Chapter 498: Some Rejoice, Some Worry

This was the reception hall of the Great Jin's Mandate of Heaven Khan. Precious furs covered the floor, low tables were arranged upon them, and swords, sabers, and bows hung on the walls. It looked less like a royal palace and more like the golden tent of a Mongol noble.

Nurhaci was already fifty-eight years old, yet his beard and hair were still jet-black, with barely a few white strands to be found. His eyes were extremely spirited, awe-inspiring in their glances. He had been proclaimed Khan for only a little over a year, but he had dominated and unified the various Jurchen tribes for a long time already.

Although Nurhaci had campaigned for many years, he had not endured any real hardship since his twenties. Yet this Jurchen chieftain, unlike many other foreign peoples, did not become infatuated with the clothing, food, housing, and travel of the Great Ming, nor did he pursue the luxurious comforts of the Ming interior. Nurhaci greatly enjoyed the lifestyle of the Mongol tribes. Had it not been for the insistence of several beile and those close to him, he would not have even prepared to build a royal palace, instead setting up a golden tent directly, in imitation of the Mongol khans.

"The Plain Yellow and Bordered Yellow Banners will each get one thousand six hundred. The Plain Red Banner gets a little less. Bordered Blue and Plain Blue, and also Plain White... how the other banners are divided, we'll discuss tomorrow!" Nurhaci paused mid-speech.

Hong Taiji stood at the side with his hands at his sides, pretending not to have noticed that pause. The Plain Yellow Banner and Bordered Yellow Banner were under the Great Khan's personal command. The Plain White Banner was under his own jurisdiction. The Plain Red Banner was Daišan's, the Bordered Blue Banner was Amin's, and the Plain Blue Banner was Manggūltai's. Put this way, what he himself could get would only be a little more than those junior beile.

Hong Taiji was certainly unwilling to accept this allocation, but his expression betrayed nothing whatsoever. He merely nodded in acknowledgment. The land of white mountains and black waters was bitterly cold, and few men lived past sixty. Hong Taiji also knew that many people were discussing how much longer the Great Khan could live. The senior and junior beile all had their own schemes, and people from all sides had approached Hong Taiji. To these, Hong Taiji either rebuked them or remained silent, making no indication at all.

The Great Khan could still live for a long time. Even if he only had a few years left, he would still kill people just the same. He would not stay his hand even against his own sons.

Back then, his eldest brother Cuyen had been designated the heir. Feeling himself the second man under the Great Khan, he demanded the lion's share when distributing people and property, and demanded that others submit to him. The nobles and chieftains were all dissatisfied, and then the Great Khan dealt with Cuyen without the slightest mercy.

Before that, the Great Khan had always said Cuyen was his most outstanding son. Hong Taiji had heard from the Han people by his side, and confirmed through the mouths of merchants who traveled to the Great Ming, that the Great Ming was ruled by the Zhu imperial family, and everyone else could only submit. But Hong Taiji also knew that the Great Jin was not solely dictated by the Aisin Gioro clan, at least not right now. If the tribal leaders and nobles were dissatisfied, the Great Khan had to make a gesture.

However, Hong Taiji thought a step further. He felt the Great Khan himself had also wanted to kill Cuyen. This eldest son was far too disobedient, always thinking of inheriting the Khan's throne. In this position, there was no such thing as father-son affection.

From then on, Hong Taiji had been very cautious and prudent, never revealing the slightest intention towards the Khan's throne, simply doing his own duty well.

Hong Taiji picked a few important matters he had overseen and reported them. Nurhaci listened very attentively. Just then, a few peals of children's laughter drifted in. Nurhaci immediately became somewhat distracted, a smile surfacing on his face. He waved his hand and said, "We'll all discuss it together tomorrow. You've handled your assignments well. Go back and prepare!"

"Ama, could Ama reprimand and restrain Amin? He acts far too recklessly, directly indulging his subordinates' slaves to plunder traveling merchants, killing people at the drop of a hat. Ten days ago, over sixty Ming people were killed by a jala-i ejen under his command. It's said that even the Great Ming side has been alarmed." Hong Taiji patiently said.

Hearing this, a trace of impatience appeared on Nurhaci's face. He stroked his beard and said, "As long as he doesn't touch our own people, Han people, Ming people, killing them is just killing them. Are these matters even worth mentioning?"

"Ama, we are preparing to move against the Ming state. We also need Ming merchants to come and trade, to stockpile all sorts of goods for war. If Amin acts this way, he'll scare everyone off. Who would dare come to do business? Even news from that side won't be able to get through. Moreover, Amin hasn't been punished for this, so many people under the various banners are following his example. If this continues, we'll have to go buy things from Korea. Their goods are few and their prices are high."

"Those thunder-struck Koreans!" Nurhaci's expression had already turned ugly.

Hong Taiji smiled bitterly to himself. He had been talking about Amin, but the Great Khan only grew angry upon hearing the name Korea. It turned out that originally, it was very inconvenient for Korean merchant caravans to go to the Great Ming. They would often transport their goods to the territory of the Jianzhou Jurchens to sell, and then purchase Great Ming goods there to bring back. There were also many Great Ming merchants coming here, and Li Chengliang even had private trading firms and warehouses directly here.

Because of this geographical advantage, the Jianzhou Jurchens could act as middlemen merchants, collecting and selling the products of the various tribes of the white mountains and black waters, living quite comfortably. But just a few years ago, Korea and the Great Ming opened another trade route. Along this route, one could directly reach the Great Ming. Jianzhou was gradually abandoned. The Jianzhou Jurchens' income plummeted. Coupled with several years of poor harvests, the newly established Great Jin was already somewhat tottering, and the incorporated tribes had all begun to show tendencies to break away.

