Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 178, Protecting His Majesty

Emperor Longqing's troops migrating south were unaware of the dangers ahead and they continued along the original route.

The team passed Dongxianpo first. The ambush troops at Dongxianpo did not rush to take action, but watched quietly as the southward migrating team walked into the encirclement ahead.

Emperor Longqing leaned out from the imperial carriage, and the cold air coming from the outside made him feel a little uncomfortable.

"Your Majesty, don't catch a cold!"

A gentle voice came from beside me.

The beauty reached out and supported Emperor Longqing's body.

The dew is thick and the flowers are thin, and the face is beautiful.

This is Emperor Longqing’s concubine, Concubine Zhou.

The original empress of Emperor Longqing had passed away. Emperor Longqing was not interested in women, and since the crown prince had already come of age, he did not appoint a new empress. Now there were only two concubines in the harem, one was Concubine Wu and the other was Concubine Zhou.

Originally, Emperor Longqing had not thought of asking his concubine to accompany him. After all, the country was in danger and he was not in the mood to do so.

It was just that I happened to see Concubine Zhou yesterday. She was thin and frail, wearing only a plain horse-faced skirt and a white cross-collared long gown. She had nothing else on her, and her accessories were very simple, with only a pearl hairpin to match.

Emperor Longqing sent someone to ask about it, and Concubine Zhou replied: "In times of national crisis, I have no special skills, I can only save money and do my best."

Emperor Longqing liked this answer very much, so he ordered someone to ask Concubine Zhou to ride with him.

The carriage was moving, passing by a village in the suburbs.

Emperor Longqing looked from afar and saw that most of the houses were dilapidated and there were few people. He became puzzled and called Dai Quan to ask.

"Why is this village so dilapidated and there are no people in it?"

Dai Quan followed Emperor Longqing's gaze and sweat broke out on his forehead.

"This... the people have had a good income since your majesty's new policy. Now that it is very cold in winter, they should have gone to the city to spend the winter."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Longqing couldn't help but worry about the people.

After I leave, this place will most likely be occupied by foreign tribes from the grassland. Will the people still be able to live a good life like they do now?
The carriage continued to move forward, and in front of it was the Juma River Stone Bridge area.

When passing through such an area, it is natural to send scouts to check whether there is an ambush.

Shi Nai then sent two teams of scouts to investigate.

At this time, there were one thousand Huaiyin soldiers ambushed on each side of the Dashi Bridge.

The Huaiyin soldiers covered themselves with straw mats, straw covers and other items. Because of the fallen snow, they looked the same color as the surrounding area, and without careful observation, it was impossible to tell that there was an ambush.

The scouts in charge of the investigation were all members of the Imperial Guards. They lived a life of luxury and had never experienced real war, so their inspection was very sloppy. They just glanced back and forth on their horses and then passed by.

The carriage continued to move forward.

When they were about two or three miles (about 1000 to 1500 meters) away from Dashiqiao, Shi Nai sent scouts to check again.

This time, the focus was no longer on checking for ambushes, but rather whether the stone bridge was strong enough to ensure passage.

After all, the team migrating south was huge and had many people. Some of them carried huge amounts of wealth, such as King Zhongshun. The cart of gold had pressed down the ground along the way, leaving two deep grooves. If the stone bridge couldn't bear the weight, it would be the end of them.

Two teams of scouts arrived and dismounted to carefully inspect the stone bridge.

Seeing this, the Huaiyin troops on both sides of the stone bridge realized they could no longer hide.

Their camouflage looked okay from a distance, but there were many flaws once you looked at it up close. The two previous teams of scouts only took a cursory glance and therefore did not notice the flaws. This time, the other side checked carefully, and it was only a matter of time before they were exposed.

Fortunately, Emperor Longqing was already very close at this time, so there would be no big problem even if he was exposed.

The Huaiyin bandits on both sides simultaneously lifted up their straw mats and lids, picked up their swords, guns, bows and crossbows and rushed forward.

