The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 222 Who says you can’t be the Khan?

After twenty blows with military sticks, Ping Liaohou fell into unconsciousness.

Fortunately, Yuan Chonghuan acted with restraint, and Old Song arrived in time to apply medicine to Liu Zhaosun. Although his injuries seemed serious to outsiders, they were actually not serious and he only needed to rest for a few days.

The news of this incident spread throughout Kaiyuan City on the same day. Ping Liaohou did not avoid punishment and set an example himself, which caused a sensation among the various armies.

After learning that Ping Liaohou had been beaten with a military stick, no one from the 2,300 soldiers and 35 officers of the Second Guards Army involved in the incident spoke up for themselves, nor did anyone speak up for General Deng Qian and Lord Sun.

Ping Liaohou had nothing to do with the massacre, yet he was able to be so strict with himself. What excuses and reasons do they, the culprits who drove the people to fill the trenches, have for not accepting punishment?
Of course, during the execution, the pacification soldiers showed leniency to the weak and sick soldiers and did not kill them. After twenty blows of the military stick, not a single soldier died among the two thousand soldiers.

However, the pacification soldiers were much more brutal towards those strong soldiers. Many soldiers were beaten to a bloody pulp and could not get out of bed without resting for ten days or half a month.

For five consecutive days, the sound of soldiers being beaten with wooden sticks could be heard one after another on the parade ground north of Kaiyuan City.

Several commanders of the Imperial Guards sent their soldiers to the parade ground to watch the execution.
The military training instructors came forward in time and took the opportunity to preach the Kaiyuan military law to those soldiers who had not been beaten with sticks. They raised the importance of military law to an unprecedented level.

The chief instructor personally appeared on the scene and reiterated the Kaiyuan military spirit to the soldiers: to fight against the strong and help the weak, and to disregard death.

The beating with military sticks for five consecutive days caused great shock to the Kaiyuan Army, especially the middle and low-level officers.

Those troops that were not punished also took corrective actions on their own initiative. Under heavy pressure, three quartermasters who embezzled public funds for personal gain were caught.

They began stealing military supplies in the 47th year of the Wanli reign, transporting them back to Liaodong from the battlefield, and smuggling them to the Jiannu at high prices...

According to Kaiyuan military law, all three were executed after trial.

Self-inspection and self-correction of industry and commerce, workshops, and military settlements were also carried out simultaneously in the five cities of Kaiyuan, Tieling, Fushun, Kuandian, and Qinghe.

Under this powerful deterrent, a total of 21 officials and village chiefs voluntarily surrendered and confessed to the pacification troops about their corruption and bribery.

