I'm in the Red Mansion

The fifty-one clan soldiers that Jia Cong brought from the Jia family automatically became his personal soldiers.

In the evening, Jia Cong came to his room to rest.

Jia Cong also kept two young men from the Jia family to serve him.

Before taking a break, Jia Cong took a look at the commander's experience.

It was an unexpected discovery that he did not organize any training today.

The commander actually gained some experience just by chatting with the soldiers.

Although the experience gained is not much, at least this is a way to gain experience.

It seems that experience can be gained not only through training or war.

Eating, living and chatting with soldiers can also increase the commander's experience.

In this way, there will be several more ways to gain commander experience.

Early the next morning, Jia Cong gathered 3,000 cavalrymen for training.

There is a gap in combat effectiveness between the Daxia cavalry and the Eight Banners cavalry of the Qing Dynasty.

The first reason for this gap is the difference in individual soldier quality.

The nomadic people of the grassland eat meat and drink milk every day, and their bodies are strong and powerful.

In terms of physical fitness, they are superior to the Daxia soldiers.

Secondly, the Eight Banners cavalrymen grew up on horseback and had excellent riding skills.

The gap in horsemanship and archery is almost unbridgeable.

Now that Jia Cong has taken over the 3,000-man cavalry battalion, he will inevitably engage in a battle with the Eight Banners cavalry.

If you want to win the battle, you must be trained.

Of course, the differences in personal qualities and archery and horse riding are extremely difficult to make up.

Jia Cong had no choice but to work on weapons and military formations.

In a one-on-one fight, it would be difficult for the Xia army to defeat the Eight Banners cavalry.

But three thousand against three thousand might not be enough to defeat them.

Next, Jia Cong began to lead 3,000 cavalrymen to conduct military formation training.

The cavalry formation is smaller than the infantry formation.

However, the changes between cavalry formations are much more complicated than those between infantry formations.

Infantry only needs to use their two legs to change military formations.

The changes in the cavalry's formation require the cooperation of the horses under their crotch. Naturally, the difficulty of the two sides is not on the same level.

Although the cavalry battalion is no longer a new army.

However, their previous generals had never made such high demands on their training.

Therefore, at the beginning, the cavalry battalion naturally found it extremely difficult to adapt and made frequent mistakes.

Jia Cong showed no mercy and started cursing.

"Dong Daqian! Are you crazy? Hurry up and catch up!"

During the transformation of the military formation, Dong Daqian's movements were half a beat slow.

He was directly scolded by Jia Cong.

Dong Daqi looked up at Jia Cong in disbelief.

He didn't expect that their general, who had won six first prizes in the imperial examination, would actually curse at others.

What he didn't expect was that the general actually remembered his name.

At this moment, Dong Dazhen actually felt that even if he died for the general, it would be worth it!

His heart felt warm and his eyes were hot, so he quickly rode his horse to follow.

And then, whenever someone did something wrong, Jia Cong would point out the name and curse at them.

Moreover, Jia Cong actually called out dozens of people's names in succession.

This scene shocked the three thousand cavalrymen.

When the general asked their names in each military camp yesterday, they sneered and didn't take it seriously.

Unexpectedly, the general had memorized the names of so many people in just half a day.

This made everyone's heart deeply moved!

In fact, what they didn’t know was that Jia Cong didn’t just remember the names of these people.

He basically memorized the names of the six or seven hundred soldiers he had asked yesterday.

After a morning of training, the cavalry battalion's formation improved greatly.

In the afternoon, Jia Cong began to train 3,000 cavalrymen in archery and horse shooting.

Almost every cavalryman is an archer.

One of the main means of attack for cavalry is mounted archery.

Although it is impossible to significantly improve the ability of horse archery in a short period of time.

However, under the guidance of Jia Cong, the sharpshooter, it is still possible to make a small improvement in a short period of time.

After an afternoon of Jia Cong's instruction, the three thousand cavalrymen all felt that their abilities in riding and shooting had improved.

