Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 214 Inexplicable
"Are you Shang Kexi?"

After Shang Kexi and his party were led into the wooden village, they went around in circles and finally arrived at a spacious hall, where they finally met the person in charge of the island.

What surprised him was that the man was so young, without a beard, and looked to be in his early twenties. He was also very tall and covered in leather armor, looking very strong and powerful.

However, this person had shaved his hair. Although it was not the ugly rat-tail style of the Jiannu, the short hair of only an inch still made Shang Kexi despise him.

Could this guy be a bald donkey who has returned to secular life?
In the hall, in addition to the person in charge, there were more than ten armed guards with swords on their waists. They had obvious vigilance in their eyes and watched his every move.

Shang Kexi glanced at them with contempt and did not take them seriously.

These guards don't look like the tough soldiers who have been trained for years. They look decent and have a bit of posture, but they definitely haven't experienced many battles.

If they were to fight in the wild, Shang Kexi was confident that he could defeat them in one fell swoop with just a few of his personal soldiers.

When he proudly announced his name and title, the young leader immediately looked at him in surprise and became extremely excited, as if he was very familiar with him.

"I am Shang Kexi..."

Shang Kexi's body tensed up, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he clenched his fists, secretly gathering strength, ready to respond to any possible attack at any time.

Because he faintly felt a hint of murderous intent in the other party's excited eyes, and his hand also grasped the knife at his crotch.

Wouldn't these people just kill them in the village because of a disagreement?
How dare they?
"Didn't Shang Youji go to Dengzhou?" Zhong Minghui asked subconsciously, holding the hilt of the knife tightly in his right hand.

"Why would I go to Dengzhou?" Shang Kexi's face showed a hint of anger as he glared at him. "I, Shang, am a third-rank guerrilla general appointed by the Ming Dynasty. Why would I associate with the rebels?"

"A third-rank guerrilla general conferred by the Ming Dynasty?" Zhong Minghui smiled.

More than half a month ago, we killed a third-rank guerrilla general in this hall.

So, do you want to kill another one?
Moreover, he was one of the most notorious traitors in later generations and the executioner who massacred countless Han compatriots.

However, why didn't this guy rebel with Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming in Dengzhou?

Moreover, looking at his righteous appearance now, he is obviously the most loyal general of the Ming Dynasty!

So how did Shang Kexi end up joining the Jiannu?
"Hey..." Shang Kexi saw that the other party was staring at him with ill intentions, and he couldn't help feeling annoyed and a little panicked.

Could it be that these foreign merchants from overseas really want to do something bad to me?

Could it be that they received a message from Shen Shikui in private and wanted to take the opportunity to kill themselves?
Since last October, when he led his troops to quell the Pi Island mutiny and rescued Huang Long, Shen Shikui had looked at him with an unfriendly look.

It was obvious that I had ruined his good fortune and made people jealous of me.

This old fellow relied on his deep roots in Dongjiang Town and connections throughout the army, and was determined to get the position of general.

Last March, Shen Shikui joined forces with former Assistant Commander-in-Chief Zhang Tao to kill the Liu brothers, with the goal of controlling Dongjiang Town.

However, unexpectedly, the court gave the position of general to Huang Long, which made him ashamed and angry.

If the Jiannu had not launched a massive attack at that time, Shen Shikui would probably have directly instigated the generals of Dongjiang Town to riot and boycott Huang Long from taking up his post.

Although there is no direct evidence that Shen Shikui planned the mutiny in October last year, he was definitely closely related to it.

If he had not acted quickly and led his troops back to Pi Island in time, and killed all the leaders of the mutiny, Geng Zhongyu, Wang Yingyuan and others when they had no reaction, Dongjiang Town might have been controlled by Shen Shikui.

A few days ago, General Huang Long swore an oath to his troops in Pi Island, preparing to quell the rebellion in the Liaohai Islands.

Before setting off, Huang Long gave him instructions in person, telling him to lead his troops to Ku Niang Island first and take the opportunity to massacre the foreign merchants who occupied the island.

But now, the situation is clearly not in my favor!

He also blamed himself for being too arrogant, thinking that the foreign merchants would not dare to take any action when they saw the army coming, so he brought twenty personal guards to meet them. "Shang Youji, you have no connection with Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming who rebelled in Dengzhou?"

Zhong Minghui felt that he couldn't just kill the man for no apparent reason. Not to mention that this would anger Dongjiang Town and bring huge trouble to Ku Niang Island, this guy hadn't shown any signs of surrendering to the Jiannu, and there was no evidence that he had any connection with Kong Youde who rebelled in Dengzhou. He couldn't just execute him so hastily.

