Chapter 99: Volume Three: Shunxiang Fort Garrison Commander, Chapter Ninety-Nine: Unyielding

Volume Three: Shunxiang Fort Garrison Commander, Chapter Ninety-Nine: Unyielding

Seeing Xie Yike weeping bitterly, the remaining few were also grieved. Huang Guoxiang, his eyes red, consoled him: "Chief Xie, don't be too sad. The brothers knew this day would come from the moment they joined the army."

He seemed to recall his own troubles and said fiercely: "At least they died on the battlefield. It was worth it!"

According to the earlier battle, Huang Guoxiang had originally intended to perish together with that Qing soldier officer. After Xie Yike parried the blow, the officer's tiger-spear stabbed into Huang Guoxiang's left arm, and the blood would not stop. He had only crudely bandaged it.

He walked before that officer and glared at him viciously. Although the Qing squad leader was wounded and captured, he still roared loudly. Bound tightly with ropes and held by a Night Scout, he struggled with all his might, glaring back at Huang Guoxiang with furious eyes, his mouth shouting something loudly in the barbarian tongue.

"Tartar!"

Huang Guoxiang shouted. He punched the man hard in the mouth. Blood streamed from the officer's mouth and nose. He stared at Huang Guoxiang, his eyes seeming about to burst into flame, and cursed even louder.

Wen Daxing seemed thoroughly accustomed to the scene before him; the corpses covering the ground did not stir his expression. He went to examine the two Night Scouts who had been shot in the chest by the Qing soldiers, shook his head, and said: "They're gone. Damn it, the Tartars' arrows are shot so accurately!"

He also examined the two Night Scouts hit by the Qing soldiers' thrown blades, sighed, and shook his head.

He said to Xie Yike: "Chief Xie, we must go quickly. If more Tartars come, we won't be able to hold out."

Xie Yike collected his tears and said: "Clean up. Tie the fallen brothers' bodies onto the horses and bring them into the fort. His Lordship will give them a proper burial."

At once, the few of them set to work together, hastily cleaning up the battlefield. They cut off the heads of several Qing soldiers, knocked the captured Qing squad leader unconscious and tied him onto a horse, and also rounded up a few warhorses of the dead Qing soldiers. The remains of the six fallen Night Scouts were all tied onto horseback. The Night Scout who had been slashed on the shoulder rode behind the uninjured Night Scout.

The few men mounted their warhorses. They had only ridden a few paces when, suddenly, the taut twang of bowstrings sounded from the right.

"Swoosh, swoosh!" Several arrows sliced through the air.

Xie Yike let out a muffled groan, feeling a sharp pain in his shoulder and back. A heavy arrow had pierced through his leather armor and sunk deep into his flesh.

A wave of weakness washed over Xie Yike's entire body. He had been struck by an arrow and wounded.

He shouted loudly: "It's the Tartars! Into the mountains, quickly, into the mountains!"

He lay prone on his horse, gripping the saddle bridge tightly, only urging his mount forward. The rest of the men likewise spurred their horses into a frantic gallop.

Shouts and curses rang out. Over ten Qing cavalry scouts charged from the hillside to the right rear. As they pursued, they yelled loudly.

"Swoosh, swoosh!" The sound of arrows tearing through the air rose again from behind.

Suddenly, a cry came from Huang Guoxiang. The horse Huang Guoxiang was riding behind Xie Yike had been shot and wounded by the Qing troops. The horse let out a neigh, and Huang Guoxiang was thrown to the ground in an instant, already injured.

Xie Yike shouted: "Brother Huang, quickly, get on another horse!"

Huang Guoxiang struggled desperately to his feet, but the sound of hoofbeats drew nearer. Several Qing soldiers were already upon him.

Huang Guoxiang grabbed the reins of another horse and was about to leap onto its back when, suddenly, a rope flew through the air and looped perfectly around his head. The noose tightened instantly, and Huang Guoxiang was thrown to the ground once more.

Huang Guoxiang struggled on the ground, his eyes bloodshot. He shouted to Xie Yike: "Kill me!"

Xie Yike pulled out his throwing axe. At this distance, he was confident he could kill Huang Guoxiang, but how could he bring himself to do it?

