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

"General, the remaining enemy forces have been eliminated!"

Li Tiedan, carrying a still-dripping goose-feather saber with blood droplets rolling down its blade in the cold light, strode up to Jia Lang, his body radiating an aura of lingering killing intent. He clasped his hands in a fist and shouted in a deep voice.

Jia Lang nodded slightly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, and gave the order:

"Good! Immediately take my military tally and dispatch our old troops who were originally stationed at Yanmen Pass to disarm and guard all the Beijing garrison troops brought by General Wang. Anyone who resists should be killed without mercy! Then quickly take over the granaries and inventory the supplies!"

"The movements must be swift as lightning, with absolutely no room for error, and not a single grain of rice can be wasted!"

Jia Lang's reason for mobilizing his former troops stationed at Yanmen Pass was that he was worried that the tens of thousands of troops from the capital garrison brought by Prince Teng would mutini due to the killing of their commander.

Although he had a decent personal relationship with the five lieutenants, there was no guarantee that there weren't any loyal spies planted by the Wang family in this intricate military network. To ensure everything went smoothly, he could only rely on his trusted confidants, whom he had personally trained, to stabilize this precarious situation.

"Yes, Your subordinate obeys!"

A glint of excitement flashed in Li Tiedan's eyes. After accepting the order, he turned and left in a hurry.

Two hours later, it was nearly dusk.

Li Tiedan returned and, upon stepping through the gates of Jia Lang's residence, immediately reported:

"Reporting to the General! All three hundred of Lieutenant General Wang's trusted personal guards have been killed, and their bodies are being disposed of!"

"The granary gates are open, and the entire grain is now in our hands, not a single grain missing!"

Jia Lang's tense expression eased slightly, and he nodded gently, saying:

"Yes, thank you for your hard work."

"You shall immediately order the soldiers to open the city gates wide and set up tents at the city gates to distribute porridge. You must first appease the emotions of the refugees outside the city and stabilize the hearts of the people."

"Recently, there has been frequent fighting outside the city, and the people are already filled with fear. We must let them know that the situation at Yanmen Pass will not change! We have the ability to protect them!"

"Yes, General! This subordinate will take care of it immediately!"

Li Tiedan accepted the order once again and hurriedly turned and left.

Subsequently, Jia Lang ordered the summoning of five lieutenant generals from the 50,000-strong capital garrison.

Before long, the five lieutenants arrived together. As soon as they entered the hall, they felt a suffocating sense of oppression.

The five men exchanged glances, then clasped their hands in a respectful greeting, their attitude even more deferential than usual.

"This humble general pays his respects to General Jia!"

These five lieutenants did indeed hold Jia Lang in some respect.

Although Jia Lang had previously wanted to implement radical reforms in the army, he was unable to fully implement them due to practical obstacles. However, this did not prevent these five generals, who came from the ranks, from having keen military insight.

They could see at a glance that the almost brutal modern training methods adopted by Jia Lang, though arduous and tiring, were extremely practical. If they could persist in them for a long time, the combat effectiveness of this army would undergo a complete transformation.

"Please sit down!"

Jia Lang sat upright in the main seat, casually gesturing for everyone to take their seats. His tone was calm, yet it exuded an unquestionable authority.

After everyone sat down nervously, Jia Lang spoke solemnly:

"General Wang has been killed by this general."

These words struck like a thunderbolt from a clear sky!

The five lieutenants were instantly startled and stood up abruptly, their eyes wide with disbelief, shock, and fear.

"General Jia... what... what's going on?"

One of the lieutenants forced himself to calm down, feeling his throat go dry, and asked cautiously, his voice trembling slightly.

Jia Lang took a deep breath and, without hiding anything, recounted in detail the reasons why Wang Canjiang had withheld grain and fodder and driven away the people, causing heavy casualties. In particular, when he mentioned the tragic situation of the people outside the city exchanging children to eat and freezing and starving to death, his words were like knives, piercing everyone's hearts.

After hearing this, the hall fell into a deathly silence. The five lieutenants looked at each other, their expressions extremely complex, including shame, fear, and helplessness.

"Even so... General Jia, that Lieutenant General Wang is, after all, a cousin of Wang Ziteng, the commander of the Beijing Garrison. Your strike has caused you enormous trouble!"

One of the lieutenants frowned and finally couldn't help but complain, his words filled with worry about the uncertain future.

Jia Lang's cold gaze swept over the other four people, and he found that although they did not speak, the meaning in their eyes was similar. They were all worried about being retaliated against by the Wang family, and no one really cared about the dead people.

