The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

It was dawn and the door of the Zhenbei Palace creaked open.

Two bodyguards came out with swords slung over their shoulders and stood outside the door, one on each side.

Then two young men came out with bamboo brooms and started sweeping the space in front of the door.

There was a sound of horse hooves, and Wang Daniu led more than twenty riders galloping towards the gate.

Li San also came out of the door at this time. He was startled at first, then he went over to greet him and said with a smile: "Daniu is back."

Wang Daniu jumped off his horse, smiled and walked over to Li San, holding his arm. "Godfather, are you feeling well?"

"well."

Li San looked at Wang Daniu with loving eyes and said, "You've become thinner and darker."

Wang Daniu grinned and said, "It's common to lose weight in battle, but you have gained a lot of weight!"

Li San laughed and scolded, "You little bastard, how dare you make fun of me! Did you win the battle?" He looked at the bag on his back and asked, "Why did the prince send you back?"

"We won the battle."

Wang Daniu untied the bag on his body and said mysteriously: "Guess what's in this bag?"

Li San rolled his eyes: "The Imperial Seal."

Wang Daniu was slightly stunned: "How did you know that?"

Li San smiled and said, "I have eaten more salt than you have eaten rice. What else could it be for you to make this trip in person except that thing? Besides, such a small box can't hold much."

Wang Daniu chuckled: "Where's the princess?"

Li San: "Come with me to the conference room and wait." After saying that, he walked in.

Wang Daniu hurriedly followed in.

Chamber

After fighting all day, being busy for half the night, and traveling for another half the night, Wang Daniu was very tired. After eating some snacks, he leaned back in a chair and waited. He closed his eyes and fell asleep involuntarily.

The clock in the corner suddenly rang!
Wang Daniu suddenly opened his eyes and looked. He was shocked and realized that more than half an hour had passed!

I heard someone talking faintly in the back hall and realized that the princess had come a long time ago.

Wang Daniu quickly stood up holding his bag, walked to the outside of the beaded curtain and knelt down: "Greetings to the princess."

Lin Daiyu's voice came from the back hall: "Thank you for your hard work. Please sit down and talk."

"Yes."

Wang Daniu stood up and said, "Princess, yesterday our army fought a decisive battle with the rebels of Prince Nan'an in the southeast of Fangshan. Our army won a great victory. Prince Nan'an only escaped with a few of his trusted followers. We captured more than a hundred pseudo-dynasty officials including Niu Ben."

Lin Daiyu: "Niu Ben surrendered to the Prince of Nan'an?"

Wang Daniu told the story of Niu Ben's ambush in Baoding Prefecture and his surrender to the Prince of Nan'an.

Lin Daiyu was silent for a moment, then asked, "Where is the emperor?"

Wang Daniu: "I was just about to tell the princess that in addition to the imperial seal, the prince also wrote a letter to the princess."

As soon as she finished speaking, Nanny Wang came out and said to Wang Daniu with a smile, "Princess, have asked the kitchen to prepare food for General Wang. If you have anything to say, talk while you eat." As she spoke, she took the bag from Wang Daniu and shouted outside, "Bring the food in."

A few young men came in carrying food boxes and placed a large bowl of red rice, four home-cooked dishes, two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, and a bowl of clear soup with vegetable leaves floating in it on the table.

Looking at the food on the table, Wang Daniu was stunned. After a long while, he said, "This is the meeting room. No, it's not a good idea."

Nanny Wang smiled and said, "The princess said that after dinner, you should have a good rest." After that, she turned and walked towards the back hall.

Wang Daniu quickly knelt down outside the pearl curtain and said, "I thank you for your grace, Princess." As he said this, he kowtowed three times.

"In the eyes of the prince and me, you and Zhang Cheng are different from others. You two are friends of life and death with the prince, and brothers who share weal and woe."

Lin Daiyu smiled and continued, "You should call me 'sister-in-law'. We are family members so you shouldn't be so polite. When you are away from home, please take good care of the prince for me."

Wang Daniu's eyes turned red and he said "Yes." He kowtowed again, then stood up, walked back to the chair and sat down, picked up the chopsticks, ate slowly at first, and then started eating with big mouthfuls.

At this time, Nanny Wang stood by the pearl curtain again, looked at Wang Daniu who was eating voraciously, and then looked at Lin Daiyu who was sitting there reading a letter. She was very happy in her heart. If the lady's spirit in heaven could see this, she would definitely feel gratified.

After reading the letter, Lin Daiyu sighed softly. This was a good thing, as it could put an end to some people's thoughts and she didn't have to bear the blame.

After folding Li Hu's letter, Lin Daiyu looked at the lid of the golden seal box again, looked at the golden dragon, swallowed, slowly put her hands around it, pinched the seal box tightly with her ten fingers, slowly opened it, and then took out the jade seal from it.

Zijuan leaned forward and stared at the jade seal: "Miss, is this the emperor's jade seal?"

