Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 578 Children’s Marriage
When Amin just put the whip on the big table, the bright sunlight was still hanging on the rattan curtain like a golden thread. By the time Amin had listened to all the suggestions and issued the last order, the sun and the moon were already in the same sky outside the tent, and the sunset glow was as red as blood.

"Jirgalang." Amin took the whip and stood up. The five people sitting in front of him and beside him also stood up.

"Here!" Jirgalang responded immediately after standing up.

"After you go back, write a letter about the process of this meeting and my decision. Then send someone to deliver the letter and the tribute to Sarhu City as quickly as possible and hand it over to the Khan." Amin said.

"Yes!" Jirgalang responded solemnly.

"Everyone," Amin said, slowly softening his serious expression as he faced the crowd. "Today, I exchanged some things with the Han Chinese private traders. The portions for you were delivered to your residences before I came here to discuss matters. Remember to take a look when you return."

"Thank you, Second Prince!" The faces of the generals were immediately filled with surprise.

"Yuetuo and Shuotuo will stay for a while," Amin nodded with a smile, "the rest of you can go."

The generals bowed again and turned away in order. Wuergudai stood outside the crowd and watched Amin for a while. Seeing that he didn't seem to want to stay and talk, he followed the generals and left.

The generals had barely left the tent when Amin's gentle words to Yuetuo and Shuotuo reached their ears. "My two nephews, when we were discussing matters just now, I was only speaking from the perspective of the matter. I had no other intentions. If my tone was harsh, I hope you won't take it personally."

"Second Prince, you are too kind," Yuetuo said, putting on a panicked gesture. He and Shuotuo saluted Amin and said, "Your insight and foresight are far beyond my two brothers' reach. It is truly a blessing for my brothers to receive Second Prince's guidance!"

"Oh!" Amin pretended to be angry, "Everyone has left, why do you two nephews still call me Second Beile, Second Beile?"

Yuetuo could only smile and change his address to "Uncle Amin."

"Uncle Amin." Shuo Tuo also saluted.

"Hahaha, okay!" Amin nodded with a smile.

After the generals had gone further away, so far that even their backs could no longer be seen, he pulled out two pieces of green-white jade from his pocket. These were the best and largest pieces of jade from the pile of gems Zhou Sen had given him.

"After I got these two pieces of jade today, I immediately thought of you brothers. Here, keep them." Amin handed them out with both hands, one piece in each hand.

"I dare not, I dare not." The white jade seemed to glow with a golden light under the sunset glow. Yue Tuo's heart was moved, but he still waved his hand to refuse. "How can my nephew accept such a precious thing?"

Shuotuo was ready to take it, but after hearing his brother's words, he could only turn his palm up to face Amin and said with a wry smile, "I dare not."

"One of you is the leader of the Bordered Red Banner, and the other is the Mele Ezhen of the Bordered Red Banner. How can you not be worthy?" Amin stepped forward and insisted on passing the two jade pieces to the chests of Yuetuo and Shuotuo. "Having status but no luxury will make people look down on you. Quick, put them away."

"He Shuotuo and I have not done anything, how can we accept the reward?" Yuetuo declined again.

Amin's face straightened. "You have performed meritorious service, and that is a reward from the Khan. This is not really a reward, but a gift from your uncle to you two nephews. Ever since the day you were ordered to take charge of the Bordered Red Banner, I have been thinking of giving you gifts that suit your status, but unfortunately, I have never been able to find anything suitable. Now that I have found it, it is one less thing to worry about. Please accept it quickly, nephews, and don't refuse it again. If outsiders knew that I, Amin, couldn't even give out gifts, I would be embarrassed."

"Well," Yuetuo smiled and held out his hands. "Then my nephew will have no choice but to obey your command."

"That's right." Amin placed the jade token steadily into Yuetuo's palm, then looked at Shuotuo. "Come."

"Thank you, Uncle Amin." Shuo Tuo took the jade token, and the expected warmth felt like the softest skin of a young girl.

"Hahahaha," Amin laughed and patted the two brothers on the shoulders. "We're family, so we shouldn't have different opinions."

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Elsewhere, Wuergudai, the last Beile of the Hada tribe, had just said goodbye to his scattered generals and had not yet returned to his own residence when someone gently pulled him from behind. "Wuergudai, my husband."

"Mangku?" Wuergudai turned his head and looked at the face of the person who came against the setting sun.

"Yes, I am a slave." Mangku said.

