The First Family of the Red Mansion

Chapter 16 Taking Yumen Pass

Looking at the Han people pushing carts full of grain and fodder, Papati felt an indescribable sense of pride.

Moreover, through various means, 30% of the grain had already been lost. Once this grain was resold, it would fetch tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Although a portion still had to be shared with the Oirat nobles, it was still more than what he had earned in a whole year by honestly running a business.

Just as he was calculating how much silver he could earn from this trip, the sound of horses' hooves came from afar.

"alert!"

Although the rear was safe, he dared not be careless. After all, there was his money in there. If something went wrong, not to mention how the Oirat people would deal with him, he himself would feel bad for a long time.

As the sound of hooves grew closer, Papati gradually came into view of the group of people approaching them.

Seeing that they were from the Western Regions like himself, Papati gradually relaxed.

This grain route isn't used by just one family; who knows which Oirat noble family these Western Region people belong to?

Seeing that the other party was approaching without any intention of making way, Papati was angry, but since he didn't know where the group came from, he didn't dare to retaliate. He could only order his men to drive the Han Chinese transporting the grain aside to avoid a conflict.

The group of Western Region people had cold expressions. When they passed by, they only glanced at them indifferently before suddenly stopping in front of Papati.

"Which tribe are you from?"

The leader of the Western Regions looked at Papati with an arrogant and disdainful expression.

Papati secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "Luckily, we didn't get into a conflict with them. Judging from their equipment, they were clearly the elite troops under that nobleman. If I had offended them, my master wouldn't have stood up for me."

"Reporting to this sir, I am Papati, a chiliarch under Lord Heheha of the Torgut tribe, and I have been ordered to escort grain supplies to Yumen Pass."

"The Torgut tribe?"

Upon hearing Papati's reply, Puttila first frowned, then stared at Papati silently, her face showing a conflicted expression.

Papati's heart leaped into his throat upon seeing this: "Oh no, have we run into Master's enemy?"

"When did you depart? Do you have any customs clearance documents?"

"Yes, yes, yes..."

Papati hurriedly replied, then shouted sternly to one of his men, "Why aren't you showing our documents to this lord right now?"

Putila took the document from Papati, examined it carefully, and after confirming its authenticity, silently nodded to a centurion beside him.

Seeing Putila's signal, the centurion beside him suddenly sprang up, drew his scimitar from his waist, and slashed at Papati.

Papati could only lower his head and wait for Putira's instructions. He never expected that this group would suddenly attack. Caught off guard, he caught a glimpse of a flash of silver light, and then felt a chill on his neck...

"kill!"

Without their leader, the Western Region people were no match for Putila and his group. Besides, most of them just wanted to follow Papati to make a living; why would they risk their lives for the already dead Papati?

Upon seeing that Putila and his men had suddenly killed Papati and then charged at them with their knives raised, the Western Region people escorting the grain immediately scattered, abandoning the grain and fleeing in all directions on horseback.

After all, the food supplies belonged to the Oirat people, but their lives were their own.

After killing the Western Region people who were escorting the grain supplies, Pulati immediately began to appease the Han people who were transporting the grain supplies.

Liu Hu had already laid a tight net all around, so those people from the Western Regions probably wouldn't be able to escape.

Sure enough, just after Pulati and his men calmed down the Han people, shouts of killing came from all around, which disappeared in less than a quarter of an hour.

After Pratti and his men killed some of the Western Region people who had escaped back, Liu Hu led Zhou Jun, who was covered in blood, to surround them.

"General!"

Upon seeing Liu Hu, Pilates immediately rushed over to greet him.

"You did a good job this time. After we meet up with the commander and the others, I will report your achievements to him truthfully."

This time, Liu Hu was generous with his praise for Pilates, after all, he hadn't been sure of him before and was really afraid that this guy might have ulterior motives.

"Thank you, General!"

Pilates was overjoyed, knowing that he had truly been accepted by Liu Hu this time.

Liu Hu immediately ordered that, apart from leaving a group of people to guard the elderly and weak, the rest should immediately change into the equipment of these Western Region people.

Unarmed, they infiltrated the Han Chinese escort team carrying grain, hiding all their weapons inside the grain carts.

After clearing away some uncertainties in the group, they headed towards Yumen Pass in a grand procession.

Yumen Pass, the western gateway to the Hexi Corridor, has been an important pass on the Silk Road since ancient times.

However, since the Tang Dynasty, with the severance of the land Silk Road and the rise of the maritime Silk Road, this important pass connecting the Central Plains and the Western Regions has gradually lost its function and appeared dilapidated.

However, as the Great Zhou Dynasty marched westward and advanced into the Hexi Corridor, this pass became an important distribution center for grain and supplies for the Oirat people.

