Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting from Immortal Martial Arts

"Enemy attack!"

The guards at the stockade, who had been distracted by the battle situation at the front and the transportation within the camp, finally confirmed that the rapidly advancing force was the enemy. A fierce roar resounded behind the camp, and the blue light shield above instantly collapsed, spreading to the trenches.

One mile's worth of land!

The transport convoys inside and outside the camp gate below the stockade were in complete chaos, and the vast majority of the Tartars were blocked outside the formation.

The Tatars began to retreat from the gate, and armored soldiers ran out of the gate one after another to try to lift the planks off the trench, but they failed.

The crossbeam was already heavy, and now it was piled high with chaotic carriages.

When the Tartars escorting the goods saw arrows flying from the camp gates and towers behind them, they had no choice but to gather everyone together in a defensive formation.

The Tatar transport escort cavalry counter-charged and reached Jia Tang, attempting to slightly obstruct him, but their formation shattered at the slightest touch, blood splattered everywhere, and heads were severed from bodies.

Within an arrow's reach, practically within arm's reach!

The Tatar soldiers unleashed a barrage of crossbow bolts and bows, and Jia Tang's body emanated a complex aura of blood and qi, accompanied by the continuous clanging of arrows.

As the Tatar soldiers in the camp hurriedly formed ranks and assembled, Jia Tang had already reached the wooden planks of the trench and charged wildly, his black gold sword slashing incessantly, the crimson gold sword energy flowing like a never-ending river.

"Jia Tang, you're asking for death!"

Miaohua, who was overseeing the battle from the center, noticed the commotion behind the camp. She roared and flew over, slashing with her blood-red blade, the blade energy aimed at Jia Tang.

Jia Tang then reached the edge of the enemy camp's defensive formation, with the blue barrier within arm's reach. He then opened his mouth and spat out a command flag the size of a palm, which swelled to ten feet in length in the wind. The flagpole was covered with interwoven patterns, and two triangular flags hung high above it.

On one side is a domineering white tiger roaring to the sky, mainly responsible for killing and breaking formations; on the other side is a tyrannical mountain lord patrolling the four directions, mainly responsible for protection, suppressing demons, and transmitting messages.

Jia Tang held the Tiger Demon Extermination Banner, a Yuan soldier of the Zhenfu Army, with golden energy spreading across it. As the flagpole spun, a white tiger banner appeared above, wrapping around the flagpole. The tip of the banner immediately shot out rays of thin golden light, causing the blue barrier to collapse and dissipate into specks of blue light.

Then the flagpole was reversed, with the mountain king on top. The flag's surface was interwoven with golden light, and a wide, dense white-gold net flew out, blocking the blood-red blade energy.

Like an evil spirit encountering the blazing sun, the point of contact between the two emitted a squeaking sound. The blood-stained blade was absorbed and refined by the golden net, and then vanished in the blink of an eye.

Seeing that the defensive formation had been broken, Jia Tang flashed to block Miao Hua's path. Just as he was about to make a move, his hair stood on end. He hurriedly slammed the Tiger Fiend Banner into the ground to activate its defensive function, forming a humanoid light shield that covered his entire body.

"Bang!"

Within the camp, successive attacks of six-zhang-long (approximately 33 meters) yellow and green sword energy swept across, causing Jia Tang's eyes to grow increasingly ferocious.

There's an ambush!

Still a martial arts practitioner!

Do you really think we can't beat you to a pulp?

Jia Tang drew the Tiger Demon Banner and, instead of retreating, advanced to meet Miao Hua and the two masked bandits.

In an instant, the qi flowed and produced a deep drumbeat, and the dense golden qi painted the sky with a faint golden glow!

"Die, you son of a bitch!"

Below, Jia He, seeing this, led his iron cavalry to charge forward. When they reached the enemy camp's tower, he pulled hard on the reins with his left hand. His mount, in pain, neighed and reared up on its front hooves.

