The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 695 Reinforcements Arrive

When Jia Huan arrived at the cell where Amahei was being held, Duan Yongzheng ordered his men to tie up the two soldiers in charge of guarding him, strip them of their shirts, and beat them severely. By this time, the two soldiers were already bleeding profusely from the beating, a truly gruesome sight.

Man Gui, Lu Xiangjin, and Chu Sheng, the garrison commander of Jiayu Pass, all stood to the side with gloomy faces, clearly also very annoyed. Amahei was a Taiji of the Turpan Khanate and a very important prisoner. One of the important reasons why the Turpan Khanate dared not rashly send troops to attack Hami was because Amahei had been captured, so they were somewhat hesitant to act rashly.

"Third Master Huan!" Man Gui and the others greeted Jia Huan upon his arrival. Meanwhile, Duan Yong continued to whip the two soldiers mercilessly until they fainted from the pain. Only then did he toss the whip to a nearby eunuch and sternly order, "Wake them up with cold water and continue beating them. They're two good-for-nothings. Beat them to death!"

Jia Huan frowned slightly and asked, "How did Amahei escape?"

Chu Sheng replied with shame, "It is all my fault for not managing my subordinates strictly in the past!"

Duan Yong angrily cursed, "If Amahei really escapes this time, you, Chu Sheng, will not only be guilty, but you deserve to die. I will definitely report to the Emperor and have you sentenced to death."

Chu Sheng lowered his head, his face ashen. Jia Huan hurriedly said, "Eunuch Duan, please calm down. General Chu, don't rush to take the blame. Tell us what happened first. When did you discover that Amahei had escaped?"

Chu Sheng looked at Jia Huan gratefully, and then recounted the whole story in detail.

It turned out that tonight was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the army was serving extra food, with prominent figures from various ethnic groups invited to a banquet. Someone brought food and wine to the two soldiers guarding Amahei. These two soldiers had already eaten dinner, but seeing the fragrant food and wine, they couldn't resist and started eating heartily without asking any questions. As a result, they lost consciousness after finishing the meal. It wasn't until half an hour ago, when the soldiers who came to relieve them, that they discovered that Amahei, who was locked in the cell, had disappeared.

Jia Huan asked, "Has the person who delivered the wine and dishes been caught?"

Chu Sheng shook his head and said, "Not yet. The light was dim at the time, and those two idiots didn't see each other clearly. They just thought they were hangers-on invited to the banquet, so they weren't on guard."

Jia Huan's heart stirred. Due to a shortage of manpower, they had indeed invited quite a few helpers to the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, such as the cook in charge of roasting mutton and the woman who washed the dishes. All of these were arranged by Amu Lang.

At this moment, the young eunuch had already revived the two unconscious soldiers by splashing them with cold water and was about to continue whipping them when Jia Huan hurriedly stopped him, saying, "Stop beating them. What good will it do to kill them now that things have come to this?"

Duan Yong was clearly still furious and said dismissively, "Two good-for-nothings, so what if they're dead? It's good to make an example of them. Third Master Huan has always been decisive in killing, but now he's showing such womanly compassion?"

Jia Huan shook his head and said, "These two are eyewitnesses. If we kill them both, how will we solve the case?"

Duan Yong was speechless upon hearing this. Jia Huan waved his hand and said, "Release them and treat them first. Also, General Chu, please send someone to summon Amu Lang immediately. I need the list of all the hangers-on at tonight's banquet. Go quickly!"

Chu Sheng accepted the order with a stern expression. Soon, Amu Lang was brought over and carefully handed a list to Jia Huan, saying, "Lord Jia, this is the list of all the helpers for tonight. These are all members of our clan who are loyal to the Hami royal family and could never be traitors."

Jia Huan glanced at Amu Lang and said calmly, "Whether they are traitors or not, we will verify it ourselves. I will trouble you, Chief Secretary, to gather everyone on the list."

"Alright, I'll take care of it right away. But there's something I'm not sure if I should say," Amu Lang said hesitantly.

Duan Yong said impatiently, "Why are you still hesitating at a time like this? Speak up."

Amulang nodded and said, "If Amahei was rescued by an inside man, I think Yibusili is the most suspicious."

"Why?" the crowd asked almost in unison.

Yibusili was the chief of a small tribe in Hami, with a population of only about a hundred people. Their settlement was located on a riverside oasis about fifty miles west of Hami City. He was invited to the banquet tonight and did not leave the city until the banquet ended.

Amulang coughed lightly and said, "Eunuch Duan and Lord Jia Huan are unaware of the fact that Yibusili and Baiwa are actually distant cousins."

Duan Yong's face darkened as he said, "Then why didn't you say so earlier? You should have gotten rid of this person when you first entered the city."

Amu Lang said with a hint of grievance, "When we entered the city, in order to stabilize the people's hearts, Eunuch Duan and Lord Jia promised to only punish the ringleaders and key members, and not to hold the rest accountable."

Duan Yong snorted and said, "Since this person is a cousin of Baiwa, then he must be a key member."

Amurang shook his head and argued, "Although Yibusili is a distant cousin of Baiwa, their relationship is only ordinary, and Yibusili has never held a position under Baiwa."

"Then why does Your Excellency suspect that it was Ibusiri who rescued Amahei? Isn't that a contradiction?" Jia Huan stared intently at Amurang. Amurang replied, "The reason I suspect Ibusiri is not because he is a distant cousin of Baiwa, but because of some rumors I have heard recently."

"What rumors?" Jia Huan pressed.

