Chapter 65: Oh, He’s a Beile!
Chapter 65: Oh, He’s a Beile!
Covered in blood, Yang Xin swung his iron mace and crashed into the Jiannu forces who were about to strike the Mongolian cavalry from the side.
The latter immediately fell into chaos.
A commander stared at him in disbelief. Clearly, it was a shock to his worldview that someone could charge out so arrogantly from a siege by over a hundred cavalrymen. This shock deepened especially when he saw the trail of corpses behind Yang Xin. But at the same moment, a Garlic-Head Hammer Yang Xin had seized with his left hand whizzed through the air straight at the commander’s face. The man tilted his head to dodge. Amid the screams of a subordinate behind him who was struck, he brandished his Wolf-tooth Mace and charged at Yang Xin. Two men behind him simultaneously raised their bows and arrows, ready for a sneak attack. But Yang Xin had a dedicated archer behind him as well. Zhou Yuji fired two arrows in rapid succession, both hitting the two Jiannu squarely in the face.
Meanwhile, the commander’s Wolf-tooth Mace was already descending upon Yang Xin’s head.
Yang Xin thrust his iron mace straight at the commander’s chest.
The whistling Wolf-tooth Mace arrived first. Yang Xin’s left hand, which had just picked up an iron shield, instantly swung it out. The triangular spikes of the Wolf-tooth Mace pierced through the thick wrought iron plate of the shield but could not penetrate further through the two layers of wrought iron on the full iron armor covering Yang Xin’s arm. The force of the blow was stubbornly halted by the deformed iron shield. Although the impact forced Yang Xin’s arm to bend back, the nearest spike was still half a foot away from his head.
Almost simultaneously, Yang Xin’s right-hand iron mace stabbed into the commander’s throat.
The latter died with a frozen look of shock in his eyes, unable to rest in peace.
Yang Xin smashed the iron shield in his left hand, along with the Wolf-tooth Mace stuck in it, at a charging Jiannu. As that man was knocked down, Yang Xin let out a roar. His right hand raised the iron mace violently, forcibly lifting the man upward. Then, casually, he pulled out the saber from the man’s waist. While flinging the corpse aside, he completed one-tenth of the task Wanli had given him…
“Let’s go!”
He shouted to Zhou Yuji behind him.
By now, the Mongolian cavalry outside the mountains had completely scattered.
They certainly would not fight to the death.
This area was originally their pastureland; when meeting a strong enemy, they could just scatter and run. However, Nangnuke still led nearly three hundred riders into the mountainous area. Yang Xin, with his spoils of war, fought his way through wildly. Along with some of the rear-most Mongolian cavalry, he swiftly broke out before the main Jiannu force could completely encircle them and charged into the mountains. Once in the mountains, they were safe. This place was actually Banla Mountain south of Siping, the future site of the Bulituku border gate of the Willow Palisade in the original history. Dozens of miles deep in the mountain range, small valleys connected to form passages, eventually extending all the way east to Yehe City. This mountainous area was the border between the Mongolian herders and the Haixi Jurchens. The former lived on the grasslands, the latter in the mountains and forests; one group was nomadic, the other hunted and fished. But without exception, the land was vast and sparsely populated.
Yang Xin mixed in with the Mongolian cavalry and galloped for half a shichen before finally reaching the destination.
Yehe City.
“This city isn’t small!”
He remarked with surprise, looking at the three cities before him.
In front of him, separated by the Yehe River, on the elevated terrace of the eastern bank stood a large city comparable to prefectural cities within the passes. To be precise, it had four layers of defense: an outer wooden fence, then a moat inside, followed by an earthen wall with brick-lined gates, and innermost was the stone-walled Inner City. This was Yehe East City, where Jin Taiji resided. His nephew Boo Yanggu lived on the western bank’s hillside in a mountain fortress slightly smaller than the East City but with a similar layout. The East City had the river on three sides, with only the east facing mountains and forests. It had north and south gates, with the inner gate having a Barbican and corner towers. The West City had mountains and forests on three sides and the river on one side, with east and west gates.
