Jurchen woman Jilantai is eighteen years old this year.
She was the daughter of a Bagala warrior in the Zhenghuang Banner. She got married at the age of fifteen. Although her husband was not a Bagala, he was also wearing armor.
During the battle against Ye He's tribe, several Niu Lu came out of Zhenghuang Banner.
The intensity of the Jurchens' fighting against the Jurchens was no less fierce than the fighting between the Jurchens and the Ming people.
Jilantai's father and husband were both killed by Yehe tribe's warriors.
Jilantai had no children and no brother-in-law to marry, so her mother-in-law wanted to sell her to the same old bachelor in Niulu for a few buckets of grain.
Ji Lantai was so angry that when the old bachelor came to see her, he took the knife left by her husband and stabbed the old bachelor and her mother-in-law to death.
The leader of Zhenghuang Banner, Nurhachi, heard about it and felt that this fierce and decisive little girl could be used. After seeing her in person, not only did he not punish her, but he also asked Niu Lu'er to declare to the public that it was her mother-in-law who took the old bachelor to her.
They beat her to death and forced her to submit. Ji Lantai accidentally killed two people during the resistance.
Within a few days, Nurhaci said to Mang Gurtai, who had returned from robbing things in the Ming Dynasty: "After all, Miss Zaohua saved your brother, I have to thank her, so let's give her the identity of 'Yuding'
, under your Zhenglan flag. If she is honest and does her duty, and makes some meritorious deeds later on, then I can raise the flag for her. By the way, let Jilantai serve Miss Zaohua."
Mang Gurtai understood that Ji Lantai and another young man named Zakshan were said to be Mu Zaohua's slaves, but in fact they were used by his father to monitor this Han woman.
Mu Zaohua actually looked happy.
"I hate the Han people. The Han emperor and high officials made my family starve to death. The Han people want to eat me. The Han mistress is even more snake-hearted. I live with Jurchens, that's the best, and,
Sanbeile can also rest assured." Mu Zaohua said to Mang Gurtai sincerely.
When she met Ji Lantai, Mu Zaohua's closeness seemed to be more convincing.
"Jilantai, you are a good person. Those who force us to surrender to men we don't like should be chopped into pieces. In fact, I am as brave as you, but I am just a little bit unlucky. I did not kill the man named Zheng who I used to be.
Bad master, shoot him to death with one arrow."
Ji Lantai was also moved and tamed immediately, calling him "master" every time. It seemed that the Jurchens in turn called Han people "master", and there was no need to adapt to it.
In this early morning, when the wind carried a chilling tone, Jilantai ran into the house and reported excitedly: "Master! Master! The person who stole the medicine was caught!"
Mu Zaohua turned from the bronze mirror: "The one who was caught by Zak Shan? Is it a Nikan wrapper?"
"He's just a little beast from the Han family." Ji Lantai said without any hesitation, while observing the expression on Mu Zaohua's face.
Mu Zaohua squinted her eyes, pursed her red lips that had just been smeared with lipstick, and spat out the word in Jurchen dialect with an accent: "Little beast."
Then he turned his face back to the mirror, quickly combed Qitou's hair, and then stood up: "Let's go, take me to have a look."
Outside the tile-roofed house where Mu Zaohua lived, some bannermen and neighbors had already gathered around her.
Zakshan was holding a small gray-white linen bag in his hand, and at his feet was a skinny boy with a naked upper body.
It rained heavily last night and there is water everywhere on the ground today.
When the young man managed to raise his head, most of his face was covered in mud.
But Mu Zaohua still recognized him.
The young man's name is Zhang Da, and like his parents, he is the son of a Bajala who lives nearby.
Half a month ago, Hou Jin sent troops south to grab things near the Yalu River. Since the guerrilla general from Dongjiang Town in the Ming Dynasty named Mao was particularly good at fighting, Hou Jin did not dare to underestimate the enemy, and each of the several banners sent out many bagaras.
According to the rules of the Hou Jin Dynasty, all Baoyi slaves had to follow their masters to the battlefield. However, the Bagaras had many slaves and the Jurchen slaves were enough, so they left the Han Baoyi in their lair to continue working on crops to avoid the Han people.
When he got to the beach, he looked for an opportunity to escape.
At this moment, Zhang Da looked up at Mu Zaohua and begged in Chinese with a Jiao Liao accent: "Aunt, my mother has an intestinal disease again. She is rolling on the ground in pain. The elixir here, aunt, is the leftover dregs.
Give me some."
Mu Zaohua walked up to Zakshan.
"Master, this Nikan dog slave wrapped our medicine residue in his clothes." Zakshan carefully shook out the linen in his hand and showed Mu Zaohua a closer look, "He just admitted that the dregs of our medicine were wrapped in his clothes."
