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

The remaining thousand Han soldiers were greatly encouraged by the sound of the bugle.

As if they had eaten a magic pill, their faces flushed red, and new power burst forth from their bodies. They gripped their weapons tightly and charged towards the Northern Yuan soldiers in front of them.

Meanwhile, the Northern Yuan soldiers below the city gate were unaware of what had happened on the right flank and how many reinforcements the enemy had sent!

Their unsettled state of mind actually weakened their morale considerably.

As their numbers waned, the Han army forced them into a continuous retreat.

As the horn and the sound of horses' hooves grew closer, the shouts of men and the neighing of horses gradually came into view.

Beneath the central banner, Toghtogbuqa and Borjigin Bayar narrowed their eyes, their expressions grave, staring intently in the direction from which the sound came.

To their right, on the horizon where yellow dust swirled, a dark line was approaching.

A uniform line of black-armored steeds, accompanied by the sound of horns, approached silently and oppressively.

Two thousand cavalrymen formed a wedge formation, with the center protruding and the two flanks slightly swept back, like a black arrow released from a bow, shooting straight at the Northern Yuan army formation.

The two thousand cavalrymen arrived extremely quickly—from the moment they were seen to their approach, it was only a short while, and the distance was less than five miles.

Prince Bayar of the Northern Yuan squinted, trying to make out who the newcomer was.

Leading the pack was a chestnut horse, entirely crimson, like a raging fire, without a single stray hair.

The red horse trampled through the yellow earth like a streak of red lightning.

The man on horseback wore a purple-gold crown with three prongs binding his hair, a red brocade robe with a hundred flowers from Sichuan, and a lion-head belt with an exquisite design around his waist.

He held a gleaming silver spear in his hand, a large bow hung from his horse, and his red cloak billowed high in the north wind, rustling loudly.

The man was not wearing a helmet, revealing a young face—sword-like eyebrows reaching his temples, eyes like cold stars, and a face as sharp as if carved by a knife.

He charged ahead, followed closely by two thousand riders. It was as if an invisible thread connected man and horse, with no one falling behind or scattering.

Tuotuo Buhua's expression changed.

He fought his whole life on the grasslands and witnessed countless cavalry charges.

But he had never seen such a charge before—two thousand riders as one, two thousand horses marching in unison, two thousand hearts beating as if for the same thought.

That wasn't a charge. That was a thunderclap landing.

This is definitely the elite cavalry of the Han army.

"Prepare to meet the enemy!" Tuotuo Buhua shouted as the Han cavalry drew closer.

Upon hearing the order, the Northern Yuan soldiers gripped their weapons tightly, drawing their swords and spears and nocking their bows and arrows.

Two thousand Han cavalrymen continued to approach, and had already charged into the area within three miles of the Northern Yuan army's formation.

They rushed within two miles.

They charged within a mile and a half... when the leading Han general on horseback suddenly raised his hand.

Two thousand cavalrymen simultaneously reined in their horses and stopped abruptly seven hundred paces away from the Northern Yuan army formation.

As the smoke and dust cleared, the leading Han general rode forward a few steps and stood alone between the two armies.

He squinted at the mountain of Han soldiers' corpses piled up at the city gate and the wide-open gate itself.

He glanced again at Zhou Yingyuan, You Shiyong, and the thousand remaining Han soldiers, all covered in blood and still fighting.

Finally, he raised his head and looked past the Northern Yuan army formation, landing on Bayar and Toghtoa Bukha.

At this moment, the Han cavalry that had come in also raised two large Chinese character flags and four Jia character flags on both sides, the flags fluttering high in the wind.

This scene made Zhou Yingyuan, You Shiyong, and others, who were watching from afar, feel their scalps tingle with excitement. Sure enough, our Han army reinforcements had arrived!

"The banner bearing the character 'Jia'! Could it be Jia Jing, the Marquis of Jingwu of the Han Dynasty, who decisively defeated 150,000 Qing troops in Liaodong last year?"

Tuotuo Buhua's eyes sharpened, revealing a hint of caution and hesitation.

The Northern Yuan were not entirely unaware of the intelligence of the Han Dynasty. Among the generals in the Han army with the surname Jia, the most famous was Jia Jing, who was ennobled in a battle last year.

