[{"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-845":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},1206134,1561,"Chapter 845: Loyalty and Submission","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-845",845,"\u003Cp>After descending the city wall, that squad commander Zhang Shouyin hurried toward the Chongwen Gate. All along the way were wailing, fleeing people — soldiers and civilians alike. When he reached a stretch of low, crooked, cramped alleys on this main street, he saw the village elders with their doors half-shut, heads poking through the cracks, all uneasy and restless, some hopeful, more of them terrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he came before a certain house, the door suddenly swung open, and a woman in her thirties, her clothes covered with patches, her expression haggard yet resolute, rushed out to meet him. Beside her was a girl of fifteen or sixteen, her clothes just as patched. They were the gardener's wife Yang Bagu and her daughter Niannu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Shouyin…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Uncle Yin.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Bagu hurried forward, her face anxious and full of concern. She seized Zhang Shouyin's hands and looked him up and down. \"Let me see — were you wounded defending the city?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Shouyin felt warmth in his heart. He comforted Yang Bagu, saying, \"Don't worry, I'm fine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced left and right and said in a low voice, \"Let's go inside to talk.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three of them entered the house. Yang Bagu shut the main door, and Zhang Shouyin even tested whether it was firmly closed and whether it could be pushed open from outside. Then, his mind somewhat at ease, he reached into his bosom and produced seven or eight silver coins, which he placed in Yang Bagu's hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said gently, \"Bagu, you've been with me all this time, and I've never been able to give you a good life. Look at Niannu — her clothes are all old. It just so happens I've come by this money. You keep it and plan how to spend it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Bagu stared blankly at the silver coins in her hand — exquisite, dazzling, gleaming white and soul-snatching. She knew full well the value of these coins; in the capital they had always been hard currency, sometimes a single silver coin could even be used as two or three taels of silver. Her daughter Niannu beside her also let out a low \"wah\" of surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Bagu clutched the silver coins tightly and said in a trembling voice, \"Where did you get this money?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Shouyin's expression grew somewhat complicated. He said, \"It was a reward from Regional Commander Fu. He emptied his family fortune to reward the troops. Just these two days defending the city, he distributed tens of thousands of silver coins.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Bagu sighed. \"That Regional Commander Fu — I've heard of him too. A rare good official. It's just that the court has too few such good officials, so after two days of defending the city, it fell. … Well enough. Now that the Heaven-Sent Troops have entered the city, it's time for everyone to live good days.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Shouyin said, \"Mm. The troops have only just entered the city, so there's still some chaos. Once the capital settles down, we'll be able to live good days.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Bagu nestled into Zhang Shouyin's embrace. Both their faces were full of hope and longing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Bagu's husband had died early, and she had raised Niannu alone, enduring extreme hardship. Zhang Shouyin's wife had died young, and his children had all perished in war and famine. These years he too had merely scraped by, until he came to the capital and met Yang Bagu, and the two of them formed this bond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in Yang Bagu's daughter Niannu, Zhang Shouyin faintly saw the shadow of his own daughter. He doted on her dearly, treating her as his own, which made the hard-laboring mother and daughter deeply attached to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment Niannu stood to one side. She pressed her lips together in a smile, happy for her mother — after all these years, there was finally a man who truly treated her well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three of them gathered together thus. Listening to the footsteps shaking the ground outside and the weeping that shook the heavens, they were all somewhat frightened and trembling. Yang Bagu kept saying, \"No need to be afraid. Shopkeeper Tian said the Heaven-Sent Troops do not kill, do not covet wealth, do not loot or plunder. They will surely let everyone live in peace.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then the main door suddenly gave a great bang, startling all three of them. Niannu even let out a cry of alarm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Shouyin held mother and daughter in his arms and listened to the sounds outside. Fortunately, after that noise, there were no further sounds beyond the door, which set his mind slightly at ease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After an unknown length of time, the thunder of horse hooves sounded outside. Every street and alley was filled with galloping, and then shouts mingled with Shaanxi accents commanded: \"The common people are forbidden to open their doors — open your door and you die!