The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 390 There is no better way to celebrate than this

Bai Hongzhi certainly didn't know Li Hu's whereabouts. He simply wanted to rob the various prefectures in Hubei and destroy the great granary of the Dashun Dynasty.

The main force of the Hubei government army was completely wiped out by Shui Rong in Shucheng, Anhui. The patrol camps of various prefectures could not resist Bai Hongzhi's hundreds of thousands of White Lotus troops. He captured cities and territories along the way and was invincible without encountering much resistance. Just when Li Hu broke through the city of Nanyang, Bai Hongzhi led his army to Anlu, the capital of De'an Prefecture.

Although Anlu is not well-known, it has a special geographical location. It is the main road between Xiangyang and Wuhan. Once Xiangyang is lost, Anlu will be the last barrier for Wuhan. Although Xiangyang was not lost, Wang Ziteng's remaining soldiers did not dare to leave the city at all. They could only hide in Xiangyang and watch the White Lotus rebels looting wantonly.

On the day Bai Hongzhi led his army to arrive, he captured the high ground on the east, west and south sides, completing the siege of Anlu City on all sides.

However, Bai Hongzhi did not expect that the Anlu prefect was a ruthless man. He moved the people from the suburbs into the city ahead of time, transported all food and other supplies into the city, demolished the houses around the city walls, implemented the policy of "fortification", opened canals and ponds to fill the moat, and dug trenches outside the moat.

Except for the east side, the walls of Anlu were almost completely surrounded by rivers and moats, and the distance between them and the walls was very short, so a large group of troops could not deploy. The houses in the suburbs were demolished, forming an open space several dozen feet deep. As long as there were enough arrows and ammunition in the city, it would cause huge casualties to the White Lotus sect attacking the city.

Bai Hongzhi, who had hundreds of thousands of soldiers under his command, was not frightened. On the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, he launched a fierce attack on the south of the city. He attacked for two days but did not gain any advantage. He rested for three consecutive days on the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth days, while building siege equipment and shooting letters into the city to persuade people to surrender.

After failing to do so, Bai Hongzhi, who was humiliated and angry, ordered the excavation of the common people's ancestral graves outside the city in an attempt to shake the people's hearts. He even beheaded the people who failed to evacuate into the city in time and threw their heads into the city to intimidate the government troops and the people defending the city.

On the 15th, at a command from Bai Hongzhi, the White Lotus army, which had built siege equipment, launched a fierce attack on Anlu. After three days and three nights, with countless casualties, they still failed to capture the city wall.

Seeing the White Lotus Sect members being driven down the siege ladder again, Bai Hongzhi cursed them as "trash", looked up at the setting sun, and said to the White Lotus Sect leader beside him: "Sound the horn to call off the troops!"

"Dang! Dang! Dang!"

As the bell rang for the withdrawal, the White Lotus Sect retreated like a tide, leaving behind a trail of corpses.
"Useless, all of them are a bunch of useless - an army of more than one hundred thousand can't even capture a small city like Anlu!" Bai Hongzhi slammed the table in frustration.

None of the White Lotus leaders said a word.

Bai Hongzhi: "Aren't you all very eloquent on weekdays? How come you have all become mute?!" He got up from his seat, paced back and forth dragging his lame leg, and scanned everyone with his one eye.

All the White Lotus leaders within his sight lowered their heads in panic.

With a snort, Bai Hongzhi said, "Everyone go back, we will continue the siege tomorrow!"

The White Lotus leaders: "Yes."

At this time, the elderly steward hurried in with a letter.

Bai Hongzhi: "What's wrong?"

The elderly steward said: "An urgent letter from Nanyang!" and handed the letter to Bai Hongzhi.

Bai Hongzhi took the letter, opened the seal and read it. After reading a few lines, his face turned gloomy.

The old steward asked tentatively: "Master Sun"

Bai Hongzhi: "Li Hu is here. Nanyang Prefecture is gone."

The old steward was slightly stunned: "The water has failed?"

