Di Ming

Chapter 25 Asuka
It's me!

A Ming military officer, fully armored and wearing a helmet, emerged from behind the Ming army formation, holding a bow and arrow.

Who else could it be but Xue Cheng?

"Kang Jia is plotting a rebellion and is determined to kill them without mercy!"

Following Zhu Yin's instructions, he disregarded all the facts and immediately accused Zhu Yin of plotting a rebellion.

He had always looked down on these Jurchen barbarians. He didn't even take these Jurchen nobles seriously.

This is the general attitude of the Ming Dynasty towards the Jurchens: contempt!
They neither believed that the fragmented and sparsely populated Jurchens could achieve anything significant, nor did they believe they would dare to rebel against the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, when Zhu Yin promised him benefits and gave him instructions in person, he immediately and without hesitation agreed to shoot Kang Jia as a warning to others!
Shooting down a Jurchen leader who was abducting people is no big deal.

Seeing that Zhu Yin had shot and killed Kang Jia to avenge her with just a few words, Ning Caiwei was both moved and overjoyed.

"You, you..." Bao Shi stammered, pointing at Xue Cheng as he saw his eldest son killed by an arrow. "How dare you kill my son..."

The Jurchen nobles, including Longdun and Ahana, were also stunned.

"Kill a mere mortal! What is there to be afraid of!" Xue Cheng said coldly and arrogantly. "Killing only Kang Jia is already showing leniency!"

"The young general has two thousand iron cavalry, just ten miles away! You should have been wiped out!"

"It is because the young general is merciful that he only executed the ringleaders. You are lucky!"

He pointed at Kang Jia's corpse, "Is this your son? He led his cavalry to plunder everywhere under the commander's banner, but that's not a crime!"

"Who told him to do this! Was it you?"

Bao Shi's face was ashen; he wished he could immediately order his soldiers to attack and slaughter all these Ming soldiers to avenge his son!

But he dared not!
Once this Ming army is wiped out, it would be tantamount to rebelling against the Ming!
Not to mention Li Rubai, who lived nearby, even Nurhaci would use the pretext of suppressing a rebellion to kill his own family.

If Li Chengliang rebelled against the Ming Dynasty, destroying him would be as easy as turning his hand.

Seeing Kang Jia shot to death by the arrogant Ming army, Long Dun and the others were filled with indignation and gritted their teeth.

Yet they dared not start a war!
Wrong!

Nurhaci also used a grand banner as a front to lie, saying:
"You have been plundering and amassing troops under my banner, and even Grand Tutor Li of Guangning City knows about it!"

"The Grand Tutor is furious, which is why he sent the young general to question you! Do you intend to rebel?"

"If I hadn't pleaded with him so much that the young general would have personally entered the city, what would have become of you?"

"Only one Kang Jia died. You should all be grateful for the benevolence of the Ming Dynasty and for Mother Foduo's protection!"

Bao Shi and the others trembled with anger, their hands and feet turning ice-cold.

Kang Jia was shot dead on the spot, and they even called it mercy! They couldn't do anything about it!

It was indeed them who impersonated Nurhaci and plundered everywhere.

The person in charge of this matter was Kang Jia.

They were already in the wrong, and now that the Ming army had entered the city to question them, and with Nurhaci's help, how could they possibly resist?

We can't really rebel, can we?

Seeing that the other party was discouraged, Nurhaci seized the opportunity to say:
"Release all the people and livestock you have abducted! We can then drop the matter."

By using the Ming army to force the clan elders to release the captured people, their power could be weakened.

"You think you can just release him like that?!" Long Dun said coldly. "You, a son-in-law who stole the family's hereditary official position, have the right to order Mukunda around?"

“Mukunda is the clan chief, not you, a son-in-law who has left the clan.”

Upon hearing the term "son-in-law" again, Nurhaci's forehead veins bulged, but he remained silent and restrained.

"I said release them!" Xue Cheng roared. "You've been kidnapping people everywhere, plotting a rebellion, and you dare not release them?"

"Am I, a dignified seventh-rank captain, merely a figurehead?"

"If you don't release him now, next time it won't just be a battalion commander like me entering the city; it might be a centurion!"

Longdun was one of the more cunning members of the tribe. He rode forward and whispered in Baoshi's ear:

"Sixth Uncle, a brave hunter doesn't provoke a mad bear. The Han people also say, 'A true hero doesn't suffer a loss right before his eyes.'"

“If we don’t release him, we will offend the arrogant Ming army and the haughty Li Chengliang. Since the son-in-law has the Ming army backing him up, we can only swallow our anger.”

"Release them for now. Hand over all the captured people and livestock to the son-in-law and let him take care of them for the time being."

At this point, his voice lowered even further, almost whispering in Bao Shi's ear:

"Once the Ming army leaves, the son-in-law will have no one to back him up. We'll assassinate him and wipe him out. Won't his armor and his followers be ours?"

"Doing this will both help Kang Jia avenge himself and reclaim his hereditary title of Commander. As for Kang Jia's cousin... Sixth Uncle, bear with him for now; this revenge will definitely be taken..."

Bao Shi, a white-haired man burying his black-haired son, was filled with grief and indignation. But he was no longer a young man who acted impulsively.

Long Dun is right.

For now, we can only endure it!
We cannot go to war with the Ming army!
He took a deep breath, tears streaming down his face, and cried out:

"Nurhaci! I can release the people and livestock! I can give them all to you!"

