[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-108":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Stealing Ming",{"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},1220725,1614,"Chapter 108: Section 16: Holding Firm","stealing-ming-chapter-108",108,"\u003Cp>When Huang Shi and Deng Ken raised their heads, the Ming marksmen were bravely meeting the advancing observation towers, and the auxiliary soldiers beside them were holding shields high, shielding the marksmen in front.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The observation towers, using their height advantage, gave the Later Jin archers more cover, while the Ming auxiliary soldiers could only use their flesh and blood to protect those precious marksmen; some auxiliaries had already taken several arrows but still struggled to hold on until reinforcements arrived before staggering back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Below the wall, the Later Jin army’s cumbersome siege ladder towers also crawled over; inside the fort, the Ming troops were also preparing fire pots, and a squad of soldiers had already grabbed their tools and prepared to mount the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the ladder towers closed in on the fort gate, the fighting turned white-hot; the Ming soldiers in the rear ranks behind the wall drew their blades and stood ready, preparing to fight the enemy troops climbing the wall. And as the observation towers suppressed the Ming marksmen, the Later Jin archers seized the chance to surge beneath the wall and began trying to cover the soldiers scaling it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ming soldiers kept taking short run-ups on the wall, hurling oil pots with all their might at the observation towers and ladder towers; the Dongjiang officers were also constantly observing the effect, directing the ballistae to fire rockets at the targets where enough oil pots had concentrated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This sight made Deng Ken sigh deeply once again: “Your Great Ming soldiers are very brave, truly admirable. Such fine soldiers are rare even in Taixi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These words, as always, pleased Huang Shi greatly to hear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A heavy crashing sound came from the fort gate; Huang Shi knew that was a battering ram trying to break the gate bolt. The Ming troops beneath the high tower began forming ranks; in a short while over a hundred Ming soldiers had lined up. An officer, unhurried and unflustered, offered each of them a cup of wine to fortify them for battle in turn. They were preparing to go out of the city to fight to the death to destroy the siege engines. Zhang Pan was naturally too embarrassed to hand such a mission of no return to Huang Shi’s men, and few commanders would dare give such a task to guest troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before they set out, there was first covering fire. Zhang Pan’s red flag relayed the order to the walltop, where the officers immediately organized a strike. Several hundred Ming soldiers instantly surged forward, leaning out to attack the enemy formation below the wall. But the first coordination was somewhat chaotic — because they did not lean out and attack simultaneously, the Later Jin covering archers, who were well prepared, killed and wounded quite a few of the Ming soldiers who surged forward in batches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flags reported the failure back, and Zhang Pan had no choice but to order another attempt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time the effect was very good: several squads of Ming troops leaned out almost simultaneously, pouring boiling water and hot oil down, followed by large logs and rolling stones, and the last row of archers to lean out even delivered an aimed volley. Several Ming officers, keeping their helmets covered, carefully peered through the battlements to observe the fighting below; this time they almost simultaneously waved frantically backward, signaling that the moment had come. The North Gate flags immediately reported the latest battle situation while continuing to intensify the disruption of the enemy ranks below the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The high tower then ordered the Ming troops inside to sally forth. When the clapper sounded, those soldiers all half-crouched like the sprinters Huang Shi had seen before. The fort gate had barely been pulled open when they roared and charged out at a hundred-meter sprint. Huang Shi saw them immediately engage the Later Jin soldiers who were pouring in. The observation officer at the North Gate had reported very accurately — the enemy troops in front of the gate were in disarray and were instantly pushed out by the Ming troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The soldiers defending the fort gate strained to push the two great doors, slamming them heavily shut behind the assault squad, cutting off Huang Shi’s view. The North Gate flags seemed to continuously report that the battle was going smoothly; although Huang Shi could not see the fighting at the gate entrance, the Ming troops on the wall had already begun calmly attacking below the wall, and within his sight two observation towers that were very close together were toppled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This squad of soldiers bought the Ming troops on the wall a long period of free fire; more observation towers and ladder towers were hit and set ablaze, and the Later Jin archers also seemed to have been driven back a considerable distance. For a long time no arrows were shot up onto the wall tower, and the Ming troops leaned out to attack more and more freely. Huang Shi noticed that the marksmen on the Later Jin observation towers were also shifting their attention to the outside of the fort gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the crashing sound came from the fort gate again, Huang Shi felt that well over half a shichen had passed. Beneath the high tower, another hundred-odd soldiers walked out and formed ranks. After they had lined up, the auxiliaries carried over wine barrels, and the leading officer began offering his subordinate soldiers cups of wine to fortify them for battle…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ming army’s tactic had always been to use soldiers as a human wall to protect the gate, thereby achieving a better exchange ratio. Generally, soldiers were placed outside the main gate, and the city gate was occasionally opened to send in reinforcements. But the soldiers at Lüshun Fort were not very numerous, and now Zhang Pan was determined to wear down the Later Jin siege engines, so each time he let them come close before striking. Once the assault squad went out, the fort gate would absolutely not be opened for them again — every officer and soldier, from top to bottom, knew this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi watched those soldiers one after another tilt their heads back and drink down that bowl of strong liquor… Was this the price of a loyal and brave life?