The First Family of the Red Mansion

Despite Hu Cunmeng's best efforts to dissuade him, he still could not stop Liu Hu's determination to launch a surprise attack on Yangguan.

He knows it's dangerous, but does that mean he shouldn't go?

It is important to know that Yangguan Pass is crucial for the supply of provisions to nearly half of the main force of the Oirat and Shuotai tribes. If this supply route is uninterrupted, it will not have a significant impact on the Oirat front.

If the Oirat people are frugal, they can hold out until winter, at which point the Great Zhou army will be in danger.

After several unsuccessful attempts to persuade him, Hu Cunmeng could only select some able-bodied men from the labor service for Liu Hu, and also assigned a large portion of the veteran soldiers from the Great Zhou who had come to the Western Regions with them.

The weapons and equipment captured from the Oirat people were also given priority to Liu Hu's team.

"After I leave, you must strengthen the city's defenses on the one hand, and send some people out to rescue as many Han Chinese enslaved by the Oirats and Western Region people who are loyal to the Great Zhou as possible. Only in this way can we withstand the Oirats' fierce attack."

"If we really can't hold them off in the end, we must burn all the grain and fodder here. We absolutely cannot let it fall into the hands of the Oirat people."

Before leaving, Liu Hu repeatedly instructed Hu Cunmeng to prevent him from being unable to withstand the Oirat attack.

"yes!"

Hu Cunmeng looked at Liu Hu, his lips moved, but in the end he sighed helplessly and said nothing.

"How did things turn out like this?"

Watching Liu Hu and his men disappear into the night, Hu Cunmeng couldn't help but wonder, "They were just trying to make a living back then."

Although Gushi Khan was deeply loved by the people in the former Tibetan lands, he did not bring any Han Chinese with him on this expedition, which clearly showed that he was somewhat wary of the Han Chinese.

While this brought Liu Hu some hardship, it wasn't without its benefits.

As is well known, the Yellow Sect has a profound influence on the plateau, especially after Gushi Khan entered the former Tibetan territory, which further amplified the influence of the Yellow Sect, particularly among the Khoshut tribe and the Tibetans.

When Liu Hu and his men arrived at Yangguan, it was just before dawn when people were most sleepy. The Yangguan garrison and the Tibetan laborers inside had been praying to Buddha late the night before, and even the Oirat soldiers on duty were already asleep leaning against the city wall.

After all, this was the rear area, with hundreds of thousands of troops in front and their own territory in the rear. There were no unstable Han people in the pass, so they slept soundly with peace of mind.

This gave Liu Hu and his men an excellent opportunity.

After they quietly approached the city gate and killed the Oirat soldiers guarding it, Liu Hu knew that this time they had succeeded.

Facing a well-prepared army of over ten thousand men, including many laborers who had just taken up arms, Liu Hu's valiant fighting quickly led them to capture Yangguan Pass.

Without taking a break, Liu Hu arranged for people to clean up the battlefield and immediately sent someone to tell Jia Daishan and his men that they had captured Yangguan and Yumenguan, completely cutting off the Oirat people's supply lines.

He then immediately arranged for people to reinforce the city's defenses, since Yangguan was too small, with city walls less than two zhang high. With such limited fortifications, it was impossible to stop the Oirat people's counterattack.

In addition, he also sent people to scatter in all directions to reinforce the defenses within the pass as much as possible.

After taking stock, the grain and fodder in Yangguan were enough to feed them for several months.

……

"Report!"

"Your Majesty, my lords, the supply convoy has reported that a Zhou army has suddenly appeared behind us and has captured Yangguan and Yumenguan, completely cutting off our supply lines."

"Right now they are attacking our tribes everywhere, fortifying our city defenses, and our army's supplies have also fallen into their hands."

"What!?"

Gushi Khan and the other four tribal leaders, who were discussing how to deal with the provocation from the Great Zhou and prevent anyone from being unable to resist provoking them into battle, were greatly alarmed upon hearing this news.

To prevent the Great Zhou from launching a surprise attack on their granaries, they stored most of their provisions in the rear at Yumen Pass and Yang Pass, leaving the front lines with less than half a month's worth of provisions.

Did the Great Zhou seize the grain and cut off the supply lines?

At this point, let alone the Great Zhou taking the initiative to provoke them, if they fail to reclaim their supplies, their hundreds of thousands of troops will starve to death without the Great Zhou army even needing to provoke them.

As for readjusting from the rear, it would take several months to complete the adjustment.

"Did they burn the grain supplies?" Gushi Khan immediately stood up and asked.

"Qi reported to the Great Khan that there was no shortage of supplies, but all the provisions had fallen into enemy hands."

Gushi Khan and several leaders immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that it wasn't burned. As long as we can reclaim the grain before we run out of food, then everything will be fine."

Actually, it wasn't that Liu Hu didn't want to burn it down, but rather that after they burned it down, they would basically have nowhere else to go.

