Volume 1 Nightfall Border City Chapter 65 Attacking the Stronghold (Part 1)

  Amur knelt before Lindan Khan's horse, drenched from head to toe.

  "Are you sure she's not a Manchu?" Lin Dan sweated but did not erupt in anger as he had imagined.

  "Are there no Jurchen people, only Han and Tumet?" Amur's voice trembled, less than a thousand of the three thousand elite cavalry in his tribe had escaped, and the herders were even more heavily casualties.

  Lin Dan's whip suddenly rose, fiercely lashing Amur's back, and he growled: "Defeated by the humble Han people and Tumet herders, what are you still alive for?"

  Amur Vot lay on the grass and said in a low voice: "It is the fault of those below! Please, Great Khan, punish!"

  "Punishment?" Lin Dan circled around Amur, "How do you want me to punish you? Hasn't the Long Life Heaven punished us Chahar people enough?" His voice was a little hoarse, like a wounded wolf king on the grassland.

  "I will punish the Tumet people!" A sly smile spread across Lin Danhan's face.

  "Five thousand cavalry! I give you five thousand cavalry, now turn back and deal a fatal blow to the Tumet people before the Jurchen arrive at Guihua, let their beautiful dreams be nourished by blood on this grassland!"

  Lin Dan drew out the curved knife from his waist, and the icy blade made Amur shiver.

  "Everyone I met along the way, none were spared, my mercy has already been tasted by them!"

  Jurchen people...

  "The Jurchen people still have a two-day journey to reach Guihua, and after the long march, they are already exhausted. With one blow, you can immediately cross the Yellow River. I will let the herdsmen move first, and lead the Khan's cavalry to meet you on the banks of the Yellow River. I have been patient enough!" Lin Danhan's eyes were icy cold, and the Chahar people had not yet fallen to the point where they could be bullied by anyone."

  "Yes sir!" Amur didn't dare to argue back.

  The Yellow River's waters churn and flow eastward, murky like the tears of a thousand-year-old man. No matter how much fresh blood flows into it, it cannot change its color.

  Chahar cavalry crossed the river forty li downstream from Junzi Crossing, and Amur's scouts expanded to thirty li outside. Along the way, they met some Chahar people who had escaped back last night, and there were no more Tumet people's traces.

  The scout searched carefully, and the grass field after the rain left too many traces.

  "The cavalry is coming out of the mountains from Andringel!"

  Amur was somewhat annoyed that if the Tumet people all hid in the mountains, this sneak attack would not have been so smooth.

  "Keep searching inside!"

  The battle of the scouts was like hunting, on the grasslands this was a Mongolian specialty. The Chahar scouts spread out towards the forest. After half a day, over ten scout soldiers returned excitedly to report: "We caught two Han people."

  "Bring it over!" Amur exclaimed with delight.

  Two men were dragged over by the Tumed scouts like dead dogs. These two men were Han Chinese patrol cavalrymen under the command of Zuo Zongtang, who were ambushed and wounded by Chahar scouts while off guard.

  The guards grabbed the hair of the two men and made them face Amur.

  "Where have the Tumets and Hans escaped to?"

  The tall and thin man on the right hesitated for a moment, then asked: "If we tell you everything, can you spare our lives?"

  "No!" Amur shook his head, drew out a shiny curved knife and lightly scratched his face, saying: "There are many ways to die, there is one knife to kill, and also thousands of knives to cut."

  "Anyway, we're all going to die, let's get moving!" After being bandits for many years, the two still had a bit of a rogue spirit.

  Amur's curved knife trembled in his hand, and in an instant, four ears were cut off, accompanied by a blood-curdling scream. The curved knife didn't seem to have any intention of stopping, as if Amur wanted to vent all the anger in his heart. After a brief moment, there was a pile of debris on the ground, and two captives became a heap of bloody men.

  "Come on, come on, give me a good one!" The two horse thieves shouted in muffled voices.

  "I'll give you one chance!" Amuro sheathed his sword and stood up.

