The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 84: Storytelling
In July of the 47th year of the Wanli reign, Nurhaci completed the annexation of Haixi Yehe and continued to expand southward, threatening Liaoning and Shenyang.

The storm was brewing. In order to defend Liaoning and Shenyang, the imperial court urgently mobilized the White Spear Army and Zhejiang Army to go north to support Liaoning. The total number of reinforcements exceeded 10,000.

Due to the butterfly effect of the time travelers, the bloody battle of Hunhe, which was originally earth-shaking in history, will begin early in this dimension in a more cruel and intense form.

As the Liaoshen Campaign approached, the pressure on Liu Zhaosun increased day by day. He had temporarily put aside civil affairs and handed them all over to Kang Yingqian for management.

Liu Zhaosun focused all his efforts on training the new army and deploying city defenses. Based on his understanding of the Later Jin army, Nurhaci would not easily attack Kaiyuan as long as Liaoshen could hold. As for how long Liaoshen could hold, it depended on the effective coordination between the White Spear and Zhejiang troops.

If the Zhejiang soldiers and the White Spear soldiers had started fighting among themselves before the arrival of the Later Jin army as they did in history, then Liao and Shen would have fallen at the speed of light, and Kaiyuan City would have been in a dilemma of being surrounded by enemies on all sides.

This time, the defense deployment of Kaiyuan City needs to take into account the two cities of Liaoshen.

Xiong Jinglüe was still waiting in the capital for the Baigan soldiers and Zhejiang soldiers to move north. Once the foreign troops arrived, they would go out of the pass together to aid Liao.

Perhaps Lord Xiong noticed the unusual situation in Liaozhen, and it would be difficult to give orders to these military leaders without taking these two powerful armies. The two foreign troops were still on the way, so Lord Jinglüe was unable to set off for a long time.

Liu Zhaosun sent people to Liaoyang three times, hoping to jointly defend with Liaozhen and send troops to garrison several important places between Kaiyuan and Liaoyang. However, the Liaoshen generals have been perfunctory and have not responded to Liu Zhaosun until now. I don’t know what these people are thinking.

Liu Zhaosun is now increasingly worried that the various firearms and weapons that Xiong Tingbi had spent millions of Liao tributes to replace for the Liaoshen Ming army some time ago might eventually be used to bombard their own people in the bloody battle of Hunhe, just as in history.

Relying on the mountain will only lead to its collapse, and ultimately one can only rely on oneself. Liu Zhaosun gave up his illusions about Liaozhen and decided to strengthen Kaiyuan's own defenses. He considered repairing the surrounding garrisons, expanding his sphere of influence outward and increasing the strategic depth of Kaiyuan. Even expanding outward by only a mile or two would be better than defending an isolated city.

One of the main reasons why the last battle to defend Kaiyuan was so brutal was that the fighting took place outside the city, leaving the defenders no room for maneuver.

Of course, without the support of powerful cavalry, the infantry's maneuvering is a false proposition. If the infantry goes out of the city to fight in the field, they can easily be surrounded by enemies that are several times their number.

Liu Zhaosun did not want to embark on a long march in the icy and snowy Liaodong four hundred years in advance.

Ultimately, he needed cavalry now, more cavalry.

Most of the Mongolian merchants in Kaiyuan City had fled. These fence-sitters could never change their bad habit of sitting on the fence. The remaining merchants were not willing to do business with Liu Zhaosun. They were only willing to sell mixed horses and foals to the Ming army. Liu Zhaosun tried his best to persuade them, and finally bought thirty good horses at a high price.

Kang Yingqian suggested killing the chicken to get the eggs, and killing and robbing all the Mongols who were taking advantage of the situation to rob. Liu Zhaosun brought up his theory of the Great Dao again, saying that he was not a bandit and would not rob himself.

Kaiyuan City, once famous for its horse market, now can't even gather a hundred war horses. Even Liu Zhaosun couldn't believe it.

The Yehe cavalry had been on the run for more than half a month, and the Yehe merchants in the city said that this cavalry was in great danger.

After finishing his work every day, Liu Zhaosun would go to the Intelligence Department and ask tirelessly about the whereabouts of this cavalry.