Historically, Cao Cao was able to burn Wuchao because he had a way out; after burning it, he could immediately return to his main camp.

Meanwhile, Liu Hu was surrounded by enemies on all sides. If this area were to burn down, he would immediately be trapped in a desperate situation of being surrounded and intercepted.

Since that's the case, it would be better to directly occupy these two passes and use them to hold off the enemy for a while.

As dawn broke, scouts from the Oirat people appeared on both the east and west sides of Yangguan Pass.

Liu Hu completely ignored these scouts and focused solely on directing his men to build the city walls.

The scouts only glanced at the busy soldiers on the city wall from afar before immediately turning their horses around and retreating.

"A storm is brewing!"

Looking at the scouts who had already disappeared, Liu Hu stood on the city wall and sighed inwardly.

He knew that soon this place would become a battlefield of flesh and blood; either they would die here, or the Oirat army would run out of food and collapse, and from then on, the Great Zhou would be free from the threat of the western frontier.

The first to arrive here were the troops from the western Oirat rear, since this place was in the heart of the Oirat territory.

Upon learning that Yumen Pass and Yangguan Pass had been captured by the Great Zhou army, and that all the supplies for the frontline army had fallen into the hands of the Great Zhou army, the nearby Oirat leader immediately organized his troops to come and try to reclaim the supplies.

"May I have a glimpse of the general on the city wall?"

After nearly 10,000 Oirat people and the Western Regions allied forces arrived at Yangguan, they did not immediately attack the city, but instead sent people to shout messages from below the city.

After all, they were afraid that if they angered the garrison commander inside the pass, he might burn down the grain supplies inside the pass, which would put their Oirat army at the front line in danger.

Liu Hu stood on the city wall, looking at the enemy army below, a hint of disdain in his heart.

The enemy force below the city consisted of less than two thousand Oirat people; the rest were all subordinate to the Western Regions.

The fighting strength of the Western Region people was far inferior to that of the Oirat Mongols of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Moreover, even among the Oirat people, this group had very few able-bodied men; the vast majority were elderly men with graying temples or boys with a trace of childishness still remaining on their faces.

Liu Hu knew that his greatest enemy this time was never the Oirat forces in the west, but the elite Oirat troops on the eastern front.

Even so, Liu Hu could not be too careless about the enemy in the west. Although they were not elite, they had a large number of people.

They only occupied Yangguan for three days before the Oirat forces assembled a force of 10,000 men from the rear. If it had taken any longer, the enemy forces to the west would probably number no less than 30,000.

As for the east, although the enemy is the most elite, they certainly won't send too many people, after all, they still have hundreds of thousands of Great Zhou troops on the other side.

"I am the Vice Commander of the Great Zhou Dynasty. What brings you here?"

Liu Hu looked at the group of Oirat envoys below the city and replied proudly.

"General, my chieftain said that as long as you surrender the pass and ensure the safety of the grain supplies inside, he will guarantee you a fiefdom of ten thousand households and reward you with tens of thousands of horses, cattle, sheep and countless slaves."

"What is the general's opinion?"

The envoy looked at Liu Hu on the city wall and said loudly.

Upon hearing the conditions offered by the Oirat people, Liu Hu thought to himself, "It seems the Oirat people are really desperate; they're offering flatbread so readily."

A commander of ten thousand households was no small official position among the Mongols; even Altan Khan was only a commander of thirty thousand households.

But Liu Hu knew that the envoy's words sounded nice, but the Oirat people had no intention of actually giving Liu Hu a position of ten thousand households.

He believed that if he dared to hand over Yangguan Pass and the grain supplies inside, none of the soldiers inside, including himself, would survive.

"Thank you for your leader's high regard, but I am accustomed to the rice and noodles of the Central Plains and I am afraid I cannot stomach your beef and mutton. Therefore, I must decline!"

Liu Hu replied with a smile.

At this point, every bit of time they could hold out increased their chances of survival. Since the Oirat people were going to put on a show, Liu Hu didn't mind playing along.

Although the envoy knew that Zhou would not agree, anyone who knew even a little about the Oirat situation knew the status of a Wanhu (a military rank) in the Oirat. It was impossible for such a title to be bestowed upon anyone other than the leader's son. Even his own leader was not a Wanhu. Anyone with common sense would know that this was a lie.

But after hearing Liu Hu's refusal, he was still somewhat disappointed: If only this guy were a blockhead!

Since we can't fool them, we can at least show some sincerity.

"General, are you aware of the situation you will face next? As long as you hand over the pass and the grain inside, my chief can guarantee the safety of you and the Zhou army inside."

"If the general is still not at ease, my chief can send someone to escort the general to join the Great Zhou army."

"If the general still does not agree, then once our army arrives, all that awaits you will be reduced to ashes."

"Then let's give it a try!" Liu Hu replied coldly.

