The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 549 Snowy Night Massacre

It was snowing heavily and cold outside, but it was warm as spring inside the imperial tent.

The crowd was full of people.

There were low tables on both sides of the big tent. Wang Daniu, Bai Wu and others were eating dumplings and talking dirty.

Li Hulue took a few bites and then put down his chopsticks. He then sat at the top, looking at everyone with a smile.

Wang Daniu swallowed the last dumpling, drank half a bowl of dumpling soup, burped comfortably, and then said with a smile: "Xue Ke is a capable guy! In such a heavy snow, he actually brought us dumplings. Are the mutton dumplings delicious?"

"Fragrant!" Bai Wu and others all laughed.

Li Hu smiled, it was Xue Pan who sent the dumplings. He understood that Xue Ke wanted to give Xue Pan a chance to make merit and atone for his sins.

At this time, the officer on duty hurried in, saluted Li Hu, and reported: "Your Majesty, Feng Ziying is here, saying that he is here to deliver the battle report under the order of General Shenwu."

"It's over so soon? Can't we just live our lives peacefully?" Li Hu's eyes flashed, "Let him in."

The officer on duty said, “Yes.” and walked out.

As soon as the door curtain was lifted, Feng Ziying came in holding the battle report. He knelt down about three steps away from the imperial desk and held the battle report high above his head: "Your servant Feng Ziying has brought the battle report in compliance with the military order. I respectfully present it to Your Majesty for your perusal."

Li Hu looked at him with a smile and asked, "Did you win a great victory?"

Feng Ziying: "I am grateful to the Emperor for his kindness and to the soldiers for their dedication!"

Li Hu smiled and said, "Get up and read it to everyone."

"Yes."

Feng Ziying stood up, opened the military newspaper, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, the main force of the Japanese central army took advantage of the heavy snow to attack our northwest defenders. The Japanese were repelled before they approached our positions. More than 3,000 bodies were collected, and our army suffered no casualties."

Li Hu nodded. The Western barbarians had handed over flintlock rifles to the Japanese through Dutch merchants. In such a strong snow and wind, they were no different from fire sticks. However, the breech-loading self-igniting muskets equipped by the Tang army were not affected. The Tang army was also equipped with a large number of artillery and assisted by Mongolian archers, so surrender was their only way to survive.

Thinking of this, Li Hu said to Wang Daniu, "Bring a stool for Feng Ziying and put it next to the imperial desk."

Wang Daniu: “Yes.” He answered and went to the back tent to move a stool.

Feng Ziying was surprised and happy. Sitting next to the emperor was not only an honor, but also trust!

Wang Daniu had already moved the stool to the side of the imperial desk and said to Feng Ziying, "General Feng, please take a seat."

Feng Ziying came back to his senses and knelt down again. "How can I receive such a generous favor from the emperor when I have not done anything good? I absolutely do not deserve it."

Li Hu smiled and said, "I remember your father's contribution. Please sit down."

Feng Ziying was overjoyed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace." He kowtowed heavily, stood up, bowed to Wang Daniu, and then sat down on the edge of the stool.

Li Hu looked at the eunuch beside him and said, "Serve the dumplings."

Seeing Feng Ziying about to kneel down again, Li Hu waved his hand and said, "Forget about these empty formalities. Fighting well and doing your job well is a hundred or ten thousand times better than kowtowing a hundred or a thousand times. Do you understand?"

Feng Ziying: "I will remember the emperor's teachings!"

The young eunuch quickly brought Feng Ziying a bowl of dumplings.

Feng Ziying took the dumplings with both hands and ate them. Heshen looked at Feng Ziying and then at Li Hu. He admired this master sincerely. He had different ways to control all kinds of people. He won Feng Ziying's heart with just a few words. He was born to be an emperor!
At this moment, the officer on duty came in hurriedly again.

The officer on duty said: "Your Majesty, General Wang Yaozu has returned."

Li Hu's eyes lit up and he said loudly, "Come in."

Before he finished speaking, Wang Yaozu, covered in snow, strode in.

Wang Daniu, Heshen, Bai Wu and others all looked at him.

Li Hu looked at him: "Found it?"

Wang Yaozu's eyes sparkled: "In reply to the emperor, I found it."

