Chapter 2005: Chapter 1465: In the Cold Forest, the Wild Man Moves Through the Darkness!

In the late 15th century, the era of great cold began to descend from the far north of Siberia. Countless tribes of Wild Men migrated southward, bringing chaos and slaughter to the vast battlegrounds of Outer Northeast.

Of course, the invasion-like chain impacts of the Barbarians are still confined to the vast Heilongjiang River Basin, limited to the conflicts among the Tungusic Tribes. The borders of Great Ming Empire’s Liaodong Town remain as impregnable as the Great Wall for all the Jurchen Tribes! And the tens of thousands of Liaodong Official Army on the border wall are overwhelmingly powerful. They wantonly command the submissive Shushu Jurchen Tribes, like a master commanding the most obedient and loyal hunting dogs!

According to history, the "loyal" Shushu Jurchens would endure under the Empire’s protection for 120 years. From Mongolia to Korea, they fought valiantly for the Emperor of the Empire. Until a century later, when the hunting dogs turned into packs of wolves, cautiously probing back, they suddenly realized the powerful "master" who commanded them had abruptly aged in the most terrifying of times...

"Maha Agudah Chieftain, we recognize your bravery! You are the qualified hunter, the ’Great Niuhulu’!... These six cavalry horses and armors are yours!..."

"Haha! Wuzhe Chiefs! A Great Niuhulu can only claim six horses among three Nu’erhas? Such a meager prize cannot satisfy my many warriors!..."

"!..."

Upon hearing Maha Agudah’s call, the three Forest Tribe chiefs displayed ferocity of the Wild Men on their faces. They exchanged glances, spun their horses, and retreated beyond the range of Maha Agudah’s giant bow. Then, led by Wuzhe Aguda, they responded.

"Great Chief of Maha Tribe! What do you want? This ’prey’ by the riverside was defeated by our Forest Tribe! You cannot take away meat that is already in our mouths! Even if a riverside wolf fights well, it cannot defeat three wild boars in the forest!..."

"Indeed! Great Chief of Maha Tribe! You are as mighty as a tiger, a skilled archer with three large ships taller than trees! We cannot rival you in archery, nor can we climb your large ships...But your ships cannot carry cavalry! Your warriors cannot descend to reach the edge of this village!... As long as we retreat a li, away from the narrow riverbank, our cavalry can charge! No matter the number of terrifying armored bowmen, you cannot break through the few li to enter the village and rob us!...

"Exactly! Even down to a sack of barnyard grass, an iron pot, an iron arrow... these belong to our Wuzhe Tribes! In the woods behind, there are our migrating Great Tribes, and many more warriors! With just two days, we can empty this village, not leaving even a chicken for you!...

"The Chief Divine watches over us! So let our bows and axes show who the true warriors are!..."

Hearing the Forest Chiefs’ reply, Maha Agudah’s expression turned cold again. He raised his bow once more, aiming at the wild cavalrymen by the riverbank. Meanwhile, Maha tribe’s heavy bowmen on the ship howled like wolves, switching to long-range war arrows.

"Awooo! Get closer and shoot down their horses!..."

The poverty-stricken Wild Men Jurchen Tribes act impulsively, turning hostile for the smallest reasons, ready to slaughter for even a chicken or a mouthful of food, much less a wealthy village. These Wild Men Tribes rely on two formidable weapons for survival; their fearless barbarism and impoverished fierceness which exceeds even the Caribbean Tribes armed with poison arrows!

In this era, the Great Ming Border Army of Liaodong Town still inherits some customs of the Yongle Period, maintaining proactive valor beyond the border. They often raid the northern tribes during spring when livestock breed and horses are weak. They have very practical assessments of the tribes beyond the border wall.

Among them, Mongolians are the "number one bandits," as the court rewards a Mongolian head equal to three Jurchens. Mongolian Tribes are easier to fight when loose, but once mobilized and gathered, they become troublesome and dangerous. Once encountered by large raiding party cavalry, escape is impossible!

However, Mongolian Tribes have much livestock. If they can bring back some horses, cattle, and sheep, along with the court rewarded "heads," a raid beyond the border can earn a considerable sum. At the very least, it’s much better than "Monthly Pay of Six Dou," amounting to only five or six taels a year, yet to be deducted by the superior by thirty percent, which is far better!

Upon surviving two or three raids beyond the border, the Liaodong Border Army could save enough money to buy a house, take a wife, and extend their family bloodline! With better luck, they might bribe an official, taking their descendants off the military household registry to become civil registry...

Ordinary Shushu Jurchens are even poorer than the Mongolians. They only have some furs, mountain goods, while taking advantage of the Military Supervisor who turns a blind eye, deducts most rewards, they can barely stick on the label of "bandits" with heads. Fortunately, when facing the fierce Liaodong Border Army, the ordinary unwed Shushu Jurchen Tribes dare not resist, ready to let the Ming Army rob them. As for harvest, forget about a wife, having enough for the brothers to eat and saving some money for drinking is as good as it gets.

