[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-112":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},1220729,1614,"Chapter 112: Section Twenty: The Sortie","stealing-ming-chapter-112",112,"\u003Cp>Zhang Pan proposed splitting the troops into two columns: half the soldiers in the front column would ambush the Later Jin vanguard, while the rear column would block their line of retreat. Originally, attacking the Later Jin vanguard with nearly a thousand battle-ready soldiers and over a thousand auxiliaries was more than enough, but it would not have left much to spare. Now, with several hundred extra battle-ready soldiers, Lüshun’s strength was far better. The Later Jin losses beneath the walls of Lüshun over the previous two days had also been much heavier than in Huang Shi’s original history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The front column will strike suddenly, and since our troops outnumber the Jianzhou slaves, victory is certain. The rear column will be held in reserve. If by any chance the front column cannot overcome them, the rear column will join the battle at once — exactly the same as the plan General Huang described. But if the Jianzhou slaves lose their nerve and flee, then we will drive them into the forest and force them to abandon their horses and scatter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Later Jin vanguard were routed, they could no longer pose any threat. Zhang Pan rapped heavily on the road behind the southern hill — the position the Later Jin main force might reach. “If the front column successfully smashes the Jianzhou slave vanguard, then the rear column must conserve its strength and then strike straight at the Jianzhou main force. They will be hauling their equipment up the slope. With our troops striking from above, we will surely sweep through like a splitting bamboo!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And their horses will still be tethered to the carts. In the confusion they won’t be able to unhitch them in time — and even if they do, the horses will be nearly dead from exhaustion.” Huang Shi praised the plan and added, “Prepare plenty of gunpowder and oil jars. Once we charge in, start burning their carts and siege equipment so they cannot form battle lines, and the Jianzhou rear column will have no way to unleash a cavalry charge.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly! I reckon they will have no chance to form ranks at all, but preparing extra gunpowder and oil jars is still a wise precaution.” Zhang Pan straightened up, full of spirit. “This time we must seize as many horses as we can, and when we do, I’ll split them evenly with General Huang.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The horizon was already tinged with the white of a fish’s belly. Lüshun Fortress hummed like a beehive, everywhere soldiers wiping blades and oiling guns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Huang Shi saw He Baodao, he was carefully blackening two waist sabers over a campfire, so that under moonlight or in the early dawn the enemy would not catch the gleam of the blades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Today’s battle will be fought after daybreak. Everyone else is polishing their blades; only Company Commander He is smoking his. You really are cautious.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Force of habit.” He Baodao did not look up, turning the blades over the fire again and again. “Anyway, the sabers are already sharpened razor-keen. If we run into Jianzhou scouts on the march, they’ll still serve.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi was not overly worried about that. Historically, Zhang Pan’s ambush had succeeded, had it not?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Baodao carefully sheathed the smoked saber and began blackening his spearhead. “Since Sarhū, this humble officer cannot count how many times he has dreamed of this day. At last we will test ourselves against the Jianzhou slaves on the battlefield. Even if I die, I will die content.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The troops are about to march — don’t speak such words.” Although Huang Shi knew it was mere superstition, hearing it still left him deeply unsettled, even with a vague premonition of ill fortune.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced around. The other soldiers were excited too, but they still seemed somewhat tense and uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Indeed. Since Sarhū, we have needed a victory far too badly.” The thought of this field battle involving ten thousand men made Huang Shi’s blood surge, yet he could not help feeling a little apprehensive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before setting out, Zhang Pan also sensed the soldiers’ nervousness. Many clutched their weapons with a spasmodic grip, only the sharp pain of cramping forcing them to suddenly let go, accompanied by low curses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Pan ordered his personal guards to proclaim the command: any man who had not lost his entire family, had his father murdered, or had his wife seized by the Later Jin could remain behind to hold Lüshun Fortress — for this battle required soldiers who dared to die.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The personal guards and officers shouted the call over and over for a long time, but apart from gripping their weapons even tighter, not a single Dongjiang soldier answered the summons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have long heard that every soldier left in Lüshun Fortress bears a deep blood feud with the Jianzhou slaves. I used to think it was an exaggeration; I never imagined it was truly so.” Huang Shi was also taken aback by the scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I did indeed select them, but even I did not expect it to be this absolute.” Zhang Pan seemed a little surprised as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi praised, “The troops’ hearts are ready. We will surely smash the Jianzhou slaves.