Chapter 105: Hexi Thousand-Man Commander

This Thousand-Man Commander position was, after all, a reward Li Xiao had fought for on the battlefield with his life.

Li Erjiang, as an elder, not only failed to shield Li Xiao from the wind and rain but instead had to receive Li Xiao’s favor.

Li Erjiang wasn’t the kind of person willing to reap the benefits without sowing, so facing this Thousand-Man Commander position, he always felt like sitting on pins and needles.

He wished he could immediately yield it to the Old Master.

As for himself, he could completely rely on his strength to obtain a Thousand-Man Commander position with real swords and spears through war merits.

However, facing Li Erjiang’s coy appearance, the Old Master glared and said angrily, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Can the position of a Thousand-Man Commander be given away casually?”

“How old am I, an old man? How many days can I still live? What use do I have for this Thousand-Man Commander? Can I take it into the coffin?”

“Dalong gave this Thousand-Man Commander position to you; this is his trust in you, and even more, his filial piety to you.”

“You are his Second Uncle; it is only right and proper for him to be good to you and filial to you.”

“What is there to be embarrassed about?”

“Put away that coy, womanly appearance of yours for me.”

“If it’s given to you, just accept it. Do this Thousand-Man Commander job well, and you won’t let down Dalong’s kind intentions.”

After being scolded by the Old Master, Li Erjiang immediately lowered his head, not daring to let out a fart.

The Old Master had accumulated heavy prestige, and he was truly afraid.

So, Li Erjiang hesitated no more and directly put away the appointment letter.

Becoming one of the eight major Thousand-Man Commanders of Jin Prefecture.

“Hmph, that’s a bit more like a man.” The Old Master snorted lightly and nodded slightly.

Of his two sons, the eldest son had a temper most like him—straightforward and decisive, doing what he said—but unfortunately died young.

And the younger son, although inheriting the old man’s martial arts and being no less brave and skillful in battle than Li Dahai…

His temperament somewhat took after the Old Lady, with a bit more indecision and lack of briskness in doing things.

A man in his thirties, yet he still needed the Old Master to whip him to move.

This was what made the Old Master most angry.

“Hehehe, Old Fortress Master.”

“Brother Erjiang is almost a grandfather; you should save him some face, old man.”

“Don’t reprimand him at every turn.”

Chen Erqiang comforted the Old Master, but unexpectedly, he was immediately met with an angry glare from the Old Master.

None of your business!

Is your kid tired of living?

Dare to meddle in my affairs?

Being glared at by the Old Master like this, Chen Erqiang immediately felt guilty and gave a sheepish smile: “I won’t speak out of turn; I won’t say anything.”

“You continue, old man.”

“I have to go back first.”

Saying this, Chen Erqiang quickly relayed some words Li Xiao had entrusted him with, then left in a hurry, afraid that the Old Master’s big foot would land on his butt.

And Li Xiao’s instructions were mainly to let Li Erjiang set off as soon as possible to Wuya Village.

On one hand, to pay respects to Xiao Sima; on the other hand, to get familiar with the people under his command as soon as possible.

After all, Li Erjiang wasn’t appointed as a Thousand-Man Commander based on military merit, so his personal prestige would inevitably be inferior to Li Dashan and Luo Ping.

To let Li Erjiang gain a firm foothold as soon as possible and prevent subordinates from causing trouble…

Li Xiao specially arranged the most manageable Thousand-Man unit for Li Erjiang.

The Hexi Thousand-Man Unit!

Its subordinates mainly included the Hundred-Man units reorganized from Hexi Fortress, Ta Village, and several surrounding fortresses.

Although Li Erjiang had no war merits, he still had certain prestige in these surrounding fortresses.

Half of the Hundred-Man Commanders under him were people whose backgrounds he knew well, so Li Erjiang’s position was the most stable.

After sending off Chen Erqiang, the Old Master and the others returned home.

Even after sitting down in the room, the Old Master still didn’t forget to give earnest advice to Li Erjiang.

