[{"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-656":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},1205945,1561,"Chapter 656: Prelude to Zhuxian Town — Chapter 28, Part 5","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-656",656,"\u003Cp>\"To attack and seize Guihua City — this is indeed a fine opportunity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wen Fangliang, Grand Ambassador of the Staff Department and Senior Commandant, looked at the map and said: \"According to the scouts' reports, inside and outside Guihua City now remain only a mere three-thousand-odd men, still divided among the three headmen Gulu Ge, Tuo Boke, and Hang Gao. Altan Khan's sixth-generation grandson, Omubu, was long ago degraded to commoner status by the Eastern Slaves and now idly resides within Guihua City.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Tumed are divided into eastern and western branches — the western branch is called the Guihua City Tumed, while the eastern branch is further divided into the Tumed Left and Right Banner. The Guihua City Tumed, from the time of Altan Khan to the death of Sanniangzi, a span of thirty years, remained in a state of prolonged internal attrition. By the time Omubu, son of Bushitu, submitted to the Later Jin, only a few thousand able-bodied men remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the eleventh year of Chongzhen, the matter of stripping his title also occurred — Omubu was framed and deposed. Thus, in fact, the military and political affairs of the Guihua City Tumed have ever since been managed by Left Banner Jasagh Gulu Ge, Right Banner Jasagh Hang Gao, and Third-Rank Jalan Tuo Boke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the great battle at Jinzhou, the Guihua City Tumed sent three hundred soldiers as a token gesture — all were like meat buns thrown at dogs, gone and never returning. After the battle, Yu departed without farewell and went back to join Wang Dou's Eastern Tumed Left and Right Banner Jasaghs, Omubu Chuhuer and Shanba. They were executed on Dorgon's orders in the presence of all Manchu and Mongol ministers, and new Left and Right Banner Jasaghs were appointed. However, this only made those two banners even more disloyal and estranged from the Qing state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After withdrawing his troops, Dorgon pursued a policy of concealing strength and biding time. Beyond the frontier, all Outer Vassal Mongol tribes whose spheres of influence bordered Wang Dou's withdrew several hundred li, redrawing pasture boundaries and doing their utmost to avoid clashes with the Jingbian Army. As a result, the Qing state's contact with the Guihua City Tumed became intermittent and broken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only that — the Outer Jasagh Mongols, the Tushiyetu Khanate, the Sain Noyan Khanate, the Chechen Khanate, and others all began to keep the Qing state at arm's length, drifting between loyalty and distance. As for the various Mongol tribes in Qinghai and elsewhere, needless to say, the losses the Qing state suffered after the Jinzhou campaign had far-reaching consequences.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially at present, the Guihua City Tumed essentially operates a mixed economy, half pastoral and half agricultural, with farming and herding pursued side by side. Even if they flee, the monk may run, but the temple cannot — we can just occupy the city outright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Guihua City is considered a sacred place among the local tribes; after all, it is a city built in imitation of the Yuan Great Capital. Within it are renowned structures such as the Silver Buddha Temple, which the local Mongols are also loath to abandon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Barring unforeseen circumstances, Guihua City will fall at the first assault. However, we must guard against possible Tatar relief troops. Also, the grasslands are not like the interior — pre-battle scouting must be meticulous...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Chao said slowly, looking at the map.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At present, the major Outer Vassal Mongol tribes such as the Kharchin and Khorchin are quite far from places like Mantao'er. The Chahar tribe, during the time of Lindan Khan, did indeed pasture and garrison beyond Xuanhua and Zhangjiakou. However, in the fifth year of Chongzhen, Huang Taiji defeated Lindan Khan in battle. After his son Eje was captured and surrendered, his people were resettled in the Huang River and Daling River basins, sandwiched between the Kharchin and Khorchin tribes — equally far away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In particular, certain Kharchin encampments had already been swept through by the Jingbian Army. As for the remaining small tribes to the north or east, once the Jingbian Army mobilizes, they won't even have time to flee, let alone send support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those khans and princes of the Outer Jasagh Mongols could not possibly cross the desert to provide aid either. The only question is whether Dorgon would come to their rescue from a thousand li away — that possibility is very small.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the dangers of the grasslands and deserts are not only human. The most critical factor is still the natural environment. Wolf packs and the like need no mention — against a large army, they are nothing but deliveries of meat and pelts. Horse bandits are also not worth discussing. But things like water sources, marshes, and quicksand still cause tremendous headaches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike the previous eastern expedition beyond the frontier, where the environment was relatively moist with numerous river valleys, the route northwest from Xuanfu Garrison to Guihua City consists mostly of arid land and pasture, with a portion of desert as well. The distance also reaches seven to eight hundred li — marching the entire way still carries risks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Those newly attached troops can't just eat without working. It's time to make them move — let them serve as the vanguard.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Shiyin grumbled loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Shiqi nodded emphatically: \"That is entirely without problem. At present, the various units of the Newly Attached Battalion, all told, this and that lumped together, amount to over twenty thousand people, with several thousand able-bodied young men. They are all steppe tribesmen who know the grassland conditions intimately. Letting them serve as the vanguard could not be better.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Newly Attached Battalion was precisely the unit established for those Mongols who had submitted. Like the Loyalty Battalion, it remained under Shen Shiqi's management. He was very diligent and managed it quite well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These submitted tribes from beyond the frontier were settled in the area along the Yixun River east and north of Mantao'er. Apart from paying tribute to Wang Dou, they used cattle, sheep, horses, felt blankets, furs, and hides to trade with the common people of the garrison villages for grain, food, pots, and bowls. Their woolen goods were abundant and had a considerable market.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some tribal headmen even began to imitate Han merchants and started raising chickens and ducks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Survival on the grasslands is very difficult. In ordinary times, black disasters and white disasters are rampant. If winter brings little or no snow, livestock often suffer from water shortages, epidemics spread, causing miscarriages in breeding females and even mass livestock deaths — this is a black disaster. If wind and snow are too severe, livestock easily freeze to death — this is a white disaster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When black disasters and white disasters strike, often without anyone noticing, a small tribe simply vanishes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet these Mongols discovered, to their astonishment, that even in winter, the livestock of those Han people could survive perfectly well. They pondered it over and over and finally realized it was the result of settled rearing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, most of their livestock farms did not raise cattle or sheep, but rather chickens and ducks. According to the Han people's introduction, raising poultry on the grasslands could be described as worry-free and labor-saving. The grasslands abound with all kinds of insects, grass seeds, tender leaves, and shrub seeds. Basically, as long as they are driven out, the domestic fowl can eat their fill. Even when grain feed is occasionally needed, the amount is very small — it can be called low cost and high profit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Civil Affairs Department's propaganda said: unlike cattle and sheep, which must follow water and grass, chickens and ducks not only do not destroy the grasslands, but their droppings also fertilize the grass. They allow year-round settled living, greatly avoiding the suffering of migration.\u003C\u002Fp>",1304,"2026-06-03T14:06:10.567Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","47963f4540d04b67fcba5b049df827016e3511e4fbd9bd5ec42d6fe483951c49","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-657","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-655",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]