The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 28 June
The weather in June is like a child's face, changing in an instant. Before the sun sets, the sky changes and it starts to rain.

The sky gradually darkened and Xueyan lit the lantern on the desk.

Lin Daiyu took off her headdress and walked out of the bedroom. She picked up a book at random under the lamp. It was the "Complete Works of Wang Wei" given to her by Li Hu. She opened the cover and saw a little girl painted on the back. Her eyebrows and eyes looked a bit like hers, but the style of painting was strange. Her face was like a bun, with smiling eyes, and she made a V with one hand.

Lin Daiyu burst out laughing.

Xueyan, who was doing something silently nearby, couldn't help but laugh, covering her mouth with her hands.

Lin Daiyu tilted her head and glared at her, "What are you laughing at?"

Xueyan said nothing, but stood there looking at Lin Daiyu with a smile.

Lin Daiyu blushed and said, "I'm a little hungry. Go ask the kitchen to make a bowl of jujube kernel porridge."

Xueyan held back her laughter and said, "Yes," and walked out quickly.

Looking at Xueyan walking out, Lin Daiyu changed her previous expression, sighed, put down the collection of poems in her hand, reached out to open the box on the desk, took out the letter that Li Hu had ordered his personal soldiers to deliver in mid-May, leaned close to the lamp beside her, and began to read again.

In the letter, Li Hu talked about leading troops to the battle, and also told Lin Daiyu that after suppressing the rebellion in Shaanxi, his military rank and title would be promoted, and he would be eligible to live in the two-story five-courtyard courtyard. He had already agreed with the prince to keep the five-courtyard courtyard next to it, and to buy it after his title was promoted. Then he would demolish the back rooms of the two courtyards, build a large flower hall, dig a lotus pond in the garden, and build a waterside pavilion.

Lin Daiyu naturally understood what he meant. She blinked a few times, as if imagining herself fishing in the water pavilion, and a smile unconsciously appeared at the corners of her mouth.

Li Hu also told her some news stories in the capital in the letter, and finally told Lin Daiyu that he would not be able to write to her for the next two or three months, and would write to her again when the situation stabilized. In addition, Li Hu kept the personal soldiers who delivered the letter and told Lin Daiyu that if there was an emergency, the personal soldiers could deliver the letter to him, and of course, she could also write to him if she missed him.

Every time she saw this, Lin Daiyu would blush.

Jia Min walked in and was slightly startled by Lin Daiyu's expression. Then, she stood at the door and coughed lightly.

Lin Daiyu turned around and saw Jia Min looking at the letter in her hand. She hurriedly put the letter into the box, stood up, and called out with a red face, "Mother."

Looking at her shy appearance, Jia Min felt a pang of sadness in her heart and her eyes showed a complicated look. Her daughter had grown up.

Lin Daiyu: “Mother.”

Jia Min came back to her senses and said, "Yeah." She glanced at the living room and asked, "Where's Xueyan?"

Lin Daiyu: "I went to the small kitchen." She answered and helped Jia Min sit down on the chair.

Jia Min looked at her and smiled: "As the old saying goes, 'medicine is worse than food'. I usually tell you this, but you always twist your head. When the medicine is brought to you, you just drink a few sips to deal with it. Why do you listen to him as soon as he says it?"

Lin Daiyu couldn't hold back her expression anymore and hugged Jia Min's arm coquettishly: "Mother."

How could Jia Min not see that she was trying to hide her daughter's heart but showing it even more clearly!
Jia Min smiled and nodded at her: "You!"

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "I'll go make some tea for my mother."

"No, I'll just say one thing and leave."

Jia Min smiled and said, "The wife of the salt transport envoy sent me an invitation to invite me and the wife of the prefect to go boating in Slender West Lake to enjoy the scenery. Do you want to go?"

Lin Daiyu became interested: "When?"

Jia Min: "The wife of the salt transport envoy said that there will be a little rain tomorrow. The West Lake has a special charm on a rainy day."

Lin Daiyu nodded.

Jia Min suddenly remembered: "The salt transport envoy with a fortune will also go."

Lin Daiyu hesitated for a moment and said, "I won't go."

Jia Min thought for a moment and said, "Well, it's windy and rainy." She picked up the poetry book and opened the cover. She was startled at first, then she smiled. Lin Daiyu blushed and hurriedly snatched the poetry book, lowered her head slightly, and bit her lower lip tightly.

Jia Min looked at her and smiled: "The painting is not bad." After saying that, she stood up and walked out.

Lin Daiyu felt relieved. She then placed the collection of poems in her palm and clapped it twice, pouting, "It's all your fault!"