Good luck is right before your eyes, but you need to wait patiently. When the general was in a state of panic, he didn't know that he had already become famous all over the world.

The story of Liu Zhaosun's killing of the Daxing (Daxing) at Zhangjiawan that day was spread across the canal by boatmen. Because the story featured elements like Bayala, a beautiful woman, a young hero, and the great principles of the world, it captivated all walks of life in the Ming Dynasty, including scholars, farmers, merchants, and artisans. The story was quickly re-circulated throughout the canal, and eventually, storytellers from all over the country embellished it with embellishments and exaggerations, transforming it into a classic storytelling work.

Many years later, when the people of the Ming Dynasty went to teahouses to drink tea, "General Xuanwu Fights Bayala" was still a must-order song.

In the storytelling, General Xuanwu Liu Zhaosun becomes a character like Zhao Yun and Yue Fei, brave and good at fighting, serving the country and the people (in fact, this is how it was).

The bandits he killed turned into Bayala who sneaked into the Ming Dynasty, and their number increased from two to ten.

The amount of grain distributed by General Liu to the trackers also increased from 300 dan to 300,000 dan, which is approximately equal to the total annual throughput of the entire Zhangjiawan Port.

The beautiful concubines around Liu Zhaosun also changed from Jin Yu Ji to Jin Yu Ji, Yin Yu Ji and the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai.

The story is tortuous and bizarre, and very touching.

In the capital, a teahouse on Qipan Street was filled with drinkers who came to listen to stories. There were wine and fruits on the table, and the drinkers ate while listening.

The young shop assistant carried a one-foot-five-inch long teapot and prepared tea and water for the customers.

The copper kettle, a tradition originating in Sichuan and Sichuan, has recently become popular among tea lovers in Beijing. The waiter raises the long-spouted copper kettle high, two feet above the bowl, and with a single swish, pours boiling water into it. The entire action is seamless and efficient, drawing the admiration of the tea drinkers.

"Snapped!"

The gavel banged loudly, and the attention of the tea drinkers was drawn to the stage.

A slender storyteller threw his folding fan into the air, drank a sip of tea to moisten his throat, and began to preach:

"In the last chapter, we talked about how the slave chieftain sent spies to burn military rations at the Zhangjiawan Wharf that day. They were discovered by the Tongzhi, Lord Lu. Tongzhi was also a fierce general. He fought the Jiannu for three hundred rounds, but the Ferghana horse under his crotch could not bear the weight and the horse failed, causing Lord Lu to fall off.

Lu Tongzhi's jaw was dislocated, and he angrily said:

"Don't run away, thief! Don't take my 2,000 dan of grain!"

Bayala rushed out with his mace, and Lord Lu blocked it with both swords. He was knocked unconscious to the ground. The slave laughed loudly towards the sky:
"This Southern Dynasty is also deserted. The Southern Barbarians are vulnerable! Get out of here!"

Just as the Jiannu spies were about to escape, a loud shout was heard:
"Slave! Stop your arrogance! General Xuanwu of the Ming Dynasty is here! Where are you going to escape?"

I saw a young military general, wearing an iron helmet and a black silk robe, holding a ten-foot-long golden spear with a dragon-shaped stud, and riding a black and red horse, standing in front of the Jiannu army. He was so handsome and elegant, like Pan An, and so charming and suave.

It turned out that the current emperor had awarded General Liu the title of General Xuanwu in front of the Meridian Gate that day, but Jiannu Bayala didn't know about it. He just thought he was an unknown person. He brandished the Pegasus Meteor Hammer and rushed over, shouting in the barbarian language:
"Southern Barbarian! You're looking for death!" "Crack! Bang!"

The Pegasus Meteor Hammer smashed hard on the Shenlong Golden Spear, which was held by General Xuanwu. If it were someone else, he would have to use the spear in his hand, and the arm holding the spear would have been broken!

The black and red-blooded colt took a few steps back.

“Tap tap tap~~~Ouch~~~~”

General Liu put his hand on the saddle bridge, stopped his spear, looked up, and saw five or six more Tartars coming up in front of him.

These Tartars were born with short and stocky hands and feet, with uneven bodies, rat whiskers on their chins, and rat-tail braids on the back of their heads.

