[{"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-379":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},1205668,1561,"Chapter 379: Li Zicheng, the Thousand-Year Imperial Capital (Part 1)","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-379",379,"\u003Cp>Given the road conditions at this time, it was over two hundred li from Ruzhou to Luoyang. Though there was an official post road from Nanyang to Luoyang,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>it had long fallen into disrepair,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and the road was not easy to travel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over months and years,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the official road was everywhere lined with wheel ruts one or two feet deep. Horse-drawn carts traveling on it swayed left and right as if dancing, while single-wheeled barrows moved along quite smoothly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the road from Ruzhou to Linru was still fairly decent, since it was all flat river-plain land after all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After passing Daxing Fort and entering Songxian territory, there were several dozen li of hilly upland, and then following the Yi River north to Longmen Pass — the mountain roads in both these areas were even harder to traverse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shunxiang Army had large numbers of horse-drawn carts and mules, requiring no manpower, and they were traveling empty. Even towing ten heavy Hongyi cannons, their marching speed could still be maintained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was mainly Chen Yongfu's baggage train that dragged down the pace. With a great enemy close at hand, Chen Yongfu dared not detach any rear guard; all the baggage moved with the main army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their baggage train used single-wheeled barrows and large flatbed carts to transport supplies, tents, and the like, all relying on human labor. Their physical strength and training were also far inferior to the Shunxiang Army's, so no matter what, their speed could not pick up — and this was without even transporting grain and fodder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, with the Shunxiang Army present, their armor, baggage, and other items could all be carried by the baggage train, leaving the soldiers with only a single weapon in hand, greatly lightening their burden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the Shunxiang Army soldiers still marched in full kit, fully armored. These well-nourished, well-trained professional warriors wore armor weighing several dozen jin as they marched, all of them full of vigor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The great army set out at the hour of the Dragon on the seventh day. Li Guangheng's Geng Division cavalry company commander, together with Wen Daxing's Night Scout company commander, jointly served as the vanguard, probing enemy movements and planning camp sites.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That day they covered one hundred li, reaching Daxing Fort in the afternoon, where they prepared good rest areas and abundant food for the main army. Once the main force arrived, they could rest at ease and recover their strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Toward evening, Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu led the main army in. After marching one hundred li, the Shunxiang Army was still fine,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>but Chen Yongfu's garrison soldiers and those civilian laborers were all gasping for breath. Fortunately, the rest camp was well-prepared and the meals were sumptuous, allowing them to recover their strength quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guangheng greeted Wang Dou and the others upon their arrival at the camp. The Night Scouts under Wen Daxing, however, continued pressing forward to reconnoiter, spreading out into the zone between Daxing Fort and Longmen Pass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They linked up with the Night Scouts who had been reconnoitering Luoyang, Yongning, Yiyang, and other places over the previous days, continuously sending back the latest intelligence to the great army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Operating according to military doctrine had penetrated deep into the Shunxiang Army's very bones. In reconnaissance especially, the Shunxiang Army from top to bottom placed incomparable importance on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By Wang Dou's estimate, the hilly upland from Daxing Fort into Songxian territory, and the mountain terrain around Longmen Pass, were all good places for setting ambushes and needed careful scouting to guard against falling into one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>those Chuang Army troops, incorrigible as ever, had placed decoy troops and ambush troops in both these areas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those decoy troops were easily routed by Li Guangheng's cavalry. With intelligence from the Night Scouts' reconnaissance, Li Guangheng also advanced step by careful step, never rashly charging into an ambush, merely waiting outside the ambush perimeter for the main force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the prior examples of Liu Fangliang and others before them, the Chuang Army also knew the combat strength of these government troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ten thousand against one thousand gave them no certainty of victory. With nearly ten thousand of their main force following up, if they wanted to encircle and attack, they would probably need tens of thousands of men. With so many troops and such complex planning, how could those Chuang Army commanders pull it together on short notice? After a few attempts, those Chuang troops all withdrew in frustration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ambush skills they excelled at proved utterly useless before the Shunxiang Army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The great army's journey was full of alarms but no real danger, for which Chen Yongfu was endlessly grateful. Had he been traveling alone, he would probably have been ambushed many times already.