The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 43 Assassination 3
"Despicable!"

"Shameless villain!"

The White Lotus Sect was angry and rushed towards Li Hu with swords raised, roaring!
The sound of fighting attracted the attention of the guards of the Tongzhengsi and other government offices. Seeing that the imperial guards were under siege, they all ran over here with spears raised.

Roars of killing, screams, and the sound of weapons clashing echoed over West Chang'an Street.

Every time Li Hu swung his sword, a White Lotus sect member would scream and fall down.

Soon, Li Hu was surrounded by corpses lying in all directions, and blood dyed a large area red. His armor was covered with knife marks, and there was a dart stuck on his shoulder. It was the old man who had stabbed it at the risk of his life. What he didn't know was that there was cloth armor inside the iron armor.

There were only a dozen or so White Lotus Sect members left, surrounding Li Hu!

The battle on the other side also ended, and the five surviving imperial guards led the spearmen to attack.

The head of the Qinglong Hall, with blood still on the corner of his mouth, yelled hysterically, "Retreat! Retreat!"

The White Lotus Sect members protected him and fled wildly towards the alley to the south!
"return!"

Li Hu stopped the imperial guards who wanted to chase him and turned to look behind him.

Suddenly, the ground shook slightly, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps, and hundreds of government troops armed with spears rushed in from the south bend of the street.

Xuanwumen garrison? These were the King Zhongshun's men. Li Hu retreated.

The officer of the Imperial Guard seemed to understand something and shouted loudly: "Stop!"

Without answering or stopping, the defenders of Xuanwu Gate formed themselves into several rows of battle formations and advanced in neat steps.

The officer of the Imperial Army frowned and raised his hand: "Do you want to rebel?!"

The spearmen quickly lined up in a row and stood in front of Li Hu and the imperial guards.

The defenders of Xuanwu Gate are approaching!
Li Hu clenched the sword in his hand. It had been such a long time, why hadn't the imperial guards from the right gate of Chang'an come to support him?

When they were about five steps away from the spearmen, the defenders of Xuanwu Gate stopped.

The air seemed to freeze at this moment, and there was complete silence.

Li Hu narrowed his eyes slightly. They definitely didn't dare to take action. They must be trying to disgust him. It seemed that King Zhongshun had known for a long time that the White Lotus wanted to assassinate him.

At this time, a man who looked like an officer stepped forward and shouted loudly: "Drop your weapons!"

The Imperial Guard officer's eyes flashed coldly. He looked him straight in the eyes and said word by word: "Do you want to rebel?!"

The officer faltered for a moment, then stood up again: "Who knows if you are the rebels in disguise! Drop your weapons and submit to interrogation!"

The guards of various yamen had long been fed up with the arrogance and domineering behavior of the Infantry Commander's Yamen. Now, relying on the support of the Imperial Guards, they no longer paid any attention to the Infantry Commander's Yamen. Instead, they raised their heads and clenched their spears.

The officer's eyes kept blinking, and he was obviously thinking hard. Then he laughed: "What are you doing? What are you doing? One man against another? Everyone, retreat."

The guards at Xuanwu Gate, whose hands were tightly gripping their spears, softened and they took two steps back in unison.

The officer was about to say something when Li Hu spoke up, "Go and capture the White Lotus rebels."

The officer said: "Why do you say that?" But he was stunned by Li Hu's eyes.

Li Hu shouted majestically: "Go!"

As the officer was hesitating, he heard the sound of hurried horse hooves behind him.

There were rapid sounds of horse hooves and flying dust. Wang Daniu and his group of more than 30 riders came galloping like a hurricane.

The officer smiled unwillingly and asked the imperial guard officer, "Which direction did the White Lotus rebel go?"

The imperial guard officer turned his gaze to Li Hu.

Li Hu nodded.

The Imperial Guards officer pointed to the alley where the Qinglong Hall Master escaped.

"Chase!"

The officer roared, waved his hand, and led the Xuanwu Gate defenders into the alley.

Wang Daniu dismounted and ran to Li Hu, "General, are you okay?"

Li Hu shook his head, slowly turned around and looked towards the imperial city. The imperial guards at the right gate of Chang'an had not come to support him yet. Was it the emperor emeritus?
The news of Li Hu's assassination spread quickly throughout the capital like wildfire.

