Blessed by God

I apologize for the delay. 

 Today’s chapter is very heavy on history. It is set in the midst of the Battle of Jao Modo, but the recounts of what happened vary between each other. Why? 1. The author might not have done her research. 2. Chinese historians and Western historians might have two different versions. Perhaps even the Chinese historians hold different opinions on what truly happened #HistoricalRevisionism

Context: Galdan was lured by the Kangxi emperor with talks of negotiating a peace treaty, which was in fact, an attempt to kill him. Galdan fled to the Kherlen River, where he set up camp. After his defeat, Galdan’s allies declared themselves Qing vassals. At this point, Galdan didn’t have anything. The Qing assumed the mantle of the Genghisi Khans and merged Galdan’s original allied forces into the Qing army. 

Now, six years later, the Qing still wants to trample Galdan, so they quickly send another army to defeat him, commanded by Fiyanggū (where Yinyou is). Later, Kangxi too left the capital to kick his ass, thus two armies were chasing Galdan’s ass. Galdan was squeezed by these two armies into a pancake, and only because of his wife —Lady Anu’s (who later died), could he flee once again. He died later on a mountain, either of illness (Wikipedia) or suicide by poison (Palace Museum).

 I persevered only for the slightly hot scene; please enjoy. And if any of you guys have time to be a proofreader/editor, just to catch odd sentences or grammar errors, I’ll truly appreciate it. The last chapter was such a mess (well, not that much) and I never noticed it (like, six mistakes or less) until after two weeks… I’m a bit horrified, haha. —Bambi.

 

Correction of names

馬思喀 mǎsī kā. Grand Minister Assistant Commander of the Imperial Guardsmen Maska (formerly translated as Ma Sika.) 費揚古 fèiyáng gǔ. Defender of the Frontier General-in-chief Fiyanggū (formerly translated as Feiyanggu). I’ll probably just correct these names in the EPUB I’m making of the novel (I’ll share a link to download at the end of the translation). But in the future, this will be how the names will be written.

 

 

 

Chapter 38: The brothers reunited

 

 

Fourth brother, greetings.

 

When Yinzhen saw this familiar handwriting, a smile emerged from the corner of his mouth. As he continued to read, even though the letter seemed like a long-winded rant or just a simple talk about the ordinary days in the barracks, he still seemed to get a glimpse of the military Yinyou.

 

Two days ago, I competed with the other soldiers in an arrow competition, won first place, and thus earned the marinated pickled vegetables a soldier had furtively hidden. It was not bad. General Fiyanggū spoke to me; he said, Competing for food, I have really lost face. I don’t agree with him. Men fight for the spoils of war. Win and lose, real men can do both1能輸能贏 néng shū néng yíng. “A true master does not need to compare with others, nor does he want to defeat others. He can win and lose, and he can bend and stretch. Such a realm is just like Master Hsing Yun’s hope that everyone’s practice can reach: Being able to be early or late, full or hungry, busy or idle, able to have or not, able to advance or retreat, able to be big or small. When being small, there is no arrogance, no humbleness; being able to win or lose, there is no arrogance or discouragement; freedom of movement, how wide is the world, how small is it? What is there to lose? (The heart and mind can bear it.)” The Merit Times (2005) .

 

Yinzhen laughed heartily. He never thought that the once-spoiled child beside him would one day bet with rough soldiers and proudly win half a bowl of pickled vegetables. Although Yinzhen had never eaten this kind of thing, he had seen it before. It was dark and didn’t look very tasteful2Image here..

 

 

Yesterday I was defeated by a burly man and, hugging a big stone, had to run dozens of laps. I really lost face, so today I must win it back. It’s been more than two months since I’ve seen you. I wonder how the fourth brother is doing. Although living in the barracks is a bit cold, daily life is still very interesting. There is no need for the fourth brother to worry about me. Instead, be careful, whether it is hot or cold; don’t dismiss my words.

It’s not early, and we still need to train tomorrow morning. Brother, take a rest. I hope you are well and eat plenty. Remember my words, alright? I’d like to see you with a few more pounds next time we meet. 

The seventh younger brother wrote on the tenth night of the seventh month.

 

 

The paper in his hand was not as fine as usual, and it even had ink stains, making the letter look a little dirty. Still, Yinzhen was in a great mood, and thinking of Yinyou lying in the military tent and writing him a letter, he couldn’t hold back a smile.

Putting the letter paper back into the envelope, Yinzhen looked at Xiao Luzi standing in the corner and said, “Serve paper and ink.”

As he was writing his response, Yinzhen decided to entrust someone to bring some dried meat to Yinyou, lest he feel that losing pickled vegetables was a pity. He was so silly. It’s no wonder that Huang Ama laughed and scolded him for doing stupid things.

