The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 907 Fear
That evening, Jia Lian indeed prepared a small feast in the fortress to reward the soldiers.

The wine was from the cellar of the Suk chieftain, and the meat was a mixture of various fresh beef and mutton boiled in salt water.

Despite the lack of food, the soldiers still ate and drank to their hearts' content.

Although it felt incredibly satisfying to conquer the settlements of other races, drink their brewed wine from large bowls, and eat the meat they raised.

However, the next morning, Jia Lian immediately ordered the entire army to set off.

As they set off, Jia Lian also dispatched 500 soldiers to use cattle, sheep, and horse-drawn carts from the Suk tribe to urgently transport a large amount of valuables, including grain, livestock, and women, to the southern bay.

He himself led the main force of the army and continued northward.

It wasn't that he didn't want to stay here and continue to wipe out the remaining forces of the Suk tribe, but since the Suk tribe was closest to the bay where they landed, it was naturally also relatively closest to Liaodong of the Great Wei.

If he lingers here for too long, the main Jurchen cavalry force will hear the news and rush back to reinforce him, potentially besieging him.

Therefore, he and Feng Ziying agreed that after the mission was accomplished, they would meet at a Jiannu settlement north and east of the Suk tribe, and then detour southeast to meet the armies of Cheng Xian and Jiang Ji.

They implemented a strategy of repeated and repetitive attacks to thoroughly eliminate the threat.

After such a round trip, it is believed that very few people would remain of the entire Jianzhou Jurchen tribe.

It is conceivable that at that time, all the cavalry of Jianzhou would be frantically trying to find him and fight him to the death.

But by then, the initiative to fight or retreat will be entirely in our own hands.

……

Just when the entire Jianzhou was plagued by continuous warfare and horrific tragedies were everywhere.

In Liaocheng, thousands of miles away, the Wei army was still playing hide-and-seek with the Jurchen cavalry.

Shui Rong already had around 30,000 troops from various backgrounds at his disposal. With Jia Yu's reinforcements, especially the nearly 100 powerful cannons, he finally had the confidence to open the city gates and meet the enemy.

However, the Jurchen cavalry would not use their weaknesses to attack their strengths.

Knowing the power of artillery, they naturally wouldn't launch a frontal assault easily.

It should be noted that even when facing Huo Zhao, they first feigned defeat several times, turning Huo Zhao into an arrogant soldier, before luring him into a valley suitable for cavalry charges and annihilating him.

Even so, Huo Zhao's desperate resistance caused considerable losses to the already small Jurchen army.

Of course, compared to a huge victory, the Jurchens could accept such losses.

However, it was thought that Shui Rong was already cowardly enough, having held firm in Liaocheng for months without venturing out.

Unexpectedly, the new "Jia Lian" sent by Wei is also so cowardly.

After arriving in Liaocheng, they stationed themselves ten miles southeast of the city, forming a pincer movement with the city's garrison.

This left them completely at a loss.

If it is a small group of cavalry that harasses, they can easily be wiped out by the enemy.

As a result, the entire Jurchen offensive was miraculously suppressed.

The Jurchen cavalry also retreated and withdrew their forces.

However, just as the Jurchen leaders were extremely unhappy with this shift from an offensive and advantageous position to a situation of mutual probing and wins and losses,

A bolt from the blue struck the central tent of the Jurchen cavalry.

Xin Muershan, the leader of the Suke tribe, who was plotting a strategy to defeat the enemy with Luo Jue Anchang, could hardly believe his ears.

"What did you say?!!"

New Muershan's eyes bulged as he stared intently at the servant who dared to spread false information.

He had already devised a hundred ways to dismember and skin him.

The servant was trembling as he reported: "Your Highness... a large number of Han soldiers appeared out of nowhere. They first used cannons to break through our fortress, disturbing our warhorses, and then a large number of troops rushed into our fortress."

They are simply demons, killing anyone they see.

Despite their valiant resistance, the warriors left behind by the tribe were no match for them and were quickly slaughtered.

Seeing this, the men knew that the fortress could not be defended, so they had no choice but to ride out of the encirclement as fast as they could and ask the Prince for help.

We urge you, sir, to lead your troops back to reinforce us as soon as possible, otherwise our Suk tribe will be finished…”

The words of the Suk tribe's servants also shocked the leaders of other tribes.

"Absolutely impossible. How could Han troops possibly appear in Jianzhou? It must be some kind of ghost!"

Luo Jue Anchang also stood up in shock and hurriedly asked, "How many troops does the Han army have?"

"This... there are simply too many to count. According to my estimation, there are at least ten thousand soldiers..."

