Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Chapter 733 Loss

The fourth watch has passed, and dawn is approaching.

Jia Lian rode his horse on the flat ground of Iron Net Mountain.

Despite the white horse's careful movements, it still inevitably stepped on some weapons and bones.

The skeletons were piled up one after another, some human, some horse.

Princess Zhaoyang rode up to Jia Lian's side. Seeing his somber expression, she couldn't help but speak:

"The Valiant Cavalry Battalion was created by my grandfather with the full power of the nation, and it is recognized as the strongest force in the Imperial Guard."

It is said that even the light cavalry wore armor made of rhinoceros hide, making it difficult for ordinary swords to inflict fatal wounds on the elite cavalry.

It can be said that if an ordinary army encountered the charge of the elite cavalry on flat ground, it would simply be a one-sided massacre.

Erlang's ability to defeat thousands of infantry soldiers with only two thousand musketeers, without relying on artillery, and to annihilate hundreds of elite light cavalry, is already a remarkable achievement.

Jia Lian sighed, looked at Jia Yu who had appeared beside him at some point, and asked, "How is it?"

Jia Yu's expression was even more somber than Jia Lian's. He said in a deep voice, "Reporting to the Marquis, in this battle, the musketeers suffered a total of 234 casualties and 408 wounded..."

Although he had expected it, Jia Lian still felt a pang of anxiety when he heard the actual casualty figures.

Although the firearms battalion he painstakingly built had a full strength of 5,000, its actual combat strength was only 4,500.

Among them were 3,000 musketeers.

These three thousand people can be said to have been carefully trained and cultivated by him, step by step.

It is conceivable that in the future, he will find it difficult to spare so much time and energy to personally train the soldiers at the grassroots level.

Therefore, these three thousand people are the spark!

Perhaps in the future, each of them will become an instructor.

However, in just one battle, he lost more than 20% of his strength...

The situation was urgent, and he could no longer proceed with his previous plan to slowly push the mountain with a hundred Zhenyuan cannons.

Therefore, he could only leave behind a thousand musketeers to protect the artillery troops as they ascended the mountain, while he himself led two thousand musketeers and several thousand surrendered soldiers up the mountain at high speed.

After parting ways with Princess Zhaoyang, he was actually quite cautious and did not rashly attack the enemy troops surrounding Emperor Ningkang's palace.

After a simple sneak attack that drew enemy fire, he began to retreat, moving the battlefield to a relatively flat area with enough room to maneuver before engaging the enemy in a direct confrontation.

At first, the battle situation was indeed similar to what he had expected. The Imperial Guards, as part of the Imperial Guards, were limited in strength, even though they were more elite than the Northern Camp.

Moreover, they also lack the will to fight!

When faced with the formidable weapon of flintlock muskets arrayed in formation, they, like the soldiers of the Beidaying camp, were completely bewildered.

Even after several charges inspired by their generals, they were utterly routed by the common yet unbreakable tactic of "retreating when the enemy advances" and "advancing when the enemy retreats."

As a result, the infantry battalion almost lost its will to fight.

Just when all the musketeer soldiers were becoming complacent and thought that the Imperial Guard was nothing special,

A feint attack was launched, accompanied by hundreds of elite cavalry flanking from both sides...

Although the musketeers were prepared for such surprise attacks, they quickly changed formation and opened fire.

However, they were soon surprised to find that the scene of the enemy troops being terrified and collapsing after several rounds of firing did not occur.

Those cavalrymen under the cover of night, like undead demons, charged towards them despite the hail of bullets!

If it weren't for the crucial moment when the generals shouted "Shoot the horses, not the men!", they might not have been able to shoot down many men by the time the enemy got close.

But how fast are cavalry? In that brief moment of hesitation, they gave the enemy the opportunity to engage in close combat.

Left with no other choice, the musketeers at the front had to follow the final plan: throw away their muskets, draw their swords, and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, relying on their equally superior equipment.

Almost all the casualties occurred in this short period of less than 15 minutes.

If it weren't for the hundreds of lancers who were loitering on the periphery joining forces to annihilate them, if Princess Zhaoyang hadn't arrived in time with reinforcements to cut off the enemy's follow-up troops, if the cavalry force of the Valiant Cavalry Battalion hadn't been limited...

The casualties of the musketeers will definitely increase many times over, and there is even a risk of total annihilation.

Taking a deep breath, Jia Lian felt a sense of vigilance but was not discouraged.

The battles against the Beidaying and the Imperial Guard Infantry Battalion have proven the fighting prowess of the Musketeers.

As for the enormous losses inflicted by the Valiant Cavalry...

How many armies in the world have such excellent equipment and fearless courage as the Swift Cavalry Battalion?

Perhaps it could be argued that the elite cavalry failed this time because they were unaware of the characteristics and strength of the musketeers. Next time, if they equip their horses with armor of equal quality, the musketeers will find it much harder to inflict sufficient damage at long range.

Or they could simply replace them with heavy cavalry, in which case the musketeers would be no match for the elite cavalry.

But don't forget, the Cavalry Battalion didn't go all out this time, but so did the Firearms Battalion.

