Di Ming

Chapter 367 The King of Qin Summons Me!

The sky was already bright, and the whole city was almost red.

The extremely brutal Battle of Shuozhou had just ended when Zhu Yin arrived outside the city.

When Nurhaci and the others heard that Zhu Yin had arrived, they immediately went to greet him.

Zhu Yin was not wearing armor or a hat; instead, he wore a fur coat inside out, with bone bells and a mourning band hanging from his hair—the attire of a Jurchen mourner. He stood on the north city wall, looking at the devastated city of Shuozhou, his expression desolate.

"Little Tiger Brother..."

"I like Baylor..."

When Nurhaci, Eidu, Heheli, and others saw Zhu Yin wearing Jurchen funeral attire and looking grief-stricken, they were all deeply moved.

"Brother Wild Boar Skin," Zhu Yin's voice was low and somber, trembling slightly, "how many warriors have my Jianzhou army lost?"

He did not ask about the results of the battle or whether the enemy chieftain had been captured; instead, he first inquired about the losses suffered by the Jurchens.

After asking that question, Zhu Yin looked visibly nervous, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

Nurhaci didn't know how to answer, and found it difficult to speak, feeling somewhat guilty towards Zhu Yin. He hesitated for a moment, then said in a bitter tone:
"Not counting those with minor injuries, the number of those killed in battle was over 2,400, and the number of those seriously wounded or disabled was over 1,300. Adding that up, the total loss is over 3,800, nearly 4,000 men..."

At this point, Nurhaci's face turned pale, and his voice trembled.

"What?!" Zhu Yin's face also turned pale, and his body trembled. "What did you say? Nearly four thousand were lost?! Nearly four thousand! How many people do we have in total? Wasn't this a surprise attack? Were we discovered by the Japanese army beforehand?"

He Heli forced a smile and said, “Guchu Ama (godfather), we were not discovered by the Japanese army. They are as arrogant as bears. But they fight to the death and refuse to surrender. They are more difficult to deal with than we imagined. Their muskets are very powerful. Most of the warriors who died in battle died from musket fire.”

Eidu said, "I like the Prince. The Japanese army is like a vicious trapped beast. Especially those samurai wielding Japanese swords, they are all fearless and very difficult to deal with."

At this point, Eidu's legs suddenly gave way, and he collapsed, unable to hold on any longer.

"Eidu!" Zhu Yin rushed to support him, his face full of worry. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm just too tired, I'm exhausted. I'll be fine after half a day of rest," Eidu said, panting. "We fought from midnight until dawn, and now I can barely hold my knife."

Nurhaci said, "Don't worry, little tiger brother, Eyi is fine."

Zhu Yin nodded, looked at the remains of the Jurchen warriors, closed his eyes in anguish, and two tears silently slid down his cheeks.

“Just last night, just last night…” Zhu Yin shook his head. “We still had ten thousand men, galloping from Yizhou to Shuozhou, traveling two hundred li day and night. Not long ago, we were resting together in the woods, eating biscuits and candies, but how long has it been? So many brothers are buried in a foreign land, sleeping here forever.”

"They will never be able to return to Jianzhou, never be able to see their families again..."

Zhu Yin wept in the wind, looking extremely grief-stricken.

"Little Tiger Brother..." Nurhaci, who had been holding back his tears for so long, could no longer hold back when he saw Zhu Yin burst into tears, and choked out:
"They defended the Ming Dynasty, the Jianzhou Jurchen homeland, and their deaths were not in vain..."

Nurhaci was truly heartbroken. But what could he do now? He had requested to send troops, and the Jianzhou tribe was the first to bear the brunt. What could he say?
However, the Jianzhou tribe had too few people, and with the loss of nearly four thousand elite troops, it was difficult to even protect itself, let alone defeat the Hulun tribes and unify the entire Jurchen.

His greatest hope now is that the four tribes of Hulun will also suffer heavy casualties, so that they can no longer threaten the Jianzhou tribe.

With only one arm left, Anfeiyanggu comforted them, saying, "The Jianzhou warriors who died in battle have returned to the embrace of Lord Cuohazhan. In the heavenly kingdom where the gods of Baishan reside, they will not be lonely."

