Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 320, Special Mission

Chen Zhengdu laughed with great pleasure.

He was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his face!

When he was stationed in Zhengding, Prince Teng's troops should have arrived to provide support within a month.

However, for three whole months, he did not see a single reinforcement.

Now, the boomerang of support has pierced through time and descended upon the battlefield once again.

This time, however, they assumed a different identity.

At this point, both Xiong Yanlin and Chen Zheng were at their limit, and neither of them could do anything to the other.

However, Chen Zheng had the advantage in terms of soldiers on both sides.

After all, one was fighting a desperate battle like a cornered beast, while the other was merely ordered to stop it.

The two sides had vastly different fighting spirits, and the Liaodong army's morale plummeted even further when reinforcements, which should have arrived long ago, failed to arrive.

Finally, after nearly an hour of fighting, Chen Zhengdu's men managed to break through the defenses.

At this point, Xiong Yanlin, exhausted, was no longer able to pursue or stop them, and could only watch helplessly as Chen Zhengdu and the others left.

After some time, the Liaodong reinforcements still hadn't arrived, but instead, the Huaiyin army, which was responsible for the encirclement at the very back, arrived.

"Where are the Tartars?" the Huaiyin soldier asked.

Xiong Yanlin was too ashamed to say it aloud, but since the deed had already been done, he could only recount the whole story.

In his narration, Xiong Yanlin took most of the blame upon himself, without mentioning Chu Renfeng's dereliction of duty.

There are no fools among those who can become generals.

In reality, becoming a general is not as simple as lifting a large stone or having a martial arts contest as depicted in folk tales. In addition to strong martial prowess, one must also have no shortcomings in military strategy and tactics.

Xiong Yanlin was not from a noble family; he had achieved his current position largely through his own abilities. He was quite intelligent, and after calming down, he quickly figured out why Chu Renfeng hadn't come to his aid.

They were probably afraid that after the Tartars were wiped out, the Huaiyin Army's next target would be Liaodong...

This has been the case throughout Chinese history.

While Xiong Yanlin doesn't exactly support this, his opinion is understandable.

The only thing he couldn't understand was why, if they had already decided to let the other party go, they hadn't notified him in advance?

If he had known beforehand, he could have simply let the other side pass, instead of letting so many of his soldiers sacrifice themselves in vain.

Little did Xiong Yanlin know that for someone like Chu Renfeng, who grew up in a noble family, some low-ranking soldiers were nothing more than insignificant bargaining chips.

So be it.

If the grassland people are released directly, it will inevitably give others grounds for criticism, and he will be unable to explain himself when the Huaiyin Army holds him accountable.

In contrast, sacrificing the lives of some soldiers to cover up the fact that he deliberately let the steppe people go was the most appropriate course of action for him.

Xiong Yanlin's background meant he could never guess what Chu Renfeng was thinking.

And those low-ranking soldiers... they didn't even have the chance to know the truth.

When the Huaiyin army arrived, Xiong Yanlin thought they would be angry at his behavior and scold him after learning about the situation. However, the scolding he expected did not come. The Huaiyin army only frowned slightly after hearing the news that the Tartars had run away, and then relaxed.

"General Xiong, you've had a hard time. Your injuries are quite severe. Our army has medics; please go and treat your wounds first!"

The first thing I heard wasn't a reproach, but concern.

After nearly an hour of intense fighting, Xiong Yanlin was almost completely exhausted. His body was covered in sweat and blood, and he had a wound on his neck, shoulder, and arm, as well as four wounds on his stomach.

Fortunately, he was physically strong and had enough fat, so these wounds were only superficial and did not affect any vital organs.

Even so, the significant blood loss and inflammation will keep him recovering for some time.

After the failed encirclement and suppression plan in Chifeng, the Huaiyin Army and the Liaodong Army officially joined forces.

The combined forces of the two sides numbered a terrifying 250,000.

Chu Renfeng met Zhou Shuan with some trepidation, but to his surprise, Zhou Shuan wasn't angry about Tuo Lei's escape. In fact, for Zhou Shuan, Tuo Lei's life or death wasn't that important.

The so-called Tuolei is now nothing more than a stray dog.

Compared to Tuolei, the grassland is more important.

It lies in the process of conquering this land.

And then there are... those Liaodong soldiers.

Chu Renfeng harbored ulterior motives and deliberately let the grassland people go, hoping to prolong Fang Yong's war.

But in comparison, isn't Fang Yong the same?
After confirming the alliance with Liaodong, Fang Yong wrote to Zhou Shuan, giving him a special task.

At this moment, Zhou Shuan smiled and said to Chu Renfeng:
"Young Marshal, although the grassland people have escaped this time, they are severely weakened and it will be difficult for them to stop us. Our next sweeping mission will undoubtedly be much easier."

Therefore, I have decided to accelerate the operation and expand the sweep area. However, due to my unfamiliarity with your army's situation, I am unable to make proper arrangements. I request that the young marshal quickly muster the troops, and that a military review ceremony be held in two days, during which I will personally inspect the situation of the Liaodong army!

Chu Renfeng fell silent upon hearing this.

He wondered to himself, "What is this bandit from Huaiyin trying to do?"

Zhou Shuan remained calm and asked in return:

"Does the young marshal have any questions?"

"I don't."

Chu Renfeng finally agreed.

Two days later, the Liaodong army arrayed its troops on the grassland.

For reasons unknown, Zhou Shuan ordered the same number of Huaiyin soldiers to line up beside him.

The difference is immediately apparent when the two are compared.

Let's start with the most basic clothing.

The Huaiyin army wore cotton-padded clothes as a base layer, with cotton armor or iron plate armor on top.

The Liaodong army's clothing was of varying quality; most of it consisted of their own cotton-padded coats, which were worn out and some were even only wearing a single layer of clothing.

Keep in mind, this is a grassland, and it's already quite cold at this time of year.

Zhou Shuan walked into the ranks of the Liaodong army.

When Chu Renfeng was arranging his troops, he deliberately had the elite and burly soldiers stand on the outside, while the soldiers in tattered clothes, with their hands and feet turning purple from the cold, hid inside, in an attempt to conceal the true situation of the Liaodong army.

However, it is clear that this technique is far too clumsy.

"are not you cold?"

Zhou Shuan looked at the soldier in front of him and asked.

The soldier looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He had a sallow complexion and was somewhat thin, but thankfully not skin and bones. However, his clothes were rather thin.

Especially since the assembly was in the morning, the cold wind was biting on the open grassland, freezing his hands and feet until they turned purple, and he was trembling all over. His knuckles gripped the spear tightly in his hand, as if a little more force would bring him some warmth.

Upon hearing Zhou Shuan's question, the soldier raised his head and then his eyes widened instantly.

He never expected that such an important figure as Zhou Shuan would come to ask him in person. Caught off guard, he was stunned and speechless with shock.

It took her a while to recover, and she said in a trembling voice, "No, I'm not cold."

Zhou Shuan smiled, patted him on the shoulder and said:
"Lying makes you a bad soldier. Your tongue is practically trembling from the cold, and you still say you're not cold?"

As he spoke, Zhou Shuan took off his fur coat and covered the soldier with it.

Before the soldier could react, Zhou Shuan turned around and went back to the platform.

"Everyone!"

(End of this chapter)