The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

This year, Suzhou experienced the hottest dog days in the past 20 years. At this time of year in previous years, even if the weather in the south of the Yangtze River was hot, the ancient city of Suzhou, thanks to its Feng Shui, would still have a cool breeze in the evening, bringing a touch of pleasant coolness.

But this year, for more than ten days in a row, the willow branches on both sides of the river did not sway at night. The weather was hot, and due to the influence of the waters of Taihu Lake, the air humidity was extremely high and the heat was unbearable.

A breeze blew at dawn that day, bringing a slight coolness and taking away the irritability in the hearts of the people of Suzhou. They went out of their homes and enjoyed the cool breeze. After all, there had been no wind for more than ten days.

However, even if there is still the scorching sun today, the people of Suzhou will go out of their homes, because Li Hu is here!

The streets were already filled with people standing on both sides, and they kept stretching their necks to look at the city gate in the distance.

Someone whispered, "Here it comes!"

The crowd immediately quieted down, and the sound of a large number of horse hooves could be heard faintly in the wind!

The sounds of countless horse hooves were getting closer and clearer. First, there was a commotion at the city gate. Countless pairs of eyes on both sides of the street looked over there, and the crowd began to surge.

The officers and soldiers who were maintaining order held their spears horizontally and tried their best to hold back the surging crowd.

The officer on duty shouted, "Back off! Back off!"

The people in the front row stepped back, but there were more people behind them and the crowd kept moving forward.

Fortunately, the Suzhou prefectural government was well prepared. A group of yamen runners came running over with bowls filled with ink in their hands. They dipped their brushes in the ink and sprinkled it over the heads of the people in the back row. Only then did the crowd retreat.

The officer on duty suddenly noticed that many windows on the second floor were half open, and immediately shouted loudly: "Are you looking for death? Close all the windows!"

At the city gate, a group of cavalry appeared, raising a cloud of dust and rolling towards this side!

The officer on duty became nervous and shouted, "The Holy Chariot is coming! Stop it! No one is allowed to move!"

The cavalry ignored them and galloped straight into the city.

This is the advance cavalry that is scouting the route.

The sound of horse hooves and rustling footsteps came with the ground shaking.

A dragon flag fluttered over, and a burly man sitting upright on a tall and handsome horse was holding the dragon flag.

The yellow earth fluttered lightly, and following behind the dragon flag were rows of imperial guards armed with swords, marching in neat and powerful steps.

What followed was the emperor’s procession that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Without anyone's request, the people on both sides of the street knelt down in unison.

After the procession, Li Hu arrived!

The emperor's carriage was six horses, but Li Hu's carriage was so big that it looked like a small mobile house and needed eight horses to pull it. The eight horses had to be white and of the same breed with no mixed colors.

Wang Yaozu led the cavalry to ride around the sedan chair, and his cold eyes slowly swept across the closed windows on the second floors of the shops on both sides.

More than a dozen horse-drawn carriages followed closely behind the sedan chair.

Behind the convoy were the well-organized imperial cavalry and musketeers.

In the chariot, Li Hu was sitting at the desk reading official documents transferred from the capital.

In front of a large basin of ice, Lin Daiyu was hugging a little girl and whispering something there, with a smile on her face, obviously in a good mood.

The person half leaning in Lin Daiyu's arms was Xiangling's daughter, Princess Le'an.

Unlike the lively and active Princess Shouchang, Princess Le'an is gentle and quiet, and is quite loved by Lin Daiyu.

As for Princess Shouchang, she was lying on the couch and sleeping soundly.

In this southern tour, in addition to Lin Daiyu and her daughter and Xue Baochai and her son, Xiangling and her daughter, Feng Shi and Xue Baoqin also came.

After returning to Jinling after many years, Xue Baochai's mood finally improved. Li Hu let her and her son stay in Jinling, and Xue Baoqin took the initiative to stay and take care of Xue Baochai.

At this time, there was a knock on the car door, followed by the little fat man's voice: "Your Majesty, an urgent message from the capital of six hundred miles away."

Li Hu raised his head: "Come in."

The car door was pushed open a little, and the little fat man came in sideways, then immediately closed the door and handed in a quick delivery with chicken feathers stuck on it.

Princess Le'an whispered in Lin Daiyu's ear: "Is this the hometown of my mother?"

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "This is not only the hometown of my mother, but also the hometown of your mother and grandmother."

Princess Le'an: "Is mother also from Suzhou?"

Lin Daiyu nodded. Perhaps because of the trauma in her heart, Xiangling never mentioned anything about Suzhou. Only some old people in the palace knew that Xiangling was also from Suzhou.

Lin Daiyu: "After we finish our work, I will take you to Shili Street to eat Suzhou delicacies."

"Yeah." Princess Le An gave her a sweet smile in return.

Lin Daiyu looked at Princess Le'an, then glanced at the silly girl who was sleeping soundly, and then shook her head. She finally understood how tired Xue Baochai felt when facing her mother and brother.

