King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 720 Chaos in the Capital
Now is the time to test your will. If you persist, you will win.

The existence of the reserve team is a comfort to everyone, so Zhu Jinghong will never use the remaining 3,000 men under Hou Jing at this moment.

The atmosphere at the scene was heavy. Liu Cheng turned around to pass on the message, while Zhu Jinghong continued to observe the movements in front with a telescope.

At this moment, around him, in addition to Hou Jing's 3,000 elite soldiers, there were also his own 1,000 guards, who became the last fresh force on the entire battlefield.

Zhu Jinghong was not a heartless person. Emotionally, he wanted to send troops to reinforce Jueshengpo, but his reason told him to wait.

There was fighting all along the front line, with people being shot in line, bayonet attacks, cavalry charges, and artillery fire...

This battle was fought so fiercely that the sky was dark and the sun and moon disappeared.

In order to win, Constantine has risked everything, including sending all his personal guards and leaving only a few hundred people to protect him.

In the final hour of the war, both sides were struggling to hold on, and the Ming army's infantry was under particularly great pressure.

After Zhu Jinghong rejected Shi Chong's request to retreat, the situation changed in just half an hour, and the northern wing of the Ming army began to retreat.

This retreat instantly triggered a chain reaction that was about to spread.

At this time, Zhu Jinghong was very clear that if he was not careful in this situation, a total defeat might occur.

"Hou Jing..."

"I'm here..." Hou Jing clasped his fists and waited for orders.

Zhu Jinghong ordered: "Send... two thousand households to the north wing for reinforcement!"

"Yes...I will lead the troops there myself!"

Although Hou Jing only had 3,000 men left, Zhu Jinghong did not send them all out and left the last 1,000 men behind.

After answering, seeing that Zhu Jinghong did not object, Hou Jing immediately left quickly.

"Liu Cheng!"

"Chen is here!"

"Have the guards ready, and... tell your grandfather to send a cavalry guard over!"

"Yes!"

The army guarding the grain camp consisted of three cavalry guards and five infantry guards.

Among them, two cavalry guards and three infantry guards had gone to block the enemy troops coming out of Wucheng, leaving only one cavalry guard and two infantry guards in total.

If one more cavalry guard was taken away at this time, Zhu Jinghong would indeed be forced into a desperate situation.

Even he himself was ready to go to the battlefield. His guards, together with the last thousand-household unit of the Huben Guards, had already formed an infantry phalanx.

While he was in deep trouble, Constantine was in despair.

He had played all his cards and finally opened a gap in the enemy's northern wing, but the formation was stabilized again.

They say a dying horse is at the end of its strength, and now he is at the end of his strength.

The bad news came quickly. First, the cavalry group on the northern wing was defeated, and the Kazakh cavalry responsible for meeting the enemy had fled.

What’s worse is that the Ming cavalry did not pursue, but turned around and attacked the rear of the coalition forces.

The coalition was already at the end of its strength, and the Mongolian cavalry rushed in from the rear in large numbers, causing the northern wing of the coalition to collapse.

It started with a regiment, then spread to a brigade and then more troops joined the rout.

"Reinforcements... reinforcements..." Constantine was furious.

But at this point, he no longer had any cards in his hand, and the situation was about to take a turn for the worse.

His adjutant Nicholas said, "Your Highness... Now we need to order the main force in the middle and the infantry brigade on the south to retreat. They still have the initiative, so they can still escape now!"

Seeing that Constantine was still hesitating, Nicholas was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead, thinking that the system might have crashed.

He grabbed Constantine's wrist and raised his voice, saying, "Your Highness... You can't hesitate now, let them withdraw!"

"Otherwise we'll all be trapped here and die!"

"Okay... okay... let them withdraw, you do it, you will be in full command!!" Constantine stuttered.

It can be seen that at this time, he was really panicked.

For him, this great defeat was not just a loss of the war, but also related to the stability of his position as crown prince.

So he was anxious and worried, because due to excessive tension, he had lost the ability to command the battle.

Transferring power at this time would be good for both him and the army.

After Nicholas took over the command, he immediately ordered the central army and the southern wing to withdraw alternately, and at the same time sent a large number of messengers to gather the defeated troops.

He knew clearly that without cavalry escort, it would be difficult for the infantry to retreat in this vast Gobi Desert.

The coalition forces withdrew, but the Ming army was also at the end of its strength. The infantry phalanxes had no ability to pursue and could only rely on artillery to kill.

Although the infantry was powerless, there were still a large number of cavalry scattered on the battlefield, who caused great trouble to the withdrawing Allied infantry.

After the central army, realizing that the situation had reversed, Zhu Jinghong immediately ordered the infantry brigades to rest and at the same time sent orders to the Mongolian cavalry guards, asking them to focus on pursuing the enemy cavalry.

Zhu Jinghong knew that as long as he completely defeated the enemy cavalry, their two-legged infantry would not be able to escape, and he could then slowly deal with them.