Zhu Yin wiped away his tears and said, "According to the Jurchen custom, cut off the braids of the fallen warriors and bring them back to Jianzhou. Then hold a burial ceremony for their armor. Bury them outside Shuozhou City."

The Armor Burial Ceremony was a ritual for the deceased Jurchen nobles to appease their spirits in battle. It was a shamanistic funeral, in which the armor and weapons of the fallen were buried with the body, and three broken arrows were inserted into the body.

Because armor was an important asset in the Jurchen tribes, and mostly only nobles owned it, burying armor with the deceased was a lavish funeral. Ordinary people, let alone not having armor, would not even be willing to bury it with the dead.

However, Zhu Yin actually ordered that all the armor burial ceremonies be held!

"You don't want the armor anymore?" Nurhaci was moved, but also heartbroken. "A funeral ceremony with armor is good; it will bring solace to the fallen warriors and boost morale, but so much armor..."

These heavy padded armors, with iron plates inside, supposedly cost over ten taels of silver per pair, but in reality, they were priceless and not readily available; money alone could buy them. Making armor was also extremely difficult, as there were very few craftsmen skilled in it.

Eidu and the others were also heartbroken, but they couldn't object. How could they object? If they objected, what would the surviving Jurchen soldiers think?
Zhu Yin said sadly, "Armor is indeed important, but I can't bear to see the Jianzhou brothers who died in battle stripped of their armor after death, even though they had armor in life. Let them be buried with us."

Zhu Yin's words immediately moved the Jurchen warriors around him. They were not nobles or generals, and it was difficult for them to receive a proper burial ceremony with their armor after death. Generally, after they died in battle, their armor was stripped off by the archers, repaired, and reused.

But I like Prince Baylor, who actually ordered a funeral for all the brothers who died in battle!

Just this sentiment alone proves that they are true Jianzhou natives, with Jianzhou brothers in their hearts!
Nurhaci could only nod and say, "Alright, then let's hold the armor burial ceremony."

Although most of the armor was obtained by Zhu Yin from the Ming Dynasty and was not originally his property, since it was given to the Jurchens, it naturally belonged to the Jurchens.

Now that the armor burial ceremony is being held, many precious suits of armor will be lost.

But he couldn't object. Besides, he was also deeply moved by Zhu Yin's concern for the Jianzhou soldiers who had died in battle.

He was unaware of the transmigrator's thoughts, never imagining that Zhu Yin would be so calculating and cunning in this matter, aiming to kill two birds with one stone. It wasn't that he was stupid; it was that his trust in Zhu Yin made him rarely consider that Zhu Yin might harbor such deep malice.

Right now, he has no doubt about Zhu Yin's grief, nor does he doubt Zhu Yin's good intentions.

Zhu Yin knew Nurhaci's thoughts and said, "Brother Wild Boar Skin, when we return to the Ming Dynasty, I will find a way to allocate a batch of new armor to Jianzhou."

Nurhaci couldn't help but smile, "Then I won't thank you, brother."

Only then did Zhu Yin ask, "Where is Shimazu Yoshihiro?"

"He's been captured alive," Nurhaci laughed, waving his hand. "Bring him here!"

Immediately afterwards, Shimazu Yoshihiro, bound hand and foot, was brought before Zhu Yin.

"Kneel down!" The Jurchen warrior held down Shimazu Yoshihiro, pressing the stubborn Satsuma lord down into a pool of blood once again.

When Shimazu Yoshihiro saw Zhu Yin, his eyes widened in shock. The Ming army commander was actually him?!
Yoshihiro Shimazu had met Zhu Yin. Last year, when Zhu Yin was on his way to Japan, he first went to Seoul to meet with Hideyoshi Ukita and obtain diplomatic clearance when he passed through Korea.

At that time, Yoshihiro Shimazu was in Seoul. He immediately recognized the young man's extraordinary nature.

Unexpectedly, this young man went on a diplomatic mission to Japan last year and has now led troops to Korea this year.

