Chapter 107: Winter Is Coming, Corpses Filling the Wilds

The Wuliji Tribe was one of the largest tribes of the ‘Wusun lineage’ in Jin Prefecture.

The population was over a thousand, with about four hundred men capable of fighting alone.

The leader was named Wuliji, who had always been known for his greed and ferocity. In past years, he had often conflicted with Han fortresses.

Their appearance at Sanhe Fortress this time had a very simple purpose: grain.

At this moment, in Wuliji’s team, a burly man with a face full of fierce flesh was riding on a black warhorse, looking at the able-bodied men of Hexi Fortress from afar.

He was precisely the leader of the Wuliji Tribe, Bate Wuliji.

In the previous war against the Naimans, he fought bravely and established merit, and was appointed as a Thousand-Man Commander by Xiao Sima.

In Jin Prefecture, he could be considered a regional lord with high position and heavy power.

Therefore, at this moment, he was fully qualified to despise the Hexi cavalry led by the Old Master: “A bunch of old things and a bunch of unweaned brats dare to grab grain from us?”

Then, he turned to his subordinate and said, “Tell them that this place has already been occupied by our Wuliji Tribe. If they know what’s good for them, get lost immediately, or else you’ll all die here today!”

While his subordinate went to issue the warning to Hexi Fortress, a scene from not long ago replayed in Wuliji’s mind.

That day, the High Priest came to him and relayed the will of the gods.

There was only one sentence: “Winter is coming, and starving corpses will fill the wilds.”

According to the High Priest’s explanation, it was because the slaughter in the Northern Frontier had been too heavy this year. The war between the Liao army and the Naimans had caused great suffering to the people, angering the gods.

Thus, the gods sent down punishment: there would be five months of unceasing white-hair heavy snow in winter.

At that time, the Northern Frontier would be covered in white disaster, and both humans and livestock would perish.

Wuliji was completely frightened by the scene described by the High Priest.

If Jin Prefecture really had five months of continuous heavy snow, then their Wuliji Tribe would definitely be frozen into ice sculptures on the steppe or starve to death.

So, to survive this disaster, Wuliji had to store more grain and prepare firewood.

Coincidentally at this time, someone told him that a Han fortress called Sanhe Fortress had been exterminated by the Karluks.

Their grain had become ownerless property, perfect for harvesting to survive the winter.

Thus, for the survival and continuation of the tribe, Wuliji brought his tribesmen to Sanhe Fortress.

Looking at the Han cavalry in the distance, Wuliji thought secretly in his heart: “Hope these Han people are sensible.”

Because without this prophesied great snow disaster, he really wouldn’t want to come to the Han people’s territory.

For nothing else, just because a ruthless man had emerged among the Han people.

Vice Military Governor of Jin Prefecture, Li Xiao.

Although this person was young, he was brave and skillful in battle. He led his army to chase Buyruq Khan into a wretched state and even captured the Naiman Prince Kuchlug alive.

He could definitely be called a fierce man with illustrious war merits.

If not necessary, Wuliji didn’t want to offend Li Xiao either.

But there was no choice!

Winter was imminent. Not only did the Wuliji Tribe need grain, but other tribes needed it too.

With the grain from Sanhe Fortress, Wuliji would have the ability to bestow favors on those few Hundred-Man Commanders who had just come under his command, making them useful to him.

And this was also the reason why he dared to offend Li Xiao.

Although Li Xiao was the Vice Military Governor and brave in battle, he, Wuliji, was not to be trifled with either.

As one of the eight major Thousand-Man Commanders of Jin Prefecture, even Xiao Lintuo was polite to him, constantly bestowing favors to win him over.

Li Xiao, a mere Vice Military Governor, although higher in official rank than him, still lacked a bit of fire to completely manipulate him.

Wuliji believed he had the qualifications to bargain with Li Xiao.

Most importantly, he had already received a promise from Jin Prefecture Military Governor Xiao Lintuo that he would delay Li Xiao at Wuya Village.

Letting him take away the grain of Sanhe Fortress as soon as possible.

