pappabearbooks Chapter 83 Seeking no merit but avoiding mistakes
Chapter 83 Seeking no merit but avoiding mistakes
Chapter 84 Seeking no merit but avoiding mistakes
Chapter 083 Modern descriptions of Nurhaci's rise to power generally state in more rigorous terms that Nurhaci was born into a collateral branch of the Jianzhou Left Guard Commander's family. He successively conquered other Jianzhou Jurchen forces, various Haixi Jurchen tribes, and some Wild Jurchen tribes, and largely unified the Jurchens.
What does this mean in general? It means there are exceptions. These exceptions are a part of the population. Not only were the Wild Jurchens not unified, but the Haixi Jurchens were also not unified. In fact, in addition to the four major tribes of Huifa, Yehe, Hada, and Ula, the Haixi Jurchens also included tribes such as Xibe, Guaercha, and Solon.
The Solon tribe was incorporated into the Manchu system in 1692, the 31st year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, and reorganized into 65 Niru. Nurhaci's Jianzhou Jurchens repeatedly defeated the Haixi Jurchens, but were unable to completely subjugate them. Since they could not completely conquer the Haixi Jurchens and control their land, the Jurchens plundered people.
During the war between the Jurchens and the Ming Dynasty, a large number of combatants similar to slave soldiers emerged among the Jurchens. These people were what the Jurchens called "armored men," but they were actually prisoners of war from the Haixi Jurchens.
Daishan was not unfamiliar with the Haixi Jurchens. They all lived in the Changbai Mountains and the Heilongjiang River region and knew each other well. Although the Haixi Jurchens had moved away the old, weak, women and children from their tribes after Chen Ying's reminder, Daishan still judged from some clues that those tribes had not gone far and could not go far.
At this time, each tribe had stored a large amount of hay, which was the food for cattle and sheep to get through the winter. There was a lot of hay, and it was almost impossible to take it all with you. If you didn't take it, you could just wait for a large number of cattle and sheep to starve to death.
Sure enough, after tracking for seven days, passing through a forest and crossing Fuerdan, they were pleasantly surprised to see many herders driving large flocks of sheep south of Shuangchengwei.
"So, you guys were hiding here!"
Just as Daishan was about to order an attack, he saw about six or seven hundred knights wearing mandarin duck battle coats rushing towards him. The standard military uniform of the Ming Dynasty was a bright red mandarin duck battle coat, one side red and the other black.
After Chen Ying established the Shuangcheng Mutual Trade Guard Team, he naturally equipped the cavalrymen of the guard team with brand-new Ming Dynasty mandarin duck battle coats. The mandarin duck battle coats of the Ming Dynasty were designed to facilitate the identification of friend and foe on the battlefield. The coats were knee-length, had narrow sleeves, and were filled with cotton or cotton wool. Each coat used about four catties of cotton and had good warmth retention.
These mandarin duck battle coats were very popular with the guard cavalry of the various Haixi Jurchen tribes. The Haixi Jurchens relied on sheepskin coats to keep warm in autumn and winter. However, the problem was that they did not have the technology of later generations. The sheepskin coats they made were smelly and stiff. Not only were they not happy with them, but once they were exposed to the sun, they smelled extremely sour.
More importantly, the Ming people were the masters of Shuangchengwei. Whether they were Ming soldiers or merchants, they all wore these cotton-padded clothes. They were light, warm, and comfortable. Chen Ying distributed them to the guards for free. At first, the guards were reluctant to wear them. Chen Ying stipulated that if they did not wear the mandarin duck battle jacket, they would be dismissed.
These guards were unwilling to be dismissed. They knew that while serving in the guards, they could not only exchange their annual salary for 100 catties of salt, which was equivalent to the value of four cows, but they would also be provided with meals by the Ming army. Of course, these meals were not the milk skin they usually ate, but rice or white flour buns.
Chen Ying now basically stops feeding his soldiers and artisans wheat porridge, because he has a large number of livestock to feed, and wheat bran is one of the best feeds.
The guards had the same food standard as the soldiers of Shahe Guard, and even ate in the same canteen. The food was not particularly plentiful. Because they needed to prepare for winter, Chen Ying purchased a large amount of cabbage and radish in Baoding Prefecture. These pickled radishes and sauerkraut, paired with mutton or pork, were very delicious.
Tea, which they rarely had the chance to drink normally, was a necessity for the soldiers in Shuangchengwei. They could drink a large pot of it every day after meals. They patrolled regularly and lived a comfortable and peaceful life.
