Chapter 73: Come Back Alive

For the next few days, the Alltai Mountains battlefield seemed to fall into calm.

The Northern Border Army didn’t continue attacking, and the Naimans didn’t sneak attack.

Both sides were silently adjusting their strength, preparing for the next big battle.

During these few days, Li Xiao selected a total of two thousand soldiers from various divisions.

All were honest and simple herdsmen or slaves.

Such people didn’t have so many complicated thoughts, were obedient and easy to manage, and wouldn’t collapse directly due to simple dangers.

Then, Li Xiao selected another thousand people from the original seven-fortress coalition and Čarlan slaves as his direct force to stabilize morale.

Gathering a total of three thousand men and horses as the main force for crossing the Alai Ridge this time.

Li Xiao divided these three thousand people into three parts.

Each part had a thousand people, with a Thousand Household officer set up.

Li Xiao led one himself; the other two were Li Dashan and Luo Ping.

Under the Thousand Household, there were ten Hundred Households, respectively held by the children of the four fortresses.

Under the Hundred Household, there were ten Section Leaders, and then Squad Leaders.

Li Xiao gathered everyone together and established a separate camp.

It was noon, and the army was eating. Li Xiao led people to inspect the camp.

Walking to a large pot full of mutton, a circle of soldiers sat around, waiting eagerly for the meal to start.

From those clear eyes, one could see how much they yearned for this pot of mutton full of gamey smell.

“My Lord.”

“Thousand Household, My Lord.”

Seeing Li Xiao leading people over, this group of soldiers hurriedly saluted, some subconsciously wiping the saliva from their mouths.

“Sit down, everyone.”

“Don’t be polite.”

Li Xiao smiled faintly, looked at the mutton in the pot, and nodded slightly.

“Everyone has worked hard during the training these two days.”

“Today everyone eat freely; there’s enough mutton.”

Hearing Li Xiao’s words, the soldiers all smiled and cheered.

“Good!”

It was called training, but it wasn’t overly complicated.

The main purpose was to increase the trust between soldiers and the new Section Leaders and Squad Leaders.

Letting the soldiers know who to listen to.

As for more physical training and tactical training, there was no time at all.

With little training and being able to eat meat, the soldiers were quite happy about this.

“What is your name?”

Taking advantage of the mealtime, Li Xiao chatted with these soldiers, letting them become more familiar with him.

“I, I am called Dashaa (Big Fool).”

The man named by Li Xiao stammered.

“What is your surname?” Li Xiao asked.

The man shook his head.

The Section Leader of these ten people was Li Xiao’s little brother, named Wang Dachun.

Having become familiar with the soldiers over the past two days, he explained to Li Xiao.

The man’s parents died when he was young, and he sold himself to a wealthy family as a sheep slave.

This time it should have been the son of that wealthy family who came to serve as a soldier, but the wealthy family couldn’t bear to let their son die, so they let this silly man come.

He didn’t even realize he should negotiate terms with the wealthy family.

“Do you want to eat meat?” Li Xiao looked at Dashaa and asked.

“Yes.”

Li Xiao nodded and smiled: “Good!”

“Then kill more enemies and establish military merits; you will be able to eat meat every day in the future.”

The situation in the Western Regions and the grassland was just like this.

Nomadic peoples couldn’t eat meat often either.

Cattle and sheep were the most important property of the family and wouldn’t be slaughtered easily.

The daily food of ordinary herdsmen was dairy products and miscellaneous grains; they would only eat meat during major festivals.

Even so, this was already the standard of a well-off family.

There were also a large number of destitute poor people and slaves struggling on the line of food and clothing every day.

When extremely hungry, they could only eat weeds like cattle and sheep.

And this time, many of the people Li Xiao selected were such destitute young people.

If they wanted to eat meat every day and cross classes to obtain wealth, they had to rely on their hands to snatch and fight.

Seeing the mutton in the pot stewed almost done, Li Xiao let them eat freely and led people away.

Walking in front of another group of people, the Section Leader of this group was also Li Xiao’s little brother.

Li Xiao came to support his own people, also worried that Wang Dachun and the others were young and would be looked down upon by their subordinates.

But not long after, Li Dashan found Li Xiao.

“Da Long, the Princess is here.”

“Waiting for you in the big tent.”

“Xiao Yanyan?”

Li Xiao nodded gently: “Let’s go!”

“We should go back to eat too.”

Li Xiao led people away.

When he returned to his big tent, he found Xiao Yanyan sitting on the stool facing the tent door, holding a piece of sheepskin and reading it very seriously.

Li Xiao smiled instantly, walked in, and said: “Princess, this seems to be my seat, right?”

Xiao Yanyan put down the sheepskin, looked at Li Xiao, and smiled: “What, can’t I sit in Thousand Household Li’s seat?”

Li Xiao shook his head: “You can sit wherever you want.”

“Anyway, the entire Great Liao belongs to your family; sit wherever you like.”

Saying that, Li Xiao began to take off the armor on his body.

This thing was very troublesome to put on and take off, but there was no choice.

Wearing this armor in front of new recruits was convenient for establishing Li Xiao’s image and prestige.

