The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 916 Night Attack
Within the vast bay, which stretches for two or three miles, campfires burned brightly throughout the night.

Countless armored soldiers patrolled back and forth, taking turns to guard the area, creating a tight security.

Beyond the bay, rows of small boats, each a few meters long, lay quietly in the shallow waters connected to the beach.

Beyond the small boat, which was out of reach of the campfire, there was only the light of a few large ships visible on the sea, and an endless expanse of darkness.

However, in this darkness, on the sea where the occasional sound of the tide could be heard, countless dark heads suddenly appeared.

After these heads emerged from the water, there was not a sound except for taking a deep breath of the salty, damp air from the sea.

With a soft, human-like seabird call, the heads suddenly split into two groups.

One group continued drifting towards the deep sea, heading towards the several enormous warships on the ocean.

Another group quietly approached the shore, reaching out to the densely packed sampans.

Perhaps because they were careful enough, the soldiers patrolling the bay didn't discover the group of thieves until people had climbed onto the twenty or thirty sampans on the outer perimeter.

"Something's wrong! Someone's stealing the ship! Enemy attack!"

With shouts echoing, chaos erupted in the bay.

The thieves in the shallow water realized they had been exposed, so they stopped hiding and put all their strength into climbing onto the boat, desperately trying to row it away.

The soldiers on the shore naturally refused.

Some soldiers immediately grabbed knives and guns to protect the ship, while others loaded gunpowder on the spot and, by the dim light of the campfire, aimed their guns at the ship thieves and fired them one by one.

In an instant, shouts of battle, the clashing of sampans, and the banging of gunfire echoed throughout the bay.

Within a short period of time, more than a thousand soldiers had gathered and lined up on the inner side of the bay, launching an indiscriminate attack on the thieves in the shallow waters.

Many thieves saw that most of their companions had been shot and fallen off the boat, and they themselves were surrounded by Han soldiers.

Seeing that he was about to die, he immediately and without hesitation pulled out the sharp awl he had prepared beforehand and stabbed it hard into the bottom of the sampan.

As the bottom of the boat was punctured and seawater rushed into the cabin, he mustered his last bit of strength and jumped into the sea.

Scenes like this were happening one after another at this moment.

Inside the bay, shouts of battle filled the air, but on the outer slope, both inside and outside the bay, the situation was completely different.

Countless soldiers remained in their positions, concealed and prepared for any possible enemy attack.

Only a few soldiers on the inner side of the slope, after discovering that the enemy on the front lines did not seem to have any intention of charging, would take the time to turn around and glance at the chaos in the bay.

On a prominent vantage point atop the slope, Cheng Xian stood beside Jia Lian, watching as countless sampans were stolen by the Jurchens. He asked, with great resentment:
"General, are we just going to let them steal the ship so easily without giving them a chance?"

Jia Lian's gaze was also fixed intently.

However, he clearly thought differently from Cheng Xian.

Seeing that Cheng Xian was becoming impatient and wanted to lead his troops to reclaim the sampan, Jia Lian immediately stopped him and asked:

"Why do you think the Jurchens would go to such lengths to steal the ship at this time?"

"What else could it be? To cut off our escape route. Little did they know, we still have..."

Cheng Xian was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly realized something and looked at Jia Lian with a puzzled expression.

Jia Lian laughed and said, "Don't you think it's a bit of a waste to have nearly a hundred of our warships sitting idle at sea?"

Cheng Xian slapped his thigh and laughed, "This humble general understands."

The reason these Jurchens stole these ships, besides cutting off our retreat, was definitely to send troops by ship to launch a surprise attack on us from the rear during the great battle, thus achieving a pincer movement.

The general, however, decided to turn the tables and, just when the Jurchens thought they had victory in their grasp, recalled their warships from the sea.

Hehehe, when the time comes, the twenty-odd Zhenyuan cannons on the General's Zhenyuan warship alone will be enough to give those bastards a hard time.

The general's plan is truly brilliant...

"May I ask, was it also part of the General's plan for the Jurchens to steal ships under cover of night?"

Jia Lian smiled, then shook his head.

Jia Lian was naturally wary of the Jurchens stealing ships, and this was even a deliberate flaw he left for them.

Otherwise, why would he have had other organized warships hidden at sea from the very beginning?

