It was already dark, and the Lin family villa was brightly lit, with people coming and going, a busy scene.

Although she was only staying for a few days, she still had to bring all the necessary things with her, including the housekeeper and maids who would take care of Lin Daiyu’s food, daily life and daily chores, and even a few cooks who often cooked for Lin Daiyu.

Lin Ruhai was amazed by the huge convoy, but he also felt more satisfied and relieved.

The bright lights were also lit in the bedroom.

In front of a large charcoal fire, Lin Daiyu sat on a recliner with a tiger-skin blanket covering her knees. She leaned close to the lamplight beside her, holding a book and reading it, but her eyes were not on the book.

Xueyan came out from the inner room and said, “Are you hungry, young lady? I’ll go tell the kitchen to make you a bowl of wontons.”

Lin Daiyu put down the book and said, “You want to eat wontons yourself, right?”

Xueyan blushed: “I’ll eat something with you, young lady.”

Lin Daiyu smiled and nodded at her, and asked, “Where is your sister Zijuan?”

Xueyan: “I went to the front yard.”

Before he finished speaking, Zijuan walked in with a food box in her hand.

Lin Daiyu looked at Zijuan and the food box in her hand: “Is your Second Master here?”

Zijuan was stunned for a moment, then asked with a smile, “How did you know that, young lady?”

Lin Daiyu said nothing, her face full of bright smiles.

Zijuan came over, put down the food box, opened the lid, and took out a bowl of steaming wontons from it. She smiled and said, “Second Master came out from the palace and made a long detour just to go to Taihe Tower to make a bowl of wontons for the young lady. Try it, it’s delicious!” As she spoke, she put the wontons on the table brought by Xueyan.

A fragrant aroma wafted into her nose. Lin Daiyu smiled, picked up the spoon in the bowl, scooped half a spoonful of soup into her mouth, “Mm, it tastes good. By the way, where is your second master?”

Zijuan covered her mouth and smiled: “The master chased her away.”

Lin Daiyu also smiled.

Zijuan: “Second Master is really good to the girl. He is busy until so late, but he still specially brings her a midnight snack, fearing that she will be hungry.”

Lin Daiyu took another sip of the soup and said, “Who wants it?” But she couldn’t hide the smile on her lips.

Zijuan smiled and took out a folded piece of rice paper from her sleeve: “This is what the Second Master asked me to give to the girl.”

After hearing this, Lin Daiyu quickly put down the spoon, took the exhibition and looked at it. She was stunned at first, then her face turned red with shame.

Zijuan glanced at the piece of rice paper and almost laughed out loud. There were two little people with big heads and small bodies painted on it, one male and one female, both holding a love knot in their hands.

She wrinkled her nose. The Second Master was always good at tricking girls!
Inside the carriage, Li Hu sat alone with his eyes slightly closed.

The sound of wind outside the car came into his ears, faintly carrying the sound of funeral music.

Li Hu opened his eyes and opened the car window. In the cold wind came the chaotic sounds of chanting, funeral music and earth-shaking wails. Glancing in the direction of the Duke of Zhenguo’s Mansion, he sighed lightly and closed the car window.

It is not known whether he had figured it out or felt guilty about Niu Jizong’s death. The emperor accepted Niu Jizong’s dying advice and the troops in Shanhaiguan retreated to the Daling River defense line. When the battle in Mobei was over, the court would be free to wipe out the Jurchen Tartars in one fell swoop.

This made the Queen Mother and the cabinet members feel relieved. However, they all forgot one sentence: when a general is away from home, he may not obey the orders of the emperor!

It’s not that the general of Shanhaiguan will disobey the order, but this war can’t be stopped. The army has won victory after victory, and the morale of tens of thousands of soldiers in Shanhaiguan is high. They joined the army to make military achievements and earn rewards, to have their wives and children honored, and to bring honor to their ancestors! Is it possible to ask them to stop at this time and retreat to the west bank of Daling River? !

There is also the general of Shanhaiguan, and the emperor promised him a first-class duke! Even if there is only a glimmer of hope, he will launch an attack on the Liaohe defense line!

