Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 521 Be Sensible

Shortly after entering the courtyard, Ding Xiu and Ding Baiying smelled a faint medicinal scent. The further they walked towards the kitchen, the stronger the smell became.

Reaching the kitchen door, Ding Xiu raised his foot, but before he could kick, Ding Baiying pushed the door open. As the door opened, a fishy, ​​damp smell of medicine hit him. "Boy, is your mother sick?"

"Alas," Su Qingyao sighed, a sigh that shouldn't have belonged to someone his age. "My old illness has relapsed."

"Old illness?" Ding Xiu poured the water from the bucket into the large vat. "What's going on?" He put down the bucket and reached out to take the other bucket from Ding Baiying.

"When we were fleeing two years ago, mother caught a cold. Because we fled in a hurry, we didn't have time to pack our belongings, so we had no money for treatment after we fled to Shenyang. It was not until my second brother accepted Liu Zanhua's call to join the army and received money to settle down that we hired a doctor to prescribe medicine. After some treatment, although mother's symptoms disappeared, the root cause of the disease was also left, and she had to stay in bed from time to time to recuperate." As he said this, Su Qingyao leaned the empty shoulder pole leaning against his shoulder against the corner of the wall.

"Oh." Ding Baiying was touched and sighed.

"Su Qingyuan is your elder brother?" Ding Xiu walked out of the kitchen.

"Yeah." Su Qingyao nodded.

Ding Xiu's eyes flashed. "What's your second brother's name?"

"Qingying." Su Qingyao turned around and closed the kitchen door again.

In July of the 47th year of the Wanli reign, Xiong Tingbi left the capital to govern Liaodong. Upon his arrival, Xiong Tingbi requested an imperial decree from the Wanli Emperor, ordering Liu Guojin, a member of the Liaodong Fuzhou Guard who advocated the use of Liao people to defend Liao territory, to recruit new soldiers throughout Liao. Liu Guojin's work was remarkably successful. He quickly recruited over 17,400 Liao soldiers and deployed them to defend Zhenjiang, Kuandian, Yiyang, and Qinghe. It was during this time that Su Qingyao's second brother, Su Qingying, enlisted.

However, the Liao troops arrived quickly and left even faster. By the end of the winter of that year, most of the Liao troops assigned to the border forts had deserted. This forced Xiong Tingbi to completely abandon the strategy of "Liao people defending Liao territory" and submit a petition to the emperor requesting that elite troops from other garrisons be quickly dispatched to support Liaodong and implement a strategy of "combining Shenyang and defending Liao." In other words, he would abandon the border forts of Kuandian, Yiyang, and Qinghe, and concentrate existing forces to reinforce Liaoyang and Shenyang. If Shenyang proved undefendable, he would abandon Shenyang and defend Liaoyang.

The fact that most escaped doesn't mean all fled. Su Qingying was one of the few who didn't flee with the other Liao soldiers. He didn't flee because he was loyal to the Ming and wanted to defend the country, nor because he was bribed by the money Liu Zanhua offered him to settle down. Instead, he had to rely on the subsequent salary to protect his family.

His father and brother, who worked in the mines, were in critical condition. His frail mother had caught a cold, and his younger brother was unable to support the family. Suddenly, the burden of supporting the family fell entirely on this young man. Su Qingying had no choice but to bear it. If he ran away, the family would have no income.

The two followed Su Qingyao to the house facing the courtyard gate. The smell of medicine here was not as strong as that in the kitchen, but there was still an unpleasant odor of illness.

"Who's coming?" The woman lying on the bed had heard the unusual noise a long time ago, but she couldn't get out of bed, so she could only lie on the bed and try to look back.

"Mother," Su Qingyao walked to the edge of the couch, half-knelt down, and said, "Big brother's officers and comrades have come. They said they were entrusted by Big brother to bring you some things."

"It's Qingyuan's, cough cough!" The woman half-raised herself on the couch. She wanted to speak, but the complete words that came to her throat were interrupted and crushed by the foul air that suddenly rose from her lungs and were pushed out roughly.

Su Qingyao walked over and gently patted his mother on the back. He was used to this and didn't worry too much.

"Qingyao," the woman swallowed a mouthful of spit mixed with blood and phlegm, "Hurry, help me up and greet the master."

"Lie down, it's not that complicated." Ding Xiu took off his backpack and quickly walked behind Su Qingyao. "We won't sit for long. Just give you your things and leave."

