Chapter 1455: After the Limited Edition Comes the Special Edition

Two hundred li east of Huining City, outside the west gate of Mulan River City, Majia Tuhai — now a gaunt, half-old man with graying hair and beard — sat on horseback, his loose-fitting robes flapping loudly in the wild wind.

Several hundred armored soldiers of Mulan River City stood in full battle array behind him, waiting in silence. Though these soldiers had formed up in neat ranks and donned heavy cloth-faced iron armor, none carried weapons — every man stood empty-handed. So they were not here to meet an enemy, but to welcome some extraordinary guest. Yet not a single face showed the slightest joy; from Majia Tuhai on down, every man was uneasy.

Majia Tuhai was a Manchu grandee of Plain Yellow Banner origin. After the Qing fell, he had gone over to Dodo; after Dodo's death he became a man Dodo's son Doni relied upon; after Doni's downfall he had fled to Oboi's service, and Oboi had enfeoffed him at Mulan River City, a little over two hundred li from Huining City, making him its lord. Now in the Heilongjiang and Andong region, most estates were called "manors"; only a few large estates that directly governed many military and civilian households and also administered several surrounding manors could be called "cities."

Mulan River City was just such a large city, directly governing as many as four hundred military and civilian households, and also administering six small manors around it — these six manors each had their own lords and did not swear allegiance to Mulan River City; Mulan River City was merely responsible for levying troops and grain from the six manors and maintaining order and security.

If the Majia clan of Mulan River City were allowed to develop freely, perhaps after a few generations the Majia clan could have turned all six manors into its own territory.

But how would the Zhu Emperor in Yingtian ever allow a Manchu magnate clan like the Majia to grow quietly in Heilongjiang until it could threaten the Great Ming? They had barely enjoyed a dozen-odd years of peace before Oboi and Yue Le were framed into "surrendering" to Russia!

When Oboi fled, he had also sought out Tuhai, wanting to drag him along. But Majia Tuhai had at the same time received a personal letter from Jin Dong'e, telling him to stay put in Mulan River City, go nowhere, and that good fortune would come to his door in due time.

Tuhai had not wanted to go drink the northwest wind in Siberia anyway — the place he most wanted to go was Beijing! He had once owned a large, spacious courtyard house inside Beijing's Second Ring Road. What a fine house it was — he thought about it every day now, but could never go back.

If Beijing was out of reach, retiring to Tianjin would do well enough. Tianjin Prefecture was bustling now, plainly the most prosperous place in the north. If even Tianjin was out of reach, then he would have to retire to Shenyang. He had grown up in Shenyang — Shenyang was his true homeland!

So after Tuhai had scraped together some money in Mulan River City, he had sent people to buy houses in both Tianjin and Shenyang! And Oboi actually wanted to drag him off to Siberia to conquer the world — only a man with water in his brain would go with him!

Therefore, after receiving Jin Dong'e's letter, he had waited quietly in Mulan River City — and as a result, word came that the Crown Prince was leading an army north.

He had originally intended to go with the surrounding manor lords to Huining City to see the Crown Prince, but instead he received an order from the Crown Prince: he was to receive the Crown Prince at Mulan River City, for the Crown Prince was going out hunting and would visit Mulan River City!

This was extraordinary! The Crown Prince himself coming! Could it be that good fortune really was about to knock on his door?

The Tuhai household had been craning their necks waiting for good news, when suddenly Crown Prince Zhu Hexing arrived at their doorstep at the head of a great army — and the display was terrifying. All who came were elite troops of the Imperial Guard: not only Guard infantry, but also the mighty Guard cavalry. The Guard cavalry were a deluxe, upgraded version of the black-gun mule soldiers — they could "do the dirty work" and also serve as the main force in massed charges, enough to be the decisive trump card on any battlefield.

From the moment the vanguard of these black cavalrymen was spotted — the Imperial Guard excelled at night fighting, hence their black uniforms — the Majia clan's routes south, east, and north of Mulan River City had all been brought under Ming army control. Every checkpoint and outpost had been driven back by these fiendish-looking men, leaving them only the western road to Huining.

This was a show of force to cow them!

