[{"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-49":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},1205338,1561,"Chapter 49: A Chance Encounter","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-49",49,"\u003Cp>Early the next morning, Wang Dou set out for the prefectural city with the Han Chao brothers, Gao Shiyin, and Zhong Diaoyang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the busy farming and land-reclamation season, so the squad’s soldiers were all out working and training was impossible; Han Chao, Han Zhong, and the others had nothing to do, so they accompanied Wang Dou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou, Han Chao, Han Zhong, and Gao Shiyin all had horses, and Zhong Diaoyang borrowed Qi Tianliang’s horse to use.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhong Diaoyang already knew about his father’s situation. Ashamed, he said to Wang Dou, “My lord, you have been troubled over my father’s affairs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou replied, “We are all one family; there is no need for such polite words.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bao’anzhou city lay northwest of Jingbian Fort, about a dozen li from the fort. The group rode off, passing several garrison villages along the way, and soon reached the banks of the Sanggan River, which the locals called the Hun River. Here there was a pontoon bridge the locals called the Chuanji Bridge, built in the third year of the Zhengtong reign of the Great Ming. After crossing the river and traveling five li east, they would reach Bao’anzhou city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Wang Dou and his group reached the Chuanji Bridge, it was the season for collecting the summer tax. Although it was still early, the bridge was already packed with commoners driving ox-carts, mule-carts, and handcarts, all piled high with grain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the Great Ming implemented the “Single Whip Law,” the summer tax and autumn grain levies were converted to silver payments. But how would ordinary commoners normally have silver on hand? They had to transport their grain to the prefectural city or elsewhere, sell it at various rice shops to exchange for silver, and there they had no choice but to accept the merchants’ ruthless exploitation at prices far below the market rate. Even in a year of good harvest, they made little profit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After paying their taxes, when the next year’s lean season arrived and the commoners had nothing to eat, they were forced to buy grain back from the merchants at high prices just to stave off hunger. Every time this happened, it was the season when people everywhere were driven to poverty and flight, selling their children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Zhang Juzheng promoted the Single Whip Law, his original intent was to relieve the common people from corvée labor and the hardship of transporting grain a thousand li. He never imagined that by now its implementation would subject the people to even more exploitation and abuse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, after the Single Whip Law was enacted, the positions of grain chief, village chief, and tithing chief existed in name only. Yet with the limited number of runners and bailiffs in the prefectures and counties of the Great Ming at the time, it was naturally difficult to collect taxes directly from each household. Thus, a type of tax contractor or tax farmer emerged everywhere in the Great Ming, usually filled by local great households, wealthy families, or powerful local clans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These people paid taxes on behalf of others, and while this did make things more convenient for some commoners, they obviously would not do good deeds for nothing. The layers of exploitation involved also made many commoners prefer to go to the prefectural city and pay their taxes themselves. The commoners’ carts crowding the Chuanji Bridge at that moment clearly belonged to this latter group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the numb expressions on these commoners’ faces, Wang Dou sighed inwardly at the hardship of the people’s livelihood. Beside him, Han Zhong and Gao Shiyin were heartless and carefree, simply pointing from horseback and amusing themselves. Seeing some commoners cast envious looks at them mounted on their horses, the two grew thoroughly pleased with themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They waited a good while until the bridge surface cleared somewhat, and only then did Wang Dou and his group ride across the river.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The five men’s horses were fast, and they soon arrived beneath the walls of Bao’anzhou city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bao’anzhou city was originally the site of the Bao’an Guard city, established as a guard in the second year of the Yongle reign. In the thirteenth year of Yongle, Bao’anzhou was established within the guard city, so the department and the guard shared the same city. In the second year of the Jingtai reign, the Bao’an Guard was relocated to a new site at Leijiazhan, which later became Xinbao’an Town in Huailai County.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bao’anzhou city before them was square, with a perimeter of four li and one hundred forty-eight paces, walls three zhang and five chi high, and a top thickness of three zhang. In the forty-fourth year of the Jiajing reign, Department Magistrate He Qin and Garrison Commander Zhou Yingqi had the walls faced with brick. Outside the city, a moat was dug, two zhang and five chi deep. There were two gates, the South Gate and the West Gate. At the South Gate, there was also a South Pass fortification, with a perimeter of four hundred ninety zhang, walls three zhang and five chi high, and a moat two zhang and five chi deep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Southwest of Bao’anzhou city lay Mount Zhuolu, to the northwest were Mount Jiming and Yao’er Ridge, and the Sanggan River lay to the south. To the east were Dongbali Fort, Liangtian Garrison Fort, Bao’an Guard City, Magukou, and other forts. It was an important grain storage area for the Great Ming’s Xuan Garrison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the