The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 411 Backhand
The heavy snow made the sky and earth chaotic. A lantern could be vaguely seen floating towards the central army tent.

"Who! What are you doing!" A loud shout came from the guard post not far away.

The lantern still floated towards the central army tent: "It's me."

"Who do you think you are? Just standing there waiting!" The personal soldier shouted as he walked forward. Only then did he see Wang Daniu clearly. He hurriedly said with a smile, "Oh! It's General Wang. I just changed shifts and didn't know you were out." As he spoke, he looked behind Wang Daniu and saw a strange man in a cloak, still covering his face with only his eyes exposed.

Wang Daniu: "Everyone, cheer up and keep a close eye on it."

"Yes." The soldier answered, but his eyes were fixed on the man. "This is..." He shone the lantern towards the man's face.

Wang Daniu suddenly pushed away the lantern, stood in front of the man, and stretched his right hand into his arms.

With a "swish", the soldier drew his sword!

There was the sound of swords being drawn, followed by a shout from behind: "What happened?"

Then there was a crackling sound in the snow and wind.

At this time, Wang Daniu took out a token from his arms and handed it to the soldier.

The soldier took a look and immediately sheathed his sword, shouting, "It's all right! General Wang is back!"

A group of personal soldiers armed with swords had surrounded him. Wang Daniu had no choice but to shake the token in his hand.

Then everyone sheathed their swords and retreated.

Wang Daniu said to the guard: "Watch closely! No one is allowed to approach without the Marshal's token!"

"Yes!" the soldier answered loudly, and his tone became very respectful.

Wang Daniu nodded and led the man towards the central military tent.

In the big tent, two soldiers on duty blew up a pot of charcoal fire, and Wang Daniu led the man in.

The two guards on duty saluted quickly: "General Wang is back."

Wang Daniu took off his cloak and asked, "How is the Marshal?"

The two bodyguards said, "We just had dinner and are taking a rest." They all looked at the man.

Wang Daniu had no choice but to take out the token from his arms: "We don't need you here anymore, wait outside the tent."

"Yes." The two bodyguards took the cloaks from the hanger and put them on, still staring at the man closely.

"Let them in." Li Hu's voice came from the back tent.

The two bodyguards answered, “Yes.” and walked out together.

"You two little bastards, you don't even give me any face." Wang Daniu led the man to the back door and said, "Go in."

The man took off the hood on his head, and it turned out to be Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng laughed and said, "You can't do that either!"

Wang Daniu rolled his eyes: "You know shit, this is called the rules!"

Zhang Cheng smiled, opened the curtain and walked in.

Wang Daniu dragged over a chair and sat down beside the charcoal fire.

As soon as Zhang Cheng entered the back tent, he saw Li Hu lying on the sickbed. He was startled at first, then he ran over and knelt down in front of the bed, crying out: "General! What happened? How did you become so sick!"

Li Hu saw that he was really kind and felt a little sad. He forced a smile and said, "It's just a little cold. It's nothing serious. Come, sit down and talk."

Zhang Cheng wiped his tears, then bowed his head, then stood up and sat down on a stool nearby.

Li Hu: "Sit closer, let me see you too."

Zhang Cheng moved a stool and sat down beside the bed.

Li Hu looked at him and said, "You have lost a lot of weight. You have suffered a lot in the past two years." He shouted again, "Daniu, I asked someone to cook the bird's nest porridge on the small stove. Take a look and see if it is ready."

Zhang Cheng: "We have already found Shui Rong's whereabouts. There are probably two to three hundred people around him."

Li Hu nodded.

Zhang Cheng hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "I dare to say that Shui Rong cannot die."

Li Hu: "What do you mean?"

Zhang Cheng: "When the cunning rabbit dies and the flying birds are gone, the meritorious officials will also die! What's more, the prince is not in good health, and the emperor will not live longer than the generals!" He paused, "The emperor has been protecting the second prince, so he may have other intentions."

Li Hu looked at him.

Zhang Cheng: "And the King Zhongshun, who suffered defeat after defeat, and finally lost all the court's chips in Anhui, but only paid 100,000 silver coins for redemption. They both have one thing in common, they can lead troops to fight! The emperor is wary of all the noble generals, including you, general."

At this moment, Wang Daniu's voice came from outside: "General, the bird's nest porridge is ready." Li Hu: "Bring it in."