In the evening, Jia Cong went to each military camp to chat with the soldiers as usual, asking each soldier's name, hometown, hobbies and other questions.

After just one day of training, Jia Cong's prestige in the army was greatly enhanced.

It also brought the soldiers closer together.

In this way, for three consecutive days, Jia Cong led the cavalry battalion for training.

After three days of training, the morale of the cavalry battalion had undergone a drastic change compared to when Jia Cong first arrived.

And in the next two days, during the breaks, Jia Cong also started chatting with the soldiers and asked soldiers who he had never asked before to introduce themselves.

In three days, Jia Cong learned the general situation of the three thousand soldiers.

Starting from the fourth day, Jia Cong handed over the training to the deputy general, who conducted the training according to his previous training content.

Jia Cong found the Artisan Camp and ordered the people there to modify some bows and arrows.

When Jia Cong was at the Jia family, he used his manual skills to make some things.

And now is when these things come in handy.

What Jia Cong made were some pulleys that could be installed on both sides of the longbow.

This pulley can act as a lever.

One force, under the action of a lever, can produce the effect of at least two forces.

This not only makes it easier for archers to draw the bow, but also greatly increases the shooting range.

And this is one of the secret weapons prepared by Jia Cong.

These pulleys were handmade by Jia Cong who had mastered the craft to perfection.

It would be difficult for craftsmen of this era to make it.

Never underestimate the precision that can be achieved by hand.

Even in later generations, some aerospace equipment components and even the most sophisticated machines found it difficult to achieve the required precision.

But some experienced fitters can do this by hand.

Next, Jia Cong asked them to complete the modification of 3,000 bows within ten days.

After Jia Cong left, the craftsmen's camp hurriedly reported to Niu Jizong.

In the past two days, Niu Jizong has been having people secretly observe Jia Cong and the cavalry battalion.

Niu Jizong discovered that although Jia Cong, the younger generation, was arrogant, he was still quite capable.

It took only three days to reassure the cavalry battalion and transform their weapons.

If he could avoid being arrogant and impatient, he might become a famous general in the future.

Therefore, after the report from the Artisan Battalion came in, Niu Jizong did not think much about it and directly asked them to cooperate fully.

After arranging the craftsmen's camp, Jia Cong was not idle either.

Instead, he took his personal soldiers and quietly left the city to survey the enemy situation.

The 100,000 Qing troops had no intention of besieging the city.

But Niu Jizong refused to fight.

Therefore, both sides sent out a large number of scouts to observe the other side's actions.

But in the short term, there were no signs of an attack.

Jia Cong, on the other hand, used his insight to begin detecting the movements of the Qing army.

What Jia Cong said to Niu Jizong was all true.

He really wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to seize Jizhou, one of the Sixteen States of Yanyun.

During the conversation with Niu Jizon, Jia Cong concealed something.

In fact, the biggest flaw of the Eight Banners Army was arrogance.

This time, Jia Cong planned to take advantage of their arrogance and catch them off guard.

If you want to capture Jizhou, you must defeat the Eight Banners Army several times before that.

Let them be furious, let them come out in droves.

Then, they will have the opportunity.

There is a saying in the art of war: Know yourself and the enemy, and you will be victorious in every battle.

Before the war, Jia Cong must have a clear understanding of the Qing army's every move.

Of course, his cavalry battalion must undergo more than ten days of training before they can actually go to the battlefield.

It is too early to detect the movements of the Qing army now.

At present, Jia Cong is more focused on familiarizing himself with the surrounding terrain.

Then determine where is suitable for an ambush based on the terrain.

How many soldiers can be ambushed in the valley in front, the grassland on the left, and the depression in the distance?

What is the humidity, temperature, wind direction, etc.

These details may affect the direction of a war.

……

In the capital city, a war horse was galloping in the capital.

"Eight hundred miles of rush, the emperor grants you a golden medal, anyone who stands in the way will die, anyone who resists will perish!"

