King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 598 The east wind blows flowers and thousands of trees on a night

On the seventh day of October, the sun sets over the western mountains.

Pu Jun's lips were chapped and his eyes were bloodshot. He was holding hard dry food in his hand, tearing it into small pieces and putting them into his mouth one by one.

For six consecutive days from the second day of October to now, they suffered shelling, arrow rain, storming and cavalry harassment.

Although most of the time the thunder is loud and the rain is small, at least if they react a little slower, the so-called feint attack may turn into a real attack, bringing them great danger.

Although they held on to the top of the mountain for six days, the losses were also very heavy, with more than 2,000 casualties in total.

Of course, since there are many troops stationed in Changyuan City, reinforcements are added almost every day, and at the same time, they also bring the supplies needed on the mountain.

The original commander of Yuandong Mountain also left the mountain due to physical reasons. Now the four thousand men stationed on the mountain are all commanded by Pu Junda.

In less than two months, he was promoted from a white body to the command level. This is a promotion speed that neither team in North Korea can match.

On the one hand, times create heroes, and on the other hand, Park Jundae is indeed capable, otherwise the benefit of losing his head would not be his turn.

He had this mentality, and his soldiers were even more desperate.

"General, it's bad...the Jurchen cavalry is coming from the northeast!"

Then, he opened the second letter inside, and the content inside was written by Li Xuan.

Putting the letter away and putting it in his arms, Pu Junda was about to say something, when suddenly an explosion occurred not far away.

He first arranged the defense on the west side, and then rushed to the northeast side with a few personal guards. He would not be at ease unless he personally supervised the battle.

In fact, Li Xuan was willing to take the initiative, but firstly he could not trust the Japanese in the city, and secondly, he was afraid that a big defeat outside the city would lead to an early collapse.

Regarding the fact that the Ming army had been stationed at the foot of the mountain, Pu Junda had suggested to Li Xuan many times that he should go out of the city to make a surprise attack when the Ming army attacked.

"Have the new arrivals settled in?"

The only problem is that Yuandong Mountain is not high enough, otherwise the artillery would never be able to hit it.

The leading troops of the Ming army camped five to six hundred meters below the mountain and could launch attacks on the mountain at any time.

It's just that no matter how firm his will is, after being tortured continuously these days, he has become desperate and depressed.

In fact, it was not only the constant harassment of the Ming army that led to this result. The bad weather and unstable supplies were also important reasons that damaged the morale of the military.

Besides, on the mountain, because he had mastered the tactics of the Ming army, Pu Junda quietly hid behind the stone, thinking about mentioning the idea of ​​going out to fight in the city when he would reply to the prince later.

Compared to his current family of thousands, receiving a title is tantamount to another leap in life. By then, an ordinary family like his can also be ranked in the second class.

Unfortunately, he made several suggestions but received no response.

"We have all settled down and are now helping to make dinner!"

These days, being bombarded continuously made Pu Junda full of yearning for firearms. He just regretted that there was no artillery fire available.

They were blocked on the top of the mountain. Although they built simple camps, they were often damaged by artillery. These places could be broken through by cavalry.

"Enemy attack, be on guard..." Pu Jun roared angrily.

The artillery of the North Korean army was all placed on the wall of Changyuan City, and no matter how much he asked for it, he couldn't get a single one.

Although supplies are delivered every day, the food transport team is the main target of the Jurchen cavalry, resulting in insufficient supplies on the mountain every time.

Since the fall of Ping An Road, Park Junda's mentality has collapsed.

When Pu Junda was thinking, a voice suddenly came from behind him: "Sir, a letter has arrived!"

"Don't you need money for Akito's cannonballs?"

Even if it cannot achieve results, it can at least boost the morale of the army and prevent it from being passively beaten all the time.

After opening the letter, there turned out to be another letter inside, but it was written by his father, saying that the government had rewarded him with land, cattle and sheep, and now his family had become the envy of the whole village.

But right now, Pu Junda's expression only showed exhaustion, and there was only despair in the depths of his eyes.

What's even worse is that the winds and snows on the mountains are getting heavier and heavier. With insufficient food and drink supplies, people suffer from frostbite or freeze to death every day.

When he knew that the enemy he faced was only a third-rate army of the Ming Army, he lost much confidence in defeating the Ming Army. He knew that North Korea's defeat would be a matter of time.

"Ok!"

The letter from his family gave Pu Junda comfort. At least from the perspective of protecting his family, he must do his best to stop the Ming army.

Putting aside these messy thoughts, Pu Junda and the soldier who delivered the message quickly hid behind the big rock. The next moment, countless artillery shells were dropped around them.

The letter talked about other situations in the family and that everything was developing for the good. The Park family also warned him that he must work hard to kill the enemy in order to repay the king's love and care.

But he didn't know that just two hundred meters down from the rock where he was, there were already three hundred Ming troops covered in white cloth, quietly heading up the mountain.

Having been in a state of panic for six or seven days in a row, these people were on the verge of collapse, and a defeat could happen at any time when Park Jun came.

