King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 485 This little beast

Darza was a little panicked now because Zhu Jinghong was approaching quickly.

Wherever Zhu Jinghong went, he brought casualties with him, and it seemed that the trajectory was directed towards him. How could Darza not feel worried?

Seeing that the army was disintegrating, although Darza was unwilling, he knew it was time to make a decision, whether to hold on by himself or to withdraw immediately.

Darza was very confused. After losing so many people this time, he would have no shame in leading the army after returning in vain.

"Kill me..."

Obviously Darza still intends to give it a try. He still has unrealistic illusions about victory. This state of mind can become paranoid.

"Sir Wanhu, the Ming army is approaching, please retreat quickly!" someone beside Darza reminded.

"Am I afraid of him? Charge with me!" Darza roared.

"Master Thirteen, the other side is coming!" Zhang Zhongxiang shouted.

"General of the enemy army, you are well on your way... follow me to kill the general and seize the flag!" Zhu Jinghong shouted.

From the beginning of the charge to now, he has killed no one knows how many people. Because of his super strength, he has been skipping the whole process.

This feeling is similar to playing "mountain and slash" in his previous life, but now the effect is better, so he has more fun.

After slashing down a few more people with his sword, he was able to skip the crowd and see Darza's face in front of him.

I saw him smoothly pulling out a spear from the ground, and then throwing it towards the opposite side with all his strength.

The spear came quickly, causing Darza to quickly dodge sideways.

Thanks to his timely dodge, the spear passed by his shoulder. If he had missed it, he would have been stabbed through.

However, just after this dangerous situation passed, another horse rushed towards us.

Zhu Jinghong's tall and majestic figure made Darza involuntarily afraid, but he still mustered up the courage to fight.

"Go to hell..."

This sentence was shouted by Darza, but the next moment, he was stabbed through by Zhu Jinghong with a lance.

That's right, even Darza was wearing heavy armor. Under Zhu Jinghong's huge impact, he died completely after he shouted the last two words.

As Zhu Jinghong stabbed Darza to death, the guards who rushed in with him also began to clean up Darza's guards.

A few breaths later, Darza's flag fell down, causing a chain reaction.

The Junggar army began to flee one after another. In such a tragic situation, even the supervisory team could not stop them.

What's more, when the Junggar supervising team saw the flag falling, their morale was already unstable.

The war situation suddenly changed, and more and more people fled from the Junggar army, which finally caused the entire line to collapse.

"Sir, the enemy army has collapsed..."

"Send my order to the whole army to pursue!" Fan Changchun shouted, this is to expand the results of the battle.

When the enemy troops are fleeing, chasing them will have the greatest damage effect, but you have to be careful not to pursue them too far.

Fan Changchun knew that his men understood the importance of it, so he did not follow him, but turned around and rushed towards Zhu Jinghong.

He wanted to confirm immediately whether this man was injured, which was much more important than expanding the victory.

When Fan Changchun arrived, Zhu Jinghong was already waiting for him. Under his horse was the dead Darza, with the spear still stuck in his body.

Seeing Darza's tragic death, Fan Changchun felt sorry for this enemy for two seconds, then jumped off his horse and ran to Zhu Jinghong.

"Master Thirteen, it's okay with you!"

After taking off the blood-stained iron armor, Zhu Jinghong stretched out his hand to hold the lance, picked up Darza, and then threw him to the ground with a shake of his hand.

"I'm very fine!" Zhu Jinghong smiled.

…………

When the time came in the afternoon, the Ming army's left and right ministries had all moved closer, forming a huge cavalry regiment.

If the Junggar people did not press forward with their entire army, it would be difficult for them to pose a threat to the Ming army, so the critical situation was alleviated.

At least today, it is unlikely that a large-scale battle will break out, but the Ming army has not relaxed at all, and all departments are on high alert.

On the Junggar side, the vanguard army was maimed, and thousands of dignified households were killed on the battlefield, which dealt a heavy blow to morale.

This made the commander-in-chief, Zero, very angry, but the main person responsible, Darza, was dead, and his anger could only burn him.