twenty-third day of the seventh month of the seventh year of the Chongzhen reign, five days before Wang Dou arrived in this world, the Later Jin army stormed and captured Bao’anzhou. Countless soldiers and civilians were killed or wounded, and Department Magistrate Yan Shengdou died by suicide to preserve his integrity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of this, the security at Bao’anzhou city before them was far stricter. Several dozen breech-loading swivel guns were placed on the city walls, and small bronze cannons and small iron cannons were even more numerous. In addition, Wang Dou spotted several “Divine Might Grand General” iron cannons, their barrels probably three meters long, their dark, oppressive muzzles aimed squarely outside the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou and his five companions arrived outside the Laixun Gate of the South Pass fortification, intending to enter the prefectural city from there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in front of the drawbridge, the area was packed with commoners from various villages who had come to transport grain, cramming the city gate completely. There were also some refugees in tattered clothes, bringing their families and trying to slip into the city. The soldiers guarding the gate simply shouted and berated them loudly, refusing them entry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the clamor, seeing this scene, Wang Dou and his group had no choice but to wait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The weather was scorching, and with the sun now out, the group found seats in a tea shed near the city gate to have some tea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man running the tea shed saw that they were dressed like soldiers, and with their fierce expressions, he could not help but hesitate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Shiyin glared and said, “What, afraid we won’t pay? Do you see our horses? Do we look like people who can’t afford it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man was even more startled and bowed and scraped as he poured tea for everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After they had each drunk two bowls of tea and saw that the city gate was now flowing smoothly, Wang Dou gave a slight signal. Gao Shiyin pulled out a mace of silver and slapped it onto the table with a “pop,” nearly making the table fall apart. He said loudly, “Here, this is for you. Keep the change.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man was overjoyed and thanked them profusely, secretly wondering, “I never thought I’d see soldiers pay for their tea. How strange.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou and the others stood up. Zhong Diaoyang held Wang Dou’s horse for him. Just as they were about to enter the city, a burst of conversation caught their attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not far away, two young women dressed as maidservants were complaining to several men in coarse cloth shirts in front of them: “We agreed on early morning. Why are you only arriving now? You nearly delayed our honored guest’s business.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The men were protesting their innocence. One of them said, “Young ladies, the time you set was tight, and you demanded freshness. From our Dongling Mountain to here is several dozen li. We set out before dawn, and we’ve still made it, haven’t we?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of the maidservants said, “Alright, alright. Are these mountain apricots of yours fresh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man said, “Young lady, we picked these mountain apricots just yesterday from the sunny slopes of Dongling Mountain. Look, how plump the flesh looks, how vivid the color? They’re guaranteed to be juicy and sweet. The elders say that eating these mountain apricots can moisten the lungs, relieve asthma, promote salivation, and quench thirst.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two maidservants took the man’s bamboo basket, looked it over for a moment, and said, “Fine, we’ll take the mountain apricots. Here is the silver for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They produced an ingot of silver and handed it to the man. The man took it and said joyfully, “So much! Thank you, young ladies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The group of coarse-clothed men left, overjoyed, chatting happily along the way about how profitable this trip had been.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Shiyin’s eyes kept sweeping over the two maidservants. He remarked, “I wonder which household those two maids belong to. They’re really quite pretty. Marrying one would be nice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Zhong teased him, “Gao Manzi, take a look at yourself. Would those two maids ever fancy you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Shiyin glared and shouted, “They wouldn’t fancy you either.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou studied the two maidservants. Both were around sixteen or seventeen, dressed in crimson gauze clothing, fair-skinned and delicate. The women of the military households in Jingbian Fort and Dong Family Village were either coarse and dark or thin and scrawny. By comparison, these two maidservants indeed appeared quite charming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, although they were maidservants, they possessed a certain alluring quality. For their mistress to have trained servants like this, he wondered which household in the prefectural city she belonged to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, a magnificent carriage drove out from the city gate. The soldiers guarding the gate, seeing the carriage pass, all wore expressions of extreme deference and repeatedly drove away the commoners gathered near the gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The carriage stopped not far from Wang Dou and his group. A middle-aged man stepped down from the carriage. He had sharp eyes and wore silk clothes; by his attire, he looked like the steward of a great household.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spotted the two maidservants, called them over, and asked, “Have you two prepared the gifts for Young Lady Ji?