Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 609 Reply
Just as the three Korean envoys were discussing how to write a letter to Wang Jing, Lu Wenzhao, a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, returned to the post station with a group of men.

"Commander Lu!" As soon as Lu Wenzhao appeared at the entrance of the courtyard where Mang Ku and the others were being held under house arrest, two Imperial Guards guarding the gate came to greet him.

"Go and fetch that postmaster surnamed Huang right now." Lu Wenzhao didn't stop walking, but casually patted the shoulder of the Imperial Guard to his right. "Let him come alone."

"Yes!" The Imperial Guard immediately strode out.

Lu Wenzhao walked straight to the door of the house where Mang Ku and the others were being held under house arrest and ordered the Imperial Guards guarding the door: "Open the door."

"Yes." The guard at the gate loosened his grip on the hilt of his sword and took out a key from his pocket.

The lock was engaged, the door opened, and Mangku and the others came over.

"Your servants pay their respects to Master Lu!" Mangku and Sangguli knelt and kowtowed.

"This humble servant kowtows to Master Lu." Yu Youyu also knelt and kowtowed.

"Get up, all of you." Lu Wenzhao disliked the Jurchen Tartars, but he didn't hate them indiscriminately.

"Thank you, sir." Mangku and the others bowed again and rose.

"Come and sit down." Lu Wenzhao walked to the square table in the center of the room, pulled over a stool, sat down, and waved to the people who had just gotten up.

No one responded and went to sit down; everyone stood still, their only movement being to slowly turn around as Lu Wenzhao moved.

“Mangku.” Lu Wenzhao caught a glimpse of Erjigen, who was about to get out of bed, but he did not stop him.

"Your servant is here." Upon hearing the greeting, Mangku immediately knelt down at Lu Wenzhao's feet, adopting a respectful posture.

"Get up and talk." Lu Wenzhao took a cloth bag from his waist and placed it heavily on the table beside him.

"I wouldn't dare," Mangku said, still shrinking back. "Master Lu, just give me your orders."

"Get up when I tell you to," Lu Wenzhao said casually, then called out in Chinese towards the door, "Fang Xiaoqi!"

"Yes!" The guard in the Imperial Guard stepped through the door.

"Go and bring those clothes over," Lu Wenzhao ordered.

"Bring them all over?" asked the junior officer surnamed Fang.

"Just take one set, but don't forget that one piece," Lu Wenzhao said.

"Understood." Fang Xiaoqi took another step out the door.

“Mangku.” By the time Lu Wenzhao withdrew his gaze, Mangku had already kowtowed and stood up.

"Your servant is here." Mangku responded immediately, but he did not kneel again.

"This fifty taels of silver is a reward from Lord Yuan." Lu Wenzhao grasped the bag, which was tied with a rope, and gave it a gentle shake. The silver ingots clattered together, making a dull but pleasant sound.

Mangku immediately showed delight, but after a moment's thought, he declined, saying, "This servant dares not accept the reward."

"Not enough?" Lu Wenzhao's gaze flickered over Mangku's rat-tail braid. "This is quite a lot; it can sell a lot of things."

"It's not that this servant thinks it's too little, it's that I truly dare not accept it!" Mangku knelt down again.

"Why wouldn't I dare?" Lu Wenzhao weighed the bag of silver in his hand.

Mangku countered, "This servant dares to ask Master Lu a question. Has Master Yuan instructed this servant to reply to Prince Wu Ergu and Prince Amin?" Upon hearing this, a look of worry immediately flashed across Erjigen's face.

"You're quite clever," Lu Wenzhao smiled slightly. "But what does that have to do with not daring to ask for money?"

“The Great Jin Kingdom rarely uses gold and silver for trade. Now that trade routes have been cut off, private silver is even more useless.” Mangku said sincerely, “I am just a lowly commoner. If I were to suddenly bring back such a large bag of silver, I am sure to arouse suspicion.”

“That makes sense. But once the reward money has been paid out, there’s no way to return it.” Lu Wenzhao heard the commotion and looked towards the door, where he saw Fang Xiaoqi already standing there holding Mangku’s clothes. “How about this,” Lu Wenzhao beckoned to Fang Xiaoqi and patted another stool beside him, “Let your brother keep the money for now. He can’t go back with you anyway.”

Mangku was startled, then turned and looked up at Erjigen, who was standing there dumbfounded. "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and kowtow to thank Master Lu!"