And this was also the condition he negotiated with Xiao Lintuo. He wanted the grain of Sanhe Fortress, and the price was to stand completely on Xiao Lintuo’s side in the future.

In fact, Wuliji had no choice either.

Li Xiao was a Han person and had his own base in Jin Prefecture. Even if these nomadic tribes defected to him, they wouldn’t be valued at all.

In contrast, Xiao Lintuo, as a parachuted official, urgently needed the support of local forces.

Following Xiao Lintuo would actually have a brighter future.

So, Wuliji didn’t care about Li Xiao’s attitude anymore. Even if he didn’t offend him now, they would definitely tear off their faces slowly in the future.

The political struggle in Jin Prefecture had already begun.

He, Wuliji, couldn’t avoid it at all.

Thinking like this, the person Wuliji sent to pass the message returned. Seeing his angry look, Wuliji knew the talk had collapsed.

“Chieftain, these Han people are very arrogant.”

“They said we are robbers and bandits. Sanhe Fortress is Han territory, and the grain here is all theirs. We shouldn’t even think about taking a single grain away today.”

Hearing this, Wuliji chuckled, shook his head, and sneered.

“Robbers? Bandits?”

“Haha, they really judge people accurately.”

Coming to Sanhe Fortress, weren’t they doing exactly the deeds of robbers and bandits!

“We will definitely take all this grain away. Want to stop us?”

“Just with this group of bearded soldiers?”

It really wasn’t that Wuliji looked down on them.

If Li Xiao were here today, he wouldn’t say a word and would just slip away with his people.

But just this group of toothless old things, Wuliji really didn’t put them in his eyes.

After all, most of the soldiers under his command were warriors who had just survived the great battle with the Naimans, walking out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

“Etulu, you take men to drive these Han people away.”

“Amo, you take the others and the women and children of the tribe to harvest the grain.”

“Don’t rest day or night. Within three days, we must harvest and take away all the grain of this village.”

Wuliji instructed his subordinates.

Soon, the troops of the Wuliji Tribe began to move, charging towards the people of Hexi Fortress.

Seeing this, the Old Master looked very gloomy and stopped the impulse of everyone preparing to fight to the death.

“As long as the green mountains remain, there is no fear of running out of firewood.”

“Everyone stop for me! Don’t fucking go looking for death!” The Old Master shouted loudly.

Although they could be fearless of death, they couldn’t actively seek death.

Before, the distance was too far, and he hadn’t seen clearly.

When the soldiers of the Wuliji Tribe gathered, the Old Master realized: why are there so many people in this tribe?

Are all the able-bodied men actually here?

At least three or four hundred people, more than twice their number.

One must know that the main force of the Han tribes of Jin Prefecture remained at Wuya Village to accept reorganization; what was left here was a group of old, weak, women, and children.

The Old Master originally thought the situation of the Wuliji Tribe should be similar.

But unexpectedly, the other side’s able-bodied men had all returned.

“The situation is a bit wrong,” the Old Master muttered to himself.

Could there really be such a coincidence?

It felt like they were being targeted.

Thus, facing nearly three hundred murderous enemies, the Old Master decisively issued the order to retreat.

What should be done most at this time was to preserve strength, not to engage in this meaningless, fruitless, brainless slaughter.

Anyway, the Wuliji Tribe’s goal was this grain; they couldn’t take it away in a short time.

The Old Master decided to drag it out with them.

“Damn it, at worst, I, the old man, will burn all this grain with one fire. I absolutely won’t let these dog whelps have it cheap.”

The Old Master said viciously.

Otherwise, if these Wuliji people really snatched the grain and tasted the sweetness, they would definitely come to snatch even more fiercely next year.

Must let these nomadic tribes know that Han people’s bones are hard. If they can’t keep something, even destroying it is better than letting them snatch it.

In the following time, the Hexi cavalry and the Wuliji Tribe’s troops engaged in guerrilla warfare around Sanhe Fortress.

One side chased, one side ran.

When the Wuliji Tribe stopped, the Hexi cavalry quietly returned again. Instead of engaging the main enemy force, they attacked the ordinary herdsmen who were harvesting grain.

