Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 159 Self-Redemption
"It's either black or white. Haha, General Black is really good at calculating." Zhu Shenzhui said slowly.

"Dad!" Hei Mingzhong couldn't help but called out softly. After all, he was a young man and couldn't keep his cool. When he first entered the yurt, the Mongols forced him to kowtow to Zhu Shenzhui, and Hei Mingzhong intended to resist. And now Zhu Shenzhui suddenly revealed their identities in one word, which made Hei Mingzhong extremely shocked. At the same time, he was as nervous as a frightened young tiger.

On the contrary, Hei Yunlong was much calmer than his son. Although he was also shocked when Zhu Shenzhui directly revealed their identities, he quickly calmed down. He gave Hei Mingzhong a look, and then looked towards Zhu Shenzhui.

"I didn't expect that someone in Mongolia would know me, Hei Yunlong?"

"General Hei is so famous. Do you think he can really hide it by using a mere pseudonym?" Zhu Shenzhui asked with a smile.

"I, Hei Yunlong, don't have any great name. It's just some empty reputation." Hei Yunlong said with a wry smile. He was not a senior military officer. Although his garrison position was not low and he could barely reach the level of a senior military officer, he was still far from the generals and deputy generals who could stand on their own.

If the general is the head of an army, the deputy general is the deputy army commander, the lieutenant general is the division commander, the guerrilla general is the deputy division commander, and he, the garrison commander, is only the commander of a main regiment.

Compared with ordinary border troops, the position of garrison is indeed not low, but in the Ming army, garrison is not a real senior officer. So Zhu Shenzhui said that Hei Yunlong was famous, which was tantamount to flattering him. Although he had guarded the border for many years and fought countless battles with the Mongols, Hei Yunlong knew very well how much he weighed.

Now that the identity has been revealed, there is no point in hiding it any longer. Hei Yunlong moved, and Tana, who was sitting next to Zhu Shenzui, clearly took a vigilant posture, and had already grasped her rifle in one hand.

"It's okay, General Hei is not a villain." Zhu Shenzui put his hand on the back of Tana's hand holding the musket and patted it gently, giving her a reassuring look.

"Please sit down. And Mr. Hei, please sit down and talk." Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand with a smile.

"Sir, I, the Ming Dynasty Zhangjiakou garrison commander Hei Yunlong, would like to thank you." Hei Yunlong stretched his muscles, bowed to Zhu Shenzhui, and sat down cross-legged. Hei Mingzhong sat down with his father, and the atmosphere became much calmer.

"Excuse me, sir, how did you know my identity?" After sitting down, Hei Yunlong could not help but ask this question. He thought about it again and again but could not understand how a Mongolian nobleman, whom he had never met before, could recognize the identities of his father and son at a glance. This should not be the case.

"Haha, it seems that General Hei is a little upset."

Hei Yunlong forced a smile. Zhu Shenzhui was right. He was indeed very angry. It was embarrassing enough that he was captured, and now his true identity was exposed. Anyone would feel the same way.

"What if I say that I can guess General Hei's identity because of General Hei's Mr. Black Five?" Zhu Shenzhui pointed at Hei Mingzhong and said with a smile.

Hei Yunlong and his son were stunned for a moment, with puzzled expressions on their faces, especially Hei Mingzhong, who was even more confused. Hei Mingzhong was not even twenty years old this year, and had been staying in his hometown in Datong. More than a year ago, due to his father Hei Yunlong's official position transfer, Hei Mingzhong went to Xuanfu to reunite with his father, and then followed Hei Yunlong to Zhangjiakou to train in the army.

Before this, Hei Mingzhong had never been to the grassland, and this was his first time dealing with the Mongols. How could the Mongolians recognize his identity?
Seeing their surprised and puzzled expressions, Zhu Shenzhui did not explain much. He smiled and asked, "What is General Hei's plan?"

"What plans do I have now..." Hei Yunlong smiled bitterly and shook his head. If their identities as father and son had not been exposed, Hei Yunlong would have had a plan. Although he had fallen to the grassland and was captured as a slave, Hei Yunlong was not an ordinary person. He had already made up his mind. After settling down, he would inquire about the location of the tribe and find out the distance and route from here to Daming.

Find an opportunity, get two horses while the Mongols are not paying attention, and then sneak away with his son. As long as the timing is right, it is not difficult to do this. With horses and a route back to Ming Dynasty, it is not difficult to escape back to Ming Dynasty with some effort. As long as you enter the Great Wall, you will succeed.

But now this plan has become unrealistic as their father and son's identities have come into contact. Ordinary border troops are completely different from Hei Yunlong and his son. After all, Hei Yunlong is the garrison commander of Zhangjiakou and a senior military officer of the Ming Dynasty. If such a person falls into the hands of the Mongols, it would be fine if the other party does not know their identity, but once they know their identity, how can they let them run away easily?
Hei Yunlong said, "My lord, I am willing to redeem myself, can I?" "Redeem myself?" Zhu Shenzhui asked with a smile, "How much do you think your father and son are worth?"

