MLMD -Chapter 220 The Tatars Are Coming

“Leave them behind?”

Saqintu curled her lips. This time, she finally didn’t interrupt, only making a small gesture that perfectly matched her mood.

In fact, it wasn’t just Saqintu. Even Namuzhong and Uyunna—who least wanted to deal with the Jurchens—had doubts about Yue Yang’s words. In their view, it would already be remarkable if, by joining forces with the Ming, they could drive the enemy away. As for keeping them here, that was something they didn’t even dare to imagine. After all, over the years, the Jurchens’ fearsome reputation had carved itself deeply into their hearts.

Although they didn’t say anything aloud, Yue Yang could see it all in their expressions. Without changing his expression, he said, “Actually, I never thought about keeping all of them here. But leaving a few thousand behind and giving them a profound lesson—that should still be achievable.”

“Bragging so shamelessly—aren’t you afraid your words will burst like a bubble?” Saqintu rolled her eyes and became even more unwilling to speak.

Yue Yang understood their attitude. Over the years, the pressure the Jurchens had put on them had been immense—something that couldn’t be erased overnight. The only way to dispel fear was to fight a decisive victory head-on. Cruel facts were far more convincing than a thousand flowery words.

His eyes flickered as he said, “I know you probably don’t have much confidence in what I’m saying. How about this—according to what I know, the Jurchens will arrive here tomorrow or the day after. When that happens, we’ll fight them first. After that, you can decide whether or not to cooperate with us. How does that sound?”

“Excellent!” Namuzhong, the other consorts, and the generals of the Chahar tribes nodded repeatedly. Once the Jurchens arrived, letting the Ming troops fight first while they watched from the sidelines—win or lose, it wouldn’t concern them. Why not enjoy the spectacle?

Looking at their expressions, Yue Yang sneered inwardly.

So you want to sit back and watch the tigers fight?
I’m afraid you won’t be smiling then.

“Doro Dafujin, if you have no other objections, then it’s settled. When the Later Jin army arrives, we’ll take the lead, and you’ll be responsible for covering us,” Yue Yang said, pounding his chest loudly, looking every bit like a fool with more money than sense.

No matter how times changed, fools were always welcome. Yue Yang’s “rich fool” act was naturally met with warm enthusiasm from the Mongols. Even Saqintu, who usually disliked him, looked at him a bit more kindly.

In the end, both sides concluded the meeting in a harmonious atmosphere. When Yue Yang left the tent, Namuzhong and the others even personally escorted him to the entrance.

The sky gradually darkened. On a stretch of grassland east of the Chahar encampment, a fortified camp had already sprung up. Inside, squads of fully armed soldiers patrolled back and forth. Outside, deer antlers, chevaux-de-frise, and rows of iron caltrops formed a solid defensive perimeter.

After dinner, Yue Yang strolled slowly across the grassland with his hands behind his back. Behind him followed Shunbao, Wu Chengfeng, Chu Di, Feng Xiaoming, Chen Zhi, and the other generals.

After walking for a while, Yue Yang finally stopped. Pointing at the setting sun about to dip below the horizon, he sighed deeply. “Gentlemen, look. More than two hundred years ago, this land was farmland tilled by our Great Ming people. Any Ming citizen here could farm in peace. But two hundred years later, we’ve been forced to retreat behind the Great Wall, clinging to city walls for survival—eventually not even daring to step outside the Wall. If our forebears like Chang Yuchun and Xu Da knew of this, they’d probably be furious enough to die all over again!”

No one spoke. Their expressions varied. At last, Feng Xiaoming said, “My lord, this can’t entirely be blamed on us. Back when I served under Lord Cheng Minghui as a night scout, we often went beyond the passes. People say soldiers live by licking blood from the blade; night scouts are even worse—we carry our heads on our belts. Every time we went out, brothers wrote farewell letters and arranged their affairs. And every time, some never returned. Yet the court’s compensation was pitiful. Many of their orphaned daughters ended up as secret prostitutes. That’s why I resigned in anger and returned home.”

The group fell silent. Finally, Shunbao patted Wu Chengfeng on the shoulder and comforted him. “Commander Wu, don’t dwell on it. Aren’t we doing pretty well now? Good pay, and the lord even gave us land. Didn’t your old mother start pestering you about arranging a wife recently? What more could you want?”

Wu Chengfeng’s face instantly turned red. After a moment, he said awkwardly, “Well… that’s still far from settled. It’s not that quick.”