According to the policy of letting bygones be bygones set by Ping Liaohou, these corrupt officials were given lenient sentences. The male members of their families were driven to work in the mines, while the female members of their families continued to stay in Kaiyuan.

~~~~~
Liu Zhaosun slept for a day and a night, and only woke up gradually in the afternoon of the next day.

Yang Qing'er and Bumbutai were guarding the bed. Bumbutai's eyelids were heavy and she was still dozing off. She had stayed up all night and hadn't slept at all.

Lady Gaoming's eyes were swollen like two big peaches, and she had cried all her tears for her husband.

While Ping Liaohou was in a coma, Old Song rushed over from the military camp three times, taking his pulse and applying medicine, and left a prescription for Madam Gaoming to boil the medicine. Although the genius doctor vowed that it was just some flesh wounds and nothing serious, and that he could get out of bed after resting for half a month, Yang Qing'er still couldn't stop crying.

Liu Zhaosun looked at the tearful person beside the bed and felt ashamed. He was usually away on military campaigns, leaving many matters to his wife, but he rarely took her feelings into consideration, always making her worried.

I struggled to sit up, and felt a sharp pain in my back.

The bone injury in front had not yet healed, and he was beaten with twenty military sticks by Yuan Dudu in the back. The time to test the vitality of the time traveler had come.

When Yang Qing'er saw her husband wake up, she burst into laughter and quickly asked Bumbutai to bring ginseng soup.

"The Korean ginseng and angelica root sent by Master Qiao are extremely nourishing. The others are concerned about my husband's injury and have come to ask about it three or four times today."

As Yang Qing'er spoke, she took the steaming ginseng soup from the Mongolian Loli, tasted it with a spoon, and carefully fed it to her husband's mouth.

Bumbutai took a pillow and placed it behind Ping Liaohou. Liu Zhaosun struggled to sit up and drank two mouthfuls of hot ginseng soup. He felt as if his whole body was burning and painful.

He tried hard to hold back his emotion and smiled foolishly at Yang Qing'er.

"The general always beats others, but you beat yourself! And you beat yourself so hard! What a fool!"

Seeing that Liu Zhaosun was fine and still smiling at her, Yang Qing'er couldn't help but get angry.

"Other generals and generals who govern their subordinates extort money and extort money, but you treat them very well and even use your soul to take photos with them. If you take photos a few times, your soul will be gone. How will we, an orphan and a widow, survive?"

Liu Zhaosun frowned slightly as he listened, and with a puff, he spat out the ginseng soup in his mouth all over the floor.

Yang Qing'er quickly stopped complaining and asked with concern.

"Is it burned?"

Liu Zhaosun shook his hands and couldn't help laughing:
"What orphans and widows? Ahem, we haven't..."

He was halfway through his words when he glanced at Bumbutai who was standing next to him. The little girl was already very sleepy, so Liu Zhaosun waved to her.

"Go back to sleep. Look how sleepy the child is."

Bumbutai tilted her neck, looked at Liu Zhaosun on the bed, and said with all her might:

"Sister, didn't you say you wanted to beat someone up? Do you want my help?"

Yang Qing'er waved to the little girl, and the Mongolian loli walked out yawning.

"so sleepy!"

After Bumbutai closed the door, Liu Zhaosun looked at his wife seriously and sighed:
"Madam, I have to use my soul to investigate them. We've been busy fighting this year and have no time to supervise them, yet so many things have happened. They've formed cliques, some are corrupt, and some are willing to do anything to achieve military merit, even worse than the Jiannu who massacred cities. While everyone still has a conscience and I'm at the peak of my power, I must investigate. How can I investigate? Being frank and honest is better than going straight to the Jinyiwei prison. If I don't do anything now, in two years, they'll become a group of arrogant soldiers and corrupt officials. By then, you won't be able to investigate their souls. You'll just have to tear their hearts out, and the king will kill his subjects, and the subjects will kill the king."

Yang Qing'er sighed.

"Why say all this? I just hope my husband is well and our family is safe."

Yang Qing'er helped Liu Zhaosun finish drinking the ginseng soup, put the bowl down, and carefully thought about what he had just said.

Liu Zhaosun thought she was still worried about him and smiled.