Dai Shan stared dumbfounded at the "Ming army" cavalry, instantly suppressing his thought of sending troops immediately: "How come there are Ming soldiers here?"
"Father, don't worry about why there are Ming troops here. If we don't attack soon, they'll escape into the city!"
Yue looked at the thousands of sheep and the thousands of Haixi Jurchen people. Although most of them were women and children, the problem was that women and children were money.
These young men could be directly trained into Jurchen warriors, and the young women could be given as rewards to meritorious soldiers. Those with good looks could be taken as concubines. More importantly, these cattle and sheep could make the soldiers a fortune.
Daishan waved his hand and said, "Never mind, let's wipe out these Ming soldiers all at once!"
At Daishan's command, his thousands of cavalrymen roared towards the herdsmen. The Shuangcheng Guard, responsible for the outer perimeter, spotted the Jurchen cavalry immediately. The cavalry captain, Hada, shouted, "Put on your armor! Brothers, we're going to be rich!"
The plate armor Chen Ying forged actually had an advantage over lamellar armor: it was easier to wear. Unlike European plate armor, which was full-body armor, the plate armor Chen Ying issued to the guard cavalry was half-body armor, with protection only on the front and back, and no protection on the sides.
Normally, each unit was responsible for beheading the Jurchens. These guards, as the best hunters in their respective units, could only watch helplessly and were already filled with resentment. More importantly, apart from their warhorses, their other equipment had long been replaced by Chen Ying. They were equipped with composite recurve bows made according to the Ming army's standard one-stone iron-core bow, which not only had a long range but also a higher initial velocity and enormous destructive power.
The armor they wore required five Jurchen heads to acquire, and one Jurchen head was worth four oxen, meaning their armor was worth twenty oxen. They had already witnessed the defensive power of this armor, so they were naturally not afraid.
Both sides attacked each other. When they were still more than a hundred paces apart, the Shuangcheng Guard cavalry nocked their arrows and aimed at their targets. When the Jurchen cavalry charged into the hundred-pace range, they began to fire their arrows.
Hundreds of arrows rained down on the Jurchen cavalry who were charging the furthest. Screams erupted instantly as more than a hundred Jurchen cavalrymen were hit by arrows, fell from their horses, and rolled in a heap.
When the Jurchens were a hundred paces away, they didn't even draw their arrows, because their bows and arrows only had a range of fifty or sixty paces, so shooting them would just be a waste of arrows.
As they drew closer, the guard cavalry unleashed a second volley of arrows. The distance was even greater, and the hit rate was higher. This time, two to three hundred Jurchen cavalrymen were hit by the arrows. Only then did the Jurchen cavalrymen pick up their bows and arrows to fight back.
When the Jurchens began their counterattack, the guard cavalry pulled out three arrows from their quivers, drew their bows to a full moon, and fired the three arrows in quick succession. These were rapid-fire arrows; some of the best archers could fire arrows faster than a semi-automatic rifle. One bow could do the work of several bows. With more than six hundred bows firing at the same time, they created a dense rain of arrows.
Before the two sides could engage in battle, Daishan hastily ordered, "The entire army must retreat!"
He discovered that this Ming cavalry was extremely well-equipped and well-trained. They wore armor, breastplates, and domed helmets, and even masks. The arrows they shot struck the helmets and breastplates, sending sparks flying and bouncing in all directions. Shooting the horses was actually useless, because the vitality of warhorses was incomparable to that of humans. Some warhorses, even after being hit by more than a dozen arrows, were still lively and energetic.
The guard cavalry fired a barrage of shots at close range, but the Ming army suffered heavy casualties, losing nearly three Niru (a unit of military rank). If the fighting continued, they could rely on their superior numbers to annihilate the Ming cavalry.
The problem is that they would suffer heavy casualties. Moreover, the Ming army is wealthy and powerful. Even if they lost tens of thousands of troops, let alone six or seven hundred cavalry, the Ming could afford it. If they lost another one or two thousand cavalry, Nurhaci would skin them alive.
The first direct confrontation between the two sides ended with the retreat of the Jurchens. Although the escorting cavalry inflicted over a thousand casualties on the Jurchens, they did not behead many, because the Jurchens had taken the bodies with them during their retreat. This was Nurhaci's order: as long as the bodies of their comrades were brought back, half of the Jurchens' wealth could be divided among them.
As Daishan retreated to about thirty miles north of Shuangchengwei, he began to wonder why the Ming army had appeared there.
There must be a problem.
Daishan asked, "Why are Ming soldiers here?"
Just then, a tribal chief timidly stepped forward and said, "Master, this servant understands!"
