Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Chapter 207: Surprise Raid 1
  The sky is as dark as lead, the clouds are as dark as water, the new wind is sweeping, and the snowflakes are flying like flakes and feathers.

Winter has arrived, the cold is biting, and the Tatar siege continues.

The tenacity of the Fengtian defenders shattered their illusions of destruction. They searched everywhere for several days and captured thousands of border people in the mountains. Now they drove them in front of the formation and led the Tatar army to attack the city.

All the border residents were in ragged clothes, their noses and tears were frozen into frost, their faces were covered with paste, and they were shivering in the cold wind.

Many women, with disheveled hair, disheveled clothes and numb expressions, were supporting the elderly and the young, limping forward. They appeared to have been ravaged by the Tatars and had long lost their will to survive. Many people were also hung on siege vehicles and used as human shields.

"Sir! The Tatars are despicable and drive the people to attack the city! Please show me." The guard reported to Yang Xiong urgently.

When Yang Xiong came out and took a look, his face suddenly darkened.

He had been in Liaodong for a long time, so how could he not know this move of the Tatars? In the past, when the Tatars attacked cities in the Western Regions, they often used civilians as the vanguard. Whenever the defenders relented and stopped shooting, the Tatars would follow and attack the city in one fell swoop!
  But if you give the order to kill without distinction between friend and foe... even if you defend the city, you will inevitably be severely beaten by the imperial censor.

While Yang Xiong was deep in thought, he suddenly heard a soft snap. Someone beside him raised his hand and slapped it heavily on the wall. Snow foam splashed everywhere, leaving a clear palm print.

"Dog Tartar! You are so shameless, you call yourself a warrior!" It was Sun Chi, the son of the tenth prince, who was scolding him angrily.

Yang Xiong's heart was moved, he clasped his fists and said in a deep voice: "The Tatars are driving the people to attack the city. What should we do? What do you think of Your Highness?"

Sun Chi was angry, but he was not stupid. How could he dare to speak carelessly about such a thing? He hurriedly said: "I am here just to comfort the soldiers, how dare I overstep my authority? Naturally, matters in the army are decided by the words of the old general. This king has absolutely nothing to say!"

Damn, they’re all human sperm! Yang Xiong smiled bitterly and shook his head. He was determined to be serious. Suddenly he saw a Tatar cavalry rushing towards the frontier people on horseback and shouted: "Han people in the city, listen! If you wait for Kaicheng to surrender, you will avoid death. If you resist stubbornly, after the city is broken, , slaughter them all, leaving no chickens or dogs behind!"

After speaking, he stabbed the spear in his hand, piercing the vest of the 14 to 5-year-old boy. He held it high between the spears and pointed at the city head, laughing.

The boy was not dead for a while, he was crying tremblingly, his hands and feet were shaking, and his condition was extremely miserable.

The woman next to her screamed, and regardless of her life or death, she beat the Tatar. Another Tatar kicked her to the ground, reined in her horse, and stepped hard on her chest with two iron hoofs. Blood spurted out from her mouth. , splashed on the snow, especially dazzling!
  Yang Xiong's eyes flashed sharply, and he was about to give an order.

Sun Chi's eyes were already about to burst. He roared angrily, grabbed the bow and arrow held by the guard, and shot out two arrows!

The Tatars were approaching at this time. They thought that the defenders on the city were too timid to shoot arrows and were unprepared. They immediately fell down and were shot through the head by two powerful arrows!

"Kill me! Kill kill kill!" Sun Chi shouted in anger, pointing his halberd at him.

Although the defenders in the city were already furious, the matter was so important that they all looked towards Yang Xiong.

Yang Xiong breathed a sigh of relief and said hurriedly: "What are you looking at? Didn't you hear what the imperial envoy said? Kill me!" With the words of the tenth prince, there will be someone to share some of the pressure in the future.

"Yes!" Immediately, thousands of arrows were fired from the city, catapults and crossbows fired wildly, and dozens of red cannons roared in unison, instantly destroying more than a dozen nest trucks, ladder trucks, crash trucks and other equipment.

Many Tatars and border people fell down with arrows.

"Sir, you can't kill me!"

"My third uncle is down there."

"My aunt is down there."

"Second uncle, second uncle!"

……

Several Minzhuang people threw themselves in front of Yang Xiong, shouted to heaven and earth, kowtowed and begged.

All the sergeants on the city couldn't bear it, and immediately relaxed slightly.

Seeing this, the Tatars hurriedly drove away the border residents who wanted to escape. They killed more than ten people before forcing them back together and forced their way to the city.

The border residents had no choice but to cry and move forward.

Sun Chi gritted his steel teeth and said in a deep voice: "We know this is a plan, how can we be controlled by the Tatars? Old general, give the order! If anything happens, I, the king, will bear the responsibility together with you."

Yang Xiong nodded and said: "Your Highness is wise, how can this veteran be so indecisive?"

Yin shouted: "Come here, take these people down and keep them under guard. Soldiers, the Tatars want to use tricks to break the city. That's just a dream!! Kill! Kill! Kill!" With one order, the city wall once again shot like arrows. The rain fell and the cannons roared.