"When the Ming army is defeated, His Highness will confer a title on me..."

The Jurchen cavalry were all like demons from hell. Every attack would bring huge casualties, so Pu Junda couldn't sit still at this moment.

Slowly turning around, Pu Junda took the letter and realized that it was from the crown prince Li Xuan.

But for the sake of his dead brother and to protect the interests of tax exemption, he is still willing to take up arms to fight the enemy.

Even though life and death were at stake right now, and ordinary things could hardly tempt him, Pu Junda was still excited when he heard that he could be knighted.

In the letter, Li Xuan first affirmed his difficulties, and then encouraged him to be more patient. As long as he perseveres, he will definitely usher in a turn for the better.

The person leading the team is Beiping Guards Qianhu Xia Yang. This time he is determined to win with his elite men.

The last time Anzhou surrendered without a fight, his military achievements were in vain, so this time he tried his best to seize the opportunity, and only got the chance to board today because of Cai Chuansheng's recommendation.

Xia Yang was unwilling to settle for the ordinary. This time Zhu Jinghong personally led the troops to fight, which was an opportunity for him to change his fate against the odds.

As long as Zhu Jinghong can take notice of him and take him to Beijing to arrange a position, Xia Yangke will be on the fast track of life.

"Gently touch it up, don't be too hasty...drink the wine slowly, don't finish it immediately!"

Drinking wine to warm up, so these three hundred people were allotted.

In order to provide cover for them, not only the Jurchen cavalry made a surprise attack in the northeast, but the Yuanxi Mountain on the other side had also been bombarded. The artillery bombardment caused a large area of ​​snowflakes to block the view.

The same goes for Xia Yang. The artillery fire flying over their heads and the falling snowflakes are also cover for them.

These days, all feint attacks were kept in the open, and for seven or eight days they finally managed to confuse the North Korean army. At this moment, the people defending the west side just took a cursory look and found that no enemy troops were coming up, so they hid from the artillery fire.

Two hundred meters...one hundred and fifty...one hundred and three...one hundred...eighty...

After Xia Yang and others advanced more than halfway, the artillery behind them stopped one after another because their safety could no longer be guaranteed.

Fortunately, the smoke was lingering and the snowflakes were still spreading, so they would not be discovered for the time being.

Everyone continued to climb up. The North Korean side was afraid that the Ming Dynasty artillery would kill them with "returning rifles", but still few people dared to show their heads. At this moment, Xia Yang and others had reached 20 meters outside the camp. At this time, they were not in a hurry to take action.

Because next, the Ming army would conduct shelling from the north, which once again attracted the attention of the North Korean defenders, and that was when they launched their attack.

Besides, at the foot of the mountain, Zhu Jinghong stood in the artillery position, holding a telescope to observe the situation on the mountain. Behind him were Cai Chuansheng and other senior generals.

Although the sun has set now, there is snow everywhere, making the sky and earth look very bright, but no matter how he looks, he can't see any trace of Xia Yang and others.

"It seems that tonight... it will be decided in one battle!" Zhu Jinghong said with a smile.

"We have been fighting for seven or eight days in a row, but we still haven't captured Changyuan City. I am really ashamed..."

Hearing his words, everyone present was speechless. They secretly thought that you must be ashamed. Shouldn't people like you wipe your neck and commit suicide?

Zhu Jinghong looked back at the crowd and asked, "Do you think I'm joking? No..."

"Our weapons and equipment are several times stronger than theirs. It's not an exaggeration to say that we can crush the enemy's army, but it's a shame that we can't win for a long time!"

After saying this, everyone was even more speechless. They secretly thought that this man really regarded North Korea's 100,000-strong army as paper figures and did not take the enemy's troops seriously...

But when everyone thought about it carefully, this man was able to fight fiercely in the northwest battlefield, and the Junggar and other rebels rushed north, so he really had the ability to be arrogant in the world.

At this time, Cai Chuansheng changed the subject and said, "Thirteenth Master, if we capture Yuandong Mountain tonight, our army can transport artillery to the mountain, and then we can directly bombard Changyuan City!"

Zhu Jinghong smiled and replied: "I said before that I would like to send my sons and daughters to Seoul for the New Year. It seems that this wish will not come true!"

Sun Maozhi, the commander of the Liaodong capital, immediately answered: "The prince has commanded and deployed well, and it is only the brothers below who have these benefits!"

Just as Sun Maozhi finished speaking, he heard the sound of artillery in the distance. This was the beginning of the second round of feint attack from the north.

After two volleys of artillery fire, everyone saw fire coming out of the mountain to the west, and then there was a violent explosion.

"Thirteenth Master, it's Xia Yang and the others who took action!" Cai Chuansheng was as excited as a child at this moment.

This time Cai Chuansheng and others went up. In addition to carrying necessary weapons and armor, they also brought more than thirty gunpowder bags. It was obvious that they had dropped a "bomb" at this time.

