The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

In a blink of an eye, it was the 15th day of the eighth month again. The former wasteland had become a huge military camp, and bursts of shouting and killing could be heard from the deep gate.

At the gate of the headquarters, a large flag embroidered with the three characters "Loyal and Brave Marquis" fluttered in the wind.

Horse-drawn and mule-drawn carts loaded with grain, rice and fodder were lined up in rows in the open space outside the gate.

Sun Yang and several Shandong officials stood outside the gate, looking exhausted and waiting.

There was a sound of footsteps, and then Wang Daniu came out and said to Sun Yang, "Why is it you, kid?"

Sun Yang smiled and said, "Master is worried, so he asked me to go there in person."

Wang Daniu smiled and nodded, then said to the officer on duty, "Take the escorting officers and soldiers down to have a meal and rest." He then said to Sun Yang, "Second Master is in the drill ground, let's go." After that, he led Sun Yang inside.

The shouts of killing were loud!
On the huge training ground, ten thousand young and strong men were divided into several square formations for training.

On the reviewing stand, Li Hu stood there quietly, looking at the young and strong men who were training.

Li Hu recruited these 10,000 strong men in several batches. Thirty taels of silver a year was something they could not even imagine. It was enough to cover the expenses of an ordinary family for a year. In addition, by joining the military camp, not only could they have enough food, but their families could also be protected by the court.

Except for the 3,000 young men, the remaining 7,000 young men had the opportunity to serve in the army and eat food because their families begged for it. This made them cherish this opportunity especially, and they trained desperately, fearing that they would be eliminated because of not working hard, and their families would lose the chance to survive. At the same time, they engraved Li Hu's kindness in their hearts and were deeply grateful!

The emperor only gave quotas, but no weapons and equipment. The arsenal in Xuzhou was looted by Shui Rong, and the equipment in the Jinling Manufacturing Bureau had long been taken away by Prince Zhongshun and Prince Teng.

After much deliberation, Li Hu decided to equip all these young men with spears. Spearmen are easy to train and can be quickly formed into an army. They can form combat effectiveness in two or three weeks. In addition, the craftsmanship of spears is simple and can be made by finding a few blacksmiths.

There is also a most crucial reason. The White Lotus rebels on the opposite side are not Mongolian cavalry who are good at riding and shooting. They are all infantry, and their main weapons are also spears. Only a part of the elite are equipped with bows and arrows and muskets.

In the field, as the officer waved the flag, the young and strong men all raised their spears pointing to the sky, and the spear tips were like a forest!

"Stab!" the officer yelled.

"Kill!" The young and strong men shouted in unison, and at the same time took a step forward and thrust out the spears in their hands with force!

The officer yelled again: "Collect!"

The young men put away their guns and stood up straight.

"Alternate forward attacks!"

Following an order, the two teams of young and strong men advanced alternately, firing a shot with each step forward. The speed was not fast, but there was an unstoppable momentum!

Li Hu smiled with satisfaction and nodded. When two brave men meet on a narrow road, the brave one wins. This is the momentum that is needed.

According to the time, the Ruishi Battalion will arrive in Xuzhou in a few days. By then, these young and strong men will be able to form an army. With more than 20,000 soldiers and horses, they can barely be considered a strong army.

Wang Yaozu reminded quietly: "Marshal, Sun Yang is here."

Li Hu looked over and saw Wang Daniu leading Sun Yang towards him.

Sun Yang bowed to Li Hu, then took out a letter from his pocket: "Second Master, this is a letter from the master."

Li Hu took the letter, tore it open and read it, then nodded with a smile and said to Sun Yang, "Thank you for your hard work."

Sun Yang: "After receiving the letter from the Second Master, the Master immediately transferred 15,000 dan of grain from the granary and required us to deliver it by the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Master also said that if the Second Master needs it, he can also transfer 30,000 dan of grain from other prefectures."

Li Hu smiled and said, "No need. I have already sent a letter to the Governor-General's Office of Liangjiang, asking them to urgently transfer a batch of grain. It will arrive in less than ten days."

Sun Yang smiled and replied, "Yes."

Li Hu: "Let's go and talk in the big tent." Then he walked down the reviewing stand and walked out of the training ground.

Wang Daniu and Sun Yang hurriedly followed.

As they walked, Li Hu said, "It's getting late. You can't get back even if you go to the post station and take a fast horse. You should just spend the Mid-Autumn Festival here."

Sun Yang: “Yes.” Wang Daniu smiled and said, “Four years have passed in the blink of an eye.”

Sun Yang: "It will be four years after tonight."

