The First Family of the Red Mansion

Chapter 26 Heavy Snow Full of Bows and Swords

As darkness fell, the wild geese flew high, and the Khan fled in the night.

I wanted to pursue with light cavalry, but the snow covered my bow and sword.

This poem by Lu Lun of the Tang Dynasty is now being played out in real time outside Yangguan City.

Liu Hu led over a thousand light cavalry, galloping away in the direction Gushi Khan had retreated.

In order to escape back to his territory as soon as possible, Gushi Khan did not have time to clean up the traces he left behind. With more than a thousand personal soldiers and the grain he had just seized, he hurriedly looked south.

It seemed that even God didn't want this performance to have any regrets, because soon after dark, heavy snow began to fall.

In the vast, dark land of the Western Regions, it seemed that only the howling of the wind whipping up snowflakes and the sound of horses' hooves galloping and crushing the snowflakes remained.

Liu Hu's face was cold, his gaze fixed intently ahead.

He knew he had been careless this time. He hadn't expected Gushi Khan to be so bold as to take such a risky move, crossing the Zhou army's search line and then launching a surprise attack.

He only wanted to invite Gushi Khan over for a visit, but he never expected that the Khan would steal his house.

"General, don't worry, Gushi Khan shouldn't have gone far. After all, we're only less than two hours away from him."

Zhao Changjiu noticed Liu Hu's self-blame and comforted him, his breath steaming in the air.

Liu Hu seemed to ignore his words of comfort, remaining mounted on his horse with a cold expression.

"Sigh!" Seeing this situation, Zhao Changjiu could only sigh helplessly.

During this time together, he forgot that his commander was just a sixteen-year-old boy.

No matter how brave and decisive he is on ordinary days, he is too competitive and is not prepared to face failure.

You must know that this time they are facing Gushi Khan. In just over ten years after ascending the throne, he consolidated the rule of the Khoshut tribe in the former Tibetan lands and won the hearts of the Tibetans and even the Han people who had a blood feud with them. How could they be captured so easily?

As for the lost grain and fodder, they can be replenished at Yumen Pass by tomorrow.

Liu Hu's previous words were merely a pretext to justify his pursuit of Gushi Khan.

So, do you ask Liu Hu if he's content with this?

"How can I accept this?" Liu Hu thought viciously to himself as he rode on horseback.

As a time traveler from a new era, I do not underestimate the wisdom of the ancients and usually follow the order of this era.

But he always viewed everything around him with a perspective that transcended his time.

With his own special abilities, he always felt that he was the chosen one of this era.

But who could have imagined that before he even entered the court, he would be taught a harsh lesson by Gushi Khan, his defeated foe?

Just when he thought victory was in his grasp, he used his wisdom to seize that fleeting opportunity.

"I've become one of those people popping champagne halfway through the event!"

Liu Hu chuckled at himself, then composed himself and said to Zhao Changjiu, "This won't do. Although Gushi Khan isn't far ahead of us..."

"But they have plenty of supplies right now. If we can't catch up with them tonight, then we'll have to give up."

"You take the others and chase after them from behind, I'll go ahead and block them."

With his horse being fast, Liu Hu was confident that he could catch up with Gushi Khan on his own.

"But General..."

Zhao Changjiu wanted to persuade him further, but Liu Hu interrupted him: "No buts, the snow is getting heavier and heavier, and it won't be long before we lose track of Gushi Khan."

"It's settled then!"

"drive!"

Without waiting for Zhao Changjiu's reply, he spurred his horse and galloped away, disappearing into the snowy night in no time.

Zhao Changjiu looked in the direction where Liu Hu had disappeared, rubbed his nose which was burning from the cold, and shouted to the soldiers behind him: "Speed ​​up, hurry up and catch up. Don't let the general down. The Khan of the Oirat is not far ahead."

"The time for bestowing titles and appointments will come at this moment."

As expected, upon hearing Zhao Changjiu's words, the exhausted and cold soldiers instantly perked up, their eyes red as they stared at the night sky ahead.

To exchange one night's hard work for the wealth of several generations—everyone can see the value in that.

Originally, Liu Hu and his men were less than fifty li away from Gushi Khan. After shaking off the main force, Liu Hu rode his horse at full speed and followed the hoofprints on the ground for less than an hour before he could vaguely hear the sound of horses' hooves mixed with the whistling wind.

"drive!"

Liu Hu instantly perked up and poured a mouthful of spiritual water into himself and his mount, which was so exhausted it was almost foaming at the mouth.

"Ha! Just a little more effort, and once we catch Gushi Khan, I'll find you some beautiful mares."

Liu Hu laughed heartily and spoke to his mount.

However, he immediately realized that his imperial warhorse didn't seem to have that function, so he awkwardly touched his nose.

"Hehe, just kidding!"

(Mount: You think it's funny?)

Before long, faint figures finally appeared in the darkness ahead.

