Chapter 218: Seal the Wolf Residence, Drink the Horse in the Hanhai

Outside Zhengyang Gate.

The sound of horse hooves came fast and dense, rolling in from afar.

It was like a summer's oppressive thunder rolling along the ground, causing pedestrians on the street to step aside.

A short, stout Han vendor selling steamed cakes hurriedly pulled his stall toward the roadside, shouting in alarm:

"This sound… must be the 600‑li urgent dispatch from the northwest. It's here, it's coming again…"

In the eyes of the startled and hopeful pedestrians, a dark‑red horse turned out from the street corner.

Sweat poured down the horse's body like rain, and its sideburns were soaked, clinging to its neck.

On the horse's back sat a long‑bearded, stout Han man whose face was as dark as a heavy jujube, his helmet askew and armor crooked.

His face was covered in dust, revealing only a pair of phoenix‑red eyes beneath curled eyebrows.

He clenched the reins in his left hand, while his right hand held aloft an urgent dispatch sealed with yellow silk and pierced by three chicken feathers.

The courier spurred his horse into a frantic gallop, shouting all the way:

"Move aside! Move aside! Quickly move aside! Northwest 600‑li urgent dispatch!"

The stout Han townsfolk skillfully cleared a path, their faces showing the expected delight.

A sharp‑nosed, monkey‑faced scholar‑type passerby, holding a folding fan, waved it and exclaimed loudly:

"This must be the ninth northwest dispatch of the year, right? This Champion Marquis is unstoppable! He's practically an invincible war god, unmatched!"

Another plump‑headed, big‑eared gentleman of the gentry said:

"Nine battles, nine victories! Unstoppable wherever he goes! The Champion Marquis's valor is unparalleled through the ages!"

Other passersby added:

"We don't even know which steppe tribe the Champion Marquis defeated this time?"

"We don't know when the Champion Marquis will sweep the steppe and return his army to the capital!"

"Without a Champion Marquis, the Da Han Empire's borders would linger a hundred years in endless night!"

…

All the pedestrians stared intently at the urgent dispatch in the courier's hand.

Yet the courier dared not delay, spurring his horse straight from the street toward the Court's Ministry of Communications office.

Soon, insiders within the Ministry of Communications released breaking news:

"Northwest victory! The Champion Marquis shattered the Qinghai Left Wing Division, beheaded ten thousand, and captured Mai Ligan Huang Taiji!"

"At Wolf Residence Mountain an altar was erected to worship Heaven, and at Gu Yan Mountain an altar to worship Earth! Seal Wolf Residence, carve Stone Yanran, the spearheads straight to the shore of the Hanhai!"

"The Da Han Empire's hundred‑year frontier troubles on the steppe have been completely eradicated; from now on the barbarians retreat, and there is no royal court in the southern or northern desert!"

In an instant, as the news spread, Shenjing City boiled over again.

The steamed‑cake vendor slapped his cake onto the stall table and shouted:

"Seal the Wolf Residence, Drink the Horse in the Hanhai?"

Even though he was illiterate, he had lately heard those two phrases often from storytellers and other learned men.

In former days, General Huo Piao had accomplished such feats, and he knew the phrases symbolized the highest honor of a military commander.

An altar was built on a mountain called Wolf Residence to worship Heaven, and the Da Han army marched all the way to the Hanhai, letting warhorses drink from its waters.

It shows the Champion Marquis's forces have penetrated the far‑north of the steppe, completely crushing a threat that had loomed over the Da Han Empire for more than a century—a once‑in‑a‑generation achievement in securing the borders.

The sharp‑nosed, monkey‑faced scholar at this moment stood under a tea pavilion, and his folding fan "Snap!" fell to the ground.

He suddenly sat down hard on the ground, slapping his thigh and crying:

"With no royal court in the southern or northern desert, the Da Han Empire's hundred‑year border trouble was settled in a single battle! The unfinished deeds of the Founding and Successor Emperors have today been fulfilled by the Champion Marquis!"

