Chapter 665: Wulunzhurige

All the way until late June, Tang Tong's Miyun army did not move south, and the Liaodong Garrison and Ji Garrison likewise maintained strict defenses.

However, scouting riders reported that the Qing state's Manchu Bordered Blue Banner lord Jirgalang and Bordered Red Banner lord Dudu had led their own banner troops, along with the Mongol Bordered Blue Banner and Bordered Red Banner, totaling over ten thousand riders, coming west from Liaodong and "pressing" up to the foot of Mount Hongyazi (the later Chifeng area).

It was unclear whether these Qing troops had come at the request of the Mongols at Guihua City, or to coordinate with the roving bandits' central plains strategy, or with some other intent.

With so many troops "pressing" in, the Ming army could not "feel out" their movements either; they might strike the Liaodong Garrison, they might strike the Ji Garrison, they might strike Mantaoer, or they might continue westward to the Guihua City area.

One after another, various nearby Outer Vassal Mongol tribes kept converging on their camp, which could not help but make the Liaodong and Ji Garrisons jittery and tense, and even the vicinity of the capital was alarmed several times a day.

In early July, Wang Dou also received intelligence that Mongol tribal forces kept arriving west and north of Guihua City, even troops from the Outer Jasag Mongol Chechen Khanate, Tüsheet Khanate, and Jasagtu Khanate.

This surprised Wang Dou somewhat; he had not expected these Mongols to unite, twisting themselves into a single rope under a common crisis.

And Dorgon, after the Liaodong battle, had no time to "lick" his wounds and recuperate, yet when he himself was about to campaign against the Mongols at Guihua City, Dorgon sent over ten thousand relief riders — it seemed they were unwilling to give up the lands beyond the frontier.

The deadline had passed, and Gülüge and the others at Guihua City still refused to surrender and were seeking aid everywhere; the expedition beyond the frontier was already a certainty. Only iron and blood could make them understand what it means to regret too late.

Large numbers of Intelligence Service and Vanguard Scout Battalion warriors went beyond the frontier to reconnoiter; vast quantities of grain were transported to the various fortified villages along the border for storage as military provisions.

The Xuanzhen Times also mobilized its strength to publicize heavily; the Jingbian Army's war machine rapidly roared to life, as if a mighty, oppressive force loomed over both sides of the frontier, making the world understand that this time, rivers of blood would likely flow.

Having tasted the sweet rewards of the last expedition beyond the frontier, many merchants of Xuan-Da likewise requested to accompany the army — the tangible profit was one reason, and the expedition could also earn precious merit value.

Only with merit value could one obtain land and pasture, passed down through generations as family property; otherwise, everything was merely leased, making one feel like a tenant farmer.

Although the calculation of their merit value was not equal to that of the regular Jingbian Army, quite a few people still earned merit last time and could be allotted land, which excited many.

One must understand, this was akin to a hereditary fief; throughout the dynasty's history, such actual enfeoffments had become very rare. Generally, they were nominal holdings — even the Ming princes, said to have so much fief land, in reality merely enjoyed grain and silver according to a standard.

But the Jingbian Army's merit land was actual territory, hereditary for generations; although taxes and such still had to be paid, to the various merchants it still held an unimaginable allure.

On the fifth day of the seventh month, at West City in Shunshengchuan.

This city belonged to the Southern Route city of the Xuanfu Garrison's Defense Circuit, governing the five garrison commands of West City, East City, Shenjing Fort, Weizhou City, and Guangchang City in Shunshengchuan; the current Assistant Regional Commander was Xiong Tingrui, transferred from the Eastern Route in the twelfth year of Chongzhen, and ordinarily he could be considered to have some personal ties with Wang Dou.

Although he had married Lai Tianlu's daughter, he had not been involved in the Lai family affair at the time.

When Wang Dou established fortified villages in the Defense Circuit's Southern Route, he had also actively cooperated; therefore, after the violent purge, while the Assistant Regional Commanders of Xuanfu Upper West Route, Xuanfu North Route, Xuanfu Mobile Patrol Circuit Central Route, and other places were either replaced or killed, he still sat as steady as Mount Tai, securely holding his post as Assistant Regional Commander.

Several years had passed, and Xiong Tingrui was still as portly as ever — or rather, even more portly.

This route was not like the Eastern Route; it bordered the frontier and was quite dangerous, but was considered a place of peace. Xiong Tingrui was also a man of little ambition, neither taxing his mind nor his body, so naturally the more he preserved himself, the better he looked.

