The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 920 Mass Grave

Feng Ziying and Jiang Ji carefully bypassed the Jurchen cavalry and approached the bay.

From a distance, they could see the bay bustling with activity, a scene of peace and prosperity amidst the devastation.

Large numbers of soldiers patrolled, carried, and repaired fortifications in rows.

"who?"

"it's me."

Feng Ziying and Jiang Ji rode forward, and the soldiers naturally recognized them.

Normally they would never dare to act recklessly, but now that they have just won an unprecedented victory, everyone's face is beaming with smiles.

He then laughed and said, "So it's you two generals. What happened to you two generals to look like this?"

Feng Ziying and Jiang Ji subconsciously touched their faces, then asked seriously, "Where is the General?"

"The General has just led us to a great victory. Our side suffered only a few hundred casualties, but left behind nearly ten thousand Jurchen corpses."

"Generals, look over there. These were just pushed over by our brothers."

Many more are still in the sea. The general ordered them all to be salvaged and buried in a pit.

In fact, even without the sergeant's explanation, Feng Ziying and his companion could tell that they had won the battle.

Following the soldier's directions, they looked eastward and, sure enough, the flat ground there was densely packed with corpses.

The furs, fangs, and other ornaments worn on the corpses made it immediately clear that they were Jurchens.

Feng Ziying and his companion were somewhat shocked, and looked at each other with a sense of shame.

Just thinking about how they've been chased and hiding these past few days, living in constant fear, it's truly...

The soldiers, recognizing the generals' current situation from Feng Ziying and the others' attire, and realizing they had enough of their posturing, dared not provoke them further. Finally, they said:

"Do the two generals wish to see the Grand General? The Grand General is in the central tent. Shall we go and inform him?"

"No need."

Feng Ziying and his companion casually gave a few instructions to their subordinates, then walked hand in hand toward the central tent.

Upon hearing that Feng Ziying and his companion had returned, Jia Lian hurriedly invited them in.

"Your humble servant Feng Ziying (Jiang Ji) pays his respects to the General."

Jia Lian stepped down from the table and helped the two of them up.

Seeing the weariness on their faces, he smiled and said, "Generals, you've had a long journey."

Feng Ziying said with shame, "I have failed the General's trust, and I am ashamed."

Jiang Ji insisted on kneeling down and said, "This humble general is incompetent."

He volunteered to lead the attack on the Mulunmu tribe, but ultimately failed.

If it weren't for the General sending Commander Feng to rescue me, I fear I would have already perished at the hands of the Jurchens.

This humble general is deeply grateful to the General for saving my life, and I beg the General to punish this humble general for my incompetence.

Jia Lian helped him up with all his might and said slowly, "It's good that you're back alive."

Jia Lian's words moved Feng Ziying and his companion, making them both feel ashamed.

"By the way, the Jurchens have just been defeated and have retreated."

Now is the time for war; I wonder how many troops you have brought back?

Jia Lian could tell that Feng Ziying and his companion must have fought against the Jurchens and suffered losses.

He was somewhat worried about the soldiers under his command.

After all, the 1,500 cavalrymen under Feng Ziying's command were elite troops.

Jiang Ji felt increasingly guilty: "The two of us only brought back about three hundred people in total."

Jia Lian frowned: "They're all dead?"

Seeing that Jia Lian had misunderstood, Feng Ziying quickly explained.

When Jia Lian heard that it was just a matter of separation, he was relieved.

He had previously instructed the entire army to strive to kill as many Jurchens as possible while ensuring their own safety.

With this stated beforehand, those bastards surely wouldn't be foolish enough to go and fight the Jurchens head-on.

They were all strong and powerful men, with horses and equipment, so their chances of survival in those white mountains and black waters were quite high.

After being offered seats and tea, Su Keguang and the others came in. Seeing that they were all alive and well, they exchanged pleasantries.

Then everyone started asking Jia Lian about his next battle plan.

Jia Lian said, "The leaders of this group of Jurchens are quite decisive."

Seeing that our warships and heavy artillery were no match for them, they immediately led their troops to retreat, clearly indicating that they did not intend to launch another attack on our territory.

Therefore, this place is safe for the time being.

"I just don't know if their retreat is a desperate attempt to cut their losses, or if they intend to wait for an opportunity to fight us on land."

Jia Lian said he seemed quite regretful.

