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

at this time,

On the wide and flat bluestone official road, a black lacquered flat carriage, though lacking luxurious decorations, exudes a heavy and imposing aura. It is slowly rolling across the center of the road, its wheels rolling and its copper bells ringing dully.

The eunuch who had just read the imperial edict at Yanmen Pass was now sitting upright inside the carriage. He slightly adjusted his somewhat stiff posture, then slowly slipped his fingertips into his sleeve pocket, touching the cool, papery feel of the silver notes that General Wang had secretly slipped to him when no one was looking.

When the eunuch saw the amount on the silver note through the dim light filtering through the carriage curtain, an undisguised ecstasy flashed in his narrow eyes. This was no ordinary silver note; it was a note for a full five hundred taels of snowflake-patterned silver!

The eunuch's lips curled up uncontrollably, a greedy smile like a fleeting flower in the dark night, exuding a ferocious sense of satisfaction, which he forcibly suppressed in an instant.

He secretly calculated that although he had suffered some humiliation on this trip, it wasn't a complete loss.

You must understand that in this vast Great Qian Dynasty, for those ordinary people who toil in the fields, even if their whole family worked themselves to the bone for a whole year, as long as they could save up twenty taels of silver, it would be enough to have a prosperous New Year and buy plenty of chicken, duck, fish, and meat.

This sum of five hundred taels of silver, if converted into daily expenses, would be enough for an ordinary three-generation family to live a life of luxury and comfort for twenty-five years!

not to mention....

As the eunuch pondered this, his heart raced, and his gaze involuntarily burned with intensity as he stared intently at the heavy bundle beside him.

A faint, fervent anticipation lingered in his heart. He wondered how much "tribute" Jia Lang, known as the "Demon Star of Yanmen Pass," would offer to him, this angel.

In the eunuchs' minds, Jia Lang was a hereditary earl and held considerable military power, so he must have been extravagant and certainly not stingy.

With this anticipation as if he were about to unearth a mountain of gold and silver, the eunuch trembled as he reached out his chubby hand and carefully untied the knot in the bundle.

However, the moment the bundle was completely opened and he could see what was inside, his face instantly turned from red to white, then from white to green, and finally turned ashen, like dark clouds pressing down on a city before a storm, so gloomy it seemed as if water could drip from it, terrifying beyond measure.

Inside the bundle lay a box, an exquisite mahogany box. But when the lid was opened, it was not filled with gold and silver jewelry, but with a pile of dried mutton that was as hard as a rock!

You can even smell a faint fishy or muttony odor!

"Jia Lang! You brat, how dare you humiliate me like this! You just wait!!!"

The eunuch felt a rush of hot blood to his head, and he instantly lost his mind. He gritted his teeth, and his low growl, filled with resentment and anger, seemed to be squeezed out from between the teeth of hell, echoing in the carriage.

........

Time flies like an arrow, and in the blink of an eye, it has already reached the tenth day of the first month of the fourteenth year of the Daqian era.

The eunuch who went to Yanmen Pass to deliver the imperial decree has now returned to the palace in a disheveled state.

Originally, the journey from the capital to Yanmen Pass, according to the Ministry of War's normal postal schedule, would have taken at least a full month, involving arduous travel by carriage and horse.

However, because of Jia Lang's "treasonous" actions at Yanmen Pass, the eunuch who went to deliver the imperial edict felt that he had suffered an unprecedented humiliation.

He was seething with anger the whole way, so he spurred his horse on and traveled day and night, even killing two of his imperial horses in the process, and managed to compress the original journey of more than a month into just over twenty days.

"Your Majesty, Wang Zhen, who went to Yanmen Pass to deliver the imperial edict, has returned."

Upon receiving the report, Xia Shouzhong, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, dared not delay in the slightest. He quickly bowed and cautiously approached Emperor Qianyuan's desk, lowering his voice and speaking with utmost care.

"Oh? You're back? Xuan!"

Emperor Qianyuan was engrossed in reviewing the mountain of memorials in his hands. Upon hearing this, he didn't even lift his eyelids, but simply put down his imperial brush, his tone as indifferent as water.

A moment later, the eunuch who was delivering the imperial decree, with a bent back and hurried steps, walked in cautiously through the palace gate with a hint of guilt.

He walked to the center of the hall paved with gold bricks, then slowly knelt down with a thud, bowing his head low, and shouted loudly:

"Your humble servant Wang Zhen greets Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"

"Have you seen Jia Lang yet?"

"Tell me, what's the situation?"

Emperor Qianyuan didn't even look up, still focused on the memorial in his hand concerning border provisions and pay, and casually asked a question, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger.