Hearing the sound, the people on the street quickly moved to the sides of the street to make room for the postman.

This is urgent military information that needs to be transported over 800 miles. If you get hit and killed, it will be in vain, and even your whole family will be convicted. Who would dare to stop it?
"A great victory on the front line. The top scholar Jia Cong killed more than a hundred Qing soldiers in front of the battle line. Great victory, great victory!"

If they were to rush eight hundred miles and suffer a defeat, they would not shout it out, lest it shake the people's hearts.

But if it is good news, people will usually shout it out on the road, which can greatly encourage people.

As expected, the people of the capital were overjoyed after hearing this good news!
What shocked them even more was that the one who won the battle this time was actually the top scholar Jia Cong!
He is the second person in the history of the imperial examination to win six top honors in a row.

How could the people of the entire capital not know about this?

They never expected that this number one scholar was not only so talented in literature, but also so skilled in martial arts!
He can truly be said to be both civil and military!
With this good news, the people in the capital were no longer so frightened.

Soon, the military report was transmitted to the palace.

After receiving the good news, Emperor Yonglong was so delighted that he clapped his hands and applauded.

Then, the victory report was shown to all civil and military officials.

Of course, everyone knows it.

This good news is certainly encouraging, but it does not have much impact on the overall situation.

It all depends on how this battle goes.

However, since we have won the battle, rewards must be given.

Therefore, Emperor Yonglong rewarded the Jia family with many things and ordered people to send them to the Jia family.

In Ningguo Mansion, they soon received rewards from the emperor.

After expressing their gratitude, Mrs. Mei and Lin Daiyu could not wait to inquire about the news of the holy envoy Jia Cong.

It’s a pity that this holy envoy only came to deliver rewards. How could he know the news about Jia Cong?

I had no choice but to say a few random words like "very good" to get by.

After the Holy Envoy left, all the ladies in the Grand View Garden gathered in the Yihong Courtyard. Shi Xiangyun happened to be there today.

After hearing this, Shi Xiangyun couldn't help but praise: "Third brother is really brave and extraordinary! He defeated the majority with the minority and the strong with the weak."

"He killed an enemy force twice his size without sustaining any damage himself. This is the best performance of a famous general in ancient times!"

"It's a pity that I can't see the handsomeness of my third brother with my own eyes! It would be great if I could be a general, like my third brother, galloping on the battlefield, making achievements, and passing down my name for generations!"

Xue Baochai laughed and said, "Yun girl is possessed by a demon. Let's send her to find our third brother tomorrow and let her follow him into battle to kill the enemy!"

Shi Xiangyun showed her little tiger teeth and laughed, "Sister Bao, do you think I don't dare?"

Tanchun also said: "Third brother is really as brave as a champion marquis! It is my honor to be the sister of Third Brother Cong!"

All the other ladies also applauded and praised Jia Cong's bravery.

Only Lin Daiyu had a worried look on her face and looked distracted.

Xue Baoqin took Lin Daiyu's hand and said, "Sister, you don't have to worry anymore. The Third Master is a lucky man, and nothing will happen to him."

Lin Daiyu forced a smile and said, "Of course I know. I was just worrying for nothing."

"I wonder if he can eat and sleep well in the barracks?"

"I don't know how long it will take me to come back this time. I'm afraid I'll get tanned and become skinny due to hunger!"

Seeing Lin Daiyu like this, the girls hurried over to comfort her.

Xue Baochai felt sour in her heart.

After some consolation, Lin Daiyu gradually got better.

The girls got together and edited the newspaper.

Now, Daxia Monthly has become their career, and they all take it very seriously.

After finishing today's work, the women dispersed.

After returning to the room, Lin Daiyu was stunned for a while, then picked up another piece of clothing and started working on it.

After a while, Xue Baoqin walked in.

He asked with a smile, "What are you doing, sister?"

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "Sister, you are here. Come and sit down and talk. I am making winter clothes for my husband."

"It's getting colder day by day. By the time I'm done, it will be cold again. I'd better be busy."

