Taoran Residence
It was already noon. Jia Zhen had ordered a tableful of dishes and, wine cup in hand, summoned several singing courtesans while he waited for Jia Rong.
"Master, Young Master Rong is here." Lai Sheng led Jia Rong into the private room.
"Father," Jia Rong called as he entered.
"Mmm..." Jia Zhen drew out the sound through his nose, waved the singing courtesans aside, and asked, "Where have you been amusing yourself?"
Jia Rong plastered a smile across his face. "I went hunting in the western outskirts with a few friends from the Feng and Chen families. I only just got back. Then, as luck would have it, I heard you'd sent for me, so I didn't dare delay a moment."
"Worthless brat!" Jia Zhen slammed his wine cup onto the table and scolded him. "You're no child anymore, yet all you know is running with a pack of disreputable friends, flying hawks and chasing hounds! Day after day, you never settle down. How do you look anything like the great-great-grandson of our Jia family's senior branch?"
Jia Rong trembled in fright and lowered his head, too tongue-tied to answer. He stole a sidelong glance at Jia Zhen and, seeing that his father was merely scolding him rather than ordering someone to beat him, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After berating him for a while, Jia Zhen said, "You're old enough now to find yourself a wife. I've taken a fancy to... the daughter of Qin Ye, director of the Imperial Provisioning Office under the Ministry of Works. Her character and looks are excellent. She would make a fitting match for you."
Confusion appeared in Jia Rong's eyes, and he waited quietly for his father to continue.
"But this daughter of Qin Ye's has long been betrothed to Jia Fourth, who lives in Willow Lane off the back street. I hear you know that Jia Heng well. Go give him fifty taels of silver and have him quietly break off the engagement. Don't let word get out," Jia Zhen instructed.
"Well..." Jia Rong began.
"What, is it difficult?" Jia Zhen raised his brows and snorted coldly.
Jia Rong forced out a smile. "Father, it's easy enough. Jia Heng is always trying to curry favor with me. But fifty taels-he probably won't be willing. If we get into an argument, it'll put me in a difficult position."
Jia Zhen snorted. How could he not know what tricks his son was playing? Still, the thought of Miss Qin's face and figure sent heat stirring through him. He took a banknote from his sleeve and said, "Here are two hundred taels. If you still can't manage it, watch your hide!"
Jia Rong bowed and accepted it with both hands. "Father, just wait for my good news."
"Get out!" Jia Zhen cursed.
With the banknote tucked away, Jia Rong turned and left the private room, heading toward the rear lane of Ningrong Street.
Leaving aside Jia Rong's search for Jia Heng, after returning home, Jia Heng ate lunch and changed into close-fitting warrior's clothes. He then went to his cousin Dong Qian's house to borrow a horse, bought some wine and food, and headed for Xie Zaiyi's home outside Anhua Gate.
Xie Zaiyi had arranged with him that, during his longer leave every fifth day and shorter leave every third day, Jia Heng would visit his home and learn mounted archery from him.
Mounted archery meant shooting arrows from a horse galloping at high speed. Even in his previous life on the Southwestern Frontier, Jia Heng had never tried it.
After all, his previous life had been in the age of firearms, when bows saw little use. Besides, the terrain of the Southwestern Frontier had offered no opportunity to learn such skills.
If it was simply a matter of riding a horse, however, he had no concerns.
When he entered the Xie home, Xie Zaiyi was just eating lunch. Delighted to see Jia Heng, he said with a smile, "I was wondering why you hadn't come this morning, Brother Jia."
"I had a few things to take care of this morning," Jia Heng replied.
As he spoke, he handed the wine and food to Xie Zaiyi's wife.
The two men ate a simple meal and wiped their mouths. Xie Zaiyi took two bows and a quiver of arrows from the wall and said with a smile, "Brother Jia, let's practice outside the city. There's plenty of open ground there."
Jia Heng agreed, and the two rode out of the city. It was afternoon, and gentle autumn sunlight shone over the earth. They rode across the open plains until they reached a stretch of wilderness thick with wormwood.
"Brother Jia, you have a solid grounding in horsemanship," Xie Zaiyi praised, seeing how nimbly and easily Jia Heng moved in the saddle.
Teaching someone with no foundation at all from scratch would have taken enormous effort. With a grounding in horsemanship, however, a period of guidance from him would, given time, surely bring Jia Heng through the doorway and into the inner chamber of the art.
"I practiced casually with friends before," Jia Heng said. "I still have much to learn from you, Brother Xie."
Xie Zaiyi smiled. "Mounted archery isn't really all that difficult. The key is coordinating your body, eyes, and hands in the saddle. With your foundation, Brother Jia, I imagine you could master the basics in three months."
