The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 77 Suppression
Alai Ridge is one of the highest peaks in the southern part of Jinshan.

It is towering into the clouds, with rugged rocks, as if it is a giant arm extending from the earth, reaching into the sky.

The traces of time are clearly visible on the surface of the mountain. The gullies are like wrinkles on the face of a giant, recording the long passage of time.

And right between the two peaks, a deep valley is hidden, like a deep wound torn in the earth by time.

The mountain walls on both sides are vertical as if chopped by an axe or a knife, and the surface of the rock is covered with sharp edges and corners, just like the sharp teeth in the mouth of a giant beast, which makes people feel daunted.

“Alailing Pass.”

Li Xiao stopped outside the mountain pass and could not see the end of the valley at all.

Behind him was a group of cavalrymen in leather armor, holding spears and looking solemn. The sound of their horses' hooves echoed in the valley, sounding particularly dull.

Compared with the towering mountains, the cavalrymen seemed so small, like a group of ants crawling under the feet of a giant.

"I didn't expect that there was such a mountain road hidden here." Li Dashan said in surprise.

"The terrain is really dangerous." Luo Ping also exclaimed in amazement.

"We only need to set up an ambush on each of the two peaks. Even if he has a hundred thousand troops, it will be useless."

That’s right!
Li Xiao nodded slightly. According to historical records, in the autumn of 1204, Temujin chased the Merkits to Alai Ridge.

His hatred for the Merkit people was irreconcilable, and he was determined to exterminate the Merkit people.

Unfortunately, the Merkits occupied the advantageous terrain and refused to come out. Temujin's army launched several attacks but failed and suffered heavy casualties.

From this we can see how steep the terrain of Alai Ridge is. It is like one man guarding the pass against ten thousand men.

In the end, Temujin decided to fight to the death with the Merkits in Alai Ridge.

After a winter, the Merkits in Alai Ridge suffered from cold and hunger, and their fighting power was greatly reduced.

In the spring of the following year, when Temujin launched an attack, the Merkits collapsed without a fight.

After Li Xiao thought about this, he seemed to be lost in thought, but a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"He's just a beggar!"

Li Xiao would treat anyone who was Temujin's enemy as a close friend.

The Merkits and Temujin were fighting to the death at Alai Ridge. How could Li Xiao not come to help with this opportunity?

If I could take advantage of this opportunity to kill my best friend, I would win a jackpot.

"Give the order, the entire army should rest." Li Xiao said to the messenger.

After the messenger took the order and left, Li Xiao looked at Chen Erqiang again.

"Uncle Qiangzi, take your men to climb up the mountains on both sides to see if there are any enemy ambushes."

"Yes, sir!" Chen Erqiang nodded and began to assign people.

Li Xiao then ordered Lin Dazhuang, "Take a team of people and go into the valley. If something goes wrong, return immediately."

"As ordered."

After all the exploration personnel were dispatched, Li Xiao arranged for the soldiers to eat and rest.

But soon, Li Xiao heard a noisy sound coming from the team behind.

It seems to be getting a little confusing.

"Da Hu, go and see what's going on." Li Xiao said while eating Hu Bing and swallowing a mouthful of mountain stream water.

"Yes!"

Dahu got on his horse and returned shortly afterwards to report the situation to Li Xiao.

"Haha, a bunch of wimps and trash."

After listening to this, Li Xiao shook his head and sneered.

I had thought of this situation a long time ago, otherwise why would I bring those people here?
So he stuffed the uneaten Hu Bing into the pocket on the horse's back, jumped on the horse, and headed towards the rear with his personal guards.

In the distance are towering mountains and deep ancient roads, and on both sides are undulating hills and grasslands all over the mountains.

On a hillside, a group of soldiers with yellow cloth tied around their necks were shouting loudly and had a conflict with their squad leaders and captains.

"Where exactly are we going?"

"We must be given an explanation, otherwise we will not go anywhere."

"Yes, we will never go to die."

There were more than a dozen of these soldiers, and when they gathered together, their momentum was not weak at all.

"Wang Hu, are you looking for death?"

"We're soldiers and we get food. We do whatever the captain tells us to do!"

"I don't need to explain to you." A man shouted loudly with a ferocious look on his face.

His name is Li Sanhe, the son of Li Xiaosan’s grandfather, and he currently serves as a centurion.

He was leading a group of people from Hexi Fort to confront Wang Hu and others.

"I used to be a bandit, I didn't even pay attention to the governor's orders."

"A mere thousand households, still a baby who hasn't been weaned, is nothing more than a bird."

After Wang Hu finished speaking, his companions behind him burst into laughter.

Although they had good food and drink during these days and did not have to fight with the Naiman people, they lived a very comfortable life.

But Wang Hu, who had been a horse bandit for so many years, knew very well that if someone showed kindness to him without any reason, he was either a traitor or a thief.

Maybe they were asked to fight the Naimans to the death.

He hasn't lived enough, so of course it's impossible.

I originally wanted to escape halfway and return to the desert to continue being a horse bandit.

But unexpectedly, Li Xiao's team did not slack off during the march, and he had no chance to sneak away.

Seeing that they were getting further and further away and might soon reach the Naiman territory, Wang Hu could no longer bear it, so he secretly contacted some unruly soldiers and started to make trouble.

