The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Hearing Wu Zhaoqian's teasing words, Zhao Lie rolled his eyes and finally shook his head helplessly.

"Old Wu, I was going to petition His Majesty the Emperor for you the position of prefect of a prefecture. Why don't you go? Why do you insist on stubbornly clinging to this warehouse?"

Zhao Lie did indeed recommend Wu Zhaoqian for merit, and Galdan happened to know Wu Zhaoqian and had a deep impression of him.

Wu Zhaoqian was a child prodigy and one of the Three Phoenixes of Jiangzuo. He was slandered during the imperial examination and was exiled to Ningguta by Emperor Shunzhi.

However, relying on his status as a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations), he still lived a carefree life in Ningguta, a place known for its cannibalistic nature, and even wrote many poems in the Northeast.

It's not the kind of literary garbage written by a poetry fanatic, but a masterpiece that can be passed down through the ages.

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhaoqian chuckled, noticing that the rice wine in his hand had cooled down. He took a couple of sips, then picked up some sashimi from the plate and began to chew it with relish.

"So you're still young. I'm getting old and don't have the energy to be a prefect. Besides, I'm used to living in this freezing weather and can live a few more years here."

"How wonderful it would be to drink wine and eat sashimi every day, chat about life with widows in the city, appreciate the beauty of Liaodong, and then write poetry!"

After Wu Zhaoqian finished speaking, he picked up another piece of sashimi, but just as he put it to his mouth, the gatekeeper quickly walked in.

"Old Wu, those Jurchens from the mountains have arrived, bringing a large amount of goods. Could you please take a look?"

After Xiaoqi finished speaking, he turned to Zhao Lie.

"Commander, a few young men have arrived. They must be here to participate in the guard selection. One of them, a man, looks like a bear!"

Zhao Lie, intrigued, stood up, walked to Wu Zhaoqian's side, and grabbed him. "Stop drinking! If you drink any more, the bill will be wrong. This is all government money; I won't allow you to drink a drop less!"

……

The Ningguta Guard's warehouse was located next to the government office, and it was filled with all kinds of furs and yams, as well as iron pots of various sizes, arrowheads, Qing army muskets and ammunition.

There is a grazing yard nearby, where there are live Siberian tigers and wild deer, or other rare birds.

These things have become extinct in later generations. Galdan wanted to order a ban on capturing them alive, but Li Guangdi said that in the Northeast region where natural selection prevails, you can't ban them.

Since they couldn't capture it alive, they couldn't just kill it and eat it, so they simply took it in and raised it. The palace was so big, they could just put it in the courtyard and keep it there.

The eight men had plenty of goods, and Wu Zhaoqian was very quick at calculating the accounts. After tallying up the amount of silver they could exchange for, the eight men traded for a large number of muskets and ammunition, which were crucial for their survival in the mountains.

If they encountered a Siberian tiger, ordinary Jurchens with only bows and arrows would be no match for it, and they would easily become tiger food.

If an ordinary person could aim accurately, a single shot from a musket could incapacitate a Siberian tiger.

After they finished tidying up, the tribal chief, along with three men, came before Zhao Lie.

"Commander, these three are all young warriors of my unit. Each of them can draw a bow weighing 120 jin (60 kg), and they are incredibly fast across the snow!"

As the leader spoke, he pushed Aguda, who was playing with a bird gun, to the very front.

"This guy's name is Aguda. He's an orphan, raised on the milk of a female tiger. He can draw a 150-pound bow like it's nothing in the tribe!"

Zhao Lie looked at Aguda, who was half a head taller than him and stood at 1.9 meters, and his legs trembled involuntarily. He forced himself to remain calm, stepped forward and patted Aguda's chest, his hand shaking slightly from the impact.

Is this even human?

In the Han Chinese novel Water Margin, Wu Song fought a tiger from the interior, but this thing could probably fight this tiger from Liaodong.

After putting his trembling hands behind his back, Zhao Lie coughed twice and asked Aguda a question.

"Very well, let me ask you a question. If you were leading a hundred men, with ample weapons, armor, firearms, and warhorses, and encountered three hundred enemy soldiers in the snow, what would you do?"

Aguda didn't pay attention at first, but when he saw everyone looking at him, he pointed at himself.

"Sir, are you asking me?"

The tribal chief was extremely anxious. When the commander asked him a question, it meant he thought highly of him and was going to give him an official position. In a fit of anger, the chief jumped up and slapped Aguda on the head.

"Answer whatever the adults ask!"

"If you don't answer well, I'll marry Jin-ge off to someone else, leaving you a bachelor for life!"

Upon hearing that Jin Ge was going to be married off, Aguda instantly perked up and bit his finger into his mouth.

"Sir, if we encounter three hundred enemy soldiers, I will lead my men to attack directly while the rain renders our firearms unusable. I am an unerring marksman within 120 paces; even without firearms, I can kill twenty or thirty of them by myself!"

Well...

Is this what a strong person is like?

I asked you for a strategy, and you're just showing off your bravery here?

However, taking advantage of the rain was a clever strategy.

Thinking of this, Zhao Lie took out a waist tag from his waist, on which were engraved the five characters "Great Han Centurion" in clerical script.

"This is your waist token. You'll be selecting your subordinates at the military camp later. They'll be full of Jurchen warriors who have come to answer the call. Whether you can win their hearts and minds depends on you!"

After Zhao Lie finished speaking, he wanted to leave, but Aguda blocked his way and grinned.

"Sir, what is a centurion? How much silver do they earn a month? Can they help me marry Brother Jin?"

Zhao Lie liked Aguda quite a bit and didn't pay attention to these trivial matters, looking at the leader beside him.

"That Jin-ge, send someone over when you get back. From now on, Aguda will be a centurion in the Han army, with a monthly salary of six taels of silver, and a mansion will be arranged for him in this city."

Upon hearing this, the other Jurchens all showed expressions of envy. Living in the city meant not having to fight wild beasts in the mountains, and they even received six taels of silver every month. The government troops even found them wives. What an idyllic life!

When he heard the words "Brother Jin," Aguda understood clearly that they were going to find him a wife. So he immediately knelt down and kowtowed three times to Zhao Lie.

"My lord, from now on, Aguda's life belongs to you. Whoever you command to kill, I will kill!"

Zhao Lie has also been reading recently. As a general stationed outside the Great Wall, he must not engage in any factionalism, otherwise he will arouse the emperor's suspicion.

Upon hearing Aguda's words, Zhao Lie was so frightened that his soul almost left his body. He quickly helped Aguda up and began to give him a long and earnest lecture.

"Aguda, remember this: after joining the Han army, you will only be loyal to one person, and that is His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty. You can only kneel before the Emperor!"

Being able to marry Jin Ge as his wife, Aguda was incredibly obedient. After getting up, he stood respectfully behind Zhao Lie, his meaning clear: whatever you say goes.

Zhao Lie shook his head helplessly, waved to the leaders and the others, and then led Aguda to the horse stable to ride horses.

In the past two weeks, more than 500 young and strong Jurchens have gathered in Ningguta. Since there are too many people, they have set up camp outside the city and naturally have to travel on horseback.