[{"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-32":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},1205321,1561,"Chapter 32: Marching to Battle","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-32",32,"\u003Cp>The next afternoon, Wang Dou decided to lead troops to Dongjiazhuang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time Wang Dou decided to lead two squads of troops into battle, and also bring four bird guns, leaving the remaining one squad behind to defend the fort. The bandit attack on Fangjiagou had reminded him that even if the Later Jin army did not invade, the Great Ming was still far from peaceful everywhere — better safe than sorry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Wang Dou led his troops to battle, of the men beside him, the Han Chao brothers were naturally going, Gao Shiyin would go as well, and Qi Tianliang would also lead his supply squad along. The person left to hold the fort was Yang Tong, which greatly disappointed him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the old hands around Wang Dou, he was the only one who had never faced life and death together with Wang Dou. Yang Tong also felt that Wang Dou was not as close to him in daily life as he was to Han Chao and the others. He had always wanted a chance to prove himself, and this bandit-suppression campaign should have been the time to strive for a good showing — a pity that this opportunity would slip by again. On the surface, however, Yang Tong naturally beat his chest loudly, telling Wang Dou to lead the troops to battle with peace of mind, and as for the safety of this fort, he could rest a hundred and twenty percent assured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The personnel arrangements were thus decided. This campaign would require spending several days outside, and it was unknown how much grain the squad commander Zhang Gui would allocate to him once they reached Dongjiazhuang, so Wang Dou decided to prepare some himself. A strong soldier on campaign eats over a sheng of rice a day; twenty-plus men in two squads would need over twenty sheng a day. Adding the fodder and grain for the several horses, Wang Dou decided to bring five days' worth of grain, roughly over two dan of rice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jingbian Fort currently had no mules or horses, so these grain supplies naturally had to be carried by the men of the supply squad. They also had to carry pots, bowls, tents, and so on. Those tents had been captured by Wang Dou and his men from the Later Jin army and would now come in handy. These supply squad men had to march on foot carrying loads the whole way, which was of course quite arduous. Wang Dou thought that in the future he would need to equip them with some horses, mules, and carts, and he hoped this battle would yield some gains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides the supply squad, the two combat squads naturally had to bring their weapons. To reduce casualties, Wang Dou decided to take out the batch of armor captured from the Later Jin army in the storehouse and use it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, Later Jin armor was not much different from Great Ming armor. Many of their armor and clothing styles came from the Great Ming. The only difference was that the helmet tips worn by the Later Jin troops were very tall. Wang Dou instructed Li Maosen to slightly modify these armors by cutting off those tall lightning rods, making them indistinguishable from Great Ming armor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the armor distribution, Wang Dou himself would certainly wear iron armor — that silver-white iron armor from the Later Jin heavy-armor soldier. This iron armor was finely crafted, with thick plates, weighing over forty jin in total, and could effectively defend the whole body. The shoulder plate that Wang Dou had shot through had long since been replaced, and it was once again a complete suit of iron armor — this was the advantage of scale armor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In addition, Han Chao, Han Zhong, and Qi Tianliang each also possessed a suit of iron armor. As for Gao Shiyin, after the battle that day, he too had selected a horse and armor, and he had naturally brought them along for this bandit-suppression campaign.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the two combat squads, there were four saber-and-shield soldiers. Besides their shields and sabers, Wang Dou also gave each of them a suit of iron armor. For the remaining bird-gun soldiers and long-spear soldiers, Wang Dou distributed either a suit of padded armor or leather armor depending on their fierceness. However, Wang Dou had limited armor on hand, and most of the men in the two combat squads had no armor to be assigned, let alone those few supply soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the Great Ming army's rules, when soldiers went out to campaign they needed to be issued departure pay, march rations, and so on. But these military households of Jingbian Fort were fighting for the fort's survival, so that their own families, wives, and children could live on. Killing the enemy was their duty, and every man had to fight to the death — naturally, no one would come to Wang Dou to talk about departure pay or the like.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Wang Dou led the two squads out, all the military households in the fort came to see them off. Everyone's expression was reluctant to part; some women and elders were even wiping away tears. Once gone, who knew whether the men of the family would ever return. But they shed tears only behind the scenes; to their faces, they all encouraged their husbands and sons to fight well, to follow Lord Wang in suppressing the bandits and earning merit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those military households all answered impatiently. Compared to them, the young men going to battle were all happy. After many days of bitter training, they had long been looking forward to this day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bidding farewell to everyone at Jingbian Fort, the group formed two columns and marched out of the fort. Qi Tianliang's supply squad carried rice on their backs and loads on poles, following closely behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou, the Han Chao brothers, Gao Shiyin, and Qi Tianliang — five men — possessed horses, and the warhorses were all plump and strong, which naturally drew envious glances from the military households under them. But everyone also knew that Wang Dou and the others' horses had all been seized from the Tartars. If they themselves had the courage and strength of Lord Wang and his men, they too could own such fine horses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only, to conserve the horses' strength, Wang Dou and the others still walked alongside the military households, though each could place his armor on a horse to be carried. The men of the remaining two squads who had been assigned armor all bundled their armor on their backs and marched on foot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The weather was freezing cold, and travelers were rarely seen on the road. The chill wind howled past from time to time, making the surrounding wilderness seem even more desolate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The group headed all the way toward Dongjiazhuang. Along the way, everyone walked quietly, the ranks orderly and disciplined. After over a month of bitter training, at least in marching formation, these two squads left little to be faulted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Zhong and Gao Shiyin also doubled as scouts, riding ahead from time to time to check the surroundings, but each time they returned to report that all was quiet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The journey was uneventful, and soon the group crossed the frozen Dongfang River.