Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 508 Confrontation
The full name of Yan Ye Bushou is just two characters, Yan Nian.

Yan Nian guessed that his parents had given him this name, likely for the sake of auspiciousness, to avoid an early death like his brothers. He did live longer, extending his life from the sixth year of the Longqing reign to the first year of the Taichang reign, spanning the entire forty-eighth year of the Wanli reign.

However, Yan Nian had no way of confirming this suspicion, much less of reporting the good news to his parents, as they had died long before he could even ask the question. Yan Nian didn't know the day his parents died, nor did he know where his father died. The only thing he knew was the cause of his parents' death: war.

Yan Nian disliked his hometown because he considered Liaodong an ominous place. To the west of Liaodong were the Tatar tribes, and to the east were the Jurchen tribes. To defend against them, the imperial court built a vast, unbroken Great Wall stretching from Jiuliancheng in the east to Shanhaiguan in the west. Yan Nian heard that if one continued west along the Great Wall, one would reach Jiayuguan, thousands of miles away. Yan Nian had no idea what Jiayuguan was, but since it was a pass, he figured it should be similar to other fortresses like Shanhaiguan and Yaguguan, differing only in size.

In the 15th year of the Wanli reign, Yan Nian, at the age of 15 (16 in lunar age), enlisted in the army. He remembered clearly that at the time, Liaozhen had not yet established a separate Liaodong Governor-General, but only a Governor-General of Ji and Liao. Zhang Guoyan, the Governor-General at the time of Yan Nian's enlistment, was a rare and virtuous official. During his tenure, Zhang Guoyan mobilized the people to cultivate land, built water conservancy projects, and implemented many benevolent policies, and Yan Nian was fortunate to participate in these efforts under his command.

But unfortunately, Yan Nian had never seen this all-knowing civil servant, and he still didn't know what Zhang Taibao looked like.

However, Yan Nian had seen the angel envoy from afar.

That was the twenty-seventh year of the Wanli reign. That year, the late Emperor Wanli ascended the throne at the Meridian Gate and accepted congratulations from all officials to celebrate the annihilation of the Japanese invasion. That year, the late Emperor Wanli sent an angel named Gao Huai to Liaodong to open mines and collect taxes.

It was said that taxes would be levied on mining, but when it came to actual implementation, Angel didn't open a single new mine, yet they just levied taxes.

Before officially assuming his position, Gao Huai had already recruited a group of scoundrels roaming the streets as his henchmen. Once he had a full complement of personnel, the angel descended. From Guangning to Gaizhou, from Liaoyang to Shenyang, and from Tieling to Kaiyuan, every town of even modest repute in Liaodong had been visited and plundered by this scoundrel. It was during that time that Yan Nian first saw the angel from afar in Kaiyuan City. From then on, he had a deep memory of that greedy scoundrel's face.

To make money, Imperial Envoy Gao Huai not only set up checkpoints throughout Liaozhen to collect taxes, but also ordered local generals to withhold monthly rations from the soldiers stationed there. Angel's lackeys claimed that this was because the collection targets set by the late Emperor Wanli were too high, and relying solely on local bribes was insufficient. Therefore, they needed more silver as tribute, otherwise the Angels would not be able to pay the Imperial Envoy.

But this is pure bullshit. Although the tax quota set by the emperor for Liaodong is not low, it can be satisfied by collecting taxes properly.

Take Kaiyuan, Yan Nian's former base. This was a trading town situated between the Tatars and the Jurchens. The residents of the three regions enjoyed close ties and frequent communication, and the market was even larger than the military stronghold of Shenyang. The local Han people were highly "Hu"ized. If a tax station had been established here and a reasonable tax rate had been set, the merchants might have accepted it. But Tianshi and his lackeys were simply draining the pond to catch all the fish.

These bastards are so hardworking, of course, not only to complete the tasks assigned by His Majesty the Emperor, but also to enrich their own pockets.

The so-called keeping enough for oneself and honoring one's father-in-law, the rest belongs to the emperor.

Zhu Geng, the Grand Secretary at the time, once wrote to the emperor: In the spring, when the snow was more than a foot deep and the population was almost deserted, I led hundreds of servants from the previous camp and went around all the castles, big and small, in Liaoyang, Zhenjiang, Jin, Fu, Hai, and Gai. I searched all the houses with a salary of over 100 gold coins and plundered them all. I got no less than hundreds of thousands of silver coins and emptied all the houses.

