The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

Wang Baisheng's words made everyone laugh.

Leaving aside the older generation like Wang Baisheng, even those who came later are no longer so afraid of the Northern barbarians.

The northern barbarians are also human beings, with flesh and blood, and under their own gunfire, they are no different from ordinary people.

In the past, we were afraid of the northern barbarians, and the more we dared not fight them, the greater our fear became.

Now I have at least gained a lot of confidence.

The northern barbarians were all wounded, and even though there were quite a few of them, they at least had the courage to launch a surprise attack.

"There are some differences," Zhao Zheng chuckled. "This time they're on a rescue mission, we had no choice but to go, and unlike last time they didn't brazenly set up camp right under our noses, they chose to remain hidden. Sir, shall we still make our move at dawn?"

"Early morning?" Jia Chen shook his head, his face darkening. "We can't wait. We need to strike now."

"Ah!" Everyone was stunned.

A nighttime raid is the safest option, and everyone thinks the chances are very high.

But Jia Chen actually said he would make a move now. In broad daylight, there was no way to effectively conceal himself, so there was no possibility of a sneak attack; it was a direct frontal assault.

They dared to launch a sneak attack, but they didn't dare to launch a direct assault on the northern barbarians.

Even though Wang Baisheng and his team had gained a lot of confidence, they were still not this confident.

"We don't know when the northern barbarians will return from their southward advance, and waiting until dawn will introduce too many uncertainties." Jia Chen took a deep breath. "Once they return, we'll have no chance. At least we can be certain that they're not coming back now, and this is our best opportunity. What? You're afraid to face the northern barbarians directly during the day?"

"My lord, I, Wang Baisheng, have killed many uninjured Northern barbarians before. So what if these wounded ones outnumber us?" Wang Baisheng drew his long sword. "I just sharpened my sword. I was worried about not being able to cut down the Northern barbarians. Now I finally have the chance."

"I'm not telling you to use swords, but to use cannons, three-barreled guns, and muskets. We can kill the Northern barbarians from a distance. Why risk your lives against them? Our lives are more precious than the Northern barbarians'," Jia Chen said in a deep voice. "Using swords is a last resort. Bring the Tiger Crouching Cannon."

"My lord, do you mean to use the field battle formation we trained before?" Huang Xiuer asked, a thought flashing through her mind.

"That's right, this is the first time we've faced the Northern barbarians head-on. I hope we won't disappoint you," Jia Chen said coldly. "If we fail, none of us will escape death."

"Sir, I understand." Wang Baisheng said solemnly, "I will definitely obey your orders, fire the cannons well, and will no longer underestimate firearms."

"Okay, I'll call roll now..."

In the end, Jia Chen brought all 450 able-bodied men with him, while Sun Tiechong and a hundred or so elderly and weak men stayed behind to guard Qianshan Fort.

Besides leaving the four heavy breech-loading cannons on the city wall, Jia Chen also left behind the eight tiger-squatting cannons that Liu Tianwang had given him, as well as ten three-eyed muskets.

Although the front mountain fort is unlikely to be attacked at the moment, as long as we finish our work and return to the front mountain fort in time, there will be no problem.

But Jia Chen didn't want Qianshan Fort to be completely defenseless.

Those who remained were mostly old and weak, but they all knew how to operate the cannon and the three-barreled gun to some extent.

As long as the northern barbarians are not too numerous, they can still make some show of force by using firearms.

The other 48 tiger-squatting cannons, 50 three-eyed muskets, and all the arquebuses were taken out of the city by Jia Chen.

Of course, there were also swordsmen, spearmen, and shieldmen.

In the field, pikemen and shield bearers are the last line of defense for firearm units.

Faced with the charge of the Northern barbarian cavalry, they were able to provide protection for the firearms unit, buying them time to fire their weapons.

The formation is similar to Qi Shaobao's Mandarin Duck Formation, except that it includes the Tiger Crouching Cannon.

In short, firearms were combined with spears and shields.

After all, current firearms cannot achieve truly continuous and uninterrupted firing; some coordination is required.

For Jia Chen, this was a huge gamble.

They gambled on defeating the Northern cavalry in open battle.

Of course, even though it was a high-stakes gamble, Jia Chen had calculated the odds of winning, and the chances were quite high.

