The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 588 The weak and the strong
Ever since primitive people learned to use fire, the fear of fire has been engraved in human genes. The heat released by fire can be used for heating and cooking, while the light emitted by fire can be used for illumination and to scare away poisonous snakes and beasts. Therefore, even in the wild where dangers are lurking everywhere, as long as there is a bonfire, people can feel a warm sense of security.

At this moment, piles of bonfires were lit on the top of Ningyuan City, lighting up the city as bright as day. The defeated soldiers, who had originally been in low morale, gathered around the bonfires and chatted in low voices. Their tense moods also relaxed, and rare smiles appeared on their faces.

All the buildings near the city wall were demolished, and all the bricks and stones were moved to the top of the city to be used as weapons to defend the city, while the wood was turned into piles of bonfires that emitted light and heat.

As the soldiers warmed themselves by the fire and chatted, looking at the mountains of bricks and stones around them, they felt a little more confident. The confusion and fear that lingered in their hearts also quietly subsided, and their morale was obviously restored a little.

Of course, the reason why Jia Huan wasted fuel so "lavishly" was, on the one hand, to boost morale, and on the other hand, to create the illusion of being heavily guarded so that the enemy would be unable to figure out the truth and would only think that Ningyuan City had well-trained soldiers and sufficient food.

In addition, Jia Huan also asked Zu Tianshou to hang up all the flags that could be hung. If there were no flags, he would cut them out of clothes. Anyway, the purpose was to fly the flags and bluff.

Mu Ye handed a hot pancake to Jia Huan and said respectfully, "Third Master, this is a brilliant move. Those defeated soldiers who were originally dejected are now talking and laughing."

Jia Huan took the bread, tore off half and gave it to Xing Wei, saying calmly: "It's only temporary. If we can't get food, it will be very troublesome later."

Xing Wei nodded in agreement. As the saying goes, food and fodder must be sent before an army moves. An army without food will soon collapse on its own without anyone else fighting.

Jin Bao said, "Didn't the quartermaster say that if we eat sparingly, we can last for four or five days. By then, reinforcements should have arrived. Why should Third Master worry?"

Mu Ye laughed and said, "You know nothing. Be lenient when predicting the enemy and be strict when predicting yourself. Lord Sun said five days, but the reinforcements may not arrive in five days. And if you are allowed to eat one meal a day, do you have the energy to work?"

Jin Bao smiled and said, "That's true!"

Xing Wei glanced at Jia Huan and asked in a low voice, "Does the Third Master really want to 'borrow' grain from the Chaohua Department?"

Jia Huan ate a dry noodle and drank some water. He then said, "Let's see how well Zu Tianshou does his job. If he can't even find the Chaohua Department's base, it's all in vain."

While everyone was talking, Zu Tianshou led several personal soldiers to the top of the city wall, took a quick look, found the location of Jia Huan and others, and walked over quickly.

"I am honored to meet Deputy Envoy Jia." Zu Tianshou saluted with a fist clasped.

Jia Huan pointed to the campfire and said, "It's cold. General Zu, sit down and warm yourself up before we go into details."

Zu Tianshou's attitude towards Jia Huan was obviously much more respectful at this time. He thanked him and sat down on the ground next to the campfire. As the saying goes, an expert can tell the quality of a move with just one move. Throughout the day, Jia Huan's command and dispatch were orderly, and it was obvious that he was not a nerd who was only good at talking about war on paper.

Jia Huan threw a noodle cake to Zu Tianshou, who took it and began to chew it, saying, "I have already sent people to inquire about it. The Chaohua tribe's base is still in the river valley north of Shoushan Mountain, about 40 miles away from here. The mountain road is a bit difficult to walk on, but it can be reached in half a day."

"How many troops does the other side have?" Jia Huan asked.

Zu Tianshou replied, "It's just a small tribe under the Chaohua tribe, with only about a hundred people, about half of whom are old, weak and women. Does Deputy Envoy Jia really want to 'borrow' food from the Chaohua tribe?"

"No?" Jia Huan asked back.

Zu Tianshou smiled awkwardly and said, "It's not impossible, but Wang Futai has strictly ordered that we must not make enemies with the Chaohua tribe, but to win them over with gentleness."

Jia Huan said softly, "How is the effect?"

Zu Tianshou shook his head and said, "The effect is not good. The Chaohua tribe still often crosses Shoushan to rob our residents. I guess they also know that we have to concentrate on dealing with the threat of Jiannu and dare not do anything to them, so they plunder more and more, not only stealing food and property, but also women. Over the years, there have been dozens of women abducted, if not a hundred."

Xing Wei sneered, "Why should we be polite to them? Just like what is written in the book... barbarians are all beasts, they fear power but not virtue."

Zu Tianshou fiercely tore off a mouthful of bread and nodded, "That's right, I've wanted to do it for a long time, but the governor wouldn't allow it, so he asked us to consider the overall situation."

Xing Wei laughed and said, "Wang Huazhen can't even protect himself now, why bother with him? Our Third Master says to kill them, so we'll kill them."

Zu Tianshou glanced at Jia Huan and said, "Although this tribe is small in number, the Tartars are skilled in cavalry and archery and are not easy to deal with. Of course, if Deputy Envoy Jia really wants to do it, I will definitely cooperate with you with all my strength."

"Fuck!" Jia Huan uttered a word softly.

It would be fine if this tribe had never interfered with the Great Jin Dynasty, but since they had wantonly plundered the people of the Great Jin Dynasty, Jia Huan would naturally not be polite. He would have no psychological burden even if they were to be massacred. Moreover, this was not the first time that Jia Huan had dealt with the Chaohua tribe.