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Wang Dou's view, so long as a great army possessed good reconnaissance capability, the likelihood of falling into an ambush could be reduced by eighty or ninety percent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Government troops repeatedly fell into ambushes; the Shunxiang Army very rarely did — the reason lay right here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Daxing Fort to Longmen Pass, the Shunxiang Army and the vanguard battalion traveled for two days. On the afternoon of the ninth day, the great army reached Weiwan Post Station on the left bank of the Yi River.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Guangheng's vanguard army\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>had long been waiting here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although it was still early in the day, Wang Dou gave the order to set up camp. Taking his own Guard Commander, the various Shunxiang Army officers, and Chen Yongfu with him,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he toured the world-renowned Longmen Grottoes with great enthusiasm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiangshan and Mount Longmen faced each other across the Yi River flowing through the middle. This Longmen mountain scenery was the crown jewel among the Eight Scenic Views of Luoyang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now the Yi River was covered with a thick layer of ice. Standing on the ice and looking to either side, it resembled a natural gateway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the cliffs nestled between the mountains and water were carved countless Buddhist niches and grottoes — some majestic, some vigorous, some lively, some delicate — an intense aura of civilization rushing to meet the eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou gazed in wonder. Seeing Wang Dou so captivated, Chen Yongfu and Qin Yi beside him both wore expressions of pride.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though they were not natives of Luoyang, these Longmen Grottoes were likewise their pride.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only Gao Shiyin muttered, \"Just some stone lumps — what's so good to look at?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou smiled faintly. \"Brother Gao, do not belittle these grottoes. They are the very essence of our Huaxia civilization…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Shiyin said, \"What the General says is true — they are indeed the essence.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tightened his cloak and greatcoat. With the two mountains facing each other, the place was like a wind tunnel. Standing there, gusts of cold wind came in waves, extremely hard to bear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Gao Shiyin's view, looking at these stone statues was not as good as going back to camp to get some wine and meat to eat and drink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qin Yi said, \"The Hermit of Xiangshan once said: Of the scenic spots in the four outskirts of the Luo capital, Longmen is foremost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These grottoes were carved over more than four hundred years, from the Northern Wei to the Northern Song, with several thousand niches and over one hundred thousand statues, plus the essence of steles by master calligraphers through the ages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Tang, Vice Director Chu once inscribed the Stele of the Yi River Grotto Niche, which can be regarded as the model of Tang regular script.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This student has been fortunate enough to travel and sojourn in Luoyang for two years, and lingered many times at this Yi River Gate. If the General is interested, this student would be willing to serve as guide.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou was overjoyed. \"With Mr. Qin as guide, today we shall surely return fully content.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That day Wang Dou indeed returned fully content. Regrettably, in these times of war and chaos, there was not a single visitor near this crown jewel of Luoyang's Eight Scenic Views — a slight blemish on an otherwise perfect outing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The desolation and ruin of the place also made Wang Dou sigh. Perhaps, when peace comes in the future, he could do something about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Early on the morning of the tenth day, Wang Dou and Chen Yongfu again led the army out. From Longmen to Luoyang city was less than thirty li. At the end of the hour of the Serpent, their great army reached the south bank of the Luo River.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The magnificent city of Luoyang, like a painted scroll, stood solemn and imposing on the icebound northern side. Through the telescope, one could see the famous Luoyang South Pass docks outside Dongfeng Gate, and the four large characters on the gate tower above the docks — \"Luo's Stern Pass\" —\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>were so very clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gazing at this majestic and towering city, Wang Dou sighed endlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Divine Capital, Luo Jing — ancient capital of thirteen dynasties, once the center of world civilization — yet now… \"If you would ask of the rise and fall through ancient and modern times, please, sir, look only upon Luoyang city.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The ancients did not deceive me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the tenth day of the second month of the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, at Yongning city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Yongning was of course not that Yongning city on the Eastern Route of Xuanfu Garrison, but the Yongning city in Henan Prefecture not far from Luoyang, known in later ages as Luoning County.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yongning City was originally the personal fief of Prince Wan'an. It fell to Li Zicheng early in the month. The fighting was not intense; with refugees collaborating from within, it could be described as taken in a single assault. The Chuang army suffered fewer than a hundred casualties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Li Zicheng's view, attacking Yongning City already counted as heavy casualties. When he took Yiyang, Yanshi, Xin'an, and other cities, his tens of thousands of troops would simply surround the place, beat the war drums once, and the local defending forces would immediately flee or surrender. His army often did not lose a single soldier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Up to now, apart from Luoyang City, the remaining dozen or so cities in Henan Prefecture had all fallen to the Chuang army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The military campaign went surprisingly smoothly, especially with the allegiance of literati like the Li Yan brothers, Niu Jinxing, and Song Xiance. Song Xiance even presented the prophecy: \"The Eighteenth Son shall wield the sacred vessel.