Jia He straightened his back, exerted force from his lower body, squeezed his legs tightly around the horse's belly, loosened the reins with his left hand and instead gripped the hilt of his sword. The veins on his arm bulged as he swung the golden sword with great force. Golden energy spread along the blade for three zhang, like a great sun slashing down at the camp fence.

"Die!"

The crossbeams on the camp snapped, the watchtower collapsed, and the debris rushed into the camp.

The surrounding cavalry followed closely, crashing headlong into the arrayed Tatar soldiers. Instantly, shouts of battle echoed through the sky, and severed limbs flew everywhere.

"Charge!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Before long, sparks began to spread from north to south, eventually igniting a prairie fire.

···

The western route of the Liaodong army.

Niu Jizong saw through his telescope that the front lines of both sides had already clashed. He watched expressionlessly as his soldiers fell like straw, and he kept issuing orders through the flag officers beside him, directing and mobilizing his troops.

As the latest military order flags were waved, the elite infantrymen in blue armor on the left flank of the army, armed with spears, slowly advanced and surrounded the enemy. Accompanied by the officers' commands, they threw their spears, and the cavalry on their right also began to move slowly.

Chen Ruiwen, standing to the side, looked anxious, occasionally using his telescope to peer into the sky above the Tatar camp behind them.

Suddenly, noticing some commotion among the enemy soldiers in the rear, Miaohua abruptly flew backward into the air and then saw a blue light slowly disappearing in the sky above the enemy camp.

"Old Niu, the enemy's rear guard is in disarray, and their defensive formation has been breached."

Upon hearing this, Niu Jizong turned his telescope and discovered a faint red light flickering behind the enemy's rear camp. Tatar cavalrymen were also seen galloping back to camp, and two points of light, one gold and one red, were darting back and forth in the sky. Overjoyed, he was about to issue orders when he saw two points of light, one yellow and one blue, hovering and hunting the gold point. His expression changed drastically, and he roared repeatedly:

"Messenger, immediately order the archers at the front to fire five volleys!"

"Quickly order the bugler to sound the horn and beat the drums to launch a general offensive, and notify the friendly forces on the eastern route to come to the rescue."

"Then order all soldiers to shout: 'If we break through the enemy camp, the bandit chief will die; if we dismount and surrender, we will live on our knees.'"

"Banner officer, wave the banner hard and send the whole army out to attack!"

"Old Chen, go and support Yu Yin, no matter the cost!"

Chen Ruiwen's face was serious, his eyes were cold, and after nodding to accept the order, he flew directly towards the rear of Miaohua Camp.

The next instant, bugles sounded and drums thundered, and thousands of troops charged forward.

A vast, dark mass of soldiers, accompanied by a hail of arrows, surged towards the enemy like a tidal wave. The air was filled with the soldiers' unified shouts: "Break through the enemy camp, the bandit chief dies; dismount and surrender, kneel and live!"

Those who surrender will not be killed!

"Dismount immediately!"

On the other side, the Tatar soldiers were already somewhat confused by the commotion in their rear. First, their defensive formation was broken, and then they heard the news that their leader was dead. Instantly, chaos erupted, suspicion and fear filled their hearts, their morale was thrown into chaos, and they were frantically running around like headless flies.

Upon seeing this, the Tatar general in the army formation drew his sword and slashed at the fleeing soldiers, shouting angrily, "The central army's banner is still here, the Great Khan's flag is still here! Do not fall for the enemy's tricks! Those who retreat will be killed! The supervisory team, quickly reorganize the army!"

"The enemy has attacked. Quickly, each of you, take up your posts and fight!"

Taking advantage of the Tatars' weakened morale and chaotic formation, the Liaodong army soldiers charged forward. After encountering some resistance, they broke through the Tatar vanguard's defenses and stormed inside, thus beginning a fierce battle.

······

Xianjing, Laba Festival.

Since the beginning of winter this year, heavy snow has fallen one after another, and the city is covered in white snow under the raging cold wind.

