stubborn thief

The Marshal's Office and the Ming Dynasty's Ministry of Rites both had objections to Liu Chengzong's inscription.

Zhang Xianzhong and Qian Shisheng believed that the choice of words and sentences needed to be discussed.

Qian Shisheng just followed Zhang Xianzhong's words because he felt that even if Liu Chengzong didn't do it, it would still be Zhang Xianzhong's job.

He felt guilty for robbing someone of the opportunity to leave his name in history, so no matter what Zhang Xianzhong said, as long as he was allowed to write the inscription, the old man would accept it no matter what it said.

Zhang Xianzhong simply felt that Liu Chengzong's inscription was too simple and not impressive enough.

In the eyes of the Minister of Rites, this was a battle for the country's name, and the authentic, righteous and upright Dai Qing Khan defeated the villain who usurped the title of Dai Qing Gulun!

As for Chongzhen Bingzi, he had nothing to do with this battle and there was no need to bring Chongzhen along.

It should be changed to 'In the third year of Daqing, the Grand Marshal, the Khitan Khan of Daiqing, defeated Emperor Chongde here!'

If necessary, you can also add Chechen Genghis before Daiqing Khitan Khan.

But Liu Chengzong was stubborn. Even when he was happiest, his tone was always gentle. He still refused to add unnecessary details: "Just write the inscription with the reign title of Chongzhen, my name and the title of the Jin Dynasty."

"This war is fought for all the people in the world. There is only one emperor in the world, and there is no place for Chongde."

"As for the honorific titles, they are superfluous. Dharma King Bodhisattva, General Military Governor, Lazun Taiji, Chongzhen Chongde, Guyuan Zhenlong, Imperial Master Khan, and the great kings everywhere, which one of them was not defeated by him?"

Liu Chengzong looked at everyone and asked, "Even if you are labeled as a foolish Khan, who can be more impressive than the three words Liu Chengzong?"

Zhang Xianzhong had nothing to say, Liu Chengzong was indeed very impressive.

The two words "Hanhan" can scare people to pee their pants.

Qian Shisheng opened his mouth but said nothing. He did not expect that Liu Chengzong had heard of Han Khan.

In fact, this is a misunderstanding. Ministers in the capital sent letters privately and no one wrote this, but the old man did not dare to tell the truth... He was generally called the Northwest Fool.

However, Qian Shisheng estimated that once the news of the victory reached the capital and even shocked the world, no one would dare to call Liu Chengzong by such words.

Dudu was summoned.

After he was captured by Subati, Liu Chengzong ignored him and only ordered the Yulin Cavalry to keep him under strict supervision. He was not summoned until the end of the battle.

Du Du was in Liu Chengzong's central army. Like Qian Shisheng, he witnessed the entire process of Emperor Chongde's defeat, as well as the three piles of heads.

When I suddenly heard that I was summoned, I was extremely scared.

Really, it was not until this moment that he suddenly remembered a fact that had been forgotten for a long time.

The Ming Dynasty was a more barbaric existence than his grandfather and uncles.

Du Du read the Four Books and Five Classics and read The Romance of the Three Kingdoms since he was a child, and his cultural level is no less than that of Huang Taiji.

In fact, he never thought that these people, the Tartars, were barbaric. No, they had no choice.

When they shaved their heads in Liaoyang, they kept their hair but not their heads.

And true barbarism is a means that only civilization can choose.

Wherever the Ming army passed outside the border, no one had a leader.

Du Du once thought that Liu Chengzong was going to chop off his head as well.

He walked to the center of the army trembling with fear and found Liu Chengzong sitting on a chair reading a book. After hearing the announcement, he looked up and saw him coming. He asked calmly, "Are you the eldest grandson of the old Khan of the Jin Kingdom?"

Du Du had almost forgotten all the Chinese language he had learned as a child. He was very nervous and bowed and nodded in response.

Liu Chengzong put away the list of the lives of the fallen soldiers in his hand and asked again, "Stand up, there is no need to keep bowing. Why are you called the governor?"

Du Du didn't know what Liu Chengzong meant for a moment, so he stood up and answered truthfully: "When I was born, my grandfather was the governor."

This is a matter of different circumstances.

When he was born, Nurhaci was still a barbarian official holding imperial edicts for trade. He killed a Ningguta official and sent fifty corpses to Liaodong for verification. He was jointly recommended by the Governor-General of Ji and Liao, the Governor of Liaodong, the General of Liaodong, and the Governor of Shandong of the Ming Dynasty to control the Dongyi and serve as a barrier.

Getting rewards, holding an official position, and doing trade, why not?

