The Child Emperor-Chapter 335: Selecting Talents, Using Talents

On the evening when Gui Yuehua’s severed head was displayed, Hua Bin returned to the city with ten accomplices. Unsurprisingly, they were captured alive shortly after emerging from the tunnel. The tunnel was flooded and then sealed, while the prisoners were sent to Prince Dai’s mansion.

The prisoners were held separately, and the Emperor personally interrogated Hua Bin.

After only three days, Hua Bin appeared much more haggard than when he had been under house arrest in the Ceremonial Guard camp. Though there were no visible wounds on his body, he had clearly endured tremendous psychological pressure.

The secrets of the Chu captives had not been exposed. After each person revealed their plan, the Xiongnu Great King was very satisfied and kept them all, hosting banquets daily. Deng Cui successfully won the Xiongnu people’s favor, becoming sworn brothers with nobles and even daring to offer wine to the Great King’s concubines.

The incident occurred two nights ago during a banquet. The Xiongnu Great King received a letter and had an interpreter read it to him quietly. Gui Yuehua, in a moment of confusion, chose that exact moment to step forward and offer wine, trying to imitate Deng Cui’s manner and display some boldness. No one knew which words went wrong, but he somehow enraged the Xiongnu Great King.

Perhaps he was simply unlucky – the Xiongnu Great King was already in a fury. He stood up, drew his sword, walked over to Gui Yuehua, and began hacking wildly without reason. Poor Gui Yuehua, who was a somewhat renowned expert in the pugilist world, dared not resist in that situation. He only raised his arm once, then quickly lowered it, dying inexplicably in the tent.

The Xiongnu Great King spoke at length in great anger while his wives and concubines huddled together trembling. The nobles all stood up, occasionally responding, though no one knew what was being said.

All the Chu people were led out of the tent, and the interpreter solemnly told them that their days of enjoyment were over. Hua Bin and the others had to return to the city the following night and bring back the Emperor’s head within two days.

Hua Bin was truly terrified. Even while recounting these events, he was still trembling. In Chu, the Hua family had only felt humiliation, but among the Xiongnu, he felt like mere grass – worthless. His status as imperial relative, his noble rank, his reputation in the pugilist world meant nothing to the Xiongnu people. Hua Bin had to struggle to recall how servants had once flattered him in order to protect himself before the Xiongnu Great King.

Stockade Chief Dong from Cloud Dream Marsh shifted all blame onto Hua Bin and the others, claiming that their failure to deliver the Emperor’s head as promised had caused their status among the Xiongnu to plummet. Therefore, he had personally come along to achieve a great merit.

Hua Bin, however, only wanted to beg the Emperor’s forgiveness. Upon seeing the Emperor, he immediately knelt on the ground, his arrogance completely gone.

Han Ruzi found it laughable that the dignified Handsome Marquis had become so base after spending just a few days among the Xiongnu people. He sat on his chair, separated from Hua Bin by numerous guards and eunuchs, and asked, “Where is General Deng?”

“He… he and Prince Donghai are both kept by the Xiongnu Great King’s side.”

“Prince Donghai?”

Hua Bin recounted the events of the first day again. Deng Cui’s performance had been too successful – the Xiongnu Great King was reluctant to let him go. As for Prince Donghai, he had appeared too cowardly, so the Xiongnu people had no intention of sending him to persuade Chu generals to surrender. They hadn’t yet decided how to use him.

Deng Cui had not only failed to escape the Xiongnu camp but had actually become the Xiongnu Great King’s honored guest. Han Ruzi didn’t know whether to feel disappointed or pleased. He waved for the guards to take Hua Bin away and began pondering one question: what had suddenly enraged the Xiongnu Great King, making him urgently demand the Emperor’s head?

The encirclement during the day had clearly been intended by the Xiongnu to lure reinforcements near Jincheng City. This wasn’t just showing off – it was also meant to provoke the defenders, hoping the Emperor would come out for battle.

Besides besieging the city, this Xiongnu Great King was using every possible method to try to kill the Emperor.