Luo Jue Anchang rebuked, "Nonsense! Do you know how big a commotion it is when 10,000 soldiers are lined up in one place?"
If they truly numbered that many, how could they have traversed Liaodong, reached Jianzhou, and even escaped detection upon arriving at Sukcheng?

"This...this servant doesn't know either. Perhaps not ten thousand, but at least seven or eight thousand..."

Otherwise, the warriors left behind in our tribe wouldn't have been slaughtered so quickly.

Perhaps the fear in the servants' eyes seemed genuine, for the leaders fell silent.

But everyone could see the fear on each other's faces.

Although the Suk tribe is close to Liaodong, if it is really breached, it is hard to guarantee that these Han troops will not attack their respective tribes.

In an instant, all the leaders were eager to return home.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

New Murshan let out a series of chilling laughs.

He walked step by step toward his servant, staring at him with bloodshot eyes, and slowly asked, "How long did it take you to get here from the fortress?"

"Your Excellency, after we left the city, we worked tirelessly, each of us wearing out several horses, and we only took two days..."

"Two days? Hehehe, great, very good..."

As Xin Muershan spoke, he suddenly drew his dagger and slashed it across the neck of his servant.

As blood splattered and life came to an end, the servant finally understood why so many people along the way were willing to give their horses to others so that they could quickly come and deliver the message.

There are even many people who flee halfway through.

Now he understands everything.

But he had no time to regret it; he could only stare wide-eyed as he fell to the ground, dying with his eyes wide open.

The other leaders remained silent upon witnessing this bloody scene.

He seemed to be thinking about how to comfort the new Moorsan.

However, the new Mursan possesses an unusually strong inner strength.

After committing the murder, he seemed to feel a little relieved.

Turning back to Luo Jue Anchang and the others, he said, "I hope that the Grand Prince will send troops back to Jianzhou to avenge my Suke tribe!"

Luo Jue Anchang was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "We can all understand how you feel right now, but this matter needs to be considered carefully."

Perhaps this was precisely the Han army's strategy.

Their ruthless tactics are intended to throw us into disarray.

If we hastily lead our troops back to reinforce them, wouldn't that be playing right into their hands?

If this Han army attacks us from both sides with the Han army in Liaocheng, wouldn't we suffer a great loss?

Therefore, even if we need to withdraw our troops, we must discuss and devise a plan beforehand, and avoid acting rashly.

Xin Muershan looked coldly at Luo Jue Anchang, and finally said angrily, "I can't control what the Grand Prince thinks, but I have to rush back immediately."

If my wife, children, and clansmen were to perish at the hands of the Han army… I, Xinmurshan, swear that I will tear that entire Han army apart, skin them alive, to atone for my sins against my people!”

After saying that, Xin Muershan turned around directly.

Before leaving the tent, he turned back and said, "Don't think that just because it was my Suk tribe that had an accident, you can rest easy."

You should have heard what my servant said.

If the Han army truly has so many men and cannot be wiped out quickly, you should consider whether your respective troops stationed there can withstand them.

I wish you good luck, and hope you don't follow in the footsteps of my new Murshan.

After saying this, Xin Muershan lifted the curtain and went out.

Then, everyone could hear a distinct spitting sound.

Luo Jue'anchang looked grim.

It wasn't just because the new Moorsan didn't give him face.

Rather, it was the last thing the new Moorshan said that reflected his concerns.

Although Wanyan Village is relatively far away, it should theoretically be relatively safe.

However, he still can't figure out how this Han army managed to sneak into Jianzhou right under their noses.

Without knowing the other party's background, it's hard not to worry that his Wanyan tribe will suffer the same fate as the Suke tribe.

So, it's not that he didn't want to get back as soon as possible.

But reason told him that if they simply led their troops back, they might fall right into the enemy's trap.

He was weighing the pros and cons.

However, he was still able to maintain some rationality, but other tribal leaders were not like him.

As the silence was broken, four or five tribal chiefs immediately stepped forward: "Your Excellency, given this turn of events, we feel there is absolutely no need for us to stay here any longer."

We must get back as soon as possible, whether to defend our respective fortresses or to wipe out this Han army that is wreaking havoc in Jianzhou. We must get back immediately.

Luo Jue and Anchang naturally offered kind advice.

However, if the new Moorsan hadn't left, his advice might still have been somewhat effective.

Now that the new Mursan has taken his three thousand cavalrymen with him, the strength of the allied forces has dropped a notch.

It was virtually impossible to annihilate the Han army in and around Liaocheng.

Therefore, no one was willing to listen to Luo Jue'anchang anymore. They exchanged a few polite words and then hurriedly took their leave.