The eunuch named Wang Zhen lowered his head, his eyes darting around, and said in a slightly exaggerated trembling voice:

"Your Majesty, this servant accompanied General Wang to Yanmen Pass and then went straight to Earl Jia's residence to deliver the imperial decree."

"But this Earl Jia... seems completely ignorant of court etiquette; when receiving the imperial decree, he... actually didn't kneel down!"

"When I saw this, I was startled and tried to warn him repeatedly, but this Earl Jia was so arrogant that he wouldn't listen to my advice at all."

"Not only did Earl Jia refuse to kneel down to receive the imperial edict, but he also ordered his servants to read it aloud quickly so as not to waste his time."

"This servant is but a lowly eunuch. Seeing that Earl Jia was so insistent, and not daring to delay the Emperor's decree, I had no choice but to let him stand and receive the decree."

"Jia Lang's actions, showing utter disregard for imperial authority, are truly... outrageous and deserving of death!"

"Xia Shouzhong".

Emperor Qianyuan gently closed the memorial in his hand, slowly raised his head, and his eyes, which seemed to be able to see through people's hearts, swept to the side. His tone was calm but contained an invisible pressure.

"Your servant is here!"

Xia Shouzhong, who was standing to the side, tensed up and quickly bowed to answer, his forehead already covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.

"What do you think I should do with Jia Lang?"

Emperor Qian Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, tapped his fingers lightly on the dragon table, and casually asked.

Wang Zhen, kneeling below, was secretly delighted, his heart pounding wildly:

Jia Lang, you fool who doesn't know what's good for you!

I didn't really want to push you to this point, but you've gone too far and dared to humiliate me with dried mutton!

When you get to the underworld, don't blame me for being ruthless; you brought this on yourself!

"Your Majesty, this servant is ignorant of political affairs. This is the first time this servant has encountered such a major military and national matter, and I really do not know how to handle it."

"However, Your Majesty, Jia Lang is not yet of age and is still young. He is just a lad and is ignorant. In addition, he grew up in a wild and uncivilized place like the border, so it is normal that he does not understand the rules of the court."

Xia Shouzhong stood to the side with a fawning smile, his eyes narrowed into slits, his face plastered with obsequious smiles, seemingly pleading for mercy but actually testing the waters.

"Hmph, does ignorance of manners give you the right to act so recklessly?"

"This is utterly rebellious, an act of utter disloyalty and disrespect!"

"If everyone were like him, where would my authority be!"

"But you're right, Jia Lang is still young and it's understandable that he doesn't understand these formalities."

Emperor Qianyuan pretended to be angry and slammed his hand on the dragon table. However, his face showed a hint of inscrutable amusement, and his eyes were as deep as an abyss.

Then, Emperor Qianyuan turned his gaze to Wang Zhen, who was kneeling below, and said:

"How about this, Wang Zhen, you go to Yanmen Pass again. Since you know the rules, why don't you go and teach Jia Lang about the court's etiquette?"

Upon hearing this, the eunuch froze for a moment, then seemed to realize some terrible consequences. His face turned deathly pale, devoid of any color, and he immediately knelt down, prostrating himself on the ground. His whole body trembled like a leaf, and he cried out in a sobbing voice:

"Your Majesty! This servant knows his mistake! This servant knows his mistake!"

"This servant was blinded by greed and acted so foolishly. I beg Your Majesty for mercy!"

"Oh? What's wrong?"

"I'm merely sending you to Yanmen Pass again to teach Jia Lang the rules of the court. This is out of consideration for you. How can you say you're wrong? What did you do wrong?"

Emperor Qianyuan spoke with a smile, as if he were talking about a trivial family matter, and casually picked up a memorial from the side and flipped through it as if nothing was wrong.

This made the eunuch even more terrified. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, his forehead soon bleeding. He dared not say another word and could only desperately beg for mercy.

Emperor Qian Yuan seemed to be getting impatient. He frowned, stopped what he was doing, and said coldly.

"Alright, stop kowtowing, you're giving me a headache. Xia Shouzhong."

"Your servant is here."

Xia Shouzhong quickly bowed in response, not daring to raise his head.

"Take him away! Give him twenty strokes of the cane and send him to the laundry department!"

Emperor Qian Yuan spoke casually, as if he were dealing with a trivial piece of trash.

"yes!"

"Let's go, Eunuch Wang. Do you expect us to invite you?"

Xia Shouzhong walked up to the eunuch, his face darkening instantly, and he put on a cold expression, saying in a chilling tone.

The kneeling eunuch remained limp on the ground, refusing to rise, and continued to shout mournfully:

"Spare me, Your Majesty! Spare me, Your Majesty! This servant will never dare to do it again!"

"Guards! Gag her and take her away!"

