RPAGF Chapter 19 Killing Generals
Chapter 19 Killing Generals
The Oirats couldn't wait any longer. With the main force of the Great Zhou army launching a fierce attack, Jiayuguan was on the verge of collapse, and the Dzungar tribe had other ideas.
If it weren't for the need for supplies from other tribes, the fact that Liu Hu had cut off their westward route, and the fact that crossing the desert from the north was too dangerous, the leader of the Dzungar tribe would probably have already fled with his men.
In order to stabilize the Dzungar tribe, Gushi Khan had no choice but to send troops to support Jiayuguan, but they were all blocked by Jia Daishan.
Not only was Jiayuguan, where the Dzungar Khanate was stationed, in grave danger, but other Oirat soldiers were also beginning to show signs of instability.
Because they ran out of food.
Yes, it has been more than half a month since Liu Hu cut off the supply lines. The army camp has almost run out of food, and now they have begun to forcibly requisition the life-saving food from the people of the Khoshut tribe.
The people were actually in a better position, but the warhorses were not. If the warhorses were starving and thin, then the Oirat people would completely lose their advantage. They couldn't just dismount and become infantry, could they?
If that's really the case, then why are they even bothering with the Great Zhou? They might as well just wash their necks clean and wait for the Great Zhou to come and chop them off.
Therefore, the leaders of the various tribes at the front line had no choice but to force the generals in charge of clearing the supply lines to do so within three days, or else they would have to bear the consequences.
After receiving the order, the Oirat general in charge of attacking Yangguan had no choice but to fight to the death.
Today, they ended the siege ahead of schedule, allowing their soldiers to rest and recuperate. They planned to launch a full-scale attack on the city walls at night, taking advantage of the Yangguan defenders' laxity.
Therefore, he took out the last of his rations and fed his soldiers a big meal, intending to die rather than fail.
And that's how Liu Hu and the others witnessed this scene.
With grass in their mouths and gags in their bridles, and cloth wrapped around the horses' hooves, Liu Hu and his men were so close to the Oirat camp that the Oirat people didn't even notice them, and they were enjoying their last supper to the fullest.
"kill!"
With a low roar from Liu Hu, the warhorse began to accelerate. As the speed increased, the sound of its hooves eventually became like muffled thunder in the night.
"lead!"
At Liu Hu's command, the soldiers rode their horses, drew their bows, and launched rockets wrapped in burning oilcloth straight at the Oirat camp.
"shoot!"
The Oirat people, who were just singing and dancing, were now in chaos. As the rockets landed, their tents began to burn.
"kill!"
After firing a round, Liu Hu and his men rushed to the front of the Oirat camp. Liu Hu took the lead, knocking over the barricades in front of the camp and charging in.
At this moment, the Oirat people had no time for pleasure; they were all frantically searching for their weapons and horses.
As the Zhou army stormed the camp, the campfires lit by the Oirat people provided convenience for Liu Hu and his men.
As the Zhou cavalry charged, they scattered the campfires, and the wind fanned the flames, filling the Oirat camp with the shouts of the Zhou army and the cries of the Oirat people.
"Wanhu, run! Run back and tell the chief to find a way back to the tribe immediately and lead the people of the tribe to escape."
"We Oirat people have failed this time, and the people of the Central Plains will never let us go."
Just then, Liu Hu, who was killing and burning people everywhere, heard voices coming from not far away. Looking in the firelight, he saw a Oirat general helping a young man in armor onto a horse and crying out in sorrow.
Seeing this, Liu Hu didn't hold back and charged straight towards them.
"Wanhu is at least the son of the leader of one of the five major Oirat tribes. If we can kill him, our own rank can be promoted again."
As for prisoners, Liu Hu never even considered it. Even though he was the son of Gushi Khan, Liu Hu didn't intend to keep him alive, after all, the tragic situation in the Central Plains was still fresh in his mind.
"kill!"
Liu Hu, leading a squad of personal guards, sent Oirat soldiers flying along the way, and charged forward, eyeing the young Oirat man.
"Hurry up!"
Seeing that the young general was still reluctant to leave, the Oirat general shouted something to the Oirat commander on horseback.
He then gathered dozens of Oirat men from the vicinity and launched a desperate charge against Liu Hu, hoping to slow Liu Hu down and buy time for the Oirat commander to escape.
Seeing the resolute look in the eyes of the Oirat general, Liu Hu felt a pang of regret: "He's a man of honor, but alas, he chose to become a bandit!"
As the saying goes, "His hero is my enemy."
Since that's the case, then...
"die!"
