[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-110":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},1220727,1614,"Chapter 110: Section 18: Urging Surrender","stealing-ming-chapter-110",110,"\u003Cp>Huang Shi strongly disapproved of this feudal mindset — one family, one surname, working behind closed doors, groping in the dark. It was terribly inefficient and prone to being lost. Whether from the standpoint of development or preservation, breaking down feudal barriers and sharing knowledge was the efficient and scientific way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Baodao stood bent at the waist with the utmost deference, his body not swaying in the slightest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In that case, I will not force you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi knew that in the end, there was nothing more to be said to such a stubborn son of a respectable family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next day, Lüshun Fortress bustled with activity again. Everyone knew the Later Jin army would return, and that the coming battle would be fiercer than the last.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since He Baodao refused to cooperate, Huang Shi had no choice but to consult Deng Ken again, to see if there was any Taixi experience they could directly copy. This had originally been Huang Shi's second choice, because he had already spoken with Deng Ken many times. This Taixi foreigner Deng's strengths seemed to lie in architecture and artillery, and he did not know much about melee infantry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi brought Deng Ken and a few other subordinates on an inspection tour while chatting. Seeing many Ming soldiers sharpening their blades, Deng Ken sighed with deep feeling: \"I have always believed that swords are the weapons of mercenaries and bandits. A regular army should use pikes and matchlocks.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Matchlocks?\" He Baodao snorted. \"Those things are no good.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why are they no good?\" Deng Ken shot back rapidly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This very Lüshun Fortress has over a hundred matchlocks. If they were any good, do you think our Great Ming would not use them?\" Jin Qiude also began to chime in from the side. When Zhang Pan had let Huang Shi's soldiers pick equipment, Jin Qiude had seen a large batch of matchlocks in the storehouse, but he had not taken a single one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi, hearing this, also grew interested. \"Why are matchlocks no good?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They burst. About once every four or five shots, the barrel explodes, so the soldiers all dislike them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ming dynasty issued large quantities of firearms to its soldiers. What the soldiers preferred were weapons like three-eyed guns and quick-fire guns; swarm rockets were also acceptable. But matchlocks were basically all locked away in storehouses. These guns had very long barrels, which demanded relatively high craftsmanship. Ming artisan households were also of the lowest social status, and their skills were all passed down through that feudal tradition of father-to-son.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, the barrel-burst rate of Ming matchlocks was extremely high. When a soldier fired one close to his face, if it burst he would die if not be maimed. Thus, although the Great Ming's Ministry of Works manufactured hundreds of thousands of matchlocks for the Liaodong army, the fate of this equipment was to be thrown into warehouses to rust. In the history Huang Shi originally came from, the Manchu Qing soldiers also kept matchlocks at a respectful distance; they would rather brandish blades and spears than ever touch a matchlock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing this account, Huang Shi merely remained silent, but Deng Ken flew into a rage: \"This is a crime! Letting brave soldiers throw their lives away for nothing — the officials who supervised the manufacture of these matchlocks should all be strung up on the gallows!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The \"brave soldiers\" Deng Ken spoke of were, in the eyes of Ming scholar-officials, nothing more than base commoners and criminals — disposable consumables. With Ming military men holding such low status, their poor treatment was only logical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let's set aside the matchlocks for now,\" Huang Shi calmed the agitated Deng Ken and steered the topic back. \"We can first train pikemen. You say swords are useless?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\" Deng Ken answered with the utmost seriousness. \"A regular army is not a bandit gang. Rushing up with a battered blade and hacking wildly is utterly undignified.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi shifted his gaze to He Baodao. The latter also nodded: \"There is a saying: three arrows are not as good as one slash, three slashes not as good as one thrust. Against mountain bandits, bows and arrows are still acceptable. But against Jianzhou slaves clad in heavy armor on horseback, unless you hit the face or throat, it's no surprise if a dozen arrows fail to kill. And if a man is slashed three times, even if the armor is thick enough to prevent severe wounds, the blood loss will still cost him half his life. As for the long spear...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Baodao dropped into a horse stance, spread his arms, and formed empty fists in the air, making a thrusting motion: \"Kill!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After withdrawing his hands and feet, He Baodao let out a sigh, with an expression of satisfaction as if he had just slain a man: \"Then you can take the head.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"However...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Huang Shi began to ponder He Baodao's opinion, He Baodao, speaking in fits and starts, threw in another hard jab: \"If you run into a shield-bearer, it won't work...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Baodao gave another live demonstration. He guarded his chest with his left arm to represent a shield, then used a slow motion to shift it down to his abdomen: \"I use the shield to deflect the spear tip...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, in slow motion, he took a great stride forward, his right arm swinging a full arc from under his ribs to his chest: \"Another head in hand.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Pikes can form a formation.\" Deng Ken, red in the face and thick in the neck, began to retort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We can also form a shield formation.\" He Baodao shook his head and dropped his stance. \"Don't think you Taixi people are the only clever ones, and that we Great Ming soldiers are all fools. The key still lies in individual martial skill. If your spear technique is good, the spear wins; if your blade technique is good, the blade wins...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi rubbed his chin and thought for a long time. \"Do that move again for me to see... slowly... again... a bit slower... one more time... Hmm, I see...