In the second year of Chongzhen, the soldiers stationed at Zunhua once staged a large-scale mutiny over unpaid wages. At that time, southern soldiers received a monthly salary of one tael and five qian of silver, plus five dou of unpolished rice, and their personal attendants received two taels and three and a half qian of silver per month. The northern troops, however, only got one shi of rice, equivalent to one tael of silver, and were already grumbling about the unfairness. On top of that, wages had been in arrears for several months, leaving the soldiers in despair. Each camp began to demand their pay, and on the eighth day of the second month, they all gathered outside the west gate of Zunhua, chopped wood to build a stockade, and wrote in large characters: “Serve the country with a loyal heart, feed the starving army.” They beat up both soldiers and civilians, throwing the area into chaos.

Later, the authorities pacified the situation. The Shuntian Governor Simon Carter was arrested and sentenced to death for provoking the mutiny over pay. Of course, after the incident, the ringleaders were also rounded up and executed.

This incident was a big deal, well-known in history. Could it be that these Charles Grant brothers were among the ringleaders back then?

Henry Carter gave the two of them a meaningful look, only to find that Charles Grant was also glancing at him. When their eyes met, both quickly looked away as if nothing had happened.

Thomas Bell coughed and said, “We are officers and soldiers of the imperial court. How could we say such treasonous things? Enough with the nonsense.”

Charles Grant apologized, and the watchtower fell silent again.

That night, Henry Carter slept in his simple little hut. Of course, such a hut had no soundproofing at all, so every noise could be heard clearly, especially the sounds of Frank Howard and his wife The Stone Family passionately going at it a few rooms away—every detail was crystal clear.

The couple seemed to have a good relationship, but it was odd how enthusiastic they were about this matter, doing it at least once every night. It seemed that in ancient times, with little in the way of entertainment, there was nothing to do but go to bed early and make babies.

Henry Carter shook his head, calmed his mind, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

……

The next day, Henry Carter and the Charles Grant brothers were on duty atop the watchtower.

Looking out from the ten-meter-high tower, they could see the distant silhouettes of the Julu and Chafang watchtowers. Standing here and gazing into the distance felt wonderful—the autumn wind blowing, giving a sense of floating away like an immortal. No wonder squad leader Thomas Bell liked this spot.

After watching for a while, Henry Carter's eyes habitually narrowed. He calculated in his mind that in a few days it would be the leap eighth month—time really flew by.

Voices came from behind; it was the Charles Grant brothers speaking softly, discussing finding an opportunity in a few days to go out and do some business, selling some goods and such. In fact, the Ming dynasty strictly forbade the local watchtower troops from leaving their posts or trading goods, but these strict laws had long become dead letters. Many soldiers who could no longer survive openly violated the bans.

Leaving one's post was a minor offense. In fact, many border soldiers secretly traded with Mongols and Jurchens outside the passes, selling them cloth, needles and thread, iron pots, and even weapons—some even leaked border information to the enemy in exchange for silver rewards.

The Charles Grant brothers only planned to go out and do a little business, which was already considered very law-abiding.

After they finished discussing, they called out, “Buddy Carter.” Then footsteps approached Henry Carter, clearly intending to rope him in as well.

Suddenly, a cannon shot rang out, followed by the frantic banging of the alarm gong. The three of them shuddered and looked toward the Julu watchtower, where a column of wolf smoke shot straight up, starkly visible against the sky.

The three exchanged glances, each seeing the same message in the others’ eyes: The Tartars are coming!

Chapter 007: White Armor

Charles Grant looked carefully: “One cannon shot, one column of smoke—looks like there are fewer than a hundred Tartars, probably no more than twenty!”

He shouted to John Grant, “Second brother, fire the cannon, light the smoke, and hang the yellow flag!”

Soon, the warning cannon at Jingbian watchtower boomed, and a thick column of smoke shot straight into the sky. Charles Grant struck the alarm gong even harder, passing the message to the people at the edge of the watchtower. One after another, the signal was relayed: ten li south at Dongjiazhuang Fort, smoke signals rose, then the Chafang watchtower’s cannon sounded, and the message was passed on to the even more distant Shunxiang Fort.

The shrill sound of alarm gongs rang out everywhere. For a while, all the soldiers and civilians outside hurriedly gathered their livestock and rushed back to the nearest fort or watchtower. Near Jingbian watchtower, Thomas Bell, Frank Howard, Brian Reed, and several women hurriedly carried their loads and drove their cattle back inside.

Henry Carter and the Charles Grant brothers climbed down the soft ladder from the watchtower and reached the hanging tower by the wall. Squad leader Thomas Bell and the others were still shaken, but everyone was grateful they had escaped quickly. After a while, Thomas Bell called out, “Is everyone and all the livestock inside? Is anyone still missing?”

After a moment, soldier Frank Howard cried out in alarm, “My wife hasn’t come back yet!”

Everyone quickly counted heads, and sure enough, Frank Howard’s wife The Stone Family was nowhere to be seen.

Frank Howard looked distraught, his voice choked with emotion: “When we were plowing at noon, my wife said she was going back to Dongjiazhuang to see the child, so she wasn’t with me. She… she… she must still be on the road now. She won’t run into the Tartars, will she?”

Everyone in the hanging tower looked grim. Suddenly, Brian Reed shouted, “Look, the Tartars are coming!”

Everyone looked quickly, and sure enough, several plumes of dust were rising in the northwest, growing larger and larger. Soon, the wild howls and shrieks of beasts could be heard, and out of the dust, several Later Jin cavalrymen appeared before their eyes. In front of them and on all sides, more than a dozen Ming civilians were fleeing in terror.