Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 519 Reward
"Marshal Hou." Ding Baiying looked at Hou Shilu, as if he saw the future appearance of Ding Xiu in him.

"Good girl, you don't have to thank me." Hou Shilu thought Ding Baiying was going to thank him, so he smiled and waved his hand and said, "This is what you deserve."

"Marshal, can you please..." Ding Baiying knew that his chances were slim, but he still asked, "Can you please not mix up the names?"

"What do you mean by misidentification?" Hou Shilu didn't quite understand for a moment.

"Could you please not use someone else's head to replace Sengge's identity?" When saying this, Ding Baiying suddenly felt that he seemed a little ungrateful.

"Why?" Hou Shilu was not angry at all.

"After all, this is a man who dared to charge forward at the risk of his life when hope was slim. Although he was an enemy and a barbarian, he was also a warrior after all. I think we should at least give him the most basic respect, rather than putting his identity above others' heads." Ding Baiying said solemnly.

Hou Shilu had never expected that this girl would actually say such a thing. He stared into Ding Baiying's clear eyes, remained silent for a long time, and then said with a sigh: "You are more martial than I am."

Ding Baiying was stunned and didn't know how to respond.

In the blink of an eye, the complex emotions in Hou Shilu's eyes disappeared, replaced by an unprecedented seriousness. "I think you should have heard of Qin Zhensu." Hou Shilu asked in a deep voice.

"Yes," Ding Baiying nodded, "I decided to come out of seclusion after hearing her story."

"Do you want to ascend to the Emperor's Hall like her?" Hou Shilu asked again.

"If there is a chance, I would still like to do it." Ding Baiying nodded again.

"Then you must abandon that kind of martial virtue." Hou Shilu took a deep breath. "There's never a shortage of brave men in this world, but bravery alone won't get you anywhere. If you want to be a general who's fought a hundred battles, you must not only return from a hundred battles, but also let your superiors see your achievements." Hou Shilu pointed at Sengge's head. "To you, who's facing him, Sengge may indeed be a respectable warrior, but to those verifying your achievements, he's just a beardless Jurchen boy. You can't expect them to believe your story, let alone imagine the bravery of this Jurchen boy through your head. They'll only think you're bragging. You must use a head that lives up to the word 'brave' to match this story, otherwise it's worthless. Girl, do you understand?"

Ding Baiying stood there, speechless for a long time. She had actually thought of this a long time ago. Because the scenes and events before her were constantly repeating this truth to her. "Is there no way to have the best of both worlds?" Ding Baiying asked pleadingly.

"No," Hou Shilu said firmly, "You can only choose one!" As if stating the facts, but also as if to shatter Ding Baiying's last bit of persistence. After a fleeting hesitation, Hou Shilu looked away and said in the strongest tone, "And if you don't choose, I will choose for you. These things must be used to prove to the court that my soldiers were good soldiers. When Nurhaci led his troops on a massive westward raid, they ventured beyond the Great Wall and deep behind enemy lines, raided a slave and bandit nest outside the pass, and beheaded the general guarding it. The one who beheaded this general can be you, or not. Choose quickly, while I still let you choose."

Ding Baiying's lips moved several times, but she remained silent for a long time. But in the end, she lowered her head, closed her eyes, and said tremblingly, "Thank you, Marshal."

"Very good." Hou Shilu nodded and waved to the personal guard. "Take all these heads away, and have the clerk write a report according to my instructions. When the situation eases, report to Liaoyang."

"Yes." Without any hesitation, the soldier bent down, picked up the six heads and left.

"Ding Xiu." Hou Shilu turned his head and looked at Ding Xiu again.

"I'm here." Ding Xiu replied.

"What's going on with that guy?" Hou Shilu asked, pointing at the "Shun Yi" who was still kneeling on the ground.

Shunyi seemed to realize something and shuddered. He tried to look back, but because he didn't dare to look up, he could only see a pair of black cloth boots and the corner of a crimson robe.

"To answer Marshal Hou, he was a 'baoyi aha,' or slave, of that tribe," Ding Xiu explained. "After we had complete control of the situation, he helped us tie up the men and women who surrendered. On the way back, he was obedient and honest, and didn't try to escape, so I spared his head."