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi pondered seriously for a moment, and finally gave the order: \"After this battle is over, Jin Qiude, you go exchange our weapons. We don't want blades and shields anymore; switch them all for spears. Spears over six chi long.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing his subordinates' faces full of incomprehension, Huang Shi did not intend to explain his thinking just yet. After all, this would still require arduous training. \"As Company Commander He said, if your spear technique is good, the spear wins. After all, the spear has greater power and strikes first. Our troops must still diligently drill the spear formation — this is what is meant by seizing the initiative by striking first.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the other officers could object, Deng Ken spoke up impatiently: \"And those matchlocks — I want to see them with my own eyes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fine. When I get back, I'll ask General Zhang for them. They don't use them anyway.\" Huang Shi agreed readily. The matchlocks sitting in the storehouse were no different from scrap iron; Zhang Pan would surely not refuse to grant this small favor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When we return to Changsheng Island, we must train the troops assiduously. Although Mr. Deng Ken is a Taixi man, I hope you will all work together with him in the same boat, making no distinction between us and him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As you command!\" In the Ming era, Han Chinese still viewed white people rather favorably. The humble attitude the Taixi people showed toward the Great Ming also left them with no ill feeling. Even He Baodao did not consider Deng Ken a brutal barbarian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mr. Deng Ken, after we return to Changsheng Island, help me train the pike formation well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deng Ken guaranteed with full confidence: \"I will certainly not disappoint you, General.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi was single-mindedly determined to train all his soldiers to He Baodao's level of combat skill. Although He Baodao had declared he would not reveal his family's secrets, Huang Shi did not think it was entirely hopeless. Thinking could be slowly changed — wasn't there a saying about boiling a frog in warm water...? All right, that story had already been proven a rumor by He Baodao, but Huang Shi felt the principle behind it was still correct.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The matter of the matchlocks was settled as soon as it was raised. Zhang Pan indeed had no fondness for that junk, and he promised Huang Shi that after the battle he could take the entire stockpile. As Huang Shi smiled and expressed his thanks, Zhang Pan was also infected by his optimistic mood. For a moment, both of them forgot that the Later Jin main army was still twenty li away, busily constructing siege equipment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Speak of Cao Cao and Cao Cao arrives. Two days later, a group of riders spurred their horses to the foot of Lüshun Fortress and shouted from outside the gate that they were envoys sent by the enemy. When the report arrived, Zhang Pan was in the middle of discussing defensive matters with Huang Shi. Upon hearing it, Zhang Pan fell into thought, and a smile slowly spread across his face. \"What does General Huang think?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In war, one drum rouses the spirit, the second sees it flag, and by the third it is exhausted. The morale of the Jianzhou slaves has undoubtedly been deflated, so I suspect they have sent someone to try to persuade us to surrender.\" Hearing this news, Huang Shi also let out a great breath of relief. That the Later Jin army's morale had dipped was truly excellent news.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the first assault on the fortress, everyone in the Later Jin ranks, from top to bottom, had believed they could take it in a single surge, so naturally every man had striven to scale the walls. Now that the officers no longer had absolute confidence, the soldiers would naturally start thinking of a way out and harbor somewhat pessimistic views about the prospect of victory — thus their combat effectiveness would naturally plummet. If they were defeated one more time, the Later Jin army would inevitably be utterly disheartened, and the common soldiers would no longer have the confidence to attack. A third battle was impossible; the enemy was not so foolish as to come and throw their lives away when morale was at rock bottom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Pan also clapped his hands and laughed heartily, as if seeing a light ahead in the pitch darkness. \"The Jianzhou slaves have made a grave miscalculation in sending someone this time. Isn't this tantamount to telling every officer and soldier in our army that victory is right before our eyes?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the bloody battle at Lüshun, the soldiers all knew the Later Jin main army would inevitably come again. It was impossible for them not to be at least a little nervous. The general is the master of the troops; if officers at every level are brimming with fighting spirit, the soldiers will naturally be all the more roused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let the envoy enter,\" Zhang Pan ordered impatiently. \"Quickly, assemble the officers. Let them all come and listen.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the main hall, Huang Shi still stood in the position of a guest general. After the Later Jin envoy entered, he presented a letter and performed a Qian salute according to Later Jin protocol: \"Your servant pays his respects to General Zhang Pan of the Ming country.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he did the same toward Huang Shi: \"Your servant pays his respects to General Huang Shi of the Ming country.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Pan ignored him and pointed at the private secretary, shouting loudly: \"Read it!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The private secretary began to read with a swaying head, and indeed it was a letter urging surrender. The terms were even quite generous: all officers and soldiers of Lüshun would not only keep their lives and property, but every man would also receive a reward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The officers in the hall had all begun with tight-lipped expressions, standing solemnly with hands on sword hilts. But as Huang Shi listened, he let out a \"pfft\" of laughter. Zhang Pan shot him a glance that seemed slightly reproachful, but then he too could not help revealing a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that both generals had begun to laugh, the commanders in the hall one after another relaxed their facial muscles. The rising and falling sounds of laughter grew louder and louder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the private secretary finished reading the letter, Zhang Pan said with a cold laugh to the Later Jin envoy: \"You are at death's door and still haven't come to your senses?\"\u003C\u002Fp>",2117,"2026-06-04T07:54:30.907Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","8ca62304756d48f1a67a85f0d60e78d279a67f4470be0099e3e02dcd7ef02a80","stealing-ming-chapter-111","stealing-ming-chapter-109",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]