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both maidservants hurriedly replied, “Steward Yang, we have prepared all the gifts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Steward Yang took the bamboo basket from the two women, looked inside for a moment, and nodded with satisfaction. “These mountain apricots were something the Young Madam specifically urged to be handled. For you two to have arranged it in such a short time, the Young Madam will surely be pleased.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, the two maidservants were also very delighted and said repeatedly, “This is all thanks to Steward Yang’s favor. We servants are endlessly grateful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Steward Yang nodded and said, “Hurry and get ready. The Young Madam and Young Lady Ji’s carriage will be out shortly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, a crowd had gathered around the carriage. Seeing this, Wang Dou and his group also grew curious and decided not to rush off; watching the excitement for a while would be fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Steward Yang simply stood proudly with his hands behind his back. His gaze swept toward Wang Dou and his group. He looked them over a few times, snorted, and turned his head away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Shiyin muttered quietly, “Looking at that carriage, it seems like it belongs to the Department Magistrate’s household…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, another elegant carriage drove out from the city gate and soon stopped behind the first one. Steward Yang, with the two maidservants, hurried forward to greet it and respectfully opened the carriage door, revealing the bamboo curtain inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A woman’s low voice sounded from within, and then the bamboo curtain was half-rolled up. Two women stepped down from the carriage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One was dressed as a young married woman, in her twenties, wearing a bright red sleeveless jacket. The other was a maiden in the bloom of youth, around seventeen or eighteen, wearing a light white silk jacket and a tucked skirt, her figure graceful, slender and elegant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the two women stepped down, the young maiden bowed gracefully and said, “I am indebted to the Young Madam for her lavish hospitality. I am endlessly grateful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young married woman returned the curtsy and said, “May the young lady have a smooth journey. Please convey my regards to your lord father on my behalf.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She reached out and took the bamboo basket Steward Yang handed over, saying, “These mountain apricots were specially prepared by me for your lord father. I hope the young lady will accept them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young woman took it with some surprise and laughed lightly: “I didn’t expect the Young Madam to know Father’s preferences — you are truly thoughtful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two women then bowed to each other once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou observed that both had top-tier bearing and demeanor, especially the young woman addressed as Young Lady Ji — she was tall and slender, with a delicate, alluring face, and her eyes were exceptionally lively as they moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at this young woman, Wang Dou felt a sense of stunning beauty. Since arriving in the Great Ming, this was the first time he had seen a legendary beauty from ancient times — a lotus rising from clear water, naturally adorned without artifice. Those so-called beauties of later ages, piled up with cosmetics, were not even in the same class as the one before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking again, the fabric of both women’s clothes was of fine, luxurious silk. He wondered where these two women had come from.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Shiyin beside him said in a low voice: “That Young Madam seems to be the daughter of the Department Magistrate — I have seen her before. I do not know who that young lady is, to warrant the Young Madam of the Department Magistrate’s household personally seeing her off.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou and the others all looked at Gao Shiyin, expressing admiration for his broad experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That Young Lady Ji boarded the carriage, and as the carriage and horses began to move, she still smiled and waved toward the Young Madam outside. Below the carriage, Han Zhong, Gao Shiyin, and the others stared at her foolishly, drool covering the ground without them even realizing it. Seeing the expressions of Han Zhong and the other man, Young Lady Ji could not help feeling amused; her gaze rippled, and in an instant a hundred charms bloomed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When her eyes swept over Wang Dou, he smiled and nodded at her. Young Lady Ji looked at Wang Dou with some surprise, her eyes sparkling. After her gaze lingered deeply on him for a moment, she then drew the curtain shut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching her carriage and horses recede into the distance, a poem rose in Wang Dou’s heart: “On the wilds the creeping grass, heavy with dew. A beauty so fair, clear and gentle. By chance we meet, just as I wished. On the wilds the creeping grass, drenched with dew. A beauty so fair, gentle and clear. By chance we meet, together we hide away.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps it could better describe this scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the young woman’s carriage and horses had gone far, Wang Dou saw that Gao Shiyin and the other man were still in a daze. He patted each of them on the head and said: “She’s already gone — what are you still looking at? Enter the city!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>。\u003C\u002Fp>",2652,"2026-06-03T14:05:19.908Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","f13eafa607cd04517a126a0168302fe1332f344376633e98e135cc819c37aef2","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-50","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-48",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]