serious man in the red chamber

Chapter 326 Laba Festival 3
It was getting dark again, and the cold wind that had calmed down for the day started to howl now.

Piles of bonfires were lit inside and outside the camp, illuminating the surrounding area.

The lights in the Chinese army's tent were lit as usual.

Two large basins of charcoal were burning redly, as warm as spring.

It was very quiet inside the tent, except for the occasional crackling sound of charcoal burning.

At this time, Jia Hu was sitting in front of the big case, looking through Xie Qiong's military report. A band was tied around his head, and his face was still a little gloomy. After a while, he closed the military report and said to Xie Qiong and others: "This battle can be regarded as a battle." Winning a great victory not only consumed the strength of the Rakshasa people, but also realized the pre-war deployment, thank you for your hard work!"

Xie Qiong, Li Si, Wang Dalei, Yang Dayong, Zhang Cheng, Niu Ben, Jia Yun, the deputy generals of Datongwei and Xuanfu, as well as Zhao Qiang, Meng Mengmu and other Mongolian generals all replied: "Thank you for your great blessing, the commander-in-chief." Fang! I must rely on the soldiers to use their lives!"

Jia Hu waved his hand: "Sit down, sit down. This war has been going on for almost a month, and the energy of the Rakshasa people has been almost exhausted. If my calculation is good, there will be a quiet day next, let's We should also take advantage of this time to rest and reorganize the army."

Wang Dalei thought for a moment with his eyes closed, and said: "The successive great victories have boosted the morale of the army. If we don't take the initiative to attack and defeat the Rakshasa people in one go, if we are lucky, we can still capture the Rakshasa King alive."

Jia Hu didn't answer, turned to the others and asked, "What do you think?"

Everyone looked at each other, but no one said anything.

Jia Hu looked at it and asked by name: "General Xie Qiong?"

Xie Qiong stood up and replied: "What General Wang Dalei said is right. However, we still have to take the opportunity to rest and reorganize the army. First, the firearms battalion and artillery battalion consume a huge amount of ammunition and have to wait for the military supplies from the Korean army. Second, the soldiers need to rest. , many of our soldiers have suffered from frostbite, and if we delay further, there will be large-scale attrition, which will seriously affect the combat effectiveness of the army. As for the Rakshasa people, we can fight slowly and consider the long term."

Li Si continued: "General Xie Qiong's words are very reasonable. We have a steady stream of food and reinforcements, and it is the Rakshasa people who should be anxious."

Lin San spoke: "The news just came from the outpost camp. The second batch of Monan Mongolian cavalry drove cattle and sheep into Uliasutai. They are less than three days away from the main camp."

Jia Hu nodded: "These are just our guesses. Let's just arrange it like this for the time being."

Everyone answered in unison: "Yes."

Jia Hu: "This place smells like medicine, so I won't let you eat. Go back and have a rest." He then looked at Xie Qiong, "Although the Rakshasa people have retreated again, we still can't be careless in night defense."

Xie Qiong replied loudly: "Yes." He led everyone out.

Watching them go out, Lin San gave Jia Hu a bowl of hot tea and asked, "Are you hungry, Your Majesty?"

At this moment, the voice of a soldier came from outside the tent: "Your Majesty, the Xue family's uncle is here."

Jia Hu: "Oh? Let him in." After saying that, he took a sip of tea to moisten his throat.

After a while, Xue Pan slipped in through the crack in the door curtain, carrying a food box in his hand.

Xue Pan came over and placed the food box on the ground next to the big case, opened the lid, took out a porcelain cup from the food box, opened the lid, and held it in front of Jia Hu.

Jia Hu was surprised: "Eight-treasure porridge?"

Xue Pan: "Yeah." He replied and handed another spoon to Jia Hu.

Jia Hu was really pleasantly surprised. He picked up the steaming bowl of eight-treasure porridge, and the aroma hit his nostrils. He quickly took a sip and said, "Well, not bad, it tastes good," and then started eating.

Xue Pan took another bowl from the food box and handed it to Lin San.

Lin San took the bowl and asked with a smile: "How did you make this eight-treasure porridge?"

Jia Hu put down the bowl and looked at him.

Xue Pan smiled: "There are still some red dates, chestnuts, peanuts, pine nuts and lotus seeds among the dried fruits I brought. There is rice in the military camp and candy in the wounded barracks."

Lin San: "What else?"

Xue Pan blinked: "Qiying has beans and millet."

Jia Hu smiled: "Thank you for figuring it out."

Lin San also laughed. He didn't expect that Xue Pan would put the war horse's feed into it and boil it. Fortunately, he figured it out.

Jia Hu looked at Xue Pan with a smile: "It's hard for you."

Xue Pan smiled: "What's the point? We can't go into battle to kill the enemy with swords, but we can still do what we can. By the way, I asked Xue Pan to send the remaining eight-treasure porridge to Supervisor Zhao and General Xie. "

Jia Hu nodded with a smile.

Seeing the tired look on Jia Hu's face, Xue Pan hurriedly said: "I won't disturb the prince anymore. The prince should rest early."

Jia Hu: "Go. By the way, the military newspaper will be sent to Beijing tomorrow. You can write a letter and take it back."