Then Xie Zaiyi taught Jia Heng the essentials of mounted archery. Four hours passed in instruction, until the sun sank westward and the evening clouds glowed crimson.
Gazing at the distant mountains and woods beneath the setting sun, Jia Heng sighed. "Truly, this land is a painting-how many heroes have graced its times."
Xie Zaiyi took the cowhide flask hanging from his saddle and swallowed a mouthful of wine. He chuckled. "You sound less like a fighting man than a scholar."
Jia Heng smiled. "Among the great generals of old, there were scholars too. To fight a hundred men, learning might be unnecessary. But to command an army of a hundred thousand and possess a general's strategic talent, one must understand military principles and battle strategy."
Xie Zaiyi laughed heartily. "You have no small ambitions, brother."
Jia Heng smiled as well. "It was only a passing reflection."
He rubbed his aching wrist and put away his bow, then said with a smile, "Brother Xie, why don't we hunt some game in the woods?"
"It'll be dark soon, and the paths through the woods are uneven," Xie Zaiyi replied with a smile. "Come on, let's go back and drink."
Jia Heng smiled and did not insist.
The two rode toward Anhua Gate. Just as they were about to enter the city, with dusk barely falling, the sudden clatter of hooves sounded in the distance. A junior officer wearing a Hanyang Hat came galloping toward the gate, urging his horse on with his whip.
"An eight-hundred-li express dispatch from Ji Town." The relaxed smile vanished from Xie Zaiyi's face, and his voice grew grave.
"Has something happened?" Jia Heng asked solemnly.
"As soon as autumn comes, the northern Tartars pour through the passes and raid Hebei and the surrounding lands," Xie Zaiyi said bitterly. "The commander of Ji Town is sending to the court for reinforcements."
After succeeding the Ming, Chen Han had likewise established the Nine Frontiers along its borders. Unlike the former Ming, however, it had already lost Liaodong, and its frontier forces had shifted entirely to defense. Fortunately, Chen Han had learned from the lessons of the former Ming and the Song, establishing its capital in Chang'an City. Protected by mountains and rivers, the capital at least would not suffer three panics in a single night.
They returned to the Xie residence, where Xie Zaiyi's wife prepared dinner. Jia Heng and Xie Zaiyi drank together as they discussed the frontier.
"Brother Jia, you have no idea. Those northern Tartars cross the border every year to plunder and slaughter. Tang Kuan, the commander of Ji Town, hides like a turtle inside the city and watches the people of Beiping Prefecture get pillaged. He's an utter bastard." Xie Zaiyi drank as he roundly cursed the commander.
Jia Heng lifted the wine pot and filled Xie Zaiyi's cup. "Brother Xie, have you ever fought the Jurchens?" he asked curiously.
"Of course I have. I only got promoted to company commander after killing seven Tartars. Brother, let me tell you-how are those Tartars any different from us? They've each got one head perched on two shoulders, that's all. Yet those lordly commanders and deputy generals keep shouting that the Tartars never number ten thousand, and once they do, they're invincible."
Jia Heng's face grew thoughtful. This is almost exactly the situation the late Ming faced in my previous life.
Still, Chen Han has its capital in Chang'an, which puts it in a somewhat stronger position than the former Ming. But Shaanxi... the roving rebels.
Amid the clamor, you finish singing and I take the stage; we mistake a foreign land for home. How absurd-in the end, we only sew another's wedding gown.
At this thought, Jia Heng could not help shuddering in alarm.
Zhen Shiyin's commentary on the Song of Good Things in Dream of the Red Chamber truly chilled one to the bone.
If rebels sow chaos within and the Tartars beyond the passes invade from without, seizing on Chen Han's desperate straits to water their horses in the Yellow River and sweep across the Central Plains, wouldn't that be sewing another's wedding gown?
Jia Heng sighed. Now that he had come to this world of Dream of the Red Chamber, perhaps there really was only one path left to him: seize power and take charge as quickly as possible, so that this Han realm and the robes and caps of Chinese civilization would not fall beneath the Tartars' iron hooves.
"Brother Jia, let's stop talking about these vexing matters. Drink." Xie Zaiyi raised his cup toward Jia Heng.
Jia Heng smiled and raised his own cup. "The affairs of state have their meat-eaters to devise plans for them. Let's just drink."
"Exactly right! Ha ha!" Xie Zaiyi laughed and drained his cup. Perhaps the wine was rising to his head, for his eyes reddened slightly as he picked up a bite of food.
Seeing this, Jia Heng sighed inwardly. He has a story of his own, too.
Their drinking ended only during the hour of the Rooster, and Jia Heng set off for home.
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