[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army":3,"chapter-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-225":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Little Soldier of the Late Ming Border Army",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1205514,1561,"Chapter 225: Dorgon and Abatai","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-225",225,"\u003Cp>Wang Dou watched Wen Daxing conduct the interrogation in silence. He had always turned a blind eye to his soldiers’ brutality toward Qing troops. His army trained under harsh discipline and maintained strict military law, so the men had long pent up a deep, violent resentment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou enforced military law with extreme severity when it came to harassing Great Ming civilians — the regulations were dense with beheading and caning penalties. That pent-up resentment needed an outlet, and it was far better for them to vent it on the Tatars than on the common people of the Great Ming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The military regulations contained numerous provisions on merit and spoils, yet said nothing about how to handle soldiers torturing or beating Tatars, so this matter did not fall under the jurisdiction of the Provost Marshal Chi Dacheng. Watching the scene unfold, Zhong Diaoyang remained impassive; Li Guangheng and Zhao Xuan had long since walked away, while Han Zhong and Wen Fangliang exchanged knowing smiles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Daxing separated the three Qing prisoners, interrogated them in fluent Manchu, then cross-checked their statements against one another. Satisfied, he respectfully presented a piece of intelligence to Wang Dou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou studied it for a long moment, then waved his hand. “All officers of Squad Commander rank and above, assemble in the hall for a council of war.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That evening, Tongzhou, the west bank of the Grand Canal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qing army tents stretched seemingly without end — pure-white banners with black dragons, white-bordered red banners, pure-red banners with yellow dragons, red-bordered white banners… every banner flag fluttered thickly in the wind. Across a hundred li of encampment lay the Qing army’s Plain White Banner, Bordered White Banner, Plain Red Banner, Bordered Red Banner, and the rest of the Eight Banners’ great host.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the dense sea of Qing tents stood one exceptionally large encampment, within which were several lavish great tents with flame-gilt finials. Before the great tents rose several enormous woven-gold dragon standards. Guarding the perimeter were only the banner’s elite Bayara camp warriors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside one great tent, it was filled with Qing generals in gilded armor. Earlier, a burst of furious shouting had erupted from within; outside that encampment still hung several dozen blood-dripping human heads, and judging by their queues, every one of them was a Qing soldier’s head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the head of the great tent sat a Qing general not yet thirty. Watching the Bordered Red Banner’s commander, Dudu, rage and storm below him, he smiled inwardly and glanced impassively at the Yangwu Grand General, Yoto, seated to his left. The middle-aged general, about forty, remained equally impassive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qing general could not help cursing under his breath: “Old fox.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Qing general was none other than the Fengming Grand General of this invasion, Dorgon. By Huang Taiji’s order, he and the Yangwu Grand General Yoto each commanded the left and right wings of the great army and had launched the second incursion. Dorgon had breached the wall at Dongjiakou, and Yoto had broken through at Qiangziling in Miyun. In the tenth month of the eleventh year of Chongzhen, the two wings rendezvoused west of the canal at Tongzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, Dorgon was the commander of the Plain White Banner, and his deputy for the left-wing army was the commander of the Bordered White Banner, his younger brother Dodo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, the two had been the commanders of the Plain Yellow Banner and the Bordered Yellow Banner. But after Huang Taiji, as Plain White Banner commander, seized control of the Eight Banners, he renamed his own Plain White Banner the Plain Yellow Banner to consolidate his position, renamed Dorgon’s original Plain Yellow Banner the Plain White Banner, then renamed his son Hooge’s Bordered White Banner the Bordered Yellow Banner, and renamed Dodo’s original Bordered Yellow Banner the Bordered White Banner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Huang Taiji had done everything he could to weaken the new Plain White and Bordered White Banners, the strength of Dorgon and Dodo’s two White Banners remained formidable. The combined power of Ajige, Dorgon, and Dodo — the three brothers — ranked second among the Eight Banners. This time, Huang Taiji appointed Dorgon as Fengming Grand General and sent him to invade the Great Ming, which was not without the intention of whittling down the strength of Dorgon and Dodo’s faction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tent flap lifted, and two Bayara soldiers dragged in a man beaten to a bloody pulp and threw him onto the thick carpet. The man struggled to lift his head — it was the same Jalangga who had suffered defeat on the stone bridge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He belonged to the Bordered Red Banner troops. After he fled back in defeat, Banner Commander Dudu had flown into a rage and immediately had the two squads of deserters who had attacked the stone bridge all beheaded and their heads displayed. This Jalangga had also been given a severe flogging and was nearly beaten to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now Dudu berated the Jalangga furiously: “Huda, you have utterly disgraced the Bordered Red Banner of our Great Qing! You led six hundred troops against a mere few hundred Ming defenders, and fewer than four hundred came back? You worthless slave, I will have you dealt with by military law!