The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 917 The war begins
The sea breeze in the early morning was bitterly cold.

On the large ship, Su Keguang asked somewhat nervously, "General, will these Jurchens really fall for it?"

Why not?
"We've already withdrawn over a thousand soldiers. If these Jurchens aren't in a hurry, then I must have misjudged them."

Su Keguang murmured, feeling that Jia Lian's military tactics were too simplistic.

The same tactic was used time and time again, yet the Jurchens never seemed to learn their lesson. It was truly...

It made him feel... how to put it, that General Huo's death was rather unworthy.

He knew, of course, what Jia Lian's retreating soldiers had gone to do.

Even powerful warships at sea need to be operated by people.

These people were actually assisting the warships in returning to besiege the Jurchens.

He knew that Jia Lian was openly sending people to recall the deadly weapon, but he also knew that from the perspective of the Jurchens, with most of the ships destroyed and seized, Jia Lian's actions clearly indicated that he wanted to abandon the excess soldiers and flee.

If he were the commander of the Jurchens, he certainly wouldn't have let Jia Lian leave.

A major battle is clearly imminent.

"General, our warships are over twenty miles away. Is it possible for them to make it in time...?"

"Don't worry, those Jurchens are afraid of being chased by us, so the ships they stole are quite far from us."

I have already sent men to keep an eye on those ships. As soon as a large number of Jurchens board, I will send fast ships to recall the large ships overseas. At that time, I will ensure that all these Jurchens who board will perish at sea.

Jia Lian's gaze was equally cold and stern.

He didn't believe that the Jurchens, whose strongholds he had slaughtered and looted, would willingly let him go.

He found it even more unbelievable that these Jurchens would go to such great lengths to steal the ships and then abandon them.

If the Jurchens dared to enter the sea, they would never return.

Even if the Jurchens discovered something was wrong once they entered the sea, it would be too late.

Under his powerful ships and cannons, even emergency landings could not save them; all that awaited them was death under the gunfire and being devoured by fish.

"I'll keep an eye on things at sea, you can go back now."

Remember, if we can't withstand the Jurchens' charge on the other side of the Gulf, everything will be in vain.

Su Keguang also knew the importance of frontal defense, so he nodded and left in a small boat.

Jia Lian stood on the deck, silently observing the situation on the coastline.

He boarded this large ship not to run away.

He didn't know if the Jurchens had discovered his existence as their leader after observing him for so many days.

He took it as the Jurchens having already confirmed his identity.

Therefore, when he led his confidants to the ship at this time, he wanted to give the Jurchens the illusion that he was about to flee.

Even if the Jurchens came to chase him by ship, he would not hesitate to turn around and run into the deep sea.

That would not only relieve the pressure in the bay, but also lure the Jurchens into his fleet's encirclement, trapping them inside.

Hopefully, the Jurchens will act according to his plan.

Otherwise, his performance would have been purely for the blind.

In that case, he would have no choice but to leave while he still had ammunition and supplies, and devise another plan to annihilate the enemy.

Will Jia Lian be disappointed?

Obviously not.

The moment the Jurchens confirmed that the Han army was "running," they began to act according to their pre-planned tactics.

Even knowing that the Han army had a strong frontal defense and powerful artillery, they placed the key to victory at sea.

Although there were only four large ships and fifty-odd small ships, they managed to cramm several thousand people into them!
In the eyes of the Jurchens, even if only half of these thousands of men could successfully land on the beach and break into the rear of the Han army, it would still be worthwhile.

Based on their experience from previous battles, they knew that a frontal attack would come at a heavy cost, just to break through the artillery barrage.

If these thousands of the bravest warriors can break into the bay from the sea, and with the support of a frontal cavalry charge, the Han army will inevitably be unable to defend itself from both ends, and defeat will be imminent.

They even felt that the Han army might have lost all will to fight at this point.

Based on speculation, it seems their leaders have all fled...

Poor Han soldiers, accept the judgment of the gods!
Time was of the essence. Even though the beach where the Jurchens chose to anchor was very simple, they only took an hour to load thousands of well-armored elite warriors onto their ships and then swept towards the Han army's bay without any concealment.

The massacre of their people, the abduction of their wives and daughters, and the repeated defeats in battle all fueled a deep-seated resentment among the Jurchen people.

They couldn't wait to settle accounts with the Han army.

As the tribal leader with the deepest enmity with the Han army, Xin Mu'ershan's request was granted by Luo Jue Anchang, who allowed him to lead his warriors to board the ship and fight.

Luo Jue Anchang's idea was simple: the Han army not only massacred Suk City, but also defeated Xin Muershan's three thousand tribal warriors in one fell swoop at Tamuzhai.

They were sworn enemies.

Let him lead the team; firstly, it will motivate him to risk his life.

Secondly, it could further weaken the power under his command, making it easier to annex the Suk tribe in the future.

Although Xin Muershan knew some of Luo Jue Anchang's schemes, he didn't care.

He also had his own considerations.

If he cannot avenge the hatred and humiliation inflicted upon him by this Han army, not only will he be filled with unease, but he will also be forever ridiculed and looked down upon.

Among the Jurchen people, being ridiculed and looked down upon meant losing the chance to rise again forever.

However, he did not intend to follow Luo Jue Anchang's orders completely.

When the main force reached the middle of the journey, he immediately raised a flag to another leader on the large ship next to him, signaling him to continue leading the team forward. Without hesitation, he led the thousand tribal warriors he had finally managed to gather again and charged towards the lone large ship on the sea.

