The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

In February, spring returns to the earth and all things revive. It is the best time for spring ploughing. However, when you look around, the fields are barren and there is no one in sight. The fertile land is not cultivated. There are only patches of wild grass, which are lush and green, and have spread all the way to the river.

After a night of spring rain, the branches on both sides of the post road were all green and full of vitality. Several birds flew between the treetops, chirping and stopping from time to time to preen their feathers.

Although the pleasant bird song is melodious, it ends up in vain. Against the backdrop of the birdsong, the air seems even more quiet and desolate.

Suddenly, the earth-shaking sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance on the post road, startling a few birds on the treetops and causing them to flap their wings and fly away.

At the end of the post road, a group of flying red dots were getting closer and closer.

Wang Yaozu and a group of scouts came on horseback and stopped at the bend of the river.

Taking out a telescope, Wang Yaozu looked into the distance. From here he could already see the city of Nanyang Prefecture in the distance.

A captain started to curse: "Damn it! You really underestimated this Nanyang City. It withstood the fierce attack of tens of thousands of troops for three days and three nights, and even fought a fierce street battle after the city was breached. I thought we had defeated them, but I didn't expect them to dare to kill the Nanyang prefect appointed by the court."

Another captain said: "It's all Wang Ziteng's fault!"

Another captain said: "The situation has been decided. We should live a quiet life. If we resist the imperial court, we will only end up dead."

Wang Yaozu put down the telescope and his face was solemn. Compared with Wang Ziteng, the local people here hated Li Hu and their Ruishi Battalion more.

When the Nanyang City was captured, the two sides fought an extremely brutal street battle. After the war, nearly 20,000 corpses were cleared out of the city. Although those who participated in the street fighting were the surrendered soldiers of the White Lotus Sect, the blame was definitely set on the Rui Shi Battalion.

Together with several other prefectures and counties, nearly 100,000 people were killed in the pacification of Nanyang Prefecture. Some of them were members of the White Lotus Sect, but more were ordinary people who took up arms to resist the court.

Bai Hongzhi took away more than 100,000 people from Henan, nearly half of whom were ordinary people from Nanyang Prefecture and its surrounding areas.

The Rui Shi Battalion won three battles in Suizhou and Xiaogan. Especially in the battle of Xiaogan, they did not take any prisoners and chopped off nearly 40,000 heads in one go. Almost all the people Bai Hongzhi took away from Nanyang Prefecture died at the hands of the Rui Shi Battalion.

They dared to intercept and kill the newly appointed prefect of Nanyang on the way, so they might have the courage to assassinate Li Hu.

Back then, Zhang Liang was only a strong man who assassinated the First Emperor. Who knows how many daring people are hiding among the people of Nanyang City!
What if an assassination really happened? We can't just massacre the people in Nanyang City, right? There are tens of thousands of people here!

Thinking of this, Wang Yaozu's heart tightened. No, he couldn't let Li Hu enter the city. Nanyang City was full of ruins, and it was easy for assassins to ambush. In addition, the streets were long and narrow, which would not only reduce the speed of the convoy, but also reduce the number of soldiers protecting the frames. It was too dangerous!

As for the death of the newly appointed Nanyang prefect, they directly sent a large army into the city and killed people until someone came forward to confess or identified the murderer.

Wang Yaozu glanced at Nanyang City again, then said to the scouts, "We won't go into the city!" After that, he rode his horse back in the direction he came from.

The scouts hurriedly followed
It was noon, the sun was shining quietly, and the city of Nanyang was in ruins and dead silent.

Inside the dilapidated City God Temple, several sturdy men with white scarves wrapped around their heads were sitting around a campfire, sipping porridge from their bowls and talking about something, each with a solemn expression.

There was a sound of footsteps and everyone looked over.

A man wearing a melon-shaped hat rushed in like a gust of wind, holding onto the door frame, panting, "Here, here he comes. Li Hu is here!"

The men stood up suddenly.

The man said, "The vanguard of the convoy is not far from the reception pavilion outside the city," and looked at the burly man in the lead.

The other men also turned their eyes to the burly man.