It is normal for Dudu to be called the governor.

But when Nurhaci did a particularly good job of "controlling the Dongyi and building a barrier", and the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong did a particularly poor job, it was normal for them to rebel.

Sichuan did a terrible job, and Yang Yinglong and She Chongming rebelled because of this.

After the rebellion, there was a distinction between enemies and ourselves, and Du Du could no longer be called the governor.

It has to have a specific meaning, such as 'Chengzong', which means that this person is bad from the root of his ancestors.

If Huang Taiji asked him this, he would definitely answer fluently: "That's what Jiu meant."

But at this moment, as a prisoner, what kind of hellish scenes did Du Du see along the way?
Heads were piled up like mountains, vultures were circling in the sky, blood was soaking the sand, and the gravel that the wind blew onto people's faces might have been red.

The soldiers from Shaanxi showed off their muscular arms, tore off their white armor, nailed armor plates on their red armor, and played with throwing silver bars at each other. They held the goose-feather knives forged by the Later Jin Dynasty, the large bows and arrows they made, and rode their Liaodong horses freely and laughed wildly.

From time to time, a huge golden-winged bird would swoop down from the sky, pick up the head and then be unable to fly. It would shrug its shoulders and put its hands behind its back, swaying and jumping in the Gobi Desert to avoid the soldiers.

There are also the eight banners of the central army and the ceremonial system of Emperor Chongde.

Du Du felt that it would be nicer to call himself Dudu.

My Lord, please understand. Although I was born in the remote area of ​​Liaodong, I have admired the king's rule since my mother's womb!
Liu Shizi was just asking casually. He then asked, "Which flag do you lead?"

To this, Du Du answered quickly: "Inlaid with white!"

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Liu Chengzong took a deep breath and said, "Ah, then you... then you are in trouble. The white camp on the border was overwhelmed in the battle, and there were not many prisoners."

"That Bordered White Banner is the old Jianzhou, my Bordered White Banner is the Hada tribe, and now it is the Bordered Yellow Banner led by Emperor Chongde himself."

In fact, Liu Shizi was already happy when he heard Du Du say earlier that he was getting a white-rimmed jacket.

The eldest son of the Khan of the Later Jin Dynasty is dead, his eldest grandson is in his hands, and his headquarters has been wiped out. Even if he goes back, he has no troops. This is already very good.

Now, it turns out that Du Du's white flag was taken away by Huang Taiji, and there is some old grudge between him and Huang Taiji.

Liu Shizi couldn't hold back his anger, and tried his best to pretend to be disgusted. He frowned and said, "I will be of great use to you as the Khan's eldest grandson... Then you don't have any men?"

Very heartbreaking.

Du Duzhen had no troops or soldiers. Not only that, he didn't even have any Niulu. He only had a few slaves who were rewarded for his military merits.

To survive in Shengjing, they relied on working under Yuetuo's Xianghongqi to earn a few dollars, and every New Year and other festivals they looked forward to Huang Taiji giving clothes and jewelry to their relatives as rewards.

The nobles of the Aisin family lived in luxury, but Dudu was the poorest one.

What he feared most was not going to the battlefield, but the weddings and funerals of relatives... Huang Taiji was reluctant to use the pearls and satin that he received as rewards during festivals, waiting to give them as gifts to his relatives at their weddings or funerals.

At this moment, Liu Chengzong said calmly, "That means there are no troops." It sounded like he was of no use and deserved to be killed.

Du Du was so angry and humiliated that his fear of Liu Chengzong was overwhelmed.

He thought, "I am poor, so what?"
Should you die if you are poor?
But before Du Du could explode, Liu Chengzong sighed and said, "Tian Cong Khan, he is your uncle after all, why is he so mean to you?"

Dudu said nothing.

Just now he almost jumped up to argue with Liu Chengzong to prove that he was deeply involved with each flag, which was very useful.

But when Liu Chengzong said this, Du Du was not stupid, he figured out Liu Chengzong's purpose.

The intention was not to kill him, but to incite him to rebellion.

This actually calmed him down and he did not answer Liu Chengzong's question.

Silence is also an answer.

Who doesn't know the reason for favoring one over the other? It's just because Du Du is the eldest grandson.

"Not answering?"

Liu Chengzong smiled, raised his hand and waved it outward, saying: "Then there is no point for you to stay here. I am happy today, so forget it. Since you can't be of any use to me, I can't guarantee that I won't kill you if you don't speak next time, so go back."

"If you think you can live comfortably under Huang Taiji, then pick up some armor, a few war horses, some cattle and sheep, and dry food. Select a hundred guards from the captives and take them away. We will see you on the battlefield next year. Your life or death will be decided by God."

