The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

As soon as the heavy snow stopped, the prisoners of war carried the logs down from the mountains on their shoulders and hands.

Huge special plows pulled by oxen are lined up in rows at the foot of the mountain.

Logs were placed on the sled, and the serfs beside them gently tapped the cow's butt with the whip, and the cow pulled the sled slowly on the snow.

At this moment, a tiger roar startled the birds in the forest and they all fled away.

Countless prisoners of war and serfs stopped what they were doing and looked in the direction of the sound.

The officers and soldiers patrolling the surrounding area also looked over there. They all knew that their commander had gone into the mountains to hunt again.

Sure enough, another tiger roar was heard, but this time the roar was extremely miserable, as if it was suffering from some great pain.

Immediately afterwards, another miserable howl was heard from the forest, and then the whole forest became quiet.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. He died just like that?!

The foot of the mountain became lively again, busy and orderly.

Suddenly, the sounds of human voices, horns, and dogs barking were earth-shaking.

The hunters came out of the forest, leading their blood-stained hunting dogs.

Li Hu led his personal soldiers and slowly walked out.

The officers and soldiers followed closely behind, carrying the prey.

The prisoners of war knelt down in a mess, and the officers, soldiers, and serfs cheered like thunder!

Li Hu pulled the reins.

The whole group stopped.

Li Hu took out a few snow rabbits from his saddlebag and handed them to Wang Daniu: "Send someone to deliver them home, along with the pheasants we caught yesterday."

Wang Daniu smiled evilly and said, "I think the stones on the mountain are pretty good. Second Master, why don't you send some back?"

Li Hu glanced at him: "I think the head on your neck is pretty good."

Everyone laughed.

Wang Daniu chuckled, took out a pot of wine from his arms and handed it to Li Hu.

At this time, a streak of light snow dust came from afar.

Li Hu stopped the wine jug that was brought to his mouth and looked carefully.

A horseman approached gradually, and stopped in front of Li Hu. The scout reported to Li Hu: "General, General Wang and his men are back."

Wang Yaozu is back!

Li Hu: "Go back to the city." He led Wang Daniu and his personal soldiers to the camp.

A huge construction site was formed outside the small town, where countless serfs and herdsmen built anti-cavalry weapons such as chevaux de frise under the command of officers and soldiers.

Li Hu rode his horse straight into the city gate.

Wang Yaozu was already waiting for Li Hu outside the big tent.

As soon as he saw Li Hu coming, Wang Yaozu immediately went up to him and bowed to him.

Li Hu dismounted and walked toward the big tent, asking Wang Yaozu, "How is it?"

Wang Yaozu: "Reporting to the commander, the information provided by the fourth prince is true. Fu Kang'an led the coalition forces across the border and is heading towards us."

The guards outside the tent had already opened the curtain. Li Hu strode in and stood in front of the sand table.

Wang Yaozu followed him in, glanced at the sand table, and then stuck a small flag on the sand table, saying, "The number of people is about the same, about 30,000 to 40,000. Fu Kang'an still has to deal with the Russians in the north. The Jurchen Eight Banners soldiers will not exceed 5,000. They also captured a few Mongolian spies, and confirmed that Fu Kang'an's army has no firearms."

Li Hu felt relieved when he heard this. Fu Kang'an had no firearms, but they had not only muskets and submachine guns, but the Beijing camp also left behind dozens of cannons when they evacuated, the kind that could fire two or three miles away.

Wang Yaozu: "If the weather doesn't change, Fu Kang'an's army will appear in front of us in just five days."

Li Hu nodded.

Wang Yaozu thought for a moment and said, "Including the 5,000 serfs, we only have about 20,000 people. Should we draw cavalry from other places?"

Before he could finish his words, Wang Daniu's voice came from outside the tent: "Marshal, Liu Xianglian is here."

Reinforcements from Hetao have arrived!
Li Hu's eyes lit up: "Quick, please come in!"

The curtain was lifted, and Liu Xianglian, who had become a rough man, walked in quickly. He no longer had the charm of the past, but his face was more stern, and he exuded a sharp aura.

Walking up to him, Liu Xianglian knelt down and said, "Second Master!" Li Hu reached out his hand and gave him a light support, "Stand up and talk."

Liu Xianglian kowtowed and stood up.

Li Hu looked him up and down and said, "You've become thinner and darker, but you look more energetic."

Liu Xianglian smiled and said, "My body has become stronger too."