As a qualified general, No. 0 quickly controlled his emotions and ordered all the ministries to rest on the spot. At the same time, he invited the generals from all ministries to come to his tent to discuss matters.

Whether or not to fight this decisive battle, how to fight...all need to be decided based on the current facts, and Number Zero also needs to listen to the opinions of his subordinates.

They were discussing matters here, and on the other side of the Ming army, Zhu Jinghong also summoned the generals to discuss matters.

At this moment, all the generals have arrived and are discussing the morning war in private.

The hottest topic among them is Zhu Jinghong's legendary record of taking the lead, leading his guards to charge in person, and stabbing the opponent Wanhu to death with one shot.

In fact, when one reaches the rank of general or commander, they rarely charge personally. Fan Changchun's participation in the battle today was forced by the situation and he had no choice.

But who is Zhu Jinghong? It is definitely a very rare thing for such a noble person to actually carry a gun and fight on the battlefield.

It was just a matter of going into battle to kill the enemy. Zhu Jinghong also achieved outrageous results. In addition to killing Darza with his own hands, hundreds of enemy soldiers died under his hands.

Only Zhu Jinghong can stab people through each other cleanly, so it is easy to count his achievements.

So at this time, no one among the generals present was dissatisfied with this man. They not only admired his courage to go into battle to kill the enemy, but also appreciated his courage to seize the opportunity to turn the tide.

The generals had this mentality, so the soldiers and officers at the bottom respected Zhu Jinghong even more.

He was already very popular, but as word of this incident spread, he would only gain more soldiers and hearts.

"Master Thirteen has arrived..."

Following a loud shout from outside the tent, the discussion in the tent suddenly stopped. Everyone stood up and glanced at the entrance of the military formation.

Zhu Jinghong has changed out of his armor and is now wearing a black round-neck robe embroidered with dragons, showing his majesty in his simplicity.

Behind him were Fan Changchun, commander of Zhenwei Central Guard, Yang Longshan, commander of Qinghai Xingdu Division, and Zhou Quanhui, commander of Anxi Xingdu Division.

"See Thirteenth Master!"

"Well... everyone, please get up!" Zhu Jinghong said in a calm tone.

Although everyone was as respectful as usual, Zhu Jinghong still felt that it was slightly different from before.

After returning to the main seat, Zhu Jinghong motioned for everyone to sit down and said: "Everyone...the morning's discussion is not over yet, let's continue now!"

How to allocate troops and how to alternately retreat later are indeed issues that still need to be discussed.

Ye Hemingen from the Jurchen tribe below stood up and asked: "Thirteenth Master, now that our army has won a great victory, do we still want to retreat?"

He had been quite panicked before, but now that he had achieved such a great victory, he felt that he could have a try with the Junggar people.

Ye Hemingen's question also brought out the thoughts of many generals.

Of course, these people did not want to collide with the Dzungars, but felt that they could continue to confront them and try not to retreat if they could.

After all, no matter what the reason is, retreating will eventually lead to the risk of being punished, not to mention a big victory now.

"Everyone... are all the tribes under your jurisdiction as brave as Zhenwei Zhongwei?"

Just one sentence choked everyone.

"The victory in the morning cannot change the situation where the enemy is strong and we are weak. Naturally, it is better to retreat later!"

"I'm talking nonsense!" Ye Hemingen immediately apologized.

Zhu Jinghong just waved his hand and motioned for him to sit back down.

Next, everyone gathered together to discuss matters. After about half an hour of debate, everything was finally settled.

After the meeting, various orders have been issued, and it stands to reason that it should be dispersed at this time.

However, Zhu Jinghong didn't say anything, so everyone had to sit and wait.

"Governor Ning had previously ordered the Anxi capital to move south, but so far they are still trapped in Zhasak and other three countries..."

"What I mean is that even if Governor Ning's previous military order is cancelled, Anxi's capital will still focus on pacifying Zhasak and other countries!"

