Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

August th, Mid-Autumn Festival.

The capital city, however, lacked any of the usual festive atmosphere of previous years.

As dusk approached, the evening clouds were as thick as lead.

A full moon hung in the gray sky above the houses, shrouded in a thin layer of autumn mist, giving it a sickly, dim yellow hue.

On the street, rows of houses lay quietly, their roof ridges resembling arched black ridge beams.

The autumn wind swept along the bluestone path, swirling up a few withered leaves before they fell silently to the ground.

The signs of a few shops that were still open by the roadside swayed weakly in the wind, as if they might fall down at any moment.

Pedestrians were few and far between, all hurrying along with their shoulders hunched over, and there wasn't even anyone looking around.

There were several times more soldiers patrolling the city than usual, pacing back and forth at the street corners with long spears in hand, the tips of which gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

Occasionally, a horse-drawn carriage would speed by, its wheels rolling on the bluestone slabs, making a rumbling sound that seemed to come from a great distance before being quickly dispersed by the wind.

The capital city was shrouded in a strange, tense silence because of the "purging the court of corrupt officials" proclamation issued by the Prince of Nan'an yesterday.

At the residence of Cabinet Minister Xiong Cilu, the front hall was brightly lit.

Outside the second gate, there were seven or eight sedan chairs parked, and the horses were all tied to the hitching posts in front of the gate.

The servants in the mansion came and went, serving tea and water, their footsteps extremely light.

In the front hall, a dozen or so officials were already seated, all dressed in the same civil official robes. The blue, red, and purple rank badges on their robes reflected the flickering candlelight.

It was mainly a group of officials from the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Rites, and the Imperial Academy who were close to Xiong Cili.

With the Twelfth Battalion dispatching troops to suppress the various garrisons in the capital region and the Prince of Nan'an issuing a proclamation to purge the court of corrupt officials, all the officials in the capital city focused their attention on the impending war. As time passed, various rumors began to circulate among the officials.

For example, the Prince of Nan'an has an army of four or five hundred thousand, and the garrisons in the capital region and the generals in the southeast all support him!

What?! Lan Yu suffered a major defeat at the front lines! The Prince of Nan'an has already led his troops into the capital and will soon be at the gates of the city!

What? Jia Jing knew he was no match for the Prince of Nan'an and dared not fight, so he retreated to the capital!

Such rumors spread throughout the capital, causing the officials to have differing opinions.

Xiong Cilu, dressed in a purple official robe, sat in the reception room of the front hall. By candlelight, he spoke in a deep voice:

"Gentlemen, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Instead of reuniting with your families at home, why have you all rushed to my residence?"

The hall fell silent for a moment. Chen Sheng, the Vice Minister of War, coughed lightly, stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said:

"Your Excellency, at this critical juncture for the court, how can we, who are paid by the emperor, peacefully enjoy mooncakes and moon-viewing with our families and children!"

"The Prince of Nan'an raised an army in Jizhou yesterday to purge the court of corrupt officials, and it is said that he has gathered tens of thousands of troops from the garrisons."

"Jizhou is only two hundred li from the capital, a journey that can be completed in a day or two. Yet the Ministry of Military Affairs not only fails to exercise due diligence, but has also dispatched an unknown general named Lan Yu to lead the expedition. If they suffer a major defeat, the capital will be in imminent danger!"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, leaning forward and raising his voice:

"Military and state affairs are not child's play! Duke Jing first issued harsh orders, forcing the old ministers to rebel; then he used mediocre generals and recklessly waged war."

"If the capital is placed in danger due to one person's miscalculation, can Jia Zijie bear the responsibility for this national disaster?"

Chen Sheng harbors deep resentment towards Jia Jing because the Ministry of War's authority has been continuously encroached upon by the Prime Minister's Office of Military Affairs recently!

Upon hearing this, Xiong Cili did not rush to reply, but gently stirred the tea surface with the tea lid, as if waiting for the next person to speak.

