Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 308: Theory of the National Foundation
That night, six miles northeast of Fengji Fort, the eight banners of the Jin army, under the supervision of their respective leaders, were setting up camp and deploying defensive fortifications. The two yellow flags were located in the center of the eight banners, surrounded by the other six.

Despite the bustle outside, Nurhaci's tent was already set up. In the center of the tent stood a brazier, roasting an old ewe that could no longer produce milk. Nurhaci sat cross-legged on a tiger-skin-covered mat, silently watching as servants sprinkled salt on the sizzling, greasy lamb.

There was another person sitting next to Nurhaci, that was "Baturu" Niuhulu Eyidu.

Born in the 41st year of the Jiajing reign, Eyidu, now 59 years old, was one of the earliest veterans to follow Nurhaci. In the 8th year of the Wanli reign, Nurhaci passed through Jiamuhu Village and stayed at the home of Eyidu's uncle, Mutong'a, the fortress's leader. That night, Eyidu and Nurhaci spent a long conversation, expressing their deep regret for not meeting each other earlier. Despite his aunt's objections, Eyidu decided to follow Nurhaci in his entrepreneurial ventures, a relationship he maintained for forty years.

From the time Nurhaci raised his army with his thirteen pieces of armor, to the unification of the Jianzhou Jurchens, to the unification of the various Jurchen tribes, and finally to the defeat of the Yehe tribe in their southern invasion of the Ming Dynasty, Eyidu accompanied Nurhaci on numerous campaigns, remaining undefeated. Whenever he received a reward, Eyidu distributed it among his meritorious officers, never taking it all for himself. To demonstrate his loyalty to Nurhaci, Eyidu even personally murdered his second son, Daqi, in front of his sons, for being arrogant and disrespectful to Nurhaci.

Therefore, Nurhaci trusted him very much. If Eyidu accompanied Nurhaci on his campaigns, he would always have a place by Nurhaci's side. And although Eyidu belonged to the Bordered Yellow Banner, he did not call himself a slave to Nurhaci.

After waiting for a while, the mutton was roasted. The servant cut the left and right legs of mutton into pieces, placed them on plates, and presented them to Nurhaci and Eyidu respectively.

"Thank you, Great Khan." Eyiduo thanked Nurhaci.

Nurhaci nodded slightly, waved his hand and dismissed the servants around him, saying: "All of you go out and wait outside. If anyone comes, let them wait outside. Don't let them in."

The attendants on both sides agreed to leave first, and the servant who was grilling the lamb did not leave until he had placed it in a place where it could keep warm but not get burnt.

Eyi knew that Nurhaci had something important to say, and his depressed spirit was immediately lifted, and his right hand, which was cutting the mutton, also slowed down.

Nurhaci's movements were as agile as ever. He wielded his sharp knife, cut off a piece of woody lamb leg, pierced it with the tip of the knife, and put it into his mouth. As he chewed, he asked, "Now the throne is vacant, and undercurrents are surging in the country. I want to appoint a new heir to quell the unrest. Which of my sons do you think will be able to inherit the Mandate of Heaven after I die?" Nurhaci's tone was as if he were asking if the lamb leg tasted good.

Even though Old Baturu had been prepared, Eyidu's shoulders still shrugged unconsciously when the question was posed. "Great Khan, you are at the peak of your power and will rule the Jin Dynasty for thousands of years. Why worry about something that will only last a hundred years?" No matter how relaxed Nurhaci's tone was, the question of the succession was not something that could be answered casually.

"The long-lived emperor has passed away, how many days do I have left to live?" Nurhaci was born in the 38th year of the Jiajing reign, making him 62 years old this year, four years older than the late Emperor Wanli. After learning of the Wanli Emperor's death, he often began to think about his own affairs after his death for no apparent reason.

Eyidu continued to decline. "This is the Khan's family affair, how can I, an outsider, speak into it?"

"The affairs of the country are not just the business of my family. Why do you call yourself an outsider, Eyidu?" Nurhaci cut off another piece of meat, but this time, he did not put it into his own mouth, but handed the whole piece to Eyidu with the knife.

Eyidu thanked him and took the meat. He used his own knife to pierce the slice of meat, then held the knife and handed it back to Nurhaci. "Since this is a matter of state, it should be decided by the king. As a minister, how dare I presumptuously speak out?"