Lin Daiyu hummed and stared at the jade seal.

Zijuan said excitedly: "Girl, girl, is it engraved with 'Mandate from Heaven, Long Live and Prosper' like the opera singers sing?"

"That's the imperial seal!"

Lin Daiyu came back to her senses and put down the jade seal. "This is the jade seal of Dashun. One is in heaven and the other is in hell. They are two completely different things."

Zijuan: "What about the imperial seal?"

Lin Daiyu: "It's lost." As she said this, she spread out the blank chapter and started writing quickly.

After writing three chapters in a row, Lin Daiyu put down her pen and said to Nanny Wang, "Tell Uncle San to send these three chapters to the cabinet and say that they are the prince's intentions. Immediately draft three imperial edicts and send them to me to be stamped with the imperial seal."

After a pause, he said, "Don't change a single word."

Nanny Wang: “Yes.” She answered and walked forward, holding up the three “imperial edicts” in both hands, and walked out.

Lin Daiyu: "Slow down."

Nanny Wang hurried back.

Lin Daiyu was silent for a moment, "Tell the cabinet to draft an imperial decree to hold a special examination in October. Candidates from inside and outside the Great Wall, from the south and north of the Yangtze River, can all participate in this special examination, and they will be treated equally."

Nanny Wang: “Yes.”

Lin Daiyu: "Also, the palace examination on April 21st will be held as usual."

Nanny Wang retreated in response.

Seeing Nanny Wang walk out, Zijuan said with a smile, "Congratulations to the young lady!"

Lin Daiyu smiled.

After seeing Li San off, Jia She walked into the cabinet with a complicated expression.

Although he had already guessed the result and knew that the little emperor would die, Jia She still couldn't help but feel sad for the little emperor. He was just a child! I don't know if Jia Yuanchun can withstand this blow? And I don't know what happened to the second child. There is no news so far.

Jia She thought of Lin Daiyu again, smiled bitterly and shook his head. His niece was no simple matter!

Three imperial edicts were issued in the name of the cabinet, blaming the death of the young emperor on the Prince of Nan'an and removing Li Hu from the blame; a proclamation was issued to the whole country, and Li Hu annihilated the main force of the rebels, killed the Prince of Nan'an in battle, and avenged the young emperor. Finally, the rebels in the Central Plains and Jiangnan were pardoned, and as long as they laid down their weapons, they would be exempted from prosecution, given livestock, allocated land, and allowed to return to their hometowns to live and work in peace!

The three imperial edicts, one after another, made Li Hu a hero who avenged the emperor and occupied the righteous cause. In addition, the extinction of the royal family basically removed all obstacles on the road to the throne. The last imperial edict would completely shake the morale of the rebels in the Central Plains and Jiangnan. With the pressure of Li Hu's great victory, he would surely be unstoppable and all the prefectures and counties would surrender. There were also the upcoming palace examinations and the special examinations in October. She was trying to win over the hearts of the people for Li Hu!

This couple is not an easy person to deal with. They are really not from the same family and they don't even live in the same house!
Jia She remembered Li Hu's promise and a smile appeared on his face again. The Empress of the new dynasty was his niece, and his daughter was Concubine De, one of the four concubines. It was settled!

He didn't dare to think about the position of Chief Minister of the Cabinet, but the position of Second Minister was no problem. Jia Lian had made great contributions in Liaodong, so he should be promoted to the Minister of Six Ministries. With the addition of Jia Yucun and Jia Yun, the Jia family would become a first-class family in the capital, and a top dignitary!

Jia She was in an unusually good mood, and he walked much more briskly than usual.

Before he reached the office, he was stopped by a scream. Jia She looked in the direction of the voice and saw the cabinet duty room.

A clerk stumbled out and said, "Hurry up, someone! Hurry up, someone!"

Jia She was startled and ran over like the wind.

The two grand secretaries, Shi and Meng, also ran over from their respective offices.

As they stepped through the door, Jia She and the two Grand Secretaries Shi and Meng were all shocked.

A belt was hanging on the beam, and the Prime Minister had committed suicide in the house!
Jia She closed his eyes. It would be better if he died! With the character of the Prime Minister, he would never be loyal to the new dynasty. A Prime Minister of the previous dynasty, who was also a literary giant, refused to be an official of the new dynasty. Once he was used by someone with ulterior motives and spread rumors, it would have a very bad impact!
At that time, Li Hu would definitely not let him go, and would even implicate the family.

Thinking of this, Jia She sighed and said to the officials who came, "Put down the Prime Minister and carry him to the side hall." He also said to the two Grand Secretaries Shi and Meng, "I will go to see the princess and explain the matter to the Prime Minister. There must be no suspicion left."

Grand Secretaries Shi and Meng nodded in unison.

Someone also committed suicide in Fangshan!

Looking at Niu Ben's body, Bai Wu gritted his teeth and said, "What a bastard! He got away with it."

Li Hu sighed, "It's all over now."

