The cycle of dreams continued as Wu Tao died once more, and the fourth reincarnation began.
This time, Wu Tao's luck took a sudden and dramatic turn for the better. He was born into a scholarly and influential family, wealthy and powerful. His father was a respected scholar and a Ju Ren (successful candidate in the imperial examinations), while his mother hailed from a prominent clan, their lineage clearly distinguished. Wu Tao's name in this life was Li Ning.
From a young age, Li Ning's parents imposed exceptionally strict standards upon him, demanding that he excel above all his peers in his studies, conduct, and endeavors. Thriving in this rigorous environment, Li Ning proved to be remarkably gifted and motivated. He recited poetry at one year old, formed complete sentences by three, composed lyrics at five, and by the age of ten, he could pen an essay on the governance of an entire prefecture.
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Eventually, Li Ning, who displayed extraordinary talent from a tender age, began to gain widespread renown. Within just a few years, his legend had spread throughout the entire Jiangnan region. Li Ning was even summoned by the foremost Governor of Jiangnan, becoming a celebrated prodigy. At eighteen, Li Ning was betrothed to the eldest daughter of the prominent Zhang family of Jiangnan, securing his own sphere of influence. At twenty, newly crowned, Li Ning participated in the imperial examinations. He surpassed all expectations, forging ahead triumphantly and directly reaching the final palace examination. With his essay "On the Northern and Southern Canals," he became the youngest Zhuang Yuan (top scholar) of the Great Han Empire. The reigning Emperor bestowed upon him a crucial responsibility, appointing him to govern a prefecture. Li Ning, through diligent governance, spent ten years transforming a desolate land of difficult terrain and winding mountains into a prosperous and abundant realm, earning eternal fame. He was thirty years old that year.
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After a decade of excellent governance and significant achievements, the Emperor was immensely pleased. Overriding all dissenting opinions, he recalled Li Ning to the imperial court, appointing him to the Ministry of Revenue, one of the six principal ministries. Li Ning lived up to the Emperor's trust, diligently and conscientiously managing his affairs with impeccable order. Under his tenure, not a single official in the Ministry of Revenue was found to be corrupt, a situation unprecedented in history. The national treasury gradually swelled, and the lives of the common people began to improve, ushering in an era of great prosperity. Wu Tao spent fifteen years gradually achieving these accomplishments. During these fifteen years, Li Ning rose to the esteemed position of Minister of Revenue, a rank of the first order, becoming a pivotal figure in the court. He was forty-five years old that year. After becoming Minister of Revenue, Li Ning reformed commercial taxes and established imperial trading houses, amassing mountains of silver in the state coffers.
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Three years later, due to the imperial court's policy of curtailing feudal lords, the eight great feudal lords of the south jointly rebelled, plunging the entire southern region into unrest and destabilizing the court, creating widespread anxiety. Li Ning was appointed as Imperial Envoy, tasked with military affairs for the first time in a crisis. Two years of suppressing the rebellion transformed Li Ning, a civil official, into a seasoned military leader. With ten victories in ten battles, Li Ning led his troops through arduous combat, eventually defeating each of the eight southern feudal lords one by one. With the rebellion quelled, Li Ning, as the foremost contributor among the Imperial Envoys who suppressed the rebellion, was enfeoffed as a hereditary Marquis of Zhenguo, awarded with an iron certificate exempting him from death.
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During this period, he began forming factions, engaging in corruption, and clashing with other powerful officials, evolving into a seasoned politician. Li Ning was fifty years old that year.
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Another decade passed, through the changing seasons. The Emperor abdicated, and a new Emperor ascended the throne, ushering in an era of governmental reform, a wise ruler for a new dynasty. The new Emperor was young and inexperienced, with shallow political acumen and a mediocre temperament, thus he delegated vast imperial power to Li Ning. From then on, Li Ning assumed the position of Prime Minister, second only to the Emperor, wielding immense influence and commanding great prestige. Among the common people, Prime Minister Li was known as "Half-Emperor Li." Li Ning was sixty years old that year.
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Heaven sent a great calamity upon the land, a severe drought, leaving famine-stricken citizens widespread across the Great Ming Empire. Li Ning, driven by his own interests, allowed the situation to deteriorate, leading to widespread suffering, displacement, and public outcry. Fortunately, on his birthday, his young grandson's earnest words made Li Ning suddenly repent. To protect the lives of his people and atone for his past mistakes, Li Ning spared no effort, disregarding his advanced age. He rose at the third watch and slept at the亥 (hai) hour, his aging body gradually failing to keep up.
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The Central Plains Imperial Dynasty weakened, while the nomadic tribes of the grasslands grew powerful, engaging in plunder and atrocities. Coinciding with this, the Emperor passed away, and a young heir ascended the throne. Li Ning, as the Prime Minister, began to organize a counterattack. However, faced with widespread devastation from both natural disasters and human conflict across the Central Plains, his efforts yielded meager results. Li Ning was seventy years old that year.
