Chapter 94: Vice Military Governor Li, Left Thousand-Man Commander

In this battle, the Liao army had captured quite a lot from the Naimans, which was barely enough to reward the soldiers.

However, for Xiao Sima, the greatest gain was dealing a thorough blow to the strength of the Naimans and resolving the worries of the Northern Frontier.

At the same time, over ten thousand Naiman soldiers were captured.

These people would be taken to the Eastern Capital as slaves. Once they were tamed, they could continue to fight for Xiao Sima.

They might have reservations about coming back to fight Tayang Khan.

But if they were to attack the Royal Court, these people, in order to shed their slave status, would only fight more fiercely than the next.

So with these gains, Xiao Sima wasn’t very concerned about those monetary items anymore.

Sitting grandly on the folding stool, Xiao Sima made no mention of Uqai Tubuli’s matter at all. Instead, he seemed completely immersed in the joy of victory, looking at the generals in the tent with a cheerful expression.

Next was the main event.

“Xiao Lintuo.”

“This subordinate is here.”

Xiao Lintuo stood up, his face full of smiles; clearly, he had already guessed something.

“In this eastern campaign, General Xiao Lintuo commanded troops with method, fought bravely, and repeatedly established war merits.”

“I now appoint you as the Military Governor of Jin Prefecture. I hope you will continue to make great efforts in the future.”

Hearing Xiao Sima’s words, Xiao Lintuo’s old face instantly blossomed with a smile.

He nodded repeatedly and said, “Thank you for your trust, my Lord.”

After the registration of the population, the Military Governor of Jin Prefecture would become a powerful regional official with real authority.

Gathering military and political power in one body, it was completely incomparable to before.

Xiao Lintuo was extremely satisfied with this position.

On the other hand, Li Xiao’s mood was completely the opposite.

To say he wasn’t disappointed would be a lie.

Who didn’t want to advance?

If there was a chance to become a Military Governor, who would be willing to be a deputy?

In the battle with Buyruq Khan, if Li Xiao hadn’t led his army to break through the Naiman formation, perhaps Xiao Sima would have already kicked the bucket by now.

Li Xiao was someone who had established great merit twice in succession.

But alas, this dog Xiao Sima practiced nepotism.

However, Li Xiao had anticipated this in his heart, so he wasn’t too disappointed.

The root cause was still that Li Xiao’s seniority was too shallow, and his promotion too fast.

Before this war, Li Xiao was just a fortress master without official rank.

Being appointed as Thousand-Man Commander and Vice Military Governor in succession was already an exceptional promotion.

If he were really appointed as the Military Governor of Jin Prefecture, it would definitely cause dissatisfaction among generals like Xiao Lintuo.

Li Xiao would also become a thorn in their eyes.

After all, following Xiao Lintuo’s promotion, there would be a large group of Khitan generals advancing together later.

As a superior, what Xiao Sima needed to consider most was the harmony among his subordinates and the balance between the various factions under his command.

Even though Li Xiao had established great merit, he could only be rewarded in other ways.

“Li Xiao.”

After finishing the appointment of Xiao Lintuo’s official position and monetary rewards, Li Xiao hadn’t expected that the second person Xiao Sima called would actually be him.

So he hurriedly withdrew his hand from the woman’s waist, casually wiped the water stains on the table, and stood up immediately.

“This subordinate is here.”

Xiao Sima looked at Li Xiao, his eyes narrowing slightly, as if revealing a signal of danger.

But then he immediately laughed again.

“Li Xiao, Thousand-Man Commander of Jin Prefecture, disregarding hardships and fearing no danger, led the army to cross the Altai Mountains and raided the Naiman main camp. You are the greatest contributor to our army’s breach of the Altai Mountains.”

“Subsequently, in the decisive battle with Tayang Khan, you led the army to raid Buyruq Khan again, causing him to flee in panic, allowing our army to turn the tide to victory.”

“Your merit is very great and cannot go unrewarded.”

“This Prince has decided to appoint you as the Vice Military Governor of Jin Prefecture, concurrently holding the post of Left Thousand-Man Commander.”

“You are granted one hereditary Thousand-Man Commander position. In addition, you are rewarded with ten thousand strings of cash and one hundred Naiman beauties.”

