The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

The first snow in the northern foothills of Yinshan Mountain in the fifth year of Yongchang came a little later than in previous years.

Amid the flying snow, a group of more than 30 riders were struggling to march forward on the prairie covered with snow more than a foot deep.

The ten men riding on the front horses were cavalrymen dressed in official military uniforms. On the white horse in the middle sat the gloomy-faced Prince of the Fourth Prince Department. Ten Mongolians were guarding him closely around him. Each of them had a tense face and kept their eyes wide open in the wind and snow, guarding against the Han cavalry in front and behind.

It was snowing heavily and everything was white.

The fourth prince pulled the reins.

The officer in charge of the team who was walking behind rode over and looked at the Fourth Prince's Duke: "Why did you stop?"

The Fourth Prince did not answer, but looked towards the end of the prairie.

A city stands alone in the snow.

The officer frowned and was about to get angry.

The fourth prince spoke, "Let's go." He squeezed his legs together, and spurred his horse straight to the city.

The ten Mongols hurriedly rode their horses and followed the four princes.

The officer: "Fuck! Follow me! Follow me!"

Everyone hurriedly rode their horses to chase after him.

It is called a city, but in fact it is just a huge military camp built of wood.

In order to complete the construction before the snowstorm, Li Hu mobilized tens of thousands of serfs from the surrounding areas to work in three shifts for twelve hours, and finally completed it two days ago. The city is 140 feet wide from east to west, 110 feet long from north to south, more than 500 feet in circumference, 16 feet high, and 10 feet wide. The two wooden fences are rammed with stones and mud. There are three city gates and towers, four corner towers, and there is no north gate to prevent surprise attacks from enemies in the north. After the spring, an outer city will be built outside for the people inside the pass to live in.

Although the city is small, it can still accommodate nearly 5,000 soldiers and horses if they are crowded together.

Cheerful music came from a large luxurious tent.

Inside the tent, Li Hu sat cross-legged on a huge tiger-skin mattress, Wang Daniu sat on a wolf-skin mattress beside him, Huang Jinzhong, Zhou Xun and others sat on wolf-skin mattresses on both sides, and the table in front of them was filled with large plates of beef, mutton, fine wine and dried fruits.

In the center of the tent, ten extremely beautiful Mongolian girls dressed in gorgeous Mongolian costumes were dancing to the music.

These Mongolian girls were not at all affected by the prairie weather, and each had a ruddy and healthy face, big and bright eyes, and tall and straight figures. They were noble girls from the Maomingan and Urad tribes.

The power of the people is strong. In just half a month, they found the royal courts of the Maoming'an and Urad tribes, beheaded more than 10,000 enemy heads, captured the families of the Maoming'an and Urad princes and tens of thousands of clansmen, more than 10,000 war horses, and countless cattle and sheep.

Now only the royal court of the fourth prince has not been found.

Li Hu picked up a dried fruit and threw it into his mouth. His eyes swept over everyone and finally fell on Huang Jinzhong. He seized the opportunity to observe him.

Huang Jinzhong did not drink, but just sat there quietly, appreciating this exotic dance with clear eyes.

Huang Jinzhong looked over.

Li Hu smiled and raised his wine glass.

Huang Jinzhong also picked up his glass and they both drank.

Wang Daniu swallowed the roasted lamb in his mouth, stared at the still dancing Mongolian girl, and picked up the wine jug to pour wine for Li Hu.

Li Hu said unhappily: "The wine is spilled."

Wang Daniu: "I can't spill it." He stopped and just filled a glass of wine. "This is called practice makes perfect!"

Li Hu was too lazy to pay attention to him. He cut off a small piece of roasted lamb leg that was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, dipped it in the sauce, put it in his mouth, chewed it carefully, and then took a sip of the wine.

These days are so damn comfortable!
Li Hu ate meat and drank wine while enjoying the dance.

Li Hu thought he was a good man and did not make things difficult for these women and children. When the weather got better, he packed up their belongings and sent them to Beijing.

At this moment, a corner of the curtain was lifted, and the officer on duty crawled in through the gap in the curtain.

As soon as Li Hu raised his hand, Wang Daniu immediately shouted, "Stop!"

