The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 909 Pursuit
"Your Highness, a large amount of horse manure has been found on the main road heading east."

According to our analysis, this horse manure was left five or six days ago, and it must have been left by the bandits!

Upon learning this news, Xin Muershan immediately ordered his army to give chase.

A trusted confidant immediately advised, "Your Highness, please reconsider. The fact that this band of rebels was able to appear in Jianzhou so quietly and launch a surprise attack on our stronghold shows that their commander is no incompetent man."

Logically, if they had succeeded in their sneak attack and fled, there would be no reason for them not to conceal their whereabouts.

But now they let large amounts of horse manure scatter on the road, as if they're afraid we won't know where they are, which is unreasonable.

Moreover, our troops had traveled a long way back, and were already exhausted after just a few days.

If we rashly pursue the enemy now, and they happen to be rested and waiting, ambushing us halfway, wouldn't our army be in grave danger?

Although Xin Muershan was very displeased, he calmed down a bit after hearing this.

He asked coldly, "Then what do you think I should do?"

"I have heard that since our army withdrew from Liaocheng, other troops have also withdrawn one after another."

Although they seemed to be pursued by the Han army, all the troops of Jianzhou were cavalry. As long as they abandoned some unimportant supplies, they were not worried about being caught by the Han army.

Therefore, why doesn't Your Highness wait until the other tribal leaders return with their troops before plotting to wipe out this band of rebels?

Xin Muershan frowned: "Wait for them to come back? Who knows how long it will take them to return? Besides, why should I believe they can avenge us?"

The confidant said, "Our tribe has been attacked. Other tribes must be worried about following in our footsteps and will rush back as soon as possible. I believe it won't be long."

These two days are a good opportunity for Prince Beile to reorganize his troops, allow the army to rest and recuperate, and restore its fighting strength.

As for whether they will help us...

The Han army's massacre of our cities and villages and the killing of our Jurchen people is an act that defies all reason and justice.

Although the Grand Prince and his entourage each have their own calculations, I believe that on this matter of utmost importance concerning the survival and dignity of our Jurchen people, they will make the right choice.

The new Murshan, who had already mounted his horse, was torn between his own thoughts.

On one hand, he wanted to find this inhuman bandit army immediately and kill them all to vent his anger.

On the other hand, I know that there is some truth to what this person said.

He was exhausted and his men and horses were also short-handed.

Their trip south with Luo Jue Anchang was not to fight the Han people, but to plunder their resources and seize the fertile plains of Liaodong.

They had already achieved considerable success in Liaodong, and he certainly wouldn't just stand by and watch as his troops seized the fruits of victory.

He led a total of more than 3,000 men south. Apart from a small number who died in battle, about a third of them were busy collecting supplies and women from various places and occupying fertile grasslands.

In other words, the number of people who could actually join the battle at any time was only about two thousand.

Knowing that his base had been attacked, he urgently summoned all his troops back, but it was impossible to gather them all at once.

Therefore, he currently has more than two thousand soldiers available for battle.

While the exact number of the rebel army is uncertain, it is roughly estimated to be at least several thousand.

Chasing after them at this point would indeed be very risky.

Left with no other choice, he ordered his army to rest temporarily in Suk City, while simultaneously sending messengers to search for the whereabouts of the rebel army and to contact Luo Jue Anchang and other units.

Just when the new Mursan was itching to skin his enemy alive, he had to lie low for the time being.

To the northeast, in the small camp of Tamuzhai, Jia Lian's troops had been resting for several days.

However, they were not idle. In addition to speeding up the construction of fortifications to deal with possible pursuers, Jia Lian also sent out all the cavalry, partly to find out the movements of the Jurchens, and partly to continue the strategy of sweeping out their strongholds.

Within just a few days, almost no one survived in the area surrounding Tamuzhai, which spanned dozens of miles.

Listening to his subordinates report their battle results and seeing that they had suffered almost no losses, Jia Lian couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Indeed, offense is the best defense."

At this time, the Jurchens were not yet unified internally and could not even be considered a state.

They have a small population, weak overall strength, and virtually no industrial or agricultural base.

Their only advantage is that every household raises livestock such as cattle, sheep, and horses, and almost everyone grows up on horseback.

If they were to unite their forces and launch an attack, it would indeed pose a significant threat to the Chinese people who love farming.

But when someone like him leads a not-so-weak army deep into their territory, he discovers that they are actually quite vulnerable.

For example, if he were to have his less than 10,000 troops invade the interior of the Great Wei, he would never be able to do so with such ease.

Not to mention that the various military garrisons of the Great Wei could mobilize troops to besiege him at any time, the high city walls and passes alone were enough to give him a headache.

Unlike now, as long as he doesn't encounter the main force of the Jurchen cavalry, he can conquer cities and seize territories as if they were empty.

Although everything went smoothly, Jia Lian did not let his guard down.

He knew that the longer he stayed here, the greater the chance that the main force of the Jurchens would attack!

During this period, he also sent people to try to contact the other three armies.

Before he could receive news from Cheng Xian and Jiang Ji, the news from Feng Ziying's troops, whom he was most worried about, came first.

Inside the barracks in the center of Tamuzhai, Jia Lian frowned as he looked at the few former cavalry members in front of him, who were dressed in rags, had chapped lips, and could barely speak.

While ordering someone to pour them water, he asked, "How did you get into this state?"

Although the people looked miserable, they had smiles on their faces.

While someone was drinking water, the others explained the whole story.

It turns out that Feng Ziying and Liu Xianglian had launched a surprise attack on the Wanyan tribe from afar.

