Chapter 21 The Old Slave is Partial

The messenger named Baidu was stunned for a moment, pursed his lips and replied: "It should be the head of the retainers of Ming General Man Gui. He did not appear in the previous three wars, but appeared near Tashan Fort two days ago and killed a team of scouts of our flag. A Boshiku and his three flagmen were hacked to death by him."

The five Jala Ezhen and more than twenty Niulu Ezhen of the Zhenghong Banner all believed that the Ming army that attacked the banner leader's main camp this afternoon were all servants of the Ningyuan generals, and might have been led by the head of Mangui's servants. Jirgalang and other nobles of the Xianglan Banner also held a similar view.

"Man Gui's retainer leader? Do you think I'm so old that I don't even know who Man Gui is? He has these 500 elite retainers and a general as his retainer leader, but Man Gui can't even get a seal of a general? And he can stay in Ningyuan City and only manage one guard?"

After talking about something he was familiar with, the old slave immediately became energetic.

More than forty years of fighting had given him much more experience than the twenty or thirty descendants in this account. As soon as he heard it, he knew that the messenger Baidu and the Zhenghong Banner must be hiding something from him.

Putting aside other things, even if all the servants of the Ningyuan garrison commander were put together, there would definitely be less than 500 field cavalry servants.

"Perhaps they were transferred from Qiantun and Guanmen in the past few days, or perhaps they were conscripted from places thousands of miles south. After all, the Ming Kingdom is too big, so it's normal that there are some Ming soldiers we don't know."

Instead of changing his words, Baidoo tried to smooth over his previous remarks.

The old slave didn't want to waste words with this man, so he waved his hand feebly, "Come here, take off his helmet, strip off his armor, and beat him to death."

Immediately, two guards from the Zhenghuang Banner, Goshaha, who were on standby outside the tent, rushed in. Two of them quickly stripped Baidu of his clothes and then held him down tightly, while the third guard picked up a whip and whipped Baidu on the back.

During this time, Baidu still did not change his words. After being whipped more than a dozen times on the back, he immediately cried out in pain: "Khan, I tell the truth, I tell the truth."

However, this mournful change of words did not make the disheartened old slave show any reaction, and the guards of the Plain Yellow Banner continued to whip him.

The messenger Baidu knew that this night would be difficult. If he told the truth earlier, he could still be saved, but if he told it later, he would lose his life.

The Khan today is no longer the benevolent Khan of seven years ago. He is always troubled by reduced grain production and the escape of Han people. If killing a bannerman of the Zhenghong Banner who is delivering a message can make the Khan happy, then the nobleman in the tent will kill him without hesitation.

"The Ningyuan garrison commander gathered about fifty retainers, led by a very brave Ming general, and charged into the battle formation to attack the banner master, Beile. The banner master originally wanted to take over the entire Ming army, but the Ming army rushed into the center of the army, so... Ouch!"

The second statement made the old slave even angrier, and his face turned even worse. The guards of the Plain Yellow Banner observed his expression and whipped him even harder.

After Huang Taiji stopped his nosebleed, he felt that his father might be really angry, so he comforted him: "Father, it should be that the Ming army sent servants to fight with Ah Hun. For some reason, Ah Hun was a little careless and was beheaded by an unknown soldier."

The messenger Baidu agreed again and again, but the old slave never expressed his opinion.

After dozens of whips were given, until the messenger's back was skinned and bleeding, and the entire tent was filled with Baidu's wailing, the old servant waved his hand in annoyance.

The guards of the Zhenghuang Banner understood his intention and carried the man and threw him to the ground outside.

As a result, the big tent fell silent. The most powerful people of the Eight Banners did not dare to say anything in front of the Khan who was about to be enraged. They just watched the Khan and waited for him to figure things out himself.

"Whether it's fifty or five hundred, my son is dead. This is a fact. Brother Daishan followed me in the battles for twenty-seven or twenty-eight years. He didn't die at the hands of the generals of the Ming army, nor did he die in the battle array of tens of thousands of people. Instead, he was beheaded by an unknown boy. This must be because the servants of the Zhenghong Banner were not serious about their work. Brother Daishan himself is also responsible. What Ba'er said just now is right. We must send someone to rectify these unruly Zhenghong Banner servants."

The old slave laid the groundwork with a few words and finally came to the core issue of the flag owner. Nurhaci's descendants and nephews in the tent all perked up and listened to the personnel changes that would affect the succession to the Khan's throne.

