The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 538 Tiger Panasonic
Ningguta City is located on the south bank of Hailang, a tributary of the Mudanjiang River. It is now the Jiugucheng Village in Changting Town, Hailin City, Heilongjiang Province. In the second year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, Emperor Wuding sent Pu Gang to suppress the Cossacks. The 5000th Headquarters was stationed here, and it was later established as Ningguta County.

Ningguta County gets its name from the Jurchen word for six, ninggun, and tower, meaning "six." This area was originally the territory of the Haixi and Huifa Jurchens. After the rise of Jianzhou, Nurhaci and Huang Taiji, father and son, massacred the Haixi and Huifa tribes, leaving only the name Ningguta.

In the first year of Wuding, Liu Zhaosun proclaimed himself emperor. Many place names across the country were changed, but Ningguta was not renamed. Instead, it was promoted to a prefecture, and the court sent a lieutenant general and a guerrilla general to garrison it.

Ningguta Prefecture governed a vast territory, stretching from Sakhalin Island in the northeast to Ning'an in the southwest, spanning a thousand miles. This area was more than ten times larger than that of ordinary prefectures within the Great Wall. It was the most important political and military center for the Great Qi's rule over Outer Manchuria. During the Taichu period (1631-1659), Tsarist Russia and European allied forces frequently invaded the Heilongjiang River basin, and the Great Qi repeatedly dispatched troops from Ningguta to suppress them.

~~~~~~
On the morning of March 2, the fourth year of Taichu, Wu Xiao, deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, and Yang Tong, commander of the Pacification Army, escorted 300 criminals and, after many hardships, arrived at Ningguta City, the northern border of the empire.

Ningguta's deputy general Jiang Liuer, guerrilla general Qian Sanruo, and Ningguta's prefect Shi Sanyou led the city's defenders out of the city to welcome them.

As an eyewitness to the bloody battle twelve years ago, Jiang Liuer is definitely a veteran. However, due to his age and the fact that his activities in the past two years have been mainly limited to the northern border, far away from the power center of Da Qi, he is still just a deputy general.

His companion Qian Sanruo rose to prominence very quickly. In order to cure his son's illness, Old Qian risked his life to go to Sakhalin Island and fight the Russians. He survived many dangers and finally secured his bright future.

The most ferocious and powerful Jurchen, Alessa, unfortunately died in the battle between the Sixth Corps and the Cossacks.

According to the customs of the Jurchens, Alsa's ashes were buried in an unknown corner of Sakhalin Island.

"Be careful when you see Jiang Liuer later." When they were only two miles away from the city, the silent Yang Tong suddenly spoke.

"careful?"

Wu Xiao was full of suspicion. You have to know that Jiang Liuer is the confidant of the retired emperor and will never betray the court. You need to be careful with such a person.

Yang Tong seemed to see clearly what the other party was thinking, so he reined in the reins and continued:

"Be careful of that tiger; it loves human flesh and has eaten many Cossacks."

"Tiger?"

Wu Xiao had heard that Jiang Liu'er raised a big tiger, but he only regarded it as a small toy (similar to the small tiger caught by Lu Tongzhi in Australia), so he didn't take it seriously. But when he heard that it could eat people, he couldn't help but become interested.

"I saw the Russian prisoners in Shenyang. They were all tall and had sharp firearms. How many could one tiger kill?"

Wu Xiao thought Yang Tong was hinting at something. He was ordered to come here not only to provide reinforcements, but also to investigate the local garrison commander.

"I heard that Qian Youji's background is not clean. Can a big beast stop me, Wu Xiao?"

Yang Tong didn't respond, and said calmly:
"When we get there, we'll know the truth."

~~~~
"I've been waiting so long for Brother Wu to finally come! He came just in time."

Jiang Liuer looked at the dusty Wu Xiao and his group and hurried to greet them.

The defenders began to receive the prisoners. The soldiers removed the shackles from the prisoners who were tortured beyond recognition and brought them into the city wall. After screening, they were locked up in cells.

Jiang Liuer is the confidant of the retired emperor stationed in the northern border, and his status is extraordinary. Wu Xiao often hears the retired emperor mention this person when he is in the imperial guard.

Jiang Liu'er was only seventeen or eighteen years old, but he was in charge of the military and political affairs of Ningguta Prefecture. Looking at this heroic young man in front of him, Wu Xiao seemed to see himself back then.

"Heroes emerge young. When I was in Huguang, I heard the Emperor mentioned you. His Majesty said you were the sharp sword of the Northern Frontier. Seeing you today, I can see that you are indeed extraordinary!"

"Commander Wu, you're too kind. I'm just helping the court guard the northern border and look after prisoners. With the Russian invasion, the situation in the north is difficult. My brothers and I are barely holding on. We can't really call ourselves sharp swordsmen! Hahaha, Commander Wu, who's always by the side of the retired emperor, is the one who truly cares about state affairs."