"What do you think?" Zhu Jinghong glanced at everyone. The main reason for letting Wang Ziteng continue to pacify Zhasak was to make it impossible for him to join forces, and secondly to serve Zhu Jinghong's thousands of miles of war.

If Wang Ziteng stabilizes Zhasak and other countries, especially the Tushetu Khanate, it will provide a stable flank for his transition strategy and deliver a steady stream of supplies.

From this perspective, the main force of the northwest army moved northward to achieve the result of a combined attack.

No one objected, which was equivalent to approval, so Zhu Jinghong didn't ask any more questions.

"General Zhou..." Zhu Jinghong glanced at Zhou Quanhui.

"I'm here!" Zhou Quanhui stood up quickly.

"Go and tell Wang Ziteng personally about this matter, and ask him to stabilize the situation and focus the counter-rebellion on the Tushetu Khanate!"

"Thirteenth Master, if I leave, the ministries on the northern front..." Zhou Quanhui grasped the key to the problem.

The tribes on the northern front, mainly the Mongolian and Jurchen tribes, have a combined strength of nearly 15,000, and are now all under the command of Zhou Quanhui.

"As for the northern route..." Zhu Jinghong looked like he was thinking, but actually he already had a plan in mind.

"Let Sun Shaozu keep an eye on the northern line!"

Zhu Jinghong's words surprised everyone at the scene. After all, Sun Shaozu was just a casualty now, how could he be directly placed in such a high position.

Even Sun Shaozu himself, who was watching, felt that this was too outrageous.

He did have merit, and it was the great contribution that brought Zhu Jinghong to power.

But these are things that cannot be discussed with others. If we really talk about it, it will not only be treason, but also will cut him off from the noble group. No one can protect him.

Even Zhu Jinghong, who benefited the most, would immediately draw a clear line with him and even execute him directly.

Every time he thought of this, Sun Shaozu tossed and turned and felt a chill on his back.

The reason he was promoted several levels today was because his abilities were recognized... Sun Shaozu thought to himself.

Although he really wanted to get this position, Sun Shaozu knew that he should be humble.

However, before he could leave, Zhu Jinghong continued: "He was originally the commander of the Yongning Guards of the Anxi capital. He was at the forefront for many years and knew the Junggars well...

"Let him command several armies on the northern front. I think it's more than enough!"

Zhu Jinghong suppressed his smile and glanced at everyone present: "What do you think?"

Everyone lowered their heads, but it was Ye Hemingen from the Jurchen Ministry who spoke up: "Whatever the Thirteenth Master says, I and other countries can just listen to it. Why ask these words!"

His words attracted responses from Su He and several others, creating a situation of "agreement".

"General Zhou, what do you think?" Zhu Jinghong looked at Zhou Quanhui.

To be honest, Zhu Jinghong is not very kind if he wants to send people away after being dismissed.

"I accept your order!" Zhou Quanhui felt extremely helpless.

"After you go back, tell Wang Ziteng that you will follow my words... and you will lead the troops to pacify the Tuxietu Khanate!"

This can be regarded as giving a sweet date with a stick. Zhou Quanhui knew Zhu Jinghong's grand strategy, so he understood the important role of pacifying Tuxie Tu.

If this matter is done well, it will be a great achievement of Zhou Quanhui, provided that Zhu Jinghong's strategy can be effectively implemented.

"I accept the order and will definitely live up to the great trust of the Thirteenth Master!"

Nodding, Zhu Jinghong looked at Sun Shaozu again, and then called his name.

Sun Shaozu responded and stood in front of Zhu Jinghong with his waist bent.

"From now on, you will take over the command of Zhou Douzhi!"

"I accept your order!" Sun Shaozu bowed respectfully.

His previous highest position, Sun Shaozu, was only the commander of the First Guard, which was two levels behind Zhou Quanhui.

When he reached the senior military attache level, promotion at each level was extremely difficult, but Sun Shaozu was promoted to two levels in a row, which made him more determined to pursue his ambition.

