Di Ming

Chapter 20 Borrowing Troops
“Tongnu, this is a family matter of your Jueercha clan, and it is not appropriate for me to interfere.”

Li Rubai looked at the river not far away and said.

"If it really is one of your clan elders who is breaking the rules under your name, then you can punish them yourself."

"You are the commander of the Left Guard, and you also hold the military power of the tribe. You can decide what to do."

Seeing that Li Rubai had no intention of helping him deal with those clan elders, Nurhaci gritted his teeth inwardly.

It was Li Chengliang's instruction to split up his own family and prevent him from having absolute authority!

You cunning, bald fox, why don't you go and meet the King of Hell of the Han people?

There's a saying among the Han people that's absolutely true: "To be old and not die is to be a thief."

Li Chengliang, that scoundrel, is still very healthy and will probably live for another twenty years.

Nurhaci was in a very difficult position at this time.

Several clan elders used his name to kidnap people and livestock to strengthen their power, but he was the one who had to take the blame, bear the infamy, and shoulder the risks.

Moreover, with their larger army, they became even more unruly, making it even harder for him, as a prince, to control them.

Wouldn't we lose everything?

Nurhaci wished he could immediately send troops to depose these "highly respected" clan elders and unify the clan.

Even if he conquers a large territory for the family outside, he probably won't be able to hold onto it if the family is divided internally.

Even if they manage to protect it, it might just be a waste of resources for the descendants of those clan elders!
However, Nurhaci was unable to send troops.

Currently, his prestige within the clan is still insufficient, and several elders still have a strong appeal, with most clansmen siding with them.

Besides his younger brother, he could only rely on outsiders like Eidu and Anfeiyangu.

Take the tribe's armored soldiers, for example. Although there are more than 3,000 of them, only 2,000 can be mobilized by themselves.

Fighting foreign wars is fine. But if we start fighting internally, the remaining thousand or so armored men won't listen to us.

If the elders rebel, it will be an internal strife within the Jueercha family.

But if we don't use force, how can we get those stubborn, old, and undying family elders to hand over the people and livestock we've captured?
We can't just stand by and watch them do this!

Zhu Yin became anxious when he saw that Li Rubai did not want to help Nurhaci deal with the clan elders.

For Ning Caiwei's sake, he had to temporarily join forces with Wild Boar Skin.

He rode up to Li Rubai and said in a low voice, "Second General, please let me speak with you in private."

Seeing the child's serious expression, which resembled that of a little adult, Li Rubai found it amusing but did not treat him with disrespect, daring not to regard him as an ordinary child.

He nodded, dismounted, and went behind his personal guards.

Zhu Yin carried Ning Qingchen over and said bluntly:

"Second General, to be honest, among those who were captured was one of my dearest relatives and friends."

"Her identity is also extraordinary. However, this is not the Central Plains, so I cannot reveal her name for the time being."

The young man kept referring to himself as "this humble one," which made the guards around him chuckle.

"Oh, is that so?" Li Rubai immediately realized that Zhu Yin had come to rescue people.

“Young Master,” Li Rubai frowned, “this matter was not Nurhaci’s doing…”

He didn't want to help Nurhaci and weaken the power of the clan elders.

It wasn't that he cared, but that he didn't want to be blamed by his father.

Zhu Yin immediately shut Li Rubai down with one sentence: "Second General, if we don't help Tong Nu resolve this matter this time, what will the elders do?"

"They would think that Commander Li has abandoned Tong Nu. Because the two generals have all arrived, yet they remain on the sidelines."

"This will cause Tong Nu's prestige to plummet. The clansmen will kick him while he's down, and Tong Nu will not only fail to grow stronger, but he will probably be killed by the clan elders."

"In this way, Jianzhou will no longer be able to help the Ming Dynasty restrain the Yehe and other tribes, and may instead lead to the Yehe and other tribes annexing Jianzhou."

"Wouldn't this be a huge help to the Yehe tribe?"

"Second General, do not forget that your father and the court intend to make the Tongnu into henchmen, to be used by the court, and to restrain the powerful Hulun Four Tribes and the Northern Wild Jurchens."

"If Tongnu is deposed, Jianzhou will fall apart, the Haixi Jurchens will advance eastward, the Wild Jurchens will move southward, and even Korea will likely be gradually encroached upon from the west..."

"The Second General must know that everything should be done in moderation."

Li Rubai looked at Zhu Yin in disbelief, his expression one of utter astonishment.

A child under nine years old can know these important matters and see them more clearly than he does!

If he weren't from a noble family, he wouldn't be surnamed Li!

Zhu Yin's words were like a wake-up call, enlightening Li Rubai.

Correct!
The father was guarding against Tong Nu becoming too powerful, and he was indeed creating a division within the family to restrain him.

But everything has its limits! Only with limits can we achieve balance.