Amulang glanced at Jia Huan and cautiously replied, "Lord Jia recently opened a school in the city to teach local children Chinese and etiquette. It is said that Yibusili is very dissatisfied with this and privately told his people that... the Jin people have ill intentions and want to cut off our roots. He also said that the Jin people will destroy Qingzhen Temple and prohibit everyone from practicing religion. If we do not resist, we will all become slaves of the Jin people."

Duan Yong flew into a rage and sneered, "As expected, those who are not of our kind are bound to have different hearts. Third Master Huan, it seems we were too merciful back then, which has led to the seeds of today's disaster."

Amu Lang lowered his head and remained silent, for he too was one of those "not of our kind" as Duan Yong had described.

Jia Huan looked at Amu Lang thoughtfully and asked, "Did Yibusili really say these words?"

Amu Lang coughed lightly and said, "I have only heard rumors. Eunuch Duan and Lord Jia would be better off verifying them themselves."

Duan Yong said sinisterly, "It's better to believe it than not. Let's capture them first. Yibusili has only been out of the city for about half an hour, so he shouldn't be back at his post yet. Chu Sheng, lead your cavalry to intercept him immediately. Who knows, Amahei might still be hiding in his ranks."

This was a chance to make amends, so Chu Sheng naturally dared not delay. He immediately selected a hundred elite cavalry and personally chased after them out of the city. Jia Huan, however, vaguely felt something was amiss, but ultimately did not stop him. Moreover, even if he had, Duan Yong probably wouldn't have listened, since Amahei was an extremely important prisoner.

Leaving aside how Chu Sheng pursued Yibusili, Jia Huan then began a city-wide search to prevent Amahei from still hiding in the city. However, he was busy until dawn but still found nothing. All the locals who had helped him last night had been identified and investigated, and none of them were the traitors who delivered food and drinks to the prison.

Just when they were at their wits' end, Chu Sheng sent back two fast riders to report. Upon hearing the news, Jia Huan and Duan Yong's expressions changed, and they hurriedly rode out of the city to Yibusili.

The Yibusili tribe was located in an oasis on the riverbank about fifty miles west of Hami City. When Jia Huan and Duan Yong arrived, the entire tribe had been destroyed. Corpses were strewn everywhere. Almost all the men, including Yibusili, had been slaughtered, leaving only women and children trembling under the swords and spears of the Jin army.

"This humble general pays his respects to Eunuch Duan and Third Master Huan!" Chu Sheng rode up to them, clasped his hands in a salute, and bowed to Jia Huan and Duan Yong, his body covered in blood.

Jia Huan was in a bad mood at the moment, and frowned as he questioned, "Why did General Chu go on such a killing spree?"

Chu Sheng said helplessly, "Yibusili prevented our army from entering the tribe to search for Amahei. He was very tough and even insulted us. We had a verbal argument, and then... we started fighting. But I dare to swear to God that the other side attacked first and we had no choice but to fight back."

"Yes, your subordinates can testify that they struck first and cut off Old Deng's arm!" Chu Sheng's soldiers said angrily.

Chu Sheng and the others were not lying. Yibusili was a fierce and domineering man, easily provoked. In addition, he had drunk seven or eight parts drunk at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet that night. When Chu Sheng suddenly led his cavalry to catch up, claiming that he wanted to enter the tribe to search for the escaped Amahei, Yibusili's fiery temper exploded. In the ensuing argument, he swung his knife and injured one of Chu Sheng's personal guards.

Chu Sheng flew into a rage, and the two sides clashed. Some reckless soldier, oblivious to the danger, fired a musket, blowing Yibusili's head off. Yibusili's men, seeing this, went berserk, and the fighting escalated into a bloodbath. Ultimately, the entire Yibusili tribe was wiped out, while Chu Sheng's forces suffered eight dead and thirty wounded.

In Duan Yong's view, it was no big deal to slaughter a small barbarian tribe, especially since the other side had attacked first. He was only concerned about whether Amahei had been captured, so he asked, "Where is Amahei?"

Chu Sheng said somewhat guiltily, "No... I couldn't find anyone. Maybe Yibusili sent them away long ago."

Duan Yong's face immediately turned extremely ugly. He looked at Jia Huan questioningly, but the latter frowned and remained silent, turning his horse around and leaving on his own.

Duan Yong's eyes flashed, and he suddenly said in a harsh voice, "Not a single one of them shall be left alive."

Chu Sheng solemnly agreed. Soon, the remaining old, weak, women and children were all killed, and Yibusili's head was cut off and hung on the city wall of Hami as a warning to others. A notice was also posted: "Yibusili is a traitor. He colluded with Turpan to kidnap Amahei. After the plot was exposed, he resisted stubbornly and killed and wounded our Great Jin soldiers. Therefore, his entire clan was slaughtered and his head was displayed as a warning to others!"
Although they did not find Amahei at the Yibushili tribe's encampment, the matter had already come to this point, so they still had to pin the label of traitor on him; otherwise, they would have no legitimate reason to act.

However, the Jin army's massacre of the Yibusili tribe still terrified other tribes, triggering a chilling effect that to some extent offset the effects of Jia Huan's series of measures during this period. One manifestation of this was that all the local children stopped attending school, and the locals' expressions towards the Jin army became wary and hostile again. There were even several egregious incidents of lone soldiers being secretly pelted with stones.

This put immense pressure on the Jin army stationed in Hami. Fortunately, at this time, the two thousand reinforcements sent by the Ganzhou General finally arrived in Hami, bringing with them a large amount of food, ammunition, arrows, and even several breech-loading cannons.

As a result, the garrison in the city finally breathed a sigh of relief, and their confidence increased greatly.

(End of this chapter)