Chapter 93: Poaching the Cornerstone

Since we're planning to send Governor-General Yuan to his death and use him as a ritual sacrifice along the way, we still need to make early arrangements for Liaodong. Otherwise, if Governor-General Yuan really does sell us out, Chongzhen won't even have a place to cry.

Fortunately, however, because Mao Wenlong keeps stirring up trouble in Dongjiang, the Jianzhou barbarians seem to have reached their limit.

According to reports from the Eastern Depot's agents sent to Liaodong and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Jianzhou barbarians are planning to go hit Mao Wenlong and Joseon first. That means Governor-General Yuan will be very useful right now.

In 1628, the first year of Chongzhen, the capital beyond Zhengyang Gate had begun to feel a faint trace of warmth. But in Liaodong and the lands further north, it was still a bitter winter where water thrown out froze solid to ice.

The sky today was overcast and somewhat dreadful, as if Heaven cared nothing for the life and death of mortals. Snowflakes still drifted down upon the human world in swirling profusion. Before long, the ground was covered layer upon layer, and walking on it produced a crunching, creaking sound.

Though the weather outside the house was maddening, the atmosphere inside was rather relaxed.

The big man seated in the host's position was about forty years old. His bronze face was thick with a curly beard, his gaze hawk-like, his build stout and powerful.

He set down his wine bowl with a palm-fan of a hand, wiped the dregs of wine from his mouth, and then laughed heartily: "gorobaigucumenibadeenggelemejirebeurguniokdombi.

(Welcome, friends from afar, who have come here.) It may be a bit cold beyond the pass, but the winter snowscape is something you won't see inside the pass."

Seated in the guest position was none other than Cui Chengxiu, one of the Five Tigers of the eunuch faction. Cui Chengxiu also set down his wine bowl and smiled.

"Quite right.

Though the winter here is somewhat cold, the snowscape beyond the pass is truly beautiful, enough to open the heart and mind.

No wonder His Sacred Majesty the Son of Heaven values this land beyond the pass so highly and never stops praising your Xibe tribe as being full of fine men."

The big man in the host's seat laughed again at these words and said, "Han big official, I, Wanyan Hong, am a rough man and don't understand all your twists and turns. If you have something to say, just say it straight.

It's not like you'd leave your comforts inside the pass for no reason and come all the way to Liaodong to suffer."

Hearing this, Cui Chengxiu did not get angry. Instead, he wondered to himself: His own Emperor had clearly never been beyond the pass, so how did he know these barbarians' affairs so clearly?

Even their temperaments were almost exactly as the Emperor had described. Could there truly be someone in this world born with such knowledge?

Thinking this, Cui Chengxiu said, "Chieftain Wanyan is a straightforward man. I won't hide anything or beat around the bush either — that would be too irksome. When I came, His Sacred Majesty the Son of Heaven instructed me to have a proper talk with Chieftain Wanyan."

Wanyan Hong grew curious at this. "Oh? What exactly did your Emperor have to say?"

Cui Chengxiu said, "Among the three Jurchen tribes, the Jianzhou Jurchen have gained the most — this is common knowledge. If the Jianzhou barbarians rebel, they won't just be attacking the Great Ming. Even your Xibe tribe's days won't be easy, I imagine?"

Wanyan Hong let out a "Heh," slammed the table before him, and said angrily, "Far from easy! Damn it all, those Jianzhou barbarians are simply the worst scum. Not only do they demand our Xibe people submit to them, they also want us to send troops to fight their wars.

The bitter, exhausting work is ours, but the benefits are all theirs. And that's not even the worst of it — these dogs still come raiding from time to time, plundering the tribes that refuse to submit."

Cui Chengxiu smiled faintly at this. "Then why doesn't Chieftain Wanyan agree to submit?"

Chieftain Wanyan's hawk-like eyes glared wide at this, and he said angrily, "You Han big official! Too full of tricks!

My Xibe tribe were originally of the Xianbei people — we once founded our own state. How could we submit to those Jianzhou barbarians?

Besides, if I had submitted, would you still be sitting here safe and sound right now?"

Well, they do say the eunuch faction has not a single decent sort. Cui Chengxiu paid no mind to the rule of not hitting a man in the face or exposing his shortcomings.

