The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 76 Wait for me to come back
"Chilechuan, at the foot of Yinshan Mountain."

"The sky is like a dome, covering the whole area."

"The sky is blue, the wild is vast, and the wind blows the grass and sees cattle and sheep."

……

The wind in the northern border is cold and desolate, as if it can cut through the curtain of time and reveal the magnificent and boundless picture.

Before dawn, Li Xiao rode his horse on the vast Jinshan Mountain, his heart filled with lofty sentiments, and sang the Chi Le Song loudly.

Although this song describes the scenery under the Yin Mountains, Li Xiao feels that it perfectly fits the beauty of all grassland scenery.

Every word resonates with the pulse of the grassland, and every sentence seems to depict the majestic and magnificent scenery of the northern border. That is the deepest love he has for this land.

The sky in the northern border is boundless, covering the earth like a lid, with grasslands and mountains everywhere.

The world stretched out around him, seemingly without end.

Only the undulating Jinshan Mountain stands tall and majestic, like an ancient giant guarding this land.

When the faint rays of the sun fell on the earth, the army under Li Xiao's command had already set out, galloping towards the vast northern land.

Standing on a hillside, Li Xiao looked down at the teams of cavalry passing by. The sun's rays seemed to have covered them with a layer of golden gauze.

Everyone was moving forward silently. The sound of horses' hooves was dull and rhythmic, stepping on the soft grass, like the steady heartbeat of the earth.

The cavalrymen's sheepskin coats were wet with morning dew, gleaming with tiny rays of light in the dim light. Every step forward seemed to measure the distance between this vast grassland and an unknown journey.

At the same time, on another hillside not far away, the figure of a woman on horseback slowly emerged.

Her figure is as tall and straight as a poplar, coated with a layer of warm yellow by the sunlight, making her outline even more graceful.

Her long hair was like black silk, dancing freely in the wind, and a few strands of hair brushed across her slightly flushed cheeks.

The colorful skirt she wore was embroidered with auspicious patterns and embodied the blessings of the grassland. At this moment, it swayed gently in the wind, as if humming a soft song for someone who was leaving.

At this moment, Li Xiao seemed to have sensed something and turned slightly to look back.

His gaze crossed the vast grassland and looked straight at the opposite hillside, meeting the woman's gaze in the air.

At this moment, time seems to stand still, and thousands of words flow in the eyes.

"Xiao Yanyan~" Li Xiao whispered softly.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Yanyan would come to see me off.

Also, the clothes she wore today are very beautiful.

People are also more beautiful.

At this moment, Xiao Yanyan's eyes were completely fixed on Li Xiao, her lips trembling slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just bit her lower lip.

Everyone's emotions seemed to converge into four words.

"Come back alive."

Li Xiao's eyes flickered with a trace of fluctuation, and the corners of his mouth moved slightly as he murmured, "Wait for me to come back."

He then turned his head firmly, tightened his grip on the reins, and urged his horse to keep up with the team.

As the cavalrymen walked further and further away, Li Xiao's figure could no longer be found in her sight.

Xiao Yanyan's hopeful and reluctant expression turned a little lonely.

Then, the sound of horse hooves like drumbeats rang out, and Xiao Simo rode up on horseback, holding a wolfskin coat in his hand, which he gently draped over Xiao Yanyan.

"Don't catch a cold in the cool breeze of the valley in the morning."

Feeling the warmth from the wolfskin coat, Xiao Yanyan's eyes seemed to lose focus, and she just stared blankly at the cavalry team that was gradually moving away.

"He will come back, right?" Xiao Yanyan murmured.

"The general died in a hundred battles, and no one knows whether heaven will take him away." Xiao Simo said in a low voice.

This mission is indeed dangerous. Li Xiao's isolated army has entered the territory of the Naiman people. If they are not careful, the whole army will be wiped out.

But it's also funny to say that Xiao Simo, as the governor of the Eastern Capital and the King of the Six Courts, has a prominent status and a large number of soldiers under his command.

But now Li Xiao has become the only capable general under his command.

Because this mission of crossing the Alai Ridge is too important.

If he chose the Khitan army, Xiao Simo was worried that he would "win the lottery".

Once this mission is leaked, the ancient road of Alailing will be completely blocked.

Conquering Jinshan will become a distant prospect.

So Xiao Simo couldn't afford to lose, so he could only trust Li Xiao, a Han Chinese who had no connection with the royal court.

"Unfortunately, he is not a Khitan."

Xiao Simo looked at the army's receding backs, suddenly shook his head and sighed.

In his eyes, Li Xiao is both intelligent and brave, good at fighting, and has sophisticated skills at a young age, which convinces a group of veteran soldiers.

This is a genius born for the battlefield.

What a pity~
If he were a Khitan, Xiao Simo would have wanted to marry his sister to him.

But Xiao Yanyan was unwilling to hear this.

His head turned instantly, and he stared at Xiao Simo and said, "What's wrong with the Han people?"

