The First Family of the Red Mansion

Chapter 12 Breakthrough

At the front of the Great Zhou army, Jia Daishan, holding his telescope, saw that Liu Hu was now less than ten feet away from the city wall, and couldn't help but feel excited.

If Liu Hu can climb onto the city wall and create a breach, then Zhou's army can use the breach to launch a full-scale attack into the pass and completely capture Wushaoguan.

Suddenly, he saw the Oirat man on the city wall thrust out a flaming oil canister at Liu Hu, and his heart jumped into his throat.

"Charge!"

At this moment, Liu Hu also noticed the nozzle aimed at him. Not only that, he also heard the sound of the winch on the city wall. At this moment, the hairs on his body stood on end, and an unprecedented sense of crisis instantly filled his entire body.

"ha!"

At this moment, Liu Hu seemed to unleash all his potential. He knew that if he stayed here any longer, he would either be roasted alive or smashed into mincemeat.

With a push of his feet, the horizontal pillar of the ladder beneath him snapped, and his body soared into the air.

He threw away his shield mid-air, grabbed the top of the wall with both hands, and flipped up.

"They went up there?!"

At that moment, the soldiers in front of Zhou's army immediately roared, "Victory to Great Zhou! General, you are mighty!"

Although not everyone knows who the vanguard was, at this moment everyone doesn't mind calling him a general.

The soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion were even more excited at this moment, charging forward with reckless abandon.

Because they all knew that this was their only chance, and if they failed to climb up before the pioneers fell, they would pay an even heavier price.

As far as the eye could see, there were people everywhere, and spears and swords were thrusting and slashing from all directions.

Liu Hu had no time to spare; he was only wielding his knife to slash at the people rushing towards him, his last shred of consciousness focused on protecting his vitals.

He didn't know how many enemies he had killed, nor how many wounds he had sustained, but his consciousness was gradually fading, and his strength was rapidly depleting.

When no more enemies rushed at him, everything went black...

He was exhausted, extremely exhausted, so exhausted that he couldn't even lift his eyelids.

It hurts, I don't know where it hurts, but my whole body hurts.

Liu Hu seemed to have a long dream, a dream filled with skyscrapers, cars, and high-speed trains.

All he wanted to do was lie in his little apartment, happily scrolling through videos and drinking soda, when he accidentally saw a figure from the Dream of the Red Chamber begging for food at the Jia family mansion with his seven or eight-year-old grandson. Liu Hu was suddenly shocked...

Yes, those are my mother and nephew; I have to go back.

"One hundred households! One hundred households..."

Liu Hu seemed to hear the shouts in his ear. He struggled to open his eyes, and a thin face slowly became clear.

"water!"

Liu Hu mumbled something, then tried to smile at the man, but he couldn't even manage such a simple gesture; he could only twitch the corner of his mouth slightly.

"He's awake! Lord Centurion is awake!" The man was taken aback at first, then excitedly shouted behind him.

While shouting, he picked up a bowl of water and gently smeared it on Liu Hu's lips.

All Liu Hu wanted to do was drink water in big gulps, but there was nothing he could do. He could only purse his lips to make his mouth feel a little better.

He seemed to hear a noise, but his head was throbbing and he was exhausted, so he didn't have time to see his surroundings clearly before falling asleep again.

Jia Daishan had already arrived. He looked haggard, glanced at Liu Hu lying on the bed, and then asked the people around him.

"Has Commander Liu just woken up?"

"Yes!!" Hu Cunmeng nodded excitedly: "The centurion did wake up once just now, and I even fed him water."

"Good!" At this moment, Jia Daishan felt much more relaxed. Although he had appeared very determined before, he knew that if Liu Hu really died here this time, even if the emperor didn't say anything, he would inevitably have some opinions.

After all, he also has the ambition to catch up with his father and ancestors. If he wants to realize this ambition, he needs to have his own team in the military.

After all, Emperor Taizu had founding heroes, and Emperor Taizong had meritorious officials from the Northern Expedition. If he didn't have his own direct descendants, no matter how great his achievements were, the historical records would say that he only inherited his ancestors' legacy, and his reputation would be greatly diminished.

Liu Hu is the person chosen today.

Although he was also a member of the imperial faction, he was still rooted in the founding lineage.

"How is Liu Baihu doing?" Jia Daishan asked anxiously after the doctor finished examining Liu Hu.

"The situation has improved, and as long as the wound doesn't worsen, there's no danger."

After speaking, the doctor gently shook his head, clicking his tongue in amazement: "I have been practicing medicine for decades, and this is the first time I have ever seen someone with such severe injuries still be saved."