"Does the Second Prince have any instructions?" Wu Ergudai stopped and asked in a low voice.

"Yeah." Mangku nodded towards the intersection ahead. "Let's talk while we walk."

Wu Ergudai understood and immediately took another step. "What's the matter?"

Mangku glanced behind him, making sure no one was approaching or looking at him, before he said, "Second Prince wants to see you."

"Let's go to the old place?" Wu Ergudai's eyes were fixed firmly on the front.

"Yes." Mangku nodded.

"Now?" Wu Ergudai asked.

"No hurry," Mangku turned around, "it won't be too late to go after you have dinner."

"So, after dark?"

"Correct."

"Okay," Wuergudai nodded and asked, "Does the Second Prince have any other instructions?"

"That's all. I'll take care of the rest. You can go back and have dinner. I'll take my leave now." Mangku didn't salute. He quickened his pace and passed by Wuergudai. He disappeared at the intersection in front of the two of them like a gust of wind.

After Mangku walked away, Wuergudai also slightly quickened his pace.

Wu Er's ancient residence was located in the northeast of Kuandian Fort, close to the city wall. This was originally the location of the branch school of Dingliao Youwei.

Wei schools were first established in Gansu during the 17th year of the Hongwu reign (1644-1716) and later spread throughout the country. During the Zhengtong reign, under the leadership of the "Three Yangs" cabinet, the young Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty ordered all garrisons, particularly those in frontier areas far from the interior where no prefectural or county schools were available, to establish them. As government-run schools, these schools primarily served the military households of the garrisons and their children, but also accepted the children of willing civilians, merchants, officials, and even chieftains. During the Chenghua reign, the scale of the Wei schools was formally established, stipulating that each garrison must have at least 40 military students. If this number was insufficient, the school could be merged with a neighboring garrison or prefecture or county, thus establishing the Wei school system.

During the Jiajing reign, the Dingliao Right Guard relocated to Fenghuang City, and the Right Guard's military academy moved eastward with it. In the early Wanli reign, Li Chengliang, with the support of Zhang Juzheng, built the six Kuandian forts. Initial plans for the military fortress of Kuandian Fort did not include a military academy. However, as the population of Kuandian gradually increased, the Right Guard's military academy adapted to the times and established a branch school within the fort.

But like Kuandian Fort itself, this branch school was reduced to rubble and ashes in the blaze that caused countless people to wail and cry out. Today, only a few tents surrounded by wooden fences remain on the site of the former school.

"Why are you back so late?" As soon as Wuergudai walked into the area of ​​the fence, Manguji came to greet him with his two daughters and several servants.

"Let's go to the meeting." Wu Ergudai took off his windproof hat, and his rat tail immediately fell down.

"What do you want to discuss?" Manguji stretched out his hand towards Wuergudai, but Wuergudai smiled and handed the hat to his little daughter who ran over.

"What else can we discuss in the tent?" Wu Ergudai pinched his little daughter's face, then squatted down and picked her up. "Come here! My dear girl! Let me hold you." Although Wu Ergudai had not been on the battlefield for many years, his arms were still as strong as ever.

"Is there going to be a war?" Manguji's expression froze.

"Yeah." Wu Ergudai reached out his eldest daughter's hand again, wanting to hold her hand. But his eldest daughter was already over 27 years old, and it was too embarrassing to act like a spoiled child to her father. When his eldest daughter didn't reach out, Wu Ergudai just patted her head.

"How should we fight?" Manguji asked.

"Why would a woman ask about military matters?" Wu Ergudai said perfunctorily, changing the subject: "Did anything arrive today?"

"I just want to know what mission Amin assigned you." Manguji continued to ask.

"What errand do you think the Second Prince will assign me?" Wu Ergudai asked in a bad mood, then carried his little daughter to the largest tent in the yard. The tent was not only the couple's residence, but also their family's dining place.

"Amin didn't ask you to lead the troops?" Manguji seemed relieved.

"Humph, I do want to lead the troops." Wuergudai rolled his eyes at Manguji and looked at the servants around him. "You all should go eat yourselves. You don't have to wait on me."

"Yes." The servants bowed and left.

Entering the tent, Wuergudai first put his little daughter down. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she immediately bounded toward a bag. "Ama, Ama, this is candy. Very sweet and delicious." The bag wasn't big, but it was packed with more than ten pounds of stuff. The little girl couldn't lift it, so she just patted it.

"Haha," Wuergudai smiled, "Then bring some to my father."