The enemy had traveled a long distance and their supply lines were stretched very long. After annihilating the enemy cavalry, we didn't even need to start a fierce battle. We could defeat the enemy by delaying the battle for a few more days.

More than ten minutes later, after confirming that the enemy coalition forces were truly retreating, Zhu Jinghong no longer had any scruples and ordered all his cavalry to go out and bypass the enemy infantry to chase and kill the enemy cavalry.

In order to maximize the results of the battle, he transferred away all the cavalry that were blocking Wucheng, leaving only three infantry guards to block the city. Of course, this was completely enough.

Zhu Jinghong's move allowed the Rakshasa infantry brigades to withdraw easily, which made Constantine happy at first. However, as more and more cavalry brigades lost contact, he was no longer happy at all.

By this time, the sun had already set.

This war, from start to finish, lasted no more than ten hours, but countless corpses were left in the Gobi Desert.

At this time, the two armies were about ten miles apart, and the distance was still widening, but at most five miles at most, as it was about to get dark.

Zhu Jinghong arrived at the decisive slope. The road uphill from the east was relatively flat. He was surrounded by soldiers who still maintained their formation, standing there with a dull expression.

These were soldiers from the Jinwu Zuowei, who had just emerged from the bloody flames of war. They hadn’t recovered in a short time, and some of them might never recover in their entire lives.

These soldiers were unfortunate, but compared to those who died in battle, they were extremely lucky.

The bloody battlefield I mentioned earlier was a literal scene. For example, wherever Zhu Jinghong passed by, he would see pieces of flesh from people he knew were being blown apart, including arms, heads, thighs, intestines, and so on…

In the age of hot weapons, living soldiers are nothing more than walking flesh.

Stepping on this flesh and blood, Zhu Jinghong climbed up the decisive slope, a small dirt slope that was no more than eight or nine meters above the ground.

However, Zhu Jinghong was still shocked when he saw the scene facing the enemy as soon as he reached the top of the hill.

The bodies of both the enemy and our side were lying densely on the ground. Some were bombarded repeatedly by artillery fire, and several piles of people were even smashed into a pile.

"Your Highness, I... Shi Chong reports back, the Decisive Victory Slope has not been lost!"

Shi Chong, covered in wounds, knelt on one knee in front of Zhu Jinghong.

"Okay!" Zhu Jinghong nodded.

He wanted to praise him, but felt that no matter how much he said, it would be pale in comparison, so he stepped forward and helped Shi Chong up.

At this time he looked to the west again, which was the direction where the "Eight-Nation Alliance" was retreating.

Although the sun has set, its light still shines on the mountains farther away, all the way up to the horizon. The mountains are like the sea, and the setting sun is like blood... Zhu Jinghong thought of this sentence.

…………

The fifth day of the seventh month, the sixteenth year of Zhengtong, in the capital.

For ordinary people, it was just another ordinary day.

If there is any difference, it is that it is the autumn harvest season now, and the work is more tiring than before.

In Prince Xiang’s Mansion, inside the inner quarters, outside Tongxin Hall.

It is autumn now and the weather has turned a little cooler, so two women are taking a walk in the corridor outside Tongxin Hall.

These two people are Baochai and Daiyu.

Normally, there would be at least seven or eight people serving them, but now there was no one. It was obvious that they had deliberately sent people away.

"Don't worry, Sister Bao, it's just gossip. It's not a big deal!"

"Your Majesty is wise. He trusts the people he employs and will not let others influence his decisions!" Daiyu advised with a gentle tone and a calm expression.

Zhu Jinghong left Beijing on the 25th day of the first lunar month and has not made any major moves since arriving at the northwest front. Now in July, he is still confronting the enemy.

This surprised everyone in the government and the country, as it was different from the series of victories that everyone had expected.

By May, there was still no major movement on the front line, and some people in the court began to make noises, saying that Zhu Jinghong had been lucky in the past, but now he was no longer lucky when faced with a tough battle.

The emperor naturally scoffed at this, and the generals and generals who stayed in the capital also treated the criticisms as nonsense.

As professionals, they knew very well how large the scale of the Northwest War was and how difficult the situation was.

In the blink of an eye, another month passed, and there were more voices of criticism in the court. From initially questioning Zhu Jinghong's ability, it has now developed into doubting his purpose.

The imperial court sent you to quell the rebellion. You have won every battle in the past, but now you are avoiding fighting. What is your intention?

What is it for the sake of nurturing the enemy, for the sake of controlling the army, for the sake of building up power, for the sake of evil intentions...

These messy statements have emerged from all directions. At first, they were discussed by officials, and now they have become the topic of conversation among ordinary people.

Therefore, the Prince Xiang's Mansion is now in a dilemma. Either Zhu Jinghong will be considered incompetent, or there will be people who say that his motives are impure.

"Sister, what people say is scary!" Baochai sighed.

Daiyu knew all this, she just wanted to comfort her sister.

The two of them walked slowly forward around the white marble fence. Daiyu said slowly, "I heard that a few days ago, His Majesty was holding a grand court meeting at Fengtian Gate!"

