The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

September is a cool and cool month with weather that is neither too cold nor too hot, perfect for sleeping.

There were shouts from people and neighs from horses on the martial arts field, and the martial arts examination was proceeding in an orderly manner.

Dozens of musketeers on both sides and around the stands stood motionless like boulders.

In the stands, Li Hu, wearing a duke's dress, sat on the chair in the middle with his eyes closed and was snoring.

Baoling Hou Shi Nai sat beside Li Hu, glancing at Li Hu from time to time. Although his face was expressionless, the veins on his forehead twitched imperceptibly.

Wang Daniu, Wang Yaozu, Jia Yun, and a team of personal soldiers stood behind them.

At this time, officials at all levels of the Ministry of War and the Military Affairs Department stood solemnly on both sides of Li Hu.

At this time, a doctor from the Ministry of War came running breathlessly with a thick booklet in his hand, but he did not dare to approach Li Hu, so he could only look to Shi Nai for help.

Shi Nai pushed Li Hu gently.

Li Hu suddenly opened his eyes: "What's wrong?"

The military official then came forward with the book in his hand and reported to Li Hu, "My Lord, one hundred and twenty military scholars have been selected."

Li Hu: "Is this the end? Where is the assassin?"

After hearing what Li Hu said, Shi Nai and the other officials looked at each other and smiled bitterly. This gentleman actually hoped that assassins would come to kill him. He was really different from others!
Li Hu looked at the military official: "What's the matter?"

The military doctor said: "Well, today's competition is over, should we let the military scholar go back and rest?"

Li Hu raised his hand and said, "Take a break! We will have a real fight after one stick of incense, and eliminate the top three before dark. We will have half an hour to eat and rest, and select the top three, second place, third place and second place overnight."

As soon as these words were spoken, the first person to be stunned was the doctor from the Ministry of War.

The officials were also confused.

Shi Nai coughed and said, "This is the procedure set by the Ministry of War."

Li Hu interrupted him directly: "The battlefield is ever-changing and unpredictable. There is no such thing as a well-planned thing. The same is true for people. Your enemy will not give you a chance to breathe."

Shi Nai: "But this is a martial arts exam, not a battlefield."

Li Hu: "If you can't even endure this little hardship, how can you lead the troops and fight the enemy? If the emperor asks for punishment, I will take full responsibility."

Having said that, what else did Shi Nai have to say? He could only smile bitterly and shook his head.

Li Hu looked at the military doctor again: "Go quickly!"

The military doctor answered "yes" several times in a row and ran away like the wind.

The officials looked at each other and didn't dare to speak.

Li Hu glanced around the martial arts arena. Where were the people arranged by King Zhongshun? Where were the people who colluded with the group of bald men? Could it be that because Wang Ren was replaced, the weapons for the assassination could not be delivered, so they gave up?

Wang Ren was ill. His horse got scared and fell into the river a few days ago, and he drank a bellyful of cold water. His job was taken over by Wang Li.

According to Ni Er, it was done by the emperor's men, who were protecting Wang Ren. It was obviously another spy planted by the emperor inside the four major families.

Thinking of this, Li Hu yawned. Lin Daiyu's illness had made him suffer a lot, and he had to take care of the martial arts examination. He was exhausted both physically and mentally. In fact, Xue Baochai suffered the most. She had been serving Lin Daiyu these days without taking off her clothes, and she had lost a lot of weight.

This made the maids and servants in Lin Daiyu's courtyard praise her unanimously. Especially Lin Daiyu, she was touched but also felt a little guilty.

Thinking of this, Li Hu shook his head. Xue Baochai is still the same Xue Baochai.

Li Hu slowly closed his eyes and soon started snoring again.

Suddenly, there were loud blasts of trumpets and drums, followed by three cannon blasts like thunder, shaking the earth.

All the officials in the Ministry of War and the Military Affairs Department were shaken and pale. Even Baoling Hou Shi Nai shuddered uneasily, then looked at Li Hu, who was still snoring.

