The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 182 Let’s go to the next game!
The sound of horse hooves was urgent and the dust was flying.

On the city wall, the magistrate of Zou County looked at the cavalry galloping on the post road in the distance, took out a letter from his arms, and said to his confidant beside him: "You leave immediately and hand this letter to the Duke of Yansheng in person!"

The confidant took the letter and answered, "Yes." He turned around and strode towards the city.

The smoke and dust dissipated, and only a flying black dot remained at the end of the post road.

The magistrate of Zou County raised his head, looked into the distance, and murmured, "I hope I am overthinking it."

Here, the door was wide open. Bai Hongzhi was sitting on a recliner in front of a large charcoal fire, throwing pieces of paper into the fire one by one.

At this moment, the old steward hurried in and reported to Bai Hongzhi: "Master Sun, the troops outside the city have left and are heading towards Yishan."

Bai Hongzhi threw all the papers in his hand into the brazier, and a puff of black smoke immediately came out!
The old steward took out a pocket watch from his bosom, took a look at it, and said softly, "Master Sun, it's almost past noon."

Bai Hongzhi picked up the tongs and pushed aside the stack of paper, and then it caught fire!
"Are you all ready?" Bai Hongzhi suddenly asked.

The old steward replied, "It's ready."

Bai Hongzhi: "I don't want to take anything with me. I'm leaving now!"

The old steward was silent for a moment, then said, "According to the time, it's still daylight when we get out of the secret passage. Should we wait a while before leaving?"

Bai Hongzhi: "We have to leave immediately. If it's too late, we won't be able to leave."

The old steward sighed softly: "Okay."

Bai Hongzhi: "Let's warn the leader of Qinglong Hall first, no, let's warn the brothers in Henan Branch Office first."

The elderly steward replied, "Yes," and turned and strode out.

After a while, a pigeon flew up from the backyard of the restaurant and flapped its wings to the southeast.

At a table near the door of the teahouse opposite the restaurant, several pairs of eagle-like eyes immediately looked up at the sky above the backyard of the restaurant.

Although these people were wearing casual clothes, the one sitting in the middle had a face that looked a bit like a woman, and he was obviously a eunuch from the Imperial Household Department. The others could also be seen as eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department.

A guard spoke up: "This is the second carrier pigeon that has been released."

Another fan: "Let's do it."

Another soldier said: "Our mission is to bring back the head of the man surnamed Bai. The rest has nothing to do with us."

The eunuch looked at his pocket watch and said, "It's not past the hour of Wei yet. Wait another half an hour. Whether there is a third carrier pigeon or not, we will arrest him!"

On the post road outside the city, Wang Daniu, dressed in casual clothes, sat upright on his horse, holding a monocular telescope and pointing towards the sky in the direction of Zoucheng.

Behind him, a dozen personal soldiers held the reins tightly with one hand, placed the other hand on their forehead, and looked towards the direction of Zoucheng.

A personal soldier said: "Look, here they come, here they come!"

Looking at the direction the pigeon flew, Wang Daniu's eyes lit up and he said to a soldier: "General, you guessed it right. It's southwest. Go and report to the general as soon as possible."

The soldier nodded, whipped his whip, and the horse rushed out like an arrow.

The black spot in the sky was getting farther and farther away. Wang Daniu squeezed his legs together and spurred his horse to catch up.

The personal soldiers hurriedly rode their horses and followed Wang Daniu.

Zou County was only more than 20 miles away from Mount Yi, and the cavalry quickly arrived at the foot of the mountain.

In the mountains, pairs of hateful eyes were looking at them at this moment.

The White Tiger Hall Master leaned against a big tree, holding a nine-ring broadsword in both hands, looking at the cavalrymen lined up in a square formation.

At the foot of the mountain, a large flag with the word "Li" on it flutters in the wind.

Under the big flag, Li Hu sat upright on his horse, holding a telescope towards Mount Yi.

Zhang Qiang and a dozen Mongolian generals rode around him.

Three thousand Mongolian cavalrymen, in bright armor, have formed into a square formation and are ready to attack.

After a long time, the red-robed eunuch from the Imperial Household Department finally arrived.

Behind him followed more than twenty Jinyiwei from the Northern Pacification Division.

The eunuch came up to Li Hu and said, "General Li!"

Li Hu quickly scanned the main peak in front of him, put down the telescope, and said to Zhang Qiang: "Leave 300 cavalrymen, and then form a square with 100 cavalrymen, spread out, surround the main peak, and shoot anyone who comes out. No need to take prisoners."

Zhang Qiang responded loudly, "Yes." He pointed at several generals and ran towards the army.

Seeing the Mongolian cavalry dispersed, the eunuch turned his attention to the Jinyiwei of the Northern Pacification Office.

