Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Let's rewind two hours to the Zhanghe River beach.

Although Princess Zhaoyang's plan successfully lured away a large number of "Tatar" cavalry, the remaining enemy troops were still too much for the remaining soldiers in the main camp to handle.

Although Xiang He and others actively organized the defense, the camp, which had been severely weakened by the loss of combat personnel, was already in a weak defensive position. In addition, the enemy, perhaps angered by Princess Zhaoyang's breakout, began to launch a fierce attack regardless of the cost.

As a result, in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the defense of the entire Zhanghe River beach was basically paralyzed.

More than a thousand non-combatants, holding newly distributed wooden sticks, shovels, pots and pans, huddled at the highest point, trembling with fear.

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The remaining soldiers fought and retreated, their faces filled with despair.

Many have chosen suicidal charges, brazenly facing death under the enemy's swords!

"It's over..."

Xiang He let out a final sigh, suddenly snatched a long sword from the soldier beside him, and was about to commit suicide on the spot to repay the emperor's grace!

"My lord, look!!!"

A sharp-eyed civil official suddenly saw billowing dust coming from the east, breaking through the cold wind, and in the blink of an eye, it had reached the rear of the local army's formation.

The deafening shouts of battle, and the fact that the enemy formation in the farthest distance had changed from advancing to defending, all indicated that... reinforcements had arrived!

"It's the Imperial Envoy!"

A general shouted in a stern voice, his tone filled with a bitter, triumphant joy.

He raised his long sword and shouted, "My men, the imperial envoy has returned to save us! Kill him!!"

The banks of the Zhanghe River suddenly burst forth with boundless vitality, and everyone looked up. When they saw that it was indeed a uniform contingent of Beijing garrison troops, they were overjoyed and cheered loudly.

"It's the Imperial Envoy! It really is the Imperial Envoy!"

Xiang He slowly lowered the knife in his hand. He gazed at the cavalrymen in the distance who had begun to engage the enemy in close combat, and a tear welled up in the corner of his eye.

I haven't cried in years, but today I actually cried twice. I've really lost face.

He quickly wiped his eyes, then solemnly ordered the generals around him, "Quickly, organize the remaining men. We'll coordinate from the inside and outside to wipe out these traitors completely!!"

Jia Lian had pestered the Ministry of War so much that he managed to get the court to allocate him one-third of the cavalry.

Later, they also took 500 warhorses from the guerrilla general Xie Jing.

As a result, among the soldiers who followed him out of the pass, the number of cavalry exceeded one thousand.

This is an incredibly extravagant figure! Keep in mind that the entire Royal Stables housed fewer than three thousand military horses!

The Great Wei also primarily relied on infantry.

Only major northern towns like Ganning Pass had a significant number of cavalry units.

A thousand cavalrymen galloped in, creating a truly magnificent spectacle.

So vast was the situation that the Wei soldiers on the banks of the Zhang River all thought that Jia Lian could easily deal with the remaining enemies.

Therefore, all the remaining soldiers on the riverbank, including some officers and soldiers who were not seriously wounded, picked up their weapons and charged down with boundless momentum to fight the enemy again.

Times change.

The Tatar soldiers who had previously surrounded the Wei camp on the riverbank and were happily slaughtering them never expected to be attacked from both sides like this.

Furthermore, given that they did not know the exact number of reinforcements the other side would send, they would not find it strange if, judging from the sheer number of troops, there were tens of thousands of them!

Therefore, most of them panicked.

As a result, from the very beginning of the battle, they were completely at a disadvantage and could only passively take hits.

Seeing that the situation was not good, and seeing that several vanguard units of the enemy were flanking him and their troops were pointing directly at his location, the enemy general was in trouble.

Although he had many subordinates, they were unable to organize a strong counterattack in time.

If I delay any longer, I will surely be killed by the enemy in the chaos of battle.

When it's time to make a decision, make a decision.