When Jia Huan went to Tongzhou to take part in the college entrance examination, he happened to encounter the Miaohua tribe of the Tartars breaking through the Gubeikou Pass. A group of candidates including Jia Huan were trapped in Songtao Academy in the north of Tongzhou City and almost died. This time he just regarded it as collecting some interest from an "old friend".

Early the next morning, Jia Huan personally led eighty cavalrymen out of the north city gate. Fifty of them were the elite of the Shenji Camp left by Sun Chengzong, and the other thirty were cavalrymen assembled by Zu Tianshou, most of whom were native Liao people, including the guide who was in charge of leading the group.

Zu Tianshou stood on the top of the city wall, watching Jia Huan and the others leave, his expression was obviously a bit complicated. A soldier beside him whispered, "General Zu, do you think they will succeed?" Zu Tianshou shook his head and said, "Maybe, but this kid is really brave, completely different from other nerds, he is not simple!"

The personal soldiers nodded in agreement: "This Deputy Envoy Jia's eyes are not what an ordinary scholar can have. I guess he has been on the battlefield and killed the enemy!"

Zu Tianshou remained silent, as if he was deep in thought. After a long while, he turned around and walked down the tower, saying, "Hold on for five days. If Jia Huan doesn't come back and the reinforcements don't arrive after five days, we will withdraw."

…………

The mountain to the north of Ningyuan City is called Shoushan. There are Great Walls built at the passes in the mountain to defend against the Tartars in the north. Now, naturally, no one is guarding these passes.

Jia Huan led eighty riders, crossed Shoushan Mountain from a narrow pass, and headed towards the Chaohua tribe’s base.

The soldier who was in charge of guiding was originally a Liao people. His family made a living by hunting, so he was very familiar with the roads of Shoushan. After walking with Jia Huan and others for half a day, he suddenly stopped and pointed ahead, saying, "Deputy Envoy Jia, please look. After climbing over the two slopes ahead is the Chaohua tribe's garrison."

Jia Huan ordered the main force to rest where they were, and then he took Tie Niu and Xing Wei and quietly climbed over two hillsides. As expected, they saw a large river valley with about thirty or forty felt tents scattered halfway up the valley.

It is now mid-October, and the grass in the valley has turned yellow. A small river meanders through it. Because it is the dry season, the river is very shallow, and large areas of gravel beaches are exposed on the riverbed. But it is easy to imagine that the summer here must be full of water and lush grass, with herds of cattle and sheep.

Jia Huan and the other two lay in the bushes at the top of the hill and observed for a while. Xing Wei said puzzledly, "That's strange. It seems that there are not many men."

Indeed, those grazing sheep in the valley were basically women and children. Only four or five adult men carrying weapons were seen patrolling. Could it be that the other men were sleeping in the yurts?
Jia Huan's mind raced, as the saying goes, opportunity is hard to come by, once lost, it will never come back. He was too lazy to figure out why there were so few men in this tribe, and immediately ordered an attack.

At Jia Huan's command, eighty riders rushed down the hillside in a fan shape. The originally quiet valley suddenly seemed to be boiling. The sharp whistles, the hysterical shouts of men, and the terrified screams and cries of women and children all mixed together.

About ten adult men rushed up with weapons in hand, screaming and yelling, but they were like a mantis trying to stop a chariot under the muskets of the Shenji Camp. After a burst of gunfire, the ten men fell off their horses and were trampled into meat paste by the cavalry that was roaring down.

Sooner or later, you will have to pay for what you have done. Every year, the adult men of this tribe would cross Shou Mountain and go south to plunder, and many Liao people and Han people died at their hands.

The battle was over in less than half an hour. The entire tribe was under control and all the adult men were slaughtered.

When Jia Huan rode his horse down the horse slope, all the women and children were driven together like a group of pigs and sheep waiting to be slaughtered. However, what surprised Jia Huan was that the women did not seem to be afraid at all and even glanced at him secretly. But the children were trembling with fear.

"Why aren't they afraid?" Jia Huan asked.

The Liao guide explained: "Because they know they will not be killed, at most they will be abducted, and many of them are Han and Liao people who were captured, and are nothing more than slaves and reproductive tools of the Tartars."

Jia Huan frowned and said calmly, "Take away all the cattle and sheep, and release these women and children."

The guide asked in confusion: "Why let them go? Many of our brothers haven't found wives yet. Moreover, even if you let them go, they may not be willing to leave. Without cattle and sheep, they can't survive this winter. They can survive if they follow us back."

"Sir, please take us away!" A beautiful woman suddenly interrupted boldly, her eyes full of begging.

Jia Huan exclaimed: "Can you speak Chinese?"

The woman nodded and said, "I am originally a Han Chinese. I was captured by the Tartars last year. I tried to escape several times but was caught every time. As long as you take me away, I will do anything you ask me to do."

Xing Wei said with a smile: "Third Master, why don't you take these women back? They can herd sheep and are good at housework."

Jia Huan hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Then take them all back."

The Liao soldiers were overjoyed and immediately rushed forward, picked up one and put it on their horses. The little boys were going to kill them, but were stopped by Jia Huan and were also packed up and taken away.

Xing Wei said happily: "Several hundred cattle and sheep are enough for us to eat for a while. I didn't expect it to be so easy to get them."

Jia Huan waved to the pretty woman, who immediately came over and knelt obediently in front of Jia Huan.

"Get up. I just want to ask you something. Where have all the men here gone?" Jia Huan asked.

"All the men have been summoned by the Khan, and I heard that Nurhechi is about to attack us," the woman replied.

Jia Huan's mind was moved. Nurhaci wanted to fight Lin Danhan? Could this be the reason why he did not continue to move westward?
(End of this chapter)