Xue Baoqin smiled and said, "It's still a long way from being really cold now. Sister should take care of herself and not work too hard."

Lin Daiyu shook her head and said, "My husband is in the north now. It gets cold there early. We'd better make it as soon as possible and send it over."

Xue Baoqin nodded, but didn't want to persuade her any further.

In fact, she had already made a set of cotton-padded clothes.

Wait for two days and it will be delivered.

And Mrs. May has probably already done it.

Only Sister Lin's sewing skills were still a little lacking, and she insisted on doing it herself, which was why she was slow.

In fact, most of the cotton-padded clothes that Xue Baoqin made were made by her maids.

But it’s hard to say now.

They talked together for a while, and Lin Daiyu felt much more relieved.

……

More than ten days passed in a flash.

These days, Jia Cong has been busy scouting the terrain in the King's Palace.

Jia Cong surveyed the terrain of dozens of miles around Liangcheng.

He even took his personal soldiers and secretly ran out of Jizhou to conduct some reconnaissance.

Jia Cong himself is fine, he believes in his own insight.

He can judge whether he has been discovered or surrounded by the slightest movement around him.

So he was not that afraid.

But the fifty-one personal soldiers who followed him were different.

He followed the general deep into the Qing army and even came to the city of Jizhou, one of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

Almost all of these bodyguards were scared half to death.

Even the bravest person would become frightened at this moment.

But Jia Cong didn't care at all.

Instead, he focused on observing the situation inside Jizhou City.

Of course, because the distance was too far, he couldn't enter Jizhou City to observe it personally.

Even though the insight skill is extremely powerful, it can be called a magical skill.

But he couldn't tell how many soldiers were guarding Jizhou City.

According to Jia Cong's calculations.

As long as the number of defenders in Jizhou City is within five thousand, and as long as they can enter the city without being noticed, they will have a great chance of completely controlling Jizhou City.

And Jia Cong did not spend just one day to detect the situation outside Jizhou City.

Instead, he spent several days conducting a detailed survey of the situation around Jizhou City.

After detecting the military situation, Jia Cong returned to Liangcheng.

At this time, the Artisan Battalion had already completed the modification of all 3,000 longbows.

Next, Jia Cong ordered all the soldiers in the cavalry battalion to replace their bows with new ones after the modification.

Then let them get familiar with their new bow.

After using the new bows, the three thousand archers were all amazed and impressed.

The new bow was so easy to use. Not only was it much lighter than before and saved a lot of effort, but it also had a much longer range.

Half a month later, Niu Jizong summoned seventeen generals to his tent to discuss matters.

Jia Cong was naturally called over as well.

After everyone arrived, Niu Jizong couldn't help but say: "The Qing army is cunning and hateful. They didn't send a large army to besiege the city, but avoided the three cities we were guarding."

"Continue to send troops to plunder, burn, kill and loot everywhere."

"Earlier, our army sent two large armies out of the city to fight them, but both were defeated."

"I wonder if the generals have any good strategies to defeat the enemy?"

After Niu Jizong finished asking, sixteen of the seventeen generals lowered their heads and remained silent.

In a field battle, they were completely unable to defeat the Qing army.

Whoever goes out of the city to fight will surely be defeated, and may even lose his life.

In the previous two wars, the commanders of the cavalry battalions had lost their lives.

If you ask why not gather a large army and fight a decisive battle with the Qing Dynasty.

First of all, the Qing Dynasty is not stupid. Even if you have 150,000 troops ready to fight, the other side may not really fight with you.

Secondly, Niu Jizong did not dare to take the risk. Once an army of 150,000 was defeated at once, it would be completely over.

At this point, I'm afraid that whoever takes the lead will be sent out by General Niu.

Who dares to respond casually?

As for the fact that some people will eventually be unlucky and be chosen, there is nothing we can do about it.

In short, they themselves will never speak.

At this moment, Jia Cong took the initiative to say: "General, I am willing to go into battle and kill them by surprise!"

