Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 187 Fan Wencheng: My lord, spare my life! My name is Ning Wanwo!

In the intercalary fourth month, after a two-month journey, the Jurchens reached the upper reaches of the Daling River. As the weather warmed, many Jurchen cavalrymen, suffering from fever from wearing armor for extended periods, had to remove it. The ice on the Daling River had already melted. There were no bridges across the river, but since it was not yet the rainy season, the river's flow was low, allowing the Jurchens to wade across.

This location was on the same line as Jinzhou City, and Huang Taiji and his men were already on high alert, sending out scouts thirty li away. However, as expected, they still encountered an attack by Ming cavalry. When the bloodied scouts brought back news of the Ming army's approach, the Jurchens could only desperately drive the people to cross the river as quickly as possible.

In the past two months, nearly 10,000 bodies have died on the road. The Jurchens themselves were exhausted by the time they reached this point, let alone the common people. Many people were dragged and pushed into the water. Once they fell, even though the water was only up to their calves, they struggled wildly but could not get up and drowned.

An hour later, 20,000 iron cavalry led by Generals Mao Wenlong, Zu Dashou, and Man Gui arrived, while the Jurchens had not yet fully crossed the river.

The exhausted Jurchen army managed to muster 30,000 cavalry to meet the enemy, but they were routed by the well-equipped and high-spirited Liaodong cavalry. Many Jurchen soldiers were forced back into the river, where they trampled and clawed at each other, just as they had done to the civilians before, and countless drowned.

The four great beile (princes), the eight banner chiefs, and even Ajige, the new Khan, were driven to desperation and had no choice but to personally take to the front lines, desperately trying to maintain their collapsing forces. This time, they set aside internal strife and, just like in the Battle of Sarhu, fought for survival, unleashing tremendous war potential.

The fierce Ajige and Aobai led 800 elite cavalrymen of the White Armored Bayala in a surprise attack on the Ming central army, nearly killing Mao Wenlong in battle. Man Gui was not very familiar with Mao Wenlong at first, but after spending time together, he grew to like this fellow very much. Although they were jealous of each other, it did not prevent them from building a deep friendship.

Mao Wenlong's personal guards suffered heavy losses, and Man Gui led the Yi Ding cavalry to attack, knocking Ajige off his horse. Ajige was seriously wounded, and it seemed that the Jurchens were about to re-elect a Khan. The Four Beile led their troops to the rescue, and managed to drive back the Ming army, rescuing his younger brother from the midst of the enemy forces.

The Liao cavalry were originally going to participate in the defense of Beijing, but the emperor sent someone to persuade them to return. However, the few of them still wanted to make a name for themselves. Although the emperor thought their work was very important, even more important than the battle within the Great Wall, they themselves felt that the work was rather meaningless. Sometimes people are just perverse; the more they are forbidden to do something, the more they want to do it.

These seasoned veterans, even if you bribed them or coerced them with force, they might still be unwilling to fight the Jurchens. Now, without the emperor's orders, they're eager to join the fray. Besides, the Jurchens are well-fed now, having suffered a defeat and endured a long march; they're severely weakened. If not now, when will we strike them while they're down?

They were indeed veterans, but which one of them didn't have a blood feud with the Jurchens? If they had a choice, they wouldn't mind kicking the Jurchens while they were down.

The two sides fought fiercely for three hours, both becoming exhausted. The Jurchens were on the verge of collapse, but the Aisin Gioro brothers managed to pull them back. People die for wealth, birds die for food; the Jurchens themselves were naturally unwilling to give up the spoils that the Liaodong soldiers coveted, especially considering the sunk costs.

If Cao Bianjiao had come with 20,000 cavalry to cause them trouble, the Jurchens might have listened to him and promptly released the people. But the problem was, Cao Bianjiao only had 2,000 cavalry. Why would they listen to him? They weren't easily intimidated. Back when this old man was just starting out, how could he have achieved such a great power?

In war, it's all about your own blood brothers fighting on the front lines. Other tribes may have submitted, but they're mostly just there to create atmosphere. It's still up to me, Old Servant, to personally go and kill them.

It wasn't that they hadn't lost before; they were chased and forced to flee for thousands of miles. Later, the old slave used cruel methods and brutal military discipline to train his troops, which eventually led to the creation of the powerful slave cavalry. But even this required a huge price to maintain.

You can't just rely on harsh laws and punishments; you also have to offer your subordinates benefits, otherwise who will want to work with you? Every Manchu soldier was an independent small slave owner, possessing private property, vast tracts of land, and numerous slaves. They may have lost, but they were, after all, people who had followed the old slaves all the way to the top. Could things get any worse than they did back then?