Xue Pan was overjoyed: "Thank you, Your Majesty." He bowed his hands, said hello to Lin San, and then walked out.

Listening to the retreating footsteps outside, Jia Hu asked Lin San, "What kind of person do you think this Xue Pan is?"

Lin San drank the rest of the porridge in one gulp: "A businessman who pursues profits."

Jia Hu glanced at him and asked with a smile: "You don't look down on him so much? I just gave you eight-treasure porridge."

Lin San blushed.Jia Hu stood up: "I know that you brothers all care about your sister-in-law and will tell her about things around me, but you don't want to report everything."

Lin San lowered his head and replied: "No, I didn't report anything. I just wrote to my sister-in-law about the Xue family's affairs."

With a "hum", Jia Hu said, "I will remember your twenty military sticks first, and we will fight together next time." After saying that, he turned around and walked towards the back tent.

In a blink of an eye, it was the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month. After taking two courses of medicine, Jia Hu's illness was already at the end of his life. The military doctor told him not to risk the cold again.

But Jia Hu was worried and decided to go to the front line to inspect the military situation in person. Lin San did not dare to dissuade him, so he had to ask Jia Hu to wear thicker clothes, put on a leather robe and a large cloak, and covered his head with a hat. The group left the camp and went straight to the front line.

In the distance, more than [-] Rakshasa troops were spread out over the highlands and vast grasslands with a radius of more than ten miles.

The two armies had ceased fighting for seven days, and the several-mile-wide grassland between the two armies was covered with more than a foot of snow.

Jia Hu whipped his whip fiercely, and the horse galloped up to a high ground.

Xie Qiong, Li Si and others, as well as all the soldiers, followed closely with whips.

Jia Hu reined in the reins.

The whole group stopped.

Jia Hu took the clairvoyant eye from Lin San's hand, quickly scanned the buffer zone in front of him, and then glanced at the Rakshasa people's camp. He was slightly startled. At this time, the Rakshasa king was standing on the arrow tower, holding up the clairvoyant eye. Look this way.

Xie Qiong pointed forward, "Commander, look!"

Jia Hu looked over and saw a group of cavalry running out of the Rakshasa camp, galloping straight this way.

Lin San raised his hand.

A group of soldiers quickly rode up to meet him.

Under the attention of everyone, the officer led a Rakshasa man over.

The officer reported: "Commander, that Rakshasa man said he was here to deliver a message on the order of their king."

Jia Hu: "Oh? Let him come over."

The Rakshasa man came over, knelt down on one knee and saluted: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I bring you a message on the order of King Peter."

Your Highness?

Listening to his blunt Chinese, Jia Hu smiled in his heart and suddenly remembered: "Is your queen's name Sophia?"

The Rakshasa was slightly startled and replied, "This is the name our queen had before she converted."

Jia Hu understood that the man leading the army to fight against him was the unlucky Peter who was cuckolded and had the throne taken away from him and imprisoned to death. However, how could he inherit the throne in advance?
Not understanding, Jia Hu asked, "What are you talking about?"

The Rakshasa replied: "The final battle will take place here in three days. The loser will withdraw from this land and will never be able to set foot here again."

Xie Qiong, Li Si and others all laughed.

Jia Hu also smiled.

The Rakshasa man's face was red, his eyes were shining, and he shouted: "Your Highness, please be respectful, this is not a joke!"

Jia Hu smiled faintly: "Are you running out of food soon?"

The Rakshasa man said calmly: "It can last for ten days, but the military supplies from Moscow are already on the way."

Jia Hu looked at him deeply. Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind and asked: "Why do we need to transport grain and grass from Moscow, thousands of miles away?"

The Rakshasa man was startled and said evasively: "Your Majesty the Prince has misunderstood what I meant. The Moscow I am talking about is not the city of Moscow, but the consuls left by King Peter in Moscow. The military supplies they dispatched are on the way. ”

A glimmer of light flashed in Jia Hu's eyes. He was lying. He first mentioned Moscow subconsciously, and then emphasized that there were cronies of the unlucky Peter in Moscow. Combined with Peter's unrealistic request, hehe, it seems that something happened in Moscow. It was probably His queen who cuckolded him and gave birth to someone else's child rebelled.

Thinking of this, Jia Hu smiled and said: "In order to show sincerity, I will still be here tomorrow morning, and I will personally discuss this matter with your King Peter. What do you think?"

The Rakshasa man was silent for a moment and replied: "King Peter is ill and needs to rest for the next two days, maybe the day after tomorrow."

Jia Hu understood that Peter was going to run away tonight, so he pretended to be silent for a while and then said, "In that case, let's do it the day after tomorrow."

When the Rakshasa man heard this, he felt relieved and saluted Jia Hu: "Your Majesty, God will bless you."

Jia Hu smiled and replied: "In my country, we only believe in our ancestors and our own hands."

The Rakshasa man was startled for a moment, and then he made another nondescript Chinese salute: "Farewell." After saying that, he turned around and left.

Looking at his retreating back, Jia Hu sneered at the corner of his mouth and said loudly: "Let's go back to the camp to discuss matters!" He crossed his legs and rode his horse straight towards the camp.

Everyone quickly rode their horses to follow Jia Hu.

(End of this chapter)