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jalangga, scared out of his wits, could only plead desperately: “Those Ming troops had deadly firelocks and were full of tricks. At that stone bridge, this slave could not deploy his forces, and they had set many ambushes… This, this was all a defeat through no fault of this slave’s own.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He broke down in loud wails.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Yangwu Grand General Yoto, seated at the head, suddenly coughed. “Enough, General Dudu. The great army is on campaign, and our Great Qing needs every man. Let this slave Huda redeem himself through service.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yoto was the commander of the Plain Red Banner, and his deputy Dudu commanded the Bordered Red Banner; the two led the right-wing army of the invasion. This Jalangga had usually fought bravely. Taking his head would weaken the strength of the two Red Banners, so Yoto spoke up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dudu, in truth, did not want to kill this Jalangga Huda either. With Yoto’s intercession, he seized the chance to climb down, gave the Jalangga a vicious kick, and roared: “Get out!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jalangga Huda was about to scramble out on all fours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Raoyu Beile, Abatai — who had crossed swords with Wang Dou in the ninth year of Chongzhen — had been sitting quietly at the lower end. His expression shifted, and he said, “Hold.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone in the tent looked at Abatai with varied expressions. Dudu’s face darkened. He, the Bordered Red Banner commander, had already let Huda off — did Abatai, a mere Beile under the Bordered White Banner, intend to pursue the matter to the bitter end?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Abatai rose from his seat. The heavy gilded armor on his frame made his massive build even more imposing. He asked the Jalangga Huda in a deep voice: “You say the Ming defenders’ firelocks were deadly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jalangga Huda did not understand Abatai’s intent. Uneasy, he could only nod his head repeatedly with a pleading look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Abatai pressed with several more questions, asking in detail about the Ming army’s tactics and equipment. Finally, he asked: “On that stone bridge smoke tower, was there a banner flying the character ‘Wang’?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jalangga Huda replied: “In answer to the Raoyu Beile, this slave did see it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Abatai said heavily: “So it was the troops of that Ming officer Wang Dou. No wonder.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dodo, the Bordered White Banner commander seated on the left side of the great tent, laughed. “So it’s the Ming officer Wang Dou, who fought the Raoyu Beile in the first year of Chongde. No wonder the Beile remembers it so clearly — he recognized whose troops they were the moment he heard their tactics.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone in the tent snickered. The incident in the ninth year of Chongzhen, when Abatai had been forced to retreat from Shunxiang Fort with clipped wings, had leaked out among the Eight Banners and become a standing joke. At that time, Abatai had led the bulk of the Bordered White Banner to attack the fort, while Wang Dou was only a minor Garrison Commander. Although Abatai claimed that Shunxiang Fort had held at least several thousand defenders, no one believed him. Everyone privately spread the word that the Raoyu Beile Abatai, who boasted of his valor and skill in battle, was nothing more than that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of this, Wang Dou had gained a fair degree of notoriety within the Qing realm, but in everyone’s mind, he existed only as a foil to Abatai. A minor Ming Garrison Commander — no one took him seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dodo laughed again. “Back then, that Wang Dou was only a Garrison Commander of a small Ming fort. Now he can lead troops into the capital’s defense, so he must be at least a Mobile Corps Commander. He’s been promoted quickly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More people burst out laughing. Abatai was inwardly furious. Most of the men in this tent — Dorgon, Dodo, Yoto — were of his sons’ and nephews’ generation. Yet every one of them had been promoted to Prince, while he was merely a Beile, a full two ranks lower in title.