In the autumn of the 34th year of Kangxi, Galdan led 30,000 cavalry to march Eastward and, with the help of Tsarist Russian lancers, threatened to make a major offensive. The generals Fiyanggū and Maska hurriedly led troops to guard the Kherlen River3 A 1,254 km river in Mongolia and China. This was where Galdan set up camp after being defeated by the Qing army six years ago.. At that time, there were less than 20,000 soldiers at the border, and for a while, the entire army was waiting in line to stop the enemy’s offensive.

Military intelligence soon reached Qingqing Palace. This was the first comeback since they defeated Galdan in battle six years ago, and Kangxi was furious. He immediately discussed countermeasures with the princes and courtiers.

The current situation could only be resolved by fighting, but the Qing soldiers were not familiar with the terrain and were no match for the enemy’s numbers. Thus, Kangxi began to recruit soldiers. By using the strategy of “one soldier, one farmer, and one horse”4One (trained) soldier, one (inexperienced) farmer, and one horse (maybe among the two of them). Basically, it’s just to gain numbers. The farmers would be the driving force, the meat in the chopping board to tire the enemy; then, the soldiers would come to fight the enemy., he quickly raised 100,000 people. The Qing army now surpassed Galdan’s. Since the conquest was to be led by the royal family, among the adult princes, only the Crown Prince stayed in the capital to deal with government affairs.

In the first month of the 35th year of Kangxi, the eldest prince led the Plain Yellow Banner, the third prince led the Bordered Red Banner, the fourth prince led the Plain Red Banner, the fifth prince led the Bordered Blue Banner, and the eighth prince led the Plain Blue Banner to the Kherlen River5Wikipedia: “The Eight Banners were administrative and military divisions under the Later Jin and Qing dynasties of China into which all Manchu households were placed. In war, the Eight Banners functioned as armies, but the banner system was also the basic organizational framework of all of Manchu society.” Britannica (2023): “The Banner system was developed by the Manchu leader Nurhachi (1559–1626), who in 1601 organized his warriors into four companies of 300 men each. The companies were distinguished by banners of different colors—yellow, red, white, and blue.”.

Fiyanggū soon received the order to join the West Army along with the seventh prince. He didn’t dare to be careless and immediately took thousands of people to meet them. Maska led his troops to join them in the middle of the journey at an intersection.

Riding a horse, Yinyou fixed his gaze on the tired soldiers behind him. Secretly, he was a little worried. He knew that this battle would end in a great victory and that the price paid would not be small.

“Report, there are nearly 50,000 soldiers from our army ten miles ahead.”

“That’s good,” Fiyanggū replied.

Night was falling, and Fiyanggū only had 3,000 soldiers under his command. Knowing he was reaching the newly formed army, he could now breathe a sigh of relief. Tonight, everyone will have a nice rest. 

Fiyanggū raised his hand and said, “Order the whole army to advance at full speed.”

 

In the West Army, Yinzhen and the others had just set up their tents to sleep at night when they heard a report that General Fiyanggū and the seventh brother had arrived. Hearing this, Yinzhen quickly walked out of the tent, just in time to meet Yinsi, who came out at the same time. The two exchanged a polite smile, and then both stepped forward to greet General Fiyanggū.

From a distance, Yinzhen could see a figure next to Fiyanggū. He wore silver armor, shining brightly in the night. Yinyou seemed to have grown taller, but he was still very thin. Yinzhen’s original uneasiness was only relieved at the moment of seeing the real person.

“Fourth prince, eighth prince.” Fiyanggū got off his horse, and the soldiers below consciously arranged for the soldiers who came to live in tents.

Seeing their tired faces, Yinzhen and Yinsi knew that they had rushed all the way. Yinzhen stepped forward to support Fiyanggū, and both of them personally led him to a tent, “General Ula Nala, it’s not early, and you and I don’t need to be polite. Have a good rest, we will leave early tomorrow morning.”

“Apologies to the fourth prince and the eighth prince.” Fiyanggū glanced at Yinyou, who was following behind the two, and told him with a smile, “Seventh prince, I rest first.” 

Yinyou clasped his fists and said, “General Ula Nala, please go first.” 

Seeing Fiyanggū enter the army tent, Yinyou took off his helmet and wiped the dust off his face, “Fourth brother, don’t say anything, and first let me wash up. I have been on guard for a month, just fearing that Galdan will raid, and the smell on my body is good enough to kill mosquitoes.”

Yinsi heard this and replied with a smile, “I’m not sure if the seventh brother can kill mosquitoes, but even if I haven’t seen you for half a year, I can tell that the seventh brother seems to be darker.”

“Rolling in the mud every day, how can I not be dark.” Yinyou felt that even his helmet had a sour smell, and half of his body leaned on Yinzhen, “Fourth brother, I’m tired and thirsty. Pick me up and let’s go to your tent.”

