Chapter 181 Killing
Although there was thick fog, the sky gradually brightened.

The door of the tower creaked open, and an officer came out sleepily, adjusting his hat and muttering, “What kind of horrible weather is this? Such heavy fog! I can’t see anything clearly.” As he spoke, he walked to the city wall and looked outside. In the distance, he could vaguely see tents densely packed in the wasteland on both sides of the post road.

He was slightly stunned, rubbed his eyes subconsciously, then opened his eyes wide and looked. Yes, it was a tent, and a military tent.

He was so shocked that he couldn’t speak clearly: “Big, big”

Another soldier came out yawning, “What’s wrong?”

He pointed outside the city with trembling hands. The soldier looked at him and was startled. Then he rushed into the tower like a fly and shouted loudly, “Sir~”

After a commotion, an officer dressed in the uniform of a general came out trotting out with a bare head and slippers, buttoning his uniform.

At this time, there were more than a dozen officers and soldiers standing on the city wall, and each of them showed a look of panic!
The people in the opposite camp could be gradually seen clearly. They were all wearing cloth armor, iron helmets with red helmet flags, metal arm bands, and boots.

The captain swallowed his saliva. The soldiers dressed in these clothes must be from the border troops or the troops stationed in the capital. This must be a big event!
Thinking of this, he hurriedly said to the team officer beside him: “Watch out, don’t open the city gate. I will go and report to the county magistrate now!” Then he turned and ran into the city.

As the sun came out, the fog gradually thinned and slowly dissipated.

The magistrate of Zou County and all the officials of Zou County came, each of them with a layer of fog on their head, eyebrows, beards and shoulders.

They had obviously been waiting for a long time, and they all stretched their necks to look anxiously into the deep camp.

After a while, the sentry officer came out again and said to the Zou County Magistrate: “Come with me.”

“Yes Yes.”

The magistrate of Zou County nodded quickly and followed the officer on duty inside.

In the big tent, Li Hu sat cross-legged on a tiger-skin mattress in front of a low table, chewing a piece of air-dried beef with great effort.

Chen Qiang and several Mongolian generals sat in front of the low tables on both sides, chewing the dried beef in silence and drinking hot tea from time to time.

The sentry officer came in again and said, “General, the magistrate of Zou County is here.”

Li Hu: “Ask him in.”

The officer on duty: “Yes!” and strode out.

After a while, the magistrate of Zou County came in and said, “Greetings, General.”

Li Hu hummed and continued chewing beef jerky.

The magistrate of Zou County was also smart. He quickly said, “I will buy fat pigs, fat sheep, and wine when I get back.”

Li Hu spoke up: “No need for drinks.”

Zou County Magistrate: “Yes. May I ask, General, are you passing through this county, or…”

Li Hu put down the beef jerky in his hand, picked up the face towel on the table and wiped his hands, then looked at him: “I won’t leave for the time being.”

The magistrate of Zou County was stunned.

Li Hu: “Two things. Close the city gates and don’t allow anyone to enter or leave. Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed! Another thing, help me find a few old people who are familiar with the situation in the mountains and have families.”

The magistrate of Zou County: “Yes.” He answered with a look of difficulty on his face. He stood there hesitating deliberately, with no intention of leaving.

Li Hu: “Anything else?”

The magistrate of Zou County said: “Well, a few days ago, a few people from the Imperial Household Department came. If they leave the city, I will.”

Li Hu: “You don’t need to worry about this.”

Before he could finish his words, Wang Daniu came in and said, “General, the people from the Imperial Household Department are here.”

Li Hu: “Let them in.” He looked at the magistrate of Zou County.

The magistrate of Zou County immediately retreated.

Zou County has been peaceful for so many years, how could such a thing ever happen?

The news that a large army had arrived outside the city and blocked the city gates quickly spread throughout the city.

The restaurant was filled with noisy customers.

Two men in coarse cotton robes walked in and looked at each other.

A man stood half leaning against the door, watching everything outside the store.

The other walked quickly to the backyard, where Bai Hongzhi was practicing swordplay.