Hei Yunlong said: "Hei is just a warrior, but my family has some money. My father and I are both his own sons. I can give up all my wealth to redeem myself with three thousand taels of silver. Is that okay?"

"Three thousand taels, hehe..." Three thousand taels is not a small number. You have to know that when Zhu Shenzhui did not involve Wangjiacun in smuggling salt, the family's annual income was only a few dozen taels. Moreover, the salary was often deducted and delays were the norm.

Even if he had previously calculated the Pingyang Liu family, Zhu Shenzhui finally got less than 2,000 taels of silver plus 30 mu of irrigated land and a store. From this point of view, the 3,000 taels that Hei Yunlong took out was not a small amount. As for what he said about having little money and losing everything, it was fine to listen to it, but it would be strange if he really believed Hei Yunlong.

The Hei family is a well-known wealthy family in Datong. Hei Yunlong is not only the garrison commander of Zhangjiakou, but also holds a hereditary military position. The Hei family has been officials for generations. Hei Yunlong himself has several sons, among whom the eldest, second, third, and fourth sons all serve in the army. The highest-ranking official has reached deputy captain of a thousand households.

The fifth son, Hei Mingzhong, who is now with Hei Yunlong, is also a low-ranking officer. In addition, there are the sixth and seventh sons in the old family, but they are still young. For a family like this, let alone three thousand taels, even if they pay more silver, they can come up with it. But then again, although this amount of three thousand taels is far from emptying the Hei family's wealth, it is also a bit of sincerity.

"Four thousand taels?" Seeing Zhu Shenzhui silent, Hei Yunlong spoke again. Then, seeing Zhu Shenzhui still did not express his opinion and looked at him with a half-smile, Hei Yunlong's heart sank slightly. He gritted his teeth and said, "Five thousand taels! My lord, this is the most I can come up with. I really don't have any more. If you agree, please write a letter to my family in Datong so that they can raise money as soon as possible."

"Five thousand taels, this is not a small number." Zhu Shenzhui laughed. Since Hei Yunlong could shout out five thousand taels, it meant that he really spent a lot of money. He was afraid that with this amount, the Hei family's assets would be almost exhausted.

However, for Hei Yunlong, as long as he could take his son back to Ming Dynasty, the money would be worth it. As long as the person was alive, it would be fine. If the person was gone, no matter how much money he had, it would not matter. Moreover, the Hei family was now supported by Hei Yunlong. Once Hei Yunlong could not go back, the Hei family would be without a leader in the future, and the decline of the Hei family would be irreversible.

Zhu Shenzhui did not say yes or no. Instead, he asked: "If General Hei returns to Ming, how will we explain to the court? Liaodong has been defeated, and the Ming court has punished many people for fear of the enemy, especially the generals in the army."

"Although General Hei is not the commander-in-chief of an army, his position in the Ming army is not low. Moreover, he failed to rescue Shenyang this time, and fled to Mongolia in a panic, and finally fell into our hands. Such a thing would be a stain on anyone. Even if General Hei himself has a clear conscience, he will be held accountable once he returns to the Ming Dynasty. Has General Hei ever thought about this?"

Hei Yunlong looked unhappy. What Zhu Shenzhui said was actually what he was worried about. He had dealt with the Mongols for many years and naturally knew that the Mongols always put their interests first. The reason why he proposed to redeem himself was also for this reason. Generally speaking, as long as the Mongols were given enough benefits, it should not be a problem for them to return to the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, it was meaningless for the Mongols to hold them captive. What would they gain even if they continued to use them as slaves? The Mongols were not short of slaves, at least not the two of them. Even a fool would know how to choose to exchange the two of them for a considerable fortune.

But Zhu Shenzhui's words also reminded Hei Yunlong that maybe it wouldn't be a problem for him to go back, but how would he face the court after returning?
The Ming army was defeated in the Liaodong War. Hei Yunlong personally experienced the war, and on the way back, he also learned some of the conditions in Liaodong from various aspects. Although he only knew some of the basics due to lack of information, it was not difficult for Hei Yunlong to infer and guess some things.

As for what Zhu Shenzhui said about the court disposing of a group of generals, although this matter could not be confirmed, Hei Yunlong did not think it was impossible. The Ming Dynasty controlled the military with civil officials, and compared with civil officials, these military generals had a lower status. This time, Liaodong was defeated and Yuan Yingtai committed suicide in the battle. The Ming Dynasty directly lost its chief commander in Liaodong, and the consequences were far more serious than the Battle of Sarhu.

Hei Yunlong knew very well what kind of people the civil servants in the court were. Yuan Yingtai was the man put forward by the Donglin Party to replace Xiong Tingbi. Now that they had been defeated to this extent, the Donglin Party would definitely not hold Yuan Yingtai responsible and would definitely put all the blame on the military generals.

The Ming court had always done this. How could Hei Yunlong, who had been in the army for so many years, not know this? Moreover, he fled from the Liaodong battlefield, but did not return to the Ming Dynasty immediately. Instead, he ended up in the Mongolian grasslands and became a prisoner of the Mongols. If the civil servants in the court knew about this, they would put a big hat on him, and it might be a disaster of life and death.

(End of this chapter)