He went straight for Chieftain Wanyan's weak spot: "But according to what Chieftain Wanyan just said, there are still some among your people who have submitted to the Jianzhou barbarians, are there not?"

Wanyan Hong's old face reddened at this, but he stubbornly argued, "Those accursed Gūwalgiya, Magiya, and Ningguta clans are all traitors! They are unworthy to call themselves descendants of the Gray Wolf and the White Deer! The Eternal Blue Heaven will surely bring punishment down upon them!"

Cui Chengxiu did not argue. He only smiled faintly and said, "Chieftain Wanyan, do not be upset. Whatever they have done has nothing to do with my coming here."

Wanyan Hong said, "Then please, Han big official, speak plainly. What exactly have you come for?"

Cui Chengxiu said, "Very well, then I shall speak directly. His Sacred Majesty the Son of Heaven intends to support your noble tribe to replace the Jianzhou Jurchen. What does Chieftain Wanyan think of this?"

Wanyan Hong burst into loud laughter at this. The other Xibe clan chieftains in the room also laughed.

Wanyan Hong pressed a hand downward to silence the laughter, then said mockingly, "Your Emperor's generous offer — my entire Xibe tribe is deeply moved by such generosity. But as things stand, your Great Ming can barely protect itself, and yet you think of supporting us?

Aren't you afraid the wind might be so strong it twists your tongue? What conditions has your Emperor proposed?

Go ahead, let's hear them."

A flash of anger crossed Cui Chengxiu's face and vanished. He was sorely tempted to just flip the table and be done with it. Even if he himself didn't survive, the Embroidered Uniform Guard experts he'd brought with him could still kill seven or eight out of ten of the people in this room.

But recalling the Chongzhen Emperor's repeated instructions before he left, he could only suppress his rage and say, "Chieftain Wanyan worries too much. Now that His Sacred Majesty has ascended the throne, he is reforming the civil service and reorganizing the guard battalions.

When this work is complete, he will personally lead a campaign against the Jianzhou barbarians. These were His Sacred Majesty's own golden words, spoken before the Jianzhou barbarians' battle lines — they absolutely cannot be false.

Furthermore, the slave chieftain Hong Taiji's eldest son was also captured alive by His Sacred Majesty and has already been executed by slow slicing."

Those Xibe tribes that had not submitted to the Jianzhou barbarians had long since moved far away from them, so they actually had no news of Hooge's death by lingchi.

Wanyan Hong was shocked and doubtful. "Is this true? If your Emperor truly has such capability, then pacifying the Jianzhou barbarians is not entirely impossible. But what conditions has he promised our people?"

Cui Chengxiu replied, "True or false, can't Chieftain Wanyan simply send someone to investigate? As for the conditions His Sacred Majesty has promised — even I find them quite stirring."

Wanyan Hong curled his lip and said, "Please, sir, explain in detail. If the conditions are good, everything is negotiable."

Cui Chengxiu said, "Does Chieftain Wanyan know that in former years, Emperor Daozong of the Khitan Liao, Yelü Hongji, once said he wished to be reborn as a Song subject in his next life? And that Yelü Bei also spoke of wishing to be born generation after generation in the Central Plains?"

Wanyan Hong said, "Of course I know that. The land beyond the pass is bitter and cold — how can it compare to the splendor within the pass? Not to mention those Liao emperors, even I would wish to be born generation after generation in the Central Plains."

Cui Chengxiu smiled at this. "Exactly. This is the first of the conditions His Sacred Majesty has offered."

Wanyan Hong grew curious. "I would like to hear the details."

Cui Chengxiu said, "His Sacred Majesty has spoken: the Xibe tribe were originally of the Xianbei people, and like the Xiongnu, both trace their origin to the descendants of the Xia sovereigns, the line of Chunwei.

Therefore, His Sacred Majesty promises that he will treat the Xibe people exactly the same as the subjects of the Han lands, with no distinction whatsoever."

The previous chapter's plot has been revised. This fully demonstrates the advantage of not using a stockpile of drafts — you can revise as you write.

Also, recommending a new seedling of a book, "Surviving in the Primordial Wilds." The author is my in-law, the notorious Qidian comment-section floor-stealing maniac, Silence. Now this joker has started writing a book, and I hope everyone will go show some support.

(End of Chapter)