The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 735: Asking for forgiveness
Because of Gao Yingxiang's mistake, the cooked duck flew away, which angered not only Shen Yikui and Wang Ziyong, but also Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, two of his capable subordinates.

The rebel leader Gao Yingxiang was now in an awkward position. Everyone had worked so hard and paid such a high price, thinking they could wipe out Man Gui's elite troops and cut off Jia Huan's arm. Unfortunately, in the end, because of Gao Yingxiang's cowardice, the plan failed at the last minute.

Of course, Gao Yingxiang would never admit his mistake. He could only blame Lu Xiangsheng for being too cunning and lacking in martial ethics, actually launching a sneak attack on him from behind.

In an attempt to save face, Gao Yingxiang led his troops in pursuit all the way to Huai'an County, where they surrounded the city, determined to wipe out Man Gui and Lu Xiang Sheng, who had fled into the city.

As for Jia Huan, after sending Dong Dao to deliver the order, he immediately ordered the entire army to stop resting, break camp, and rush north to Qingyang Prefecture. However, the two places are nearly 500 li apart, and even the entire cavalry would have to travel for three days. So when Jia Huan was halfway there, he encountered Dong Dao, who was turning back.

Upon learning that Man Gui was besieged at the foot of Mount Taibai by 100,000 elite bandit troops and that his entire army was likely wiped out, Jia Huan was struck dumb. His generals were also shocked and filled with grief and indignation!
Man Gui had accumulated numerous military achievements and was a capable general under Jia Huan, undoubtedly his right-hand man. His 10,000 elite troops were one of the three main forces. If they were to be completely wiped out, it would be equivalent to the complete annihilation of the Northern Route Army.

To be honest, Jia Huan had never suffered such a defeat since he began commanding troops in battle. This was not only a heavy blow to Jia Huan himself, but also to the morale of the entire army.

So when the news spread, the whole army was in an uproar and the atmosphere was unprecedentedly heavy. Of course, there were also generals who were extremely grief-stricken and indignant and requested to lead the cavalry as the vanguard, vowing to make the enemy pay for their blood debt, but Jia Huan suppressed them all.

The three rebel armies led by Gao Yingxiang, Wang Ziyong, and Shen Yikui are all very strong. Now that they have joined forces, their total strength exceeds 300,000. Even if we exclude the elderly, weak, women, and children, the number of able-bodied men is estimated to be 100,000. In addition, with the momentum of their great victory, their morale is definitely high. At this time, it is not a good idea to confront them head-on.

Therefore, Jia Huan decided to temporarily station his troops in Qingyang Prefecture, waiting for Tie Hu's southern army to arrive and join him, and then coordinate with surrounding forces to launch a joint attack and annihilation.

However, when Jia Huan and Xing Wei led their 30,000 troops to Qingyang Prefecture, they were surprised to learn that although the Northern Route Army had suffered heavy casualties, it had not been completely wiped out. Man Gui had successfully broken through the encirclement with Lu Xiang Sheng's clever rescue and was now leading his remaining troops to retreat to Huai'an County.

In an instant, the entire army was overjoyed, and the heavy atmosphere that had been weighing on them for many days vanished. The fact that the Northern Route Army had not been wiped out as a whole and that General Man Gui was still alive was undoubtedly exciting news.

Xing Wei laughed heartily, "Third Master, you see, I knew that kid Man Gui wouldn't die so easily."

Jia Huan, however, spat out four words with murderous intent: "He'll be dead soon too!"

Xing Wei couldn't help but shrink back, and the other generals also lowered their heads in awe, not daring to utter a sound, let alone plead for Man Gui.

Seeing Jia Huan's growing prestige in the army, which had made even the most arrogant and fierce generals bow down to him, the supervising officer Duan Yong felt rather complicated. He smiled obsequiously and said, "Lord Jia, please calm down. Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. General Man's record is outstanding. Although he suffered a defeat this time, it is understandable..."

Before Duan Yong could finish speaking, Jia Huan coldly interrupted him, saying, "Victory or defeat is one thing, but disobeying military orders is another. Eunuch Duan need not say more; I, the commander, will make the decision."

Duan Yong's face stiffened, and he awkwardly shut his mouth, feeling quite displeased. He clearly hadn't expected Jia Huan to embarrass him in public.

Five days later, Tie Hu finally led the Southern Route Army to Qingyang, where he joined forces with Jia Huan and Xing Wei. In addition, Feng Ziying led 20,000 elite troops from the Beijing Garrison from Shanxi, bringing the total force to 60,000.

Sixty thousand elite soldiers are more than enough to fight against over three hundred thousand enemy troops!
Therefore, at Jia Huan's command, the various forces surrounded Huai'an County from three sides, leaving one side open, except for the north side, to prevent the enemy from becoming desperate and resorting to desperate measures.

Furthermore, in an attempt to save face, Gao Yingxiang launched a fierce attack on Huai'an County for six or seven days but failed to capture the city. Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, and others became impatient and urged Gao Yingxiang to withdraw to avoid being surrounded by government troops. However, Gao Yingxiang seemed to be possessed and insisted on taking Huai'an County before withdrawing, which infuriated Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, who cursed him in private.

