Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 267 Mutual threats, Zuiying
"Sir, he insisted on breaking in." The guard explained with an embarrassed expression. Mu Jun waved his hand to indicate that it was okay.

"Duke Yansheng has come here in such a threatening manner. What advice do you have for me?" Mu Jun suppressed his anger and tried to speak calmly.

"General Mu, tell me the truth, when will the reinforcements arrive?" Duke Yansheng was very direct, his tone a little weak.

"The nearest troop of Lord Jia is blocked outside Yanzhou City, and the news from other directions has not been reported back yet." Mu Jun told the truth, and Duke Yansheng's expression became slightly serious after hearing this, "So, it is difficult for the internal reinforcements to arrive? According to the news from Jinan, the Beijing troops are advancing eastward to Mengyin, so why don't they let them move to Qufu?"

"From the overall strategic point of view, in order to prevent the rebels from fleeing to the mountainous areas, Tai'an and Mengyin must be defended. The Shandong army is in disarray and lacks manpower, so it can only focus on defending the line from Tai'an to Mengyin. It would be better for the Yansheng Duke to rely on General Yue than to rely on Shandong to gather 50,000 troops." Mu Jun patiently explained the military problem. Because of the poor intelligence, he could only analyze it based on the intelligence he had. In fact, the situation was much more complicated, because the White Lotus Sect divided its troops, and the East Sea Venerable fled west, causing Yue Qi's mobile cavalry to all go west to block the mountainous areas that might enter the border of Hubei, Henan and Anhui provinces through Henan. No matter which mountainous area, as long as they flee into the mountainous areas, it will be difficult to encircle and annihilate them as a whole.

The contemporary Duke Yansheng shook his head impatiently: "What does it have to do with me to suppress the rebellion? The most urgent task is reinforcements. The famous Dongping Iron Cavalry can't defeat the rebellion, and they can't ask for reinforcements. The title of the Duke of Dongping is not useful. And protecting the ancestral temple of the saint, I think it's like a clay Buddha crossing the river - it can't save itself."

Mu Jun's fist hardened, but he suppressed his anger and didn't punch him. He said in an extremely dissatisfied tone, "I don't like what you said, Lord Yansheng. At first, there were 3,000 cavalrymen in Qufu, but you thought it was too many. You complained several times that the world was peaceful and there was no need for so many people to guard the ancestral temple. Then the prince transferred 2,000 cavalrymen. Now there are only 1,000 cavalrymen left. How can I defeat the enemy army that is well-equipped with firearms and well-trained? As for the reinforcements, that is not my responsibility. You can blame the local officials in Shandong. And how the Yanzhou garrison commander Jie Zhongliu was forced to rebel, I have heard about it."

The contemporary Duke Yansheng did not care about Mu Jun's threat. Instead, he sneered: "Hehe, the Prince of Dongping can set fire, but the Kong family can't light a lamp? General Mu should think about it. Should we wait until the city is destroyed and the people are dead, or break out first. The Kong family's roots are here. As long as the land is still there, they can rebuild if it is destroyed. But General Mu, if the people are gone, then everything is really gone. I don't know what your majesty thinks. If there is trouble in Shandong, why not transfer the garrison to Shanhaiguan."

Although Mu Jun wanted to kill the man in front of him, the last bit of rationality controlled his behavior. He suppressed his anger and said, "Duke Yansheng, do you have any other advice? Go back quickly if you are fine. Don't run around outside. It's easy to get into trouble in such a chaotic situation."

The threat in this sentence hit the nail on the head. The contemporary Duke Yansheng finally remembered that the fact that Qufu was not lost was all thanks to them.

"Humph, tomorrow I will take out another 5,000 taels of silver and 1,000 dan of grain, and General Mu will find a way to recruit some manpower."

After hearing this, Mu Jun felt a little relieved. He made a gesture of invitation and said, "It would have been better if Duke Yansheng had thought of this earlier. It's a little late now. Whether we can hold on depends on luck."

"General Mu, you can't just focus on the Kong family, right?" The current Duke Yansheng was getting angry again.

"Hehehe, I'm not afraid to tell Duke Yansheng the truth. If the city is broken, I can run away, but you accept those good-for-nothings, I'm afraid I can't protect you from running away. To put it bluntly, the Kong family is Qufu, if the city is broken, the Kong family is broken too. Take care of yourself!"

Duke Yansheng left angrily. The two of them didn't get along well in normal times. Even now, they still couldn't communicate calmly. One was being monitored and the other was the monitor. It would be strange if they had a good relationship. The tone was set from the beginning by the emperor, the Kong family must not leave Qufu, and everything else was easy to talk about.

Mu Jun is doing this. The Iron Cavalry is replaced every year, and Mu Jun has been here for ten years. He has wanted to transfer for a long time but never had the chance.

Just now, Mu Jun really made up his mind to do something drastic. After all, it was a war, so it was normal to have some accidents.

