Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting from Immortal Martial Arts

On June 13th, in Tang County, at the border of Baoding Prefecture and Zhengding Prefecture in Beizhili, 700 li northwest of Henghekou.

Since leaving Xianjing twenty days ago, Jia Tang led his men westward, entering the Taihang Mountains from Meiyu, and then hunting for Yuan beasts all the way down. Today, they came out of Wuhui Mountain, passed through Daomaguan, and set up camp in the forest on the side of Tang County.

Inside the tent, Jia Tang and his retainers were listening to a report from a man dressed in black.

Five days ago, Wang Ziteng encountered a small group of bandits in Qi County, Taiyuan Prefecture. He slaughtered them and quickly quelled the rebellion.

"Three days ago, more than a thousand bandits were killed in Xiaoyi County, Fenzhou. One day ago, a small group of bandits was encountered in Huozhou, Pingyang Prefecture, but they were subdued again. They have now been led to their designated location in Hongdong County."

Jia Tang nodded slightly and said indifferently, "We must not leave any trace."

The black-clad assassin replied, "On the surface, the caravan went to Liaodong last year. All the personnel here were arranged by us with the Second Commander. We used our wives, who were planted earlier, to join the rebel army after the city fell. With the Commander personally handling everything, our actions were clean and won't arouse suspicion."

"How are the rebels doing now?"

"We have drawn forces from three directions—Luoyun Mountain, Jiuji Mountain, and the Pingshui River Basin—to encircle and block the bandits. There are about 30,000 bandits among them, including more than ten first-level cultivators from various aristocratic families in Shanxi, and the retainers are also hidden among them. Prince Teng only has the Taiyuan Left Guard and his own troops by his side. He can only break through to the southeast, enter Zezhou, and then go through Henan. This time, we will definitely be able to eliminate the Taiyuan Left Guard in one fell swoop."

Cui Lu, the commander of the Taiyuan Left Guard, was a former subordinate of Prince Teng. After Prince Teng took office as the military governor of the capital garrison, he was placed in Shanxi by Emperor Changwu.

Therefore, Jia Tang ordered his spies to continuously lure small groups of bandits to attack, causing them to deviate from their planned route and reach the encirclement area.

This tactic was originally intended for dealing with civil officials, but Emperor Changwu sent Prince Teng to Shanxi to quell the rebellion, so it was a good opportunity to collect interest first.

All this effort, just to make the opponent's defeat seem like a case of greed and recklessness.

After all, they haven't openly broken ties yet. If they were to be surrounded and killed by unknown forces, the Jia family would have to send people to investigate.

"Please grant my request: Should we choose an opportune moment to execute Prince Teng?"

"There is no need to rush things. Any actions that expose risks are not allowed. The purpose this time is to weaken their wings and remove their claws."

"only!"

"Alright, go back now, and be careful."

"only!"

As the assassins retreated, Jia Tang looked at Jia He and instructed, "Pass down the word: prepare breakfast at dawn tomorrow, and set off immediately after breakfast, heading straight for Gaoluo Mountain in Shunde Prefecture."

To the west of Gaoluo Mountain lies Leping in Shanxi, and to the south lies Zhangde Prefecture in Henan. This proximity to the front lines ensures that any unforeseen circumstances can be controlled.

···

June 25th, Xianjing (Beijing)

It was the time when the height of summer clashed with the lingering heat of late summer, and the weather was hot and dry, making everyone in the capital, from the civil to the military, somewhat irritable.

With the arrival of the two Red Feather messengers from the west, the entire capital city began to stir and boil like a powder keg.

"The bandit suppression in Shanxi suffered a major defeat, and the rebel army has already entered Henan."

On June 16, Prince Teng, the commander of nine provinces, led 5,000 troops and was surrounded and killed by more than 30,000 bandits in Hongdong County, Pingyang Prefecture. He was defeated and fled to Zezhou.

"On June 19th, the bandits pursued and blocked us, and a great battle broke out. First-level cultivators from both sides emerged one after another. After half a day of fierce fighting, we were defeated again. More than 4,000 soldiers were killed in battle. A first-level mid-stage martial artist and the commander of the Taiyuan Left Guard died in battle. Wang Ziteng was seriously injured and led less than a thousand remnants of his army to escape through Wanzi Pass to Qinghua Town, Huaiqing Prefecture, Henan Province."

