Chapter 8: The Men of Hexi Swear Never to Retreat

The Naiman tribe was a powerful nomadic people living in the western Mongolian Plateau, separated from Jin Prefecture only by the Altai Mountains.

According to rumors, the Naimans were the direct descendants of the Turks of old.

The Naiman tribe was once a vassal force of Western Liao.

However, twenty years ago, the Western Liao Royal Court experienced a very serious internal rebellion.

Its strength was greatly damaged.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Naiman tribe broke away. The Western Liao Royal Court naturally refused to accept this and sent a large army to punish them.

However, with the support of the Jin Empire behind the Naimans, the Western Liao army failed and returned, forcing them to tacitly accept the fact of the Naiman tribe’s independence.

After that, the strength of the Naiman tribe grew increasingly powerful.

Rumors said they had a population of over a hundred thousand, making them the undisputed overlords of the steppe.

The final decisive battle for Temujin’s unification of the Mongolian steppe was fought against the Naiman tribe.

Temujin gathered all the forces in the eastern Mongolian steppe to attack the Naiman tribe. At that time, the strength of both sides was about the same, but Temujin eventually gained the upper hand.

Although he won a lucky victory, Temujin’s army also suffered heavy losses, taking two years to recover its vitality.

Therefore, one can see that the Naiman tribe was strong and had many troops.

The conflict between Western Liao and the Naimans had never dissipated. Although no major war had broken out, small-scale conflicts had continued uninterrupted over the years.

This time, for the Karluk rebellion in Jin Prefecture, Li Xiao guessed that the Naimans were very likely supporting it from behind.

The goal was to annex Jin Prefecture and then swallow Western Liao step by step.

Therefore, with the manipulation of the Naimans, the nature of this internal turmoil in Jin Prefecture was different.

The Han people of Jin Prefecture might be able to withstand the Karluk rebel army.

But once the Naiman army from east of the Altai Mountains personally entered the fray, the strength of the Jin Prefecture Han people alone would certainly not be able to stop them.

If reinforcements from the Eastern Capital were delayed, the fall of Jin Prefecture would be inevitable.

Therefore, the Old Master and the others were also preparing for the worst.

Sending these children to Dragon Heart Island for refuge was to guard against a possible massive invasion by the Naimans.

Originally, they planned to send youths like Li Xiao to the island as well, but none of the men of Hexi Fortress were cowards.

Dahu, Erhu, Tie Tou, and others all took up swords and longbows to request battle, swearing not to be cowardly turtles.

Even more so, they wanted to avenge their brothers, fathers, and uncles who died in the Northern Mountains!

The men of Hexi swear never to retreat!

Erbao, Sanbao, and the girls needed to be sent to Dragon Heart Island because the role they could play remaining in the village was limited.

It was better to leave some roots for Hexi Fortress.

After coaxing San Feng, Li Xiao took the two of them to the lake. There were several small boats in the water, all used by Hexi Fortress villagers for fishing on ordinary days.

Li Xiao’s Second Aunt, Erbao, and two female cousins were already on board.

After helping his younger siblings onto the boat, Li Xiao said to Second Aunt: “Second Aunt, please take care of the two of them from now on.”

Naturally, they couldn’t let these children land on the island alone, so some young women were arranged to take care of them on the island.

Among them was Li Xiao’s Second Aunt, a woman with ordinary looks and a gentle personality.

As for why more people weren’t arranged to go to the island for refuge?

Mainly because the space on the island was limited and couldn’t accommodate too many adults.

During this period, the water level of Dragon Bone Lake was very high. The islands of later generations were still buried underwater, with only Dragon Heart Island rising above the surface.

Although it could accommodate a thousand people, food was a big problem.

Once everyone from Hexi Fortress went to the island for refuge, what about the cattle and sheep? What about the crops?

Cattle and sheep need to eat grass. The island wasn’t even big enough for people to live on, where would there be so much pasture?

Stored grain would eventually run out, and fishing alone couldn’t meet the survival needs of so many people.

Therefore, Li Xiao and the others stayed in the village not only for revenge but also to protect the village’s livestock and crops.

Otherwise, even if the villagers of Hexi Fortress avoided the Karluks on Dragon Heart Island, many people would definitely starve to death after returning.

“Da Long, don’t worry, I will definitely take good care of them.”

Second Aunt kept wiping away tears, looking sorrowful.

With Second Uncle’s life or death unknown, her anxiousness was useless. She could only take good care of these children at home to give the Old Master and the old lady peace of mind.

And to be worthy of her eldest brother-in-law who had already died in battle.

Soon, several small boats carried the last batch of children toward Dragon Heart Island in the center of Dragon Bone Lake.

Li Xiao also breathed a sigh of relief. Watching the small boats drift further away, he said to someone beside him: “Sixth Uncle, let’s go back!”

“There are still things to do in the village.”

There were a dozen people in their group, specifically escorting those children to Dragon Heart Island. After all, the current situation was unstable, and no one knew if the Karluks would appear suddenly.

As for the Sixth Uncle Li Xiao mentioned, he was the son of Li Xiao’s granduncle, named Li Dashan.

He ranked sixth in Li Xiao’s father’s generation, about ten years older than Li Xiao.

Not tall, but thickset, with dark skin and few words, he was a steady and capable man.

Just like that, Li Xiao’s group followed the road they came from, preparing to return to the village.

However, before they had gone far, Li Dashan suddenly said: “Stop.”

Everyone riding fast on horseback stopped one after another. Not only had Li Dashan discovered a problem, but the faces of several others in the team were equally solemn.

