Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting from Immortal Martial Arts

"A formidable enemy?"

Liang Pei retorted dismissively: "In the autumn of the twenty-second year of Chongwu, foreign barbarians from the Western Regions, the grasslands (Northern Plains), Liaodong, and the Southern Barbarians raised an army of one million and stormed the passes to petition the emperor."

"But what was the result? Our Great Zhao soldiers swept through their camps and slaughtered them. The foreign tribes lost their armor and fled at the mere sight of them."

"In the spring of the twenty-sixth year of Chongwu, a treaty was signed between the cultivators of Dazhao and other tribes, stipulating that cultivators of the second rank and above could not participate in battles. Dazhao took advantage of this opportunity to recuperate and grow stronger day by day, cultivating both literary and martial arts, and producing a great number of cultivators."

It would have been better if this hadn't been mentioned. But once this restriction was brought up, Jia Tang couldn't help but wonder what Emperor Chongwu's considerations were in proposing this rule for cultivators.

The Great Zhao is the center of this world. From the very beginning of its revival, it has been in a commanding lead, whether in terms of the number and quality of cultivators, or the quantity and strength of Yuan soldiers, formations, and techniques.

In the winter of the twenty-fifth year of Chongwu, war raged fiercely on all sides. Although the overall military strength of the Great Zhao suffered some losses, it still crippled the various barbarian tribes.

However, Emperor Chongwu did not press his advantage. Instead, in the early spring of the following year, he took the lead in signing some kind of cultivator contract, giving the various foreign tribes a chance to catch their breath.

At that time, the founding lineage of the military was at its peak, and the emerging Chongwu lineage was also rising strongly. However, due to the restrictions of the treaty, the major repairs of each family and government could not be carried out in the war, and only the first-tier troops could be sent to the battlefield.

This has led to the border regions being unstable for the past few decades, with frequent incursions by barbarians.

But it was precisely because of this constraint that the military system of the Great Zhao was gradually established. It stipulated that the lowest level of military officers in the border army was inner strength, while the lowest level of officers in the fourth and third ranks was outer strength. The lowest level of officers in the assistant general and the commander-in-chief was late stage one. Only those who were strong and powerful could be appointed to govern a region.

Honorary titles and reinforcements are excluded. For example, Wang Ziteng's position as the military governor of the capital garrison was not powerful enough, but the founding lineage was strong. After all, he was recommended by the Jia family. He could not intimidate the generals of the capital garrison himself and was a person with a title but no power.

For example, Niu Jizong in the fourth year of Changwu was able to lead troops to aid Liaodong and participate in the battle precisely because he was not a second-rank official.

Liang Pei continued, "Moreover, there are over a million soldiers in armor along the nine borders. Why should we fear such a small country? Just Liaodong alone is enough to garrison the Jurchens."

"Could it be that Wu Yingbo is somewhat exasperated because of the location in Liaodong?"

The people around nodded in agreement. They did not take the Jurchens particularly seriously. What had always been a problem for the Great Zhao was the alliance of various tribes, not a small country.

Upon hearing the last sentence, the expressions of several Grand Secretaries and even Emperor Changwu changed slightly for a moment.

Before the establishment of the state, Liaodong, Xuanfu, Datong and other places were recovered by the founding line. They considered these places to be their territory, and Liaodong was of paramount importance, serving as a bridgehead in the northeast corner and always belonging to the Eight Dukes' Prefecture.

Right now, they are afraid that Jia Tang will join forces with the other ducal houses to forcibly cross the border to suppress the Jurchens, causing even greater changes and disrupting their respective plans and schemes.

"Angry?"

Liang Pei, this civil official promoted by the Lianghuai region, has neither second-tier cultivation nor a powerful clan. His outburst is truly as if he is still unaware of his impending doom!

Jia Tang snapped out of his daze, a mocking smile playing on his lips: "Fool!"

Liang Pei was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then his eyes blazed with fury.

"you…"

"alright."

