The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

This year's cold wave came a little early, in early October. The cold wind brought with it the chill like an invisible knife, penetrating through clothes and into the bone marrow.

It was daybreak and Li Hu walked out into the cold wind. The biting cold wind blew on his face like a knife, taking away the last bit of sleepiness in Li Hu.

Perhaps to repay the grace of saving his life, or perhaps to disgust Li Hu, Shui Rong sent someone to deliver a message to Li Hu, news about Fu Kang'an.

It was delivered when Li Hujue was sleeping soundly.

The court's intelligence was inaccurate. Hong Zhou only had two banners under his command: the Plain White Banner and the Bordered White Banner. The rest were all Korean vassal troops and the Eight Banners of Mongolia.

The real main force of the Eight Banners of the Jurchens and the Han Army Flag, led by Fu Kang'an, bypassed the Kharchin tribe and prepared to break through Da'ankou and Xifengkou on the Great Wall defense line and meet in Jizhou. He wanted to learn from Huang Taiji, conquer Jizhou, a strategic location, and then kill all the way to Sanhe.

Sanhe is located in the suburbs of the capital. As long as the army gains a foothold in Sanhe, it can attack Tongzhou, which is the imperial court's military grain depot and the last stop leading to the capital.

The capital city has high walls, good fortifications, and sufficient troops. It would be difficult to capture it without 300,000 or 400,000 soldiers. It is estimated that Fu Kang'an wanted to surround the city and attack the reinforcements, and finally plunder the capital to consume the national strength of Dashun.

Li Hu suddenly thought of Heshen. This bastard was a little too proud to even dare not reply to the letter!

With a "humph", Li Hu's eyes flashed. After conquering Shengjing City, he must let Heshen know why the flowers are so red!

Wang Daniu came out and put a thick fur coat on Li Hu, saying, "My Lord, it's windy outside, be careful not to catch a cold!"

"It doesn't matter."

Li Hu tightened his fur coat and said, "Go, tell Wang Yaozu to come here immediately."

A personal soldier responded and left.

At this time, a burst of hurried horse hoof sounds came over, and Li Hu looked in the direction of the sound.

A horseman gradually approached and stopped in front of the big tent. The postman dismounted, bowed, and handed a document to Li Hu with both hands.

Li Hu took the document, tore it open and read it. After reading a few lines, his face suddenly became serious.

Wang Daniu was startled and stared at Li Hu with his eyes wide open.

After reading the document, Li Hu closed it gently and thought carefully.

In the distance, Wang Yaozu was walking towards Li Hu in a hurry.

Wang Daniu shook his head slightly.

Wang Yaozu stopped.

After a long while, Li Hu sighed lightly, pointed at Wang Yaozu, then turned and went into the big tent.

Wang Yaozu followed in.

Li Hu had already sat down on the chair and said to Wang Yaozu who came in, "You will personally lead fifty brothers to sneak into Liaodong, find out the defense situation of each city in Liaodong, and collect information for the army."

Wang Yaozu answered loudly, "Yes."

Li Hu: "Don't trust anyone, including the Han people in Liaodong. Go find the Prince of the Fourth Prince's Department and ask him to pick a few Mongols who can speak Jurchen and understand the local customs and practices."

Wang Yaozu: “Yes.”

Li Hu thought for a moment and said, "Don't go to Shengjing City. Heshen's people have seen you."

Wang Yaozu nodded: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will be careful."

Li Hu looked at him, then smiled and said, "Khorchin grassland is a place where beauties are born. Most of the queens of the Jurchen Tartars came from the Khorchin grassland. It's a pity that the royal court of Khorchin was massacred by Fukangan, otherwise I would have given you two princesses. After we conquer Khorchin, I will personally pick a few for you."

Wang Yaozu coughed and said hesitantly, "My Lord, it's alright. I'll go find the Fourth Prince's Department Prince."

