[{"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-613":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},1205902,1561,"Chapter 613: River of Blood (Part Two)","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-613",613,"\u003Cp>Old White Ox: I'm home. Starting tomorrow, normal updates resume. I don't know what happened today — my whole body went limp, dizzy and lightheaded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moving army stretched vast and mighty, a mass of cavalry splitting into several columns. Wen Fangliang's Left Camp main force advanced north along Huailai Guard, crossed Tumu Fort, Jiming Post, and Xuanfu Garrison City, driving straight for Zhangjiakou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jingbian Army officers Li Guangheng, Gao Shiyin, Zhong Xiancai, and Han Chao, accompanying Li Yunshu and Wang Zheng, led the main force directly past Huailai City and turned west, crossing Fanshan Fort, Heishan Fort, Meiyu Post, and Taohua Fort, heading for Weizhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then within Weizhou territory they split into two columns: Zhong Xiancai and Wang Zheng headed for Datong; Li Guangheng, Gao Shiyin, Han Chao, and Li Yunshu crossed Weizhou City, Guangling County, Lingqiu County, Pingxing Pass, and so on, going directly to Taiyuan Prefecture and Pingyang Prefecture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jingbian Army mobilized roughly ten thousand troops in total; the remainder were elite cavalry from Datong Garrison or Shanxi Garrison. They moved with the force of thunderbolts. In every fort, county, and city they passed, defending soldiers, officers, and officials all stared dumbstruck, and the same thought rose unbidden in their minds: something huge has happened — the skies over Xuan-Da are about to change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Iron cavalry surged forward. As Wen Fangliang's Left Camp main force followed the Yanghe River upstream and passed outside the southern gate of Xuanfu Garrison City, crowds of officials and civilians climbed the city walls, watching in terror and dread as the distant torrent of cavalry spread over from the south, fiery red banners snapping in the freezing wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jingbian Army's signature Sun-Moon-Wave banner, when seen by their own side, naturally boosted morale enormously; when seen by hostile eyes, it was overwhelmingly intimidating and awe-inspiring. Indeed, they were elite frontier troops — the most elite Jingbian Army among the frontier troops. One look at that momentum, and many instantly lost the will to resist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cavalry streamed endlessly along the official road past the city. Iron hooves pounded the hard earth with a force that seemed ready to crush everything. Many looked at each other, faces drained of color, then watched the direction they were charging — unmistakably Zhangjiakou!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marquis of Yongning, Wang Dou — was he really going to strike? Was he truly so audacious? In broad daylight, mobilizing troops for a major assault?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jingbian Army had come too fast, too suddenly. Inside the city, powerful families, merchants, officials and officers, even within Prince Gu's mansion — after receiving the news, all fell into chaos. Many raged and shouted in disbelief. Hadn't the Provincial Governor and the Garrison Supervisor Eunuch gone to the Eastern Circuit? Had they failed to dissuade him, or had they colluded with Wang Dou?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the general panic, only Zhang Guowei muttered to himself, \"I knew that scoundrel Wang Dou wouldn't let it go.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, he secretly rejoiced that he had not participated in this trade war. He had a premonition: this affair would blow up enormously, many would die, and much blood would flow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Fangliang's massed cavalry and infantry did not pause as they passed Xuanfu Garrison City. They crossed directly past Shaling Fort and Ningyuan Station Fort, pressing toward Zhangjiakou. All along the way, countless people were alarmed, but before they could react, the rolling torrent of cavalry had already surged ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the afternoon, at the hour of Wei, Wen Fangliang and his party, amid the freezing wind, faintly made out Zhangjiakou Fort, sitting on a flat basin in the open wilderness, surrounded in the distance by three mountains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The extreme limit of cavalry was roughly three hundred li in a day and night; ordinarily they covered two hundred li a day. Though the weather was bitterly cold, and the distance from the Eastern Circuit to Zhangjiakou was over a hundred li, and Wen Fangliang's Left Camp were not professional cavalry, the Jingbian Army was superbly trained, and they still reached the outskirts of Zhangjiakou Fort that very afternoon. Only the artillery lagged slightly behind on the march.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When they were several li from the fort, Wen Fangliang paused to survey the terrain beside a hill on the east bank of the river. Xuanfu screened the capital to the south and controlled the desert to the rear; to the left it gripped the peril of Juyong, to the right it embraced the stronghold of Yunzhong. Zhangjiakou was the strategic throat defending Xuanfu and blocking barbarian cavalry from descending south, so the fortifications had been built extremely solid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fort sat on the west bank of the Qingshui River. In the fourth year of the Xuande era, Guard Commander Zhang Wen first built the fort, four li in circumference, with walls two zhang and five chi high. The fort's location was what later generations would call \"Buzili\" within the urban area of Zhangjiakou City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the sixteenth year of the Chenghua era, a gate fort was built outside the north wall of Zhangjiakou Fort, five li in circumference, with walls two zhang high. In the eighth year of the Jiajing era, Guard Commander Zhang Zhen rebuilt the fortifications and perfected the layout. In the ninth year of the Wanli era, the local garrison commander further added battlements and watchtowers, all faced with brick.