Chapter 466: Garrison
A rare snowstorm suddenly hit Mobei. The strong wind and heavy snow raged over the Daqing Mountains, sweeping across the earth like a roaring beast, as if to engulf the entire world in white.

In the valley, a group of White Lotus followers with white scarves wrapped around their heads and sheepskin coats huddled together to keep out the cold, occasionally drinking a few sips of strong liquor to warm themselves up.

Shui Rong sat behind a big rock to avoid the snow and wind. The wind was too strong and the tent could not hold up.

Yang Qilong came over with a knife slung over his body, covered in snow. He took out a pot of wine from his arms and handed it to Shui Rong: “Young Master, drink some wine to warm yourself up.”

Shui Rong took the wine jug: “How is it?”

Yang Qilong: “According to the young master’s instructions, everything has been arranged.”

Shui Rong nodded.

Yang Qilong hesitated for a moment and said, “With such a heavy snowstorm, can the Jurchens come?”

Shui Rong sipped from the spout of the kettle for a long time, wiped his mouth, and said, “It’s still early before dark.”

Yang Qilong stopped talking, took out his telescope and looked into the distance. The empty valley was white and empty. As he looked, his whole body suddenly shook violently.

Shui Rong stood up: “What’s wrong?”

“Here it comes.” Yang Qilong handed the telescope to Shui Rong.

Shui Rong took the telescope and looked around, and suddenly became excited. The Sauron soldiers were coming. They were crawling forward in the raging blizzard and slowly crawling over.

“Let the brothers get ready.” Shui Rong put down the telescope and said to Yang Qilong.

Yang Qilong: “Don’t wait until dark?”

Shui Rong: “It’s too cold. If we wait any longer, our hands and feet will be frozen. Besides, our vigilance will decrease during the day.”

Yang Qilong nodded and shouted, “Everyone get up and check your weapons and equipment.”

There was a busy scene as the White Lotus followers stood up and checked their weapons and equipment.

The Duke of Lu’s Mansion is in the west city, and the villa is on Gulou Street. The distance is not too far, but the bride-picking party cannot go back the way they came. The wedding party goes out of the gate to the west, goes around and out of the west city. Outside Xuanwu Gate is the Caishikou execution ground, which is unlucky. They need to pass through Dashiyongfang, go out from the west gate of Zhengyang Gate, then enter the inner city from Chongwen Gate, walk north along Chongwenmen Street, enter Gulou Street from the east side, and finally reach the villa, which is equivalent to walking around the inner city.

The time was calculated, and there were soldiers maintaining order along the way. They had walked the route several times in advance and arrived at the villa almost at the auspicious time.

Amid the earth-shaking sound of firecrackers, Li Hu led Jia Baoyu and his nephew Jia Lan, who were dressed in festive attire, into the villa.

Just like marriages in later generations, a wedding also requires best men and bridesmaids, but the titles are different: they are called bridesmaids.

There is no one in Old Li’s family, except that Mrs. Wang is sick again. All the women of Jia’s family have come, and it is not easy for outsiders to enter the backyard, so they can only choose Jia Baoyu, the phoenix egg, and Jia Lan, the handsome little adult, to make up an even number.

The word “marriage” can be broken down into “女” and “昏”. “昏” means dusk. Marriage means a ceremony performed at dusk, hence the word “婚”.

Dusk is an auspicious time, also known as welcoming dusk in the morning.

Therefore, when the bride-receiving party arrived, they did not immediately take the bride away. The Lin family had to entertain the party and provide them with a meal. Especially the sedan bearers and drummers, as they would be counted on for the parade in the streets. Only when they were well fed would they have the energy to carry the sedan and blow the trumpets loudly.

Li Hu was in a miserable situation. He had to face a room full of women, especially those from the Lin family who came to marry him.

Lin Ruhai did not come alone. Although the Lin family was not prosperous, it still had several side branches and concubines. Lin Ruhai picked several women with healthy parents, healthy brothers and sisters, harmonious husbands and wives, and many children and grandchildren to marry him, implying that Lin Daiyu would also have a happy family like them after marriage.

Lin Daiyu’s aunts and cousins ​​were not only there to send off the bride, but also to support Lin Daiyu. Of course, due to the huge disparity in status between the two parties, they did not dare to lecture Li Hu like ordinary people in their weddings. They could only euphemistically talk about some possible conflicts in life to give Li Hu a shot in advance to avoid conflicts in the future.

This is a later story. At this moment, Li Hu was still blocked outside the courtyard gate.