"I think you are looking for death." Li Sanhe suddenly became angry, holding a spear in his hand, and wanted to teach this bastard a lesson.

At this moment, a low roar of war horses came from the distance.

Li Xiao arrived with his men, wearing leather armor, holding a lance, with a cold expression on his face, galloping across the mountain grass.

In a flash, it rushed into everyone's sight like black lightning.

"Who dares to rebel?" Li Xiao shouted loudly, his eyes as sharp as an eagle, sweeping straight towards Wang Hu.

The man's originally arrogant attitude was instantly suppressed by the powerful aura emanating from Li Xiao, and a trace of panic flashed in his eyes.

But Li Xiao did not stop riding his horse at all, the lance in his hand emitted a sharp cold light, and he rushed straight towards Wang Hu and others.

"What do you want to do?"

Wang Hu and others were shocked and became panicked as they saw Li Xiao getting closer and closer.

But the next second, the lance in Li Xiao's hand stabbed out directly, and with a scream, a big hole was instantly torn in Wang Hu's chest.

"咴儿咴儿"

Li Xiao suddenly pulled the reins, the warhorse raised its front hooves high, neighed, and then landed steadily.

Immediately afterwards, the powerful force of his arm lifted the horse spear high up, and Wang Hu, who was not yet dead, was held high in the air like a flag.

"Ahhhhh~"

The shrill screams echoed throughout the valley, and blood kept dripping from the air like rain.

Everyone who saw this scene felt a chill run through their bodies.

Li Xiao, on the other hand, looked down at the group of people who had followed Wang Hu into the chaos. His voice was low but revealed an unquestionable authority: "Catch them all."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Sanhe led his men and rushed forward.

Frightened by Li Xiao's terrifying power, those people didn't dare to resist at all.

Then, Li Xiao threw Wang Hu to the ground as if he was throwing away garbage.

"Collapse~"

Not long after, Li Xiao stood on a high slope on horseback, looking down at the soldiers gathering below, with the lance in his hand still dripping with blood.

Those who caused the riot were tied up and made to kneel on the ground.

"You are all elite soldiers selected by me personally from an army of over 20,000."

Li Xiao shouted loudly to the many soldiers and directly gave them the title of elite warriors.

The soldiers looked at Li Xiao's figure, silent, but they unconsciously revealed a hint of confidence.

That was recognition and affirmation from Shangguan.

"But some people are afraid of death and don't want to fight."

"Intended to sow discord among the troops and cause rebellion."

"According to the law, he should be beheaded."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Xiao swung the lance in his hand, and then Li Sanhe led his men to carry out the execution personally.

As the rioters begged for mercy in fear and cursed, their heads were chopped off.

This scene instantly frightened the surrounding soldiers.

The scene suddenly became eerily quiet, with expressions of fear and relief flashing across the soldiers' faces.

Fortunately, I didn’t listen to the instigation of Wang Hu and others before, otherwise I would have almost died.

Satisfied with the effect of killing the chicken to scare the monkey, Li Xiao nodded slightly.

He continued, "You may have guessed it, but we are indeed going to fight the Naimans."

"After crossing this valley, we will reach the territory of the Naiman people."

Following the direction Li Xiao pointed his lance, everyone looked towards the deep valley, feeling a little nervous and worried about the future.

"But I'm not taking you to die."

"Instead, I want to take you to achieve merit, make fortunes, and rob women."

Li Xiao shouted loudly: "The main force of the Naiman people has been dragged to the south by Lord Xiao's army. The Naiman people's territory is completely empty."

"There are almost no troops guarding it. We just need to pass through this valley, and no one will be able to stop us."

"The cattle and sheep that the Naimans leave at home are ours, and the women in their tents will be yours to play with."

"As long as you finish this battle, you will no longer be slaves, no longer sheep slaves."

"You will have enough cattle and sheep, and there will be many Naiman women in your tents to bear sons for you."

……

"Now, who wants to leave?"

Li Xiao spoke until his mouth was dry and his sharp eyes swept over the people below.

After he asked this question, naturally no one dared to suggest leaving. After all, Wang Hu and others were still very excited.

No one dared to be the first to speak out anymore.

Most of the soldiers calmed down, and even a hint of longing appeared on their faces.

I was moved by the beautiful pictures painted by Li Xiao.

Many of them were slaves or sheep slaves with nothing, and many of them had no women willing to be with them because of their low status and lack of money.

Now, with such an opportunity to get rich overnight, they will naturally be tempted.

Of course, this is also because Li Xiao selected a group of honest men who are not lacking in the spirit of fighting hard.

If the person is the kind of person who appears smart but is timid and cowardly at heart, the effect of Li Xiao's words will be greatly reduced.

In short, through Li Xiao's method of killing the chicken to scare the monkey and using a combination of kindness and force, the morale of the army was stabilized.

He was no longer so resistant to the upcoming battle towards the Naiman base.

Finally, the soldiers returned under the leadership of their respective squad leaders and continued to eat and rest. Nothing else happened in the meantime.

Li Xiao also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, this is an army that was put together in a hurry, although they are all honest men.

But when the number of people increases, people's hearts will become strange.

Fortunately, Li Xiao used some means to temporarily unite the generals.

Next, it will need to continue to win victories before this temporarily assembled army can truly transform into an iron cavalry.

(End of this chapter)