The bandits from Cloud Dream Marsh had spent more time in the Xiongnu camp and might know some inside information. Han Ruzi would not meet with those people personally, so he summoned Zhang Jing, the official from the Ministry of Justice, and Xie Cun, a gate officer from the Ceremonial Guard Battalion, having the two jointly oversee the interrogation.

Both Zhang and Xie were surprised but asked no questions. However, Cui Teng, after the two had left, immediately asked, “Zhang Jing is an experienced clerk in the Ministry of Justice, but Xie Cun is still a child. Your Majesty is letting him interrogate prisoners?”

“Let him begin learning,” Han Ruzi replied. He appreciated Xie Cun’s keen observational abilities and felt this person could become a judicial officer in the future.

Hua Bin and the others had already returned to the city, and the tunnel had been sealed. Han Ruzi no longer needed to hide in the prince’s mansion, so he decided to patrol around the city to dispel the rumors claiming the emperor could not get out of bed.

As they left the mansion together, Cui Teng said, “Your Majesty, I must remind you that Xie Cun is the son of the Praised Marquis. Although his family has long been in decline, his descendants have either served as officials or generals. Even if they held idle positions, they would not stoop to being clerks. He would certainly be willing to go to the Ministry of Justice as a presiding official, but as a clerk interrogating prisoners, no matter how high the rank, he might not accept.”

“What about you?”

“Me?” Cui Teng shook his head repeatedly and laughed. “I could never be a clerk. I would rather remain without office or position and stay by the emperor’s side.”

“Let Xie Cun choose for himself.”

Outside, night had fallen deeply, and most officials and citizens had already gone to sleep, but the emperor’s patrol still disturbed some people. Before dawn broke, the news would spread throughout the entire city of Jincheng.

Han Ruzi went straight to the military camp, where he summoned the generals defending the city to hear their defensive arrangements. The more the Xiongnu appeared incapable of siege warfare, the more Jincheng City needed to maintain strict vigilance—this was the emperor’s basic judgment.

Fan Zhuangshan was the commanding general of the city’s defense, and he was primarily responsible for reporting the situation.

Han Ruzi quickly detected a problem. “Wait, there are only four thousand garrison troops in the city, but according to General Fan’s arrangements, at least five thousand men are already being deployed.”

“We recruited some soldiers from among the city’s civilians.” When it came to military formations and deployments, Fan Zhuangshan struggled. As he continued speaking, he became increasingly nervous, often needing reminders from other officers. After finishing, he let out a long breath.

Han Ruzi had no choice. There were no great generals in the city, and Fan Zhuangshan at least had a resounding reputation that could reassure the military and civilians in the city. As for the specific defense plans, staff officers would naturally help him formulate them.

Deng Cui was right—whether Jincheng City could hold depended not on the Chu army, but on the Xiongnu’s determination. All the arrangements within the city were merely better than nothing.

Deng Cui was rather arrogant and disliked doing such inconclusive minor tasks, but Han Ruzi was different. Although he would not micromanage everything personally, he would not simply let go and leave everything entirely to others. For him, “better than nothing” was a valid choice.

He was fairly satisfied with the defense plan. After offering some encouragement, he dismissed the generals, keeping only Fan Zhuangshan behind. He asked, “Who was responsible for recruiting soldiers from among the civilians? Why did no one inform Us?”

Fan Zhuangshan scratched his forehead. Though brave in battle, he was always somewhat nervous in the emperor’s presence. “I think they were recruited by someone from the Ministry of War. When they sent me soldiers, I just used them without asking detailed questions. I thought the Ministry of War would report to Your Majesty.” 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Han Ruzi smiled. “Well, General Fan should focus on defending the city. How are those newly recruited soldiers? Can they fight? Are weapons and armor still sufficient?”

When asked about these matters, Fan Zhuangshan could finally answer fluently. “Not bad, fairly obedient, able to follow orders. They probably can’t handle battlefield combat, but they’re sufficient for defending the city. We don’t need them to wield swords, spears, bows, or crossbows—mainly they transport earth and stones up to the city walls. We’ve already conducted several drills, and everything went very smoothly.”