Of course, this doesn't mean that Jia Lian was a genius or had perfect strategies.

Rather, he knew that the current leader of the Jurchens was a man of reason, not a mindless brute.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to bring Huo Zhao to his death.

Since the opponent is not a reckless brute charging in blindly, it is normal to want to use a trick when it is certain that his defense cannot be easily broken.

The current situation is quite clear.

He hid in the bay, with the sea behind him on one side and relying on the geographical advantage to set up defenses on the other.

The only natural drawback is the lack of a source of supply.

However, he had a ship and could escape by sea at any time, so this only shortcoming could not be considered a shortcoming; in fact, it could be said to have become a psychological advantage over the enemy.

Because the Jurchens would definitely not let him go willingly.

In fact, the Jurchens would take urgent measures to prevent him from escaping.

Just like before, when the Jurchens discovered that he had withdrawn his supplies, they would hastily launch an attack.

How can we prevent him from escaping?
It is obvious that this strategic objective can be achieved by stealing or destroying his ship.

If this strategy can be achieved, the Jurchens will not need to launch an attack on him at all. They only need to deploy heavy troops outside the bay, and in a few days, they will be able to exhaust his ammunition and food and die of starvation.

Given this, it is not surprising that the Jurchens would take action against his ships.

Although he had expected this, Jia Lian still humbly said to Cheng Xian and the others, "It's not a scheme, it's just that when I saw these Jurchens stealing the ship at night, I came up with a plan to defeat them."

The Jurchens had a large number of cavalry, giving them an absolute advantage in land battles.

Since they want to abandon their land-based advantages and fight us at sea, why not?

Cheng Xian and Jia Lian's personal guards all laughed.

Yes, a hundred large warships, many of which were equipped with heavy cannons.

Needless to say, as long as the Jurchens dared to board ships and go to sea, no matter how many there were, they would all be annihilated by their powerful ships and cannons.

Cheng Xian became more and more excited as he thought about it. He even said with frustration, "No, no, even if they take all one hundred sampans, they won't be able to hold many Jurchens. What should we do?"

Judging from his tone, he seemed to wish the Jurchens would win a great victory and steal all the ships, which made Jia Lian and his men laugh.

Jia Lian reassured him, pointing to the distant sea: "Listen, the Jurchens' appetite isn't just for these sampans. They want to completely cut off our retreat, so how could they let those eight large ships go?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xian was not worried but pleased, and immediately said, "In that case, should we speak to the generals who are left on the boats and ask them to let the water flow a little?" In Cheng Xian's opinion, the Jurchens were able to seize some of the small boats because the boats were in shallow water. Even if they were tied up, the ropes could be cut with a single stroke, so it would not be difficult to steal them.

However, each of those eight large ships was several meters high, and there were soldiers guarding them. It would be very difficult for the Jurchens to steal them.

He now wishes that all eight large ships would be stolen by the Jurchens, so that more Jurchens could abandon their warhorses and board the ships to fight.

Then... hehe.

Jia Lian shook his head and said, "No need."

Even if it's an act, it has to be a complete performance. If it's too obvious, how could the Jurchens not be suspicious?

Don't underestimate these Jurchens. Since they dared to make a move, they must be confident of success.

Therefore, you should now lead your troops in the remaining sampans to support the large ship.

"Don't worry about the other ships, but those two ships loaded with a large amount of supplies must be protected at all costs."

Cheng Xian then realized what was happening.

Yes, although most of the supplies have been transferred to warships at sea, these eight old warships are placed here to mislead the enemy.

However, two of the ships also had a considerable amount of supplies such as food and fresh water stockpiled on them.

It wouldn't be worthwhile to give it to the Jurchens.

Moreover, their desperate attempt to protect the two heavily laden ships could prevent the Jurchens from becoming suspicious.

The general's brain is so clever, I don't know how it's formed.

So Cheng bowed slightly and immediately went to carry out the order.

……

After a night of pursuit and chaotic fighting, the Jurchens finally withdrew completely after losing countless lives.

At another beach a few miles from the bay, Luo Jue Anchang rushed over to check the results as soon as it was light.

"Reporting to the Chief Prince, the tribal warriors have lived up to their mission."

Last night's raid resulted in the capture of over fifty small boats, and the destruction of an unknown number of them.

