Dream of the Red Chamber: From a Border Ruffian to a Capital Tyrant

"Your Majesty, Lord Wang received the imperial decree to leave the capital five days ago. Including today, he has been on the road for six days."

Xia Shouzhong bent down and answered cautiously:

Emperor Qianyuan frowned slightly, his slender fingers tapping unconsciously on the table as he gazed intently in the direction of Yanmen Pass, as if trying to pierce through the layers of palace walls.

"Six days?"

"Judging by the distance, we should be approaching Yanmen Pass soon, right?"

Xia Shouzhong slightly raised his eyelids, glanced at the emperor out of the corner of his eye, and tentatively asked:

"Your Majesty, are you worried about the battle situation at Yanmen Pass?"

Emperor Qianyuan let out a long sigh, a sigh filled with resentment and helplessness:

"Yes, this time the Xiongnu have gathered 100,000 cavalry to besiege the pass. I wonder if that old Jia Ren can hold out."

"I only hope that everything is still in time, otherwise..."

At this point, Emperor Qian Yuan's lips curled into an extremely self-deprecating bitter smile, a smile more unsightly than a cry.

In the short few years since his ascension to the throne, the Great Qian Dynasty has been like a broken bellows, with constant border wars and endless flames of conflict.

His own people were being slaughtered and trampled on by those ferocious foreign tribes on the border. As the emperor, he was powerless to do anything about it and could not even send a single reinforcement.

The literati, scholars, and virtuous people of the world attributed all of this to their own incompetence and inaction, but how could they know their own suffering?

Throughout the court, civil and military officials harbored their own ulterior motives. Those founding generals, like lords, clung to the Emperor Emeritus's wings. Although they were outwardly respectful, in the hearts of these veterans who had served three reigns, wasn't this emperor, who had risen to power by stepping on the blood of his brothers, just a traitorous minister?

Emperor Qianyuan was filled with resentment and anger, like a volcano about to erupt but unable to find an outlet.

Emperor Qianyuan did not regret what happened back then, because he knew that if he had not sent troops to force the emperor to abdicate, he and his entire family would have died.

Seeing Emperor Qian Yuan's expression of suppressed anger, Xia Shouzhong trembled with fear and quickly whispered words of comfort:

"Your Majesty is overthinking it. You are the Son of Heaven, and naturally you are blessed by your ancestors and by Heaven."

"Moreover, I have heard that Jia Ren, the garrison commander of Yanmen Pass, is the former commander of the personal guards of the Duke of Ningguo. He is highly skilled in martial arts and is not an incompetent person."

"Your Majesty can rest assured."

As Emperor Qianyuan's most trusted confidant, Xia Shouzhong has always been by Emperor Qianyuan's side, from an unfavored prince to the present day, never abandoning him.

He was well aware of the great ambitions his master harbored, and he was also clear about the current entrenched deadlock in the court.

However, he was merely a household servant. While he had absolute authority over palace affairs, he was powerless to change the stagnant state of the previous dynasty.

Emperor Qian Yuan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart. After calming down, he looked towards the border with a gaze as sharp as a knife and said coldly:

"I hope so. What I lack most right now... is time."

Over the years, Emperor Qianyuan also cultivated some officials, and under his deliberate "care," many of them have become mid- to high-ranking generals in the army.

But among the civil officials, the veteran ministers remained loyal to him.

Compared to the simple rule in the military where the strong rule and whoever has the most power has the most say, the civil officials in the court were so united that they were like an unyielding rock, making Emperor Qianyuan both wary and troubled.

Although the ministers of the six ministries outwardly showed great respect to Emperor Qianyuan and shouted "Long live the Emperor!", in reality only one or two of them were his confidants. The rest of the old ministers were just getting by, and they had the retired emperor backing them up.

Although the retired emperor was forced to abdicate, the mere mention of "filial piety" prevented Emperor Qianyuan from openly eliminating the elders of the retired emperor's reign.

That's right, it's not that we dare not, but that we can't.

This remained a thorn in Emperor Qianyuan's side, one that he could never remove.

However, they haven't come away empty-handed in recent years; at least they've won over some mid-level officials in the six ministries and planted seeds of their influence.

Once the time is right, this can be used as a breakthrough to gradually sideline or even replace the ministers of various departments.

Thinking of all this, Emperor Qian Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, and his eyes regained their firmness.

The future is not a dead end; given time, he may not lose this game!

.......

September 24th.

early morning.

The sky had just begun to crack open with a pale, fish-belly-white light when, on the vast, desolate plains beyond Yanmen Pass, a cacophony of voices and a palpable air of killing intent filled the air.

Looking out over this vast land, countless tents of all sizes are scattered like stars, layer upon layer, arranged in an orderly manner, transforming into a massive temporary steel jungle.

In the very center of this cluster of tents stands an exceptionally large cowhide tent, resembling a crouching behemoth.

Beside the main tent, a large black banner embroidered with a ferocious wolf's head fluttered wildly in the wind, and seven or eight elite Xiongnu warriors, clad in heavy armor and wielding curved swords, stood around it like statues, guarding this tent that symbolized supreme power.

"Great Chanyu! Yesterday, the gates of Yanmen Pass were smashed open, and we were on the verge of victory. Why did you suddenly order a retreat?"

A burly man with a towering build and a face covered in needle-like whiskers felt his heart bleed as he recalled the shocking casualty figures of the previous night.

He took a sudden step forward, his eyes blazing as he stared intently at Touman Chanyu, who sat in the main seat, his tone filled with suppressed anger and aggressive questioning.

Touman Chanyu, the overlord who dominated the grasslands, had a deep and unfathomable gaze.

Faced with his subordinates' questioning, a faint smile appeared on his lips. His gaze was as if he were looking at a restless lamb, and his voice, though calm, carried an undeniable imperial authority.

"Yanmen Pass is nothing more than a cooked duck; it will fall into the clutches of my Great Xiongnu sooner or later."

"Left Wise King, what is it that you are so anxious about?"

Zuo Xianwang Luandi was the leader of the Chihu tribe of the grasslands. He was a man with a broad back and a strong waist, and was strong enough to lift a tripod. He was also the half-brother of Touman Chanyu.

He was highly respected in the tribe and always looked down on Touman, often mocking him behind his back for being old and senile.

Yesterday's bloody battle saw his warriors fall like wheat being harvested. Such heavy losses had already enraged him, and now he disregarded rank and directly attacked Touman.

"Great Chanyu, you make it sound so easy!"

"In previous years, it was always us, the warriors of the tribe, who charged into battle and risked our lives to fill the pits."

"In today's battle, all the tribes combined have lost over 20,000 warriors!"

"I'd like to ask the Chanyu, when will your so-called elite royal troops be deployed?"

"Must I bleed my warriors dry?"

"Furthermore, the tribe's food supplies are running low, and the grain and livestock plundered in the vicinity will not last more than a few days."

"The supplies that the Chanyu promised so confidently are nowhere to be seen. What about the warriors' rations?"

The more Zuo Xianwang spoke, the angrier he became, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a hint of ruthlessness and a willingness to fight to the death.

"snort!"

"Left Wise King, are you instructing the Great Chanyu on how to do things?"

Before he could finish speaking, Modu, the eldest son of Touman Chanyu, stood up abruptly with a frosty expression, his eyes filled with mockery, and pointed at the Left Wise King, shouting angrily.