This powerful daimyo known as 'Oni Shimazu,' the formidable Tiger of Kyushu, a battle-hardened Japanese general, a samurai whose hands were stained with the blood of Korean civilians and Ming prisoners of war, now resembled a mangy old dog with its spine broken, trampled under Zhu Yin's feet. He couldn't even muster a peep!
Zhu Yin looked down at Shimazu Yoshihiro with a frosty gaze and spoke in icy Japanese:

"Shimazu Yoshihiro, back then you sent pirates to participate in the Wokou (Japanese pirate) turmoil, causing countless deaths and harm to Han Chinese along the coast. Do you know your crime?"

"During your visit to North Korea, you perpetrated the massacres of Siju, Jinju, and Shuoju, slaughtering far more than 100,000 North Korean civilians. You nailed infants to their deaths, disemboweled pregnant women, piled skulls into towers... each and every one of these acts was utterly inhumane. Do you know your crimes?"

"You captured thousands of Ming and Korean soldiers, and used them all to behead and test your swords. You even built a mound of Ming soldiers. Do you know your crime?"

With his mouth gagged, Shimazu Yoshihiro couldn't speak, but he stared coldly at Zhu Yin with resentful eyes.

If he could speak, he would say: “Yes, these are things I have done, but they are not crimes. They are the way of the warriors of the divine kingdom! You bearded barbarians will never understand! Korea is a land of dogs and horses, Koreans are filthy, and you bearded barbarians are the same. Killing you is only right and proper. What’s wrong with that?”

Zhu Yin narrowed his eyes and continued speaking in Japanese: "Shimazu Yoshihiro, I know what you're thinking. Even Taira no Masakado's evil spirit would laugh at you for thinking like that."

Zhu Yin's tone was full of sarcasm, "Shimazu Yoshihiro, how laughable and pathetic you are. You came to Korea to slaughter civilians, but your Satsuma Domain has already perished. A man named Hattori Shunju has long since captured Kagoshima Castle and taken your wife, children, and clansmen prisoner. The Satsuma Domain no longer exists."

"This is your own fault. You took the elite troops of the Satsuma Domain to fight in Korea, leaving the defenses of your stronghold vulnerable, which allowed Hattori Shunju, who had been lying in wait for a long time, to succeed."

"What?!" Upon hearing this, Shimazu Yoshihiro was shocked, his eyes wide with fury, and he roared inwardly: Lies! Shameful lies! How could the Satsuma Domain have been destroyed?

But as he stared intently into Zhu Yin's eyes, he realized that what Zhu Yin said... was probably true!

Yoshihiro Shimazu's face turned deathly pale, his mind completely blank.

No! No! This evil-like boy is lying! He's lying!

“I know you don’t want to believe it,” Zhu Yin’s voice seemed to come from a snow-capped mountain peak, “but it is the truth. The Satsuma Domain no longer exists, the Shimazu family has been destroyed, and the master of Kagoshima Castle is now Hattori Shunju. He has been appointed as the Kyushu Tandai by Tokugawa Ieyasu.”

"By the way, you haven't received any news from Japan for a long time, have you? Toyotomi Hideyoshi hasn't given you any orders for a long time either. Do you know why?"

Shimazu Yoshihiro was deeply shaken; his earlier ominous premonition suddenly became crystal clear. Zhu Yin said calmly, "You, Ukita Hideie, Konishi Yukinaga, Kato Kiyomasa, Tachibana Muneshige, and others, probably still don't know that your Emperor and court nobles have all been captured and brought back to Beijing by me. The Japanese Imperial Family and the Imperial Court no longer exist. Japan has thus fallen into division once again..."

"Your Emperor Shujin and Hideyoshi's wife have been taken to Korea. You will see them soon. I believe you know them."

"Furthermore, the Tsushima Strait is also controlled by the Ming Dynasty. The Japanese navy can barely protect itself, let alone regain control of the sea route..."

Yoshihiro Shimazu listened blankly, then closed his eyes in anguish.

He didn't want to believe it was all true. But his intuition told him that Zhu Yin wasn't lying. At this point, Zhu Yin had no reason to lie to him.

The thought that the Satsuma Domain had long since perished, and that the Emperor and the Imperial Court no longer existed in Japan, filled Shimazu Yoshihiro with a rage that felt like his chest was about to explode. He felt so angry he wanted to vomit blood. Shame and resentment were like a poisonous whip, relentlessly lashing his body and soul.

