The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 403 This is the will of the people

Before the government troops could catch up to Yunmeng, Shui Rong had already run to Xiaogan.

Fearing that the government troops would pursue them, Shui Rong did not dare to attack the county town. He could only lead the remaining White Lotus troops and run wildly, wreaking havoc on villages and towns along the way. He did not stop until he was sure that the distance between the two sides was still far, and then he took a breath.

In order to solve the food problem and boost military morale, Shui Rong ordered an attack on Xiaogan.

Xiaogan, also known as Xiaocheng, got its name because Dong Yong, a filial son in the Eastern Han Dynasty, sold himself to bury his father and acted so filially that moved heaven and earth.

However, this ancient city was faced with a devastating disaster. With a shocking explosion, Xiaogan County opened its gates to the White Lotus Rebellion. Amid the earth-shaking shouts of killing, countless White Lotus Rebellion bandits rushed in from the collapsed part of the city wall waving swords and guns!
It first spread from the collapsed city wall, and then the screams and cries of fear and despair spread throughout the city!
"The city is broken"

"The White Lotus rebels have entered the city!"

Countless swords and guns, shining in the sunlight, swept through the streets and alleys. Everywhere were people running in panic, everywhere was the light of blood after the swords flashed, and everywhere were corpses.

First, fire appeared in the southeast corner of the city, and then fire appeared everywhere in the city!

Xiaogan City was soon engulfed in flames!
Shui Rong sat upright on his horse, watching quietly.

Yang Qilong suddenly remembered something and immediately said to the two White Lotus leaders beside him, "Go to the city and capture a few beautiful young ladies from wealthy families."

"Yes!" The two White Lotus leaders waved their hands and led a group of White Lotus followers to rush into the city.

Shui Rong looked at Yang Qilong.

Yang Qilong smiled: "Sun Shaozu."

Shui Rong understood and nodded with a smile.

Yang Qilong: "I have thought about it carefully along the way. We can't go to Hanyang. They must have made preparations to go to Huangzhou Prefecture."

Shui Rong: "Huangzhou Prefecture?"

Yang Qilong nodded. "If we go to Hanyang, we will be blocked by the Yangtze River in front and Li Hu behind us. It is a desperate situation where we will almost die. Huangzhou Prefecture is different. Although the capital of Huangzhou Prefecture is not easy to attack, there are boats there. We can collect boats and sail south along the Yangtze River to escape Li Hu's encirclement. Even if there are no boats, we can still go to Anhui, where there are only tens of thousands of young and strong men."

Shui Rong's eyes lit up: "Okay, let Li Hu follow us and eat dirt!"

Yang Qilong and Shui Rong laughed at each other.

Sun Shaozu was also looking at the Xiaogan County engulfed in flames at this time. His face looked fuller than a few days ago, and it was obvious that he had been living a good life these days.

Putting down the telescope, Sun Shaozu stood there blinking, thinking that the White Lotus rebels were better, they just robbed whatever they wanted, beauties and money.
Thinking of this, Sun Shaozu couldn't help but be a little stunned. How could he have such an idea? It was really outrageous.

Turning and walking towards the tent, Sun Shaozu lay down on the mattress, closed his eyes, and waited for dinner.

After an unknown amount of time, footsteps were heard. Sun Shaozu pretended not to hear them and kept his eyes closed.

"General Sun." A voice whispered in his ear, and Sun Shaozu opened his eyes and looked at the man.

It was the White Lotus leader who led people to capture Sun Shaozu.

The leader smiled apologetically and said, "The leader invites you to have a drink."

Shui Rong treated himself to a drink? What did he want to do?!

Sun Shaozu frowned, but stood up and walked out.

The leader quickly followed him out.

As soon as he stepped into the big tent, Sun Shaozu was stunned.

The tent was completely empty, without even a table, chairs or benches, let alone a banquet!
Sun Shaozu's face darkened. Shui Rong was playing a trick on him? !
Just as he was about to turn around and leave, Sun Shaozu suddenly smelled the scent of rouge and powder. There were women in the back tent, and more than one woman!
Sun Shaozu took two deep breaths of the fragrance, his eyes flashing with light, and then he walked lightly and silently towards the back tent.

Before he even entered the back tent, Sun Shaozu's eyes suddenly widened and he swallowed hard!
There were indeed women in the back tent, a group of pretty girls whose tops had been taken off.

Sun Shaozu swallowed his saliva and opened his eyes wide, looking at the chests of the topless girls with lustful eyes.

The girls desperately covered their chests with their hands and cried as they backed away.

Finally, Sun Shaozu couldn't bear it anymore and strode in. He thought to himself that he couldn't care less. To die under the peony flowers would be a romantic ghost!
Hearing the screams and cries coming from the big tent, Shui Rong and Yang Qilong smiled at each other.

Shui Rong looked up at the sky and said to Yang Qilong, "According to the time, Li Hu will arrive in Yunmeng at night. Let's rest for one night, cook at three o'clock, and move camp at five o'clock."

Yang Qilong thought for a moment and said, "Alright, let everyone have a good rest for the night."

Shui Rong and Yang Qilong never dreamed that Li Hu had already arrived and was waiting for them in front.

