The First Family of the Red Mansion

Chapter 27 The Final Battle

Although a few Oirat people escaped Zhou's pursuit under the cover of night, Gushi Khan, who had been kept under Liu Hu's watchful eye, ultimately failed to escape again this time.

"Great Khan, it's really not easy to invite you for a drink!"

Looking at Gushi Khan being brought up by Zhao Changjiu and the others, Liu Hu carefully examined him for a while and found that he had not arrested the wrong person; it was indeed Gushi Khan himself.

"snort!"

Gushi Khan was covered in mud and snow, his crown and hat were nowhere to be seen, and his hair was disheveled and hanging down his back.

He first glanced at Liu Hu with resentment, then turned his head away, adopting an attitude of "do whatever you want with me."

"Alright, since Gushi Khan is not grateful, and we have recovered the grain supplies, everyone has been working hard all day. Let's cook a meal and have something warm before we go back."

Now that Gushi Khan had been captured, Liu Hu couldn't just stand by and watch everyone starve and freeze, so he ordered that food be prepared first.

"Thank you, General!"

The soldiers searched all day and then chased after the enemy for over a hundred miles in the wind and snow at night before finally capturing the Khan of the Oirat.

If it weren't for the fact that it's still snowy and icy in the wild, the soldiers would have already gone to sleep.

Now that they have achieved their battle merits, and they hear they can even have a hot meal, how could the soldiers not be happy?

After sharing a hot meal with his soldiers, Liu Hu and his men led the cold and hungry Gushi Khan back.

Gushi Khan was also tough; he let the Zhou army escorting him do as they pleased without uttering a sound!

"Forget it, let the commander and the others worry about it."

Liu Hu looked at Gushi Khan, who was determined to die, and suddenly felt a headache coming on.

Gushi Khan was, after all, the Great Khan of the Oirat Mongols. Now that he had been captured, Liu Hu certainly dared not dispose of him on his own.

Upon returning to Yangguan, he immediately ordered someone to inform Zhao Zhong at Yumenguan and the rear command camp, and sent men to escort Gushi Khan to Yumenguan.

"General, the soldiers are all ready."

"According to statistics, the whereabouts of two hundred of Gushi Khan's personal guards are still unknown..."

"Forget it, no need to look anymore. Let's just bring all the scouts back."

Before Zhao Changjiu could finish his report, Liu Hu waved his hand and said, "If I'm not mistaken, those two hundred personal guards were just bait used by Gushi Khan to lure us to the Qilian Mountains. They were just expendable pawns anyway, so let them go."

"You've had a long day, and your injury hasn't healed yet. Go home and rest!"

"yes!"

After Zhao Changjiu left, Liu Hu stepped out of the tent and looked at the swirling snowflakes: "The Western Regions should have a good harvest next year, right?"

At this point, Jia Daishan did not continue leading his troops to Yumen Pass.

While pursuing the main force of the Oirat army, the commander of the right wing of the army, Prince Xining, who was marching along the desert, suddenly reported that the main force of the Oirat army was fleeing north.

Shortly afterward, news came back from Yumen Pass confirming that Gushi Khan had fled north with his main force.

He then immediately ordered Zhao Zhong and the Prince of Xining to block the main force of the Oirat Mongols, and then turned north to encircle the main force from behind.

"Ugh!"

Jia Daishan sighed as he looked at the snow falling heavily outside, then said self-deprecatingly, "Ever since the Western Expedition, it seems like I, the commander-in-chief, have been chasing after the Oirat people the whole time. Apart from the battle at Wushaoling, I haven't had a proper fight with the Oirat people before they ran away on their own."

"Hahaha……"

As soon as he said this, bursts of laughter immediately filled the command tent.

Fortunately, the Oirat people had already been defeated by this time, otherwise they would have been the ones suffering.

With a heavy weight lifted from their hearts and a great victory looming in the western expedition, the generals in their command tents were much more relaxed.

"General, you can't say that. If you hadn't been in command of the central army, holding back the main force of the Oirat army, how could we have achieved such a great victory?"

"Indeed, Commander-in-Chief's strategy is brilliant. First, he breached Wushao Pass, then boldly sent troops deep behind enemy lines to cut off the Oirat's supply lines. How could the Oirat possibly collapse without a fight?"

"It's a pity that the Dzungar Khanate escaped; otherwise, we would have achieved a complete victory in this battle."

Listening to the flattery from the generals in the command tent, Jia Daishan waved his hand: "Alright, we haven't caught up with the main force of the Oirat yet, it's too early to talk about victory or defeat."

Although Zhou Jun has gained an absolute advantage in the upcoming decisive battle, Jia Daishan, as the commander-in-chief, must not let his guard down at this moment.

