Dream of the Red Chamber: After being exiled, I went on a killing spree in Liaodong.

Everyone at the table turned their heads in unison, even Jia Baoyu, who was eating, froze, his chopsticks still in his mouth.

"What's wrong, Lai Da?" Grandmother Jia put down her chopsticks, her eyes anxious. "Has Zheng'er returned?"

Lady Wang and the other young ladies all held their breath and stared intently, but Jia Baoyu alone had a droopy face and an indifferent expression.

"It's not, sir...it's Liaodong, something terrible has happened!"

Lai Da's voice trembled: "The Later Jin have mobilized their entire force, with 300,000 troops marching straight towards Liaodong!"

The moment the words "300,000" were uttered, the room fell into a deathly silence.

Yingchun's eyes immediately welled up with tears: "Third Brother..."

The sisters all looked worried, their hearts aching.

"Has the imperial court issued any decree? Will they send reinforcements?" Grandmother Jia asked in a trembling voice.

Lai Da shook his head.

"What should we do!" Grandmother Jia clutched her forehead, almost unable to stand.

Meanwhile, in the Qin family's boudoir.

Qin Keqing, who had never believed in ghosts or gods, had set up a Buddhist shrine in her room, with wisps of incense smoke rising and a lamp burning all night long.

She knelt on the prayer mat, her fingers intertwined, and whispered, "Buddha above, if you can protect him and bring him back safely, I am willing to be a vegetarian for the rest of my life, and recite scriptures morning and evening without interruption... Please, protect him for a while."

The entire city is worried about one person, and the whole city is praying for him.

Meanwhile, in a military tent thousands of miles away, Jia Yi lazily unfolded the imperial edict, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"Three hundred thousand? Ha, the Later Jin have brought out their entire fortune."

He tossed the letter aside, a cold glint in his eyes: "Good timing, saves me the trouble of searching them one by one. This battle will wipe them out completely!"

Niu Jizong, who was sitting to the side, felt a chill run down his spine and cold sweat poured down his forehead.

Is this even human language? The enemy has 300,000 iron cavalry! Not only are you not afraid, but you're thinking of turning around and wiping them out?!

"Send the order!" Jia Yi abruptly stood up, his voice echoing throughout the camp, "The entire army must accelerate, marching day and night—I want to reach Liaodong within five days!"

War raged across Liaodong.

Horse hooves shattered the setting sun, and the new recruits of the Plain Blue Banner, their eyes bloodshot, pounced on the Daqian garrison like wild beasts.

Their fathers and brothers died in bloody battles on the border; today, they have come only for revenge.

"kill!!!"

The blade flashed and the blood surged into the sky.

The Daqian cavalry formation collapsed instantly, and they were slaughtered like lambs on the open field.

Degerai stood on the high slope, coldly watching the massacre, and snorted lightly, "Nothing special."

He gripped the sword at his waist, a fire of ambition burning in his eyes.

If he achieves a remarkable feat in this battle, he will be the rightful leader of the Blue Banner, and no one will dare to call him "Little Banner Leader" again!

"Charge with me!" He spurred his horse forward, surrounded by his personal guards, and charged straight into the heart of the enemy formation.

Jin County, General's Residence.

"Report! Eleven military fortresses have fallen! The Later Jin vanguard has breached Santunying and will surely reach the city walls before noon tomorrow!"

The generals in the hall were ashen-faced.

Someone's teeth chattered: "General... what... what do we do now?"

"Wait for imperial reinforcements? By the time they arrive, our bones will be cold!"

"How about... we surrender? Eighty thousand troops, surrendering would be a good way to secure a better future..."

The generals' gazes quietly shifted to Lu Qing, the Liaodong General, who was seated in the main seat.

Silence spread.

Lu Qing's throat bobbed, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Lu Qing! Are you going to vote or not? If not, I'm leaving!"

A young lieutenant slammed his fist on the table and roared, "I'm only twenty-seven! I want to live a few more years! I don't want to die in this wretched place as a wandering ghost!"

The entire room was stunned.