At this moment, inside the Assistant Regional Commander's residence, Xiong Tingrui said to his personal general Xiong Xianbin: "Meijin, from the reinforcement battalion I have tried my best to pick six hundred horses and mules and four hundred elite household cavalry for you. With this capital, I expect that once you enter the Zhongyi Battalion, Assistant Regional Commander Shen... ah, Left Commandant Shen, will also look upon you with favor... This is the best I can arrange for you."

That personal general Xiong Xianbin, in his thirties, was big and burly, but utterly loyal to Xiong Tingrui; his eyes reddened and he cried: "My lord..."

He knew that this route lay in the interior of the Xuanfu Garrison, shielded by mountains and girded by rivers, its natural defenses sufficient to rely on; in the past, even when Tatar bandits invaded, they looked down on this place, so the route had very few troops — across its many forts and towns, there were only a bit over four thousand officers and men.

The route city's reinforcement battalion had only twelve hundred officers and men and a bit over a thousand horses and mules.

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Now his own lord had, in one breath, given him six hundred horses and mules and four hundred elite household cavalry — practically sweeping away the route city's strongest and fiercest force...

For the sake of his own future, this kindness was truly as weighty as a mountain.

Xiong Tingrui waved his hand: "Say no more. I only hope you earn some military merit and make a name for yourself within the Jingbian Army. In this way, we too can hitch a ride on the Marquis of Yongning's path..."

Xiong Xianbin kowtowed heavily: "Many thanks for Your Lordship's cultivation. Even if I am ground to dust, I will repay Your Lordship's great kindness."

Xiong Tingrui nodded, recalling how, after Wang Dou arrived at the garrison city, he and the other Xuanfu Garrison commanders had still harbored schemes, wanting to prevent Wang Dou from swallowing up their troops; unexpectedly, Wang Dou could not even be bothered to pay them any attention, as if he looked down on every single one of them — which also left them somewhat crestfallen.

Therefore, after the Zhongyi Battalion began recruiting again, the old commanders of Xuanfu Garrison, after a period of silence, vied to send their own sons, nephews, and personal generals to join; in particular, Vice Regional Commander Zhang Guowei had been at the very forefront.

After all, there were precedents: after the former Eastern Route old commanders entered the Zhongyi Battalion, their future prospects could be clearly seen. If one wanted to board Wang Dou's ship, this was the only path.

But detestably, that Left Commandant Shen was still picky — he wanted no one but household cavalry, no one but elite riders, and even looked down on ordinary battalion soldiers.

"Truly, the world's affairs are hard to predict."

Looking at Xiong Xianbin, Xiong Tingrui sighed inwardly, recalling the scene in the twelfth year of Chongzhen when he had handed over duties to Wang Dou on the Eastern Route.

At that time, he had never imagined Wang Dou would reach this step.

Thinking again of his own son, who had also entered the Xuanzhen Military Academy to study — given the circumstances, if one wanted to keep getting by in Xuanfu Garrison, the only way was to stand united with Wang Dou.

On the eighth day, at Mantaoer.

The grasslands, which in later times would be August, were lush and fertile, especially the Mantaoer region. Rivers were numerous, mountain ranges stretched on and on, the grassy flats were vast, and groves of white birch dotted the landscape; places of abundant water and grass were everywhere. Aside from the somewhat inconvenient transport, it was a uniquely blessed place.

New Yongning City.

Compared to the previous year, the city and its surroundings had grown much more prosperous. Outside the city were field after field of farmland, and even more numerous were livestock farms and pastures. Looking out, on the hills and in the valleys, in many places there were stretches of pasture grass, mostly legumes, the alfalfa hailed as the "king of forages."

"After the Han people planted forage, the livestock could eat their fill and grew quickly; sure enough, it's better than nomadic migration."

Wulunzhurige was busy clearing weeds while thinking to herself.

Forages like alfalfa could be harvested several times a year, but during the seedling stage, weeds grew very quickly — a vexing problem that required large numbers of hands to clear.

She stood at that moment on a hillside; before her eyes, emerald grass stretched to the sky, dotted with yellow flowers. Below the slope was a livestock farm. The proprietor was surnamed Sun; it was said that within Xuanfu Garrison, he had originally run a pawnshop. There were many such livestock farms in sight, and among several of them there was a meat and pottery jar factory, a hide and fur factory, and so on.

