The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 86 Beauty and Night Banquet

Before traveling through time, Liu Zhaosun never watched Qing Dynasty palace dramas, at least he would not take the initiative to watch them.

I watch it occasionally and find that all the princes, kings and emperors on the screen are extremely handsome and have extraordinary temperament, which can easily kill all the stars (I can easily kill myself).

Unfortunately, when I traveled to the late Ming Dynasty, the appearance of the Jianzhou Jurchens I met was really hard to describe.

Liu Zhaosun recently heard that there was a thin-faced storyteller in the capital. Every time he talked about the Jiannu, he would take out a weasel skin that he had collected for many years and explain to the tea drinkers the appearance of the Tartars. This was a bit too much.

Perhaps the appearance of the four great beiles would give him a surprise. Liu Zhaosun was full of anticipation, looking forward to having a close contact with Nurhaci or Huang Taiji. It would be best if the distance between the two sides was within the range of the red cannon.

"Director Qin, lead the way. I'm going to meet this Burhanggu in person. Inspector Kang is right. I want a huge sum of money to buy his bones. I'll also visit Bumbutai."

With the 800 cavalrymen of Yehe Jurchen, Liu Zhaosun's ability to control the surrounding areas will be greatly enhanced.

This cavalry needs to be reorganized, mainly by strengthening discipline, otherwise it will be like attracting a bunch of horse thieves.

The heat in Liaodong in July was unbearable. On the official road north of Kaiyuan City, cicadas chirped like thunder and mosquitoes flew around. A team of Ming troops slowly moved north along the official road.

Under the 15-foot-long banner of the general, Liu Zhaosun and Jin Yuji rode side by side. Kang Yingqian, Qiao Yiqi, Yuan Chonghuan, and others followed behind General Liu, accompanied by the Central Army Guard, the Special Service Team, and combat troops.

Today, Jin Yuji wore a bun with a Di style, a half-sleeved skirt, a waist belt inside, and a thin scale armor outside. Her black bun seemed to be overflowing with water.

Liu Zhaosun couldn't help but look at this beautiful girl twice more.

Jin Yuji heard the official mention Dayuer several times today and thought she was a beautiful Mongolian woman.

I thought, what a pity that the official is also a lustful person.

Seeing the Later Jin army approaching, she was still thinking about matters between men and women. She couldn't help but frown and didn't say a word along the way.

Women in Liaodong are relatively conservative. Even in such a hot summer, they must wear gold-woven horse-face skirts or flowered horse-face skirts when going out.

They wrap themselves up so tightly that they are often in danger of heat stroke.

Jin Yuji came from a military family and was a Korean woman, so naturally she didn't care about these things.

This tight fish-scale armor sets off her slim figure, making her look even more cool and pretty.

Not long after the group left the city, they saw a group of Jurchen cavalry coming towards them from afar.

Jin Yuji, Pei Dahu and others quickly became alert, and the soldiers also formed a battle formation.

When Burhanggu heard that General Liu was coming out of the city to greet him personally, he took a few warriors and hurried forward.

"My dear friend from Haixi Yehe, may the Eternal Heaven bless you! (1)"

The burly Burhanggu bumped Liu Zhaosun's shoulder hard and spoke fluent Ming Dynasty official language.

After performing the Jurchen greeting, he was about to kneel down to salute again. Liu Zhaosun hurried forward to help him up, clapping his hands and laughing:
"Last night, I dreamed of a Saker Falcon flying from the west and landing on the sycamore tree in the backyard. Today, a distinguished figure from the Haixi Yehe clan is coming to Kaiyuan City. Isn't this heaven's will? Hahaha!"

"A Saker Falcon encountered more than one vicious wolf. My family members were killed by them. I'm left with nowhere to go. I want to build a nest under the sycamore tree. I wonder if my old friend from Yehe will take me in?"

Liu Zhaosun patted his shoulder and said loudly:

"I have sworn an oath with your brother that the affairs of Haixi and Yehe are my own affairs. I will pacify Liaodong, destroy the Later Jin, and avenge Yehe!"

When mentioning Buyanggu, Burhanggu's face showed deep hatred.

Liu Zhaosun hurriedly comforted him and said that after he captured Jirgalang, he would hand him over to Burhanggu for him to deal with as he pleased.

The two men exchanged a few pleasantries. The sun was shining so brightly that the ground was almost smoking. Liu Zhaosun's mountain armor was soaked with sweat. He estimated that he would get heatstroke if he stayed any longer, so he invited Burhanggu and his party into the city.

Beile of Xicheng ordered the cavalry to bring more than a dozen carriages. The front carriages were filled with plump Mongolian beauties, and the back carriage was filled with jewels. They drove along the official road, leaving deep ruts.

On that day, Burhanggu led thirty riders into the city, while the rest of the troops rested outside the city.

Beile Haixi sternly warned the Yehe warriors that if anyone dared to rob the Han people outside the city, his hands and feet would be chopped off and hung on the top of the city wall to be dried in the sun, so that he would go to see Changshengtian in advance.