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Bagu, hearing this, hurriedly said, \"Niannu, come with me and check everywhere — see if any door or window isn't shut tight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They busied themselves inspecting. Again the sound of doors and windows shutting in every street and alley was unceasing. After an unknown time, another voice shouted: \"Those who open their doors shall not be killed!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With anxious hearts they opened the door. Outside, the night was already somewhat dim. They peered around and saw that all the neighbors were pasting something on their doors, and many held incense sticks in their hands. Yang Bagu looked toward the nearest neighbors and saw pasted on their doors the characters \"Submissive People,\" and also written: \"First Year of Yongchang, Ten Thousand Years to the Submissive Heavenly King.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Bagu hurriedly said, \"Niannu, quickly go find some incense.\" She herself busied herself with Zhang Shouyin writing the characters for \"Submissive People\" and the like. They wrote them crookedly and pasted them on the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had just finished pasting when they heard the thunder of footsteps not far away, accompanied by the sound of horse hooves striking the ground. Beneath banners and pennants, orderly ranks of troops solemnly filed forward. The scholars and commoners of every street and alley all stood by their doors holding incense. Wherever the troops passed, every one of them raised their incense and prostrated themselves in welcome, shouting: \"Ten Thousand Years to the Great Shun Heavenly King.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A wave of \"Ten Thousand Years\" cries spread over. Seeing every neighbor raising incense and kneeling, Yang Bagu and the other two also hurriedly raised their incense sticks and knelt properly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Shouyin stole a glance and saw only that the Great Shun troops were extremely disciplined. He dared not look further. He raised his incense high, knelt on the ground, buried his head deeply, and shouted: \"Ten Thousand Years to the Great Shun Heavenly King.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Atop the Dongzhi Gate, watching the roving bandits continuously ascend the city wall — the defenders not only failing to resist but even reaching out with their hands to pull them into the city — and hearing the city gates below swing open, the bandits' cheers rising in one voice, a heaven-covering, earth-spreading cry of \"Ten Thousand Years\" erupting, Wang Jiayan, Co-Supervisor of the Capital Training Divisions and Right Vice Minister of War, let out a sigh. His eyes dazed, he looked upon all before him, then leaped from the gate tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was now the xu hour of the eighteenth day, between seven and nine in the evening. Word came that the outer city had fallen, and the bandits climbed the city from the corner tower of the Dongzhi Gate. The great city thereupon fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As with the outer city, fires soon broke out everywhere in the inner city. Hearing that the Dongzhi Gate was open, Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo defending the Zhaoyang Gate, and Zhang Jinyan, the Minister of War defending the Zhengyang Gate, also opened their two gates and surrendered in welcome. The Grand Eunuch Wang Xiangyao, leading a thousand inner troops defending the Xuanwu Gate, likewise opened the gate and knelt in surrender.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Supervising Secretary Guang Shiheng and the Investigating Censor Wang Zhang were patrolling the city walls and had just reached the Xuanwu Gate. Seeing Wang Xiangyao open the gate, Guang Shiheng's expression did not change. He straightened his robes and cap and knelt in welcome. Wang Zhang sighed, then dashed his head against the gate's edge and died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Atop the Zhengyang Gate, Meng Zhaoxiang, Right Vice Minister of Justice, watched the roving bandits march in formation. Zhang Jinyan, the Minister of War, knelt prostrate on the ground, motionless. Meng Zhaoxiang remained silent, slowly drawing the sword at his waist. His son, the Metropolitan Graduate Meng Zhangming, tears streaming down his face, merely bowed silently to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After his father abruptly cut his own throat, he carried his father's body back to their residence and said to his wife, Lady Wang: \"I cannot bear for my lord father to die alone. I go to follow him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His wife said, \"If you die, I too shall die.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meng Zhangming knocked his head against the ground and said, \"I thank you, Lady. Yet you, Lady, must die first.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sent all the household members away, keeping only one maidservant at his side. After his wife hanged herself, he took up a brush and wrote a poem, then again wrote in large characters on the wall: \"Should any defile the corpses of my husband and wife, I shall surely become a vengeful ghost and slay them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took a door plank and placed it beneath his wife's body, adding her crimson robes. He then took another door plank and placed it to his wife's left, instructing the maidservant: \"When I die, lay me also upon a door plank.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thereupon he donned crimson robes and hanged himself to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The roving bandits steadily poured into the inner city. Everywhere the din of voices surged. Fan Jingwen, Grand Secretary and concurrent Minister of Works, listened to the commotion outside and sighed: \"As a minister of the realm, unable to win even a little merit on the battlefield — though I die, what use is it!