Clothes make the man; this thing was still intimidating.

“Let me do it!”

Seeing Li Xiao struggling so much by himself, Xiao Yanyan shook her head and smiled, stepped forward, and prepared to help Li Xiao take off the armor.

After all, this thing was quite heavy; normally, it required two people to put it on.

Li Xiao didn’t refuse; instead, he chuckled:

“The dignified Grand Princess of Chu personally taking off my armor; this treatment is unique in the entire Great Liao.”

Xiao Yanyan stood behind him, untying the ropes one by one, and sneered: “Still so glib-tongued.”

But Li Xiao wasn’t wrong.

Since growing up, apart from Xiao Simo, this was the first time Xiao Yanyan took off armor for a man.

Li Xiao’s treatment was grand.

“This counts as a reward for you,” Xiao Yanyan said.

“I risk my life to cross the Alai Ridge and attack the Naimans, and the reward is just this?”

“Tch, there will naturally be more after you come back.”

“How is your selection of people going?” Xiao Yanyan asked behind Li Xiao.

Soon, the arm armor on Li Xiao’s two arms was taken off.

Watching Xiao Yanyan lift it with one hand and hang it on the wooden rack, Li Xiao looked sideways.

This woman had quite some strength.

“Selection is done, training is almost done too.”

“We can set off in another two days,” Li Xiao said.

Xiao Yanyan nodded slightly and continued to untie Li Xiao’s chest armor, which was even heavier.

“Let me do it”

Seeing Xiao Yanyan struggling, Li Xiao took the armor from her hand and hung it on the wooden rack.

Turning his head back, he found Xiao Yanyan staring at him at this moment.

“What’s wrong? Something dirty?”

Li Xiao touched his face, not caring too much; on the battlefield, who cared if their face was clean or not.

Xiao Yanyan shook her head: “No.”

“It’s just, I owe you another favor.”

In Xiao Yanyan’s view, Li Xiao crossing the Alai Ridge pass this time was for her.

Before, Xiao Yanyan had even prepared to go to Northern Naiman.

But at the critical moment, Li Xiao’s appearance was like a holy light, illuminating her helpless heart.

It was this teenager again.

Previously, facing the desperate pursuit of the Karluks, it was also this teenager who saved her.

“Ha!”

Looking at Xiao Yanyan’s serious appearance, Li Xiao found it cute.

Shaking his head, he said: “Since you owe a favor, pay it back slowly.”

“If you really can’t pay it back, there’s no choice but to devote your life to me.”

Listening to Li Xiao’s words, Xiao Yanyan glared at him instantly: “Can you be serious?”

“I am six years older than you.”

Li Xiao turned his hand to undo his skirt armor, put it on the wooden rack, and said nonchalantly: “So what if six years?”

“Haven’t you heard a saying: ‘Female three years older, hold a golden brick’?”

“Six years older, I can hold two golden bricks.”

Li Xiao seemed to be joking with Xiao Yanyan, but Xiao Yanyan fell silent.

Her gaze fixed tightly on Li Xiao’s busy figure, and she suddenly said in a quiet voice: “Do you really want to marry me?”

As soon as these words came out, the tent became quiet immediately.

Li Xiao froze on the spot, looking at Xiao Yanyan with a shocked gaze.

How should he answer this?

Are Khitan women so bold?

“What do you mean?” Li Xiao clicked his tongue, saying somewhat guiltily.

No way?

Is this woman so direct?

Could it be that his heroic behavior moved her? Turning Xiao Yanyan into a love-struck brain?

If Xiao Yanyan really insisted shamelessly on marrying him, should he agree?

It seemed he couldn’t refuse either!

Once Xiao Simo’s military order came down, Li Xiao had to marry even if he didn’t want to!

Or should he reluctantly make do and accept her?

Looking at Li Xiao’s dazed gaze, not knowing what kind of entanglement his mind was falling into, Xiao Yanyan suddenly sneered: “Idiot.”

“I am just joking with you.”

“I, Xiao Yanyan, am not an ordinary woman. I won’t marry someone casually like those ordinary women, and then give birth to cubs one by one like a ewe.”

“I want to be a female general and help my brother pacify the world.”

Xiao Yanyan raised her head, like a proud white swan.

Li Xiao also recovered and breathed a sigh of relief.

But for some reason, there was a trace of loss in his heart.

“Heh, ambitious.”

Li Xiao chuckled and said affirmatively to Xiao Yanyan: “If you achieve something in the future, maybe even Princess Pingyang will have to bow down before you.”

The two quickly ended this topic and turned to talk about how to cross the Alai Ridge and how to cooperate with the army west of the Altai Mountains to encircle and suppress the Naiman army later.

While eating mutton, the two chatted about many things.

When Xiao Yanyan prepared to leave, standing outside the tent, she suddenly turned to look at Li Xiao and said.

“Li Xiao, come back alive.”

“I’ll wait for you.”

After speaking, Xiao Yanyan turned and left, leading her people away from the military camp.

Li Xiao shook his head and smiled.

Wait for me?

Wait for me for what?

“This woman, playing the honey trap with me?”

(End of this chapter)