Fortunately, Liu Hu had keen senses, otherwise he really wouldn't have noticed.

As the distance gradually closed, the fleeing Oirat people also noticed Liu Hu catching up.

Liu Hu drew his bow and shot an arrow at a Oirat man behind him. With a twang of the bowstring, the Oirat man fell from his horse instantly.

"Gushi Khan, you can't escape now. Surrender obediently, and the Emperor might spare your life."

While shouting to the front, Liu Hu also drew his bow and shot arrows, and soon five or six more people were shot off their horses.

Upon hearing the sound of bowstrings and Liu Hu's shouts from behind, Gushi Khan inwardly cried out, "Is there really no way to escape?"

Just as he was feeling utterly dejected, a weak voice suddenly came from behind him: "Great Khan, he's all alone, just one..."

"Damn it! There's still one alive!"

Liu Hu also saw it at this moment; the one who reminded Gushi Khan was a Oirat man who had just been shot off his horse not far ahead.

At this point, he was still sixty or seventy paces away from the Oirat soldiers in front of him. In the dead of night, Gushi Khan and his men had no idea how many men were catching up with them, and they were only concerned with escaping.

But at this moment, Liu Hu was only three steps away from the wounded soldier, and his situation was clearly seen by the other side, so he hurriedly reminded his men in front.

"die!"

Although Liu Hu was furious, he had no choice but to lift his horse's hoof and stomp on the wounded Oirat soldier.

After confirming that the wounded soldier was dead, Liu Hu slowed his horse down and continued to shoot at the enemy with his bow.

"May the Eternal Heaven protect us!" Upon learning that there was only one pursuer behind him, Gushi Khan was overjoyed.

"Warriors, you have always been my arms and my shield. Now, Zhou Jun's hunting dogs have caught our scent and are chasing after us alone. What should you do?"

Gushi Khan made a decision in an instant: if he wanted to escape back to his territory smoothly, then he had to deal with the Zhou soldier behind him as soon as possible.

In such a short time, he had already lost nearly twenty of his personal guards.

Judging from the archery skills of the Zhou soldier behind him, he was definitely an important general in the Zhou army.

"Bringing back the head of a Zhou general should help restore some of our prestige, right?"

Gushi Khan pondered to himself.

"Kill him!"

Upon learning that there was only one enemy behind them, Gushi Khan's personal guards were greatly encouraged and roared angrily.

Immediately, the Oirat men circled around, then turned their horses around and surrounded Liu Hu.

Upon seeing this, Liu Hu hurriedly spurred his horse and retreated.

Liu Hu wasn't that crazy to charge against over a thousand cavalrymen.

Have you not seen the Battle of Gaixia, where even the unparalleled Hegemon was ultimately forced to commit suicide when facing a mere thousand Han infantrymen?

Although he killed several hundred Han soldiers after losing his horse, that doesn't mean he could really fight against more than a thousand Han infantrymen.

Liu Hu was facing one of Gushi Khan's elite thousand-household cavalrymen. If he didn't run now, would he be handing his head to Gushi Khan?

Fortunately, it was dark and windy, preventing the Oirat people from using their bows and arrows; otherwise, Liu Hu would have lost several lives.

As Liu Hu slowly retreated and constantly changed his position, he kept firing arrows at the Oirat soldiers who were trying to flank him.

As he watched his personal guards being shot dead one by one by Liu Hu in the darkness, Gushi Khan couldn't help but curse under his breath.

"Damn it, how did this guy manage to shoot so accurately in the dark?"

Since it would be difficult to capture Liu Hu, this ghost lurking in the night, in a short time, Gushi Khan had no choice but to order a continued retreat.

They didn't know how many more Zhou soldiers were on their way, and they couldn't afford to delay.

"Now you want to back out? You wish!"

Liu Hu watched the Oirat people retreat again, a playful smile appearing on his lips: "It's time for you to personally experience the disgusting tactics of your ancestors."

So Liu Hu secretly followed them, trailing them about seventy paces behind, and kept shooting at the Oirat people.

"Damn it, this annoying fly is actually using the same tactics we used to dominate Eurasia against us."

Gushi Khan was disgusted by Liu Hu. He couldn't hit him or catch him. Now he understood the feelings of their ancestors' enemies.

"Leave one centurion alive and tell me to kill him at all costs."

Finally, forced into a corner, Gushi Khan had no choice but to cut off his tail to save his life. Liu Hu continued to kill them, and before dawn, all of them were wiped out.

Liu Hu pulled another quiver from the corpses of the Oirat people underground. When he reached the group of Oirat people who had suddenly turned around, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"You still want to play the 'ranked survival' trick? Well then, let's see if these hundred-odd people can stop me."

Liu Hu shot and killed several Oirat soldiers who were at the forefront, then picked up his lance and charged forward.

"kill!"

In the pitch-black night, Liu Hu charged alone towards a centurion of the Oirat cavalry.

hum!