The others ignored what he said next, and only heard that Liu Hu's condition had improved, so they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, everyone stop crowding here. Leave one person here to take care of your centurion; the rest of you, disperse."

Jia Daishan said something to the people there, and then left in a hurry.

More than half a month has passed since the siege. Since capturing Wushao Pass, with the support of Han people in various parts of the Hexi Corridor, the Great Zhou army has been advancing unstoppably. As the commander-in-chief of the western expedition, he has too many things to deal with.

"My lord, how is Commander Liu doing?"

Just as Jia Daishan returned to his command tent, Zhang Wannian rushed in.

Looking at Zhang Wannian, whose upper body was wrapped in bandages and whose face was mostly covered, Jia Daishan felt a mix of emotions.

Of his three personal guards, Jia Dun was killed in battle, Sun Yijie lost an arm, and Zhang Wannian was also seriously wounded.

Of the 280 personal guards who accompanied him on the expedition, only 23 survived the battle.

After all, Liu Hu had already stormed the city walls, so the vanguard had to fight to the death to buy time for the main force.

Despite the desperate resistance of the vanguard battalion, they managed to hold out until the main force reached the city wall, but the vanguard battalion also suffered heavy casualties.

Of the 4,500 men in the vanguard, less than 300 survived, truly less than one in ten.

"Report..."

Just as Zhang Wannian was about to ask something, a messenger suddenly came to report, so he cupped his hands to Jia Daishan and withdrew.

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, His Highness the Prince has sent back a battle report: the army has captured Ganzhou and is currently advancing towards Suzhou."

"The vanguard reported that cavalry from the Oirat Khoshut and Durbet tribes had appeared near Jiayuguan, and that a coalition of over 100,000 Oirat tribes had entered the Hexi Corridor and was advancing toward Jiayuguan."

Jia Daishan was not surprised at all by this situation.

Given the deep-seated hatred between the two sides, it would be abnormal for the other four Oirat tribes not to take action after knowing the current situation of the Khoshut tribe.

Since the Great Zhou army entered the Hexi Corridor, the Han people in various places seemed to have gained confidence and turned against the Zhou.

The way the Great Zhou army dealt with the Hui Te tribe seemed to prove that the worst-case scenario they had anticipated had occurred.

After all, they knew what they had done in the Central Plains back then. Only a little over sixty years had passed, and they remembered it, and it seemed that the people of the Great Zhou had not forgotten it either.

They all understood the principle of mutual dependence: if the Zhou army completely occupied the Hexi Corridor, they could then march west to the Western Regions, south to the plateau, and north to attack the Tianshan Mountains.

The Great Zhou will definitely settle accounts with them one by one for what they did in the Central Plains.

"Then we'll wipe out the main force of the Oirat Mongols in one fell swoop at Jiayuguan."

"Order all units to move their troops to Suzhou in three days."

"yes!"

With Jia Daishan's order, all the troops stationed in Liangzhou, except for the army protecting the grain supply lines, sprang into action.

After three days, Liu Hu fully regained consciousness. After waking up, to the astonishment of those around him, Liu Hu's injuries healed rapidly.

Jia Daishan originally wanted Liu Hu to stay here to recover from his injuries, but Liu Hu was unwilling to do so.

He knew that after this western expedition, the Great Zhou would not have a military operation of this scale for at least the next ten years or so—not because it was unwilling, but because it could not afford to fight.

This western expedition has almost emptied the treasury of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Who knows if the emperor will still have the same ambitions by then?

After all, when the Dream of the Red Chamber story began, the Nine Borders seemed to be in disarray again, and the rise of the Zhen family in Jiangnan was also due to the Emperor's four trips to Jiangnan.

In the decades that followed, the emperor went on tours of the south and built palaces, and then the crown prince rebelled.

If we save up any money, it will probably all be spent on this, so where will we find the supplies for the northern expedition?

If they don't seize this opportunity to gain enough merit in the western expedition, when will the Liu family ever rise to prominence? Or will they just be stuck with a lowly Yunqiwei rank when the story begins?

If that's the case, then the Twelve Beauties and their secondary beauties will have nothing to do with the Liu family anymore.

You might not need it yourself by then, but you still have your children and grandchildren. After all, it's better to keep the good stuff within the family.

Liu Hu felt that his only flaw was his kind heart; he couldn't bear to see those delicate beauties end up with tragic fates, their beauty fading away like withered flowers.

He really went all out to save them.

After Liu Hu insisted repeatedly, Jia Daishan had no choice but to set off with him.

It took the army a full half-month to travel from Liangzhou to Ganzhou, leaving Liu Hu somewhat speechless.

It took the Great Zhou more than half a month to occupy these places, and the army would take half a month to march. So the Hui Te tribe surrendered at the mere sight of them?

