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

"Deputy General Jia, what good plan do you have? Tell us quickly, so we can all discuss it together!"

Seven or eight pairs of eyes, like those of hawks, were fixed on Jia Lang. The air in the hall seemed to freeze, and a heavy pressure crashed down like a mountain.

If it were an ordinary young general, he would already be trembling with fear and even incoherent at this moment.

However, Jia Lang was an anomaly!

Far from feeling awkward, he thrived in the suffocating oppression, his body emanating a strong, nauseating yet reassuring stench of blood.

That's a unique flavor that only battle-hardened veterans who have crawled through piles of corpses possess!

Jia Lang slowly stood up, his eyes as cold as knives. When he swept across the room, he made several veteran officers present feel a slight chill.

"General, please calm down."

Jia Lang clasped his hands in a salute, his movements swift and decisive, the blades of his armor striking each other with a crisp metallic twang.

Immediately, his gaze fixed on Lieutenant General Li standing to the side, a playful smile curving his lips:

"Before revealing my plan, I would like to ask Lieutenant General Li a question."

"Where exactly are the Xiongnu's supply caravans?"

Before Lieutenant General Li could answer, Lieutenant General Wang, who had been unable to contain himself any longer, jumped out like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

The old man had been terrified by Jia Lang's murderous aura, but now that he had come to his senses, he was filled with shame and indignation, and both old and new grudges surged into his heart.

Seeing that Jia Lang was being mysterious again, his wrinkled old face turned a deep purplish-red, and he pointed at Jia Lang and began to mutter in a high-pitched, shrill voice:

"Deputy General Jia! The situation is dire, and you're still trying to create a fuss!"

"Just tell us your plan quickly, or do you expect us old bones to beg you?"

"That brat, he has no sense of propriety!"

This shout instantly added a layer of noise and tension to the already tense atmosphere in the hall.

Upon hearing this, Jia Lang raised an eyebrow slightly, but did not fly into a rage.

He simply turned his head slowly, his eyes, which seemed like abysses, fixed on General Wang. There was no anger in his eyes, only a kind of indifference and coldness as if he were looking at a dead man.

Staring into those eyes, Wang Canjiang felt as if a venomous python had coiled around his neck, and his blood was about to freeze.

His previous arrogance was instantly extinguished by more than half, but he still refused to back down, stubbornly shouting:

"What? You little brat, can't I scold you?"

"General Wang."

Jia Lang finally spoke, his voice not loud, but like ice shards in the dead of winter, clanging loudly as they hit the ground.

He took a step forward, and the scraping sound of the armor made General Wang instinctively shrink his neck.

"You're not young anymore, have you really forgotten all about the hierarchy within the military?"

"The General hasn't even given the order yet, and you're already barking like this? Who gave you the audacity?"

"you!"

General Wang was furious and was about to retort when he suddenly felt a tangible killing intent erupt from Jia Lang.

That wasn't just bluffing; it was the ruthless aura of someone who had truly seen blood, killed people, and even massacred entire cities!

Jia Lang's soul came from the modern world, and he was inherently mad and disregarded rules. In addition, he had killed countless people on the border in the past two years. This murderous aura mixed together, making the surrounding candlelight seem to dim a bit.

Wang Canjiang felt as if he were being targeted by an ancient, ferocious beast. He knew that if he dared to utter another word, that iron-like hand would snap his throat in the next second.

"He...he really dares to kill me?!"

Fear overwhelmed General Wang like a tidal wave. His legs began to tremble uncontrollably, his lips quivered, and a gurgling sound came from his throat, but he could no longer utter a single word.

"That's enough!"

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Jia Ren slammed his hand on the table, making the teacups jump high into the air.

"With a formidable enemy at hand, how can we allow our own people to turn against each other? What kind of behavior is this!"

Jia Ren's gaze swept sternly over the two men, finally settling on Jia Lang, and he said in a deep voice:

"Jia Lang, although Lieutenant General Wang has made mistakes, he is still a veteran."