"What Lord Chen says is absolutely right," said Kong Lingfang, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. He was over sixty, with graying hair and beard, and his thin face betrayed his deep resentment. He sighed deeply.

"The Prince of Nan'an is the first second-rank general in our dynasty, a veteran of decades of military service. As for Lan Yu, he suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and no one in the entire court had ever heard of him."

"Does this man really think he can stand against the Prince of Nan'an? As the art of war says, 'An incompetent general can bring ruin to the entire army.' When the 140,000-strong army is routed and the gates of the capital are wide open, the whole city, young and old, will suffer the consequences."

Kong Lingfang is naturally a member of the Kong family. Because of Kong Ying's affair, the entire Kong family is now very hostile to Jia Jing. It is said that the current patriarch of the Kong family even submitted a memorial a few days ago to impeach Jia Jing for abusing his power and disrupting the government.

Yuan Kai, the Vice Minister of Rites, was a well-known "Mr. Nice Guy" in official circles. Seeing the crowd speaking with great indignation, he carefully interjected:

"Perhaps there's no need to be so pessimistic. The Twelfth Regiment has 140,000 men after all. As long as we fight steadily, even if we can't win, we won't suffer a crushing defeat."

"Master Yuan."

Kong Lingfang turned his head, his eyes filled with a look of exasperated anger, and said:

"You don't understand military strategy. War isn't about killing people. If the commander doesn't know when to advance or retreat, how to set up ambushes, or how to use troops, then having a large army is pointless!"

"The Prince of Nan'an enjoys high prestige, is well-rested and ready for battle, and is a seasoned general with exceptional strategic skills! On the other hand, the Duke of Jing is young, arrogant, and overconfident, rashly appointing his generals, thus committing a fatal mistake from the outset. This battle will be extremely difficult!"

In short, these people were extremely pessimistic about Lan Yu's chances against the Prince of Nan'an!

Xiong Cili smiled, gently placed the teacup on the table, and said in a calm and unhurried tone:

"Gentlemen, please be seated! Even if Lan Yu is defeated ahead, isn't Duke Jing still in charge of the capital?"

"Furthermore, there are tens of thousands of troops in the city, including the Imperial Guards and the Imperial City Guard. Even if the Prince of Nan'an were to besiege the city, it wouldn't be easy for him to break through. Besides..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room with a deep, meaningful look, and said:

"You have all read the proclamation of the Prince of Nan'an. He made it clear that he was clearing out the corrupt officials around the emperor and attacking Jia Jing, not the court."

"Even if he manages to capture the capital, it will be Jia Jing and the military commanders who suffer, not us civil officials."

As soon as those words were spoken, it was as if a window had been opened in the hall, and the pent-up energy that had been building up inside was released.

Chen Sheng understood, the anger on his face dissipated, and a faint smile appeared:

"Your Excellency is right! The conflict between the Prince of Nan'an and Jia Zijie is nothing more than infighting within Wu Xun's faction; it's just dogs fighting each other."

"If Jia Zijie wins, he will naturally become even more arrogant, but if he loses, the emperor and Jia Zijie's prestige will be completely destroyed."

"With the loss of those 180,000 new troops, the military reforms naturally could not be carried out, and the capital inspection and the new policies naturally came to nothing."

"By then, will he still be in charge of skinning people alive, confiscating their property, and stripping them of their titles? The world will eventually return to the hands of us civil officials."

"That's exactly right," another official from the Ministry of War said quietly.

"Ever since the establishment of the Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry), the people in the Ministry of War have been like walking corpses. The Emperor has been bewitched by that military man and often resorts to severe punishments to oppress people."

"If His Majesty suffers this defeat, he will understand that in the end, the affairs of the world must rely on scholars and on laws and regulations, not on weapons."

"It would be best if Jia Jing met a terrible end, and the Prince of Nan'an also suffered heavy losses. If both of them were to be defeated, then all industries would return to normal, which would be a blessing for the country."