The two teams of scouts who were checking were completely confused. How could so many people suddenly appear on the snow?
In just a moment, the scouts were pierced with arrows.

Then the Huaiyin army quickly rushed towards the southward migrating team.

At this time, the distance between the two sides was very close, only about two miles. This distance could be considered a matter of life and death for college students in the previous life, but for these experienced soldiers, it was a military achievement within their grasp. Ennobling my wife and my son, today!
There was no official below the third rank in the entire southward migration team. Capturing any one of them would be a great achievement!
"kill!"

The soldiers rushed forward.

Fang Yong, who was in Shagou upstream, saw the signal and immediately led his troops out.

Emperor Longqing was sitting in the carriage, not knowing what was going on, when suddenly the carriage stopped abruptly and countless panicked voices were heard all around.

"Why are you panicking?"

Emperor Longqing leaned forward to ask and bumped into Dai Quan.

"Your Majesty, run away! The Huaiyin bandits are coming to kill us!"

Dai Quan said urgently.

Emperor Longqing was horrified.

Before he could take a closer look, the carriage quickly turned around and fled to the right rear.

The reason why they did not flee backwards was that the people behind them were those who had followed them to migrate south. There were too many of them and they were crowded together, making it difficult to escape.

Emperor Longqing glanced into the distance and saw smoke and dust billowing. He could not see clearly, but he could see rows of figures rushing towards him. They were holding swords and guns in their hands, looking ferocious and vicious.
"Protect Your Majesty!"

Dai Quan shouted at the top of his voice.

Shi Nai rushed over upon hearing the noise and ordered his imperial guards to step forward and form a battle formation to form a line of defense.

Dai Quan fled with Emperor Longqing along with another group of Yulin Guards.

The carriage was driving on the bumpy road.

Because the imperial carriage was too large and the road was uneven, it could not travel very fast.

It was a distance of two miles, and it took only three or four minutes for the Huaiyin army to catch up.

The imperial guards formed a military formation, and the archers in the formation drew their bows and shot arrows to attack the Huaiyin army.

Although these imperial guards lacked experience, their physical fitness was acceptable and their equipment was very sophisticated. After a burst of continuous shooting, many of the charging Huaiyin soldiers were shot down by arrows.

But this could not stop the Huaiyin army's momentum of charge.

In war, casualties are all too common!
These Huaiyin troops were all Fang Yong's direct troops. They started the uprising in Huaizhou and successively attacked Huaizhou, Yancheng, Zhongwu, Yangzhou, Hailing, Jinling, Chuzhou, Xuzhou and other places. They fought dozens of large-scale field battles and sieges, and there were countless other small battles.

The casualties before their eyes did not move the Huaiyin army at all. They charged forward steadily, with firm and decisive eyes, not afraid of death at all.

A Huaiyin soldier rushed to the front. His name was Fang Danian. He was a relative of Fang Yong. He was born in Fangjiazhuang and joined Fang Yong's team early on.

Fang Yong did not give him any privileges, but Fang Danian relied on his own qualifications and military exploits to be promoted step by step to the position of centurion.

At this time, he led his soldiers and charged forward.

Fang Danian crouched with a small round shield raised to protect his head. Unfortunately, he was hit in the shoulder by an arrow during the charge. However, as a centurion, Fang Danian already had a full set of armor at this time, so the arrow did not cause much damage.

Fang Danian was the first to rush forward. When he got close, he swung his round shield and hit a royal guard in the face, breaking his nose.

Then he took out his crossbow, emptied the arrows without hesitation, and shot and killed two more royal guards.

At this time, other Huaiyin troops also rushed up and engaged in a fierce battle with this group of imperial guards.

When Fang Danian saw a man who looked like an officer, he rushed up to him without hesitation. In the man's horrified gaze, he stabbed his knife into the soft gap under his waist and killed him.

Blood spurted out and splashed all over Fang Danian.

Fang Danian did not stop at all and continued to kill the enemy.

He is no longer the farmer who was once bullied by others.

(End of this chapter)