If we remain on the sidelines today, it would actually be unbalanced. Even if Nurhaci were a dog, we would still throw him a bone from time to time.

"Young Master's words are truly enlightening," Li Rubai nodded. "And in your opinion, Young Master?"

At this moment, he dared not treat Zhu Yin as a child at all.

Zhu Yin felt contempt.

If this were Li Rusong, he wouldn't need me to remind him; he would have already taught those clan elders a lesson on behalf of Wild Boar Skin.

Compared to the powerful Haixi Jurchen and the even more barbaric Savage Jurchen, Jianzhou could not afford to be too weak at this time.

For at least eight to ten years, the growth of Jianzhou will be more beneficial than harmful to the Ming Dynasty.

Historically, it is possible that the Haixi Jurchens unified and established a state!

Zhu Yin pondered for a moment and said, "The Second General's concerns are quite reasonable, and it is indeed not advisable to intervene directly. How about this, the Second General, instead of personally intervening, you entrust me with handling this matter?"

Li Rubai was mediocre and incompetent, and he immediately nodded upon hearing this.

"Young master's idea is excellent. Then I'll leave it to you."

"I will send a hundred cavalrymen to accompany the young master."

“Once the Ming cavalry sets out, they dare not resist and can only obediently submit. One hundred cavalrymen are enough.”

Zhu Yin immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

One hundred cavalrymen would certainly be enough to help.

Unless, of course, those clan elders dare to rebel against the Ming Dynasty.

Ning Qingchen, who was in Zhu Yin's arms, felt relieved upon hearing this, but suddenly felt hungry again.

Zhu Yin nodded, "Second General, rest assured, I will take care of both public and private matters. The soldiers will not have made a wasted trip."

Li Rubai smiled knowingly, then shouted, "Xue Cheng!"

"Your humble servant is here!" A captain in bright armor stepped forward, saluted with a snap, and said, "Please give me your orders!"

Li Rubai said, "You will lead your troops and follow Young Master Zhu on his mission!"

"Yes, sir!" Xue Cheng accepted the order.

Li Rubai instructed, "As long as you don't go too far, you will obey Young Master Zhu's orders, understand?"

Xue Cheng glanced at Zhu Yin and said respectfully, "Don't worry, sir, I understand."

Then he began to organize his hundred cavalrymen.

Ning Qingchen had to admire Zhu Yin. To borrow a hundred cavalry so quickly—he truly was a spy.

Li Rubai then mounted his horse, approached Nurhaci, and said:
"Tong Nu, it is really not appropriate for me to personally intervene."

"How about this, I'll ask Young Master Zhu to help you this once, and lead the troops to meet those clan elders."

What? Nurhaci was both surprised and delighted to see that the boy had spoken a few words with Li Rubai and Li Rubai had agreed to help.

Nurhaci couldn't help but look at Zhu Yin, meeting a pair of clear yet calm eyes.

He was dressed in Jurchen attire, but was clearly a Han Chinese child.

The child was at most nine years old, holding an infant in his arms, and a small black dog sticking its head out of the pocket of his coat.

A boy, a baby, and a dog?

Nurhaci suddenly remembered the divination performed by the shaman lady earlier.

The shaman lady mentioned several possibilities, one of which was auspicious: encountering a pair of children from out of town, with a baby and a dog.

It's a pity that if there were one more girl, it would be so auspicious.

Why is one girl missing?

P.S.: Keep reading, keep reading... I'll reread it a million times...

　Nurhaci changed his surname to "Aisin Gioro," meaning "Golden," only after establishing the Later Jin dynasty. Therefore, Yezhupi originally did not have the surname Aisin Gioro.

　　So what was his original surname? There are at least five theories: Tong, Que, Cui, Jue Luo, and Tong. To this day, historians have not reached a consensus. There is no consensus.

　　This is because before Nurhaci, the Manchus did not have a written language.

　　There is no doubt that the Yezhupi clan originated from the "Jueluo Hala" lineage. However, this is an ancestral surname and cannot be considered Yezhupi's original surname.

　　The latest historical research suggests that Nurhaci's surname should have been "Jue'ercha," which is the Han surname Tong. Just as Emperor Taizu of Liao was surnamed Yelü, and his Han surname Liu. Therefore, it's not wrong to say that Nurhaci's surname was Tong.

　　Nurhaci likely did marry into his wife's family, but he didn't take the surname Tong because of this. Rather, Tong was the Han surname of his clan. His clansmen who did not marry into the family also used the surname Tong. Therefore, historical records show that he referred to himself as "Tong-Nurhaci" to Emperor Wanli and the King of Joseon in many places.

　　This is currently the most convincing answer.

　　Therefore, in this book, Nurhaci is given the surname "Jueercha" and the Han surname Tong. The author will revise this if new historical research is discovered.

　　The author is not a Qing Dynasty history expert, so errors are inevitable. I sincerely thank experts for their corrections! Thank you!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)