[{"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-877":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},1206166,1561,"Chapter 877: Pulling Back the Curtain","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-877",877,"\u003Cp>\"Ah, lowly Nikan.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such an insult made those Qing army scout riders tremble with rage. Aside from the Jingbian Army, over the years they had rampaged across the Great Ming invincibly; wherever they went, they could stop children from crying at night. Soldiers and civilians alike trembled before them. They had long grown accustomed to such overbearing arrogance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These roving bandits before them not only swaggered about brazenly, but also regarded them as base barbarians, shouting abuse to their faces, scolding them like slaves. How could they endure this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps some among them did not understand Chinese, but the expressions and movements of those veteran camp soldiers were clear at a glance — that disdain, that contempt, that condescension, that furious glare and knitted brows — made every one of them rage as if mad, howling and shrieking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Bayara let out a great roar, suddenly seized the walking bow from his saddle, and drew a heavy arrow from his quiver. He pulled the bow open in one motion; the twelve-strength large composite bow creaked under the strain, and the iron armor covering his body clanked and rattled in response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That Bayara, still mounted, drew the twelve-strength heavy bow of over one hundred fifty pounds. He released the bowstring, and amid the fierce shriek of the arrow, the heavy shaft shot straight through the picket commander's throat. The massive arrowhead, forged of fine iron with a steel point, burst out from the back of his neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That veteran camp picket commander's eyes held astonishment, held disbelief, as the arrow's immense force carried him tumbling from his horse. His mount, startled, let out a neigh, kicked back with its hind legs, and reared its front hooves high into the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The picket commander rolled into the dust; the arrowhead protruding through his neck glinted with a sharp, somber gleam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A drop of blood slowly dripped from the arrowhead. The two-foot-long birch shaft still quivered unceasingly in his throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those front-camp veteran soldiers were startled, but before they could react, arrows from the opposite side came whistling over. Amid screams, the veteran soldiers fell one after another, struck by arrows. And after being hit, a numbness spread through their bodies, followed by a surge of weakness from rapid blood loss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qing army's arrows were large and heavy, grooved with blood channels, their lethality utterly terrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, at a distance of a dozen or so paces, their shooting was extremely accurate and vicious. Amid the fierce shrieking of arrows, the front-camp veteran soldiers were hit either in the face or in the throat. Even when struck in the body, they were all unarmored or lightly armored, utterly unable to withstand the heavy arrows' impact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once hit, they groaned and toppled to the ground. Even if they did not die on the spot, they lost combat effectiveness from excessive blood loss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, these front-camp veteran soldiers were also elite troops. Once they recovered their wits, they immediately drew their own horn bows to retaliate. In particular, they mostly used small composite bows, narrow of face and short of limb, with an astonishing rate of fire — often they could shoot three or four arrows here before the other side shot one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The small composite bow was famed for its firing speed; a skilled archer could even loose two or three arrows in a second. The Qing army mostly used large bows, and even their cavalry bows were not short-limbed. Drawing a bow on horseback was not easy, but their draw weights were powerful — even their horse bows usually had seven or eight strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, the scout riders on the Qing side were excellently armored. Of the twenty-odd riders, even the most ordinary were cavalry armor soldiers, each wearing at least two layers of armor — iron armor, padded armor, mail, and the like layered together, their defensive power astonishing. So when the veteran soldiers recovered and loosed a volley of arrows, it inflicted very few casualties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless a horse was hit, many Qing riders with three or four arrows stuck in them remained unharmed. On the veteran soldiers' side, one arrow was about enough to finish them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that their weapons posed no threat to the opponent — some of the enemy were hit by four or five arrows and still fine — while men and horses on their own side kept falling, these veteran soldiers finally began to panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because their picket commander had been killed at the very start, this squad of veteran soldiers was leaderless. They shouted and yelled; some wanted to flee, others wanted to dismount and fight on foot, chaos descending upon them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the Qing scout riders gave a shouted command, put away their bows, each drew their weapons, and spurred their horses to charge this way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those veteran soldiers fell into even greater chaos. Among them, one soldier saw a rider charging from the opposite side, a scarred face twisted into a ferocious expression. His mouth gaped open, roaring, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, drool flowing, reminding one of a man-eating beast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wore thick, gleaming iron armor, a small banner at his back, and carried a long, heavy lance in his hand. This