He had originally thought that the Jurchen leader would try to destroy his warships.

Even now, the Jurchens still have a numerical advantage over him. Without the threat of naval cannons, the outcome is uncertain.

Unexpectedly, the enemy was so decisive. After retreating several miles, seeing that they were not pursuing, they actually broke camp and withdrew their troops.

Jia Lian thought that the troops from Liaodong must have also approached Jianzhou, otherwise these Jurchens would never have been so decisive.

Su Keguang thought for a moment and said, "This humble general believes that these Jurchens are afraid."

They were originally just a tribal alliance, and their people were not united at all.

Having previously benefited from Liaodong, they are naturally able to work together.

However, their alliance's main force has now been lost at the hands of the General, especially in this battle, where half of their main force was lost.

After such heavy casualties, they are likely to split up internally.

If I were the supreme leader of the Jurchens, at this moment, what I would be thinking about is not how to defeat the Wei army, but how to continue the flame of civilization.

Currently, the strongholds of the four major Jurchen tribes have all been captured by our side, and the already small Jurchen population has suffered heavy losses.

It will absolutely take twenty or thirty years of recuperation and rest to fully recover.

If they continue to fight against our army, regardless of victory or defeat, the already severely damaged main force of the Jurchens will inevitably suffer even more.

At that time, without my Great Wei taking any action, we can easily annex or even destroy Korea to the south, or the Haixi Jurchens further east.

In that case, the entire Jianzhou Jurchen tribe would be in danger of extinction.

Therefore, their options now are either to seek peace with us, or to take advantage of their remaining strength to lead their entire clan out of Jianzhou and search for new places to settle to the east or north.

Su Keguang's analysis was logical and well-founded, which made everyone nod in approval.

Cheng Xian even said, "We finally had a good time killing people, it would be so boring if they just ran away like this."

Cheng Xian's words caused many people to secretly roll their eyes.

I felt that Cheng Xian was just standing in Jia Lian's shadow, talking without any real understanding of the situation.

The Jurchens had been wreaking havoc in Liaodong for a long time; they were no pushovers.

Look at Shui Rong and Huo Zhao before, and then look at Jiang Ji.

Jiang Ji personally led 1,500 fully equipped soldiers to launch a surprise attack on the smallest of the four tribes, and almost suffered total annihilation.

Even after being rescued by Feng Ziying, he still had an unknown number of survivors, perhaps less than five hundred.

In this battle, Jia Lian took advantage of the Jurchens' ignorance of the power of the Wei's new warships and cannons, catching them off guard.

Otherwise, the outcome is truly uncertain.

Therefore, most generals felt that since the Jurchens had already been severely wounded, it would be good enough to stop the war there.

If we could drive the Jurchens further away and bring Jianzhou back under the control of the imperial court, that would be even better.

As for fighting the Jurchens to the death, it's really not worth it.

Even a one-for-one trade feels like a loss, let alone in land warfare, where a one-for-one trade is not always guaranteed.

Although Jia Lian also felt that it would be a bit of a letdown if the Jurchens just ran away like that.

After all, his initial strategy was to stir up a storm in Jianzhou, leaving the Jurchens preoccupied with their own problems.

Then, in coordination with the forces in Liaodong, they crippled the Jurchens in one fell swoop.

Unexpectedly, before he could even see a fraction of the military strength in Liaodong, he had already crippled the Jurchens.

It can be said that plans can't keep up with changes.

However, as I said before, Jia Lian is not the kind of person who would cede benefits to appease barbarians after winning a battle.

If the Jurchens still want to fight, he will oblige.

If he doesn't dare to continue fighting, he will definitely take back Jianzhou.

Even if this place is a remote and impoverished area, and even if the imperial court is temporarily unable to arrange for people to come here and achieve true control, it still has to station troops and occupy the area first.

This vast Jianzhou was just the beginning.

Later, he will definitely incorporate good places like Sakhalin Island and the North Sea into the Chinese territory during his lifetime.

……

In the days that followed, the Jurchens seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Aside from sending out numerous scouts to gather intelligence daily, Jia Lian remained in the bay, recuperating and resting. He ordered his men to cut down trees to make wooden boxes, where the remains of the fallen soldiers were cremated and their ashes were placed and sealed.

In the past, it was one thing to lack the resources for fighting, but now that he has so many large ships, he naturally wants to ensure that the spirits of the fallen soldiers can return to their homeland.