It was just getting dark when the Qianqing Palace was already brightly lit.

Dai Quan walked in with a stack of case records.

In the square outside the upper study, dozens of officials were kneeling densely. Looking carefully, the officer and the officials from the Northern Pacification Division were all there. With a "pop", the sound of a tea bowl hitting the ground came from the open palace door.

".Your Majesty, I am innocent! Your Majesty"

Everyone raised their heads and stared nervously at the open door of the palace.

After a while, two imperial guards came out carrying the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, whose hat, belt and robes had been taken away.

The officials of Shuntian Prefecture all changed their expressions.

When the former Shuntian prefect saw Dai Quan, he felt as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw, crying and shouting: "Prime Minister, I am innocent! Prime Minister!"

Dai Quan sighed and walked straight into the study.

There was silence in the study, and the air seemed to have frozen.

The piles of memorials blocked the view of Emperor Yongchang as he sat behind the imperial desk, leaving only his head visible.

Emperor Yongchang's face was very calm at this time, but his complexion was extremely pale.

In front of the imperial desk, kneeling were Prince Zhongshun and Commandant Qiu.

At this time, Captain Qiu was terrified and sweating profusely.

He didn't expect the White Lotus Sect to be so bold as to poison the entire Xingren Division.

Dai Quan walked over quickly and silently and said softly, "Your Majesty, everything has been checked clearly." He handed over the case records with both hands.

Emperor Yongchang stood up, took the case records, moved close to the light, and read them carefully one by one with his eyes reflected in the light.

After reading the last page, Emperor Yongchang stood there in a daze, with a look of disappointment and confusion in his eyes.

"Your Majesty!" Dai Quan handed over a bowl of hot tea.

Emperor Yongchang came back to his senses, glanced at him, and then turned his gaze to Captain Qiu.

Emperor Yongchang sighed and said, "I am a nostalgic person. I remember all the people who have walked with me on any road. Do you know how many people talked about me behind my back when I broke the ancestral precepts and let you inherit your father's position?"

Captain Qiu nodded.

Emperor Yongchang: "I don't mind you for 'lessons from the past', 'confiscation of property', or even the mess of the Jinyiwei. But you shouldn't take revenge on someone else."

Commandant Qiu said in a trembling voice: "I know I was wrong, I will correct it in the future."

Emperor Yongchang stopped talking and just stared at Commandant Qiu. This look made Commandant Qiu feel uneasy.

After a long while, Emperor Yongchang spoke up, "Starting tomorrow, your son will work at the Southern Pacification Division, starting as a centurion."

Captain Qiu was stunned.

Emperor Yongchang then said to Dai Quan: "The Northern Pacification Office is now under your jurisdiction."

Dai Quan: “Yes.”

The real power faction in the Jinyiwei is the Northern Zhenfu Division, while the Southern Zhenfu Division is basically just a decoration and can usually only bully some small minions.

Without the Northern Pacification Office, would he still be the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?
Thinking of this, Captain Qiu's cold sweat flowed from his forehead to his cheeks and then dripped to the ground. He looked at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty."

Emperor Yongchang looked at him deeply and sighed, "Go back."

Prince Zhongshun, who had been kneeling beside him without saying a word, spoke up: "Your Majesty, Commander Qiu."

Emperor Yongchang narrowed his eyes and said, "You get out too."

Prince Zhongshun: "Your Majesty."

Emperor Yongchang: "Get out!"

Captain Qiu knew that the situation was hopeless, so he stood up trembling and retreated.

Although King Zhongshun was ashamed and angry, he had no choice but to retreat with Captain Qiu in disappointment.

Seeing their figures disappear outside the palace gate, Emperor Yongchang frowned and said, "Check the right gate of Chang'an again."

Dai Quan: “Yes.” He answered and went forward to pick up the broken tea leaves on the ground.

At this time, a red-robed eunuch from the Imperial Household Department hurried in and knelt before Emperor Yongchang: "Your Majesty, there is news from the Armory Department, confirming that the swords with some of the inscriptions worn off were made by the Jinling Manufacturing Bureau."

With a "pa" sound, Emperor Yongchang slapped the imperial desk with his palm and almost shouted, "Let Zhen Yingjia get out of here and come to the capital!"

(End of this chapter)