Dugong

Chapter 23: Conferring a King of a Different Surname
The north wind blows the white grass to the ground, and snow is still falling in March.

Three hundred miles north of Yinshan Mountain.

Flags blocked out the sun and dust covered the sky.

Weiyuan Hou Zhang Ye reined in his horse and stood on a high hill. Thick white frost condensed on the surface of his iron armor, and he looked up at the battlefield in the distance.

130,000 elite soldiers of Dayong surrounded the barbarian king's tent, making it impossible to get in or out.

"Report——"

The scout galloped over, dismounted, and knelt on one knee. "Your Majesty, the barbarians broke through from the northwest corner this morning, leaving behind 1,200 corpses. General Zhao has slain the Huntu tribe's king in battle!"

The barbarians are different from the centralized power of Dayong. Instead, they are composed of dozens of tribes, large and small. Each tribe has its own barbarian king, and then respects the strongest barbarian king as the Golden Wolf King.

In peacetime, each tribe is autonomous. When the barbarian army goes south to plunder or when the Central Plains dynasty launches a northern expedition, the Golden Wolf King will command the barbarian army.

Marquis Weiyuan's expression was as cold as ice as he gave the order: "Send a message to Cao Kang and Han Ping's two divisions on horseback. Encircle the Huntu tribe and cut off 12,000 heads. Bring them to the front of the battle and build a memorial!"

This time the imperial court launched a northern campaign, and the northern foothills of the Yin Mountains were the most important battlefield, but not the only one.

Another hundred thousand troops were responsible for resisting the barbarian reinforcements, besieging the elderly and weak barbarian civilians, and preventing the barbarian defeated troops from moving south.

The scout took the order and left, and the counselor beside him said worriedly.

"Your Majesty, if you slaughter people wantonly like this, it will force the barbarians to unite against the enemy. It would be better to kill some and release others. If they have a chance to survive, they won't fight to the death."

"Mr. Jia doesn't know..."

Weiyuan Hou stroked the scar on his left cheek from his brow to his jaw. It was given by the Barbarian King Ashina Lu, the current Golden Wolf King, ten years ago. If it had been half an inch deeper, it would have split his head in half.

"The barbarians are different from the people of the Central Plains. They have always feared power rather than virtue. The more they are killed, the more they are tamed. Let alone a mere ten thousand people, Ashina Lu slaughtered five tribes to secure his position as the Wolf King!"

It was precisely because the barbarians were fighting fiercely among themselves that Dayong had time to recuperate, and the current situation came about as one side gained strength while the other lost strength.

Jia Yu waved his hand to dismiss his attendants and asked in a low voice, "Does the Marquis really want to completely annihilate the barbarians?"

The imperial court stationed hundreds of thousands of troops in the northern border to prevent the barbarians from raiding the south. If the barbarians were destroyed, the importance of the northern border army would drop sharply.

What will inevitably follow is the reduction of military pay, the dismissal of soldiers, and the rotation of generals.

Weiyuan Hou said in a deep voice, "A few days ago, the Great Master of the Barbarian Tribe sent someone to deliver a secret letter, saying that if you are willing to spare my life, I am willing to point my finger at the wolf totem and swear that the Barbarian Tribe and the Zhang family will share weal and woe, and this will last for generations!"

Jia Yu said, "This is a good thing. With this alliance, no one can replace the Marquis's position in the Northern Frontier."

The barbarian ally is not the imperial court, but the Zhang family who commands the border troops. The meaning is self-evident.

"The dynasty has only been passed down for a hundred years and is at its peak. If it were two hundred years old... this marquis might be tempted."

Marquis Weiyuan knew his own limitations and realized that he could only take 20% of the credit for leading the troops across the northern border.

Your Majesty's diligent efforts in governing the country account for 30%, and the other 50% are the result of the accumulated efforts of three generations since Taizu, which have made today's achievements possible.

Jia Yu had anticipated this: "My Lord, there are always things that can be achieved in both worlds. The barbarians and our dynasty have different national systems. The people of each tribe believe in the Great Master, whose influence is no less than that of the Golden Wolf King."

What maintained the Great Yong was the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues, while what maintained the barbarians was religious belief.

While speaking.

Another scout came to report: "My Lord, someone from the palace has come to deliver the decree."

“It’s finally here.”

Marquis Weiyuan said quietly, "If Your Majesty is so gracious, I will destroy the barbarians. Otherwise, I will do as Mr. Jia says."