As for those who died on the way after the four-pronged attack, we can only wait and see if their bodies can be recovered or if their belongings can be used as substitutes.

At first, the soldiers did not quite understand Jia Lian's orders.

After all, in their minds, death is a serious matter, and one should be buried in the ground for peace.

Burning a corpse is somewhat disrespectful.

However, after Jia Lian's explanation, the entire army understood his good intentions.

Yes, throughout history, how many of those who died on the battlefield were able to return to their hometowns?

It is already a blessing to be buried in a foreign land by one's comrades.

Most of them simply turned into skeletons on the banks of the Wuding River.

If we use a method like the Great General's, then if I die in battle, my ashes can be returned to my hometown by my comrades, and buried by my parents and relatives.

As a result, the entire army was filled with solemnity, and spontaneously regarded this matter as the most important and solemn event.

When Su Keguang and other generals saw this, they were deeply impressed by Jia Lian's military management skills.

They could all see that, through such a simple event, the cohesion and sense of belonging of the entire army had risen to a whole new level.

How could an army with such a strong sense of belonging and cohesion not be invincible?

Seven days after the great victory in the Gulf, Jia Yu and Zhang Leng, who had already contacted Jia Lian, also rushed to the Gulf together.

The two of them led an army of 20,000 men, marching from Liaocheng toward Jianzhou.

Fearing they would suffer the same fate as Huo Zhao, the two were extremely cautious in their march, which is why they were only now approaching Jianzhou.

However, the journey was surprisingly peaceful.

I thought that once we arrived in Jianzhou, there would at least be a war to fight.
Unexpectedly, they learned that the Jurchens had besieged Jia Lian in the bay.

Before they could decide whether to lead troops to the rescue or directly attack Jianzhou to relieve the siege of Wei, the news took an astonishing turn.

The Jurchens suffered a major defeat.

In one battle, Jia Lian killed nearly 10,000 of the Jurchen's main force.

Unable to resist any longer, the two stationed their army two hundred miles north of the bay, forming a watchful position with Jia Lian, and then rode directly to see Jia Lian.

They were genuinely curious about whether the news was true or false.

In the first battle, they routed the main force of the Jurchens, beheading nearly ten thousand. In total, they had beheaded fifteen thousand of the Jurchen main force!
This news seems outrageous no matter how you look at it.

How many soldiers does Jia Lian have in total?
They wouldn't be surprised if they killed many ordinary Jianzhou Jurchens after penetrating deep into Jianzhou territory.

However, with a force of less than 10,000 men, they directly defeated the main force of the Jurchens and beheaded Jurchen cavalry, whose strength was twice that of their own.

Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?
One of them was Jia Lian's cousin, a true confidant. The other was his maternal uncle.

They didn't want Jia Lian to follow in Huo Zhao's footsteps, so they rushed over, not only out of curiosity but also to correct him if he really went astray.

"General, General Zhang, the commander-in-chief of Youliao, along with Commander Jia Yu, have come to request an audience."

"Please!"

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian, who was studying the map, immediately stood up and walked out of the tent.

A burly, middle-aged man with broad shoulders and a thick waist came towards them, holding a horsewhip.

Behind him followed two young generals.

Jia Lian immediately stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Nephew greets uncle."

Zhang Leng definitely knew Jia Lian.

He had met Jia Lian once when he accompanied Prince Teng on his expedition and the armies from all directions joined forces.

Of course, for some reason, he didn't give Jia Lian a friendly look at the time.

It was only after hearing about Jia Lian's outstanding performance on the battlefield, and after receiving a letter from his grandfather asking him to take care of him, that he changed his attitude somewhat.

When Jia Lian made a special trip to visit him before returning to the capital, he even ordered someone to pack up a package of wild ginseng that he had collected over the years while stationed in Youliao and threw it to him.

Yes, she's a bit arrogant and domineering; her personality is exactly like the old man's.

"No need for formalities. When on the march, military discipline must be strictly observed."

Your rank is higher than mine, so I should greet you first.

As Zhang Leng spoke, he took the riding whip, bowed his head, clasped his hands, and gave Jia Lian a salute.

Jia Lian quickly helped him up, then said to the young general behind Zhang Leng, "Greetings, elder cousin."

Zhang Han, son of Zhang Leng, quickly replied with a smile, "General, you are too kind."