"Oh, go ahead and say it!"
"They are men of Chen Boying, the commander of Shahe Guard!"
"What? Shahe Guard?"
Daishan really didn't know that there was a Shahe Guard in the Ming Dynasty. Of course, that's not important. The Ming Dynasty had hundreds of guard posts, so it's normal that he didn't know.
Why did he come here?
"We're here to do business!"
In fact, not all Haixi Jurchens were willing to fight against the Jurchens. When Chen Ying was doing business normally, there were at least 70 or 100 tribes that came to Shuangchengwei to participate in the trade. But in reality, only two-thirds of them, or 50 or 60 tribes, were willing to follow Chen Ying to fight the Jurchens.
As the tribal chief recounted the story, Daishan finally learned that Chen Boying's caravan had been robbed by Engetu. He then led one or two thousand men to Shuangchengwei, killed Engetu, and began trading with various tribes. Of course, Chen Boying proposed that each tribe behead the Yehe tribe in exchange for salt and other supplies.
Daishan looked at Amin and asked, "Fourth Prince, what do you think?"
"Great Prince, we were ordered to crush the Xibe tribe. What does this have to do with Chen Boying?"
Amin pouted and said, "Shuangchengwei City has walls built of bluestone, which the Ming army is good at defending. Although we have more troops, it won't be easy for us to take Shuangchengwei. If we delay the Khan's important business—"
Daišan had fought against this Ming army before and knew they were not easy to deal with. More importantly, they were not their target. As for how Nurhaci would deal with Chen Boying in the future, that was the Khan's business.
Nurhaci led the Jurchens to rise to power, establishing absolute prestige within his ranks. Because of this, he was extremely harsh in punishing his subordinates for failing to complete tasks. Even Daišan, his own son, was not spared his wrath.
"The Fourth Prince is absolutely right!"
Daishan said, "Leave two Niru to monitor this Ming army, the rest of you follow this Beile to pursue Hamutai!"
Upon receiving a report from the guard cavalry that the Jurchen army had arrived at Shuangchengwei, Chen Ying immediately ordered a state of high alert, closed all trade markets, and ordered the merchants who had participated in the trade markets to evacuate to Yongning.
However, to Chen Ying's surprise, after waiting for half an hour, he still hadn't seen a trace of the Jurchens. He couldn't help but call out, "Haryan!"
"Your servant is here!"
"Haryan, let me correct you, you don't need to refer to yourself as a slave—"
Haryan said solemnly, "Master, you healed my wounds and fed me meat, so you are my master. My life belongs to you, and I will always be your most loyal servant."
Chen Ying was also somewhat speechless. Hariang, the cavalry captain, was someone he had picked up. He was originally from the Mukun tribe. He was beaten half to death by the Mukun tribe's youths for fighting with the chieftain over a woman. He was left in front of the drainage ditch in the market. Chen Ying saw that he was pitiful and sent his personal guards to check on him. They found that he was not dead and had the army doctor treat his external injuries.
Who would have thought that he would actually come back to life and insist on pledging allegiance to Chen Ying as his master? Chen Ying also needed a loyal person to lead the guard cavalry, and within a little over a month, Haryan defeated and subdued more than 600 young men from various tribes.
"Haryan, send men out of the city to find out where the Jurchens are and what they're doing."
"twitter!"
Chen Ying covered his head. He knew very well that Hariang was not stupid, but very smart. He was an outcast abandoned by the Mukun tribe. Other tribes would not dare to take him in. Although the Mukun tribe was not very large, it had twelve surnames and was almost like the Solon tribe, a loose tribal alliance.
Their overall strength was actually greater than that of the Xibe tribe.
Haryan was too eager to stand out and advance. He went from being an ordinary slave to becoming the captain of the guard cavalry because of Chen Ying. The guard cavalry were organized into teams of ten men from each tribe, a banner of five tribes, and a hundred-household unit of ten tribes. He now had seven hundred-household units under his command, and was about to become a chiliarch.
After leaving the East City Council Hall, Harian immediately arranged for his cavalry to search for the movements of the Jurchens. Within half a day, they finally confirmed that the main force of the Jurchens had actually retreated.
Upon receiving the message, Chen Ying was utterly bewildered: "What's wrong with the Jianzhou Jurchens?"
Chen Ying was unaware that Dai Shan was actually terrified. Of course, Dai Shan wasn't terrified by Chen Ying, but by Nurhaci's orders. His attempt to conquer Shuangchengwei had not only failed, but he had also committed a transgression.