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of this, they all treated him with little regard. Dorgon was not yet thirty, and Dodo was even several years younger than Dorgon — still wet behind the ears — yet they dared to mock and ridicule him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But though Abatai’s heart raged like fire, his face remained calm. He addressed Dorgon and Yoto at the head: “Two Grand Generals, this Wang Dou fights with daring and has many peculiar qualities. If this man is not eliminated, I fear he will one day become a scourge to our Great Qing!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said with gravity: “In the first year of Chongde, this Wang Dou was only a Garrison Commander. Now he has already become a Mobile Corps Commander of the Ming, and today he even defeated the troops led by Jalangga Huda. Judging by his military merit, after this campaign he will be at least an Assistant Regional Commander, perhaps even a Vice Regional Commander or Regional Commander. We cannot allow him to grow step by step and let more and more of our brave warriors fall to him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said: “This old man is willing to lead troops on campaign and sweep away Wang Dou’s entire force in one blow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Abatai’s words, everyone in the tent looked at one another. Dorgon coughed and said, “Our two great armies are already preparing to march south. Let us not stir up further complications and delay our grand strategy of southern plunder! This Wang Dou is merely a minor Mobile Corps Commander — there is no need to take him to heart. Raoyu Beile, please take your seat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Abatai looked again at the Yangwu Grand General Yoto, but he too remained silent, clearly not approving of his proposal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Abatai heaved a heavy sigh and sat back down helplessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earlier, Dorgon, Yoto, and the assembled generals had been discussing the grand southern strategy. The matter of the Jalangga Huda was only a minor interlude. After Huda scrambled out of the tent, the Qing generals inside resumed their council. Only Abatai remained troubled at heart, and in his mind once again surfaced the scene of his clash with Wang Dou in the ninth year of Chongzhen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two days passed in the blink of an eye. Wang Dou had kept the village fort on high alert the entire time, but the Qing army’s retaliatory force never came. Only the scouts reported that the Tatar troops seemed to be striking camp and moving south, column by column. They were heading toward Liangxiang, south of the capital, and during these two days they had not harassed the Xuan-Da-San garrison troops on the capital’s eastern outskirts at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During these same two days, the Emperor’s edict of commendation had still not arrived. The troops were already murmuring — could it be that His Majesty had not received Viceroy Lu’s victory dispatch? Impossible. Only Wang Dou knew the history: this victory report from Lu Xiangsheng had most likely been suppressed by Yang Sichang and Gao Qiqian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gazing toward the capital, Wang Dou heaved a heavy sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two days had passed, and the provisions in Wang Dou’s camp had dwindled further, mainly because they had captured so many Qing army horses, which increased the camp’s consumption of fodder and grain. Watching the rice, grain, and fodder in the storehouses diminish day by day, Wang Dou burned with impatience, and the thought of sallying out to plunder the Qing army’s baggage train grew ever stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The twenty-third day of the tenth month, eleventh year of Chongzhen, morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Capital Garrison’s Third Battalion of the Five-Army Cart Corps arrived escorting a shipment of provisions. This Third Battalion was a supply unit, equipped with eighty large carts, each drawn by eight mules. A single cart could carry twelve dan and five dou of rice and beans, and they were also fitted with considerable firepower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although it was only ten li from the capital to the Xuan-Da defense line, the supply battalion was still fully armed. When the Third Battalion of the Five-Army Cart Corps arrived with provisions, the Xuan-Da troops were overjoyed. But their joy soon turned to disappointment — the supply battalion had brought only three hundred dan of rice, three hundred dan of qichao, and five hundred dan of black beans, barely enough to feed the Xuan-Da troops for a few days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was allotted to Wang Dou’s camp was even more negligible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That afternoon, Xie Yike came bounding in jubilantly to report to Wang Dou: “His Majesty’s imperial edict has arrived! Several eunuch heralds have already entered Viceroy Lu’s encampment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he added, puzzled: “But those eunuchs have grim faces — they don’t look like they’re here to deliver an edict of commendation.”\u003C\u002Fp>",2332,"2026-06-03T14:05:36.780Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","b2b70fb9163a194cf06746244c72a70d54d9422ea2bb2c832ca189b686f9a408","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-226","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-224",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]