The old steward came over and said, “Master Sun, the city gate is blocked.”

Bai Hongzhi quickly put away his sword: “Oh? What happened?”

The old steward said: “It is said that a large army has arrived outside the city.”

Bai Hongzhi was startled: “A large army? How is that possible? We have people watching the direction of Xuzhou and Jiangnan camp.” He was stunned when he said this and looked at the elderly steward.

The old steward nodded and said, “It should be from the capital.”

With a clang, the sword fell to the ground. Bai Hongzhi asked, “Li Hu?”

The old steward said: “The only ones who could get here in such a short time are the Mongolian cavalry under Li Hu.”

Just then, another man in a coarse cotton robe hurried over.

The man said, “Mr. Bai, there’s news from the county government. The county government has issued a notice to recruit old men who are familiar with the conditions in the mountains, and only those with families are needed.”

Bai Hongzhi and the old steward looked at each other. The people of the White Lotus Sect were well versed in the terrain of the mountains. They used the terrain to their advantage and lured the people of the Imperial Household Department and the Northern Pacification Office into a trap, thus inflicting heavy damage on the other side.

After a moment of silence, the old steward spoke: “We were careless. We should have been prepared earlier.”

Bai Hongzhi smiled coldly: “The current White Lotus Sect is the White Lotus Sect of the White Tiger Hall Master.”

The old steward sighed. After defeating the elite troops of the Imperial Household Department and the Northern Pacification Department so easily, the White Tiger Hall Master became even more arrogant. He simply wouldn’t listen to what others said and was even more unwilling to give up that Feng Shui treasure land.

The old steward thought for a moment and said, “No matter what, we must warn Yishan immediately.”

“It’s a warning.”

Bai Hongzhi’s eyes rolled around, “Li Hu is here, it’s impossible to escape unscathed. As the saying goes, I’d rather die than let my friend die. Alert the White Tiger Hall Master’s people and lead Li Hu over. Buy time for the brothers from the Green Dragon Hall and Henan to evacuate.”

The old steward fell silent. The people led by the leader of Qinglong Hall were not in Mount Yi, but were scattered in the villages around Mount Yi.

Bai Hongzhi made up his mind and said to the man, “Use a carrier pigeon to pass the message to the White Tiger Hall Master.”

The man said, “Yes.” He turned around and walked away.

Bai Hongzhi: “Get ready and leave here through the secret passage after dark. By the way, release the Fourth Prince’s men.” After saying that, he walked straight towards the room.

The old steward sighed deeply. The White Tiger Hall is also the elite of the White Lotus Sect!

A map was hung in the military tent.

Li Hu was standing in front of a map and talking to a red-robed eunuch from the Imperial Household Department.

Wang Daniu hurried in and reported to Li Hu: “General, the Zou County Magistrate has come with a dozen old men who are familiar with the situation in the mountains.”

Li Hu: “Take them downstairs to eat.”

Wang Daniu: “Yes.” He strode out.

The eunuch looked at the map and said, “Even with these old men leading the way, it will be difficult to wipe out the White Lotus rebels hiding in the mountains in a short time.” Then he turned his gaze to Li Hu and said, “I hope we can return to Beijing before the first snow.”

Li Hu: “We will wipe them all out today.”

The eunuch was shocked: “General Li, you must not underestimate the enemy. The situation inside this mountain is different from that outside.”

Li Hu looked at him and said, “Who said I want to go into the mountains?”

The eunuch was stunned for a moment: “If we don’t go into the mountains, how can we clear them out?”

Li Hu turned to look at the sky outside the tent: “Today the sky is clear, the grass and trees are dry in autumn and winter, a fire can solve all the problems.”

The eunuch gasped, what a cruel method!
“You guys set the fire, so the credit goes to you.”

Li Hu turned his gaze to him again, “Your ancestors said that we will give you a chance to make up for your crimes and help him regain the face he lost.”

After hearing what Li Hu said, the eunuch could only swallow his words, thought for a moment, and asked tentatively: “What about General Li?”

Li Hu: “Go kill someone.”

(End of this chapter)