The moment Yinyou set eyes on Yinzhen, his whole body became relaxed, and the originally tense nerves also began to loosen. Only then did he feel that his whole body was sore and smelly, really wishing he could just lie down and fall asleep.

“I’ll prepare hot water,” Yinzhen found a soldier and ordered, “Send someone to fetch two buckets of water, one bucket will be sent to General Ula Nala’s tent, and the other bucket will be sent to my tent.”

It was true that Yinyou had a sour smell. In the past, how could Yinyou have suffered this kind of embarrassment? Yinzhen supported the person who was half leaning on him, and said to Yinsi, who was on the side, “Eighth brother, I will send the seventh brother back to the tent and let him wash. You go first.”

Yinsi offered him a bow and said, “Fourth brother, seventh brother, go slowly.”

 Watching the two brothers go away, Yinsi narrowed his eyes. Now the army’s primary force was in Fiyanggū ’s hands, and the fourth brother and the seventh brother had always been close. Even if he were there, Yinsi couldn’t please the fourth brother anywhere. Was this situation what Huang Ama wanted?6Yinsi is guessing that Kangxi wanted to strengthen Yinzhen and Yinyou as princes, the author here regards General Ula Nara as Yinzhen’s father-in-law, so here, the 4th brother is the one with the most power and more to gain. Yinyou, because of his closeness to Yinzhen, can get a bit of power too. Yinsi, on the other hand, can’t get anything. This is what Yinsi is thinking. In chapter 37, Kangxi said that he wanted Yinyou to be an idle prince, but his plans changed when Yinyou said he wanted to be a general, so I’m thinking that Kangxi also sent Yinyou to give him the opportunity to make his dream come true and also so he could mature. What do you guys think? There was a hint of sarcasm in his eyes. Seeing two soldiers walking towards him carrying a large bucket of water, he simply smiled and turned back to his tent.

When he saw the steaming, clear water, Yinyou finally regained some vitality. While untying his armor, he spoke to the fourth brother, saying, “Our armies have finally come together. This is good. It will at least decrease some days of battle. Victory is just around the corner.”

The originally fair upper body was now wheat-colored and exposed; the lower body was only covered with clear underwear. Yinyou didn’t enter the large bucket of water yet. He took a wet cloth towel and scrubbed every inch of skin. As the water washed away the sweat, he hummed, feeling comfortable.

Yinzhen, who was originally sitting on a simple wooden couch, heard Yinyou’s groans, and finally couldn’t help but deviate his gaze from the roof of the tent to Yinyou; the light wheat-colored skin, the buttocks sticky with wet cloth, round and perky; the black main of hair that scattered to the back…

Yinyou spun his head and discovered his stare. Yinzhen panicked, feeling as if the unbearable secret deep in his heart had been discovered.

“Fourth brother, are you busy?” Yinyou asked.

Yinzhen shook his head.

“Then you rub my back. My hands are sore.”

Yinzhen: “…”

The so-called dependent psychology was like this. 

When Yinyou was alone, he also suffered, but he could still push himself through it. Now, seeing the person who had always taken care of him so close by, he felt the laziness in his bones come up.

Yinyou sat on a small stool, closed his eyes, and dozed off. The fourth prince of the Great Qing squatted down to wipe his back without a single complaint. In fact, he was especially careful to use his strength because he had noticed that the other one was ready to fall to the ground.

He scrubbed Yinyou’s back and finally washed Yinyou’s hair again. 

“Extend your right hand.” 

The right arm was stretched out, and a warm veil softly covered and scrubbed it.

“Left hand.”

“Leg.”

“I’ll do it myself,” Yinyou said, half awake.

He was too embarrassed to let the future Emperor Yongzheng wash his thighs. Suddenly, he felt his conscience hurt. “Fourth brother, just help me find a pair of clean pants, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Alright, you wash up quickly, it’s late and you better not catch a cold,” Yinzhen didn’t insist, lest the other party get suspicious. 

He regretfully threw a glance at Yinyou’s exposed back, arms, chest, waist, and… below the waist.

Forget it, boil the frog in warm water7If a frog is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. Yinzhen’s strategy to woo Yinyou is similar. He’ll slowly entice him towards him, unknowingly, so Yinyou can enter his belly. He’s doing this secretly, without Yinyou noticing, because if he had noticed, he might’ve been disgusted. This is why he’s taking it slowly until Yinyou can truly think about it and move forward with their relationship.. Take your time, so as not to scare it away all at once.

Getting up, he went to his bag to find the clothes. Yinzhen picked up an unworn set of clothes, hesitated for a moment, then put it back and changed into a pair of unworn underpants but a worn robe. He turned his head to look at Yinyou, who was busy washing his thighs. “I’ve worn the clothes, but I have clean underwear, is it okay?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t matter.” Yinyou recalled his own discolored robes. The fourth brother’s clothes might’ve been a bit old, but they were infinitely better than what he had.

