Di Ming

Chapter 28 Murderous Intent

Inside the felt tent, it was warm and cozy.

The night is dark.

On the innermost kang (heated brick bed), Ning Caiwei held Ning Qingchen and fed him with a milk pot.

She was yawning while breastfeeding.

After feeding this pesky little sister and helping her pee, she can finally sleep.

sleepy.

Ning Qingchen drank her milk insatiably, but her eyes were fixed on Zhu Yin.

Zhu Yin was also drinking milk in large gulps. But he was drinking deer milk, the favorite drink of the Jurchen nobles.

"Sister Caiwei, you should drink more deer milk too." Zhu Yin poured her a glass. "We are still children ourselves, and our physical development is also very important. We can't do without dairy products."

Ning Caiwei took the drink and sipped it, her brows furrowing slightly.

It does have a strong milky flavor, but it's also quite fishy.

She wiped the mustache from her mouth, pursed her lips, and said, "Zhu Yin, from now on you will call me Caiwei, and don't call me Sister Caiwei anymore."

Zhu Yin nodded and smiled, "That's fine too, one less word."

Ning Caiwei's usually cheerful and playful face revealed a rare, mischievous smile.

Her bright eyes looked at Zhu Yin with a half-smile, like a little bird looking at someone.

After she returned to childhood, she became less and less like the stern and imposing CEO she used to be.

"Yes," Ning Caiwei said softly, swinging her legs on the kang (heated brick bed), "I'm a year older than you. You, don't mind?"

Zhu Yin looked bewildered, raising his face with a mustache. "What do I mind? You're so strange."

Ning Caiwei's eyes curved into crescents, revealing shallow dimples. "A woman three years older is like holding a gold brick, a woman two years older is like having a house full of gold. What about a woman one year older?"

"A female freshman?" Zhu Yin was taken aback, his tone suddenly lowered, and he said with a very serious expression:

"A woman fresh out of college becomes an empress?"

“Hehe…” Ning Caiwei couldn’t help but laugh when she heard this.

Clutching her stomach, she laughed so hard she was shaking uncontrollably.

"A girl in her first year of university becomes an empress... Haha, I just realized you're so funny. You're kidding me, it's hilarious."

Ning Qingchen, who had just finished nursing, looked adorably dazed when she saw the two exchanging words.

Damn it, you two are flirting right in front of me!

Do you think I'm invisible?!

What the hell... a woman becomes an empress in her freshman year of college.

She found it funny, but the baby's stomach was too shallow. She giggled, and the milk overflowed, bubbling all over.

"It's all your fault." Ning Caiwei finished laughing. "You teased me and all my sleepiness disappeared. I can't fall asleep now."

Zhu Yin laughed and said, "Then drink more deer milk, it'll help you sleep. You can't get deer milk back in the Central Plains."

Ning Caiwei took a few big gulps and said, "I must say, this deer milk tastes better and better the more you drink it, and it warms you up more and more."

Zhu Yin said, "Of course. The Jurchens are a cold and harsh people living at high latitudes, and they have loved drinking deer milk since ancient times."

Ning Caiwei asked, puzzled, "Why do you love drinking deer milk the most?"

Zhu Yin said, "Because deer milk...it's warm."

"Hehe..." Ning Caiwei laughed again.

For the Jurchen people who love dairy products, there is a hierarchy of disdain for dairy products.

The order of contempt is: deer milk, camel milk, goat milk, mare milk, and cow milk.

Zhu Yin was drinking a whole bucket of reindeer milk sent by Nurhaci.

Slave owners were different; even when they drank deer milk, they could have plenty to eat.

When we were at Jilan's house, we could only drink mare's milk, and the amount was very small.

Ning Caiwei suddenly remembered her home in Jilan.

"Sigh, if only Jilan and the others could live like that, they suffer so much." Nowadays, the lives of the Jurchen tribes, the Jurchen nobles, and the Jurchen lower classes are so different that they no longer seem like a single ethnic group.

The lower classes typically live in birch bark huts fenced off by forests and rivers, wearing animal skins and hemp clothing. They hunt, fish, gather, and farm, leading a primitive and arduous life.