Luo Jue Anchang watched this scene with cold eyes, feeling a sense of powerlessness welling up in his heart.

He suddenly felt a pang of regret.

Is this the helplessness of a weak nation facing a powerful nation?

The State of Wei can lose once or even several times.

But they only lost one game before they began to fall apart...

No.

We are not weak.

If these leaders were willing to listen to me completely, then the Han army fighting against Liaocheng would not have been so exhausted.

Perhaps they had already defeated the Han army in Liaocheng, just like the first time.

Then, naturally none of these subsequent events would have occurred.

At this moment, Luo Jue Anchang felt an unprecedented surge of desire to unify the Jianzhou Jurchen and even the entire Jurchen people.

As long as the Jurchen people can unite and establish a central government like the Wei Kingdom, why should they not be able to compete with the Wei Kingdom?
The leaders left in small groups.

The rest either attached themselves to Luo Jue Anchang, or felt that their strongholds were too far from the Suke tribe and that the flames of war should not reach them for the time being, so they could remain stable for the time being.

Luo Jue Anchang looked at the less than half of the people remaining in the tent, slumped down, and said:
"As you can see, with the remaining troops, I'm afraid it will be very difficult to eliminate the Han army in Liaocheng."

"Now, what do you all think we should do?"

The leaders began to discuss amongst themselves, offering various strategies, but a silent sense of dejection still hung over them.

“Your Excellency, perhaps I know how the Han army bypassed us and appeared in Jianzhou.”

The Jurchen leaders stared in astonishment at the person who had suddenly spoken.

This is a Han Chinese man who currently serves under the chief of the Mulunmu tribe.

Chief Mulunmu was also surprised and quickly said, "Tell me your reasoning. If it makes sense, I, the Prince, will reward you handsomely."

The Han man said, "I humbly believe that this Han army that suddenly appeared may have come from the sea."

"maritime?"

The Jurchen leaders seemed thoughtful, but some scoffed: "Don't be ridiculous, do you think we don't know how to read a map?"
My Jianzhou is a coastal city, thousands of miles away from the Wei Kingdom.

Let's not even discuss whether the State of Wei has the capability to cross thousands of miles of sea and safely reach my Jianzhou.

Even if they truly possessed such extraordinary abilities, the first to be attacked would definitely not be the westernmost Suk tribe, but rather our easternmost tribe.

Just as the Jurchen leader said, Jianzhou was only located in the southeast, bordering the sea.

This is what Jia Lian initially envisioned: bypassing the Korean Peninsula and heading north through the Sea of ​​Japan to that region.

How could they have imagined that Jia Lian would land in the narrow strip between Korea and Liaodong and then march from the southwest of Jianzhou to the northeast?

This Han man wasn't particularly familiar with the terrain, so he simply said, "Although I'm not sure if the Han army really marched from the sea, I suspect they do have the capability to cross oceans."

"Last year, I visited relatives in the Central Plains and inadvertently learned that the Great Wei Dynasty is now vigorously developing its navy."

The Tianjin naval force was of particular importance.

The leader of the Tianjin naval force was none other than the young general, Duke Rongguo, Jia Lian, who was leading the troops to reinforce Liaocheng.

Perhaps it was because Jia Lian had made too much of a stir in Tianjin, or perhaps it was because his rank was too high, that this traitor thought Jia Lian was the commander of the Tianjin naval forces.

In reality, Jia Lian was only the second or third in command of the Tianjin naval forces.

However, he has the final say on matters such as shipbuilding and restructuring.

However, even if the information provided by this traitor was not entirely accurate, it was enough to give Luo Jue, An Chang, and others new ideas.

They were certain almost instantly that the Han army must have taken the sea route.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to operate on such a scale and remain completely silent.

As for the landing site...

Once they found the map, they quickly determined the location.

If it weren't for crossing thousands of miles of ocean and passing through the Sea of ​​Japan, then the only option would be to land on the west coast of the Korean Peninsula.

Moreover, the west coast of the Korean Peninsula is clearly more likely.

Because the Suk tribe was located in the western part of Jianzhou, this explains why the Suk tribe was the first to be attacked.

Knowing how the enemy advanced, the leaders of the various Jurchen tribes breathed a slight sigh of relief, but the question of what to do next remained a headache.

After repeated research, they finally reached a conclusion.

Returning to the aid is a must, but the alliance must not be dissolved, and troops must not be divided and act independently; otherwise, they will be defeated one by one by the Han army.

Thus, under the orders of their respective leaders, the Jurchen cavalry began to assemble and retreat from the vicinity of Liaocheng.

(End of this chapter)