Emperor Zhaolie of the late Han Dynasty: Rising to power in Liaoxi

Yangle City in Liaoxi Prefecture should have been enjoying a peaceful and prosperous time after the autumn harvest, with granaries full, but the atmosphere in the city grew more and more somber each day.

Inside the main hall of the prefect's mansion, Hou Chong, the prefect of Liaoxi, sat in the main seat, his fingertips repeatedly stroking the last military report from the northern frontier on the table, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

The military report was delivered half a month ago, and the handwriting was Liu Bei's own, containing only a few words.

It was said that the army had reached a hundred miles outside Queji's main camp, had won one battle after another, and had gained a great deal of spoils. Soon they would be able to pacify Queji's forces and return in triumph.

But after that military report, not a single message came back from the northern frontier.

Prior to this, Yangle City would receive a team sent back by Liu Bei almost every three to five days.

They were either escorting large groups of Xianbei prisoners, or herding thousands of cattle, sheep, and warhorses, along with cartloads of captured leather armor, gold, silver, and grain.

Every time the procession entered the city, the people of Yangle City would line both sides of the street and cheer, shouting "Lord Liu" so loudly it shook the heavens.

Everyone knows that it was this young Marquis of Guannei and Magistrate of Yangle County who led the men of Liaoxi to defeat the Xianbei people who had been raiding the northern frontier year after year, and was the guardian of the people of Liaoxi.

Wang Lie, Liu Bei's county clerk, was standing below the hall, looking at the mountain of victory reports piled up on the table, his face solemn.

Since the news stopped, he has stopped his county affairs and stayed at the prefect's mansion every day, waiting for news from the north.

"My lord, counting today, it has been a full eighteen days."

Wang Lie bowed and spoke, his voice steady but unable to hide a trace of anxiety, "Normally, even if the journey is long, scouts will make a trip at most every seven days."

"Now that there has been no news for eighteen days, I'm afraid..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone present could clearly hear the worry in his voice.

Prefect Shan Jing stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, I have already sent people to the various border fortresses and asked all the merchants traveling there. They all say that fighting has broken out in the north."

"The imperial court dispatched Xia Yu, the Protector of the Wuhuan, to lead three armies on a northern expedition against the Xianbei, and the entire northern frontier was thrown into chaos."

"Xuande and the others have probably been drawn into the great battle."

Hou Chong sighed heavily, put down the military report in his hand, stood up and walked to the front of the hall, gazing at the northern horizon.

He was not only the governor of Liaoxi, responsible for defending the territory, but also Liu Bei's father-in-law, and had long regarded this young man as his own son.

When Liu Bei led his troops beyond the Great Wall, he faced pressure from the Protectorate of the Wuhuan, mobilizing troops and supplies to provide full support.

He was mentally prepared, but when the time came, he was still worried.

"Xia Yu, that scoundrel!"

Hou Chong gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on a pillar. "For his own military achievements, he lied about military intelligence, incited the court to launch a northern expedition, and dragged the entire northern frontier into a quagmire!"

"Xuande and the others in the north must have been implicated by him!"

But while you can criticize, it's too late to help when you're in a real crisis.

Liu Bei took almost all of the Liaoxi Commandery's troops with him, leaving only a little over a thousand old, weak, and disabled soldiers in the city.

Let alone providing support beyond the Great Wall, they are even struggling to defend the various fortresses in western Liaoning.

All they could do was wait.

Days passed, but there was still no news from the northern frontier.

Rumors in Yangle City spread like wildfire.

At first, it was just whispers among the common people that Liu Bei's army had been ambushed by the Xianbei in the north and had been wiped out.

Later, the rumors intensified, even fabricating detailed accounts of Liu Bei's death in battle.

Some even said that all three routes of the Han army in the Northern Expedition had been defeated, and that the Xianbei army was about to march south and massacre Liaoxi.

The people in the city were filled with anxiety, and many wealthy families had begun packing up their property in preparation for migrating to the interior of the country.