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This prophecy began to shift Li Zicheng's thinking. Perhaps he too could conquer the land and seize the realm? So he changed his old ways of attacking cities and seizing territory merely for riches and women, and began to strictly enforce military discipline: \"To kill one person is like killing my father; to violate one person is like violating my mother.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan also composed ballads for him, such as \"Welcome King Chuang, no grain tax to pay,\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and proposed slogans like \"Equal land, exempt grain tax.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With these, his great army expanded even more rapidly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whenever he reached a city, there were always starving refugees willing to collaborate from within, making his conquests as effortless as blowing away dust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zicheng still could not break his habit of razing city walls — his \"waste the city\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>practice. Every time he captured a city, he would level its walls to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To sustain his great army, the local government offices, gentry, and wealthy households were also swept clean by him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Western Henan was a severe famine zone. Needless to say, the poor commoners had nothing to eat or drink. Now, the wealth, grain, and money of every major household also all belonged to the Chuang army. To stay alive, people \"voluntarily\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>flocked to join the army like a tidal wave every day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Essentially, all the ordinary people in the fallen cities of southern Henan Prefecture became his \"soldiers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calculated this way, it was hardly surprising that the Chuang army had explosively swelled to hundreds of thousands, even millions, of \"warriors.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Li Zicheng, having many troops was of course a good thing. However, to feed these \"soldiers,\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he had no choice but to keep attacking cities and seizing territory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He even set a record of taking three cities in seven days. Wherever he went, he swept away all local wealth and added however many tens of thousands of \"warriors.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pressure grew heavier, and then he would move on to the next stop... With pressure came motivation. Although feeding his troops was very difficult, Li Zicheng was not particularly worried. The Great Ming had plenty of cities, plenty of people, and plenty of wealth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Henan alone had eight prefectures. Once Henan Prefecture was swept clean, he could go to Kaifeng Prefecture. Once Kaifeng Prefecture was swept clean, he could go to Nanyang Prefecture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if all of Henan was swept clean, he could go to Huguang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Huguang was swept clean, he could go to Shaanxi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world was vast — where could he not go? As long as he had troops in hand, this Great Ming realm was a fine stage for heroes and bold men to realize their grand ambitions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yongning was a place blessed with natural beauty and outstanding people; its rivers were lovely and its culture splendid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the arable land within its borders was somewhat scarce, described as seven parts mountain, two parts plateau, and one part river plain. The farmland was mostly dry fields and dry slope land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Great Ming's current climate, even irrigated fields could not keep seedlings alive, let alone dry slope land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most of the land within the territory was also occupied by Prince Wan'an and the local gentry and powerful families. Years of consecutive drought had also reduced the local populace to extreme poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Yongning County Magistrate Wu Dalie was considered just and honest, often performing charitable deeds to relieve disaster victims, this did not stop the starving, desperate refugees from collaborating from within to help the Chuang army take Yongning County. In the end, because he was pressed for the whereabouts of the county seal, Wu Dalie was tortured to death by Li Zicheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A county magistrate, dead was dead. The local people could not concern themselves with so much, because Li Zicheng dared to kill Prince Wan'an, which made his fearsome reputation even more thunderous, and those joining the army came in an endless stream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were also horse bandits, mountain brigands, swordsmen-for-hire, and armed gangs of all sizes who came from various places, drawn by his fame. They were all incorporated by Li Zicheng one by one, becoming infantry or cavalry units of the Chuang army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were also horse bandits great and small, mountain outlaws, blade-wielders, pole fighters, and the like who came from every region, drawn by his fame — all were incorporated by Li Zicheng one by one, becoming foot soldiers or cavalry of the Chuang army.\u003C\u002Fp>",2504,"2026-06-03T14:05:36.780Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","96816b050c7b2309216af52eb141ec9221dd0ab33eaf438b526ab8503f84b424","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-380","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-378",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]