If they return empty-handed, the Great Jin Kingdom will truly crumble, and all its people will flee. No matter how powerful the Aisin Gioro family is, they only have so many people; two fists can't fight four hands. They don't even have the so-called divine mandate of the Mongol Golden Family bloodline. And even those with that golden bloodline, what have they done now?
Seeing the losses mounting, both sides tacitly agreed to a ceasefire. However, having already deployed three generals to deal with the Jurchens, wouldn't it be incredibly humiliating to slink back like this? The Jurchens could leave, but they'd have to pay!

Both sides were seasoned veterans; they knew each other inside and out. Huang Taiji immediately sent someone to negotiate peace. The envoy, bowing and scraping, said, "Our Khan has said he's willing to pay 100,000 taels of silver as toll. We beg you gentlemen to show mercy and let us go home. If this fighting continues, both sides will suffer heavy losses, which will be bad for everyone."

The Khan also said, "You have troops, which is why you are valued by the Ming Emperor. If you lose your troops, you'll be at the mercy of the court. You know what you've done all these years, and we have evidence. Letting us go will be good for you too." "You bastard! You mean we're supporting bandits to enhance our own power? You dare say that!" Man Gui lifted the collar of his armor, revealing his inner garment. "Look, look at this! A flying fish robe bestowed by the Emperor! Some old scoundrel tried to accuse me, but the Emperor ignored him and instead gave me five hundred taels of gold. I, Man Gui, am favored by the Emperor. Don't try to sow discord with such underhanded tactics!"

Mao Wenlong watched this scene coldly. What kind of time is this to be showing off? If this dark-skinned fellow hadn't just saved his life, he would have spat at him.

Zu Dashou's eyes darted around, and he thought what the Jurchen said made a lot of sense. What he was doing was indeed shameful; he was raising an enemy to enhance his own prestige. In the past, it might have been like trying to negotiate with a tiger for its skin, but now that the Jurchens seemed to be losing their footing, he might actually be able to achieve his goal.

These Jurchens are poor. They've been plundering Liaodong, scraping the land dry with their knives, but they haven't gotten a penny. At most, they've only managed to harvest some livestock. Perhaps the valuables are all in the big cities, especially the Jurchen puppet capital. If they could take it, they would eat their fill. Unfortunately, they don't have the means to attack cities, so they can only cause trouble for the poor Jurchen bastards in the countryside.

Liaodong has such fertile land, but they would rather let it grow weeds than cultivate it!

"Tch, 100,000 taels? That's enough to send a beggar away!" Zu Dashou said disdainfully.

Mao Wenlong and Man Gui exchanged a glance, their expressions unreadable. Zu Dashou's reputation as a traitor had long been known throughout Liaodong, and both of them were wary of him. Of course, now that the Jurchens were in such a sorry state, they would be incredibly foolish to seek refuge with him, but that was enough to show that Zu Dashou was not one of them, and they always had to be cautious.

The two watched Zu Dashou's performance without saying a word, wanting to see what kind of trouble he was going to cause.

Asking for an exorbitant price, but settling for a bargain. The Jurchen envoy was secretly pleased to see Zu Dashou respond, but on the surface he still pretended to be pitiful, wiping away tears and saying, "My lord, you have misunderstood us. Our intention in coming south this time was to cleanse the court of corrupt officials and resolve the misunderstanding between us and the Ming Dynasty. Who would have thought that we would be plotted against by treacherous ministers, which has only deepened the misunderstanding."

"We suffered heavy losses on this expedition; all our supplies were lost, and we have no money left. This 100,000 taels was our original military pay, which we are offering to you gentlemen in order to survive."

Mao Wenlong was so angry he laughed. He pointed to the vast number of people behind the slave cavalry and said, "Did you bring these from Liaodong too?!"

The Jurchen envoy argued, "These are all landless peasants from within the Great Wall who lost their land due to natural disasters or oppression by corrupt officials and powerful families. They couldn't survive and were willing to follow us out of the Great Wall to seek a living. When we left, the officials of the Ming Dynasty saw us off with courtesy; it wasn't because we forced them!"

clap clap clap!
Mao Wenlong couldn't help but applaud and said, "Turning black into white, what a silver tongue you have! You're Han Chinese, aren't you? What's your name?!"

The Jurchen envoy's face stiffened, and he felt flustered. He stammered, "I am a lowly person, and my name is not worthy of your ears, sir."

*Slap!* Man Gui slapped him across the face and roared impatiently, “Stop talking nonsense! Just say it! If you keep beating around the bush, I’ll cut your stomach open, strangle you with your intestines, burn your heart to drink with, and feed your liver to the dogs!”

"Yes, yes, my name is Ning Wanwo, please spare my life, sir!" Fan Wencheng said, covering his face and kneeling on the ground.

(End of this chapter)