Jia Yu asked, "What does great grace mean?"

"Since the Emperor Taizu's will, those who have the merit of destroying a country can be granted the title of king of a different surname!"

……

The forty-third year of Wude.

The third day of May.

Marquis Weiyuan burned down the Wolf King's golden tent. Ashina Lu fled in panic and was captured by the cavalry captain Yang Rui.

The remaining barbarian kings and hundreds of nobles were all captured and tied up, and countless cattle, sheep, horses, gold and precious goods were captured. The barbarian tribes dared not fight again and surrendered at the sight of the royal army's banners.

When the news of victory reached Kyoto, the people celebrated with joy and the children competed to sing the "Song of Defeat the Enemy".

……

At the door of the imperial kitchen.

Li Ping'an spread his arms and allowed the eunuchs to search him.

"Eunuch Jin, we are so familiar with each other, do you still suspect that I smuggled something in?"

"It's my duty, Eunuch An, please forgive me."

Little Jinzi's eyes, mostly white and less black, rolled around, and he made a rare joke: "For the other eunuchs, our checks are even stricter."

Li Pingan asked curiously, "Did you find any forbidden items?"

“There is nothing prohibited.”

Little Jinzi said, "I did find an interesting item. Eunuch Jun's lover gave him a mandarin duck purse with the words 'A lifetime, a pair' embroidered on it."

Li Pingan suddenly laughed out loud. After living in the palace for nearly a year, he was no longer the naive country boy and already knew about matters between men and women.

"Eunuch Jun is a wonderful man."

Many eunuchs in the palace used sex to soothe their loneliness, but most of them were old eunuchs, and there were very few who were as young as Xiao Junzi.

First, the desire in my heart is still shallow, and second, there is still a chance to climb up.

Li Ping'an and Xiao Jinzi chatted casually for a while. Their relationship was neither deep nor shallow, like an acquaintance, but it was much better than that of the other godsons.

Xiao Junzi and others often complained about Xiao Jinzi in front of their godfather, accusing him of having a perverse temper and being arrogant.

Together with Xiao Huizi who was on duty at the door, Li Ping'an was the last to become the godfather, but he had the greatest power and was the most favored.

After saying good morning, I came to the warehouse where rice and flour were stored in the imperial kitchen.

Li Ping'an sat cross-legged on the flour bag, practicing the Lotus Sutra skillfully, and completed the Zhoutian cultivation in a short while.

The true qi grew a bit and was absorbed into the dantian.

After more than half a year of diligent practice, the true energy in Dantian has changed from wisps of mist to crystal clear water droplets.

Li Ping'an asked Xiao Fangzi indirectly for advice. According to him, there will be bottlenecks and shackles in the practice of Qi.

In the martial arts world, the cultivation of true Qi is divided into twelve levels according to the twelve main meridians. There is a bottleneck every time the meridians are penetrated. As the number of meridians penetrated increases, subsequent breakthroughs will become more difficult.

There are many eunuchs in the palace who have six meridians opened up, but there are very few who have more than nine meridians opened up. Most of them are old eunuchs who have practiced hard for many years.

"What exactly is a bottleneck? Why haven't we felt it?"

Li Ping'an has never felt any shackles or fetters since he started practicing martial arts, and his true energy flows freely in his meridians.

"After some time, we can go to the Cangwu Pavilion and check carefully to see if there are any people similar to our family..."

After practicing until the hour of Mao, Li Pingan stopped practicing and went to the kitchen.

Eunuchs of different ages lined up neatly according to their height, bowed and waited for Eunuch An to speak.

Li Ping'an sat on the armchair, glanced at everyone coldly, and randomly picked out a few minor mistakes, such as the corners of clothes were not neat, the soles of shoes were not clean, and the hair was not combed neatly.

This is the method taught by my godfather. The eunuchs under his command must be lectured frequently, whether they have made mistakes or not. Otherwise, the subordinates will lose their fear and I will lose my dignity.

He was giving a lecture.

Several eunuchs came in from outside the door, and the one leading them was wearing a green official robe.

Li Ping'an slid down from the chair, walked up to the eunuch in three or two steps, bowed and smiled.

"What advice do you have, sir?"

"A great victory in the northern border, the barbarians have destroyed their country. Your Majesty will reward everyone in the palace with a pair of boots and hats, and ten ounces of silver..."

(End of this chapter)