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The final Zhangjiakou Fort combined two forts into one, a fort within a fort, somewhat similar to the layout of Shunxiang Fort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Zhangjiakou has two gates: the east gate is called Yongzhen Gate, the south gate is called Chengen Gate. Both have barbicans…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The speaker was a handsome young man, not yet thirty, with a thick Hebei accent. His name was Liu Jun. He was an undercover agent under the Intelligence Division, had long served in Zhangjiakou, and had even worked as a manager for local merchants, so he was extremely familiar with the local situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment he was dressed in Confucian scholar's robes, which also served as his cover identity. After all, in the Great Ming, scholars were always respected, which brought convenience to various operations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the gusting, freezing wind, his wide sleeves fluttered, and he exhaled thick white breath as he pointed to a map spread on a large camp stool, explaining in detail to Wen Fangliang and the others: \"…The entire fort is long east to west and short north to south. Outside, there are fifty-eight beacon towers and thirty-one fire-path towers. Inside, Mielutai and other points are extremely critical…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He continued: \"The city's market district houses are mostly located in the outer perimeter of the inner fort — Wucheng Street, Beiguan Street, Dongguan Street, Xiguan Street, and so on. Merchant shops are packed in rows, stretching four or five li in length. Trading shops of every line compete for space… At the southeast corner of the city wall stands Kuixing Pavilion, the tallest point in the entire fort. The Garrison Commander's headquarters inside the fort is built right beneath the pavilion.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"…The storehouses of the various great families are mostly in the upper fort at Beiguan, many of them rented official granaries and warehouses. Also, on Xiaobai Mountain, and on Taiping Mountain not far from Dajingmen, quite a few merchant storehouses exist. According to intelligence, these storehouses hold vast stores of grain, cloth, silk floss, tea, salt, and other trade goods. After the Liaodong campaign, when the thieving slaves suffered a great defeat, they needed large quantities of provisions and fodder. The goods in these storehouses, it seems, are what the various treacherous merchants, at the request of the thieving slaves, were preparing to ship into the eastern rebels' territory…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Fangliang gave a cold snort. The officers and soldiers were fighting bloody battles at the front, while these merchants dragged them down from the rear, colluding with the enemy and betraying the nation. Death would be too good for them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He then used his telescope to observe Zhangjiakou Fort not far away. Before setting out, the Vanguard Reconnaissance Camp and the Intelligence Division had long since provided thorough intelligence on Zhangjiakou, but reading documents was never as clear and precise as seeing it in person on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All along the way, the fire-path towers had remained undisturbed. Perhaps, for those tower garrison soldiers, the threat they guarded against was only the northern Tatar slaves; faced with garrison troops coming from the south, none of them knew whether they ought to light the wolf-smoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, for those common soldiers in the towers, the movements of the high command were far beyond their reach. They could not possibly understand or make the appropriate response. If these troops were merely passing through and they lit the wolf-smoke, in the end it would be they who suffered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the cities and forts along the route, aside from their reaction speed, even if they were alarmed and sent out messengers to communicate with each other, Jingbian Army night scouts intercepted them, buying Wen Fangliang and his men more time to act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The twelfth month was fast approaching, the golden season for commerce. Through Wen Fangliang's telescope, at Zhangjiakou Fort on the west bank of the Qingshui River, whether at the east gate or the south gate, merchants' boats and carts came and went ceaselessly, showing that commerce was extraordinarily flourishing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Throughout the Great Ming dynasty, there were over thirty major commercial cities in the entire realm. Shanxi alone accounted for three: Taiyuan, Pingyang, and Puzhou. It was said that the wealthy of Pingyang, Zezhou, and Luzhou dominated the empire, and no one was considered rich without hundreds of thousands. Zhangjiakou Fort was a hub of frontier trade and smuggling, and its prosperity was no less than that of Pingyang or Puzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, inside and outside the fort, all was an atmosphere of peace and harmony. Certain people within had no idea that catastrophe was about to befall them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After studying the map and convening a brief discussion with the camp officers and staff advisors, they observed a pontoon bridge several li ahead, leading directly to Yongzhen Gate on the east side of Zhangjiakou Fort. The river was neither wide nor deep, and now in deep winter, the entire Qingshui River had completely frozen over. However, the ice surface was slippery, and Wen Fangliang certainly would not abandon a bridge to travel on river ice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the pre-arranged battle plan, he swiftly issued orders: \"The fort has no precautions — this is Heaven aiding our Azure Dragon Camp soldiers. Company Commander Sun, Company Commander Tian, you two will immediately lead your units' A-Class troops, cross the pontoon bridge, and with lightning speed seize Yongzhen Gate to the east and Chengen Gate to the south, securing control of the fort for our main force!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two Company Commanders of the Left Camp's Vanguard and Left Units loudly acknowledged the order and immediately led their A-Class troops in a charge. They spurred their horses at full gallop and quickly covered the several li of official road, waves of cavalry rumbling across the bridge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did the pedestrians and merchants outside the fort stir in commotion, all shouting in panic: \"Troops are passing through.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Government soldiers are coming — they're outside troops.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone scrambled to get out of the way, utter chaos and pandemonium.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most of the Great Ming's government troops could hardly be called good sorts; casually killing civilians to claim merit and looting property were trivial matters to them. No wonder people were terrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, these cavalrymen paid them no mind. As long as they didn't swagger down the middle of the road blocking their path, they were fine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as they watched these murderous, imposing government troops thunder past, some sharp-eyed people recognized them as the Jingbian Army. After all, the Jingbian Army's Sun-Moon-Wave banner, their uniform eight-petaled iron-tipped helmets, and their uniformly young and robust elite soldiers were far too easy to recognize. Their equipment and bearing were far too distinctive, and people had heard plenty of tales about them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jingbian Army had good military discipline — the pedestrians had heard that often enough and were somewhat reassured. But their sudden arrival at Zhangjiakou, and with all their elite cavalry deployed… after the cavalry passed, the ground was inevitably full of discussion and speculation. Among them, certain merchants turned pale. They knew perfectly well about the Eastern Circuit affair; they just hadn't expected the Marquis of Yongning's retaliation to come so fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, they gazed toward the fort, their hearts in turmoil, anxious and uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The follow-up main force, advance!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the two Company Commanders led the A-Class troops in their charge, Wen Fangliang continued issuing orders, subconsciously glancing toward the southwest. Although the Grand General had dispatched him to Zhangjiakou, it wasn't a direct strike at the treacherous merchants' lair. Still, raiding their smuggling dens and seizing their wealth and shops would be a pleasure in itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where are these government troops from? We haven't received any dispatches…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Jinzhong, Garrison Commander of Zhangjiakou Fort, happened to be at Kuixing Pavilion on the southeast corner of the city wall at that moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This pavilion served as both a lookout tower and a fire-watch tower. And because Kuixing was the first star of the Big Dipper's seven stars, belonging to the Kui constellation of the Twenty-Eight Mansions, governing the rise and fall of literary fortune, Gao Jinzhong would often take a stroll up to Kuixing Pavilion when he had nothing to do, gazing into the wind, taking a bird's-eye view of the entire fort. While savoring his lofty pride, he also meant to absorb a bit of literary fortune.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now he stood dumbly staring at the far bank of the Qingshui River, where an unknown number of cavalry — a dark, dense mass — were charging over. Their sheer momentum sent a chill through anyone who saw them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, Gao Jinzhong had hoped those cavalry would simply continue north. But then he watched them roll across the pontoon bridge, and it was clear their objective was none other than his own Zhangjiakou Fort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He murmured to himself. It wasn't just him — the attendants beside him were equally at a loss, not knowing what to do. (To be continued.)\u003C\u002Fp>",2389,"2026-06-03T14:06:10.567Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","ae02c64a1488769852a5e4e92c2fd22cec18bc70d2292e80af5147cfcd0b5e9b","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-614","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-612",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]