"Continue with your plan. If you dare to threaten your colleagues again, I will not let you off easily!"

"snort."

Jia Lang snorted coldly, and the oppressive killing intent receded like a tide, vanishing without a trace in an instant, as if it had never existed.

As the pressure suddenly decreased, Wang Canjun felt as if his spine had been removed; his body went limp, and he fell heavily back into his chair with a "thud."

He was panting heavily, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, instantly soaking his graying temples. In his eyes as he looked at Jia Lang, besides resentment, there was an even deeper layer of deep fear and apprehension.

Jia Lang didn't even glance at the old man again. If it weren't for the need to consider the impact on the military, he would have kicked this kind of useless old man out long ago.

He turned around, his gaze sharp as lightning, and stared directly at Lieutenant General Li, repeating the question he had just asked:

"General Li, the scouts only reported that the main force of the Xiongnu has set up camp, but did not mention any provisions."

"In your opinion, where would the supplies for this army of over 100,000 be located?"

Li Canjun was taken aback by Jia Lang's drastically different demeanor. Composing himself, he quickly cupped his hands and said:

"Reporting to Deputy General Jia, the scouts did not mention the specific location where the cooking would take place."

"However...in my humble opinion, the Xiongnu people live by following the water and grass. Although they have launched an attack this time, they gathered their troops hastily. I'm afraid that most of their provisions were brought by the tribes themselves, or were transported along with cattle, sheep and horses."

"good."

Jia Lang nodded, walked to the huge sheepskin map hanging on the wall, and pointed at it heavily.

"The Xiongnu people were greedy and each harbored their own ulterior motives."

"They would never put all their eggs in one basket."

"In order to travel quickly, the main force will definitely travel light, carrying only a few days' worth of dry rations."

Jia Lang's fingers slowly traced across the map, his voice becoming deep and magnetic:

"The real provisions will definitely be escorted by the able-bodied men of the tribes, and in order to avoid the eyes and ears of our scouts, they will not be allowed to discover them."

"And this rugged and difficult-to-traverse hidden path leads directly to the rear of the Xiongnu's main camp!"

"What Lang-ge'er means is..."

Jia Ren seemed to have grasped something crucial, and he sat up abruptly, even changing his form of address.

"Stop the grain supply!"

Jia Lang turned around, his eyes flashing with a mad light called "ambition":

"The Xiongnu people, confident in their unparalleled horsemanship and archery, must have thought that our army would only dare to cower in the city and defend to the death."

"Their supply convoy is extremely lax in its defenses! If we can find it and burn it down, their 100,000-strong army will surely fall into chaos without a fight within three days!"

"Brilliant!"

General Xu, who was standing to the side, suddenly slapped his thigh, and an astonishing light burst forth from his single eye.

"Burn their supplies, and those sons of bitches will go hungry!"

"They'll throw themselves into chaos without us even having to fight!"

However, Lieutenant General Li was not as optimistic as Lieutenant General Xu.

He frowned, pondered for a moment, then shook his head again, pouring cold water on the idea:

"General Jia, this plan is ingenious, but it has two fatal flaws."

"Firstly, we do not know the exact route and timing of the grain transport. If we launch a blind attack, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"Secondly, and most importantly."

"Since it is a matter of great importance to transport grain, no matter how arrogant the Xiongnu are, they will definitely send a large number of troops to escort it."

"Sending a small team would be like delivering food to someone else."

"If we send a large army, such a big commotion will surely cause the main force of the Xiongnu to turn back to rescue them, unless they are deaf."

"At that time, not only will we fail to burn the grain supplies, but we will also be attacked from both sides by the main force of the Xiongnu and the grain transport team, and we will be wiped out!"

Li Canjiang's words were like a heavy hammer, plunging the people who had just begun to have hope back into despair.

Yes, that's a dead end.

You can see it, but you can't eat it, and you might even break a mouthful of teeth.