Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 581: Traitorous Squad
It was early morning and still dark.

On a small hill about ten miles south of Sudian Fort, the bonfire has gone out and the flickering flames can no longer be seen. Only the deeply buried ashes still retain a trace of last night's warmth.

"Woo" Not far from the campfire, the young Jurchen scout Erjigen was leaning against a small tree that was not very strong, happily releasing the pressure accumulated in his bladder.

"Hey." A strong figure floated behind Erkegen like the wind and patted him gently.

"Hiss!" Erjigen was so startled that the stream of water stopped for a moment. "Ouch!" He turned around suddenly, and seeing that it was his eldest brother, his nerves immediately relaxed. "At least make some noise when you walk. I thought I saw a ghost." Before he could finish his sentence, Erjigen continued watering the lucky little tree.

"You're such a coward, and you're still on night watch," Mangku walked to a nearby tree and untied his belt. "If I had come here with hostility, your head would have been drowned in that puddle of urine by now."

"Don't be so scary," Erjigen shuddered and put the thing back into his crotch. "I just knew you were coming to take over, so I was so relaxed."

"Relax? You're kidding! If you guessed it was me, you'd be trembling with fear?" Mangku scolded with a smile, "You rotten coward, you almost peed on my pants."

"Hehe, then you pee here and I'll go back to sleep for a while." Erjigen could only smile awkwardly and turned to walk towards the camp.

"Wait." Mangku called Erjigen.

"What's wrong?" Erkegen stopped and looked back.

"I have something to tell you." Mangku's voice was two degrees colder than before.

"What's the matter?" Erkegen yawned.

"Wait until I finish peeing." Mangku still kept his head down.

Erqigen smiled silently and turned his head to look at the river flowing quietly in the distance. It was the Yalu River, and on the other side of the river was North Korea.

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Mangku was obviously under a lot of pressure. Erjigen waited for a long time before the sounds of urine and mud gradually subsided.

"What do you want to tell me?" Erjigen yawned again, his mouth wide open enough for a fruit to fit in.

"Promise me first that no matter what I say later, you won't scream." Mangku wiped the liquid off the back of his fingers, tied his belt, and then tore off a few leaves to wipe his hands.

"What's going on?" Mangku's serious tone gave Erjigen a bad feeling.

"You have to promise me first." Mangku threw away the leaves and looked at Erjigen steadily.

"Okay," Erkegen nodded blankly. "I promise."

"The mission assigned to us is not to conduct in-depth reconnaissance, but to contact the Ming Dynasty." While speaking, Mangku's attention was divided into two parts, one on Erjigen and the other on the direction of the camp behind Erjigen.

"Huh?" Erjigen was stunned at first, then he was shocked, "Contact." The surprised shout had just been uttered when it was covered by Mangku's quick step.

"Damn it, didn't I tell you to stop barking? If we call Sangguli over now, things will become very troublesome." Mangku's tone was extremely calm, so calm that it made people feel uneasy.

"Woo woo woo" Erkegen wanted to say something, but because his mouth was covered, he could only make some inaudible whimpers through his nose.

"Don't shout. Nod when you understand, and then I will continue." Mangku stared into Erjigen's eyes.

"Hmm." Erkegen stared and moved his neck woodenly.

Mangku let go of Erjigen and put his hand on his shoulder.

"I carry a letter on my person, written by Wuergu Dàbeile. My real mission is to take this letter to Zhenjiang City and hand it over to a Ming official named Gao Bangzuo." Mangku's eyes sparkled. "If all goes well, the Hada tribe will be reborn after the war."

"This..." Erjigen froze, unable to react for a long time. "Hada tribe, reborn?"

Although Erjigen was Mangku's half-brother, he was only sixteen years old. By the time he was born, the Hada tribe had already been annexed by the Jianzhou tribe for the second time. Erjigen was certainly aware of his origins, but to him, the Hada tribe was more of an outdated concept shared by the elders. Rather than the Hada tribe, Erjigen felt more like a member of the Bordered Blue Banner of the Great Jin.

"Yes, back then the Jianzhou tribe captured Hada City and abducted our family. If the Ming Dynasty had not intervened, I'm afraid my father and I would have become bondservants." Unlike the bewildered Erkigen, Mangku's eyes even held a fiery enthusiasm.

