The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 38 Rainy Night
A deafening roar of thunder rolled over the ceiling of the guest room.

Li Hu stood up, walked to the door, stretched out his hand to open it, and walked out facing the strong wind. The corners of his robe and the lapels were lifted up by the wind. The chilly wind brought a smell of rain.

A soldier on duty came up to him and bowed, "General, it's windy outside, be careful not to catch a cold!"

"It doesn't matter."

Li Hu looked at the rain curtain, "Where's Wang Daniu?"

The personal soldier said: "General, General Wang said he was worried and took people to inspect the area around the post station."

Li Hu nodded.

In the rain, Jia Yun, wearing an oilskin, came in through the moon gate of the courtyard.

Jia Yun remained polite in the wind and rain, saluted Li Hu, and said, "The Imperial Household Department sent a message from Luoyang City. It seems that they have sensed the danger. The White Lotus Sect is fleeing Luoyang."

Li Hu: "Oh? The news leaked?"

Jia Yun: "Our men are hiding in the area of ​​20 to 30 miles around Luoyang City. It is impossible for them to be discovered. I guess they were frightened by the 2,000 elite soldiers from Kaifeng."

Li Hu thought for a moment and said, "Pass the order to keep all the White Lotus Sect members who are evacuating Luoyang City through the official road."

Jia Yun answered loudly "Yes", turned around and walked into the rain.

Watching Jia Yun's back disappear in the heavy rain, Li Hu sighed softly. Zhang Cheng's plan was very successful. In order to rescue the Left Protector, the White Lotus Sect fought one after another, and thousands of people died.

Li Hu couldn't understand why they were so keen on rebellion. Dashun was not the Jurchen. The officials were a bit corrupt, but the people lived a decent life. What made him laugh and cry the most was that they actually fought under the banner of "Anti-Shun and Restoration of Ming".

Not to mention whether the Zhu family still has a direct lineage, even if there is, it has been passed down for four generations of emperors, and people's hearts are no longer on the side of Zhu Ming.

A flash of lightning lit up the yard in a pale white. Li Hu looked up at the dark sky and sighed, "I hope they will retreat when they see the difficulty."

Just as he finished speaking, a personal soldier holding an umbrella came towards Li Hu in the heavy rain, leading a man covered in mud.

Li Hu's eyes flashed. It was the prince's messenger.

Walking up to him, the messenger bowed to Li Hu, then took out a letter from his arms and presented it to him with both hands.

Li Hu took the letter, tore it open and read it. His expression became uglier as his eyes moved over the letter. Then he clenched the letter and said to the messenger, "Thank you for your hard work." Then he said to the personal soldier, "Take him downstairs for dinner."

The personal soldier: "Yes."

The messenger bowed again and then went out with the guards.

Li Hu turned around and went into the house, sat down in front of the desk, picked up the letter and started reading it again. Then, he put the letter down, pressed his palm on the desk, stood up, and walked back and forth quickly.

The second prince submitted a memorial to impeach him again. The impeachment in early August was reprimanded by the emperor on the grounds that it was groundless and lacked evidence. This time, there were not only testimonies from the patrol battalion and young and strong men, but also more than a dozen witnesses.

He will not stop until he has been discredited!

Thinking of this, Li Hu couldn't help but swear. What made him angry was not that his reputation was ruined, but that a member of the royal family was stabbed.

At this moment, Li Hu even regretted blocking the Left Protector at the entrance of Heishui Valley. If he had allowed them to go north, with those fearless White Lotus Sect members, it would be hard to say who would win in the end.

Li Hu stopped and his eyes flashed a faint light. The royal family members were indeed ruthless and ungrateful, with only the struggle for power in their eyes. He was too honest. If he let some White Lotus Sect members cross the Weishui River, how would the Second Prince have the time to impeach him?

With a snort, Li Hu thought to himself: Don't fall into my hands, or I will make you pay back with interest.

The rain outside was getting heavier and the sky was getting darker.

In the heavy rain, a group of people wearing straw raincoats, bamboo hats and straw sandals walked quickly eastward along the official road.

Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed across the clouds like golden snakes.

At this moment, a bright flash of lightning illuminated the surroundings in a pale white. The dense woods and tall grass on both sides of the official road ahead were swaying in the wind and rain.

In the dense forest, pairs of cold eyes were looking at them.

This is the field army! After Li Hu wiped out a group of White Lotus Sect members in Xin'an, the sword and shield soldiers and spearmen immediately rushed to Luoyang and hid in the dense forests around Luoyang City for two days and two nights.