Du Du was stunned on the spot.

His mind was suddenly confused. To be honest, after being captured, he never thought of working for Liu Chengzong. Even though he witnessed Dai Qing's defeat, he was just afraid.

Even when he realized that Liu Chengzong wanted to incite him to rebel, he became rebellious and planned to die here.

However, when Liu Chengzong offered conditions to let him go, Du Du hesitated.

If they don't let him go, he will have to consider the unknown life circumstances in the unfamiliar environment of the Marshal's Mansion... People like familiarity and hate the unknown.

But if he wanted to let him go, Du Du would have to consider his life after returning to Shengjing.

Continue to work under Yuetuo's Xianghongqi?

After being captured this time and then being released by Liu Chengzong, Huang Taiji would not doubt him when he returned? By then, he might not even be able to live the poor life he had before.

Besides, even if I want to go back, I can't go back at this time.

After this defeat, the power in Shengjing will definitely be in chaos for a while. Given his status as the eldest grandson, the political environment may not be safer than that of Liu Chengzong.

At least for now, it seems that Liu Chengzong has no intention of killing him.

Thinking in this way, Du Du was not so strongly resistant anymore.

Poor people have their own advantages.

If the captured person was someone like Amin, Ajige, or Dorgon, who was ambitious, in power, and able to lead troops, Liu Chengzong would definitely kill him if he did not surrender.

But Dudu...say he is important, he seems important.

But it's useless to really say what's important.

Killing him on the spot would not cause any loss to the Later Jin's national strength, and it might even help Huang Taiji deal with his troubles.

If they are released, the strength of the Eight Banners of the Later Jin Dynasty will not increase at all.

Chicken ribs.

At this moment, Liu Chengzong looked at Dudu's expression, which changed from silence to relaxation, and finally he simply bowed down and said: "Report to the Khan, I have tried my best to serve the country, and I am a meritorious person without any crime, but the emperor never trusts me and uses me. If the Khan has sympathy for my talents and gives me troops, Dudu is willing to serve on the battlefield!"

The trump card is out.

"Hahaha!"

Liu Chengzong laughed but did not move. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "Think it over. You are not going back? If you follow me to Shaanxi, there will be no room for regret. Now that I let you go, you should think carefully."

Du Du thought to himself, I've already said this, why should I keep thinking about it?
What would happen if he really went back? Not to mention that Emperor Chongde would not use him.

Even if he was really promoted, Dai Qing would have no future.

The future situation can be foreseen. We will defend the north in summer... No, we will defend the Grand Marshal's Headquarters in summer, defend the Ming Dynasty in winter, and defend Dongjiang Town all year round. We can't do anything all year round.

The key defense of the Ming Dynasty is still okay, but Dongjiang Town is constantly bleeding by petty thefts. Liu Chengzong's army has the posture of the Liaodong Ming army in the early Wanli period, so it is really impossible to defeat them.

This battle broke Dudu's spine.

From the time when his grandfather Nurhaci pledged allegiance to the Ming Dynasty and attacked the Jurchen tribes, to the time when he established the Later Jin Dynasty and rebelled against the Ming Dynasty, and even to the present when Huang Taiji proclaimed himself emperor, he has never suffered such a great loss.

What would happen if he returned to Shengjing? In the foreseeable political struggle, he was not the leader of a banner and did not even have a Niulu, so he could not get involved at all. He might even be accused of something because of his status as the eldest grandson and be killed.

No one knows the laws of Daiqing better than Dudu.

These eight words are meaningless and are important but not strict.

As long as Huang Taiji wanted, it was easy to frame someone, and if there was even the slightest guilt, the person would be sentenced to death once it was brought to the Ministry of Justice for discussion.

This has historical reasons and is a legacy of Nurhaci, Dudu's grandfather. Huang Taiji wanted to change it, but he couldn't.

When the old Khan attacked the Jurchen tribes, he had neither money nor food, and even no status. He relied on each soldier's bravery, from riding and slashing to all-out combat, to inspire the soldiers' fighting spirit, and he relied on a method of rewarding them with silver.

He is different from the Liaodong soldiers. The Liaodong soldiers can directly exchange heads for rewards. It is not easy to change officials, but as long as it is a real captive head, it is easy to exchange it for reward money.

But the Khan's soldiers were outside and could not guarantee that they would capture a corpse, so that the Liaodong side would really recognize it.

Therefore, we can only use silver futures to record our achievements.

In order to manage the military and civilians, severe punishments were imposed for mistakes. The slightest mistake would result in the ears and nose being pierced, the mouth being cut, and the eyes being gouged out. Serious mistakes would result in direct execution.