Li Hu: "Go ahead. Remember, there are still some beautiful ladies waiting for you."

Wang Yaozu understood what Li Hu meant, and immediately knelt down and said seriously: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I will be cautious and careful." After that, he kowtowed, stood up and strode out.

After looking at the curtain for a while, Li Hu read the document again and shook his head. Would those "crazy people" really want to take down Jinling City? Forget it, never mind. First, follow the strategy of Emperor Wushang and the cabinet, take down the Mongolian tribes in the south of the desert, advance to Liaodong, and force Fu Kang'an to withdraw his troops.

The curtain was lifted, and Wang Daniu walked in with a smile, holding a bowl of hot tea to Li Hu, "Your Majesty."

Li Hu glanced at him and said, "If you have to fart, just fart."

Wang Daniu chuckled and said, "Well, can you let me pick a few Khorchin beauties?"

Li Hu said angrily: "I know you are not holding back your fart! You still have a few more, aren't you afraid of being emptied into a coffin!"

Wang Daniu was anxious: "I'm in good health! Let alone a few, even ten or twenty are no problem."

Li Hu interrupted him immediately: "Okay, okay, you are awesome, okay? Once we take down Korqin, I will let you take the lead. Stop smiling like a fool. Summon the commanders of each camp to the general's tent to discuss matters."

Wang Daniu responded loudly, "Yes!" and turned around and walked out.

Li Hu was stunned as he looked at Wang Daniu's disappearing back. Wang Daniu is not young anymore, it's time for him to start a family!

Thinking of this, Li Hu shook his head. It's not easy to be a leader these days! He has to worry about the marriages of his subordinates, and also prepare houses and buy land for them.
It was already daybreak, and a cold wind blew across the mountain pass. The strong smell of blood and gunpowder filled the air. Corpses were strewn all over the ground inside and outside the Da'ankou Pass. There were both corpses from the Dashun government troops and from the Han army. There were broken limbs everywhere, and the broken flags were burning in the flames.

Fu Kang'an, wearing golden armor, drove his horse into the Da'ankou Pass under the protection of a group of Eight Banners nobles. Every step his horse took left a bloody hoof print, and the bricks and stones on the ground had been dyed dark red, which showed how tragic this battle was.

The former Ming Dynasty liked to build the Great Wall, and the Dashun Dynasty also liked to build the Great Wall. In those days, Huang Taiji invaded Xifengkou several times, captured Longjingguan, went south along the Fuhe River Valley, and entered the pass through Hongshankou and Da'ankou. It was impossible for the Dashun Dynasty not to be on guard.

Unfortunately, the difference in military strength between the two sides was too great, and Fu Kang'an did not care about casualties. Under the fierce attack of the Han army flag, Da'ankou City and the inner city of Da'ankou were all captured before dawn, and all the defenders were killed in the battle.

After capturing Da'ankou, we can enter the Zunhua Basin and eventually reach the capital after passing Jizhou and Tongzhou.

Before that, Fu Kang'an had to divide his troops to capture Zunhua first, then attack Santunying in the east, cut off the retreat of the Shanhaiguan defenders, and force them to take a detour to support the capital.

Riding out of Da'ankou City, Fukang'an looked up at the rising sun, handed over the task of attacking Zunhua and Santunying to Helin, then waved his hand and led the main force of the Eight Banners to attack Jizhou Town!
The walls of Jizhou City were high and thick, but most of the garrison had been transferred by Emperor Yongxing to Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding. The Jizhou general was also unable to make a meal without rice. Fu Kang'an took advantage of the situation to break through Jizhou, conquer Huairou, take Changping, take Tongzhou, and march straight to the capital.

In addition, Fu Kang'an followed He Shen's advice and issued an order to the armies to only kill the soldiers and civilians who resisted, and not to kill the soldiers and civilians who surrendered. For the soldiers and civilians who surrendered and submitted to them, they were not allowed to take their women or rob their property. A group of Han army flags killed and looted the surrendered people, and Fu Kang'an ordered them to be beheaded in public.