It seems that these generals of the Beijing Garrison have long been corrupted by the powerful elites and are only thinking about protecting their own future and wealth.

"Gentlemen, there's no need for further discussion. I, the general, always take responsibility for my own actions and will never implicate any of you."

Jia Lang saw through their thoughts, sneered inwardly, and said calmly, his tone tinged with indifference.

Hearing this, the five lieutenants breathed a slight sigh of relief, but seeing Jia Lang's unfriendly expression and fearing to offend this formidable figure, they quickly and awkwardly explained:

"General Jia, you misunderstand. We are not cowards, but...we are just worried about things in the capital..."

Before they could finish speaking, Jia Lang waved his hand dismissively, interrupting their sophistry:

"This general will personally write a letter to the Emperor, detailing the cause and effect of this matter, and I will take full responsibility for it."

"You came to Yanmen Pass only on orders to provide support."

"Your families and relatives are all in the bustling capital. I will not be a villain who forces you to do what you cannot. I will explain the situation in my memorial and request His Majesty's permission to allow you to break camp and return to the capital as soon as possible."

If these five lieutenants still couldn't understand the hidden meaning in Jia Lang's words at this point, then they had truly wasted their years in officialdom.

They knew perfectly well that if Wang Can died at Yanmen Pass, the Wang family's wrath would be unleashed, and those who remained would only become cannon fodder and scapegoats for Wang Ziteng to vent his anger.

Since Jia Lang has taken the initiative to let them go, this is an incredible favor. If they don't leave now, when will they?

"General Jia, you are truly virtuous! This... then we thank General Jia for your generosity!"

In the end, none of the five dared to ask them to stay or plead for mercy. They simply stood up, bowed deeply, and silently accepted Jia Lang's arrangement, determined to clear themselves of any wrongdoing once they returned.

At night, the moonlight, as clear and cool as water, bathed Jia Lang's mansion courtyard.

After seeing off the five lieutenants, Jia Lang was filled with mixed emotions, including the satisfaction of slaying the treacherous officials and the heavy burden of planning for the future.

He put on a cloak and walked alone slowly to the place where porridge was distributed at the city gate.

Along the way, the cold wind howled, but the city gate was brightly lit by torches, and the people lined up in long queues. Although they all looked tired and frightened, and were dressed in rags, their eyes revealed a strong desire to survive.

Seeing the gratitude and the will to survive on the faces of the people after they finished eating bowls of hot porridge, Jia Lang secretly vowed in his heart:

Since Heaven has brought me here, I must protect this land and these suffering people, and never let the barbarian hooves take another step!

It wasn't until the moon was high in the sky that the crowd distributing porridge gradually dispersed, and Jia Lang turned around and returned to his mansion.

He went straight into the study, but instead of resting, he spread out Xuan paper, ground ink, picked up his brush, and prepared to write another letter to Emperor Qian Yuan.

The morale of these 50,000-strong Beijing garrison is now low, and each soldier harbors their own ulterior motives. Forcing them to remain here will not only prevent them from exerting their fighting power, but will also make them a huge hidden danger.

Now that the people from outside the city were gradually entering the city, bringing new vitality and labor, Jia Lang no longer needed these 50,000 "gentlemen soldiers" who only consumed food and fodder to stay at Yanmen Pass.

A bold and crazy idea sprouted in Jia Lang's mind: he wanted to recruit and rebuild a truly fierce and powerful army that could fight against the Xiongnu cavalry, an elite force that would be loyal only to him, Jia Lang!

Moreover, the city's food supplies are only enough to maintain the status quo. If these 50,000 troops were to withdraw, a huge amount of food could be saved instantly.

I only need to recruit another 10,000 strong men and train them rigorously using modern military training methods. That would be enough to defend Yanmen Pass, and even enough to launch a proactive attack!

This year, the people of Yanmen Pass will not only survive, but also be able to recuperate and rebuild their lives.

Regarding the execution of Wang Canjiang, Jia Lang did not conceal anything in his letter, but instead elaborated on his crimes and the reasons why he had no choice but to kill him.

Jia Lang was honest about the matter and had no regrets.

Moreover, he had already discussed it beforehand, and he believed that as long as he could win the battle and defend the border, Emperor Qianyuan would not kill him for the sake of a mere Wang Canjiang; at most, he would only receive some minor punishment.

In addition, Jia Lang specifically wrote on the end of his memorial:

I earnestly request Your Majesty to allocate more grain and provisions to relieve the disaster victims, and to grant me permission to recruit soldiers locally and rebuild the border defenses.

After all, when building a new army, provisions and weaponry are of paramount importance, and without the support of the imperial court, it's all just empty talk.