He guessed that the leader of this Han army was probably on this large ship.

If he captures it, he will surely eat its flesh and sleep on its skin.

……

On the large ship, seeing all the ships that had been seized by the Jurchens pouring out, and crowded with Jurchens, Jia Lian was secretly thrilled.

Just as he was considering whether to return to the bay to direct the defense or continue to observe the situation at sea, he noticed a large ship and more than a dozen small boats rushing straight toward him, which startled him.

Should we give him such face and do exactly as he planned? So he put down his binoculars, turned around and ordered, "Turn around and rendezvous with the fleet."

He had used the other three large ships to transport troops, and now, on this only remaining large ship, besides the crew, there were only him and his dozens of personal guards.

This ship wasn't one of his newly built warships; it didn't even have a single cannon on it.

He certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to wait for the Jurchens to kill him.

With Su Keguang and Cheng Xian'er in the bay, all the plans have been agreed upon, so holding out for a while shouldn't be a problem.

Once all the warships have returned, everything will be settled.

call.

Everything went so smoothly that Jia Lian felt it was almost unreal, almost like a dream.

He could only think to himself:
It's not that these Jurchens were too stupid and weak, but rather that Master Jia was too wise and powerful.

Jia Lian ordered the large ship to turn around and flee, a scene that nearly stunned the soldiers in the bay.

The soldiers, of course, could not possibly know the generals' plans in their entirety; they were already disheartened by the loss of a large number of ships.

Not long after, they saw a large number of naval officers and soldiers, and even their general, board the ship, leading them to believe that the ship was about to be evacuated.

However, they soon discovered in alarm that Jurchen ships were attacking from the sea.

Just then, the deafening sound of horses' hooves and shouts of battle came from the opposite side of the slope.

They all knew that the Jurchens knew they were about to retreat and had begun a major offensive.

There is some panic, but not to the point of chaos.

After all, following the general in his campaigns across Jianzhou, he had already killed many Jurchens and won several battles.

She still had a lot of trust in Jia Lian.

But when they were all waiting for Jia Lian to give the order to retreat, they were surprised to find that their general had abandoned them and run away.

Now it's hard not to overthink it.

Fortunately, Su Keguang and others immediately noticed the soldiers' mentality and ordered someone to scold them: "What are you panicking about? This is the general's plan!"

The General has gone to gather warships. Once he arrives with a large fleet, these Jurchens are nothing to worry about.

The soldiers then realized something. Yes, how could the general possibly abandon them and run away?
When we arrived, it seemed like we came on a lot of warships.

I had initially thought that the warships had been sent back by the general, but now it seems that they probably haven't.

With this in mind, all the soldiers had no more doubts, and their morale even soared.

Those who needed to raise their guns did so, and those who needed to set up their cannons set them up, aiming at the Jurchens who were about to land.

Seeing that there was no obstacle on the inside side, Su Keguang immediately climbed up the slope.

Seeing that Cheng Xian was already at the forefront directing the defense, he finally felt relieved.

Looking back at Jia Lian and the large ship chasing after him, he silently prayed that Jia Lian would bring the fleet back soon.

The Jurchens' offensive this time is truly exceptionally fierce.

……

maritime.

Pursued by the Jurchens, Jia Lian soon saw a dense array of masts appearing on the distant sea.

Meanwhile, the new Muershan behind them was dumbfounded.

He rubbed his eyes almost instinctively, thinking he was seeing a mirage.

But as the ships drew closer and their shapes became clearer, New Murshan realized that everything he was seeing was real.

He was greatly alarmed, and in an instant, he understood many things.

Yes, they should have thought of that sooner.

The two or three small boats that we had seen earlier would have been difficult to fit all the Han soldiers.

How dare they steal so much grain, livestock, property, and even women from their land?
How could they possibly take it with them?
Not to mention, they also seem to have a sizable cavalry force.

They originally thought that the cavalry had secretly come from Liaodong.

Now it seems that, like these Han soldiers, they were probably transported by boat.

Why was this Han army leader so cunning, hiding all the large ships at sea...?

Moreover, there are just too many of these ships, and they're way too big.

It would probably be more than enough to house tens of thousands of armored soldiers.

Thinking of this, Xin Muershan broke out in a cold sweat.

He also knew that the State of Wei possessed an army of one million.

Could it be that there are really tens of thousands of Wei soldiers on these large ships?
The previous Han army of less than 10,000 had already caused them such great trouble; if tens of thousands more Han army were to arrive...

A fear originating from the soul rose in my heart.

It's late to say, but quick to come to mind.

Xin Muershan immediately shouted to the equally astonished people around him, "Quickly, turn around and go back to inform the Grand Prince that our Jurchen people are in grave danger!"

The other Jurchens only then realized what was happening and ordered their helmsmen to turn around.

However, while it is relatively easy for a small boat to turn around, how can a large ship that is moving at high speed turn around so easily?
By the time they finally managed to change course, the Han army's fleet, growing ever larger and more imposing, was already approaching.

"Boom~"

"Boom~"

The incessant shelling fell into the sea and onto the large ships, causing devastation that filled people with despair.

Even a dozen or so small boats could not escape unscathed.

Even if the shells didn't hit them, the spray they created was enough to capsize those sampans that were only a few meters long.

For every ship that capsized, no fewer than twenty Jurchen soldiers were left soaked to the bone.

(End of this chapter)