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Driven by righteousness, he had no regrets even in death; an aged man, his ambition soared to the heavens. With internal strife and external enemies, Li Ning, as Prime Minister, could only command an army of a hundred thousand, at the advanced age of over seventy, to resist the hundreds of thousands of cavalry from the nomadic grassland Xiongnu Empire. On that day, the seventy-something Li Ning led a hundred thousand troops, traveling by way of funeral procession, departing from the Great Han capital of Luoyang and arriving at the foremost strategic pass in the north, Shanhaiguan.
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In the distance beyond Shanhaiguan, the thunderous pounding of hooves echoed, like muffled thunder on a clear day. Dust billowed, and the ground trembled faintly as a massive yellow line appeared at the city gates, resembling a colossal serpent. The continuous thunder of hooves resounded again as the dense formations of grassland cavalry began to slow. The perfectly aligned horse heads resembled the head of a dragon, the fluttering banners its fins, and the ferocious helmets of the cavalry looked like the scales of a dragon. The white mist expelled from the horses' nostrils, joined together, resembled dragon whiskers. The bows and arrows held by the cavalry gleamed with a chilling light in the distance, like the sharp claws of a dragon.
"Woo woo!!!"
The clear blast of a horn pierced the sky. The grassland cavalry, which had been marching side-by-side, spread out to both sides like a tide, revealing a massive iron chariot slowly advancing in the center. As the chariot moved forward, the surrounding grassland cavalry, composed and unhurried, dismounted from behind the chariot, like waves in the ocean. The curved swords that adorned the weapon slots of their horses' harnesses were renowned throughout the land. The massive chariot slowly passed through the corridor formed by the cavalry.
"Prime Minister, that is the chariot of the Great Khan of the grassland royal court!" a general beside Li Ning exclaimed in a tense whisper from atop Shanhaiguan.
Li Ning took a deep breath and adjusted his court robes. Everyone tensed, an immense pressure pressing in. All eyes, filled with astonishment, observed these unexpected visitors who had traveled so far. The steady demeanor of these grassland cavalry exuded an inexplicable sense of pressure, a feeling only truly seasoned warriors carried.
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After a brief exchange of words, the Xiongnu wasted no further time and launched their assault. Countless grassland cavalry charged towards Shanhaiguan like an overwhelming tide.
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The fierce battle raged until five in the afternoon. Countless corpses lay strewn across the battleground within three kilometers of the city walls. Both sides fought desperately, bleeding profusely. Armor and blood mingled into an indistinguishable mess. Dark red human blood stained the earth and bricks, and mountains of corpses lay scattered across the land. Broken swords and spears, shattered arrows and curved blades were everywhere. Piles of human and horse carcasses were interspersed with visible severed limbs. On this exceptionally bloody battlefield, the corpses stretched as far as the eye could see; stepping forward, deep red blood gurgled out.
"Are these grassland people even human? Why are they fighting like madmen?" The soldiers of the Great Han Empire defending Shanhaiguan were the first to falter. Facing wave after wave of desperate charges from the grassland cavalry, they were on the verge of collapse. The defenses on the city walls were breached multiple times, and the grassland cavalry almost broke through the city. Hours of combat had left both sides exhausted, with casualties on each side not less than ten thousand.
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This situation persisted for half a month. Out of necessity, Li Ning had to draft all able-bodied men from Shanhaiguan to serve as militia to help defend it. The defenses of Shanhaiguan became increasingly difficult as time went on, as arrows were depleted, leaving them unable to mount ranged attacks in retaliation. Out of desperation, soldiers began dismantling houses to construct catapults, hurling stones. One day, the tide of the battle turned. Due to days of continuous fighting, a patrol squad fell asleep, allowing the Xiongnu to seize the opportunity and, under the cover of night, erect scaling ladders against the city walls. Innumerable grassland cavalry dismounted and vigorously climbed the parapets. Discovering the defenders, they were startled and almost routed, and Shanhaiguan was on the verge of falling. Fortunately, Li Ning did not sleep that night. He, as if driven to madness, led his personal guards and soldiers to the city walls. Immediately, his guards roared in unison: "Everyone, do not panic! The Prime Minister has arrived! Sons of Han, let us kill the Xiongnu together..."
In the darkness, the terrified soldiers calmed down instantly upon hearing these words, remembering the people in the city, their families behind them, and the inescapable fate of death regardless of their fear. Thus, a general, wielding a Fang Tian Hua Ji (a type of halberd), took the lead, beheading several Xiongnu and shouting, "Brothers, follow me! Kill! Kill!!!" In the darkness of that night, countless Han men roared to the heavens, charging fearlessly onto the narrow ramparts, engaging in a meat-grinding close-quarters battle with the Xiongnu. As one fell, another took his place, entangled with the Xiongnu. If they ran out of swords and blades, they used their teeth to bite and their heads to ram, vowing to take their enemies down with them even with their last breath.