The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

".Why are you crying? Still crying? If you cry again, I will throw you into the river and drown you!"

Niu Ben grabbed the tea bowl on the table and smashed it to the ground, his eyes red and frightening.

The little emperor hiding in the eunuch's arms cried even harder until his voice became hoarse.

The eunuch was so frightened that he was shaking all over, but he still held the little emperor tightly, fearing that Niu Ben would order his men to throw the little emperor into the river.

The generals in the big tent felt sad when they saw how pitiful the little emperor was, but they didn't dare to say anything.

Niu Ben's eyes were red. He walked back and forth a few steps and asked loudly: "What do you think we should do now?"

The generals looked at each other and lowered their heads.

Niu Ben's face darkened: "Are you all mute? Raise your heads!"

The generals slowly raised their heads, and one of them looked at Niu Ben and opened his mouth several times.

Niu Ben glared at him: "If you have something to say, just say it!"

The general knelt down and said: "I have something to say, I hope you won't get angry after hearing it."

Niu Ben looked straight at him.

The general said: "The rebels are numerous and powerful, and they have been through many battles and are very strong. We are isolated and surrounded, and we can't compete with them at all. In addition, we have lost most of our baggage and can't hold out for long."

Niu Ben: "How many days can the food and grass last?"

The general said: "It can only last for three more days at most!"

Niu Ben was silent for a moment: "Go on."

The general said: "There are only two options before us. Either we take advantage of the morale of the army and attack it in one go, or..."

Niu Ben looked at him: "What else?"

Everyone looked at him.

The general didn't dare to say "surrender" directly, so he tactfully advised Niu Ben to "stay alive and work harder in the future."

Everyone was silent.

What Li Hu said was right. Niu Ben had no ability to command a large army in battle. The army was suddenly attacked by the main cavalry under the command of Prince Nan'an while on the march. The army was immediately thrown into chaos, with the front and rear unable to take care of each other and lost their composure.

Fortunately, several trusted generals under Niu Ben remained calm in the face of danger. They organized troops to counterattack and seized nearby water sources. They paid an extremely heavy price to stabilize the situation and repel the army of Prince Nan'an.

Nearly half of the troops were lost in the first battle, the rear army was almost wiped out, and almost all the food and supplies were lost, including the ammunition for the muskets.

They had never expected that the troops in the northwest would be defeated so quickly and be ambushed by the Prince of Nan'an.

This was the third day they had been besieged, and they had tried many times to break out, but all had ended in failure.

They can be said to be in a desperate situation!
Niu Ben looked up at the sky and thought for a long time, then suddenly turned to the general and asked, "Will they agree?"

"I will definitely agree to it."

The general said confidently: "We still have a lot of bargaining chips in our hands. The capital, Shanhaiguan, Jizhou and other important passes are all in our hands."

After a pause, he said, "And the little emperor."

Everyone was shocked when they heard this. Emperor Yongxing killed the entire family of Prince Nan'an. How could the little emperor survive in Prince Nan'an's hands? !
Niu Ben walked back and forth a few steps, then turned his gaze to the general: "Go to the Prince of Nan'an and get some information for me."

The general was delighted: "The commander is wise!" After saying that, he kowtowed heavily and walked out excitedly.

Niu Ben sighed deeply, his eyes changed from unwilling to relieved, and then he waved his hand: "Let's all go." After that, he walked out.

Everyone looked at each other and walked out with different moods.

The only sound in the big tent was the sobbing of the little emperor. The general soon brought good news to Niu Ben. The Prince of Nan'an not only accepted his surrender, but also appointed him as the Prince of Shunyi and allowed him to continue to command his troops.

This made Niu Ben both surprised and happy, and he immediately led all the generals and the little emperor to the camp of Prince Nan'an to accept the enthronement!
Looking at the backs of Niu Ben and others gradually disappearing outside the big tent, Prince Nan'an smiled. His real opponent was Li Hu outside the Great Wall, and that was his biggest concern!

He could easily annihilate Niu Ben's remnant army, but attacking the capital and Shanhaiguan would cause him considerable losses and seriously weaken his military strength.

Without absolute superior military force, he would not dare to go out and fight Li Hu.

Accepting Niu Ben's surrender would not only make it easy to capture the capital, Shanhaiguan and other places, but would also add tens of thousands of troops, achieving multiple goals at one stroke!
Thinking of this, he suddenly felt relieved. The little emperor who had been crying non-stop seemed much more pleasing to his eyes.

The Prince of Nan'an said to a guard, "Send this little emperor to Jia Zheng."

The guard replied, "Yes," and grabbed the back of the collar of the eunuch who was holding the little emperor and dragged them out.

The Prince of Nan'an was in a good mood. He said to the generals and old William's uncle and nephew, "The army will rest for a day, and we will move camp and enter the capital tomorrow!" He also said to a guard, "Tell the kitchen to prepare wine and food. I want to hold a celebration banquet!"

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The little emperor, whose voice had become hoarse from crying, had been placed on Jia Zheng's bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Looking at the sleeping little emperor, Jia Zheng sighed deeply, turned and walked out.

As soon as he walked out of the back tent, the eunuch guarding the door knelt down and said, "Father-in-law, the traitor Prince Nan'an will not let the emperor go! Please think of a way to save the emperor."

Jia Zheng smiled bitterly. He himself was just a clay Buddha crossing the river, so how could he have the ability to save the emperor?

Zhou Rui glanced outside the tent and said in a low voice, "Master, you can invite Master Liu to discuss this matter."

Jia Zheng's eyes lit up: "Okay."

Just as the Prince of Nan'an was holding a celebration banquet, Li Hu led the Han and Mongolian coalition forces to the junction of Shuntian Prefecture, Yizhou and Baoding Prefecture and set up a large camp.

The news of Niu Ben being surrounded had long been spread by spies lurking in the army of Prince Nan'an. They knew that Niu Ben would be defeated, but did not expect that he would be defeated so tragically. Li Hu once suspected that Niu Ben was deliberately giving himself up.

It was getting dark.

In the central army tent, Li Hu sat at the table, holding a tea bowl in his hand, flipping through pieces of intelligence, and from time to time discussing the battle situation at the front with Heshen, Bai Wu, Zhang Xi and others.

As they were talking, Wang Yaozu hurried in and handed a letter to Li Hu: "My Lord, here is the intelligence the spy just sent."

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

Everyone looked at him.

After reading the letter, Li Hu thought for a moment and said to everyone: "Niu Ben surrendered and was canonized as Shunyi King by the Prince of Nan'an."

Niu Ben surrendered! Everyone was a little surprised and looked at Li Hu.

Li Hu continued, "The Prince of Nan'an is currently holding a celebration banquet. We will move out early tomorrow morning and will arrive here at noon the day after tomorrow."

Wang Daniu's eyes flashed: "Night attack. Why are you pulling me?" He glared at Wang Yaozu.

Wang Yaozu's mouth twitched: "It's the end of the month now."

Only then did Wang Daniu realize that there was no moon at the end of the month.

He Shen spoke: "This battle is a battle to establish the country. It is best to defeat the rebels head-on, and then march south with the power of this great victory. The Central Plains can be settled without a fight."

Li Hu smiled secretly. All the people in the Central Plains were his, so he would definitely win without a fight.

He Shen: "After taking over the Central Plains, the master can ascend the throne in the army, boost the morale of the army, cross the river to the south, and pacify Jiangnan!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Li Hu folded the letter and stood up: "The army will rest here and fight the day after tomorrow!" (End of this chapter)