"Who just said orphans and widows?"

Seeing Liu Zhaosun chasing after her, Yang Qing'er pretended to be angry and said:

"You're asking even though you already know the answer. Jin Yuji left her hometown, lost both her parents, and is a foreigner. Yet, she's treated you so well, better than many other Han beauties. You must not let her down."

Liu Zhaosun saw her expression and knew that she had heard about Zhang Yan.

They were not worried about Jin Yu Ji, but about the stunningly beautiful Empress Yi An.

"General Anyuan and I are deeply in love, so I will naturally not let her down. By the way, Madam, Kang Yingqian introduced me to a beautiful woman from the Central Plains the other day. She is so stunningly beautiful that even that idiot Song Yingxing was drooling over her. I'm thinking about whether to marry her..."

Seeing her husband's serious expression, Yang Qing'er thought that he really wanted to marry Zhang Yan, and tears began to flow.

"You still want to take a concubine! You've taken three concubines in less than a year. I'm going to tell my father that you're bullying me..."

Liu Zhaosun usually doesn't joke around much, and when he gets angry, he can be quite outspoken. He didn't expect Yang Qing'er to take it seriously, so he panicked and quickly reached out to comfort her.

"I don't want you to touch it."

Yang Qing'er cried for a while, and finally stopped crying. She said to Liu Zhaosun:
"My dear, do you know how the children of Kaiyuan call Bumbutai?"

Liu Zhaosun looked confused, as this completely touched upon his blind spot in knowledge.

"What do you call it?"

Yang Qing'er wiped the non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes and said gossipingly:
"They say she's the general's child bride."

Liu Zhaosun disagreed and said:

"Don't listen to the kids' nonsense. Bumbutai beat up several Han Chinese children in the private school, so they made up this story about her."

Yang Qing'er opened her eyes wide, gently pulled up Liu Zhaosun's hands, and said in a certain tone.

"Husband, it's not just the children who are saying this. Many foreign merchants in Kaiyuan and Tieling are saying that Ping Liaohou wants to rob foreign women as concubines. One from Haixi, one from Korea, one from Jianzhou, one from Mongolia, one from Turpan, one from Wa, one from Annan, one from Ryukyu..."

"Really?"

"Why would I lie to my husband? After you went to fight Hetuala, people started to spread the news, but it has become less common recently."

Liu Zhaosun burst into laughter, but suddenly a pain in his ribs forced him to stop laughing. "Are you treating me like a stud? Madam, do you think I look like one?"

Yang Qing'er had no mood to joke with her husband, but her brows were furrowed. Born into a family of officials, she had been acquainted with power struggles since childhood. She knew that these rumors were not groundless and that there must be other forces behind them, with the obvious purpose of preventing her husband from carrying out his plan of transforming the Han people into barbarians.

Liu Zhaosun looked at his wife thinking seriously and regained his composure.
"What Madam is worried about is exactly what I'm most worried about. Before the Hetuala massacre, these rumors were just groundless rumors. Now, the rumors are almost confirmed. No matter who is behind this, Kaiyuan's strategy of using the Xia people to transform into the Yi people is likely to run into big trouble."

Yang Qing'er counted carefully on her fingers, analyzing one by one the Kaiyuan officials who she thought might be the masterminds behind the incident.

Liu Zhaosun told her not to think too much.

"It could be a rumor spread by someone in the imperial court, or it could be a collusion between the inside and outside. Let's wait and see what happens."

Staying at home to recuperate during the twelfth lunar month is like giving yourself a New Year's holiday.

Finally, Liu Zhaosun held Yang Qing'er's hand and said to her affectionately:

"I only have you and Jin Yuji. I don't care about Zhang Yan, Liu Rushi, Dong Xiaowan, or Chen Yuanyuan... They are just passing clouds."

Yang Qing'er teased:

"So my husband knows so many beauties. Do you want all of the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai?"

Liu Zhaosun quickly shook his head.

Yang Qing'er was about to speak with affection, but Liu Zhaosun said again:
"Madam, I have something to discuss with you. Last month, Ligdan Khan raided the Khorchin tribe and killed Manggus's entire family. It was truly despicable. Now, the only Khorchin leader left is Bumbutai. Madam, here's my plan..."

