Jia Yujing of Red Mansion

Chapter 305 Death Place

Liaodong Town, Qinghe Fort.

The setting sun is like blood, shining on the ancient city, and also shining on the Xiaoling River not far away.

A row of wild geese lined up in a herringbone formation, screaming and flying over Qinghe Fort. Coupled with the golden color of the distant mountains, it was really a refreshing autumn scenery.

However, at this time, the soldiers in Qinghe Fort were not in the mood to appreciate the beautiful scenery at all.

The broken corpses and the smoke from the artillery fire that could be seen everywhere all showed that this place had just experienced a brutal battle.

Half a month ago, Jianzhou Jurchens dispatched 80,000 troops south to plunder.

Crow Falcon Pass was originally a dangerous place where one man was responsible for the pass and no one could enter. The terrain here is narrow and surrounded by mountains on three sides. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. There are 15,000 defenders stationed all year round.

Although there are 80,000 Jurchens, facing such a dangerous situation, even if they attack by force for two or three months, they may not be able to make a breakthrough.

But no one expected that during the years when the Jurchens were dormant, they had secretly bribed Ruan Xianzong, the deputy general of the Crow Falcon Pass.

Ruan Xianzong led his troops to rebel and surrendered, causing Crow Falcon Pass to be captured in less than five days. This also caught Li Chuanying, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, by surprise.

Originally, the center of gravity of Liaodong's defense had always been in the Liaoyang area, which was also the most common route for the Jurchens to go south. Therefore, Li Chuanying concentrated heavy troops here, which in turn left the Jinzhou area empty of troops.

In addition, the war in Liaodong has not been active in recent years, and most of the guard troops have neglected training, and their combat effectiveness has seriously declined.

As a result, the Jurchens marched straight in, as if they were entering uninhabited territory, and within a few days they defeated Dafu Fort, Dasheng Fort, Liushui Fort, and Sanhe Fort, and their troops pointed directly at the hinterland of Jinzhou.

Qinghe Fort is the last barrier in front of Jinzhou. Once Qinghe Fort is breached, dozens of villages and towns on the Jinzhou Plain will be massacred by the Jurchen cavalry.

Li Chuanying, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, sent people to organize the evacuation of the people, and quickly mobilized 3,000 troops from Guangning Zuotun Guard to reinforce Qinghe Fort.

The leading commander, Li Zhirong, was Li Chuanying's son, and he was ordered to hold Qinghe Fort for eight days to buy time for the army to re-build its defense line.

Although Qinghe Fort has terrain advantages, it is not one of those impregnable and dangerous passes.

More than 3,000 people have to defend for eight days against 70,000 to 80,000 people. This is an almost impossible task.

Li Chuanying gave such an order and almost pushed his son to death with one hand.

The first thing Li Zhirong did after arriving at Qinghe Fort was to order people to block the only gate of Qinghe Fort with sand and gravel.

In this way, he didn't have to worry about the Jurchens' city-attack vehicles, but it also cut off his retreat.

Today is the fifth day of the Jurchen attack on Qinghe Fort, and most of the 3,000 troops brought by Li Zhirong have been killed or injured.

Including the original 500 defenders of Qinghe Fort, they could barely make up a thousand who could still go into battle.

Li Zhirong had just repelled another attack by the Jurchens. He stood on the edge of the city wall holding a saber and spat fiercely as he watched the troops retreating like a tide from the city.

However, this move seemed to affect the wound on his shoulder, causing him to grimace in pain.

“It will be dark soon, and the Jurchens should not attack the city again today.

Brothers, if you still have the strength, carry the dead brothers down first. Be gentle and don't disturb their sleep! "

Li Zhirong gave the order loudly, and the soldiers on the city began to clean the battlefield silently.

Although there were hundreds of people moving around the entire city, except for the wails of wounded soldiers, there was no sound at all, and it felt lifeless.

These soldiers were exhausted and had no desire to speak.

At this time, an old soldier who looked to be forty or fifty years old came to Li Zhirong. Seeing the blood on his shoulder, he asked with concern: "Third Master, you are injured. Is it serious? Let me see." ."

This old pawn was a son of the Li family. He had followed Li Chuanying in the north and south for more than 20 years. After Li Zhirong joined the army the year before last, he was sent by Li Chuanying to his side.

Facing this veteran of many battles, Li Zhirong did not dare to be disrespectful at all.

He waved his hand and said, "I have nothing wrong with me, Uncle Dong. I was just scratched a few times by the cold arrows of the Tartars."

Dong Bo was worried, and pointed to the side seriously and said, "Sit down and let me take a look." Li Zhirong curled his lips helplessly, but he still sat down on the pile of stones obediently and let Dong Bo check him.

"Fortunately, the wound is not deep. Just apply some gold wound medicine. I will bandage it for you. Just bear with it."

After Dong Bo checked it, he took out the gold medicine and linen from his arms and started to bandage Li Zhirong's wound.

Li Zhirong grinned and said, "Let me just say, it's just a scratch.

Hiss, tap lightly...

By the way, Dong Bo, how many of us are left? "

Dong Bo said calmly: "There are more than 700 people who can use the knife, and they are all good men."

The smile on Li Zhirong's face slowly faded. He was silent for a while and said, "Dongbo, tell the gang leader to kill all the horses so that everyone can have a good meal."

Dong Bo's hand movements were inaudible for a moment, then he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll make arrangements."

Dong Bo finished bandaging Li Zhirong and then went down the city wall. The last ray of sunlight shone on his gray hair bun, making his back look particularly bleak.

Li Zhirong watched Dong Bo leave. He could feel the sadness of the veterans. Ma was their comrade, and he felt very sad.

"Brothers, get ready for dinner. Let's eat meat today. Let's make a lot of it and keep it full!"

Li Zhirong shouted boldly, as if there was still inexhaustible strength hidden in his body.

"good!……"

The silent soldiers cheered upon hearing this.

Although they didn't know whether they could survive this battle, they were happy enough to have a meal of meat.

The morale, which was very low just now, became excited again. Sometimes the soldiers' thoughts were so simple.

Li Zhirong leaned against the wall tiredly and raised his head inadvertently, just in time to see the bright moon in the sky.

In a daze, he seemed to see a beautiful figure in the bright moon, that was his childhood sweetheart.

Her father has already issued a letter of engagement, and he will be able to marry her next year.

Thinking of this, Li Zhirong slowly closed his eyes with a knowing smile on his face.

"Commander, the Tatars seem to be attacking the city again. Look!"

A shout awoke Li Zhirong from his sweet dream. He opened his eyes suddenly, climbed up, held on to the battlements and looked out. Unknown to him, the cloak draped on him slipped to the side.

Outside the dark Jurchen camp two miles away, piles of bonfires were lit one after another. The blazing flames were so bright that they eclipsed the light of the moon.

Several catapults creaked as they were pushed out of the camp, and groups of soldiers with torches filed out.

Li Zhirong knew that the Jurchens were anxious and planned to attack the city overnight, so he cursed loudly: "What a fool, these Tatars can't even sleep.

Brothers, hurry up and eat, and fuck your mother hard when you’re full! "

"promise!"

The soldiers promised loudly and their morale was high.

Dong Bo handed him a large piece of horse meat and said, "You should also eat some. The Jurchens will not stop until they break the city."

Li Zhirong nodded, took the meat and ate it silently, but the corners of his eyes were moist.

"Zhui Feng, wait for me, I will be with you soon."

(End of this chapter)