Therefore, Jia Chen mobilized almost all the forces of Qianshan Fort to fight a decisive battle against the Northern barbarians in the camp.

Even though the Northern barbarians were injured, Jia Chen still went all out and dared not be careless in the slightest.

Abunae drifted off to sleep, the pain from his injuries making it difficult for him to truly fall asleep.

But he hadn't slept for long when he was woken up by a huge noise outside.

"Taiji, something bad has happened! The Great Hong Army is heading towards the camp!" a subordinate shouted as he entered the tent.

"What? How many men?" Abunai was shocked, and his previously confused mind immediately cleared up.

"More than four hundred people!"

"More than four hundred people?" Abunai's eyes widened.

"It's that group of Da Hong soldiers from Qianshan Fort."

After confirming it several times, Abunai's face was filled with murderous intent.

That brat Jia Chen is going too far!

Four hundred men dared to come to our camp. Even if some wounded were left here, what difficulty would it be to deal with four hundred Da Hong soldiers?

Once outside the city, those Great Hong soldiers become prey for the tribe's warriors.

With the help of his men, Abunai left the main tent. He wanted to personally command and watch the warriors slaughter the Great Hong Army at Qianshan Fort.

Those of his men who were less seriously injured but still able to fight had already been gathered, totaling more than 650 people.

"Warriors, take your bows and scimitars, mount your warhorses, and trample that damned Great Hong army into mincemeat!" Abunai shouted, enduring the pain. "It would be best to spare that Jia Chen; I want to skin him alive with my own hands."

Abunai couldn't forget Jia Chen.

More than 650 cavalrymen roared out of the camp and headed straight for the Da Hong army, which was several miles away.

After leaving Qianshan Fort, Jia Chen and his men headed at full speed toward the Northern Barbarian camp.

It was daytime, and their actions were impossible to hide from the Northern Barbarian scouts, nor did they intend to conceal them.

It's likely that the Northern Barbarians never expected that Qianshan Fort would send troops, and they only discovered it when Jia Chen and his group arrived five miles away.

Finally, Jia Chen ordered everyone to stop three miles from the Northern Enemy camp and begin to form ranks and deploy.

Shield bearers and pikemen advanced, while firearms, tiger-squatting cannons, arquebusiers, and three-eyed musketeers followed behind.

The cannonballs and gunpowder were placed in safe locations, everything was ready, and they were just waiting for the northern cavalry to approach.

When the cavalry had charged a mile away, they immediately split into two groups and surrounded Jia Chen and his men from the left and right, quickly trapping them in the middle.

One of the leaders shouted a few times, and then the cavalrymen shouted back.

With a clatter of hooves, the northern cavalry began their full-scale attack, kicking up a cloud of snow.

They charged in from all directions simultaneously.

"First team, fire!" Huang Xiuer shouted.

Although the Northern Barbarian cavalry attacked simultaneously, there was still one side with more troops, which was directly in front of them, towards the Northern Barbarian camp.

After the arquebusiers fired three rounds, the Northern cavalrymen ignored their fallen comrades and continued to charge forward, quickly closing in to within 60 paces.

"fire!"

The Tiger Crouching Cannon unleashed its power, spewing flames—a rain of deadly lead bullets that filled the sky.

The warhorse was riddled with countless lead bullets, blood gushing out continuously, before it collapsed with a mournful cry.

The northern barbarians above were in no better shape; many of them were riddled with bullets, and the wounded rolled on the snow, groaning in pain.

The northern enemy finally began shooting arrows at a distance of about 50 paces, the light arrows whistling as they flew towards the soldiers' positions at Qianshan Fort.

"Raise your shields!" The shield bearers immediately raised their shields to help the firearms soldiers defend against the arrow attacks.

The filling of the pills was completed quickly, and another round began.

Abuna's face was filled with shock; he could only watch helplessly as his warrior tribesmen fell one after another.

Whenever gunfire and cannon fire rang out from the opposite side, warhorses fell to the ground and warriors bled.

How could the Da Hong Army of Qianshan Fort be so fearless of death?

In his memory, whenever his cavalry charged, the Da Hong army would usually flee in disarray, losing their armor and weapons.