[{"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-626":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},1205915,1561,"Chapter 626: The Fifteenth Year of Chongzhen","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-626",626,"\u003Cp>The Young Madam bit her lower lip and said, “I know those women and children are connected to the treacherous merchants, but… they were only deceived by treacherous men — their crime does not warrant death. For the army to open fire on them, don’t you think that’s excessively cruel?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said flatly, “In your view, then, should we have let these, hmm, so-called women and children charge through the battle lines, and then let the military household troops following behind them seize the chance to rush in and tear the soldiers of my Jingbian Army to pieces?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at the Young Madam: “Chu Wanyun, Chu Wanyun, you ought to be clear about one thing. The ones to blame in this matter are the men directing them from behind — people like Lai Tianlu, Li Jian’e, and the rest. The blame should not fall on my officers and men! Strictly speaking, my soldiers were the victims!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing him speak her maiden name, the Young Madam’s delicate frame trembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She listened as Wang Dou continued, his tone utterly unsparing, and as he looked at her there was even a trace of contempt: “A woman of the inner chambers — long of hair, short of insight. What do you understand? I, Wang Dou, have seen plenty of this sort of thing — using women and children to charge the lines — ever since I first rose to prominence. Whether the old Tatar slaves back then or the roving bandits in recent years, which of them hasn’t done the same?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we had let them charge the army’s formation freely, not only my subordinates, but I, Wang Dou, would have died long ago, dead beyond any chance of revival. Would I still be sitting here chatting idly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said, “Besides, countless people in the Great Ming have their eyes on me, Wang Dou, trying every possible way to find my weakness. If the tactic of using women and children proved effective, then from now on, whether treacherous merchants or treacherous bandits, Tatar slaves or roving bandits, they would all drive women and children ahead of them, with able-bodied troops following behind. What should I do then? Let them attack at will, even fight their way into the Eastern Circuit?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at the Young Madam and said finally, “Therefore, opening fire at the very first moment cut off the schemes of those directing them from behind and extinguished any further intent to drive women and children forward. Although it caused some casualties at the time, it prevented even greater casualties among women and children in the future. That is true salvation, true mercy! What you display, which seems benevolent and virtuous, is in fact inwardly hypocritical, even brutal — because people like you would cause even more women and children to be killed or wounded!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Junjiao laughed aloud. She had long known Wang Dou’s eloquence, and she simply gazed at her man with intoxicated admiration. The Young Madam, however, was arguing with Wang Dou for the first time. Seeing that a military man could be so sharp-tongued and glib completely exceeded her expectations, and she was left somewhat speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her pretty face flushed crimson; she was somewhat agitated and stammered, “It’s not the same, not the same. These women and children are not the same as those women and children.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing her manner, so utterly different from her usual poised, intelligent, and elegant image, Wang Dou found it rather amusing and asked, “What’s not the same?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Young Madam said, “Those women and children were coerced by the pressure of the Tatars and the roving bandits. These women and children were merely deceived — they mistakenly believed the treacherous men’s instigation, thinking that the Marquis of Yongning wanted to cut off their livelihood. They can only be considered ignorant. Does ignorance also deserve death?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou smiled faintly: “Deceived? Were they truly deceived? I’m afraid they understood perfectly well but pretended to be muddled. The treacherous merchants were colluding in secret trade beyond the frontier, and they all reaped benefits from it. Strictly speaking, every one of them is among those guilty of trafficking with the slaves. Whether they were deceived or not — who knows if their hearts were perfectly clear about it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said, “In the face of an army, who does not fear death and injury? Yet they willingly walked at the front, willingly served as the vanguard. Perhaps they had heard too often that my Jingbian Army is a force of righteousness and benevolence, and they thought that a gentleman can be taken advantage of by his own integrity — that we would not dare to act against women and children. They never imagined they had made the wrong calculation, and in the end they paid a painful lesson!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said, “Just now you asked whether ignorance is also a crime. Yes, I can tell you plainly: even if they were ignorant, that too is a kind of sin!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because it is precisely through ignorance that such people readily aid the wicked. They received some trifling benefits from the treacherous merchants, yet they did not realize that they were supplying the Eastern slaves. Bit by bit, it added up, providing them with ample provisions and weapons, and then those brutal Tatars could breach the passes to plunder and slaughter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said, “Madam Li, do you know? Every time the Tatars invade, it is a scene of utter devastation, too horrible to behold. I wonder — among those Han people who died, among those women and children and infants, was there any contribution from these so-called women and children of places like Zhangjiakou?