"Hmph, it's not like there's no connection at all." Shang Kexi looked at him suspiciously, not understanding why he kept linking him to Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming. "Last October, I chopped Geng Zhongming's brother Geng Zhongyu to pieces. I guess I have a grudge against him."

"Oh, do you have a grudge against Geng Zhongming?" Zhong Minghui suddenly became interested.

"This beast has more than just a grudge against me, Shang." Shang Kexi's face was filled with anger. "During the first month of the year, Geng Zhongming not only acted as an insider, offering Dengzhou City to Kong Youde, but also took personal revenge on our Dongjiang Town General Huang, slaughtering over a hundred of his relatives and family members who were left in the city. He is truly a despicable and vicious person."

"Geng Zhongming is so shameless!" After hearing this, Zhong Minghui couldn't help but feel deep sympathy for the Huanglong general.

"No character?" Shang Kexi pondered over this unfamiliar word. "Such ruthless and brutal people are devoid of character. Everyone should be punished."

"Yes, people with no moral integrity should be despised by everyone. However, may I ask, Shang Youji, do you have loyalty in your heart?" Zhong Minghui looked at him inquiringly.

“…” Shang Kexi’s face immediately darkened when he heard this question.

The question asked by this person in charge was so rude!
"Uh, General Shang, will you surrender to the Jiannu when you are desperate in the future?" Zhong Minghui asked directly, his right hand tightening the hilt of the sword at his waist again.

"Hmm?" Shang Kexi's blood boiled upon hearing this, and he glared at him fiercely. "Hey, you're just an overseas merchant, and you've repeatedly humiliated me with words. What's your intention?... Don't you think I dare not let you bleed?"

You're going too far!

Don't you understand your own identity?
A second-rate overseas businessman actually dared to speak to me like this and always "linked" me with traitors and rebels!
Now, he even speculated whether he would surrender to the Jiannu.

I am a third-rank guerrilla general in Dongjiang Town. I am a brave man who fought my way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. How can I let a foreign merchant like you humiliate me!

Believe it or not, I will fight you to the death right now?

"Oh, Shang Youji, I really don't mean to humiliate you on purpose." Zhong Minghui smiled awkwardly and said seriously, "I just want to tell you in advance that when you really reach a dead end, you should think more about the Han blood flowing in your body and the national justice. You must not easily surrender to the Jiannu."

"Otherwise, in the history books of future generations, your actions will be recorded in great detail, leaving you infamous for eternity."

"..." Shang Kexi stared at him unkindly, "If I really have nowhere else to go, even if I commit suicide, I will never surrender to the Jiannu!"

"Alright!" Zhong Minghui patted his thigh. "Shang Youji, you must remember what you said today. You must not go back on your word and enrich yourself, or lose the integrity of the Han people."

"However, if you really have nowhere to go in the future, you might as well come to Weeping Mother Island to find us. We will definitely give you a place to stay!"

"Then I would like to thank you in advance, sir." Shang Kexi bowed to him with a hint of sarcasm.

What a joke! How could I, a third-rank guerrilla general of the great Ming Dynasty, fall to the point where I need a foreign merchant like you to look after and protect me?
Who do you think you are?

The two sides fought for a long time, and Shang Kexi gradually figured out the situation.

This young foreign merchant seemed to suspect that when he encountered difficulties in the future, he would surrender to the Jiannu, and then help the tyrant to commit atrocities and bring disaster to the Ming Dynasty.

This made Shang Kexi feel both baffled and extremely angry.

You should know that after his father Shang Xueli followed Mao Wenlong to establish Dongjiang, he fought frequently with the Later Jin Dynasty and made many military achievements, and was promoted to the rank of Dusi.

In March of the fourth year of the Tianqi reign (1624), Shang Xueli encountered the Jiannu cavalry while patrolling the border in Lushun. He fought bravely and died for his country. He was posthumously awarded the title of guerrilla general by the court and was bestowed with the highest honor.

After his father's death, Shang Kexi, at the instruction of Mao Wenlong, inherited his father's subordinates and continued to attack and kill the Jiannu and serve Dongjiang.

Just ask, how could a Ming Dynasty general like him, who had a "legitimate lineage", turn around and join the Jiannu?
The Jiannu had a sworn hatred for him because they had killed his father. How could he bow down and serve his enemy?

This business is really incomprehensible!

(End of this chapter)