The Oirat people also repaired the pass and built a simple fortified gate to store grain and fodder.

When Liu Hu and his group arrived, they discovered that the Oirat people had not only deployed 3,000 Oirat troops here, but also nearly 5,000 Western Region people from within the pass to assist them.

Inside the pass, warehouses and livestock pens built by the Oirat people were everywhere, and countless Han Chinese and Western Region Muslims transported grain and kept livestock here.

These people were different from the Oirat and Western Region people stationed here; most of them were sallow-faced and emaciated, with numb expressions.

Fortunately, Liu Hu and Zhou Jun, who had accompanied them on the raid, had not yet recovered, otherwise they would definitely have been suspected.

In addition, many Han Chinese, dressed in fine silks and satins, were humbly telling the Oirat people something.

Looking at them, a faint murderous glint appeared in Liu Hu's eyes.

It's easy to guess that these Han Chinese had long been lackeys of the Oirat people and were often the group that oppressed the Han Chinese the most.

Liu Hu had encountered many such people in the Western Regions these days. Whenever he met them, he would not torture them, but would usually just kill them with a single blow.

Giving such people special treatment is giving them too much credit.

When these people were killed, the enslaved Han Chinese often cheered even louder than when the Oirats or Western Region people were killed.

This allowed Liu Hu to quickly win over the hearts of the vast majority of Han people, which can be considered a way to make use of waste.

Liu Hu and his group, along with other Han Chinese, were immediately placed under surveillance after entering the pass.

After the grain supplies in front were stored, they still had to move the grain supplies they were transporting into the warehouse and organize them before they could leave.

Seeing that a Han Chinese man ahead was perhaps too tired and had spilled the provisions on his shoulders onto the ground, a Western Region man immediately went over and whipped him hard with a leather whip.

"what……"

As the screams of the Han Chinese man grew weaker, the surrounding Han Chinese involuntarily trembled slightly and quickened their pace.

"grass!"

One of the Zhou soldiers, who was mixed in with the Han people, couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath and was about to stand up.

However, he was immediately stopped by the centurion beside him: "What do you want to do? If we are exposed now, the general's plan will completely fail, and how many brothers will we die then?"

At the centurion's low shout, the soldier calmed down, then glanced at the Western Region man with a livid face: "Grandma, let this beast live a little longer."

He then turned his head away indignantly, afraid that he wouldn't be able to hold back if he continued watching.

Liu Hu was sharp-witted and quick-witted, so how could he not know what was happening here? As the soldier was calmed down, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now it's up to Pilates and his team. If the plan goes smoothly, we can take Yumen Pass tonight without firing a shot."

Seeing that Pulati was chatting and laughing with several people from the Western Regions around a Oirat man, occasionally letting out lewd laughter, Liu Hu knew that the plan was basically successful.

With Papati's travel documents and the fact that this place is in the rear, the garrison commander here would not have thought that anyone would dare to launch a sneak attack.

As night fell, everyone except for one commander from the Western Regions who was on duty went to eat.

Liu Hu looked at the greasy, blackened bowl in his hand, filled with thin porridge so clear you could see your face reflected in it, and forced himself to drink it down despite feeling nauseous.

There were people all around, so he didn't dare take anything else out of his spatial storage.

After finishing his drink, he glared angrily at the burly Western man who was distributing dinner: "Tonight I'm going to have some meat! Withholding food is one thing, but how long has this bowl been unwashed?"

As night deepened, the entire Yumen Pass fell silent.

Suddenly, Liu Hu heard a thud, followed by bursts of firelight from Pulati's tent. Liu Hu knew the time had come.

"kill!"

With a command given, the well-prepared soldiers of the Great Zhou drew their weapons from the grain carts and split into two groups.

One group charged towards the Western Region people guarding the laborers, while the other group rushed up the city wall and attacked the Oirat people on the wall.

Faced with the sudden attack of thousands of Zhou soldiers, the Western Region people, who were still puzzled by the sounds coming from the camp, were caught off guard and were killed in large numbers.

Meanwhile, Liu Hu had already led his men up the city wall passageway. When faced with the Oirat people who tried to stop him, Liu Hu slashed at them indiscriminately.

Thanks to Liu Hu's bravery, the Great Zhou army successfully scaled the city walls and engaged in fierce fighting with the Oirat people.

Faced with an army several times larger than the Great Zhou army, the Oirat troops on duty inside Yumen Pass were quickly wiped out.

"Cunmeng, send people to appease the laborers. Those who are willing to join us, distribute the equipment of these garrison troops to them. Remember to check it carefully."

"yes!"

