[{"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-833":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},1206122,1561,"Chapter 833: Advance and Seize","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-833",833,"\u003Cp>After the Later Jin was established, they launched large-scale construction in Shenyang and built an imperial palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Centered on the Chongzheng Hall as the axial core, it has always been the place where the sovereign and ministers of the Qing state handle government affairs — so it was for Huang Taiji before, and so it is for Dorgon now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is mid-February in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, which by the later solar calendar is also mid-March, early spring when ice and snow begin to melt and all things sprout — yet here in Liaodong it is still cold, and sometimes goose-feather snow still drifts down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Chongzheng Hall is flanked by the Flying Dragon Pavilion, the Soaring Phoenix Pavilion, and a series of other structures. At this moment the atmosphere inside the great hall was solemn; the many ministers of the Eight Banners Manchu, Eight Banners Mongol, and Eight Banners Han were assembled in full. To show the importance placed on the Koreans and Japanese, the various gūsa ejen of the Eight Banners Korea and Eight Banners Japan were likewise arrayed in the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their queues, hair, clothing, and caps had all been changed, made identical to those of the Manchus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a policy that Huang Taiji had vigorously championed: “Queues, hair, and clothing shall all be in the Manchu style; those who disobey shall be beheaded.” To prevent the Manchus from being Sinicized, he also repeatedly ordered the abandonment of Ming official titles and city names, replacing them with Manchu terms; otherwise it was considered defiance of state law, and once discovered, would never be lightly pardoned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dorgon inherited all of these policies wholesale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Taiji also ordered the establishment of the Censorate and the Six Ministries, each ministry overseen by a beile, with subordinate officials such as chengzheng, canzheng, and qixinlang, employing Manchus, Mongols, and Han together, the number of personnel varying by ministry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He also renamed the “Study” to the Literary Institute, dividing the Manchu and Han Confucian ministers into two shifts who rotated on duty, responsible for translating canonical texts and recording the political affairs of the dynasty. In particular, he employed Ning Wanwo, Fan Wencheng, and others as his brain trust, giving the institute some of the functions of the Ming Grand Secretariat and Hanlin Academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, the Bordered Blue Banner lord, Beile Jirgalang, oversaw the Ministry of Justice, with Cergel and Suohai as chengzheng, Dorji as Mongol chengzheng, and Gao Hongzhong and Meng Qiaofang as Han chengzheng. Among them, Gao Hongzhong was also the director of the “Manzi City,” the critical espionage hub, specifically responsible for external intelligence and covert operations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The importance of Manzi City to the Qing state goes without saying. It was initially headed by Li Yongfang; after Li Yongfang died of illness, his son-in-law Wu Changchun took over. Wu Changchun was arrested by the Eastern Depot and executed by slow slicing, after which Bao Chengxian succeeded him — but Bao Chengxian was in turn captured by Wang Dou’s intelligence department and executed by waist-slicing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The current director of Manzi City is the Ministry of Justice chengzheng Gao Hongzhong. At this moment, holding an intelligence report, he was reading something aloud with cadence and emphasis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It has been confirmed that the bandit Li Zicheng proclaimed himself king in Jinan on the first day of the second month, founding the state of Dashun with the reign title Yongchang. In his state he established six government ministries and appointed a chancellor, each with its own ministers and vice ministers; the state structure is complete. In military organization, he divided his forces into five battalions — Center, Left, Right, Front, and Rear — appointing one principal and one deputy Quan General each to command the five battalions. Each battalion has one Zhi General to command it separately, and within each battalion there are a Left Guoyi General and a Right Weiwu General who jointly manage battalion affairs…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It has now been ascertained that the Shun state has over forty major generals: Liu Zongmin, Liu Fangliang, Liu Xiyao, Yuan Zongdi, Li Guo, Li Yan, Dang Shousu, Xin Sizhong, Gu Kecheng…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The military posts, preferences, and temperaments of these individuals are as follows: Liu Zongmin…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The various Qing heavy ministers in the hall listened quietly. They had deep faith in Manzi City’s capabilities; its intelligence gathering could even detail the names of every pass garrison commander in the Great Ming, the number of soldiers, and their equipment and weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They disguised themselves as merchants, monks and Daoists, beggars, and artisans of every trade, infiltrating everywhere. Many Ming officials and generals were even their own covert agents, so it was hardly surprising that they could collect such detailed intelligence on the Shun state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only those ministers newly joined to the Qing from the Eight Banners Korea and Eight Banners Japan looked at each other in shock, never having imagined that the Great Qing’s intelligence capabilities were so formidable, which also somewhat bolstered their confidence in this state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Gao Hongzhong was speaking in Chinese. As for the “Jin language” of the Qing state at this time, not only did many Han ministers understand it only partially, but those newly joined Koreans and Japanese were utterly clueless, so Qing court deliberations were mostly conducted in Chinese.