White Horse, Silver Spear, Grand Commandant Gao

Tuoba Chongbin's defection dealt Li Yiyin a fatal blow. He roared angrily, "You were once a trusted confidant of my late father, why have you betrayed your lord and surrendered to the enemy?!"

The veteran did not answer.

Li Yimin, who was visiting Gao Xingzhou's camp, gave the answer: "Li Yiyin has repeatedly suppressed me and even tried to harm me. Tuoba Chongbin is following his late father's dying wish, how can he sit idly by?"

Oh, the old cliché story of a loving father favoring his new wife and young son, Gao Huaide scoffed.

Helian Bobo would be furious if he found out that his magnificent city, which he had worked so hard to build, had fallen because of such a melodramatic plot.

Li Yiyin was suddenly betrayed. If it weren't for the foreign troops, he was confident he could suppress the rebellion. However, there are no "ifs" in reality. The western gates of the city were wide open, and allied forces were pouring into the city. Once surrounded, there would be no escape.

Assessing the situation, Li Yiyin immediately led several hundred personal guards, using iron hawks to clear a path, and led his entire clan, young and old, to break through the encirclement and escape through the north gate.

As the sun set, the Li family, who had occupied Xiazhou City for fifty years, disappeared into the vast desert.

……

They won just like that?

Standing on the ten-zhang-high Yong'an Platform, Gao Huaide gazed at the receding black dots, his inner feelings complex and difficult to understand.

With the fall of a formidable city and the annihilation of a powerful enemy, is it a time of joy and satisfaction, or one of emptiness and loss?

This was the first time Gao Huaide had experienced this feeling. He imagined that Li Cunxu must have felt something similar when he stepped into Bianliang, as his father had told him.

Gao Huailiang and Yang Chonggui came to his side, and the three children stood side by side, their young hearts bearing the impact and baptism brought about by this battle.

"One day, we too will follow in the footsteps of our fathers and quell the great enemy."

The glory of this battle belongs to Gao Xingzhou and Fu Yanqing, but the story has only just begun, and the era of Gao Huaide and Yang Chonggui will eventually come.

"So, you're going back now?"

With the Dingnan army pacified and the alliance achieved, the hostage was no longer necessary, and Gao Huailiang and Yang Chonggui were about to return to their respective homes. Gao Huaide was both delighted and reluctant to part with Yang Chonggui.

He was reluctant to part with her, but he still acted nonchalantly, teasing his friend whom he had become friends with through a misunderstanding: "I'm afraid it won't be a year or two before Brother Gui forgets about me and my sister."

Yang Chonggui was an honest man and shook his head, saying that there was absolutely no such thing, and that he would never forget the time they spent together, as well as the Gao siblings.

He wasn't good with words, but after thinking for a long time, he blurted out a sentence that made Gao Huaide laugh.

"When I have sons in the future, I will name each one with the character 'Yan' in their generation name to commemorate the days I spent in Yanzhou!" (Note 1)

……

Children can dream about the future, but adults have to face reality.

With the rebellion quelled, there was no time to savor the victory. The generals gathered to discuss their next move. The two greatest contributors to the victory, the future governors of Suizhou and Yinzhou, Li Yimin and Tuoba Chongbin, also joined the discussion.

The topic of discussion was Li Yiyin's whereabouts.

Li Yimin was the one who most wanted to get rid of his half-brother, and as long as Li Yiyin lived, he would always be a worry in his heart.

Zhang Xichong stood aside with his arms crossed, not participating in the discussion, with an expression that said, "I've taken care of the important things for you, don't bother me with the trivial matters."

"Seven hundred miles of desert, utterly uninhabited, where can we even begin to look for him?"

Yang Hongxin was straightforward and immediately pointed out the difficulties.

Tuoba Chongbin also advised, "Young master, it would be better to discuss the matter of pursuing Li Yiyin more carefully."

The Han Sea, also known as the Dry Sea, stretches between the states of Ling and Xia. Water sources are scarce, and food transport is extremely difficult. Finding a group of people within it is like searching for a needle in a haystack. If a large army is mobilized to search, resupply will be another major challenge.

Moreover, in Tuoba Chongbin's mind, helping Li Yimin was one thing, but he might not necessarily want to completely eliminate Li Yiyin.

"Dijinze! Li Yiyin must be in Dijinze."

Ignoring Tuoba Chongbin's repeated winks to stop him, Li Yimin shouted, "My late father once said that Dijinze has water and grass, which is suitable for grazing. If Xiazhou City falls, we can take refuge here temporarily."

Gao Xingzhou and Fu Yanqing exchanged a glance. If what Li Yimin said was true, it was indeed an opportunity to eliminate future troubles.

Unfortunately, Li Yimin only knew the place name and its general location. Dijinze was three hundred li northeast of Xiazhou City, but he had never been there in person.