Since only a few remnants of the Wei army remained in the main camp, there was no need to die for them. Therefore, he decisively turned his horse around and ordered a retreat!

The battlefield is ever-changing. Once the generals fled, the entire army lost all will to fight and chose to escape.

The cavalry were better off; they still had more than a 50% chance of escaping.

As for the infantrymen who were not good at defense to begin with, they could only leave it to fate.

The battle to quell the enemy's retreat lasted for a full quarter of an hour. Had Jia Lian not already ordered a halt to the pursuit, and hadn't had the precedent of Zhu Dahe before them, the already bloodthirsty officers and soldiers of the Beijing garrison would have at least been able to cut down another half of the fleeing enemies!

"grown ups!"

On the riverbank, seeing the battle over, the survivors erupted in deafening cheers.

When Xiang He and the others saw Jia Lian walking up surrounded by a group of menacing soldiers, they quickly jogged forward to greet him.

At this moment, everyone who saw Jia Lian felt as if they were seeing a savior, their second parents.

Especially when they saw Jia Lian and his personal guards' battle robes stained with blood, they felt a sense of awe and thus carefully put on smiles.

Jia Lian glanced at them briefly before saying, "There's no time for pleasantries, bring them up!"

Then Xiang He and the others saw a dozen or so Tatar soldiers brought up by Jia Lian's personal guards and kneeling in a row in front of the beach.

"Speak! Who are you? Whose men are you? And who ordered you to harass my camp?"

As Jia Lian asked the question, Aqin, dressed in a soldier's uniform, immediately imitated Jia Lian's tone and asked the same question in Mongolian.

After two breaths, seeing that no one spoke, Jia Lian gave a look to the guard beside him.

Zhao Sheng swiftly moved forward, his hand flashing as his knife fell, and a head flew high into the air...

Such a horrifying and bloody scene made even Xiang He and the others, who had just witnessed the fierce battle, turn pale with fright and involuntarily retreat.

If Xiang He and others were in such a state, one can only imagine how the other Tatar soldiers fared.

Without any hesitation, they immediately rushed to kowtow and beg for mercy, and answered the questions one by one.

"We are all Oirat people, warriors under General Abu. We are here on General Abu's orders to capture the princess of Wei."

"General Abu is a confidant of our Third Prince. The general said that forming an alliance with Wei and a marriage alliance is a cowardly and disastrous move by the Great Khan. His Highness the Third Prince has made a thorough plan for the sake of the Oirats. All we need to do is capture the Wei princess before she enters the royal court..."

"..."

Everyone was speechless upon hearing these people's answers.

Xiang He and the others never expected that these Tatar cavalrymen were actually Oirat people in disguise!

Thinking about it, it makes sense. This is the heartland of the Oirat. It's already quite impressive that the Tatars were able to send a cavalry force deep into the territory. How could there be so many Tatar armies, and so many infantry, appearing here?

In an instant, a series of emotions followed, including shock, anger, indignation, and lingering fear.

Jia Lian had no interest in the interrogation anymore. Having gotten the answers he wanted, he didn't relax; instead, he became even more nervous.

"Where is the third prince of the Oirat?" Jia Lian pressed Xiang He.

Xiang He hurriedly replied, "We couldn't hold out before, and Her Highness the Princess broke through with only a small number of troops to buy us time."

The third prince of the Oirat... also went with the princess...

Even without Jia Lian's angry glare, Xiang He himself had already realized the seriousness of the problem.

Good heavens! If all these things are caused by the third prince of the Oirat, then Your Highness is in grave danger!

"That foolish and arrogant woman!"

Jia Lian cursed under his breath, then mounted his horse and, in an instant, led his troops, who had just been through a battle, and swept away.

"Phew~"

Seeing his colleagues' pale faces, Xiang He suppressed his unease and said, "Hopefully, Lord Jia can create another miracle and rescue the princess safely, otherwise..."

After considering the terrible consequences, Xiang He and the others realized that surviving might not necessarily be a good thing.