On the first day of November, Fu Kang'an led his army to the capital and set up camp in the north of the capital, dividing it into left and right wings.

Martial law was imposed in the capital as early as October 25th.

The Supreme Emperor was a man who knew military affairs. He rejected the call of the whole court to "defend the city to the death" and divided his troops outside the nine gates. Relying on the strong city walls, he fought a head-on battle with the Jurchen Tartars.
The capital city has high walls and thick defenses, and nine fortress gates on the periphery, each of which is extremely strong. It seems impregnable, but it is also its biggest weakness. The capital city is a big city with a total length of walls of dozens of miles. If the walls are defended, the defense line will be stretched out very long. Even though there are more than 100,000 troops in the city now, if they are distributed, they will be seriously insufficient.

The Jurchen Tatars are not Mongols. Not only do they have the ability to attack strongholds, they have also looted a large number of artillery from Jizhou and other places. Once they concentrate their forces and attack one place fiercely, the capital city may be captured by them.

In addition, the capital city had a large population. Even if the Jurchens surrounded the city without attacking, they could just cut off the food supply and surround the capital city and attack its reinforcements. When the capital city ran out of food, it would collapse without a fight.

There were beacons on the Great Wall. Soon after Fukangan invaded Xifengkou, the capital received the news. The Supreme Emperor drew troops from the surrounding areas and transported grain from the military granary in Tongzhou.

The Supreme Emperor adopted Zhen Yingjia's suggestion and asked the officers and soldiers who were coming to defend the king to go to Tongzhou and transport the grain on their own. At the same time, he mobilized the people of Tongzhou to take the grain in the military granary to the capital, leaving Fu Kang'an with an empty city.

At the same time, the imperial court moved all the people living around the capital into the city in order to fortify the city and clear the fields.

Amid the sound of horse hooves, Fu Kang'an, wearing golden armor, walked out of the camp surrounded by the Eight Banners nobles.

Riding on the big white horse, Fukang'an stared ahead with narrowed eyes. The towering and winding city walls suddenly became shorter, so short that they seemed to slowly descend to his feet, and it seemed that he could flatten the place with just a lift of his feet.

A smile appeared on Fukangan's lips. There were too many coincidences that made it possible for him to capture the capital. He also had to thank Emperor Yongxing who had been emperor for only three months. If he hadn't transferred all the troops from the Capital Camp, the Rui Shi Camp and Jizhou, resulting in a lack of troops in the capital, how could he have captured the capital so easily!

Thinking of this, Fu Kang'an smiled and said, "What a good man!"

All the Eight Banners nobles knew who Fu Kang'an was talking about and burst into laughter.

At this time, an Eight Banners nobleman came riding up and knelt before Fu Kang'an, saying, "Your Majesty, the Dashun army is gathering near Deshengmen. Judging from the flags, the general leading the troops is Shi Nai, the brother of Zhongjing Hou Shi Ding, Baoling Hou."

Fu Kang'an's eyes flashed: "Let's go to the left wing camp!" He whipped the whip and the horse rushed forward like an arrow. The nobles and guards of the Eight Banners followed closely and chased after them.
Outside Deshengmen, looking at the endless Eight Banners soldiers, Baoling Hou Shi Nai couldn't help swallowing his saliva. The black muzzle of the gun made his scalp numb!
Seeing the Tartar artillery approaching, the deputy commander of the Infantry Yamen beside him couldn't help but ask: "Why aren't the imperial guards on the city wall firing yet?"

Shi Nai: "It's not within range yet."

Before he could finish his words, a deafening cannon shot was heard from the city wall, followed by earth-shaking artillery fire.

Shi Nai was stunned at first, then he became furious: "Who told them to fire?!"

