Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 505 Finding Wealth in Danger

"Are you crazy? You want to take us to the thieves' den!?" Ding Baiying didn't react for a moment, but the other soldier assigned to Ding Xiu shouted excitedly.

"Su Laojiu, stop yelling so loud!" Ding Xiu glared at the man and pointed at Ding Baiying, saying, "I didn't say I was taking you to Hetuala. You really don't have any composure at all. Master Ding is just a woman, and she didn't even scream."

Ding Baiying frowned and didn't respond to Ding Xiu's question. But if they were in another place, she would definitely give this bastard a good beating.

"She knows nothing! I just escaped from a den of thieves. That's no place for people!" Su Laojiu begged, "Let's go back! Let's go back!"

In the 47th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty and the July of the 4th year of the Tianming reign of the Jin Dynasty, Nurhaci, taking advantage of the victory at Sarhu, first broke through Kaiyuan and then attacked Tieling.

Su Laojiu was originally a miner in Tieling. Before Tieling was captured, he even expected the chieftain to come to justice and punish those greedy garrison officials severely to vent the anger of these oppressed residents.

But the envisioned blue sky never arrived. What awaited them was even more brutal exploitation and persecution. If the Ming garrison officials were known for their exploitative and perverted justice, then Nurhaci's generals were practically ruthless. After the fall of Tieling, Nurhaci ordered the extermination of all soldiers and ordered them to "station the troops for three days, reward them according to their merits, and disperse all the people and livestock from the three armies." Reports indicate that after the fall of Tieling, over 4,000 soldiers were killed, and tens of thousands of men and women, both urban and rural, were killed or abducted.

For Su Lao, the year he was treated like an animal in Hetuala was the darkest and most terrifying year of his life. Compared to Hetuala, the mines in Tieling were a paradise. At least working in the mines provided a decent living, and he wasn't being taken by foreigners and tortured to death, only to be slaughtered for fun when he was nearing death.

"If you want to go back, go back on your own!" Ding Xiu looked at Li Xian, then pointed at himself. "He's from Tieling too, and he was captured and escaped. I was also captured and escaped. How come you're the only one who's a coward?"

"Be a wimp if you want to, I don't want to go back and die!" Su Laojiu was still very excited.

"Su Laojiu, just talk, don't shout anymore." At this time, Weiningbao Yebushou, who was walking in front of the team and remained vigilant, couldn't help but turn his head. "And Captain Ding, what exactly are you taking us to? Stop keeping us in suspense."

"Let me ask you," Ding Xiu did not respond directly, but instead asked, "What are we doing here?"

"Cut off the head in exchange for silver." The strong man carrying the bag said in a simple tone.

"That's right, Old Cui, you're the most insightful!" Ding Xiu nodded appreciatively at the burly man named Cui. "We're out here to harvest pigs' heads and exchange them for rewards from the court. Where are the most wild boars? Of course, the wild boar dens have the most."

"Aren't we still going to Hetuala?!" Su Laojiu's face was full of fear.

"Su Laojiu!" Ding Xiu couldn't help it and rushed forward to slap Su Laojiu hard. "If you interrupt me again by barking like a dog, I'll beat you to death!"

Although Ding Xiu's words were harsh, the others present didn't want to make too much noise and startle the wild boars in the forest. So they all cast unfriendly glances at Su Laojiu.

Su Laojiu covered his face and said aggrievedly, "It hasn't even been half a year since I escaped from there, and you're bringing me back again."

Su Laojiu's words resonated with Li Xian. Although he didn't scream, a look of fear gradually filled his eyes. But when he glanced sideways and saw that Master Ding, the best fighter, was still calm, he quickly felt relieved.

"You won't die." Ding Xiu rolled his eyes at Su Laojiu and continued, "Use your stupid roe deer brain! It's March now, the most suitable season for military deployment. The slaves have been starving all winter, so how could they not send a large army south to Liaoning and Shenyang to forage for food? Right now, Hetuala is at its most empty and weak!"

"No matter how weak and insignificant the thieves' den is, it's not something that the six of us can go in." Su Laojiu finally stopped shouting this time.

"Oh, God!" Ding Xiu sighed. "Su Laojiu, can you please stop thinking with your ass? The bandits couldn't possibly have just recruited the best men from Hetuala City to launch their plunder. The small wild boar nests surrounding the big wild boar nest must also be poorly defended. We have six of us, including a master." Ding Xiu pointed back at Ding Baiying. But Ding Baiying just rolled his eyes.

