MLMD -Chapter 83 Dodo Strikes

Dorgon was absolutely furious. His fifteenth brother—usually not stupid—had suddenly turned into a brainless idiot today. This made no sense. How did Fifteen look anything like a Beile of the Later Jin right now? He looked more like a stallion in heat—

…Wait.

A sudden thought struck Dorgon. The anger in his eyes instantly turned into sharp vigilance. He fixed his piercing gaze on Dodo again, and his heart gave a violent thump.
This is bad.

He could clearly see that although Dodo appeared to be raging with fury, his eyes were constantly locked onto Hailanzhu, who was seated beside Da Yu’er. Paired with that provocative expression mixed with infatuation, defiance, and stubbornness, he looked exactly like a youth who had fallen head over heels in love.

Dorgon was an extremely perceptive man. With this realization, he immediately understood the root of the problem. His useless little brother had actually fallen for Hailanzhu—this Hailanzhu whom he had met less than an hour ago. And after hearing that her fiancé had arrived, he felt upset and wanted to give the man a show of force.

Thinking this through, Dorgon immediately roared at Dodo,
“Fifteenth Brother! Remember who you are—you are a Beile, not some lowly slave! If you dare act so recklessly again, don’t blame me for ignoring our brotherly bond and locking you up! Now go back to your tent at once and reflect behind closed doors!”

From a rational standpoint, Dorgon’s handling of the situation was correct. Under normal circumstances, Dodo deeply respected his elder brother and would never disobey him. But Dorgon forgot one thing: no matter how high his rank, his brother was still only a nineteen-year-old hot-blooded youth—and when a hot-blooded youth decided to be unreasonable, reason itself became useless.

Thus, the moment Dorgon finished speaking, Dodo’s adolescent stubbornness flared up completely. His face flushed crimson, his nostrils flaring like bellows as he sneered,
“Just you wait—I’ll prove it to you! Those cowardly Han dogs are nothing but lambs we keep penned up. I only need five hundred iron cavalry to slaughter them all… I’ll prove it to you!”

With that, Dodo sprang to his feet and rushed out of the tent. Soon, a sharp, piercing whistle rang out, followed by the distant thunder of galloping hooves.

Dodo was gone, leaving only a few people in the tent staring at one another in shock.

Suddenly, Da Yu’er’s pretty face turned pale. She covered her mouth and cried out,
“Oh no! Fifteenth Brother must have gone to cause trouble! Fourteenth Brother, you must quickly take men to stop him—no matter what, you can’t let my sister’s fiancé be harmed!”

Her words instantly put everyone on edge. Zaisang stood up as well, his face dark with anger as he coldly addressed Dorgon,
“Beile Mergen Daiqing, today’s incident was provoked by your people. I’ll make myself perfectly clear—if my future son-in-law is injured because of Dodo, then don’t blame me, Zaisang, for showing no mercy.”

Although the Khorchin tribe relied on the Later Jin in many respects, and although Zaisang had married both his own younger sister and one of his daughters to Huang Taiji to strengthen their ties, that did not mean he would submit to the Later Jin unconditionally. Dodo’s actions had already crossed Zaisang’s bottom line. Today was the day another of his daughters’ fiancés had come to escort her for marriage—yet the Later Jin envoys, who were supposed to offer congratulations, wanted to humiliate his son-in-law on his own land. This was a blatant slap in the face. Even a living Buddha would lose his temper at that.

“I… I…” Dorgon opened his mouth wide, only to find that he couldn’t say a single word. This mess was entirely caused by his brother losing his mind. But what could he say? Surely he couldn’t tell Zaisang, “Oh, my brother also fell for your eldest daughter—he’s just jealous, please forgive him.”

If Dorgon dared say that, Zaisang wouldn’t even need to act. Once they returned, Huang Taiji would personally deal with the two of them. I couldn’t even get that woman, and you dare set your sights on her? That’s hanging yourself at the old god of longevity’s birthday—courting death.

At this moment, Hailanzhu, who had been silent all along, finally spoke. She looked coldly at Dorgon, her beautiful eyes brimming with authority,
“Beile Mergen Daiqing, we respect you as an envoy of the Later Jin and as a subordinate of my sister and brother-in-law. But again and again, you seek to trouble my fiancé. Do you really think that the warriors of Khorchin do not know how to kill? Sister—come. Let’s go out. I want to see who dares lay a finger on my husband-to-be on the grasslands of Khorchin!”

With that, Hailanzhu stood up and strode out of the tent. Da Yu’er shot Dorgon a fierce glare and followed her sister out.

