The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Black holes of fire were gushing out from the muzzles of the guns!

One after another, the shells, trailing flames, whistled towards the wall, stirring up countless pieces of gravel and dust, and the entire wall seemed to be shaking.

The violent shaking and explosions made the Eight Banners soldiers guarding the city feel as if their internal organs were about to burst, and their ears were buzzing. If they were hit by the rubble, they would either die or be crippled.

After a round of screaming and panic, it soon became impossible for anyone to stand on this section of the wall. Except for a few unlucky guys who fell in a pool of blood, the other Eight Banners soldiers all fled and watched from afar.

The silence of the past two days was a little eerie, which made the Sixth Prince feel uneasy. It was not until the sound of cannons rang out again that he finally put his mind at ease after two days of anxiety.

But when the Sixth Prince rushed to the wall, his face changed immediately. Ten bronze cannons!
The Sixth Prince's face turned pale: "Ten, ten gates."

The faces of several military ministers also turned pale and they stood there in a daze.

The Sixth Prince suddenly shouted hysterically: "Where did these ten bronze cannons come from! Ten bronze cannons!"

Before he finished speaking, a terrifying scream was heard from the city wall.

The Sixth Prince looked in the direction of the sound and saw a cannonball destroying the battlement and falling into the crowd. Several Eight Banner soldiers who were unable to dodge had their legs and arms blown off, and one unlucky guy even lost half of his head.

The Sixth Prince shuddered all over and glanced at several military ministers.

The leading military minister said: "Your Majesty, you are worth a thousand gold"

Before he could finish his words, the Sixth Prince nodded and said, "Yes, we should stay out of the spotlight for a while." Then he turned and walked down the city wall.

Several military ministers hurriedly chased after him.

As the Sixth Prince walked, he said, "Send more people to ask for help, send more waves! In addition to asking His Majesty for help, we must also urge the Prince of He."

"Whoo."

Several military ministers answered in a flurry, and then looked at each other. Fu Kang'an should still be marching hard in the mountain cave at this time. As for Prince Hong Zhou, with the precedent of the Korean vassal army, can he still come?
They guessed right, Hong Zhou couldn't come!

On the north bank of the Hun River, the shouts and cries of killing shook the earth.

Zhang Xi, the general of Yulin, took the lead, and the Dashun cavalry army rushed in like a tidal wave and surrounded them from three sides.

The Jurchen Tatars who were surrounded on three sides were trampled by horses and hacked by swords, and fell down in large numbers.

Hong Zhou, with a bloody face and disheveled hair, led the last of the Zhengbai Banner cavalry to charge left and right, trying to open a gap. However, facing the Dashun government troops that were several times larger than their own, all their efforts were in vain.
The number of Eight Banners soldiers was decreasing, but the follow-up troops of the Dashun government army kept pouring in like a tide.

The bodies of the Eight Banners soldiers were everywhere, and the blood gathered into a stream and slowly flowed to the nearby Hun River, melting the ice and turning the river water red.
Finally, Hong Zhou was left with only a few seriously injured soldiers. His horse had already fallen. He knelt on a mound on the shore and kowtowed respectfully several times in the direction of the imperial mausoleum. Then he looked up to the sky and sighed, then raised his sword and tightened it around his neck.
After reading the edict drafted in the name of the Grand Council, Li Hu finally resolved the doubts in his heart. It turned out that Hong Zhou was not in a hurry to reincarnate, but was deceived by the officials in Shengjing City. They told Hong Zhou that there were still 50,000 to 60,000 Eight Banners and Mongolian cavalry in Shengjing City, who could go out of the city to provide support at any time.

Li Hu looked at Hong Zhou's body again, then shook his head. If they did not come out to attack the camp, including the elite troops under Hong Zhou, nearly 90,000 people, it would be possible for Hong Zhou to rush into Shengjing City.

It’s a pity that there is no if!

At this time, Bai Wu, the leader of the White Tiger Hall, came over excitedly, saluted to Li Hu, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, the morale of the army is high now. Why not take Shengjing City in one go and overthrow the Tartar's lair!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhang Xi and others looked at Li Hu.

Li Hu shook his head, looked into the distance, and said, "It's not the right time yet. The outer city is easy to break through, but the inner city has high walls and thick walls. Without enough artillery, it's hard to crack that bastard's shell. Wait until Heshen digs up the tombs of several other Tartar pseudo-emperors, and then casts some bronze cannons, and then take Shengjing City in one fell swoop!"

Everyone was so excited that their blood was boiling.

The development of the war situation was completely beyond Li Hu's expectations. With enough artillery, Li Hu didn't want to withdraw his troops just like that. He wanted to give it a try, just in case it succeeded!

If he could easily capture Shengjing City, he would not leave but wait here for Fukangan to come to him.

