Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 163, Heaven's Way

Huailaiwei.

After six days of tenacious resistance by the army and civilians, they were finally defeated by the grassland army.

Kah Khan then led the grassland army through Huailai and rushed to Badaling.

At that time, Gao Zhi was also leading his troops to Badaling for support.

However, due to distance issues, the grassland tribes were the first to arrive at the Badaling city wall.

The walls of Badaling are tall and thick, easy to defend but difficult to attack. They are more than three meters high and wide enough for two carriages to ride side by side. There are countless bows, crossbows and artillery on the city walls, and the mountains below the city are continuous and steep. It was a key defense facility of the imperial court as early as the pre-Ming Dynasty.

During the Daxi period, because the Daxi Emperor Taizu was an outstanding military hero who drove all the foreign tribes from the grasslands to the Yin Mountains, his descendants paid less attention to the defense near the capital. However, despite this, the defense of Badaling was still very strong.

The garrison originally had 5,000 men, but due to various reasons, there are only 2,600 left. After hearing about the invasion from the grassland, the lieutenant general of the Badaling garrison urgently recruited soldiers. Although he could not afford the military pay, he still managed to recruit more than 1,000 young and strong men by using the excuses of resisting foreign races and national justice, bringing the size of the garrison to 4,000 men.

It is definitely impossible to hold the city with 4,000 people, but with the solid defense of the Badaling city wall, it should not be a problem for them to hold out for ten days or half a month.

Sure enough, Badaling’s defensive capabilities are well-deserved.

The grassland army ran into trouble as soon as they arrived at the Badaling city wall.

Kah Khan thought that he could take the city in one fell swoop by relying on his military advantage.

So after arriving at the Badaling city wall, he let his own elite troops take charge of the main attack.

However, they did not expect that the defense of the Badaling city wall was extremely strong, and there were countless cannons and crossbows on the city. After a day of fierce fighting, the grassland army left with as many as seven or eight hundred corpses, which made Kah Khan extremely heartbroken.

Sun Huaiyi suggested that night that Deng Ren lead his Han army to attack in order to avoid heavy casualties on the grassland.

Kah Khan's eyes lit up when he heard this. Just as he was about to agree, Li Hao walked in and angrily scolded Sun Huaiyi, "You little bastard, what do you know?"

Kah Khan was very respectful to Li Hao. Even though Li Hao rushed into the tent, he was not dissatisfied at all. Instead, he respectfully called out, "Father!"

Li Hao nodded and said:
"Great Khan, please do not believe the words of this villain. The Great Khan entered the capital with the intention of conquering the world, not plundering. If the Han people are used as the vanguard, even if it is a temporary advantage, who in the world will be willing to serve the Great Khan in the future?"

Kah Khan was not a stupid man. When he heard what Li Hao said, he immediately understood and no longer accepted Sun Huaiyi's opinion.

Only Sun Huaiyi was left looking at Li Hao with resentment in secret.

The next day, the grassland army continued its attack.

Among them, Deng Ren's Han troops and grassland troops were treated equally by Kah Khan, and the wounded and dead received the same compensation. It would be a lie for the Han troops to say that they were not moved by this, and they even fought harder.

However, despite this, after a day of fierce attack, the Badaling city wall still stood firm. Both sides suffered damage, but the grassland suffered more damage in comparison.

Kah Khan was very worried about this.

The general in the tent asked, "Why is the Khan frowning? Although the Han people's defense is strong, our grassland warriors are equally brave. We are many and the enemy is few. If we attack day and night, this city will be captured within seven days!"

Kah Khan shook his head and said:
"I'm afraid that after seven days, Daxi's reinforcements will arrive, and the city will be even more difficult to capture!"

After these words were spoken, all the generals fell silent, and the tent fell into silence for a while.

At this time, a general stood up and said:
"Don't worry, Khan. We are willing to lead our army around the city to stop Daxi's reinforcements and buy time for the king to break through the city!"

Kah Khan was delighted to hear this, but he was also worried: "The mountain roads here are rugged and steep, and it is difficult for a large army to pass through. I am afraid that the general cannot bring too many soldiers and horses."

General Du said:

"Don't worry, Khan. I will only bring my own troops, 357 cavalrymen, to crush Daxi's spirit and block him outside the city!"

"it is good!"

Kah Khan stood up and offered the wine personally.

"General Du is truly a hero. I have thirty personal guards, and I would like to give them to you to go with you. I hope you will not mind!"

Kah Khan's personal soldiers are all brave warriors selected from thousands of miles away, so there is naturally no reason to despise them.

But the general summoned his troops that night, and added thirty of Kah Khan's personal soldiers. Each of them had three horses and were wearing iron armor, and they entered the surrounding deep forests.

The next day, Gao Zhi led reinforcements to Juyongguan, where he received the news that Huailai had been breached and the grassland army was attacking Badaling fiercely.

Gao Zhi was very anxious when he heard this.

His uncle Zhao Shihong once advised Emperor Longqing to abandon Huailai and focus on garrisoning Badaling. Although Emperor Longqing did not say it explicitly, he asked him to deal with it on the spot, and his meaning was very clear.

However, no one expected that the grassland army would be so brave and powerful that they could capture Huailai and reach Badaling so quickly.

If Badaling was breached, he would certainly not be able to escape the blame for a failed rescue operation. So Gao Zhi had no time to rest, hurriedly bid farewell to the commander of Juyongguan, and quickly led his soldiers to Badaling.

In pursuit of speed, Gao Zhi even left the baggage train far behind.

The baggage is not just food and fodder, it also includes some soldiers' armor and weapons, bows, crossbows, gunpowder and the like. It is not conducive to marching if all these things are carried on the body, so when marching in a hurry, they will be temporarily placed on the baggage carts for transportation.

This is also the reason why some ancient armies would suffer heavy losses if they were ambushed on the way.

The deputy general in the army was named Qi Jianhui, a descendant of four kings and eight dukes, grandson of the Marquis of Xiangyang, and currently a second-class baron, a title lower than Gao Zhi's viscount, so he could only serve as a deputy general.

However, Qi Jianhui was well-versed in military books and knew that Gao Zhi's actions were very dangerous, so he advised Gao Zhi not to march too hastily to avoid being ambushed by the enemy and causing the army to be defeated.

Gao Zhi was also well-read in military books and had participated in the battle to wipe out the Jin bandits, so he knew that what Qi Jianhui said was true.

But now the military situation in Badaling is urgent, and he must get there quickly.

Moreover, in Gao Zhi's mind, this route is so dangerous, how could the grassland army come here silently? Even if there are ambushes, there are only a few hundred people. Could his 30,000-strong army be afraid of a few hundred people on the other side?

Therefore, Gao Zhi did not listen to Qi Jianhui's dissuasion and insisted on marching quickly.

In the afternoon, the army arrived at Xiliang Mountain, which was not far from Badaling.

However, due to the long march, the army was exhausted and thirsty. There happened to be a snow spring at the foot of Xiliang Mountain. It was not yet deep winter, and the spring had not been completely frozen.

Seeing this, Gao Zhi agreed to let the soldiers take a break and drink some spring water to quench their thirst.

The soldiers were overjoyed and gathered around the spring, vying to drink the icy spring water.

Suddenly, there was the sound of horse hooves, and a large number of cavalry rushed out from the mountains on both sides.

The leading general, wearing a metal mask, silver armor and holding a silver spear, rushed forward with unstoppable force. He knocked a soldier away in one encounter!
(End of this chapter)