The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 672 All's fair in war, let's turn the tables on each other?
In the sweltering heat of June, the blazing sun overhead relentlessly baked the Gobi Desert. The sand and stones on the ground were so hot they could fry an egg, and the air itself seemed to warp and distort. Everyone was drenched in sweat, and the animals pulling the carts were panting heavily.

The Hexi Corridor is a link between the Western Regions and the Central Plains. It stretches for more than a thousand kilometers and is sandwiched between the Loess Plateau, the Mongolian Plateau, and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. To the south lies the continuous and majestic Qilian Mountains. Meltwater from the snow and ice flowing down from the high mountains nourishes this land and gives birth to oases such as Zhangye and Jiuquan. Otherwise, the Hexi Corridor, which stretches for more than a thousand kilometers, would have become a deadly forbidden zone rather than a thoroughfare for merchants.

This area is mostly Gobi Desert. Although there are specially opened official roads, the carriages still have a very difficult time traveling and are extremely bumpy. Along the way, Lin Daiyu's carriage axle broke three times and the wheels were damaged more than ten times, which seriously slowed down the journey. Therefore, the marriage procession arrived at Jiayuguan a month later than expected.

At this moment, seeing the majestic Jiayuguan fortress standing not far ahead at the mouth of the valley, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It had truly been a difficult journey; after nearly five months, they had finally reached the westernmost gate of the Great Jin Dynasty. However, the thought of the more than a thousand miles from Jiayuguan to Hami, all of which was Gobi Desert, instantly weighed heavily on their hearts. If it was this difficult within the country, they could only imagine how much more challenging it would be once they crossed the border.

Jiayuguan was first built in the early years of the Chen and Han dynasties. Initially, it was just a small pass constructed of rammed earth. Over the next two hundred years, it was continuously repaired and expanded, eventually reaching its current scale. It consists of an inner city, an outer city, a walled city, a barbican, a moat, and the Great Wall on the north and south wings, with a total length of about 60 kilometers. The Great Wall's watchtowers, beacon towers, and fortresses are scattered throughout, forming a overlapping and defensive system of three lines of defense: the inner city, the outer city, and the moat. This system creates a defensive network with a beacon tower every five li, a watchtower every ten li, a fortress every thirty li, and a city every hundred li.

It was precisely because of these impregnable fortifications that the kingdoms of the Western Regions were filled with fear and dared not cross the line easily.

Jiayuguan had a permanent garrison of 1200 men, equivalent to the strength of a thousand-household garrison, and the general in charge of commanding the troops was called the garrison commander. It is said that when the marriage procession arrived three miles before Jiayuguan, the garrison commander opened the gates and led his soldiers out to greet them.

"This humble general, Chu Sheng, leads the soldiers guarding Jiayuguan Pass to respectfully welcome Princess Kangle's carriage."

The garrison general of Jiayuguan was named Chu Sheng, about forty years old. With a leopard-like head and short beard, he appeared fierce and capable. At this moment, he was leading his men to kneel on one knee before the imperial carriage.

Lin Daiyu said gently, "General Chu, please rise. All the soldiers have worked hard."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Chu Sheng led the group to their feet and guided the marriage procession into the city.

Duan Yong frowned and asked, "Commander Chu, has King Baiwa of Hami not arrived yet?"

According to the agreement, the King of Hami had to arrive at Jiayuguan in advance to welcome the Princess of Dajin, as a sign of respect to the Celestial Empire and Princess Kang Le.

Commander Chu shook his head and said, "Half a month ago, I sent a messenger to inform Hami, but for some reason, the King of Hami has not yet arrived."

Duan Yong remained silent with a sullen face, clearly somewhat displeased. Regardless of the reason, Hami King Baiwa's late arrival to welcome the princess was a clear disrespect to the Great Jin princess. If it was intentional, it was an even greater provocation, which was intolerable.

Seeing this, Ahemaiti smiled and said, "Please be at ease, Eunuch Duan. Perhaps my king is delayed by something important. In recent years, Turpan has been sending troops to harass Hami. They may send troops to attack again. I will send someone to urge my king again immediately. Please wait here for a few days, Your Highness."

Duan Yong sneered, "Wait a few days? If Baiwa doesn't come for a year or two, does the princess expect him to wait for a year or two?"

"Don't worry, Eunuch Duan, my king will definitely arrive in ten days or eight days, or at most half a month!" Ahemaiti promised.

Duan Yong snorted coldly and said no more. The marriage procession entered the pass and settled in the post station. After settling the ladies, Jia Huan was about to take his leave. The two women looked at Jia Huan, who was drenched in sweat from the heat, and felt sorry for him. However, with Eunuch Duan watching them, they could not show it. Only after Jia Huan left did they send Xiangling to bring him a bag of ice to cool him down.

Jiayuguan is a vital passage through the Hexi Corridor. Merchants traveling to and from the Western Regions had to pass through here, where they would be inspected and pay taxes. The Great Jin Dynasty maintained normal trade relations with the Western Regions, so there was a constant stream of merchants every day. The city even had designated areas for merchants to trade, making it quite bustling.

After leaving the post station, Jia Huan took Jinbao and Muye to stroll around the market in the city. He had an ice pack that Xiangling had given him hanging from his waist, which made him feel a little cooler.

It is worth mentioning that after Jinbao returned to the capital and delivered the letter, he rode at full speed with Sun Chengzong's reply. On the way, he encountered several peasant uprisings and almost lost his life. He finally caught up with the marriage alliance in Ganzhou and reunited with Jia Huan and others.