"On June 22, the rebels broke through Wanziguan Pass and officially entered Henan Province. Currently, three cities have been captured and blocked by the army to suppress the rebels. Xie Jing, the commander of the Beijing Garrison and a second-class baron, killed Zhang Erhe, one of the rebel leaders, and greatly defeated the rebel army."

Imperial Palace, Court Assembly at the Hall of Supreme Harmony

Some censors whose ancestral homes were in Shanxi, Henan and other places, seeing that no one from the Founding Clan and Chongwu factions stepped forward to support them, immediately began to impeach them.

"Your Majesty, I impeach Prince Teng for being lured into a trap by bandits, which led to the spread of the enemy to the Henan region and a deteriorating situation. He should be dismissed from his post and beheaded to restore order to the nation."

"Your Majesty, I impeach Prince Teng for his ignorance of military affairs and his excessive ambition for personal glory, which led to the plundering and displacement of countless people by bandits. He should be beheaded to restore order to the people's hearts."

"His Majesty……"

Just then, the head of the civil officials, Prince Zhongshun, stepped forward with a look of delight and said, "Your Majesty, your humble brother has impeached Marquis Baoling, Shi Nai, Xie Jing, and others..."

"Bang!"

A hint of disappointment flashed in Emperor Changwu's eyes, his face darkened, and he slammed his hand on the dragon table, shouting, "Enough! Now is not the time to assign blame. Autumn is approaching, and the foreign tribes beyond the Great Wall will soon be frequently attacking the passes from the south. We should seize the time to deal with these rioters."

King Chungsun: ...

Upon hearing this, Grand Secretary He Xinyi stepped forward and said loudly, "Your Majesty, we cannot delay any longer. If we prolong this time, things may change. We must urge the front lines to launch a swift attack."

Minister of War Niu Jizong replied, "Your Majesty, yesterday the Marquis of Wuying, Jia Tang, reported that he is currently hunting beasts in Gaoluo Mountain, which is very close to the front line and can provide rapid support."

Left Deputy Censor Lü Guanliang stepped forward to refute: "No, to prevent the situation from deteriorating further, reinforcements should be drawn from garrisons in Shanxi and Henan."

Second Grand Secretary Sheng Yuxiao chimed in, "Absurd! The rebels have scattered and fled. What if they enter areas without garrison troops and rise up again?"

"Then send the Beijing garrison to wipe them out!"

In any case, it disrupts any discussion about Jia Tang.

"Alright!"

Emperor Changwu pondered for a moment, then shouted: "Le'an Bolu Chongshan, General Weiyuan Ma Shang, First-Class Baron Fang Weixun, and Wude Guard Commander Qi Jianhui."

Several people stepped forward and replied, "Your humble servants are here."

"I hereby appoint the Earl of Le'an as the chief general, commanding the Right Guard of the Imperial Cavalry of Xianjing and the Left and Rear Battalions of the Five Armies. I appoint Ma Shang and Fang Weixun as deputy generals, Qi Jianhui as guerrilla commander, and Wang Jin of the Imperial Horse Administration as military supervisor. You shall command your troops and proceed from Zhangde Prefecture in Henan to Lu'an Prefecture in Shanxi. From here, you shall quell the rebellion and set out immediately without delay."

"The Ministry issued a document to Prince Teng, ordering him to be placed under the command of the anti-bandit army and to atone for his crimes through meritorious service."

"only!"

"Court adjourned. Prince Zhongshun, please come with me to the Hall of Mental Cultivation."

···

The Rongguo Mansion, Daiyu's courtyard.

Today, Lin Daiyu was unusually not practicing martial arts, and all the women gathered together upon hearing the news.

Inside the main hall, a long mahogany table was placed in the center, on which sat a block of pure white ice. As the cicadas chirped incessantly in the trees outside the window, drops of transparent water fell into a copper basin on the floor, making a "plop" sound.

Although the mansion had ice provided by the Chamber of Commerce for cooling purposes, only Lin Daiyu's side could continuously sprinkle salt on it to increase the thickness and prolong the effect, apart from the master and mistress.

In addition, since Xichun has been sharing a bed with Daiyu recently, Jia Kang has been constantly sending people to bring ice, truly afraid that the two of them will get too hot.

The women sat in rows, with shaved ice and fruit on the tables around them. They chatted and laughed, occasionally taking a bite of the refreshing fruit. Life was wonderful.