Da Yu’er’s heart was filled with resentment. Today, she had lost all face. After years apart from her father and sister, they had barely exchanged a few words before people from her own side started threatening her future brother-in-law with violence. Where was she supposed to put her face now?

Outside the tent, Hailanzhu walked to her white horse, untied the reins, and leapt into the saddle. She immediately galloped westward, leaving behind only a fleeting white silhouette.

Zaisang rushed out and saw that Hailanzhu was already gone. He shouted anxiously,
“Udamu, quick—blow the horn and gather the warriors! Hurry and catch up—my daughter and son-in-law must not suffer even the slightest harm! Bumutei, come with me!”

Amid a burst of chaos, Zaisang also led his men in pursuit.

At this moment, Yue Yang knew nothing of what was happening dozens of li away. He was riding in the center of his convoy. Around him were carts heavily laden with goods. Five hundred infantry marched at the front and rear, with foot soldiers on both flanks. He could never have imagined that, on his future father-in-law’s land, a unit of Later Jin cavalry was charging straight toward him with murderous intent.

The March sunlight shone warmly on Yue Yang’s face. A faint fragrance of fresh grass drifted into his nostrils, filling him with a lazy, relaxed feeling. Looking at the massive caravan around him, a surge of satisfaction welled up in his heart.
Not bad—this time I really get to feel like a tycoon. Just the bride price alone filled hundreds of carts. Across the entire Ming, how many families could afford something like this? And more importantly… I’m marrying Hailanzhu. Hailanzhu! A woman I used to only admire in history books is about to become my wife. I’m proud. Damn proud.

Thinking of this, Yue Yang felt delighted beyond measure. Just as he was about to turn and order the convoy to speed up, a sharp blast of a military bugle suddenly rang out from ahead.

“Didi-da… didi-da…”

“Hm? What’s going on?” Yue Yang was momentarily stunned.

In this era, armies usually transmitted signals with ox horns or drums, as their sounds carried farther. At first, Yue Yang had used the same methods, but later he discovered that while ox horns carried far, their sound was too dull, and drums were far too cumbersome—few could lug around a drum weighing dozens of jin.

Eventually, he thought of modern military bugles. They were simple in construction, loud, and carried well. He tried purchasing a batch for his troops, and the results were excellent. Yue Yang promptly ordered their widespread adoption throughout the army.

“Sir, the scouts have reported—ten li ahead, a Later Jin force has been spotted charging toward us!”
Feng Xiaoming, who had just returned from Wu Chengfeng, rode up quickly and reported.

“Later Jin troops? Are you sure?” Yue Yang frowned immediately.

“Yes, sir. They are definitely Later Jin—according to the scouts, they’re all wearing Jurchen armor. In my humble opinion, they don’t come with good intentions.”
Feng Xiaoming spoke with visible tension. After all, despite being a military household soldier for nearly twenty years, this was his first encounter with the legendary Jurchens. Anyone would be nervous.

“Damn it—what kind of rotten luck is this?!” Yue Yang nearly cursed aloud. He had come to the Khorchin twice, and both times trouble followed. And each time, the enemy was the Later Jin. Was this fate?

There was no time to dwell on it. Yue Yang immediately issued orders,
“Shunbao! Order an immediate halt! Form all carts into a large defensive ring! Cavalry split into two units to guard the perimeter—everyone prepare for battle!”

“Yes, sir!”

The orders were swiftly passed down. Amid shouts and commands, the long convoy first came to a stop, then began moving in controlled chaos. Under the direction of drivers and officers, hundreds of carts formed a massive oval defensive formation. Inside the ring were hundreds of drivers and a thousand infantrymen. Wu Chengfeng led a thousand cavalry, patrolling around the formation, ready to engage at any moment.

Soon, amid thunderous hoofbeats, a Later Jin cavalry unit clad entirely in white armor appeared before them.

“Damn—it’s the Plain White Banner? Do I have some kind of grudge with the color white?”
Peering through his telescope, Yue Yang couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. Last time, Daišan had brought troops of the Bordered White Banner. This time, it was the Plain White Banner. Is white my lucky color or something?

His good mood completely ruined, Yue Yang turned to Shunbao and said,
“I’ll leave the rest to you. If those barbarians dare charge, then hit them hard.”

“Understood, Young Master! I won’t disgrace you!” Shunbao nodded fiercely, staring at the rising dust ahead.

“All personnel, attention—form three ranks! Load bullets!”

“Load bullets… prepare to aim!”

Inside the defensive ring, the shouts of officers rang out one after another…