Wang Daniu nodded.

Li Hu strode forward. In just over a month, he would have been in this world for four years. According to the standards of his previous life, he had a successful career and a beautiful wife, so he could be considered a winner in life. Well, it would be even better if he had a pair of children.

At this time, a burst of hurried horse hooves sounds came, and Li Hu stopped.

A sentry came over here at the whip of his horse, and when he reached Li Hu, he pulled the reins, jumped off his horse, and reported loudly: "General, the government troops were defeated in Sanhe Town, and Prince Zhongshun was seriously injured."

Li Hu was shocked: "What's going on?!"

Scout: "Prince Zhongshun led his army to fight the White Lotus rebels at the Chaohu Lake. Prince Zhongshun refused the advice of the general of the Five Army Camp and listened to his subordinates. On the night of the 11th, he divided his troops into three groups: left, middle and right, and attacked Sanhe Town at night, attempting to wipe out the main force of the White Lotus rebels in one fell swoop. The White Lotus rebels seemed to know in advance, and fought head-on with a small number of troops, while the main force attacked the left wing of the government army.
The next morning, a thick fog arose again, and it was hard to see anything at a distance. The White Lotus rebels quickly defeated the government troops on the left wing, and took advantage of the victory to cut off the retreat routes of the government troops in the middle and right wing, and surrounded them with superior forces. When Prince Zhongshun heard the news, he led the Mongolian cavalry to rescue, but fell into the artillery ambush of the White Lotus. When Prince Zhongshun was breaking through, he was hit by artillery. Prince Zhongshun's troops were wiped out, and the Mongolian cavalry suffered heavy losses. The general of the Fifth Army Camp gathered the defeated soldiers and retreated to Hefei! "

Another ambush? Li Hu frowned. There must be a spy around King Zhongshun!

Wang Daniu: "How dare this useless King Zhongshun survive!"

Li Hu glared at him and asked, "Where are the White Lotus rebels?"

Sentinel: "The White Lotus rebels did not pursue the victory, but turned around and defeated the Hubei government troops and pursued them towards Shucheng. They probably wanted to annihilate the Hubei government troops, and then attack Hefei with all their strength to eliminate the main force of the court in Anhui."

Wang Daniu spoke again: "Marshal, should we provide support immediately?"

Li Hu said angrily: "What support! Why are you sent to support? Tell the kitchen day after day that today is Mid-Autumn Festival, we have rice, and there is plenty of dried vegetables and rice!" After that, he walked straight to the central army tent.

Sun Yang: "Dried vegetables and rice?"

Wang Daniu said angrily: "What do you think? This is a disaster area, not Shandong! It's good enough to have dried vegetables and rice to eat."

Sun Yang laughed angrily: "What's the point of losing your temper with me?" He said and pouted at Li Hu's back.

Wang Daniu rolled his eyes at him and said, "Do I look like a fool to you?"

"It's hard to say." Sun Yang smiled and chased after Li Hu.

"Little bunny."

Wang Daniu smiled, then sighed, "I'm not at home again for the Mid-Autumn Festival this year. I wonder if anyone will accompany godfather to drink and watch the moon?"

The moon is so beautiful tonight, and the moonlight is quietly splashing on the back garden.

The melodious sound of a flute came from afar.

Tuobi Villa was brightly lit inside and out.

A group of old women sat on the platform in front of the hall, eating melon cakes and drinking wine while listening to opera.

Li Hu was not at home. Lin Daiyu didn't want her home to be too lonely, so she declined Lady Jia's invitation and took Amber, Zijuan, Xueyan, Xiangling and Qingwen to Tuobi Villa to drink and enjoy the moon.

After the song was over, Lin Daiyu came back to her senses and said with a smile, "Let the civil servants take a break and have some melon cakes and wine."

The housekeeper’s wife: “Yes.”

Lin Daiyu ate a mooncake with melon seeds and pine nuts, and asked someone to pour a large glass of hot wine.

At this time, Amber took the soft towel and big cloak from the maid's hand and said softly, "It's late at night. We are afraid that the dew will fall and the wind will blow your head, so we need to add this. It's time for you to sit down and rest." As she spoke, she put the towel on Lin Daiyu and put on the cloak.

Lin Daiyu smiled and was about to say something when suddenly the sound of the Jingyang bell came in the night wind!
Lin Daiyu was slightly stunned, and then she realized that the old concubine had passed away! Without the protection of the old concubine, how long could the emperor and the Zhen family last?

Thinking about this, Lin Daiyu shook her head. (End of this chapter)