In order to win people's hearts, they created a method of rewarding merits by commuting silver and using silver to atone for sins on the basis of severe punishment for mistakes.

If a minor noble made meritorious service on the battlefield, he would be granted the title of Niulu and become a feudal lord if his merit was greater; if a soldier made meritorious service or was injured, he would receive silver in exchange.

It wasn't real silver that was distributed to the hands. The Khan didn't have that much silver back then. It was just a unit for commending merit.

There are distinctions between arrow wounds, hammer wounds, and stab wounds, as well as distinctions based on the Khan's personal preference. Roughly speaking, the merit for one wound in a battle is two to five taels.

This thing can be exchanged for silver to atone for sins, or even to save one’s life.

This is also the reason why after Huang Taiji ascended the throne, the Ministry of Justice would sometimes sentence to death even royal family nobles who made mistakes, because everyone knew they couldn't be killed, and there was no other way but to write a heavier sentence.

The problems left by the old Khan led to more and more wars, heavier penalties on paper, but looser executions.

Because as the number of invasions by the Later Jin increased, people now not only had silver coins recorded in the merit book, but also had real money in their pockets to atone for their sins.

This has led to all punishments being recorded as heavier.

Only bondservants and female wives and concubines could be killed under this set of laws. Sometimes, when a man made a mistake and could not be killed, he would be killed on the grounds that his wife did not dissuade him, and the man would be punished.

It can even be said that this set of punishments and rewards shaped Nurhaci's success in establishing the Jin Dynasty.

It also forced Huang Taiji to transform into a bureaucratic system and an imperial framework, because the old Khan had already squeezed the potential of the bounty system for the feudal aristocratic alliance to the extreme.

When the people in Liaodong rose up in rebellion because of shaving their heads, it was a critical time for the old Khan. At that time, in order to reward the generals, the price of this set of silver-converting meritorious services had been collapsed.

In the past, the old soldier and small nobleman fought bravely in several battles and survived, with four or five wounds on his body, but he only received twenty taels of merit to atone for his sins.

But at that time, Nurhaci was even given more than two thousand taels of silver as a reward for his crimes.

By the time of Huang Taiji, the veterans' merit money had not been used up, but had increased in number. Isn't this a way of transferring the blood tax to fifty years later?

Huang Taiji can't solve it.

Others have silver medals that can be used to atone for their crimes, so it is very difficult to kill them. They are not afraid of death, so how can we reward them with merits?

This is also one of the reasons why during Huang Taiji's period, the severity and frequency of punishments increased, and the quality of the Eight Banners' combat effectiveness continued to decline significantly except for deaths in battle.

Enthusiasm dropped.

Different rewards for the same merits and different punishments for the same crimes, this problem has not been solved until now and cannot be solved. It will continue to exist throughout the Aisin Republic.

This system was originally designed to serve the Aixin nobility. As long as they had made contributions, they would not be killed even if they committed crimes.

But he is very restrained Dudu.

Because Du Du was really poor, he fabricated a crime and convicted several nobles together. The Ministry of Justice discussed it and sentenced them to death.

The emperor pardoned the crime and, considering the nobleman's hard work and great contributions, only fined him one thousand taels of silver.

The others are all flag owners, and everything will be fine as long as they pay the silver.

Dudu is a poor man and he is dead.

As for Liu Chengzong, at least it seemed that both the Mongols and the Han soldiers were still alive and well.

Du Du thought to himself that he spoke both Chinese and Mongolian well, and was accustomed to dealing with Han army generals and Mongolian nobles. If Liu Chengzong sincerely accepted him, his prospects might be better than in Liaodong.

At least... in a place where even soldiers can play with silver bars, he shouldn't be forced to suffer from poverty anymore, right?

"My Lord, I have thought it through!"

"Hahaha! Good!"

Liu Chengzong clapped his hands and laughed, then stood up and waved to Zhang Yong and Li Qifeng who were standing beside him, saying, "Go and take down the white-bordered flag, dye it black with ink, and then go to the clan camp to get a piece of python satin and tie it on Du Du's forehead."

After that, he said to Du Du: "You speak Chinese well. If you are willing to work for me now, I will appoint you as the lieutenant general of the Black Flag Battalion. When you return to Shaanxi to replenish the troops, you will be treated the same as other battalions in terms of armor, horses, and equipment."

"But right now, the first thing you have to do is to follow Zhang Butang of the Li Yamen to count the captives, check the heads, and try to find out where all of them came from and what positions they held in the army, and report them all!" (End of this chapter)