The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 705 Good impression
After two rounds of probing attacks, Amahei began to get serious, bringing up large siege weapons such as trebuchets, battering rams, arrow towers, and siege ladders. It seems that he was well prepared, no wonder he dared to boast that he would take Hami City within a month.

"Kill! Kill!" The soldiers of Turpan shouted as they charged forward, braving the hail of bullets from the city walls, and worked hard to carry sand and stones to try to fill the moat surrounding the city.

The Jin army on the city wall had the advantage of terrain. Musketeers pulled the triggers and archers drew their bows. Shots flew like locusts and arrows rained down, constantly reaping lives.

The Turpan cavalry below the city were not to be outdone. They galloped forward at the speed of their warhorses, firing wave after wave of arrows onto the city walls. Then they turned their horses around and galloped off to the sides, replacing them with the next wave of cavalry.

At the same time, the trebuchets of the Turpan army also began to hurle stones into the city. Huge stones roared across the sky, smashing the city walls with holes and leaving them in ruins. The power was quite terrifying.

Ayina, who stayed on the city wall to watch the battle, had never seen such a sight before. She was so horrified that her pretty face turned pale. Just then, a huge rock fell from the sky and smashed the lower half of a Jin soldier guarding the city. Blood and flesh flew everywhere, and he died on the spot!

"Ayina, it's dangerous here, let's go down quickly." At this moment, Shanba was obviously also afraid and hurriedly persuaded Ayina to leave.

Ayina steadied herself when suddenly a loud bang rang out nearby, and smoke billowed into the air. It turned out that the Jin army's artillery had opened fire, hitting a huge catapult in the enemy ranks and smashing it to pieces on the spot, causing numerous casualties nearby.

The Jin army on the city wall erupted in thunderous cheers. Ayina curiously peeked out of the city and saw that one of the enemy's catapults had been destroyed. Now only two remained. She exclaimed with delight, "Hit! That was a perfect shot!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the eight cannons on the city wall opened fire again, boom boom boom boom...

Although the power of the Portuguese cannons was not as great as that of the Hongyi cannons, they had the advantage of a fast rate of fire. In particular, when multiple cannons fired in unison, the sound was quite terrifying. The dense tongues of fire and the whistling of the cannonballs cutting through the air seemed to be destroying the world, which was truly frightening to gods and ghosts.

Boom boom boom boom...

Solid shot craters with each impact, while explosive shells injure large areas, frightening the attacking Turpan cavalry into retreating like a tide, leaving behind only desolate ruins.

"Wan Sheng! Wan Sheng! Wan Sheng!"

Having repelled the enemy's attack, the Jin army's morale soared to unprecedented heights. They waved flags, shouted slogans, and cheered. Some even leaped onto the battlements and brandished their swords in a show of force.

Even Ayina felt a surge of excitement at this scene, and couldn't help but shout, "Victory!"

Seeing this, Shanba frowned and reminded her, "Ayina, what's there to be happy about if the Jin army wins?"

Ayina asked in surprise, "Why aren't you happy? Amah and Baiwa conspired to kill my whole family. He is my father's killer. I wish he would be blown to bits by the Jin army's cannons."

Shanba was speechless for a moment, and stammered, "Amahei certainly deserves to die, but the Jin people are no good either. Jia Huan stole the treasures from our Hami treasury and even wanted to set up a school to assimilate us. It is clear that he has no intention of returning Hami to us. If he defeats Turpan, you can forget about becoming the queen of Hami."

Ayina gritted her teeth and said hatefully, "The hatred for killing one's father is irreconcilable, let alone the hatred for killing one's entire family. Even if I can't become queen, I will still take my revenge!"

Shaanba was speechless and could only say, "Ayina, give me ten years, no, just five years, and I will definitely help you kill Amahei."

Ayina looked at Shanba strangely and said, "Now that we have the chance to kill Amahei, why wait five years?"

Shanba sneered, "You don't actually think Jia Huan can defeat Amahei, do you? Amahei has 10,000 men under his command, and there's a constant stream of reinforcements, while the Jin army only has a little over 3,000 men, isolated and helpless. Even if they manage to hold the city, they can't do anything to Amahei."

Ayina frowned and said, "Shaanba, what you said makes sense, but do you really want Amahei to win? If the city falls, we will also die, and Amahei will not let us go."

Shaanba hurriedly replied, "Of course I don't want the city to fall."

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and get some people to help with the aftermath. It's fine if you don't fight on the front lines, but you can always help treat the wounded." After saying that, Ayina quickly walked over to a wounded soldier and helped him bandage his wounds.

At this moment, taking advantage of the enemy's retreat, the Jin army was working hard to repair the destroyed city walls and rescue the wounded.

Shanba hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Everyone, please help!"

……

Perhaps due to the heavy casualties of this attack, or perhaps because they were frightened by the Jin army's artillery, the Turpan army did not launch another attack until evening, and the Jin army took the opportunity to repair most of the damaged city defenses.

As the setting sun cast its slanting rays upon the banners, smoke rose from the chimneys, and the aroma of food wafted through the biting wind. It was time to eat. The Jin soldiers on the city walls enjoyed a hot meal before nightfall, including mutton soup—a truly delicious meal.

Jia Huan did not leave the city wall, but ate with the soldiers in the communal pot. He wolfed down a large piece of naan soaked in mutton soup, which was quite delicious.

