Chapter 36: The Young Man of the Four Forts

The day dawned, and the thunderstorm that had raged for a day and a night finally ceased. The sun peeked out; it was going to be a fine day. Within the camp, the cries of the Karluk women gradually faded, and everything seemed to return to a state of calm. Yet, the bloody slaughter had not ended; the true horror was only just beginning.

In the open space outside Sanhe Fort stood a group of prisoners, nearly two hundred in total. Most were surrendered Karluks, either captured while wounded or having knelt in terror after witnessing the might of the Four Forts Alliance. Only about twenty were Han traitors who had defected to the Karluks; identified by the people of Sanhe Fort, they were to be executed at daybreak.

"Everyone!"

Across from the prisoners, Li Xiao sat atop his warhorse, gripping his horse-lance, and shouted to a nearby troop of soldiers. "Draw bows!"

As his command fell, over a hundred young Han soldiers raised their longbows, aiming directly at the captives. The two hundred Karluk prisoners finally realized what the Four Forts Alliance intended. They scrambled back in terror, begging for mercy, some even hurling curses in their panic.

"These Han are going to kill us!"
"What do we do? Save us!"
"Run!" the prisoners and traitors screamed in desperation.

Many of them had endured a night of torment, listening to the shrieks of the women in the nearby camp—women who were their wives, daughters, and kin. Helpless, they could only swallow their bitterness and weep in silence. They had hoped to survive by acting as cowards, but they had not expected that even then, the Han would show no mercy.

"Shoot!"

At Li Xiao’s order, over a hundred arrows flew in unison toward the prisoners. The captives fell like stalks of wheat in a field. Only a small portion died in the first volley; the rest turned and fled in a frenzy, but how could they outrun warhorses? A second volley followed, and those who survived the arrows were finished off by the soldiers of the Four Forts Alliance. In short, for the Karluk tribe, no one was left alive—not even the children.

"A wolf cub is still a wolf; its nature never changes. It will grow up to eat men just the same," Li Xiao whispered, looking at the small, lifeless bodies.

This was a cruel war. One could not afford sympathy for the enemy, or they would be the ones to die. The story of the Orphan of Zhao was a constant warning to him. Even Temujin, in his youth, had escaped slaughter only because he was shorter than a cart wheel, allowing him to grow up and exterminate his enemies one by one. Thus, Li Xiao’s creed was to leave no roots of future trouble.

After the prisoners were annihilated, Li Xiao turned his gaze to the troop of cavalry beside him. Every one of them wore leather armor and carried a bow and saber. The orange dawn light illuminated the land, highlighting the youthful, callow faces of the riders. These were the men Li Xiao had selected from the Four Forts Alliance, all under the age of twenty.

"Reporting to the Commander, the youth of the Four Forts are assembled. A total of one hundred and twenty-four!" After the slaughter, the young cavalrymen reformed their ranks. Tieto reported loudly to Li Xiao.

"Good."

Li Xiao nodded slightly, sitting on his black steed, his gaze sweeping over the mass of cavalry. The sun illuminated his face clearly, as if he intended for every youth to see him well.

"My name is Li Xiao! I am the Commander of Hexi Fort!"

Li Xiao shouted, his voice ringing out. Gripping his blood-stained lance, he exuded a powerful aura, like a demon returned from hell, exerting immense psychological pressure on the youths. Nearly a third of these hundred and twenty-four youths came from Hexi Fort. They were his peers, having grown up playing with him, and naturally looked to him as their leader. However, to the youths from the other three forts, Li Xiao was still a relative stranger. His goal was to make them all recognize him.

"You might wonder why I, at the same age as you, am a Commander," Li Xiao bellowed, pausing for a few seconds before roaring, "It is because I am stronger than all of you! The number of Karluks who have died by my hand is far greater than any of yours!"

He spoke bluntly, without humility, stepping over the pride of every youth present. When he finished, he noticed some of the boys looking at him with resentment or defiance. These were the outsiders.

"Some of you are unconvinced?" Li Xiao laughed, meeting their challenging stares. "Good. I like that look in your eyes! At least it proves you aren't cowards. You have fighting spirit—I like that! But your hot-bloodedness is nowhere near enough to step over me. You lack the qualification and the strength."

In reality, nearly forty of these youths were Li Xiao's subordinates from Hexi Fort. Others, like Luo Meng, were on good terms with him. They knew his prowess and were already convinced of his strength. Li Xiao needed to win over the rest.

At his arrogant words, the restless youths began to murmur, some even wanting to step forward to challenge him. But the influence of Luo Meng and others held them back.

"Are you looking to die?" Luo Meng grabbed a youth from Hedong Fort who was trying to step forward. "Do you think he’s joking? The number of Karluks he has killed is more than all of you combined."

The surrounding youths were stunned. "What? Really?"

"At least twenty!" Luo Meng said firmly. "I was by his side; I saw him kill at least twenty with my own eyes. And just a few days ago, when Hexi Fort ambushed a Karluk patrol, he killed nineteen more!"

The youths were in an uproar, dumbfounded. To them, killing five Karluks would be a feat worth bragging about for months. To kill over forty in two battles? That was monstrous. Since they trusted Luo Meng, they looked at Li Xiao with newfound awe. The boy who had intended to challenge him silently retreated. The same happened among the youths from Gushan and Tazhai.

Li Xiao had achieved his goal. He wanted to forge a true army, one that followed only his voice.

"Many of you doubted my claims, didn't you? You wanted to challenge me? Very well, I will give you that chance. But not now!" Li Xiao said calmly. "You think the battle is over? I tell you, it has just begun! The people of Houzhai have surrendered to the Karluks and captured many of our soldiers from the Battle of Beishan. My uncle is among them, as are brothers from your own forts. They are suffering, waiting for us to save them! The people of Houzhai are conspiring to help the Karluks conquer more Han territory. If they succeed, we will all become slaves, and our mothers and sisters will be subjected to the same fate as those in the prisoner camp."

As he spoke, the youths' eyes turned red, their fists clenched. They had seen the fate of the Karluks at Sanhe Fort; they would never allow that to happen to their own kin.

"I am going to destroy Houzhai and rescue our people!" Li Xiao roared. "Who will follow me into battle?"

"Kill the enemy!" Da Hu, Er Hu, and Luo Meng shouted.

"Kill the enemy!"
"Kill the enemy!"

The cries grew louder and more fervent as every youth raised their spears high.