He also stole the medicine residue."
Mu Zaohua glanced at the poppy shell, then looked down at Zhang Da, and asked him in Chinese: "You want this medicine dregs, why don't you come to me to ask for it instead of stealing it?"
Listening to this familiar local accent, Zhang Da suddenly had the illusion that he would be pitied and forgiven.
But just when the radiance of hope was about to illuminate his eyes, the compatriot woman above his head suddenly changed her tone to a stern Jurchen tone and said loudly: "Whether it's stealing or begging, you Nikkan dog slaves, don't even think about it."
After taking this medicine, the divine crow soup, only the noble Khan and Zhu Beile can enjoy it. I will count the leftover medicine residue every time and bury it next to the Khan King's well. Zakshan!"
"The slave is here, Master." Zakshan responded excitedly.
"Just give him ten lashes to teach other Nikan slaves that a dog is a dog and don't try to get half of the master's good things. Oh, yes, but don't really beat him to death, otherwise, his Bajala master will beat him
When you come back from the battle and ask me for someone, I can only send you Zakshan there."
When Mu Zaohua said the last sentence, she patted Zakshan on the shoulder jokingly, and then said to Jilantai with disgust: "Go get a basin, put these medicine residues in it, wash it and bury it to remove the sweat."
Wang Jing, it’s disgusting that the Nikkan dog’s clothes are stained on them.”
"Yes, Master." Jilantai complied and took the bundle from Zakshan. When he turned and walked into the yard, he heard the sound of whips and the wails of Han teenagers coming from behind.
Mu Zaohua watched the execution process coldly.
Traces of blood, like ink dripping into clear water, spread all over the young man's body as quickly as possible.
On that night when the bell rang, was Mr. Wu also dripping with blood like this?
Mr. Wu, everything I did was right. I want to gain the trust of Jiannu. I want to work with my wife to avenge you.
Mu Zaohua used an ugly frown and an impatient grin to hide the ups and downs in her heart.
After the last whip was drawn, like a knight who could finally get on his horse and go on the road, she stepped forward and pulled the blood-soaked whip, rolled it up, stuffed it into her belt, and said to Zach Shan: "Go call his father."
Come here, mother, take him away. I’m going to Sanbeile’s place now to watch the craftsmen working on firearms.”
After saying that, Mu Zaohua glanced around at the whispering bannermen neighbors and left with a straight face.
…
"Master Zaofa, Sanbeile is talking to Dafujin. He will be here in a while. You have some tea first."
In the courtyard of Mang Gurtai, the leader of the Zhenglan Banner, the maid Axue came to the stone table with a wooden tray and respectfully served Mu Zaohua tea.
Mu Zaohua didn't need to read Ah Xue's eyes to understand that this Han girl had information to share with her, because she deliberately called "Hua" instead of "Fa", which was the secret code between them.
Mu Zaohua drank a few sips of tea, looked at the craftsmen in the courtyard who seemed to be concentrating on stirring the soil, stood up and said carelessly: "I asked Axue to accompany me to the latrine."
The two of them walked to the vegetable field a hundred steps behind the courtyard, where there was a dry toilet.
The surrounding area was empty, and vegetable farmers were working in the fields from a distance.
Mu Zaohua walked into the dry toilet and knelt down. Asue blocked the door and said quickly: "The Tatars didn't grab much food in the south, but they robbed North Korean merchants and brought back silver. Mang Gurtai said, let's
Dege took the money to Sarhu, and the Shanxi grain merchant he met at Xuanda University last year will find a way to get out of Fushun and deliver grain to the vicinity of Sarhu."
"when?"
"I definitely wanted to call back before it snowed, but Degerei said that he would wait until Fujin gave birth to his little brother before leaving. The two brothers had a quarrel and finally agreed to go at the end of the month, regardless of whether Fujin was born or not by then."
"Understood."
Mu Zaohua stood up and walked out of the dry toilet with Axue.
"Why are your eyes swollen? Are you crying?" Mu Zaohua asked.
A Xue said calmly: "I missed my sister at night. Yesterday was the Double Ninth Festival for us Han people. If she had been alive, yesterday would have been her wedding day."
Mu Zaohua fell into silence.
But Axue spoke again: "I talked to my sister in my dream. I told her that girl Zaohua cut the throat of the red-armored Tatar who bullied her and killed her and threw him off the cliff. My sister said
, let me follow the girl carefully and don’t be a coward. Girl Zaohua, it’s been the first time in half a year that my sister has come to my dream.”
"Well, your sister told you that she must have gone to a good family after she was reincarnated."
"I think so too, Miss Zaohua."
"When you miss her in the future, don't cry so hard. If you let others see it, you will become suspicious. Xue, crying is the most useless thing."