At this time, he also knew very well that although he was promoted twice in a row, it was essentially only relying on Zhu Jinghong's support, and it was a temporary expedient.

If he wants to truly secure his position and gain recognition from the court, he must fight a few good battles.

"Today's discussion ends here, let's disperse!"

So everyone said goodbye and left, starting to implement Zhu Jinghong's strategy.

…………

On August 18, the capital was banned.

In the Kunning Palace, the emperor and the empress were having a meal, enjoying the tranquility of the couple alone.

"By the way, do you still remember that incident with the Jia family?"

"Yeah!" Zhu Xianming responded.

"The child has recovered, and the Jia family has expelled him from the house. They are still informed!" Yang Qingyin said calmly.

The "child" she was talking about was Jia Baoyu, who was beaten so badly that he had to be raised for a month before he could go to the ground.

When the incident first happened, despite the pressure from the East Palace and Prince Xiang's Palace, Prince Rui's Palace still learned the news, causing quite a disturbance later on.

Ning Rong and his wife had no choice but to go to the Qianqing Gate to plead guilty. Jia Jing and Jia She knelt outside the gate until they fainted, and then they were sent back to the mansion by the palace officials.

Then Zhu Xianming issued an order to reduce the title of Rong Guofu by one level again on the grounds that the Jia family was not strict in running the family and violated the holy will.

Jia She changed from a first-class son to a second-class viscount, and his rank was even lowered six levels in a row. The first-class Shenwei General became the second-class Anguo General.

As a result, Zhu Xianming considered that the prince was weak and did not deal with the Jia family too harshly. Otherwise, the prince's mentality would collapse and it would be very detrimental to the court.

The emperor issued the decree, and the matter was settled.

As for the culprit Jia Baoyu, even with Jia Mu's efforts to protect him, he still could not avoid being kicked out.

At this moment, everyone in the Jia family was full of hostility towards him, wishing that he, the loser, would die immediately.

"In my opinion, people like this who don't know the heights of heaven and earth should be strangled to death!" Zhu Xianming said calmly.

Yang Qingyin persuaded: "If he really dies, it will be difficult for the Thirteenth Family to meet the Crown Princess. This result will not make it difficult for them!"

"So I say that the fourth daughter-in-law is short-sighted and cannot see through the overall situation. Even..."

At the end of his speech, Zhu Xianming stopped abruptly, but Yang Qingyin knew what he wanted to say.

"What? You can't even bear to part with your brother?" Yang Qingyin said angrily.

"Lao Shisan's daughter-in-law can even reprimand and punish her brother, and controls her to know the rules and advance and retreat. Now she can serve the court!"

Whether Baochai withdrew the hidden land, or later taught Xue Pan to follow the right path, or even ordered someone to punish his brother with a stick a month ago... Zhu Xianming knew all these things.

At this time, Yang Qingyin didn't want to argue with Zhu Xianming, so she changed the subject and said, "Now you are satisfied with your thirteenth daughter-in-law. Back then you wanted to abolish her princess!"

"This girl understands things better than..."

Before Zhu Xianming could finish speaking, Cheng Ying's voice came from outside.

"Your Majesty, the Northwest Governor's Office has an urgent military situation!"

"Bring it here!" Zhu Xianming put down his chopsticks.

Military information comes back from the northwest every day, but it is not always called urgent military information. Every time they encounter Zhu Xianming, they will deal with it in time.

Taking the letter from Cheng Ying, Zhu Xianming read it carefully.

After a few breaths, seeing Zhu Xianming's expression change drastically, Yang Qingyin quickly asked: "What's going on?"

"Ning Huanxiang is dead. He was attacked and killed by... without any bones left!"

"How about the front line? How is the battle situation?" Yang Qingyin asked the most important question.

Zhu Xianming turned the page and read down, and then his expression became even more exciting.

Seeing Yang Longshan resign, Zhu Xianming sneered: "Yang Longshan is somewhat self-aware..."

But when he saw what happened next, he couldn't laugh anymore.

"This little beast...how dare he!" Zhu Xianming was furious.

(End of this chapter)