Without much thought, the seasoned veteran immediately sensed something was amiss:

"There were clearly imperial guards stationed around the army to monitor their movements. Why didn't anyone report the arrival of Han reinforcements beforehand?"

Just then, a loud shout came from the red-robed Han general:

"Are you looking for your elite guards? They're right here!"

"Gurgle, gurgle..."

A series of round, rolling sounds rang out, and a string of Northern Yuan soldiers' heads were thrown out from the Han cavalry and rolled far away to the front of the Northern Yuan army's formation.

Before Tuotuo Buhua and Bayar could react, Jia Jing's loud shout rang out from afar:

"You Northern Yuan invaded our land without cause, slaughtering our people, your blood debts are countless. Today, you shall leave your lives here!"

After saying that, Jia Jing's face darkened, and he reached out to touch the Overlord Bow beside him, estimating the distance.

At this time, they were about 700 paces away from the vanguard of the Northern Yuan army and about 1,500 paces away from the main banner of the Northern Yuan army, which was a bit beyond their shooting range. It was better not to alert them.

Jia Jing lowered his hand from the bow, his face cold and stern, and gave orders to Zhuque, Niu Jizong, and the others beside him:

"You will lead your troops here to rest and recuperate for a while, and then provide cover for me!"

"After I have broken through the enemy's army and killed their general, I will take advantage of the situation to launch a surprise attack and prevent the enemy from escaping."

Jia Jing's words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the ears of Niu Jizong and the others, leaving them stunned.

They had all planned to charge into battle alongside Jia Jing, but Jia Jing issued an unbelievable order.

What does Your Excellency mean by this?

Let us rest and prepare for battle here. Does he intend to face tens of thousands of Northern Yuan troops alone?

We also need to break through the enemy lines and kill their general.

The Northern Yuan army looks quite large, roughly estimated to be no less than 50,000 men.

Even if all two thousand of our men charged in, the chances of winning wouldn't be high, let alone the Marquis alone!

Niu Jizong and the others were not unaware of Jia Jing's martial prowess; they had all heard of his extraordinary skills and strength, capable of lifting a cauldron! He had even once defeated the Marquis of Linchuan with a single blow.

But no matter how brave you are, at most you'll just be a little stronger and have a little better martial arts skills. Being able to fight against a thousand people is already a rare top-level general throughout history!

As for one person fighting against 50,000, that's simply impossible; it's something you can't even dream of doing!

Isn't this order a bit too arrogant or underestimating the enemy?

Niu Jizong and the others certainly didn't want to see Jia Jing besieged by the enemy or even killed, so they immediately clasped their hands in preparation to persuade him:

"My lord, you mustn't..."

"Just follow orders. We can talk about it after the battle," Jia Jing waved his hand, interrupting in a deep voice.

He certainly knew what Niu Jizong and the others were thinking; some things are hard to believe unless you see them with your own eyes.

The reason he issued this order was partly to see where his martial prowess was at its limit and whether he could actually take the enemy's head from among ten thousand troops.

More importantly, after more than ten days of continuous day and night raids, the two thousand Han light cavalry were exhausted and their fighting strength was reduced to less than one-tenth.

If they were to immediately engage the Northern Yuan soldiers in a direct confrontation, even with him leading the charge, they would inevitably suffer heavy casualties, resulting in unnecessary losses.

Since that's the case, why don't he try it himself first?

Although the Northern Yuan army appeared to number no less than 50,000, he was fearless, confident that even if he could not capture enemy generals and seize their flags, protecting himself would be no problem at all.

After all, Zhao Yun, Lü Bu, and Xiang Yu were all fierce generals who could charge in and out of ten thousand troops seven times.

With the combined martial prowess of three men, charging into a Northern Yuan army of fifty thousand men would be no problem for him!

Having said that, Jia Jing said no more, donned his helmet, and charged alone into the Northern Yuan army's formation, facing the rising sun.

Red Hare galloped across the ground, its crimson form casting a long shadow in the golden morning light.

The rider on horseback wore a beast-faced, chainmail armor that gleamed with a cold, eerie light. The red tassel on his three-pronged, purple-gold crown fluttered in the wind, and his crimson brocade robe from Sichuan billowed in the north wind like a burning battle flag.