Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 380 Master Lan’s clever plan
Northland,

Dawu Border Pass, in front of Shanxi North Pass.

the city walls,
Liu Fang wrapped her cloak and stood on the tower and looked outside. The sky and the earth were completely white, and a cold mist filled it. Even the camp of the Donghu people in the distance was blurred, except for the faint glow of some fires. , like a will-o'-the-wisp.

"Damn it, what a damn weather it is, Brother Hou, it's already mid-March here, how can it still snow so heavily? Ah Sneeze!"

Hou Xiaolian stood behind Liu Fang, showing a relaxed expression, then took out the water bag from his waist, carefully unscrewed the opening, put it towards the tip of his nose, took a deep breath, and then looked at the woman standing in front, shivering with cold. Liu Fang reluctantly handed it over,

"Come on, don't talk yet, take a sip to warm yourself up."

"What the hell, it's up to you, baby."

Liu Fang didn't care, snatched it away, and poured it into her mouth. Suddenly, a mellow warm current flowed into her chest and abdomen, making her whole body feel hot.

"Good wine, Brother Hou, where did you get it?"

"You drink less. This is the wine your sister-in-law brewed for me. Bring it over."

When Hou Xiaolian saw Liu Fang pouring another big gulp into his mouth, Hou Xiaolian snatched it away with distress, stuffed the mouth and put it into his waist.

Liu Fang was stunned when she saw it.
"Brother Hou, this is so unreasonable of you. You just took away your addiction. Brother came all the way over and just took a sip of wine and let it go?"

"You kid, that's really a quibble. There's only so much in total. You drank half of it for me in two sips. Not counting entertaining you. Now it's snowing. That old boy in Ji Tihou must be regretting it. If we deal with this kind of weather, If not, the livestock and sheep brought by the Donghu people may be in trouble. Logistics and supplies will not be available, and the withdrawal will only take a day or two."

Hou Xiaolian hurriedly put away the water bag, wrapped it around his waist, and pointed to the Donghu camp in the distance, looming in the snow. The large number of fences to the east contained the livestock and food of the Donghu people accompanying the army. If these froze to death, the Donghu people would But that's troublesome.

Liu Fang took a few steps forward, hoping to see clearly the situation over there, wondering if she could give Jie Tihou a chill.

"Brother Hou, do you think we should wait a few days, let's give him a try, hit him and run away, or take advantage of the snow to harass him?"

Hou Xiaolian also weighed the pros and cons in his mind. After pondering for a while, he shook his head and disagreed.

"Liu Fang, Qiti Hou will not give us a chance. Now I still have some bad premonitions in my heart. Why do you think there is no movement at all?"

"Brother Hou is overly worried. The snow has just fallen so heavily, and the ground is still wet and muddy. Let alone the cavalry on horseback, even the infantry walking on it is extremely slow, let alone attacking the city, unless it snows heavily for several days. , only by freezing the mud roads on the ground can we march or attack the city, unless Marquis Jiti comes up with something unexpected to do for us,"

Speaking of this, Liu Fang suddenly stopped talking. The two of them looked at each other with serious expressions on their faces, wondering if there would be a sneak attack, just like what she had just thought of doing to each other.

"Come here, the deputy general will send an order to let the brothers rotate every half an hour. The rest will go to rest. Another round of troops will be left under the city on standby. The scouts will keep an eye on every move of the Donghu camp outside the pass. Don't let up."

"Yes, General."

The deputy general behind him ordered him to go down from the tower. After seeing the people leaving, Hou Xiaolian asked;
"Liu Fang, you also feel it. Do you think Qiti Hou will really attack by surprise?"

"It's not certain. That old boy is being treacherous. We can just defend the city. Maybe Qitihou is more anxious than us."

The two had a discussion on the tower. The snow in the sky was getting heavier and heavier, and the Donghu camp in the distance was completely invisible. As a last resort, the two returned to the attic and went inside to warm themselves by the fire.

In the house, soldiers had already brought hot soup and food. The two of them were not polite. They sat down, picked up the bowls and chopsticks and started eating, which instantly dispelled the chill on their bodies.

Surrounding the fire in the house, watching the charcoal fire burning red, Liu Fang also sighed. There is no end to these days.
"Day after day, year after year, we guard the border and endure the cold. Forget about the uncles and soldiers in the Beijing Camp. Those generals and colonels, none of them have been nourished. Let alone others, that kid Jia Lian has been here since he entered the army. Jingying, look at how powerful he is now. When he goes to a brothel to order girls, he always asks for two, and he's not afraid of getting out of hand."

Hou Xiaolian glanced at Liu Fang's jealous face, which was extremely ridiculous. He laughed and said;

"You just envy Jia Lian. He has a good uncle in Beijing and can't get anything done. Besides, although the Jia family has gone downhill,
But I have to admit that the Jia family is still powerful in the army, and there are many generals who have been favored by the old Duke. Moreover, Mrs. Shi's vision is still so bright, Wang Jieshuai, and many local Jiedu are all The old prime minister has a close relationship with Luo Yunhou, no matter what, there is some relationship. Do you think Jia Lian of Rongguo Mansion can not be majestic? "

Liu Fang picked up the warm sake, took a sip of the wine, felt warm in her body, waved her hand, and replied;
"Hey, you said, we are both descendants of the Duke's Mansion. The difference is not 01:30. Let's not talk about Jia Lian. By the way, when it comes to Luo Yunhou, I don't know what is going on with him now, even if he has gone outside the customs. Send a letter to the brothers and tell me about a solution."