Night combat was not the strong point of the firearms battalion, and the lack of long-range visibility gave the elite cavalry battalion the opportunity to launch a surprise attack.

Moreover, the strongest form of the firearms battalion is the musketeer army combined with the artillery army to push forward!

Having learned this lesson, future commanders of the musketeers will surely not give the enemy such an opportunity again.

"Princess, Marquis Zhenyuan, His Majesty summons you." A eunuch came to convey Emperor Ningkang's decree.

Jia Lian and Princess Zhaoyang nodded. They both knew that the battle at the imperial palace had ended, otherwise they wouldn't be so leisurely taking stock of the battle losses here.

……

"They're all useless!"

Inside the retired emperor's palace, the elderly emperor appeared extremely furious.

One bad news after another arrived, but not a single good one, which inevitably enraged the aging emperor.

Normally, in such a state of rage, he would have already issued an order to have those defeated generals kneeling before His Highness taken out and beheaded as a warning to others.

His Highness and his generals also felt wronged.

Their military strength was already inferior to the enemy's, and the crown prince was so incompetent that their defenses were breached so quickly, allowing thousands upon thousands of enemy troops to climb the mountain.

The key point is that they deployed almost a third of their fighting force to wipe out the mere two or three thousand musketeers who appeared behind them, but they only managed to scratch the surface of the enemy before being wiped out themselves.

Their fighting prowess is so formidable that it inspires awe.

In such a dire situation, being attacked from both sides, it was a stroke of luck that they survived.

In order to save their lives, they naturally dared not hide anything, and one after another, they explained all the situations and details on the battlefield to the Emperor Emeritus.

At this point, they dared not attack each other, and even covered for each other, saying how hard they had tried.

The retired emperor took a deep breath. Although he suspected that Shi Ding and others were exaggerating to evade responsibility, he still listened to some of what they said.

"You mean, the first to storm the mountain was Marquis Zhenyuan, Jia Lian? And his firearms battalion is exceptionally powerful?"

"Reporting to the Emperor Emeritus, it is indeed so."

Originally, we were working together to break through the palace, capture Your Majesty, and bring him here to plead guilty to the Emperor Emeritus.

Unexpectedly, Jia Lian suddenly led his troops to attack from the rear, not only interrupting our offensive but also putting us in a situation where we were attacked from both sides.

We saw that Jia Lian's army numbered only a few thousand, and we originally intended to concentrate our elite troops to defeat him in one fell swoop, but who knew..."

"Who knew you would be defeated by them instead?"

The retired emperor scoffed, but in his heart he believed it even more.

Although he was very dissatisfied with the Crown Prince, who commanded more than 10,000 troops, he couldn't even defend a single mountain, and the enemy rushed up so quickly!

However, the fact that Jia Lian's troops were able to break through the Crown Prince's defenses and climb the mountain so quickly also serves as proof of their strength...

After pondering for a moment, the retired emperor asked those around him, "What is the current situation outside?"

"Your Majesty, ever since the defeat of the cavalry and infantry battalions, they have quickly dispatched a large army to guard the palace, claiming it is to protect Your Majesty's safety."

"Heh, this unfilial son, now he's even too disdainful of covering things up?"

The retired emperor let out a cold laugh.

When Emperor Ningkang launched his coup yesterday, he dared not disrespect him in the slightest; he only wanted to trick him into going there and imprisoning him.

Now, however, they dare to openly send troops directly towards his palace.

"Which troops are these, and who is leading them?"

"Reporting back to the Emperor, it mainly consists of the Imperial Guard, commanded by Feng Sheng, with Tian Qu as the deputy commander. There are also some troops from the Personal Guard and the Firearms Battalion..."

The retired emperor pondered for a moment.

Although he was unwilling to admit it, he understood that he had lost the battle on the mountain.

Now he only has two paths before him: either end the war, in which case he supposes his rebellious son wouldn't dare to do anything to him.

Alternatively, they could use the limited fighting force currently available in the palace to cover his descent from the mountain...

He had even considered the retreat route, and the only option was from the west. The Crown Prince in the west should still have some troops; combining forces there might offer a chance to delay the enemy.

If we just wait another half day until the first army arrives to rescue us and quell the rebellion, we might be able to turn the tide again!

After pondering for a long time, the Emperor Emeritus suddenly looked up at Shi Ding: "I've heard that the four great families of Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue are closely related. I suppose you and Jia Lian are also acquainted?"

Shi Ding, who was kneeling on the ground, was taken aback and quickly said, "Reporting to the Emperor Emeritus, the Jia and Shi families have been on good terms since the time of Emperor Taizu, and even in recent years, the two families have maintained close ties."

By all accounts, Jia Lian should call me uncle.

However, I separated from my elder brother long ago, and we have had little contact in recent years... Therefore, I cannot say that I am close to the Marquis of Zhenyuan.”

The Emperor Emeritus snorted. As one of the deputy commanders of the Vanguard Cavalry, he naturally knew about Shi Ding's past.

It's just that the two brothers don't get along, or even have a grudge.

