The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

The wind and rain stopped, and the sunlight shone through the gaps in the clouds, illuminating every corner of Shucheng.

The gates of Shucheng were wide open, and more than a dozen White Lotus leaders of all ranks knelt on the ground. Behind them, thousands of White Lotus followers laid down their weapons, knelt on the ground, and waited for their punishment.

The city and its surroundings were crowded with people who came to welcome the royal army, and each of them looked excitedly at the post road leading to the distance.

In front of the city gate, there was an old man with gray hair and long flowing beard and two young men holding a tray, a jar of wine and three wine bowls.

Someone whispered, "Here it comes!"

The sound of horse hooves and rustling footsteps came with the ground shaking.

The first thing that caught everyone's eye was a large flag with the word "Li" on it.

Shui Rong's movements were so fast that Li Hu didn't have time to react. In addition, countless White Lotus Sect members rushed out of Shucheng, so Li Hu couldn't figure out what was going on for a while. By the time the situation became clear, there was no trace of Shui Rong anymore.

These White Lotus Sect members who surrendered voluntarily were all local people of Luzhou Prefecture who were forced to surrender. They sent people to deliver news to Li Hu. Based on the information they provided, Li Hu roughly guessed where Shui Rong was going, and once the scouts came back, he would be able to basically confirm it.

The mighty government troops were getting closer and closer, with flags fluttering and armors shining. The people of Shucheng cheered heartily!

Li Hu, wearing armor and with a sword hanging from his waist, took the lead and personally led the government troops to take over Shucheng.

Li Hu raised his head slightly and looked at the two large stone characters "Shucheng" on the city gate. He felt a lot of emotions in his heart. He thought of many possibilities, but he never expected it to end in this way!

Shui Rong is really a ruthless person!
The team stopped in front of the surrendered White Lotus Sect soldiers. The leader of the White Lotus Sect raised his sword high with both hands and shouted, "The criminals surrender to the Marquis!"

Sinful people?

Li Hu looked at him and said with a smile, "You can surrender voluntarily, maintain order in Shucheng, and protect the people of Shucheng. This is enough to show that you are a man with conscience. You and your brothers should stay in the army and eat the emperor's food." Then he winked at Chen Qiang.

Chen Qiang understood and immediately led his troops to recruit these White Lotus sect members.

The White Lotus leaders looked at each other and shouted in unison: "Thank you, Lord, for saving our lives!"

Li Hu rode his horse towards the city gate, and the people on both sides knelt down in unison.

Seeing Li Hu coming, the old man couldn't help but get excited and hurried to greet him.

Li Hu pulled the reins and dismounted from the horse.

The old man said excitedly: "We have prepared food and drink to welcome the royal army. Thousands of people in Shucheng have been looking forward to it, and finally the royal army has come!" As he said this, he was about to kneel down.

Oh my god! Li Hu was so frightened that he hurried forward to support him: "You are always bothering me!"

The old man bent his legs and looked up at the dusty Li Hu, his eyes moistened: "Your Majesty, we have no way to repay your kindness, so let me kowtow to you!"

"I don't deserve it, you are too polite, this is what I should do!"

Li Hu supported him with both hands, "You are so old, if this gets spread to the capital, those upright people will definitely say that I am buying people's hearts!"

The old man was anxious: "How dare they! If they dare to slander us, we will go to the capital to file a complaint!"

Li Hu changed the subject: "Is this your grandson?"

The old man said, "There is no green smoke coming out of my ancestors' graves yet. Their fathers and brothers died on the walls of Shucheng. They are the descendants of heroes!"

Without waiting for Li Hu to speak, the old man continued, "Don't worry, Lord Hou, we Shucheng people will raise them and help them get married and start a family!"

As he spoke, he picked up the wine jar and said, "I am extremely ashamed! All our things have been robbed by the White Lotus rebels. I can only offer tea instead of wine to the general!" After saying that, he poured three full bowls of tea!

Li Hu didn't dare to drink the tea, but it would be bad to refuse.

He rolled his eyes, picked up the first bowl of tea, and said solemnly: "This first bowl is for the heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country, to comfort their souls in heaven!" Then he spilled the bowl of tea on the ground. "The second bowl is for the living beings who have suffered so much, may they no longer suffer in the next life!"

"The third bowl, toast to the future!"

Everyone was stunned. What the hell is "respecting the future"? !
Wang Daniu blinked his eyes, this means he is out of ink!

Li Hu waved his hand and said, "Enter the city!"

As the old saying goes, there are four seasons in one mountain and the weather is different in every ten miles.

In the gurgling rain, a large army was seen marching hard on the muddy mountain road.

Yang Qilong took the lead, leading several White Lotus leaders.

Following closely behind the big white horse sat Shui Rong, who had a gloomy face.

Yang Qilong's face did not look very good either. Before the army entered the mountainous area, the White Lotus Sect members had already fled one after another. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and there would definitely be more and more people escaping. This was beyond his expectations.

There was the sound of horse hooves, and a bloodstained White Lotus sect member came chasing after them, whipping his horse like crazy, shouting, "Master!"

Shui Rong pulled the reins.

The whole group stopped.

The White Lotus Sect member jumped off his horse and reported to Shui Rong: "Master, several leaders in the rear camp rebelled. They killed the supervisor sent by the Master and fled with their men!"

Shui Rong's face, covered in rain, looked even uglier.

Yang Qilong came over and sighed, "Let it rain if it wants to, and let my mother marry if she wants to, let them do it."

Just as Shui Rong was about to say something, another White Lotus sect member came running from the front of the mountain path and loudly reported: "Master, the brothers have found a mountain village in the valley ahead, with dozens of households."

Yang Qilong asked anxiously: "You didn't enter the village?"

The White Lotus Sect member stammered and replied, "The brothers were starving and cold, so they just charged in. They should have been killed by now."

Yang Qilong was so angry that his face twisted: "What did I say before we set off!"

The White Lotus sect member showed fear and looked towards Shui Rong.

"Just kill him."

Shui Rong waved his hand nonchalantly, "Many people in Luzhou Prefecture hid in the mountains before, there is no shortage of people." He paused, "Robbing one is the same, so we might as well just let go of the robbing. Not only can we collect supplies, but we can also boost the morale of the army." As he said that, he looked at the White Lotus leaders.

Several White Lotus leaders looked at each other and answered in unison, "Yes." Then they rode their horses back to their respective groups.

Soon, cheers were heard in the rain.

Yang Qilong sighed. He could no longer stay in the mountains. He could only go to Hubei, rob some things, and then go to Henan to deal with Li Hu together with Bai Hongzhi.

Wang Ziteng knew that there was a glimmer of hope in the direction of Xiangyang, so how could Bai Hongzhi, who had set the trap, not guess it?

Bai Hongzhi not only laid a trap, but also came in person. Of course, the fighting power of the government army was still very strong, so he left a gap for Wang Ziteng in the direction of Xiangyang. With this gap, Wang Ziteng's troops would not have the determination to fight to the death. He set up ambushes on this escape route, trying to let Wang Ziteng escape to Xiangyang with only the emperor's son and the Mongolian cavalry.

He couldn't bear to take Wang Ziteng's life. Keeping such an opponent might be of great use in the future!

A gust of wind blew, and the fallen leaves fluttered down.

Bai Hongzhi came back to his senses, looked up at the distant sky, and hummed: "Look at the dark hole in front, it must be the thieves' lair. When I catch up, I will kill them all!" (End of this chapter)