Chapter Thirty-Five: Thunderous Measures, Making an Example of One to Warn the Others

"Two days ago, people from Hou Fortress came to the Aslan tribe."

"Since I happen to speak some Karluk, I was present during their conversation."

Inside a tent, Wu Dayong knelt on the ground, recounting the events of that day. Before him sat the stoic Old Master and the fierce, murderous-looking Qin Kaishan.

"What did the people from Hou Fortress come for?" Li Xiao asked.

"They want to defect to the Karluks."

Hearing this, the Old Master furrowed his brows slightly. "Those spineless cowards..."

Human nature is unfathomable, and the desire to cling to life at any cost is inherent. The Old Master understood well that when the situation turned dire, people’s resolve would inevitably waver. Much like Wu Dayong, though at least that man had been forced to surrender to the Karluks. But the Hou family? They actually wanted to defect voluntarily? Did they have no shred of Han backbone left?

"The condition proposed by Hou Fortress was that they would help the Karluks manage all the Han people in Jinzhou!" Wu Dayong continued, recalling the details. "Their leverage was that at a critical moment, they would help the Karluks ambush the Han coalition army, and they were even willing to present the heads of the two brothers, Li Dahai and Li Erjiang."

Hearing this, Qin Kaishan could no longer sit still; he slammed his palm onto the table.

"What? Those death-seeking curs! I'll slaughter them all!" Qin Kaishan roared, his fury erupting uncontrollably.

The Old Master waved his hand slightly to signal him to calm down. With a grim expression, he looked at Wu Dayong and asked, "Is Erjiang dead?"

"I don't think so!" Wu Dayong shook his head vigorously. "The Karluks originally demanded that Li Erjiang be skinned alive, and the people from Hou Fortress agreed. It seems the brothers had killed a high-ranking Karluk official, which is why the Karluks hate them so much. However, the two sides couldn't reach an agreement later on because the Karluks didn't want to let Hou Fortress manage all the Han people."

The situation was clear now. Li Erjiang had likely been captured alive by the men of Hou Fortress, and Li Dahai's body had also fallen into their hands. They were using this as leverage to negotiate with the Karluks.

"The people of Hou Fortress are courting death!"

Qin Kaishan, possessing the most volatile temper, overturned the table in a fit of rage. Erhu, who had inherited his grandfather’s temper, was equally incensed. The men of Hou Fortress actually intended to use his father’s and uncle’s heads as bargaining chips to advance their own standing. It was unforgivable! And with their spineless nature, they actually wanted to manage all the Han people in Jinzhou? Who did they think they were?

"Grandfather, brother, let’s go and wipe out Hou Fortress!" Erhu shouted.

Although Dahu remained silent, his expectant gaze conveyed the same sentiment. He wanted to destroy Hou Fortress even more to save his father.

"Dalong, what do you think?" The Old Master’s expression was icy as he looked at Li Xiao, waiting for his decision. Li Xiao was the current Lord of Hexi Fortress.

Facing their expectant gazes, Li Xiao said coldly:

"Kill them."

"Exterminate the clan."

Traitors like these must be killed to appease public anger, and the clan must be wiped out to honor the soldiers who died in the Battle of Beishan. This action would serve as a warning to everyone of the consequences of treason. They would strike with thunderous force, killing the chicken to scare the monkeys, and cow the other Han fortresses in Jinzhou into submission.

The Old Master nodded slightly. "They must be killed." He sighed, however, and added, "It is a pity that the Battle of Sanhe Fortress has just concluded; we cannot spare enough men to march on Hou Fortress."

The Old Master was being polite. The truth was that the soldiers of the four fortresses were war-weary. The night's combat had taken a heavy toll, and they needed rest. Most importantly, the spoils from the Battle of Sanhe Fortress were staggering. The Aslan tribe was a powerful faction among the Karluks with vast herds of livestock. After the Jinzhou army’s crushing defeat at Beishan, the entire legacy of the Jinzhou Governor’s office had fallen into Karluk hands, and the Aslan tribe’s share was immense. Later, when the Aslan tribe captured Sanhe Fortress, the belongings of the Han people were all plundered. Even though many survived, many families had been wiped out. And for the survivors, recovering their property from the four-fortress coalition was no easy task—getting back even a portion was considered lucky.

Under these circumstances, how could the soldiers have any heart left to fight? Unless the enemy attacked them directly, they would fight to the death to protect their families and wealth. But to risk their lives to attack Hou Fortress? What did Hou Fortress have? Did they have more livestock than Sanhe Fortress?

Realizing this, Li Xiao’s brow furrowed, and his mood soured.