He desperately wanted to kill himself, but there was no way he could.

Zhu Yin's eyes turned leaden gray. "Shimazu Yoshihiro, how arrogant, how cruel, how confident you once were! But look at you now, you're less than an ant! Compared to the civilians and prisoners you slaughtered, you are not only like fish on a chopping block, but your very soul will be trampled upon..."

Yoshihiro Shimazu trembled all over, his face ashen. Only then did he realize that he had failed completely, from the inside out.

Zhu Yin gave a cold smile. "The only thing you can be comforted by is that you won't be alone. Soon, old friends will come to keep you company, and there will definitely be more than one."

"The Japanese army in Korea will cease to exist. Even Japan, your divine nation, will cease to exist in the near future. Those who offend the mighty Han, though far away, will be punished!"

Shimazu stared blankly at Zhu Yin, suddenly feeling an inexplicable fear. For some reason, he found this young man from the Ming Dynasty to be utterly terrifying.

Zhu Yin verbally tore at Shimazu Yoshihiro's spirit, then switched to Jurchen and said, "Don't let this enemy die easily. Keep a close eye on him, and be careful he doesn't commit suicide when you force-feed him. When the time comes, cut him into a thousand pieces to avenge the Jurchen soldiers."

Several Jurchen soldiers immediately took Shimazu Yoshihiro away.

Zhu Yin continued, "Cut off the heads of the Japanese pirates and pile them up into a mound of skulls so the Koreans can see our victory. Burn all the corpses. Crush the bones and scatter the ashes!"

As orders were issued, the army rested for a while and then began to clean up the battlefield.

By afternoon, a massive mound of Japanese pirate heads had been erected along the official road several miles outside Shuozhou City. The pile of pirate corpses was engulfed in flames.

The work continued until the afternoon before the burial and cremation were completed. Zhu Yin, Nurhaci, and others then entered the Korean official residence where Shimazu Yoshihiro was staying.

All the seized items have been cataloged and presented.

The most important grain supply amounted to 12,000 shi (a unit of dry measure), which was plundered from Shuozhou by the Satsuma army. Every grain of this grain was stained with the blood of the Korean people. There was also a considerable amount of horse feed, enough to feed 30,000 warhorses for five days.

More than two thousand Korean women were rescued from the Japanese army's barracks; they were all like walking corpses.

There were over 15,000 taels of gold, gold jewelry, and goldware, and over 160,000 taels of silver, silver jewelry, and silverware. Much of this gold and silver was still stained with blood.

In Zhu Yin's view, the most important thing was the Japanese army's three thousand iron cannons.

There were also a large number of katana, spears, and other weapons. Seven or eight hundred warhorses were also captured.

As for the Japanese soldiers' armor, most of it consisted of thin iron sheets and bamboo armor, which looked decent, but their protective capabilities were inferior to the well-made cotton armor of the Ming army, not to mention the Ming generals' Mingguang armor.

In addition, this armor was very short and had a strange design, so even the Jurchen soldiers didn't want it.

Despite the Japanese army possessing 3,000 matchlock muskets, and being the Satsuma Army, the Jurchen army was still able to inflict a 4:7 casualty ratio. Besides having the advantage of night raids, intelligence superiority, and the fierce fighting skills of the Jurchen warriors, there was another very important reason: armor!
The heavy padded armor that Zhu Yin obtained for the Jurchen soldiers was a batch of qualified workmanship, with iron plates inside and oiled cotton nails on the outside. It had a very good protective ability and could effectively resist the shooting of matchlock guns. At a distance of more than thirty paces, the Japanese army's arquebuses would have difficulty killing them.

In contrast, the Japanese foot soldiers' thin iron plates and bamboo armor were unable to withstand the Jurchen arrows at this distance.

Therefore, the Satsuma army suffered a great loss in terms of armor.

Despite the victory, the capture of the strategically important city of Shuozhou, and the seizure of spoils from the Japanese army, Nurhaci and his comrades were all in a somber mood.

