Huangming

Chapter 280 Simmering resentment, war breaks out on the grasslands

The afterglow of the setting sun gilded the tents of the Bordered Red Banner Camp with a pale golden-red hue, like congealed blood.

Li Yongfang dragged her leaden legs as she walked back.

Just as I turned the corner of a camp, a heart-wrenching cry pierced my ears.

"Please, kind sir! This is my wife, she's only been married for three months!"

A Han Chinese soldier in tattered armor knelt on the ground, clinging tightly to the leg of a Jianzhou Jurchen, his forehead pressed against the other's boot, weeping uncontrollably.

"I'll give you silk if you want, and I'll give you grain if you want, please let her go!"

The Jianzhou nobleman, dressed in gleaming cotton armor and with a jade-inlaid curved sword hanging at his waist, merely scoffed contemptuously upon hearing this and kicked the soldier to the ground.

"Go away!"

He cursed in broken Chinese, his boots grinding heavily against the soldier's hands.

"Everything belonging to you Han people, including your wives, belongs to us!"

Two Jurchen soldiers had already supported a girl who was crying so hard she could barely breathe. The girl was wearing a faded cloth dress, her hair was disheveled, and there were clear fingerprints on her exposed arms.

She struggled desperately, calling out "Father" and "Mother," but her voice grew weaker and weaker.

"do not worry."

The leading Jianzhou noble turned to look at the groaning soldiers on the ground, deliberately slowing his speech, like a cat playing with a mouse.

"When I'm done with her, I'll give her back to you—who knows, she might even leave you a child!"

Upon hearing this, several Jurchen soldiers around him burst into shrill laughter, the sound of which lashed at the hearts of every Han Chinese like whips.

They swarmed around the crying girl and swaggered toward their tents. When they passed Li Yongfang, they didn't even glance at him, as if he were just a hindrance.

Li Yongfang stood there, his nails digging deep into his palms. He watched the soldier lying on the ground, banging his head against the cold earth, letting out desperate sobs; he watched the girl's desperate eyes as she was dragged away, as if two knives were gouging out his eyes.

The anger in his chest churned like lava, almost bursting out of his throat.

He was the son-in-law of the Bordered Red Banner and the commander of these Han soldiers, yet he couldn't even protect his own men!

"General! You must stand up for us!"

The Han soldiers who had been robbed knelt on the ground in a dark mass. Some were clinging to Li Yongfang's legs and weeping bitterly, some were holding up torn pieces of silk and crying out, and an old man was clutching the hem of Li Yongfang's clothes tightly, tears streaming down his cloudy eyes: "General, my daughter is only sixteen! She was dragged away by those Jurchen beasts, please save her!"

The cries and screams from the crowd rose and fell, like dull knives cutting into Li Yongfang's heart.

"Hey~"

He let out a long sigh, his voice filled with exhaustion and helplessness.

"I've gone to see the Great Khan."

Upon hearing this, the kneeling people raised their heads, a glimmer of hope flashing in their eyes.

But Li Yongfang turned her face away, not daring to look them in the eye: "It's no use. The Khan is now suspicious of us Han people, thinking we are all as unreliable as Liu Xingzuo."

He paused, as if encouraging himself or comforting the others.

"Now, only by winning the battle and taking Shenyang can we clear our names. As for the things we've lost right now... they're insignificant. Once we've captured Shenyang, I'll compensate you double for the gold, silver, silk, and grain!"

"Take Shenyang?"

Someone in the crowd muttered something under their breath, their voice filled with numb mockery.

"Do you think we can take it down with just these few people?"

These words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the last remaining sparks of hope in everyone's eyes.

Yes, Shenyang's defenses were strong, Xiong Tingbi was strict in his military discipline, and there were elite troops like the White-Spear Soldiers and Zhejiang Soldiers. The Han soldiers under their command were just a hastily assembled rabble, and they couldn't even put together decent armor. How could they possibly take it down?

What's even more heartbreaking is what happened to the wives and daughters who were taken away.

A young soldier suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, and shouted in a hoarse voice, "General! Can silver bring my wife back? Those Jurchen beasts... how will they mistreat them!"

His words were like a boulder thrown into the crowd, instantly stirring up even greater grief.