Liu Zhaosun sent soldiers to deliver cheese, mutton and other food to the Yehe knights outside the city.

That night, at the general's mansion, Khorchin women dressed in gauze performed a passionate Mongolian dance.

With the exception of Liu Zhaosun, Xu Xiake, and Song Yingxing, everyone else stared at the dancers with rapt interest. Jin Yuji, remembering the time she was hit on the head with fruit by a Mongolian woman during a parade through the capital, turned away from the Khorchin beauties.

She held a pickle in her mouth and used a plum blossom dagger to stir the cooked lamb on the table out of boredom.

There were more than twenty people sitting in the general's hall, including Liu Zhaosun's confidants and several guests from Yehe.

There was an independent table in front of everyone, which was filled with roasted beef and mutton, fresh fruits and vegetables, and the local famous wine Qiulubai.

Jin Yuji cursed inwardly, thinking that her husband was frugal at home and never so extravagant. Today, he really spent a lot of money to entertain these Yehe Tartars.

She raised her head and looked around casually.

Except for the husband and Crazy Xu who had just returned from mining, all the other men were staring at the Mongolian woman.

She glanced at the Mongolian women who were posing and found them very boring. They danced worse than she did.

I accidentally glanced at the corner of the hall and saw a girl dressed in Mongolian clothes sitting behind Yehe Tatar.

The girl was about seven or eight years old. In the candlelight, her clear eyes were like stars in the cold night.

She has a slender figure and skin as white as snow, and she is obviously a beauty at first glance.

Jin Yuji thought to herself, where did this beautiful girl come from? Could she be the Dayuer that the husband talked about during the day?

She turned and looked at the official, her brows slightly furrowed.

The official was talking seriously about serious matters with the Yehe barbarians.

General Liu put down his wine glass, dismissed the several coquettish Khorchin women in front of him, and turned to the two Beiles and said:
"I learned last month that Nurhaci will attack Liaoshen by the end of September at the latest. After conquering Liaoshen, he will attack Kaiyuan."

"The two Beile are familiar with the situation in Jianzhou. Do you have any strategy to repel the enemy?"

The elderly Buyangtu slowly put down his wine glass, and his expression, which had just relaxed, became gloomy again.

"The Later Jin soldiers are like clouds with no end in sight, their armor is harder than stone, their war horses come and go like the wind, and their cannonballs are like leaves..."

Liu Zhaosun knew that he had encountered another Later Jin Dynasty opponent today. He didn't want to affect the morale, so he turned to ask Burhanggu, wanting to hear the young beile's opinion.

Buerhanggu bowed to Liu Zhaosun and said in a deep voice:
"The Jianzhou Jurchens are skilled in archery and horsemanship, and their armor is superior to our Yehe. Their firearms and formations are superior to ours. If the Yehe warriors could wear armor as fine as theirs and use the same weapons as them, perhaps they could give them a good fight."

Liu Zhaosun knew what Haixi Beile meant and quickly explained:
"Kaiyuan is an isolated city, without allies or help, and with insufficient armor and firearms, Mr. Xu."

As Liu Zhaosun spoke, he pointed to Xu Xiake who was eating chicken next to him. The two beiles hurriedly bowed to Xu Xiake, who was dressed as a beggar.

"Two hours ago, Mr. Xu was still digging coal in the mine."

Burhanggu looked at Xu Xiake meaningfully and couldn't help asking:

"General Liu, it's summer now, the season for drying dead buffaloes. What are you doing digging coal? Casting iron?"

Liu Zhaosun picked up a leftover lamb leg and continued to gnaw on it, saying slowly:

"Part of the coal is used to cast cannons, and the rest is stored for use during this winter. Kaiyuan isn't just digging for coal; they're also cutting down trees. Didn't you notice on the way here? All the trees around here have been cut down."

The two Beile looked at each other with surprised expressions on their faces.

"Nurhaci will besiege Kaiyuan until all the people in the city are dead or surrender to him. However, if they surrender, he will execute them. By the time winter comes, without wood, we will freeze to death. Therefore, this Mr. Xu is leading the men to dig coal."

"friend."

Liu Zhaosun suddenly stood up, patted Burhanggu on the shoulder, and comforted the unfortunate Haixi Beile.

"My friend, you have just escaped from the wolf's den and entered the tiger's den."

"I angered the chieftain and killed thousands of Houjin soldiers. He ordered that once Kaiyuan was captured, the entire city be massacred, just like Jing'an Fort to the north. Did you see anyone in Jing'an Fort when you passed by? They killed them all."

"Friends, if you are still afraid of the Later Jin, please drink this glass of wine and continue to run for your lives."

Note: (1) “Changshengtian” is the supreme deity of the Mongols and Jurchens, namely Mongke Tengri (Mangu Tangri in Turkic, Mongke Tangri in Mongolian, pronounced “Tengger”). Because the Mongols regard “Cangtian” (the sky) as the eternal god, they call it “Changshengtian”.

(End of this chapter)