This was a Pyrrhic victory. The Jianzhou Jurchens suffered heavy losses, losing more than a dozen Niru, all of whom were the Jianzhou's most elite soldiers.

Moreover, this is only the first battle. Several thousand more are expected to die or be wounded in the next few battles. By the time we return to Liaodong, perhaps less than half will remain.

Thinking of this, Nurhaci and the others felt even more strongly that Zhu Yin's help was very important.

With the Jianzhou Jurchens suffering heavy losses, only Zhu Yin's help was able to preserve the Jianzhou tribe.

Indeed, if Nurhaci previously harbored ambitions to conquer the Haixi Jurchen and unify the various Jurchen tribes, then at this point, he no longer dared to even think about unifying the Jurchen tribes.

What he's thinking now is: to preserve Jianzhou and strive for a more favorable living environment for it.

Zhu Yin appeared as solemn as Nurhaci on the surface, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief.

After the losses in the Battle of Shuozhou, it was actually very difficult for Nurhaci to establish the Later Jin dynasty as scheduled.

Even unifying the Jurchen tribes became extremely difficult. Overnight, Nurhaci's threat was greatly reduced.

If they were weakened further, the Jianzhou Jurchens would have trouble even protecting themselves.

But what about Yehe Beile Buzhai?
Zhu Yin narrowed his eyes slightly as he thought of Buzhai. He hoped that the Yehe and other tribes had also suffered heavy losses.

Hmph, as long as I'm here, the Jianzhou tribe will have no chance, and neither will the Yehe tribe!

All the Jurchen tribes should exist, and the Ming Dynasty should give them space to survive. However, the Jurchens cannot become the dominant force; a balance of power must be maintained.

Hehe, once this battle is over, the Jianzhou and Yehe tribes will have suffered heavy losses. Under the guise of helping them protect themselves, they will create a "Jurchen Covenant" to divide up the spheres of influence of each tribe and stifle the rise of any tribe!

Thinking of this, Zhu Yin sighed and said, "When I return to China, even if I have to give up this official position, I will fight for the compensation that my Jurchen brothers who died or were maimed deserve! I will make sure that they receive the best possible compensation!"

"Those who have lost their husbands, fathers, or sons must have someone to rely on when they are young and someone to care for them when they are old!"

Nurhaci was very pleased to hear this and nodded, saying, "On behalf of them, I thank Brother Little Tiger."

Zhu Yin shook his head. "Brother Wild Boar Skin shouldn't thank me. I'm half a Jurchen myself."

He added, "I will try my best to get a title for Brother Wild Boar Skin!"

Nurhaci smiled wryly and said, "Brother Little Tiger, you're joking. How could I, a Jurchen, possibly be granted a title?"

Zhu Yin said, "So what if they are Jurchens? They are also subjects of the Celestial Empire!"

Although Nurhaci had some expectations, he still felt it was too difficult and had no hope.

Eidu said, "I like the prince. What should we do tomorrow? Go straight to Changcheng?"

Zhu Yin said, "We will divide the troops tomorrow. Shuozhou City is important and must be defended. Leave three thousand troops to guard Shuozhou. Within two days, the infantry sent by the General will surely arrive in Shuozhou to help defend the city."

"Shuozhou will be handed over to He Heli and An Feiyanggu."

"My brother Wild Boar Skin and I will lead three thousand cavalry to Changcheng to relieve the siege of Changcheng!"

"If Li Rusong, Bu Zhai, Qin Liangyu, and the others also proceed smoothly, then the encirclement of Yizhou will be completed in the next three days!"

…………

Two flowers bloom, each representing a different blossom.

While Zhu Yin and Nurhaci were attacking Shuozhou in Korea, Ning Caiwei, far away in Guanzhong, also encountered unprecedented trouble.

She had only been in Xi'an for a short time when the Prince of Qin's mansion sent her a letter.

To be precise, it wasn't a letter, but a royal edict!

The King of Qin wants to summon her!

P.S.: Constantly watching war scenes can become monotonous and stressful. Therefore, I used a "two-part" writing style, alternating and interweaving the narrative, so the focus isn't always on the same scene. I hope readers who don't like this style will understand. Thank you, and please vote with your monthly tickets! Goodnight!

(End of this chapter)