[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-111":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},1220728,1614,"Chapter 111","stealing-ming-chapter-111",111,"\u003Cp>As soon as Zhang Pan finished speaking, he reached out to his private secretary for the letter. The secretary, who had quite a flair for comedy himself, held the letter up with both hands as he offered it, and with a face full of earnestness, pretended to remonstrate, \"These terms are truly generous, Proprietor — you must think this over carefully!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the sight of the secretary's feigned solemn expression, the assembled officers in the hall burst into thunderous, roaring laughter. Even Huang Shi and Zhang Pan were no exception; the sound seemed ready to shake the roof tiles loose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Later Jin envoy's face turned somewhat pale, but amid the gale of laughter, he still asked in a deep voice, \"May I ask why the General laughs?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So you can die knowing why!\" Zhang Pan swept his hand in a circle, encompassing all the officers in the room, then ground his teeth and said, \"Every man in this room, my private secretary included, was originally a common civilian of Liaodong. We had homes and families, living in peace and prosperity. Even if you Jianzhou slaves could compensate us for our fields and property, can you ever return our elders and kin to us?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, Zhang Pan flicked his wrist and tore the letter to shreds. \"A few paltry coins — when we have slaughtered every last Jianzhou slave, can we not go and take them ourselves?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knowing he was doomed, the envoy sneered and retorted loudly, \"Though you two generals are brave, where the iron hooves of my Great Jin ride, no stronghold stands unbroken.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Men! Drag him out and behead him!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the guards stepped forward to bind the Later Jin envoy, the man offered no resistance. When he had been ordered to Lüshun, he had long known this might be his fate. \"I am but a lowly man, yet you two generals enjoy great renown. Have you not heard the saying, 'When two states war, envoys are not executed'?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Jianzhou rebel slaves, and you dare call yourselves a rival state?\" Zhang Pan snorted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the soldiers dragged the envoy away, he still held his head high. \"When the nest is overturned, no egg remains whole. Three days hence, I shall await you two generals below in the Nine Springs, along with everyone in this hall...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In ancient times, envoys between warring sides were generally men of great courage, for otherwise they would easily disgrace their own side's prestige. From beginning to end, this envoy's words had been fervent and dignified, and he had not resorted to raving curses. This left Huang Shi faintly regretful — after all, if the officers could witness an enemy's ugly behavior in the face of death, it would further stoke their contempt. As for Huang Shi himself, the envoy's composed bearing stirred in him a slight sense of awe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two Later Jin guards who had accompanied the envoy had remained utterly silent throughout. Once the envoy had been dragged away, Zhang Pan frowned and said, \"You may return and report. General Huang and I, Zhang Pan, shall wait right here in Lüshun for you Jianzhou slaves to come to your deaths.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We shall convey General Zhang's meaning in full,\" one of the Later Jin soldiers on the right replied loudly in Chinese. \"We would ask the General to return his head to us, so that we may give it to his family for burial.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That... may be done. Zhang has always esteemed brave men. Though he is a barbarian, I shall not let him become a headless ghost in the underworld.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On Zhang Pan's orders, the envoy's head was displayed atop a flagpole for all of Lüshun to see, then placed in a wooden box and handed over, together with the body, to the Later Jin soldiers who had come with him to take away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When battle is joined in the days to come, we shall seek further instruction from you two generals.\" As the Later Jin escort departed, they remained impeccably courteous, their morale as high as ever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The assembled officers of Lüshun all roared with laughter. The Ming army's fighting spirit was also fiercely strong, so they naturally took these words as a joke. Zhang Pan and Huang Shi would not stoop to make trouble for a few common soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the officers had dispersed, Zhang Pan gave a meaningful smile. \"What plan does General Huang have in mind?