The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 119 The Second Wei Ya

In fact, everyone who saw this scene already realized the danger without Jia Chen reminding them.

Hu Youcai sent two men on horseback ahead to check if it was safe ahead.

As soon as Jia Chen finished speaking, the sound of horses' hooves rang out from ahead, and soon a large group of people appeared in everyone's sight.

Jia Chen realized something was wrong; the enemy had at least three hundred men.

These are definitely not ordinary bandits or thieves.

If they were bandits or robbers, they wouldn't have so many horses.

Jia Chen wanted to protect Hu Youcai and retreat first. After all, he still had ten horses. If he left the foot soldiers to cover the rear, he might be able to help Hu Youcai escape.

Regardless of whether these bandits dared to attack the government troops, Jia Chen dared not gamble and absolutely could not let them fall into their hands.

But what happened next immediately dashed Jia Chen's hopes.

Two or three hundred riders charged up behind them.

Jia Chen's face was gloomy. The other party must have been lying in ambush nearby for a long time, otherwise they would have noticed it at all.

The cavalry charged, attacking from both sides. Our group had no natural defenses on the river valley road and was in a very passive position.

Jia Chen sighed inwardly, noting that the terrain was very similar to the one he had Liu Cheng and his men use to ambush and kill Wei Ya.

Does this mean I'm going to follow in Wei Ya's footsteps and become the second Wei Ya?

"Jia Chen, let's charge!" Hu Youcai's face was grim.

He wasn't stupid; he realized the seriousness of the problem.

Someone wanted to kill him and ambushed him on the way.

"Father-in-law, we are outnumbered. They have three hundred men, both in front and behind. The disparity is too great. Moreover, we only have ten men with horses. We can't break through," Jia Chen replied.

If all eighty-odd of my men had horses, we could try a direct frontal assault and might have a chance to break through the blockade of three hundred men.

Unfortunately, they only had ten riders.

How can ten riders charge against three hundred men?

That would be absolutely suicidal.

"Then... what should we do?" Hu Youcai asked in a terrified tone.

"Retreat to the hillside!" Jia Chen ordered immediately upon seeing the area to his left.

Without hesitation, everyone protected Hu Youcai and ran towards the hillside on the left.

Because it is a valley, with hillsides on both sides, and further up there are some rocky cliffs.

So this place is essentially a defensive position with its back to the cliff.

It's at least much better than having no natural defenses on the official road.

"Rest assured, sir, as long as I am alive, I will definitely protect you and help you escape," Jia Chen said, taking a deep breath.

Hu Youcai didn't say anything more. At this point, what else could he do but trust Jia Chen?

Considering Jia Chen's two great victories over the Northern barbarians, there must be no problem.

However, he then remembered that Jia Chen's great victory back then was due to the fortified outposts and the tiger-squatting cannons, but such conditions were not available here now.

Under Jia Chen's orders, everyone quickly went up the hillside, backed by the cliff, and rapidly constructed some defensive fortifications.

In reality, they simply built a simple rock wall in front of them and collected quite a few stones.

They were at a high vantage point, and these stones were still useful for defense.

"Defend the Way! Switch to muskets, everyone!" Jia Chen shouted. "Who among you still knows how to use a musket?"

The next question was asked by Jia Chen to Hu Youcai's guards.

Of the thirty men I brought, only ten used the Bird Command, but the other twenty could also use it.

Hu Youcai obtained thirty bird guns from the Armory Bureau, and all thirty of his men used them, with ten left over.

Although they were outnumbered, Jia Chen believed they weren't entirely without a chance.

That means I still have forty bird squads here.

Upon hearing Jia Chen's words, someone immediately spoke up to say that they would.

Jia Chen finally selected ten people, grouped them into a team, and let them shoot freely on the side.

Unfortunately, these people are untrained and unable to execute a coordinated three-stage firing sequence.

At this point, they should fire whenever they can, providing as much firepower as possible.

It's not good to hang out with Wei Dao and his group, lest it disrupt their shooting rhythm.

Wei Dao and his group of ten were divided into three teams.

Jia Chen's plan was to first fire the musket at a long distance, and if the enemy got closer, then use the three-eyed musket at a slightly closer distance.

Unfortunately, there are only ten Three-Eyed Armored Swords.

However, the three-eyed unified weapon can be used to strike three times in a row, and even if the hit rate is not high, it still has a certain deterrent effect at close range.

Finally, it came down to close combat.

Standing on high ground, Jia Chen could already see the number of people approaching. The pursuers from the front and back had merged into one, and there should be more than 600 people.

They outnumber us far too much; a direct confrontation is definitely not going to work, nor is it the best strategy.

After the opposing forces regrouped, they charged forward without saying a word.

The fact that they didn't even ask about Jia Chen and the others' identities was enough to prove that Jia Chen's judgment was correct; they were indeed after them.

If they were really bandits or robbers, they would probably at least make a sound or something.

Especially since our group was wearing standard military uniforms and attacking government troops?

Ordinary bandits and robbers wouldn't go this far.

"Ready!" Jia Chen shouted.

Wei Dao and the other members of the first team immediately raised their guns and aimed.

The ten newly joined bird commanders followed suit.

Although I'm not very skilled at the movements, I have some prior experience with bird-related techniques, so it's not too bad.

"shooting!"

When the enemy had charged to within a hundred paces, Jia Chen gave the order.