\" By now he had not eaten for three days and his voice could not sustain itself. He had his household help support him as he performed three kneelings and nine kowtows toward the Forbidden City, then composed two poems and thereupon hanged himself to death. His concubine also hanged herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ni Yuanlu, Minister of Revenue and concurrent Academician Reader-in-Waiting, listened to the bandit cavalry outside shouting for the common folk to quickly hand over mules and horses. He sighed: \"The state has come to this — even in death, a minister bears surplus blame.\" He straightened his robes and cap and bowed toward the palace gates, thanking the Son of Heaven to the north and his mother's grace to the south. He then instructed his household: \"If you wish to encoffin me at once, you must perform a grand encoffining before you may collect my corpse.\" Then he hanged himself. Afterward, his entire household followed him in martyrdom — thirteen persons in all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Bangyao, Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief, hearing that the roving bandits were advancing, wept aloud in great anguish and inscribed on a table: \"Ashamed that I had no half-strategy to remedy the times' peril, I have but this frail body to repay my sovereign's grace.\" Thereupon he hanged himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ling Yiqu, Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, burned all the writings and critical commentaries he had produced in his lifetime. Donning crimson robes and holding his tablet straight, he bowed toward the palace gates, then bowed again to the south. He left a letter for his father, saying: \"Loyalty fulfilled is thus filial piety fulfilled. To be able to die is not to disgrace one's father.\" He struck his head against a pillar, blood streaming, his face split open, and died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, Wang Guoxing, Chief Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, hanged himself to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Ruolian, Vice Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, had defended the Chongwen Gate. When the city fell, he composed a death verse: \"Dead! This is today's deed. How sad! Why must later men know?\" He hanged himself to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Wencai, a Battalion Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, defended the Xuanwu Gate. When the city fell, all seventeen members of his household took their own lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Wenbing, Marquis of Xinle, hearing that the bandits had breached the inner city, sighed: \"As a kinsman minister, my honor forbids me to suffer disgrace. I cannot but share the state's calamity.\" Together with his younger brother Liu Wenyao, Left Chief Military Commissioner, they chose a large well. Their sons, grandsons, male and female, and their younger sister — sixteen persons in all — threw themselves into it. Their grandmother, the Dowager Lady of Ying, the Emperor's maternal grandmother, over ninety years old, also threw herself into the well and died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gong Yonggu, Imperial Son-in-Law and Chief Military Commissioner, hearing that the bandits had breached the inner city, killed his beloved horse, burned his bows, swords, armor, and weapons, and wrote in large characters on the wall: \"Having received the state's grace for generations, my body must not be disgraced.\" At that time, the Princess Le'an had already passed away. He ordered that a fire be set outside to burn the bestowed mansion. As the flames rose, he and his five children all threw themselves into the fire and died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the roving bandits pressed the city hard, Jin Xuan, a Vice Director of the Ministry of War, knelt before his mother, Lady Zhang, and said: \"Your son has received the state's grace for generations and holds the post of carriage manager. When the city falls, honor demands certain death. If I can find a secluded place to hide you, Mother, please go quickly.\" His mother said: \"You have received the state's grace — have I alone not received the state's grace? The matter is urgent. The well beneath the portico is the place of my death.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jin Xuan wept bitterly. He took leave of his mother and went to attend to his duties. When he reached the Imperial River Bridge, he heard that the inner city had fallen. Jin Xuan gazed toward his lodging, bowed twice, and then threw himself into the Imperial River. His mother, Lady Zhang, also threw herself into a well and died. Jin Xuan's concubine, Lady Wang, likewise followed in death. His younger brother, the Licentiate Jin Cong, wailed loudly: \"Mother has died — I must follow her in death. Yet before Mother is returned to the earth, I dare not die.\" He fetched a coffin and encoffined his mother, then threw himself into the well and died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Lishun, Left Junior Mentor, the Top Graduate of Qixian, when the roving bandits entered the inner city, wrote on the wall with his brush: \"To achieve benevolence and take up righteousness — this is what Confucius and Mencius handed down. Wenxin practiced it; why should I not do likewise?