Li Hu smiled and nodded, then shouted to the outside, "Prepare the food and wine." He pointed at Wang Yaozu and said, "We are one of them."

Liu Xianglian understood and exchanged a few words with Wang Yaozu, then handed a letter to Li Hu: "This is a letter from General Xie Jing to the Second Master."

Li Hu took the letter, tore it open and read it.

Liu Xianglian: "After receiving the letter from Second Master, General Xie Jing ordered me to lead 5,000 elite cavalry to support Second Master."

After reading the letter, Li Hu smiled and nodded. The emperor gave him the power to mobilize the Hetao garrison. It was the end of November. Since the fourth prince's prince left, he had been preparing for the possible war.

The Yellow River in the Hetao area is wide and calm, and the river is shallow, so it can freeze and pass horse carriages in winter. In the past, the Mongols took advantage of the weather to cross the Yellow River and attack Yulin and other places. Now that the southern foot of Yinshan Mountain is in the hands of the Dashun Dynasty, the Hetao garrison can also cross the Yellow River to support Li Hu, saving most of the journey.

Liu Xianglian: "By the way, General Xie Jing also prepared a gift for the Second Master."

Li Hu: "Oh? What gift?"

Liu Xianglian: "It's a golden eagle that can peck a wolf to death. It's a very rare thing, and I sent it specially for you, General Wang!"

Wang Daniu called his personal soldiers to carry in a cage.

Li Hu looked over and saw a huge golden eagle standing in the cage. Its forehead and sides were dark brown, while the back of its head, nape and back of its neck had dark reddish brown feathers with golden tips. It looked like it weighed at least 10 kilograms.

Liu Xianglian: "This golden eagle is a male bird, nearly four feet long, with a wingspan of more than seven feet, and weighs nearly eleven pounds. I heard from the hunter that the female bird is even heavier."

Li Hu: "Oh? This thing is difficult to handle, right?"

Liu Xianglian: "In order to catch it, five hunters died. One of them lost his footing and fell off the cliff, and the others were all pecked by it and fell off the cliff."

Li Hu frowned.

Liu Xianglian understood and quickly explained: "We didn't force the hunters to do this. They found the golden eagle and wanted to exchange it for money."

Wang Daniu shook his head: "It's true that people die for money!"

At this moment, the voice of the personal guard came from outside: "General, General Huang is here."

Wang Daniu muttered in a low voice: "What a scabby dog!"

Li Hu glared at him and said, "Please come in."

Before he could finish his words, Huang Jinzhong came in through the gap in the curtain.

As soon as he stepped into the big tent, Huang Jinzhong's eyes fell on Liu Xianglian.

Li Hu smiled and said, "Liu Xianglian, a son of the Duke of Liguo in the capital, and a guerrilla general of the Hetao garrison."

Liu Xianglian saluted.

Huang Jinzhong smiled and nodded, then turned his gaze to the golden eagle in the cage: "Wow, what a big bird!"

Wang Daniu laughed, but quickly held it back.

Li Hu kicked him and said, "This is the golden eagle presented to your majesty by General Xie Jing."

Huang Jinzhong blushed, and then his eyes flashed: "Since it was presented to Your Majesty by General Xie Jing."

Li Hu smiled and said, "This golden eagle can peck a wolf to death. It is a ferocious beast. General Xie Jing is a little unsure, so he sent it to me first to see if it can be presented to His Majesty."

Huang Jinzhong certainly didn't believe it, but he didn't want to meddle in other people's business, so he pointed at the golden feathers on the golden eagle and said, "This kind of beast can only be presented to Your Majesty. I think Your Majesty will be very happy."

Li Hu smiled and nodded: "Let's go to the side tent. I just hunted some fresh game. Let's go have hot pot."

Huang Jinzhong smiled and said, "We are in for a treat!"

Thousands of miles away in the imperial palace, Emperor Yongchang was extremely anxious at this moment. He walked back and forth outside Concubine Wu's bedroom with his hands behind his back, stopping from time to time to look at the deep palace gate.

Suddenly, the shrill cries of Concubine Wu were heard from the bedroom.

Emperor Yongchang's expression changed and he was about to go in.

Dai Quan panicked and knelt down in front of him: "Your Majesty, I can't go. The Sixth Prince's illness is too serious. No one knows if it is contagious!"

At this time, a red-robed eunuch from the Imperial Household Department ran over with sweat all over his face and knelt down: "Your Majesty, the Sixth Prince has passed away." (End of this chapter)