Now, Jia Huan and his two servants arrived at the city market and found that although it was not large, it was small but complete in every way, with everything to eat, drink, and wear.

As they passed a stall selling hand-pulled mutton, Jinbao and Muye's mouths watered. They deliberately sniffed and muttered, "Third Master, what smells so good? It smells amazing!"

Jia Huan chuckled and said, "If you want to eat it, just buy it and eat it. What are you pretending for!"

"Thank you, Third Master!" The two men were overjoyed and immediately went forward to order two plates of hand-pulled mutton, chopping it into large chunks and eating it.

Jia Huan glanced behind him without making a sound and said, "I'm not hungry yet, you guys eat first, I'll go take a look ahead." With that, he walked to a jade stall by the roadside and squatted down.

As soon as the vendor saw a customer enter, he immediately introduced the jade with great enthusiasm: "Sir, you can tell that you know your stuff. These are all genuine Hetian jade. I'll compensate you tenfold if they're fake. Take whichever one you like; I guarantee every piece is of top quality." Jia Huan smiled and said, "Let me take a look first."

"Alright, sir, take your time reading."

Jia Huan pretended to examine the jade stones seriously, and then approached the stall selling hand-pulled mutton by himself, pretending to look around. Finally, he also walked into the stall and ordered a plate of roasted mutton skewers. He sat down at the table behind Jinbao and Muye and slowly ate the mutton, while eavesdropping.

Mu Ye and Jin Bao exchanged a glance and continued to wolf down their food. After a while, Mu Ye burped and said, "I'm full. You can eat slowly. I'm going to find Third Master."

Jinbao grabbed him and said, "What's the rush? All you do is fawn over Third Master. Let me finish eating before we go together, so Third Master won't call me a glutton again."

Mu Ye curled his lip and said, "Aren't you one? Look at all that fat on you!"

“You’re not much better; your belly is even bigger than mine!” Jinbao retorted sarcastically.

Mu Ye rolled his eyes and said, "Alright, I'm not going to argue with you anymore. Let's finish eating, pay the bill, and leave."

Jinbao took a few big bites, puffed out his cheeks, and said, "That Hami King Baiwa is too outrageous. The princess has already arrived, but he hasn't come yet. He clearly doesn't take the Great Jin seriously."

Mu Ye sneered, "They really do take our Great Jin seriously, otherwise how could they have dared to threaten us into marrying our princess to them?"

Jinbao said angrily, "This tiny country is really courting death. Hami only has a population of over 20,000. If they anger the Emperor, he can wipe them out with a wave of his hand."

Mu Ye chuckled coldly, "Who says otherwise? Do you really think the Emperor sent our Third Master as the marriage envoy to send Princess Kangle to Hami for a political marriage?"

“Huh, isn’t that right?” Jin Bao asked curiously.

Mu Ye snorted and said, "What kind of person is our Third Master? Nurhaci was powerful enough, right? He fought on the battlefield for decades, killing everyone who heard of him. But when he met our Third Master, he still suffered a defeat. In the battle of Ningyuan City, he fled in panic and almost lost his entire army. In the end, he even lost his life."

"How could the Emperor possibly send a military genius like our Third Master, who is one in a hundred years, as a wedding envoy? It's like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut—making a mountain out of a molehill!"

Jinbao said in a low voice, "So, does that mean the Emperor sent Third Master to Hami for another purpose?"

Mu Ye chuckled and said, "You can guess for yourself. There will be a good show soon. Baiwa can be arrogant all he wants. He'll have his day."

Jinbao said with a hint of excitement, "That's great! How could that damn Baiwa be worthy of the angelic Miss Lin? Hmm... I'm full, time to pay the bill!"

Jinbao and Muye paid their bill and left, burping as they went. About fifteen minutes later, the person who had been eavesdropping at the next table also hurriedly paid his bill and left, quickly arriving at Ahemaiti's residence.

It turned out that this person was Ahmaiti's subordinate, responsible for monitoring Jia Huan's every move. Little did he know that Jia Huan had already noticed him, but he had been pretending not to know.

The man then recounted to Ahemaiti the entire conversation he had overheard between Jinbao and Muye. Ahemaiti frowned upon hearing it, thinking, "Could the Jin emperor's marriage of the princess to a foreign ruler be a conspiracy? Hmm, there's a Han proverb: 'Better safe than sorry.' It seems I must strike first."

"Strike first, or you'll be at their mercy!" Ahemaiti muttered to himself, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Ahemaiti didn't know Jia Huan at first, but after making inquiries, he basically grasped Jia Huan's past deeds and experiences. In addition, through their interactions along the way, he found Jia Huan to be calm and collected, especially his extremely high military skills displayed in the battle of Mianchi Post Station, which made Ahemaiti both wary and suspicious. Now, after overhearing a conversation between two of Jia Huan's attendants, he was even more convinced that the Emperor of the Great Jin Dynasty was using the pretext of a marriage alliance to actually seize Hami.

Since the current Hami king, Baiwa, usurped the throne and his accession was illegitimate, even if the Great Jin dynasty used the pretext of a marriage alliance to kill Baiwa and bring Hami into the territory of the Great Jin, it would still be a legitimate reason for the war. Doesn't the Great Jin's military books say that "all warfare is based on deception"?
Ahemaiti sneered, thinking to himself, "You may use all kinds of tricks in war, but I can also use my own schemes. Jia Huan, no matter how cunning you are, I, the Taiji, am determined to have your beauty and treasures, and even this Jiayuguan Pass is in my pocket!"

(End of this chapter)