Actually, it's not Gao Yingxiang's fault. That's human nature. Old Gao felt that letting Man Gui go that day was a huge loss of face, damaging his image and dignity in the eyes of the rebels and his colleagues. Naturally, he was eager to regain his face. In addition, after several days of fierce attacks, Huai'an County was already on the verge of collapse. It was possible that it could be taken in two more days. How could Gao Yingxiang be willing to accept that? So he gritted his teeth and refused to retreat.

Three more days passed in this way, and the Huai'an County, which had been riddled with holes, miraculously remained steadfast. Gao Yingxiang had no choice but to order a retreat, but it was too late. Jia Huan had already led three armies to their doorstep, cutting off the enemy's westward and southward advance.

Meanwhile, the vanguard of General Feng Ziying of the Beijing Garrison had also advanced fifty li, blocking the rebel army's possibility of fleeing east into Shanxi. In other words, the rebel army could only flee north to the border, but there was a prerequisite: they had to break through the Great Wall defenses, where border troops were stationed. If they couldn't break through the Great Wall fortress, they would be doomed.

Gao Yingxiang panicked. After consulting with the other two rebel leaders (Wang Ziyong and Shen Yikui), they decided to retreat to Huan County, since it was close by and Shen Yikui's territory, so they wouldn't be attacked from both sides.

As a result, the three rebel armies retreated to the outskirts of Huan County. Shen Yikui was stationed in the west of the city, Wang Ziyong in the east, and Gao Yingxiang, the strongest of the three, was in charge of the south, facing the main force of Jia Huan's army coming from the south.

After Gao Yingxiang and his men withdrew, the siege of Huai'an County was lifted without any rescue efforts. Man Gui and Lu Xiangshan led their troops out of the city to welcome the arrival of Jia Huan's army.

It was already late October in the lunar calendar, deep autumn, and the weather was getting colder day by day. Ganzhou General Man Gui was shirtless, his body covered in wounds, some of which were still oozing blood. It was a truly shocking sight, showing how fierce the battle at the foot of Mount Taibai had been.

The young man, with disheveled hair and a bare torso, carrying a bundle of thorns on his back, strode over to Jia Huan's horse, knelt down in the dust with a thud, and said dejectedly, "This humble general, Man Gui, has come to apologize to the commander-in-chief!"

Jia Huan was both annoyed and amused. He didn't know who gave this guy the idea, or whether he learned it from a play. But he was certainly sincere. The opera troupe only used firewood as a prop for "bearing thorns to apologize," but this kid was carrying real thorns. The countless thorns had already cut his back until it was covered in blood, which was quite touching.

However, the thought of the five or six thousand soldiers who had died at the foot of Mount Taibai still fueled Jia Huan's rage. He roared, "Men, behead the culpable general Man Gui!"

These words caused a chill to run through the crowd, and Man Gui shivered, her face turning ashen.

In fact, Man Gui knew that he might lose his head this time, but relying on his status as Jia Huan's trusted confidant and his numerous military achievements, he was somewhat hopeful. As a result, Jia Huan's loud shout scared him out of his wits.

Tie Hu hurriedly stepped forward to plead, "General, please have mercy! Although Man Gui bears undeniable responsibility for this defeat, his crime does not warrant death."

“Yes, considering General Man’s past merits, please spare him this time, Commander-in-Chief,” Lu Xiangjin also stepped forward to plead.

Jia Huan remained unmoved and shouted, "Man Gui disobeyed military orders. If we don't kill him, how can we comfort the thousands of brothers who died at the foot of Mount Taibai? You should say no more."

After saying that, he glared at Fan Jian and shouted, "Aren't you going to make a move? Do you even dare to disobey my orders?"

Fan Jian was startled and had no choice but to draw his sword and step forward. He walked to Man Gui's side and said apologetically, "Master Man, I'm sorry, but military orders are hard to disobey. May you be reborn into a good family in your next life." Man Gui said miserably, "Enough nonsense, hurry up with your sword. I'll be a hero again in eighteen years."

Jia Huan raised an eyebrow and sneered, "You little brat, you're still not convinced?"

"This humble general dares not. I have caused the deaths of thousands of brothers, and I deserve to die a thousand deaths. But I did not disobey military orders," Man Gui said loudly, his neck stiff.

Jia Huan was both angry and amused, and laughed in extreme anger: "You're about to die and you're still being stubborn. I ordered you to hold back and not attack Shen Yi Kui before I arrived, but you were reckless and caused the deaths of thousands of brothers. Now I'm sentencing you to death. What makes you think you can complain?"

Man Gui argued, "This humble general deserves to die, I have no objection. However, this humble general did not launch an attack. It was Shen Yi Kui who came to our door. Can't this humble general fight back?"

Jia Huan flew into a rage and shouted, "You fell into their trap just because they came to your door? Are you out of your mind? You're still so stubborn. What use are you? Kill you!"