The space atop the city walls was cramped and needed to remain clear, so not much equipment could be stockpiled there. When actual fighting began, supplies would need to be transported from below the walls. The newly recruited soldiers mainly did this kind of work. Strictly speaking, they could not be considered real soldiers, but they were very helpful for defending the city.

It seemed there were still capable people among the accompanying officials. Han Ruzi had to admit that he had previously been prejudiced against court officials, thinking they were all incompetent. But various facts proved that many officials actually had real abilities—they simply had not been placed in the correct positions or given sufficient trust.

Han Ruzi returned to the Prince Dai’s mansion and searched through the official documents from recent days, believing that paperwork regarding recruitment must be among them. He had simply overlooked it before. With so many recent events, he indeed had not carefully examined these materials.

As he was reading through stacks of documents by lamplight, Zhang Jing and Xie Cun requested an audience. The two had already interrogated the bandits from Cloud Dream Marsh and obtained much useful information.

The Xiongnu king besieging the city came from the Western Xiongnu and was the Great Chanyu’s younger brother. With his noble status, he was arrogant and conceited. After easily conquering Liaodong and successfully surprising Jincheng City, he held the Chu army in great contempt, believing that no elaborate troop-luring schemes were necessary. Only by quickly breaking through Jincheng City and killing the emperor could he demonstrate Xiongnu strength. However, the Great Chanyu, influenced by Eastern Xiongnu nobles, insisted on maintaining the siege without attacking.

Therefore, the Xiongnu king borrowed the power of pugilist heroes, hoping to assassinate the emperor so he could break through Jincheng City and join forces with the Great Chanyu.

According to rumors, the Great Chanyu’s health was poor, and the Xiongnu king was anxious to unite their armies because he feared that if the Great Chanyu died, leading troops abroad would make him vulnerable to schemes from his other brothers and nephews.

As for what news had angered the Xiongnu king, the bandits were also unsure.

Zhang Jing noticed that the emperor intended to cultivate Xie Cun’s talents, so he deliberately praised the young man a few times.

Han Ruzi sent a eunuch to escort the two men away, then said to Cui Teng: “Go ask what Xie Cun thinks.”

Apart from drinking, Cui Teng rarely stayed up late and was already yawning repeatedly. He was pleased to have something to do, agreed with a “yes,” and ran out to chase after Xie Cun.

Han Ruzi continued reviewing documents and ultimately discovered that no single person was entirely responsible for recruitment. From officials of the six ministries in the imperial entourage to minor clerks in Jincheng’s local government offices, many had participated to varying degrees under different pretenses. Finally, a scholarly advisor in the entourage had proposed changing the policy from labor conscription to military recruitment—first to strengthen their show of force, and second to motivate the people, since military pay was higher and defending the city as soldiers carried better reputation.

His single name was Zhong. Han Ruzi had a slight impression of this scholar but couldn’t recall anything exceptional about him.

Finding talent was always difficult. Even when talent was right beside you, it was often overlooked. Han Ruzi felt this deeply and made note of this person, though he wasn’t eager to employ him immediately—he still had pressing threats to resolve.

Past midnight, just as Han Ruzi was about to retire, Cui Teng finally returned with flushed cheeks. He had exploited a small loophole in the emperor’s decree to invite Xie Cun for a few drinks.

“I found out everything,” Cui Teng said proudly, feeling he had accomplished something significant. “Just as I said before, Xie Cun doesn’t want to be an clerk. He’d rather stay in the Ceremonial Guard Battalion as a Miscellaneous Attendant General.”

Miscellaneous Attendant General was merely a euphemism—he was essentially the emperor’s personal attendant.

Han Ruzi sighed softly. Even when you truly found talent, how to use it remained a problem.

Now wasn’t the time to resolve such matters. Han Ruzi had someone escort Cui Teng away, then went to bed. After lying down for a while, he suddenly understood something and said to Meng E, who remained in the room: “I’ve guessed what angered the Xiongnu king.”

“Mm.” Meng E responded, then after waiting a moment said: “I can’t figure it out.”

“The Great Chanyu is about to send peace negotiation envoys.”

“The Great Chanyu truly wants to negotiate?”

“No.” Han Ruzi’s heart sank. “I’m afraid the Chu army in Qi has encountered serious trouble.”

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