nucmednet Chapter 537 The storm is coming
Chapter 537 The storm is coming
After the grand wedding banquet ended, the guests dispersed in twos and threes, and Liu Ye, who was already half drunk, was helped into the bridal chamber.
Liu Ye, slightly tipsy and feeling dizzy, sobered up considerably when he saw his bride, veiled in red, sitting upright. Regardless of whether it was a political marriage or not, the bride was a woman worthy of respect. Having been assassinated on the way to the wedding, nearly losing her life before even entering the bride's home—a pampered young lady from another family would have been crying and screaming—she remained calm and composed, handling the situation with grace. Upon arriving in Lingao, she uttered not a single complaint, demonstrating her understanding and sense of propriety.
He used the jade ruyi bestowed by the emperor to lift the red veil, revealing Lin Shiyue's delicate and elegant face to him.
Liu Ye smiled slightly: "In the past, you called me a lecher, but today you call me husband. There is no more strange twist of fate in life. My wife, do you regret it?"
Lin Shiyue's eyes were clear, her expression resolute: "You are the husband I chose, and I will never regret it. Until the mountains crumble, the rivers run dry, winter thunder roars, summer snow falls, and heaven and earth unite, only then will I part from you!"
She quoted this well-known line of poetry from the Han Dynasty folk song "Rao Ge," using the poem to express her feelings subtly yet firmly. Liu Ye felt somewhat ashamed; compared to her, his question seemed rather frivolous.
He said earnestly, "I was being presumptuous. It is my blessing to marry a woman as knowledgeable, reasonable, generous, beautiful and intelligent as you."
Lin Shiyue blushed slightly and picked up her wine glass. "Husband, let's drink to our wedding night."
When their arms met and their eyes locked, Liu Ye sensed Lin Wenjun's nervousness and shyness. Her wrists trembled slightly, and her face grew increasingly red. After finishing their drinks, inhaling the sweet fragrance emanating from her body and gazing at her delicate features and tender skin, Liu Ye's heart fluttered. He gently reached out and embraced her, carrying her to the bedside.
Lin Shiyue knew perfectly well what was going to happen next; her aunt had already instilled this in her through words and deeds. She shyly wrapped her arms around Liu Ye's neck and whispered, "Let's turn off the lights..."
Liu Ye obediently blew out the candle, plunging the room into darkness, with only the bright moonlight shining through the window.
After a long while, a groan mixed with pain and satisfaction was heard.
That evening, the South Garden was ablaze with spring colors.
In Northern Zhili, the fighting continues.
Ajige and Abatai split their forces into two groups to plunder. Ajige and Yangguli led their troops across Baoding and captured Changping, Dingxing and other counties, while Abatai captured Xiongxian and marched south all the way to Cangzhou, which was only a few dozen miles away from Dexian (now Dezhou) in Jinan Prefecture, Shandong.
Abatai plundered countless people and valuables, and was in the midst of a fierce battle when the army's commander, Ajige, sent someone to deliver an order, commanding him not to venture deep into the heart of Shandong, but to immediately head north to Shunyi to join him.
Upon hearing the order, Abatai inwardly resisted. He was engrossed in his looting and didn't want to risk Ajige's wrath. Although the captured able-bodied men and plundered goods would be handed over for distribution upon return, those he personally seized would naturally receive more able-bodied men, increasing his own number of bondservants and thus his power. Following Ajige would diminish his merits and reduce his share of bondservants. However, the Later Jin's military discipline was extremely strict. Even though both he and Ajige were sons of the Khan, disobeying orders would inevitably result in severe punishment upon returning to Shengjing.
After dismissing the messenger cavalryman, he was in a state of agitation and sought advice from Jia La Ezhen Gartu of the Plain Blue Banner, who had accompanied him on the expedition.
Abatai was originally a minor banner lord of the Bordered Yellow Banner. Later, in order to consolidate his Khanate, Huang Taiji reorganized the two White Banners and the two Yellow Banners. He himself was transferred from the two White Banners to the two Yellow Banners, while Dorgon and Dodo were transferred from the two Yellow Banners to the two White Banners. His son, Hauge, became the banner lord of the Plain Blue Banner. Abatai was also incorporated into the Plain Blue Banner, with five Niru (military units), and became a minor banner lord of the Plain Blue Banner. Gartu was his direct subordinate.
Gartu offered him a suggestion: "Your Highness, there's a saying among the Han people: 'A general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders.' We're already in Shandong. We can find any excuse to enter Shandong, make a quick buck in Jinan Prefecture, and leave. It won't take more than a few days, and Prince Wuying won't be able to say anything..."
Abatai understood his meaning. There was a time lag between receiving the order and breaking camp. As long as a plausible reason was found, the time to break camp could be extended from one or two days to three to five days, or even seven or eight days. Given the fighting strength of the Ming army in the interior, seven or eight days was enough time to accomplish many things.
He hesitated and asked, "What kind of reason should we give?"
Gartu chuckled: "Just say that the Ming army in Cangzhou and Jinan resisted and killed dozens of my Great Jin warriors. In order to uphold the dignity of Great Jin, we specially stormed into Jinan and severely punished the Ming dogs."
After the Battle of Hunhe, the Ming army in the interior no longer had any decent military strength to resist the Later Jin's iron hooves. Dozens of people were killed or wounded, which was already a considerable loss. It was understandable to retaliate for this. Abatai thought it made sense and nodded, saying, "Let's do it this way. Break camp immediately and enter Jinan Prefecture."
More than 10,000 men, including the Later Jin army under the Zhenglan Banner, the Mongol Eight Banners army, the Han army auxiliary troops (the Eight Banners Han army had not yet been established at this time), and bondservants, marched into Jinan Prefecture in a mighty force.
After two years of rebellion by Li Jiucheng, Kong Youde, and others, Shandong province had few troops capable of fighting the Later Jin. The newly formed troops during Zhu Dadian's reign had been taken to Fengyang, and after their training in the Battle of Hezhou, they had become the backbone of the Dengzhou General's forces. At this time, Jinan Prefecture was virtually undefended for the aggressive Abatai. In just a few days, Abatai led his army through the entire prefecture, capturing all but the prefectural city, which held out thanks to its high walls. Having tasted victory, Abatai, on Gartu's advice, attempted to advance towards Qingzhou, hoping to maximize his gains.
Guangrao County, Qingzhou Prefecture.
Ma Wei, mounted on horseback, peered through his monoculars at the distant dust cloud. He had been leading his cavalry in pursuit of the bandits for four days. Thanks to the cavalry's superior mobility, he had covered Laizhou and Qingzhou in four days, pursuing them for fifty or sixty li each day. The bandits remained unshaken, suffering heavy losses along the way.
However, the enemy was determined to run away. Since everyone has four legs, it was not easy to completely annihilate them. Moreover, the cavalry battalion had fewer men than the enemy, and they were all new recruits whose horsemanship was inferior to the enemy's. It was already quite good that they were able to keep up with them.
One of his men suggested, "We've been chasing them for several days, and our rations are almost gone. Everyone is exhausted, and the supply lines along the way aren't cooperating. Why don't we just turn back? We've already fulfilled the governor's orders by driving these bandits out of Laizhou."