At this time, Xueyan came in, was slightly startled, and asked: "What about me, young lady?"

Lin Daiyu was startled and glared at her: "Where's the porridge?"

Xueyan was a little surprised: "The rice has just been put into the pot and is simmering on the stove."

Lin Daiyu was slightly startled: "Are you trying to make me angry on purpose?"

"I didn't say anything!" Xueyan looked confused.

Lin Daiyu was so angry that she laughed: "What a silly girl! Go and make me a cup of tea first." Then she sat down on the chair and looked through the poetry collection.

Xueyan brought in a bowl of tea, put it down, looked at the collection of poems in Lin Daiyu's hand, and said, "Miss, after pacifying this bandit rebellion, can your husband be promoted to earl? If your husband is promoted to earl, you will be a super-class countess. Let's see which of them dares to gossip behind your back!" Her little face was full of excitement.

Lin Daiyu said angrily: "What do you know! The nobility and hereditary are two different things. Among the nobility, dukes, marquises and earls are also divided into first, second and third classes. Besides, there is also the viscount in between."

At this point, she suddenly realized what was happening and quickly scolded in a low voice: "What nonsense are you talking about! What 'son-in-law'? What 'superb countess'? If Nanny Wang knew about this, she would definitely beat you with a stick!"

Xueyan hurriedly covered her mouth, looked around, and then patted her chest.

Suddenly, Nanny Wang's voice came from the courtyard: "Xueyan."

Xueyan’s face turned pale and she said, “Ah~” her voice trembled.

Nanny Wang's dissatisfied voice: "Why don't you go get some water to wash the girl's face?"

Xueyan felt relieved when she heard that, and answered loudly, "I understand." Then she ran out like the wind.

"Go slowly, be careful of falling!"

Lin Daiyu burst into laughter, and her face turned red when she thought of Xueyan's words. She put the poems together, looked out the window, and thought to herself: the road conditions are good, and we can cover about forty to fifty miles a day. The vanguard camp is on a forced march, and there is no need to set up camp in Zhili and Henan. The counties along the way are responsible for food and accommodation, so we can reach seventy to eighty miles a day. The vanguard camp should have entered Shaanxi.

Thinking of this, Lin Daiyu closed her eyes and prayed silently in her heart.

Lin Daiyu guessed correctly, the vanguard camp had already entered Shaanxi.

On the seventh day of June, the vanguard battalion finally arrived at Tongguan, and immediately launched an attack on the rebels who besieged Tongguan, and recaptured Huayin, Huazhou and Weinan in one fell swoop.

The Five Army Camps were called the Five Army Camps because they were composed of five armies of the same organization. The vanguard camp where Li Hu was was only the vanguard camp of the Zuoshao Army, which meant that the emperor actually dispatched five vanguard camps to rush to Xi'an. Each vanguard camp had two battalions of combat soldiers, and they were all large camps with nearly 3,000 people.

While the vanguard camp was marching quickly, the situation in Shaanxi also changed. After a great battle, the rebels failed to capture the city of Xi'an, so they began to plunder various places in Guanzhong and sent troops to attack Tongguan.

There were still some experts among the rebels. When they learned that the emperor was transferring troops from Beijing to Shaanxi to quell the rebellion, they immediately sent troops northward, intending to launch a surprise attack on the Second Prince's army and lure the victims from northern Shaanxi to the south.

Although the Second Prince was severely fooled in the disaster relief work, he was still quite capable in commanding a war. He took advantage of the inconsistent actions of the rebels and created a time difference. He won battle after battle and drove the rebels off the northern Shaanxi Plateau.

After the emperor learned of this, he adjusted the personnel and forces of the vanguard camp. The left patrol army, the central army and the right patrol army where Li Hu was located continued to rush to Xi'an, and the other two vanguard camps entered Shaanxi via the Yellow River ferry to wipe out the rebels north of the Wei River.

On the tenth day of the sixth lunar month, the two sides met north of Mount Li. After a fierce battle, the rebels were beheaded for more than 2,000 times. Knowing the power of the Beijing camp, the rebels abandoned Lintong and moved to Xi'an. The cavalry of the escorting army pursued them relentlessly and finally caught up with the rebels in Xiekou Town. After a fierce battle, the rebels were beheaded for more than 900 times and were defeated again.

The rebel leaders were very annoyed after being defeated repeatedly by the Vanguard Battalion. When they learned that the Vanguard Battalion had less than 20,000 troops, they immediately concentrated all their troops and set up a battle array northeast of Xi'an, claiming to have 80,000 troops, determined to fight the Vanguard Battalion.

(End of this chapter)