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clang — the soldiers who finished drinking smashed their wine bowls forcefully at their feet, then wiped their mouths with fierce vigor… Oh, and you had to add in the bowl too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the end of the first day, eighty percent of the siege engines that the Later Jin had painstakingly dragged over were written off. Every man in the Lüshun Fort Ming army bore a personal family grudge, and their fighting spirit soared to the point of near madness — this greatly exceeded the Later Jin side’s expectations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi’s unit never sallied forth the entire time. Whether guest troops could fight with the same disregard for life and death as the Lüshun main army, Huang Shi himself was not very confident, after all they had no family or property here to defend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the second day, a light rain fell, and the Later Jin army suspended their attack. In the cold-weapon era, it was nearly impossible to attack in such weather, because the attackers’ bows could not be used at all in the rain, while the defenders at least still had rolling logs and large stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after arriving in this era did Huang Shi discover that if heavy rain greatly reduced the firing rate of firearms, it simultaneously rendered bows and crossbows completely useless scrap metal. Historically, rigorously trained English troops, using wide-brimmed hats and cotton gauze, could guarantee roughly forty percent firing rate for arquebuses in torrential rain, and cannons, because of their touchhole covers, could even reach seventy percent. But cold-weapon bows could not guarantee even ten percent, and powerful infantry crossbows in torrential rain had a range of only twenty meters. Moreover, this had nothing to do with training; once soaked, bowstrings and bow bodies became utterly worthless. A one-dan bow on a clear day would be damaged in the rain with only three-tenths of the force applied, and greater force would simply scrap it outright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lüshun Ming troops carefully removed their bowstrings and stored them, only wiping them dry and restringing them after the rain stopped in the evening. The Later Jin army spent this day converting their damaged engines into scaling ladders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the third day, the Later Jin army dispersed and attacked Lüshun Fort from all directions, trying to find weak points in the defenders’ lines. Zhang Pan decisively organized his forces to counterattack, exploiting the advantage of interior lines, repeatedly sallying out from the three fort gates to disrupt the enemy’s attack rhythm, and withdrawing before large enemy reinforcements could arrive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By this time, Huang Shi was already standing together with Zhang Pan, because Zhang Pan felt his counterattack strength was somewhat insufficient and was considering using Huang Shi’s unit, with which he was not very familiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The slave Jian forces are weak over there.” A personal guard pointed at a flag on the distant wall and shouted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Pan narrowed his eyes and looked, then glanced at the flags on the North Gate tower, turned his head, and said to Huang Shi: “General Huang, I must trouble your esteemed unit. Please order two hundred men out the North Gate to go there and destroy the scaling ladders.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi immediately sent a personal guard to notify He Baodao, and a contingent of men marched grandly toward the North Gate; the fort gate guards also opened the gate in time according to orders and provided cover.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Pan was not very confident about their combat effectiveness, and Huang Shi also did not know how they would perform; both men were sweating with anxiety. Only after the flag signals came back did Zhang Pan breathe a sigh of relief: “A strong commander has no weak soldiers under him — they scattered the enemy troops so quickly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enemy reinforcements!” another personal guard shouted. The flags indicated that a large enemy mobile force was heading toward He Baodao’s position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Have the North Gate sound the gongs to withdraw, and simultaneously sally out from the West Gate.” Zhang Pan gave the order rapidly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that sallying unit returned, Huang Shi saw the soldiers sit down on the ground one after another, or begin drinking water and watering their horses; only one rider galloped straight toward the high tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I am He Baodao, Drill Company Commander under the command of Dongjiang Mobile Corps Commander General Huang!” The rider reined his horse to a sudden halt only when he had charged straight to the front of the high tower, hurled a banner fiercely onto the ground at the two generals’ feet, and then threw down a severed head: “I have seized one great banner and slain one assistant company commander.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Baodao’s and Jin Qiude’s soldiers took turns sallying out with several other Ming squads. When He Baodao returned again, he once more held high a banner he had brought back: “I am Drill Company Commander under the command of Mobile Corps Commander General Huang…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third time he returned, two heads were rolling chaotically at the feet of Huang Shi and Zhang Pan: “I have seized one great banner and taken two heads!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet another sally… “I have slain one officer, and seized two banners.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last time before dark when He Baodao was called back, Zhang Pan and Huang Shi both stared intently at the gate from which he was to emerge. Sure enough, He Baodao, leading the charge, once again rushed before Huang Shi and Zhang Pan. This time, his face covered in blood, He Baodao again raised the captured army banner and shouted, gave the two generals a forceful military salute, and once more hurled it at Huang Shi’s feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every time He Baodao announced his name and title and threw down the army banner, the soldiers and personal guards on and below the high tower would cheer in unison. This time, besides Huang Shi and Zhang Pan, the remaining officers also joined in the applause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Company Commander?! Such a fierce warrior…” The astonished and delighted Zhang Pan finally let his inner thoughts slip out this time, but after only a few words he realized it was inappropriate, and his arm pointing at He Baodao remained frozen in midair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi still smiled without speaking, but the personal guards behind him were already casting sidelong glances at Zhang Pan, their faces faintly showing anger. Zhang Pan, knowing he had misspoken, gave a couple of dry laughs and withdrew his hand; the atmosphere suddenly became very awkward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I believe he still cannot be promoted. Does General Zhang intend to take up the cudgels on his behalf?” Huang Shi made a joke to defuse the scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Haha, precisely.” Zhang Pan also took the out, laughing jovially: “Although this is General Huang’s turf, when I see injustice on the road, I too must draw my blade to help.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi noticed that Zhang Pan’s gaze kept lingering reluctantly on He Baodao, and his expression also appeared very subtle.\u003C\u002Fp>",2204,"2026-06-04T07:54:30.907Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","f157d92d64ce971c60fde18f75b6335db1d3b2968863e70e42048d8f4a5b8289","stealing-ming-chapter-109","stealing-ming-chapter-107",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]