  Within a moment, the Han village was no longer a secret to Amur. He had never imagined that all the Han bandits were hiding here, colluding with the Tumet people for a long time, and the Chahar people were deceived.

  Pursue the Daur people or raid the Han village, the horse thieves! Amur hesitated.

  Five thousand cavalrymen infiltrated the grasslands to launch a surprise attack on the Tumet people, which was risky, especially since the terrain of Liangcheng was complex and the Jurchen people would cut off their return route at Guihua. Using Han ren's horse thieves as an excuse was also a way for Amur to justify his decision.

  "Raid on the Han Village!"

  Near nightfall, more than 5,000 cavalrymen hid in the mountains of He Lin Ge Er under the cover of darkness, two beheaded horse thieves guided the way in the dark like bloody gourds.

  Hanzhai

  The Tumet people have been sent away, and Dizhai is very empty. The refugees and craftsmen are still rushing to build houses.

  In the main hall, Zuo Rou and Zong Mao stood facing each other.

  "Two patrol sentries have failed to return to Di Village!" Zuo Rou's brow furrowed, as he now controlled the outer patrols and reconnaissance.

  "Will we be delayed on the way?"

  "No, I personally confirmed every patrol route myself, and it's already been over an hour."

  "Has something unexpected happened?" Zong Mao dared not to slack off, "Send someone to investigate again?" He began to gradually replace Wang Yi's position in the main hall, but he was still very respectful of Zuo Ruo.

  "I'll go and investigate, you go and report back to the master."

  The sky grew darker and overcast, with a thick fog that made it impossible to see one's fingers when stretching out one's hand. Suddenly, a group of about ten cavalrymen emerged from the Han camp gate and headed northwest.

  In the main hall, Zong Mao reported the details to Di Che.

  "Has the sentry not returned on time?" Zhai Zhe's heart stirred, the Tumet people had already moved away, and except for Han'er, there was no one else with Lin Ge, a bad premonition rose in his mind.

  "Summon the taxi!"

  Zong Mao led the way and left.

  A moment later, Che Feng entered with a push of the door under the guidance of his personal guard.

  Di Zhe ordered: "You quickly go to Liangcheng Tumote tribe, tell Princess Wulan to be careful of Chahar's sneak attack, and come to launch a surprise counterattack!"

  Che Feng was shocked and asked: "Have the Chahar people returned?"

  "I don't know, being prepared for the worst, don't die before dawn!" Zhai Zhe's inexplicable tension in his heart grew even more intense. The Han army had a solid stronghold that could still be defended, but if the Chahar people launched a night raid on the Tumote people, with their ecstatic mood, they would surely suffer a disastrous defeat.

  "Yes sir!" Che Feng took his orders and left.

  The dark mountain road, cavalry holding high torches galloped wildly towards the northeast direction.

  Di Yan nervously rubbed his hands, too careless, hoping everything was still in time. A wounded beast slept beside the bed, and he dared to be so relaxed.

  No moon, and the Chahar people in Liner's jungle moved like ants, a black patch in the distance.

  A gentle breeze rustled through the forest, and Luo Yu followed a familiar route at a slow pace, without needing to light up his way. This path was one he had set himself, and everything was etched in his mind.

  He stopped suddenly and said: "Do you hear? There are footsteps!"

  The sound of the wind was faintly audible underfoot, and the soldiers beside him listened intently for a moment before nodding and saying, "Yes!"

  "There are many people, hurry back to the village!"

  Zuo Rougang had just turned around when he heard a miserable cry from the soldier beside him. A sharp arrow was stuck in his chest, and more arrows shot out from the dense forest.

  "There's an ambush, retreat!" Zuo Rou didn't dare to fight anymore.

  The ambush was the vanguard of Chahar, they were advancing in the front row of the main force, scouting the road and gathering intelligence. Seeing that Zuo had already discovered the movement of the main force, they would not leave any survivors.

  Chahar's adjutant blew a sharp whistle, gathering his companions around him.