Seeing that their treacherous plan was ineffective, the Tatars had no choice but to attack the city again.
-
  The Tatars cannot attack for a long time, and it will be dark.

In the Tartar king's tent, the chiefs of the Qiyan, Barhu, Kalaqin, Tumut, Lejin, Horqin, Chahar and other tribes were gathering together to discuss the military situation, and they argued loudly from time to time.

Zhuoligetu, the leader of the Horqin tribe, said loudly: "Fengtian City is guarded by generals and has many elite soldiers and sufficient food. We have been fighting for many days, but we have almost lost everything we looted. This battle cannot be fought!"
  Our Horqin Ministry proposed that we withdraw our troops immediately and eat the benefits gained from the previous grab, so that we won’t come back in vain. "

"Chief Zhuoligetu is right, we all mean the same thing." The chiefs of the small tribes hurriedly agreed.

The Horqin Tribe is a medium-sized tribe on the Liaodong grasslands. It has tens of thousands of people who can control strings. It can be considered a medium-sized force. It has always formed alliances with surrounding small tribes to resist the encroachment of larger tribes.

Ba Yin, the leader of the Barhu tribe, frowned and said: "Now the defenders have suffered heavy casualties and are about to be captured. If we retreat now, wouldn't our efforts of the past twenty days have been in vain? Didn't the sons who died in the battle die in vain?"
  There are no cowards among the men on our grasslands! Even my son Jiya Saiyin was killed outside the Shifang Temple Castle. How can I retreat so easily now? "

As soon as he opened his mouth, the clan leaders of the small tribes suddenly stopped and did not dare to speak.

Lakshen, the leader of the Tumut tribe, sneered: "Jiya Saiyin led tens of thousands of warriors and couldn't even defeat a small fortress. Now we want to capture Fengtian. It's not easy.

The Han people are not good at field battles, but they are good at defending cities. We use our shortcomings to attack the enemy's strong points. If we cannot attack for a long time, we should have withdrawn long ago. Could it be that we have sacrificed many warriors in vain for a mere prince? "

The Tumut were also a large grassland tribe. They had gained a lot from this southern invasion and had long wanted to withdraw, so they pushed Bayin back.

"You!" Bayin yelled angrily: "What do you mean? My son also died for the army. If the prince can die, which warrior cannot die?"

Lakshen said coldly: "If you want to die, you guys from the Barhu Division can go ahead. Our Tumut Division won't stop us, but there's no point in wanting my men to die in vain!"

Si Qinba, the leader of the Qiyan tribe, hurriedly raised his hands to smooth things over. The Qiyan tribe is a large tribe directly under the jurisdiction of the Golden Horde, so his status as the leader is half a step higher than that of the other chiefs.

"The two clan leaders are both members of the same family. We have something to say, so why get angry? Whether to fight or to retreat, it's not too late for us to listen to the opinions of other clans before making a decision." As the nominal commander of this southern invasion force, Sqimbarri said, No one dared to refute what he said.

The Haraqin, Lejin, Chahar and other major tribes all spoke one after another. Some said war, but were unwilling to send troops, some said retreat, but did not want to stay behind, and some said they would first transport the looted goods and people back. They were all quarreling. There was a big quarrel, everyone was red-faced and arguing endlessly.

Si Qinbari shook his head. The morale of the army was in chaos and he was unable to fight anymore, so he raised his hands and said: "Everyone, please be quiet. I understand what you all meant just now."

In my opinion, if we can't defeat them today, we will retreat at night, so the Han people won't dare to pursue us. "

Everyone could only nod in agreement.

"Everyone go back and clean up first. When retreating, don't rush to be the first to crowd. Retreat in an orderly manner according to the camp position of each department, so as not to be taken advantage of by the southerners. I, the Qiyan Department, are responsible for breaking up the rear."

"The patriarch has great righteousness, we will definitely follow your orders."

The heads of each tribe breathed a sigh of relief. It would be easier if someone broke up. They thought there would be another big quarrel.

Suddenly, the ground shook slightly, and there was a faint thunderous sound of horse hooves, and there were quite a few of them.

Everyone has been dealing with horses on the grassland all their lives, so they can't hear it.

"Han cavalry?! Why didn't the defenders of Fengjibao and Baitapu report?"

Everyone was shocked. They were still attacking the city from the front. If they were attacked from both sides, it might be in danger.

"Report, report to all my lords, a lot of Han cavalry suddenly came from the south, at least tens of thousands of them!" The Tatars' Tanma, who was wandering outside, rushed back to report the news.

"Quickly, prepare the army for war!" Sqimbari shouted.

The clan leaders hurriedly rode horses to their camps, but their hearts felt cold. They heard the sound of hoofbeats approaching, and they arrived just as soon as they spoke. At this time, there was still a whole army! The same order was given invariably.

"Hurry up and deliver the order! The enemy's situation is unknown. Let the men stick to the camp and guard the goods. They are not allowed to leave the camp to meet the enemy!"

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)