As for Jia Lian, Mu Jun didn't have any resentment at all. Judging from the progress, Jia Lian was already very fast. It would be impossible for someone else to be so fast. After all, Jia Lian led the Shenji Battalion, not the cavalry.

In addition, Mu Jun deeply realized that a pure cavalry fighting is like a lame leg, especially when facing the religious army equipped with a large number of Lumi guns and Fran machine guns. This is the advantage of firearms. They can be put into battle after one or two months of training. Unlike archers, they cannot be used for three to five years.

Mu Jun had thought about attacking in the rain, but Jie Zhongliu was an expert and the army he had was not good enough, so he had to guard the camp in the rain. The only person he could hope for now was Jia Lian. He also hoped that Yue Qi could withdraw troops to reinforce Qufu.

As another morning came, sharp whistles sounded over the camp and soldiers lined up in the open space.

As usual, they guarded the fortifications on both wings step by step, facing the front of the city wall, with a strict formation. Today's task was to fill the moat. Thousands of prisoners of war, each carrying a sandbag, were ready and waiting for the whistle to give the order.

Jia Lian came to the high platform and looked at the defenders on the top of the city with a telescope. The brazier near the cannon was lit, and the iron sticks were burning red in the brazier. The siege cannon was loaded and ready to be inserted into the medicine pool and fired at any time.

Deputy General Yang stood behind Jia Lian, thinking that after this battle, he would be promoted to the rank of general, with a starting force of 10,000 soldiers under his command. It was really more important to follow the right people than to work hard. He was just a lieutenant, and he dared to dream of becoming a general after such a short time.

"According to your Excellency's instructions, after the bombardment, the musketeers will suppress the fire and cover the criminal camp to fill the moat to minimize casualties. The only drawback of this move is that it consumes too much ammunition."

Lieutenant General Yang didn't quite understand Jia Lian's thoughts, and finally couldn't help but complain.

Everyone was an old acquaintance. Jia Lian smiled indifferently: "Once the prisoners of war enter the prison camp, they are my soldiers. At least they are half my own people. Since they are my own people, I have to protect them. Without further ado, let's get started!"

Deputy General Yang thought there was nothing wrong with what he said. Everyone knew that Lord Jia's biggest characteristic was that he protected his people. Otherwise, how could those small fry from the Five Cities Military Department dare to act so arrogantly in the capital?
"I will follow your orders, sir!"

In the criminal camp, Hu Dang heard the booming sound of artillery fire before the sharp attack whistle.

He stood up in surprise and looked around, but was pulled down by the people around him and hid behind the sandbag breastwork: "You want to die? Two hundred steps, there are plenty of ways to kill you on the top of the city wall."

Hu Dang carefully poked his head out to look around again, then squatted down and said to his friend beside him, "Lord Jia is different. He doesn't treat us as cannon fodder. If you don't believe me, just look. The cannons will fire first. There will be three or five rounds. The morale of the people on the city wall will drop greatly. If we charge again at that time, fewer people will die."

"That's right. Lord Jia is different. He has no problems except that he eats poorly. I never thought that he could survive and have enough to eat after joining the rebellion and being captured."

Amid the rumbling of the cannon, the two men tried their best to speak in low voices. Hu Dang, who was leaning against the sandbag, said to his friend, "I was thinking, I'll go back and find the manager and ask if I can serve as a soldier for Lord Jia. I can operate a cannon, too."

"Let's go together. I'm strong and can carry the shells."

"Be smart, don't think too far ahead, just survive today."

The cannons stopped, and a sharp whistle sounded. Hu Dang, holding a 20-jin sandbag in both hands, jumped up and ran wildly. Adrenaline was secreted crazily, and he rushed to the front for a while. Seeing that the defenders on the top of the city who dared not raise their heads due to the artillery began to show their heads again, Hu Dang could only silently pray in his heart, "Ancestors bless you! I can survive this time and go back to repair my grave." The crackling sound of gunfire rang out, as dense as frying beans. Hu Dang, who was running wildly with his head down, did not dare to raise his head at all. He continued to rush. At this time, those who were afraid of death would definitely be the first to die.

Jia Lian, who was on the high platform, had been paying attention to the performance of the criminal camp. He said to Deputy General Yang beside him with satisfaction: "If the man who rushed to the front is not dead, give him freedom." Deputy General Yang was also observing and nodded, "Yes, sir!"

Hu Dang did not wait for the dense rain of bullets, but felt that the counterattack on the top of the city was too sparse, so he rushed to the moat, threw down the sandbags, and ran away. The sound of gunfire was dense, the sound of wind was whistling in his ears, and he jumped up in front of the breastwork, squatted down without waiting to stand firm, panting, as if he had been to the gates of hell.

"Don't stay, go to the back." The manager shouted, asking Hu Dang and others to go to the back.

Hu Dang's friend was not in any trouble either, and the two of them walked back together. The manager kept saying, "Don't be in a daze, pick up the sandbags and leave, and wait for the next round."