However, today is the Laba Festival, and even the cold weather cannot dampen the festive atmosphere. Therefore, in each neighborhood inside and outside the city, there are squads of soldiers from the Five City Garrison, working with the yamen runners, to patrol and guard the streets early in the morning.

After eating Laba porridge early in the morning, the people began to stroll through the streets and alleys, watching the New Year drums being beaten and the Kitchen God dancing in the neighborhood. Everyone was in a cheerful mood.

There were also gatherings in the market town in the east of the city, with bustling traffic and a thriving population, making it a lively place.

At this moment, Jia Rong was in Renshoufang in the east of the city, leading Wang Xing, Pan Youan and several servants to the market, occasionally buying some rare wild game to put on the carriage pulled by the servants.

Suddenly, several neighborhoods to the east erupted in cheers, with residents shouting "Great victory! Victory!"

Just as Jia Rong was signaling Wang Xing to go and gather information, they heard a series of loud shouts accompanied by the sound of horses' hooves gradually fading into the distance.

"A great victory in Liaodong! Over 62,000 Tartars were killed in battle! A resounding victory! A complete triumph!"

Upon hearing this, Jia Rong was stunned. He turned to look at everyone in disbelief and asked, "Where was the great victory?"

"It was a great victory in Liaodong, a great victory in Liaodong where the general was located."

Upon receiving confirmation, Jia Rong was overjoyed and ran back as fast as he could, shouting, "Quickly come back to the mansion with me and tell the masters and the matriarch!"

Wang Xing and Pan Youan quickly followed with their servants, leading the carriage.

···

The Imperial City, the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Today, during the regular court session, civil and military officials of the sixth rank and above in Xianjing lined up on both sides. After Emperor Changwu moved to the dragon throne, he sat high in the hall and received the officials' kneeling obeisance.

After dealing with some minor matters in Xianjing, Li Hua, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, stepped forward with an ivory tablet in hand and reported: "Your Majesty, since the beginning of winter, the weather has been unusually cold, with continuous heavy snow. Many houses have collapsed, and refugees have gathered in various places."

Your humble servant has already dispatched people for disaster relief and reconstruction, but due to the large number of areas affected, there is now a situation where there are too many people and not enough resources. If this is not addressed promptly, it may lead to further problems.

Emperor Changwu pondered for a moment, then frowned slightly and said displeasedly, "Why haven't I seen any memorial regarding this matter? Didn't you submit a memorial?"

"Your Majesty, I previously dispatched officials to various places to prevent snow disasters. At first, there were no major problems. I thought that since it was a small matter, I should not submit a memorial to share the burden of the emperor and father."

"Who knew the snow would fall so endlessly, ruining all our previous plans and leading to this situation," Li Hua replied cautiously.

"A small matter? Is it still a small matter now?"

Emperor Changwu raised his voice and said sternly, "I hereby appoint you to handle this matter with full authority. The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works shall cooperate in disaster relief. If you handle it well, you will make amends for your mistakes, but I will also reward you. If there are any errors, you will be punished for multiple offenses, and I will punish you severely."

"Your Majesty, this humble subject thanks you..."

Suddenly, shouts of "Great victory! Ten thousand victory!" rang out from outside into the Hall of Supreme Harmony, surprising all the civil and military officials.

Just then, a guard on duty outside the palace came in to report: "Your Majesty, the soldiers on duty in the imperial city have brought a messenger from Liaodong who is waiting outside the palace, saying that there has been a great victory in Liaodong."

"What? Announce it immediately!"

Shortly after, two messengers entered the hall and presented a completely black box. Xia Shouzhong stepped forward to examine the seal, and after confirming it was intact, he removed the seal, opened the box, took out the bamboo tube inside, and examined it again. He then poured out three military reports and presented them to Emperor Changwu. (Zhao Mingshan's military reports required the signatures of three people; Niu Jizong and Wang Zhong wrote them separately.)

Emperor Changwu took it and read it carefully, his lips curving into a wider smile. After finishing, he was overjoyed and said, "Xia Shouzhong, read it aloud to all my beloved ministers."