There was another city to the south, but it was much smaller than these two.
“The Yehe Tribe has over ten thousand archers, the vast majority in these East and West Cities. Originally, the surrounding hundreds of li were theirs. There were many smaller outposts outside, but they have all been conquered and destroyed by the Jiannu.”
Zhou Yuji said.
What was before them was the West City.
Those coming from the west entered the West City first, exited the West City to cross the river to the East City. Those coming from the east entered the East City, then went south to that smaller city, namely Shanyan City. Dozens of li further south was Zhenbei Pass.
As soon as they reached the city gate, Nangnuke came out to meet them.
“You actually aren’t dead?”
He said in astonishment.
“Know him?”
Yang Xin said, lifting his trophy.
A boy who looked about thirteen or fourteen, with a rat-tail hairstyle, immediately stepped forward from behind Nangnuke. Then, with a questioning look, he turned to glance back at someone who appeared to be a Household Servant…
“Tongguo! Li Jia · Tongguo, a Niru Ezhen of the Plain Red Banner, a member of Wild Boar Skin’s stepmother’s clan.”
The Household Servant said.
“That will do!”
Yang Xin said, satisfied, and put it away.
Although it was also a nobody, at least he was related to Wild Boar Skin. A Niru was not a low rank. In these times, Wild Boar Skin didn’t actually have many Nirus under him; the Eight Banners were not yet the combined Manchu-Mongol-Han banners. To be precise, at this time, there were only the Eight Banners of Manchuria, which didn’t even include the ten thousand archers of the Yehe Tribe. And Wild Boar Skin mobilized all his forces at Sarhu with only sixty thousand men, which amounted to just about two hundred and twenty Nirus.
The look in that man’s eyes towards him immediately changed.
“Yang Xin. And you are?”
Yang Xin said.
“Ula · Chuonai!”
The latter said straightforwardly.
“This is Beile of the Ula Tribe. His father, Buzhantai, was persecuted by Wild Boar Skin to the point of clan extinction. Later, he was sheltered by the Yehe Beile and passed away with regret last year.”
Nangnuke added.
“Oh, he’s a Beile! I must say, this Wild Boar Skin is not only an enemy of our Great Ming but also a common enemy of all Jurchen tribes. How many peacefully living people have he caused to lose their homes and lives? Beile, rest assured, we will avenge this sooner or later. Military Commissioner Xiong probably has already reached Liaoyang by now. He was sent by His Majesty the Emperor to bring justice for you, Beile. As long as you hold fast to Yehe City, not only will Military Commissioner Xiong regroup the army and march north, even the army of our Mongolian brothers is on its way. This time, we will teach that troublemaker Wild Boar Skin a lesson! Then, escorted by the royal army of Great Ming, Beile will reclaim the lands that belong to you.”
Yang Xin said with righteous indignation.
One might say his way of saying “Beile” was almost as good as Shi Jinghai’s.
“Good, I have been waiting for this day! Brother Yang, please!”
Chuonai said excitedly.
“Please!”
Yang Xin said.
Thus, the group arrived at Yehe West City. By now, Yehe West City was a scene of busy activity. All the men had armed themselves at the fastest speed. The streets were filled with men putting on helmets and armor and mounting horses. Even the women were busy helping. However, by the look of it, they were not preparing to defend the city but to go out and meet the enemy in battle. Yang Xin paid no mind to this. Rat-tail fighting rat-tail—how delightful. Soon, he reached the Inner City and arrived at the Octagonal Bright Tower where Boo Yanggu lived.
At the same time, another group of people arrived.
These came from the east, led by an old man around fifty, with a rat-tail on his head.
Of course, everyone here had rat-tails.
“Grand Beile!”
Nangnuke stepped forward and said.
“Well done. Someday I must pay my respects to Baturu Zhaolik Hong. The Yehe Tribe remembers his kindness!”
The latter dismounted, stepped forward, and patted Nangnuke’s shoulder as he said.