The crowd walked into the dense forest, and the government troops drew their swords and raised their spears.

The noise of the wind and rain was so loud that no one noticed anything unusual.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning illuminated both sides of the official road in a pale white, and streaks of white light flashed by.

"There's an ambush!" someone shouted. As soon as this was said, the White Lotus followers took out the weapons hidden under their straw raincoats, including knives, swords, axes, hooks, iron whips, etc.

The sound of running immediately rang out in the dense forest, and countless government troops rushed out of the dense forest like lightning!

As they ran, the sword and shield soldiers and spearmen quickly formed into square teams of three sword and shield soldiers and three spearmen each, and one square team after another charged into the crowd from all directions!
Amid the shouting and killing, the White Lotus followers were knocked to the ground one by one.
The same scene also happened on the other three official roads.

At the same time, 5,000 elite soldiers in Luoyang City, under the command of the Imperial Household Department, were clearing out the White Lotus Sect members who had not yet had time to leave the city. The atmosphere of war and violence enveloped the ancient city.

The sound of wind and rain died down.

In the large guest room of the inn, there was a large plate of fresh fruits and a large plate of assorted snacks on the table, and a bowl of gaiwan tea on the side.

There were two chairs next to the table. Li Hu sat on the left, and a eunuch in red sat on the other side.

The eunuch in red took out a snuff bottle from his body, put some snuff on it, rubbed it into his nostrils, then closed his eyes and inhaled slowly.

After a long while, the eunuch sneezed with a yawn, and then he slowly said: "These annoying bedbugs are impossible to drive away and kill, and they suddenly appear from nowhere. I don't know when I can return to the capital."

Seeing that Li Hu didn't say anything, he looked at the dark courtyard outside the door and said, "The Left Protector of the White Lotus Sect is a criminal. According to the rules, he must walk 120 miles a day. I don't expect to walk 120 miles a day, 60 miles is enough."

Li Hu blurted out two words: "Okay."

The chief eunuch was stunned for a moment, and then he asked, "What did General Li say?"

Li Hu: "Rest for a day tomorrow, and set off the day after tomorrow. Walk sixty miles a day, and try to reach Beijing in the winter month."

The chief eunuch was delighted: "Amitabha, it is really the Buddha's blessing! I will never leave the capital again."

Li Hu smiled, thinking that he might not take such an assignment.

The eunuch picked up the tea bowl, pinched the lid and slowly pushed away the tea foam floating on it, then put it to his mouth and sipped it. After a few sips, he put the bowl down, leaned towards Li Hu, and whispered, "My family never owes debts. The old ancestor suspects that the second prince is backed by the emperor."

Li Hu: "Oh? Does the emperor know?"

The chief eunuch shook his head: "Without irrefutable evidence, even the ancestors would not dare to speak of such a thing."

Li Hu nodded.

Just then, Zhang Cheng and a eunuch in blue walked in.

Zhang Cheng: "General, all the scouts have returned. We have captured and killed more than 500 White Lotus Sect members along the four roads, but no members of the Azure Dragon Sect have been found."

Eunuch in blue: "Godfather, we destroyed seven White Lotus dens and captured and killed more than 200 White Lotus members. We did not find anyone from the Azure Dragon Hall."

The chief eunuch sighed, "We didn't catch the one who should have been caught." Having said that, he stood up and said to Li Hu, "It's late at night, I won't disturb General Li anymore." After that, he led the eunuch in blue out.

Zhang Cheng stepped forward and whispered, "General, the people from Qinglong Hall should still be in the city."

Li Hu just said "hmm" and didn't say anything.

Zhang Cheng looked at him strangely.

Li Hu waved his hand and said, "Go back and rest."

Zhang Cheng was silent for a moment, then replied, "Yes."

Li Hu watched him disappear into the darkness, then he got up and went into the guest room.

In the City God Temple, the Master of the Qinglong Hall, with a long sword hanging from his waist, looked up at the angry and majestic statue of the City God.

The steward in night clothes hurried in and whispered something in his ear.

The leader of Qinglong Hall hung his head with a dejected look on his face.

The manager: "Master."

The head of the Qinglong Hall waved his hands and said weakly: "The Right Protector is right, we shouldn't have fought with the government troops."

The manager hesitated for a moment and asked, "What should we do next?"

The head of the Qinglong Hall closed his eyes and said, "Let's go to Shandong first and see how things go."

(End of this chapter)