The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

The cannons on the city wall fired! Balls of cannon fire fell on the blackened crowd, immediately stirring up a bloody rain, and screams and wails resounded over the valley.

Wang Daniu put down the telescope: "These people are really not afraid of death!"

Looking down from the city wall, the dark crowd of people attacking the city seemed to spread to the end of the horizon.

Li Hu frowned. He had always suspected that the main force of Rakshasa was not here, but went east, towards the Six Towns of Yinshan Mountain. Perhaps they would soon collide with the main force led by Xie Jing and Wang Ziteng.

In fact, Li Hu discovered something wrong on the first day he arrived at Guancheng. All the attackers were Central Asians. There were no Western Mongols, let alone Russians. Moreover, their siege equipment was simple, just some simple ladders.

The city wall under Li Hu's feet was not simple. It was nearly 20 feet high, with a wall base of about 20 feet thick and a top width of more than 10 feet. There were also platforms shaped like corner towers at the junction of the two sides of the wall and the mountain, which could monitor and block the enemy from attacking from below.

The city was built entirely of huge blue stones, with glutinous rice mortar filling the gaps between the stones.

In his previous life, Li Hu had never seen the pyramids in person, so he didn't know if he was just bragging. But the city wall under his feet really didn't have any gaps that could fit a blade. Every huge stone in the city wall was polished and smooth to ensure that each piece fits tightly without any gaps.

Of course, this is not the so-called craftsmanship, but a threat from the Nine Clans Candy Crush Saga.

Such a dramatic attack on the city was either an attempt to lure them out of the city or a sleight of hand.

Li Hu is now in a situation where a good cook is unable to cook without rice. The Shaanxi Guards are still on the way, and the main force of the Yulin Guards are also on the way to reinforcement. He can only mobilize 20,000 troops at most. How can he dare to rush out with such a small number of troops!

"Dang! Dang! Dang!"

As the bell for withdrawal rang, the Central Asians attacking the city retreated in waves, leaving behind a trail of corpses.

The artillery fire on the city wall also stopped.

The battlefield suddenly became as silent as death.

Li Hu laughed angrily. This battle was like a joke.

At this time, the city garrison commander hurried over, saluted Li Hu, and then said, "General, we don't have many shells left. If we continue to fight like this, we can only hold out for three days at most."

The arsenals of the Nine Frontier Military Towns were filled with armor and weapons, but the gunpowder and shells were distributed by the court according to the firearms they were equipped with. The Russians came too suddenly, and the court had no time to prepare.

Li Hu came in a hurry this time and only brought ammunition for his musket.

At this moment, a personal soldier hurried over and reported to Li Hu: "General, the main force of the Yulin Guards is five miles away."

Li Hu's eyes lit up: "Let's go and meet them." Then he strode down the city wall.
At the end of the meadow, there was a thunderous sound of horse hooves, and then a group of red dots appeared.

A smile finally appeared on Li Hu's face. He had been feeling very depressed these days. If the Yongwei Battalion had been replaced by the Ruishi Battalion, he would have been able to kill his way through Langshan long ago.

Now that the main force of Yulin Guards has returned, coupled with 3,500 Hetao cavalry and 3,000 musketeers equipped with breech-loading rifles, even if the main force of Luosha is on the other side of the valley, he dares to go over and confront them.

Getting closer and closer, the main cavalry of Yulin slowly stopped, and the general of Yulin and a team of personal soldiers came on horseback.

Li Hu greeted him with a smile.

The general of Yulin was extremely excited. He jumped off his horse, ran to Li Hu, half-knelt and saluted, "I am Zhang Xi, the general of Yulin, and I pay my respects to you, Marshal!"

Li Hu stepped forward and helped him up, saying with a smile: "We haven't seen each other for several years since we parted in the capital."

Zhang Xi bowed his body slightly and smiled: "The Marshal has been very successful in recent years. It's really enviable!"

"What the hell! I'm just like a paperhanger, I'll rush to wherever there's a leak!"

"The Marshal is the pillar of the country and the backbone of the nation. His virtues are shared by all people and his graces benefit the world."

Li Hu looked at him and smiled: "How did you learn this trick? Straighten your back and talk!"

Zhang Xi then stood up straight and said with a smile: "The Marshal is not only my old boss, but also the benefactor of the entire Yulin Town. Naturally, I have to bend down to accompany you."

Li Hu rolled his eyes and said, "Don't be so pretentious. I just want to ask you one question: can you guys join the battle right away?"

Zhang Xi immediately knelt on one knee and shouted back, "Yulin Guard's 15,000 soldiers are ready to obey your orders at any time!"

Li Hu: "Okay, I'll give you half an hour to eat and rest."

With a click, the huge city gate slowly opened.

Bai Wu, the leader of the White Tiger Hall, came out with the sword and shield soldiers.

Then there was the sound of uniform footsteps, and pairs of leather boots and silver robe corners flashed by.