"What about the others? Kill them all?"

"No, I only killed some of them," Ding Xiu subconsciously glanced at Ding Baiying. He noticed her forehead was almost hitting the floor. "I originally planned to bring back all the men and women who surrendered, but because a woman attacked and killed one of my brothers with a bird gun, causing quite a commotion, I didn't dare to bring them back. I only cut off the heads of the men and the thumbs of the women and children before leading the team back." What Ding Xiu didn't know was that the thumb of a one-year-old child still remained in his hand.

"Good boy, you're quite decisive." Hou Shilu nodded slightly and asked, "Do you want to keep him or exchange him for silver?"

"Can this humble servant still make his own decision?"

"As for Yi Ding. If you think he is useful, you don't have to kill him. It is not necessary to report one more beheading. The Baisangwu who just delivered the head for you to report the merit is the Tatar whom I conquered when I was in charge of Liangzhou. Before that, he was also a slave of a tribe. Baisangwu has followed me for more than ten years and has always been loyal. But the guy you brought back seems a little thin." Hou Shilu looked at the "Shun Yi".

"It's up to you to decide. If you want to keep them, then keep them. If not, take them away and chop them up to death. Don't let them see the civil officials alive. That way you can get more money." In the past, they could send the captured prisoners alive to Liaoyang, waiting to be presented to the capital. Although the fate of the prisoners sent to the capital was often to be beheaded after the war with the emperor's imperial decree "hand them over to the authorities for execution," and then their heads would be displayed throughout the country to demonstrate the country's prestige, but presenting the prisoners to the capital took time, and after all, they could live a few more days.

Ding Xiu shuddered slightly, then shook his head under Cui Laoliu's expectant gaze. "Let's keep him. He's a poor fellow after all."

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After having dinner and paying a total of 40 taels of silver as "routine profit" to the reward silver treasury under the General's Mansion, Ding Xiu and his companions left the General's Mansion with the "Shun Yi".

Shunyi barely understood Chinese, and had no idea what these Han Chinese were chattering away. But he knew one thing: he wasn't carried away like the other chopped-off heads by the ferocious man. Instead, he followed his captors unharmed, leaving the palace, which was far more imposing than the Khan's own.

Shunyi understood that he probably had a new master. He quietly followed the others, greedily breathing in the fresh air after the disaster.

"General Ding," Yan Nian said, a bit too tactfully. The petition for the general's office might not even be written yet, but he changed his tone. "Shall we return to camp now?" The hunting camp was small, with fewer than five hundred people including military officers and some necessary civilian staff, but it still had an independent garrison.

Ding Xiu was startled at first, then he grinned. "Old Yan, it's not time to call for the general flag yet."

"It's only a matter of time," Yan Nian's old face was filled with flattery. "The sooner you change your ways, the sooner you'll get used to it. Don't you agree?"

"Yes." Li Xian and Cui Laoliu nodded hurriedly, but Ding Baiying still looked lifeless.

"Oh, don't be so ostentatious," Ding Xiu said, waving his hand. "Fame, fortune, promotion, and wealth. Let's find a place to divide the money first." "Okay!" Cui Laoliu responded immediately, as if he had been waiting for it.

"Don't show off your wealth. There is an inn over there. Let's take a room and share it." Yan Nianyao pointed to a street shop with an inn sign hanging on it.

"Okay." Ding Xiu nodded and walked towards the inn with five people.

The inn was small, with no second floor, not even a manager. The entire lobby contained only six square tables and a young servant. The servant was quite attentive, though, and even before the group reached the door, he came out to greet them. "What would you like to eat, sir?"

"I don't want to eat, I want a room." Ding Xiu said.

"You want a room?" The servant was startled at first, then smiled knowingly. "So early?"

"Why do you care whether it's early or not? How much is it?" Ding Xiu took out a few small silver coins from his arms.

"Hey, I'm sorry for being so presumptuous." The servant's mouth was almost stretched to the sky. "You want six rooms?"

"One room will be enough." Ding Xiu waved his hand.

"Six people together?" The servant was shocked.

"What else?" Ding Xiu rolled his eyes at him.