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Young Madam’s full bosom heaved even more violently. She bit her lower lip tightly, feeling that she was about to be talked into a stupor by Wang Dou again. Yet a voice inside her cried out, “It is not like that. You cannot say it like that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She strained to calm herself. Wang Dou was a military man; she herself was widely read in poetry and the classics — how could she be unable to out-argue him? At the same time, debating with Wang Dou gave the Young Madam a peculiar sensation — novel, and yet thrilling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She suddenly seized upon a flaw in Wang Dou’s words: “The Marquis of Yongning says these women and children colluded with treacherous merchants in secret trade beyond the frontier. May I ask, my Lord Marquis, have you not gone beyond the frontier yourself? You are in the Eastern Circuit, and moreover, you are about to go to the garrison city. Will you refrain from going beyond the frontier and trading with the barbarians?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Junjiao, standing to the side, was listening with amusement to the debate between her close friend and her own man. Hearing this, she furrowed her dark brows. This question, it seemed, was not easy to answer. Her man had not only gone beyond the frontier, but had done so openly and flagrantly — rather like those treacherous merchants…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She watched the Young Madam staring fixedly at Wang Dou, her expression eager and ready to challenge, with a competitive, striving look in it as well. Perhaps this was her true nature? Outwardly poised and noble, inwardly lively — a repressed and inwardly passionate woman. Wang Dou made his final assessment of her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His expression relaxed, and he smiled faintly: “Madam Li, you must take note — these are two entirely different matters! Both go beyond the frontier, but theirs is illegal smuggling, while mine is lawful trade. The principle behind them is as far apart as heaven and earth. You must not confuse the two.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said, “More importantly, they were aiding the barbarian slaves, weakening the strength of the imperial dynasty, whereas I am weakening the barbarian slaves and strengthening the imperial dynasty. Both go beyond the frontier, but the significance is vastly different!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Young Madam was speechless. She lowered her head and said, “Even if those women and children were guilty, there was still no great need to open fire. Surely there were other ways to avoid it. They were all pitiful women who could not even truss a chicken, and children too…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou was dumbfounded. How had they circled right back again? For the first time, he felt that stubborn, foolish literary women were simply impossible to communicate with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suppressing his anger with effort, he ate a piece of snow-pear and said flatly, “In Madam Li’s opinion, how should it have been handled?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shot the Young Madam a glance: “Back in Qingyuan, there were also some so-called women and children besieging your residence. If they had broken through the gates and entered, what would you have done then?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Young Madam lowered her head and said, “They did not break in, did they? Besides, I am asking the Marquis — why does the Marquis turn the question back on me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said, “In that situation, my subordinate officers handled it correctly. Beyond that, I have no other solution either. Do you have a better plan?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Young Madam said, “I am not one of the Marquis’s subordinate officers, nor was I present at the time. I am merely saying that, given the outstanding abilities of the Jingbian Army’s commanders, there surely must have been a way to avert such a tragedy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou rubbed his face and said, “Madam Li, do you know how battles are fought?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Young Madam raised her head to look at Wang Dou and said, puzzled, “Why would I need to know about fighting battles? The Marquis’s words are most strange.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou could bear it no longer. He stood up and shouted, “You know nothing at all, so what the hell are you talking about?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was in no mood to stay any longer and was about to leave. Ji Junjiao rose to see him off and whispered with a giggle into his ear, “Alright, alright, don’t be angry. Tonight, I’ll call the two maids, Butterfly and Dragonfly, over again to keep you company together.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou smiled knowingly. He walked to the door, then turned back to see the Young Madam sitting there in a daze. He said, “Madam Li, for the sake of Lord Li, I give you a word of advice. You have simply seen too little of the world. You should read more books. Only knowledge can change one’s destiny.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, he put his hands behind his back and strode off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Junjiao returned and saw the Young Madam biting her lower lip, her face as crimson as if smeared with rouge. She watched her for a moment, then burst out giggling. Outside the window, the cold wind howled, the chill piercing to the bone, yet her smiling face seemed to make the room bright and radiant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She laughed loudly and coquettishly and said, “Sister Wanyun, were you deliberately entangling yourself with my man to attract his attention? All these years of widowhood — is it very hard to bear? Shall I, your little sister, help you out?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Young Madam said, both ashamed and angry, “Little Sister, what are you saying? Am I that sort of shameless woman?