lance was rather peculiar: its blade was extremely long, with ridges shaped like a jade tablet. Near the blade socket there seemed to be two additional sections of something — sharp, fierce, and savage, chilling to behold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that rider charging straight at him, the veteran soldier screamed. He brought his consummate archery skill into full, incisive play. The string of his small composite bow twanged in rapid succession; arrow after arrow shrieked toward that charging, bizarre rider. In that brief moment, over that short distance, he loosed at least six or seven arrows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A continuous clinking and clanking rang out. The arrows shot by this veteran soldier kept bouncing off and falling to the ground. That Bayara wore extremely thick, superb iron armor — how could such horse-bow arrows easily pierce it? Many arrows could not even stick at all; those that barely lodged were only shallowly embedded, hanging there feebly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That Bayara roared, charging close like a whirlwind. He thrust the tiger lance in his hand; a mist of blood erupted as it plunged straight into the veteran soldier's chest, stopping only at the antler-shaped guard near the socket. With a ripping sound, the tiger lance blade burst out through his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the horses crossed paths, that veteran soldier was also stabbed off his mount. At the same moment, the Bayara, with a deft turn of his wrist, pulled the tiger lance back out of the veteran soldier's body as he rode past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced back. The veteran soldier lay rolling on the ground, blood gushing from his chest like a spring. His eyes were wide open, his face still bearing an expression of terror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The twenty-odd Qing riders pounced. In the blink of an eye, blood splattered everywhere and screams rose on all sides. The remaining veteran soldiers fought back passively, but the more they fought, the more their hearts chilled. Where had these so-called Great Qing cavalry come from? How could they be so fierce and deadly?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The melee was bloody and brutal. In an instant, only a dozen or so veteran soldiers remained on the field, and every one of them was terrified out of their wits — utterly different from their earlier arrogance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As veteran camp soldiers, in truth they had rarely engaged in life-or-death combat. What they had experienced over time was mostly low-intensity warfare; how much truly brutal fighting had they been through? When they encountered genuinely elite troops, their true colors inevitably showed. Especially since their opponents' armor was extremely fine, their own sabers and other weapons simply could not penetrate it when they struck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because they were accustomed to running, and especially after a month of leisure in the capital, their resolve to fight was also considerably lacking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking again, in this brief span of time, of their own side's fifty-plus men, only a dozen or so remained, dead or wounded. On the opposite side, not a single man had died; only a few had suffered light wounds, and a few horses had been killed or injured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could they keep fighting? They exchanged glances, all of them terrified beyond measure, feeling as if their souls had left their bodies. What strange soldiers were these? Better to flee far away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a single cry, they spurred their horses and fled. At this moment, their light armor or lack of armor proved an advantage. In particular, every man was, needless to say, supremely skilled in horsemanship. Very quickly, each had vanished without a trace; on the wilderness, only trails of dust could be seen, utterly impossible to catch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching their speed of escape, every Qing rider on the field felt lingering fear. At such speed, not even the Mongols of the various banners could outrun them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder the southern barbarians could never exterminate the roving bandits. Running this fast, how could they be chased?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the eighteenth, the various Shun army camps had converged along the Qinghe line in even greater numbers. Dense clusters of tents spread from the Western Hills to the eastern side of the Qinghe. The massive flow of men also brought immense logistical pressure. Each camp fought over fodder, over water sources, over camping ground — everything was utter chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In particular, the army had no heart for battle. When many battalions arrived, they were laden with bundles large and small. They did not look like they were going to war, but rather like they were heading to a market fair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Disputes never ceased, and trivial nonsense abounded. Li Zicheng felt utterly harassed and exhausted; everything could only be described as a complete mess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid his vexation and turmoil, another panic and worry surfaced in his heart. It seemed a colossal, dangerous hidden threat was drawing near — as if an unknown force, different from Wang Dou yet equally formidable, was lurking and spying nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed that from the east of the capital, news from Shanhai Pass and other places had been cut off for a long time. Moreover, in the past two days, scout riders sent east of the Qinghe had gone missing one after another. Those who had luckily escaped and returned also reported that an army calling itself the Great Qing was currently encamped near Shunyi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their numbers were unknown, but their combat strength was quite formidable — some even surpassing their own veteran camp soldiers — causing considerable panic among some scout riders and spreading rumors through the various camps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earlier, when