The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 4 Too Clever for One's Own Good

Although Yuan Jian appeared confident, he was actually trembling with fear.

The grandson of the current emperor is not so easily coerced. If he is accidentally injured, even if the rebels behind him succeed, he will not have a good end.

Tu Chengyu deliberately said in a contemptuous tone, "Then try it and see if I dare to touch you."

After saying that, he ignored Yuan Jian and focused all his attention on how to defend the courtyard wall.

The situation was extremely unfavorable for them. They were besieged by rebels in front and betrayed by internal traitors behind. If not handled properly, this place would become the breakthrough point for the rebels to enter the Prince An's mansion, and Tu Chengyu would become an accomplice of the rebels.

In order to avoid becoming a sinner in the Prince's mansion, Tu Chengyu could only try to guard the second gate.

However, Tu Chengyu had no good ideas on how to defend. Although he had the soul of a forty-year-old in his ten-year-old body, this was his first time on the battlefield. It was already good enough that he could remain calm. He knew nothing about commanding and deploying troops.

Originally, arranging defenses and commanding operations was Yuan Jian's job, but now that guy has betrayed us, there's no leader for the time being.

We must find someone who can command operations as soon as possible.

Tu Chengyu's first thought was Shen Ye. This man was exceptionally capable and was one of the most trusted people in the Prince's mansion, as evidenced by the fact that the Prince had sent him to serve as the Crown Prince's personal steward.

But when Tu Chengyu looked at Shen Ye, he found that Shen Ye was completely focused on Xiao Liu, clearly looking for an opportunity to rescue Xiao Liu, while ignoring the rebels outside the wall.

Tu Chengyu suddenly felt that something was amiss. Based on his understanding of Shen Ye, he was not the kind of person who would be so inconsiderate. Why was he only concerned about Lao Liu's safety today, when the rebel army was pressing in from outside the wall? He wasn't Xiao Liu's wet nurse.

Unless Xiao Liu's safety is more important to him than the rebels outside the wall.

Could there be another plan to deal with the rebels? Or is Shen Ye also problematic? Tu Chengyu decided to test the waters.

He looked up at Shen Ye and said, "Steward Shen, immediately send someone to report what happened at the Second Gate to Father King, saying that the rebels are numerous and powerful, and request that Father King send reinforcements immediately."

Upon hearing this, Shen Ye turned around, bowed, and replied, "Fifth Master, I have already sent someone."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu sighed inwardly. He had been standing on high ground just now and clearly remembered that no one had left, yet Shen Ye said that he had already sent someone to his father's place.

It's now certain that Shen Ye also has problems. He might not necessarily betray Tu Chengyu, but he's at least hiding something from him.

Just in case, Tu Chengyu said, "Send someone else."

Shen Ye didn't know what Tu Chengyu was planning, but he could only obey orders and send a servant to the Fengsheng Temple to deliver the message.

Watching the servants walk away, Tu Chengyu said again, "The rebels are about to attack. Don't delay. Have everyone climb the courtyard wall and block the rebels inside."

“But,” Shen Ye pointed to the sixth brother who was being held by Yuan Jian, “the sixth brother is still in the hands of the traitors.”

Tu Chengyu glanced at Yuan Jian and said without any concern, "If that Yuan fellow dares to use his entire family as collateral, let him try. He's a fool who doesn't know his own limitations. Don't worry, he won't dare to hurt Xiao Liu. Hurry up and come up to direct everyone to guard the wall."

Shen Ye didn't move, saying, "Fifth Master, I'm just a lowly steward in the Prince's mansion; how could I possibly command a battle? Climbing the wall would only cause trouble for everyone. I'll stay down here and watch over Sixth Master to prevent that scoundrel Yuan Jian from kidnapping him."

Tu Chengyu had anticipated Shen Ye's reaction, so he didn't urge him to climb the wall again. Instead, he asked, "You are quite familiar with the guards in the mansion. Is there anyone else here who can replace Yuan Jian in commanding the battle?"

Shen Ye replied, "Fifth Master, the squad leader Dong Da is capable. He comes from the Imperial Guard and has experience fighting the enemy."

Tu Chengyu nodded to indicate that he knew, then raised his voice and asked, "Who is Dong Da?"

Upon hearing this, a guard from the Prince's Palace, who was a few steps away from Tu Chengyu, stood up, jogged over with a bow, and replied with a fist and palm salute: "This humble servant is Dong Da. Please give your orders, Fifth Prince."

In the darkness of the night, Tu Chengyu could only make out a medium-sized black figure, and knew that this was Dong Da. He said, "I'm going to put you in charge of guarding the courtyard wall. Are you confident?"

Dong Da replied, "This humble servant would not dare to deceive the Fifth Prince. The rebel army is the Xuan Tie Guard, one of the twelve guards of the capital. They have been trained for a long time and are well-equipped. Most of our side are servants and laborers from the Prince's mansion who have never been on the battlefield. With servants against regular soldiers, we will surely not be able to hold our ground."

Tu Chengyu was naturally aware of these circumstances. He told Dong Da, "There's no need to hold out indefinitely. As long as we hold off the enemy rebels, reinforcements will arrive."

Dong Da asked, "I wonder how long this will take?"

Tu Chengyu said, "A quarter of an hour is enough." Delaying the rebels wouldn't be that difficult. Dong Da thought for a moment and said, "If the arrangements are made properly, I'm confident I can hold off the rebels for a quarter of an hour. However, the rebels are about to attack, and I'm afraid I won't have time to make arrangements."

Tu Chengyu asked, "How long will it take you to get everything set up?"

Dong Da replied, "Half a cup of tea's time is enough."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu lowered his head and pondered for a moment before saying to Dong Da, "Leave this matter to me; you go and make the arrangements immediately."