Even a light cavalry raid of three hundred li would take two days.

"Li Yiyin fled in haste, and must have left traces. We should send people to scout the terrain first, and then strike after we have a clear understanding of the situation."

Gao Xingzhou smiled calmly: "The men have worked hard to conquer the city, they also need to relax for a couple of days."

"That's only natural."

Everyone understands the principle that leading troops requires a balance of tension and relaxation.

"All of Li Yiyin's military wealth should be used to reward the troops, and all the family assets of the remaining rebels in the city should be confiscated. Cattle and sheep should be slaughtered to serve as military rations, and the people should not be disturbed too much."

Li Yimin and Tuoba Chongbin had no choice; the situation was beyond their control. At this point, they had no choice but to accept that their own homes were safe from invasion, which was already a good outcome.

From the moment they made up their minds to rebel, they were aware of this.

Yang Hongxin and Zhe Congruan understood each other and smiled, while Zhang Xichong and Fu Yanqing also nodded slightly.

"Okay, it certainly won't be 'too' a nuisance."

……

After several days of chaos, Xiazhou City gradually returned to order, shops began to reopen, and pedestrians finally started walking on the streets.

Soldiers, having unleashed the pressure of life and death and their violent greed, returned to their camps at the command of their officers, showing off their spoils of war and boasting about the allure and charm of the Tangut women.

During this time, Gao Huaide stayed in the military camp, letting his subordinates go out to make money and have fun. When he was bored, he often went up to the city wall to feel the cool autumn air.

Gazing at the endless expanse of yellow sand, Gao Huaide couldn't help but wonder: Is there really an oasis there?

Several days later, the scouts sent out confirmed this; they had found Dijinze.

It was a basin surrounded by mountains on three sides, with a gap in the southeast. The continuous mountain range, which was five hundred feet high, kept out the endless sandstorms and protected this oasis.

There is a lake in the valley, which is twenty miles in circumference, long from east to west and narrow from north to south, and several feet deep.

Many Tangut tribes lived around the lake, with a rough count of over a thousand tents. The mountain valley north of the lake was where Li Yiyin's tribe settled.

"Located deep in the desert, relying on the mountains and strategic locations, it is indeed a good place."

Gao Xingzhou made a decisive decision: "If he were to subdue the various tribes and replenish his strength, he might very well come back again. Even if he harasses us from time to time, it would be a future threat. We should strike him down immediately and not let him get away with it."

Zhang Xichong collected his share of the spoils for the army and led the Lingwu Army back to their home territory. Zhe Congyuan and Yang Hongxin, on the other hand, were preparing for another Khitan attack and had already begun their return journey.

The two who remained quickly decided on their roles: Fu Yanqing would pacify the people in Xiazhou, Gao Xingzhou would lead the army, and Li Yimin would be his deputy. They would select 2,000 light cavalry from various units and launch a surprise attack on Dijinze overnight!

According to the intelligence provided by the scouts, they could reach their destination after traveling for a day and a night. They arrived just in time for sunrise, catching Li Yiyin completely off guard.

Li Yimin cautioned, "Besides food, we also need to prepare enough clean water. The land of the Gobi Desert is all saline; if we use it to water the horses, their mouths and noses will crack."

Upon hearing the news, Gao Huaide was eager to participate, but was scolded by his father.

"Marching across the desert is no child's play. The sand dunes are unpredictable, and storms can strike at any time. If you lose your bearings and go astray, it will be extremely dangerous. Take good care of your brother and stay in the city!"

Well, you underestimate me again.

The more Gao Xingzhou tried to stop him, the more rebellious Gao Huaide became, thinking that he would definitely take the opportunity to go there someday.

Gao Xingzhou seemed to realize he had been too harsh on his son, and softened his tone, saying, "This round trip should only take about five days, so you don't need to go. Liang'er just got back, and as his older brother, you should spend more time with him."

Gao Huaide gave a weak reply.

Fu Yanqing chuckled and interjected, "I will be stationed here for a while. My wife and daughter have come from Qingzhou. I entrust your two sons to her care for a few days. I guarantee nothing will go wrong, so Brother Gao, you can rest assured."

According to the pre-war agreement, Xia Prefecture would be jointly administered by the Gao and Fu families. Gao Huaiyuan, Fu Cunshen's nine sons, and Fu Yanqing's youngest brother, Fu Yansheng, would each serve as the general and deputy general, respectively. Since they were related by marriage, there should be no problem with their cooperation.

What? I'm going to see those two little vixens again?

Before Gao Huaide could think further, Gao Xingzhou had already made the decision for him: "That's very good. My son is unruly, so I'll have to trouble you and your wife."

"Not at all, Brother Gao, I wish you a speedy return and all the best!"

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Place Name Comparison

Dijinze: present-day Hohhot Ancient City, Ordos City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region