"Our Da Han once again dominates the four seas and spreads virtue in all directions; I never imagined that in my lifetime I would witness the revival of Da Han. Truly the heavens have eyes!!"

The plump‑headed, big‑eared gentleman of the gentry then recited loudly:

"Great winds rise and clouds soar, his might spreads across the realm as he returns home… When the Champion Marquis triumphantly returns to the capital, I, Zhu, will be the first to meet him outside the city!"

A crippled, white‑haired old veteran, fists pressed to his chest, eyes bright, murmured:

"Old Duke has an heir, the Da Han Empire has an heir…"

Another Mongol in steppe attire stood before the Da Han Honglu Temple gate, muttering despondently:

"Lost our Wolf Mountain! It makes our great Khan not return! Lost our Juxu Mountain, causing our clan to scatter!"

No one knew who set off the firecrackers first; a long string of red fireworks hung on a street‑side tree, "Pop! Crackle!" echoing through the whole street.

Soon countless more firecracker blasts rang out, and amid the swirling smoke, someone began beating drums.

Someone else, from who knows where, fetched a suona and blew it with earth‑shaking sound.

Soldiers of the Five‑City Military Office patrolling the city stood at the street corner, watching the bustling commotion, showing no intention of intervening.

Instead, they went to a nearby tavern and shouted loudly:

"Bring a bowl of wine, to celebrate the Champion Marquis!"

At this moment, on the second floor of Shenjing's largest restaurant, in a street‑facing private room,

three people sat by the window watching the city's revelry.

On the main seat sat the current Taishang Emperor's eldest son, the seventeen‑year‑old Yi King Zhu Si, dressed in a stone‑blue four‑claw python robe.

He was originally the Crown Prince, but when the Taishang Emperor went on a northern hunt, Zhu Si was too young to bear the weight of the state.

Later, Jing Sheng Di ascended the throne and re‑titled him Yi King.

Although only seventeen, Zhu Si had already been granted a fief and was widely praised in court and among the people as courteous, scholarly, and wise—a king universally recognized as virtuous.

Flanking Yi King were the Dukes of Cao, Li Long, and of Zhao, Xu Ding.

At this moment both men's expressions were grim, while Yi King Zhu Si remained calm, showing no sign of disturbance.

Duke Cao Li Long leaned back in his chair, cup in hand, his gaze fixed on the bustling main street outside the window.

He said, his expression bearing a hint of shock:

"Flatten the grasslands, annihilate the Northern Yuan, seal the wolf's den, drink the horse's boundless sea—now little Jia Jing truly terrorizes the world, his name spreads across the four seas!"

"Even some time ago, the old acquaintances of my family in Jiangnan wrote to me to inquire about his deeds, praising his military achievements!"

Duke Cao's days during this period were actually not easy; first, in last year's attack by the White Lotus Sect he was gravely wounded and his entire household was robbed.

However, he fared better than Jia She; after a few months convalescing on his sickbed, he gradually recovered.

Later, regarding the Bashang Daying affair, Duke Cheng, Marquis Linchuan and others treasonously colluded with the enemy and dragged him into it.

Emperor Jing Sheng Di and several ministers of the current court all believed that he must have secretly colluded with False Qing, which explained such a ridiculous defeat.

After several interrogations by the Three Courts, it was discovered that Duke Cao had not participated in selling intelligence or deliberately losing to False Qing.

The truth was that he was overambitious but incompetent, simply lacking sense and ability; there might have been other suspicious matters, but none involved Duke Cao Li Long.

Therefore, after confiscating his family's iron‑copper tokens, they released him.

Duke Cao, after enduring these repeated blows, now looked noticeably older.

At this moment, watching the city's populace cheer exuberantly for Jia Jing's achievements, his expression, shocked, carried a hint of gloom.