Therefore, the Han army had at most less than a third of its small boats remaining.

The only pity was that the Han army's ships were heavily guarded, and even though the tribal warriors climbed them fearlessly, they only managed to capture four.

On one of the large ships that had been seized by the Jurchens, Luo Jue Anchang was somewhat dissatisfied to hear that the Han army had been left with one-third of the ships, but he still asked immediately, "I wonder how many warriors were lost in this operation?"

"Because the Han army quickly discovered our movements, and in order to recapture these ships, the warriors fought fearlessly, so..."

I just took a count, and it seems we've lost over seven hundred warriors from various tribes.

Upon hearing that only seven hundred men had been lost, Luo Jue'anchang couldn't help but nod.

He first encouraged them, saying, "The leaders of this Han army are very intelligent. They will not let us take the ships without any precautions."

Now that we have seized most of their ships, preventing them from completely withdrawing from the sea, our objective has been achieved.

The sacrifice of these warriors was worthwhile; the gods will bless them.

After Luo Jue Anchang finished speaking, he stroked the railing of the large ship and sighed, "The people of Wei are indeed skilled at shipbuilding. I'm afraid our Jurchen people would have a hard time building such a large ship."

If I remember correctly, there are still quite a few people in the Jiji and Haile tribes who make a living by hunting at sea.

Luo Jue Anchang looked at the two tribal leaders behind him.

As the Jianzhou Jurchens developed, most of them had long since abandoned fishing and transformed into nomadic or even agricultural groups.

Only the Jiji and Haile tribes, being located by the sea, have retained a considerable portion of their traditional fishing industry.

The warriors who stole the ship last night were mostly selected from these two tribes.

There was no other way; to sneak into the water where the Han army couldn't detect them and steal the boats from the sea, one had to be an extremely skilled swimmer.

Upon hearing Luo Jue Anchang's words, the leader of the Haile tribe, who had not been attacked by the Han army this time and had only come to help, said proudly: "These Han ships are nothing. If it weren't for the Korean territory in between, why would my Jurchen warriors have to risk their lives to seize these Han ships?"

"As long as the Grand Prince gives the order, I can provide him with hundreds of ships no less capable than these."

Luo Jue Anchang didn't say much about it, knowing that the other party was bragging.

What kind of ships could the Hellers have? Just some fishing boats.

After confirming that the Han army only had two or three large and small ships left, and was unable to withdraw the large number of Han troops in the bay, Luo Jue Anchang immediately summoned the leaders to discuss tactics.

The tactics were simple: just as Jia Lian had guessed, while launching a frontal assault, they would send thousands of tribal warriors to encircle the Han army from the sea.

He certainly knew that the Han army could guess his plan.

But he wasn't worried, because it was an open strategy.

After most of the Han army's warships were captured or destroyed, their defeat and demise were inevitable.

Their tribal warriors were not only more valiant than the Han army, but their forces also outnumbered the Han army several times over.

We didn't launch a strong attack before because we were worried about suffering too many losses.

Now that we have so many ships, we can attack from both inside and outside, and I believe it will be easy to wipe out this damned Han army.

He didn't want to starve the Han army without bloodshed; he even wanted to gather more troops and then annihilate them with overwhelming superiority.

But he knew he couldn't wait any longer.

Because of this night raid, none of the Han army's ships were seized or destroyed.

If the Han army were willing to make a drastic sacrifice, many could escape using the few remaining ships.

Moreover, the Han army suffered a great loss last night, so they certainly won't give him a second chance to launch a surprise attack on the ships.

If his guess is correct, the Han army will surely make a decision today.

Sure enough, his scouts soon reported that there was unusual activity in the Han army camp.

Early in the morning, the Han army began to tighten its defenses, and they discovered that many tents in the Han army camp were being dismantled, and some soldiers were even moving to large ships.

"Oh no! Just as the Grand Prince predicted, these Han soldiers are trying to cut off their arms to survive!"

Seeing that things were exactly as he had predicted, and looking at the angry leaders who had stood up, clearly not satisfied until they had torn the Han soldiers to pieces, Luo Jue Anchang also stood up and calmly instructed, "Gentlemen, proceed according to the plan."

"Yes!"

……

(End of this chapter)