No one expected that someone would dare to insult their commander to his face.

But the next second, Lu Qing slowly closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"Since... everyone wants to surrender..."

He opened his eyes, his voice hoarse:

"Then let's lower it."

Lu Qing certainly didn't want to die.

His throat tightened, and he nodded through gritted teeth.

Seeing that even the commander-in-chief had knelt, how could the others dare to resist? A huge weight lifted from their hearts, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted from their spines. After all, the Later Jin army would arrive in the blink of an eye; opening the city gates, setting up incense tables, and welcoming the royal army would ensure they could still live a life of luxury. Why risk their lives by banging their heads against the city walls?

So the next day, when Degelai led his army to Jin County—

The scene before him made him rein in his horse, his pupils shrinking.

The city gates were wide open.

The suspension bridge was lowered.

A row of Ming generals stood neatly outside the city, their faces plastered with smiles that looked more like grimaces, as if they were afraid others wouldn't see how submissive they were.

"This...is it surrender?"

Degerai stood frozen on his horse, his mind a little blank.

He originally planned to first set up camp and besiege the city, then launch a full-scale attack once Huang Taiji's main force arrived. After all, Jin County was the throat of Liaodong for the Great Qian Dynasty; Nurhaci had fought for months to capture it, losing tens of thousands of men!

But now?

The tortoise shell cracked on its own, and the person inside ran out holding the surrender document and kowtowed.

"We've surrendered!"

Seeing that the other party did not move for a long time, Lu Qing gritted his teeth, shouted three words at the top of his lungs, his voice trembling.

"Walk!"

Degerai suddenly spurred his horse forward, leading his personal guards slowly forward.

The wind whipped up dust, ruffling the wolf tail on his shoulder. He looked down at the Ming generals kneeling on the ground, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Your humble servant, Lu Qing, the General Commander of Liaodong, has led 80,000 troops to surrender to the Great Jin!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone kowtowed in unison.

"Hahaha--!"

Dege laughed wildly, his blood boiling.

He took Jin County without shedding a drop of blood? That's a feat he can boast about for a lifetime!

When Huang Taiji led his 300,000-strong army to the city, everyone in his tent was stunned.

The dragon flag flying atop the city walls is no longer that of the Great Qian Dynasty.

It was that fluttering plain blue flag!

"Holy crap? Degerai really took Jin County?"

"No way... he's already in the city before we've even made a move?"

"Back then, I followed the old Khan to conquer this place, and the corpses of my brothers piled up like mountains! And he, on the other hand, took over 80,000 men after just one trip?"

Dorgon squinted, staring intently at Degelai, who was swaggering on the city wall. His heart skipped a beat: This kid's luck is just too good, isn't it?

But what happened next was even more shocking.

"Great Khan!" Degelai greeted him with a radiant smile, proclaiming loudly, "Jin County is already in my pocket!"

"Tell me, what happened?" Huang Taiji's eyes blazed as he pointed to the once impregnable city.

"Reporting to the Great Khan!" Degelai grinned, "Lu Qing was terrified when he saw my Blue Banner Iron Cavalry sweeping everything away. Before I could even set up the siege ladders, he surrendered!"

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized what was going on.

It turns out they were terrified by the 300,000-strong army!

So it wasn't that Dege was so strong, it was that the opponent simply surrendered!

"Holy crap! This guy's luck is just unbelievable!"

Some people cursed under their breath, extremely envious.

But Huang Taiji laughed.

"Excellent! Degerai, you've done a great job!"

He shouted loudly, his voice echoing across the land: "Upon our triumphant return to the capital, I will reward you with ten thousand taels of silver and promote you three ranks!"

So what if you snagged a bargain? You captured the city, so the credit is yours!

"Order—the entire army to rest for one day!"

"We'll set off tomorrow, heading straight for Shanhaiguan! We'll breach the pass in one fell swoop and raze the Central Plains!"

The room fell silent upon hearing this.

Some people almost thought they had misheard.

"Your Majesty...where did you just say? Shanhaiguan?"