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi returned the same smile. \"General Zhang holds the pearl of wisdom in his palm — no doubt he already has a well-formed strategy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two men gazed at each other for a moment, then burst into laughter in unison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shanhai Pass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Drums and gongs pounded with earth-shaking force, and two men set off firecrackers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the gate, a sea of common folk had gathered to watch, every face alight with admiration. A few children were hoisted onto their elders' shoulders to see the excitement, so they might soak in the atmosphere of a scholar bringing glory to his ancestors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid this sea of reverent gazes, a young man strode through the great gate with head held high. Before the hall, many elderly neighbors had come to offer congratulations. With a shake of his official robes, he composedly knelt before his father upon the high dais and respectfully knocked his head nine times. \"Father, your son, relying on the virtue of our ancestors, has had the good fortune to pass.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Elder Brother, do you not intend to go to the capital to sit for the Metropolitan Graduate examination?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I shall not. Our family holds Liaodong registration, so we cannot hold office in Liaodong. A Metropolitan Graduate must serve elsewhere, so Provincial Graduate suits me perfectly. I have already submitted a letter to His Excellency Yuan, the Liaodong Military Defense Assistant Surveillance Commissioner. His Excellency Yuan has informed me that there is a vacancy for an Assistant County Magistrate in Juehua County — I may take up the post.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Juehua County?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Little Sister, you do not know. Ningyuan Fort has been under construction for nearly a year now, and under His Excellency Yuan's supervision, it is on the verge of completion. Juehua Island has just been established as a county, and the County Magistrate is already en route. But no Provincial Graduate in this region is willing to go to such a dangerous place to serve as Assistant County Magistrate.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Elder Brother, do you truly wish to remain an Assistant County Magistrate your whole life?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the future... Little Sister, six generations ago, was our family not from Tongzhou in Shaanxi? Perhaps we might obtain the clan's permission to move our registration back to our ancestral home.\" With his father's consent, the eldest son of the Zhao family had just changed his name to Yingong, resolved to serve as an official on the Liaoxi defense line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Father...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So many generations have passed; there should be no obstacle to Father reconciling with the main clan.\" Six generations ago, the Zhao family had originally held Shaanxi registration. After the Zhao ancestor took up a Liaodong post, he had some unpleasantness with the clan. As an imperial official at odds with the clan head, under the Great Ming Code this constituted the crime of contempt for human relations. After being dismissed from office, the Zhao ancestor simply chose not to return to his old home to face punishment, and instead remained in the Northeast, studying and passing on learning through the generations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this generation, the Tongzhou main clan had also produced a Licentiate, Zhao Jingzhi, who had placed first in the Tongzhou prefectural examination. As soon as Zhao Yingong passed the Provincial Graduate examination, the main clan resumed correspondence. Although from a modern bloodline perspective, his family had long ceased to be Shaanxi people, under the Great Ming, so long as he still bore the surname Zhao, he could not but treat his ancestral clan with due courtesy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next morning, while the sky was still pitch black, Zhao Yingong had already packed his belongings and prepared to leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Second Brother, Little Sister — Father and Mother will depend on your care.\" Zhao Yingong was impatient to report for duty on the Liaoxi frontier. He hesitated, wanting to say something, and finally spoke softly. \"Little Sister, spend more time with Mother. The matter with Eldest Sister will pass in time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Eldest Sister was far too indiscreet.\" The younger Zhao brother sighed. Before anything had been settled at all, his sister had gossiped carelessly with several neighbor girls. In the end, not only had she brought humiliation upon herself, but she had made the whole family a laughingstock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Little Sister understands. Elder Brother, rest assured.\" The younger sister also knew that her mother was deeply troubled. After her elder sister had been hastily married off, word of the gossip had now reached her in-laws' household. Truly, good news never leaves the house, while bad news travels a thousand li. Her sister's in-laws now regarded their daughter-in-law as a mad, deluded woman, and they no longer treated her sister well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The younger Zhao sister said indignantly, \"That man is truly detestable!