"We don't have that much space at home," the servant said, looking around but seeing no prostitutes soliciting customers. "With six people and the girl, there won't be enough space."

"What?" Ding Xiu was stunned for a moment, then immediately cursed after realizing what was going on: "What the hell are you thinking, you idiot? We just want a room to sit down and rest for a while! Not to buy you sex."

Wherever single men gather in large numbers, there are bound to be prostitutes and prostitutes who make a living by satisfying their sexual needs. This kind of thing can't be done openly in the military camp, so it can only happen in nearby houses or in inns like this one.

"Oh! Sorry, so sorry!" The servant was quite honest. He knew he had misunderstood, so he not only bowed repeatedly to apologize, but also proposed a more cost-effective solution. "Military officers, if you want to rest, just come and have a cup of tea and sit in the hall. There are still plenty of empty seats."

"Stop talking nonsense. I want a room!"

"A pot of tea is only five cents, but a room costs half a cent." The servant insisted.

"We're not staying overnight! How can you still charge us half a cent?" Cui Laoliu walked up and acted as if he wanted to bargain.

"If you think it's too expensive, why not sit in the lobby? Isn't there an empty table there? Two more stools can seat six people." The servant smiled apologetically, but secretly complained: These soldiers are really hard to please.

"I don't want you to pay me." Ding Xiu rolled his eyes at Cui Laoliu and stuffed a small silver ingot into the servant's hand. "There's nothing more, no less. You don't need to cut off the extra. Consider it a reward from me."

"Oh, thank you, General, and I wish you good luck!" The servant weighed it and immediately smiled. The sudden dissatisfaction was also dispelled by the weight in his hand. "Please come this way!"

The servant quickly sent Ding Xiu and his party to the guest room in the backyard. Fortunately, he didn't realize that Ding Baiying was a woman, otherwise he would have had wild thoughts again.

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In the guest room, Ding Xiu opened the bag of money.

He first glanced inside, then looked around at everyone. "Does everyone agree with the earlier method of dividing the money?"

"Master General," Yan Nian was the first to speak out, "I believe you have contributed the most. You and everyone else have earned all this. You should at least get some money. If you don't take a penny, we won't feel comfortable taking it."

Cui Laoliu's eyes twitched, and he really wanted to yell back at Yan Nian. But he was just greedy, not stupid. Regardless of Ding Xiu's thoughts, if he dared to speak out against it at this moment, he would never be able to join Ding Xiu's team again.

Ding Xiu dug some silver into the table and shook his head, saying, "I've already taken the lion's share. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to call me the General. I said I won't share any money, and that's it."

Cui Laoliu's eyes lit up, and he breathed a sigh of relief. When Ding Xiu's eyes fell on him, he even said in a fake tone, "I don't have much to say. I'll just listen to you, General."

"Yes." Ding Xiu looked at Li Xian and placed four small silver ingots of five taels together. "I'll only give you twenty taels. Don't think it's too little?"

"I haven't done anything, I just followed you around. It's a great favor from the general, and I'm grateful to you brothers for giving me a share of the money." Li Xian clasped his fists and made a round of greetings. "Twenty taels is unworthy of me, how dare I complain about it being too little."

"Your little mouth is quite slippery," Ding Xiu waved at Li Xian. "Then come and get it."

"Thank you, thank you, General!" Li Xian bowed again, then hugged the twenty taels of silver into his arms. Li Xian's excitement and excitement were immediately apparent. This was the first time he had personally earned such a large amount of cash.

This was the case for Li Xian, who was born into a well-off family, and even more so for Yan Nian and Cui Laoliu, who had always been poor.

Yan Nian naturally wanted to curry favor with Ding Xiu, and didn't mind taking a small pay cut. But when the money, equivalent to two years' worth of military pay, actually appeared before him, Yan Nian shuddered. With this sudden fortune, he could become a small landowner, even send his grandson to private school. The thought of a future scholar or juren in the Yan family brought Yan Nian a smile.

After Li, Yan, and Cui had all received their reward, Ding Xiu turned to look at Ding Baiying, who had remained silent until then, and said in a low voice with a smile, "Come on, come and collect your reward."

(End of this chapter)