Amin could not believe it.
Great Beile Daišan was the first to step forward. He knelt and said, "The Great Khan's true feelings have moved us deeply. The Eight Banners have repeatedly defeated the weak Nikan Southern Dynasty only because we stand united."
Soon afterward, the many nobles of the Eight Banners all knelt as well.
"Good. Please rise. We must stand united. The Eight Banners were founded through war, and we sustain ourselves through war."
"From this day onward, any who dare to fight, whether Han, Manchu, or Mongol... the brave among them may be admitted into my Eight Banners."
"Pass down the order. This shall become a regular practice. Selections will be held every month."
"In the past, only after great battles could someone be raised into the banners. From now on, evaluations will be held monthly. All who are brave shall be admitted, while cowards shall be expelled from the banners and reduced to Booyi!"
Huang Taiji spoke again.
Everyone immediately knelt and answered in unison.
In truth, cowards had previously been beheaded outright.
Those who fled before battle, or who dared not face the enemy despite being no weaker than them, were also beheaded.
And these were real executions. There was no pleading for mercy.
Only twenty years later, when Southern Ming, Great Shun, and Great Xi were no longer threats and external pressure had greatly weakened, did harsh military discipline lose its basis for maintenance.
Once people began to drift apart, the Eight Banners rapidly decayed.
As a player, Huang Taiji naturally understood this.
Thus, he intended to use new measures to select those who dared to fight.
And turn them into the laws of the ancestors.
Yet after court ended and he returned to his study, Fan Wencheng came to offer advice.
"The Great