Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting from Immortal Martial Arts

Huh? The infantryman was killed in battle?

Jia Tang narrowed his eyes, his murderous aura overflowing uncontrollably, and strands of golden energy began to spill from his pupils.

Not counting the time before, he was carefully nurtured for eight or nine years after the memory fusion, but instead of dying on the battlefield, he was surrounded and killed by a bunch of bastards!

The anger in my heart is truly unbearable, even if I die nine times over!

Seeing this, Emperor Changwu raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is there anything you'd like to say?"

"Merchants are mostly blinded by profit and forget about righteousness. The fact that the Incense-Wen Sect has been able to rise from the ashes must be because they are supporting it. We should wipe them out with thunderous force, exterminate their clan and destroy their temples." Jia Tang's tone was cold and sarcastic.

Emperor Changwu nodded slightly, straightened his posture, and said with a hint of anger in his voice: "A group of unruly people actually colluded with evil spirits and heretics to attack the salt administration office and assassinate an official of the court. They are truly audacious and courting death. The local officials are probably rotten to the core."

"I've heard that you sent a message to Wang Dahu of Yangzhou Guard, and that Lady Lin Jia also came to the capital to seek help from the Rong Mansion. Yet, Minister Lin is still being assassinated repeatedly. What are your thoughts on this?"

"Your Majesty, this humble general will now lead the troops south of the Yangtze River."

"You're still so impatient. Set off after the New Year. I don't care about the process, I only care about the result. The salt tax must be paid in full."

"only!"

"Go home, the old lord is still waiting for you," Emperor Changwu said, waving his hand.

After Jia Tang left, Emperor Changwu stared at his imposing figure, his eyes narrowed as if lost in thought, and the hall fell silent for a moment.

"I hope you can seize this opportunity and let me see how much the founding lineage can contribute to the Jia family today. It's just a pity about Lin Ruhai."

After a long pause, Emperor Changwu sighed softly and asked Xia Shouzhong, "My lord, I've heard that there's a woman from the Rongguo Mansion serving as a female official in the palace?"

Xia Shouzhong bowed and replied, "Yes, her name is Yuanchun, and she is the daughter of Jia Zheng and Jia Wangshi."

"Jia Wangshi, what a pity. Let's wait for this boy to speak."

Emperor Changwu was quite disappointed. The conflict between Jia Tang and Jia Wangshi was known to all the civil and military officials in the city. Given the other party's bloodthirsty and tyrannical style, even Jia Wangshi's eldest son, the apple of the eye of the old nobleman of Rong Mansion, had been constantly beaten by the other party. Trying to deepen the relationship through this girl would probably backfire.

···

After leaving the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Jia Tang was led out of the palace by the imperial guards. After meeting up with Jia He and others, they went out of the city to pay their respects at the Xuanzhen Temple. Before leaving, Jia Jing gave him a small booklet containing the former protégés and officials of the Ningguo Mansion. Unlike the generals of the border troops and garrisons, these were the guards and garrison officers at various passes and garrisons!

Furthermore, all of them are confidential communication methods!

When Jia Tang led his personal guards back to the gate of Ningguo Mansion from Xuanzhen Temple, he found that the central gate was already wide open.

Contemporaries Jia Zhen, Jia Lian, and Jia Baoyu, along with collateral relatives Jia Rui, Jia Heng, Jia Guang, Jia Chen, Jia Qiong, Jia Lin, Jia Huang, and Jia Ying,

The next generation, Jia Rong and Jia Lan, along with Jia Yun, Jia Qiang, Jia Chang, Jia Ling, Jia Qin, Jia Zhen, Jia Ping, Jia Zao, Jia Heng, Jia Fen, Jia Fang, Jia Jun, and Jia Zhi, gathered at the door in two rows, bowing respectfully and exclaiming, "Congratulations to our second brother (Brother Yu, Uncle Yu) on your military achievements and the bestowal of a title, bringing honor to our Jia family and glorifying our ancestors!"

The servants knelt on the ground beside him, and upon seeing Jia Tang, they all shouted in unison, "Congratulations on your military achievements and the conferment of a title, General! We respectfully welcome you home!"

After returning the greetings to his clansmen with a beaming smile, Jia Tang waved to Jia Lan, who was on holiday and returning home.

At only twelve years old, with a gentle temperament and handsome face, Jia Lan's eyes showed surprise.

Forgetting all about scholarly decorum, he jogged over to Jia Tang's side, intending to bow again, but Jia Tang grabbed him.