Liu Hu, who was at the forefront, let out a low roar and thrust his lance forward, piercing the Oirat general. He then swung it, knocking down several Oirat soldiers who were trying to stop him.
"Run... away..."
The Oirat general coughed up blood and foam, and died with his eyes wide open before he could finish his last words.
Dozens of Oirat soldiers quickly broke through.
Ignoring the fleeing Oirat people, Liu Hu focused his attention on the young man who was riding away on horseback, then leaped forward from his horse.
Although the Oirat commander's mount was also a divine steed, Liu Hu's warhorse, nurtured by Liu Hu's spatial spiritual water, was definitely much stronger than that Oirat commander's mount.
The centurion who had charged alongside Liu Hu watched the two figures gradually disappear into the distance, a hint of envy in his eyes.
Who wouldn't want a divine steed!
Seeing that they could no longer catch up with the two men, the centurion of the personal guards turned his horse around and shouted, "Kill!"
The Oirat chieftain Liu Hu was chasing was none other than Huchiha, the third son of the Torgut leader. He was lying on his horse, secretly regretting his actions.
"Why didn't you listen to General Erlan's advice back then? Why did you lack the vigilance that the people of the Wolf God should have?"
While filled with regret, he glanced back with a hateful look in his eyes.
But one glance sent shivers down his spine. In the darkness, a Zhou general rode a tall horse, less than a hundred paces away.
He drew his bow and arrow, staring intently at me.
"drive!"
He quickly bent down and whipped the horse beneath him hard.
However, even as he whipped his warhorse hard, the distance between them grew closer and closer, and he could now faintly hear the sound of hooves behind him.
He was about to turn around for a look when a string twanged, and he felt a sharp pain in his back, causing him to involuntarily straighten up.
He looked down and saw an arrow protruding from his chest. Suddenly, all his strength was drained, and he fell off his horse.
"drink!"
At this moment, Liu Hu disregarded the dead bodies on the ground, spurred his horse to catch up with the warhorse of the Oirat commander, pulled hard on the reins, and with the help of his own horse, directly pulled the Oirat commander's warhorse off course.
Liu Hu hurriedly dismounted, but didn't loosen his grip on the reins for a moment.
He grabbed the enemy general's horse by the head, and with a little force, the horse calmed down.
He then bent down to take a look, and a wide smile spread across his face: "Hehe, there's a stick!!"
Although his own warhorse was much better than this one, it had ultimately been rid of its source of troubles, and after ten years it would only be able to keep it as a pet.
This was a pity not only for Jia Daishan and his group, but also for Liu Hu himself.
Although he could continue to train them, he couldn't use all the spiritual water in the space to train warhorses.
Even if all of it is used for breeding, how many horses can be bred with that little water?
Now that we have a superior stallion, if we can raise it well, the probability of its offspring producing a divine steed will be much greater.
"Looks like we're in for a major financial blow this time!"
The distribution of spoils of war by the Great Zhou Dynasty drew inspiration from the Tang Dynasty's practice of dividing the spoils among three horses.
Keep enough for yourself, give enough to the army, and what's left is for the imperial court.
If Liu Hu wants to acquire this warhorse, he will need to pay additional funds to the army and the imperial court.
Dare to hoard confiscated goods? Zhang Wannian is a cautionary tale!
Liu Hu didn't mind spending some money; the spoils from this western expedition were enough for his family of three to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.
I'm afraid someone will try to take it from us. How many of those military officers like Jia Daishan, the Prince of Xining, are short of money?
If they're willing to spend more money, Liu Hu really won't be able to outbid them.
The reason Zhang Wannian kept that Khatun hidden was because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to compete with others for it.
Otherwise, a Tumed woman wouldn't be worth much, and it wouldn't be worth him risking violating military regulations to hide that Khatun.
"or……"
Liu Hu's eyes suddenly lit up. He glanced around discreetly, then stroked the horse's back and muttered, "Gather!"
The warhorse in front of them vanished instantly.
"Luckily, I caught up with them by myself, otherwise it would have been really difficult to handle."
With a satisfied clapped hand, Liu Hu turned around, placed the corpse of the Oirat commander across his horse, and rode away into the night.
"Quickly gather the horses and tally the spoils!"
When Liu Hu returned to the Oirat camp, he found that the battle was already over.
One of his commanders was directing his soldiers to collect the corpses of the Oirat people and tally the spoils of war.
Soldiers were also gathering the frightened warhorses of the Oirat people.
"Commander He!"
The commander suddenly heard the sound behind him and was about to turn around and curse, but when he saw Liu Hu, he immediately bowed and ran over.