Everyone knows that women who are abducted by the Jurchen nobles never have a good ending.

Being humiliated day and night was commonplace; any resistance would result in being torn apart, and of the ten who returned alive, none survived.

Even if they manage to return by chance, how could they possibly pretend that nothing happened, with all those scars and the humiliation that gnawed at their bones?

That was a shame etched on my face and branded in my heart, one that could never be washed away!

Looking at the red eyes of the crowd and listening to their suppressed sobs, Li Yongfang felt her throat tighten and even breathing was painful.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something comforting, but found that all words were so pale and powerless.

"Hey~"

He sighed heavily again, this time his back seemed to bend a little more, "I know... I know everything."

But what can I do if I know?
Go and find Nurhaci to argue your point?

They'll just get a lot of flak and might even be accused of "forming cliques for personal gain."

Leading troops to reclaim his wife and daughters?
That would be suicide; they would be killed as rebels before they even got close to the Jurchen camp.

"Everyone, get up."

Li Yongfang waved her hand, her voice so low it was like a mosquito's hum.

"Go and hone your martial arts skills and sharpen your weapons. In time, it will be time for us to prove our loyalty."

These words sounded encouraging, but even he himself found them hollow.

He turned away, no longer looking at the desperate faces, and walked deeper into the camp.

That was the tent where his eldest son, Li Yangeng, was "guarded".

Ever since Liu Xingzuo betrayed the Jin and returned to the Ming, Li Yangeng has been obsessed, constantly muttering in the camp:

"The Ming Dynasty is the legitimate dynasty."

"It's better to fight to the death than to be a slave."

Li Yongfang was so angry that she almost drew her sword and killed him.

In the end, he had no choice but to harden his heart and lock the rebellious son in the tent, forbidding him from leaving the tent even for eating, drinking, or relieving himself. Even the guards who watched over him were his most trusted confidants.

These days, Li Yangeng's angry curses often came from inside the tent. Sometimes he cursed the Jurchens for their brutality, and sometimes he cursed Li Yongfang for "recognizing a thief as his father."

Every time Li Yongfang heard these things, her heart felt like it was being pricked by needles, but she could only grit her teeth and pretend she hadn't heard them.

How could he not want to rebel?

But he had a family to support, and if he wasn't careful, his entire family would be executed.

Looking back now, that imprisonment seems like a joke.

Nurhaci had just given the order to send their families to Hetu Ala as hostages, and Li Yangeng, that rebellious son, could not escape it in the end.

The two guards outside the tent immediately knelt on one knee and saluted when they saw him approaching: "General."

Li Yongfang waved his hand and said in a low voice, "You can all leave now. You don't need to look after this beast anymore."

The guards were taken aback for a moment, exchanged glances, and dared not ask any more questions. After bowing again, they turned and left, their footsteps so light as if they were afraid of disturbing something.

The wind lifted the corners of the tent, revealing the dim light inside.

Standing outside the tent, Li Yongfang could faintly hear the sound of straw mats being turned over inside.

That unfilial son is still awake.

He took a deep breath and reached out to lift the curtain.

As soon as Li Yongfang stepped across the threshold, she saw Li Yangeng sitting curled up on a pile of dry straw mats with his back to the tent door.

His hair, like a tangled clump of dry grass, clung to his sweaty forehead, and his bare arms were covered with scratches and bloodstains, clearly indicating that he had been restless and anxious in his tent these past few days, unable to get a good night's sleep.

Hearing footsteps, Li Yangeng turned around abruptly, his bloodshot eyes shining like a wolf trapped in a cage.

When he saw Li Yongfang, he gave a cold laugh, turned back sharply, his back straight, as if his back was saying "I don't care".

"What? You don't even recognize me as your father anymore?"

Li Yongfang sat down opposite him. In the dim light inside the tent, he could see the new gray hairs at his temples.

Li Yangeng clenched his fists.

"Father? You dare call yourself a father?" He turned his head sharply, his gaze piercing like a knife.

“Those Jianzhou bastards are robbing our grain and stripping our clothes in the camp. They don’t even spare the wives of our brothers. Yesterday, when Zhang Laowu’s daughter was dragged away, she cried her heart out. Did you hear that?”

