"Ali, will the big shot at Liaodong Town be very cordial to me when he sees me? Who is he? Is he the Legion Commander of the Great Ming Liaodong Army or the High Priest who oversees administrative and fiscal affairs? Hmm? Or is he the Female Snake supervising military politics, directly answering to the Great Emperor?..."

"Indeed! Ancestors’ protection! Ancestor Shaman is exactly the Great Emperor’s ’Inner Eunuch Snake,’ stationed as the Guard Eunuch of Liaodong Town! The Inner Eunuchs of the Great Emperor are just like you, brave and mighty, and are beardless!"

"!... Brave Inner Eunuch Snakes?"

"Yes! Brave Inner Eunuch Snakes..."

Chief of Harman, Ali nodded heavily, with a face full of certainty. In this era, or rather, from Yongle all the way to the Chenghua period, the image of the Great Ming’s Inner Eunuchs was not of those effeminate villains without facial hair. Instead, according to Ming Taizu’s requirements, they were chosen as the emperor’s followers who had courage and strength and could ride horses into battle. Among them, those who were brave and skilled in warfare were appointed as the local Guard Eunuchs. These "Eunuchs" represented the emperor to "oversee a place," take control of military politics locally, and compete for tax revenue and financial power. Regarding personal image, they were far from being as disgraceful as the civil officials in charge of public opinion described.

"Witness of the Chief Divine! Emperor Taizong started from Yan, seized power through rebellion, and ascended to the throne. He trusted the warriors of the Northern Tribe more than the Civil Officials of Han Land and extensively employed brave Inner Eunuchs of various races. Around him were selected eunuch followers from various tribes, especially the largest numbers from the Jurchen and Mongolia backgrounds. Tribes like Duoyan Sanwei, Songhua River Jurchen, and Heilongjiang River Jurchen considered it an honor to send their sons to become Inner Eunuch followers of Emperor Taizong!"

"Some eunuchs led fleets out to sea in the south, while others managed the north, expanding into Mongolia and the Northeast... For example, setting up Nurgan Metropolitan Authority and expanding into the Heilongjiang River Basin, where the imperial eunuch Yishiha, born of the Jurchen Tribe, was Emperor Taizong’s follower. Moreover, the Imperial Horse Supervisor eunuch, Liu Shun, was also from the Jurchen Tribe, accompanying Taizong on five expeditions to the Northern Desert! Not to mention, the first Guard Eunuch of Liaodong Town, Wang Yan, born of the Jurchen Tribe, guarded Liaodong Town for thirty years. He returned to the Capital only in Yingzong’s reign, at the age of seventy..."

"Our Jurchen Tribe’s inner eunuchs have always played important roles beside the Great Emperor! In the Great Ming Court, civil officials continuously advocated abandoning the Northeast, while the Inner Eunuchs firmly supported managing and maintaining it. Until Emperor Xianzong ascended, civil officials gained power and persuaded the court to abandon Jilin Shipyard, completely retract from the upper Heilongjiang River, and cease selecting eunuchs from the Jurchen Tribes... Only then did Jurchen Eunuchs become water without a source and disappeared from the Great Emperor’s side..."

Speaking of this, Chief of Harman Ali sighed, showing regret on his face. For the various Shushu Jurchen Tribes, sending sons to serve as eunuchs for the Great Emperor was never seen as a scandal, but rather a great honor! Only when there were people beside the Great Emperor would the court’s policies slightly favor the Northeast tribes and consider their interests. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Similarly, becoming an inner eunuch was the only chance for the Sinicized tribes of the Northern Land, from the assimilated Duoyan Sanwei to the Hanized Shushu Jurchen Tribes, to enter the Great Ming upper echelons! Unfortunately, after Chenghua, the Civil Officials in the Great Ming gradually gained strength, eventually completely overpowering the Inner Eunuch faction and usurping the decision-making power of state policies. The inner eunuch’s basic foundation of northeastern expansion and management was thoroughly labeled as malevolent policies and completely abandoned! The impact of factional political struggles on imperial decision-making cannot be overlooked.

Without the Inner Eunuchs as political spokespersons, the Duoyan Sanwei and Shushu Jurchen Tribes lost their voice in the imperial upper echelons, lost their power to distribute interests, and became increasingly alienated from the Empire. Ultimately, under the duress of cold natural disasters, the Duoyan Sanwei completely turned to Mongolia, becoming the vanguard of the Mongolian left wing’s invasion of Liaodong and plundering of Han Land. The Shushu Jurchen Tribes became embroiled in chaotic warfare, with many rebelling against the Empire, even triggering the Chenghua Plowing Court. Behind these upheavals were both cold natural disasters and human factors within the court...

