Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 289: Great Victory and Great Achievement

The red smoke that spread over a distance of 800 steps was produced by the explosion of tear gas porcelain mines manufactured by the Firearms Supervision Bureau.

This special type of porcelain mine is filled not with deadly iron filings, but with extremely strong dry chili peppers, peppercorns, and powders of special medicinal herbs.

Not only can it cause instant damage to a person's eyes and nose, but those with a strong reaction may even faint.

In this special situation, it can even exert a power more powerful than the lethal porcelain mine.

Provide as much time as possible for firearms such as artillery and porcelain mines to exert their maximum lethality.

Ai Li followed Jia Cong on horseback, as if to let Jia Cong know that the guards he hired for two taels of gold were worth the money.

Among the 500 musketeer cavalry led by Jia Cong this time, 200 were porcelain mine throwers who had been strictly trained by him.

Their destination was fifty steps away from the eight-hundred-step cobblestone mark, because this distance was the best distance for throwing porcelain mines.

……

Five hundred cavalrymen rushed down the mountain ridge like a whirlwind. The chaotic Jurchen formation was a little at a loss when they saw a pair of Great Zhou cavalrymen suddenly rushing out.

At this moment, the entire Jurchen brigade was in chaos with no way to retreat. They were unable to organize an effective defense at all. Only a few scattered arrows were shot at the cavalry.

What surprised them was that this cavalry of hundreds of people was just galloping back and forth less than a hundred steps away from them, and did not charge towards them.

But the situation soon changed. They found that many cavalrymen took out ball-like objects, lit them with fire sticks, and threw them at the Jurchen formation.

Soon, explosions that were no less powerful than artillery attacks rang out one after another behind the Jurchen formation. Countless iron filings flew everywhere in the Jurchen formation, causing huge casualties among the crowded crowd.

Each time these grenadiers threw dozens or even hundreds of porcelain mines,

Even though the explosive power of each porcelain mine cannot be compared with that of a cannonball.

However, their huge and dense number is enough to make these porcelain mines cause damage that is no less than the never-ending artillery fire on the city walls.

Liang Chengzong and others looked out from the top of Yafu Pass and saw that the entire Jurchen formation was being hit by both artillery and porcelain mines from the east and west.

Amid the astonishingly dense explosions, countless Jurchen soldiers' flesh and blood flew everywhere. Under the ravages of powerful firearms, human lives became as worthless as grass and were so insignificant.

On the top of the city wall, only Madelen was still mechanically commanding the artillery to fire non-stop at the Jurchen formation. The barrels of three of the falconets overheated and stopped firing.

Others watched as thousands of Jurchens below the city struggled in vain amid endless explosions and waves of death, as if they were trapped in an endless purgatory.

This was no longer a battle between two armies, but a one-sided massacre.

This scene forever refreshed the cognition of Liang Chengzong, Liu Yongzheng and other brave generals who had experienced many battles, allowing them to witness the power of high-powered firearms, which was like the power of heavenly punishment.

……

However, an unexpected situation occurred. The continuous explosions of porcelain mines dispersed the red smoke that filled the air.

In the highly saturated firearms explosion, except for Fanercha, the three Jurchen leaders were unharmed, while Li Manzhu and Dong Shan were slightly injured.

The most loyal guards surrounded them and used their bodies to protect them from possible harm.

Li Manzhu shouted to Dong Shan and Fan Ercha: "The artillery fire on the top of the city is too strong, and the hundreds of cavalrymen in the rear are only a hundred steps away from us, although their palm thunder is also very powerful.

But after all, there are only a few hundred of us. Only by breaking through their army can we escape. Otherwise, our three Jurchen guards will be wiped out today!"

……

When Jia Cong discovered that the red smoke in the air was dispersed by the explosion of the porcelain mine, he realized that the situation was about to change.

The Jurchen brigade on the opposite side was no longer restrained by the red smoke, and under the scolding of several people who looked like commanders, they began to gather their remaining soldiers very quickly.

At this time, the grenadiers under Jia Cong had thrown hundreds of porcelain mines. Just as they were preparing for a new round of throwing, the Jurchen cavalry on the opposite side had already launched a fearless charge!

A distance of a hundred steps will be crossed in a very short time!

Jia Cong gritted his teeth and shouted, "Stop throwing, mount your horse and kill the enemy!"

This is his only choice at the moment. The remaining Jurchen soldiers are at the critical moment of life and death, and they will definitely sacrifice their lives and launch a crazy attack on them.

A fast horse sprinting a hundred steps would not even give the musketeer time to complete a three-stage attack. It would be better to mount the horse and fight with swords and spears, which would give the musketeer a greater chance of survival.

In this fierce battle, from the beginning to the end, Jia Cong was planning to use the power of firearms to kill as much as possible of the enemy, and he never intended to fight in the battlefield himself.

But the battlefield is always changing rapidly, how can plans keep up with the changes? At this critical juncture, any further hesitation will only lead to faster death!
Everything happened in a hurry, leaving no time for reflection.

Jia Cong glanced at Ai Li beside him and saw that her pretty face was dazzling, her expression was calm, and she showed no fear at all. She drew a long sword from her waist and jumped on her horse and rushed out before him.

Her graceful body rose and fell rhythmically with the galloping horse. The long sword in her hand reflected bright light in the sun, and the green hairband on her head fluttered in the wind.

Ai Li's heroic charge aroused infinite pride in Jia Cong's heart, and he followed closely with a scimitar in hand.

