Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting from Immortal Martial Arts

A dozen months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Three hundred li northwest of Zhenjingbao, outside Liaodong Pass, on the banks of a branch of the Xihe River.

What should have been a peaceful and tranquil village was now engulfed in flames as a troop of over a hundred elite Tatar cavalrymen wreaked havoc within its walls.

Except for a group of Tartars guarding the warhorses, the rest dismounted and rushed into the village. The screams of women, the cries of children, the lamentations of the old, and the wild laughter of the Tartars composed a tragic song of blood and fire.

"Keep going."

Suddenly, the deafening sound of horses' hooves grew louder as they approached, making the snow on the ground tremble slightly. At the end of the road appeared the iron cavalry of the Great Zhao, their bright armor gleaming with dazzling light, their jagged swords pointing straight into the sky, gleaming with a cold, sharp light.

The horses' hooves thundered heavily as they galloped across the ground, and led by a young general, they charged forward with the force of thunder, leaving a trail of mud in their wake, much to the astonishment of the Tatar soldiers.

As the shouts of charge grew closer, the Tatars in the village scrambled and stumbled toward their warhorses.

When they were within an arrow's reach, arrows whistled past their ears, and screams of agony filled the air.

The elite cavalrymen who followed closely behind, like thunder, raised their sabers high. With a flash of cold light, the Tatar soldier's head rolled to the ground, and blood gushed from his headless body.

After the charge, the land fell silent. The air was thick with the faint smell of rust, the smoke of gunpowder filled the air, and corpses littered the ground. From within, heart-wrenching cries gradually rose again.

Though the cold wind was biting, the mournful cries were even more piercing.

The crowd escorted Jia Tang as he rode up to the village entrance. Looking at the devastated state of the village, his deep, dark eyes remained completely calm.

"Jia He, you take men to clean up the battlefield, help the villagers collect the bodies of the victims and burn them, count the remaining surviving villagers, and arrange for a team to send them to the fortress."

"only!"

Jia Tang handed a blood-red sachet to Jia Ping beside him. Jia Ping took it, turned it inside out, and clenched it into a fist. He then led Jia Ping to collect the heads of the Tartars.

The sachet contained a tiger tally, which had been used multiple times by the four great generals.

The Tiger Tally is very powerful; it can absorb the energy that has not yet dissipated from the bodies of all races other than the Yanhuang people, but it can only be absorbed if the person killed by Jia Tang or someone whose name is on the Jade Register is killed.

Moreover, it can only absorb those at the Blood Refining Realm or above. Fortunately, there is a fifth-realm Tartar here. Even a mosquito's leg is meat.

Every year, as the weather gets colder, scenes like this happen almost all the time. The further north you go on the border, the more desolate it becomes, leaving only the ruins of villages that have been looted and burned.

Because the cultivation systems of the Han people and the various tribes differ significantly, the Great Zhao people refine their blood qi and literary qi with primordial qi, and then temper their internal organs. In contrast, the various tribes mostly refine their blood qi with animal blood, and then temper their internal organs with this blood qi, resulting in a blood-colored qi that greatly increases a person's animalistic nature, making them cruel and bloodthirsty.

This cultivation method, along with the evil energy condensed by the incense and faith in the Dao, is considered unorthodox and heretical by the orthodox cultivators of the Great Zhao Dynasty.

Nowadays, foreign tribes frequently raid the borders and breach the passes. Most of the Han Chinese men in northeastern Liaoning have retreated to the rear of Jinzhou, leaving only the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled who are reluctant to leave their homeland. Wherever they retreat, it will be a dead end, so they might as well be buried in their hometown.

Before long, a troop of cavalry escorted the wounded and the remaining villagers back to Zhenjingbao.

A little later, everyone returned. As usual, Jia Tang asked, "How were the spoils? What were the losses?"

Jia He said in a deep voice, "This time we beheaded 113 people, captured 65 naval horses, 70 usable weapons, more than 50 powerful bows, and more than 30 sets of iron armor. No one in our unit suffered any casualties."

As the vital energy revived, all kinds of wild beasts underwent a transformation, becoming ordinary beasts and primordial beasts. Among them, the horse-like beast has always been a coveted prize for military strategists.

Ordinary beasts and warhorses are divided into ordinary horses, which can travel 800 li per day; nags, which can travel 1200 li per day; and warhorses, which can travel 1600 li per day. The speed of advanced horse beasts is calculated separately.

Upon hearing the report, Jia Tang nodded slightly, showing no surprise at the outcome.

It has been more than seventeen months since I left the capital to join the army. When I first entered Liaodong, I went to pay my respects to Marquis Pingliao, Zhao Mingshan, and have been taking care of him ever since.

First, he gave himself a whole army of elite cavalry and conquered everyone by force. Then he rested for half a month and trained his generals every day.

He then supervised the transport of grain and fodder for more than half a year, until the beginning of the year when he ranked first in the Liaodong Army's competition for capturing the flag, and was the bravest in the entire army.

Later, he was promoted by Zhao Mingshan and appointed as a fake commander, leading more than a thousand iron cavalry. He was transferred to the Liaodong Northeast Road Patrol Battalion, responsible for the northwest direction of Zhenjing Fort. During this period, he fought against the Tartars, Rakshasa, and Jurchens twenty or thirty times. Those who survived were the true elites.

The Da Zhao army was divided into three types of troops: the border troops under the battalion system, the garrison troops under the guard system, and the defensive troops under the military preparation system. Each type of garrison had its own advantages and disadvantages, but the border troops were generally the strongest.

Organized units are further divided into ordinary, elite, and numbered units, excluding military officers and personal guards.

In ordinary troops, soldiers make up 70% of the troops in the first realm, more than 20% in the second realm, and almost none in the third realm.