As expected of the largest Jurchen tribe, the Wanyan tribe left behind the strongest defensive forces.

However, faced with Feng and Liu's sudden attack, coupled with the advantage of their lancers, they managed to capture the city after a fierce battle. Afterwards, they discussed the matter and decided that simply killing a few people and then retreating was too lenient on the Jurchen leader.

They calculated that by the time the news leaked and the Jurchen army attacked, it would still take at least several more days.

The two decided to use the stronghold of the Wanyan tribe leader as the center and continue to sweep in all directions.

As they made the decision, they also sent a small team with guides to Tamu Village to report their movements to Jia Lian.

Unfortunately, the messenger team was unlucky and encountered a Jurchen cavalry force of over a hundred men on their way. After a battle, the remaining men all fled into the mountains.

After wandering around in unfamiliar deep forests for two or three days, they finally found their way out from another direction.

At this point, their warhorses were either lost or killed for food.

So it took another day of effort to finally find a herdsman's family, seize a few horses, and continue on their way.

When asked about the funny parts, the junior officer laughed and said, "General, you don't know, we originally had a few more men, but we just couldn't find enough horses."

Fearing further delays due to the fact that one person could ride two horses, they were instead allowed to ride the ox and donkey behind them.

"Haha, at the speed of oxen and donkeys, if they encounter Jurchen cavalry again, they might not even have the chance to remain savages."

Jia Lian was relieved to learn that Feng Ziying's troops had not met with misfortune.

As for Feng Ziying and the other two disobeying his orders and failing to lead their troops to join him on time, Jia Lian did not take offense.

After all, their disobedience to orders was aimed at expanding their gains and implementing his policy of 'plundering and eliminating the enemy'.

In other words, it would have been perfectly safe to meet him on time, but now they are risking danger by choosing to remain stationed in the heart of the enemy's territory like him.

As long as they succeed, Jia Lian still has the magnanimity to tolerate others.

If things really turn into a one-man show where everyone has the final say, it will definitely stifle the initiative of those below and hinder the development of future plans.

Looking at the smiles on the faces of these "savages," one can tell that they must have made a great gain in the Wanyan tribe, otherwise they wouldn't be able to smile even in such a sorry state.

He then praised them, saying, "You are all meritorious officials, and you have had a hard journey. I have already ordered wine and food to be prepared. After you have enjoyed them, you can rest in the camp."

There may be other situations where I need your help, and I hope you won't refuse then.

Upon hearing this, the men immediately knelt down and said, "We are willing to die for the Great General!"

He arranged for someone to take these people away, and then asked those around him, "What do you think?"

The man on the left and right laughed and said, "Originally, I was worried that if there were too many pursuing troops, our forces would be stretched thin."

Now that we have made contact with Commander Feng's troops, we no longer have any worries about our rear.

In my humble opinion, we should immediately send a message to Commander Feng's troops, instructing them to lead their forces here to join us and devise a plan to annihilate the enemy.

Although no trace of pursuers has been seen in the past few days.

However, they all firmly believed in Jia Lian's judgment that there would definitely be pursuers.

In just the last day or two, they had already discovered that Jurchen scouts were approaching Tamu Village.

With the powerful cavalry under Feng and Liu's command, the chances of winning the following battles are much greater.

……

Just as Jia Lian was organizing his troops and preparing for battle, with everyone in high spirits.

Outside the Wanyan tribe's stronghold, Xin Muershan was furious.

He had received a reply from Luo Jue Anchang, informing him that his Wanyan tribe had also been attacked by bandits, and he had to rush back to rescue them immediately.

As for the Han army of Suk's tribe...

Luo Jue Anchang's idea was to let him hold back for now, and wait until he successfully rescued his stronghold before joining forces with him to attack the Han army from both the north and south.

The situation was similar for Luo Jue Anchang and other powerful tribes.

New Moorsan didn't know whether these people were telling the truth or just making excuses.

In his view, even if the Han army really had three heads and six arms, they could simultaneously launch surprise attacks on several of their large tribes.

So, since his Suk tribe was the closest to the reinforcements on the way back, shouldn't they first concentrate their forces to wipe out this Han army of Suk tribe before leading their troops to rescue the other tribes?
The enraged Xin Muershan completely forgot that on that day in Liaodong, after hearing that his own stronghold had been captured, he had led his troops away without any regard for the opinions of the other tribal leaders.

Now, the various Jurchen tribes, upon hearing that all the major tribes had been attacked, were terrified and all wanted to rush back to their lair as soon as possible to protect their property and people.

Even those who could rationally analyze the situation and felt that they should first concentrate their forces to help Suke's tribe sweep away the Han army within their territory, chose to give up due to their limited strength.

So, after waiting for two days without any reinforcements, Xinmuershan couldn't wait any longer.

He already knew the hiding place of the Han army that had attacked his fortress.

He feared that if he waited any longer, the band of bandits would escape.

Moreover, after careful analysis, he concluded that the Han army stationed in Tamuzhai was definitely less than five thousand men.

He now had gathered three thousand tribal warriors in his hands.

Looking at the angry tribal warriors who had been clamoring for battle for days, Xin Muershan decided to use three thousand brave and skilled tribal soldiers against a Han army of less than five thousand.

The advantage is mine.

Without hesitation, he immediately opened the gates and captured the stronghold, quickly advancing towards Tamuzhai.

At the speed of the cavalry, they approached Tamuzhai in less than a day.

The billowing dust kicked up by the iron hooves enveloped the small camp in the minds of the Jurchens almost instantly.

War is imminent.

(End of this chapter)