It was the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month again. It should have been filled with festive atmosphere, but the capital was exceptionally cold. The streets were sparsely populated, shops on both sides were closed, and it was snowing, making it even more desolate and bleak.

After lowering the curtains, Jia She sighed deeply. The news of the defeat of the Beijing Camp and the death of Xie Jing was reported back to the capital, shocking the government and the people. Fortunately, Shi Ding, the Marquis of Zhongjing, returned to the capital with the Ruishi Camp and the Jizhou Cavalry a few days ago, so there was no chaos. After the Beijing Camp entered the Central Plains, it won victory after victory, eliminated a large number of rebels, and had sufficient logistical supplies. How could it suddenly fail? !
Jia She didn't understand and couldn't figure it out.

The cabinet held an emergency meeting and pieced together an army of 100,000, with the Rui Shi Battalion as the main force. Under the leadership of Zhongjing Hou Shi Ding, they marched south to quell the rebellion, or to be more precise, to defend Xuzhou and block the rebels south of the Yellow River, waiting for Li Hu's army to enter the pass.

The imperial edict summoning Li Hu back to Beijing has been sent out, but it is unknown when it will be delivered to Li Hu.

Jia She suddenly remembered the rumor, and the wind blew out the candle. Could it be that Dashun's fate was really over?
Thinking of this, Jia She took out a piece of ink paper from his sleeve and unfolded it. On it were written the flags of the northern border troops, except that Datong Wei, Shanhaiguan, Jizhou, Xuanfu, Yulin and Taiyuan were all crossed out.

Datongwei, Shanhaiguan and Jizhou lost their main forces, while Xuanfu and Yulin were controlled by Li Hu; in order to ensure that the rebels could be blocked south of the Yellow River, the main force of Taiyuan Town also moved south. The remaining three military towns were all in the northwest, and distant water could not quench the immediate thirst, and they also had to guard against enemies in the northwest.

After staring at the ink paper for a long time, Jia She slowly folded it and put it into his sleeve. The court's several major defeats not only killed a large number of generals, but also destroyed the Jia family's legacy in the army.

The emperor is young and lacks the ability to govern. The country is in turmoil, and someone openly ascends the throne and seizes half of the country. This is not a good sign!

The Jia family is now in a very difficult situation, so how can they help the little emperor?

Perhaps, it’s time to find a way out for the Jia family!

At this time, the sedan chair stopped, and then Wang Shanbao's voice came: "Master, we are home."

Without waiting for the people outside to lift the curtain of the sedan chair, Jia She lifted the curtain himself, walked out of the sedan chair, and walked straight into the gate.

"master!"

Jia She, who had already stepped to the black lacquered gate, stopped when he heard Jia Lian's shout and looked back.

In the heavy snow, Jia Lian ran over like the wind.

Jia She frowned: "Why are you back?"

Jia Lian greeted Jia She first, then replied: "In reply to the master, the queen in the palace sent someone to tell me that because the master is attending a cabinet meeting, the old lady asked me to come back to discuss it."

Jia She looked at him.

Jia Lian went on to say, "Two things. One is to arrange a good marriage between Brother Bao and the eldest daughter of the Shi family. The other is to confer the title of Princess to Yingchun's second sister and grant her marriage to the younger brother of the Duke of Zhenguo, Niu Ben."

After a pause, he said, "I suspect this is what the Empress Dowager meant."

Jia She was startled: "Aren't you talking about Niu Ben's brother and the girl from the Shi family?"

Jia Lian: "That was the Emperor's intention. At that time, the Lady of the Zhenguo Mansion was ordered to go to the Baoling Marquis Mansion and meet Miss Shi. Later, due to the constant changes in the court situation, the matter was left unresolved."

"What do you think?" Jia She suddenly asked.

Jia Lian smiled and said, "I agree with the old lady. Brother Bao and Miss Shi have been childhood sweethearts, and the two families are relatives. The key is that the Shi family holds military power, which is a great help to our family, the Empress in the palace, and the Emperor. It's a good marriage."

Jia She said unhappily: "I'm asking about your sister!"

Jia Lian was stunned for a moment, then opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. Compared with Baoyu and Shi Xiangyun, Jia Yingchun's marriage was a complete transaction to help the young emperor consolidate his throne.

With a snort, Jia She said, "Tell the old lady that I have my own ideas about your sister's marriage. The Empress in the palace doesn't need to worry about it." After that, he walked straight into the black lacquered gate.

Jia Lian was stunned.

At this time, Jia She's voice came from the black lacquered door: "If you want to trade, use her own sister to trade."

Why are you so angry? He suddenly remembered Jia She's drunken words and thought: Are you really planning to marry Yingchun to Li Hu?! (End of this chapter)