Of course, regarding the fierce struggle between civil officials and inner eunuchs at the Great Ming Court, and the contest over political discourse power behind it, Chief of Harman Ali knew little personally. But what he did know was that shortly after the court ceased selecting eunuchs from the Jurchen Tribes, the lower Heilongjiang River was abandoned, and the Harman Guard gradually reverted to its original state, eventually becoming impoverished Wild Man Tribes. Subsequently, the court completely retracted, completely abandoned Jilin Shipyard, and abandoned the entire Heilongjiang River, leaving the tribes as "masterless wild dogs." Since then, the court no longer managed beyond the border walls, nor the increasingly brutal infighting among the Jurchen Tribes, especially not selecting Jurchen Eunuchs...

"The grace left by ancestors fades away after three generations! But our Jurchen Tribe Eunuchs have been away from the Great Emperor’s side for less than three generations... After the first Guard Eunuch at Liaodong, the Jurchen-born Chief Eunuch, Wang Yan, the second guard eunuch was appointed during the Chenghua period, the Chief Eunuch Wei Lang, who was promoted by Wang Yan Eunuch... After Wei Lang, the third Chief Eunuch, Ren Liang, was appointed during the Hongzhi period! Guarding Kaiyuan Guard was the eunuch’s confidant, Inner Eunuch Luo Quan..."

"Ancestor’s protection! From the Fourteenth Year of Chenghua to the Eighth Year of Hongzhi, I have gone to Liaodong Town for tribute five times. During my first visit to Liaoyang City, I met the Great Emperor’s representative, Chief Eunuch Wei Lang. Ancestor Shaman, Wei Lang and you both appear courageous and wise! He comforted me and recounted some old stories about Eunuch Wang Yan. As for the last four visits, I met the Inner Eunuch Luo Quan at Kaiyuan Guard, to whom I repeatedly bribed to get armor through the border wall..."

"Ancestor Shaman! With such ancestral connections for us borderland Jurchen Tribes, the inner eunuchs beside the Great Emperor are far more approachable than the Liaodong Commanders or the civil officials in town who see us as barbarians! As long as there is enough kickback and bribery, the inner eunuchs are far more reliable than border generals or civil officials, and they will definitely honor their commitments!"

"Therefore, Chief Divine’s witness! Since you can afford so much gold, paving the way through the inner eunuchs is much more reliable than border armies or civil officials! At least, the Chief Eunuchs will not deploy troops to annihilate us as ’barbarians!’ Among all the powerful figures in charge of Liaodong Town, our Jurchen Tribe can only rely on the Inner Eunuchs, only trust them!"

"As for their capabilities, they are great indeed! As long as this path is paved, things like shipwrights are trivial, just a matter of checking a roster or erasing craftsmen’s records..."

"Hmm?! For our tribe, are the Inner Eunuch Snakes beside the Great Emperor really the most reliable? Can our gold pave the way to them? And they are quite capable; once they receive enough gold, they will act, unlike the civil official priests and border military officers who are untrustworthy, greedy, and fierce? This certainly seems to make some sense..."

Hearing the "connections" pointed out by Chief of Harman Ali, Zuwaro blinked and slowly nodded. The more he understood about the complex political structure of the Great Ming, the more he realized how little he knew.

Perhaps, he must really go to the Great Ming once to truly understand its political logic, which is entirely different from that of the Kingdom of the Lake and Mexica Alliance, before he can barely discern any pathways. And for now, the "Inner Eunuch Snake," this rare "breakthrough point" given by Ali, was noted in his mind! As viewed by the Great Ming as a "Wild Man" or "Barbarian," he indeed had no choice...

"Chief Divine’s protection! There’s over a year left to plan and contemplate going to the Southern Great Ming for tribute! And besides the southern Great Ming, the Southeastern Japan and the unreachable Korea... the last major power in the prophecy of Your Majesty is the Western Mongols, the Northern Yuan Tribe Alliance..."

Zuwaro pondered for a moment, putting his plan to visit the south for tribute and open trade with the Great Ming inside his mind. Then, he squinted his eyes, looking upstream at the Great Dragon River, past the Wusuli River estuary and Songhua River estuary, all the way to the west, that vast unknown land. According to Ali, this is the western upstream of the Great Dragon River, a wide-open mountain forest and grassland, capable of pulling out a legion of cavalry, the "Duoyan Three States Alliance!"

"Ali! You mentioned that to buy a large number of horses, cattle, and sheep, we have to go upstream to find this Duoyan Three States Alliance?"

"Correct! Ancestors’ witness! In the entire Hutong River Basin, the vast upstream grassland, tens of thousands of herds of horses are in the hands of these nomadic Duoyan Sanwei! And they have frequent intermarriage with our Jurchen Tribes, considered as their own, half Mongolian half Jurchen! At least, with our Jurchen Tribe identity, buying war horses, cattle, and sheep from their small tribes, is absolutely no problem!"