The sturdy man drank the porridge in the bowl in one gulp, then threw it to the ground and shouted: "There is a road to heaven but he refused to take it, there is no door to hell but he threw himself into it! Since he has fallen into the trap, let's kill him too, to avenge our hall master and the brothers who died tragically!"

The crowd shouted:

"Revenge! Revenge!"

"The hands of this butcher Li Hu are stained with the blood of our White Lotus brothers. We must not let him go!"

"Yes, the Left Protector, the Shaanxi helmsman, our hall master, thousands of brothers from the Qinglong Hall, and that loser Bai Hongzhi all died at the hands of Li Hu." The sturdy man raised his hand.

The City God Temple immediately became quiet.

The sturdy man squatted down, picked up a branch and drew a simple topographic map on the ground, saying, "Li Hu must be going to the government office when he enters the city. This road is the only way for Li Hu's convoy to pass. We are familiar with this place, and many sections are ruins, so it is easy to ambush without being discovered by the vanguard of the convoy."

Everyone nodded after hearing this.

The sturdy man said: "We definitely can't get close to the convoy, but there is a pair of stone lions over at the ruins of the bell and drum tower. Each stone lion weighs about 120 to 130 kilograms. If one of them hits Li Hu's carriage, the thief will be dead for sure!"

After hearing this, everyone became excited.

The sturdy man continued, "The stone lion is still some distance away from the street. In order not to arouse suspicion, the stone lion cannot be moved. This requires someone to buy time for the person who threw the stone lion."

Before he could finish his words, the men started shouting again: "Let's go! Let's buy time for the incense master!"

The incense master of Qinglong Hall was silent for a moment. "Even if we didn't kill the new Nanyang prefect, we still can't kill Li Hu with our own strength. So, we need the families of the brothers in the sect who died at the hands of Li Hu to help."

Everyone was silent.

Just then, another man hurried in and shouted, "The vanguard of the convoy has entered the city!"

Everyone turned their eyes to the incense master.

The incense master of Qinglong Hall gritted his teeth and said, "No time to hesitate. I will take two people to ambush at the ruins of the bell and drum tower. You immediately go and inform those who want revenge that they are all ordinary people. There is no need to ambush in advance. Just stand on both sides of the street and wait for Li Hu's carriage to arrive at the ruins of the bell and drum tower. Immediately launch an attack to attract the attention of the guards and buy time for me!"

After saying that, he tore off the white scarf on his head, revealing his bald head, and then strode out.

The other strong men looked at each other, tore off the white scarves on their heads, put on melon-shaped hats, and followed after him.

After the vanguard army entered the city, the prefect who had been hiding in the government office finally dared to come to the city gate with a few runners to welcome Li Hu.

The city gates were under martial law, and every three steps there was a guard post filled with soldiers from the Ruishi Battalion holding guns and swords. In the sunlight, their armor, swords and guns were all shining.

The prime minister looked anxiously at the post road leading to the distance.

All the people came, although they were all quiet, there was a huge crowd and undisguised hostility. The soldiers in the Ruishi Battalion under martial law became very nervous. They faced the people one after another, pointing their swords and guns at the onlookers.

Not long after, this tranquility was broken by the sound of horse hooves and rustling footsteps accompanied by the shaking of the ground.

The crowd watching also became agitated.

A large group of carriages and horses with red flags slowly approached.

First came a group of burly men holding red flags and riding tall horses.

Next came four endless rows of armored soldiers with swords and shields, marching in neat and powerful steps.

Bai Wu, the leader of the White Tiger Hall, was in the square formation, his face full of arrogance.

With the rumbling sound of wheels, eighteen cluster artillery pieces pulled by strong mules rolled over.

Someone in the crowd exclaimed.

Then a ceremonial procession drove over, followed closely by an extra-large flagpole carriage. In the middle of the carriage stood a flagpole more than two meters high, on which fluttered a large flag embroidered with the three large characters "Duke of Lu".

Behind the banner were musketeers carrying muskets on their shoulders. All of the muskets were equipped with bayonets, which sparkled brightly in the sunlight and were full of murderous intent.

Finally, four horses pulled a luxurious carriage and arrived! (End of this chapter)