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Chapter 136 Great Khan, Don't Run Away, You're Just Making Empty Promises! (Please Subscribe)
Thirty li north of Datong Town is Deshengbao.

Inside and outside the fortress, shouts of men and neighing of horses filled the air, and smoke billowed everywhere. A stench of blood, mixed with the smell of livestock dung and smoke from the hearth, lingered and wouldn't dissipate.

They were victorious, and their spoils were plentiful. The severed heads piled up at the base of the fortress walls, resembling a heap of rotten watermelons. The captured hides and livestock were also piled into small mountains.

But there wasn't much joy on anyone's face.

Inside the central command tent, Wei Zhongxian slumped in a chair covered with tiger skin, looking as if all his strength had been drained. The chainmail over his python robe remained stiff and rigid, making his face appear even more ashen.

Kneeling before him were several generals, including Li Huaixin and Ma Chengen, as well as Liu Yingkun, the commander of the Jingjun (a type of military unit).

"You all... heard it clearly?" Wei Zhongxian's voice was terribly hoarse, like a broken gong. "We'll remember how our poor nephew died. Anyone who dares to go out and spread rumors or say anything unpleasant will be punished without mercy."

Li Huaixin kowtowed to the ground: "Please accept my condolences, Your Excellency! We saw it all clearly! Your Excellency is loyal and brave by nature. When he saw the enemy chieftain's banner, his eyes turned red. He shouted that he would kill the enemy and serve his country, and then he led his servants to charge forward! We could not stop his fierce courage!"

Ma Chengen quickly added, "Exactly! Lord Marquis led the charge alone, cutting down more than ten fierce Tartar chieftains in succession! In the end, he was exhausted... he was exhausted..."

Liu Yingkun added in a shrill voice, his tone trembling with tears: "Lord, you risked your life to open a path to survival for the army! You disrupted the Tartars' formation, and this monumental achievement should be attributed first to you, Lord!"

Wei Zhongxian listened with his eyes closed, his fingers unconsciously twirling the sandalwood prayer beads.

After a long pause, he waved his hand weakly and said, "Get up, all of you. This battle is fought for His Majesty. His Majesty will decide the merits and demerits. As for me... I just feel a tightness in my chest."

He paused, then asked, "Did you get anything useful out of the prisoners' mouths?"

A constable quickly stepped forward and whispered, "Reporting to the Ancestor, we managed to get some of the Tartar chieftains to talk. They said... they said that the Jurchen chieftain, Xifu, and a Han Chinese advisor named Fan Wencheng were in Huduntu's tent a few days ago. There was also a Shanxi merchant surnamed Fan acting as a go-between, urging Huduntu to completely break ties with us and join forces against the imperial court."

Wei Zhongxian narrowed his eyes and snorted.

"As expected... it was that slave chieftain Huang Taiji who was pulling the strings behind the scenes!" He gritted his teeth, squeezing out the words, "They're planning to bypass the southern steppes and attack our Great Wall!"

He sat up abruptly and looked at Liu Yingkun: "Yingkun!"

"Yes, Your Majesty! What are your orders?" Liu Yingkun quickly approached.

“I say, you write it! Write a report to the Emperor!” Wei Zhongxian said. He himself was not very good at writing, but such important documents reporting merits and requesting imperial orders were always written by trusted, literate eunuchs who conveyed his meaning.

"Yes, yes!" Liu Yingkun hurriedly walked to the desk that had been prepared in advance, spread out the Xuan paper, picked up the brush dipped in thick ink, and waited attentively.

Wei Zhongxian squinted, carefully choosing his words, and slowly said, "Start by writing, 'This servant Wei Zhongxian respectfully reports: Thanks to His Majesty's boundless blessings and the soldiers' valiant efforts…'"

Liu Yingkun wrote quickly, each word landing rapidly.

Wei Zhongxian spoke haltingly, pausing occasionally and emphasizing his words, managing to portray his nephew's absurd death as an incredibly heroic sacrifice, as if Wei Liangqing were the number one hero of this great victory—but that didn't seem wrong either, since it was Wei Liangqing who used his own life to force Li Huaixin, Ma Chengen, and Liu Yingkun, these seasoned veterans of the battlefield, to the point where they had no choice but to fight to the death.

When he spoke of his nephew's tragic death, he even managed to squeeze out two tears, his voice choked with emotion, and he insisted that Liu Yingkun include this "grief and indignation" and "loyalty" in the text.