"Oh!" Ergigen suddenly came to his senses and was about to kneel down, but Lu Wenzhao stopped him with his toes. "You're injured, so don't kneel."

Fang Xiaoqi silently put down the clothes and then silently left.

"Thank you for your mercy, Master Lu." Despite his back pain, Ergigen still bowed slightly to show his respect.

"Take it. This is your brother's share; your share will be given to you later." Lu Wenzhao held the silver up flat in front of Erjigen. "Heh. Can you handle it?"

“Master Lu, you’ve gone to so much trouble. This servant can handle it.” Ergigen took the silver bag with one hand. The heavy feeling did not cause him pain. On the contrary, it was like healing the arrow wound on his back, slightly easing the pain that had been nagging at him.

Lu Wenzhao withdrew his gaze and picked up the outermost robe. After confirming that there was indeed a large patch on the robe, he handed it to Mangku. "Mangku. Master Yuan's reply to your master is inside this patch, and it's written in Chinese. I won't go into how important this is; you should know it yourself."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand!" Mangku nodded solemnly, accepting the letter with trembling hands. "Your Majesty, I will deliver this letter to Prince Wuergu and Prince Amin. Unless I die!"

“Very good.” Lu Wenzhao leaned forward and gently patted Mangku on the shoulder. “But I still hope that you will deliver the message next time.”

Mangku, holding the robe, kowtowed to Lu Wenzhao. "This servant dares to ask, Master Lu, where should I send my reply next time I come?"

"Just take him to the platform where your brother had the arrow removed. We've already sent someone to speak with them," Lu Wenzhao said. "They all know you. Go there in person, and they'll treat you well."

"If I encounter the Celestial Empire's guerrillas again before I go to that watchtower, as I did last time, what kind of token should I use to avoid death?" Mangku couldn't help but feel lingering fear whenever he recalled the scene of the surprise attack that day.

"I was just about to tell you," Lu Wenzhao said. "Next time you come, carry a blank white flag with you. If you happen to encounter guerrillas, throw away your weapons, then stick the white flag beside you and wait for them to come looking for you. Or you can simply carry the white flag on your body while marching, so they won't ambush you."

In reality, the best way to avoid collateral damage was to stop the hunting operation altogether, or at least designate that area as a safe zone. However, officials ruled out this option at the outset of the meeting because, given the current situation and deployment, that area was to be under close surveillance, and it was impossible to stop hunting for the sake of communication. The flag-carrying plan was proposed by Bai Zaixiang. She initially suggested that Mangku or another messenger carry a flag with the character "降" (surrender) on it. After all, during their first contact, Mangku had proactively asked Yu Youyu to write a blood-red surrender flag.

This proposal was immediately opposed by Gao Bangzuo. Gao Bangzuo believed that even if Mangku's words were all true, only a very small core group in Kuandian currently knew and agreed with the Nan Guan chieftain's intention to defect. The risk of carrying a flag with Chinese characters was far too great. Once the matter was brought to the forefront, even Amin would likely not step in to cover it up. At most, he would secretly execute Mangku to protect Wu Ergu.

Subsequently, Bai Zaixiang proposed a revised plan, which was to bring a white flag.

"This servant understands." Mangku bowed again and asked, "This servant dares to ask Master Lu, how should this servant leave your territory?"

"You've really thought this through." Lu Wenzhao was actually starting to admire this Tartar. "You don't need to worry about that. We'll send someone to get you out safely."

"Then this servant thanks Master Lu in advance." Mangku kowtowed again.

"Alright, hurry up and get up and change your clothes." Lu Wenzhao stood up first.

"Are we leaving now?" Mangku asked, standing up.

“Yes, hurry up and change,” Lu Wenzhao nodded. “If we set off now, we should reach the beacon tower where you removed the arrow from your brother before dark. Have a good meal there, spend the night there, and set off again early tomorrow morning. Such an important matter cannot be explained in one or two messages, so don’t waste time on the road.” With that, Lu Wenzhao strode out of the room.

"Understood!" Mangku bowed solemnly to Lu Wenzhao's back before starting to change his clothes.

"Master Lu!" Yu Youyu chased after him, and Sang Guli followed a little later.

"What?" Lu Wenzhao turned his head to the side, without turning around.

Yu Youyu jogged up to Lu Wenzhao, bowed his head and asked, "May I ask, Master Lu, when will I be able to leave this place?" Yu Youyu already knew that he still had many relatives alive, some of whom were even serving in the army in Phoenix City.