Taoyuan Count Liu Liangzuo and others had been garrisoning Shunyi, after Huairou and Changping were seized, he had sent them orders to refrain from rash action for the time being, and only to launch an attack from the flank when the main army joined battle. It seemed Liu Liangzuo and the others had not replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All this stirred an ominous feeling in Li Zicheng's heart, as if he was overlooking something. So that very afternoon, he summoned the various generals of the veteran camp, especially Marquis of Qi, Yang Shaofan — that firelock battalion officer who seemed to have spoken to him about the Qing state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Zongmin and the others arrived tardily. Although the veteran camp was encamped around Qinghedian, Dongsheng Ridge, and other places, Liu Zongmin and the others, unwilling to endure hardship, had all gone off to the shores of Fuhai and such places, where the lakes and mountains were scenic and the views beautiful. Liu Zongmin himself, in particular, had led some of his personal guards to seize Qinghua Garden, acclaimed as \"the foremost garden in the capital.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Shaofan, by contrast, came very promptly. His own rank, wealth, and future ambitions all rested upon the Great Shun, so he had always been diligent and devoted in drilling the firelock battalion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Great Qing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Zongmin and the others looked utterly bewildered. Mongol Tatars they knew of, but what Great Qing — this was completely baffling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, among them, men like Liu Fangliang were not entirely ignorant of the Qing army's name. It was precisely because the Qing army had entered the pass back then that they themselves had been able to rise from the dead under the Ming army's encirclement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a manner of speaking, those Tatars beyond the frontier were even benefactors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Yigong further summarized the intelligence reports. In short, several dozen li away, beneath the walls of Shunyi and along the Shahe, an army from beyond the frontier had indeed arrived, but its numbers were unknown. They claimed to have come to aid the Great Shun, and also claimed that they had been at war with the Ming state for decades, their old grudges deep and bitter. This time they had entered the pass precisely to seek trouble with Ming generals like Wang Dou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zicheng murmured, \"Seek trouble? The Ming dynasty is already dead; all old grudges have vanished like smoke. My Great Shun has no quarrel with them — well water does not mix with river water. Why then have they entered the pass? And what of Wu Sangui, Tang Tong, Yang Guozhu, and the others at Shanhai Pass and Ji Garrison?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Shaofan listened from the side, astonishment growing in his heart. After entering the capital, Yang Shaofan had never heard the Chuang King or the others mention the Qing state. He had assumed they had a well-thought-out plan and held the frontier barbarians in contempt. He had never imagined they had no concept of them at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turning thoughts over in his mind, he considered for a moment, then still decided to warn Li Zicheng and the others that these frontier Tatars were not to be underestimated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Li Zicheng and the others inquired further, he gave a detailed account of everything he knew about the lands beyond the frontier. However, judging by the expressions of Liu Zongmin and the others, each and every one of them was dismissive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had entered the pass several times, and every strong city they passed had fallen? They themselves had also marched through, strong cities falling all the way — especially the capital, which had fallen in just two days. And those so-called Great Qing soldiers, how long had they besieged the capital, how many times had they besieged it? And when they heard the population figures of that country, then compared them to their own Great Shun, Liu Zongmin and the others grew even more unconcerned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Shaofan did not know what to say; he felt as if he were playing a lute to a cow. Finally, he said, \"The slave raiders have always been a formidable foe. Although they claim to have come to aid our Great Shun, caution ensures safety for ten thousand years. I beseech the King to take precautions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan also said, \"Barbarians have the faces of men and the hearts of beasts; they absolutely cannot be trusted. They say they have come to aid our Great Shun, but why do they not come openly to offer congratulations, instead skulking and lurking nearby? And how did they enter the pass? Where are Wu Sangui and the others now? If Wu Sangui and the others have submitted to these Qing bandits, it is even more terrifying. Great King, these barbarian bandits harbor sinister intentions and malicious designs. Beware of the snipe and the clam fighting while the fisherman profits; even more, avoid bringing about a disaster like that of the Wei River.