Man Gui tried to argue, but Tie Hu kicked him to the ground, cursing and winking at him: "You ungrateful bastard, you're truly unrepentant. If it weren't for our past camaraderie, I would have killed you myself."

Man Gui was awakened by Tie Hu's kick, and seeing Jia Huan's ashen face, she quickly lowered her head and kept silent.

At this moment, Lu Xiang-sheng finally stepped forward, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "Brother Zi-ming, please calm down. General Man is young and impetuous, and it is inevitable that he will act rashly. However, although we lost thousands of brothers in this battle, we also caused tens of thousands of casualties to the enemy. In addition, we are in need of manpower now, so why not give General Man another chance to redeem himself and make meritorious contributions?"

"Please, General, have mercy!"

"Please, General, have mercy!"

All the generals knelt on one knee, and the soldiers around them also knelt down in unison, shouting, "General, have mercy! General, have mercy!"

Seeing this, Man Gui's eyes reddened, and he kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "This humble general was wrong. I beg the commander to spare my life and give me a chance to redeem myself!"

Jia Huan had been dawdling for so long, not really intending to kill Man Gui, but the boy's reckless and impulsive nature did need to be curbed. Now that his goal had been achieved, he took the opportunity to back down, coldly saying, "Since the soldiers of the three armies are all pleading for you, I will spare your life for now. But while you may be spared the death penalty, you will not escape punishment. You will receive fifty strokes of the cane, a year's salary deduction, and effective immediately, you will be stripped of your generalship and demoted to a guerrilla general. Do you accept this?"

Man Gui quickly replied, "This humble general is completely convinced."

Jia Huan nodded: "Men, carry out the execution!"

This time, Fan Jian immediately rushed forward and struck Man Gui fifty times with a clap. It seemed like a terrible beating, but in reality, he held back and didn't injure him. Jia Huan naturally saw that Fan Jian was holding back, but he didn't point it out.

Man Gui, having escaped death, seemed to have calmed down. He limped and kowtowed to Jia Huan, kneeling to thank the commander for sparing his life. The latter waved his hand and ordered the army doctor to help him to apply medicine and treat his wounds.

That night, as the autumn insects chirped, Man Gui lay on the bed, feeling an unbearable burning pain in her buttocks. She had to call her personal guards to apply the medicine again. The herbs contained mint, which could temporarily relieve the pain.

As the personal guard applied medicine to Man Gui, he complained, "The commander is too heartless. He doesn't care about our past relationship at all. The general has followed him for many years, risking his life and making countless contributions..."

Man Gui interrupted impatiently, "Just apply the medicine when I tell you to, stop with all the nonsense!"

The guards dared not say another word and carefully applied the medicine to Man Gui. At this moment, another guard came in and said, "Reporting to the general, Xiao Yuezi, who is by the side of the supervising officer, has brought medicine for your wounds to visit you."

Man Gui was slightly taken aback, then her eyes flashed, and she quickly pulled up her trousers and said, "Please come in quickly!"

A moment later, a young eunuch entered. He was Xiao Yuezi, who served Duan Yong. Upon seeing him, he asked with concern, "Your Excellency sent me to visit General Man and bring some medicine for treating his beatings. I wonder how General Man's injuries are?"

Man Gui has already been demoted to a guerrilla general, yet this young Yue Zi calls him commander-in-chief; I wonder what his intentions are.

Man Gui rolled his eyes and said indignantly, "I'm not going to die. Please convey my gratitude to the supervising officer. I am injured and cannot pay my respects. Please forgive me, young eunuch."

Xiao Yuezi said with a smile, "General Man, you flatter me. Alas, our father-in-law pleaded for General Man a few days ago, but the Governor-General is probably still angry, and our father-in-law got into trouble."

Man Gui snorted coldly and said, "This humble general is no longer a general, but just a minor guerrilla general. Young eunuch, please don't call me that."

Xiao Yuezi comforted him, "With General Man's abilities, becoming a commander-in-chief of a town or even being ennobled is not difficult for him in the future. These are the exact words of our Eunuch Duan."

Man Gui clasped his hands and said, "I am flattered by the high regard of the military supervisor."

Xiao Yuezi offered a few more insincere compliments and made some veiled accusations before leaving two bottles of medicine behind.

Man Gui casually tossed the medicine aside. Although he was a bit reckless, he wasn't stupid. How could he not see through Xiao Yuezi's provocation and enticement?

After returning, Xiao Yuezi reported to Duan Yong, "Man Gui accepted the medicine and asked me to convey her gratitude to you, sir. It's clear that Man Gui still harbors some resentment towards Jia Huan."

Duan Yong was secretly pleased upon hearing this. Jia Huan's prestige in the army was growing, and most of the generals around him were promoted by him, forming an impenetrable wall. This was not a good thing, so Duan Yong had always wanted to place his own people in the army, but he had not had the opportunity. Now that this opportunity had arisen, he naturally tried to win over the fierce general Man Gui.

(End of this chapter)