Suddenly, Li Hu laughed.

Lin Daiyu picked up a cherry and handed it to Princess Le'an. She asked Li Hu, "What are you so happy about?"

Li Hu shook the express in his hand: "Bai Wu has captured the capital of Annan and captured the king of Annan and his family."

Lin Daiyu's eyes lit up: "If Annan is destroyed, there will only be Siam left in South Asia."

Li Hu nodded: "That's right, next we should deal with Siam." At this point, he suddenly remembered something, looked at Lin Daiyu and smiled, "Let Siam grow tea exclusively for you in the future."

Lin Daiyu asked in confusion: "Grow tea for me? Why?"

Li Hu smiled and shook his head: "It's unspeakable, it's unspeakable"

Lin Daiyu rolled her eyes: "He's been playing tricks all day long."

Li Hu smiled, then turned his gaze to the map hanging on the screen and said, "Siam will not last long without the support of the Westerners if it is attacked from both the east and the west. If we solve the problem in South Asia, the surrounding areas of the Tang Dynasty will be stable! We can free up our hands to concentrate on dealing with the Westerners and make final preparations for the upcoming decisive battle."

Lin Daiyu hesitated for a moment and said, "Is there any deviation in your guess?"

"No." Li Hu was very confident. He looked through all the information about Queen Rakshasa and confirmed that she was Yeka. She had been ill for several years. The war last year caused her condition to deteriorate sharply. In addition, her lover died on the way to escape, which was a great blow to her. There was a high probability that she would die of illness early.

It's a pity that a courtyard house was reserved for her on Wanguo Street, but it now belongs to her silly son whose biological father is a mystery.

Li Hu shook his head, throwing away all the thoughts in his mind, and then said: "Have a good rest tomorrow. I will accompany you to visit our mother's grave in Suzhou in the morning the day after tomorrow."

Lin Daiyu said "hmm".

At this moment, Wang Yaozu's voice came from outside the car window: "Your Majesty, we are almost at the Lin family's old house."

The situation on the battlefield had indeed undergone major changes, but the situation was exactly the opposite of what Li Hu had guessed. It was Shui Rong who was in trouble.

With the sound of hurried horse hooves and the rising of dust, Yang Qilong led more than twenty riders and galloped forward along the river bank.

In the distance, a military camp stood alone on the river bank.

At the entrance to the camp, a large banner with the Chinese character "Ming" embroidered on it fluttered in the wind. With a "snap", Yang Qilong whipped the warhorse under his crotch in the cheek, and the warhorse screamed in pain and rushed forward like crazy.

The guards, who were still dressed as White Lotus Sect members, whipped their whips and chased after them.

We’ve arrived at the camp gate!

A "non-Chinese" with a high nose and deep eyes strode out of the camp gate, knelt on one knee before Yang Qilong, saluted with both hands and said: "The emperor has ordered that the Prime Minister speak inside the emperor's tent."

Yang Qilong nodded on his horse and dismounted.

The White Lotus members dismounted from their horses and followed Yang Qilong into the camp.

As Yang Qilong walked hurriedly, he asked, "How come the emperor suddenly fell into the water?"

The alien followed closely and replied, "The Imperial Concubine wanted to eat grilled fish, so the Emperor went fishing in a boat. Suddenly, a strong wind blew, the boat capsized, and the Emperor fell into the water. But please rest assured, Prime Minister, the Emperor is fine, he just needs to take good care of himself."

Yang Qilong nodded, but in his heart he cursed the ancestors of those people who lent money at high interest.

This group of damn bugs chose to have the cake and eat it too. Some of them went to the Tang Dynasty, while the other part stayed and did business in the Ming Dynasty. They accumulated wealth by lending money at high interest rates. In less than two years, they became the richest people in the Ming Dynasty.

As the scale of the war continued to expand, the imperial court faced a shortage of supplies. These bugs reached out to military supplies. They bought military supplies from the Western Yi countries through the black market, and then sold them to the imperial court at high prices, exacerbating the court's financial crisis.

Soon after, they began to lend money to the imperial court. In less than a year, they had infiltrated all walks of life in the Ming Dynasty and made a fortune.

That charming imperial concubine was presented to the emperor by those who lent money at high interest, hoping to confuse the emperor and gain greater benefits for themselves.

Thinking of this, Yang Qilong snorted coldly and said, “I will settle the accounts with you after I win this battle!”

Yang Qilong stopped for a moment and looked around vigilantly.

The alien's eyes flashed: "Prime Minister."

Yang Qilong: "How come I haven't seen any of the emperor's personal guards along the way?"

The alien said: "The emperor is worried about the prince, so he asked his personal soldiers to escort the imperial concubine back to the Holy City first."

Yang Qilong nodded and hurriedly took another step forward.