After receiving the robe and underpants, the moment Yinzhen turned around, Yinyou put on the underwear with lightning speed, then slowly changed into the exterior clothes. He touched the unpolluted white color, and said with emotion, “It’s been a long time since I wore such white clothes.” 

Hearing his distress, Yinzhen pulled him to sit on the wooden couch, took a dry towel, and slowly wiped his hair. “You have suffered for the past six months.” 

Yinyou didn’t care to lie on the bed and directly lay on Yinzhen’s lap. He wiggled until he found a comfortable position for Yinzhen to wipe his hair. “It’s okay, you will be like me in a while, it’s better to get used to it sooner.” 

Yinzhen smiled and carefully dried his hair. “Then, the seventh brother will help me adapt to life in the barracks early.”

“No problem,” Yinyou yawned, but he still resisted the sleepiness to ask about Yinzhen. “How are you, fourth brother?”

“Very good,” Yinzhen pulled the quilt on the bed and covered him before continuing to move, “Did you eat the jerky I sent you?”

“General Ula Nala took some of it away and gave it to the soldiers. I ate the rest, and it was not bad.” Yinyou rubbed his eyes. “Give me some more after we go back.” 

“I’m afraid that after we go back, you won’t be able to eat those anymore,” Yinzhen did notice how that tasteless jerky turned into delicious food in Yinyou’s eyes, and recalled how much Yinyou loved nice food, and his heart hurt once again, “When we go back, I’ll ask the cook in the house to prepare a delicious meal for you. Last month, the Mansion hired a chef from Yangzhou, and his cooking tastes pretty good.”

Yinyou gulped, “Fourth brother, don’t talk about it;, I’ll get hungry.”

Yinzhen smiled bitterly when he heard his words and felt even more distressed.

After a while, the person lying on his knees was breathing evenly. 

Yinzhen put down the towel in his hand, carefully put Yinyou on the couch, stared at his peaceful sleeping face, and finally couldn’t help but steal a light kiss. He took off his own clothes and carefully wrapped Yinyou in the quilt.

 

 

 

Bambi: It was not snu snu, but it was doting, it was cute,  it was “I rely on you”, and “I’ll take care of you”, and so much love, omg *crying, choking, throwing up* 

Also, if someone can proofread, I’ll really appreciate it. You can email me at [email protected]. Pretty please.

 

 

 

1能輸能贏 néng shū néng yíng. “A true master does not need to compare with others, nor does he want to defeat others. He can win and lose, and he can bend and stretch. Such a realm is just like Master Hsing Yun’s hope that everyone’s practice can reach: Being able to be early or late, full or hungry, busy or idle, able to have or not, able to advance or retreat, able to be big or small. When being small, there is no arrogance, no humbleness; being able to win or lose, there is no arrogance or discouragement; freedom of movement, how wide is the world, how small is it? What is there to lose? (The heart and mind can bear it.)” The Merit Times (2005) 2Image here.3 A 1,254 km river in Mongolia and China. This was where Galdan set up camp after being defeated by the Qing army six years ago.4One (trained) soldier, one (inexperienced) farmer, and one horse (maybe among the two of them). Basically, it’s just to gain numbers. The farmers would be the driving force, the meat in the chopping board to tire the enemy; then, the soldiers would come to fight the enemy.5Wikipedia: “The Eight Banners were administrative and military divisions under the Later Jin and Qing dynasties of China into which all Manchu households were placed. In war, the Eight Banners functioned as armies, but the banner system was also the basic organizational framework of all of Manchu society.” Britannica (2023): “The Banner system was developed by the Manchu leader Nurhachi (1559–1626), who in 1601 organized his warriors into four companies of 300 men each. The companies were distinguished by banners of different colors—yellow, red, white, and blue.”6Yinsi is guessing that Kangxi wanted to strengthen Yinzhen and Yinyou as princes, the author here regards General Ula Nara as Yinzhen’s father-in-law, so here, the 4th brother is the one with the most power and more to gain. Yinyou, because of his closeness to Yinzhen, can get a bit of power too. Yinsi, on the other hand, can’t get anything. This is what Yinsi is thinking. In chapter 37, Kangxi said that he wanted Yinyou to be an idle prince, but his plans changed when Yinyou said he wanted to be a general, so I’m thinking that Kangxi also sent Yinyou to give him the opportunity to make his dream come true and also so he could mature. What do you guys think? 7If a frog is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. Yinzhen’s strategy to woo Yinyou is similar. He’ll slowly entice him towards him, unknowingly, so Yinyou can enter his belly. He’s doing this secretly, without Yinyou noticing, because if he had noticed, he might’ve been disgusted. This is why he’s taking it slowly until Yinyou can truly think about it and move forward with their relationship.