Specifically picking weak spots to strike.

The Wuliji Tribe was made very depressed.

“Chieftain, if this goes on, we definitely can’t finish harvesting the grain in three days,” a subordinate complained.

Wuliji also had a heavy face, and the pressure in his heart grew greater and greater.

Because the reorganization of the Han tribes in Jin Prefecture was about to end, Li Xiao was coming back soon, and Xiao Lintuo couldn’t delay for long.

And just at this time, the High Priest brought him a piece of news.

“The gods have told me the origin of this Han cavalry. They come from Hexi Fortress, forty li away.”

“And at this moment, there are not many troops left guarding Hexi Fortress.”

“Great Yabgu Wuliji, you only need to lead a cavalry unit and make a posture of attacking Hexi Fortress, and these Han people will inevitably retreat without fighting.”

A very important reason why Wuliji felt Han people were so difficult to deal with was that he didn’t understand the internal situation of the Han people.

He couldn’t even distinguish the difference between this fortress and that village.

In his view, all Han people were Li Xiao’s people.

Now, since he knew the weakness of the Han people, he hesitated no more.

Leaving two hundred soldiers to continue guarding the women harvesting grain, he personally led two hundred men to Hexi Fortress.

Sure enough, after discovering Wuliji’s intention, the Old Master instantly lost his composure.

“Damn it, how would the Wuliji people know about our Hexi Fortress?”

The Old Master looked fierce and extremely angry.

In his life, what he hated most was someone using his family to threaten him.

But there was no choice; now the enemy had seized his weakness.

Only a group of women and children remained in Hexi Fortress. Once Wuliji arrived with his men, Hexi Fortress would be in real danger.

“Go, let’s go back.”

Helpless, the Old Master could only lead his men back to Hexi Fortress first.

He didn’t choose to intercept the Wuliji cavalry halfway, as that would be meaningless.

Instead, he chose to defend Hexi Fortress firmly. Relying on the defensive fortifications of Hexi Fortress was enough to block the enemy.

Even if Wuliji dared to send people to attack, they could definitely annihilate them several times over.

However, Wuliji obviously wouldn’t attack Hexi Fortress; his goal was only grain.

But looking at the endless golden wheat fields outside Hexi Fortress, he still sighed with emotion.

“Are Han people really a race favored by the gods?”

“Why can they both grow grain and herd sheep?”

Grain and livestock like cattle and sheep—these two had a complementary effect.

In winter, the nomadic tribes’ cattle and sheep froze to death in large numbers, but the Han people hid large amounts of grain in their houses, not worrying about food and drink.

Although nomadic peoples also grew grain, their methods were quite primitive.

Just scattering seeds on the ground, then ignoring them completely, waiting to return here next year to harvest.

The result was obviously that the yield was too low, barely enough to fill the gaps between teeth.

So, the Han people’s skill in farming made Wuliji extremely envious.

“In the future, we should also let every tribesman learn to farm. That way, we won’t worry about food.”

Wuliji said in a firm voice.

At this moment, he simply saw the situation of Han people growing grain and not worrying about food and drink.

But he didn’t think about why many Han people in the Central Plains also starved to death.

Once nomadic peoples started farming, they would also go hungry.

This goal was too lofty, just an assumption of Wuliji’s.

The most important thing now was to harvest the grain of Sanhe Fortress.

“However, the grain of this Hexi Fortress… it’s a bit of a pity,” Wuliji said softly.

Because no one tended the farmland of Sanhe Fortress, many weeds had grown long ago.

The growth of the grain was far inferior to the grain fields of Hexi Fortress.

So, looking at the endless farmland south of Hexi Fortress, Wuliji’s eyes were full of covetousness.

Finally, he decided to split off one hundred soldiers to harvest the grain of Hexi Fortress, while the remaining one hundred continued to block Hexi Fortress, preventing the people inside from sneaking out to attack.

In three days, harvest as much as possible. Once the time was up, return to Sanhe Fortress immediately.

Taking the grain harvested there, prepare to go back and hunker down for the winter.

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