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Junjiao smiled, walked to the window, and sighed, “It’s snowing again. How beautiful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your husband here is a master of the sparrow-table. Today I shall surely sweep the field in all four directions!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On New Year’s Eve, the whole family gathered joyfully to celebrate the new year together. Because they had to stay up to see the old year out, and the long night stretched endlessly, Wang Dou played backgammon with his wives and concubines to pass the time, while his several children gathered around to watch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dice dropped with a tick like a copper water-clock; from the deep palace chambers came again the sound of little dogs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eight, eight, I…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, truly heaven envies talent. I, Wang Dou, am invincible on the battlefield and a master at mahjong — how is it that with mere backgammon, I just…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at Liu Qing’s white pieces over there and his own black pieces over here, it seemed he was about to lose again. Wang Dou could not help but sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Playing in rotation against his wives and concubines, he had already lost many times. Even against Xie Xiuniang, he had little hope of victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At last…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Zheng held a slip of paper in his hand and looked at Wang Dou. Hesitantly, he said, “Father, if we paste on another one, your face will be completely covered.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing everyone’s stifled laughter, Wang Dou sighed and said, “Paste it on. A bet must be honored.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sky slowly brightened from dusky darkness. Wang Dou drew his fur coat tighter, walked into the courtyard, and took a deep breath. The air was so piercingly cold and clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gazing at the sky, he quietly lost himself in thought. It was the fifteenth year of Chongzhen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time shifted slightly backward — the twelfth month, mid-month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Henan, Chenliu County.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Slaughter the cattle and sheep, prepare the wine and broth, open the city gates to welcome the Dashing King — when the Dashing King comes, no grain tax is paid!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid earth-shaking ballads, countless starving people swarmed forward, scattering the government troops and opening the city gates. Outside the city, the vast, mighty troops of the Dashing Army poured in…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the twelfth moon, outside Yuzhou City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Likewise, on the open wilderness beyond the city walls, a boundless tide of starving refugees stretched as far as the eye could see, and the song thundered to the heavens: “Eat his mother, wear his mother, if eating’s not enough there’s King Chuang! No corvée, no grain tax, we’ll all live merry for once!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And behind the starving refugees stretched an endless expanse of military formations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gazing at the refugees and the great army outside the city, the Garrison Commander sighed. The roving bandits were overwhelming, and inside the city starving refugees were stirring restlessly as well — could this city hold?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He whispered to his subordinates: “Though the Department Magistrate has treated me well, our lives matter more. Let us secretly open the gates and surrender.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, around Kaifeng Prefecture — Xuzhou, Tongxu, Weishi, Weichuan, Yanling, Linying, Changge, Xinzheng, Sishui, and over ten other cities — the situation was the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Li Chuang captured Luoyang, he immediately surged forth in a mighty torrent toward Kaifeng. But the Prince of Zhou was virtuous and wise, emptying his granaries to recruit troops; the newly appointed Henan Provincial Governor Gao Mingheng and Regional Commander Chen Yongfu defended ably. Li Zicheng attacked long without success and turned instead to strike the areas around Kaifeng Prefecture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a few short days, over ten cities fell in succession. Henan was stunned, and the capital was stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the course of these assaults, the collaboration of starving refugees inside each city played an extremely vital role. Henan had suffered successive years of severe drought; the common people were displaced and destitute, and the government’s disaster relief was ineffective. The pent-up brutality in many people’s hearts needed an outlet, so aiding Li Chuang in toppling the cities became their choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearly every city fell the same day, or within one or two days. With starving refugees and hungry soldiers rising in response, Li Zicheng took over ten cities in succession without the slightest effort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month, Henan Prefecture, Xin’an County, Quemen Mountain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Governor Fu, orders have been dispatched to Generals He Renlong and Li Guoqi, but both have refused to come to the rescue, citing exhausted horses!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A voice boiling with fury: “Those two rats, utterly ungrateful for imperial grace…” (To be continued.)\u003C\u002Fp>",2635,"2026-06-03T14:06:10.567Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","2d8ede741cd83e87aeba6b938ae9521ab6c0a64dac3e69060ce83d04dcf09bf4","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-627","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-625",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]