"What is outside the customs? Who did you hear that the Marquis went to the outside of the customs?"

Hou Xiaolian asked doubtfully, "This is wrong."

"I remember that when I left Beijing, didn't the Marquis also take the cavalry away, get on the ship, and take the water transport? Is there something unexpected?"

Liu Fang had a look of confusion on her face. Could it be that what she said was wrong.

"It's just a cover-up. The Marquis made a U-turn at the Grand Canal and went to Jiangnan. Going outside the customs is just a cover-up. I don't know the specific details. Anyway, he went to Jiangnan."

"Jiangnan? Why do you go there?"

The two people who wanted to talk again were suddenly awakened by the rapid sound of the horn. Their expressions changed, they picked up their long knives and walked out.

outside the city,

Under the cover of heavy snow, the Donghu people dispatched tens of thousands of people, wearing white fur winter clothes, lying on the ground and moving forward on ladders.

The visibility was very low in the snowy weather and could not be seen at all. When they got very close, they suddenly accelerated and rushed over, using the ladder to start climbing up. It really scared the soldiers guarding the city. Fortunately, there were already measures on the city wall.

With the rapid sound of the horn, the soldiers on standby below the city began to come up to provide support, and quickly withstood the first wave of attacks.

"Quick, quick, hold on." "Archers are ready, within a hundred steps of the city, gather your fire and release."

"what,!"

"Uh!"

As screams came from the city, the Donghu people's offensive inevitably slowed down. After all, it was a snowy day, and the city wall was cold and slippery. If you didn't pay attention, it would fall down. You didn't know whether you would live or die. The soldiers guarding the city had the right time and place. Naturally, there was very little damage.

behind,
not far away,
Jitihou, with his troops and horses, looked at the sneak attack of the tribal warriors in front. The attack on the city was blocked, and he no longer waited.
"Send the order, Ming Jin withdraws troops."

"Your Majesty, the attack on the city has just begun."

The leader of the Hulan tribe was unwilling to return without success. Marquis Qiti looked over and scolded,
"Listen."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The rest of the people did not dare to speak. After a while, the sound of ringing gold came from the battlefield. The Donghu people immediately retreated down the ladder and withdrew from the city wall with a huff, leaving many corpses lying on the muddy ground outside the city.

Looking at the dazzling red color on the white snow, Liu Fang followed the Donghu soldiers and looked back. There was a large group of people behind them, slowly retreating.

"Just like that, he ran away! It started but ended at the end. What is this old boy, Qitihou, going to do?"

"I guess they are either withdrawing their troops and preparing for it, or they are continuing to wait for the opportunity, this time to test us."

Hou Xiaolian had a solemn look on his face. If the Donghu people made a sneak attack in this weather, they might have been in trouble if the scouts hadn't been alert.

"Tell the brothers to continue to be vigilant and not to be careless in the slightest."

"Yes, General."

The Donghu people camped in the king’s tent,
Marquis Jiti entered the tent, took off his robes, and sat on the throne with a gloomy look. The generals and tribal leaders below him sat on both sides, not daring to speak.

I didn't expect the Nanren to be so alert and react so quickly. I underestimated them, but they also found out the truth. I'm afraid they will be in vain this time.

Only the charcoal fire in the center of the big tent was burning brightly, and it reflected on everyone's faces.

"The weather is not with me. Everyone, what do you think? Tell me."

Jie Tihou broke the calm and asked first, but everyone remained silent. The snow outside was falling heavily, and now the tribes were unable to advance or retreat. The sneak attack just now was just a test.

The southerners were still on tight guard, and this time they were afraid that they would be as useless as before.

When Master Lan saw the generals in the tent bowing their heads and saying nothing, he smiled, stood up and gave a salute to the king.
"Your Majesty, the time and place are not on our Donghu people's side. Logically speaking, we should withdraw our troops. However, it is snowing heavily outside, the ground is not frozen yet, and it is muddy. In my opinion, we should stay calmly and wait for a few days. "

Before he finished speaking, everyone in the big tent looked over. Qi Tihou was also very interested. He picked up the bowl and took a sip of kumiss.

On the opposite side, the big boss looked at Master Lan's betrayal and asked anxiously;
"Master Lan, please stop hiding it and tell me what to do? But I have an idea."

"That's right."

"Why do you imitate the southerners and talk nonsense?"

The people in the tent, including those in the Dangdang household, all started complaining.

Marquis Jiti put down the wine bowl and stretched out his hand to press it down. All the generals in the tent immediately fell silent.

"Everyone, please be quiet and listen to Master Lan. If you have any ideas, please speak up and discuss them."

Master Lan saluted Marquis Qieti again and said;

"Your Majesty, Mingjian, the snow outside is so heavy right now, and there is nothing we can do no matter what ideas we have. In this case, I might as well stay here and wait until the snow stops before making plans."

"Isn't it the same as if you didn't say anything? I also know that it's snowing and I can't do anything, but what if it stops snowing?"

When Da Danghu heard Master Lan's shameless words, he said something back. Master Lan didn't care and said confidently;
"Don't be impatient, Dangdang. Didn't I finish what I said? In the meantime, we need to do something?"

Qitihou's interest was aroused and he asked in a deep voice;

"Master Lan, please tell me, what needs to be done?"

"May I ask, Your Majesty, where did those precious southern porcelains, tea bricks, and all kinds of extravagant things in the territory of our King Youxian come from?"

Master Lan suddenly stood up and stood in the center of the tent and asked.

Qiti Hou squinted his eyes, stared at this person, and said nothing.

(End of this chapter)