The Child Emperor

Han Ruzi had indeed persisted in practicing diligently, never giving up even during the busiest times. He didn’t spend much time each day, but rarely interrupted his practice. It had become a habit for him, and he also felt some benefits from it. He recovered from fatigue noticeably faster, especially compared to Prince Donghai.

When it came to fighting, however, the little inner qi he had learned and the few sets of boxing techniques he was barely familiar with were completely useless.

As Meng E’s palm struck, Han Ruzi couldn’t even discern the direction and could only withstand it with his chest.

With a bang, Han Ruzi felt a surge of suffocation. His body didn’t lean backward but instead leaned forward. He braced himself with both hands on the bed to barely maintain balance.

The second palm came again, and Han Ruzi still had nowhere to dodge. This time, he leaned backward, again bracing himself with both hands to prevent from falling completely.

Bang, bang, bang, Meng E’s palms came one after another. Han Ruzi had no power to defend himself, swaying like a roly-poly doll, feeling frustrated but unable to utter a word due to the pressure in his chest.

After about a dozen times, Meng E finally stopped. Han Ruzi gasped heavily, taking a while to dispel the stuffiness in his chest. Just as he was about to speak, Zhang Youcai’s concerned voice came from outside, “Master, do you need help?”

“No need, I’m already lying down. You can go rest,” Han Ruzi calmed down. No matter what had happened, he knew Meng E had no malicious intent.

Zhang Youcai murmured an acknowledgment from outside.

After a while, Han Ruzi whispered, “Are you still there?”

After another moment, Meng E replied, “Yes.”

“Does this count as sparring?”

“Yes.”

“Did I lose or win?”

“If you had lost, you wouldn’t hear my voice anymore,” Meng E fell silent for a moment. “You indeed persist in training diligently. Perhaps you will also persist in reclaiming the throne. What do you want to know? Ask, I won’t hide anything anymore.”

“Did you and Yang Feng always know each other?” Han Ruzi asked immediately.

“He introduced us siblings to the Empress Dowager. At that time, she was just a prince’s consort.”

Han Ruzi’s heart stirred. Yang Feng always followed the person with the most potential. It seemed he had long favored the Empress Dowager. But he could only ask Yang Feng about this matter at a later time. So he continued, “One of you protects the Empress Dowager, and the other… teaches me inner qi. It must be for a significant purpose. What is it?”

Meng’e fell silent for a while. “We siblings aren’t surnamed Meng, but Chen.”

“Hmm.” Chen was a very common surname, and Han Ruzi couldn’t derive any information from it.

Meng’e remained silent for a while again. “We are descendants of the King of Qi.”

“What?” Han Ruzi was genuinely startled, then immediately realized his mistake. “Oh, not the rebellious Prince Qi, but… King Chen Lun who vied for the throne against the Founding Emperor?”

“Correct, we siblings are the sixth-generation descendants of the King of Qi.”

“Over a hundred and twenty years.” Han Ruzi didn’t know what to say.

“That’s not that long ago. The Han family hasn’t forgotten past events, having recorded them in Chu’s history books. We have not forgotten either, the past being engraved in our hearts.”

“You… want to restore the kingdom of Qi?” Han Ruzi finally understood what the Chen siblings were plotting.

“Mm.”

“That’s impossible,” Han Ruzi blurted out, then immediately adopted a more serious tone. “That’s impossible. I’m not the Emperor now, and I could say and do anything to win followers, but I can’t lie to you about this. None of the descendants of the Han family would allow the Chen family to restore the kingdom of Qi. If the Empress Dowager made any promises to you, she must be lying.”

“We don’t want the land and people of Qi, but the name of Qi.”

“I don’t understand…”

“There are many states around the Chu empire. We could find a suitable territory, and with only twenty or thirty thousand of soldier, we could restore the kingdom of Qi without taking an inch of Chu’s land.”

“So it’s just about borrowing troops,” Han Ruzi thought this was worth considering.

“And the recognition of statehood afterward. Qi would be willing to be a vassal of the Chu empire.”

This sounded less absurd now. Han Ruzi pondered for a moment. “Even so, this is not a simple request. The Emperor of Chu won’t easily send troops to attack neighboring small countries.”

“We will certainly find a just cause for war.”

“Alright, suppose I can help you, what do you offer in return? Inner qi… I can only thank you  for that, I won’t exchange them for tens of thousands of elite soldiers and a kingdom.”

“The conditions I have given you are the same as those given to the Empress Dowager: someday, when you think the deal is worth it, you will have a request from me. As long as you ask, I will agree. That’s the deal.”

“You’ve saved me twice, and I haven’t repaid you yet,” Han Ruzi hoped to reduce the “transactional” nature of their conversation.

“That was of my own initiative, and the inner qi skills were a gift. I just wanted you to know how capable I am. You don’t need to repay me, and I don’t need it.”

Han Ruzi really wanted to tell Meng E —actually Chen E— that no martial arts, no matter how strong, could be exchanged for building a country. With the personalities of the Chen siblings, they couldn’t rule a country, even if it were a small one.

But what he said was, “Alright, will you stay?”

“I will go to Shattered Iron City, but you don’t need to worry about where I am. When you want to find me, write a few ‘Chen’ characters on the wall outside the general’s mansion. I will come to see you that night — write them larger.”

“I’ll remember.”

“Don’t bother me for trivial matters. When you leave a mark on the wall, it means you agree to my conditions.”