In the autumn of the 27th year of the Wanli reign, Nurhaci led his troops to capture Hada City, and the then Beile Menggebulu and his sons Wuergudai and Gebaku were captured. In the 28th year of the Wanli reign, Menggebulu was killed, and the Hada tribe was effectively annexed, with many of its people taken as slaves.

In the 29th year of the Wanli reign, news of Menggebulu's death reached the Ming court. The emperor dispatched envoys to Jianzhou to announce an edict, severely reprimanding Nurhaci for seizing Hada and killing Menggebulu without authorization, and revoking his city reward. By then, although Gao Huai had rebelled in Liao, Li Chengliang was still alive. Nurhaci, believing himself powerless to directly confront the Ming, immediately complied with the edict. He quickly returned the orphans of Hada, including Wuergudai and Gebaku, along with the abducted tribesmen, to Hada City. Mangku's family, who had been enslaved, was thus freed.

Later, the Hada tribe perished for the second time amidst internal and external difficulties. However, this time, Wuergudai offered to submit to the Ming Dynasty. Before submitting, Wuergudai, acting as Nurhaci's son-in-law, negotiated with Nurhaci, requesting that he not enslave the Hada tribe. To win over the Hada people, reduce the cost of rule, and avoid further Ming intervention, Nurhaci agreed to accept the Hada tribe as free citizens. Thus, Mangku and his family were not enslaved again during the Hada tribe's second fall.

Mangku was deeply impressed by this incident and even looked forward to the Ming Dynasty sending a second envoy to announce the decree. However, Erjigen had never experienced such a close call with slavery and did not understand his elder brother's enthusiasm. After a brief moment of confusion, he was instinctively terrified. "Isn't this treason? Traitors must be executed."

"Don't be afraid, Beile Amin is also on our side. He wants to help Beile Wulgudai restore his country." Mangku said.

"Really?" Erjigen relaxed a little.

"When have I ever lied to you?" Mangku patted his chest where he hid the letter. "This letter was handed to me personally by Amin Beile in front of Wuergu Beile."

"You lied to me many times when we were kids." Erjigen's mind suddenly twitched, and he actually began to recall the time when his elder brother lied to him.

"You're stupid," Mangku slapped Erjigen on the head. "Is this the time to talk about this?"

"Then what shall we say?" Erjigen's facial expression was a bit out of control, and it was hard to tell whether he was crying or laughing. Even though Mangku had said that Amin also supported the restoration of the Hada tribe, the matter of "rebelling against the Jin and joining the Ming" was still too shocking and too complicated for this ordinary Jurchen boy who didn't know much about the "international situation."

"What the hell? I just wanted to let you know about this. Tomorrow we'll enter Ming territory, and I'll handle everything from now on. You must follow me closely. If you encounter the Ming army, don't run around like a mad boar, and don't show any hostility," Mangku said sternly. "Okay, but..." Erjigen nodded blankly, "but we're not the only family left with Hada survivors. Why did Second Prince and Wuergudai Prince Consort ask you to do this?"

Mangku was stunned for a moment; he hadn't really considered the question. "Having the opportunity to participate in the great cause of national restoration is a blessing from heaven. If the Hada tribe were to be restored, Wuergudai Beile would undoubtedly grant me a Niulu Ezhen, or even a Jiala Ezhen. By then, I could even obtain a daughter for you, not to mention the daughter of old Gabusuo, but even a daughter for Mushitun Ezhen."

Even though Mangku remained loyal to the Hada tribe and Wulgudai, he was inevitably influenced by the "Great Jin Kingdom", and even his imagination of granting official titles and making wishes was "Great Jin-style".

"Forget about Nazaqing, she is stronger than you." Erjigen actually thought seriously about Mushitun's eldest daughter who was as big and strong as a boy.

"You're such a silly boy! It's better to be strong," Mangku patted Erjigen on the head again. "Did you really listen to what I said just now?"

"I understand, I understand." Erjigen still had a thousand questions in his mind, but he nodded obediently. "I'll follow you closely and won't attack."