The Jinyiwei understood, squeezed their legs together, and rode their horses straight to the main peak of Mount Yi.

When they reached the foot of the main peak, they dismounted, took off the cowhide water bags on the horses' backs, and dispersed to climb up the mountain.

The White Lotus followers were stunned, and they all looked at the White Tiger Hall Master.

The White Tiger leader was also stunned. He just stared ahead without moving. "Oh no! The dog official is going to set the mountain on fire!" an older White Lotus sect member yelled.

With a loud bang, the surroundings suddenly became noisy.

The White Tiger Hall Master slowly stood up beside the big tree, leaning on his sword.

A White Lotus leader spoke up: "As long as there is green mountain, there is no fear of running out of firewood. Hall Master, let's retreat first."

The White Tiger Hall Master slowly looked towards him and whispered one word: "Wait!"

The leader: "Master, retreat!"

A cold light flashed in the White Tiger Hall Master's eyes, and he drew his sword like lightning!

Everyone saw a flash of white light before their eyes!
The White Tiger Hall Master has already sheathed his sword.

The leader's head flew out immediately, and his headless body fell down.

As expected, the surroundings immediately became quiet.

The silence lasted only a moment, and then someone whispered, "It's on!"

At first, fire appeared in the northwest corner of the mountainside, and then fire appeared everywhere on the front of the mountainside!

The White Lotus sect members were all in a panic. With such a strong wind, if the fire spread all over the place, they would not be able to escape!

The White Tiger Hall Master remained motionless.

The White Lotus followers started shouting:
"Master, let's retreat first!"

"Withdraw!"

There was no answer. Finally, someone couldn't bear it anymore and a member of the White Lotus sect turned around and fled to the back mountain.

Then more people fled to the back mountain.

"What a good move!" The White Tiger Hall Master gritted his teeth and said, "Retreat!"

Before he finished speaking, the White Lotus sect members dispersed.

The White Tiger Hall Master gritted his teeth and said, "You shameless bastard! I will chop off your head sooner or later!"

"Master, let's retreat!" Several strong men carried him and ran towards the back mountain.

Looking at the burning main peak of Mount Yi, Li Hu shook his head. He didn't want this to happen, but the main peak was more than ten miles in radius. Even if all the Sharp Warriors came, it would not be enough. As long as the White Lotus Sect in the mountain came out, they would not be able to outrun the bows and arrows of the Mongolian cavalry.

At this time, the personal soldier came on horseback, ran to Li Hu, pulled the reins, and reported to Li Hu: "General, the carrier pigeon appeared again, flying southwest."

Li Hu: "Let's go and take a look." He squeezed his legs together and the horse rushed forward like an arrow.

The personal soldiers and three hundred Mongolian cavalrymen followed closely on horseback.

The only ones left here were the chief eunuch and the Jinyiwei who had just returned from setting the fire.

A Jinyiwei looked around and asked in a low voice: "Eunuch, what should we do?"

The eunuch frowned and asked, "Are you scared?"

The Jinyiwei swallowed subconsciously: "No, no."

The head eunuch's face darkened: "Useless! With such a big fire, they would be burned even if they were made of iron."

Another Jinyiwei said: "The White Lotus rebels are insidious and cunning, and they may hide in any corner. We brothers have only one life, but you are different, eunuch, you are also responsible for the mission of our ancestors!"

The eunuch looked better, thought for a moment, and said, "We cannot leave the vicinity of Mount Yi. Go forward a little. There is a square formation of 100 Mongolian cavalrymen there."

The Jinyiwei heaved a sigh of relief and escorted the eunuch forward.

Here, Li Hu bypassed Mount Yi and the view in front of him suddenly became bright, and then a mountain village appeared in everyone's sight.

There were shouts and screams.

In the open space at the entrance of the village, Wang Daniu and others were fighting with a group of White Lotus Sect members.

Li Hu raised his hand, and the cavalrymen pulled the reins one after another, and the horse teams stopped one after another.

There were still dozens of White Lotus sect members at the entrance of the village.

Li Hu raised his hand again, and a team of Mongolian cavalrymen rode forward, drew their bows and aimed arrows at the White Lotus sect members. As soon as the arrows left the strings, more than a dozen White Lotus sect members fell to the ground.

This team of Mongolian cavalry did not continue to charge forward, but instead controlled their horses to separate and detour to the left and right, shooting with bows and arrows sideways. This is a classic maneuver tactic.

Of course, it's a bit of a waste to use it here.

The sound of fighting at the entrance of the village disappeared, and the ground was filled with the corpses of the White Lotus Sect members.

Li Hu waved his hand and said, "Let's go to the next game!"

(End of this chapter)