Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

"Alright, brothers! Cheer up and send these sons of bitches back to their hometowns."

After Zhou Yingyuan finished speaking, he drew his bow and shot down a Northern Yuan soldier who had rushed into the city gate.

The remaining Han soldiers also rallied their remaining strength, some drawing their bows and arrows, others wielding spears and swords to fight back, killing or wounding hundreds of Northern Yuan soldiers who had stormed into the city gate.

But at this moment, the Northern Yuan's counterattack also began.

A hail of arrows, like locusts, rose from outside the city gate and shot towards the Han army inside the gate.

The Han soldiers inside the gate were gathered together and lacked cover, so dozens of them were shot dead immediately.

Upon seeing this scene, Zhou Yingyuan also saw countless Northern Yuan soldiers constantly flanking around the city walls and attacking from behind.

He immediately realized that he could no longer stay in this doorway; it was a desperate situation where he was caught in a pincer movement.

After shooting and killing another Northern Yuan soldier with an arrow, Zhou Yingyuan picked up the spear beside him and shouted:

"Brothers, charge out and show these sons of bitches the might of the Han army!"

As he spoke, he was the first to spur his horse and charge out of the city gate, continuously killing the Northern Yuan soldiers at the gate with his spear.

While killing enemies, he charged towards the banner of the Northern Yuan central army not far outside the city, clearly intending to kill the enemy commander and gain a chance of survival.

"Brothers, follow General Zhou and fight those damned Northern Yuan Tartars!"

The thousands of Han soldiers inside the city gates also had red eyes.

Regardless of whether they were injured or not, they all grabbed their weapons and charged towards the city gate.

For these Han soldiers, it was better to be shot to death by the Northern Yuan army's arrows inside the gate.

It would be better to charge out and fight the Northern Yuan soldiers with real swords and spears. Even if we die, we can still inflict some damage on the Northern Yuan army.

The battle quickly intensified, marking the first encounter between the Northern Yuan army and the Northern Yuan forces.

Several hundred Han soldiers fell, and the Northern Yuan army also suffered countless casualties.

The city gates resembled a meat grinder, with blood raining down, and the Northern Yuan army and the Han army were like two surging tides.

They kept surging towards each other, and with each collision of waves, soldiers on both sides fell to the ground.

However, the Han army was reduced to only a few thousand men.

At this time, apart from leaving a few thousand troops at other city gates, the remaining 50,000-plus main force of the Northern Yuan army had been gathered at the south city gate by Toghtogbuqa.

As the number of Han troops dwindled, the Northern Yuan army surged in from the rear, growing ever larger.

"Damn it, we can't outlast them in a war of attrition. The Northern Yuan army has moved all its main forces that were besieging the four gates here."

"Looks like we're all going to die here today!"

After killing a Northern Yuan soldier with a single spear thrust, the Han army captain touched the blood on his face and said sadly.

He wasn't afraid, but thinking of his wife, children, and parents in the city, and their fate, he felt an overwhelming sadness.

With their 10,000-plus troops, they could have easily defended Yulin Garrison.

Who knew that the scoundrel Marquis of Ji'an would steal and sell military rations, and then suddenly abandon the city and flee, causing chaos in the army and a portion of the Han army to collapse.

It's truly humiliating to think that they're facing this dead end now.

Not far from the South Gate, beneath the central banner of the Northern Yuan army.

Tuotuo Buhua and the Northern Yuan heir, Borjigin Bayar, gazed at Zhou Yingyuan and his men who were charging at the city gate, their eyes filled with murderous intent and ruthlessness.

"The Han army still has such valiant generals who, even in this desperate situation, refuse to surrender and instead dare to charge towards our banner!"

"This must be Zhou Yingyuan, the Han army's Lieutenant General of Yulin Town, who has caused over 10,000 casualties in the past twenty days?"

"This man was loyal and brave; it's a bit of a pity."

Borjigin Bayar shook his head and sighed in a seemingly serious manner.

This was his first time participating in a foreign war as deputy commander, and he wanted to leave a good impression on the Northern Yuan soldiers present.

These past few days, he has been personally on the battlefield with Tuotuo Buhua, sitting in the central command, and his calm and composed demeanor is commendable.

The Northern Yuan royal court was a nomadic alliance that relied heavily on lineage legitimacy, had a relatively loose structure, and combined military and administrative functions.

Their supreme leader, known as the Great Khan, had to be a descendant of the Borjigin clan of the Golden Family.

The Khan's direct subordinates were the core Chahar tribe, while the other tribes that were granted fiefs were controlled by the chieftains and Taijis.

The Great Khan only held nominal supreme suzerainty, and could command them to provide troops during wartime.

The 80,000 troops of the Northern Yuan who went to war against the Han Dynasty this time mainly came from the tribes controlled by Langshan, the central government of the Northern Yuan, and Tuotuo Buhua.

Therefore, the commander-in-chief of the Northern Yuan army on this expedition was Toghtoa Bukha, and the deputy commander was the Khan's own son, Borjigin Bayar.

Bayar was mainly there to gain experience and prestige. He had heard that the chances of winning this military campaign were very high, so he asked his father for this job.

Toghtogbuqa was the true decision-maker in this war. He was not only the leader of the largest tribe under the Northern Yuan royal court and the military privy councilor of the Northern Yuan, but also a famous fierce general of the Northern Yuan and a staunch supporter of the Northern Yuan royal family.

He led troops to victory in many of the Northern Yuan's foreign campaigns, and enjoyed a high reputation in the Northern Yuan army.

Hearing the prince's sigh, Tuotuo Buhua laughed and said:

"Indeed! The Han army has never lacked brave generals. In the past, their Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu had a multitude of fierce generals under their command."

"Unfortunately, the Han people were too fond of internal strife. Many Han Dynasty officials were good at internal strife but bad at external strife."

"If it weren't for the fact that Lu Heng, the commander of Yulin, abandoned the city and fled, it would have been impossible for us to capture Yulin so quickly."

"Of course, this is also thanks to the intelligence from Manchuria that Yulin Town was short of food. Otherwise, we would not have come straight to Yulin Garrison and suffered such heavy casualties and besieged it for so long."

"However, it's all worth it. Once Yulin City is captured, the Guanzhong Plain of the Han Dynasty will be ours to roam freely."

Crown Prince Borjigin Bayar shook his head and snorted coldly:

"The Manchus suffered a major defeat in Liaodong last year. Their alliance with us is merely a ploy to use our strength to weaken the Han Dynasty!"

"Once we've plundered enough wealth, ironware, livestock, and people from the Han Dynasty, we'll return to the royal court. We can't let the Manchus use us for nothing!"

If the Manchus hadn't offered enough benefits and intelligence, how could the Northern Yuan court have agreed to join forces with them to invade Han?

However, the Manchus' idea of ​​letting the Northern Yuan and the Han Dynasty weaken each other and allowing the Manchus to gain an advantage from behind is wishful thinking.

"Your Highness is right. The Han Dynasty has probably already sent reinforcements, and they should arrive in a few days."

"We'll fight a quick battle, grab all the spoils, and then go back, letting the Manchus and Hunye fight the Han, while we, the Northern Yuan, reap the benefits."

After finishing speaking, Tuotuo Buhua suddenly waved his hand and shouted to the Northern Yuan soldiers behind him:

"The Han army is running out of numbers! Men, kill them all! The riches and women of Yulin City are waiting for you!"

At Toghtogbuqa's command, the Northern Yuan army behind him, which surged like a flood, beat their war drums and sent out another 5,000 men, their faces contorted with rage, shouting.

Like a black torrent, it surged towards the south gate once again, overwhelming everything in its path.