The two men were chatting, and Guerrilla Qian, who was standing next to them, was busy trying to establish a relationship with the Imperial Guards. Wu Xiao didn't have a good impression of this fat guerrilla general, so he said a few perfunctory words to him. Suddenly, he heard a roar from the city wall and a thunderclap in the air.

Wu Xiao was born in Sanyuan, Shaanxi Province. He had seen many tigers when he was a child, but he was not frightened or panicked. However, several guards behind him had already drawn their muskets and crossbows, and they could not help but tremble.

Everyone looked up and saw a huge white-browed tiger weighing 1,800 kilograms, half-crouching on the top of the city wall, with its huge tiger head raised, overlooking the city. Wu Xiao clearly saw streams of sticky saliva flowing out of its bloody mouth, along the city wall, and flowing to the feet of everyone.

"Domineering exposed!"

Wu Xiao stopped the guards and told them not to shoot arrows or fire guns.

He estimated that even if Lin Yu and he were combined, they would not be a match for this giant beast.

Jiang Liuer shouted loudly:
"Matsushita! Don't be rude. We are all guests. Come down and greet us!"

~~~~~~
That night, Wu Xiao and Yang Tong went to bed early. They were accommodated in the best inn in Ningguta Prefecture.

Because the government hall was crowded with newly arrived prisoners, these prisoners were being interrogated by Qian Youji and Shi Zhifu overnight. Even if they stayed in the back hall, they would still have trouble sleeping all night. Qian Youji loved to torture and extract confessions, and prisoners often died from his torture.

Jiang Liuer emphasized to everyone in the inn that they should treat this superior well.

"Commander Wu and Officer Yang are both personal attendants of the Emperor. One is the commander of the Imperial Guard, and the other is the commander of the Pacification Forces. They must not be neglected."

Jiang Liuer told them, "The Imperial Guard and the Pacification Army are the most important government offices in Da Qi."

The innkeeper nodded, and the innkeepers all nodded as well.

"Master Jiang, rest assured. I will definitely entertain you two."

Jiang Liu'er took his sleeping mat and quilt and went to spend the night on the city wall. Although the night was freezing cold, he did not want to go to the yamen to listen to the screams of the criminals.

The wailing and cursing from the government office could still reach Jiang Liuer's ears. In the darkness, the cigarettes of the soldiers guarding the city lit up like jumping will-o'-the-wisp fires, flickering on and off.

Spring is slowly coming to an end, and summer is about to come to Ningguta. The summer here is not refreshing because the ground is full of mud.

Jiang Liuer lay on the straw mat and recalled his childhood life in Shenyang.

He woke before daybreak and tiptoed past the soldiers who were soundly sleeping. The soldiers were snoring and sighing, dreaming of their mothers and their hometown.

Jiang Liuer walked down the city wall and headed towards the government office. The streets were full of bright and charming stars.

The auxiliary soldiers sat at the gate of the yamen, sleeping soundly with their legs crossed and their flintlock rifles propped up.

The wing behind the lobby was still closed. Jiang Liuer caught a glimpse of Wu Xiao's mount tied to a pillar, and a bad premonition came over him.

"Normally, they don't torture people into confessing," Jiang Liu'er explained to Wu Xiao when he opened the door. Seeing Wu Xiao still smoking inside, he said, "As long as people who come here are still alive, the state government will let them live well. They usually only punish them with forced labor, but won't kill them."

"That would be the best. Right now, Da Qi is in great need of manpower. Wars and mining operations are all underway, and they all require people. This time, I am here to take a good look and report back to the Emperor."

Wu Xiao twitched his nose and continued walking towards the back of the yamen.

The wing behind the government office was cramped and smelly, with no windows.

Two bound prisoners were lying on the ground, and a foul smell was emanating from them, a smell of stale feces and urine.

Jiang Liuer called the guards in: "Let these two go and wash up, quickly."

Two prisoners, who had apparently been interrogated the previous night, were kneeling in the corner.

"These are two fugitives who dared to be caught and tried to escape to Sakhalin Island. Guerrilla Qian was interrogating them last night."

Jiang Liuer said.

"This is a rare occurrence, and few people are willing to escape from here."

Wu Xiao looked at the prisoner lying on the ground with suspicion.

A prisoner who looked like a Jurchen, with a swollen face and bruises, and one of his eyes was swollen so that it could not be opened.

Jiang Liuer squatted down in front of him and patted his cheek. "Listen, boy," he said to the prisoner in the Haixi Jurchen dialect, "I want to talk to you."

The Jurchens did not respond.

"He's just pretending," said the guard nearby, "He knows."

"Who hit him?" Jiang Liuer asked.

"It's not me," he said. "That's how he looked when he came here."

"Who hit you? Was it Qian Youji?" Jiang Liuer asked.

The prisoner stopped listening to Jiang Liuer.

His gaze passed over Jiang Liuer's shoulder, but he didn't look at the guard again. He was looking at Wu Xiao, who had a gloomy face next to the guard.

(End of this chapter)