After praising his nephew, Wei Zhongxian didn't forget to report to Emperor Chongzhen about the arrival of the Jurchen envoys at Hudun Tuhan's camp—this could further enhance his and Wei Liangqing's reputation for loyalty. If it weren't for this resounding victory, Hudun Tuhan might have been lured away by the Later Jin.

As for now, at worst, Hudun Tuhan has simply fled westward. He probably doesn't have the guts to help the Later Jin attack the Ming Dynasty, and likely wouldn't dare to provoke the Ming again.

Finally, he said, "...Our army is now stationed at the border to intimidate the enemy. Whether to suppress or appease them is up to Your Majesty's wise decision. This servant humbly awaits Your Majesty's decree."

After Liu Yingkun finished writing the last sentence, he blew on the ink to dry it, and presented it to Wei Zhongxian with both hands: "Ancestor, please take a look."

Wei Zhongxian glanced at the densely packed characters with feigned interest—he didn't actually recognize many of them—and nodded: "Hmm, that's it. Seal it with the finest official seal lacquer, send it by express courier at six hundred li directly to the Directorate of Ceremonial, and present it to His Majesty for inspection!"

"Yes!" Liu Yingkun hurriedly went to take care of it.

……

Almost simultaneously, the Datong Governor's Office.

Yuan Chonghuan had just received a military report from the front lines.

He looked at the words "Countless enemies were killed in battle, and the enemy chieftain fled far away," but there was no joy on his face—it seemed that he had overdone it a bit!

Looking at the phrase "Wei Liangqing, the Earl of Suning, fought bravely and died for his country," I was astonished—Wei Liangqing? When did he become so fierce?

He snapped the military newspaper shut and stood up.

"Prepare the horses! Order a squad of standard-bearers to accompany this academy to Victory Fortress immediately!"

The advisor hesitated, "Your Excellency, should we wait for the Emperor's decree...?"

"We can't wait any longer!" Yuan Chonghuan interrupted him. "Eunuch Wei has just suffered a great loss and is in a state of turmoil. The army at the front has won a sudden victory and is prone to arrogance. Hudun and Tu have just suffered a defeat and are as frightened as stray dogs. Now is the time for the Ministry to step in and offer a promise; otherwise, things will change!"

As he walked out, he said, "You take care of things here for now. Prepare the tea, silk, and silver as rewards, and send them to the front lines immediately once you receive a letter from the academy!" He suddenly lowered his voice, "Now I'm afraid that Tiger Rabbit will run away in a flash! If he runs away, the southern grasslands north of the Xuanda border wall will be empty, and the Jurchen cavalry is more powerful than ours."

……

In the temporary camp of the Chahan tribe beyond the Great Wall.

It was a gloomy and sad scene.

The cattle and sheep were left unattended, and the felt tents were too weak to be properly secured. The groans of the wounded soldiers rose and fell.

Inside the golden-topped tent, Lin Danhan sat there with a livid face, not uttering a single word for a long time.

Su Taifu's wife sat below him and whispered, "Great Khan, we can't fight anymore... the blood of our men is almost gone."

Old Taiji Juntu sighed, "That eunuch Wei... he's a madman. His nephew's dead, he'll go even crazier. We... should go into hiding." "Hide? Where to?" Lindan Khan's voice was hoarse. "To the west are the Khalkha and Oirat, to the east is that vicious wolf, Huang Taiji! To the south is the mad Ming Dynasty!"

"Let's bow our heads and beg for peace first." Su Tai's wife's voice was soft but firm. "Send someone to the Ming army and say that we were misled by a villain and offended the Heavenly Army. We request that we cease hostilities. We can discuss the conditions slowly."

Lin Danhan suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with humiliation.

But looking at the desolate scene outside the tent, that bit of humiliation was suppressed by the cold reality.

He remained silent for a long, long time, before finally waving his hand in despair.

"...Gengtu Taiji, you should go there yourself. Bring gifts, and be respectful in your tone. Tell them that I, Huduntu, know I was wrong and beg His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming, and Eunuch Wei... to give me a way out."

Juntu Taiji breathed a heavy sigh of relief: "Yes! I'll go right away!"

……

In another unassuming yurt.

Xi Fu and Fan Wencheng sat facing each other, while Fan Yongdou stood to the side with his hands hanging down.

"Is the news confirmed?" Shifu asked, his expression not looking good.

Fan Wencheng nodded: "The Ming army won a great victory, Wei Liangqing was killed in battle, and Ligdan Khan suffered heavy losses and is now fearful."