Liu Hu then immediately led his men to rush towards the defending army's camp, killing everyone they saw and setting fires everywhere.

After Pulati and his men joined Liu Hu, the cleanup process sped up. Moreover, with Hu Cunmeng's reassurance and mobilization, nearly 10,000 of the more than 20,000 laborers in Yumen Pass joined Liu Hu's team.

More than an hour later, the entire Yumen Pass was filled with the stench of blood, and all the garrison troops stationed there had been wiped out.

"General!"

Pilates and Hu Cunmeng, along with several other commanders, came over and looked at Liu Hu, who was covered in blood, with delight on their faces.

"The eight thousand garrison troops at Yumen Pass have all been wiped out. Of the more than thirty thousand laborers inside the pass, after deducting some of the elderly and weak, there are more than fourteen thousand who are willing to cooperate with us."

"The grain supplies inside the pass are enough to feed an army of 100,000 for more than a month, and there are enough weapons and equipment to equip an army of 10,000."

"Why is there so little food?"

After listening to Hu Cunmeng's report, Liu Hu frowned, looking puzzled.

Although winter is just around the corner, the decisive battle between the Oirat people and the Great Zhou, involving hundreds of thousands of people, will not be decided in a short time.

Even if the Oirat people continued to send supplies, they could not store only a month's worth of supplies.

"General, Yumen Pass is only responsible for storing grain supplies for the Durbet tribe. For the Khoshut's grain supplies, is Yangguan Pass a closer route?"

Upon hearing Hu Cunmeng's explanation, Liu Hu understood; he had almost forgotten about Yangguan Pass.

"Platy, send someone immediately to bring over the people who were left behind in the rear."

"Yes!" Pilates immediately accepted the order and left.

"Cunmeng, is there any news from Yangguan?"

After Pilates left, Liu Hu asked Hu Cunmeng.

As the ranks grew larger, Hu Cunmeng, though still a deputy commander, had become Liu Hu's right-hand man.

"Not yet, we acted too quickly here, but it should be soon, after all, it's only a little over a hundred miles..."

Before Hu Cunmeng could finish speaking, a scout immediately came to report.

"General, there are less than a thousand Khoshut troops guarding Yangguan Pass, but there are also more than ten thousand Tibetans. There are no Han Chinese or Western Region people, and the supplies are all transported by Tibetans."

"hiss……"

After hearing the scout's report, Liu Hu couldn't help but grin.

"That old fox, Gushi Khan, is really cautious!"

"Without Han laborers, we can't replenish our troops locally, and we can't infiltrate the area either. Yangguan is a tough place to fight!"

The rule of the Gushi Khan family over the former Tibetan territory was far more sophisticated than that of the other three tribes. They did not infringe upon the local interests, and as long as the Han people honestly paid taxes to the Khoshut people, they would not suppress them too much.

Compared to the rule of other Oirat tribes, Gushi Khan's methods were undeniably skillful.

Even the Han Chinese who were captured by the Khoshut tribe found that their lives were actually better under Khoshut rule than under the Ming dynasty.

This is also why Jia Daishan was willing to meet with Gushi Khan before. After all, under Gushi Khan's rule, even if the main force of Gushi Khan's Khoshut tribe was defeated, it would be difficult to shake the foundation of his rule.

This guy is extremely popular in the former Tibetan territory.

Before the expedition, the court did not intend to do anything to Gushi Khan, as long as he was willing to nominally submit.

However, although this guy was politically astute, he valued the Oirat people too much and was unwilling to give up the other Oirat tribes, even though he was only the nominal Oirat Khan.

Since that's the case, then we have no choice but to fight him and talk things over afterward.

"Cunmeng, I will take 10,000 men to attack Yangguan, and leave the rest to you."

"After I leave, Yumen Pass will be at your command. You must hold this place for at least a month."

Liu Hu lowered his head and thought for a while, then solemnly gave Hu Cunmeng the order.

"But General..."

Upon hearing Liu Hu's order, Hu Cunmeng immediately became anxious, knowing what it meant.

Attacking Yangguan is of utmost urgency, and should be done swiftly rather than delayed.

If we're too late and the Oirats react, not only will their supply lines be cut off, but even Yumen Pass will face a full-scale attack from the Oirats.

However, Liu Hu only brought 10,000 men. Even if he captured Yangguan, he would face attacks from the Oirat people with only a few thousand defenders. His situation would be much more dangerous than that at Yumenguan.

After all, Yangguan is not the same as Yumenguan. Although both are ancient passes with a history of thousands of years, Yangguan is much smaller than Yumenguan, with only less than two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) of city wall, making it difficult to withstand the strong attack of the Oirat people.