Chapter 40: Exterminating the Hou Family

The sound of horse hooves was like thunder, shaking the earth to rumble. The cavalry, like an unstoppable torrent of steel, roared toward the village.

Inside Hou Village at this moment, only a group of old, weak, women, and children remained, completely unable to stop the attack of the young cavalry.

More than a hundred cavalrymen quickly rushed into Hou Village.

They shouted loudly, wielding long sabers with impressive vigor, hacking wantonly at everything around them.

Wherever they went, chaos ensued; the originally peaceful village instantly fell into confusion.

Villagers panicked and fled in all directions, their eyes filled with fear and helplessness.

“Who are you?”

“When the Village Lord comes back, he definitely won’t let you off.”

“I’ll fight you!”

Several able-bodied men of the Hou family tried to resist, picking up weapons and charging at the cavalry, but this was undoubtedly like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

The youths cut them down one by one without mercy, blood splashing on the ground.

Most villagers were paralyzed with fear, looking at everything before them helplessly.

Their eyes were full of despair, their bodies trembling involuntarily.

Everyone couldn’t help but think: “Did horse bandits enter the village? Are we going to die?”

After all, based on past experience, what followed would definitely be a massacre.

But at this time, they suddenly heard a voice like celestial music.

“I am the Lord of Hexi Fortress, Li Xiao. I came today only to exterminate the Hou family.”

“Unrelated people, surrender and you won’t be killed.”

Li Xiao was naturally not a homicidal maniac either.

Previously slaughtering Aslan’s tribe until only women remained was mainly because the Karluks were filled with betrayal and tyranny in their bones, not worthy of trust.

Moreover, the battle in Jin Prefecture was not over yet. Once the four-fortress coalition engaged other Karluk tribes, if these prisoners from Aslan’s tribe took the opportunity to riot, the situation of the four-fortress coalition would be dangerous.

So he simply went all the way, leaving only the women of Aslan’s tribe and shooting all the prisoners.

But Hou Village was different.

The Hou family was the mastermind; the others in Hou Village were coerced.

Facing these Han people, Li Xiao wouldn’t slaughter the village easily.

Li Xiao and the Han people of Hou Village shared the same roots and origins; he could completely take them under his command.

Sure enough, after hearing Li Xiao’s words, these Han people of Hou Village instantly relaxed, knelt on the ground, and no longer resisted at all.

On the contrary, those people of the Hou family all looked miserable and terrified.

A quarter of an hour later, Li Xiao ordered people to search Hou Village inside out and drove everyone together.

It was still the same slope as before, but the person standing on it was no longer Old Man Hou.

Li Xiao held a blood-stained horse lance, wore black armor, and rode on a strong warhorse. Under the setting sun, his whole person was shrouded in a layer of golden mystery, like a god of war in mythology.

Looking down, four to five hundred villagers of Hou Village were gathered together, surrounded by dozens of young cavalrymen holding bows, arrows, and spears.

On the other side, dozens of youths guarded those bound prisoners of war.

All the youths looked proud and full of momentum.

In contrast, these people of Hou Village were all panicked and fearful, showing worry about their future fate.

“My name is Li Xiao, the Lord of Hexi Fortress sixty li away.”

“I came today only to exterminate the Hou family.”

“The Hou family disregarded the spirits of the Han soldiers who died in the Northern Mountains, wanted to surrender to the Karluks, and even captured many soldiers who survived the Battle of the Northern Mountains to hand them over to the Karluks.”

“Their behavior is despicable, their crimes deserve death!”

“Their crimes cannot be pardoned!”

When Li Xiao’s voice fell, all the people of Hou Village began to talk in low voices.

Regarding the Hou family’s actions, these villagers of Hou Village also knew clearly.

Many people didn’t want to follow the Hou family to surrender to the Karluks, but there was no choice; the Hou family’s power in Hou Village was too great.

No opposition was tolerated; no one wanted to end up like Lin Dazhuang.

On the other side, the people of the Hou family turned pale and terrified upon hearing Li Xiao’s words.

Especially Old Man Hou. At this time, he no longer had his previous majesty and arrogance. He was dragged all the way here like a dead dog by two youths using a lasso.

Covered in scrapes, he had lost half his life directly.

After hearing Li Xiao’s words, he lay on the ground and pointed a trembling finger at Li Xiao.

“Our Hou family did this to preserve the Han bloodline, considering the big picture.”

“The Karluks are powerful. Continuing to oppose the Karluks like this will only lead more Han people to death.”

“Those who understand the times are heroes. Our Hou family didn’t want to defect to the Karluks; it was for the continuation of the Han bloodline.”

“Find Li Dabala for me. I won’t talk to a little kid like you.”

“I want to see Li Dabala.”

Old Man Hou screamed, as if his mind had suffered a huge blow.

He originally wanted to take advantage of this Karluk rebellion to carry out a grand plan, but unexpectedly, his lair was raided directly.

And the opponent was Hexi Fortress, which had fought with him for a lifetime.

“Hmph, my grandpa is very busy; he has no time to see you, and is even less willing to waste breath on a traitor.”

Li Xiao rode his horse and walked slowly in front of Old Man Hou, looking down at him condescendingly.

