The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 337: Killing the White Horse as an Alliance
The sound of cannons, roars of killing, and clashes of weapons seemed to be far away from Li Hu. He held the imperial edict of Emperor Yongchang that Huang Jinzhong took out of his arms, and his face was full of confusion.

Huang Jinzhong spoke up: "Marshal, along with this handwritten order comes His Majesty's oral order. I hope you can understand His Majesty's painstaking efforts."

Li Hu came to his senses. The emperor's handwritten edict had been taken out. What else could he say?
The Jurchen spoke: "General Li, please order the troops to withdraw immediately. We will sit down and sign a contract. The Qing Empire will recognize that the land of Ulanqab League belongs to Dashun."

Huang Jinzhong: "Marshal."

Li Hu closed his eyes and said slowly: "You should call it a day first."

The Jurchen thought about it and decided that since so many Mongols had already died, it wouldn't matter if a few more died, so she nodded and agreed.

Huang Jinzhong looked at the disappearing figure of the Jurchen, and then glanced at the battlefield where the fierce fighting was going on. Then he said: "This is not the result of your majesty's arbitrary decision, but the result of consultation with the ministers."

Li Hu said coldly: "Ministers? I'm afraid they are those newly promoted favorite ministers!"

Huang Jinzhong coughed and continued, "Even if we defeat Fukang'an, we will gain nothing except more casualties. Now the Jurchens do not want to fight and are willing to sign a contract with us to recognize this land as our territory. Why not do it?

The emperor is not the emperor of the general alone. He must consider the whole world and the overall situation. The established strategy has been achieved. Now it is time to recuperate, build a city at the northern foot of Yinshan Mountain, relocate Han people to cultivate land, and completely control this land. "

He paused, "The most important thing is food. The Marshal also knows that Henan is a major grain-producing province. Every year, the court has to transfer grain from Henan to help those provinces that are short of food. Now Henan not only has no production, but also has to transfer grain from other provinces for disaster relief. This way, the gap is even bigger. In addition, the land of the prefectures bordering Henan Province has been abandoned, and the people have all fled to other places for refuge."

Hearing this, Li Hu sneered in his heart. He had been exchanging letters with Heshen. Heshen said in the letter that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and various merchant caravans were still transporting grain to the outside of the Great Wall. There was grain for trading with the Jurchens, but no food for fighting and suppressing rebellions. It was really a huge joke!

Also, do the Jurchens really not want to fight? They are accumulating strength. Go ahead and make a fuss. You will cry one day.

Huang Jinzhong sighed silently. He really wanted to tell Li Hu about the emperor's strategy. Fu Kang'an was the emperor's chess piece to weaken the Jurchens, and it was impossible for him to let Li Hu cripple him.

The sound of a horn blew from Fukangan's side, and the Mongolians in Mobei, who were already feeling exhausted, fled backwards madly.

Cheers of "Million Victory" resounded throughout the battlefield, and Dashun officers and soldiers began to chase and kill the retreating Mongols from Mobei.

Huang Jinzhong was anxious: "Marshal!"

Li Hu sighed and said, "Sound the retreat."

"Dang! Dang! Dang!"

As the sound of retreat rang out, the pursuing government troops stopped one after another and then retreated like a tide.

Huang Jinzhong breathed a sigh of relief: "Negotiations with the Jurchens"

Li Hu interrupted him directly: "I'm tired, you are responsible for the negotiations." At this point, he was silent for a moment, "I will not sign the peace treaty."

Huang Jinzhong's expression changed: "Marshal!"

Li Hu ignored him and turned to Wang Daniu and said, "Clean up the battlefield. Apart from the corpses, not a single hair can be left for the Jurchens. If they dare to cause trouble..."

Wang Daniu patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Marshal. If they dare to cause trouble, I will chop off their heads and use them as chamber pots!"

Li Hu nodded, and said to the messenger: "Notify the commanders of each camp to go to the central army tent and wait for me to come up to the tent to discuss matters." After that, he rode his horse towards the camp.

Huang Jinzhong smiled bitterly. This was the cause of the incident.