\" He thereupon poured wine and took his own life. His wife, Lady Wan, his concubine, Lady Li, his son the Provincial Graduate, along with eighteen maidservants and servants — the entire household hanged themselves to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the time it was said: the minister dying for his sovereign, the wife dying for her husband, the son dying for his father, the servant dying for his master — among entire households that perished in martyrdom, the Top Graduate Liu's was the foremost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the eighteenth day, when the inner and outer cities of the capital fell, the ministers who immediately died as martyrs included Fan Jingwen, Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion; Wang Jiayan, Vice Minister of War; Meng Zhaoxiang, Vice Minister of Justice; Shi Bangyao, Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief of the Chief Surveillance Bureau; Ling Yiqu, Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review; Wu Linzheng, Chief Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; and several dozen others — all dying for the great righteousness in their hearts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the nineteenth day, a fine rain still fell unceasingly, at times mixed with fine snow. Inside and outside the capital, smoke and flames veiled the heavens. At the chen hour, a mounted company of roving bandits entered the Forbidden City and rode straight into the Qianqing Palace. At this time, the palace was in great chaos. Many palace people had just fled, only to encounter the roving bandits, and fled back in panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A palace woman of the Wei clan cried out: \"The bandits have entered the inner palace. We women shall surely be defiled. Let those with resolve make their plans early.\" She thereupon leaped into the Imperial River and died. In a short while, those who followed her in death numbered one to two hundred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the wu hour, Li Zicheng, wearing a felt hat and pale-colored clothes, riding a dark dappled horse, with several hundred elite cavalry escorting him, entered through the Desheng Gate. The Grand Eunuch Wang Dehua had long since led three hundred inner officials to kneel in welcome at the Desheng Gate. Li Zicheng ordered him to continue managing the Directorate of Ceremonial as usual. The seal-holding officials of each supervisory bureau likewise welcomed him in the same manner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their party turned at the Great Ming Gate and entered the Forbidden City. Civil officials such as Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, and Song Qijiao followed, while Liu Zongmin, Li Guo, and others led the various troops. Li Zicheng entered through the West Chang’an Gate, bent his bow, laughed up at the sky, and, confident in his hundred-shot accuracy, shot at the Chang’an memorial archway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He declared, “If I hit the center character, all under Heaven shall have peace.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpectedly, the arrow struck the tile ridge. Song Xiance consoled him, “It struck the groove — the Huai River shall be the boundary.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They then arrived at the Chengtian Gate. Li Zicheng looked about with self-satisfaction, saw the four characters “Gate of Bearing Heaven” on the arch, bent his bow again, and pointed at the gate plaque, saying, “If I am to be master of all under Heaven, this one arrow shall strike the center of the four characters.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpectedly, he missed again, hitting below the “Heaven” character. Li Zicheng lowered his head in displeasure. Niu Jinxing said, “Striking below it — you shall divide the realm down the middle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zicheng became pleased again, cast aside his bow, and laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They entered the palace and asked where the Emperor was. Wang Dehua, his expression complex, led everyone to the Hall of Imperial Supremacy, which had already burned into a stretch of ruins, with lingering flames still curling upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zicheng and the others were shocked to see a corpse sitting upright on the dragon throne, and another corpse bowing sideways before the late Emperor — both badly charred black by the great fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zicheng exclaimed in alarm, “Is this the Emperor? And who is the one beside him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, several eunuchs could no longer restrain themselves. They threw themselves to the side, wailing and crying, calling out “Your Majesty,” while others wept and shouted “Eunuch Wang.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dehua shed tears and said, “This is His Majesty the Chongzhen Emperor. The one beside him is the Grand Eunuch Wang Chengen. Though ravaged by the great fire, the general form and features cannot be mistaken. This slave cannot be wrong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zicheng and the others also summoned some palace eunuchs who had served the Emperor. They either pointed and identified him while trembling, or wept and cried out “Your Majesty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zicheng no longer had any doubt. He looked at the charred corpse on the dragon throne — sitting upright and solemn, gazing straight ahead. The raging flames had seared his body, yet could not make him shift the slightest from his seat. He could not help but exclaim in wonder, “The Emperor was actually so fierce and unyielding!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at the corpse of Wang Chengen beside him and sighed, “And there was also such a loyal servant.