The setting sun cast long shadows, painting the sky blood red.
Han Hao wasn't sure what had happened. Ever since Duke Han had returned from the Imperial Court, he had stood motionless in the yard. As the sky darkened, Han Hao approached and said, "My Lord, a maid from the Old Lady's quarters has come to ask if you'll be joining her for dinner tonight?" Ever since the Duke had returned from the palace, he had been like this. Han Hao couldn't fathom what the Emperor might have said to him.
Han Jianming replied, "Tell her I'm busy and won't be coming tonight." At that moment, he didn't want to see anyone; he just wanted to be alone.
As night fell, Han Hao personally lit the lanterns. Han Jianming stared at the warm orange glow and said, "Go call Mr Zhao!"
Mr Zhao had already noticed Han Jianming's unusual behaviour, but as he hadn't been summoned, he refrained from intruding. When he arrived, he asked, "My Lord, what's happened?"
Han Jianming replied, "The Emperor wants me to kill Yuxi. If I agree, he'll give me the position of Minister of War." It was a clever plan—Yuxi would never suspect any harm from her own elder brother.🦊
Mr Zhao opened his mouth but was at a loss for words. After a long pause, he finally asked, "What is my Lord going to do?" On one side was the coveted position of Minister of War; on the other, his own sister. It was truly a difficult decision.
Han Jianming shook his head, "I refused." To kill his own sister for the position of Minister of War—he hadn't sunk that low. The Emperor had underestimated him.
Instead of feeling relieved, Mr Zhao's expression grew more serious. "The Emperor won't give up so easily." Since the Emperor had already made his intentions clear, it was unlikely he would let Han Jianming refuse. When push came to shove, the Emperor might use the Han family to threaten him.
Han Jianming responded, "Whatever happens next, we'll deal with it then."
Seeing the Duke's worried expression, Mr Zhao tried to reassure him. "Si Gunainai2 has always been cautious. It won't be easy for the Emperor to take her life. Yu City is her and Yun Qing's territory. The Emperor may want her dead, but he might not succeed."
Han Jianming, however, still looked uneasy. "Yuxi is pregnant," he said, his voice heavy with worry. "This is such a critical time; nothing must go wrong." Yet, for the safety of his entire family, there was nothing he could do.
Mr Zhao comforted him, "Si Gunainai2 will be fine, my Lord. Don’t worry!" In truth, he had no better ideas either. Although the Emperor was constrained by circumstances, taking the lives of the Han family members would still be an easy task for him. Even trying to act covertly wasn't an option in this situation.
After agonising over it for an entire night without coming up with a better solution, Han Jianming unexpectedly received an imperial edict the next day appointing him as Minister of War.
When the news reached the inner residence, the women of the household were overjoyed, and the servants felt a sense of pride as well. The position of Minister of War, one of the six main ministers, was indeed a role of high status and great power.
Qiu Shi said happily, “Send someone to De Yue Lou to reserve two of their best tables. Let's have a proper celebration today.” A mother's joy knew no bounds when her son was promoted, but the sight of Han Jianming returning from the palace shattered her joy.
No one knew a child better than their mother, and Qiu Shi knew her son had always dreamed of bringing glory to their family. Yet now that he had been promoted, there was not a trace of joy on his face, which made her suspect something was amiss. "Ming-er, is there something wrong with your appointment as Minister of War?"
There was nothing inherently wrong with the position itself, but what the Emperor demanded of him was highly problematic. Han Jianming shook his head. “Mother, the country is rife with rebellions right now. This position of Minister of War is like holding a hot potato. Whoever takes it is bound to suffer.” He dared not reveal the truth to Qiu Shi for fear it would only upset her.
Qiu Shi sighed. "So that's why you got such a good position—it's a hot potato! But that's okay. If you can do it, do it, if not, then don't."
Han Jianming smiled bitterly. The real problem was that he didn't have the option to decline. Nevertheless, he concealed his frustration and said, "I'll do my best."
Seeing that her son was still in low spirits, Qiu Shi changed the subject. "According to my calculations, Yuxi's pregnancy should be over six months now. I've prepared some baby clothes and other items for her. In a few days, let's send them to the Northwest."
Han Jianming nodded, "All right, I'll arrange for someone to send them in a couple of days." However, the items would never reach their destination; otherwise, the Emperor might think he was secretly communicating with Yuxi. But he couldn't defy his mother outright, so he'd have to make those items disappear en route. Fortunately, such incidents were common, so Qiu Shi wouldn't get suspicious. Han Jianming could only hope that Yuxi would grow suspicious after not receiving her mother's packages for a while—such suspicion might help keep her safe.
Qiu Shi sighed and remarked, "I just hope this child will be a boy." If Yuxi gave birth to two daughters, the pressure would be so great.
Han Jianming reassured her, "It'll definitely be a boy." Whether it was a boy or not was secondary; the most pressing issue was surviving this immediate crisis. Han Jianming was deeply troubled, not knowing how to warn Yuxi.
A noob translator, きつね, translated this noob translation. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.site. If you read this in another location other than the site stated, it has been taken without the translator's permission. Please don't support this kind of act.
At that moment, Yuxi had no idea that the Emperor was already planning to kill her. Had she known, she would have taken even greater precautions. Unfortunately, she remained completely unaware.