The tent immediately became quiet; the dancing and music stopped. The Mongolian girls and musicians were so scared that they fell to their knees, trembling all over. One Mongolian girl even started to sob.

Li Hu stroked his forehead. Am I so scary? !

The sentry officer came over and reported to Li Hu: "General, the fourth prince's prince is here."

When they heard that the fourth prince's department had arrived, everyone became alert and sat up straight.

Li Hu: "Let him in."

The officer on duty withdrew in response. Li Hu picked up his wine glass and said, "Let's continue the music and the dance."

The cheerful music sounded again.

The Mongolian girls hurriedly forced smiles and danced to the music.

Looking at these Mongolian girls who were forcing themselves to smile, Li Hu sighed in his heart: when men lose the battle, women become lambs to be slaughtered.

Finally, a corner of the curtain was lifted up again, and the fourth prince's prince also came in through the gap in the curtain.

The Fourth Prince was startled at first, then walked towards Li Hu with a normal expression.

Wang Daniu glared: "Who told you to come over here?!"

The Fourth Prince paused for a moment and continued walking forward.

Wang Daniu stood up suddenly: "Get out!"

The Fourth Prince ignored him and stood about five steps away from the desk in front of Li Hu.

A cold light flashed in Wang Daniu's eyes. With a swish, he drew the sword from his waist and walked over.

Everyone was shocked!
The fourth prince saw the murderous intent in Wang Daniu's eyes and became anxious: "Li Hu!"

Only then did Li Hu utter two words: "Slap your face."

Wang Daniu answered loudly, "Yes." He sheathed his knife and slapped the Fourth Prince's Duke in the face with great skill.

The fourth prince: "Li Hu~"

Wang Daniu immediately slapped him in the face again.

The Fourth Prince's eyes turned red with anger, and he stared at Li Hu.

Li Hu slowly cut off a small piece of mutton, dipped it in the sauce, put it into his mouth, chewed it carefully, and swallowed it slowly. Then he picked up a piece of beef, dipped it in the sauce, and slowly began to eat it.

The Fourth Prince took a deep breath, swallowed it with saliva, and then continued: "General Li must have read our letter. We come to negotiate with great sincerity. As long as General Li releases our wives, children and clansmen, we will ask for any ransom, and we can even negotiate peace!"

Peace talks? What the hell! If we don't fight, how can I get promoted and make money?

Li Hu didn't bother to pay attention to him and picked up the wine glass and drank it in one gulp.

Huang Jinzhong spoke up: "We can negotiate, but you have to lay down your weapons, hand over your army, and then the court will reorganize you, turn your tribes into officials, and send officials to manage the affairs of your tribes. Of course, you can keep your guards of more than a hundred people."

Li Hu was slightly stunned. This old eunuch is quite cruel!
At this point, the Fourth Prince's Duke understood everything and gritted his teeth: "In that case, let's meet on the battlefield!" After saying that, he turned around and left.

Li Hu: “Slow down.”

The fourth prince stopped but did not turn around.

Li Hu: "Let's do a deal."

The Fourth Prince turned around and asked, "What business?"

Li Hu: "To be honest, your wife, children and tribesmen have not been captured yet. I am a trustworthy person. Tell me the situation of the Jurchens and the Mongolian tribes in northern Mobei, and I will let your wife, children and tribesmen go. How about that?"

Seeing that he looked embarrassed, Li Hu smiled and said, "Not convenient to talk about it? You can write it down."

The Fourth Prince hesitated and said, "I'm afraid this is not a good idea."

Li Hu laughed: "Pen, ink, paper and inkstone are ready."

Huang Jinzhong opened his eyes wide. Is this possible?

Wang Daniu personally brought the pen, ink, paper and inkstone.

The Fourth Prince looked at the Mongolian girls who were still dancing and smiling, closed his eyes, picked up a pen and began to write.

After finishing writing, the Fourth Prince looked at Li Hu.

Li Hu understood and wrote a warrant.

The Fourth Prince took the warrant with both hands, looked at it carefully, and said excitedly, "Thank you." Then he turned around and left in a hurry.

Huang Jinzhong's eyes rolled around: "Marshal, should we spread this matter?"

Li Hu looked at the ink paper and smiled: "No, let's talk about it after the fight starts." (End of this chapter)