He smiled bitterly. No wonder Yun's uncle said that Li Hu had the talent to be a great general.

Li Hu didn't know that his unintentional action disrupted many people's plans.

The standard of this military examination was very high. After the results were announced, the names were called out in Fengtian Hall and the list was hung at West Chang'an Gate. In accordance with the rules for the literary list, the top three were announced and a banquet was given.

Just when Emperor Yongchang was granting official titles to the top three military champions and the second and third place military scholars in the Fengtian Hall, many places were already in an uproar, and the time for the autumn hunt was brought forward!
Side Hall of Cining Palace

The emperor was sitting cross-legged on the couch, counting beads in his hands and reciting Buddhist scriptures silently.

The palace door opened, and a young eunuch came in carrying a small tea tray with a crystal cup on it, which was so red that it looked like a cup of blood.

Walking closer, the young eunuch whispered, "Your Majesty, deer blood."

The emperor slowly opened his eyes, reached out a hand, picked up the cup of deer blood and poured it into his mouth, then put the cup back on the tray.

After drinking the cup of deer blood, the emperor closed his eyes again, his Adam's apple moved slowly, and his face slowly turned red, the kind of red that came from the blood rushing up!
It took a while for the emperor's complexion to return to normal.

The young eunuch: "I just heard that the Crown Prince will not be attending the autumn hunt and will stay in the capital to supervise the country."

The Emperor opened his eyes and asked, "Where is the Crown Prince?"

The young eunuch: "Not sure yet."

The Emperor was silent for a moment, then said, "If the Emperor takes the Crown Prince over there, find a way to stop him. It's normal for children to get upset."

The young eunuch said, “Yes.” He bowed and walked out, closing the door from the outside.

The rosary in the hands of the retired emperor was spinning rapidly. Something could happen to the emperor and the crown prince, but not the crown prince. That was his backup plan.

This is the flower hall of Prince Zhongshun's mansion. Prince Zhongshun is obviously in a good mood and is drinking by himself.

There was a sound of footsteps, and the steward came in excitedly. He greeted King Zhongshun first, and then said, "Your Majesty, it's confirmed that the Infantry Battalion will be responsible for the outer perimeter security."

King Zhongshun's eyes lit up. Because Wang Li took over Wang Ren's job, the fifteen-force hard bow he had prepared could not be delivered, so he had to give up.

Now he is in charge of the outer security. He has the people and the weapons. I can't say that he will definitely succeed, but he has a 50% chance of success!

Li Hu died. Based on his understanding of the emperor, he would purge the Rui Shi Camp. All officers above the rank of Guerrilla General would be killed or transferred to the Nine Frontiers, and those elite old soldiers would be disbanded and assigned to other camps.

I have to admit that Li Hu's soldiers are indeed good at fighting, and the infantry battalion happens to be composed entirely of new recruits!

Kill Li Hu, and then devour the elite troops he had trained with great effort...

Thinking of this, King Zhongshun burst into laughter.

.....................

By this time the news had finally reached Xishan. The second prince, Prince Fu, wanted to strangle Li Hu to death. The autumn hunt was brought forward, which not only disrupted his plans but also allowed the crown prince to escape.

Now he could only pray that the Crown Prince would come to participate in the autumn hunt, otherwise who would he kill? The Emperor? You're kidding, if the Emperor died, only the Crown Prince and his son would benefit!

A gust of wind blew and pulled Prince Fu back from his thoughts. He looked towards the direction of the mausoleum and prayed: Mother, please bless us and let one of them, father and son, come, or even better, both!
.....................

As the sky gradually darkened, Jia She lit the lamp on the desk.

The brick floor was covered with ink papers. If King Zhongshun saw them, he would be shocked because the handwriting was almost exactly the same as his!
Jia She sat down and took out a blank document with the seal of the Infantry Office from a box beside him.

He let out a long sigh, and then began to write quickly... (End of this chapter)