In a single spring, Gao Huai and his men could extort hundreds of thousands of taels of silver from Liaodong. However, after careful consideration, the emperor could only collect 20,000 to 30,000 taels of silver annually, with a few Liao specialties like ginseng.

Gao Huai served in Liaodong for a full nine years, from April of the 27th year of the Wanli reign to June of the 36th year. During his tenure, Gao Huai dismissed five high-ranking civil and military officials, including the military commander-in-chief, Ma Lin. This led to the decline of Liaodong's trade and the neglect of military settlements, sparking first popular uprisings and then military mutinies. In the 36th year of the Wanli reign, the garrisons in Qiantun, Songshan, Guangning, and Shanhaiguan successively erupted in unrest over long-term wage arrears. Thousands of soldiers and civilians gathered and besieged the customs offices, frightening Gao Huai into withdrawing from Shanhaiguan.

When Qiantun and Guangning were stirring up rebellion, Yan Nian was stationed at Zhongtunwei. If the court had not issued an urgent imperial edict to comfort the people, the garrison where Yan Nian was stationed would have been incited to revolt.

Recently, Yan Nian heard that Gao Huai had been taken to Liaoyang by the new emperor for a slow slicing. This was truly a sign of divine intervention and the emperor's wisdom. The only drawback was that Yan Nian didn't have the opportunity to witness it in person. Otherwise, he would have had to find a way to buy two taels of his meat and feed it to the dogs.

From Zhang Guoyan's gathering of people to cultivate farmland and build water conservancy projects, to the expedition to Korea and the fight against Japanese pirates, to Gao Huai's rebellion in Liaodong and the uprising of the Nu chieftains, Yannian is like a living history book, witnessing the construction, decline and decay of Liaodong.

Logically speaking, Yan Nian had been a soldier for over thirty years and had participated in several serious battles, so he should have made some progress. But until now, he was just a private fighting on the front lines.

What prevented him from advancement wasn't just those awful things, but also the fact that he wasn't a big, strong man. Yan Nian had never been chosen by a general to be a retainer, so he never received a recommendation for promotion.

Yan Nian envied Ding Xiu greatly. Captain Ding had been chosen as a vanguard upon his enlistment by the marshal from Liangzhou. If he had returned with more merit, he might have even become a captain or even a captain. Once he became a captain, he would have achieved a legitimate sixth or seventh rank official rank. At that point, not only would his family be exempt from corvée labor, but his sons would also be able to attend school.

Yan Nian has decided that if he can return with a full load this time, he will give all his credit to Captain Ding as a long-term investment. Yan Nian is sure that Captain Ding will have a great future sooner or later. If he can win his favor, perhaps he can become his servant when Captain Ding is in power.
"what!!"

Just as he was daydreaming, a sudden scream from the direction of the camp brought Yan Nian back to reality.

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Yan Nian calculated that the agreed quarter of an hour had already passed. However, he didn't make a move, nor was he in a hurry to do so. Yan Nian knew that sooner or later, there would be a commotion at the western river entrance. When his target, attracted by the noise behind him, turned around, that would be the time for him to draw his bow and release his arrow.

A scream pierced the night sky, instantly destroying the harmony and tranquility of the small settlement.

Without waiting for the target to fully turn, two feather arrows were fired in quick succession. After a brief flight, the feather arrows accurately pierced the person's body.

One arrow pierces the heart, one arrow cuts the throat!
Yan Nian pulled a third arrow from his quiver and placed it on the bowstring. This time, he didn't release it again. Instead, he watched and waited. The prey fell, still struggling. But Yan Nian was certain that his target was doomed. Death was only a matter of time. There was no point wasting precious energy on a dead body.

The commotion spread quickly. Soon after that scream, fear spread throughout the settlement. Roaring, shouting, cursing, weeping, and a cacophony of negative emotions mingled, startling even the birds perched nearby. Suddenly, a slender figure appeared in Yan Nian's field of vision, slender enough to slip sideways through the gap between two barricades.

Yan Nian felt a little soft-hearted. This was obviously a boy, a boy who was only slightly older than his eldest grandson.

But Yan Nian did not hesitate, he still pulled the bow.

The small figure was clearly startled by the still-struggling guard. He took two steps back, and Yan Nian's bowstring loosened a little. But the next moment, as if urged by someone, the small figure headed back towards the gap between the barricades.