Wang Daniu lifted the door curtain and came in carrying a small tea tray.

Li Hu said to Zhang Cheng, "This bird's nest was given by Xue Pan's wife as a gift to Xue's concubine. Drink it to warm yourself up."

Zhang Cheng: “Yes.” He took the bowl of porridge and scooped half a spoonful to his mouth.

"It's hot, drink slowly." Li Hu greeted with a smile.

Zhang Cheng said "hmm", blew it gently a few times, and then put it into his mouth.

Wang Daniu laughed and said, "It's you. We can't even think of a bite. It shows that you are different in the general's heart."

Zhang Cheng smiled and suddenly remembered: "Hey, Xue Pan got married?"

Wang Daniu: “I know this.”

Li Hu waved his hand: "Sit down and talk. Don't block the candlelight."

"Hey!" Wang Daniu's smile became even wider. He moved a stool and sat down next to the bed. He told Zhang Cheng about Xue Pan's matter. "This girl from the Xia family must have taken a fancy to Xue Pan. They have a crush on each other! Oh, by the way, Xue Pan has taken a fancy to our general."

Zhang Cheng had just swallowed the bird's nest porridge in his mouth when he suddenly started coughing: "W-what. What did you say?"

Wang Daniu reacted and quickly slapped his forehead: "That's not what I meant, Xue Pan." He then told Zhang Cheng everything that had happened recently.

Li Hu was not angry, he just looked at them quietly. He hadn't seen such a scene in almost two years.

After hearing what Wang Daniu said, Zhang Chengchang breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Our general is as handsome as Song Yu, as good-looking as Pan An, and more talented than Zijian. He has charmed thousands of girls from all over the country. I don't know if Xue Pan has any intentions, but he definitely doesn't have the courage."

Li Hu laughed angrily: "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll kick you."

Wang Daniu: "You are still good at flattering people!"

Zhang Cheng laughed and scolded, "Get lost!" Then he drank the rest of the porridge in one gulp.

Wang Daniu took the bowl and stood up.

Li Hu: "You should listen to it too."

Wang Daniu shook his head: "The secret is not to be passed on to others. I'll go make some medicine for the general and keep an eye on him."

Li Hu looked at him and said, "Go ahead."

"Yes." Wang Daniu walked out with the empty bowl.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Cheng spoke: "That's good."

Li Hu sighed: "Forget it, let's not talk about it. I have also thought carefully about what you just said. Let me show you something." As he said that, he took out a piece of ink paper from the pile of documents and handed it to Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng took it and had a look. What was written on it were exactly the things that the old steward had confessed, including the treasure hidden in Henan, a large number of White Lotus Sect members lurking in the six towns of Yinshan Mountain, and the matter of the top scholar.

Zhang Cheng seemed to understand something and looked at Li Hu.

Li Hu was silent for a moment, then said, "We brothers cannot leave our lives in the hands of others."

Zhang Cheng nodded vigorously.

Li Hu: "Shui Rong's reputation has been ruined. There is no chance for him to go to the outside of the Great Wall. Who knows, he might be able to make friends with Fu Kang'an."

Zhang Cheng smiled.

Li Hu: "When the snow stops, Huang Jinzhong and Wang Ziteng will search the mountain. The mountain has long been burned by water, so he can only flee north. There are several remnants of Bai Hongzhi near Wusheng Pass. You lead your men there in advance, wipe out two of them, fake a fire and put it on a White Lotus leader."

Zhang Cheng nodded: "General, rest assured, I will take care of this matter. By the way, should I go with you to the border?"

Li Hu: "No, just focus on running the Central Plains. Also, I will find a chance to transfer our people back from outside the Great Wall."

"Okay, I'll listen to the general."

Zhang Cheng stood up and looked at Li Hu: "I can't stay too long. General, you must take care of yourself."

"the same as you."

Li Hu looked at him and said, "It's snowing heavily outside, be careful!"

Zhang Cheng: "Don't worry, General. There are old brothers from the sentry camp outside to lead the way. Nothing will happen."

Li Hu was silent for a moment, then said, "I will find a way to deal with your problem. I won't let you live in such a miserable state forever."

Zhang Cheng knelt down and said, "Thank you in advance." Then he kowtowed.

Li Hu looked at him and said, "Go ahead."

(End of this chapter)