"What is it?" The woman smiled, but Ding Baiying frowned slightly. She walked to Ding Xiu's side, ready to take Su Qingyao out. But Ding Xiu couldn't wait for them to leave and spoke impatiently:

"Of course it's silver. This is Su Qingyuan's salary for this month, plus the reward for clothes and shoes, and the allowance for overseas assignments, a total of three taels." Ding Xiu squatted down, put down his backpack, untied the rope, reached into the pension and took out three neatly cut pieces of one tael of silver and handed them to Su Qingyao.

"So many?" The woman was stunned.

Su Qingyao, however, had no qualms. He immediately accepted the silver and thanked him profusely. "Thank you, Lord Ding, thank you, Sister Ding." After consulting the doctor and buying the medicine, the Su family's savings were nearly depleted. Even if this money didn't solve their immediate crisis, it certainly came at a very timely moment.

"Like I said, there's also clothing and shoes bonuses and an assignment allowance. It adds up to three taels," Ding Xiu lied expressionlessly. "He's been assigned out there and hasn't been able to come back for quite a while. That's why he asked us to send the salary over to you."

"Ahem, thank you very much," the woman said, looking sideways at Ding Xiu and offering him a weak smile. "Please, Sir Ding, where has my son been sent?"

"This is a military secret. The Marshal has banned it, so I can't tell you." Ding Xiu tightened the rope to pull the mouth of the cloth bag, but did not tie it up.

The woman nodded in understanding. Su Qingyao only received one tael of silver a month as salary, and now he was being given three taels. He must have been assigned an important task. "Then when will he be back?"

"I don't know. It depends on the arrangements from above. It could take two months at the fastest, or half a year at the slowest." Ding Xiu stood up. "You should rest well and recuperate. We'll leave now and come back next month."

"My two lords, it's almost time for dinner. Please stay for a meal." The woman stretched out her hand.

"No, we need to go deliver the silver elsewhere. And I just checked your kitchen. There's nothing oily or watery here, just the smell of medicine, which kills my appetite." Ding Xiu waved his hand jokingly, then lowered his head and patted Su Qingyao's head. "Boy, let's go. You know this place well. Lead the way."

"Yes." Su Qingyao put the silver in the woman's hand, "Mom, we'll be back soon."

"Don't be rude." the woman warned.

"Yeah." Su Qingyao responded and followed Ding Xiu out.

Ding Baiying looked at the woman on the couch with a bitter heart. The woman smiled at her, and she smiled back. "Goodbye."

"Sir, please take care. I am sorry for the rudeness."

"No." Turning his head, Ding Baiying unconsciously stopped smiling, and a look of worry appeared between his eyes and brows.

————————“Sir Ding, which house are you going to?” Su Qingyao trotted and opened the door for the two of them.

"I'm not going to any house." Ding Xiu walked to Su Qingyao and closed the gate again.

Su Qingyao looked up at Ding Xiu, his young eyes full of confusion.

Ding Xiu squatted down. "Kid, I'm about to tell you something very bad. Don't shout or scream, just listen quietly."

Su Qingyao seemed to have anticipated something, and a smile gradually formed on his face. "Brother, is something wrong with him?"

"Yes." Ding Xiu placed the backpack in front of Su Qingyao. "Your eldest brother died, and I'm here to offer him compensation. What I said just now was all lies to trick your mother."

"Ah?" Su Qingyao was suddenly startled, and soon tears welled up from his wide-open eyes.

"Your eldest brother, Su Da, Su Jiu, and Su Qingyuan, is dead. We can't bring his body back. This uniform is his legacy. You can use it as a cenotaph." Ding Xiu pulled a dark red Ming army uniform, nearly soaked in blood, from his backpack and handed it to Su Qingyao. "We didn't want to tell you, but seeing your mother's state, I was afraid she wouldn't be able to bear it, so I told you anyway."

"My elder brother," Su Qingyao took the remains and knelt down suddenly. "How did my elder brother die?"

"He died bravely in battle," Ding Xiu poked his side. "The enemy shot him in the stomach with a captured musket. No one, god or ghost, could save him."

"How could that be?" Su Qingyao looked at the remains, tears streaming down his face. "Haven't the bandits reached Weining yet?"

"I was the one who took him away from Weining and took the initiative to go outside the Great Wall to look for the slave thief." Ding Xiu still had that calm expression.

"Master Ding," Su Qingyao raised his head and looked at Ding Xiu with tearful eyes. "Why did you take my elder brother beyond the Great Wall? He just escaped from outside!"