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, Han culture flourished in East Asia, and for the upper classes of each country, speaking and writing Chinese was not a problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Manzi City has confirmed that the Shun state will mobilize its troops on the first day of the third month, striking directly to seize the Ming capital!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A tremor ran through the hall. After a long pause, the Bordered Blue Banner lord Jirgalang said: “Our state has besieged the Ming capital several times but could never take it immediately, yet Li Zicheng intends to break it in one stroke. It seems this man’s wisdom and valor must far surpass ordinary men. He is leading a great army on campaign in person; his ambitions are not small. Might he take advantage of the elite troops victorious in this campaign to cast covetous eyes on our Liaodong? Our Great Qing cannot afford not to examine this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had a reputation in the Qing state for remaining unflustered in the face of change and for possessing both courage and resourcefulness. For him to speak thus, the matter was clearly no small one. The more cautious and prudent Manchu heavy ministers in the Qing state, such as the Ministry of Revenue chengzheng Ingγulda, the former Plain Yellow Banner lord Ashan, Beile Daišan who still managed the Plain Red Banner, and Beile Abatai, all concurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the former Bordered Yellow Banner lord Baiyintu thought nothing of it, and Dodo gave an even more disdainful snort. He said arrogantly: “Our Great Qing has entered the passes several times, cutting down those Ming soldiers as easily as chopping melons and vegetables. Mere roving bandits, even if somewhat stronger than those Ming troops, how could they possibly be mentioned in the same breath as our Great Qing soldiers, let alone dare covet our Liaodong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words won the agreement of some Manchu and Mongol heavy ministers, and Baiyintu even let out a thunderous laugh of derision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like Dodo, they all held the Han soldiers within the passes in utter contempt — with the exception, of course, of Wang Dou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jirgalang smiled and remained silent. Since returning victorious from Japan, Dodo had grown ever more insolent within the state; there was no need for him to face that edge head-on — it was enough to voice his own concerns and opinions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We must not take this lightly!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dorgon, the Xuantong Emperor seated high on the dragon throne, glanced at Dodo. He spoke flatly, cutting off Dodo’s wild words, and said: “The roving bandits have been waging war for over a decade. Though they cannot withstand our great army, we still cannot treat them with the same contempt we held for the Han soldiers of former days.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze shifted back to Gao Hongzhong: “Has Manzi City ascertained the usable troops of the Shun state? For their northern campaign against the Ming state, how many men will they dispatch?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone in the hall looked over with concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Hongzhong said respectfully: “In reply to His Majesty, Manzi City has ascertained the Shun state’s military system and troop numbers. They divide their forces into outer battalions and inner battalions. The inner battalions, that is, the veteran battalion troops, number roughly sixty thousand horse and foot. These troops are extremely sharp; many men have two or three horses. They are also the core troops of the Shun state.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There are also outer battalions of roughly three hundred thousand men, horse and foot in varying proportions, which even the Shun state itself finds difficult to ascertain precisely. They are mostly formed from former Ming local forces or surrendered Ming troops. But after Li Zicheng routed Sun Chuanting, he also captured Guide, captured Xuzhou, raided Shandong, and gained the surrender of Ming Regional Commanders Liu Liangzuo, Liu Zeqing, Qiu Lei, and others. There are also surrendered troops from Great Ming Prefecture, Shunde Prefecture, and elsewhere. Their current strength is estimated to have reached six hundred thousand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He continued: “The Shun state seems intent on seizing the Ming capital in one stroke. They are continuously drawing off their crack troops; even the troops originally garrisoning Henan and Huguang are being constantly transferred to Shandong, leaving only some local guard units. They are committing everything, and the troops marching north are estimated to be five hundred thousand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone in the hall drew a collective cold breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dodo’s expression flickered, then he said disdainfully: “Only sixty thousand elite troops; the remaining four or five hundred thousand are all clay chickens and pottery dogs. When our Great Qing troops entered the passes several times in the past, they were all utterly unable to withstand a single blow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the hall remained silent, and even Baiyintu’s eyes showed a cautious look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, the Grand Secretary of the Secretariat Academy, Fan Wencheng, stepped forward and said with the utmost gravity: “Our Great Qing faces a moment of life and death. I implore that we immediately advance to seize the Central Plains!”\u003C\u002Fp>",1712,"2026-06-03T14:06:27.906Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","a3c37ee009b9754442ccfe579454a3366bdb70aaffd9de71443109a2b24d7a9f","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-834","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-832",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]