Countless red envelopes were stuffed in to urge Li Hu to open the door, but the girls blocking the door refused to open it. Shi Xiangyun even took the lead in making a fuss, demanding that Li Hu compose a poem, otherwise she would not open the door.

Li Hu was not good at doing anything, and seeing the hired gunman Jia Baoyu pondering, he lifted the corner of his robe and tucked it into his belt, thinking that it was better to rely on oneself than to rely on others.

Under Jia Lan’s surprised gaze, Li Hu climbed up the courtyard wall and jumped in.

“Have it!”

Jia Baoyu clapped his hands, then was startled, “Where is the person?!”

The shouts of the golden hairpins were heard from the courtyard: “How could you do this!”

“Sister Lin! Brother-in-law Lin is cheating!”

“Get out! Get out!”

In the bedroom, Grandmother Jia was combing Lin Daiyu’s hair herself, muttering: “One comb till the end, two combs till the white hair reaches the eyebrows, three combs till the house is full of descendants.”

Lin Daiyu’s aunts and cousins ​​were also there, and they were responsible for dressing up Lin Daiyu.

Grandmother Jia put down the comb and asked with a smile, “Why is it so lively outside?”

Zijuan smiled and replied, “Second Master climbed over the wall to get in.”

Grandmother Jia was startled at first, then smiled and shook her head: “This child…”

Lin Daiyu’s aunts and sisters-in-law smiled at each other, then gathered around to help Lin Daiyu dress up.

On the other hand, although the girls were angry, they could not do anything to Li Hu. They extorted the red envelopes that Li Hu prepared for them and then gave way. They couldn’t let Lin Daiyu go unmarried!

The next step is to wait for the auspicious time.
On the Daqing Mountain side, Shui Rong’s sneak attack plan failed.

Shui Rong had planned everything, but he didn’t expect that the defenders in the fort would splash water on the back cliff. It was the time when water freezes into ice, and the back cliff had almost become an ice wall, making it extremely difficult to climb. Even though Sauron’s soldiers were good at climbing mountains, something went wrong.

Just when a hundred Sauron soldiers climbed with difficulty to within thirty steps of the garrison, one of them slipped and fell down with several other soldiers under him. The screams alarmed the defenders in the garrison.

Then came the rain of rolling logs and rocks. The Sauron soldiers had nowhere to hide and were smashed to pieces, with flesh and blood flying everywhere. They rolled down the cliff, and screams were heard everywhere.

The sneak attack failed, we can only attack from the front!

After slaughtering the post station at the foot of the mountain, a hundred Sauron soldiers wearing double-layer armor rushed up the mountain road. The men in front held swords and shields, and the archers followed closely behind.

The defenders in the fort did not fight back immediately. When the Sauron soldiers rushed to the middle of the mountain, several boulders rolled down the mountain road. Before the Sauron soldiers in the front could turn around and flee, several boulders whizzed past, and screams and the sound of bones breaking rang out.

The mountain path was dyed red. The blood melted the snow, making the road much easier to walk on.

Dozens of Sauron soldiers who had luckily escaped the disaster roared like wild beasts, climbed even more bravely, and rushed towards the garrison.

The defenders on the fort rolled logs and rocks down like raindrops, but the Sauron soldiers were fearless and continued to rush towards the fort, shooting arrows as they climbed and counterattacking the defenders.

After confirming that there were no boulders, more than a hundred Sauron soldiers launched an attack on the garrison at a very fast speed, which made the White Lotus followers open their eyes wide.

“Beacon fire.” Yang Qilong whispered in Shui Rong’s ear.

Shui Rong looked over when he heard the sound and saw a beacon fire lit on the garrison. Unfortunately, it was daytime and snowing heavily, so the fire could not be seen even within two or three hundred steps, let alone several miles away.

The smoke signals that used to soar into the sky were torn to pieces by the strong wind.

In this situation, no reinforcements are bound to arrive.

Shui Rong was very happy.

At this moment, the sound of dense musketry was heard from the garrison.

Shui Rong was secretly shocked. They rushed into the fortress within a hundred steps so quickly? !

The Jurchen Tartar who led the team showed a sinister smile and raised his hand. Immediately, more than a hundred Sauron soldiers rushed forward roaring.

At the same time, artillery fire was heard from the garrison.

Shui Rong and Yang Qilong looked at each other. It had only been a short time, and the Sauron soldiers had forced the defenders in the fort to retaliate with artillery!

The artillery fired, which meant that it would be difficult for the Sauron soldiers to attack for a while.

Shui Rong’s eyes rolled around, and then he said to Yang Qilong, “You lead some of the brothers to the back cliff to distract the guards.”

(End of this chapter)