Elite troops: 40% in the first realm, 50% in the second realm, and 10% in the third realm.

Unit numbered, Level 2 Realm 60%, Level 3 Realm 40%, with several Bone Forging Points.

"Let's go, continue patrolling the border."

An hour later, Jia Tang reached the border of the patrol and began to lead his troops to turn southeast and return.

Along the way, the cold wind howled, the land was covered in ice and snow, desolate and lonely, with few human footprints, except for the occasional small spirit beasts that went out to forage for food.

During the march, Jia He followed Jia Tang and looked around. He was surprised to see several black sticks standing in mid-air in the southwest.

Black stick? Black smoke?

"Holy crap, there's smoke signal from the southwest."

Upon hearing this, Jia Tang and the others turned their heads and saw several thick columns of smoke rising straight into the sky from the southwest. In an instant, smoke billowed everywhere and flames of war spread across the land.

Further away, colorful light curtains appeared in mid-air, indicating that sections of the Liaodong Great Wall's protective formations were activated.

"It's finally here. We must gather enough opportunities to break through to the next level."

"Kill, kill, kill! You can achieve great deeds and even ascend to immortality!"

Jia and the three generals were excited and beaming. They had been here for so long without any large-scale battles. They spent their days either patrolling the border or hunting in the Liaodong Mountains, which slowed down the storage of the Tiger Tally's vital energy.

Now that so much time has passed, our general has barely managed to reach the Outer Strength realm. Although we have gained a few more Tiger Guards who have refined their Golden Blood, what we lack most right now is high-end combat power.

Jia Tang immediately shouted, "It's a large-scale invasion! Quickly, the entire army must march back to the fortress!"

Having said that, he pulled on the reins and led the team toward Zhenjing Fort.

...

The first day of the eleventh month of the fifth year of Changwu.

As dawn broke, the rain and snow that had fallen overnight made the majestic city appear somewhat damp.

In the western part of the city, servants in the mansions of high-ranking officials and nobles began to busy themselves clearing away the snow and water. The gates of the various neighborhoods in the city were opened, and stalls selling all kinds of snacks, such as steamed buns, wontons, and hand-pulled noodles, were set up.

Small vendors and peddlers outside the city gates, who were preparing to enter the city to do business, began to converge on the various city gates, and the crowd gradually became dense.

At 1:15 AM, the morning bell rang, and the city gates slowly opened. Two teams of armored and armed soldiers stood in two rows on either side.

Outside Dongzhimen, several soldiers guarding the city were waving their arms and shouting instructions to those who wanted to enter the city.

As the crowds slowly entered, the entire city gradually awoke amidst the bustling activity, and the various markets and neighborhoods began to come alive with activity.

At the city gate, a military officer who had been working hard for more than an hour was about to pick up a cup of tea and drink it when he suddenly noticed the ground trembling slightly and the sound of horses' hooves gradually becoming clearer.

Mud was flying everywhere on the distant official road. Three iron cavalrymen, wearing red feathers on their heads and carrying flags on their backs, their bodies shrouded in blood, were advancing rapidly in a triangular formation, shouting from afar:

"Liaodong military intelligence, urgent dispatch! Imperial decree: those who obstruct will die, those who resist will perish!"

Seeing this, the military officer on duty was horrified and quickly shouted, "Everyone, quickly get out of the city gate and make way! Someone, push the people to both sides!"

Just as a passage was cleared, the messenger arrived swiftly, his horse thundering into the city.

"Liaodong military intelligence, urgent dispatch! Imperial decree: those who obstruct will die, those who resist will perish!"

Pedestrians and vendors on Dongzhi Street gave way, and the Red Feather Messenger continued his rapid journey toward the Imperial City.

···

The Imperial City, the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

The New Year's Day court assembly was being held. Emperor Changwu, a workaholic who had been crowned a few years earlier, sat on the dragon throne, accepting the kneeling homage of civil and military officials with an expressionless face, but in his heart he was pondering the memorials he had reviewed the day before.

After the officials had calmed down, Emperor Changwu discussed the disaster relief and recovery matters in the Northwest with the officials of the Six Ministries.

The restoration of the primordial energy between heaven and earth has many benefits, but also many drawbacks. The first drawback is that it leads to more intense weather phenomena. This year, the northwest suffered a severe drought. Apart from some high-grade wheat, ordinary rice and grains yielded almost no harvest, and disaster victims were scattered throughout the country.

Now that winter has arrived, the weather has suddenly turned cold, with continuous blizzards, making the situation even more severe.

Suddenly, Xia Shouzhong, the chief eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, rushed over and hurriedly reported, "Your Majesty, a red-feathered messenger from Liaodong has sent military intelligence to report."

Emperor Changwu was taken aback for a moment, then shouted, "Quickly summon them and bring the maps!"

Upon seeing this, the officials of the six ministries quickly returned to their positions, and the hall fell silent instantly.

Before long, the guards on duty led in three messengers. The first messenger took out a box with a pattern of swords and knives from his pocket and handed it to Xia Shouzhong. Xia Shouzhong took it and his eyes flashed with a bluish light. He carefully checked the seal on the box and, after confirming that it was correct, opened it, took out the military report, and bowed to present it to Emperor Changwu.

After receiving the map, Emperor Changwu began to examine it one by one, his expression grim and gloomy.

"Speak."

After handing over the box, the messenger knelt on one knee. After Emperor Changwu finished reading the military report, he loudly proclaimed: "Your Majesty, the barbarian Tartar chieftain Hudun Tuhan, together with Miaohua's five camps of the Inner Khalkha tribe, raised an army of 100,000 and launched a major invasion of Liaodong of our Great Zhao on the 27th of the tenth month of the fifth year of Changwu, in two routes."