"Damn it all," Li Xiao cursed under his breath. There was a grain of truth in the saying that commoners lose their drive once they become wealthy, and soldiers become timid once they have enough coin. The current coalition was in exactly that state. They had no interest in pointless wars; they only wanted to divide the spoils and return home to their wives, children, and warm beds. They would only take up their blades again if the Karluks returned.

Li Xiao’s expectations for these common herdsmen lowered once more. They might possess first-class individual combat prowess, but they also suffered from various flaws. And currently, Li Xiao’s prestige was not enough to change them. Even the Old Master could not achieve this. Unless he were like Nurhaci, using absolute force to unify the tribes and exterminating any who resisted, he could not forge a unified will. But that would take a long time.

"I must build a true iron cavalry," Li Xiao thought to himself. Relying on a group of herdsmen with blades to conquer the world was a pipe dream. He already had a preliminary plan: to cast aside the framework of these fortresses and start anew.

"Even so, I still want to attack Hou Fortress. My second uncle must be saved!" Li Xiao looked at the Old Master, his voice firm. Difficulties existed, but for Li Xiao, this might be an opportunity.

Dahu, who had been disappointed, felt a glimmer of hope upon hearing Li Xiao’s resolute words. "Brother..." he murmured excitedly.

"How will you fight?" the Old Master asked; he naturally wanted to save his son.

"Victory does not rely on numbers, but on precision; it does not rely on brute courage, but on wit," Li Xiao said, his gaze sweeping over the Old Master and Qin Kaishan. "I don't need many people. One hundred is enough. And I want to choose the men myself." He already had a plan for how to select them.

Seeing Li Xiao’s confidence, the Old Master nodded slightly. "Very well. You are the Lord of Hexi Fortress; you decide."

Selecting one hundred battle-hardened men from the current coalition was simple enough. Not everyone had fallen into greed or fear. Although the task was difficult, if Li Xiao was confident in taking Hou Fortress and saving Li Erjiang with only one hundred men, the Old Master was willing to trust him. His eldest grandson was no ordinary man. There were risks, but in the Northern Frontier, one could not simply choose not to fight. A man must struggle against heaven and earth, and compete for power in the world, or he would eventually be enslaved, oppressed, and ultimately destroyed.

"Take whoever you want from Gushan Fortress. If any coward refuses to go, I will whip him to death myself," Qin Kaishan vowed, his face flushed with anger. The fact that his men were obsessed with their loot and wanted to go home was a disgrace to him. If they couldn't even scrape together a hundred men, the four old men were not fit to be fortress lords.

After learning everything about Hou Fortress from the two elders, Li Xiao had a general plan for the assault. There was no time to lose; he prepared to set off as soon as possible. But as he and Dahu were about to leave the room, his eyes fell upon the kneeling Wu Dayong.

Meeting Li Xiao’s calm gaze, Wu Dayong trembled and stammered, "Fortress Lord, Fortress Lord, I have told you everything I know! I have rendered a service... I can still atone for my crimes. I am willing to serve as a vanguard to attack Hou Fortress!"

Seeing him kowtowing like a desperate man, a flash of anger crossed Li Xiao’s eyes. He couldn't help but wonder if Wu Dayong had shown this same servile face to the Karluks.

*Clang.*

The moment Wu Dayong looked up, a sharp, cold sound rang out. Li Xiao’s cavalry saber sliced across his throat, and blood gushed out instantly.

"Although I am grateful that you provided information about my second uncle, I am sorry—I cannot let you live," Li Xiao said in a low voice. If someone like Wu Dayong could atone for his crimes, then there would only be more traitors in the future. Leaving him alive would be an insult to the hundreds of Han people from Sanhe Fortress who had died at the hands of the Karluks.

"You..." Wu Dayong’s eyes bulged, his hands clutching his throat, but he could not stop the torrent of blood. Soon, his body collapsed heavily to the ground, the light in his eyes fading into darkness.

The Old Master and Qin Kaishan showed no reaction to Li Xiao’s actions. Had Li Xiao not done it, they would have killed Wu Dayong themselves. Li Xiao’s clean, decisive, and ruthless nature actually brought them a sense of relief.

After the killing, Li Xiao looked at Dahu and Erhu and ordered, "Take the body out. Then go to the prisoner camp and kill his son as well." Regardless of whether the son was innocent, since Li Xiao had killed his father, he had to ensure there would be no future revenge. He would cut the weeds and pull up the roots.

"Yes," Dahu and Erhu nodded heavily, then dragged Wu Dayong’s body out together.

"Grandfather, Grandfather Qin, I will go select my men. You should get some rest."

With that, Li Xiao turned and left. Outside, the orange-red glow of dawn had already stained the eastern horizon.