They were also required to regularly pay tribute to the lord, a practice known as "offerings".

They also had to serve in the military and fight in battles, which was called "out of the army to release horses".

The nobles lived in castles and wore fur coats, sable and fox furs, and fine silks and satins. They were called lords, both large and small, and were represented by arhats, armored men, and imperial edicts.

The lives of Jurchen nobles were similar to those of Han Chinese landlords.

Zhu Yin and Ning Caiwei became honored guests of the Wild Boar Skin Brothers, enjoying the treatment befitting their masters.

Zhu Yin sneered: "If they become slave owners because of the war, they will live a good life. A guaranteed livelihood, huh?"

After finishing his milk, Zhu Yin began to read.

It is the Jiajing edition of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

This was Nurhaci's favorite, and he looked at it countless times.

Books were an absolute luxury in the Jurchen tribes.

In the horse markets of Kaiyuan Pass and Fushun Pass, which were open to the Jurchen tribes, books were considered prohibited items and were very difficult for the Jurchens to buy.

However, in Zhu Yin's view, the long-term ban on the sale of books to foreign ethnic groups from the Song Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty actually did more harm than good.

This, in turn, fostered cultural conservatism among the northern nomadic tribes, hindering their Sinicization process.

This effectively protects the traditional culture of other ethnic groups from the influence of the dominant Han culture.

This is a flawed strategic mindset.

Zhu Yin had nothing to do tonight, so he borrowed some books to read.

He mainly wanted to know the differences between the Jiajing edition and the modern version.

More importantly, he needed to familiarize himself with traditional Chinese characters in preparation for the imperial examinations.

Upon opening the book, I discovered numerous annotations by Nurhaci.

Although Nurhaci studied Chinese diligently in the Li family during his youth and was considered proficient in Chinese, he also annotated books, which Zhu Yin had not expected.

One in a hundred people actually read and annotate books. Let alone a Jurchen chieftain.

The Manchu emperors all had a solid foundation in Chinese, perhaps due to their genes being derived from wild boar skin?
For example, in the first episode where Emperor Ling held court and a green snake entered the palace, Nurhaci wrote the following annotation:
"The green and white are one; the green snake is the transformation of the white snake, representing the revenge of the Han dynasty."

Not only are his views very unique, but his handwriting is also quite good.

In Chapter Twenty-One, "Discussing Heroes Over Green Plum Wine," his annotations are also quite unique:
"If Liu Bei had the resources Cao Cao had to start his career, there would have been another great Han dynasty after the Han dynasty."

In Chapter Thirty-Four, Liu Bei laments his approaching old age and the recurrence of flesh on his thighs. Nurhaci's annotation reads:

"The tragedy of a great hero is one of sorrow in thought but not in heart; it is both true and false."

He saw through Zhaolie's heart perfectly.

When Kongming entrusted his son to Zhuge Liang at Baidi City, he wrote in his annotation: "These are words of probing; how could Kongming not know them? The weight of entrusting one's son to Zhuge Liang is one that Kongming would not dare to take lightly."

The annotation for "Autumn Wind at Wuzhang Plain" reads:
"A regret that lasts a thousand years, his campaign was unsuccessful; he devoted himself to the cause until his death, a true hero, a good prime minister, a great sage."

The annotation to Sima Yi's oath at the Luo River reads: "Cao Shuang was foolish, and the Wei dynasty perished."

Zhu Yin flipped through the book casually, then closed it and sighed softly:
"It's no wonder that the Jurchen tribes were unified by him."

"Nurhaci is indeed not to be underestimated."

After saying that, he handed the book to Ning Caiwei.

Ning Caiwei flipped through the pages, her brows furrowing slightly, and said in a low voice:
"One can see the whole leopard from a single spot. He was indeed a remarkable figure, no wonder he became the founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty in history."

"But he never expected that our two children would be able to see so much."

Zhu Yin's eyes flickered, his small face showing a mixture of emotions.

Ning Caiwei knew that Zhu Yin wanted to assassinate Nurhaci, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

This man is a dangerous spy!

However, she also knew that Zhu Yin had been lurking by her side not only to monitor her, but also for a second purpose:
Protect yourself!

(End of this chapter)