The displaced people in the various border forts were also restless. They had come to Liaoxi Xijia because of Liu Bei's benevolent rule.

Now that they've heard that Liu Bei has died in battle, many people have begun secretly packing their belongings, preparing to flee.

The prefectural government sent people to the border every day to gather information, but the men sent out either returned empty-handed or were intercepted and killed by roaming Xianbei cavalry on the way, and could not even reach the northern border.

More than a month passed, and just when Hou Chong and the others were about to become restless, a piece of news suddenly came from Liucheng.

Tadun returned from the northern frontier with three hundred Wuhuan cavalrymen.

This news struck the governor's mansion like a thunderbolt.

Hou Chong almost immediately ordered the prefectural magistrate, Shan Jing, to set off at full speed to Liucheng.

We must get the truth about the northern frontier and the whereabouts of Liu Bei's army from Tadun.

Dan Jing dared not delay, and that very day he took his entourage and rushed to Liucheng under the cover of night.

The following afternoon, I met Tadun, who had just returned from the northern frontier.

This twelve-year-old Wuhuan boy commander, having experienced the blizzards and battles of the northern frontier, was even more arrogant, with a trace of lingering hardship between his brows.

He was not surprised at all when Shan Jing arrived. He dismissed his attendants and left only a few personal guards.

Dan Jing got straight to the point, asking about the battle situation in the north and the whereabouts of Liu Bei's army.

Tadun did not hide anything and recounted in detail the events of Zhen Zhan Queji's unexpected encounter with Xia Yu and Mi Jia's great battle, the blizzard that scattered the troops, and Xia Yu's soldiers killing any Hu they saw.

Finally, he picked up the mare's milk wine, took a sip, looked at Shan Jing, and said in a calm but regretful tone, "The blizzard has lasted for three days, and the visibility on the grassland is less than three zhang. We have completely lost contact with Lord Liu's army."

"When I led my people to retreat south, Miga's cavalry were chasing us from behind. Xia Yu's men shot arrows at us as soon as they saw us, so we couldn't turn back to look for them at all."

"What about Liu Junhou and the others?" Shan Jing asked urgently.

Tadun put down his wine flask and shook his head: "I don't know."

"The grasslands are blocked by a blizzard. There are no guides, no familiar pastoral routes, and our food supplies will only last for ten days at most."

"We also have to face the Xianbei pursuers and Xia Yu's group of Han soldiers who are like madmen."

"Prefect Shan, you've been on the frontier for so many years, you should know what this situation means."

He spoke tactfully, but the meaning was crystal clear.

Liu Bei and his men survived by a hair's breadth, and it's highly likely they won't make it back.

Dan Jing felt a chill run through his body and could no longer sit still. He hurriedly bid farewell to Tadun and rode back to Yangle City at full speed.

He relayed Tadun's words to Hou Chong and Wang Lie verbatim.

Inside the main hall of the prefect's residence, there was a deathly silence.

After he finished speaking, he stood aside with his hands at his sides, not daring to say another word.

Hou Chong sat in the main seat, his face pale, his fingers gripping the table tightly until his knuckles turned white, and he didn't utter a word for a long time.

He had considered the worst-case scenario, but when those words came out of Shan Jing's mouth, it was like a knife, stabbing deep into his heart.

The first to break the silence was Wang Lie.

He stood ramrod straight, his face showing no sign of panic, and bowed to Hou Chong, saying, "My lord, Tadun only said that the army was scattered, but he did not say that our lord had died in battle."

"Our lord appears gentle, but he is actually a man of great wisdom and composure in the face of danger, and possesses a battlefield intuition far beyond that of ordinary people."

"When the epidemic swept through western Liaoning, everyone was helpless, but he turned the tide."

"When Que Ji's troops were surrounded on three sides, everyone thought it was a dead end, but he led his army out of that predicament."

"A mere blizzard can't hold him back."

Wang Lie's voice was calm yet firm, like a reassuring pill, which made Hou Chong's tense nerves relax a little.