"I wonder if there are any specific trends in the Qing army's activities now?"

It is true that Jia Cong has been outside monitoring the enemy's situation for the past ten days.

But in the last few days, he secretly went to Jizhou to investigate the situation in Jizhou.

I really don't understand the movements of the Qing army in recent days.

When Niu Jizong heard Jia Cong volunteering, his expression became complicated.

To be honest, he didn't want Jia Cong to go to war.

Therefore, going into battle would be very dangerous.

If anything happened to Jia Cong, he would have a hard time explaining to the Jia family when he returned.

However, now that Jia Cong has volunteered, Niu Jizong is unable to stop him from fighting.

Now that no one else was willing to go to war, Jia Cong took the initiative to volunteer.

If he refused Jia Cong's request to fight again, what would the other seventeen generals think?

Thinking of this, Niu Jizong couldn't help but sigh in his heart and said, "General Jia took the initiative to volunteer, which is very good."

"Come here, tell General Jia about the Qing army's movements!"

"Yes, General!"

Soon, Niu Jizong's personal soldiers came out, stood in front of the sand table, and began to introduce the movements of the two groups of Qing troops.

The Qing army was still camped thirty miles in front of them.

They then sent out two more cavalry groups, each with two thousand men, forming two surprise attack teams.

These two teams would go out every now and then to burn, kill and loot.

In fact, these two cavalry units were just baits.

The purpose was to lure Xia Jun into the trap.

And Xia Jun also knew this.

This was an open conspiracy of the Qing army.

But Xia Jun had to stop them.

Soon, Niu Jizong's personal soldiers gave Jia Cong a brief description of the movement trajectories of the two Qing cavalry units.

Then Niu Jizong asked: "General Jia, which cavalry are you going to snipe?"

Jia Cong looked at the sand table for a while, then said, "Let's go west!"

Niu Jizong nodded and said, "Okay, I wish General Jia a great victory!"

"General Jia, don't be careless. If the situation is not right, you can retreat immediately. I will send the army out to support you!"

Jia Cong nodded and said, "Yes, General! By the way, General, I have some more information that I need to report to General Niu in person."

Niu Jizong nodded and immediately dissolved the parliament.

After everyone left, Niu Jizong couldn't help but say, "General Jia, I don't know what's going on, just tell me."

Jia Cong couldn't help but say: "General Niu, this time my target is not any of the two cavalry units, but the ambush troops that are preparing to attack them!"

Hearing this, Niu Jizong's eyes lit up.

He couldn't help but ask: "General Jia, do you know where their ambush is?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "I guess I guessed it, but when the time comes, we will need General Niu to help us."

Niu Jizong nodded and said, "General Jia, please tell me how you want me to respond?"

Jia Cong pointed to a spot on the sand table and said, "After I kill the Qing ambush troops tomorrow, they will definitely chase after me."

"If the general can ambush 20,000 soldiers here, he will surely be able to inflict heavy damage on their two cavalry armies!"

After Jia Cong finished speaking, Niu Jizong calmed down again.

He still couldn't believe Jia Cong.

In fact, ever since Jia Cong boasted about taking over Jizhou, one of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, Niu Jizong no longer believed Jia Cong.

Really, it's a bit exaggerated.

It’s the same this time, 20,000 soldiers and horses!
What if Jia Cong made a wrong judgment, and the 20,000 troops were targeted by the Qing army and even wiped them out in one fell swoop.

Then his career as a general would be over, and even his life would be uncertain.

Therefore, Niu Jizong really didn't dare to take any risks.

But he was unwilling to let this opportunity go in vain.

This young man Jia Cong is actually quite mysterious.

The top scholar who won six first prizes in a row was the best archer in the world. He killed more than a hundred Qing soldiers on his way.

What if his guess is true?
If he ignored it, wouldn't he be wasting such a great opportunity?
Thinking of this, Niu Jizong couldn't help but feel entangled. (End of this chapter)