Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Although the camp of the third prince of the Oirat was close to the delegation, it was naturally separated by a barrier.

In the middle, a large tent heavily guarded by soldiers.

"Third Prince, they've declared martial law!"

"It must have been those idiots in Yachaha who gave away our location!"

Prince Bahamut of the Oirat Mongols frowned, then relaxed after a long while: "It doesn't matter. Even if they find out now, it's too late."

I predict that the Yachaha tribe should arrive today.

"Third Prince, do you think their people can capture the Wei princess? After all, in the previous plan, we did not expect that there would be so many Wei soldiers guarding her here."

As far as I know, the Yachaha are the most arrogant tribe among the Tatars. What if they underestimate us, or send too few people and fail to capture the princess of the Great Wei Kingdom immediately...?

If we make too much noise and the Khan's men find out, won't all our efforts be in vain?

Hearing his subordinates' concerns, Bahamut smiled slightly.

"That's perfect. My temporary cooperation with that old bastard Yachaha is only for the sake of the greater good of my grasslands!"

Father Khan is truly old. Because of his fear of the Tatars, he is willing to remain subservient to the Wei Kingdom!

But I am different.

Now the Tatars are plotting against the State of Wei, and they want to unite with us and the small country to the west to annex the State of Wei.

Such a grand plan, even if we cannot fully support it, should at least not obstruct it. After all, compared to the Wei Kingdom, we and the Tatars are at least of the same lineage, both descendants of the Great Mongol Empire.

In their state of Wei, there was a saying: "Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts."

The same applies to us.

Father Khan has always been dependent on the State of Wei, but he is only cowardly and weak, trying to negotiate with a tiger for its skin.

But what I want to do is different! I want to cooperate with the Tatars, first destroy the power of the Wei Kingdom, then take advantage of the fact that the Tatars and the Wei Kingdom are both weakened, unify the grasslands, and then march south to attack the Wei Kingdom, and restore the glory of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty!

The opportunity is now before me, and no one can stop me, not even my father.

The third prince's eyes revealed a great ambition for power, because only by waging a war that would terrify the people in the royal court could he have the opportunity to seize more military power, thereby defeating his eldest and second brothers in the struggle for the throne and finally realizing his long-cherished wish to rule the world!

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little smug.

"It's best that Yachaha's fools underestimate the enemy; we can use these Wei people to weaken their strength."

Anyway, these Wei people are already trapped, it's only a matter of time before we capture them. If all the Yachaha people can be wiped out by these Wei people, that would be even better. Then we might be able to bypass Yachaha and talk directly to that Tatar person... that would be more advantageous for me.

As for Father Khan, there's no need to worry. I've already blinded them; they don't know the Wei people are here yet. Even if they eventually find out, we can easily pin the blame on Second Prince.

Who told them that the eastern defense line was guarded by his men? Allowing so many Tatars to penetrate our territory, even if Father Khan is angry, he'll only vent his anger on him…

Do you know what this is called? In the words of the Wei people, it's "killing many birds with one stone!"

"The Third Prince is wise! We are willing to follow him to the death, to help him wipe out the Tatars, pacify the Wei Kingdom, and rebuild the Great Mongol Empire!"

……

"What's going on outside?"

In Princess Zhaoyang's phoenix tent, a maidservant obediently brought a stool for Jia Lian to sit down. After thanking her, Jia Lian explained the situation.

Upon hearing this, Princess Zhaoyang asked, "General, do you think there might be some unforeseen events?"

Jia Lian frowned deeply. "Since leaving the pass, to ensure the princess's safety, I have sent out scouts every day to explore in a fan shape."

The target is twenty to thirty miles away, with a time limit of one and a half hours. Nothing unusual has happened for the past few days, except for today...

Furthermore, logically speaking, the people from the Oirat who were responsible for receiving us should have arrived after we left the pass. Now, ten days have passed since we left the pass, and we still haven't seen anyone from the Oirat royal court to welcome the princess of the Celestial Dynasty.

Therefore, I believe that for the princess's safety, it is not advisable to proceed further.

It's best to wait until the situation becomes clearer before making any further plans.

Princess Zhaoyang did not show any worry on her face. Instead, she smiled and said, "With the general guarding me, I am not worried about my safety at all."

It's rare to see the general with such an expression on his face...

Princess Zhaoyang's smile faded awkwardly when she met Jia Lian's composed gaze. She immediately changed the subject, saying, "General, is there any other plan you have come for, or anything that requires my cooperation? Please speak freely, and I will do my utmost to support you."

Hearing Princess Zhaoyang say this, Jia Lian was finally somewhat comforted. After all, his imperial sword could control his subordinates, but it was useless against Princess Zhaoyang.

If Princess Zhaoyang disagreed with him, he would be in a real predicament.

"There is indeed something I would like to ask the princess for help with."

Jia Lian explained his thoughts to Princess Zhaoyang in detail. After listening, Princess Zhaoyang's indifferent expression finally faded, and she asked with some surprise, "You suspect the Third Prince?"

After Princess Zhaoyang finished speaking her question, she noticed Jia Lian's hesitation and, after a moment's thought, she understood why Jia Lian was in a dilemma.

The third prince of the Oirat was, after all, her future husband and the imperial son-in-law of the Great Wei. Without evidence, Jia Lian had no right or reason to make such accusations. Especially not in front of her.

Suddenly I felt a chill in my heart.

She didn't know whether Jia Lian truly didn't know his place in her heart, or whether he was pretending not to know.