"But I'm not afraid of you, my son-in-law! I'm only backing down because of Grand Tutor Li and the Ming army!"

"Sir, go back and tell the young general and the Grand Tutor that we are loyal dogs of the Ming Dynasty and will not betray our masters!"

"The young general and the grand tutor have the magnanimity of mountains and seas; they will surely forgive our Jueercha clan!"

"We will pay our respects to the young general later! To clear up any misunderstandings!"

Upon hearing this, Nurhaci immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

No need for a civil war.

The old man was finally forced to release the people. He had both humans and livestock in his hands, ultimately benefiting himself.

Zhu Yin was truly his lucky charm.

His arrival today, whether intentionally or unintentionally, helped me solve my problem.

Xue Cheng also breathed a sigh of relief.

Young Master Zhu was truly a prophet. He said the other party would definitely settle things peacefully. Sure enough, after he shot and killed the other party's son, the other party dared not resist.

At this moment, Bao Shi was so angry that he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

He suppressed his grief and indignation, and cried out, "London! Ahana!"

"Yes!" Longdun and Ahana replied in unison.

“Go to the White Forest Fence and hand over the thousands of people and livestock imprisoned there to this son-in-law.”

Very well, let the son-in-law manage things for a few days for now.

"Yes, sir!" Longdun and Ahana accepted the order.

From beginning to end, Bao Shi had no idea that Zhu Yin had orchestrated the whole thing.

His hatred for the killing of his son came not from Nurhaci or the Ming army, but from Zhu Yin!
Unfortunately, they were all kept in the dark.

……

After rescuing Ning Caiwei, Zhu Yin and Xue Cheng returned to Li Rubai's army.

Li Rubai did not expect that Zhu Yin would resolve the matter so easily with only one hundred cavalrymen.

This only added to their astonishment.

"Second General, if I am not mistaken, both Tong Nu and Tong Baoshi will send people to present lavish gifts tonight."

"They will also slaughter cattle and sheep to entertain our Ming soldiers."

Zhu Yin said.

Li Rubai laughed heartily, "Then I'll take your kind words, young master. I'll be waiting for them to come and reward the soldiers!"

Sure enough, Nurhaci arrived again when the moon rose.

This time, he brought ten pigs and twenty sheep.

More importantly, they offered a full one hundred taels of gold and a pint of pearls.

It's worth no less than two thousand taels of silver!

His generosity was undeniable.

Soon after, Baoshi's representative, Ahana, also arrived.

The gifts they gave were similar to those given to Nurhaci. Anyone who didn't know better would think the two had planned it together.

Li Rubai was delighted to accept both gifts of filial piety.

This trip was definitely worthwhile. I learned my lesson from Zhu Yin's advice and made a profit.

Of course, Zhu Yin had no idea how much of a gift Li Rubai had received.

Li Rubai summoned Zhu Yin to his main tent and immediately sealed a pair of ten-tael gold ingots, plus ten pearls the size of a little finger.

It was worth several hundred taels of silver.

"Young Master Zhu, this is nothing much, but it is a small token of my appreciation."

Li Rubai stuffed the gold ingots and beads into Zhu Yin's hands.

"Young master, please don't find it offensive."

Zhu Yin glanced at it, his expression calm and collected, but he was secretly delighted.

I've been in this world for almost a month, and I finally have money!

Is a gift of several hundred taels of silver too much?
It's not light!
Even the legitimate monthly salary of a first-rank minister is less than one hundred taels of silver.

In the late Ming Dynasty, the total annual income of an ordinary family was only a few dozen taels of silver.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Zhu Yin smiled slightly and casually accepted the gift.

The action was like wiping away a spider web.

Seeing how dashing Zhu Yin was, Li Rubai held him in even higher regard.

He asked with a smile, "This humble general is about to return to Guangning. Young Master Zhu, would you like to return with me?"

Zhu Yin shook his head without hesitation: "My sister is too young and it is not advisable for her to travel far for the time being. I would like to stay here for a while before returning to the Central Plains."

Going back with Li Rubai would indeed be much more convenient.

But this creates a new problem: how to deal with Li Chengliang, that old fox?
First of all, Li Chengliang, who was worried about being suspected by the court, would never be as polite to him as Li Rubai was.

It should be noted that Guangning City was the central city of Liaodong Town, with many high-ranking officials, as well as civil officials and eunuchs!
If he appeared in Guangning and Liaoyang as a member of the imperial clan, he would likely be placed under house arrest and investigated by civil officials and eunuchs.

They might lose their freedom, or even be sent to Beijing.

That would be a huge problem.

Therefore, he cannot go back with Li Rubai.

He could only ask Nurhaci to secretly escort him back without alerting the officials in Liaodong.

Li Rubai had no idea about these things. He didn't press the matter and nodded, saying:
"Then take care, young master. I will be setting out tomorrow morning. Hope to meet again."

……

Early the next morning, Li Rubai led his troops back south.

Nurhaci, Baoshi, and the others who had been under pressure all breathed a sigh of relief.

The despicable Ming army has finally been driven away.

Zhu Yin smiled and said to Ning Caiwei only after the Ming army had left:

"We have money now."

He took out gold and pearls and handed them to Ning Caiwei: "You manage the household affairs, so you're in charge of the money!"

Ning Caiwei's starry eyes immediately curved into crescent moons.

(End of this chapter)