"Shuotuo is young and knows all the servants of the Zhenghong Banner, so he is not suitable for this task." At this point, the old servant turned his head slightly to look at his children and grandchildren, and pointed out the person who was least willing to do this in the eyes of everyone's expectations, "Du Du, I will transfer you to the Zhenghong Banner and you will take charge of the banner affairs. I will temporarily lead your Bordered White Banner. After this war is over and we return to Shengjing, we will make adjustments."

Du Du is the eldest grandson of Lao Nu and the eldest son of the deposed Crown Prince Chu Ying. He currently leads the Bordered White Banner and has only fifteen Niulu under his command. In name, he is one of the four young Beile and the most marginalized descendant of Nurhaci in the entire Eight Banners power circle.

Even the two brothers, Amin and Jirgalang, were closer to the core circle of the Eight Banners than Dudu, because the two brothers did not fight for the throne, had more soldiers and horses, and were better at fighting than Dudu. The old slave Changsun was not a fool, of course he knew that the Zhenghong Banner was the hottest one now, and any Beile who was not the leader of the Banner wanted to get the position of the leader of the Zhenghong Banner except him. If he took it, he would definitely offend the brothers Yuetuo and Shuotuo.

If he didn't accept it, he would offend his grandfather and also create a rift with his three young uncles, Ajige, Dodo and Dorgon.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that he had been holding a position for Dorgon in the past, and if he wasn't careful, he might even lose his own Bordered White Banner.

"Khan Mafa, I am only 29 years old and cannot take on such a big responsibility. It would be better to send an experienced and steady minister to rectify the flag affairs! It would be a small matter if I fail to do a good job myself, but it would be a big matter if I delay Mafa's great cause." Du Du declined.

The old slave shouted like a wild dog guarding its food: "If I say you can do it, then you can do it. If I say you can't do it, then you have to do it!"

The three youngest sons are much closer to me than the eldest grandson.

After this scolding, Du Du didn't even dare to breathe deeply, and responded meekly.

The old slave glanced at his eighth son Huang Taiji again and said, "We must rush to the city of Ningyuan tomorrow, and let Baer lead the general attack. Tell me, how should we deal with the unknown Ming general who attacked and killed your Ah Hun?"

He planned to let the Plain White Banner contribute during the siege, so as to consume the strength of his most ambitious eighth son and prepare for the youngest son to succeed to the throne.

Huang Taiji hastily expressed his loyalty, "We will capture that Ming general alive and cut him into pieces. Tomorrow I will instruct the siege flagmen to avenge Daishan Ahun and avenge my father."

He thought of two plans his father had for dealing with the Zhenghong Banner, but he did not expect that his father was actually going to swallow it up completely. Looking at this situation, Dudu's leader of the Bordered White Banner and fifteen Niulu could not be saved.

The old servant then nodded in satisfaction, then waved his hand and drove away his children, grandchildren, and nephews like flies.

……

The Eight Banners were busy for most of the night, and the city of Ningyuan was as lively as it was during New Year's Day.

Daishan was notorious, and many Ming soldiers had seen him on the battlefield. There were also many Han people in Ningyuan City who had shaved their heads and rebelled against the Later Jin. After careful identification, it was confirmed that the head that General Li brought back was Daishan's.

The Ming Dynasty had been fighting with the old slave for seven years, mobilizing more than 100,000 people in three major battles, but not even one flag owner was killed. Now, before the major battle started, a major chief was beheaded. The morale of the military and civilians in Ningyuan City suddenly boosted. The soldiers on duty whispered to each other, praising the grand scene in which General Li and dozens of other cavalrymen led the way and charged into the Zhenghong Banner army in the afternoon.

The common people in the city exchanged the news they heard with their neighbors, especially when they heard that General Li had not remarried. Some military households with unmarried daughters were eager to find a matchmaker tonight to arrange a marriage.

In the third courtyard of the provincial government office, several soldiers on guard were whispering.

"It turns out that this General Li is a brother of Marshal Li Chengliang. No wonder he looks a bit like Marshal Li Rusong back then."

"What are you talking about? How can the old uncle look like his nephew? It should be said that Marshal Li Rusong and General Li look like each other."

Li Hao's propaganda that he was Li Chengliang's lifelong brother finally had an effect. The soldiers in the camp began to compare the similarities and differences between the newly appeared General Li and Marshal Chengliang, and recalled the peaceful days in Liaodong when Li Chengliang was in the past.

Yuan Chonghuan, the military officer who came out of his room, heard the whispers of the soldiers in the camp. He did not stop this behavior and decided to identify Li Hao as Li Rusong's younger uncle in the memorial he would write late at night.

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(End of this chapter)