"If we can find a small village with less than ten men, and then attack it at night, we'll make a killing! Think about it, everyone. If we can bring back two heads, even with the captives, we'll still get eighty taels of silver," Ding Xiu said excitedly. "The imperial court is currently reclaiming wasteland and establishing farmlands throughout Liaodong. While these fields are official lands used by the imperial court to supply the army, once the bandits are defeated and the foreign troops withdraw, they'll undoubtedly be registered and sold. With that money, we can buy a vast expanse of land. By the time the war is over, won't we be local landlords? As the saying goes, wealth and honor are sought in danger. Why earn money if you're afraid of death? I'm putting it this way. Anyone still thinking of leaving can roll back along the Great Wall now."

As the saying goes, people die for money and birds die for food. Ding Xiu's words made Cui Laoliu and Ye Bushou's appetites grow. Even Su Laojiu's face showed a longing expression. When he thought of the white silver and the comfortable life of the landlord, his fear disappeared.

"The bandits are raising troops and plundering," Li Xian asked in an inopportune whisper, "What if Liaoshen can't be defended?"

"Fuck!" Ding Xiu turned around and yelled, "None of your business! Is this something you should be thinking about? Why don't you think about what the emperor is having for dinner tonight?"

"Heh." It was unclear whether he was amused or irritated, but Ding Baiying couldn't help but laugh. He barely fit in.

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In the evening, the blood-red sunset gradually sank into the horizon, dyeing the pale blue sky a brilliant orange-red. The winding orange-red shadows flowed slowly across the sky like molten gold, dyeing the clouds a fiery red. The afterglow cast a shadow over the earth, covering everything in the world with a blood-red coat.

"It's almost time for dinner, and it's time for the slaves to light the fire and cook. Old Yan," Ding Xiu stopped and looked at Ye Bushou with a twinkling look in his eyes. He pointed to a big tree in the distance and said, "Climb up and see if there's any smoke coming out of the cooking fire."

"Okay." Ye Bushou, surnamed Yan, was very efficient. He simply responded and then climbed up the big red pine tree, which was about 70 or 80 feet high, by holding on to the branches and following the trunk.

"Let's eat too." Ding Xiu didn't think Yan Yebushou would find prey quickly, so he waved to Cui Laoliu. Each of them carried enough dry rations to last three days, but these were emergency supplies for the event they became separated, and they weren't used easily. Cui Laoliu carried all the food and water the headhunters needed daily in the large bag on his back. In terms of division of labor, Cui Laoliu served as Ding Xiu's team's baggage carrier.

Cui Laoliu came in front of the crowd, put down and opened his backpack.

After opening his backpack, Cui Laoliu first took out a robe skin that was stacked on top of the food, and several snow rabbit skins that had begun to molt. This was an unexpected gain for the group along the way.

Then, Cui Laoliu pulled out salt, dry biscuits, and several packages of freshly roasted roe deer meat wrapped in rabbit skin from his backpack. Alongside these foods, there was some air-dried, salted meat—a special ration unique to the dispatched headhunting team. However, since they had freshly roasted roe deer meat, they decided to keep the dry goods as well.

Although everyone had replenished a lot of prey meat on the way, it was clear from the way Cui Laoliu stretched his hand down that the dry food reserves had been visibly reduced.

"Here." Ding Xiu picked up the most delicious piece of salt-grilled meat and threw it to Li Xian. He then took a piece of hard, tooth-grinding biscuit and handed it to Ding Baiying. "You have good teeth, so eat this."

Ding Xiu handed Ding Baiying a standard military ration called a "Guang Bing." This ration was made by first grinding wheat into flour, then adding salt, alkali, and water, kneading it into strips, then dividing it, flattening it, and baking it into round cakes. This cake-like dry food was about an inch and a half in diameter and half an inch thick. A hole was left in the middle of the cake, allowing soldiers to string it around their necks. This made it convenient for them to eat anytime. "Min Miscellaneous Records" states: "Today, it is found throughout central Fujian. It is as big as a foreign coin, with a hole in the middle to allow a rope to be strung through it."

Because of the proper selection of ingredients and baking methods, Guangbing is not only easy to carry and rich in nutrition, but also has a long storage time. It will not easily spoil even in the humid and hot south. In the dry north, the shelf life can even be measured in months.