After all, this son had a somewhat soft character and needed spurring from time to time.

“Being this Thousand-Man Commander, don’t feel you are taking advantage of Dalong; you are helping Dalong.”

“Although Dalong has become the Vice Military Governor, it’s not easy in his position.”

“There are Khitans pressing from above, and many people staring from below. One wrong step is eternal damnation.”

“Dalong is walking a path of no return. If you, his Second Uncle, don’t help him, who else can help him?”

“Don’t feel uneasy in your heart. Being a good Thousand-Man Commander and supporting Dalong well is the greatest repayment to him.”

…

The Old Master said a lot, scolding Li Erjiang until his face was red and ears were hot, and he nodded repeatedly in agreement.

“Yes, yes…”

“Father, I understand.”

“Even if I risk my life in the future, I will definitely not let anything happen to Dalong,” Li Erjiang said in a firm voice.

Everyone knew who brought about the current changes in the Li family.

Li Erjiang thought he was just a useless person; without this matter, his life would have been just like this, hard to achieve anything great.

But Li Xiao was different; he had seemingly become the pillar of the Li family.

There was no room for loss.

Li Erjiang understood his duty: to be a good helper to Li Xiao, and even at critical moments, to protect Li Xiao at all costs.

With Li Xiao, the Li family had hope.

And once something happened to Li Xiao, those enemies hiding in the dark would probably be unable to hold back and swarm out to tear at the Li family.

So, Li Erjiang swore in his heart that even if he sacrificed his life, he would protect his eldest nephew well.

Soon, the news of Li Erjiang becoming a Thousand-Man Commander spread throughout Hexi Fortress.

All the villagers came to congratulate him.

At this moment, everyone knew that the Li family had thoroughly prospered.

From a small fortress master family in the original Hexi Fortress, it had leaped directly to become the largest powerful family in Jin Prefecture.

There was one Vice Military Governor, Li Xiao.

Two Thousand-Man Commanders, Li Erjiang and Li Dashan.

Five Hundred-Man Commanders: Li Sanhe, Li Sishui, Dahu, Erhu, and Li Dashan’s biological younger brother, Li Xiaochuan.

As for the fifth brother among Li Dahai’s generation, like Li Dahai, he had died in battle at the hands of the Karluks in North Mountain.

And in the next generation, among Li Xiao’s peers, except for Dahu and Erhu, the others were still too young and currently unfit for great use.

But just relying on these people of the second and third generations of the Li family was enough for the Li family to establish its status in Jin Prefecture.

Moreover, there were many people like Chen Erqiang and Luo Ping who were closely related to the Li family and also held high positions.

The existence of these people directly formed a power network centered on the Li family, covering half of Jin Prefecture.

Firmly grasping the entire Han tribe of Jin Prefecture in their hands.

This was a force no one could underestimate.

Therefore, facing the rapidly rising Li family at this time, every household in Hexi Fortress immediately rallied around.

As the saying goes, when one person attains the Dao, his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.

The families of Hexi Fortress could be considered the original shareholders of the Li family.

With the Li family prospering, they, too, could benefit greatly.

People like Chen Erqiang became Hundred-Man Commanders, and there were also dozens who became Ten-Man Commanders.

In short, as Li Xiao’s starting place, as long as Hexi Fortress could firmly follow Li Xiao, it was very likely that a large group of nobles would be born in the future.

Li Xiao’s reorganization of the Han tribes in Jin Prefecture proceeded like a raging fire.

On the other side, Xiao Lintuo was equally unwilling to be lonely and was also strengthening his control over Jin Prefecture by forceful means.

He knew well that Li Xiao’s influence among the Han tribes of Jin Prefecture had initially taken shape and was difficult to shake in a short time.

But with his extremely strong desire for power, he naturally couldn’t give up just like that.

He absolutely couldn’t tolerate being surpassed by Li Xiao, the Vice Military Governor, while he was the Military Governor.