Emperor Changwu interrupted the two and directly ordered, "Xia Shouzhong, order the Flying Eagle Division to closely monitor the situation in Liaodong."

After a short while, Emperor Changwu led everyone in a discussion and finalized a plan before they all dispersed.

The next morning, Jia Tang first went to the northern camp to arrange camp affairs, and then led his family guards, personal guards, and soldiers out on horseback, galloping towards the Taihang Mountains in the west.

...

At the moment of Shenshi, Lixiangyuan of Rongguo Mansion.

Tonight is the day Xue Baochai is hosting a banquet for the ladies. Just after noon, the ladies arrived early in the courtyard and started playing around. Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, and Tan Chun were reciting poems and composing verses; Wang Xifeng was whispering something to Yingchun, occasionally giggling; Li Wan, who came from an official family, was accompanying Xichun to paint, occasionally offering a few pointers.

Feng Lazi, perhaps finding Yingchun somewhat boring, rolled her eyes, laughed loudly, and pointed at Li Wan, teasingly saying, "Look at sister-in-law, she used to teach her son, and now she's teaching her sister-in-law. Perhaps she wants to become a teacher at the clan school?"

Wearing a light blue Suzhou-embroidered moon-shaped ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), a smoky-patterned jasmine robe, and a satin-woven embroidered outer garment, Li Wan shook her head and chuckled. She swayed her lotus-like steps as she approached Wang Xifeng, gently punched her, and said coquettishly, "You little prankster, no wonder you can't learn it yourself, and instead you're teasing me."

"Pfft~"

The women burst into laughter upon hearing this. Little did they know that the housekeeper's wife was not very literate. In order to understand the account book, she had gritted her teeth and studied for several months, complaining every day.

Lin Daiyu chimed in, "I'm afraid Second Sister-in-law has become so blinded by managing the household that she looks down on that little bit of learning."

Wang Xifeng blushed, but stubbornly replied, "That's because I don't want to learn it, otherwise, otherwise..."

Otherwise, he couldn't make up any more lines, so he laughed for a while, his body trembling.

"Whether I can read or not, you all have to please me, or else this month's pay, hmph."

Lin Daiyu blinked and sighed twice, feigning a sigh: "Look, look, I've only been in the manor for a little over a month, and my sister-in-law has already started to manipulate me. I wonder how much more torment I will suffer in the future. Oh well, I should just go home as soon as possible."

As soon as she finished speaking, the whole room burst into laughter. Wang Xifeng was furious: "You little brat, how dare you make fun of me like this! Just wait and see how I deal with you!"

She took a graceful step, stretched out her delicate white fingers, and tickled Lin Daiyu's ticklish spot, starting a playful fight.

After a short while, Lin Daiyu, panting heavily, begged for mercy: "Good sister-in-law, good sister-in-law, please spare my sister."

Tan Chun, who was standing nearby, pulled Wang Xifeng aside and advised, "Sister-in-law, please forgive Lin Yatou this time. She has only been practicing martial arts for a short time and her body is still quite delicate."

Wang Xifeng released Lin Daiyu and noticed that Xichun was grinning the loudest. She grabbed Xichun's fair and rosy face and sneered, "You little brat, I've served you good food and drink all this time, and you don't even offer to help me. You're the one laughing the loudest."

Xichun immediately struggled and cried out, "Second sister, third sister, save me!"

On the other side, Lin Daiyu smoothed her slightly disheveled hair, took a sip of tea to catch her breath, and upon hearing what Wang Xifeng said, she spoke up sarcastically again: "Listen to this, listen to this, one person is not enough, you also have to team up with your sister-in-law to bully me, as expected of the steward's wife of a noble family."

"Hahaha."

The women laughed and played happily until past midnight. As the sun set and the afterglow painted the scene, the Pear Fragrance Courtyard began to set out a feast.

The women drank plum wine and played drinking games, creating a lively atmosphere, until the moon rose high in the sky before they all dispersed.