At this moment, Wang Yaozu hurriedly walked towards Li Hu holding a box.

Walking up to him, Wang Yaozu whispered, "General, this is the head of Prince Nan'an." Then he opened the lid of the box.

Li Hu looked at him intently, and then he remembered that he did not know the Prince of Nan'an.

Wang Yaozu added: "The head of the Prince of Nan'an was chopped off by Liu Xianglian."

Li Hu: “Oh?”

Wang Yaozu: "Liu Xianglian has been lurking beside Prince Nan'an. While Prince Nan'an's personal guards were fighting with the sentry camp, he sneaked up behind Prince Nan'an and chopped off his head with a knife." At this point, he smiled, "Prince Nan'an never understood what was going on until his death!"

Li Hu took another look and saw that he really died with his eyes open!
"Where is Liu Xianglian?"

"He said he had promised to do something for someone else and had to go to fulfill the appointment. He asked me to pay his respects to the prince on his behalf."

Wang Yaozu smiled and said, "He thought we didn't know."

Li Hu also smiled: "Let him be. I admire this about him, he is loyal and keeps his promises."

Wang Yaozu nodded.

Li Hu looked up at the sky and said, "It's getting late. Send someone to take the head of Prince Nan'an, the body of Niu Ben, the captured Dali officials, and Old William and other Western devils to the capital for execution."

Wang Yaozu: “Yes.”

Li Hu ordered General Bai Wu, Zhang Xi and other generals: "The army will rest for a day and move south tomorrow morning!"

Just as Jia She had guessed, Li Hu's army advanced with great momentum and crossed the Yellow River with almost no resistance and arrived in Luoyang.

Just as Li Hu arrived in Luoyang, the city of Xuzhou, which had been besieged for several months, finally received food, which was sent by the rebels.

Because of Emperor Yongchang's bizarre operation, a Shandong and Henan Governor's Office was added in the city of Xuzhou, which belongs to Jiangsu Province.

There was silence in the lobby of the Governor's Office.

Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding, General Shenwu Feng Tang, and the military supervisor of the Ruishi Camp Huang Jinzhong all sat there silently.

Lin Ruhai also sat quietly in the main seat. He couldn't figure it out and didn't know what these rebels were up to!

Although these rebels surrounded the city but did not attack, the food in the city was gradually eaten up, the crops outside the city could not be harvested, and there was no reinforcement or food. If the siege continued for another month or two, Xuzhou City would fall without a fight.

But the rebels sent food at this time, could it be that they wanted to poison us? !

At this moment, Sun Yang hurried in with a letter and bowed to Lin Ruhai: "Master, this is a letter from the defender of East City. He said that it was sent by the rebels outside the city." Then he handed the letter over.

Lin Ruhai took the letter, opened the seal and read it. After reading a few lines, his face suddenly became serious.

Everyone looked at Lin Ruhai in surprise and suspicion.

After reading the letter, Lin Ruhai stood up, paced a few steps, and said, "The rebels want to surrender."

"Surrender?!" Everyone was shocked.

Lin Ruhai: "The rebels asked me to leave the city and go to their camp to discuss surrender"

Zhongjing Hou Shi Ding stood up suddenly and said, "We can't go! This must be a conspiracy of the rebels!"

Feng Tang added: "That's right, we must not fall into the rebels' trap!"

Huang Jinzhong nodded.

Lin Ruhai said solemnly: "The food in the city has been almost consumed. Besides, the rebels are numerous and powerful, and they are all elite. Whether we continue to besiege the city or attack it now, Xuzhou City will fall! Besides, it's useless for them to capture me!"

Feng Tang: "Then why did they surrender?"

Sun Yang's eyes flashed: "Could it be that the prince is coming? They want to use me to threaten the prince!"

Shi Ding and Feng Tang were both shocked by what Sun Yang said!

Lin Ruhai also hesitated and paced back and forth rapidly.

Huang Jinzhong spoke up: "Could it be that the imperial court won the battle somewhere else?"

Lin Ruhai suddenly stopped, thought for a moment, and said, "Talk! I will leave the city now and negotiate with the rebels!"

Sun Yang was anxious: "Master"

Lin Ruhai raised his hand and said, "Whether it is for the hundreds of thousands of people in Xuzhou or for the country of Dashun, I will take this risk!" At this point, he straightened his back and said, "Everyone will die, but the meaning of death is different."

"Governor Lin is righteous!" Huang Jinzhong praised loudly.

Sun Yang glared at him fiercely.

The setting sun was as red as blood, struggling over the distant mountains and refusing to set.

A gust of wind blew, and the big flag embroidered with the word "Li" fluttered in the wind.

The curtain was lifted, and Lin Ruhai walked out with a complicated expression, looking at the big flag with the word "Li" on it.

Behind him followed Chen Qiang and Sun Yang.

Lin Ruhai smiled bitterly. He should have thought of it earlier. (End of this chapter)