The deputy commander heard the reason from the sound of the cannon and said to Shi Nai: "It should be that a gunner was too nervous and accidentally lit the fuse."

Shi Nai's face darkened.

The red cannon on the city wall was not a submachine gun, and loading ammunition was very troublesome. After firing one shot, it would take a long time before the second shot could be fired. Not only did it waste the shells, but it also gave the Tartar artillery a chance to get closer.

Sure enough, the Tatar gunners quickly pushed the cannon forward, adjusted the gun position, and fired before the cannon on the city wall sounded.

The Tartar artillery was now within the range of the Red Cannon, and the government troops lined up outside the city were also within the range of the Tartar artillery.

Balls of artillery fire fell on the government troops' formation, and some of them immediately fell down in the artillery fire.

The imperial guards on the city wall also fired cannons. One shell hit a Tartar cannon, sending wood chips flying from the gun carriage. The Tartar gunner's face and body were covered with splinters, and he rolled on the ground wailing.

The Tatar artillery counterattacked, and then the Han army flag took advantage of the gap when the gunners on the city wall were loading ammunition to launch a fierce attack on the government troops.

The soldiers of the Eight Banners of the Zhenghong Banner attacked from the west, and the soldiers of the Xianghuang Banner charged from the side, attacking Shi Nai's army from three sides.

After the initial panic, Shi Nai began to respond calmly and commanded his troops to fight against the Tatars.

The imperial guards on the city walls were also not idle, firing cannons to cooperate, but they accidentally injured the government troops, causing heavy casualties.

Finally, Shi Nai couldn't bear it anymore and yelled to the deputy commander, "Go, tell those bastards of the Imperial Guard to fight farther away, don't fucking fight into the crowd!"

After hearing this, the deputy commander immediately rode his horse towards Deshengmen.

On the other side, Fu Kang'an saw that the two sides were fighting in a mess, and the surprise attack of the Bordered Yellow Banner failed to break through the Dashun army formation, and the offensive was contained. He was worried that the government troops from Xizhimen and Andingmen would come to rescue and attack his left wing, so he ordered a withdrawal.

Having successfully repelled the Tartars, the Dashun soldiers cheered loudly!

The Jurchens began to retreat, but Shi Nai did not order a pursuit. He knew very well that one should not pursue an enemy who is desperate, and the Tatars' army was not in disarray. In addition, he was also aware of the combat effectiveness of his officers and soldiers. If they had not been backed by the city wall, they would have been besieged by the Tatars and then annihilated.

Just as the soldiers were cheering, a group of Zhenghuangqi cavalry came escorting a luxurious carriage.

When the carriage reached the middle of the two armies, it stopped.

Under the gaze of tens of thousands of eyes, Prince Kang, dressed in the clothes of Prince Dashun, walked out of the carriage.

Immediately afterwards, another person came out of the carriage and was helped down by King Kang.

Looking at the woman dressed in the clothes of a Qing princess, Shi Nai's heart skipped a beat, and he said to the deputy commander hastily: "If something goes wrong, you should report it to the Supreme Emperor immediately!"

The deputy commander nodded and rode his horse towards Deshengmen again.

The leading general of the Zhenghuang Banner shouted at the top of his voice: "Listen, Han people on the other side, this is your King Kang, the son-in-law of our Great Qing Dynasty!"

All eyes were filled with surprise!

Shi Nai's face darkened, and he understood what the Jurchen Tartars were trying to do.

The general of the Plain Yellow Banner said: "Tell your Supreme Emperor that it is not impossible for us to release King Kang, but it is not enough to just cede Jinzhou and other places!
Our Emperor said that if you cede the Liaoxi Corridor and the six Yinshan Garrisons to us, and give us another 500,000 shi of grain, we will return Prince Kang to you and let him go back to replace the baby who is still breastfeeding in Fengtian Palace!"

The Zhenghuangqi cavalrymen laughed loudly.

