The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 682 Ambush from Desperate Circumstances (Part 1)

As the saying goes, speed is of the essence in war, Jia Huan led his army at full speed, heading towards the wind-eroded stone forest.

The enemy now holds an advantage in both troop type and numbers. Under these circumstances, the Jin army's only chance of victory is to launch a surprise attack and catch them off guard. Fortunately, the enemy is currently unaware that Amah and Baiwa have been captured, and the location of their camp has been exposed, providing the Jin army with the opportunity for a surprise attack.

However, considering that Amahei must have been in constant contact with his army, if such contact were to be interrupted for a long time, the enemy would certainly become suspicious and might even send out scouts to investigate. Therefore, the Jin army had to complete the surprise attack before the enemy became alert.

About an hour later, Jia Huan finally led his army to the wind-eroded stone forest. The entire army was exhausted and drenched in sweat. However, all the soldiers probably knew that a bloody battle was about to begin. Stimulated by adrenaline, everyone was in high spirits, gripping their weapons tightly, as if they did not feel tired at all.

Seeing this, Jia Huan couldn't help but nod in approval. As the saying goes, "Let's see what they're made of." The fighting strength of this Suzhou Border Army was clearly much stronger than that of the young master soldiers of the Imperial Guard. They only took a little over an hour to cover a long distance of forty miles.

"General Chu, once we cross this wind-eroded forest, we'll reach the enemy's oasis. Let the brothers rest and recover their strength first," Jia Huan said, pointing to the endless wind-eroded stone forest before them.

Chu Sheng was overjoyed to see the terrain. Jia Huan had not lied to him; this place was indeed very suitable for an ambush. So he ordered his soldiers to enter the wind-eroded stone forest to rest, replenish their water and food, and conserve their energy.

While they were there, Jia Huan and Chu Sheng went deep into the wind-eroded forest to survey the terrain and select the best ambush location.

During this time, Lu Xiangjin, who was in charge of staying behind last night, finally arrived and found Jia Huan. He bowed and said, "Third Master, you're finally back. The situation is not good."

Jia Huan hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"

Lu Xiangjin replied, "About half an hour ago, the enemy sent three scouts into the wind-eroded forest. Fortunately, we killed them all. However, if these scouts do not return to camp for a long time, the enemy may become suspicious."

Jia Huan said with a solemn expression, "Just as I expected, Amahei and this Turpan cavalry must have been in contact all along. Now that the contact has been cut off, the enemy has sent out scouts to investigate. So, we don't have much time left."

Chu Sheng and his officers became tense and said, "Third Master Huan, there's no time to lose, let's quickly decide on the ambush location."

Lu Xiangjin quickly said, "Third Master, General Chu, I stayed here last night and have already scouted the area. I found a place that is particularly suitable for an ambush."

Upon hearing this, Jia Huan was overjoyed. This wind-eroded mountain forest was very large, covering an area of ​​more than ten miles. It would not be easy to find a suitable ambush point. He did not expect Lu Xiangjin to be so meticulous in his work, having already identified the ambush location in advance. He quickly said, "Take us to see it quickly."

Lu Xiangjin then turned his horse around and led Jia Huan, Chu Sheng, and the others to a canyon. Upon seeing it, Jia Huan, Chu Sheng, and the others were overjoyed and exclaimed in unison, "This is it!"

The canyon in front of us is nearly two miles long, with wind-eroded hills more than ten meters high on both sides. It is wider in the north and narrower in the south, forming a trumpet shape. The widest part of the entrance at the north is forty or fifty meters, and it gets narrower as it goes south. The final exit is only about four or five meters wide, making it a natural "big pocket".

Chu Sheng exclaimed with delight, "What a wonderful place! As long as we lure the enemy cavalry into this canyon and then block both ends, it'll be like catching a turtle in a jar."

Jia Huan glanced around and pointed to a wind-eroded hill on the east side near the exit, saying, "General Chu, do we have enough ammunition to blast this rocky hill down?"

The wind-eroded hill that Jia Huan pointed to was much higher than the surrounding hills, thicker at the top and narrower at the bottom, looking like a giant python soaring into the sky. If it could be blasted down, it would definitely block the four- or five-meter-wide valley entrance.

Everyone's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and Chu Sheng said happily, "It's enough, absolutely enough."

This time, the thousand border soldiers from Suzhou Guard escorted Princess Kangle out of the pass. Although they did not carry heavy weapons such as cannons, they did bring a lot of flintlock muskets and three-barreled guns. So they brought several hundred kilograms of gunpowder, which was more than enough to blow up the wind-eroded hill in front of them, which was thick at the top and narrow at the bottom.

Immediately, everyone set off without delay and began making preparations in earnest. Around three or four o'clock in the afternoon, everything was finally ready. During this time, Man Gui hunted down two more groups of scouts from Turpan who had entered the wind-eroded forest. Clearly, the enemy had become suspicious since several groups of scouts had not returned.

Hesitation only leads to trouble. Taking advantage of the enemy's inability to fully react, Jia Huan decisively dispatched two hundred cavalrymen from Suzhou Guard, who suddenly emerged from the wind-eroded forest and pounced on the enemy camp in the oasis.

"Kill!" Man Gui, as if injected with chicken blood, took the lead and charged into the enemy camp, wielding his sword and hacking and slashing fiercely, as if cutting melons and vegetables.

