Chapter 7: The War Begins (1)

  Zhu Yinglong never thought he'd have a heroic moment, but the girl he brought back, after cleaning up, was not only beautiful, but stunningly so, to the point where Zhu Yinglong's heart almost leapt out. Compared to his own sisters at home, Tian Jia, she wasn't inferior in any way, and might even be three points more beautiful. Considering her age, this girl he saved shouldn't be over 15 years old, and when she fully develops, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe her as a nation-toppling beauty.

  "Miss, what's your name, where are you from, and how did you end up falling into such a deep hole?" Zhu Yinglong asked the girl who had just woken up.

  The girl stared at Zhu Yinglong with wide eyes, not saying a word. Her eyes showed obvious fear, making people want to protect her and take care of her at first sight. A string in Zhu Yinglong's heart inexplicably moved, and a strange feeling rose up in his heart.

  Xiong Tingbi suddenly whispered in Zhu Yinglong's ear: "Your Highness, this woman is not simple, she seems to be the wife or concubine of some noble from Houjin."

  Zhu Yinglong's heart was hit hard, almost losing his composure, and he asked in a low voice: "General Xiong, how did you see through it? I thought she was only 14 or 15 years old, so young to be married?"

  "The king was not even fifteen years old when he married the queen, and for ethnic groups like Mongolia and Manchu, life expectancy is short. In order to carry on the family line, there are many girls who get married at eleven or twelve years old. Although our great Ming dynasty is a bit better, it is still stipulated that women must be married by sixteen years old, and if they are not married after this age, they have to pay taxes." Xiong Tingyi explained in a low voice.

  Zhu Yinglong stood there like a wooden stake, unable to think that in the Ming Dynasty there was such a strange law. It seemed he had to study "Da Ming Lü" carefully.

  Xiong Hu's spirits lifted a bit, after all, he was a martial artist, and his recovery was relatively quick. Wrapped in a woolen blanket, he walked in and saw his father and Zhu Yinglong whispering to each other, not knowing what they were saying. He asked suspiciously: "Dad, what are you two whispering about?"

  "No, nothing, we were just asking you about the origin of this girl you rescued." Xiong Tingyi hastily replied.

  "Father, look at you all, normally smarter than Liniang, what's wrong with you today? Didn't you see that the other person can't understand our language?" Xiong Hu complained.

  Don't understand the language? Zhu Yinglong and Xiong Tingxiu looked at each other, sighed simultaneously, and said: "How come we didn't think of that? We asked so many questions in vain!" Then they lifted the curtain and walked out together.

  "Your Highness, this woman seems to have a big background!" Xiong Tingyi whispered to Zhu Yinglong as he walked.

  "General Xiong, you said that someone who can marry such a beautiful woman as his wife in Hou Jin is at least what kind of person?" Zhu Yinglong asked.

  "At least he is also a Duwei!" Xiong Tingyi thought for a moment and said.

  "This king has a suspicion, Dolon and this girl have a great connection." Zhu Yinglong suddenly stopped his footsteps and said. Zhu Yinglong thought about it again and again, but felt that something was not right. According to historical records, this Liaodong campaign was a surprise attack, suddenly arriving under the city wall, Nurhaci relied solely on his own people, without borrowing the power of the Mongols. So Dolon's appearance in the Mongolian territory is absolutely not for the so-called alliance against the Ming dynasty. Then what is he hurrying to do? Judging from the four dead bodies of the Mongolians, it should be related to the Mongolians, specifically the Mongolians who are hostile to the Later Jin. A noblewoman of the Later Jin is actually with several Mongolians, and according to Xiong Hu's words, those Mongolians are not friends or relatives of the woman they rescued. Otherwise, the Mongolian who fell into the pit would not use his last breath to push Xiong Hu down the pit. It was an abandoned bear trap, surrounded by desolate mountains and wild ridges, obviously intended to kill the people in the pit. So he vaguely guessed that the identity of the woman they rescued is not simple.

  "The prince means that Dolgen rushed to our rescue with this woman. Xiong Tingbi immediately thought of the cloth strips scratched from the branches on the bodies of the Later Jin's Huangqi cavalrymen at the first place where bloodstains were found."

  "Enough to make Dorgon lead the chase himself, at least this woman's husband should have a higher status in Houjin than Dorgon, not lower." Zhu Yinglong said with certainty.

  "Who could it be? Nurhachi had fifteen sons, and except for a few young ones, each of them had many wives and concubines. There were at least ten or so who were around the same age as this woman, not to mention those who were older and more handsome. Moreover, we are completely in the dark about the situation outside, making it difficult to judge who this woman's husband is." said Xiong Tingyi.

  "Who could it be?" Zhu Yinglong also muttered to himself, actually he had already guessed one in his heart, but he really didn't dare to think about it, because that was almost impossible, the history he knew didn't have this page at all.

  "Your Highness, let's not think too much about it. If we meet Dorgon again, just acknowledge him and that will be clear." said Xiong Tingbi.

  "Return the person to him? What a cheap thing under the sky!" Zhu Yinglong said without thinking.

  Xiong Tingbi was stunned, could it be that he couldn't even leave someone behind? In this situation, with so few people, if others were to find out, would they still have the ability to leave them behind?

  "General Xiong, tell Liniang to change the woman into our uniform and disguise her so that no one can recognize her. Then issue a gag order to everyone: whoever spreads the news about us rescuing this woman will be punished by military law!" Zhu Yinglong turned around on the spot and gave orders to Xiong Tingbiao.

  It seems that Zhu Yinglong has made up his mind to keep this woman, but doing so is too dangerous, it's simply being obstinate. He wanted to use his last bit of energy to persuade him, saying: "Your Highness, I'm worried that..."

  The words had just been spoken when Zhu Yinglong interrupted, saying: "This matter is something that this king has a grasp on, General Xiong should still follow this king's orders!"

  Xiong Tingbi walked away helplessly, he saw from Zhu Yinglong's extremely resolute eyes that no matter how many reasons he gave, he would not change this decision, and besides, he didn't know if they would meet Dolon again.

  Zhu Yinglong stood facing the pitch-black night sky, lost in thought, right and wrong hanging in the balance of a single idea, hoping he wouldn't make a mistake.

  Zhu Yinglong once again walked into the tent of the woman he had rescued, Xiong Hu was covering her with a quilt, suddenly saw Zhu Yinglong come in, and hastily whispered: "She's asleep, don't make a sound!"

  Zhu Yinglong nodded and said softly: "Liniang, come out, I have something to say to you."

  The two walked out of the tent, and Xiong Hu stopped and said: "Your Highness, if you have something to say, then speak."

  Zhu Yinglong glanced unintentionally at the camp behind him and said, "It's too cold here, let's go to the bonfire instead."

  Xiong Hu thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

  "Ling Niang, I have an important task for you!" Zhu Ying Long said.

  "Please, Your Highness, I will do my best to complete it!" Lining replied in a formulaic tone, her face showing no emotion, now seeming like just a tool. Zhu Yinglong's heart suddenly ached, blaming himself, and said: "Actually, it's not a difficult task, just one thing, you keep an eye on this woman we rescued, remember, don't leak any secrets about us."

  "Lianiang knew." Xiong Hu's eyes fluctuated slightly, but eventually returned to calm.

  "That king can rest assured, you should go back to sleep too, we've been busy for half the night and we still have a long way to go tomorrow." Zhu Yinglong stood up and walked towards his own tent, but didn't notice that Xiong Hu hadn't gotten up and was instead sobbing silently on her knees, all of this fell into a pair of extremely spirited black eyes.