Xia Shouzhong shouted loudly towards the door. As soon as he finished speaking, several strong eunuchs rushed in from the door. Without saying a word, they went forward and dragged the man away like a dead dog, leaving behind only a trail of desperate sobs.

A moment later, Xia Shouzhong returned and walked lightly into the Imperial Study.

"Your Majesty, that reckless servant has been dealt with!"

Xia Shouzhong bowed slightly and reported respectfully.

"Hmm, Xia Shouzhong, why are there so many self-righteous fools in this world?"

Emperor Qianyuan toyed with the jade thumb ring in his hand, looking at Xia Shouzhong with a half-smile. Seeing the old servant momentarily speechless, Emperor Qianyuan continued, a cold glint flashing in his eyes:

"Tell me about this dog servant. He's usually so quiet and reserved, but this time, just because Jia Lang didn't give him any gold or silver, this bastard is practically trying to kill Jia Lang."

"Tell me, how many traitors like this are around me?"

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger! Your Majesty is wise and powerful, with extraordinary insight and keen observation. How could such a clown possibly get close to you?"

"Just like that ignorant little eunuch from earlier, Your Majesty saw right through his little schemes."

Xia Shouzhong immediately fawned over him, his face plastered with a sycophantic smile, bowing even lower.

"You old servant, all you know is how to say nice things to make me happy."

Upon hearing Xia Shouzhong's flattery, Emperor Qianyuan finally smiled and said with a chuckle, but deep within that smile, a barely perceptible hint of satisfaction flashed.

.......

The wind howled fiercely at Yanmen Pass, a thousand miles away.

Although Jia Lang had a vague idea that the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict might be up to some underhanded tricks, he never expected that the other party would be dealt with so quickly by Emperor Qian Yuan.

Of course, even if he knew about this beforehand, he would probably just laugh it off and wouldn't take this kind of clown seriously at all.

At this moment, Jia Lang was feeling a splitting headache.

Yanmen Pass had just experienced a horrific battle. Although the Xiongnu cavalry were eventually repelled, the homes of countless people in the city were consumed by the flames of war and turned into scorched earth.

In addition, the influx of refugees who came to seek refuge after hearing that the war had ended caused the food reserves at Yanmen Pass to become extremely scarce, even precarious, and completely unable to meet such enormous consumption.

Left with no other choice, Jia Lang had to grit his teeth and take out the 40% of the extra war reserve food he had previously stored to alleviate the immediate crisis and temporarily stabilize the precarious situation.

But this is ultimately a drop in the ocean and not a long-term solution.

The current amount of food supplies is not enough to sustain us for long. Once the food supply is cut off, it will inevitably lead to unrest.

Therefore, Jia Lang immediately summoned all the officers to the council hall to discuss countermeasures.

On his way to the council hall, Wang, beaming with pride and walking with a brisk pace, was secretly thinking:

Hmph, in the end, won't they still have to rely on me?

That Jia Lang is just a young kid, what does he know about military campaigns?

Upon seeing Jia Lang, Wang Canjiang quickly concealed his smug expression and adopted a sanctimonious demeanor.

Faced with the thorny grain problem raised by Jia Lang, Wang, the military officer, feigned ease and nonchalance, even patting his chest and confidently declaring:

"Deputy General Jia, rest assured, since I am favored by the Emperor and protected by the Wang family, I will certainly not stand idly by and watch Yanmen Pass fall into trouble."

"This matter will be entirely entrusted to Wang. Wang guarantees that he will handle it perfectly and will not cause the general any worry."

Seeing Wang Canjiang's confident and self-assured demeanor, Jia Lang secretly pondered:

This General Wang is, after all, Prince Teng's cousin. He has been working in the court for many years, so he must have some real skills and connections.

Even if his personal abilities are limited, when all else fails, he should be able to swallow his pride and ask Prince Teng for help in procuring grain.

It seems that, regardless of Wang's character, he must be quite capable in logistics and procuring provisions.

Thinking of this, Jia Lang felt a little relieved and said:

"In that case, I will go to the military camp to reorganize military affairs and deal with some backlogged matters. I will entrust the matter of provisions to General Wang."

Little did people know, what real work ability did this Wang Canjun have?

The reason he was able to climb to his current position as a military officer is entirely due to his nepotism and family influence with Prince Teng; in reality, he is an utterly useless good-for-nothing.

Afterwards, Wang, the military officer, did indeed pretend to bring back several carts of grain from elsewhere. Jia Lang glanced at them and, seeing that grain had been brought into the tent, was satisfied. He then handed the matter over to Wang, the military officer, and devoted himself to training the troops.

But Jia Lang never dreamed that, not long after, it was precisely because of his misplaced trust and decisions that the people of Yanmen Pass suffered heavy casualties, almost leading to a catastrophe.