Nurhaci took the knife and continued slicing the meat. "Eyidu, publicly, you are the Khan's most trusted minister. Privately, you are my son-in-law. Therefore, you have the right to have a say in both public and private matters. I want you to speak up, and don't refuse any more." The so-called son-in-law refers to Eyidu, who married Nurhaci's fourth daughter, Mukushi, in the 41st year of the Wanli reign. Eyidu was 51 at the time. However, the two got along well after their marriage, and Mukushi gave birth to two sons and a daughter.

"Then I will speak boldly." Eyidu then replied cautiously: "I think the Great Beile should be reinstated as the crown prince."

"Hmph." Nurhaci frowned slightly and snorted indifferently. "What's the reason for this?"

"The great prince has been assisting in state affairs for a long time and is highly trusted by the people. Although he has made some minor mistakes, he has not made any major failures. We may as well wait for his achievements and reinstate him at the right time." Eyidu said.

"Daishan is too generous and thinks my place is too small. Since he's willing to live in the place he chose, let him live there." Nurhaci hadn't been particularly resentful when the "house dispute case" broke out, but it was something that only grew more infuriating the more he thought about it. Especially after deposing Daishan, the house dispute became a frequent topic of conversation for Nurhaci, serving as evidence of Daishan's reckless and presumptuous behavior.

Eyidu replied, "I heard that the Great Prince was fighting for land, not because he thought the Khan's house was too small, but because he wanted to be close to the Khan. That's why he frequently invited the Khan to visit."

In fact, the place chosen by Yuetuo was very close to the place chosen by Daishan. This was also the reason why Nurhaci wanted to move to Yuetuo and transform Daishan's place into a government office for holding grand banquets.

"I heard that." Nurhaci's expression turned even uglier. "Where did you hear that from?"

Eyidu, of course, had heard it from Daishan himself. Early in his life, when Nurhaci appointed Daishan as crown prince, he urged Eyidu to become closer to the Grand Prince. Since then, he has maintained a close and stable relationship with Daishan, and in his attitude towards the other princes, he has been a true "Princeling's Party." But Eyidu knew that speaking the truth at this point would only anger Nurhaci, so he said, "That's what the rumors say. The two plots of land are so close together, so I believe it."

"He's not trying to get close to me, he's probably just trying to get close to my wives." Nurhaci suddenly remembered Fucha's story, and his mood suddenly darkened. "I'm not dead yet!" Even with his rage boiling over, Nurhaci kept his voice down. The tent wasn't soundproof, and even if he dismissed his attendants, there was still a chance the conversation would be overheard.

Eyidu had been sitting cross-legged, but upon hearing Nurhaci's words, he immediately knelt down, holding onto the ground. "The Great Prince would never have such thoughts."

"So you still want to support Daishan?" Nurhaci's face darkened. He could not eat anymore, so he stuck the meat-cutting knife into the lamb leg.

Nurhaci clenched his fingers together, and his nails were full of dust.

"When Daishan, following the slanderous words of his step-wife, attempted to force me to kill my grandson, none of you tried to stop him. Instead, you frequently watched Daishan's expressions. I saw it all. Only Prince Manggurtai dared to speak out in public after Daishan had murdered his jealous wife. My brothers and the ministers of the kingdom were afraid of their brother and his wife, so they dared not speak. Are you afraid of him, or do you want to claim another credit for supporting the throne?" Despite Nurhaci's harsh and blunt words, there was one thing he kept secret from everyone. After his son Manggurtai murdered his first wife, Fucha Gundai, Nurhaci summoned Manggurtai alone to question him. Manggurtai first explained that he was avenging his father's death, a fact well known to everyone in the Jin court. Secondly, he feared that his prince, exposed as he was, would risk harming his father.

"I," Eyidu, kowtowed to Nurhaci, but just as he was about to explain, Nurhaci interrupted him: "I have heard a lot of rumors, some of which are about you. I wonder if you have heard them?"

"May I ask, Great Khan, what is the rumor?" Eyiduo asked.

Nurhaci did not answer but asked: "Why didn't you rescue Manggurtai last August?"

Last August, during the Battle of Huishan, Nurhaci intended to plunder Shenyang, but seeing the overwhelming strength of the Ming army, he changed his strategy, personally leading the four banners of the right wing to confront the Ming army while commanding the left wing to make a flanking attack. At the time, Nurhaci appointed Eyidu as commander-in-chief of the left wing, commanding the four banners, while Manggurtai commanded only the blue banner, making him his subordinate.

When Manggurtai led his army across Shenyang, pursuing the Fengji reinforcements as they reached the Hun River, Eyidu's main force merely followed from a distance, retreating before reaching the Hun River. Afterwards, Manggurtai reported that his attack had been so powerful that the Ming army had collapsed upon seeing him. He also accused Eyidu of being timid and delaying the advance.

