Treasure Chests Open! The Tatar Tribal Court!

"Open all treasure chests."

Zhu Ying gave the order at once.

"Host command received. Opening all treasure chests."

"Opening ordinary treasure chest."

"Obtained Yellow Tier Low-grade Azure Rainbow Sword."

"Opening Tier 1 treasure chest."

"Obtained one Mysterious Tier High-grade Heart-Protecting Pill," the panel announced.

"Azure Rainbow Sword? Cao Cao's personal sword? It's ranked—a good thing."

"Mysterious Tier High-grade—such a high level. Yellow Tier is the lowest among ranked items, followed by Mysterious Tier, Earth Tier, and Heaven Tier."

"To think I actually got a Mysterious Tier High-grade pill."

"Heart-Protecting Pill—what's it for?"

Zhu Ying's interest was immediately piqued.

He immediately withdrew the pill and checked its attributes.

Heart-Protecting Pill: Can preserve the heart meridians of one on the verge of death and keep their life force from extinguishing. The user will fall into a deep sleep and gradually recover their vitality.

"This doesn't seem all that useful."

"But it can save a life at a critical moment."

"A Mysterious Tier High-grade pill—in this world without cultivation, it is absolutely a true immortal elixir."

Looking at the Heart-Protecting Pill's attributes, Zhu Ying thought to himself.

Though it did not seem particularly useful to Zhu Ying, its rank was so high that keeping it would surely be beneficial. He directly placed it in his storage space.

"Azure Rainbow Sword."

"A ranked weapon—keep it for now. The two Fine Steel Sabers I have are still enough," Zhu Ying thought.

Jianzhou Tatar Tribal Court!

"Agunu, is this the result you bring to your clan chief?"

"Fifteen tribes, along with the previous few—nearly twenty tribes have all been bathed in blood by the Ming Army."

"Countless clansmen are dead or wounded. Their provisions, the cattle and sheep they raised—all were slaughtered and burned clean by the Ming Army. Even their water sources were destroyed by the Ming Army."

"Now the entire clan is suffering calamity, and you tell your clan chief that this is the result you brought our people?"

Aha Chu glared furiously at Agunu, who was kneeling inside the tent.

It was not just him.

Many Tatar generals within the tent were also glaring angrily at Agunu.

"Please, Clan Chief, grant me punishment," Agunu said in a trembling voice as he knelt on the ground.

"You... how do you expect this clan chief to deal with you?"

"This clan chief gave you sufficient troops. I originally gave you over thirty thousand men to guard the Blue Banner Tribe, yet with so many soldiers, you could not even defend the tribe."

"When the Ming Army attacked, your ten thousand cavalrymen gave chase only to be wiped out to the last man. Our clan now has no cavalry left to use and can only watch helplessly as our clansmen are slaughtered by the Ming Army."

"Tell me, how should this clan chief deal with you?"

Aha Chu stood up and pointed furiously at Agunu.

"This subordinate... this subordinate deserves death."

Agunu replied in a trembling voice.

"Yes, you do deserve to die."

"So many clansmen died because of you."

"Even your death would not be enough to atone for it."

Aha Chu pointed at him and roared.

"Clan Chief."

"This subordinate deserves ten thousand deaths, but I beg the Clan Chief to give me one chance."

"If I do not tear Zhu Ying and those Ming soldiers into ten thousand pieces, then even in death, this subordinate would have no face to meet those clansmen who died such miserable deaths."

"Please give this subordinate a chance."

"Even if you grant this subordinate death, this subordinate must avenge our clansmen." Agunu's face was resolute, filled with an intense desire for vengeance.

At those words!

The furrow between Aha Chu's brows eased slightly.

Then he said, "How will you deal with these Ming soldiers? Our clan has no cavalry left now. Even if we did, there are only the two thousand personal guard cavalrymen at this clan chief's side."

"Rest assured, Clan Chief."

"Your subordinate has already spread all our forces out."