"Hmph! You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences!"

The envoy glared at Liu Hu hatefully, then led the others who were escorting him back on horseback.

Liu Hu watched them leave quietly, thinking to himself, "If I had five thousand soldiers from the Blue Sky Camp or the Hexi Army right now, I would have charged out long ago. Would they still be so arrogant?"

But most of the men under his command are conscripted laborers. They're passable at defending the city, but getting them out of the city to fight in the field...

Let's not waste their lives.

Liu Hu had been on guard against the Oirat attacking the city that very day, but even after dinner, there was still no sign of them.

The next day, the Oirat army in the west had increased to 20,000 men, and the elite Oirat forces in the east had also appeared not far from Yangguan.

"It's finally here!"

In order to regain control of the supply lines, the Oirat forces transferred 30,000 elite troops from the front lines. Of these, 20,000 were deployed to attack Yumen Pass in conjunction with a 50,000-strong army formed in the rear, while the remaining 10,000 were deployed to attack Yang Pass in conjunction with the 30,000 troops in the rear.

All other main forces retreated to their defensive fortifications to prevent a surprise attack by the Great Zhou army.

At this moment, the front line of the Great Zhou army had received the battle report sent back by Liu Hu.

After reading the battle report, Jia Daishan said gravely, "Although General Liu has cut off the Oirat's supply lines, he himself is now in danger."

"With his small army and two old passes, he can't hold out for long. So we need to find an opportunity to attack the Oirat as soon as possible. Otherwise, once the Oirat reopens the supply lines, General Liu Hu and his soldiers will have wasted all their efforts and sacrificed themselves in vain."

"General, that is true, but the Oirat people are all holed up in their fortifications and are not giving us any chance to take advantage of them."

"If we launch a direct assault, we will face heavy casualties; we are willing but unable to do so!"

The Prince of Xining also looked helpless at this moment.

"At this time, four days had passed since General Liu Hu cut off the Oirat's supply lines. The Oirat's front-line reserves of food and fodder were only enough for half a month. If Liu Hu's side could hold out for ten days, the Oirat would collapse without a fight."

"Your Highness is mistaken. Has Your Highness forgotten that half of the Hexi Corridor is still in the hands of the Oirat people?"

"If we wait until their supplies are almost exhausted, the Oirat people might just take food from where they are. How long will General Liu and his men have to hold out then?"

"this……"

After Zhao Zhong finished speaking, the Prince of Xining looked slightly ashamed and was speechless for a moment.

"What does the Earl of Zhongyong mean?"

A general from the Great Zhou Dynasty asked.

"Since the Oirat have already dispatched 30,000 troops to retake the supply route, why don't we seize this opportunity and take back Jiayuguan to the north in one fell swoop?"

"The Oirat people's northern Jiayuguan defense line is quite far from their central defense line."

"Moreover, the Dzungar tribe stationed at Jiayuguan lives far north of the Tianshan Mountains, and they may have other intentions as well!" Zhao Zhong said confidently.

"If the other Oirat tribes dare to come to our aid, then we can take this opportunity to engage them in a decisive battle."

"Alright, let's do as Lord Zhongyong said. Leave some men to guard the defense line, and move the rest of the troops north. Then we will attack Jiayuguan and eliminate the threat to our north."

Jia Daishan gave Zhao Zhong an approving look, and then immediately gave the order.

"No, we haven't said anything yet." The generals from Hexi looked indignant when they saw this situation.

However, upon seeing the Prince of Xining sitting there without saying a word, they all immediately fell silent and reluctantly stood up to accept their orders.

Just as Jia Daishan was preparing to create an opportunity to fight the Oirat people, Yangguan was already filled with the smell of blood and the sounds of battle.

Clad in heavy armor, Liu Hu cut down a Oirat soldier attempting to scale the city wall and shouted, "Hold on, everyone! The Oirats are about to collapse!"

Having only served a few days in the army, after the initial discomfort, he began to adapt to the battlefield thanks to his hatred for the Oirat people.

Although their teamwork wasn't perfect, they were not lacking in courage to perish together with the Oirat people.

As soon as a Oirat soldier climbed onto the city wall, before he could even jump down, a guard rushed up to him and pulled him down with him.

"Die!"

With a thud, the Oirat man beneath him died instantly, while the soldier, thanks to the Oirat man's fall and the fact that the city wall was only a little over two zhang high, only suffered minor injuries.

Without a second thought, the soldier realized he was still alive, immediately seized the Oirat's weapon, and after cutting down two men, he was killed by the Oirat himself.

A similar scene was unfolding at this moment of sunshine.

The Oirat people knew that if they failed to reclaim the supplies, they would die here.

The defenders also knew that if they fell, no one in the city would survive.

Liu Hu had no idea how many people he had killed until the Oirat army sounded the retreat signal, at which point he collapsed onto the city wall.