The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Chapter 153 Zhao Lie: Victory Through an Unexpected Twist

When he said, "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?" everyone looked puzzled, so Zhuge Long hurriedly explained.

"What this means is that the status of a king or noble is not innate, but earned through one's own efforts. Therefore, I, Zhuge Long, would rather die in battle than freeze to death!"

"You're all from the capital region, and you probably know many of you. Let's gather together, cross the river, and join the Han army!"

The king, the nobles, and those who have worked their way up?

It sounds impressive, but I don't understand it!

Seeing the confused looks on everyone's faces, Zhuge Long knew it was a matter of perception; North Korea was too closed off. So he patiently explained again:

"You know what war is, right?"

"You know what murder is, right?"

Seeing everyone nod, Zhuge Long pointed with his hand, hidden in his crotch, at a general in magnificent armor in the distance.

"So now think about it, if we kill those nobles, what will we become?"

Under Zhuge Long's encouraging gaze, a Korean soldier scratched his head and said embarrassedly.

"Then we can have someone else in charge of us!"

Upon hearing this, and seeing that everyone else was doing the same, Zhuge Long felt that life was meaningless. He put his hands into his crotch and continued to squat to keep warm, looking at the full moon in the sky.

It's hopeless, let it be destroyed!

"Kill them!"

Just then, a battle cry came from the river. The sound was different from the Liaodong accent of their hometown. Zhuge Long immediately got up and lay down behind a rock.

Before long, a group of fierce soldiers dressed in blue cloth armor and carrying spears or swords and shields rushed over at great speed.

The remaining nine men in his team were beheaded before they could even run away, which terrified Zhuge Long so much that he immediately lay down on the ground and pretended to be dead.

At this time, the soldiers, including the armored ones and most of the officers, were fast asleep in their tents. This left the unsupervised peasant soldiers scrambling to their feet and running away in the face of the sudden attack.

Moreover, instead of heading towards the city, they instinctively run towards the mountains to the east, as if it were ingrained in their very bones.

However, this also allowed the more than 1,000 soldiers to easily reach the camp and start setting fires everywhere. With the cold wind blowing, the tents burned extremely quickly.

This undoubtedly exacerbated the chaos among the North Korean soldiers.

Meanwhile, Zhuge Long was blocked by the rocks, and the wild men from the North Sea rushed towards the tent, so they failed to kill him. After looking around and seeing that no one was there, he thought of getting up and running away.

He had barely taken off when he was stopped by a warhorse. A general, nearly two meters tall, sat on the horse's back, looking down at him with a scimitar drawn from its sheath.

Just as the general was about to swing his sword, Zhuge Long knelt down with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly to the general.

"I'm Han Chinese, don't kill me!"

The general was naturally Aguda. Upon hearing Zhuge Long speak Chinese, and seeing the night raid go surprisingly smoothly, he immediately stopped his scimitar, which was only three fingers' distance from Zhuge Long's neck.

"If you don't want to die, stay here and don't move!"

After Aguda finished speaking, he took out a paper tube and lit it. With a loud bang, a red light shot into the sky.

"No one is allowed to sheathe their swords or halt their horses before receiving military orders. Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

Aguda turned his head and shouted the order, then spurred his warhorse onto the ground and led a hundred personal guards to rush towards the camps below the city.

Behind him were ten thousand Jurchen cavalry, who gradually left the ice and began to assemble.

These Jurchen people living in the mountains were all fishermen and hunters. Under the moonlight and with the distant firelight, their eyesight was comparable to daytime.

After being divided into teams of 100 men each, they charged according to the pre-arranged plan. Their main targets were tents, specifically warm cotton tents, as these were only available to officers and elite troops.

Under such an orderly charge, those sleeping in the area below the city, although they were all elite armored soldiers, were blocked by the fleeing peasant army and were like lambs to the slaughter.

Meanwhile, a large number of wild men from the North Sea had already charged to the city walls, only to find that the city gates had long been closed. So they turned around and attacked the gates further back.

The raid was a success.

Of course, we can't let the King of Korea run away.

……

"It's over, it's all over!"

As dawn broke, Li Dun, accompanied by his guards, quietly climbed the city wall. When he peeked out and saw the situation outside the city, his face turned ashen.

There were at least fifty or sixty thousand prisoners on the riverbank, being guarded by soldiers wearing red cloaks. They did not resist at all, but instead lined up to receive food.

His 30,000 elite troops from the royal city were nowhere to be seen; they were probably among the prisoners.

But none of that matters. The most important thing is that all six city gates are blocked, and he has nowhere to escape.

As for the officials?

Leader of the Westerners Party?

There's not a single person to be seen!

……

At this moment, Zhao Lie, wearing a coat, was dozing off on a stone bench below the city. After waking up groggily, he first stretched towards the King of Joseon.

Even though they had surrounded the King of Joseon, Zhao Lie was still confused and somewhat disoriented.

If he had known, after several days of stalemate, he would have wanted to withdraw his troops to Pingxiang City and send a military report to the court for help.

Aguda refused to leave, and declared that he would launch a night attack, sending the savages of the North Sea to lead the charge.

Even if they are on the opposite side, if they are truly powerful or have an ambush at night, he will lead the Jurchen cavalry to escape, and those wild men of the North Sea will simply die.

Zhao Lie knew that Aguda was unwilling to accept this, and since he didn't care about the deaths of some wild men from the North Sea, he was the first to approve the request.

However, he himself was still overseeing the army packing up and preparing for the withdrawal.

As the sun set, Aguda set off, and before a quarter of an hour had passed, a signal firework of success was sent, faster than a horse that had broken free of its reins.

If it weren't for the real flames and sounds of fighting on the other side, Zhao Lie would have thought that it was a signal firework set off by the Koreans after Aguda was captured alive.

He immediately ordered the entire army to cross the river and fight, and all those who could see at night. But when they actually crossed the river, they found that all they had done was capture prisoners and distribute breakfast.

Seeing the child on the city wall wearing a winged crown with python patterns and a red round-necked robe with python patterns, Zhao Lie knew that this was the King of Joseon, so he made a trumpet shape with his hands.

"That King of Korea!"

"His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty has sent me with a message asking why you stopped coming to pay tribute after only one visit. Do you look down on him?"

Li Dun was young, but not stupid. He knew this was a mockery, and now he was no longer afraid. He replied:

"I am the King of Joseon, appointed by the Great Ming Dynasty!"

"How can we submit to Galdan, this Mongol barbarian!"

Zhao Lie was quick to learn, and immediately realized that Yi Sun had become the King of Joseon only after being recommended by the officials.

Emperor Kangxi was constantly being chased around Xianghe County by Liu Mu, so he had no time to bestow titles upon anyone. Therefore, when people didn't come to pay tribute, Liu Mu really had nothing to say.

At that moment, the north gate began to creak and groan.

The door was opened!

Zhao Lie immediately looked coldly at Li Dun.

If I can't argue with you, I'll bring a knife and talk to you face to face.