"Hmm!" The little girl responded crisply, but she didn't open the bag of candy immediately. Instead, she turned to look at her mother. "Mother, Ama wants to eat too."

"Ah," Manguji nodded and sighed softly. "Today, Amin sent over 15 kilograms of sugar, 30 kilograms of tea, two rolls of cotton cloth, and one roll of silk cloth. Besides these food and daily necessities, there's also this." When his little daughter came over with both hands full of candies, Manguji also took out a small box.

"What is this?" Wu Ergudai grabbed all the candies from the youngest daughter's hand, but only put the smallest one into his mouth. He gave the rest to the eldest daughter.

"Gemstones. I heard they were sent from Southeast Asia, thousands of miles away." Manguji opened the box, revealing several large, uniform, and roughly polished white agates, tourmalines, and amethysts. These weren't valuable, but because they were rare in Liaodong, they looked particularly impressive.

"It must have been a gift from a merchant to the Second Prince." Wuergudai picked up a purple crystal and peered at the small fire in the center of the tent. "It's crystal clear, so it must be a good thing. Keep it. Use it to make two decent dowries for Tessina." As he spoke, Wuergudai looked at his eldest daughter.

Tessina lowered her head and didn't respond.

"What do you think about this child's marriage?" Manguji looked at Tessina with a worried look on his face.

"Let's talk about it later. There's no rush now. Let's eat." Wu Ergudai carefully put the gem back into the box.

"How can you not be anxious? You have to be anxious!" Mangguji said, "Have you forgotten what I told you last time?"

"Didn't the Hauge matter get brushed aside?" Wu Ergudai shrugged.

"This kind of thing can be dealt with the first time, but what should I do the second time?" Manguji frowned tightly.

Shortly before Amin arrived in Kuandian with his army, Manguji brought gifts to Huang Taiji's second wife, Ulanara, who had given birth to a daughter in mid-March. After the two women chatted about family matters, Ulanara suddenly proposed that her son, Huang Taiji's eldest son, Haoge, marry Wuergudai's eldest daughter, Tesina. Huang Taiji himself was not present at the time, but Manguji immediately realized that this must have been the idea of ​​his eighth brother.

Manggusi was so certain because the Ulanara clan had always been weak. After the Ulanara clan was annihilated in the 41st year of the Wanli reign, his successor, the Consort, had become even more reclusive and taciturn. Furthermore, Hauge was born in the 37th year of the Wanli reign and was only twelve years old. The haste to arrange a marriage clearly had political implications. Manggusi could easily tell that Huang Taiji was using this marriage to win over the Hada clan and thereby increase his leverage in his bid for the Khanate.

But Manguji didn't even want to ride in the Great Jin's chariot, let alone tie his family to Huang Taiji's. However, refusing openly and rupturing Huang Taiji's relationship wouldn't be good for their family. So Manguji could only use Haoge's young age as an excuse to discuss the matter later.

Wu Ergudai was stunned for a moment. "Let's eat first."

"Eat, eat, eat. All you do is eat. I'm asking you a question!" Manguji didn't accept the change of subject.

"You have to eat first before you ask me any more questions. Can't you see the children are hungry?" Wuergudai rolled his eyes at Manguji. "Besides, I have to go out after eating."

"It's almost dark, where are you going?" Because the servants didn't follow, Manguji personally served her husband the meal. Seeing this, the two daughters also took the initiative to help their mother.

Their family's dinner tonight was "bao'er fan," a type of fried rice made with meat from livestock like deer, lamb, cow, and dog. It's called "bao'er fan" because it's usually eaten wrapped in raw lettuce leaves.

"The Second Prince called me." Wu Ergudai sat down on the cushion.

"What's the matter?" Manguji was startled and his movements slowed down.

"Of course it's official business. You don't think the Han merchants only come here to sell cloth and sugar, do you?" Wu Ergudai looked at the entrance of the tent very deliberately and nodded his ear. "And once I meet the Second Prince, maybe I won't have to worry about Tessina anymore."

Manguji understood, and his frown deepened. "If we don't have to worry about Tesina's affairs, we should worry about Esendeli's affairs." Their only son, Esendeli, did not come with them to Kuandian, but was taken to Sarhu by Nurhaci.

"You can bother yourself if you want. I have to eat first." Wu Ergudai let out a long breath. Then, with a smile, he took the "bao'erfan" from his eldest daughter's hand.

(End of this chapter)