Yun Qing told Yuxi, "I have just received news that the rebel army has now grown to over 42,000 men." In just over half a month, their numbers had doubled, and they had occupied three prefectures and counties. The speed of their expansion left Yun Qing somewhat alarmed.
Yuxi found it unsurprising as she said, "The common people have been oppressed by Ji Xuan to the point where they can no longer survive. Under such harsh treatment, they face death regardless. Joining the rebellion at least offers them a glimmer of hope." If rebellion meant death and non-rebellion also gave the same result, they might as well fight.
Yuxi understood Yun Qing's concern. "Peng Liangong is short-sighted, narrow-minded, and incapable of tolerating others. There's no need to worry about him." From the moment she learned that Peng Liangong had sidelined Jun Yuanbo, the second-in-command of the rebel forces, she knew Peng Liangong would not pose a significant threat to them.
Yun Qing wasn't worried about not being able to deal with Peng Liangong; his concern lay in the sheer number of rebels. If they were to suppress the rebellion, the cost might be too great. Most of the Northwest Army had been trained by him personally, and to lose too many soldiers would be heartbreaking.
Yuxi had also been worried before, but her concern was for Peng Liangong himself, not the size of his forces. "Having a large number of soldiers is not always advantageous," she reminded. With greater numbers came greater challenges, particularly in terms of supplies and weapons. While grain could be seized from merchants and wealthy households, obtaining weapons was far more difficult. As far as Yuxi knew, the rebels didn't have a single decent weapon among them.
While they were talking, Xu Wu suddenly called out from outside, "General, there's an urgent report from the army." A message marked as urgent signalled a critical situation.
Yun Qing strode out immediately. Yuxi, hampered by her large pregnant belly, called for Zijin to help her to the front courtyard.
When Yuxi entered the study, she saw Yun Qing's grim expression and asked, "What's happened?" Please don't let it be Feng Dajun who is in trouble.
Yun Qing handed her the letter on the desk and said, "These rebels are indeed bold; they dared to target our grain supply." Although he had anticipated such a possibility, the fact that it had actually happened still made him angry.
After reading the letter, Yuxi smiled. "Two hundred thousand dan3 of grain would tempt anyone. But these rebels are truly arrogant, thinking they could seize our supplies with only two thousand men." Feng Dajun and his troops had indeed been ambushed. The sheer quantity of grain had slowed their movement, making them an easy target for an ambush. However, sending only two thousand men to seize their supplies was underestimating the Northwest Army's cavalry. These cavalrymen were far superior in combat strength to ordinary soldiers. Due to the rebels' overconfidence, Feng Dajun had completely destroyed all two thousand of them.
Yun Qing said, "These rebels have won a few victories and now they think they're invincible." Talking about this only fuelled Yun Qing's anger. Every prefecture and county had its own garrison forces, which were supposed to be the Northwest Army's reserves in times of crisis. But these garrisons didn't even try to fight; they fled as soon as they heard the rebels were coming. This explained why Peng Liangong had managed to occupy three prefectures and counties in less than a month.
Yuxi remarked, "A single inept commander can ruin an entire unit. When the officers flee at the first sign of trouble, how can the soldiers be expected to stay and fight? Naturally, they'll follow suit and run. Ultimately, it's not the soldiers who are to blame but those in positions of leadership." This problem applied not only to military officers but also to civilian officials. Most of the officials from the prefectures and counties around Nancheng had already fled.
Yun Qing agreed with Yuxi's assessment.
Yuxi asked, "Yu Cong should be arriving soon, right?" After receiving the news of the complete destruction of the main rebel army, Yun Qing sent Yu Cong with two thousand elite soldiers to reinforce Feng Dajun's army. In terms of combat power, two thousand soldiers were actually more than enough, but it was done out of caution. And everyone in the army agreed with this decision. After all, this was their food supply. If it fell into the hands of the rebels, they would starve.
Yun Qing said, "They should arrive in a few days." This time he sent infantry instead of cavalry, so it would be slower.
Yuxi asked, "They should be fine before they meet up, right?" Although she trusted the abilities of General Feng and the Northwest Cavalry, she was still a little worried.
Yun Qing replied, "Don't worry about that. If they encounter any problems, Dajun will find a defensible location and wait for reinforcements." The main reason he wasn't worried was because he had sent 800 cavalry with them.
Yuxi smiled and praised, "Uncle Huo has a good eye for talent." All these people had been trained by Huo Changqing, and every one of them was excellent. Compared to them, she felt ashamed. She had only trained Zijin, who was a brave but reckless girl.
Yun Qing smiled and responded, "Uncle Huo said that once those girls have been properly trained, they'll be at your disposal." This time, Huo Changqing had also selected over a dozen young girls to train. These girls were being trained specifically for Yuxi.
Yuxi smiled. "Then I'll be waiting." She was far behind Huo Changqing in this area, so the three of them would each play to their strengths.
Footnotes Full List
- For once, the Emperor made a clever move. Though, he should have done it much sooner. 😈
- si = fourth, gunainai = a respectful form of address for a married woman used by members of her parents' family) married daughter
- a traditional unit of volume, esp. for grain, equal to 100 sheng (市升), and equivalent to 100 litres or 176 pints
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi