The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 398: Going to the door and being smart

The sky was getting darker and darker, and in the vast snow curtain, all you could see were white mountains.

Shui Rong put down the telescope and turned to look at Yang Qilong.

Yang Qilong smiled bitterly and said, "Li Hu's camp is surrounded by water on three sides, and there is a low mountain on the flank. There must be people defending it. Attacking the camp is unrealistic!"

Shui Rong was silent. They finally climbed up a mountain in the wind and snow and saw Li Hu's camp. He had set up his camp in the bend of the Yu River. Since they couldn't attack the camp, they could only fight it head-on!

After a moment of silence, the group returned to the camp along the same route.

When the cavalry arrived at the gate of the central army camp, they suddenly saw a White Lotus leader rushing out to greet them.

Walking up to him, the White Lotus leader reported to Shui Rong, "Master, Anlu City has been captured by government troops."

Shui Rong's expression suddenly changed: "Where did the government troops come from?!"

Yang Qilong asked anxiously: "Is it the Sharp Warrior Battalion?"

The leader: "According to the brothers who escaped and reported the news, the other side is fighting under the banner of 'Wang'"

Shui Rong and Yang Qilong looked at each other. They had never heard that there was a general named Wang under Li Hu's command!

The leader continued, "Looking at their weapons and equipment, they look like local government troops."

Yang Qilong frowned: "Local government troops? Could it be troops from Hanyang?"

Shui Rong's eyes flashed coldly: "No matter where they come from, we can't let them cut off our retreat!"

Yang Qilong nodded in agreement.

Shui Rong: "Take advantage of the heavy snow and concentrate our forces to retake Anlu and eliminate this group of daring local government troops!"

"We also need to block the news and not let Li Hu know about this."

Yang Qilong took out his pocket watch and looked at it, then said, "Since they are local government troops, their numbers won't be too large and their combat power won't be that great. So, the young master will lead the main force to guard here, firstly to block the news and secondly to ensure the safety of our rear wing so that we won't be attacked from both sides. I will lead 30,000 rear troops to set off at night. It's snowing and the night won't be too dark."

Shui Rong thought for a moment and said, "I'll wait for your good news."

Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Like yesterday, today was still a sunny day. The battlefield between the two armies was still covered with a thick layer of snow. Li Hu strode forward twenty or thirty steps in the snow, then jogged. He stopped only after making sure that it did not have much impact on the soldiers.

At this time, a streak of light snow dust came from the opposite side.

Wang Daniu raised his telescope: "It's the scouts."

The scout stopped in front of Li Hu, jumped off his horse, and reported loudly: "General, the White Lotus rebels still have their camp gates closed and show no signs of going out to fight."

A hint of doubt flashed across Li Hu's eyes.

Wang Daniu laughed: "Shui Rong, that loser, must be scared out of his wits!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone laughed.

Li Hu glanced at him and asked the sentry, "Are you sure it's not an empty camp?"

The scout said: "It's not an empty camp. The shouts and neighs of the horses are very clear."

Li Hu frowned. What did Shui Rong want to do? He didn't retreat, nor did he fight outside the camp.
Wang Daniu: "If he doesn't come, we'll just go to his house and fight!"

Li Hu was stunned for a moment, then slowly looked at him.

Wang Daniu said with a guilty conscience: "Well, did I say something wrong again?"

Li Hu stopped looking at him and said to the officers of each battalion, "Let's not wait any longer. Let's go to their door and smash the turtle shell!"

All the generals shouted in unison: "Yes!"

Shui Rong was not in a very good mood at the moment. He walked back and forth in front of the central army tent in a somewhat annoyed manner, stopping from time to time to look in the direction of Anlu.

After a long while, a White Lotus sect member rode up on horseback, pulled the reins in front of Shui Rong, jumped off the horse, and shouted, "Master, Yang has not yet captured Anlu City."

Shui Rong's face darkened: "Didn't you say we would attack the city wall?"

The White Lotus Sect member: "Master, the intelligence is wrong. The troops in Anlu are not all from Jiangxi. There are also many elite soldiers from the Ruishi Battalion. All the brothers who climbed the city wall died in their hands. The leader of the troops was particularly cruel."