Han Ruzi felt he would never leave a mark on the wall. “What about the inner qi? Will you continue to teach me?”

“You need to practice for a few more months.”

“And then?”

Meng’e’s voice disappeared, as silent as before, coming and going without a sound, never saying goodbye.

The Empress Dowager had gone through so many ups and downs without ever needing to rely on the Chen siblings. Han Ruzi felt he would need them even less. What he needed was an army and influence, not just one or two martial arts experts from the pugilist world.

He silently practiced inner qi for a while, lay down to rest, and finally felt a little secure within his ten steps.

The next morning, Han Ruzi was awakened by Zhang Youcai, hastily ate a little breakfast, put on his armor, and prepared to leave.

Yang Feng and the soldiers of the Northern Army had already left ahead of time.

Prince Donghai also woke up, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he met Han Ruzi outside the tent, asking, “You’re really not afraid of tiredness. I’m starting to hope we’ll arrive at Shattered Iron City soon. As long as I can sleep for three days straight, I’m willing to pay any price.”

Marching was very hard. Even without worrying about enemy ambushes, they had to wake up early and sleep late, all for the sake of arriving at the designated location on time.

Most of the noble sons were exhausted. Many of them didn’t even wear armor, swaying on horseback. Pity the attendants, who were tired and sleepy themselves but had to ensure their masters’ safety, unable to slack off.

Cui Teng was being difficult again, being carried by two attendants onto his horse. He still wasn’t happy, ordering them to scram. He raised his head, giving Han Ruzi a fierce look. He did this every morning, gradually calming down as the sun rose.

Han Ruzi guarded the gate on horseback, watching the procession leave the camp. Several military officers stood beside him, meticulously checking the number of people, horses, and vehicles, recording everything.

Prince Donghai accompanied Han Ruzi and suddenly said, “By the way, I heard something. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it. The general guarding Divine Hero Pass is surnamed Wu.”

Han Ruzi obtained most of his underground information from Prince Donghai. “Surnamed Wu? Is it…?”

“That’s right.”

Only one person who was surnamed Wu and valued by Prince Donghai was possible, and that was the current Emperor’s maternal uncle.

The Emperor had three maternal uncles, who were exiled to the southern border in their early years due to the Crown Prince’s incident. They were the first to actively volunteer for war when the Xiongnu invaded.

“Which one?” Han Ruzi asked.

“Wu Xiu.”

Wu Xiu was the Emperor’s second maternal uncle. Han Ruzi pondered for a moment. “It’s unrelated to us. The Northern Army is lying in ambush in the valleys outside the pass, beyond the control of Divine Hero Pass.”

“That’s true. But it will be difficult to return to the Capital after passing through the pass today.”

“We would need to have an imperial decree to return to the Capital. Whoever guards the pass would have to let us through.”

“Heh, you’re right,” Prince Donghai smiled.

The military officers had already completed all the paperwork for passing through the pass in advance. The gates were wide open, and no one else was allowed to pass. The four thousand troops and vehicles passed through the gate quickly, without stopping in the city for a moment.

Inside the gate, Han Ruzi and Prince Donghai saw Wu Xiu, the general guarding the pass. He was a middle-aged man in his forties, with traces of years of hard work still evident on his face, and an overly serious expression.

The two sides stood ten steps apart. Upon the reminder of the military officers, they nodded to each other. Even though they had met, neither of them spoke.

When he was outside, Han Ruzi had observed the Divine Hero Pass carefully.

Divine Hero Pass was built between two mountain peaks. The walls were even higher than that of the Capital, and the city-fort itself was not large. There were more warehouses for storage along the streets than barracks for residents. This place was easy to defend and hard to attack. Indeed, it didn’t need many stationed troops. When necessary, troops from various places could come to reinforce. The nearest troops could arrive within half a day.

After passing through Divine Hero Pass, the road descended and became increasingly winding and narrow. Han Ruzi pulled the reins to look back. From the north, the pass looked even more impregnable, prompting him to praise, “Truly worthy of the name ‘Divine Hero’.”

Prince Donghai seemed a bit bewildered. “We’re actually closer to the Capital from here, but I feel like we’re farther away. You led us out of the pass. I don’t care about the others, but I must return alive. You have to give me a guarantee.”

“Guarantee what? Guarantee that you won’t get struck by lightning, hit by a stone, or shot by the Xiongnu’s arrows?”

“Heh heh, you can laugh now. Let’s see how long you can keep laughing.”

From Divine Hero Pass to Shattered Iron City was over sixty miles. With fast horses, they could reach it in a day, but the army’s progress was slower, taking two days.

Along the way, whenever they passed through a mountain valley, Han Ruzi and Prince Donghai would personally go to examine the terrain. Two of the valleys had already been leveled, with a small number of soldiers guarding them, obviously prepared for setting up camps. It was said that there were already formed military camps in the farther valleys.

Prince Donghai felt slightly relieved. Actually, he knew that trapping the Xiongnu was such a serious matter that no one dared to joke about it. Now he was worried about another matter, “We absolutely cannot spend the winter in Shattered Iron City. After dealing with the Xiongnu, we must leave. Even if we can’t return to the Capital, we must stay within the Great Wall. It’s too dangerous outside the Great Wall.”

The mountain ranges on both sides gradually became lower. At noon the next day, the entire army emerged from the mountainous area and saw Shattered Iron City six miles away.

Under the vast sky, the city looked as small as a tent.

Han Ruzi firmly remembered the name Yang Feng had told him: Fang Daye.

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