"minister……"

"General, there's no need to explain. I trust your judgment. I will summon him later as you wish, and we will test him together."

Jia Lian looked up at Princess Zhaoyang. At that moment, her gaze was filled with unwavering light. It was trust, unconditional trust, which weighed heavily on his heart, just like that night at Ganning Pass…

Just as the two were speechless, a huge commotion arose in the distance outside.

A royal guard rushed to the front of the phoenix tent and shouted, "Princess, General Jia's men say that scouts have reported discovering a large number of Tatar cavalry, less than twenty li away!"

"Splash!"

Jia Lian, already dressed in armor, immediately stood up and said to Princess Zhaoyang, "I'll go out and take a look!"

Princess Zhaoyang's expression also turned serious. Seeing that Jia Lian had left the phoenix tent without waiting for her instructions, she looked around and said solemnly, "Someone, help me change my clothes."

……

For cavalrymen, twenty li (approximately 10 kilometers) is just the time it takes to eat a meal.

Moreover, by the time the scouts discovered the enemy and the message was sent back, the enemy was already less than twenty miles away.

Therefore, Jia Lian and the others did not have time to make any further arrangements before they were startled by the thunderous sound of horses' hooves and had to get up and go to the highest point of the riverbank to observe the situation.

Four or five miles away, a dark mass of enemies had already appeared, lined up in a row.

The entire force consisted of cavalry, their spirited horses and armored soldiers arrayed on horseback. The sheer force and killing intent emanating from them sent chills down the spines of palace maids, eunuchs, and others who, though far away, had never seen a battlefield.

They immediately turned their attention to the Wei soldiers who were also lined up in front of them on the periphery. Only after discovering that their numbers were significantly greater than the enemy's did they feel slightly relieved.

A commander of the Beijing garrison said, "My lord, we haven't had time to complete our fortifications, and we lack sufficient defensive equipment. Facing the Tartar cavalry, I'm afraid we'll suffer losses!"

These words immediately terrified the civil officials in the delegation.

They had all heard of the formidable strength of the steppe cavalry, and had no idea how to deal with them. Upon hearing that there was a possibility of being outmatched, they immediately began to panic and shout.

Xiang He said, "The number of enemies is unknown. For the princess's safety, why don't we go forward and ask them their intentions first? If we can discuss it..."

"The enemy has already reached our doorstep, what's the point of discussing anything!"

You bunch of spineless cowards, you've already chickened out?

I've seen far bigger and far more Tartar cavalry than this, and I don't know how many I've personally cut off from their horses!

Besides, there aren't that many, maybe a thousand or so at most. Watch me, Old Zhu, lead my men and slaughter them in droves.

Zhu Dahe first belittled the civil officials, then, as if Jia Lian had tacitly approved, he called to his personal guards and prepared to go into battle.

Jia Lian initially wanted to stop them. Xiang He was right; the enemy's situation was unclear, and they dared to rush towards them in such an encircling formation, so they must have something to rely on.

But then he thought again, although the men he brought from the capital were all strong and healthy, it was hard to say how much fighting power they could demonstrate against the ferocious Tatar cavalry. It would be good to have Zhu Dahe demonstrate how to deal with steppe cavalry first, to give them some confidence.

While we're at it, let's also test the enemy's strengths and weaknesses.

However, the enemy seemed unwilling to give Jia Lian a chance to test the waters.

After a brief pause, the Tatar cavalry charged forward in a V-formation, starting from the center!

Seeing this, Jia Lian frowned even more deeply.

He had dealt with cavalry before, and the enemy's charging attack clearly left them no way out!

It seems they really are after Princess Zhaoyang.

It's not hard to guess: the Tartars have penetrated deep into the heart of the Oirat territory and then appeared here; there's only one possibility.

Without hesitation, Jia Lian drew his sword and shouted, "Commander Jiang, Commander Qiu, I order your cavalry to form the two wings and assist General Zhu in killing the enemy!"

Commander Qian, you shall lead all your troops to guard the beach and prevent the enemy from approaching Princess Feng's tent even a step! Without my orders, no one shall leave the camp!

Anyone who disobeys this order will be executed.

Despite Zhu Dahe being a brave and skilled general, Jia Lian did not deploy or interfere with his troops during this critical moment.

His arrangement was almost as if he were using the Beijing garrison to assist him.

So Zhu Dahe, who had just mounted his horse, couldn't help but glance back at Jia Lian, but to his surprise, Jia Lian showed no intention of taking credit from him!

"Thank you for trusting me, Your Excellency. Just you wait and see!"

As he spoke, he spurred his horse and charged forward. Behind him, his soldiers, like his own arms, followed him like shadows. Accompanied by deafening battle shouts, the momentum they generated was even greater than that of the enemy's thousands of cavalry!

Jia Lian narrowed his eyes. It seemed that Wu Shiwei had not lied to him after all, and had indeed given him the most elite troops.

In that case, dealing with these enemies shouldn't be a problem.

only……

Jia Lian showed no sign of relief.

The imperial court had made thorough arrangements for this trip, but unexpectedly, something still went wrong.

Why were these Tartars able to appear here so suddenly?

This place is at least 500 li away from the effective territory of the Tartars!

If the Tatars had dispatched so many cavalry, the Oirat must have been aware of it. But he received no warning from the Oirat side.

When the messenger from the Oirat royal court failed to arrive, Jia Lian's mood became extremely heavy.

Could it be that the Oirats and the Tatars have secretly formed an alliance, and this alliance and marriage with the Great Wei is just a pretext, a delaying tactic?

If that's the case, the situation will be dire.