The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

It was drizzling in the capital at this time, but the sun was shining brightly here.

In previous years, at this time of year, the fields in Anhui Province would have been full of thriving crops and croaking frogs. This year, the war had spread to this place, and the county town was captured by the White Lotus rebels. The people were taken hostage, and all the fields were left uncultivated, with weeds everywhere and the sound of insects chirping.

The sound of horse hooves could be heard from the distance on the post road. The closer they got, the louder they became. Many insects stopped chirping. A strong man with a white scarf on his head kept whipping the fast horse under his crotch and galloped towards Fengyang.

Fengyang is famous for its flower drums and for Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. As the cradle of the Ming Dynasty, this small city transformed from a crow into a phoenix and became one of the capitals of the Ming Dynasty, as famous as Nanjing. However, after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, it gradually sank into a small county town, which made the locals sigh.

However, at this moment, countless shouts of killing were floating over this ancient city, followed by the terrified screams and cries of countless people!
"The city is broken"

"The White Lotus rebels have entered the city!"

Countless White Lotus rebels swarmed into the city. There were constant screams and cries in the city. People were running around in panic everywhere, and there was blood everywhere after the swords were cut!
Accompanied by the elderly steward, his confidants, and personal guards, Bai Hongzhi rode into Fengyang City.

After entering Fengyang City, there were corpses and blood everywhere, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood. At this time, Bai Hongzhi was already accustomed to it and didn't care. What he cared about most now was how much money, food and weapons he could seize.

The group arrived at the county government office, which had its gate wide open. Looking around, they saw corpses lying all over the place.

Bai Hongzhi raised his head slightly and looked casually at the plaque on the yamen with the words "Fengyang County Office" engraved in gold on a black background.

A smile appeared on the corners of his mouth, as if the county government office in front of him was the majestic Forbidden City, and the imperial power was no more than that. One day, he would ride a war horse into the Forbidden City and sit on the throne of the world's number one.

Thinking of this, he squeezed his legs together and rode his horse into the county government office.

The old steward and others hurriedly rode their horses and followed in.

As soon as they entered the front yard, they heard a fierce fight and everyone looked over.

The head of the yamen runners and several runners who were resisting desperately were surrounded by a group of White Lotus followers at the foot of the stone steps at the entrance of the lobby.

The battle was over soon, with a few more bodies on the ground.

Bai Hongzhi dismounted and led the elderly steward and others into the hall. They were all stunned to see several bodies of the elderly, women and children lying on the ground. They were obviously the family members of the Fengyang County Magistrate.

Sitting on a chair in front of the big case was the Fengyang County Magistrate, dressed in an official robe. There were bloodstains on his neck and a pool of blood under the chair. His right hand was still tightly grasping a bloody sword.

The old steward sighed silently. They had captured several cities along the way, and each city had been met with stubborn resistance. Except for a county magistrate who came from a local noble family, no court official was captured alive. People's hearts were still on the side of the court!

At this time, a burst of hurried horse hoof sounds came over, and everyone turned to look.

The sturdy man with a white scarf on his head came riding a horse, and when he reached the stone steps, he pulled the reins hard, dismounted, and ran in, saying loudly to the elderly steward: "The prince has ordered that you immediately lead your troops north to support Xuzhou and cooperate with the main force of the Holy Church to encircle and annihilate the main force of the government army. You must arrive within ten days, otherwise you will be punished by military law!" After that, he turned and left.

A flash of cold light quickly flashed in Bai Hongzhi's eyes, and then he looked at the old steward: "Shui Rong wants to fight a decisive battle with the government troops under the city of Xuzhou?"

As the saying goes, it is nice to be under a big tree. Bai Hongzhi listened to the old steward's advice and joined Shui Rong's army, letting Shui Rong block the main force of the government army. In this way, he would have the opportunity to continue to grow and develop.