Soon, Li Dashan jumped off his horse, pressed his ear to the ground, and listened carefully to the movement.

Seeing this scene, Li Xiao suddenly realized.

Although he was a transmigrator, there were still many things that were blind spots in his knowledge.

Like this ‘listening to the sound through the ground’.

In later generations with satellites all over space, enemies had nowhere to hide, and their positions were known hundreds of miles in advance.

But in this era, one had to rely on this traditional method to discover traces of the enemy.

Just as Li Xiao was preparing to get down and listen too, to ask Sixth Uncle for guidance…

Li Dashan had already stood up and said solemnly: “About six li to the northeast, there are more than a hundred cavalry.”

Hearing that the other side had more than a hundred horses, Li Xiao and the others frowned involuntarily.

Whether the other side was friend or foe was unknown, and their military strength was several times that of their own.

Of course, there might be errors. After all, in many cases, when cavalry raided over long distances, one person would have three horses.

The specific number would depend on seeing with one’s own eyes.

“Is it the Karluks?” Li Xiao pondered.

“Not sure.”

Li Dashan shook his head gently: “We’d best return to the village as soon as possible.”

Hexi Fortress had defensive works like moats and battlements, and there were more than three hundred combatants.

Although half of these three hundred people were middle-aged and elderly, as well as youths like Li Xiao, their combat power should not be underestimated.

Moreover, in an emergency, women could also ride horses into battle, and old ladies could shoot arrows to kill enemies.

In Hexi Fortress, everyone was a soldier.

So, in a situation where the enemy was numerous and they were few, it was best to return to the village.

But soon, the person who rode to the high slope ahead to look out returned and shouted loudly: “They are crossing the river.”

…

The Northern Border grassland wasn’t all endless plains. The terrain south of Hexi Fortress was relatively flat, while the north was mostly undulating slopes covered with green grass and low shrubs.

Standing on high ground, one could see very far.

But for the two sides engaged in pursuit and being pursued, no one had the leisure to run to a high slope to look at the distant scenery.

Splash splash splash~

With the melting of ice and snow from the Altai Mountains, the water level of the Dragon Bone River gradually rose. Even in the shallowest places, it almost reached the height of a horse’s thigh.

Dozens of warhorses waded south from the north bank of the Dragon Bone River, dangerously climbing onto the south bank, but their crisis was not yet resolved.

The pursuing soldiers behind them also entered the water.

“Kunji.”

“You go first, I’ll take men to hold them off.”

A man wearing a round-collar robe, deerskin boots, and a Khitan felt hat on his head shouted with a ferocious face to someone in the team.

Then, without waiting for a response, he turned around with his men, preparing to draw bows and nock arrows. But when he reached into his quiver, he discovered that he only had two arrows left.

Being chased all this way had consumed a lot of his arrows, and focusing only on fleeing, he had no chance to replenish them.

Not only him, but the other Khitan warriors around him were also out of ammunition and food, wishing they could break the arrows in their hands into two to use.

Arrows were as precious as bullets to nomadic peoples. They couldn’t be replenished during battle, so enemies that could be dealt with using spears and curved sabers wouldn’t easily be shot at.

“Draw sabers! Stop them even if we die,” the Khitan warrior ordered his subordinates loudly.

Preparing to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Karluk pursuers to buy a little time for Kunji.

After all, by the river, they still had a bit of a chance. But on land, the Karluks could leverage their numerical advantage to surround and annihilate them.

“Kunji, go quickly.” The Khitan warrior shouted again with a ferocious face.

The person he called Kunji was someone wearing the same round-collar robe covered by a sheepskin jacket, short in stature and thin in build.

Strictly protected in the center by the surrounding cavalry.

Hearing the man’s words, Kunji looked anxious and angry, very reluctant, but helpless.

Yet knowing this was the best way.

They originally had two hundred cavalry, but entangled by the Karluks and chased all the way, only thirty-odd remained now.

And the Karluk pursuers behind them numbered at least a hundred-man squad.

“Bahasi, you must be careful!” The person called Kunji gritted their teeth and said, but the voice that came out was a woman’s.

Listening to the voice, she was no more than twenty, crisp and clear like a stream tinkling in the mountains.

This was a woman disguised as an ordinary Khitan man.

And her identity was not simple.

Meanwhile, on a high slope not far away, Li Xiao and the others stood on high ground watching the battle by the river from a distance.

They could vaguely see the situation of the battle clearly.

“It’s the Karluks. They should be chasing down… Khitans,” Li Dashan said in a solemn voice.

Having lived in the Northern Border for a long time, he had a certain understanding of the customs and habits of various ethnic tribes and could recognize the approximate origin of the other party at a glance.

“There are about a hundred Karluk cavalry, while only thirty-odd are being pursued. Although they temporarily blocked the Karluks by relying on the convenience of the Dragon Bone River.”

“They can’t hold on for too long.” The speaker was a young strong man named Chen Erqiang, also a villager of Hexi Fortress.

Just as his voice fell, Li Dashan suddenly pointed to the downstream of the Dragon Bone River in the distance.

“Look, the Karluks have split their forces.”

At this moment, more than forty Karluks were bypassing the resistance on the bank, going downstream to cross the Dragon Bone River, and would be ashore soon.

Standing on high ground, Li Xiao and the others had a panoramic view and saw it clearly.

But those Khitans fighting on the bank were not so lucky.

“Once the Karluk cavalry crossing the river surround them from upstream, those Khitans are done for,” Li Xiao said in a deep voice.

Attacked from two sides and outnumbered, this group of Khitans was in grave danger.

(End of this chapter)