Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 144: The Army Marches

Han Ruzi always carried a box of history books with him, flipping through them whenever he had time, and occasionally consulting them when he felt lost.

During the early stages of founding the dynasty, the Founding Emperor Han Fu also encountered betrayals, quite a number of them, but the historical records were not detailed. The Founding Emperor seemed very magnanimous, never harboring resentment towards the traitors. Some individuals betrayed him multiple times, yet he continued to employ them until he firmly established his rule over the realm. Only then did he begin to eliminate all those who had traitorous intents.

Han Ruzi was far from success. His perplexity lay in how to deal with Zhang Yanghao, who was almost certain to betray him again. Should he eliminate the threat preemptively or wait until he had fully made use of him?

Han Ruzi decided to wait a little longer. After all, he currently lacked the authority to arbitrarily execute people.

Before setting out with his troops, Han Ruzi released Cui Teng, who had two days left on his sentence. He went with Prince Donghai to release him and to impart some “wisdom” to him.

The prison was a small tent with nothing but a bed and a chamber pot. For Cui Teng, it was as harsh as it could get. However, when Han Ruzi and Prince Donghai entered the tent, they saw Cui Teng sitting on the bed, gnawing on a roasted chicken, with a tray of wine in front of him.

Seeing the two, Cui Teng paused, holding up the chicken bone. “This is all that’s left.”

The guards outside the tent were Han Ruzi’s personal troops, yet prohibited items still made their way into the prison. Han Ruzi felt somewhat embarrassed but pretended not to notice, saying, “You can go now, but there’s one condition…”

Cui Teng tossed the chicken onto the tray and leaned back, enthusiastically counting his fingers. “Go out? I’m not going out. It’s quite nice here, no one bothers me. In the quiet of the night, I can focus on missing my family back in the Capital: my mother’s not well, I hope my affairs won’t trouble her; Elder Laojun has a bad temper, hoping she won’t make things difficult for sister Xiaojun…”

Prince Donghai stepped forward with a smile. “Stop pretending. Elder Laojun and Auntie always say you’re the most troublesome among the Cui family descendants. It’s time you went out to gain some experience and bear some hardships. If they hear that you were imprisoned, they would only be grateful to the Weary Marquis. Perhaps they’ll even send a token of gratitude through cousin Xiaojun.”

Cui Teng suddenly sat up, gritting his teeth. “Traitor.”

Prince Donghai sat beside him, putting an arm around Cui Teng’s shoulder. “If I were a traitor, I wouldn’t have come here. I’d let you deal with the Weary Marquis alone. When he drags you out for another forty lashes, I’ll come watch the show.”

Cui Teng’s heart trembled. He looked at the Weary Marquis in disbelief, not entirely convinced. “He wouldn’t dare…”

“You’ve seen it yourself. He dares to assault the city gate; wouldn’t he dare to give you a beating? Forty lashes are nothing. I’ve seen him execute someone in a flag ritual.”

Han Ruzi did indeed hold a flag ritual back at the Riverside Village, but there was no execution. However, facts tend to become exaggerated in rumors. Cui Teng shivered, his arrogance diminishing a bit. “You want me to go out, fine, but I must return home first.”

Han Ruzi shook his head. “No.”

“Why not?” Cui Teng’s anger flared up again. “I know what you’re up to, targeting your own family to intimidate others, aren’t you? I’ve cooperated with you. Look at all these noble scions in camp, they’re all behaving. They think the Cui family will support you in reclaiming the throne.”

Another person vying for credit for the rumors emerged. Han Ruzi still shook his head. “No, and…”

Cui Teng pushed away Prince Donghai and jumped to the ground, shouting, “Enough with your games! Don’t go too far. Without the Cui family, you wouldn’t last long even as the Weary Marquis, let alone dreaming of being emperor! Dream on!”

Cui Teng spoke unrestrainedly, pointing at Prince Donghai. “If the Cui clan doesn’t support you, there’s him. If worse comes to worst, we Cui clan might as well claim the throne ourselves…”

Prince Donghai gave Cui Teng a kick on the butt, scolding, “Do you want to die? What did Uncle tell you?”

Cui Teng jumped, rubbing his buttocks, and muttered, “There’s no one else here…”

“How do you know that the walls do not have ears?”

“What ears? I’ve cut them off,” Cui Teng chuckled, dropping the topic of the emperor. “Alright, I’ll give the Weary Marquis some face, let’s go.”

“Wait, letting you out comes with conditions,” Han Ruzi said.

Cui Teng turned to Prince Donghai, his face cold. “What did the Cui family do to wrong him? Why does he have to be so harsh on me?”

“You brought it upon yourself,” Prince Donghai lazily replied. He knew Cui Teng’s temper too well, so he deliberately dampened his spirits.

Cui Teng turned to face Han Ruzi, staring at him. “One moment, you’re plotting against each other, the next, you’re teaming up to bully me. Fine, you’re brothers, I’m an outsider. Spit it out, what are the conditions?”

“You have to redeem yourself by killing at least one Xiongnu in Shattered Iron City,” Han Ruzi said.

“Do I really have to go?” Cui Teng grimaced.

“We leave early tomorrow morning.”

“What if the Xiongnu don’t come to Shattered Iron City?”

“Then… consider yourself lucky.”

Cui Teng grinned. “They say the Xiongnu hibernate in winter and avoid battles. How about this, if we start the war before winter, I’ll bring back a head for you. If we don’t start the war before winter, you let me go home. Next year, I’ll bring you two heads. Deal?”

Cui Teng was a rascal, and for now, Han Ruzi had no way to deal with him. With a snort, Han Ruzi turned and left.

