Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 129: First Battle in the Capital
Among them, a taller little boy knelt down and asked, "Mother, the northern barbarians will attack the city. Will we all die?"

The Crown Princess frowned and said, "Death? Everyone will die. As the blood of the royal family, you must protect the country and its people in the future. Even if you die, you are not allowed to be afraid and bring shame to your ancestors."

"After today's disaster, you should grow up. The world is not just about eating, drinking and having fun. You should know what kind of situation Dachang is facing and how the people are suffering! As members of the royal family, if you don't have knowledge beyond your age, you will have your own disasters. You are lazy in your daily studies, and you are afraid when the disaster is coming. What kind of person is that?"

The three little boys knelt down and kowtowed, "We won't do it again. Please forgive us, mother."

The Crown Princess glanced around again, slowly let out a sigh of relief, and said to the maid in the hall: "Let them rest in this palace for the next few days, and find a room for each of them."

After they were escorted away by the palace maids, the Crown Princess said to those around her, "If the gates of the capital are lost, you take them to change into casual clothes, go out of the city through the secret passage in the palace, first go to Tongzhou to avoid disaster, and then find an opportunity to go south."

The maid was startled when she heard this, "What about the Crown Princess?"

The Crown Princess looked up at the beams and said, "I will not run away."

……

On the eighth day of the winter month,

After several days of cavalry patrols, Tuji Khan chose an auspicious day and led his army to the foot of the capital.

The weather was clear and cloudless.

About seven or eight miles away from the city, the barbarian army lined up.

Tuji Khan climbed up the temporary rammed earth platform and looked at Fucheng Gate on the west side of the capital, intending to launch a test attack first to test Yue Ling's abilities.

Tuji Khan had heard the name Yue Ling so many times in recent days that his ears were numb.

When he was at Zijing Pass, he used a little trick to bypass all the spies and was able to suffer a loss in silence. Now Tuji Khan has also become cautious and dared not be negligent.

Looking at the houses outside the city, they seemed to be empty. In front of the moat of the capital, there were deep trenches and strong fortifications everywhere, and I'm afraid there were many Dachang's death warriors among them. Seeing the calm city, who knows how many dangers are hidden.

The city walls were covered with flags, like crossbows, and the artillery was all aimed at the city, waiting for them to attack.

Seeing such perfect fortifications and such strict military discipline, Tuji Khan began to feel a little respect for them.

This is the nature of the grassland people, to respect the strong.

Tuji Khan asked Du Ke beside him, "Is there any new news in the city?"

Du Ke replied, "The Fucheng Gate here is guarded by Liu Fang from the Four Kings and Eight Dukes family. The city walls are equipped with heavy artillery and there are about 21,000 defenders. As for the defenses under the city, we haven't had time to get real-time information yet, so these are all arranged temporarily by Yue Ling."

Hearing that he was a general from the lineage of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes, Tuji Khan couldn't help but feel proud.

"The four kings and eight dukes are all good-for-nothings. Asking them to defend the city is Yue Ling's biggest mistake. Du Ke, is there any help that can be provided in the city? I have promised them a huge reward, don't let them be of no use when the battle comes!"

Du Ke said: "Of course I won't disappoint the Khan. Now Yue Ling is fighting behind closed doors. It's hard for a bird to fly out of the city. Naturally, the information we can get is a little insufficient."

"However, regardless of the movements below the city, we still have some ways to get the news from above the city. Khan just needs to cooperate a little."

Tuji Khan nodded, "Well, if we can't defeat the garrison stationed under the city, how can we talk about attacking the city?"

"Come here, pass on my order, release the animals to clear the ditches in the camp and level the road."

Blindfolding livestock and forcing them into battle is a common tactic used by the northern barbarians.

Whether it is buried mines, dug deep trenches, horse traps under the city, or chevaux de frise, they all have a very restrictive effect on cavalry.

The army driving livestock to charge can effectively reduce damage and achieve results almost identical to those of a cavalry charge.

When they went south, the northern barbarians brought a lot of livestock with them as food, and they also looted a lot along the way. Now, it was more than enough to arrange a few livestock teams in front of the army.

At the command of the general Alapingzhang of the front army, the livestock were led out of the pen, and deafening artillery fire was heard from the city wall.

The livestock were most afraid of artillery fire. In fear, they ran faster and faster, rushing straight towards the foot of the capital.

Some of them crashed into houses, some fell into ditches, and some stepped into horse traps. In any case, it was much better than real cavalry falling into traps.

After the attack, Alapingzhang continued to give orders.

"Everyone, step on the corpses and move forward! Break the city for the Khan! The first one to enter the city will be rewarded with ten thousand households!"

……

At Fucheng Gate, Liu Fang, a descendant of the four kings and eight dukes and the Duke of Liguo, looked at the northern barbarian cavalry that was coming like a tide and couldn't help sweating in his hands.

"General Liu, the enemy army is approaching, what should we do?"

If they fail here, the Duke Liguo's Mansion will never be able to recover.

Liu Fang calmed down and said, "Follow the instructions of the Grand Commander. At a distance, use solid foreign cannon bullets and crossbows to fire. At close range, use local cannons mixed with foreign cannon iron scraps to attack. If you shoot arrows near the city wall, be careful not to overheat the cannon to prevent it from exploding and injuring us." "Yes, sir."