If he could not lead everyone to prosper, if he could not import large quantities of wealth and goods to sustain them, then this Great Jin would collapse and scatter.

Nurhaci had dealt with the Great Ming since childhood and saw clearly the outward strength and inner weakness of the Liao Garrison. He already had a plan to go to war. Since there was such a fat sheep at his side, he naturally had to reach out and plunder it.

However, even though the target was the Great Ming, Nurhaci still could not help showing disgust when Korea was mentioned.

"I understand. Someone will be sent to Amin to reprimand him. You may go back!" Nurhaci quickly made his decision.

Sending someone to reprimand him just meant privately sending someone to say a few words. With Amin's temperament, he would not care at all and would continue acting this way. If that went on... Hong Taiji could not help feeling somewhat agitated.

But he did not let this emotion show. He merely responded quietly, took his leave, and walked out. After walking a couple of steps, he heard the Great Khan Nurhaci behind him say, "Amin still remembers what happened to his Ama. He has always hated our family. Everyone can see that. Let him make trouble. The more he stirs things up, the more people will dislike him. When the time is right, the Bordered Blue Banner can be taken over, to be managed by our family alone. When that time comes, no one will gossip, and the banner men of the Bordered Blue Banner won't make a fuss either."

Hong Taiji shuddered. He quickly turned around and said, "Ama's teaching is correct. Your son understands. I was being foolish this time!"

The Bordered Blue Banner was the largest of the Eight Banners. It was originally under the command of Nurhaci's own younger brother, Šurhaci, though it was not called the Bordered Blue Banner at that time. There cannot be two suns in the sky. As the Jianzhou Jurchens grew strong, the two brothers also came into conflict. Nurhaci had Šurhaci nailed inside a wooden chest and suffocated to death, but this matter provoked an enormous backlash among Šurhaci's followers.

Under such circumstances, Nurhaci dared not make any other moves. He had no choice but to give the position of banner lord to Šurhaci's son, Amin. Only then did things stabilize.

Of the Eight Banners of the Jianzhou Jurchens, aside from this Bordered Blue Banner, the other seven banners were either directly commanded by Nurhaci or managed by his sons. To say there was no design on the Bordered Blue Banner was simply impossible.

However, among the Jianzhou Jurchens, while Nurhaci was indeed supreme, Šurhaci's branch also had its own supporters. It was impossible to tear off all pretense and swallow them directly.

Within the Great Jin state, including the Jurchen and Mongol tribes not under Great Jin's jurisdiction, everyone considered the Great Khan an unparalleled hero of the age, as if the Great Jin's current situation had all been won through unmatched valor.

But Hong Taiji did not think so. If it were only unmatched valor, this Great Jin would not have been established, the Ula, Nikan, and other tribes would not have been thoroughly digested. If it were only unmatched valor, Šurhaci would not have died, and Cuyen would not have died either...

Thinking of Cuyen, Hong Taiji felt a tremor in his heart, yet his expression revealed nothing at all. He simply walked out under escort.

In Shandong in the forty-fifth year of Wanli, there had been a few snowfalls around the first month. Other than that, not a single drop of water had fallen from the sky. The experienced commoners of Shandong already understood: this meant another drought was coming.

The melting snow could still leave the land somewhat moist, but soon everything would become parched and dry, turning once again into the living hell of last year.

Whenever a year of disaster or famine came, the destitute households without property were the first to collapse, followed by the small households. It progressed upward according to wealth. Apart from those truly great and powerful houses, no one could escape such a year.

When the famine first began, the small and medium landlords, through lending and debt collection, scavenged and annexed quite a few scattered plots of farmland. Then as the famine persisted, they too could not hold on and went bankrupt one after another. Their properties and the fruits of their annexations were devoured by the great houses and local strongmen.

Further on, many of the great houses and local strongmen also could not hold on and were swallowed up by the overlords of the next tier. These overlords were the ultimate beneficiaries. Behind them, there was often an official background, allowing them to receive various kinds of support from the government.

But famine did not only cause hunger and bankruptcy. There were also gathered refugees and mounted bandits springing up everywhere. The refugees roamed about, storming and feeding off the great houses. The mounted bandits plundered in all directions. The so-called great houses and local strongmen might not necessarily withstand such assaults. Many wealthy, great households were broken open, their families ruined and members perished, and their lands were opportunistically scooped up by others.

Those who could withstand the assaults of refugees and bandits all had sturdy earthen forts and wooden stockades, sufficient local militia and village braves, and quite possibly even the assistance of government troops. These remaining people formed their own systems, their word absolute within their own stockades, tantamount to independent kingdoms. Under such circumstances, the government might not even be able to protect itself, and was even more powerless against these overlords. Because of this, in most places in Shandong, there was truly no law beyond the city walls, even though not much law could be seen within the city walls anymore either.

Three parties in Shandong had reaped enormous benefits. Two were in the open, one in the shadows. The two in the open were the Kong Manor of the Duke of Yansheng and the imperial kinsman, the Prince of Lu. One was the descendant of a sage, a top-tier hereditary noble. The other was of the bloodline of the Son of Heaven, a first-rank imperial prince. Their estates were vast and their accumulations countless. No matter how severe the famine, it would not affect these two houses. Even if their stores were exhausted, the court and the local authorities would exhaust every effort to subsidize them.