  Human figures flickered in the surrounding mountains, Zuo Ruo only knew to urge his horse to gallop wildly, and the soldiers beside him became fewer and fewer. Long arrows whizzed past his ears. Fortunately, this was a familiar road for him, and darkness was the best cover. Zuo Ruo crouched on his horse and fled in a sorry state for nearly half an hour before shaking off the pursuers, with only three people left by his side.

  Chahar Jarghuchi hastily reported back to Amur: "We have already been discovered by the horse thieves' scouts."

  Amur spat out a mouthful of saliva and ordered: "The whole army will speed up its advance, launch a surprise attack at night, and wipe out this group of horse thieves!"

  These horse thieves are not ordinary bandits, and a slight mistake can be discovered. However, no matter how tight the organization of the horse thieves is, it is impossible for them to be enemies with the elite Chahar warriors, except for the Jurchen people, the Chahar people have never been defeated on the grasslands.

  The night had deepened, and the Han village was shrouded in darkness, with strict precautions.

  The lights in the main hall were dim, and Zhai Yan had been waiting for Zuo Rou's return.

  Horses neighed at the foot of Han Village Mountain, four riders shouted at the gate and entered, rushing straight to the governor's mansion.

  "We've been ambushed! The Chahar army is here!" Zuo Ruo hastily stepped forward to report to Di Zhe, who was standing at the gate of the Main Affairs Hall.

  "Where is it?" Zhai Zhe's heart was greatly shocked.

  "Twenty miles away from Han Village, it's too dark to see clearly, there are many people." Zuo Ruo's heart still had lingering fear.

  "Twenty li, we'll be there soon!" Zhai Zhe's heart was anxious, and he gave the order: "Each camp prepare for battle!" He didn't know if Che Feng and the others had been ambushed along the way.

  The runners of the government office rushed about in all directions.

  The Han soldiers woke up from their sleep, put on their armor, and gathered in various places with their weapons ready. The civilians also got up and pushed the logs and large stones into place, many of them feeling anxious in their hearts.

  Less than half a time, the dense horseshoes of the cavalry at the foot of the Han Village Mountain covered up the flowing water of the Tuomao River.

  "Here come the Chahar people!"

  Di Zhe narrowed his eyes and gazed into the distance.

  Xiao Zhi's expression was relaxed as he said, "The Mongolians are not good at attacking cities. They won't be able to take down a stronghold like this."

  Amur did not want to talk to the people of the Han camp, and the Chahar warriors directly attacked the mountain gate of the Han camp.

  It is not clear who shouted out the first kill, but at the narrow entrance of the Han village, the Chahar people took out a simple ladder and set it up against the newly built earth wall, while hundreds of archers in the distance simultaneously drew their bows to suppress.

  Long arrows fell like rain, Di Village's city wall was built too short, Lei Yanqian led the defending soldiers to shoot with their heads raised, iron arrowheads hit the stone wall with a loud noise.

  "Halt!"

  At Amur's command, the dense hail of arrows ceased abruptly, and the warriors who had been waiting at the foot of the wall quickly climbed up.

  "Long spearman! Long spearman come!" Lei Yanqian shouted loudly, unable to stop the Chahar people from climbing up the city wall, and could only attack them before they stabilized their footing.

  A dozen or so three- or four-zhang-long spears were jammed tightly at the narrow gate of the city tower, with archers arrayed behind the spear-wielding soldiers. The narrow passageway allowed only a dozen or so men to engage in combat on either side.

  Lei Yanqian stood beside the long spearman with a thick-backed knife in his hand, blocking the Chahar people who rushed to the near.

  On the mountaintop, Di Zhe strained his eyes to get a clear view of the battle below and said, "From the mountaintop, it's impossible to provide support for the main gate. The key is the second mountain gate. As long as they enter the narrow passageway, the rocks on the mountaintop can be put to use."

  Zuo Ruo, with rich battle experience, said: "The Mongols' sneak attack didn't work out, this time's attack is just a probe, the real fight will only start after dawn."

  Xiao Zhi's words had gone, and the smile that played with the world was hidden. He said, "That's right, in the dark, the Mongols' accurate archery skills can't be displayed, and dawn is the real test!"