Man Gui was not mistaken last night. At this moment, there are 1,500 Turpan cavalrymen stationed in the oasis, which is a very powerful force among the Western Regions, which are mainly desert.

Fortunately, although the Turpan cavalry was somewhat alert, they were still caught off guard. It wasn't until the two hundred Jin cavalrymen were right in front of them that they all rushed to ride their horses, some of them not even having time to change into their armor.

"Kill!" The Jin cavalry roared through the camp, as if they were in an empty field, slaughtering men and causing blood to flow like a river. Man Gui, caught up in the killing frenzy, laughed loudly, realizing they were just a bunch of scoundrels. He regretted not setting up the ambush; a single charge of two hundred cavalry would have been enough.

However, Man Gui had clearly underestimated the situation. Although the Turpan cavalry had been caught off guard, their individual skills were indeed formidable. They quickly regained their composure from the initial panic, and more and more men seized the opportunity to obtain horses and charged forward fearlessly.

Seeing that they could no longer charge forward, and with the enemy cavalry increasing in number, they feared that if they dragged it out any longer, they would be surrounded. Fortunately, Man Gui still retained some composure and immediately turned his horse around to fight and retreat.

"Damn it, stop them! Kill them! Slaughter them all!" The commander of this Turpan cavalry was named Huoshai, a centurion. Seeing his men being ambushed by the Jin army and suffering heavy casualties, he was furious. He was not about to let Man Gui and his men escape easily, so he personally led his personal guards to charge up and intercept them.

Man Gui was not alarmed but delighted. He spurred his horse and charged towards Huo Shao, slashing down with his waist knife while shouting fiercely, "Die!"

Huoshai was also a fierce warrior. He raised his scimitar to meet the attack. With a loud "clang," the two passed each other, both swaying and their fingers and wrists going numb. Neither of them gained the upper hand.

"Master Man, don't linger, let's go!"

Man Gui originally wanted to turn his horse around and fight again, but Lu Xiangjin led ten militiamen out of the wind-eroded forest to meet him. While shouting a reminder, Man Gui, who was already a bit hot-headed, immediately sobered up and shouted: "Brothers, let's retreat first!"

A group of border cavalrymen galloped away, retreating into the wind-eroded forest like the wind. Huo Shai gritted his teeth and gave chase, but Lu Xiangjin raised his hand and shot an arrow straight at his face, as fast as lightning.

Huo Shai quickly executed a backbend, leaning back as the arrow narrowly missed his nose. He turned and sat up straight, looking sternly in the direction of the arrow. He saw Lu Xiangjin arrogantly making a throat-slitting gesture at him before turning his horse and disappearing into the wind-eroded forest.

Huo Shai was so angry he was practically fuming. Without a second thought, he led his cavalry in pursuit, their rolling hooves kicking up clouds of yellow sand.

Huoshai was a man with a fiery temper. Suddenly, he was ambushed by the Jin army cavalry, resulting in the deaths and injuries of hundreds of his brothers. Then, he was provoked by Lu Xiangjin's insulting provocations and lost his mind. He wished he could tear these despicable attackers to pieces.

"Brothers, hurry and chase them! Kill all these despicable Jin dogs!" Huo Shai roared furiously, pushing his horse to its limit.

It must be said that the combat strength of this Turpan cavalry was indeed not weak, and their horsemanship was also quite superb. As they gradually caught up, a volley of arrows was fired, and more than a dozen Jin cavalrymen behind them were shot down on the spot, and then they were trampled into piles of flesh by the merciless hooves of the horses.

Fortunately, the ambush canyon came into view soon, and the Jin cavalry charged into the canyon with a roar.

Because the canyon is funnel-shaped and the entrance is fifty or sixty meters wide, it is very deceptive. Huoshai, blinded by his vengeful rage, also led his team into it.

As the canyon narrowed and became more crowded, Huoshai finally hesitated and subconsciously slowed down. The Jin cavalry in front took the opportunity to create distance and quickly escaped through the narrow exit.

boom……

With a deafening roar, yellow sand mixed with gravel flew everywhere, and the giant python peak, tens of meters high, collapsed with a crash, raising a spectacular mushroom cloud. Countless mud and rocks sealed the exit of the canyon completely.

Huoshai was terrified and hurriedly reined in his horse, but he was still hit all over the head by the flying sand and stones. The Turpan cavalry behind him could not stop in time and crashed into each other one after another, causing many deaths and injuries.

Huoshai then realized he had fallen into a trap, but it was too late. Thousands of cavalrymen were crammed into the narrow valley, with no room to turn around. Men shouted and horses neighed, and chaos reigned.

At this moment, the Jin army musketeers and archers who had been lying in ambush on both sides of the canyon emerged one after another, bang bang bang... swish swish swish...

In an instant, gunshots rang out like popping beans, and arrows rained down like locusts, reaping lives in a frenzy. In just a quarter of an hour, corpses littered the ground, and blood soaked through the sand.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" At this moment, hundreds of Jin infantrymen had already formed a square formation and were advancing menacingly from the entrance of the canyon.

Swordsmen and shield bearers led the way, followed by spearmen; countless spears emerged from between the shield formations, like a copper and iron hedgehog, inspiring awe and fear. The Turpan cavalry charged the shield-and-spear formation like madmen, attempting to break through, but the narrow terrain and the tightly packed men and horses prevented them from utilizing their speed advantage. Faced with the terrifying shield-and-spear formation, they were met with a one-sided slaughter…

　Happy National Day.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)