Listening to Xiao Sima’s rewards, Li Xiao was also a bit stunned.

The position of Vice Military Governor of Jin Prefecture was already in the bag; there was no surprise there.

The key was the concurrent position that followed.

That is to say, while serving as the Vice Military Governor of Jin Prefecture, Li Xiao would also concurrently hold a Thousand-Man Commander position in Jin Prefecture.

As for the hereditary official position mentioned later, it had existed since ancient times and wasn’t hard to understand.

It meant Li Xiao could choose one person from his relatives to serve as a Thousand-Man Commander in Jin Prefecture.

As for which relative, there was no requirement.

Most hereditary official positions for ancients were for sons because sons were more trustworthy.

With a son available, no one would be foolish enough to give it to other ungrateful relatives.

But currently, Li Xiao had no children, so this hereditary position could indeed be given to other relatives.

Xiao Sima rewarding him like this was probably because he felt that since Li Xiao had established such great merit, not appointing him as Military Governor was really a bit unkind, so he put more effort into other rewards.

If he wanted money, he got money; if he wanted women, he got women; even his relatives were given official positions.

“Li Xiao, are you satisfied with this Prince’s reward?” Xiao Sima looked at Li Xiao with a faint smile.

At this moment, Li Xiao naturally nodded and said hurriedly, “Satisfied, of course I’m satisfied.”

“This subordinate only established trivial merit, yet received such heavy rewards from my Lord. I am truly unworthy.”

“In the future, I will surely dash my brains out on the ground…”

Anyway, just say nice words that don’t cost money.

Although he was slightly disappointed not to get the position of Military Governor of Jin Prefecture, getting two Thousand-Man Commander positions was considered an unexpected joy.

Where did the power of the Military Governor and Vice Military Governor manifest?

In Li Xiao’s view, there wasn’t such a clear boundary. The most important point was to see who had more Thousand-Man Commanders under them.

After all, the rules of the Northern Frontier were just that simple.

Whoever had more people and harder fists had more weight in their words.

Everything else was nonsense.

Even if one became a Military Governor, if the Thousand-Man Commanders and Hundred-Man Commanders under him didn’t listen to him, he would still be a hollow Military Governor.

Now, Li Xiao had two Thousand-Man Commander positions in his hands; at least he wouldn’t be suppressed by Xiao Lintuo.

While Li Xiao was speaking, everyone in the big tent looked at him.

They seemed surprised by Li Xiao’s reward, but upon careful thought, they felt it was only natural.

In the battle against the Naimans, Li Xiao’s contribution was great and fully deserved such a reward.

In fact, if Li Xiao were older and had deeper seniority, it would have been enough to be appointed as the Military Governor of Jin Prefecture.

Thus, amicable smiles appeared on many people’s faces as they congratulated Li Xiao.

“Thousand-Man Commander Li… Oh no, we should call you Vice Military Governor Li now.”

“Vice Military Governor Li fully deserves this position.”

“Vice Military Governor Li is brave and resourceful, valiant in battle. He will surely protect the people of Jin Prefecture from being harassed by the Naimans again.”

“The people of Jin Prefecture are blessed to have the protection of two parent-like officials, Governor Xiao and Vice Governor Li.”

Listening to these people’s hypocritical congratulations, Li Xiao also put on a fake smile and constantly returned the gestures.

However, when he looked at Xiao Lintuo aside, he found that his face was slightly stiff.

Li Xiao immediately showed a kind smile on his face, but shook his head secretly in his heart. His honeymoon period with Xiao Lintuo was probably coming to an end.

Unless one side overwhelmed the other, the relationship between the two would not stop at superficial harmony and secret struggle.

It might even be possible to tear off the face completely.

But there was no choice; the existence of the Vice Military Governor was originally intended to divide power.

Unless he blindly yielded, the relationship could not be harmonious.

After simply responding to everyone’s congratulations, Li Xiao sat back in his seat. While employing the “Hand of God,” he carefully listened to the rewards of others.

After Jin Prefecture was the Desert.

Xiao Tuladuo assumed the post of Desert Military Governor without surprise.

As for the Vice Military Governor, a Uyghur general named Shigu Bi was appointed.