Upon hearing this, Dong Da turned around and went to arrange the defenses.

The rebels were already close to the second gate, so they naturally learned of the preparations being made there. The rebel commanders also knew they couldn't let the Prince An's mansion prepare at their leisure, so they acted decisively and issued the order to attack before all the necessary equipment was ready.

Seeing the rebels step forward, Tu Chengyu knew it was time to fight to the death.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he rose from behind the roof ridge where he was hiding, jumped onto the wall, fully exposing himself to the rebels' view, and raised his voice to say:
"Listen up, soldiers of the Xuan Tie Guard below! I am Tu Chengyu, the fifth son of Prince An and the grandson of the current emperor."

Tu Chengyu's sudden and bold move not only stunned Shen Ye and Yuan Jian, but also made the rebel army on the other side, who were preparing to attack, hesitate and stop.

Seeing that the rebels had indeed been delayed, Tu Chengyu was greatly encouraged and continued:
"I don't know whose lies you've listened to? What has bewitched you? You've actually dared to openly besiege the Prince An's residence within the imperial city. Do you know this is rebellion? Do you want your entire family to be executed?"

Tu Chengyu screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice, though still childish, carried clearly to the ears of every rebel soldier. Of these rebel soldiers, only the officers were incited, hoping to follow their superiors and secure a position for themselves and their families; the ordinary soldiers, however, were simply obeying orders without understanding what was happening.

So when they heard that they were besieging the Prince An's mansion and rebelling, they were filled with fear and became restless.

As the rebel general watched his men's morale waver because of a child's few words, one of them spoke up to reassure them: "Don't listen to his nonsense. We are here to capture the thieves hiding in Prince An's mansion and to protect Prince An. We are not rebelling."

Even though the officer said so, his soldiers were still suspicious and dared not attack.

Upon seeing this, Tu Chengyu added fuel to the fire, saying, "Nonsense! My dignified Prince An's Mansion, where would we find thieves? It's just that you military officers are blinded by greed and want to use my Prince An's Mansion as your credit, using the blood of these unsuspecting soldiers to bring you wealth and glory."

The rebel general, naturally unable to let Tu Chengyu continue speaking, interrupted, saying, "You keep claiming to be the fifth son of Prince An, but who can prove that? Prince An's heir is of such noble status, why would he personally go into battle? Furthermore, as far as I know, Prince An's fifth son has been frail and sickly since childhood, unable even to lift a brush, how could he be wearing armor and wielding a sword? Therefore, it is clear that you are not Prince An's fifth son, but a traitor in disguise, deliberately obstructing our rescue of Prince An."

It must be said that this traitor was very quick-witted; his half-truths and half-lies clearly stabilized the morale of the troops.

How could Tu Chengyu let him succeed so easily? He continued, "You don't believe I'm the fifth son of Prince An? Then shoot me dead with an arrow! I want to see if you're prepared to take your entire clan to the underworld with you! Let me tell you, whether you succeed tonight or not, the one sitting in that chair will always bear the surname Tu. As long as the one in power bears the surname Tu, our Prince An family will still be descendants of the dragon, still members of the imperial family. Do you know that those who harm the imperial family are punished according to the law as treason, to be killed without mercy, and to have their entire clan exterminated? Now, I'm standing right here. Whoever dares to shoot me with an arrow."

Tu Chengyu's reckless, chaotic punches left the veteran rebel general speechless. They had never seen a child so composed on the battlefield, nor could they have imagined that among the carefully nurtured beauties of the royal garden, such an unconventional individual would gamble with his life.

No one dared to shoot that arrow. They might risk their lives for their future, but no one was willing to put their entire family on the line to test the emperor, even if they had personally placed him on the throne.

Tu Chengyu's words temporarily fooled the rebel soldiers and boosted the morale of his own side, making the servants, who were facing weapons for the first time, less afraid than before.

Taking advantage of the time Tu Chengyu had bought, Dong Da quickly arranged all the manpower.

However, everyone knows that in front of the army, verbal sparring can only buy time, but cannot affect the overall situation; the rebels will still attack.

Sure enough, not long after Tu Chengyu finished speaking, a deep voice came from the rebel army.

"What a silver-tongued brat! You're adept at spreading rumors and deceiving us soldiers. In this capital, who doesn't know that when we, the Xuan Tie Guards, are guarding the city, we are not allowed to be equipped with bows and arrows? Yet you expect us to shoot you with bows and arrows. You seem bold, but you are actually incredibly cunning. If I hadn't seen through your tricks, I would have been fooled by you. Hmph, although I don't have bows and arrows, I do have a steel sword. I'll personally capture you and cut off your cunning head. Then we'll see if you, this fake prince, can still use your silver tongue."

Then he said to the soldiers beside him, “We are comrades who have been together day and night, sharing life and death. We should trust each other. Yet you were intimidated by a mere boy’s few words. It’s shameful to say that out loud. Furthermore, soldiers are required to obey orders, yet you hesitated and disobeyed orders time and time again. Do you want to be executed by this general?”

This man must have been quite prestigious among the rebels. With a few words, a mix of coaxing and intimidation, he finally calmed the troops down. Then he gave his final pep talk: "I know some of you are worried that if the boy on the wall is really a prince of the Prince of An's mansion, harming him will implicate your families. I understand your concerns. I will personally capture this boy. All you need to do is break down the wall. Do you all understand?"

Now that the general has taken on the greatest responsibility, his soldiers are no longer afraid. They responded in unison:
"promise"

The rebel general knew he could no longer delay, so he waved his hand and shouted:

"Attack! Anyone who hesitates or fails to advance this time will be executed without mercy."

(End of this chapter)