Prince Donghai stood up, pushing Cui Teng out. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you: be careful, the Weary Marquis is in a tight spot now. Push him too hard, and he’ll really kill someone.”

“Who made him get into this mess?” Cui Teng seemed rebellious on the surface but felt somewhat uneasy inside. “I never expected my sister to like such a guy. Why is it that when I behave ruthlessly, nobody likes it, and everyone criticizes me?”

Han Ruzi led four thousand soldiers on their journey. Many had come to bid farewell the previous night. Unable to persuade Grand General Han Xing to change his mind, the other officers sought to appease Han Ruzi instead. Their only aim was to ask him to take care of their relatives and not let them risk their lives on the battlefield.

As usual, Han Ruzi accepted all requests and distributed the gifts he received among his soldiers, including the two thousand men assigned to him by the Grand General.

They had breakfast before dawn, and as soon as the sun rose, the army set out.

Mayi City was over 250 miles from Shattered Iron City, but that was the distance on the map. In between lay rugged mountains and desolate deserts. With forced marches, bringing extra horses and provisions, and skirting around the border, one could arrive in three to four days.

Normal marches took the route through the interior, with detailed plans for each day’s journey. Campsites and provisions were arranged by the counties along the way. Though slower, it was more reliable.

Having traveled from the Capital to the Northern Frontier before, Han Ruzi and his thousand-strong retinue had been almost swept along by the larger army, experiencing little. It wasn’t until now, leading troops for the first time, that he truly learned a lot along the way.

Like most people, Han Ruzi used to look down on the military clerks, thinking they couldn’t fight and were always nitpicking the soldiers, each one a crafty villain.

After this march, Han Ruzi changed his mind. In fact, during the march, he spent most of his time with the military clerks, discussing countless details such as estimated time, weather, provisions, and campsite locations. Almost every day brought unexpected incidents — someone fell ill, someone’s horse died, a sudden rainstorm delayed the march, and they even encountered a “rebellion” once. All this required the military clerks to solve.

It was the fifth day of the march, halfway through the journey. Just as the four thousand soldiers had settled into camp and hadn’t even had time to relax, the local county magistrate hurriedly came seeking help. He said a group of rebels would attack the county town the next morning. The magistrate had no soldiers to defend the city, but the Northern Protection General happened to be nearby, so he sent the county marshal to ask for assistance.

The chief clerk reminded the Weary Marquis that without orders from the Grand General, they couldn’t enter any city during the march, only camp outside. Moreover, they couldn’t easily lend out troops; they had to wait for orders from the Grand General or the local prefect.

The county marshal was in a panic, kneeling down and begging for help. With nightfall approaching, the county magistrate arrived in person, swearing on his life and offering to take full responsibility.

Han Ruzi was ready to send troops, but Chai Yue quietly advised him: continue the march, leave a small number of soldiers behind to disperse into the villages, claiming to gather provisions for the upcoming army, thereby intimidating the rebels. Then, the magistrate could formally request assistance from his superiors.

Han Ruzi agreed. With no other options, the county magistrate and marshal had to accept. They dispatched a few men to the countryside to make the bluff, then nervously awaited reinforcements from the prefect.

Early the next morning, Han Ruzi led his troops on the road, leaving only a hundred soldiers and a few military officials behind.

He kept thinking about the matter. Three days later, news arrived that the group of rebels, originally planning to attack the county town, had heard of the approaching army and immediately disbanded. The leaders fled, and they were caught before leaving the county.

Han Ruzi increasingly felt that Chai Yue was talented, but he couldn’t help but wonder how much he could trust him.

On the ninth day, the hundred soldiers left behind caught up, and the entire army arrived at Divine Hero Pass on time. They still camped outside the city, preparing to pass through the gate early the next morning.

Here, Han Ruzi welcomed some familiar faces.

he first person was the chubby eunuch Cai Xinghai. He had arrived at Divine Hero Pass earlier as the Northern Army’s supervisor but had been idle. Han Ruzi summoned him to his side.

Cai Xinghai was formerly a border army captain. He was punished and sent to the palace for falsely reporting his kills. After returning to the frontier, he was not well-received. No one regarded him as a soldier; they all thought of him as a eunuch who went around snooping for information.

Seeing the Weary Marquis again, Cai Xinghai was extremely excited and knelt on the ground for a long time before getting up.

Han Ruzi immediately appointed him as the cavalry captain, finally having someone trustworthy by his side.

The second familiar face was Du Chuanyun, who brought several letters from the Capital. He had no intention of returning and wanted to accompany Weary Marquis to Shattered Iron City. “A real man seeks opportunities in all directions. I told Grandfather. He’s retired in the Capital, and I want to see the battlefield. If it’s interesting, I’ll stay longer. If not, I’ll leave.”

So he stayed as a guard for Weary Marquis, swearing not to drink again until the end of the war. “But I also have one request for the Weary Marquis: don’t leave me behind and run off again. Protecting you is not easy, and watching over you is even harder.”

Cui Xiaojun wrote a brief letter, expressing hope for Weary Marquis’s success and stating that everything was fine at home.

There were also two letters from the Cui family. Cui Teng’s mother thanked Weary Marquis for disciplining her son, very politely, without a hint of complaint. However, Elder Laojun’s tone was different. She had someone write a harsh letter, reprimanding the Weary Marquis severely and ordering him to return Cui Teng intact to the Capital after the war ended.

Prince Donghai also read this letter and said to Han Ruzi, “Congratulations. Elder Laojun didn’t immediately demand you send Cui Teng back, which means she still understands a bit of reason.”

The arrival of the third familiar person was unexpected for Han Ruzi. Yang Feng, the Adjutant of the Northern Army, came on behalf of the Grand Marshal of the Northern Army to meet the Northern Protection General.

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