The Desert was located north of the Tianshan Mountains and south of Jin Prefecture.

It was separated from the Qocho Uyghur Kingdom only by the Tianshan mountain range.

Therefore, there were many Uyghurs living in Desert Prefecture.

Appointing Shigu Bi as the Desert Vice Military Governor was also considering this factor.

Just like the relationship between Li Xiao and Xiao Lintuo.

It was the “parachuted faction” and the “local faction” checking and balancing each other.

Ensuring that neither the Military Governor nor the Vice Military Governor could dominate alone.

“The Desert is the one with the largest number of Han people among the four prefectures of the Northern Frontier, yet not even a single Vice Military Governor came from there.”

“The Han people of Desert Prefecture really are…”

Li Xiao shook his head speechlessly. The number of Han people in the Desert was even greater than that of the Uyghurs, yet when merits were counted, they got a big fat zero.

It could only be said that among these Desert Han people, there was really a lack of motivated individuals.

“But this is also good; the Desert Han people can be used by me.”

The Desert Han people had no leader?

It was fitting for Li Xiao to lead them to fight for Han rights.

After the Desert came the Governor-General of Beihai, taken by another of Xiao Sima’s old generals, Jiu Menganhe.

The Vice Governor-General was assumed by the patriarch of a nomadic tribe in Beihai, again for mutual checks and balances.

After appointing these three old generals out, Xiao Sima promoted three younger Khitan generals to replace Xiao Lintuo and the others in their positions in the Six Divisions.

Each Khitan tribe was divided into two to five shilie based on size.

The Six Divisions had four shilie, and Xiao Lintuo and the other two were the leaders of three of them.

Now, the new leaders became young people personally promoted by Xiao Sima, which meant his overall control over the Six Divisions had become stronger.

After the rewards for the Military Governors and Vice Military Governors of the three prefectures ended, next came the rewards for other meritorious personnel.

The major Thousand-Man Commanders and Hundred-Man Commanders of the four prefectures of the Northern Frontier would also be determined based on the size of their contributions in this war.

Listening to Gu Zizhong reading the reward list nearby, Li Xiao’s palm began to exert force unconsciously.

The Naiman woman in his arms squeezed out ‘ying ying’ sounds, her face flushed, and her breathing became more rapid.

But Li Xiao’s mind was not on her at all.

But soon, when Gu Zizhong read the names of the Jin Prefecture Thousand-Man Commanders, the corners of Li Xiao’s mouth slowly curled up.

“Luo Ping, Fortress Master of Hedong Fortress in Jin Prefecture, followed Vice Military Governor Li across the Altai Mountains, fought bravely… is now appointed as Thousand-Man Commander of Jin Prefecture.”

“Li Dashan, Vice Fortress Master of Hexi Fortress in Jin Prefecture… appointed as Thousand-Man Commander of Jin Prefecture.”

Alright then.

At this moment, Li Xiao’s mood completely relaxed.

Both Li Dashan and Luo Ping were appointed as Thousand-Man Commanders, which meant Li Xiao had four Thousand-Man Commander positions in his hands.

And in the entire Jin Prefecture, there were only eight Thousand-Man Commanders in total.

Li Xiao occupied half.

And the other half were not all Xiao Lintuo’s men.

Besides this, Li Xiao still had those more than one thousand one hundred little brothers without household registration.

At the same time, the Huoerma Tribe had also submitted to Li Xiao. Although they couldn’t be commanded as easily as other little brothers, they were still a help after all.

So, more than half of the power in the entire Jin Prefecture had the surname ‘Li’. How could that Xiao Lintuo fight with me, Li Xiao?

Sure enough, when this list came out, Xiao Lintuo’s face turned black.

Although he didn’t know about the part of the power Li Xiao was hiding, just looking at the four Thousand-Man Commanders on the surface was enough to rival him.

Li Xiao’s strength might even be stronger?

At this moment, ten thousand alpacas galloped through Xiao Lintuo’s heart, and he suddenly had the urge not to want to be the Military Governor of Jin Prefecture anymore.

TN: A Shilie (石烈) is a historical term specific to the Khitan people and the Liao Dynasty administration.