"Very good." Although Mangku was 90% sure that he could convince Erjigen, he still breathed a sigh of relief when Erjigen really agreed obediently.

"What about Sangguli?" Erjigen turned back to look towards the camp. "He's not from the Hada tribe anymore."

"Of course we have to convince him," Mangku said.

"What if I can't convince him?" Erjigen swallowed nervously and took out a water bag from his waist.

"He's also from the Bordered Blue Banner, so he should still be able to talk. But if he really doesn't listen," Mangku snatched Erjigen's water bag and guzzled it down his throat, "then we'll have no choice but to kill him."

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"Sangguli." Mangku squatted on the ground and shook Sangguli, who was sleeping soundly against a tree covered with a piece of animal skin.

Erjigen stood beside Mangku, half of his body hidden under the tree, with a small knife hidden in his sleeve.

"Sangguli."

"Hmm?" Sangguli was sound asleep. Mangku shook him several times before he reluctantly opened his eyes. "Another shift change?"

"Wake up, I want to tell you something." There was another person lying next to Sangguli, but Mangku no longer deliberately controlled his voice as before.

"Oh. Can't we wait until dawn?" Sangguli realized that he had already worked the last shift of the night.

"This matter is very important and must be said now!" Mangku simply tore off the animal skin blanket covering Sangguli.

"What are you doing?" Sangguli subconsciously reached out to pull it, but his action was a beat too slow and he only touched the corner of the blanket.

"Get up and talk." Mangku put down the blanket, stood up, and took half a step back.

"Oh," Sangguli pulled himself up, looking at Mangku with a grouchy look. "What the hell is going on? Are you having a wet dream, you bastard? I don't want to hear it. Okay?" He then realized that Erjigen was standing behind Mangku. "Erjigen was woken up too?"

Erjigen didn't respond and just smiled stiffly at Sangguli.

"Hurry up and tell me," Sangguli rubbed his eyes and looked at the moon again. "After you finish, I can go back to sleep. I have to travel tomorrow."

"Are you loyal to Beile Amin?" Mangku asked first.

"Are you out of your mind? You woke me up in the middle of the night just to tell me this?" Sang Guli said angrily.

"Are you loyal to Beile Amin?" Mangku repeated the previous question.

"Nonsense!" Sangguli's bad temper began to condense into anger.

"If Amin Beile wants to declare himself Khan, do you support him?" Mangku asked again.

"Ah?" Sang Guli was stunned and even began to doubt whether he was still dreaming.

"Let me ask you. If Beile Amin wants to lead the Bordered Blue Banner to break away from the Great Jin, will you support it or not?" Mangku looked at Sangguli intently, and out of the corner of his eye he noticed that the person at Sangguli's feet seemed to be shocked.

"What on earth do you want to say!" Sangguli asked back almost roaring.

"Answer my question first." Mangku said coldly.

"Answer me!" Sangguli subconsciously reached for his lower back, but found nothing. He then realized that he hadn't taken the knife with him when he stood up.

"Sangguli, I advise you not to move. We have worked together for a long time, and I don't want to fight with you, let alone see bloodshed in a bayonet fight." Mangku put his backhand on the knife at his waist, but had no intention of drawing the knife.

"Mangku, Erjigen. What on earth are you brothers going to do?" Sangguli was fully awake, but he still couldn't understand what was happening in front of him.

Sangguli was just an ordinary soldier of the Bordered Blue Banner stationed in Sudian. Two days ago, Mangku and Erjigen, bearing Amin's handwritten order, approached the commander in charge of Sudian's defense, Niulu Ezhen Shabindar, Amin's former personal bodyguard, to conduct a field reconnaissance of Zhenjiang, Yizhou, and their surrounding areas in preparation for the upcoming military operation. Shabindar, unsuspecting, immediately dispatched Sangguli as a guide for Mangku and Erjigen.

"I have a letter with me, which was given to me by Beile Amin. After daybreak, we will continue to head south and deliver this letter to a Ming official named 'Gao Bangzuo'." Mangku deliberately blurred the matter of Hada's restoration of the country and did not even mention Wuergudai again.

"What letter?" Sangguli vaguely understood.

"What kind of letter can we send to the Ming Kingdom at this time?" Mangku said.

(End of this chapter)