The soldiers of the Sharp Warriors Battalion have been receiving weight-bearing armed cross-country training since they entered the camp. The lightly equipped soldiers of the Sharp Warriors Battalion can march more than 90 miles in a day and a night, and this is still to ensure their combat effectiveness.

The White Lotus rebels only ran sixty or seventy miles in a day and a night. The gap was more than twenty miles in a day, and sixty or seventy miles in three days. Excluding the more than forty miles they lagged behind Shui Rong at the beginning, Li Hu had already caught up with him in the first half of yesterday night and was now resting and preparing for battle.

The distance between the two sides was not too far, and the Ruishi Battalion was hiding behind Wangmu Lake.

In broad daylight, although the fire could not be seen, the thick smoke covered the sky and it was obvious what had happened in Xiaogan. Pairs of angry eyes were looking towards Xiaogan at this time, and everyone sat there quietly, eating dry food silently, without saying a word.

On the slope by the lake, Li Hu stood there, leaning on his saber with both hands, looking straight ahead, motionless.

After a long time, Li Hu sighed deeply. This was something he had not expected. He did not expect Xiaogan to fall so easily, and he did not expect Shui Rong to be so unscrupulous. Even if he wanted to rebel, he had to win the hearts of the people to rule the world.

Thinking about this, Li Hu shook his head and turned to look at Wang Yaozu: "When will the government troops from Hanyang arrive?"

Wang Yaozu: "After dusk."

Li Hu nodded. In order to confuse Shui Rong, Huang Jinzhong led the main force of the government army to chase slowly from behind. He led the Hetao cavalry and the Rui Shiying infantry to march quickly along the mountains. In order to ensure that Shui Rong could be blocked, he also transferred the government troops from Hanyang.

Just then, a lieutenant general hurried towards Li Hu.

When he came to the front, the lieutenant general whispered: "General, many villagers have arrived."

Li Hu frowned: "What's going on? Is someone disturbing the public?"

The lieutenant general: "No. The villagers brought us hot food."

Li Hu: “Oh?”

The lieutenant general said: "According to the rules, they should be driven away, but you should go and take a look yourself, they are all old, weak, women and children."

Li Hu thought for a moment and said, "Lead the way."

In the distance, a large group of civilians were blocked by patrolling soldiers. In the middle were a few old men, and on both sides were children carrying lunch baskets and women carrying wooden buckets.

Li Hu strode over with a knife slung over his shoulder.

When they saw Li Hu coming, the soldiers saluted.

When everyone knew that the high official had arrived, they all knelt down.

"Get up, everyone, please stand up and talk." Li Hu walked forward and helped an old man up.

The old man said: "We have all heard about the White Lotus Rebellion. The master is here to fight the bandits for us common people. Logically, we should prepare some decent meals to entertain the master even if we have to sell everything we have. But our village is too poor and we don't have much good stuff. I originally wanted to collect some money and send a few young men to the market to buy a big fat pig. The military officer who was patrolling the surrounding area said that martial law was in place and no one was allowed to go out."

Li Hu: "It's not easy for you either. We appreciate your kindness, but please take the things back with you."

An old man nearby spoke up, "It's nothing special, just some whole grain cakes and fish soup. The cakes are what we eat on a daily basis, and the fish is what we caught in the Wild Boar Lake. It's not expensive, but it's so cold, drink it to warm yourself up."

Another old man said, "We know the rules." Then he said to the women, "Put a bowl of fish soup in each bucket and let the children drink it."

The women lifted the lid of the barrel and a fragrant aroma filled the air. They stirred the barrel with a spoon and then scooped up a spoonful.

The children put down their lunch baskets, took bowls from the basket, and held them up with both hands. The woman poured half of the spoonful of fish soup into one child's bowl and the other half into another child's bowl.

All the generals turned their eyes to Li Hu.

Li Hu was silent for a moment, then said to Wang Daniu, "Give each of you fellow villagers two hundred taels of silver."

Wang Daniu: “Yes.” He took out a few banknotes from his pocket.

The old man in the lead said hurriedly, "No, no. You all have come all the way here to help us fight the bandits. It's already too bad for you to eat these. How can we charge you for this?"

An old man said: "If we accept this money, how will we face our ancestors after we die?"

Several other elders echoed: "It's embarrassing to see our ancestors!"

"You should at least give me money for the firewood."

Li Hu smiled and said, "If you don't want to accept the one hundred taels of firewood money, please go back."

After these words were spoken, several old men were embarrassed.

The old man in the lead was silent for a moment, then said, "It won't take that much."

Wang Daniu spoke up for us: "Old man, we are from the capital, and the firewood there is priced like this."

The old man was surprised: "Is the firewood in the capital made of gold?"

Wang Daniu: "What's gold? The firewood used in the palace is more expensive than gold!"

The old man took a breath and said, "More valuable than gold!"

Wang Daniu wanted to say something, but Li Hu glared at him, then said with a smile: "If you have anything to say, let's talk while we eat."

Bai Wu, the head of the White Tiger Hall, looked at the people with a complicated look, looking at the buckets of fragrant fish soup. Is this what the people want? Yes, this is what the people want!

(End of this chapter)