In the firearms camp, under the leadership of the well-trained flag officers of each team, the artillery fired with a deafening roar, exploding on the ground, leaving craters of varying depths, and the livestock or Northern Barbarian cavalry that were hit had already been blown to pieces.

Liu Fang also had a much better understanding of artillery than before.

"No wonder the Grand Commander attaches so much importance to this cannon. With such power, it really improves the chances of defending the city."

Despite the continuous artillery fire and the smoke that covered the sky, the Northern Barbarian Army seemed to be fearless and continued to approach the city wall.

The soldiers in front who stepped into the deep pit and fell would only become stepping stones for those behind them, who would be stepped on.

Each of them was like an emotionless war machine, which horrified Liu Fang.

Looking at the distance of the city wall, people gradually came to support this side. Liu Fang breathed a sigh of relief, drew his sword and shouted: "Come on! Protect the country and the family, today is the day!"

……

When the Northern Barbarians formed their battle array near the capital, they were already spotted by the spies sent out by Yue Ling.

Before dawn, Yue Ling selected 5,000 elite soldiers from the Beijing camp and lined up in the city wall.

There are not enough horses in the city now, and there are not many trained cavalry. Even after a month of non-stop training, and including the cavalry from the thousand households in various places, there are only less than 8,000 cavalry gathered in total, and there are even fewer elite soldiers who can wear heavy armor among them.

In addition to the important task of spying on military intelligence, Yue Ling also needs to use these cavalrymen flexibly to launch unexpected attacks on the Northern Barbarians. As for defending the city at the moment, the main force is still the infantry.

"Two days ago, His Majesty has posted bounty notices in various places in the capital, and you should all have known about it. Today, our army is defending the camp and blocking the enemy. If you kill one person, you will get 20 taels of silver. Accumulating military merits can lead to promotion. Whether it is to defend the country and the family, or for our own glory and wealth, we are all determined to fight to the death."

"Since the Liaodong Rebellion, our Beijing Camp has never stopped training for a single day. Today, when we face the battle, all you need to do is to perform your duties and wait for my orders. We will surely be able to defeat the invading enemy."

"Yes, I will go out of the city with you. Are you confident that you can resist the enemy?"

The soldiers of the Beijing camp responded to the call and said, "We will defend our country to the death!"

Under Yue Ling's command, chariots, artillery, and light cavalry left the city one after another, and the armored infantry hid in various places.

The task was the most difficult. Under Yue Ling's command, the army formation with its back to the city gate was gradually formed before dawn.

The heavy chariots equipped with tiger squat cannons were in the first row, relying on the moat, ravines, chevaux de frise, and their own weight to block the charging cavalry.

After the chariots, there are artillery arrays, which attack the enemy troops a little further away. After that, there are archers, sword and shield soldiers, and musketeers, who cover both sides of the artillery. Then there are cavalry surrounding the two wings of the army formation, which can engage in close combat with the enemy without being at a disadvantage.

The army's array was like an iron barrel, with support from the guards on the city wall. A three-dimensional defense with its back to the city was formed.

At the right time, the Northern Barbarian Army bravely advanced forward, braving the heavy artillery fire, and approached the city wall.

However, their vision was limited before, blocked by smoke and houses. When they rushed to the moat, they realized that there was a military formation with its back to the city on the other side.

Seeing the enemy coming, the soldiers in the army showed no mercy. When the command flag fell, the Portuguese cannons that had been loaded long ago fired a volley, which exploded among the cavalry on the opposite bank.

Besides the sound of gunfire, there were the painful cries of the Northern Barbarian soldiers.

But the Northern Barbarian soldiers seemed not to be afraid of death. Even under the artillery fire, they continued to move forward. Relying only on their iron armor, they blocked the splashing of fragments of shells, lined up on the shore, and shot arrows back at the army.

The power of arrows at close range should not be underestimated. The army formation was slightly affected and the speed of artillery reloading was not as fast as during training.

The Northern Barbarian cavalry took a moment to catch their breath, and some dismounted soldiers threw rafts and sandbags into the moat as footholds, making it easier for the soldiers to cross the river.

On the other side, they were transporting huge logs and throwing them into the river in an attempt to block the river. If someone was seriously injured, they would fall into the water themselves, blocking the flow of the water.

Such a fearless spirit is even more frightening when it gets closer.

But the army was after all well-trained elite. Under the command of flag signals, the tiger squat cannons on the chariots fired at the northern barbarian soldiers who were about to cross the river, causing another round of heavy damage.

Then the infantry moved forward, formed a battle array to resist, fired muskets, firearms and arrows to fight the enemy at close range, while the cavalry also fought on both wings with the northern barbarian cavalry that rushed ashore.

The two sides fought fiercely.

However, thanks to the advantage of terrain and tight military formation, the soldiers of the Beijing camp were able to resist disintegration even when they were injured, and they fought hand-to-hand with the northern barbarians, drawing blood with every blow.

Just when the two sides were in a stalemate, soldiers with flags bearing the character "Yue" poured out from houses in all directions, using spears and lassoes to stop the Northern Barbarian cavalry who were coming to support them.

The first person was Yue Ling, who was fully armored. He led the soldiers with a lance and shouted, "Destroy the enemy! Follow me to kill them!"

　fourteen,
　　Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone

　　
　
(End of this chapter)