As for the more northerly migrating Shengshu Jurchen Wild Men, encountering them on uncertain terrain is like asking for bad luck! These impoverished, fierce wild men, upon bumping into each other in the restricted view of the woods, you’ll immediately know life and death upon meeting with an arrow first. In small scale battles, they are tougher than Mongolians and critically provide hardly any valuable "loot!"

Surely, they could not collect their broken bone ornaments to forcefully sell to merchants at military towns for some copper coins for boozing, right? However, which merchant doesn’t have a couple of Commanders or even Military Supervisors backing them? Therefore, fighting Wild Man Jurchen tribes is purely a money-losing deal. Just like tigers seeing a field full of crabs, shaking their head and passing by reluctantly!

What? You say Wild Man Jurchens have two thousand jin of gold in their hands? Haha! Perhaps it’s just hunger striking year round, endlessly dreaming absurdly for salary? Do you know what two thousand jin of gold means in Liaodong borderlands? That’s over thirty thousand taels of silver, enough for sixty thousand Liaodong Border Army’s yearly salary, it’s very tangible hard currency, not some treasury banknotes offering a discount!

If it’s really such windfall, revealing wealth in the Wild Man Tribes... Needless to say! Three thousand house servant cavalry, dressed in iron armor, ready to go beyond the border, immediately, right away, arrange!

Of course, generally speaking, without strict orders from the court, and failing to issue sufficient salary for the start, the Liaodong Ming Army almost never appears north of Ta Mountain Guard (north of Harbin). As for those court-sanctioned Jurchen Guard Stations at the middle and lower Heilongjiang River, their life or death matters even less to them. In their eyes, those tribes sanctioned thousands of miles away are not much different from the Wild Man...

And the main reason for the Ming Army to appear in the vicinity of Ta Mountain Guard is still because of the deadly enemies of the Empire, who at any time can rally two hundred thousand cavalry, and strike out in three directions—Mongolian Tribes. The duty of the Liaodong Ming Army is primarily to scout the left wing of Mongolia, especially the Northwest Liao inclined towards Mongolia like Tai Ning, Fuyu, Duoyan Sanwei. They need to fight off the Mongolian roving cavalry emerging from time to time, preventing Mongolians from encroaching into Liaodong.

As for now, to find a place truly guarded by the Liaodong Ming Army, one probably needs to head south until reaching the recently abolished "Jilin Shipyard" area, slowly being handed over to the interior Haixi Jurchens—the "Wula City"...

"Aguda! Don’t act rashly!... Tell them like this..."

Seeing the cold fierce face of Maha Agudah, angry like a tiger, Zuwaro reached out his hand, gently pressed down the arm of his brother-in-law holding the bow. Then, he whispered a few words to Maha Agudah, causing his opponent’s eyes to widen and his expression to change.

"Zu! Do you really intend to trade these good things for those useless population and women and children?..."

"Yes."

"With our ship loaded with so many people, we won’t be able to advance, only return!"

"Yes."

"Divine Chief! So many mouths to feed, can the tribe on any islands in the east support them?..."

"Divine Chief bears witness! Aguda, trust me! These people, in your hands, cannot be sustained and must be expended... But in my hands, there’s a way to make them grow food!... If that doesn’t work, they can rear poultry or go out to sea to fish. Even they can continue south, forcing the Japanese tribes to exchange more rice!..."

Zuwaro’s lips curled into a smile, with a peculiar confidence in his eyes, a confidence given by the Divine Chief. This confident glint seemed like the dawn light in the forest, causing Maha Agudah, who had long been accustomed to the cold of White Mountain Black Water, accustomed to the cruelty of dark forests, to lose his focus for a few moments.

"Alright! Alright!... Blessed by the Divine Chief who can make food! Zu, I really don’t understand you, always trying every possible way to gather people, unlike any other tribe..."

Maha Agudah grumbled and muttered a few words, then turned his head like a tiger. He glared at the three vigilant Wuzhe Chiefs on the shore, took a deep breath, and roared again like a Northeast Tiger.

"Chiefs of the Forest Wuzhe! We don’t want food from the village, nor do we want ironware from the village! Not even a single chicken!..."

"We want your captives that can’t be fed! We want those captured populations and women and children, as many as there are, we want them all!..."

"With the witness of the ancestors! We can bring out iron-heavy spears and axes, iron arrowheads, and valuable iron pots to exchange for captives that cannot be fed!..."

"Even! We can help you treat the wounded warriors of your tribe! Those severely injured warriors that cannot be taken away can also board our ship and be taken back to our tribe for treatment... Allow the souls of the ancestors to give them a chance and decide the direction of their souls!..."

"What?! You only want people?!..."

Hearing these conditions, the three Wuzhe Chiefs’ eyes widened in shock, like startled Nu’erha Wild Boars in the forest, full of incredulity!