In that moment of hesitation, Huang Guoxiang was already yanked away. Xie Yike had missed his chance.

Bowstrings twanged, and several more sharp arrows from the Qing soldiers shot over, grazing past Xie Yike's ear.

Wen Daxing, ahead, shouted: "Chief Xie, go! Now!"

Tears welling in his eyes, Xie Yike took one last look at Huang Guoxiang. He saw Huang Guoxiang smile at him, then vanish into the dust. Xie Yike turned his head back and merely spurred his horse ruthlessly. The horse, stung by the pain, fled with all its might.

Very soon, the party entered the mountain terrain and disappeared into the distance.

The ten or so Qing riders arrived before Huang Guoxiang. Several Qing soldiers dismounted, hauled Huang Guoxiang up, and pushed him before a junior officer.

The Qing soldiers gathered around, pointing at Huang Guoxiang and laughing loudly in Manchu.

Huang Guoxiang glared at them with furious eyes. From his tumble to the ground earlier and being dragged by the rope, several bloody scrapes had already been rubbed into his face.

Seeing Huang Guoxiang's fearless and unyielding demeanor, several Qing soldiers flew into a rage. Several horsewhips came down, lashing him head and face. Immediately, blood streamed from Huang Guoxiang's body and face.

Huang Guoxiang struggled with all his might, his mouth ceaselessly cursing.

The Qing squad leader, with a black tassel on his helmet tube, wearing bright armor and a square banner on his back, appeared to be a Boshoku. He looked with a sigh at the scene on the flat ground over there. It seemed a fierce battle had just taken place. Several of their own men had been beheaded, some warhorses and equipment lost, and it seemed one man had been captured.

What kind of men were those Ming soldiers just now, to be so fierce and brave?

In this Boshoku's memory, few Ming soldiers nowadays dared to fight them in the field, and the same was true even for the Night Scouts of the various forts. He pondered for a long while, stopped his subordinates from whipping Huang Guoxiang, and gave a few orders in Manchu. Huang Guoxiang was to be escorted back to the main camp for interrogation.

Quickly, Huang Guoxiang was bound tightly with ropes, tied onto a warhorse, and escorted eastward.

Their party traveled continuously east, crossing the Yanghe River at Shimenwan. Due to the drought, the Yanghe waters had already dried up considerably, and they could cross simply by riding their horses through.

After entering the territory of Huailai Guard, they stopped near a place called Taiping Fort, not far from Tumu Fort, and entered a large Qing military encampment.

From the torment along the way, Huang Guoxiang's entire body was covered in wounds and scars, and the blood on him had long since dried. Yet his eyes were even brighter, his expression even calmer. He had long since ceased to care about his own life or death.

Huang Guoxiang was sent into a large tent within the camp. He saw that the banners in the camp were mostly white bordered with red. The armor of the Tartar soldiers in this tent was likewise white with red trim. Huang Guoxiang knew this was the Tartar army of the Bordered White Banner that Lord Han Chao had spoken of.

At the head of the great tent sat a Qing commander in his forties, clad in fine white armor bordered with red. He had a large, flat face, a collapsed nose, and several scars on his face, making his appearance quite ugly and fierce. Behind his head trailed a thin, long queue, like a money rat's tail or a pig's tail.

Huang Guoxiang saw a great banner before the tent; it bore no python design. Judging by this Tartar officer's armor, he must be a commander the Tartars called a Jalan Zhangjing, whom the Han referred to as a Canling. Huang Guoxiang knew the Tartar troops were divided into Eight Banners, each Banner divided into five Canling, and each Canling oversaw several Zuoling, also known as Niru Zhangjing.

To the left and right of this Jalan Zhangjing sat several Qing officers dressed as Niru Zhangjing. In addition, there was a Han interpreter in his forties, standing beside them nervously.

The Boshoku who had captured Huang Guoxiang reported to the Jalan Zhangjing for a while in Manchu, then handed over the intelligence document he had found in Huang Guoxiang's bosom. The Jalan Zhangjing did not understand Han writing and ordered the interpreter to translate. After reading it, the interpreter was utterly baffled. He understood the individual characters, but when linked together, he had no idea what they meant.