Li Hu: "Map!"

The two young eunuchs immediately took out the map and unfolded it.

Wang Yaozu pointed his finger at a point on the map: "The Japanese rear army is hiding here!"

"It's dark under the lamp!"

A sneer flashed in Li Hu's eyes, "How dare you play tricks on me? I'll burn you to death!"

The night was getting darker and the snow was falling heavier. The snow and fog were so thick that one could not see clearly what was happening on the other side even if they were ten feet away.

The Japanese rear army hid in the valley and set up camp. The Japanese chose a very good hiding place. The valley was about ten miles long. Not only did they build arrow towers at the front and back entrances of the valley, they also dug trenches outside the camp gate, built a suspension bridge, and placed chevaux de frise. The defense was very tight.

However, the heavy snow created loopholes in the defense of the Japanese camp. The snow was so heavy that nothing could be seen. The valley ran from north to south, and the snow and wind were even stronger. It was impossible for people to stand on the arrow tower. After the patrolling general left, not only the Japanese on the arrow tower, but even the Japanese at the gate hid aside to avoid the wind and snow!

Everything was silent except for the howling of the snowy wind.

At this time, dozens of scouts wearing white cloaks, under the cover of snow and fog, quickly approached the Japanese camp. Soon, they were less than thirty steps away from the north camp gate. They changed from running to crawling, lying on the snow, slowly crawling forward, each carrying a cloth bag on his back.

They did this not only to avoid being exposed, but also to guard against traps and hidden weapons buried by the Japanese in the snow.

Soon, they climbed to the front of the trench safely. At this time, they could clearly see the situation inside the camp gate and the arrow tower through the telescope. After making sure that there was no one, they first built a passage with wooden boards hidden in cloth bags, climbed over the trench one by one, and then they carefully moved away the chevaux de frise. At this point, the Japanese camp was open to them.

They did not rush into the Japanese camp. Even if the Japanese on night duty were brave, they would leave a few people to guard the camp, and not just one or two people. Finally, they found the Japanese hiding in the corner, two on each side, a total of four Japanese.

The four scouts looked at each other, split into two teams, and slowly crawled towards their respective targets. When they got close, they took out their crossbows, and in the whistling sound of the cold wind, four crossbow arrows shot into the throats of the four dozing Japanese.
A Japanese came out of the cowhide tent, cursing, and walked to the side to urinate. He sniffed and muttered, "What's that smell? Kerosene? Why does it smell like kerosene?" As he said that, he turned and looked towards the north camp gate.

Suddenly, a spark of fire flashed, and then several more sparks appeared in the snow.
The Japanese man's face suddenly changed, and he shouted loudly: "Fire! Fire!"

The flames grew larger and larger. Under the sweep of the northwest wind, the fire quickly spread to half of the military camp. Countless Japanese cried for their parents and fled in all directions. Most of them didn't even have shoes on. Out of instinct, they fled madly towards the south gate of the camp.

At this moment, they only hated that their parents had not given them a pair of legs. They were too slow, and there were too many people gathered together, so they could not outrun the fire. More and more people were swallowed by the fire, and screams and wails echoed over the valley!
Just as the first batch of Japanese soldiers rushed out of the South Camp Gate, they heard a loud bang and suddenly thousands of arrows were fired from the front of the camp gate. The dense rain of arrows shot into the crowd, and there were screams and wails. The Japanese soldiers were shot to the ground one by one.
More and more Japanese rushed out, with arrows blocking their way in front and raging flames behind. They pushed and trampled on each other, and even killed each other, just to fight for a glimmer of hope.
Looking at the Japanese without armor and weapons, Bai Wu grinned and drew the sword from his waist: "Kill!"

Roars of killing were heard immediately, and countless Tang soldiers, holding spears and swords high, rushed towards the Japanese.

They were like a tiger charging into a flock of sheep, invincible, killing the Japanese so hard that their heads rolled to the ground and their blood flowed like a river. The area outside the South Gate became a slaughterhouse.

A Japanese soldier knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, but was ruthlessly beheaded by the Tang army.

There was an order that no prisoners should be taken in this battle. In addition, before dawn, a Jingguan was built outside the Japanese central army camp.
(End of this chapter)