Shui Rong was originally commanding the battle at the front line. A dispatch from the Holy City came in an emergency, eight hundred miles away. The prince was seriously ill, and the doctors in the Holy City were helpless.

The reason why Shui Rong brought the imperial concubine with him was not only to guard against her, but also because this woman was proficient in medicine and had excellent medical skills.

Soldiers with high noses and deep eyes stood every three steps around the imperial tent, forming a human wall.

Yang Qilong stopped and scanned the faces of the soldiers, then asked the alien, "Who are these people? Why don't I know them?"

The alien smiled slightly and said, "The emperor is waiting for you, please follow me." Then he strode forward.

Yang Qilong looked at the soldiers suspiciously, then looked at the foreigners walking towards the imperial tent, and had no choice but to follow them.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew and the curtains fluttered.

Yang Qilong stopped suddenly again, then asked several White Lotus followers behind him, "What's that smell?" He had a bad feeling in his heart and reached out to grasp the hilt of the knife.

Several White Lotus followers sniffed subconsciously and their expressions suddenly changed: "It's the smell of a stinking corpse."

With a swish, more than twenty White Lotus sect members drew their swords at the same time!

Yang Qilong also drew his sword!

The alien had already hidden behind the soldiers and said to Yang Qilong with a smile: "Drop your weapons, and I can give you a decent death."

"Where is the emperor?" Yang Qilong looked at him.

"According to what you Han people say, the emperor has passed away."

The alien looked at Yang Qilong with a smile on his face, "I was standing on the boat at the time, watching the emperor calling for help in the river, and then sinking."

Yang Qilong was so angry that his eyes turned red: "I will kill you!"

Suddenly, the ground shook slightly, and hundreds of soldiers armed with spears lined up neatly on both sides of the imperial tent and surrounded Yang Qilong and more than twenty White Lotus Sect members.

"What benefits did they give you?" Yang Qilong suddenly asked.

The foreigner stopped smiling and said, "You Han people have an old saying, 'He who knows the current situation is a hero! Under your rule, the common people can't even get enough food to eat.'"

Yang Qilong interrupted him directly: "Why can't the common people have enough food? It's all because of your new master! If they hadn't hoarded supplies and sold them at high prices on the black market..."

The foreigner was embarrassed: "They control the supplies because of you. Why do you Han people live a life of luxury while we can't even get enough food?"

At this point, he paused, "If you want to blame someone, blame the emperor for being too confident, thinking that everything is under his control. To tell you the truth, they have long colluded with the French, taking advantage of the emperor's foreign expeditions to bribe domestic officials.
The officials of the Holy City have long been disloyal to His Majesty the Emperor! The French promised them that they would destroy the Ming Dynasty, give them the land of West Asia, and help them establish a country. "

Yang Qilong was silent for a moment, then asked, "Where is the prince?"

The foreigner was silent for a moment: "They sent us to the French camp. That's enough. You can get going now!"

This is the marshal's tent of the Western Yi coalition forces.

In front of the sand table stood generals from various countries, each of them looking excitedly at the little man standing there.

The little man waved his hand and said, "All troops, attack and defeat the Ming army in one fell swoop!"

Soon, only the short and trusted general was left in the big tent.

The little man sat back on the chair, took a sip of coffee, and nodded contentedly. The battlefield in South Asia was a melting pot, and almost all of those old guys died under the butcher knife of the Tang army. This gave him an opportunity to stand out. After several years of hard work, he became the marshal of the coalition forces.

At this time, an officer came in and reported to the little man: "Marshal, what should we do with the family of the Ming emperor who was sent here by the loan sharks?"

Several trusted generals turned their eyes to the little man.

The little man spoke up: "They are nobles and cannot be harmed, even if they are our enemies. They should be treated according to the royal family's treatment."

The officer said: "Yes." He turned around and strode out.

A trusted general said: "Marshal, what about those loan sharks? We can't really give Xia to them, right?"

The little man showed a sneer in his eyes: "If they can betray the Ming Dynasty today, they can betray us tomorrow. In the words of the Han people, they are a group of disloyal and shameless people who betrayed their saviors. Such people do not deserve to live in this world!"

Several trusted generals nodded.

The little guy: "In the past few years, I have been reading Han books, especially those about military strategy, which are too merciful to them. I want to use them to win the hearts of Ming believers and enthrone Shui Rong's son as the Holy Son." At this point, he laughed, "What do you think those old guys will look like when they find out?"

A living Son of God? Several trusted generals looked at each other in bewilderment.

The little man stood up and said as he walked, "We will take over the Holy City. I will publicly judge those shameful traitors and kill all the men. As for the women, there is a place called Jiaofangsi in the East where their descendants will be slaves and prostitutes for generations to come!"

Several trusted generals laughed!
The little guy: "Besides, we should also think about ourselves!"

Everyone's eyes lit up, because this war delayed the domestic revolution, and they all supported the revolution (End of this chapter)