Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

The fierce battle ended with the enemy's rout, and the entire Zhanghetan area erupted in thunderous cheers.

Even for soldiers, surviving every battle is something to be thankful for, let alone those who are not in combat.

Only those fathers, sons, brothers, and friends who had just fallen on the battlefield, and the horses wounded in place of their masters, were whimpering in sorrow.

When the battle losses were being tallied and reported, Zhu Dahe was nowhere to be found. Jia Lian couldn't help but ask, "Where is Lieutenant General Zhu?"

One of the commanders reported, "Just now, when the enemy saw the situation was unfavorable and fled, I saw Lieutenant General Zhu leading his men to pursue the main force..."

Jia Lian's face immediately darkened.

He had long known that Zhu Dahe was a reckless man, and out of consideration for his status as a fierce general, Jia Lian had been quite lenient with him. He never expected that Zhu would dare to pursue the enemy without permission.

How many people did he take with him?

The generals were unaware of this and could only send someone to inquire. The result was that almost all of Zhu Dahe's cavalry had been taken away by Zhu Dahe!

Conditions at Ganning Pass were harsh, and the soldiers who were allowed to ride horses were all exceptionally skilled warriors, selected from among the best.

The four or five hundred cavalrymen under Zhu Dahe's command were the elite of the elite.

It is also one of his most important assets now!

Seeing Jia Lian's unpleasant expression, the generals suppressed their joy at the victory and began to speak well of Zhu Dahe.

Because of the valiant performance of Zhu Dahe and others on the battlefield, the soldiers in the capital garrison had truly taken notice. Inspired by this, they involuntarily abandoned their instinct of fear and unleashed the most unrestrained bloodlust in their men.

This is also the main reason why the enemy was defeated and fled so quickly.

Jia Lian was never one to do useless work, so he didn't dwell on Zhu Dahe's issue and continued to oversee the inventory of battle losses, the resettlement of the wounded, and the planning of follow-up matters.

Just after noon, a rider suddenly galloped back to the camp.

"We followed General Zhu to pursue and kill the enemy's remnants, but who knew that we would be ambushed by a large number of enemies in a mountain forest about fifty miles away!"

Now that General Zhu is trapped in the mountains, I risked my life to escape back and deliver this message, imploring Your Majesty to send troops to rescue my general…”

The soldier who came to plead for help had his armor stained with blood, and he knelt down and begged Jia Lian as soon as he saw him.

Upon hearing this news, everyone turned their heads in surprise.

Some people immediately grasped the key point.

"Wasn't it said that General Zhu led you to hunt down the remaining enemy forces? How did you end up in an ambush? Was it a large-scale enemy force? Was it the people you were chasing, or someone else? How many were there exactly?"

For Zhu Dahe's personal guards, who had risked their lives to rush back to deliver the message, getting reinforcements was the top priority. But for those in the main tent who had just experienced a bizarre battle, figuring out the situation and weighing the pros and cons was the first priority.

"It wasn't the people we were chasing. The remaining enemy we were chasing numbered at most two or three hundred, and we killed quite a few of them along the way."

However, a large number of new enemy troops suddenly appeared. After a bloody battle, we were no match for them and had to retreat into a nearby mountain forest.

When I rode out on a fast horse earlier, I saw those people preparing wood and fuel, probably to set the mountain on fire. Our general is in grave danger!

"Please, Your Excellency, in consideration of our general's valiant fight, send troops to our aid as soon as possible. We beg you..."

The soldier turned around and kowtowed heavily to Jia Lian again, looking anxious but helpless.

Jia Lian's gaze was deep as he asked, "How many men are lying in ambush with you?"

"We don't know the exact number, but it's at least three times our size."

In the midst of the chaos, it was impossible to ascertain the exact number of enemies.

"This is outrageous..."

Everyone knows that soldiers tend to be conservative in their statements in order to get reinforcements.

But the enemy was still three times as many as we had, which shows how many enemies there were.

However, if the other side still has so many men, why didn't they participate in the previous battles?

Is it a follow-up force, or some other reason? "Your Excellency, I believe that we should not send troops to provide assistance."

It's clear that this group of Tartars came specifically to sabotage our alliance with the Oirats.

With the enemy's situation currently unknown and Her Highness still here, our priority now is ensuring Her Highness's safety.

If this is a trap set by the enemy, and we now divide our forces to rescue people, the enemy might take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on our main camp. Wouldn't the situation be extremely dangerous?!

Facing the tense gazes of the group of civil officials, Xiang He stepped forward and spoke loudly.

Before setting off, none of the civilian officials in the mission had anticipated this situation.

Now they are in grave danger, and Jia Lian's troops are their only hope for safety.

If Jia Lian were to lead troops to rescue them at this moment...

Given the critical situation, the only option for rescuing people was to bring cavalry.

If you don't use enough, it won't have any effect.

If too many were sent, the main camp would inevitably be left empty. If another battle like the one in the morning were to occur, they could not guarantee that their infantry, without strong fortifications, could withstand the charge of the Tatar cavalry.

If the cavalry breaks through the defenses, wouldn't they, including more than a thousand unarmed non-combatants, be at the mercy of the enemy?

"That's right, Lord Xiang is right. Zhu Dahe disobeyed the Imperial Envoy's orders and took it upon himself to pursue the enemy, but the Imperial Envoy has not yet investigated him for disobeying military orders."