Li Hu met the emperor in the western warm room of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity. He looked abnormally energetic, with a rosy complexion and bright eyes. He didn’t look like a sickly person who had been taking medicine all year round!
Suddenly, I thought of Zhongjing Hou Shi Ding again. Li Hu was busy getting married, so he didn’t want to get involved in these things. But he was the confidant of Emperor Yongchang, so he couldn’t fail to see through this. Why didn’t he remind the emperor and the empress dowager?
Could it be that because of Niu Jizon’s death, Shi Ding felt a sense of grief for the other party?

Don’t think about it anymore. Let’s marry Lin Daiyu first.
Thousands of miles away, Wuchuan City stood alone in the wilderness, trembling in the howling wind.

In an adobe house, Shui Rong and Yang Qilong sat around a large brazier. The blazing charcoal fire made their faces red.

Yang Qilong was holding a pair of tongs and constantly fiddling with the fire in the brazier. It was obvious that he was feeling very complicated and heavy.

After an unknown amount of time, Shui Rong spoke up: “For the sake of the great plan, it is worth it no matter how many people die.”

Yang Qilong opened his mouth, but didn’t know what to say.

Shui Rong: “The dog emperor has stored too much weapons, equipment and food in Suiyuan City and Guihua City, and the Hetao area is still continuously transporting military food to Suiyuan City. The Russians will not arrive until the beginning of next spring. If we cannot cut off the government army’s food supply, the Jurchens will not only fail to win this battle, but may even be completely wiped out!”

Yang Qilong understood that Shui Rong was not exaggerating. The imperial court had sufficient food and grass, but Agui’s road was blocked by heavy snow, resulting in food and grass from Liaodong often not being delivered in time. At one point, the court almost ran out of food.

The heavy snow is still to come, and once the food supply is cut off, the government troops can easily annihilate them.

Shui Rong: “The fort on Baidao Ridge is the key. As long as we take it, we can cut off the government troops’ food supply. It’s easy to defend but difficult to attack. As long as we are well prepared, we can hold it and stop the government troops from Baidao City from going north. Thousands of believers lurking in the six towns of Yinshan Mountain launched an attack at the same time and burned down the granaries in the city. Without food, no matter how good Hou Xiaokang is at fighting, he can’t cook without rice!”

Yang Qilong swallowed his saliva. Once Duke Xiu was defeated, it would not only be the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who would die, but also more than 100,000 Han people in the six towns of Yinshan!
Shui Rong sat up straight. “The fort is located on the top of a mountain on the west bank of the White Path of Yinshan Mountain. The mountain is steep, surrounded by cliffs on three sides. There is only one narrow path leading to it. There are 500 soldiers stationed there permanently, and it can accommodate 1,000 soldiers in wartime. Since the war has not yet spread to the six towns of Yinshan Mountain, there are still only 500 soldiers stationed there.”

Yang Qilong: “I once heard from the postman at the foot of the mountain that there are artillery in the fort, which can not only block the mountain road, but also the entire Yinshan White Road. Even if the Jurchen Tartars dare to send people, the mountain road is narrow and they can’t move freely. They can only divide into small groups and attack in batches.”

Shui Rong smiled and shook his head: “I have already found out that the cliff behind the fort can be climbed up. The Tartar Solon soldiers are good at climbing mountains.”

Yang Qilong sighed inwardly, this young master had already planned everything out, the so-called discussion was just a formality to save his face.

Shui Rong continued, “Compared to the heavily guarded Wuchuan City, the Garrison Fort is easier to capture. The eight hundred Suolun soldiers of the Jurchen Tartar have sneaked into the eastern foot of Daqing Mountain in batches, and are heading to Yinshan Baidao to attack the Garrison Fort on the night of five days later!”

Yang Qilong: “There is a beacon fire on the garrison.”

Shui Rong: “I have gathered two thousand followers. We can hide in the valley to block the imperial reinforcements. The mountain path is narrow. No matter how many people they come, they can only attack in waves. It is no different from sending themselves to death.”

Yang Qilong: “What about weapons and equipment?”

Shui Rong: “Don’t worry about this, I’ve prepared everything. Money can make anything possible.” At this point, he laughed again, “The five hundred people in the garrison are all Li Hu’s confidants. Isn’t he getting married? Let’s give him a big gift! Hey, do you think Li Hu would have the same idea now that he has such an important place in his hands?”

Yang Qilong was stunned for a moment: “That shouldn’t be the case, right?”

Shui Rong blinked, a sneer forming at the corner of his mouth.

Yang Qilong understood that this young master had another plan. (End of this chapter)