Chapter 51

Yueyang slowly walked to the front of the Jurchen army, and Li Yuan, who was standing beside him, was already nervously wiping his sweat.

However, observation was mutual. As Yueyang was carefully examining the Jurchen troops in front of him, Zaisang-Buhe and Dai Shan were also observing these two merchants from the Ming Dynasty.

Soon, Yueyang and Li Yuan approached Dai Shan and Zaisang-Buhe. As a merchant who frequently traveled, Li Yuan naturally had a set of social skills. He quickly dismounted, walked to Zaisang-Buhe, and bowed deeply, saying loudly, "Merchant Li Yuan from the Ming Dynasty greets the noble leader of the科尔沁部落, Lord Zaisang, and the noble lord from the Later Jin!"

As soon as Li Yuan finished speaking, a thunderous roar came from the side: "Bold Ming dog, why don't you kneel before the Great Prince and Lord Zaisang?"

This sudden loud voice, which in modern terms would exceed 100 decibels, startled Li Yuan, who was caught off guard, causing him to jump and stagger.

Although Yueyang was also startled by the sudden loud voice, he quickly recovered and quickly spurred his horse a few steps forward to support Li Yuan.

Yueyang frowned and looked at the Later Jin general who had shouted, saying coldly, "Who are you to dare insult the people of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Bold Ming dog, how dare you speak to me from the back of a horse! Get off and kneel immediately!" The Later Jin general, seeing Yueyang speak to him in such a tone, was so angry that he spurred his horse forward and drew his saber, pointing it at Yueyang.

Dai Shan and Zaisang-Buhe, who were watching this, did not intervene but smiled. They thought that this young merchant would be frightened into immediately dismounting and kneeling to beg for mercy, as they had seen many such people before.

However, what happened next was unexpected. The young merchant, upon seeing the Later Jin general draw his saber, did not immediately kneel and beg for mercy. Instead, he pulled out a small object from his neck and blew it hard.

"Beep... beep... beep..."

A sharp and piercing whistle immediately sounded.

As the whistle sounded, the guards of the merchant caravan in front began to move like awakened beasts. Soon, the sound of drums echoed in response, not far away.

Hearing the drumbeats, Dai Shan and the Later Jin general's faces changed. Both were experienced in battle and recognized the rhythm of the drums as a command for the troops to advance. This was clearly not a merchant caravan but an army!

The moment the whistle sounded, Shunbao and Hu Laosan, who were already paying close attention to the front, knew their boss was in trouble. Hu Laosan did not hesitate and immediately ordered the drummer to beat the war drums. The entire force quickly formed ranks and advanced toward the front, making the atmosphere between the two sides tense, with a sense of impending conflict.

Seeing this sudden turn of events, the Mongols were also confused. What were those people in front doing? Did they really want to start a war?

At this moment, Wudamu, who was still beside Li Yuan, also turned his gaze to his boss, Zaisang-Buhe.

Unlike the Later Jin general, who was flushed with anger and rage, and Dai Shan, who was somewhat surprised, Zaisang-Buhe remained calm. He gave Wudamu a slight nod and a shake of his head, indicating that this was not their concern and that he should quickly calm the troops.

Wudamu, understanding the situation, quickly spurred his horse and galloped toward their own battle formation, fearing that if he delayed, his warriors might really engage in a fight with the other side.

At the same time, the Later Jin general, both shocked and angry, shouted at Yueyang, "You Ming dog, what do you want? Do you want to start a war with us?"

Facing the Later Jin general's shouts, Yueyang was not intimidated. He spat on the ground and retorted, "Bah... you Jurchen slave... what are you shouting for in front of me? Do you think you're great just because you have a loud voice? If you have the guts, come and fight me! Let's see if I'm afraid of you!"

Yueyang's words made everyone around him fall silent, all looking at him with disbelief, as if they were seeing a madman or a dead man.

Li Yuan, who was already terrified, finally fell to the ground with a thud, completely frightened.