After investigation, it turned out that the Huit tribe hadn't surrendered at the first sign of trouble; they had simply run away.

After receiving news that the Great Zhou was about to launch a western expedition, the various Oirat tribes formed an alliance.

Originally, the various tribes planned to jointly defend Wushao Pass, but this meant that the Khoshut tribe would have to be responsible for the majority of the food supplies, since the other tribes were too far away. Although the Khoshut tribe was nearby, the Qilian Mountains were also blocking their way.

The Huit tribe was naturally unwilling and could not afford such a large amount of food and supplies.

However, the various tribes also asked them to abandon the eastern Hexi Corridor and jointly defend Jiayuguan. The Khoshut tribe was unwilling to accept this, so they wanted to take a gamble by relying on the strategic advantage of Wushaoguan, while the other tribes waited for orders west of Yumenguan.

If the Huit tribe holds the line, everyone will be happy; if they can't, they'll proceed according to the original plan.

After the Great Zhou army captured Wushaoguan, the elite troops of the Khoshut tribe suffered heavy losses. They had no choice but to abandon the eastern Hexi Corridor and retreat to Jiayuguan, awaiting the arrival of the allied forces of other tribes, as planned.

Because once the Great Zhou occupies the entire Hexi Corridor, their own forces will directly face the Great Zhou's military might.

After understanding the situation, Liu Hu shook his head and smiled. This Prince of Xining was indeed cunning and shrewd.

After Wushaoguan Pass was breached, he saw that the Great Zhou's recapture of the Hexi Corridor was a foregone conclusion, so he took over the task of the vanguard, intending to increase his bargaining power by taking advantage of the recapture of the Hexi Corridor.

Little did he know that the more he acted this way, the more distrustful the imperial court became of him.

You're already a hereditary prince, why do you still want military merits? What are you planning to do?

Jia Daishan also understood that the Prince of Xiping's actions would only strengthen the court's resolve to punish him.

But given what had happened before, he couldn't offer much advice. Refusing would offend people, so he figured it was better to just let it be.

Along the way, there were jubilant Han Chinese following Zhou's army everywhere. Those Zhou soldiers who stayed behind would distribute fields and pastures to them. Some Han Chinese were accompanied by a Mongolian woman holding a baby.

Anyone who crosses the wheel will be executed!

The thought flashed through Liu Hu's mind: the Oirat men who couldn't escape, except for the infants, had probably already gone to serve their eternal heaven.

Upon arriving in Suzhou, the main army had just joined forces with the vanguard led by the Prince of Xining when Gushi Khan, the Great Khan of the Oirat Mongols, sent a letter inviting Jia Daishan to a meeting at the pass.

"To go or not to go?"

In the central command tent, after showing everyone the letter sent by Gushi Khan, Jia Daishan looked around with a solemn expression, unable to make up his mind.

"Go, or it will seem like our Great Zhou is afraid of them."

Seeing that no one responded, Zhao Zhong stood up and waved his hand, saying...

"We can't go. If the Oirats try something, the hundreds of thousands of soldiers here will be in danger." Someone else immediately objected.

Once someone spoke up, the other generals in the command tent also chimed in, some in favor of going, some against it, and for a moment no one could convince anyone else.

Only Prince Xining and Jia Daishan remained silent. One was the commander-in-chief, and the other was the deputy commander-in-chief. Whether to go or not would ultimately be up to them to decide.

"Prince of Xining, what are your thoughts?"

Seeing that he didn't speak, Jia Daishan took the initiative to ask.

The Prince of Xining was inwardly cursing, "What does it matter to me whether you go or not?"

If Jia Daishan agrees to attend the meeting and dies there, the western expedition will be abandoned halfway. He will still be the pillar of the Great Zhou Dynasty, supporting the sea and the sky.

It would be better if Jia Daishan didn't agree, as he couldn't escape the responsibility of damaging the reputation of the Great Zhou.

At that time, he only needs to go with the flow to undermine Jia Daishan's prestige in the army.

If it's advantageous to me from both sides, why bother speaking up?

In situations like this, the best choice is to do nothing and say nothing.

"The decision rests with the Commander-in-Chief!"

But the Prince of Xining was no pushover either, and he kicked the trouble back to him.

At this moment, all the generals in the command tent fell silent and looked at the two commanders.

Jia Daishan didn't actually intend to seize upon the mistakes of the Prince of Xining to cause trouble.

After all, a decisive battle with the Oirat Mongols was imminent, and at this crucial moment, there couldn't be any discord among the generals and commanders on our side.

The reason I asked him was to get his opinion as the deputy commander.

Since he's misunderstood and doesn't intend to get involved, he can do things his own way.