Clearly, this was Jin Taiji. He was Zaisai’s father-in-law. Nangnuke and Zaisai were like cousins, so Chahua was considered a senior to Jin Taiji as well. Baturu Zhaolik Hong was Chahua’s formal title.
“Grand Beile!”
Yang Xin stepped forward, cupping his hands in greeting.
“I never thought Xiong Tingbi would still send someone!”
Jin Taiji looked at him, saying with some emotion.
“Grand Beile, since we are allies, we must act like allies. Regardless of how previous officials treated the Yehe Tribe, Military Commissioner Xiong will not abandon an ally.”
Yang Xin said.
“He is indeed different from others!”
Jin Taiji said.
Clearly, he had met Xiong Tingbi before.
“Grand Beile, this is a letter from Military Commissioner Xiong!”
Yang Xin handed him Xiong Tingbi’s letter.
Jin Taiji was clearly literate. He opened the letter directly, finished reading it, then put it away and led them into the Bright Tower. By then, his nephew Boo Yanggu had also come out, armored and helmeted. This man was the brother of the famously beautiful first beauty of the Jurchens, that supposedly troublesome woman Dongge. To be precise, he and Jin Taiji were uncle and nephew through cousins; his great-grandfather was Jin Taiji’s grandfather. As for Wild Boar Skin’s wife, Menggu Zhezhe, she was Jin Taiji’s own younger sister. But starting from Jin Taiji’s father, the rule of the Yehe Tribe was shared between the East and West Cities. Jin Taiji’s father and Boo Yanggu’s grandfather, who were brothers, both held the title of Beile. Jin Taiji succeeded his elder brother, and Boo Yanggu succeeded his own father, also their cousin Zhaibu. Therefore, the Yehe Tribe was still primarily led by Jin Taiji.
On the issue of meeting the enemy in battle, the uncle and nephew had no disagreement.
They both intended to fight.
Others could surrender to Wild Boar Skin, but what would their surrender mean?
In fact, when Wild Boar Skin attacked Kaiyuan, they had dispatched two thousand cavalrymen in an attempt to reinforce. They and Ma Lin had always watched out for and aided each other. But Kaiyuan fell too quickly, and Zaisai just watched from the sidelines. The Yehe force alone was meaningless, so they had to withdraw.
“But I believe we should not go out to fight. Both of you have elite soldiers and ample supplies. Both cities are similarly strong. Wild Boar Skin lacks siege weapons. As long as you hold firm, there is absolutely no problem. Moreover, Wild Boar Skin is short on grain. He only obtained some grain from Kaiyuan and Tieling, and that cannot feed his tens of thousands for long. Also, Zaisai has already received orders to reinforce you two. He will attack from the periphery. What Military Commissioner Xiong needs is just a little time. As long as you two can hold out for a month, Wild Boar Skin will have no choice but to retreat.”
Yang Xin said, acting like a dog-headed military advisor.
Although he would love to watch rat-tail fight rat-tail, under the current circumstances, it was best if the Yehe Tribe could hold out.
“Would my Yehe fear Jianzhou?!”
Jin Taiji sneered coldly.
“We meet them in battle! My Yehe warriors will fight Jianzhou to the death!”
He drew his sword, chopped it on the table in front of him, and roared heroically.
Boo Yanggu and several other leaders who had just been gathered together all let out equally heroic roars. Then, Jin Taiji, Boo Yanggu, and the others strode out proudly…
“They cannot surrender to Wild Boar Skin, but they cannot guarantee their subordinates won’t. If they fortify and defend, their subordinates might open the gates for Wild Boar Skin. Going out to fight offers some hope. If they just defend, forget a month, they might not even last through tonight.”
Nangnuke patted Yang Xin’s shoulder and said in a low voice.
“Huh?”
Yang Xin was stunned.
“Then why did you still come?”
He immediately asked, puzzled.
“Will Wild Boar Skin kill me? Zaisai alone is already enough of a headache for him. Does he really want our five allied tribes to fight him to the death? I’m just passing through!”
Nangnuke said with a smile.
Having said that, he simply walked away.