“When the time comes to leave, you will naturally be able to leave,” Lu Wenzhao said in a tongue-twisting manner.

Yu Youyu's expression froze for a moment. "Please don't worry, Master Lu. I swear to God, I will never reveal what I know!"

"Heh." Lu Wenzhao chuckled lightly and countered, "Do you know what kind of person is best at keeping secrets?"

"What kind of person?" Yu Youyu shrank back.

“Dead people. And people who know they'll die if they leak information.” Lu Wenzhao gave a thumbs up, then gestured twice behind him with his other hand. “That ‘tragic’ guy is the latter category. Which one are you?”

Yu Youyu's face turned pale instantly. "I...I won't leave."

"Just stay here and relax. The court isn't neglecting your food and drink." Lu Wenzhao gently patted Yu Youyu's shoulder. "Feel yourself better. You're so skinny, it's impossible to give you an important position."

"Yes, yes, yes." Yu Youyu's expression softened considerably.

Lu Wenzhao looked at Sangguli and smoothly switched to Jurchen to ask, "What else do you want to say?"

"Doesn't the little one need to change clothes?" Sangguli asked cautiously.

"Why change your clothes? You're already dead," Lu Wenzhao said casually.

"What?!" Sang Guli's face instantly turned even paler and more unsightly than Yu Youyu's before.

"Hehe." Lu Wenzhao grinned. "Don't be afraid, I'm not going to kill you, I just won't let you go back for the time being."

"What...what does this mean?" Sangguli asked, trembling.

“A letter doesn’t need two people to deliver it. You and Ergigen were killed by our army, this guy,” Lu Wenzhao pointed at Yu Youyu. “...We rescued them. That’s the excuse Mangku used to tell others. So you’re dead. Understand?”

"Then, when can I go back?" Sangguli's expression softened slightly, but he was still terrified. He truly felt that the person in front of him wanted to kill him.

“When you can go back, you can go back,” Lu Wenzhao said with a smile. “At that time, we will also give you a bag of silver. But until then, you can stay here and be a ‘dead man’ in peace. Besides, Erjigen is still injured, and someone has to take care of him.”

"Thank you for your kindness, sir." Sangguli understood that he had no choice but to accept the favor.

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At the courtyard gate, Huang Yicheng had been waiting for a while. Seeing Lu Wenzhao leading Mangku out, he immediately bowed and went to greet them.

"Young Master Lu, may I ask what instructions Councilor Yuan has?" Huang Yicheng asked with a broad smile.

"Wait here for a while." Lu Wenzhao gestured to Huang Yicheng to stop, then led Mangku out of the courtyard and walked a few steps away.

"You said before that Sangguli wasn't from Nanguan, right?" Lu Wenzhao asked Mangku.

“Yes, that’s what I said.” Mangku thought for a moment and added, “If I remember correctly, Sangguli should be a member of the Dong’e tribe of Jianzhou.”

"Should we kill him?" Lu Wenzhao asked in a calm tone, as if he were asking a chicken whether it was alive or dead.

"Why, why did you kill him?!" Mangku's voice changed in fear, but thankfully he didn't shout it out.

“You should know very well.” Behind them, Huang Yicheng’s expression changed, but Lu Wenzhao himself maintained a calm and composed tone. “Since he’s from the old Jianzhou, he’s always unstable. We will never let him leave until the restoration of the kingdom at Nanguan and your complete safety. For this kind of person, the worst option is to imprison him, and the best option is to silence him. I personally prefer to silence him, but I’d like to hear your opinion first. If you agree, we’ll go and take his head off and exchange it for money. Of course, we’ll keep the money for you brothers.”

"Forget it. I had considered killing him to cover it up before, and there were many opportunities to kill him on the way. But, in the end, he still survived." Mangku briefly recounted the events of that night.

“You brothers are quite loyal,” Lu Wenzhao shrugged, seemingly a little regretful. “Then just pretend I didn’t say anything.”

"Thank you for your consideration, Master Lu," Mangku said, bowing in gratitude.

Lu Wenzhao smiled slightly and then beckoned to the Imperial Guard who had brought Huang Yicheng over. "He will take you to the entrance of the post station, where people are waiting. Just like I said, they will escort you all the way to that watchtower. After that, it's up to you. Don't worry, we will take good care of your brother."

"Yes." Mangku was startled and hurriedly bowed, saying, "This servant thanks Master Lu in advance."

(End of this chapter)