Thus, Xiao Lintuo could only turn his gaze to the other nomadic tribes in Jin Prefecture.

On this day, Xiao Lintuo invited the patriarchs and leaders of all nomadic tribes in Jin Prefecture to come for a drink.

During the feast, Xiao Lintuo, seemingly drunk, smiled and asked everyone, “Tell me, is the Military Governor bigger, or is the Vice Military Governor bigger?”

As soon as these words came out, all the leaders instantly understood what was going on.

And since they were in Xiao Lintuo’s main camp at this moment, everyone said affirmatively one after another.

“Of course the Military Governor is bigger.”

“In our Jin Prefecture, the Military Governor is definitely the bigger one.”

Some tribal leaders were very smart, knowing that Xiao Lintuo urgently needed a group of people to counter Li Xiao.

So they unhesitatingly chose the ‘merit of following the dragon’ and immediately expressed their firm stance on Xiao Lintuo’s side.

One said loudly, “I, Wusiman, only recognize Governor Xiao alone.”

“I don’t know of any Vice Military Governor in Jin Prefecture.”

Sure enough, as soon as these words came out, Xiao Lintuo instantly felt happy in his heart.

He laughed loudly, shook his head, and said, “Vice Military Governor Li was personally appointed by the Prince after all, and he has a relationship with Her Highness the Princess.”

“You still have to show him some respect.”

Although Xiao Lintuo was ostensibly speaking good words for Li Xiao, he stressed the word ‘Vice’ heavily while speaking.

And he also pointed out Li Xiao’s relationship with the Princess, hinting that Li Xiao was a pretty boy who rose to power relying on a woman.

He secretly mocked Li Xiao.

As his voice fell, some tribal leaders immediately chimed in with laughter.

“Exactly, exactly.”

“Vice Governor Li is a man of true ability. When there’s time, we really have to ask Vice Governor Li for advice on how to please women.”

Another person immediately laughed and said, “Just pleasing isn’t enough; you have to know how to lick.”

“Lick a woman’s butt until she’s comfortable, and this official position comes immediately.”

As soon as these words came out, they instantly caused everyone to roar with laughter: “Hahaha.”

Xiao Lintuo’s place had seemingly become a mockery assembly against Li Xiao.

Through such primitive means, Xiao Lintuo initially judged which people were prepared to rally to him.

Which people were worth winning over, and which were wavering.

After everyone left, only Xiao Lintuo and his own trusted aides remained in the big tent.

At this moment, his eyes suddenly became clear, no longer showing the previous drunkenness.

“What do you think? Among these people, who is human? Who is a ghost?”

Several Khitan generals looked at each other. Finally, the general most trusted by Xiao Lintuo said in a deep voice, “In this subordinate’s opinion, these people are all ghosts!”

Hearing this, Xiao Lintuo smiled gently.

“Correct, all are ghosts.”

Don’t look at how loyal these guys acted just now; in reality, there wasn’t a word of truth in their mouths.

Superficially supporting him, but they could turn traitor at any time.

Xiao Lintuo wasn’t like Li Xiao, who had a large number of Han people as a base. Coming to Jin Prefecture, apart from the two hundred Khitan soldiers specially allowed by Xiao Sima, he only had the title of Military Governor of Jin Prefecture left.

So, he had to be like Li Xiao, taking down a group of people in Jin Prefecture as his base.

Truly taking them down, letting his trusted aides control them.

And this required getting rid of a group of people first to make room for his trusted aides.

Recalling the performance of those guys just now, Xiao Lintuo focused his mind on the four Thousand-Man Commanders.

Of the eight major Thousand-Man Commanders in Jin Prefecture, four were Han, and the other four were people from the tribes.

And these four tribal Thousand-Man Commanders were Xiao Lintuo’s targets.

He was thinking about which of these four could be won over, and which must be eliminated to give up the Thousand-Man Commander position.

Slowly, Xiao Lintuo made a decision in his heart.

“Wuliji!”