After writing the letter, Jia Lang blew on the ink to dry it, sealed it in a sealed tube with sealing wax, and then summoned his trusted messenger, ordering him to send this memorial, which concerned the fate of Yanmen Pass, to the capital as quickly as possible.

......

The next morning, as dawn broke and the sky began to lighten, Jia Lang, fully armed and in high spirits, once again embarked on his journey to the city gate.

When he climbed the city wall and arrived at his destination, the sight of the sea of ​​people before him made his two sword-like eyebrows furrow slightly.

Outside the city gate, on that desolate land, no fewer than 20,000 displaced people were gathered in dense crowds.

They stood or sat, leaned against broken walls or huddled in corners, their faces etched with the weariness of a long journey, yet their cloudy eyes burned with an intense longing for survival.

With such a massive influx of people flooding into Yanmen Pass like a tidal wave, properly settling them in this war-torn, isolated city was undoubtedly an extremely arduous challenge.

Jia Lang stood atop the city tower, the biting morning wind ruffling his cloak. His sharp gaze, like that of a hawk, swept across the dark mass of people below as he rapidly calculated a countermeasure in his mind.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him like lightning—work relief!

These four words suddenly came to mind, and then his gaze fell on the dilapidated and scarred city walls of Yanmen Pass, which were damaged by the last fierce battle. An uncontrollable smile of confidence and domineeringness curled up at the corners of his mouth.

"Yes, that's it!"

"I can easily involve these people in the repair of the city walls and the reconstruction of the houses destroyed by fire within the city!"

"In this way, they can both earn food through hard work and contribute to the impregnability of Yanmen Pass."

"This is not just relief, it's reconstruction! It's killing two birds with one stone, or even several!"

Jia Lang grew increasingly smug, as if he could already see the magnificent blueprint for Yanmen Pass to rise again from the ruins.

We act decisively and without hesitation!

Jia Lang immediately turned back to his mansion, spread out Xuan paper, dipped it in thick ink, and began to meticulously plan this massive restoration project.

"First and foremost, the repair of the city walls must be a top priority and cannot be delayed!"

"The project must be completed as soon as possible before the 50,000 troops withdraw, to prevent the Xiongnu from taking advantage of the situation and launching a comeback!"

"Secondly, the recruitment plan must also be initiated in advance. Only with a continuous influx of fresh blood can we strengthen our defenses and build an iron army!"

"Furthermore, the work of reclaiming wasteland cannot be neglected in the slightest. Time waits for no one; after spring arrives, crops must grow in the land!"

As Jia Lang wrote furiously, he muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism.

"And most of the houses in the city were burned down by the Xiongnu torches and had to be rebuilt."

"This is a perfect opportunity to break with the old patterns and scientifically redesign the streets and layout of Yanmen Pass, transforming it into a true military fortress!"

The more Jia Lang thought about it, the more he felt that the plan was perfect and highly feasible. He couldn't help but secretly praise his own great talent and strategy.

Before we knew it, the sky was getting dark, and the afterglow of the setting sun dyed the city wall blood red.

Jia Lang arrived at the city gate again, followed by Li Tiedan, who had a solemn expression.

Jia Lang found Li Tiedan and gave him a stern order:

"Tiedan, go and gather everyone down below the city wall. I have something important to tell you all!"

"Yes, General!"

Li Tiedan responded with a thunderous roar and then left to carry out his mission.

In no time, the scattered people outside the city were gathered in an orderly fashion on the open ground at the city gate. The crowd was bustling and silent, with everyone looking up at the young figure on the city wall with longing.

Jia Lang stood before the crenellations of the city wall, looking down at the expectant faces below. He took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and said loudly:

"Dear fellow villagers, hello everyone!"

The sound was loud and clear, like rolling thunder, instantly overpowering the howling cold wind and reaching everyone's ears clearly.

"I am Jia Lang, and I am also the current garrison commander of Yanmen Pass!"

"First of all, thank you all for traveling thousands of miles, bringing your families to Yanmen Pass, and for trusting me, Jia Lang!"

"I, Jia Lang, solemnly promise you all here today, before all these gods and Buddhas: Once you arrive at Yanmen Pass, you will have arrived home!"

"This is your home!"

"As long as I, Jia Lang, have a breath left, I will never again allow you to be harassed by the Xiongnu's iron hooves!"

"With spring planting just around the corner, I know everyone is worried and anxious about where their food supply will be tomorrow."

"Now, I, Jia Lang, can swear on my chest that Yanmen Pass will never abandon any of you! Even if it means tightening my belt, I will ensure your survival!"