He was panting heavily, his chest heaving violently: "We Han people live worse than dogs here! And you, you're helping Nurhaci serve, helping him bully our own people! What's the point of working like this?"

Li Yongfang's Adam's apple bobbed. Avoiding her son's gaze, she looked at the pile of moldy hay in the corner of the tent: "So what if we can't stand it?"

"This is outrageous!"

Li Yangeng practically roared it out.

"If Liu Xingzuo can rebel, why can't we? It's better to surrender to the Ming Dynasty than to stay here and be treated like pigs and dogs!"

"opposite?"

Li Yongfang gave a bitter laugh, her voice so low it was like a mosquito's hum.

"Liu Xingzu was able to rebel because he didn't have much Ming army blood on his hands. What about me?"

He looked up, his eyes bloodshot.

"I was the first Ming general to surrender the city. How many Ming soldiers died at my hands on the day Fushun fell? How many people surrendered to the Jurchens because of me? If I were to surrender to the Ming now, would they accept me? I'm afraid I'd be beheaded by Xiong Tingbi as soon as I arrived in Shenyang!"

His voice trembled, as if years of pent-up grievances had finally found an outlet: "It's not that I don't want to rebel, it's that I can't! The lives of our whole family are in Nurhaci's hands. One wrong step and our entire family will be executed!"

"But the Ming Emperor's surrender order clearly states: 'Past transgressions will be forgiven!' As long as we pledge our allegiance, all our past crimes will be disregarded! Father, do you not even believe this?"

His eyes gleamed with a stubborn light, as if the surrender order was the only spark in the darkness.

Looking at her son's appearance, Li Yongfang suddenly recalled the scene when she had just surrendered to Jianzhou.

At that time, he thought he could secure a stable life by being "pragmatic," but now he realizes that in this chaotic world, promises are as insignificant as a feather.

He gave a bitter laugh, his voice hoarse with years of bitterness: "You've never been in the Liaodong officialdom, so you don't know how deep the waters are."

"In the Battle of Sarhu, so many generals died or surrendered. The imperial court's compensation documents piled up like mountains, but how many actually reached the hands of their families? The surrender order sounds nice, but when the day comes that the Ming dynasty is restored, will those censors and officials spare me, the 'first to surrender'? Their spittle can drown a person, let alone the knife in their hand."

Li Yangeng was speechless, but he still stubbornly insisted, "That's still better than being a slave here!"

Taking a breath, Li Yangeng stared at his father's face.

It's strange that his father, whom he hadn't seen for many days, suddenly came to see him today and listened to him talk for so long.

Li Yangeng seemed to have guessed something:
"Is Father now selling me out to buy back Nurhaci's pitiful trust?"

"Confused!"

Li Yongfang slapped his thigh suddenly, his voice rising abruptly, but he quickly lost his composure.

Even tigers don't eat their cubs, how could I, as your father, sell you?

He looked at his son's red eyes and his tone softened.

“The Khan has decreed that the families of all Han Banner generals must go to Hetu Ala, including not only you, but also your brother and your mother.”

"hostage!"

Li Yangeng's voice instantly changed tone, like a wolf whose tail had been stepped on.

"He's using us as hostages! Even if we fight tooth and nail to take Shenyang, he won't believe us!"

"What do you know?"

"Once you're in Hetu Ala, behave yourself, talk less, and avoid causing trouble."

He paused, looked up at his son, his gaze filled with an indescribable complexity.

"As long as your father is still alive, he will always protect you."

"Protect?"

Li Yangeng sneered and said, "If you can't even protect your own men, or the women in the camp, how can Father protect us?"

Li Yongfang's hand tightened suddenly. He didn't argue anymore, but just waved his hand and said, "I'm leaving."

Just as he lifted the tent flap, Li Yangeng's voice suddenly came from behind him, tinged with a desperate urgency: "Father! Haven't you even thought for a moment about returning to the Ming Dynasty?"

Li Yongfang paused in her steps.

Have you ever?
Li Yongfang's mind flashed with the flames of Fushun falling, the Han women being dragged away by Jurchen soldiers, Nurhaci's dark face, and the news from Shenyang that Liu Xingzuo had been enfeoffed as a count.

But he didn't turn back in the end; he simply kept that gaze and that question inside the tent.