There are many examples in history of battles where the enemy was turned around in a desperate situation!

The lessons of the former Ming emperor Zhengtong are still fresh in our minds: 500,000 men were defeated by 20,000 Oirat soldiers. Therefore, we must not be complacent at this time.

In this western expedition, Jia Daishan's role was similar to that of Wei Qing during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. Although he did not show off his abilities, he was definitely the pillar of the western expeditionary force.

It was precisely because he led the main force step by step, holding back the main force of the Oirat front, that Liu Hu's long-distance raid was created.

This is why a skilled warrior doesn't achieve great feats; watching him fight is utterly boring.

It's nothing more than dragging things out and then pushing them along.

Such people are the ballast of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and it's no wonder that Emperor Anping still took such good care of the Jia family after Jia Daishan's death.

In contrast, Liu Hu took some risks during his entire western expedition.

However, no one can ignore his military achievements. It can be said that without Liu Hu, this western expedition would very likely have failed.

"Has there been any news from General Liu?"

With the decisive battle imminent, Jia Daishan wanted Liu Hu to gain more military merits so that the emperor could promote him more effectively.

"Not yet, because he was seriously injured before and was just sent to Yangguan to recuperate yesterday. No Oirat army has been found there, only 5,000 Oirat soldiers are keeping watch, so there shouldn't be any problems."

As the only remaining personal guard still serving Jia Daishan, Zhang Wannian has now taken on the task of transmitting intelligence.

Jadun used to be in charge of these things, but...

"Alas! It looks like he'll miss the decisive battle against the Oirats!"

Jia Daishan looked regretful, then said to the generals present, "Then let's set off immediately and go to the desert to meet Gushi Khan."

"Report... A battle report has arrived from Yangguan. The night before last, Gushi Khan and the leader of the Durbet tribe mingled with a small force and headed south, then deliberately created a diversion in an attempt to escape."

"Fortunately, General Liu, the garrison commander, was astute and insightful. After a day and a night of pursuit, he finally killed more than 6,000 enemy soldiers, and captured the leader of the Durbet tribe and the enemy chieftain Gushi Khan!"

"Clang!"

The messenger had barely finished speaking when a general was jolted awake by the chair behind him, staring at the messenger in disbelief: "What did you say? Gushi Khan and the leader of the Durbet tribe have been captured over at Yangguan Pass?"

"Yes, this is a letter sent by General Liu, the garrison commander of Yangguan."

As he spoke, the messenger took out a slip of paper and handed it over.

At this moment, Jia Daishan also came to his senses and hurriedly took the flying letter to read it.

It's no wonder they lost their composure; just moments ago they were thinking about whether this decisive battle would allow them to capture Gushi Khan and elevate their titles.

Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, the greatest achievement had been taken by a detachment, which also took away a main course, leaving them only some soup and broth.

How can they stand that?

"General...?"

Finally, one of the generals couldn't help but ask Jia Daishan, who had just finished reading the battle report.

"It should be true. Liu Hu wouldn't dare to lie about something like this. Gushi Khan and the leader of the Durbet tribe are already on their way to Yumen Pass."

Even Jia Daishan felt a little jealous of Liu Hu at this time. Although he hoped that Liu Hu could make more contributions in this western expedition, he did not expect that he would make such great contributions.

Given his previous military achievements, once the Western Expedition is over, he will surely be promoted to viscount, earl, and possibly even marquis.

Thinking of the accumulation of two generations of his family's hard work and dedication in fighting for the court, he finally earned the title of Duke.

Although he knew that his title could not be promoted any further, otherwise he would become a thorn in the side of the royal family, he still couldn't help but feel a little unwilling.

Liu Hu almost caught up with the efforts of two generations of his family through just one western expedition.

"Very well, at least His Majesty now has his own trusted confidants in the army."

Composing himself, Jia Daishan looked at the somewhat dejected generals below and loudly questioned, "Gentlemen, now that General Liu has captured Gushi Khan, we cannot fail the court's expectations."

"The main force of the Oirat is still trying to escape. All units must immediately break camp and not let the main force of the Oirat get away."

"If you slack off, don't blame military law for being merciless."

"yes!"

Although some people were still unwilling, they dared not say anything.

Now that Liu Hu has captured Gushi Khan, the main force of the Oirat Mongols really cannot be allowed to escape, otherwise they will become a laughing stock on this western expedition.

"Chief, we are blocked by Zhou troops to the east and west, and small groups of Zhou troops have also appeared to the north. We..."

The Torgut leader at this time was completely devoid of the high spirits he had when he was leading an army of 40,000 men.