"Because you can only make big money if you keep your head above water," Ding Xiu said, not avoiding eye contact. "City defenders only get one tael per month, outer garrison soldiers get one tael and five cents, and generals get two taels. Hunters and night guards are also included, so they also get two taels. If they're sent out, they get another tael, making it three taels. If they succeed, they get a silver reward for first merit. To put it bluntly, hunters are out looking for death. Either the enemy dies, or we die." Ding Xiu opened the bag and showed Su Qingyao the glittering silver inside. "The silver reward for first merit, plus the imperial pension, totals seventy taels. I've already given you three taels, so here are sixty-seven taels left."

For ordinary Liao people like the Su family, who had always relied on mining and renting farmland for their livelihood, seventy taels was a rare and huge sum of money. Even without a major disaster or illness, it was unlikely that they could save such a large amount of cash in their lifetime. But Su Qingyao didn't even look at the silver, still staring at Ding Xiu intently. "Isn't my eldest brother a sergeant on the city wall? Why would he be a hunting soldier?"

"The hunting camp is newly established, and participation is entirely voluntary. Su Qingyuan chose to work so hard to make money; no one forced him." After saying this, Ding Xiu stood up. "Alright. The reward money, pension, and relics are all in this bag. Keep them safe, we're leaving now."

"Where is the body?" Su Qingyao lowered his head and stared at the bloodstained Ming army uniform. "Where is my elder brother's body?"

"I don't know, but it's outside the Great Wall." Ding Xiu took a step forward and reached out to push the gate.

"There must be a direction, right?!" Su Qingyao half-jumped forward and hurriedly grabbed the corner of Ding Xiu's clothes.

"Don't yell, it'd be bad if your mother heard you. You're half an adult now, you need to be sensible." Ding Xiu pointed in the direction of the room. "Also, I advise you not to even think about recovering the body. That place is still occupied by slaves, and we might not be able to return even if we leave. Build a memorial tablet and a cenotaph, and his spirit will find its way back. If you die again, your mother will just have to wait in bed for death."

"This damned battle will eventually end." Su Qingyao held the blood-stained shirt in one hand and tugged at the hem of Ding Xiu's shirt with the other, as if if he could just hold onto him, his brother would come back.

"Of course. But by that day, there should be a lot of new graves nearby. Su Jiu was buried wearing Hu clothing. Even if you can find him, you won't be able to recognize him." Ding Xiu pulled hard, not only retracting the corner of his clothes, but also pulling Su Qingyao to stagger.

"Hmm..." Su Qingyao gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain as he hugged Su Qingyuan's blood-stained shirt tightly. Tears streamed down like threads onto the dried bloodstains, moistening the dark red with the warm, wet tears, bringing a touch of silent life to the bloodstains.

"Let's go. Back to camp." Ding Xiu waved to Ding Baiying.

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As the sun sets in the west, smoke curls from cooking fires. A man and a woman walk towards the setting sun as they head back to camp. Before they leave the village, the young man's wailing has faded, but the shared sadness still lingers in Ding Baiying's heart.

"What will happen to them next?" Ding Baiying broke the silence.

"Whatever happens, happens," Ding Xiu shrugged, his tone relaxed, as if a heavy burden had been lifted along with the bag of silver. "Seventy taels of silver, even at today's market price, is a considerable sum. As long as you don't gamble or whore and spend it frugally, it will last you a long time."

At that moment, Ding Xiu was drawn to the unusual sound of a thin rope behind him. He turned his head and saw a sailboat, flying an official flag and carrying artillery, winding its way around the winding river, slowly approaching them over the shimmering waters. Ding Xiu recognized this type of ship; it was a pay ship from Liaoyang, and its entire cargo was filled with silver.

"What happens next?" Ding Baiying asked with a sigh.

"Then this kid grew up." Ding Xiu withdrew his gaze and frowned slightly.

"Will you continue to join the army and fight when you grow up?"

"What else? If he doesn't join the army to earn a salary, you'll export grain to support his mother?" Ding Xiu said angrily. "Don't forget, he's from Tieling. Even if he has two acres of thin land at home, it's still occupied by bandits. As long as the court doesn't send troops to reclaim Tieling, he'll have to stay in the mountains of Weining for one more day."

"Weining!" Ding Baiying was startled, as if something suddenly occurred to him. "Why were they placed in Weining by the imperial court?"

"If not in Weining, where else can we place them? Tieling?" Ding Xiu's tone became completely gloomy, and he could no longer shrug his shoulders.

"No," Ding Baiying's eyes were so dim that even the brilliant sunset couldn't illuminate them. "The government's policy is to place refugees from captured cities with the army. Su Qingyuan escaped and returned later, and only joined the army this year. Logically, Su Qingyao and Su's mother should have followed Su Qingying, right?"

"What's so strange about that? Su Qingying is already dead." Ding Xiu had realized this a long time ago.

(End of this chapter)