Five hundred musketeer cavalrymen quickly mounted their horses. Some opened the folding steel blades of their muskets, while others drew the goose-feather knives from their waists, and followed Jia Cong and Ai Li, swarming forward.

……

Liang Chengzong, who was standing on the city wall in the distance, soon realized that Jia Cong was leading the firearms soldiers into a fierce battle with the Jurchens, so he stopped the firing of the artillery in time to avoid accidental injuries. He also ordered Liu Yongzheng, who was under the city, to lead a thousand elite cavalry to support them.

At this moment, nearly half of the 7,000 invading Jurchen cavalry were killed by the terrifying and intensive attacks of artillery and porcelain mines, and the defeat was irreversible.

Liang Chengzong opened the city gates and personally led the troops in the city to attack the remaining Jurchens.

……

Ellie's superb riding skills were fully demonstrated in the chaotic battle.

She asked Jia Cong to follow closely behind her, and she could always find the most suitable gap to charge among the swarming Jurchen cavalry.

When Jia Cong saw her waving her long sword left and right, he cleanly chopped down two Jurchen cavalrymen.

In Jia Cong's eyes, Ai Li's sword skills were like dancing, but on the battlefield they became the most sharp killing skills.

The Cossacks were proud of their sharp swords and fine horses throughout their lives, and this was most fully reflected in Ellie.

Ellie in front chopped down a cavalryman who looked like a royal guard. Two cavalrymen dressed in the same way rushed forward and blocked the sharp-cutting Ellie, seemingly protecting someone.

Jia Cong was afraid that Ai Li was weak and alone, so he rode forward to help. At this time, a golden knife came and cut him in the waist. Jia Cong quickly raised his scimitar to block it.

But in the rush, Jia Cong was a step too slow and was cut on the ribs by the blade.

Ellie, who was standing by, opened her eyes wide, shouted softly, and chopped down a cavalryman who was besieging her with a knife.

But he was too late to rescue Jia Cong. At the critical moment, the whip in his hand slipped out and hit the face of a tall and thin Jurchen knight holding a golden knife.

This Jurchen knight was dressed in luxurious clothes and seemed to be of high status. The cavalrymen who besieged Ellie often looked back at this person, so he must be his guard.

The whip that Ellie slipped out of her hand caused the knight holding the golden sword to dodge as if by reflex, giving Jia Cong a moment of respite while he was still in shock after being stabbed.

He did not bother to check his injuries. In such a chaotic battle, if he relaxed even a little, he would die.

He seized the moment when the Golden Sword Knight dodged the whip and slashed out with the scimitar in his hand.

The sharp scimitar slashed across the chest of the Golden Sword Knight. The blade seemed to have cut through a strange hard surface, and even produced a few sparks.

The knight with the golden sword seemed to be wearing hard armor on his chest, but Jia Cong's sword was swung at a desperate moment with an incredibly powerful force.

The blade passed across the chest, and its force was still strong as it swept across the golden sword knight's right arm holding the sword like lightning.

This time, Jia Cong clearly felt the blade cutting into his flesh, splitting the man's right arm holding the knife in half.

The knight with the golden sword screamed and fell on his horse. Jia Cong rode forward and chopped him down to the ground with his sword.

The guard who was confronting Ellie seemed stunned by the scene before him and didn't even notice the long sword that Ellie was slashing at him.

He shouted in horror: "Lord Vanercha has been killed!"

As a personal guard of Fanercha, the governor of the Right Guard of the Jurchens, the main general was killed. According to the iron law of the Jurchen tribe, all the personal guards must die, even their families.

So he didn't dodge Ellie's long knife in the end...

At this time, there was a thunderous shout of killing from the rear. Liang Chengzong and Liu Yongzheng led a large group of cavalry to charge into the front line of the Jurchens and quickly cut the remaining Jurchen soldiers in half.

The last bit of fighting spirit of the brave Jurchen tribe was shattered in a very short time.

Finally, the Jurchen Guard leader Li Manzhu and the Jurchen Left Guard leader Dong Shan broke through the siege with no more than a thousand cavalrymen and fled north in panic.

……

The setting sun was as red as blood, illuminating the vast wasteland littered with corpses. The smoke left by the explosions of artillery and porcelain mines had not yet dissipated.

It seemed to be describing without words the earth-shattering battle that had just taken place...

Ai Li jumped off the horse and ran towards Jia Cong. Her pretty face was pale and tears were hanging on it. She anxiously checked the wounds on Jia Cong's chest and abdomen.

But I saw that he was wearing a strange leather armor with a deep knife mark on it, but it did not cut through the leather armor.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Don't worry, I wore the blue rhinoceros armor and escaped."

He reached out to wipe away the tears on her face and said with a smile: "You were so powerful just now, why are you crying now?"

Ellie blushed and said, "I'm worried that there's no place to earn gold. If something happens to you, no one will take me back to the south."

Jia Cong smiled cheerfully and said, "Don't worry, I am just as trustworthy as you are."

Ellie looked up at him, her bright eyes like the sea filled with smiles.

……

On the third day after the great victory at Yafu Pass, when the glorious results of the battle were counted, a victory report written overnight by Liang Chengzong, the general commander of Liaodong Town, was issued.

It was sent to the imperial capital at an express speed of 800 miles, and the name of Jia Cong of Rongguo Mansion was destined to resound throughout the capital once again!
(End of this chapter)