"Every tribe has deployed its forces, and troops have been positioned throughout the surrounding area. So long as they dare raid a tribe, our clan's forty thousand soldiers can form an encirclement and wipe them out in one sweep."

"Even if they are cavalry, they will never be able to break through." Agunu spoke with absolute confidence.

"Good."

Aha Chu nodded. "Then I shall trust you one more time."

"Thank you, Clan Chief."

"Your subordinate will never disappoint you."

"Your subordinate will certainly present Zhu Ying's head to the Clan Chief." Agunu kowtowed deeply, filled with excitement and the relief of having survived a calamity.

At least this ordeal had passed.

"Zhu Ying."

"How could the Ming Kingdom have such a commander?"

"How much have you uncovered about him?" Aha Chu asked, looking at one of his subordinates within the tent.

"Clan Chief."

"This Zhu Ying is a commander of the Ming Kingdom's border army in Daning Prefecture. But he was not previously a commander there; he seems to have risen suddenly."

"Judging by his surname, Zhu, perhaps he is a member of the Ming Kingdom's imperial clan."

"Otherwise, he could not be so formidable." The Tatar commander under Aha Chu's gaze immediately replied.

"Is this the intelligence you gathered?" Aha Chu said coldly, clearly displeased.

"Clan Chief."

"The Ming Army's defenses are extremely tight, and our clan has great difficulty infiltrating them."

"Most of our people wear braids rather than loose hair, making infiltration even harder."

"This intelligence was all sent over by Great Yuan." The Tatar commander answered bitterly.

Among the Jianzhou Tatars.

There was an obvious difference between them and the Han Chinese of the Central Plains: they wore their hair in braids rather than loose hair. Seen through the eyes of the Han Chinese of the Central Plains, it was indeed quite ridiculous.

"The Ming Army's main force has now entered Daning Prefecture and is preparing to attack Grand Commandant Naha Chu."

"I wonder how Great Yuan will respond." Aha Chu said, his face filled with concern.

"Clan Chief."

"Grand Commandant Naha Chu has been urging our clan to send troops as reinforcements, but given the current situation, it seems our clan is powerless to do so as well," one commander said.

"Our clan is dependent on Great Yuan; naturally, we cannot offend them."

"Pass along this clan chief's order to Grand Commandant Naha Chu. Tell him to wait a little longer. Once we have dealt with the Ming Army that infiltrated our territory, we will immediately dispatch troops to reinforce him."

"I, Aha Chu, will never betray Great Yuan." Aha Chu spoke with a grave expression.

"Yes, Clan Chief." A commander immediately answered.

"Clan Chief."

"Now that the Ming Kingdom has taken the initiative to attack Great Yuan, perhaps... perhaps our clan should consider a second path." A somewhat hesitant commander stepped forward and said.

Aha Chu's expression changed, and he immediately shouted, "What do you mean? Do you want this clan chief to submit to the Ming Kingdom?"

"Your subordinate would not dare."

"But for the continuation of our people, I still ask the Clan Chief to think carefully," the commander said respectfully.

"Do not speak of this again."

"Our clan has already pledged itself to Great Yuan. You all know how powerful Great Yuan is. If our clan betrays them, Great Yuan will never spare us." Aha Chu spoke coldly, his eyes filled with deep fear of the Yuan Court.

Clearly.

For a small tribe like his, that was indeed the case.

The Yuan Court had once been the true overlord.

Although the Ming Kingdom had driven the Yuan Court out of the Central Plains, to the tribes of the Northern Frontier, the Yuan Court had always been the greater threat.

They had been utterly cowed by the Yuan Court.

Of course.

Perhaps there was also their own conceited pride. Back when the Yuan Court ruled the realm, the Han Chinese were the lowliest of all, while every other people stood above them. The tribes of the Northern Frontier more or less thought this way as well.

That was why the Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, carved out the dignity of the Han Chinese and restored Han might!

PS: Please keep reading; my deepest thanks. Muah.