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Little Sister, you were right before. He was always cold-hearted by nature. It is a pity that Eldest Sister would not heed your words.\" Zhao Yingong sighed as well. Hearing that his elder sister was living unhappily had grieved him deeply, but a married-off daughter is like spilled water — what could be done about it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Those soldiers are all rotten to the core!\" Miss Zhao said bitterly. \"It was clearly him who deliberately provoked my sister...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same moment, in Lüshun Fort, Liaodong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Reporting to the two generals: scouts have returned with word that the Jianzhou slaves are fitting wooden wheels to their equipment...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi and Zhang Pan listened to the report with rapt attention. Over the past several days, the Later Jin army had constructed a considerable number of siege engines. The previous evening, they had begun a chaotic bustle of preparing to strike camp and march. Today, just past the zi hour, they had already begun harnessing horses — clearly, they were once again advancing on Lüshun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two men immediately began to discuss their countermeasures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"General Zhang's tearing up of the letter and execution of the envoy has thoroughly enraged the Jianzhou slaves. They only finished constructing their engines yesterday, and today they are already impatiently rushing to attack, without the slightest care for the condition of their horses or men. Hah — they have already half-lost this battle.\" Huang Shi spoke first. The principle that a general does not raise an army in anger spoke precisely to this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The observation platforms and scaling towers they have built are three times the number from last time. That means most of their horses will be tied up pulling carts.\" Zhang Pan ground his teeth in a continuous cold sneer. He had deliberately told the Later Jin soldiers that he would defend Lüshun Fort to the death, and sure enough, the Later Jin army had thrown all their effort into building siege weapons. So far, everything was proceeding exactly according to his calculations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Subtracting the manpower needed to pull the carts, the Jianzhou slaves have fewer than two thousand combat soldiers left to deploy.\" Huang Shi and Zhang Pan had calculated this no fewer than ten times. Two thousand freely mobile cavalry was already the most pessimistic estimate; in reality, it might not even reach fifteen hundred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The North and South Hills!\" Zhang Pan jabbed forcefully at a point on the map. This was the only route the Later Jin could take to haul their engines to Lüshun; all other paths were either too long or too rugged. \"Here there is a bend in the road, and it happens to be an uphill slope. Both sides are wooded hills — an absolutely perfect place for an ambush.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi studied the map for a moment. The road curved around there, with forest on both sides to conceal movement, and there was no open ground for cavalry to charge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Jianzhou slaves' two thousand troops will have to be divided into vanguard, rear, left, and right divisions. The vanguard, at its strongest, is only half the force, so no more than a thousand men. And they spent all yesterday doing manual labor — today they should still be somewhat fatigued.\" Huang Shi clapped his hands together sharply. So this was the calculation behind the historic victory — now he finally understood it all. Rare experience and a valuable lesson; this trip had truly been worthwhile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If we can rout the main strength of the Jianzhou vanguard, their central army will naturally lose heart.\" Once the mobile screening force was destroyed, the siege engines would be vulnerable to ambush at any moment. By defeating the vanguard alone, the Ming army would already be in an unassailable position. The more Huang Shi thought about it, the clearer it became. \"Even if the Jianzhou slaves still press their attack, we have nothing to fear. Their central army will have exhausted itself dragging the engines here, while our troops, rested and waiting, can strike at these engines that have no combat soldiers to protect them — it will be as easy as turning over one's hand.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Pan studied the map for a long while before looking up. \"Zhang has nearly a thousand combat soldiers at his disposal, and the remaining thousand-odd auxiliary troops will also take up arms and join the attack — two thousand men in total. If that were all, Zhang's plan would be exactly as General Huang has described. But with the several hundred combat soldiers General Huang has brought, Zhang is no longer content to let the Jianzhou slaves off so lightly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",2306,"2026-06-04T07:54:30.907Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","a6663c3c86e300ad10d3c4095aa4ee99224c81630c424e617dd8d9a9c163b300","stealing-ming-chapter-112","stealing-ming-chapter-110",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]