"May you be reborn in a good way in your next life." As the figure brushed past the wooden barricades and was about to leave the camp, a feathered arrow flew out with a sigh. Without a warning shot, another arrow pierced the heart.

Yan Nian took out the fourth arrow and hid behind the tree again, only his eyes staring coldly at the slowly fading young life.

In the thatched hut in the center of the settlement, a nervous young man, breathing heavily, hurriedly put on the iron-lined cotton armor his father had left him before he went off with the Khan. This was the only armor in the entire camp.

The young man was the youngest son of the tribal leader and the future leader. According to Jurchen tradition, upon reaching adulthood, older sons were expected to go out and make their own living. This meant that the elderly parents would live with the youngest son, and the father's status and property, including his concubines, would be passed on to the youngest son. This was known as the "youngest son guarding the stove" system.

Before the camp was raided, the young woman who had been engaged in a passionate conversation on the young leader's couch was one of his father's concubines. Intimate relations with one's father's concubine while the father was still alive was considered unlawful even in the Jurchen tribe, as it raised the question of "who the father was." However, the old leader was clearly incompetent, so no one reported this scandal.

"Use, use that one." The shirtless young woman said, pointing at the bird gun leaning against the corner of the wall.

"There's no time to reload! Use it for self-defense." The young leader grabbed the musket and threw it to the woman, then kicked open the door with a knife and shield.

The young leader's appearance promptly stabilized the shaky morale. By the time he left the room, Ding Xiu and his four companions had completely secured the entrance to the camp. The two guards and two men who had heard the screams and rushed over to investigate—all four of them—lay in a pool of blood, breathing only.

The young chief's eyes were bloodshot. To him, the two guards were not only fresh blood for the tribe, but also his childhood friends. As for the other two men, they were spoils of war from the attack on the Yehe tribe. Their death was theirs.

"Which tribe are you from?" the young leader yelled at Ding Xiu and the others, preparing to fight. "How dare you attack us while the army is on the march? Aren't you afraid of the Khan's punishment?"

Seeing the nearly fully armed men in armor, Ding Xiu and the others slowed their pace. The retreating men and women took the opportunity to huddle closer to him. Until now, the tribesmen had assumed that this was a sneak attack and looting by members of other tribes while the army was away. Before Nurhaci unified the Jurchens and established a basic order, such incidents were all too common.

"What's he yelling at us?" Ding Baiying had already sheathed her bow and arrows. She, holding the spear she'd bought from the blacksmith's shop, and Ding Xiu, still holding his bow, crouched shoulder to shoulder behind Cui Laoliu, who held a shield and a mace. Li Xian and Su Laojiu, each holding a sword, remained vigilant behind them.

"He thought we were from another tribe," Ding Xiu's eyes kept scanning the surroundings. "That's a good thing."

"This man looks like the leader of this tribe." Su Laojiu said.

"It should be the chief's youngest son." Ding Xiu saw a woman with a bow reaching for the quiver, so he shot an arrow through her throat.

The arrow not only pierced her throat, but also violently severed her carotid artery, sending spurting, hot blood splattering all over the ground.

"Everyone! Put down your weapons! You won't be killed if you surrender! Anyone who moves again will end up like that woman." Ding Xiu shouted in Jurchen while taking out the next feather arrow.

This arrow, shot in public, was so powerful that it immediately frightened the other tribesmen who were preparing to rebel.

Still, no one surrendered their weapons, and all looked to the little leader, who, if he led the charge, would lead the men and women, armed with all sorts of weapons, toward the invaders.

"Which tribe are you from? What do you want? State your terms!" The young leader didn't dare attack, but he didn't drop his sword and shield. He stared at Ding Xiu intently, shielding his heart and neck. Given the distance between them, the only direct threat he could currently pose was the Jurchen-made bow.

"I want you to lay down your weapons! I won't kill you if you surrender!" Ding Xiu repeated his previous call in Jurchen, then whispered to Cui Liu, "Go forward. Stop when I tell you to."

"Yeah." Cui Liu gripped the six-sided hammer tightly and took slow and cautious steps.

"Don't go any further! State your terms first!" The young leader took a step back, shielding his face with his shield and glancing quickly behind him.

He didn't know at that moment that the last prepared guard in the tribe had been shot dead. Next to that guard lay another body, gradually cooling. It was his eldest brother's son.

(End of this chapter)