The lance, wielded by Liu Hu, produced a dull thud, mingling with the howling wind, as if playing a mournful melody for these Oirat people.

Only the sounds of horses' hooves pounding the ground and weapons clashing filled the night sky.

The Oirat centurion who was covering the rear was as fragile as paper, and was instantly overrun by Liu Hu.

But before Liu Hu could even feel happy, he suddenly felt his body sink and was thrown into the snow.

His mount lay on the ground, staring helplessly in the direction where Liu Hu had fallen, before finally ceasing to breathe.

"grass!"

Liu Hu slammed his fist on the ground, ignoring his grief, and immediately took out the divine steed he had hidden in his spatial storage. He glanced at his mount with reluctance, then gave a cold look at the pursuing enemies not far away, and chased after Gushi Khan in the direction he had fled.

And so, under the cover of night, Liu Hu successfully switched the horses, and the Oirat soldiers did not notice that Liu Hu's mount had been changed.

This warhorse truly lives up to its reputation as the mount of the Torgut chief's son. During this time in the space, it has had ample fodder and spiritual water, making it even more magnificent than the previous warhorses.

In just a moment, Liu Hu shook off the dozens of pursuers behind him and caught up with them again before the snow covered Gushi Khan's tracks.

"waste."

Hearing the sound of horses' hooves approaching from behind, Gushi Khan cursed under his breath, then shouted to his men, "The fine wine and beautiful women of Lhasa are waiting for us to return and enjoy them, but some people are unwilling. What should we do?"

"Kill him!"

Although it wasn't as loud as last time, Gushi Khan's personal guards still turned their horses around without hesitation.

Having learned their lesson last time, they won't be foolish enough to wait until they see Liu Hu before shooting.

They drew their bows and nocked arrows, launching a volley of mounted archery directly in the direction from which the sound of hooves came.

"not good!"

When Liu Hu saw the Oirat men turn their horses around and draw their bows, he sensed something was wrong. He immediately bent down, turned his horse around, and distanced himself from the Oirat men.

With a buzzing sound like a bowstring, the snowfield not far ahead was filled with countless arrows.

"Luckily we switched to warhorses, otherwise we would have been riddled with holes."

Liu Hu's heart was pounding. He took a breath and then quietly looked in the direction of Gu Shihan.

"Great Khan, surrender now!"

"asshole!"

Even now, Liu Hu is still trying to persuade him to surrender. Coupled with Liu Hu's constant harassment, even Gushi Khan, with his composure, couldn't help but curse him out.

"General, why do you relentlessly pursue me?"

"As you can see, given the current situation, you have no chance of capturing me. Why don't you retreat now, General?"

Although Gushi Khan hated Liu Hu to death, he suppressed his anger and tried to persuade him gently.

"If we let the Khan leave like this, wouldn't that be a huge joke?"

A smile appeared on Liu Hu's lips. In the howling cold wind, a muffled rumble like thunder could be heard, and the ground trembled slightly, as if a great terror was about to occur in the darkness.

"They've finally arrived!"

"Hmph, you won't listen to reason, so kill them!"

"Take this man's head, grant him a fief of ten thousand households, ten thousand yak cattle, and a thousand households of serfs."

"kill!"

Seeing the Oirat cavalry charging towards him, Liu Hu slowly retreated, occasionally firing an arrow behind him to prevent the Oirat soldiers from getting lost.

"kill!"

Just as Liu Hu was taunting the Oirat people behind him, Zhao Changjiu's familiar battle cries suddenly came from ahead.

"kill!"

At this moment, Liu Hu also turned his horse around and charged towards the pursuing Oirat people.

The Oirat people were only thinking about killing Liu Hu when they were startled by the sudden appearance of Zhou's army. Before they could turn their horses around, they were already fighting with Zhou's army.

Although the soldiers of the Great Zhou were covered in snow, their morale was high as they faced the imminent victory and charged into battle against the Oirat people.

"General, this humble general..."

Liu Hu glanced at Zhao Changjiu, whose face had turned slightly purple, and before he could finish speaking, pointed to a figure slowly leaving the battlefield behind the Oirat army and said, "Gushi Khan is there, don't let him get away."

"yes!"

Zhao Changjiu, who had originally intended to apologize, was overjoyed upon hearing Liu Hu's words.

"Charge with me!"

He then led a group of men and charged in the direction Liu Hu pointed.

"Hehe...hahaha..." Looking around at the Zhou army that had already scattered Gushi Khan's personal guards and were chasing after the remaining enemies, Liu Hu, riding on his horse, couldn't help but shed tears, laughing loudly while crying.

He knew that he had reaped the greatest victory in this western expedition.

"To be remembered in history?" Liu Hu thought to himself, then shook his head: "Perhaps, but it's not time to pop the champagne yet."

He immediately felt the coldness on his face and couldn't help but curse loudly, "This damn weather is freezing!"