The sharp point of the horse lance pointed straight at Old Man Hou’s head.

However, Li Xiao didn’t strike. Killing him with one stab would be too cheap for him.

Ignoring Old Man Hou, Li Xiao’s gaze turned to the others in Hou Village.

He said loudly: “Although you were coerced by the Hou family, it doesn’t mean you are innocent.”

“If the Hou family is raided and exterminated, then you people will inevitably face the fate of exile into the army or being demoted to slaves.”

“But I am relatively kind-hearted and willing to give you a chance.”

Li Xiao rode on a tall horse, wearing armor, constantly patrolling in front of these people of Hou Village.

Whenever his gaze looked at someone, that person would unconsciously lower their head, daring not to meet Li Xiao’s eyes at all.

These people of Hou Village gave Li Xiao a feeling slightly different from other Jin Prefecture Han people.

More like products of enslavement education.

From body to mind, these people had a deep fear of the Hou family.

So, Li Xiao wanted to break their shackles and bring them new life.

“Bring out all the people of the Hou family.”

With Li Xiao’s order, the Hou family members in the crowd were picked out.

Not a single Hou family member could escape because Li Xiao also had a insider.

It was Lin Dazhuang, who had just been tortured by the Hou family.

At this time, dragging an injured foot, he walked among the crowd. Everyone he pointed at would be dragged out by the youths of the four fortresses.

“Help”

“No, I won’t go out~”

“Let go of my son, you executioners~”

“Please, although my surname is Hou, my bloodline is already very distant from Hou Tiancai’s family. What they did has nothing to do with our family~”

“Mom, Mom~”

Miserable cries and shouts instantly erupted from the crowd. The Hou family felt their sky was falling.

The end of a ruined family and death was nothing more than this.

No matter how they explained or begged, Lin Dazhuang’s face was cold, with a die-hard expression determined not to let go of any Hou family member.

“Lin Dazhuang, you will die a bad death.” Old Man Hou, seeing his whole family picked out by Lin Dazhuang, was so angry he wanted to vomit blood, roaring and cursing furiously.

“I would have indeed died a bad death originally, but since your Hou family failed to kill me, now I am your retribution,” Lin Dazhuang said through gritted teeth.

He wouldn’t forget that just now Old Man Hou wanted to cut him into a thousand pieces, and wouldn’t even spare his daughter who had just turned fourteen.

Simply worse than a beast.

So now having the chance, Lin Dazhuang definitely wanted to retaliate fiercely.

Not letting go of any person from the Hou family.

“Fortress Lord Li, all the Hou family members in the village are here, a total of one hundred and thirty-eight people.”

“In addition, the Village Lord of Hou Village, Hou Wen, is not here. He took two Hou family able-bodied men to the Karluk camp,” Lin Dazhuang reported to Li Xiao.

Also, in the battle just now, more than twenty Hou family men died under the slaughter of Li Xiao’s heavy cavalry.

And these people were all able-bodied men.

So, most of the remaining Hou family members in the village were old, weak, women, and children.

Li Xiao nodded gently and ordered again: “Pick out all the Hou family women without sons.”

“Yes.”

Lin Dazhuang turned to look at the Hou family crowd and soon picked out several young women.

Either just married and hadn’t had time to bear children, or had only given birth to daughters.

Among them was Huang Xiu’er. Although married to Hou Tiancai for several years, she had never been able to bear children.

Originally this was her sorrow, but now it saved her life instead.

After picking out all these Hou family members, Li Xiao’s gaze turned to the others in Hou Village.

He said loudly: “Now, I give you a chance to live.”

“You go kill these Hou family members. If your hands are stained with Hou family blood, you can live.”

“Otherwise, all will be treated as accomplices of the Hou family.”

Hearing Li Xiao’s words, the whole village went into an uproar.

Especially the Hou family members were most agitated. Pale-faced, they either shouted abuse angrily or constantly begged for mercy.

“My son is still young, he is still a child~”

“Spare us, those things were done by Hou Wen’s family, nothing to do with us.”

“We don’t know anything.”

“You can’t do this~”

The Hou family crowd shouted loudly, especially those women crying even more miserably.

Unfortunately, Li Xiao remained disdainful of this, his expression unchanged.

Still the same sentence: weed out the roots.

Since he did this, he had to do it thoroughly.

Although Hou Wen’s family made the decisions, other Hou family members also acted as accomplices and lackeys in this process.

As for those women and children, they weren’t wronged either. They might not have done the deeds, but they enjoyed the benefits brought by the Hou family’s evil acts.

Now, it was time to pay everything back.

At this moment, Li Xiao was like an iron-blooded tyrant, his cold gaze sweeping over everyone.

He said indifferently: “After a quarter of an hour, anyone who hasn’t acted yet will be beheaded as an accomplice of the Hou family.”

As his voice fell, Li Xiao waited quietly for these people’s choice.

He only looked at the result. If these people were willing to be buried with the Hou family, he wouldn’t stop them.

Just as Li Xiao’s voice fell, Lin Dazhuang moved.

Picking up a short knife, dragging his bloody foot, he walked toward Old Man Hou step by step.

“Old bastard, I’m going to cut your flesh off piece by piece today.”

(End of this chapter)