“Hahaha…”

Everyone laughed, and the atmosphere lightened considerably. Yue Yang also laughed and shot Shunbao a glance. “You’ve got some nerve talking about others. I heard that when you were in Yingzhou Prefecture recently, you were always visiting the Li household. Did that old fox promise you something?”

This time it was Shunbao’s turn to blush. “It’s nothing much. Elder Li… Li the landowner plans to marry his second daughter to me. I thought I’m not young anymore, so it’s time to start a family. I was just about to tell you.”

“Elder Li? You mean Li Yuan?” Yue Yang nodded lightly. “That fellow is quite good at currying favor.”

Seeing that Yue Yang didn’t seem fond of Li Yuan, Shunbao’s heart skipped a beat. His face changed, and his old form of address slipped out. “Y-young master, if you’re unhappy with this match, I’ll go back and cancel it immediately!”

“What? Cancel the engagement?” Yue Yang was stunned for a moment, then laughed and scolded him. “Nonsense. Once an engagement is set, how can you just cancel it? Besides, when did I ever say I was unhappy? I’ll tell you this—after this battle, go back and get married quickly. Learn from me, got it?”

“Yes!”

Hearing that Yue Yang didn’t oppose the marriage, Shunbao finally relaxed. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and happened to see Wu Chengfeng, Feng Xiaoming, and the others wearing half-smiling expressions. He glared at them, silently vowing to settle accounts later.

What Shunbao didn’t know was that while the others found it amusing, they were also secretly alarmed. They had all seen it clearly—Yue Yang’s casually released authority had frightened the usually imposing garrison commander of Yingzhou into such a state. That alone was unsettling.

After lingering a while longer, Chu Di asked, “My lord, I heard you agreed today that when the Later Jin troops arrive tomorrow or the day after, we’ll take the lead, while the Mongols watch from the sidelines. Is that true?”

“Do you have a different opinion?” Yue Yang admitted calmly.

“I don’t understand,” Chu Di nodded. “Why should we fight the Tatars to the death while the Mongols just watch? We’re here to help them, but there’s no need to risk our lives for them like this, is there?”

Yue Yang smiled, glanced around at everyone, then said lightly, “Advisor Chen, explain to Commander Chu why I did this.”

“Yes!”

Chen Zhi cupped his hands to Yue Yang before speaking. “In my view, my lord’s actions were actually forced by circumstance.”

“Forced?” The doubts in everyone’s eyes deepened.

“Precisely,” Chen Zhi nodded firmly. “You all saw it today—the Chahar tribes have no will to fight. If we force them into battle against the Eastern Tatars tomorrow, they’ll likely collapse not long after. Even if they send more troops, it would be useless. Worse, their rout could damage our morale and disrupt our formations. In that case, we might as well cut them out from the start and fight on our own. That way, we avoid constraints and also earn goodwill from the Chahar tribes. Why not?”

“Oh… so that’s it!”

Everyone suddenly understood. As commanders, they all knew that fighting alongside unreliable allies who might cause trouble at any moment was worse than not having them at all. Once battle began, if such allies collapsed, they could shatter morale and throw formations into chaos.

Seeing that everyone understood, Yue Yang nodded slightly. In later generations, there was a vivid saying for this situation: You’re not afraid of godlike opponents—you’re afraid of pig-like teammates.

In truth, an ally’s rout wasn’t what Yue Yang feared most. What he feared most was that if they fought alongside the Mongols, those Mongols might stab them in the back mid-battle. That possibility wasn’t just hypothetical—it was highly likely. One only needed to look at another timeline, where the entire Chahar tribe defected without hesitation to Hong Taiji, to know that.

At that moment, Wu Chengfeng suddenly pointed ahead and shouted, “My lord, our night scouts are back!”

Yue Yang looked over and smiled broadly, waving his hand. “Let’s go. See what news the night scout brothers have brought us.”

Soon, the scout was brought before them. Panting heavily, he saluted. “This humble one greets Lord Yue and all the lords.”

An impatient Wu Chengfeng said, “Enough with the formalities. Tell us—what did you find?”

The scout took a deep breath before reporting. “My lord, fifty li ahead we clashed with over a dozen Eastern Tatar scouts. We lost three brothers, but we wiped them all out and captured a tongue. According to his confession, Yue Tuo, Dorgon, and Hauge are leading over twelve thousand Tatar troops, and they’ll arrive here tomorrow. It’s said that Hauge also declared that if the Chahar tribe doesn’t surrender, he’ll slaughter them to the last chicken and dog!”

“Heh…” Yue Yang sneered. “That Hauge certainly has quite the swagger.”