"Third Master!" Dong Dao winked at Jia Huan, who looked up and saw Ayina walking towards them, a bowl of mutton soup in her left hand and a naan bread in her right. She was eating while looking around, her pretty eyes glancing in their direction from time to time.

Dong Dao and Fan Jian exchanged a glance, then stood up and gave the rest of their personal guards a meaningful look. The guards smiled and stood up, wisely stepping aside to enjoy their dinner.

Jia Huan was speechless. These guys...

At this moment, Ayina finally strolled over, letting out a soft "Eh?" as if it were a chance encounter, and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Oh, isn't this Lord Jia? Eunuch Duan has already returned to his residence to enjoy a sumptuous dinner. Why are you still here in the cold wind? There's no need to go to such lengths to win over the hearts of the troops, is there?" The young girl's acting was truly clumsy, and Jia Huan chuckled as he retorted, "If I'm trying to win over the hearts of the troops, then whose heart is Princess Ayina trying to win over?"

As the saying goes, what is said without intention may be taken seriously by the listener. Ayina blushed and stood there awkwardly.

Ayina recently celebrated her fourteenth birthday, a time when she is just beginning to experience romantic feelings. Previously, due to the emptying of the national treasury, she had a very bad impression of Jia Huan. However, after Jia Huan risked his life to save her that day, her opinion of Jia Huan underwent a complete 180-degree change, from dislike to affection.

Jia Huan was outstanding in both appearance and talent. During her time with Daiyu and others, Ayina often heard stories about Jia Huan's past achievements from them, such as passing the imperial examinations six times in a row, the victory at Ningyuan, writing palindrome poems, composing music and lyrics, and so on.

Which girl wouldn't be more and more surprised, more and more admiring, and more and more fond of a "treasure boy" like Jia Huan as she discovers him?

Of course, Ayina isn't a lovesick girl. Saying she's fallen for Jia Huan, this "pretty boy," would be a bit of an exaggeration. For now, it's just a matter of liking and curiosity. However, most stories between men and women start with liking the opposite sex!

At this moment, Jia Huan looked at Ayina, whose face was flushed, and realized that his words were ambiguous. He then pointed to the campfire next to him and said, "It's cold. If Your Highness doesn't mind, let's warm ourselves by the fire and have a meal together."

Ayina wasn't shy at all. She sat down by the campfire, eating naan and drinking mutton soup. It must be said, she was beautiful; everything she did looked good. Even eating and drinking soup, she was stunning. At fourteen, with a delicate nose and lips like painted rouge, she was a captivating sight.
"Is your injury healed?" Ayina asked, glancing at Jia Huan's hand.

Jia Huan smiled and said, "It's almost over. It's just a superficial injury. My arm is still a bit sore and I can't use it much."

Ayina stuck out her tongue and said, "I didn't expect that Lord Jia, who is so refined, would have such good arm strength. He was able to hold me for so long back then."

"I don't believe it myself, maybe it's a miracle from God," Jia Huan joked.

Ayina asked in surprise, "Lord Jia also believes in Allah?"

Jia Huan shook his head and said, "No, there are many people in our Jin Kingdom who believe in Buddhism and Taoism, but no one believes in this."

Ayina said, "I don't believe it either. In fact, most people in Hami are Buddhists, until six years ago when the traitor Baiwa destroyed Buddhist temples and forced everyone to believe in Allah."

Jia Huan said thoughtfully, "I see!"

"By the way, Lord Jia is a civil official, yet he stands on the city wall during battles. Isn't he afraid of dying?" Ayina changed the subject.

Jia Huan smiled faintly and said, "You'll get used to it."

A strange light flashed in Ayina's eyes as she asked, "I heard from Xiangling and the others that you were once the governor of Liaodong and defeated Nurhaci?"

Jia Huan nodded and asked in return, "You also know Nurhaci?"

"Hmm, quite a formidable figure. Both the Tatars and the Oirats feared him, but unexpectedly, he was defeated by you."

Jia Huan smiled and said, "It was just luck."

Ayina blinked and asked, "Did Man Gui and Tie Hu really go back to Jiayuguan to escort grain supplies?"

"Otherwise what?" Jia Huan asked calmly.

As Ayina chewed on her naan, she looked at Jia Huan thoughtfully, as if pondering something. After a long while, she shook her head and said, "I don't quite believe it."

Jia Huan asked with amusement, "Why?"

"You are too cunning...too unpredictable, and you love to use tricks, just like that time you went out of the city to play. Even I was used by you."

Jia Huan said calmly, "Then what do you think I sent Man Gui and Tie Niu to do?"

Ayina frowned her beautiful eyebrows and said, "Perhaps... you made them hide, looking for an opportunity to ambush Amahei's rear guard, or perhaps..."

Before Ayina could finish speaking, Shanba came over with a sullen face, but was stopped by Dong Dao and others five meters away.

"Get out of the way, I'm looking for Ayina!" Shaanba said unhappily.

Upon hearing the sound, Ayina stood up, walked towards Shanba, and asked, "Shanba, what do you want with me?"

"My godfather needs to see you," Shanba said in a deep voice.

"Yes, I'll go right away. Lord Jia, I'll take my leave now!" Ayina put down her bowl and followed Shanba away with light steps.

(End of this chapter)