This was appalling news, and the shock was so great that all the soldiers were stunned and fell into deathly silence!

King Kang married a Tartar princess? In order to redeem King Kang, the Supreme Emperor ceded Jinzhou and other places that the Dashun soldiers had exchanged their lives for, and he also wanted to depose and enthrone the emperor?
Shi Nai smiled bitterly. Not many people knew about King Kang's affairs. This series of unfavorable news had a huge impact on the morale of the army! Unless you don't admit that King Kang is King Kang, shoot him on the spot and don't give him a chance to speak!

At this moment, Prince Kang walked towards this side slowly holding the hand of Princess Kang.

The general of the Zhenghuang Banner shouted, "Stop!"

Prince Kang and Princess Kang seemed not to hear and continued walking forward.

The general of the Plain Yellow Banner said: "Stop, or I will shoot you if you move forward!" As he said that, he took out his bow and arrow, drew it and put an arrow on it.

Prince Kang ignored her and continued walking forward holding Princess Kang's hand.

With a whoosh, an arrow hit the ground in front of King Kang.

Prince Kang and Princess Kang stopped, looked at each other, knelt down in the direction of the imperial city, and kowtowed three times.

The general of the Plain Yellow Banner frowned and was about to drive his horse forward.

Prince Kang spoke: "Tell Grandfather that the top scholar is a spy of the White Lotus Sect and it was he who betrayed Chief Dai."

The top scholar is a spy of the White Lotus Sect? Shi Nai was shocked!
At this time, the group of Zhenghuangqi cavalry surrounded them.

Prince Kang: "I know I deserve this fate today! But as a man of the Li family, I cannot disgrace my ancestors!" As he said this, he pulled out the golden hairpin from Princess Kang's headband, stabbed it into his heart, and fell straight towards the direction of the palace.

"Prince!" Princess Kang threw herself on Prince Kang, her cries were so sad!
Before everyone could react, Princess Kang pulled out another golden hairpin from the head of the flag and stabbed it into her heart, then fell on Prince Kang.

Shi Nai was shocked!
The general of the Zhenghuang Banner and the cavalry of the Zhenghuang Banner were shocked!

Everyone was shocked and then a commotion broke out.

Someone shouted, "Kill them!"

Roars of killing immediately rang out outside Desheng Gate, and countless cavalrymen rushed out like lightning!

Upon hearing that the battle of Deshengmen had begun, the Supreme Emperor personally led the cabinet and officials from the six ministries and nine departments to watch the battle.

As soon as the deputy commander of the Infantry Yamen sat in the basket and climbed onto the city wall, the Supreme Emperor arrived.

The Supreme Emperor closed his eyes and said in a hoarse voice: "Good, I have not disgraced my ancestors."

The Supreme Emperor didn't know that the city of Jinling, thousands of miles away, was experiencing its darkest moment.

With a loud bang, the city of Jinling, which had been besieged by Prince Nan'an for more than a month, was broken!
Shouts of killing rang out from the collapsed city wall, followed by a large group of rebels with spears in hand, swords raised high and shields in hand, rushing in through the gap.

Liangjiang Governor's Office
Jia Jing sat upright in the hall with a sword on his legs.

In the distance, there were bursts of shouting and killing sounds.

Jia Jing sighed deeply. Man proposes, God disposes! After all the calculations, in the end, others got the advantage.

He couldn't leave. If he left, Ningguo Mansion would be finished. Dying for his country was his only option.

He would not hang himself, that would be a cowardly act.

The Jia family was a family of generals. When Jia Jing was young, he also studied martial arts and knew a little swordsmanship.

The shouts and screams were getting closer and closer. Jia Jing stood up suddenly, and with a crisp "clang" sound, the sword was unsheathed.

He went out holding the sword.

Jiao Da, who was guarding outside the door, drew the sword from his waist and followed.

With a swish, all the guards drew their swords and followed with big strides. (End of this chapter)