The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

The sun in the afternoon of the sixth lunar month is still as blazing as fire, the sky is dyed red, and the heat is oppressive.

There was not a breath of wind, and the colorful flags on the Guang'anmen Tower all drooped limply. Even the defenders under the gate looked listless and listless.

Suddenly, there was a rapid sound of horse hooves.

The officer on duty looked over.

A postman with a yellow flag on his back kept whipping the horse under his crotch and galloped towards Guang'anmen.

The officer on duty was startled: "It's an urgent 800-mile mission! Quick! Stop the people from leaving the city over there and clear the way!"

A team of defenders roared and lined up and ran into Guang'an Gate.

The postman, sweating profusely, rushed into the Guang'an Gate tunnel while whipping his horse like crazy.
West Warm Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation
The fat boy walked to a golden basin with a large piece of ice in it, took out a porcelain cup from the basin, opened the lid, walked up to Heshen, and said with a smile: "Master He, let's get rid of the summer heat."

Heshen hurriedly stood up, bowed, then took the bowl of iced plum juice with both hands and drank it in small sips, but his eyes were looking towards the imperial desk.

Li Hu was sitting in front of the imperial desk, looking down at something, with a smile on his face, and he was obviously in a good mood.

"Do you think the Western barbarians will spend a lot of money to build railways?" Li Hu suddenly asked.

He Shen hurriedly swallowed the sour plum juice in his mouth and replied: "Of course they will. With the railway, the Western barbarians can quickly gather their forces and transport soldiers and weapons and equipment to the front line, especially those heavy artillery."

Li Hu raised his head and said to He Shen, "This is a great job! You have been doing a great job. What should I reward you with?"

He Shen: "This is all the emperor's planning. What contribution do I have?"

Li Hu: "Anyone who works for me wholeheartedly should be praised." At this point, he paused, "I know you have always been worried that the future crown prince will alienate the He family, or even abandon them, after ascending the throne."

Heshen knelt down hurriedly but said nothing.

Li Hu looked at him. The Niuhuru clan had long since become history, and now only the He clan existed. Not only Heshen, but also the Aisin-Gioro clan, other surviving Jurchens chose to change their Manchu surnames inherited from their ancestors to Han surnames in order to adapt to the new social environment and avoid embarrassment and discrimination in their identities.

Li Hu: "I heard from Doctor Wang that your wife and I are pregnant with a boy. So your son will go to the palace to study with the prince. How do you think?"

This was a great favor! He Shen was so stunned that he knelt there motionless and even forgot to thank the emperor.

The little fat boy took the bowl from his hand and reminded him gently: "Master, thank you."

He Shen then woke up, kowtowed repeatedly, and said in a trembling voice: "Your servant He Shen kowtows to thank the master for his grace!"

Li Hu smiled with satisfaction and nodded: "Get up, get up and talk."

Heshen kowtowed again before he started to tie his hair.

Li Hu: "You have made so much money for me again, little fatty."

Little Fatty: "The slave is here."

Li Hu: "Allow 50,000 silver dollars from the inner treasury to subsidize Heshen's household expenses."

Little Fatty: "Yes."

At this moment, the eunuch on duty at the Meridian Gate hurried in holding an urgent letter with chicken feathers stuck on it: "Your Majesty, it's from Lanzhou, express delivery from 800 miles away."

Li Hu was startled. He grabbed the urgent letter, tore open the seal and started to read. After reading only a few lines, his face darkened.

Heshen, the fat man and the eunuch on duty at the Meridian Gate all looked at Li Hu in surprise and suspicion.

Li Hu's expression became uglier and uglier as his eyes moved over the urgent letter, and his eyes kept flashing coldly. Then, he slammed the urgent letter shut and handed it to He Shen.

Heshen took the exhibition and looked at it, his eyes suddenly widened!

The little fat man and the eunuch on duty at the Meridian Gate were stunned by his demeanor and stared at him with wide eyes. After reading the last page, Heshen finally uttered a few words from between his teeth: "Xue Pan is dead!"

The little fat man and the eunuch on duty at the Meridian Gate were also shocked!

Li Hu put his palm on the imperial desk, stood up, walked to the window and looked at the sky in the distance. Xue Pan was dead, and the 500 Tang cavalrymen who escorted him to Shaanxi were also killed in the battle.

The rebels had already ambushed on the road they had to take, and it was the group of loan sharks who betrayed Xue Pan.

The group of loan sharks sold out Xue Pan for a bag of gold. After being caught, they tried to defend themselves, saying that it was Xue Pan who betrayed his oath first, abandoned them, and fled back to the Tang Dynasty alone.

These damn bastards!
And Xue Pan, who had clearly written a letter to him, asking him to stay in the governor's office of Shaanxi and Gansu and wait for the imperial reinforcements to arrive and quell the rebellion before returning. However, he risked returning to Beijing for the Tianshan Snow Lotus, whose authenticity he did not know, and ended up with a tragic end.

Li Hu sighed. If Xue Baochai knew that Xue Pan lost his life for her, he wondered if she could bear the blow.

In addition, what frightened Li Hu was that the person who led the rebels to ambush Xue Pan was a local named Feng Yuan.

Is this karma?!

Li Hu suddenly remembered: "When will Xue Pan's wife give birth?"

The little fat man thought for a moment and replied, "Your Majesty, it should be around the end of July or the beginning of August."

Li Hu was silent for a moment: "Before Xue Pan's wife is about to give birth, no one is allowed to reveal the slightest news."

He Shen, the little fat man, and the eunuch on duty at the Meridian Gate: "Yes."

Li Hu: "Send a secret decree to Chen Qiang. The rebellion must be quelled before the end of the year. I only want results."

The little fat man shuddered: "Yes."

Li Hu: "Tell the Governor of Shaanxi and Gansu not to kill those loan sharks. I want to make good use of them." As he spoke, a cold light flashed in his eyes.

He originally didn't want to pay any attention to this group of people, but now they are asking for trouble, so he can't be blamed.

The Japanese went to South Asia as cannon fodder, so let them grow the potatoes in Siberia!

From now on, all those who were caught lending money by usury would be sent to Siberia to cultivate the land and plant potatoes, so that they could plant potatoes for generations to come.

I don't know if they can use their usury skills to grow potatoes. They can't plant a potato and the land owes them a basket of potatoes, and God owes them another basket, right? !

Li Hu: "Draft another imperial decree. Xue Ke will be promoted to the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. He will return to the capital immediately after receiving the decree."

Little Fatty: "Yes."

Li Hu was suddenly stunned. Except for the Rongguo Mansion, almost all the male members of the four major families in Jinling had died, leaving behind a group of orphans and widows.

At this moment, the eunuch on duty said, "Your Majesty, there is good news from the Ministry of Works. The railway tracks from Jiangnan have been laid to Suzhou City!"

Li Hu's eyes lit up: "Great! Pass the decree, all the meritorious personnel of the Ministry of Works will be promoted three levels by the Ministry of Personnel, and awarded half a year's salary."

Little Fatty: "Yes."

The eunuch on duty said: "Your Majesty, there is a message from the Empress, saying that if Your Majesty is done with his work, please come over."

Li Hu: "What's the matter?"

The eunuch on duty said: "I heard that Jia Lian's son and the man in the garden had a fight over something and both fell into the water."

Li Hu was startled and walked out. (End of this chapter)