Now that he is helpless and trapped, how can we allow the imperial envoy to risk sending troops to rescue him!

Xiang He spoke up, and other civil officials began to express similar views.

Several generals remained silent.

Firstly, they belonged to the Beijing Garrison and were not familiar with Zhu Dahe.

Secondly, he had just witnessed the fierce fighting power of the Tatar cavalry, and he was unfamiliar with the Gobi Desert terrain.

If they agree to go rescue the person, but Jia Lian sends them, they aren't confident they can bring the person back; wouldn't that be a wasted effort?

Seeing that no one in the tent was willing to send troops to rescue them, the kneeling soldier looked sorrowful and suddenly said, "Please, Your Excellency, lend us five hundred warhorses so we can go to the general's aid ourselves!"

Zhu Dahe brought out a full 1,500 elite troops this time, including cavalry and nearly 1,000 infantry.

It was only because the generals had all gone with Zhu Dahe to pursue the enemy that the remaining officers, who were not of high enough rank, were not allowed to enter the tent for discussion.

However, the guards believed that if Jia Lian and his men did not come to their aid, the others under their general's command would certainly do so.

However, it's a distance of dozens of miles; by the time you run there, the daylilies will be cold, hence the saying.

"How dare you be so disrespectful to His Majesty the Imperial Envoy!"

"How dare you! This is none of your business to interfere!"

The officials, who were of high rank, could not tolerate a mere soldier talking back, and immediately began to reprimand him.

Jia Lian glanced at the soldier who remained stubborn despite the crowd's reprimands.

It is said that a bad soldier is a bad soldier, but a bad general leads to a bad army. One can tell a lot about a general's ability to lead troops by observing his soldiers.

The fact that this man dared to boldly borrow 500 warhorses from him shows that he was very confident. Zhu Dahe's soldiers, who were still unaware of the situation, were all willing to go and rescue him.

"I have already made a plan for this matter. You may go and rest for a while, and be ready to be ordered at any time."

Seemingly sensing from Jia Lian's tone that there was still a chance, the soldier left, profusely thanking him.

After he left, Jia Lian looked at the people in the tent and said, "I still need to report this matter to the princess. You all stay here and discuss whether to send troops to rescue her. If we do send troops, how should we do it?"

After saying this, Jia Lian did not give a clear answer, but got up and left.

After a while, Jia Lian returned, and the conclusion of everyone's discussion remained unchanged.

However, compared to before, there are now many more reasons not to save them.

After they finished speaking, Jia Lian said, "First, General Zhu and his soldiers are the elite troops that our dynasty has trained through countless trials. If we let them be burned to death by bandits in the mountains and do nothing, not only will I feel uneasy, but it will also not be a way to unite the people."

Secondly, Zhu Dahe still had over a thousand soldiers stationed west of the riverbank.

As far as I know, Zhu Dahe is deeply loved by his soldiers. If he finds out that we are not coming to his aid, I'm afraid the morale of his troops will be thrown into chaos.

At that time, let alone working together to protect the princess and defend against foreign enemies, I'm afraid we'll fall into chaos ourselves first.

Third, Her Highness the Princess has decreed that we must send troops to her aid; we are determined not to let our valiant generals fall into the hands of the enemy.

Jia Lian's words, though described as an explanation, were in fact a decision.

Because of the first two points, the group could still discuss countermeasures, but when Jia Lian brought up the princess, it showed that his mind was made up.

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As a result, no one dared to raise any objections.

"After I leave, the affairs of the tent will be temporarily handed over to General Xiang He, and everyone else should work together to assist him."

"What?! The Imperial Envoy is going to personally lead the troops to the rescue?! This is absolutely unacceptable!!"

Upon hearing that Jia Lian was going to personally lead troops to rescue people, Xiang He and the others immediately objected.

War is a dangerous and perilous affair, naturally inspiring fear.

In the morning, if Jia Lian had not anticipated the danger, occupied advantageous terrain to set up defenses, and calmly commanded the troops when the terrifying Tatar cavalry charged, how could they have so easily repelled the enemy on the riverbank and won the battle?

At this moment, Jia Lian was the backbone of all of them, and naturally they did not want him to take any risks.

"Indeed, I think this matter should be left to the commanders..."

However, Jia Lian had already made up his mind and rejected their proposal on the grounds that none of the commanders had ever fought against the Tatars in the Gobi Desert.

This cast a shadow over the hearts of those present. They privately believed that Jia Lian was either unwilling to entrust his own resources (cavalry) to others to build, or he had made the same mistake as Zhu Dahe, being greedy for credit and reckless, thus disregarding the overall situation.

"Rest assured, everyone, I will act according to circumstances. If things are not going well, I will not force a rescue."

During this period, in order to guard against enemy attacks, you may arrange all the wagons transporting supplies in front to prevent enemy cavalry charges, and intensify the construction of fortifications.

Furthermore, I have already sent someone back to Ganning Pass to request troop support from General Wu.

In addition, the Oirat side also stated that the receiving army would arrive within one day at the latest.

Therefore, we only need to hold out for one more day at most to turn the tide.

Hearing Jia Lian say this, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to cooperate with Jia Lian in mobilizing troops for rescue.