped to hear good news from Li Dashan.

"Twenty-eight people came back." Li Dashan said.

"Twenty-eight?" The old man murmured softly, feeling a little disappointed and a little happy.

"Great, it would be great if twenty-eight more could come back." The old man said with a little excitement.

One hundred young men went to Beishan to suppress the Qarluk rebellion, but only six of them returned.

Fortunately, Li Xiao persuaded him that the people in Hexi Fort should have just been dispersed, and the others must be on their way back.

And now, twenty-eight more are back.

It's a good thing.

"Where is Erjiang? Has Erjiang come back?" the old lady asked impatiently. Dahu also looked at Li Dashan with hope.

"Auntie, Brother Erjiang hasn't come back yet!" Li Dashan's voice became smaller.

When the old lady heard this, the expectation on her face turned into disappointment and she slowly sat down.

She has cried all her tears in the past few days, and now she only hopes that her second son can come back soon.

Li Xiao comforted her, "Grandma, we still have hope."

"Second Uncle must be fine. Maybe he's trying to avoid being discovered by the Qarluk people and needs to take a long detour to get back!"

"I'll be back in a few days."

The old lady knew that Li Xiao was trying to comfort her, but she still forced a smile and said, "Yes, there are Karluks everywhere now. Erjiang might be hiding somewhere!"

This is also the old lady's only spiritual sustenance. She can only use this reason to hypnotize herself and get through the daily torment.

Soon, the old man, Li Xiao and others hurried out of the house and headed towards the village entrance without even finishing their meal.

At the place where the villagers shared horse meat last night, the ashes of the bonfire were still emitting residual warmth. More and more villagers from Hexibao had heard the news and hurried over.

Standing in the middle of the open space was a group of ragged men, their faces covered in dirt and their bodies covered in filth.

Everyone's clothes were stained with congealed blood and mud, and were tattered. The sheepskin coats they wore also looked like they had been washed in mud.

Some people were even bandaging their wounds and looked very weak.

As more and more villagers arrived, some of them staggered and rushed to the men.

"Woooooooooo~"

"My son~ Hei'er, you are finally back. Woo woo woo, mother thought she would never see you again in this life."

"Boss, I thought you didn't want us anymore!"

"Dad, you're not dead? You're still alive~"

The entrance of Hexibao Village soon turned into a family reunion meeting.

These young and strong people who returned gathered with their families, and they had endless words to say and endless tears to shed.

Those villagers who did not wait for their relatives were disappointed, and they were full of envy when they saw the scene of their relatives reuniting.

"Don't laugh, Lord, who is lying drunk on the battlefield. How many people have fought in ancient times."

Looking at the scene before him, Li Xiao couldn't help but murmur softly: "No matter when, war is cruel."

However, living in this chaotic world where the strong are king, no one can avoid fighting, unless they are willing to become a slave to others and be bullied all their lives.

In Hexi Fort, everyone could accept the outcome of dying in battle. Even before this expedition, many people were prepared to die in battle.

But what is unacceptable is meaningless death in battle.

The Battle of Beishan almost caused every family in Hexi Fort to wear mourning clothes due to the Khitans' improper command.

This devastating defeat, which should not have happened, is also the reason for the anger and dissatisfaction of many people in Hexi.

So Li Xiao also silently summed up the lessons from this war, trying his best to avoid the same thing from happening in the future.

"War is a matter of great importance to a country. It is a matter of life and death, a matter of survival and destruction. It must be carefully considered!"

Looking at the people reunited at the village entrance, the old man's face showed a slight sense of relief and relief.

Although most of the young and strong men in Hexi Fort, including Li Erjiang, did not return, it was a good thing that twenty-eight of them came back and avoided the tragedy of twenty-eight families.

The twenty-eight people who came back all had silent and sad expressions when they saw the old man coming.

"Lord, we are back."

Standing at the front of the group was a middle-aged man named Wu, the eldest of the group, and known as Da Wu.

He looked at the old man, pursed his lips, and spoke in a trembling voice.

His expression was downcast and his eyes were wet.

Behind him, the twenty or so people were doing the same thing, and some were even crying softly.

“It’s good to be back!”

"I'm glad you're back." The old man nodded continuously, breathed a sigh of relief, and said happily.

Next, the old man asked some important questions and then sent these people back home.

"Go back and rest first, have a good meal and get some sleep."

"Yes, Castle Master."

Da Wu, Xiao Heizi and others nodded slightly and went home.

The surrounding villagers also returned one after another. At this moment, the atmosphere in the village was no longer as depressing as before.

The return of these 28 young and strong men gave other villagers more expectations and confidence.

"Grandma, now that you know your second uncle is still alive, you should be happy."

Li Xiao looked at the old lady who was wiping her tears and said softly.

Just now, Da Wu and others also told everyone a piece of news.

Li Erjiang was indeed hit by a few arrows at first, but none of them hit the vital parts.

Later, he took a group of young and strong men from Hexi Fort, carried Li Dahai's body on his back and broke out of the encirclement of the Qarluk people during the chaos.

However, they were later hunted down by the Karluk people, and Dawu and his men were separated from Li Erjiang and his men again.

Therefore, there is a high probability that Li Erjiang is alive.

When the old lady heard the news, she was naturally happy and tears flowed from her dry eyes again.

"Happy, I am very happy."

The old lady wiped her tears and spoke in a trembling voice.

After returning home, the three Li Xiao brothers pulled two horse-drawn carriages and left the village.

Head to the north pasture to cut the grass.

During the whole day, Li Xiao and his two companions went back and forth seven or eight times and finally finished cutting most of the fodder.

"After cutting this cart of hay, it will be enough for the cattle, sheep and horses at home to eat for five or six days." Erhu put down the sickle in his hand and threw a pile of solid hay onto the carriage.

At this time, the carriage was filled with piles of compacted hay, more than one person tall, and they were packed with as much as possible.

Save transportation time.

"Five or six days have passed in a flash, and I don't know when the Karluk rebellion will end." Dahu said softly.

“It might not be so easy to come out and mow the lawn next time.”

Hearing this, Li Xiao stood on the carriage, looked into the distance, and said calmly, "It's also possible that the Qarluk rebellion won't last for a few more days. Next time, we can drive the cattle and sheep out to graze."

While speaking, Li Xiao's eyes were always looking into the distance.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, the originally green grassland turned into a golden color, which was dotted and very spectacular.

But you can vaguely see a few small black dots appearing in the distance.

"somebody is coming."

Erhu also noticed that and subconsciously ran to his horse and drew the knife on the horse's back.

"Are they the Karluks?" Da Hu asked softly.

Li Xiao shook his head slightly, signaling Erhu not to be so nervous.

"They don't seem to be from the Karluk people."

As the black dots became clearer and clearer, their figures became more and more familiar. Da Hu suddenly shouted, "It's Third Grandpa."

"They're back."

Li Xiao and the other two quickly went forward to meet them.

"Third Master~"

"Xu~"

Third Grandpa and several young men from Hexi behind him slowly reined in their horses.

"Third Uncle, didn't you go to contact other villages? What's going on?" Li Xiao asked loudly.

Although Third Grandpa still subconsciously treated Li Xiao as a child, he thought that Li Xiao had now become the lord of Hexi Fort.

He was about to take over the affairs of Hexi Fort, so he looked at Li Xiao with a serious face and said:

"Dalong, hurry back to the village."

"Sanhe Fort has been captured by the Karluk people."

"what?"

Hearing this, the three Li Xiao brothers were all shocked.

(End of this chapter)