"Useless!" Xifu cursed under his breath. "Twenty thousand Mongol cavalrymen, defeated like this by a eunuch!"

Fan Wencheng shook his head: "My lord, Lin Dan Khan has just been defeated, this is a golden opportunity to win him over in one fell swoop!"

He leaned closer and whispered, "What is he most afraid of now? He's afraid of retaliation from the Ming army, and he's afraid of Wei Zhongxian's relentless pursuit. What does he want most now? He wants to preserve his position and restore his prestige."

"Let's give him what he wants!"

"You should immediately go and seek an audience with Ligdan Khan, and in the name of the Khan of my Great Jin Dynasty, propose three conditions: First, my Great Jin Dynasty is willing to send elite troops to help him fight against the Ming Dynasty! Second, we are willing to swear a blood oath with him and formally honor him as the 'Great Yuan Khan who governs the Mongols of the Southern and Northern Deserts'! Third, after we defeat the Ming Dynasty, we will share its territory!"

Xifu squinted: "These are all empty promises, after all. Can he really be interested? Do you think he's a fool?"

Fan Wencheng smiled sinisterly: "If he weren't stupid, how could he have ended up in this state? His repeated defeats are all because he was too focused on empty fame, which led to real trouble. The Ming Dynasty can give him tangible benefits, but it can't give him the empty title of 'Great Yuan Khan,' nor can it give him the dream of unifying Mongolia. But my Great Jin can give him all of these!"

……

Deshengbao Camp.

Yuan Chonghuan rode at full speed and finally arrived.

Without even taking a breather, he headed straight for the central command tent.

Upon entering the tent, one sees Wei Zhongxian dressed in plain clothes, sitting there with a blank stare, looking as if he has aged ten years.

"Eunuch Wei!" Yuan Chonghuan rushed forward, his voice heavy with grief, "Please accept my deepest condolences! The Earl of Suning has died a martyr for his country, and the whole world mourns! You must take care of yourself; the court... cannot do without you!"

Wei Zhongxian raised his eyelids and saw him, as if he had just come back to life.

“Governor Yuan…it’s good that you’re here, it’s good that you’re here…” His voice was terribly hoarse. “My mind is in turmoil. All the follow-up matters are now in your hands.”

As he spoke, he actually managed to squeeze out two tears: "That Liangqing... he's so foolish... he just rushed in like that... Our family has let down his father, let down the ancestors of the Wei family..."

Yuan Chonghuan offered many words of comfort, praising Wei Liangqing's loyalty and bravery, and affirming Wei's merit in commanding the troops.

The two understood each other implicitly, putting on a convincing act.

Finally, Wei Zhongxian waved his hand, looking dejected: "I'm out of energy. His Majesty originally entrusted you with this matter of pacification. Now that Hudun and Tu have been beaten and are afraid, it's the perfect time. Everything is entrusted to Governor Yuan. I... I'll go back to Datong to await His Majesty's decree."

That was exactly what Yuan Chonghuan wanted to hear, so he immediately bowed and said, "Rest assured, Your Excellency! I will do my utmost to live up to the Emperor's favor and Your Excellency's trust!"

Just then, a guard came to report: "Your Excellency, Governor! There is an envoy from the Chahan tribe outside the camp requesting an audience. He says that his Khan's uncle, Juntu Taiji, has come to... sue for peace."

The two people inside the tent exchanged a glance.

coming.

Yuan Chonghuan straightened his robes and said to Wei Zhongxian, "Your Excellency, what do you think?"

Wei Zhongxian waved his hand weakly: "Go see them, go talk to them. I won't listen; it'll only annoy me."

Yuan Chonghuan nodded and strode out of the tent.

He had just settled into the makeshift hall when another night watchman rushed in, knelt on one knee, and handed him a secret report.

"Your Excellency! Urgent military intelligence! It comes from within the Chahan tribe!"

Yuan Chonghuan knew it was a letter from Su Tai's wife, so he quickly took it, removed the sealing wax, and skimmed through it.

As he watched, his expression changed slightly.

The secret report clearly stated that the Later Jin envoy, Xifu, had once again met with Ligdan Khan, offering to send elite troops to assist him and honoring him as the "Great Yuan Khan, the sovereign of both the southern and northern deserts"!
“Heh, another one who just makes empty promises,” Yuan Chonghuan frowned deeply.

Huang Taiji and Emperor Chongzhen are truly evenly matched; they're even in their art of making empty promises. It seems that this time, Hudun Tuhan can live off his empty promises.

(End of this chapter)