"General, have you caught a big fish?"
After spending time together, he also came to understand He Qianhu's personality.
They seem carefree, but they're full of ulterior motives and incredibly daring, always trying to get something for themselves.
But he was very good at fighting and knew how to fight; he was the type who made fewer big mistakes than small ones.
People like this kind of person, while others don't. As Liu Hu's superior, he doesn't usually care too much about these things, but he still finds them quite troublesome.
As he greeted Liu Hu, he kept glancing at the corpse on the horse's back.
His eyes lit up when he saw the armor on the corpse, and he said with a fawning expression, "General, look at this fine armor, it's a waste to wear it on him."
"Yes, it's a real waste!" Liu Hu said, looking at him meaningfully. "That's why I plan to keep it for myself."
After saying that, he turned his horse around and planned to go somewhere else.
"No, General, you already have a set, why waste money like that!"
Commander He immediately pulled on the reins and pleaded, "General, the armor you are wearing was bestowed by the Emperor, and it was worn on a dead person. Wearing it brings bad luck."
A hint of impatience flashed across Liu Hu's face, but the other party had also said that he would pay for it, and it wouldn't count as private possession of confiscated goods.
Not only Liu Hu himself, but even the commanders under his command kept their distance from Commander He after several such incidents.
He was indeed a skilled fighter, but he was also incredibly cunning and his tendency to only seek advantage and never suffer losses made him very unpopular among his colleagues.
He's somewhat like Li Yunlong from "Bright Sword," but he doesn't have Li Yunlong's overall perspective.
Unable to resist his persistent requests, Liu Hu finally had no choice but to give him the armor.
After cleaning up the battlefield, seeing Commander He looking smug in his new armor, Liu Hu ordered the camp to be burned down and the troops to return the way they came.
With the threat from the east gone, Liu Hu focused all his efforts on repelling the enemy's attack from the west, leaving only a few soldiers on guard.
Perhaps knowing of the enemy's defeat in the east, the enemy's attack in the west also became much less intense the next day.
Even with threats and inducements from the Oirat people, the Western Regions troops responsible for the siege had lost their previous morale, and their attacks were perfunctory.
Upon discovering this, Liu Hu immediately ordered: "Commander Qin, gather all available troops immediately. When the Oirat army retreats from their next attack, we will immediately leave the pass and pursue them."
"General, isn't this too risky?"
Although the previous action proved Liu Hu was right, Qin Qianhu still couldn't help but offer advice this time.
After all, this time is different from the last time. Last time, the Oirat army numbered less than 5,000, and it was a night raid.
But this time, there were still 50,000 enemy troops on the city wall. In broad daylight, if they went out to fight, they would be surrounded and wiped out by the enemy if they were not careful.
"Hmph!" Liu Hu sneered disdainfully, "Although the enemy forces waiting for us below the city number 50,000, the Oirat forces number only a little over 10,000, and most of them are old and weak."
"As for the remaining 30,000-plus Western Region people, as long as we scare them into submission, they will help us break through their own defenses."
"Haven't you noticed that their attacks have lost their momentum from before? This shows that the people of the Western Regions no longer want to serve the Oirats."
"You'll be in charge of defending against the enemy's next attack. Just remember to hold them off and try not to kill too many people. We'll need them to help us charge into battle later."
Seeing that Liu Hu had made up his mind, Commander Qin could no longer persuade him and could only accept the order and leave.
Once he had assembled his troops, Liu Hu entrusted the city's defense to him.
"Haha, you guys don't know..."
When Liu Hu rode his horse to the front of the battle, he could hear He Qianhu's loud voice from afar.
He was wearing the armor he had captured last time, riding his horse with a smug look on his face, showing it off to the soldiers around him, completely ignoring the contemptuous looks from the others.
"Alright, you've really shown off. If the battle turns bad, forget about this armor, you'll lose your head!"
Liu Hu interrupted his boasting with a cold face, and then glanced around at the soldiers who had gone into battle with him this time.
This time, Commander Qin went all out, giving Liu Hu nearly three thousand men while he himself only left a few hundred to guard the city.
All three thousand men were armored. Although they were not heavy cavalry, they were enough to charge the enemy forces to the west, who were not even fully equipped with leather armor.
After all, those enemies were not the elite of the Oirat forces, and they did not have much fighting power. Although there were 50,000 of them, they were not much different from bandits.
This is also why in ancient times, once the main force was defeated, other places would usually be pacified by issuing proclamations.
They really can't win against local defense forces.