"Shui Rong is a piece of trash!"

Bai Hongzhi started walking back and forth again, saying, "We must capture Anlu City as soon as possible, then go south to Hanyang, plunder, and go to Anhui along the Yangtze River." At this point, he suddenly remembered, "What's the situation in Hanyang? Have the government troops from Hunan and Jiangxi arrived?"

The old steward said: "The spy is back and is outside the tent."

Bai Hongzhi: "Let him in."

The elderly steward walked over and lifted the curtain. A man in a white turban strode in and saluted Bai Hongzhi.

Bai Hongzhi glanced at him and said, "Go ahead."

The man said: "The Jiangxi government troops have already arrived in Hanyang, but the arrival of Hunan's reinforcements is still unclear."

Bai Hongzhi interrupted him: "Where is your incense master?"

The man said: "Master, our incense master stayed in Hanyang to find out the deployment of the government troops."

Bai Hongzhi raised his hand: "Any more information?"

The man: "No more." Bai Hongzhi: "Go down."

The man replied, "Yes." Then he turned around and walked out.

Bai Hongzhi looked at the man's back and said, "Send a few reliable people to the south and set off after dark."

The old steward was startled: "Master Sun, do you suspect he is lying?"

Bai Hongzhi shook his head: "It is better to be cautious at this time."

The elderly steward nodded.

Bai Hongzhi walked back to his chair and sat down: "We have fought for three days and three nights in a row. The soldiers are extremely tired. We need to arrange for night guards to prevent the government troops in Anlu City from attacking the camp."

Elderly steward: “Yes.”

The moon on the seventeenth was almost the same size as the fifteenth and sixteenth, big and bright. When it rose above the east wall, the sky had just gotten dark.

The moonlight quietly sprinkled on Bai Hongzhi's camp.

A burst of hurried horse hoof sounds rang out, and several fast horses rushed out of the military camp and galloped south along the official road.

After a long time, a dark shadow sneaked out of the military camp and ran towards the distant mountains and forests.

The moonlight also shone here quietly, and Zhang Cheng stood quietly in the moonlight.

There was a sound of footsteps, followed by a dark shadow running over.

As they got closer, they could see the man's face clearly. He was the man who reported the intelligence about Hanyang to Bai Hongzhi.

Walking up to him, the man reported to Zhang Cheng, "General, Bai Hongzhi sent several of his trusted men to Hanyang to gather intelligence."

Zhang Cheng nodded.

The man: "When they come back, I will be exposed"

Zhang Cheng: "They can't come back."

The man hesitated for a moment and said, "If they can't come back, won't I be more suspicious?"

"You don't have to go back."

Zhang Cheng raised his head slightly and looked at the moon in the distance, "Shui Rong will attack Bai Hongzhi's camp tonight."

The man was delighted: "Then we have to find a good place to watch them fight each other!"

Zhang Cheng smiled. Shui Rong not only came out of the mountains, but also had several times more men and horses than when he entered the mountains. Four days ago, he set up camp thirty miles behind Bai Hongzhi. All the spies sent by Bai Hongzhi fell into Shui Rong's hands.

Bai Hongzhi seized Shui Rong's ancestral land and proclaimed himself the leader of the White Lotus Sect. Shui Rong would never tolerate him, so he took advantage of tonight to kill Bai Hongzhi and annex his troops.

The man said: "General, should we take advantage of the chaos to chop off Bai Hongzhi's head?"

Zhang Cheng: "A living Bai Hongzhi is more valuable."

The man: "Let him go?"

Zhang Cheng: "On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Crown Prince will be enthroned. There is no better way to celebrate than this."

The man nodded, and then his eyes lit up: "The Marshal is here?"

Zhang Cheng nodded: "The vanguard of the army has entered De'an Prefecture, just in time to give Shui Rong a big surprise!"

The man laughed.

Zhang Cheng: "Let's go back and make preparations. We can't let Bai Hongzhi escape again." After saying that, he turned and went into the forest.

(End of this chapter)