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yan did not know much about the Qing state beyond the frontier, but he had read historical texts and knew that throughout history, the barbarians beyond the frontier had always been formidable enemies of the Central Plains. He had also read the court gazettes and knew of the several occasions the Qing army had entered the pass. These Tatars seemed not as easy to deal with as one might imagine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his spare time, Li Zicheng had also read some history books. He knew of the Wei River Incident that Li Yan mentioned — it was when the Great Tang had just been founded, and the Turkic Shibi Khagan seized the chance to plunder, forcing Emperor Taizong of Tang to sign the Alliance of the Wei River under duress, which could be called a supreme humiliation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded to show he understood, but in his heart he had other thoughts. The more troops gathered at Qinghe, the more scattered their morale became. And with Wang Dou's strength across the river still unknown, he felt considerable worry in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That Great Qing state claimed they had come to aid the Great Shun. Perhaps he could make use of them to increase his own odds of victory, and after defeating Wang Dou, he could deal with them later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before that, it would be best to learn more, especially to have this Great Qing state send envoys to offer congratulations, declare themselves vassals, and pay tribute — then his own position would be fully legitimate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At once he had Li Yan draft a sacred edict, rebuking that Great Qing state, demanding why they had killed his officers and soldiers. If they gave no explanation, the Great Shun would surely raise troops to punish them and let them taste some color. At the same time, it also asked why, with a new Son of Heaven on the throne, they had not sent envoys to offer congratulations, and so on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, all the civil officials had been left to guard the capital, and only Li Yan, a single man of letters, was present. After he drafted the letter, Li Zicheng was quite satisfied, and the various generals also felt it was righteous and imposing, greatly displaying the Great Shun's authority. So they selected a rather formidable-looking messenger and sent him off with an escort of a dozen or so riders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the nineteenth, the messenger returned, bringing back a reply from the lord of that Great Qing state. Yet when questioned about the intelligence he had observed, he was utterly ignorant of everything. It turned out that before the messenger even reached the Shahe River, he had encountered a large party of Qing scout riders, and then the entire party had been blindfolded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, they were taken into a large tent, where they saw only a handful of people and truly could not observe anything. When they left the tent, they were blindfolded just the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Liu Zongmin and the others flew into a great rage — this so-called Great Qing's conduct truly insulted the Great Shun's national prestige, and they should send troops to punish them and show them some color —\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Zicheng, however, remained relatively calm. He unfolded the letter and read it. The letter was written very politely, saying that their Great Qing resided in Liaodong and had no conflict with the Great Shun, as well water does not mix with river water. However, because their grudge against Wang Dou was extremely deep, and it also involved the hatred of their former king and so on, they had sworn to send troops to destroy Wang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had led a hundred thousand troops into the pass and heard that the Great Shun had dispatched troops intending to annihilate Wang Dou, so it seemed they could join hands and cooperate to eliminate this villain together. To show their sincerity, at that time they could threaten the flank of the Jingbian Army's forces while also watching for an opportunity to strike at their rear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the Great Shun King's inquiries about news of Wu Sangui and the others, they knew nothing at all, because they had entered the pass from places like Xifengkou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were also unclear about the Great Shun's Taoyuan Count, Liu Liangzuo, because they had merely passed beneath the walls of Shunyi City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason they had acted so stealthily was also to avoid misunderstandings and incidents. As it happened, the moment the two sides' scout riders made contact, a clash and fight broke out. However, the Great Qing's officers and soldiers had merely acted in legitimate self-defense, purely out of having no alternative, and so on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reading, Li Zicheng grew even more suspicious. This so-called Great Qing state was still shrouded in a dense fog; their origins, their objectives, their troop strength — all were completely unknown. But with the great battle imminent, the arrow was already on the bowstring and had to be loosed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He decided to ignore this so-called Great Qing for now. If at that time they threatened the Jingbian Army's flank, all the better; if they did not come, it did not matter; if they harbored ill intent, that also did not matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any case, he had many troops, and the forces he could deploy were extremely ample. At that time, he would deploy more troops on the right flank. If those Qing soldiers were well-intentioned, he would join them in attacking the Jingbian Army's weak points. If they were ill-intentioned, the troops deployed would also be perfectly positioned to guard against them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After defeating Wang Dou, his Great Shun would then come back to deal with this so-called Great Qing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the nineteenth day of the fourth month, the Shahe and Qinghe region was dense with the clouds of war. A tide-like great army converged in an endless stream. Seen from the air, the densely packed, multicolored tents seemed to stretch all the way to the ends of heaven and earth. Banners were like a sea, and the clang of golden spears rang out in chorus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid the shouts of men and neighs of horses, countless warriors whetted their blades, preparing for battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All three sides had now converged into position. The great curtain of the decisive battle slowly began to rise.\u003C\u002Fp>",3671,"2026-06-03T14:06:27.906Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","0a16ef768ab8fa8f5f61d0340d4821e97396d57386eb9f51d5b0c21e0bf64ccf","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-878","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-876",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]