Sometimes the tribal sisters from the various farms would visit each other and compare the quality of each proprietor; from everyone's accounts, Wulunzhurige felt that this Proprietor Sun was a bit stingy. Yet although he was stingy, life now was still much better than in the tribe in years past.

At the very least, they could eat their fill, and when the tribe suffered disasters in winter, they would not fall into a state of constant peril or even starve to death.

Wulunzhurige was satisfied with her current life, but she also had ambitions. A few months ago, she had received a booklet saying that she counted as something called a "temporary resident"; if she obtained "barbarian registration," she could go work in a factory, and with her skills, the wages should be decent.

With barbarian registration, she would also count as a free person, and could even enter the legendary Xuanfu Garrison proper; the redemption fee she owed Proprietor Sun could also be repaid very quickly.

Hmph, when Proprietor Sun had bought her, he had slandered them as shabby little Tatars, shabby little women; the facts proved they were worth the price — the forage she tended all grew very well.

She also thought of her tribal family members, from whom she had been separated but later reconnected, who were currently herding by the Luan River; when could they also enter Mantaoer? This matter was rather difficult to arrange — one needed some kind of pass to get through the checkpoint, but passes were not easy to obtain, generally only held by the various tribal chieftains.

In their oral messages, her family in the tribe all very much wished to enter the pass; in their eyes, New Yongning City counted as a flourishing great city, exerting a strong pull not only on many young men and women of the tribe, but even the elders likewise yearned for it.

In their words, the fact that she had been bought was actually a good thing?

Or perhaps, find a way to marry a Han man as a concubine?

Then she would immediately become barbarian-registered, and soon become naturalized; her children would be even more so, Han-registered.

Only, she could not forget her Tabunang brother.

"Get to work, get to work, every one of you looking around idly... You little women of the Tatar tribe, all you know is slacking off. Did I buy you just to eat without working?"

The swishing sound of a leather whip, mixed with a sharp, shrill roar.

Wulun Zhurige heard that and immediately knew Proprietor Sun was making his rounds with his stewards again.

She listened to him cursing and muttering to himself: "Hmph, count yourselves lucky. The Marquis of Yongning has rules — everyone must be fed their fill, and each person gets one silver dollar a year in wages... Buying you lot was a real loss... What dogshit 'everyone fed their fill, everyone clothed'..."

Wulun Zhurige pursed her lips. "Proprietor Sun is at it again. Is it really a loss? I'm afraid he's making a huge profit. I heard he's opened yet another livestock yard."

Proprietor Sun, who once ran a pawnshop, was frowning as he inspected the grounds. When he spotted Wulun Zhurige, his expression eased slightly, and he said, "That one called... Wulun..."

Wulun Zhurige hurried over. Her Chinese was increasingly fluent as she said respectfully, "Master, I am not called Wulun. It is Wulun Zhurige. In the Han tongue, it means 'colorful clouds.'"

Proprietor Sun waved his hand. "Whatever."

He said, "You have an elder brother, called Ga... Ga something?"

A steward beside him said, "Galede."

"Mm, Galede. He has come to the livestock yard and says he wishes to see you."

From a distance, Wulun Zhurige spotted her elder brother Galede and also her beloved Tabunang. Like a joyful little bird, she ran toward them.

"The tribe is selecting able-bodied young men. Tabunang and I have both entered the New Auxiliary Camp, so we obtained travel permits and can come see you... If we can earn military merit and gain honors, not only can we be rewarded with land and pasture, we can also use the honors to exchange the status of Father, Mother, and you, little sister — all changed to Yi household registration."

Looking at his younger sister, the sturdy Galede spoke full of hope, and Wulun Zhurige's beloved Tabunang also nodded emphatically.

At present, although the tribe pastures on the outskirts of Mantaoer, in truth the land and pasture are still rented.

However, as long as one has honors, not only the tribal headmen but even ordinary tribesmen can be granted pastures within the safe zone, to own for generations to come. Although the honors they earn count for far less than those of the Jingbian Army when weighed and calculated, many people are still full of hope.

Having grown accustomed to settled life, many no longer wish to roam and graze. A secure and fixed pasture has thus become important.

Galede spoke at length with his younger sister. At last, watching them spur their horses into the distance, Wulun Zhurige knelt upon the ground and prayed devoutly: "Lord Buddha, please protect my elder brothers." (To be continued)

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