He conveyed the meaning of the text in Manchu. The Qing officers in the tent were equally confused. This document seemed to have absolutely nothing to do with military intelligence.

The Jalan Zhangjing asked the interpreter: "What does this mean?"

The interpreter, equally unable to fathom it after much thought, said: "This may be a secret code used to transmit intelligence. This humble one does not understand it either."

The Jalan Zhangjing said to the interpreter: "Make that Han dog kneel and explain the secret code in the intelligence."

The interpreter accepted the order and relayed it to Huang Guoxiang.

Huang Guoxiang glared at the interpreter for a moment, then stared at the Jalan Zhangjing and spat: "Tartar dogs! I kneel to heaven and earth above, and to my parents below. To make me kneel to Tartars is an utter impossibility."

The Jalan Zhangjing, seeing Huang Guoxiang's demeanor, frowned and asked the interpreter: "What is that Han dog saying?"

The interpreter nervously relayed Huang Guoxiang's words. All the Qing soldiers in the tent flew into a rage and shouted curses in unison. Several Niru Zhangjing drew their whips and gave Huang Guoxiang a vicious beating.

Blood streamed from Huang Guoxiang's entire body, but he remained unyielding. He stood with his head held high, glaring furiously at each of them, his mouth ceaselessly cursing.

The Jalan Zhangjing, seeing Huang Guoxiang's pair of eyes glaring at him as if about to spew fire, grew even more enraged. He called for his guards to gouge out Huang Guoxiang's eyes.

Huang Guoxiang let out a terrible scream. He strained to lift his head, using his two bloody sockets to glare in the direction of the Jalan Zhangjing. His voice was shrill and fierce: "Tartars! Tartars! I hate that I cannot eat your flesh raw while alive!"

Seeing him like this, a chill rose in the hearts of the Qing soldiers in the tent. That company commander flew into a rage and ordered Huang Guoxiang tied to a post outside the tent.

After Huang Guoxiang was tied to the post, he still cursed without ceasing.

At midnight, the interpreter quietly walked up to Huang Guoxiang, saw his miserable state, and sighed softly: "Brother, why must you suffer so?"

Huang Guoxiang said calmly: "I have no regrets. My lord will avenge me!"

He murmured to himself: "I have no regrets…"

Suddenly he raised his voice again: "Kill the slaves, kill the slaves!"

After that, Huang Guoxiang fell silent. No one knew how long it was before he began to sing again in a low voice. He murmured almost inaudibly: "Axiu, soon I will come to see you."

Tears suddenly streamed down the interpreter's face, and he quietly walked away.

That company commander could not sleep well all night, always dreaming of things that terrified him. Hearing Huang Guoxiang's singing outside, he summoned the interpreter and asked: "What is that Han dog singing?"

The interpreter answered trembling with fear: "It is a lyric poem composed by Yue Wumu of the former Song dynasty."

That company commander shouted loudly: "Yue Fei?"

He jumped up at once, grinding his teeth. This Yue Fei had once been the nightmare of the Jurchens, and was likewise the nightmare of these Manchus who randomly claimed ancestors. Because they feared that power, all foreign alien races, from the Jurchens to the Manchus, did everything possible to vilify Yue Fei. During the later War of Resistance, the Japanese army also organized a group of traitor literati in the occupied areas to wildly slander and attack Yue Fei, while vigorously beautifying Qin Hui.

That company commander flew into a rage. Early the next morning, before the assembled troops, he had the dying Huang Guoxiang disemboweled and his heart dug out, and finally dismembered his corpse.

Having done all this, that company commander still could not quell his hatred. From this Ming army night scout, he had obtained a waist tablet. From the interpreter, he also knew that it bore the large characters "Shunxiang Fort." The company commander also learned from the squad leader who had captured Huang Guoxiang that their own side had once sent six scouts who encountered a small squad of the enemy's night scouts; as a result, five of their own were killed in battle and one was captured — a situation that was shocking.

Since when did the Ming army have soldiers so daring in battle? Especially from Huang Guoxiang, he sensed something different about that Shunxiang Fort.

Thinking of this, that company commander's face flickered between shadow and light.