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his heart, he did not know what he felt. Deep inside, he had very much wanted to meet the Chongzhen Emperor face to face, yet before his eyes there was only a charred corpse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind Li Zicheng, Niu Jinxing, Liu Zongmin, and the others were also full of wonder, each with a complex expression. Li Yan let out a long sigh and slowly closed his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, everyone suddenly saw a white light rise in the sky, flickering for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One person cried out in alarm, “This is the Emperor’s spiritual energy, ascending to Heaven.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zicheng raised his eyes and watched for a long time. Finally, he sighed and gave orders to bury the Emperor with imperial rites, and to bury Wang Chengen with princely rites. The twenty-third was the funeral day. Two catalpa coffins were brought out, and the late Emperor was encoffined with red lacquer, wearing the imperial winged-silk cap and jade-inlaid gold boots. An altar was set up, and all officials were permitted to go and pay their respects — it was not forbidden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After giving these orders, Li Zicheng and the others recalled a very important matter: the Crown Prince and the others were missing. The Empress, Imperial Consort Yuan, and the rest were all nowhere to be found. A thorough search of the palace also yielded nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They discussed it. Li Guo said that late the previous night, multiple groups of troops had broken out through the various gates. Could the Crown Prince and the others have been among them? After all, the capital was vast, and troops could not completely encircle it. In the pitch-black night, cavalry could not patrol everywhere either — it was extremely possible that they had escaped this way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Niu Jinxing said they might also be hiding among the common people, and that without heavy rewards and severe punishments they could not be found. This was a matter of great importance and must not be taken lightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zicheng agreed and issued an order: whoever handed over the Crown Prince and the two Princes would be rewarded with ten thousand gold pieces and enfeoffed as a Count. Anyone who dared to hide them would have their entire clan exterminated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Zongmin and Niu Jinxing issued a proclamation: “All civil and military officials of the Great Ming are to attend court the next morning. First prepare your curriculum vitae and hand-copies, wear plain robes and small caps, and report to the government office to register your names. Those who wish to return to their native places may do so at their convenience. Those willing to serve as officials shall be employed according to their talents. Those who resist and do not appear shall be punished by execution. Households that hide fugitives shall all suffer collective punishment. The common people are forbidden from using the characters of Zicheng’s name as taboo.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They dispatched men to the Five Chief Military Commissions, the Six Ministries, and all government offices, ordering the senior clerks to have their respective officials register their names.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The capital fell in two days, and the matter of the Emperor dying for the altars of state spread like a thunderclap in all directions with lightning speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Count Hui’an, Zhang Qingzhen, heard of the city’s fall, distributed all his wealth and goods to his relatives, set out wine for the whole family to drink together, piled firewood all around, and the entire family burned to death. Count Xuan Cheng, Wei Shichun, heard of the calamity, and his whole household threw themselves into a well and died — not a single one survived. The Prefectural Registrar of Shuntian Prefecture, Chen Zhenda, took his own life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Licentiate of Changzhou, Xu Yan, heard of the capital’s calamity, wailed in grief as if his heart would break, wrote the four characters “Chongzhen, His Majesty” all over his body, abstained from food for seven days, and died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing that the capital had fallen, Eternal Peace Marquis Wang Dou led his generals at a frantic gallop into Xuanfu Garrison. At that time, Li Banghua, Zhu Zhifeng, Wei Jingyuan, Cai Maode, and others were all gathered in the garrison city. They had originally thought the capital was firm and secure and could hold out until the Protectorate dispatched troops. Now all hope had fallen through, and they all resolved to die for the nation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Garrison Supervisor Eunuch of Xuanfu Garrison, Du Xun, had originally intended to hang himself and follow his master in death. But though the white silk was already prepared, he climbed up and down many times and in the end still did not dare to take his own life. He wailed mournfully, “No, I cannot die. The people of Xuanfu Garrison cannot be without me.” He wept loudly, and the young eunuchs around him also sobbed in a chorus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Wang Dou arrived, over a hundred officials, gentry, and scholars had already gathered before Li Banghua’s residence. They had all followed Li Banghua to the Ji’an Guild Hall in the garrison city to pay homage to Wen Tianxiang. Li Banghua had already left behind a death poem: “Since ancient times, who among men has not died? Leave a loyal heart to shine upon the annals of history. Today I ride the stars up to the heavens; for a hundred generations my descendants shall look up to my fragrant name.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the Provincial Governor of Datong, Wei Jingyuan, came, he had also left final words for his mother: “Mother is over eighty years old and should make plans for herself. Your son, a minister of the state, cannot but die.