"We will still be distributing porridge today!"

"However, I must tell everyone that this soup kitchen will be dismantled in three days!"

As soon as Jia Lang finished speaking, the previously quiet crowd below erupted into a cacophony of noise.

"What? They're not giving out porridge anymore?"

"Then what are we going to eat? Aren't they pushing us to the brink of disaster?!"

"General, we can't retreat!"

Some people shouted anxiously, and some even began to cry in despair; the scene was on the verge of getting out of control.

Seeing the commotion growing, Jia Lang's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He suddenly took a step forward and let out a thunderous roar: "Calm down!!"

This roar, imbued with the ruthless aura of someone who had been through countless battles, was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, making everyone's eardrums buzz and instantly silencing the noisy scene.

Everyone was awestruck by the young general's imposing presence and stared at him in disbelief.

Jia Lang nodded in satisfaction, a gentle yet firm smile appearing on his face, and then said:

"Don't worry, everyone! I, Jia Lang, am absolutely not the kind of person who would stand by and watch someone die!"

"Although I will no longer distribute porridge directly after three days, it is because I want to give everyone a more dignified way of life."

"As long as everyone is willing to work, they can still receive enough food, even dry rice that's thicker than porridge!"

"Three days from now, I will post a notice at the city gate. The specific wages and rules will be clear to everyone then!"

"But now, I have something even more important to announce!"

Jia Lang paused, his gaze sharpening as he scanned the entire room:

"Yanmen Pass is currently recruiting soldiers on a large scale!"

"Any man with courage and a desire to defend his country can register at the conscription office at the city gate shortly!"

"However, there's one thing I need to make clear upfront, and this is an ironclad rule!"

"The age limit for this recruitment is strictly between sixteen and thirty years old!"

"Those who are physically strong may be given some leeway, but those over this age shouldn't bother coming; it's just suicide!"

"Let's establish these rules: If anyone deliberately conceals their true age or falsifies their age just to make a living, once discovered, I, Jia Lang, will not only refuse to hire them, but will also expel them from Yanmen Pass, never to be allowed to return! There will be no leniency!"

Jia Lang's tone was extremely stern, carrying an unquestionable military authority.

Although the people below the city wall heard Jia Lang's words as somewhat stern and even inhumane, they were actually relieved and happy.

They came here to seek refuge mainly because of Jia Lang's reputation as a "god of slaughter".

Jia Lang was brave and invincible, having killed a fierce general of the Xiongnu royal court. This time, he had once again defeated the Xiongnu army. The people who had lived on the border for many years had long worshipped him and regarded him as a god.

Now, Jia Lang is recruiting soldiers—that is the highest honor!

"Not to mention young people who are of the right age, even some elderly people who are over fifty but still healthy wish they could be twenty years younger to join the army and get a job, even if it's just as a cook."

Looking at the fervent and excited reaction of the people below, Jia Lang felt a surge of pleasure, a sense of power and control over the world welling up within him. He then asked loudly:

"Besides military service, do any of you have experience in construction or bricklaying?"

"This general urgently needs such talent; the compensation will be excellent!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion arose in the dark crowd below, and then several people dressed in coarse linen clothes stepped out.

"Reporting to the General, I am skilled in house construction; I was a skilled house builder back in my hometown!"

A burly, middle-aged man stepped forward from the crowd and spoke loudly.

"Me too! I used to be a carpenter and bricklayer in the village!"

Another elderly man, with white hair and beard but a vigorous spirit, followed closely behind and echoed.

"And me! I know a little bit too!"

Another elderly man stepped forward.

"..."

Although none of these people were top masters skilled in the layout of defensive fortifications for large border cities, Jia Lang did not feel disappointed in the slightest.

He knew in his heart that high-level talents who could design the defense system of passes were treasures of the Ministry of Works of the imperial court. How could they possibly be left to wander in the wilderness and become refugees?

Having these elderly and strong men who understand infrastructure is a treasure to Jia Lang, and he is now completely satisfied.

It should be noted that Yanmen Pass had been the site of numerous battles in recent years, and the original inhabitants of the city were reduced to less than one-tenth, resulting in a sharp decrease in population. Craftsmen were an even scarcer resource, having been almost entirely wiped out by the Xiongnu in the wars.

This is why the progress of repairing the city wall was always as slow as a snail's pace.

But now things are better!

Looking at the craftsmen before him, and then at the more than 20,000 people yearning for a new life, Jia Lang's eyes shone brightly.

With the injection of this fresh blood and these countless hardworking hands, the future of Yanmen Pass will surely be built upon the ruins into a prosperous, strong, and indestructible steel city!