The thin-faced storyteller pulled out a weasel skin from his bosom, spread it out before the crowd, slammed the gavel, and said:

"See? This is what the Tartars look like!"

The tea drinkers in the front row were startled by the weasel skin and leaned back.

The thin-faced storyteller put down the weasel skin, raised his hand and thrust out the paper fan:

"You slaves, dare you tell me your names? I will not kill nameless people!"

"Wow, I'm Bayara Bayintu of the Zhenghong Banner of the Great Jin Kingdom, and this is...!"

The storyteller suddenly stopped and laughed three times:

"Hahaha! I'm busy with military duties, so all five of you come together. I'll send you off together today!"

"Your master, Amin, has been killed three times by me. You nameless bastards, how dare you stand in my way? Receive your death! Take my bullet!
"Pulu, the dragon dipped the golden spear and rushed out like a python out of a cave, or like a dragon emerging from water. Swish! Swish! Swish! It knocked down two Bayalas in succession..."

A young tea drinker sitting in the front row laughed along, and at this moment it seemed as if his soul had possessed Liu Zhaosun. He grasped the teacup in his hand like a spear and thrust it forward suddenly, spilling scalding tea on his hand without even noticing.

The storyteller slammed the gavel with a loud bang. The young man then felt the back of his hand getting hot. He gritted his teeth to endure the pain, not daring to cry out. He just looked up at the storyteller, anxiously waiting for him to finish what he was going to say.

Under the gaze of the tea drinkers, the thin-faced storyteller took a sip of tea, put down the cup, smiled and bowed, saying:

"A divine dragon's golden spear stirs up Tianjin, and five celestial horses' meteor hammers sever Zhangjiawan's soul!"

"Three feet of Longquan, ten thousand volumes of books, what is God's will for me? If I can't serve my country and bring peace to the world, I am unworthy of being called a man!"

"What exactly is the Great Dao? Are the five Bayalas alive or dead? To find out what happens next, please wait for the next episode!"

The young man suddenly stood up and raised his arms along with the other guests. With small change in his hands, he shouted towards the stage:

"Add more! Add more!"

~~~~~~
Wu Xiao looked back at the crowded teahouse. Just as he turned around, Lao Zhang came over with a carriage and asked him to go back to the inn to rest.

"Sir, how was your listening to the storytelling today? Was it enjoyable?"

Wu Xiao turned his hand behind his back to prevent the old servant from seeing the burn, otherwise he would be scolded again.

"The review is so interrupted, it always gets stuck at that point, and I won't even add more sessions even if I give money."

The most popular storytelling in the capital right now is "General Liu's Battle with Bayala". The thin-faced old man tells it best. There is nothing we can do but wait.

Old Zhao thought for a while, squinted his eyes and smiled:

"Sir, ever since this storytelling began in the capital, many young men have wanted to join Liaodong. I heard that this storytelling is also being told in Nanzhili. I wonder if it's the same story you heard?"

Wu Xiao smiled and shook his head, sending Lao Zhang away and asking him to go back to the inn first. He turned and walked towards Zuo'anmen. The street was bustling with people, and Wu Xiao walked forward on his own.

In recent days, the war in Liaodong is approaching, and the capital has also smelled the scent of war. Some good family men regard Liu Zhaosun as a role model and begin to be eager to make achievements.

The Ming Dynasty's travel permit system has collapsed for a hundred years, and the prosperity of the commodity economy has forced people to move freely.

This is an open era, and this is a dangerous era.

The young Wu Xiao had a determined look on his face. He imagined himself going to Liaodong to make great achievements and walked out of Zuoanmen with his head held high.

This young man from Sanyuan, Shaanxi, came to travel to the capital after the Battle of Sarhu.

He was already familiar with the legendary story of Liu Zhaosun. The previous time the Kaiyuan soldiers came to the capital to present their captives, they were so well-disciplined that they left a deep impression on him. He secretly made up his mind to go to Liaodong and establish his own achievements.

Wu Xiao may not know that at this moment, thousands of Han men in this ancient empire are just like him, full of confidence and ready to rush to Liaodong to lend a helping hand to General Xuanwu Liu Zhaosun.

(End of this chapter)