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the others also left inscriptions in their chambers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou looked over them. Many of them he knew, many he did not. Among those he knew were Li Banghua, Zhu Zhifeng, Wei Jingyuan, Cai Maode, Ma Guoxi, Wu Zhi, and even his former subordinate, the Clerk Feng Dachang, also among the crowd. Those he did not know all likewise had expressions of firm resolve, filled with determination.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Wang Dou approach, Li Banghua performed a grand ceremonial bow. He knew what Wang Dou was going to say and said, “When the sovereign is disgraced, the minister dies — this is the minister’s duty. What more is there to say? Now that the Great Ming has the Eternal Peace Marquis, I may perhaps die without regret.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said, “This old man has received the state’s grace for generations, yet I am ashamed that I had not half a stratagem to remedy the times’ troubles. I have only this humble body to repay my sovereign’s grace. Eternal Peace Marquis, I beg you, let me fulfill this great moral duty of loyalty and filial piety, and die for the righteousness in my heart.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou looked at Zhu Zhifeng. That rigid old man said, “When the sovereign is troubled, the minister is shamed. We could not rescue or remedy the situation, and have brought calamity to this point. There is only death to repay the state. With you, my lord, here in Xuanfu Garrison, I, Feng, have no worries.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cai Maode bowed deeply to Wang Dou. He raised his head, his frail body filled with determination: “A dignified man, a disciple of the sages — I have sworn to die and shall not waver.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou looked at Ma Guoxi. This Military Defense Circuit Intendant, whom Wang Dou had once thought of as slick, said, “Loyalty and filial piety have always been my nature. Guoxi cannot but die.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Department Magistrate of Yanqing, Wu Zhi, bowed deeply to Wang Dou and remained silent, wordless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou finally looked at the Clerk Feng Dachang. This former subordinate of Wang Dou’s suddenly performed a grand bow and said, “For the Marquis’s great kindness, Dachang can only repay it in the next life!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hundred or so of them adjusted their robes and caps and declared in one voice, “We have deeply received the state’s grace and shall die for our principles to make clear our resolve, thereby fulfilling the Great Way!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Firewood and oil had long been prepared inside and outside the residence. Then servants lit the pyre. The flames slowly rose, and finally the entire residence became a raging inferno. Li Banghua and the others laughed heartily, bowed to one another, and said, “Please.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Please.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their expressions were serene as they walked into the blazing fire just like that. Their family members and relatives all knelt outside, sobbing and choking with grief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind Wang Dou, everyone was silent. Wang Dou slowly closed his eyes and sighed, “Alas, my Confucian academy is empty now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His tears welled up uncontrollably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah, this great dynasty, this great civilization — how could I not cherish her memory? Even with all her thousand faults, these and those shortcomings, yet her shimmering radiance still moves one beyond restraint. This imperial dynasty is so heart-wrenching, so deeply lamented, so yearned for in remembrance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was so elegant — the magnificent robes and caps, the graceful rites and ceremonies. After the Ming fell, they never existed again. The elegant and pure Han culture was thus severed forever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her loyal ministers and righteous men were so numerous. In the Jiashen national calamity, the officials and scholars who died for their principles exceeded a thousand. Those who died in battle for the nation and received posthumous honors that can be verified exceeded eight thousand. Such a large-scale dying for principle — the dynasties after the Ming never had it again, nor will they ever again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was so indomitable — righteous and awe-inspiring, heroically dying for the nation, calmly embracing righteousness. Even after the state fell, the resistance lasted so long, and the defiance was so fierce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How brilliant her civilization was, how unforgettable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah, I shall remember her forever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These people who give up their lives for righteousness — I will not hinder them. I will respect their choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What I can do is to remember them, and thereby keep them in memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing the fiercely burning residence, Wang Dou bowed deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>",5045,"2026-06-03T14:06:27.906Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","f2d340597ff4091020d71a9461632d3603f82690e6337280f05d01562308f43e","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-846","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-844",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]