He ignored all of that and simply said in a low voice, "Since you are my uncle, a family friend, then convey an imperial decree for me."

……

As dawn broke, the smoke from the battle on the mountain temporarily dissipated.

But the chaos is not over yet.

Leaving aside the princes and nobles on the mountain who were like frightened birds, there were still over a thousand elite cavalrymen and a large number of defeated soldiers in the Emperor Emeritus's palace.

Down the mountain, the prince still had several thousand men under his command.

However, these remaining forces are naturally nothing in the face of the current Emperor Ningkang.

Originally, it wouldn't have been a big deal to storm into the Emperor Emeritus's palace, since the pretense of civility had already been completely shattered, and even the Emperor Emeritus himself had torn off the fig leaf.

However, Emperor Ningkang may not want to expend any more military resources.

Upon learning that Jia Lian had also brought one hundred Zhenyuan cannons, he immediately ordered Jia Lian to transport them up quickly.

He's going to give his father, the emperor, a big surprise.

Jia Lian dared not be negligent.

He also knew that the Emperor Emeritus had ordered troops from all over the country to come to the capital to defend the emperor the day before.

Nobody knows when the enemy's first wave of troops will arrive, so we definitely can't afford to delay.

"General Jia! Marquis of Zhenyuan, help me..."

While directing the placement of the Zhenyuan cannons in suitable positions, a shrill shout suddenly rang out.

Jia Lian looked up at the sound and saw several scholars with miserable appearances being escorted away by Pei Fengnian's soldiers.

The piercing scream came from one of them.

Jia Lian glanced at him twice, then turned around and gave some instructions before slowly riding over.

"My lord, I am Han Zhe, the Chamberlain of the Crown Prince's Palace. We've met before! Back then, you made a bet with the eldest son of the Zhou family, with the Crown Prince as guarantor, and won ten thousand taels of silver. It was I who personally delivered the silver to your residence..."

Seeing that Han Zhe truly recognized Jia Lian, the officer from the Peking University barracks who had originally intended to slap him immediately stopped, trotted to Jia Lian's horse, and fawned:

"Reporting to Your Excellency, these are all people from the Crown Prince's residence. They tried to escape during the chaos, but we caught them and brought them back."

"We were just about to send it back to General Helian for his judgment... but if the Marquis recognizes it..."

The junior officer gave a wink, and his subordinates immediately nodded in understanding, the meaning of which was self-evident.

They were just a few insignificant minor characters.

If the Marquis wants to protect them, they are naturally willing to play the innocent and pretend that no one has been caught.

Looking at Han Zhe's hopeful face, Jia Lian smiled and said, "Of course we know each other..."

Han Zhe's smile suddenly brightened, and he was about to say something more flattering when Jia Lian continued, "However, the Crown Prince's treason is a heinous crime, and all those involved should be dealt with personally by His Majesty. How dare I, this Marquis, act on my own?"

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, Han Zhe's face turned ashen, while the soldiers of the Northern Camp all showed expressions of admiration.

As expected of His Majesty's most trusted and relied-upon person, his awareness is beyond question.

At the same time, they couldn't help but feel fortunate that their deputy commander was wise enough to change sides in time. Otherwise, they would probably be anxious about their bleak future like Han Zhe and the others. Instead, they would be the victors, able to act arrogantly and domineeringly.

Jia Lian smiled and ignored Han Zhe.

This was just a minor character, and Jia Lian was 80-90% certain that the two thousand taels of silver that had disappeared had been swallowed up by this person.

It's impossible to save him.

He came over because he saw someone else.

After hesitating for a moment, he ignored it and rode away.

Among the prisoners, a man with a pale complexion and ordinary appearance watched Jia Lian's imposing figure, and the glimmer of hope that had just risen in his eyes quickly vanished.

He comes from a truly distinguished and noble family, with several members of his family having become Hanlin scholars!

He himself also obtained the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations), which is why he was fortunate enough to catch the eye of the Crown Prince and was able to frequently walk around the Crown Prince's side.

He originally thought that accompanying the Crown Prince to Iron Net Mountain for the hunt was an honorable thing, but who knew that he would be caught up in such a storm and become a rebel for no reason?

Jia Lian knew, and he knew even better, that there was some connection between him and the other party.

He has a fiancée who is rumored to be living in the Jia family mansion, apparently because the Xue and Jia families have a long-standing friendship.

He also heard that his fiancée, although still young, was extremely beautiful.

He was actually interested in meeting her, but the elders all said that the Xue family had fallen on hard times and that she was a concubine's daughter, completely unworthy of the Mei family's social standing!

People traveled a long way to the capital to discuss marriage, but their families wouldn't even let them see them.

Knowing he was in the wrong, he naturally felt embarrassed to take the initiative to curry favor with Jia Lian.

Especially after seeing that Jia Lian was too lazy to pay attention to Han Zhe, he gave up the idea of ​​struggling and obediently followed the soldiers.

The young and naive boy probably had no idea what kind of trouble he was in. He was still thinking that he could put up with this for now, and that his father and the elders in the clan would definitely save him...