~~~~~
The weather in northern Liaoning is freezing cold in the twelfth lunar month, but it is also the peak season for the Jurchens, Mongols, Koreans and other foreign tribes to trade New Year's goods with the Han people.

Unlike previous years, trade in the winter of the second year of Taichang was particularly quiet.

The number of Jurchen fur traders who came from Haixi, Huifa, Jianzhou and other places in previous years has been greatly reduced, the supply of goods has dwindled, and the supply of mink fur and ginseng needed by the Han people in Liaodong is tight.

The impact on commerce in Kaiyuan City was particularly severe. The Liaodong Trading Company was faced with the dilemma of having no goods to sell. The Jurchen merchants who used to provide a stable supply of sable fur and medicinal materials were now delaying their deliveries for various reasons.

If Liaodong Trading Company fails to supply goods to Jiangnan and Fujian merchants in a timely manner, it will face heavy losses.

The series of chain reactions triggered by the demise of the Later Jin Dynasty, especially the massacre at Hetuala, began to backfire on Ping Liaohou and his Kaiyuan system.

~~~~~
In the next few days, Liu Zhaosun lay in bed every day, listening to the generals' reports on military and political inspections.

Dozens of officials were beheaded. Many more were sent to work in factories and mines. As the new system gradually improved, more and more constraints were placed on generals.

The fifteen-day deadline set by Ping Liaohou was drawing near. However, the embezzled two hundred thousand taels had yet to be returned. New faces appeared on the streets.

Kaiyuan did not enjoy peace, and a backlash against Ping Liaohou finally set in. On April 1st, two Duoyan merchants were found dead on Tieling's North and South Streets, their bodies scribbled with blood.

The murderer wrote in Mongolian and Chinese characters:

Tartars, get out of Liaodong!
This incident caused a sensation in Liaodong, and Mongolian merchants in various cities panicked and fled.

Rumors are becoming more rampant everywhere.

Some say that Ping Liaohou has died in battle, and Kaiyuan is controlled by Qiao Yiqi;
Some say that the Second Army was punished by the Eternal Heaven after the massacre in Hetuala and was eventually annihilated.
Some people also said that Kang Yingqian embezzled three million taels of silver from Kaiyuan and was preparing to defect to the imperial court;

The most terrifying rumor was that Ping Liaohou was about to massacre all foreigners, including Koreans.

The rain is coming.

Ping Liaohou remained unmoved, and Kaiyuan's focus remained on dealing with the commercial crisis.

Each city temporarily dispatched additional soldiers to strengthen the protection of Jurchen and Mongolian merchants.

It is strictly forbidden for the public to retaliate privately against foreign merchants who escape with money.

For those foreign merchants who are about to flee, adopt a conciliatory policy, give them more concessions, and try to retain them.

At the end of December, Zhang Chao led the central army guards and soldiers to work all night to investigate the creators and spreaders of these rumors.

~~~~~
Bumbutai had grown another year older, and the Mongolian beauty had grown into a graceful and beautiful young lady. Liu Zhaosun asked the little girl to sit in front of the bed, half lying down, and said to her with a smile while drinking tea:
"During the time that big brother was away, have you studied hard? Did you hit the teacher again?"

Bumbutai curled her lips and turned her head away. It was really boring to ask about studying when Ping Liaohou had just recovered.

"No teacher in Kaiyuan City dared to teach me anymore, so I went to study at a private school for Han people. I even broke Deng Guoguo's ribs."

Liu Zhaosun put away his smile and said, "What? Broken ribs? Who is Deng Guoguo? Why did you hit him?"

"Deng Changxiong's eldest son cut off my braids and called me the general's child bride. Next time I see him, I'll beat that bastard to death."

Liu Zhaosun was speechless.

No wonder Deng Changxiong looked at Bumbutai with a strange look in his eyes these days.

Liu Zhaosun took a deep breath, thought for a long time, and said to the little Korchin girl:

"Big brother has something to discuss with you."

"Go ahead, just stop reading."

Liu Zhaosun thought for a moment, then said with a heavy expression, "Your grandfather Manggus died of illness last month."

Bumbutai looked confused, with two tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Is it sky buried?"

Liu Zhaosun was a little hesitant.

"what?"

Bumbutai said sternly, "It's just to feed the crows. Only after the sky burial can you see the Eternal Heaven."

"Your grandfather probably didn't get a sky burial."

Liu Zhaosun thought for a while and confessed: "I won't lie to you anymore. Your family is all dead. All of them were killed by Ligdan Khan."

Bumbutai's handsome face turned red and he stood up and rushed out the door.

"You can't take revenge alone. The Jiannu are gone, and Ligdan Khan has become powerful. He now has tens of thousands of cavalry."

Bumbutai stood there, with her back to Liu Zhaosun, tears streaming down her face.

The image of his adoptive father dying in his arms appeared in Liu Zhaosun's eyes.

"Go back to Korqin. The grassland is your home."

Bumbutai held back her tears, looking pitiful.

"Big brother, my family is all dead, where can I go back to?"

Liu Zhaosun's eyes suddenly became gentle. "Return to Khorchin, become the Khan of the grassland, and avenge my family!"

Bumbutai opened her mouth wide:

"Only men can be the Great Khan on the grasslands."

Liu Zhaosun asked:
"Did Changshengtian ever say that women couldn't be the Great Khan?"

"No."

"That's it. You are the first female Khan. From now on, all men will obey you. Go ahead. Big Brother will send cavalry to protect you when you return."

(End of this chapter)