Of course, Shui Rong didn't know about this. The Central Plains was in chaos, and many heroes rose up. There were too many rebels who joined Shui Rong. He didn't have time to meet all the rebel leaders. He just sent someone to give them a White Lotus Sect flag, and then pointed them in a direction to attack the imperial court's city, disperse the imperial court's troops, and make the Central Plains completely chaotic!

The news that Shui Rong had conquered Xuzhou City quickly spread across the entire Central Plains like a whirlwind, greatly boosting the morale of the rebels, but also stirring up a hornet's nest. Prince Zhongshun, Wang Ziteng and others assembled tens of thousands of government troops, claiming to be an army of 150,000, and swept through the main forces of the White Lotus Sect in Chenzhou Prefecture and Guide Prefecture. In less than a month, they reached Xuzhou Prefecture. The west and north of Xuzhou City fell into the hands of the government troops, and several camps that blocked the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal were also conquered. A few days ago, they even lost the important gateway of Xiao County, which directly exposed the west, southwest and south of Xuzhou to the government troops.

Everyone looked at the old steward. The old steward shook his head and said, "Shui Rong's main force is attacking the Lianghuai area, plundering the money and food and able-bodied men there to expand their forces."

Bai Hongzhi understood: "Shui Rong wants us to take the blame, stop the government troops, weaken their strength, and buy him some time?"

The old steward nodded and said, "Xuzhou City cannot be defended at all. Calculating the time, the Fifth Army Battalion will soon arrive. They are elite troops who are good at siege and field battles, and with the cooperation of the Mongolian cavalry, we have no chance of winning in a frontal field battle! If we want to defeat the court, the only way is to follow the example of the King of Rebellion back then, fight and rob, rob and run, leave the mess to the court, destroy all the grain-producing areas, and drag down the court bit by bit."

Bai Hongzhi: "Okay!"

Everyone nodded excitedly.

The old steward continued, "Besides, we can't stay here anymore. It's too close to Xuzhou. The Mongolian cavalry can be at the gates of the city in a few days."

Bai Hongzhi: "Going south?"

The old steward: "No, let's go to Henan."

Bai Hongzhi's eyes lit up: "Henan?"

The old steward: "Henan. Now the main forces of the imperial court are gathered in Xuzhou Prefecture, Henan is short of troops, which gives us an opportunity. The money, food and equipment of the imperial army are stored in Luoyang City!"

Bai Hongzhi was excited: "Okay, let's go to Henan! With the money, food and equipment in Luoyang City, we can expand our troops." At this point, he suddenly remembered, "Jia Zheng is in Luoyang City. Li Hu is in the capital, I can't do anything to him, so I'll ask Jia Zheng for some interest first!" After that, he turned to his confidants and said, "Tell the brothers to enjoy the retreat of Fengyang City before dusk."

The elderly manager was stunned at first, then he smiled bitterly and shook his head.

Fengyang City soon became a hell on earth. The cries of countless people echoed over the city, and then fires appeared everywhere in the city!

A group of more than thirty riders appeared outside the city gate. The leader was Zhang Cheng, who was also dressed as a member of the White Lotus Sect.

At this time, a member of the White Lotus sect rode out of the city gate on horseback, and with red eyes, he said to Zhang Cheng: "General, those beasts are in the city."

Zhang Cheng raised his hand and said, "Tell me the information."

The man had no choice but to swallow his anger and told Zhang Cheng what happened in the lobby of the county government office.

Henan? Zhang Cheng nodded appreciatively.

Someone on the side spoke up: "General, should we remind Jia Zheng that he is the Marshal's uncle after all?"

Zhang Cheng waved his hand: "Don't make things complicated."

Another person: "The Marshal's side."

Zhang Cheng: "I will explain to the Marshal. Okay, let's go to Xuzhou first, and then go to Luoyang." At this point, he suddenly remembered, "What do you think Shui Rong would do if he knew what happened here?"

Everyone was excited.

Listening to the wailing in the city, Zhang Cheng closed his eyes and said, "Bai Hongzhi will never achieve anything great. Let's go!" (End of this chapter)