Tuhai was a seasoned campaigner. Even after settling in Heilongjiang, he had repeatedly marched out with Oboi, either posing as Russian troops to strike the Chahar, or supporting the remnants of the Khorchin in their struggles against the Daning army. He knew well how formidable the "black-clad Imperial Guard" was — to say nothing of the meager strength in his own hands, even if Oboi's "Russian army" came back, it would be crushed all the same.

So facing the sudden arrival of troops personally led by the Crown Prince, how could Tuhai dare entertain the slightest thought of resistance? All that remained was terror and dread!

Just as everyone in Mulan River City, high and low, was at a loss, the Crown Prince's messenger suddenly arrived, bringing Tuhai word that the Crown Prince was about to arrive!

After receiving Zhu Hexing's message, Tuhai immediately began making grand preparations to welcome him — welcome him, of course; he dared not harbor thoughts of resistance. But fleeing and breaking out to Yaksa City to join Oboi might still be possible.

Although the Crown Prince had already deployed black-armored cavalry on three sides, if Tuhai fled with the clan's warriors, they could still get away.

But the clan's old, weak, women, and children would all fall under the enemy's blades! And what if the Crown Prince meant no harm? So Tuhai had no choice but to grit his teeth and treat this matter — whether blessing or curse — as a tremendous joyous occasion.

If Crown Prince Zhu really was playing the "Cloud-Dream Excursion" trick, the entire Majia clan would likely be caught in one net!

So by the time Tuhai had arranged all the reception matters for the Crown Prince's party and led the clan's able-bodied men out of the city to welcome the Crown Prince's arrival, everyone's hearts — Tuhai's included — were in their throats. Tuhai at their head was agitated and anxious to the extreme, his mind filled with memories of following Oboi in campaigns and skirmishes against the Chahar, Tumed, Daning, Beiping, Anbei, and other vassal states and garrisons. Strictly speaking, those deeds could well amount to rebellion!

Though he had not been the ringleader of the rebellion, convicting him as an accomplice would pose no problem. Just as he was wondering whether to flee, he suddenly saw the dozen-odd riders he had sent out earlier to await the guest come galloping back at full speed, shouting from afar toward Tuhai: "His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived! His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"

Tuhai drew a breath and was about to say something to those around him when the sound of hoofbeats reached his ears from the distance — nearer and nearer, louder and louder, until at last it merged into one continuous roar. He could not tell how many mounted columns were coming; the hoofbeats were so astonishing that the very earth trembled faintly!

Tuhai turned to look at his son and daughter, Nuomin and Yaliqi, and said with a bitter smile: "All of you, dismount. We must prepare to kowtow to the Crown Prince!"

Nuomin closely resembled his father Tuhai — long face, big ears, pointed chin, and a build much like his father's: a thin man.

Like Jieshu and Fiyanggu, he too was a "new-style Tartar," though not as capable as those two. He had not attended Tianjin University; after graduating from the Vladivostok academy, he had come home and followed Tuhai ever since.

Yaliqi was much younger, only sixteen or seventeen this year, with very fair skin, not tall, but slender — the whole family were thin. Her skin was very fair, her face long and narrow, her chin pointed, her lips thin, her nose somewhat sharp, and she had a pair of slightly narrowed, elongated phoenix eyes. She was passably good-looking, but gave off a cunning air.

Nuomin's brows were tightly knit, clearly deeply fearful of the Zhu Crown Prince's sudden arrival — those with guilty consciences are naturally afraid.

Yaliqi, however, wore a faint smile at the corner of her lips. As she dismounted, she comforted her father: "Ama, don't worry. The Crown Prince has come all this way — he must think highly of you, and wants to invite you out to assist him!"

Nuomin added: "Sister is right. Oboi and Yue Le took many men with them. There aren't many of the old generation left who can come out and help the Crown Prince set things right. Ama, you count as one."

Tuhai sighed: "Let us hope so."

At that moment, the twelve dragon banners symbolizing the Crown Prince appeared on the great road in the distance, and with them a great column of black-armored cavalry, galloping forward — as far as the eye could see, nothing but a surging mass of black riders.

(End of Chapter)