Ninggu Tacheng is located on the south bank of Langlang River, a tributary on the left bank of Mudanjiang River. It is now the old ancient city village of Changting Town, Hailin, Heilongjiang Province. In the second year of Chongzhen, Emperor Wuding sent Pugang to attack the Cossacks. The 5000th headquarters once stationed troops here, and Ningguta County was established.
Ningguta County got its name from the Jurchen language. Six of the Jurchen numbers are Ninggu (ninggun), and each one is a pagoda, so Ningguta means "six". This place was originally the territory of Haixi and Huifa Jurchens. After the rise of Jianzhou, Nurhachi Huang Taiji and his son slaughtered all the Haixi Huifa Jurchens, and only the name Ningguta remained.
In the first year of Wuding, Liu Zhaosun proclaimed himself emperor. Many place names changed across the country, but Ninggu Pagoda did not change its name. It was promoted to the state capital, and the imperial court sent a general and a guerrilla general to guard it.
The territory under the jurisdiction of Ningguta Prefecture is very wide, stretching from Sakhalin Island in the northeast to Ning'an in the southwest. It spans thousands of miles. It is more than ten times larger than the ordinary prefecture in the pass. This city is the most important political center in the northeastern region outside Daqi's rule. Military center. During the Taichu period of the Qi Dynasty (1631-1659), Tsarist Russia and European coalition forces frequently invaded the Heilongjiang Basin, and the Qi Dynasty sent troops from Ningguta to conquer the area many times.
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In the early morning of March 2, the fourth year of Taichu, Wu Xiao, the deputy commander of the imperial guards, and Yang Tong, the commander of the Zhenfu army, escorted three hundred imperial prisoners. After going through hardships and dangers, they arrived at Ninggu Tower City in the northern border of the empire.
Ningguta Fucheng deputy general Jiang Liuer, guerrilla general Qian Sanruo, and Ningguta prefect Shi Sanyou led the Fucheng garrison out of the city to greet them.
As a witness to the bloody battle twelve years ago, Jiang Liu'er is definitely a veteran in the army. However, due to age restrictions and the fact that his activities in the past two years have been mainly limited to northern Xinjiang, he is far away from the power of Daqi. center, so he is only a deputy general until now.
Jiang Liuer's sidekick Qian Sanruo has made a fortune quickly, and the two of them are good brothers who have passed away. Back then, in order to treat his son's illness, Lao Qian took the risk to go to Sakhalin Island to fight with Mao Zi, narrowly escaping death, and finally found a bright future.
Their companion, the most ferocious and powerful Jurchen Alsa, unfortunately died in the battle of the Sixth Corps against the Cossacks.
According to Jurchen customs, Alsa's ashes were buried in an unknown corner of Sakhalin Island.
"I'll see Jiang Liu'er later, but be careful." When there were only two miles away from Ninggu Tower City, Yang Tong, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
"Be careful?" Wu Xiao asked suspiciously. You should know that Jiang Liu'er is a confidant of the Supreme Emperor and will never betray the imperial court. What should you be careful about with such a person?
Yang Tong seemed to see clearly what the other party was thinking, reined in the reins, and continued: "Be careful of that tiger. It has eaten a lot of Cossacks, and now it likes to eat human flesh."
"Tiger?"
Wu Xiao had long heard that Jiang Liu'er was raising large insects, but he only regarded them as gadgets (similar to the small tigers captured by Lu Tongzhi in Australia), so he didn't take it seriously. He heard that they could also eat Cossacks, and he couldn't help but become interested.
"Really or not? I have seen Cossack prisoners before. They are all tall and have sharp firearms. How many people can one tiger kill?"
Wu Xiao thought Yang Tong was hinting at something. He was ordered to come to reinforce Ning Guta this time. In addition to reinforcements, he was also tasked with investigating the guard of Ning Guta.
"I heard that Ning Guta's money guerrillas are not very clean at all. Can a big insect stop me, Wu Xiao?"
Yang Tong did not answer the question at all, and said calmly: "When you arrive, you will know whether it is true or false."
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"I hope for the stars and the moon, and finally Brother Wu is here! It's just the right time."
Jiang Liu'er looked at the dusty Wu Xiao and hurriedly greeted him.
The defenders began to be busy receiving the prisoners, removing the chains from the hands of the prisoners who had been tortured into human shapes, taking them to the urn city, screening them, and then putting the prisoners into cells.
Wu Xiao knew that Jiang Liu'er was the Supreme Emperor's confidant in Northern Xinjiang, and his status was extraordinary. When he was in the Imperial Guard, the Supreme Emperor often mentioned this person. Jiang Liu'er was only seventeen or eighteen years old, and he was in charge of Ning Guta Mansion. Wu Xiao seemed to see himself in the past when looking at the childish young man in front of him.
"Sure enough, heroes come from young. When I was in Huguang and Liaodong, I heard the Supreme Emperor mention you many times, saying that you were the sharp sword of Northern Xinjiang. When I saw you today, you are indeed a talented person, extraordinary!"
"Commander Wu, thank you very much. The general is just helping the Supreme Emperor guard the northern border and taking care of some prisoners. Tsarist Russia is about to attack. The situation in the north is difficult. The general and his brothers can barely survive. There is no sharp sword. Hahaha , but Commander Wu, you are the ones who are really worried when you are always by the Emperor’s side.”
