Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Chapter 73 Inexperience is Inexperience
It was a quiet afternoon. The hardworking Rouran people hid in their big tents, carrying out various production and reproductive activities.

Even though winter was approaching and the land south of the desert was already quite cold, the cold wind that permeated the northern frontier could not extinguish the enthusiasm of the Rouran people.

"God, please bless me to follow the Great Khan south this time and help me capture enough slaves. I am not a greedy person. I only need one strong Han slave to plow my fields, one Chi-Le slave to raise my horses, and two Xianbei slaves to herd my sheep. If God's grace can be bestowed upon me and bring me enough luck, it would be best if I could also receive three or four young female slaves."

These simple words represent the most sincere wishes in the hearts of the Rouran people.

However, before he could finish his prayer, the tent was opened.

"Whoever set up this tent, I'm going to give him a good whipping."

But when he stood up, the surroundings were no longer the familiar scenes he was familiar with.

This small settlement of a few hundred people is now full of cavalry.

A strong man wearing fine chain mail, riding a tall horse, came in front of him and spoke in poor Xianbei language.

"I heard you have some fucking potato hair."

The Rouran people nodded instinctively, then shook their heads when they saw this scene.

Then he was whipped.

"Is it really?"

"I am I, Your Excellency?"

"Listen carefully, I am Li Shoutian, a captain of the Second Cavalry Battalion of Shengle, under the command of the General Suppressing Bandits of the Northern Expeditionary Commandery."

"What brings you here, sir?"

"I have decided that your settlement will be named Li from now on."

As he spoke, Li Shoutian took out a piece of paper and stuck it on the potato-haired man's face.

"Go to the camp thirty miles behind and announce my name as Li Shoutian."

"I……"

"Don't worry, these hundreds of people of yours won't be in vain. Knowing my relationship with General Dangkou, he has to call me Third Uncle when he comes."

As he spoke, dozens of young Huaishuo men came running over, carrying gold and silver utensils, silk fabrics, and even women.

Li Shoutian shouted:

"What are you doing?"

"Grab something!"

The hardworking and honest Huaishuo people answered like this.

"We are the royal army. Can you please not be so uncultured as the Rouran people? Besides, we are at war. How can you walk with all these heavy things in your arms?"

"What should I do?"

"Put all these things here and have the Rouran people move them to the camp behind us."

"But what if they run away?"

"Take away their horses, remove the wheels of their carts, tear up their tents, and smash all the pots and pans. Where can they go in this cold weather?"

After hearing this, more than a dozen Huaishuo men went to do their work. Li Shoutian complained.

"A greenhorn is a greenhorn!"

As he spoke, Li Shoutian looked at Tu Doufa who was at a loss.

"Listen, hold on to this note and my sign, and don't lose them. If my settlement is harmed in the slightest, I'll whip you."

More than fifty cavalrymen rode away. Looking at the note in his hand, Potato was confused.

"Am I being robbed?"
-
"You...you...who are you and how did you get here?"

Gao Huan was wearing armor and killed the burly Rouran commander in front of him with one sword.

Looking at the ruined Rouran camp, Gao Huan's eyes seemed to be burning with flames. Wei Jing ran over, looked at Gao Huan, and asked:

"He Liuhun, have you really decided?"

After a tough battle, Gao Huan was a little tired, but his will was very firm.

"go!"

"But I don't think this bandit-suppressing general is the kind of person who would abandon his own dog after his rabbit has died."

"It's precisely because he's not that we're leaving!"

Wei Jing was puzzled.

"what for?"

"He's just a general with a minor title. What can we gain by joining his army? At best, he'll be a military commander."

There was one thing Gao Huan didn't say, which was that he felt that if he continued to stay with Li Shuang, sooner or later he would be eaten up by this general and nothing would be left.

Wei Jing had no feelings for the military leader, but he was very interested in the gold, silver and other valuables all over the ground.

Unlike Wei Jing, Gao Huan looked at the gold and silver utensils scattered around him without any reluctance.

"The Six Garrisons Uprising has only just begun, and the world will be in chaos. Shuozhou is too small, and we can't cause any trouble if we stay here! Being able to leave Huaishuo is the most important thing."

"Where are we going after leaving here?"

"Now that we have horses, armor, and weapons, the world is vast and we can go anywhere! I have already made an appointment with Han Gui to go to Rouxuan Town and join Du Luozhou. From him, we can at least get a general."

"It doesn't matter, I'll listen to you."
-
"My lord, He Liuhun has escaped with hundreds of Huaishuo cavalry!"

Hou Jing hurried over and told Li Shuang the news.

"How did you run?"

"He Liuhun led hundreds of cavalrymen to attack a Rouran vanguard, completely annihilating their entire force. The people we sent to support them only saw the soldiers He Liuhun had left behind to guard the spoils."

"And he took our horses and armor?"

"No, not really. After He Liuhun won the battle, he left all the baggage we distributed and only took away some of the spoils. According to military law, those things should have been given to them. Moreover, he didn't take everything, he kept most of it."

Li Shuang laughed after hearing this.

"Even if He Liuhun betrayed you, he still made you feel comfortable!"

"My lord, what should we do? If He Liuhun had planned this, Lou Zhaojun and the others should have left. Should we intercept He Liuhun's family?"

Li Shuang looked at Hou Jing and asked:
"Are you willing to intercept it?"

Hou Jing smiled but said nothing.

He was unwilling to do so. After all, they were all Huaishuo people, and they had just experienced life and death together. If he did something so shady, he would be in trouble. After all, there were still many Huaishuo people who stayed, and they were all fellow villagers.

"If I don't go, my lord, you can let someone else go!"

"Someone just made a great contribution, but he left because his ambitions didn't match theirs. Is it appropriate to embarrass his family?"

Gao Huan chose a very clever time to leave. He was sure that Li Shuang would not lose the big picture for the sake of his hundreds of cavalrymen.

"Announce to all places in Shuozhou that if you encounter the families of He Liuhun and others, do not make things difficult for them. Send troops to escort them to Pingcheng and hand them over to the Lou family. This will be considered a favor to the Lou family!"

"promise!"

Li Shuang looked at the scenery ahead and felt a little regretful.

You run really fast!
Even in this situation, can hundreds of Huaishuo people be taken away?
But it’s okay. Those who should leave have left, and the Huaishuo people who stay will completely become his subordinates.

"Order Gaoang and Yang Kan's forces to move closer to ours. All forces march straight to the Golden Horde Court under the Wolf Head Banner!"

(End of this chapter)