Three thousand musketeers in helmets and armor, carrying breech-loading muskets equipped with bayonets, marched out in neat and powerful steps.

On the city wall, Li Hu watched quietly. The valleys, rivers, hills and forests were not conducive to cavalry combat. In addition, the Central Asians must have built fortifications at the exit of the valley.

Let them have a taste of the power of breech-loading rifles. First, use the musketeers to defeat the Central Asians at the exit of the valley and open up the exit. As long as the main cavalry of Yulin rushes out, it will be like a wolf entering the sheepfold. Thousands of miles away, the Baohedian Hall is also "bitterly cold"!
The chief eunuch on duty called on the eunuchs and palace maids on duty to retreat from the palace gate, and then closed the door.

After walking less than three or five steps, the eunuch on duty suddenly heard the sound of a tea bowl breaking in the hall behind him.

In the hall, fragments flew everywhere and tea splashed everywhere!
The Supreme Emperor slammed the imperial desk in a rage, "Damn you little bastard, how dare you threaten me!"

The eunuch in charge of the seal gave a bitter smile. It was already late March, and it had been almost a month since Heshen returned to Shengjing, but Prince Kang was still detained in Shengjing City.

Fu Kang'an got the news from somewhere, and he broke his promise. Now he made a big demand, not only demanding that Dashun withdraw its troops from Liaodong, but also give them the Liaoxi Corridor, otherwise he would join the Luosha people in attacking Dashun's army at the northern foot of Yinshan Mountain.

As for King Kang, exchange him for food!

Foreigners cannot be trusted!

The eunuch in charge of the seal sighed silently. Fu Kang'an was a powerful tiger. If they did not agree to his request, not only the army in the northern foothills of Yinshan Mountain, but even the troops of Zhongjing Hou Shi Ding would be in danger.

After a long while, the Supreme Emperor took a deep breath and said, "Write a reply to that little bastard. Dashun can withdraw its troops, but they cannot get the Liaoxi Corridor. They can be compensated with more food."

The eunuch in charge of the seal: "Yes."

The Supreme Emperor was silent for a moment, then said, "Tell Li Hu about this and ask him to defeat the Rakshasa as soon as possible. By the way, we can't hide it from Shi Ding either, ask him to prepare to retreat."

After saying that, he stood up, walked to the window and looked at the sky outside. His eyes suddenly became like a wolf, flashing a green light, and he said in a cold voice: "After we deal with the Luosha people, we will gather troops from all over the world, flatten Liaodong, and completely wipe out the Jurchens!"

The setting sun is as red as blood, and the vast grasslands in the northern part of the Great Wall are coated with a layer of scarlet by the setting sun.

The battlefield has been cleaned up and groups of prisoners are being escorted in. The tall and strong Central Asians are now in a panic with dull eyes. They don't know whether they will be massacred.

Li Hu was standing in the central army tent at this time, his eyes scanning a sheepskin map. Although he could not understand the words on it, he could tell at a glance that the map marked the marching route of the Russians.

With this map, you can find Moscow!

Li Hu waved his hand, and a personal soldier immediately rolled up the sheepskin map.

Li Hu guessed it right. The main force of the Russians and the Western Mongols went eastward. The only people left here were the Central Asians who had no fighting power. One thousand Russians guarded more than ten thousand Central Asians and forced them to die every day.

At this time, Wang Daniu came over excitedly, "Marshal, there are a lot of pots and pans made of silver in the back tent!"

Pots and pans?

Li Hu was stunned for a moment, then turned and walked into the back tent. He took a look and then glared at Wang Daniu: "Read more books when you have nothing to do. This is just a waste of time."

Wang Daniu smiled awkwardly.

Li Hu picked up a silver wine glass and took a look at it. It was quite finely made.

Wang Daniu picked up the silver pot on the table and said with a smile, "This wine is still hot." He then filled a glass with wine and said, "Hey, why is this wine this color? And it has a strange smell?"

Li Hu walked over, sniffed it, and said with a smile: "This is not wine, it's coffee."

"coffee?"

Wang Daniu picked up the wine glass, brought it to his nose and sniffed it, "Can I drink this?"

Li Hu: “Yes.”

Wang Daniu: "How about I try it?" He drank it in one gulp, then spat it out.

Li Hu looked at him: "What's wrong?"

Wang Daniu said with disgust: "Why does this thing smell like chicken shit!"

Li Hu was stunned at first, then he started laughing.

Wang Daniu: "The life of the Luosha people is not very good. After all, he is a general, but he drinks chicken shit to make tea all day long. Aren't their people living in an even worse situation?!"

Hearing this, Li Hu was laughing so hard that he couldn't straighten his back. He quickly waved his hand, telling him to stop talking.

Wang Daniu was puzzled: "Am I wrong?"

Li Hu let out a long breath, suppressed his laughter and said, "Yes, you are right! The people of Luosha will count on you to save them from now on."

Wang Daniu grinned.

Li Hu: "Let's go and see how the interrogation of the prisoners is going." (End of this chapter)