The two of them exchanged pleasantries, and Qian Youyi, who was standing next to him, was about to talk to the Imperial Guards when he suddenly heard a roar from the city wall, as if there was a thunder in the air.
Wu Xiao was startled. He was from Sanyuan, Shaanxi Province. He had never seen tigers when he was a child, so he was not alarmed. Several guards behind him had already pulled out their short crossbows, and their whole bodies could not help but tremble.
An eye-catching white-fronted insect weighing 1,800 kilograms squatted half-crouching at the top of the Wengcheng City. It held up its huge tiger head and looked down at the people coming. Wu Xiao could clearly see streams of sticky saliva flowing out from its bloody mouth. , flowing along the city wall to the feet.
"Your arrogance is exposed, don't move!"
Wu Xiao stopped the guards around him and asked them not to shoot arrows and muskets.
Wu Xiao was secretly surprised. He estimated that together with Lin Yu, he was no match for this big insect.
Jiang Liuer turned around and shouted loudly: "Panasonic! Don't be rude, these are all guests, come down and salute!"
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That night, Wu Xiao and Yang Tong took an early rest and were placed in the best inn in Ningguta Fucheng.
Because the government office hall was crowded with newly arrived prisoners, these prisoners were being interrogated by Qian Guobi and Shi Zhifu overnight.
Even if he lived in the back room, he would still be unable to sleep all night. Qian Guerzhi loved to torture and extract confessions, and prisoners were often tortured to death by him.
Jiang Liuer emphasized to everyone in the inn that they should treat this Shangguan well.
"Commander Wu and Officer Yang are both personal followers of the Supreme Emperor. One is the commander of the Imperial Guards and the other is the commander-in-chief of the Suppressing Army. They must not be neglected."
Jiang Liu'er told them, "The imperial guards and the Zhenfu soldiers are the most important yamen in Da Qi."
The innkeeper nodded, and the innkeepers also nodded.
"Don't worry, Mr. Jiang, I will treat you two adults well."
Jiang Liuer took his sleeping mat with cotton wool and went to spend the night on the tower on the other side of the battlement wall of Fucheng. Although the night was bone-chilling with the wind, he didn't want to go to the Yamen and listen to the prisoners' howls of ghosts and wolves.
The wails and curses from the Yamen still reached Jiang Liu'er's ears. In the darkness, the cigarettes of the soldiers guarding the city lit up like dancing will-o'-the-wisps, flickering on and off.
Spring is slowly coming to an end, and summer in Ningguta is coming. The summer here is not refreshing because the ground will be full of mud.
Jiang Liu'er pillowed his head on a straw mat and cotton wool, recalling the scenes of his childhood in Shenyang.
He woke up before dawn and tiptoed past the sleeping soldiers, who were snoring and sighing, dreaming of his mother and hometown.
Jiang Liu'er walked down the tower and walked towards the Fucheng Yamen. The streets were filled with bright and alluring stars.
The auxiliary soldiers sat at the door of the Yamen, sleeping soundly with their legs crossed and flintlock guns supported.
The wing at the back of the lobby was still closed. Jiang Liuer caught a glimpse of Wu Xiao's horse being tied to a pillar, and an ominous premonition came to his mind.
"Normally, torture is not used to extract confessions," Jiang Liu'er opened the door and saw Wu Xiao still smoking in the room, so he explained to him, "As long as the person who comes here is still alive, the state will let him live a good life. Generally, They will only be punished with hard labor and will not harm anyone’s life.”
"That's the best. Da Qi is most short of manpower right now. People are needed for fighting and mining everywhere. When I come this time, I also want to take a good look and go back to explain to the Supreme Emperor."
Wu Xiao's nose twitched and he continued walking behind the Yamen.
A wing room behind the Yamen was cramped and smelly. There are no windows in the house.
Two tied prisoners were lying on the ground, and the stench came from them, a smell of old feces and urine.
Jiang Liu'er called the guards in: "Let these two people go clean up and hurry up."
Two prisoners, who had obviously been interrogated just last night, were kneeling in the corner.
"These are two fugitives who dared to be caught and wanted to escape to Sakhalin Island. Qian Guerrilla was interrogating them last night."
Jiang Liuer said.
"It's rare. Very few people are willing to escape from here."
Wu Xiao looked at the prisoner lying on the ground with suspicion.
A prisoner who looked like a Jurchen, with a swollen face covered in bruises and one eye so swollen that he could not open it.
Jiang Liuer knelt down in front of him and patted his cheek. "Listen, boy," he said to the prisoner in the Haixi Jurchen dialect, "I want to talk to you."
The Jurchens did not respond.
"He's pretending," said the guard guard next to him. "He understands."
"Who hit him?" Jiang Liu'er asked.
"It wasn't me," he said. "That's what he looked like when he came here."
"Who hit you? Was it Qian Guerrilla?" Jiang Liu'er asked.
The prisoner was not listening to Jiang Liu'er.
His eyes crossed Jiang Liuer's shoulder, but he was not looking at the guard. He was looking at Wu Xiao, who had a gloomy expression next to the guard.
Lewen