"When an official attacked the prince, His Majesty immediately ordered the Imperial Guards to arrest him, and then ordered the East Factory's Tingzhang Thirty... to beat him half to death on the spot!"

"Since Your Majesty has such trust in me, no matter what others say... it doesn't matter!"

Baochai nodded, then sighed.

"Actually... I'm not just worried about this!"

"The battlefield is dangerous. He was in North Korea before, commanding on the front line... I am very worried!"

"I know about this. It is said that Sister Bao once wrote a letter to scold the prince!" Daiyu laughed.

Daiyu often came to Tongxin Hall and had a good relationship with Ying'er, so naturally she heard everything.

Baochai didn't take it seriously and continued, "Later, when he went to the sea, he fought a close battle with the enemy, staring at the gunfire and charging forward..."

"During those months, I didn't sleep well and had nightmares every night..."

The last sentence expressed everything that was in Daiyu's heart. At that time, she was in Jinling to observe mourning, and she was thinking about Zhu Jinghong all the time. She was also extremely worried when she learned that he was in danger.

"In the past few months, I...ah...always..."

After taking a look at Daiyu who had lost her smile, Baochai stopped talking.

She knew that although Daiyu looked sunny, she was actually in the same mood as her, worried about Zhu Jinghong and the palace.

Seeing that Daiyu was no longer smiling, Baochai realized that she had said too much and had ruined Daiyu's mood.

"Sister Lin... forget it, let's not think about it. He himself said that he has a strong life, so nothing will go wrong!"

What’s funny is that now the situation is reversed and Baochai has to comfort Daiyu again.

"Sister Bao...the artillery fire is merciless, is he really safe?" At this moment, Daiyu's worries have been aroused by Baochai.

"It'll be fine. By the way... didn't you say this morning that you wanted to play a game of chess with me? I'll fight you today!"

Throwing away her unhappy thoughts, Baochai took Daiyu's hands and said with a smile, "You lost a game the day before yesterday, so you must win it back today. Otherwise, if the news gets out... your reputation as Master Lin will be ruined!"

Scholar Lin is the nickname Xiangyun gave to Daiyu. Now, whenever the women in the palace meet her, they always tease her like this.

Baochai is a princess and has basically never been addressed like that. But now she has no choice but to do so in order to divert Daiyu's attention.

"Half an hour later, Sister Bao has been invited to visit the Qingyang Palace, right?"

"Just send someone to tell Princess Qingyang, no matter what it is...it's more important than Sister Lin!" Having said this, Baochai pinched Daiyu's little face.

Daiyu is already eighteen years old and is now married, but she is still treated like a child by Baochai, which really makes her feel uncomfortable.

So she took two steps back and said angrily, "Sister Bao...if you touch me again, I'll be mad!"

"Sister, calm down. If you get angry and spread the news that I bullied you, that person will come back and eat me!"

"Sister Bao is just a chatterbox. Look at me on the chessboard in a while. I will destroy your prestige!"

"Really?... That depends on your ability, sister!" Seeing Daiyu's angry look, Baochai smiled.

Daiyu tilted her head and suddenly smiled again, saying, "Do you think that my name, Mr. Lin, is just for nothing?"

"Enough of small talk, let's meet on the chessboard!"

Just as the two of them were ordering people to set up the chess room in preparation for a big battle, a memorial was sent to the Ministry of Public Administration and then handed over to the Cabinet.

The Grand Secretary on duty today was Chen Jinyun. When he saw the contents of the memorial, he was completely shocked.

The content of the memorial was not complicated. It was just that Zhai Yongxian, the Censor-in-Chief of the Military Department, impeached Wang Pei'an, the Deputy Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

That’s right, Wang Pei’an was impeached.

The content of the impeachment was about what happened two years ago. At that time, Wang Pei'an was serving as the military inspector in the northwest, and some pardon orders had been issued by him.

The so-called amnesty order is to reduce or pardon the crimes of those who have been exiled or banished based on their military merits or other meritorious services.

"Qin Ye, the former Langzhong of the Ministry of Works, was dismissed from his post and exiled for treason..."

"He had no great achievements in the northwest. Because his daughter was selected as a concubine by Prince Xiang, Wang Pei'an wanted to get close to him, so he disregarded the law and pardoned Qin Ye's crime..."

"The disrespectful traitor was able to escape punishment because of this. Public opinion is raging and the people are boiling with resentment... At this time of bitter fighting in the northwest, how can we just turn a blind eye?"

After that, the memorial was very unpleasant, saying that Wang Pei'an was a villain who was seeking fame and reputation to win a reputation...

Why do you arbitrarily judge cases and harm scholars just to win the emperor's favor?

Chen Jinyun picked up the pen, thought again and again, and wrote down his draft opinion.

"It is planned to transfer the case to the Ministry of Justice for strict investigation, and notify the Metropolitan Procuratorate to conduct its own investigation. Wang Pei'an is suspended pending investigation!"

(End of this chapter)