The sounds of "bang bang bang" rang out continuously as lead bullets were fired, striking the charging cavalry.

The ten newly joined bird commanders fired immediately, but they appeared somewhat disorganized and their accuracy was lacking.

Even without aim, the sound of a bird can still intimidate the opponent.

Especially the first shot, which consisted of twenty guns, made quite a racket with its loud crackling sound.

These cavalrymen were unarmored, and the bird-shaped spears had sufficient penetrating power.

Several cavalrymen who were hit fell from their horses, but the others continued to charge, completely ignoring the musket fire.

The second team moved up and fired.

Another person has fallen from grace.

Then there's the third team, shooting.

Three consecutive shots finally brought a look of terror to the face of the cavalryman at the forefront.

They hesitated, slowed their charge, and even showed signs of stopping.

In their minds, even if the enemy had a mortar, it would be over after one shot, and they would definitely be able to rush over before they could reload their ammunition.

At that time, won't these bird-like commanders be lambs to be slaughtered?

But what's the deal with this group of people in front of me?

Why were they fired three times in a row?

"Those who retreat, die!" a voice rang out from behind.

He was clearly there to oversee the battle.

Seeing signs of a halt ahead, he urged them to continue their charge.

"They can't possibly still have muskets," someone shouted.

Everyone thought about it and agreed.

The opponent couldn't possibly have that many bird units; they must have emptied all their bird units just now.

As the enemy drew ever closer, the ten newly joined arquebusiers became even more flustered under the pressure.

"Calm down, load the ammunition slowly and methodically," Jia Chen shouted.

Wei Dao and his team didn't need him to say much; everything was based on their usual rigorous training.

Jia Chen was quite satisfied. Those who came with him were all veterans who had experienced facing the northern barbarian cavalry charges head-on.

These cavalrymen before them are not enough to intimidate them.

"Kill them! They won't have time to reload!" someone else shouted.

At a distance of one hundred paces, cavalry charges are too fast; generally, they can reach you in just over ten seconds.

For Jia Chen's bird-like soldiers, firing three times a minute was definitely the limit.

Under normal circumstances, there would be no possibility of a second shot.

Not to mention ordinary Great Angkor Birds leading troops, under the pressure of enemy cavalry charges, firing once a minute might be considered good.

The cavalry charged again, convinced they had a good reason to believe that the enemy would be unable to fire anymore, and that would be their moment to wreak havoc.

"Throw stones!" Jia Chen ordered.

Weidao and his men were reloading ammunition, which was a window of opportunity. They needed to slow down the enemy's attack as much as possible to buy Weidao and his men time.

The others couldn't stand idly by; they immediately picked up the surrounding stones and smashed them down with all their might.

Fortunately, there were plenty of rocks on the hillside. When we came up, Jia Chen had everyone collect the rocks quickly.

The stone wall piled up in front can not only be used to block the charge, but also to smash the stones in the wall if other stones are used up.

The hillside isn't too steep, but it's not too gentle either.

When charging on horseback, encountering falling rocks from above can startle the horse, preventing it from quickly closing the distance.

As a shower of rocks rained down, horses neighed, and the scene became somewhat chaotic as people tried to dodge the stones.

Some horses stepped on the rolling stones and fell to the ground.

There were also some horses whose legs were hit by stones, causing them to go berserk in pain.

The chaotic situation effectively halted the cavalry charge.

"Charge! Charge! It's just some rocks! Charge!" the man behind roared.

The charge continued, but the constant falling rocks slowed them down.

When they had run fifty paces, the "slap slap slap" sound rang out again.

The defenders had finished loading their ammunition.

The second round of three-stage firing followed.

The sudden volley of volleys caught the charging cavalry somewhat off guard.

What happened?

The opponent clearly fired the Bird Commander just now, how come there's still one?

After the three shots fired by the leader, the number of people who fell from power this time was significantly higher than the number who fell during the first shot.

This is because they are closer, greatly increasing the accuracy and power of the bird's attack.

There were also shots that missed and hit the horse, and when the horse fell, it crushed the person on top of it, leaving them either dead or maimed.

"Kill them! They're gone! This time they're definitely gone!" someone shouted.

The cavalry continued their charge, not believing that Jia Chen's side could fire their weapons any further.

But before they could take more than a few steps, the sound of birdsong rang out again.

The sounds weren't as coordinated this time, but they still continued intermittently for quite a while.

These are ten newly joined bird commanders; they are not as skilled as Wei Dao and the others.

After Wei Dao and his team finished their second round of firing, they reloaded their weapons a while later, which could be considered the fourth round of firing.

Although it was only ten men firing, the sound of the volley still caused three cavalrymen to fall from their horses.

The continuous downfall of individuals has created immense psychological pressure for others.

Another issue is that they don't know if the other side still has any birds (referring to birds).

The people behind were still urging them on, and one of the supervisors even rushed up himself.

Seeing this, the cavalrymen in front had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue advancing.

Forty-five steps away, there was no movement.

Forty steps, and still no movement.

"Kill them! They've run out of firearms, kill them all!"

"Kill them all."

These people started shouting, their previous fear vanishing and replaced by anger.

Many of our men died from firearms just now; only by killing all those above can we vent our anger.

Thirty-five steps, nothing to worry about.

Thirty steps, safe.

They roared, already imagining the scene of severing all the heads off the person opposite them.