When the case was brought to Nurhaci, Eyidu restrained his emotion of calling Manggurtai a fool in front of Nurhaci. He just said that Manggurtai's behavior was to underestimate the enemy and advance rashly, so he did not dare to let the entire army follow him and take risks.

Nurhaci did not discuss whether Manggurtai was being reckless. Instead, he rebuked Eyidu, saying that if he felt Manggurtai should not go, he should not have allowed him to go. If Manggurtai insisted on going, Eyidu should have hit his horse on the head and tied him back. If Manggurtai had already set out, Eyidu would have sent someone to escort him back.

This questioning directly blocked all of Eyiduo's defenses. He could only remain silent and kneel down to confess his guilt. But since he was willing to scold, it meant he didn't want to fight. In the end, Nurhaci only punished him with a Niulu and didn't really do anything to him.

Seeing Nurhaci bring up the past, Eyidu became even more confused. "Great Khan, when you appointed me commander-in-chief of the Left Wing, I was responsible for most of it. The Third Prince underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, attacking ten thousand with a hundred men. If I had followed his lead, the Ming army would have likely wiped out the elite soldiers of the Left Wing in one fell swoop. They are the flesh and blood of our Great Jin."

"Really?" Nurhaci stared at the lamb leg with a questioning look in his eyes. "I heard people say that you deliberately betrayed Manggurtai for Daishan?"

Eyidu suddenly unfastened the sword from his waist, raised it high above his head, and knelt before Nurhaci. "Great Khan! I swear to heaven, this is absolutely not true! You asked the Grand Prince to give me this sword. If I harbor such treacherous and disloyal intentions, you can simply execute me."

"I didn't ask Daishan to give you this knife." Nurhaci turned his head to look at Eyidu and saw the knife.

This was Du Song's sword. On the first day of March, the 47th year of the Wanli reign, the first major battle of the Battle of Sarhu began. Ming general Du Song led his entire army to attack Jilin Cliff. The defenders of Jilin Cliff seemed on the verge of collapse. Daishan, Eyidu, and others arrived with their troops in time, not only lifting the siege of Jilin Cliff but also subsequently joining forces with Nurhaci's own troops in a decisive battle of annihilation against Du Song's forces, outnumbering them.

After the Battle of Sarhu was over, Nurhaci distributed the spoils according to merit and gave Du Song's armor and sword to Daishan. When Daishan made the second distribution, he gave the sword to Eyidu and kept the armor as a souvenir.

"But when the Great Prince gave me this sword, he said it was a gift from the Great Khan," Eyidu replied, "that's why I dare to wear it with me."

Upon hearing this, there was a clear flicker and hesitation in Nurhaci's eyes.

One small detail that made him dissatisfied with Daishan was Eyidu's sword.

In the 15th year of the Wanli reign, Eyidu led his army to attack the city of Barda. Their advance was blocked by the swollen Hun River. Eyidu ordered his soldiers to tie ropes to their bodies and file across the river, leading his warriors to attack the city overnight. The defenders, startled, responded hastily, unleashing a hail of arrows. One pierced Eyidu's thigh. Eyidu slashed the arrow with his sword and fought valiantly, sustaining over fifty wounds but refusing to retreat. He ultimately captured the city. After the battle, Nurhaci bestowed upon Eyidu the title of "Baturu" and gave him his sword. However, after the Battle of Sarhu, Eyidu replaced the sword.

After a long silence, Nurhaci waved his hand. "Consider it my reward. Sit up and put the knife away."

After Eyidu sat down again, Nurhaci asked again: "Besides Daishan, who else do you think can inherit the Khan throne after I die?"

"I dare not talk about the throne rashly." Eyidu really didn't want to answer.

"You don't have to be shy. No matter what you say, I will forgive you." Nurhaci continued to cut the meat and eat. But after such a meal, the lamb leg was already a little cold, and the smell of mutton was a little stronger.

"Then I'll just say it straight." Eyidu swallowed his saliva.

"Ah."

"I don't know." Eyidu said.

"Hmm?" Nurhaci tilted his head again. "Didn't I tell you to speak frankly? I don't know what you meant."

"I just don't know." Eyidu straightened his posture, facing Nurhaci, and said sincerely: "Over the years, I have only been close to the Great Beile at the Khan's order. I am not close to the Khan's other sons. I don't know what talents or shortcomings the Khan's other sons have."

(End of this chapter)