The battle started at the end of the Si hour and both sides called off their troops at the beginning of the Wei hour. It only lasted for a little over an hour, but both sides suffered heavy losses, especially Fukangan. The biggest losses came from the remnants of the Ulanqab League. The four princes were able to gather less than 5,000 defeated soldiers in the end, with more than half of them killed. The worst hit were the princes of the Khalkha, Maoming'an and Chahar, all of whom had their heads chopped off by the Han people as trophies.

The second was the boastful Khan Tushetu, who had less than 6,000 cavalrymen left out of his 10,000.

Except for the Jurchens, all Mongolian tribes suffered losses.

Inside the yurt, Tushetu Khan cursed: "Damn Jurchens, they have caused us so much trouble!"

Khan Sayin Noyan then cursed: "Damn it! Our four families lost nearly 20,000 people, and they are fine. They are using us as cannon fodder!" Khan Zasaktu said: "Well, General Fukangan is not to blame for this. Facing the will of His Majesty the Great Emperor, he can only obey."

Tushetu Khan: "Great Emperor? Bah! You dare to call yourself the Great Emperor from such a small place? Aren't you ashamed?"

King Sayin Noyan replied: "I am so ashamed for him!"

Zasaktu Khan gave a bitter smile and looked at the silent Prince of the Fourth Prince Department: "What are your plans for the future?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Khan Tushetu and Khan Saiyin Noyan both turned their eyes to the fourth prince.

The fourth prince looked bewildered.

Just as Zasaktu Khan was about to speak, a beam of light shone in and Fukangan, with a livid face, walked in.

Whether reluctantly or not, the four of them stood up, and Khan Tushetu gave up the seat in the middle.

Fu Kang'an walked to the low table and sat down, picked up the kumis on the table and drank it down in gulps.

The four of them looked at each other.

Fu Kang'an put the empty bowl on the low table, wiped his mouth, and then asked, "Do you want revenge?"

The four of them looked at each other again, but no one answered.

Fu Kang'an: "What? You don't want revenge?" He glanced at the four people.

Just as Tushetu Khan was about to speak, Zasaktu Khan quickly interrupted him: "The four tribes of the Mongolian Empire in the northern desert are loyal subjects of His Majesty the Great Emperor."

Fu Kangan sneered, "Hypocrisy!"

Zasaktu Khan was not angry and just looked at Fukang'an quietly.

Fu Kang'an poured himself a bowl of mare's milk and continued, "The tyrant's men have gone back with the contract."

Tyrant? The four of them looked at each other in bewilderment.

Fu Kang'an: "You have heard something about my life story. The rumors in Shengjing are all true."

All four of them were shocked.

Fu Kang'an: "I'll tell you the truth. Today's incident was caused by Hong Zhou and Yong Yan who stabbed me in the back. The Russian invasion of the border years ago was also related to them. Our real enemies are the royal family members headed by Hong Zhou and Yong Yan. As for the reason, they are fighting for that chair. To be honest, I didn't want to fight for it, but they are too much! They forced me again and again, and even wanted to kill me! Since they don't want me to live, don't blame me!" At this point, he raised his hands and clapped.

The door curtain was lifted, and Fukang'an's confidants walked in, carrying several round heads.

The four of them took a look subconsciously and gasped in shock. Those heads turned out to be the heads of the emperor's trusted generals!
Fu Kangan stood up and said, "I have made up my mind. I will sign a contract with the Han people and the Russians, then annex the Mongolian tribes south of the desert, integrate all the Mongols, and purge the court of the emperor!"

When these words were spoken, the four of them were shocked!

Fu Kang'an: "I won't say any more nonsense. If it's done, the four families will divide up the Mongolian grasslands south of the desert. If it fails, I will take all the blame and will never implicate you. How do you think?"

The four of them looked at each other. Are you kidding me?!

Fu Kang'an: "Okay, since no one objects, let's kill the white horse to form an alliance! Please." He then extended his hand.

The four of them looked at each other and realized that if they didn't agree to him, those heads would be their fate, so they had to walk out.

(End of this chapter)