Despite the different reactions, everyone was thinking the same thing: "Is this kid tired of living, daring to defy these Manchus?"

Since the Battle of Sarhū 13 years ago, the Ming Dynasty's strategic posture toward the Later Jin had shifted from offensive to defensive. The Manchus, who once feared the Ming army, now treated the Ming with extreme arrogance, often using derogatory terms like "Ming dog" to refer to the Ming people. With the recent rise of the Later Jin under Huang Taiji, who first conquered the Mongol tribes and then formed alliances with large tribes like the科尔沁, the Later Jin's power grew stronger, and many Manchus became even more arrogant. Now, someone dared to call them Jurchen slaves to their face, which was like slapping them in the face.

Thinking of this, without waiting for the Later Jin general to give the order, many of the Later Jin soldiers already drew their weapons, ready to tear this audacious man to pieces.

The Later Jin general, who had probably never been insulted like this before, was initially stunned. After a moment, he roared and drew the tiger-head spear from his saddle, preparing to strike Yueyang. Yueyang, not to be outdone, drew a repeating crossbow from his saddle and aimed it at the general. A fierce battle seemed imminent.

"Stop!"

Just as the two were about to engage, Dai Shan shouted loudly.

"You two, stand down. Ao Bai, put away your weapon, and you young man, put away your crossbow!"

"You... you Ming dog, if it weren't for the Great Prince, I would have already turned you into minced meat!" The Later Jin general was furious, wanting to cut Yueyang in half, but he had to obey Dai Shan's command and could only glare at Yueyang and curse.

"Hmph... you would probably be a sieve before you could even raise your weapon!" Yueyang glared back, his repeating crossbow no joke, capable of piercing a wild buffalo's hide with its modern high-strength nylon bowstring and spring, and its steel-tipped arrows.

After glaring at each other for a while, both men reluctantly put away their weapons. As Yueyang put his crossbow back into the leather sheath on his saddle, he suddenly froze. His mouth moved a few times before he suddenly looked up and asked, "Wait... what did you say? You're called Ao Bai?"

The Later Jin general sneered, "What, is there another Ao Bai? I am Ao Bai of the Gūalgiya clan, from the Bordered Yellow Banner!"

Yueyang followed up, "You are the one known as the bravest warrior of the Manchus!"

"Um!"

Yueyang's words left Ao Bai stunned, and he immediately broke out in a cold sweat. The impact of Yueyang's words was too great. The title "bravest warrior of the Manchus" was not something to be called lightly.

Yueyang called him this because the name Ao Bai was very famous, influenced by Jin Yong's novels and historical records, which had firmly linked Ao Bai with the title of the bravest warrior of the Manchus.

However, Yueyang did not realize that his unintentional words had put Ao Bai in an awkward position. In the future, although Ao Bai was known as the bravest warrior of the Manchus, this title was only given after the Manchus entered the pass, when Ao Bai was already a highly decorated official and had been personally bestowed the title by the Manchu emperor. At that time, it was appropriate to call him that.

But now, it was different. The Manchus valued martial prowess, and since the founding of the Manchu state, no one had ever claimed to be the bravest warrior of the Manchus. Ao Bai was just a minor officer, and if a Ming merchant suddenly called him the bravest warrior of the Manchus, it would make his future very difficult, which was why Ao Bai was sweating.

Looking at Yueyang, Ao Bai wanted to strangle him. He gritted his teeth and glared at Yueyang, shouting, "You Ming dog, how dare you harm me! When did I ever say I was the bravest warrior of the Manchus!"

"Uh..." Seeing Ao Bai's menacing look, Yueyang realized that the Ao Bai of this time was not yet the future imperial regent, and the titles of Manchu hero and bravest warrior had not yet been bestowed upon him.

Just as Yueyang and Ao Bai were staring at each other, Dai Shan spoke up...

PS: Everyone, please give your votes for the Three Rivers recommendation and the book recommendation to Ah Ding!