Hu Dang picked up a straw sandbag and was about to move forward when the manager called him, "Hu Dang, follow me."

Hu Dang was stunned. The manager cursed impatiently: "What the hell are you doing? Follow me. Don't keep the adults waiting for too long."

Following the manager all the way to the platform, Hu Dang discovered that the entire battlefield was very different from what he had imagined.

The five thousand prisoners of war were divided into ten rounds, taking turns to rush forward to fill the moat. The officers and soldiers were not idle either. After three rounds of artillery fire, they took a break to cool down, and then took over with their muskets. The whole process was under the cover of the officers and soldiers' firearms. No wonder they did not feel the intensive firepower on the top of the city.

Lord Jia is really good. Hu Dang was silently grateful in his heart, especially when he saw the defenders on the top of the city falling down under the dense firepower. When the counterattack was also extremely reluctant, Hu Dang was even more grateful. Lord Jia treated everyone as human beings! Kneeling down was also very smooth.

"Sir, he is the one who rushed to the front." The steward smiled and reported. Jia Lian on the high platform put down the telescope, turned around to look at Hu Dang, the bearded criminal soldier, and asked: "What is your name? Stand up and talk. I don't like kneeling here."

"My lord, my name is Hu Dang." This fellow was quite thick-skinned. He stood up as soon as he was told to. The manager was a little worried that he would be punished for not managing the camp well, but he couldn't say anything in front of Jia Lian.

"Well, you are very good. You are at the front. What were you thinking at that time?" Jia Lian was a little curious. The main reason was that this guy ran too fast at that time, five or six meters faster than others. He was not afraid of being fired upon by the city wall.

"I didn't think much. Before the whistle sounded, I was thinking that the master didn't let me get beaten or scolded, and even gave me enough food. I shouldn't be ungrateful and should be worthy of the master. When I really started running, I didn't think about it. Even if I ran into the goal, life or death was a matter of fate, and I had to accept it."

This answer was sincere, and Jia Lian nodded with satisfaction: "I lead soldiers with a clear distinction between rewards and punishments, regardless of their status. You led the charge, so you deserve a reward. You are free, take this warrant, and you can go home at any time."

Hu Dang stood there in a daze. Seeing this, Jia Lian patiently smiled and waited for him to come back to his senses.

The steward didn't dare to keep Jia Lian waiting for long, so he kicked him and said, "Asshole, hurry up and take it, Master Jia, please wait."

"Oh, thank you, sir." Hu Dang knelt down again and raised his hands to take the warrant.

Jia Lian frowned and said, "Stand up, you are not allowed to kneel. Kneeling in front of the battle will affect the morale of the army."

"Hey, I'm up. Sir, can I ask you a favor?"

The manager looked at Hu Dang and his face turned green. You really dare to say that. You are really not afraid of death.

Jia Lian used his eyes to suppress the steward who was about to step forward, and asked Hu Dang with a smile: "Tell me, can I do it?"

"I want to serve as a soldier for you, sir. I'm not bragging, but I'm very accurate in shooting." Hu Dang was very frank.

After hearing this, Jia Lian's expression became slightly solemn. Wow, it's a technical branch of the military.

At this time, a burst of cannon fire came from the top of the city wall. Jia Lian raised his telescope and looked over. A French cannon fired, and a piece of iron sand knocked down seven or eight soldiers from the criminal camp. Jia Lian sighed. There was nothing he could do about it. He turned around and looked at Hu Dang and asked, "See? If I give you a cannon, can you knock out the French cannon hidden behind the battlements?"

Hu was really brave at that time. He took the telescope and observed for a while and said, "There are three French cannons on the top of the city, and there are quite a few bird guns. I think we must hit them with one shot, otherwise the cannon is light, so we should move to another position after firing."

"Okay, I'll give you a chance. If you can destroy a French machine gun within three shots, I'll take you in as a gunner." Jia Lian was also very straightforward. The main reason was that the siege cannons of that era were heavy and crooked, and they couldn't hit accurately. The original intention of the design was to smash the city walls.

Even though the city wall is made of rammed earth and brickwork, it is really strong. If you want to knock it down with a solid bullet, there is a way to do it. So, if you want to shoot accurately, it depends on the personal quality of the gunner.

"I'll lend you your telescope, if you will."

Hu Dang took the telescope without hesitation and ran to the artillery position. Jia Lian had been paying attention to the situation on the battlefield. The main threat to the soldiers in the criminal camp was the three French cannons. The other matchlock guns and bows were suppressed by the volleys of the new muskets and it was difficult to fire intensively. They were all sporadic firepower and did not pose much threat.

With the warrant in hand, Hu Dang quickly persuaded the commander of a gun to be responsible for aiming.

Jia Lian stopped paying attention to Hu Dang, and his focus was still on the city. Although the casualties were not great, only a few dozen fell after ten rounds. Jia Lian still hoped that there would be fewer casualties. Deep down, he still had to treat people as human beings.

(End of this chapter)