"Aren't Han people members of the Liao Dynasty?"

"Didn't Empress Dowager Chengtian marry a Han Chinese back then?"

Empress Dowager Chengtian was Xiao Chuo.

During her regency, she personally led a large army south and signed the Treaty of Tanyuan with the State of Song.

But what she is most remembered for in her life is that when she was the empress dowager, she fell in love with the Han Chinese prime minister at the time, Han Derang.

She also invited some relatives and friends to a small banquet and held a wedding to marry Han Derang.

Of course, there are also rumors that Xiao Chuo and Han Derang were childhood sweethearts and that their old love was rekindled. But no matter what, in Xiao Yanyan's eyes, Empress Dowager Chengtian was a great woman.

He was the object of her lifelong admiration and study.

Xiao Yanyan can do the same things that Empress Dowager Chengtian can do.

But seeing Xiao Yanyan like a tigress protecting her cub, Xiao Simo's heart was broken.

How could he not know what Xiao Yanyan was thinking?
However, Li Xiao is a Han Chinese, and his family background is too low and his status is not high enough, so he is not qualified to marry into the Xiao family.

"Hmph, let's wait until Li Xiao reaches Han Derang's level!" Xiao Simo said with forced indifference.

"Okay!" Xiao Yanyan also snorted.

"Then when Li Xiao returns this time and makes a contribution, you can make him the governor of Jinzhou."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Simo was stunned.

"impossible."

Governor of Jinzhou?

Li Xiao is so young and a Han Chinese. He is going to be the governor of Jinzhou. What will those old generals who have followed the Xiao family since the time of Xiao Wulila think?
……

When a large army sets out on an expedition, the marching route certainly cannot be through the mountains.

After leaving the camp, Li Xiao led his men towards the northwest and soon arrived at the Jinzhou grassland.

The terrain suddenly became open, and any danger encountered could be dealt with in advance.

The most important thing is that this is already the rear.

"Everyone, follow the person in front of you, identify your team's color, and don't fall behind."

"Pee and poop must be taken care of immediately. No one is allowed to leave the team without orders."

During the march, messengers ran back and forth from time to time, loudly reminding the soldiers not to get separated.

What the soldiers of this era lacked was organization, and dozens of people would be left behind on any mountain road.

We dispersed as we walked.

Li Xiao gave a forced order that unless everyone took a group break, they had to hang on the horse's back even to defecate, and no one was allowed to fall behind.

Those who disobey the order will be severely punished with twenty strokes of the cane.

If you commit the crime three times, you will be beheaded immediately.

"Dalong, your idea is really good. We can tell at a glance if anyone has fallen behind."

"And when the battle really comes, it's easy to distinguish between friend and foe." Luo Ping said in amazement.

As the army marched, Li Xiao and others were standing on a high slope, carefully supervising the soldiers.

However, they found that the marching team became very natural, and even if someone fell behind, it was easy to identify them.

Because every soldier had a cloth tied around his neck.

Depending on the thousand households they belong to, the cloth towels are divided into three colors.

Walking in the front were the people led by Li Dashan, and each soldier had a red cloth tied around his neck.

At the front of the team was a man carrying a red flag.

In the middle were the troops led by Li Xiao himself, and each soldier had a yellow cloth tied around his neck.

The last group was led by Luo Ping, and the strips of cloth were blue.

The three colors are clearly distinct.

Once someone in front falls behind and someone of a different color mixes in with the back, he can be spotted at a glance, and then he will be given twenty strokes of the cane by the military judge.

This method has indeed greatly reduced the frequency of soldiers falling behind and saved time for reorganizing the team.

"Although none of the soldiers are stupid, their ability to understand varies."

"We can't expect them to understand every command directly, but they can recognize colors. They just need to follow the ones with the same color as themselves." Li Xiao said in a light voice.

This is mainly because this is a temporary army and the soldiers come from various sources.

It is difficult to distinguish the language, appearance and clothing style.

It is impossible for them to become familiar with each other in just a few days of training.

Once on the battlefield, if these soldiers cannot distinguish between friend and foe, it will definitely be dangerous.

That's why Li Xiao used cloth strips to mark identities. The soldiers only needed to see someone with three colors of cloth tied around their neck to know that they were one of their own.

Even if they are broken up, as long as people of the same color gather together, they can quickly regroup their fighting strength.

There is no way. It is impossible for Li Xiao to make the soldiers wear uniforms now.

This kind of cloth can only be used as a substitute.

And the three colors chosen are also very particular.

Red, yellow and blue are the three primary colors, and they have the strongest visual impact.

In short, it is the most conspicuous.

Soldiers can see it at a glance without even having to think twice about it.

On the other hand, white becomes somewhat "invisible" when the sunlight is strong, and black is even more unfavorable for fighting at night.

The three primary colors are just right.

"Let the soldiers follow up and make sure no one is left behind."

"Reach Beimang Mountain and rest before sunset." Li Xiao ordered loudly.

(End of this chapter)