Footsteps pounded on the grass, each step faster than the last, as if fleeing from something.

Inside the tent, Li Yangeng stared at the empty tent flap, then slumped back onto the haystack, his shoulders hunched as if bones had been removed.

If they couldn't stay on the front lines, they wouldn't have the chance to lead troops in a defection or pledge their allegiance.

Once you go to that cage in Hetu Ala, surrounded by Jurchen spies, with someone watching you even when you breathe, how can you possibly have a chance to return to the Ming Dynasty and make a name for yourself?
He grabbed a pebble from the ground and hurled it hard at the corner of the tent. The pebble hit the felt with a thud, bounced back, and landed at his feet, like a silent mockery.

at the same time.

the other side.

Thirty miles outside Daban City, on the grassland, the camps of the Plain White Banner and the Plain Red Banner stretched out in a continuous line, like two huge dark clouds pressing down on the lush green meadow.

The evening breeze lifted the edges of the flags, and the embroidered white armor with red and red armor with white trim fluttered in the twilight, carrying an air of solemnity.

On the high platform, Huang Taiji was holding a telescope and gazing into the distance.

In the lens, the outline of Osaka Castle was faintly visible in the setting sun.

That was originally the summer pasture of the Chahar tribe. The rammed earth walls were not very sturdy, but they housed Ligdan Khan's elite troops, as well as tens of thousands of cattle and sheep, thousands of carts of grain and fodder, and the most precious salt and iron on the grassland.

"Lindan Khan has hidden all his assets here."

Huang Taiji put down his binoculars, a cold smile curving his lips.

"Great Prince, if we attack for another three days, we will surely break through the city."

Beside him, Daishan was wiping his beloved scimitar with a cloth, the blade reflecting his greedy eyes: "Taking the city is easy, but we need to keep a close eye on those cattle and sheep, and not let that bastard Lindan Khan get away."

They had been besieging Daban City for more than half a month. Although they had captured tens of thousands of livestock, it was far from what they expected, and they were eager to make up for their losses.

Just then, a rapid sound of hooves came from afar, like raindrops hitting the grassland.

"Report!"

The scouts' shouts pierced the twilight, and soon, a cavalryman covered in dirt dismounted and knelt with a thud below the platform, grass clippings falling from his armor: "Reporting to Your Highness, we have discovered traces of Han troops near the Great Wall!"

"Han army?" Huang Taiji and Daishan exchanged a glance, a sharp glint flashing in their eyes at the same time.

Daishan suddenly stood up, the sword at his waist striking the armor plates with a crisp sound as he moved: "How many people are there?"

"About ten thousand men, a large portion of whom were cavalry,"

The scout was panting heavily, speaking rapidly.

They were pushing hundreds of large carts, seemingly carrying a large amount of supplies; they were probably... coming to aid Ligdan Khan!

"Supplies?"

Daishan's eyes instantly lit up like two flames. He grabbed Huang Taiji's arm, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement.

"Great! Just what I wanted has come true!"

He turned and paced a few steps on the high platform, his boots creaking against the wooden planks: "In the past two weeks of fighting Lindan Khan, the brothers have been eating dried meat and drinking mare's milk, and they've been craving it! The tens of thousands of livestock we captured weren't enough for the Eight Banners to distribute, so now we can use the Han people's things to make up for it!"

Huang Taiji also smiled.

"The Han people have always been wealthy. Those carts must be filled with silk, grain, and maybe even gunpowder. Lindan Khan didn't have the fortune to enjoy them, but they've become ours."

He looked at the armored soldiers waiting below the stage and shouted, "Pass down the order to break camp tonight and circle around to the rear of the Han army! When they get close to Daban City, we will attack them from both sides and wipe out all these supplies, people, and carts in one fell swoop!"

"Your Excellency is wise!" the scout shouted in agreement, then turned, mounted his horse, and galloped away.

Dai Shan stroked his short beard, grinning to reveal his yellow teeth: "It would be best to capture some Han women to help the brothers relieve their fatigue..."

Huang Taiji glanced at him, a smile playing on his lips, but didn't reply.

Daishan was getting impatient from the continuous siege battles.

However, the supplies delivered to the Han army's doorstep were indeed a timely help.

(End of this chapter)