Jia Tang's tiger-like eyes sized him up and down repeatedly, and he pinched the man's body before nodding in satisfaction.

"At least you listened to me. If you keep acting like that, you'll regret it."

Jia Lan blushed slightly and said shyly, "Don't worry, Uncle, Lan'er will not do such a foolish thing again. My body and hair are given to me by my parents, and my pain is my mother's heart."

Jia Tang nodded slightly, looking at the little adult in front of him and sighing inwardly. This child was too precocious, as precocious as the children in the Konoha family of the Hokage in his previous life.

Years ago, Jia Tang invited a teacher from Yuhe Academy in Zhuozhou, Shuntian Prefecture, to guide Jia Lan in his studies. Since then, Jia Lan has gone to Yuhe Academy every year to study, and can only return home during festivals.

Unexpectedly, Jia Lan was a proud man. Knowing that he and his mother were not valued by their grandmother in the mansion, and because they did not have enough money, he and his servant would write letters for others after school in the evening.

Before long, his health deteriorated, and Jia Tang had to travel around seeking out renowned doctors and treating him with tonics for two months before he finally recovered.

This led to a deeper relationship with the court official.

Jia Tang loosened his grip on Jia Lan, straightened his helmet, and stepped inside through the main gate, while the rest of the group entered through the side gate.

Upon entering the front courtyard, maids everywhere bowed in unison and shouted, "Congratulations to Master Yu on your military achievements and the conferment of a title! We respectfully welcome Master Yu home as the pillar of the nation! May Master Yu enjoy peace and prosperity forever!"

"Da'an, reward them all with a month's salary."

Jia Tang laughed heartily and strode into the main hall amidst the flattery of the servants. Jia She and his companions, along with Jia Chi, Jia Xiao, and Jia Dun from the collateral branches, who had already heard the commotion, stood at the steps of the hall to greet him.

Jia Tang strode forward and clasped his hands in greeting to each of his uncles of the Wen generation.

He then followed Jia She and the others into the main hall. Just as he was about to greet Grandmother Jia, who was surrounded by women, he was stopped by her. Grandmother Jia said, "While you are in your armor, you cannot bow to the women of the inner quarters. Now that you have returned to the mansion, you should first inform the ancestors before removing your armor."

Led by Jia Zhen, all the men filed out and, upon entering the ancestral hall, saw Jia Dairu and Jia Daixiu seated on either side, as well as the disheveled Tartars lying limply on the ground on one side.

These are prisoners recently sent to the mansion by the Ministry of Rites, to be killed as a gift and offered as a sacrifice to the ancestors for good fortune.

The wars fought with foreign tribes in the first one or two decades of the Han dynasty led to a situation where civil and military families across the Han lands took pride in possessing foreign captives and found pleasure in killing them.

The circumstances surrounding the killing of prisoners are unknown.

This concept doesn't exist in Dazhao.

Inside the ancestral hall, the fourth and fifth generation descendants of the Ning and Rong families, along with their collateral branches, were lined up on either side.

Wearing armor, Jia Tang stepped forward with his sword, standing before a disheveled, dark-skinned Tartar who reeked of a foul stench. He suddenly swung his sword, and with a flash of cold light, the blade pierced through the Tartar's neck. His head rolled to the side like a football, and as blood gushed from his headless body, the smell of rust filled the air.

Which of the young masters in the mansion, such as Jia Lian, Jia Baoyu, Jia Huan, Jia Cong, Jia Rong, and Jia Lan, ever truly witnessed a dead person?

Decapitation, just like that!

Everyone turned pale instantly, their legs went weak, and they nearly fainted.

Jia Tang reached out and handed the knife to Jia Rong, saying indifferently, "I am a fourth-generation military meritorious nobleman, and you are the eldest son of the fifth generation. Set an example for your fellow clansmen."

Jia Rong's face was filled with terror, and his body trembled so much that he couldn't speak: "Second...Second Uncle..., I...I..."

Their appalling performance made Jia She and others sigh inwardly. Even the scholar Jia Zheng and the parasite Jia Zhen had killed foreigners under the leadership of the second generation of the Jia family. Although they were afraid, at least they dared to take up a knife.

Just then, Jia Lan, who was behind Jia Rong, stepped to the side, bowed tremblingly, and asked.

"Uncle, I am the eldest son of the second branch of the Rong family, a fifth-generation descendant. May I go first?"