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Jingbian Fort to Dongjiazhuang Fort was only ten li. The group walked for a little over half a shichen and soon arrived outside Dongjiazhuang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reporting to the fort-guarding soldiers, hearing that Wang Dou was leading two squads of troops to assist in the bandit-suppression campaign, Zhang Gui was very pleased and personally led some men out to welcome Wang Dou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Zhang Gui saw Wang Dou and his men, he could not help but be stunned for a moment. This time Wang Dou had brought over thirty men. Though all were dressed in tattered clothes, every man was spirited. Especially the two combat squads — all uniformly able-bodied young men, their bearing and manner carrying a distinctly fierce and tough flavor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Gui was astonished. Having led troops for many years, he naturally knew what this signified. Zhang Gui knew that Wang Dou had recently recruited several dozen military and civilian households to the fort, but when had he trained these two squads of crack troops? That fierce and tough look was something even many of the soldiers in his own fort lacked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Gui scrutinized the able-bodied young men of those two squads. Among them, four carried large sabers and shields, four carried bird guns, and the rest all carried long spears. Some men also had bundles on their backs — could it be that armor was inside?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Gui knew that Wang Dou had once seized a batch of Later Jin armor, and for this bandit-suppression campaign he had brought it out to use — he really was willing to invest heavily. And those several bird guns also made Zhang Gui curious; he wondered where Wang Dou had gotten them from, and whether he was not afraid of them injuring his own soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was not only Zhang Gui who was astonished; Zhang Tanggong and Hong Qiu beside him were equally surprised. They could certainly see what those two squads looked like. They too knew the situation of Wang Dou's fort. In such a short time, Wang Dou's military households had achieved this effect — this Wang Dou's ability was far from ordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou naturally noticed that Zhang Gui was surrounded by some people. Besides Zhang Tanggong and Hong Qiu, there was also a middle-aged officer beside him with a gloomy expression and gaunt cheeks who caught his attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou had no time to look more. He stepped forward, saluted Zhang Gui, and said loudly, \"Your subordinate, by order of the squad commander, now leads twenty crack troops to report back to my lord!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Gui said happily, \"Brother, your coming is excellent. With you, your elder brother can truly say he has grown wings like a tiger!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He burst into loud laughter. Zhang Tanggong and Hong Qiu behind him also laughed heartily. Only that gloomy middle-aged officer beside him flashed a look of displeasure in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After laughing for a moment, Zhang Gui said, \"That's right, brother, let your elder brother introduce you to a few colleagues in the fort!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He introduced them to Wang Dou one by one. His retainer squad leader Zhang Tanggong, and Hong Qiu, who managed grain and supplies in the fort, Wang Dou already knew. In addition, Zhang Gui had a directly commanded squad leader named Zheng Anzhi, whom he also introduced to Wang Dou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Zhang Gui introduced the gloomy middle-aged officer. It turned out this man was Dongjiazhuang's deputy squad commander, Xiao Daxin, aged thirty-six or thirty-seven, with the rank of Probationary Company Commander.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Great Ming's Xuanfu Garrison, each squad generally had fifty men, divided between a squad commander and a deputy squad commander, each leading roughly half the men. This Xiao Daxin was Dongjiazhuang's deputy squad commander, and under him he had a directly commanded squad leader named Zhong Yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Zhang Gui's introduction, Wang Dou hurriedly clasped his fists in salute and said, \"Wang Dou pays his respects to the deputy squad commander!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Daxin's expression was dark. He said, \"I have long heard of Squad Leader Wang's great name. Truly, the younger generation is to be feared!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou felt that this Xiao Daxin seemed rather cold toward him. He wondered where he might have offended him. Zhong Yuan also cupped his fists toward Wang Dou with an equally cold expression, said a brief \"I have long admired you,\" and then said no more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Gui, seeing the atmosphere turn somewhat chilly, laughed and said, \"Just now I was discussing the bandit-suppression matter with several colleagues in the fort. Brother Wang, you have come at the perfect time. You are formidable at killing the enemy, just the man to give us some ideas.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They entered the fort. Zhang Gui instructed Hong Qiu to first settle Wang Dou's men and horses into the barracks to rest, and to be sure to give them good food and let them eat their fill. Then he led Wang Dou and the others to the official hall. In the center of the hall was placed a large table, and on the table lay a rather large map — the topographic map of the Western Hills' mountain terrain.\u003C\u002Fp>",2082,"2026-06-03T14:05:19.908Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","d895f07f6843220992c48dfad8e10fa1157ccdc26ac209f599dd62481b44d475","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-33","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-31",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]