Zhang Leng didn't give the younger generation a chance to exchange pleasantries and bluntly said, "I heard you're pretty awesome now."

The Jurchens trapped me and the Water Prince in Liaocheng, and that scoundrel Huo Zhao even lost his life.

"I never imagined that once they were in your hands, these Jurchens would be as soft as tofu... You really did kill over ten thousand, and you didn't lie?"

Jia Lian humbly replied, "I was lucky to win."

Zhang Leng snorted coldly: "There is no such thing as luck on the battlefield."

If it's true, not to mention others, even I, Old Zhang, admire you.

I'm afraid you've only killed some ordinary Jurchen women, children, and the elderly, and are now falsely claiming they are the main force of the Jurchens.

Although they knew Zhang Leng's identity, seeing him speak to Jia Lian in such a way, Su Keguang and the others couldn't help but want to explain for Jia Lian.

Jia Lian, however, seemed unconcerned. He raised his hand to stop the others and laughed, "Uncle, come with me and you'll see for yourself whether it's true or not."

Seeing that Jia Lian was completely unsuspecting and confident, Zhang Leng actually believed a lot of what was going on.

But this is my own nephew.

If others were to lie about their war achievements, so be it; it's none of his business. At most, he'd just secretly laugh at them.

But this was the old man's favorite grandson, and the only nephew in the Zhang family. He didn't want to watch Jia Lian go astray.

So the group remounted their horses and followed Jia Lian to a place two miles to the east.

This place was originally a large flat area, but now a huge pit, tens of meters long and wide, has been dug out by human hands.

There were many soldiers stationed nearby, some of whom were carrying wooden buckets and pouring things like wood ash into the pit.

Zhang Leng was also a veteran who had led troops for many years and had fought in many battles.

Seeing this, he immediately guessed what was going on.

Without waiting for Jia Lian's signal, he rode forward alone.

He only glanced into the pit, and his scalp tingled with fear...

The huge pit was filled with corpses.

Some of the edges were already covered with black plant ash, making it impossible to see the specific situation.

However, the condition of the corpses can still be clearly seen in a large area in the middle of the giant pit.

Without exception, they were all dressed as Jurchen slaves.

And everyone in sight was young and strong, with no elderly, weak, sick, or disabled among them...

Okay, some of them are indeed disabled.

Many of the severed limbs were blackened, as if they had been scorched by fireworks.

Based on the nearly one hundred cannons that Jia Yu was escorting, which piqued his interest, he had already guessed a lot about the situation.

While the veteran Zhang Leng was alright, Jia Yu and Zhang Han, who were following him, were dumbfounded.

Although there was no smell of decay around them, Jia Yu and his companion still felt a little nauseous.

Is this the legendary mass grave?
Indeed, what you learn from books is never enough; you have to see it for yourself.

At this moment, Su Keguang, his face flushed, stepped forward and took the initiative to explain the general course of the previous battle to the shocked group.

He emphasized how Jia Lian planned and strategized, and how he anticipated the enemy's moves.

In any case, it was under Jia Lian's brilliant guidance that they were able to defeat the overwhelming Jurchen forces and achieve this unprecedented and earth-shattering victory.

"Originally, many of these Jurchen corpses were floating at sea, but the general said they would pollute the environment, since we would be stationed here for some time."

Therefore, let's salvage them all.

In the past few days, I have been busy rebuilding fortifications and dealing with the remains of fallen soldiers, so I haven't had time to deal with the corpses of these Jurchens.

"This deep pit was just dug two days ago, in preparation for burying all the Jurchen corpses to prevent a plague."

The excuses about being busy building fortifications and dealing with the remains of fallen comrades were obviously just that—excuses.

The main problem was that the entire army did not take the matter of disposing of the Jurchen corpses seriously.

It should be noted that during the previous conquests of those fortified cities, including the killing of so many Jurchens at Tamu Village, the Jurchen corpses were never properly disposed of.

In any case, judging from the general's attitude, he didn't regard these Jurchens as human beings.

Jia Lian noticed it, but he didn't urge them.

It's already late August, and it's freezing cold here, just short of snowfall, so the corpses won't decompose anytime soon.

The large number of corpses displayed around the camp served not only as a deterrent to the Jurchens but also as a silent display of their military achievements.

And here it is, coming in handy today.

(End of this chapter)