He stopped his horse and looked eastward, where his territory lay, seemingly close yet also far away.

They were so close to escaping Zhou Jun's army, but now they can't go back.

They had already run out of food last night, and had originally wanted to discuss things with Gushi Khan.

Who would have thought that Gushi Khan would pull off a clever escape, with the main force's banner and all the ceremonial regalia following the main force northward, while he himself secretly led his men southward.

"You should have said so earlier! If you had a plan all along, why didn't you include me?"

He now understood that he was merely bait thrown out by Gushi Khan, and even if he had known beforehand, Gushi Khan would not have taken him with him when he fled.

Without him, how could Zhou Jun believe that Gushi Khan was really here?

At this moment, the army's food supplies were cut off, and their retreat route was also blocked by the Zhou army. At this point, he had no choice but to fight the Zhou army to the death.

But before that...

"Tiluhu, will you really obey my orders from now on?"

"Rest assured, Chief. The Khan gave orders before he left that we shall obey all your commands."

"That would be for the best. As you know, we are now out of supplies. In order to break through the Zhou army's blockade and return to the Western Regions as soon as possible, I order you to lead the warriors of the Khoshut tribe to launch an attack on the Zhou army in the northwest."

"Before nightfall, you must tear open a crack for us."

"yes!"

As the commander of the Khoshut tribe left behind by Gushi Khan, Tiluhu understood that Gushi Khan's decision to have them stay here to obey the Torgut leader was a way of giving an explanation with the lives of his 20,000 men.

As a confidant of Gushi Khan, he knew that the Torghut tribe was using them to pave the way, but he still led his 20,000 Khoshut warriors to charge against the Zhou army in the northwest without hesitation.

"What are these Oirat people up to? They know we're prepared, yet they still intend to break through our defenses."

Seeing the charging Oirat cavalry, Putila immediately ordered the chariots in front to form a defensive formation.

They didn't need to launch an attack; they could simply hold off the Oirat people until the nearby Zhou army arrived, at which point the Oirat people would be trapped.

The infantry in front formed a battle formation, while he himself led the cavalry to patrol the surrounding area, blocking the enemies on both flanks.

After the Oirat people withdrew, the entire Hexi Corridor was opened up, so Zhou's army no longer needed to worry about supply issues.

Although the Oirat army outnumbered the Zhou army, they were already out of food, and even with their desperate charge, they were still stopped by the Zhou army.

As Zhou troops from nearby areas arrived to provide support, this Oirat army was completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of Zhou soldiers.

On the other side, just as the Zhou army in front had gone to the north to provide support, the Torghut tribe had just passed through this gap when they ran headlong into the main force of the Zhou army that was flanking them from behind.

Seeing the endless main force of Zhou's army, the leader of the Torgut tribe and his 20,000 troops completely lost the courage to resist.

"Is it fate or destiny?"

The leader of the Torgut tribe couldn't help but look up at the sky and sigh.

"Surrender! Gushi Khan is waiting for you at Yumen Pass, Chief!"

Jia Daishan looked calmly at the Torgut leader opposite him, who had shown a death wish, and the desperate Oirat soldiers.

"Gushi Khan schemed and plotted, but in the end, he could not escape the fate of becoming a prisoner!"

He didn't believe Jia Daishan was lying to him; after all, Jia Daishan was already at his wit's end, so what would be the point of lying to him now?

"But don't even dream of letting me live a little longer like Gushi Khan. As the leader of the Oirat Torgut tribe, I naturally have my own way of dying."

As he spoke, he suddenly drew the curved knife from his waist, held it to his neck, and pulled sharply.

"puff!"

A stream of blood gushed from his neck, his eyes fixed on the homeland behind Zhou Jun, filled with reluctance.

"leader……"

His personal guards hurriedly caught the body that was about to fall from its horse, confirming that their leader was dead. The hundreds of guards around him surrounded their leader's body, silently bowing their heads and humming ancient and long tunes as they sent their leader into the embrace of the Eternal Heaven.

Zhou Jun on the opposite side watched quietly, and Jia Daishan did not take the opportunity to order an attack.

This is a sign of respect for the Torgut leader and his loyal followers, and has nothing to do with ethnic hatred.

As the ceremony of collecting the spoils came to an end, the personal guards of the Torgut leader raised their scimitars and followed their leader without hesitation.

Seeing what was happening before them, the other Oirat people knew they could not escape now. They were also moved by the tragic atmosphere they had just witnessed, and they all mounted their horses and drew their swords.

"kill!"

"attack!"

With Jia Daishan's order, the Zhou army, which had surrounded them, seemed to be bringing this western expedition to a close.