The reason why this kind of military ration popular in the south appeared in the north was because a southerner named Qi Jiguang, in the second year of the Longqing reign, was recommended by Tan Lun, the then governor of Ji and Liao, to manage the military training of the four towns of Jizhou, Changping, Baoding, and Liaodong. This kind of "Guangbing" was also introduced to the northern army during the military training.

It is foreseeable that if the current emperor dies and is given the temple name "Guangzong", then this "Guangbing" will have to be renamed to avoid taboos. Perhaps it can be called "Qigongbing"?
"Hmph," Ding Baiying ignored the scoundrel's provocation. She grabbed a flatbread and a piece of roe deer meat and went to sit cross-legged under a large tree. "I never accept charity."

"Tsk." Ding Xiu rolled his eyes at Ding Baiying. "Don't take it if you don't want to eat it."

"This was given to me by the court, not by you. Why shouldn't I take it?" Ding Baiying unscrewed the gourd she carried with her and carefully poured a few drops of water on the flatbread. After the flatbread had completely absorbed the water and softened, she bit off the softened piece and chewed it.

"Master Ding," Li Xiancou came over with his dinner and squatted beside Ding Baiying. "I want to ask you something."

"Just ask."

"Why did you come to the north?" Li Xian asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"The south is so good. It's warm, comfortable, and there's no war." Li Xian said.

Ding Baiying was silent for a moment before he said, "The South is not without wars either. There are at least pirates and Japanese pirates."

"It's better than here, right?"

"That's true," Ding Baiying nodded. Even now, she still remembered the scene when hundreds of Tatar cavalry attacked the merchant caravan while passing through Guangning. This kind of scene, commonplace in Liaodong, was something you'd never see in the south.

"Then why did you come to the North?"

Ding Baiying put down the pancake, pulled out the small knife he carried with him, and cut off a piece of oily roe deer meat with difficulty. Then he stuffed it into his mouth with the tip of the knife, and finally uttered a sentence: "Isn't General Qin also a southerner?" Having said that, until now, Ding Baiying has not been able to see Qin Liangyu.

"But General Qin is a chieftain appointed by the imperial court. She came here on the orders of the emperor." Li Xian was not so particular and just tore it with his teeth.

"I would like to come here by order, but the emperor doesn't even know who I am, so it's impossible for him to give me an order. So I came here on my own."

"You want to achieve great things?"

"The imperial court didn't say women weren't allowed to earn military merit, right?"

"What happens after you earn military merit?" Li Xian asked.

"How should I know? Let's earn it first." Ding Baiying waved at Li Xian a little irritably.

Li Xian didn't leave, still squatting beside Ding Baiying. "Master Ding."

"What are you doing?" Ding Baiying's tone was much harder, almost as hard as a dry pancake. "Don't talk while eating, don't talk while sleeping, where do you get all this nonsense from?"

"You are a master, can you teach me a few tricks to help me?" Li Xian asked embarrassedly with his head lowered.

"That's fine," Ding Baiying said half-jokingly, "As long as you kowtow and become my disciple, and then change your surname to Ding, I will teach you."

"You can kowtow and become my disciple, but you don't have to change your surname," Li Xian smiled innocently. "It's not like I'm marrying into your family."

"Marry into the wife's family? That's good." Ding Xiu leaned over shamelessly. "A tigress like her only likes educated pretty boys like you. When she achieves merit, the emperor will make her a female general and grant her the right to 'ennoble her husband and children.' You can even get an imperial decree!"

His interruption made Cui Laoliu and Su Laojiu, who were eating quietly, burst into laughter.

"Get out!" Ding Baiying's face turned red with anger, and she picked up a stone and threw it at Ding Xiu.

"Wow!" Ding Xiu dodged it with a swift movement. "That was close! Master Ding, my last name happens to be Ding, so I don't need to change it. Please teach me."

"How can you be so shameless?" Ding Baiying was surprised that this man could be so shameless.

"Why am I embarrassed?" Ding Xiu said, still leaning forward. "Just tell me whether you will teach me or not?"

"I won't teach you. Even if you kowtow to me, I won't teach you." Ding Baiying frowned, stood up, and leaned against another tree. "If I accept an unruly disciple like you, my master will definitely expel me from the sect."

"Tsk, forget it." Ding Xiu simply sat down in Ding Baiying's old seat. "I don't even want to learn your fancy moves."

(End of this chapter)