"No wonder, I was wondering why Wang Ziteng was so bold, it turns out he has someone backing him up!" Shui Rong snorted coldly, and said to a White Lotus leader behind him, "You lead the right army to reinforce Yang Zongguan, and you must arrive before noon tomorrow, and take down Anlu City before dark the day after tomorrow!"

The leader was shocked: "This, the camp is more than fifty miles away from Anlu City, and the road is still covered with snow."

Shui Rong's eyes flashed coldly: "If you are late, bring your head to me!"

The leader was startled and said, "Yes." Then he ran down like the wind.

With a snort, Shui Rong said, "You all go back, leave me some peace and quiet." After saying that, he turned and entered the central military tent.

The other White Lotus leaders looked at each other and had to go back to their respective camps.

The sound of the horn "woooo" echoed tragically in the sky above the camp.

The sound of rustling footsteps was heard along with the vibration of the ground, and square formations in distinctive armor were neatly lined up from the open gate.

Looking down from a high place, under the reflection of the sunlight, the swords and guns were flashing brightly and full of murderous aura.

Bai Wu, the leader of the White Tiger Hall, was wearing the brand new uniform of a guerrilla general with a look of arrogance on his face. He became famous in one battle and was appointed by Li Hu as the guerrilla general of the Sword and Shield Battalion, leading a battalion of 3,000 soldiers.

The snow dust was rising lightly, and following behind the Sword and Shield Battalion were rows of musketeers marching in neat and powerful steps.

The rumbling sound of wheels rolled over a series of cannons pulled by war horses.

Under the protection of generals from various camps, Li Hu rode out of the camp on his big white horse.

Li Hu looked in the direction of Shui Rong's camp. No matter what his plan was, he would destroy his front camp today!

Just a few days later, shouts of killing were heard again over Anlu City. The attackers were still the White Lotus Sect members, but the defenders were the government troops led by Wang Ziteng and Sun Shaozu.

Several passages were filled in the moat. Below the city, there were densely packed White Lotus followers. The ladders were also full of White Lotus followers. Even on the city walls, there were many White Lotus followers fighting with the government troops!

Sun Shaozu was already covered in blood from the killing spree. The long sword in his hand flew up and down. The sword flashed as the White Lotus Sect members were chopped down from the city wall one by one.

Wang Ziteng was standing in front of the city wall at that time. The red and black cloak he was wearing was blown backwards by the cold wind. He did not look at the city wall where the fierce battle was going on, but just stared at the north in a daze.

Suddenly, a sobbing sound was heard behind him. Wang Ziteng came to his senses and looked over. It was Wang Ren.

Seeing Wang Ziteng turned around, Wang Ren said with tears in his eyes: "Uncle, I don't want to die"

With a slap in the face, Wang Ren took several steps back before he could stand firmly.

Wang Ziteng: "You useless bastard! If you dare to disrupt the morale of the army again, I will personally throw you off the city wall!"

Wang Ren quickly shut his mouth.

With a humph, Wang Ziteng turned his gaze to Sun Shaozu, who was killing the White Lotus Sect members, and cursed his ancestors in his heart. If it weren't for his boasting, he wouldn't have come to attack Anlu. Now he is trapped in a jar! I hope Li Hu can receive my letter for help.

In the forest opposite, Zhang Cheng and others were looking at the fierce battle in Anlu City.

A man spoke up: "General, should we report what happened here to the commander?"

Zhang Cheng shook his head.

Another man interrupted: "It's their fault for being so smart!"

The man hesitated for a moment, then said, "We have brothers from the Sharp Warriors in the city. We can't just sit there and watch our own people die at the hands of the White Lotus rebels."

Another man said: "What do you mean by our own people? They are just a group of White Lotus rebels that the Marshal recruited in Henan."

The man: “But.”

Zhang Cheng spoke up: "The White Lotus Sect must have blocked the road to Suizhou, so the message can't be delivered."

Someone whispered, "Hold it!"

Everyone watched as the government troops once again repelled the White Lotus' attack.

Zhang Cheng shook his head. Anlu could not be defended. If Wang Ziteng wanted to survive, he should break out at night and hide in the mountains and forests.

Thinking of this, he suddenly reacted and didn't want to be implicated by Wang Ziteng. He immediately said, "Let's go. Let's leave here." After that, he turned and walked into the depths of the forest.

(End of this chapter)