Listening to the continuous sound of artillery and looking at the fire exploding on the mountain ahead, Zhu Jinghong whispered: "The east wind blows thousands of flowers and trees at night, and even blows them down, and the stars are like rain..."

"Everyone...it is rare to see such a magnificent scene, you are very lucky!"

After saying that, Zhu Jinghong picked up the telescope again and paid attention to the situation on the mountain.

All the previous detailed plans were now about to be tested, and Zhu Jinghong naturally had to pay close attention.

At this moment, on the mountain, with the sound of explosions, the army on the west side of North Korea was in chaos, and Xia Yang had led his army into it.

The defense line has been torn. What Xia Yang has to do now is to hold the gap and wait for the reinforcements below to arrive. In this way, his mission is completed.

"Brothers... buying a house and land depends on your own efforts!" Xia Yang encouraged loudly.

However, because the scene was too chaotic and there was a lot of noise, his words could not travel far, but everyone saw his excited expression and understood what he meant.

"kill……"

The soldiers of these guards showed extraordinary strength, but the Korean army was scattered and exhausted physically and mentally, so the battlefield situation was almost one-sided.

"Your general is dead, surrender quickly!" Xia Yang shouted in Korean dialect, a phrase he and his men learned specially.

As soon as he opened his mouth, others also shouted, which was another heavy blow to the North Korean army.

At this moment, more Ming troops were still rushing up the hillside. The generals of the North Korean army discovered this situation and knew that if Xia Yang and his gang were not driven away as soon as possible, the top of the hill would inevitably be lost.

Could it be possible to repel the Ming army in front of us as soon as possible?
The answer is no, because the North Korean army is retreating now. At this time, the distance between them and the camp gate wall that was blown open is already more than ten feet away.

The leading general on Yuandong Mountain is Pu Jundae. He is not as willing to die as others. These officers who come from big families are much more precious about their lives.

So seeing that the hilltop could no longer be defended, the generals defending the west ran away with their guards. This situation soon triggered a large-scale rout.

When reinforcements from the Ming army arrived, they found that Xia Yang and his gang had already fought far away, forcing them to take up their weapons and rush forward without having time to rest.

Pu Junda at the other end also learned about the situation. After determining that the Ming army's main attack direction was to the west, he organized all the troops he could mobilize and rushed towards the Ming army in the west.

But...manpower has its limit after all!

When the Ming army had entered the camp and the defeat had begun to spread, no matter how quickly Pu Junda reacted, he could no longer save the situation.

The resulting situation was that the North Korean army was retreating steadily, and soon most of the camp was lost.

"Junda... we can't hold it anymore, let's withdraw... Those people have already withdrawn!"

The speaker was a fellow villager of Pu Jundae. After the damage caused by all the wars, he no longer had many such close people around him.

The "those people" mentioned by these people refer to the generals who have fled.

Thinking of these people, Pu Junda felt angry because they failed more than they succeeded.

"Junda... retreat, our parents are still waiting for us, we can't die here!"

His men were still trying to persuade him, but seeing the position lost like this and thinking that the Ming army was about to win a big victory, Pu Junda felt very aggrieved.

Because he was unwilling to give in, he was still imagining that he could summon men again to fight off the Ming army that rushed up.

But as the Ming army lined up and began to use three-stage shooting in the camp, his only extravagant hope was shattered.

"Withdraw... withdraw... quit... let's go home!"

Park Jundae completely broke his guard and shed tears. He had never been so sad in his life.

Under the escort of his personal guards, Park Jundae began to evacuate southward. His move directly led to the collapse of the entire line, and all North Korean soldiers fled.

The soldiers of the Ming army took the opportunity to press forward. After the Korean army completely withdrew from the camp, they stopped attacking and clamped the defense line.

At the foot of the mountain, more and more Ming troops were moving up the mountain, and Zhu Jinghong wanted to ensure that this high ground was firmly under control.

About half an hour later, the first heavy cannon was carried up the mountain, and then more and more cannons were brought up, and all of them were deployed in the direction of Changyuan City.

The normal range of these artillery is 600 to 800 meters. At this time, the range will be longer due to the higher terrain. It is easy to hit Changyuan City, which is more than 500 meters away.

However, because it is too late now, the general attack can only be postponed for one to two days to correct the trajectory and make other preparations.

Another half an hour later, while waiting for darkness, Zhu Jinghong arrived at Yuandong Mountain, the first line of the battle.

All the soldiers were surprised by his arrival, but if they thought about it carefully, it was expected.

Zhu Jinghong did not say too many high-sounding words, but had dinner with Xia Yang and other pioneers, while overlooking the Changyuan City at the bottom of the mountain, drinking and talking.

"Everyone... you are all warriors and heroes of the Ming Dynasty. I give you a toast!"

Hearing what Zhu Jinghong said, the soldiers present quickly picked up their wine bowls and drank with Zhu Jinghong in the heavy snow.

Today, these pioneers not only earned a lot of military merit, but also drank with the legendary figure Zhu Jinghong... They will remember this experience forever.

(End of this chapter)