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have long heard that General Huang is an eloquent speaker with no equal. Would you be willing…” Zhang Pan pointed toward the gate tower of the fortress. “…to go and raise their morale?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These are mostly General Zhang’s men. I would not presume to make a fool of myself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Pan gave a wry smile. “I am clumsy of speech and slow of tongue — I cannot do it, especially when several thousand men are all staring at me at once. Then I truly cannot.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Very well.” Huang Shi did not decline further. He dismounted and swiftly climbed the gate tower. Over two thousand soldiers quickly gathered below the wall and looked up. The soldiers’ family members also pressed as close as they could to the inner side of the fortress gate, eager to hear a speech from the legendary Huang Shi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First stir their pride, then stir their sense of mission, then make the soldiers feel that their sacrifice would be worthwhile…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi took several deep breaths, and once he had arranged his thoughts, he at last spoke in a clear, ringing voice:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The sage kings of the Three Dynasties created our Huaxia…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rule of the Three Dynasties was the Confucian ideal of governance: the sovereign was wise and enlightened, the path of remonstrance was unobstructed, officials were upright and incorruptible, the common people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and none suffered hunger or cold. Even a humble man could write his grievance on the Huabiao pillar and have it reach the heavenly court, so there were no wrongful convictions in the world, no injustice, no lawlessness…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This beautiful tale, which they had heard since childhood, at once brought a look of enchanted longing to many soldiers’ eyes. Every Ming subject struggling at the bottom of society dreamed of that glorious age…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Since the Three Dynasties, our Huaxia has never again seen a true golden age, and thus the barbarians have spied upon the Central Plains…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This too was a consensus of Confucian scholarship: after the Three Dynasties, there had at best been “eras of good order” — meaning better than times of chaos. No matter how well later generations of Huaxia sovereigns governed, they could never match the sage kings of the Three Dynasties. Before the flawless mirror of the Three Dynasties’ rule, any Huaxia emperor was bound to be reflected as a pockmarked face. “Fortunate to live in a golden age” ought only to be the self-deprecation of Huaxia subjects, never a boast used by Huaxia emperors themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi believed that such humility expressed the enterprising spirit of Huaxia’s sovereigns — they understood that they still had many shortcomings — and at the same time embodied their confidence: merit and fault, right and wrong, would be judged by later generations. For instance, the “Rule of Wen and Jing” of the Han, the “Zhenguan Reign” of the Tang, and so on — later Confucian scholars acknowledged that these “eras of good order” approached the level of a golden age.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…The weak Song could not defend itself, and actually allowed our divine land of Huaxia to sink into oblivion…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the Ming fell, three emperors had proclaimed their own reigns a golden age. Two of them were from the Song — after submitting to the Liao, Emperor Zhenzong of Song called his reign a golden age for a few days to save face. In truth, Emperor Gaozong of Tang had done the same once in secret for similar reasons, though both men were later too embarrassed to speak of it themselves. As for Emperor Gaozong of Song and Qin Gui, that sovereign and his minister who spent their entire lives shouting “golden age” — for a thousand years they have been the laughingstock of Huaxia. Such frantic self-glorification only proved that they dared not let later generations pass judgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Our Great Ancestor, the August Emperor, raised the banner of righteousness and drove out the brutal Yuan. Thus we know that the barbarians have a time appointed for their destruction…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi gradually sank into his own surge of emotion. He stroked the fiery red war banner of the Great Ming. It was under this very banner that Ming soldiers had driven off the Mongol armored cavalry with bamboo poles and overthrew the four-caste system imposed upon China… Huang Shi also remembered how, under two other red banners, the Chinese army had time and again launched counterattacks against plundering invaders, defending the elders and people of the motherland, and making the whole world believe — that China would absolutely never perish, never.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Though the barbarians rampage wildly for a time, China has a principle that must be upheld. Let the turning point begin from this day — let it begin from our hands…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi spoke for a long time, lost in emotion. The era he came from held painful memories, and then he had arrived in an era that cut even deeper into the bone. For a moment, all these feelings fused together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was not unaware that nationalism was a double-edged sword, each side equally sharp — just as in the era he came from, nationalism had brought China independence and made the Chinese people dare to challenge any power, but it had also exacted a considerable price. Yet in his personal view, a nation must first be able to stand up before it can speak of inclusiveness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The soldiers below the wall listened in silence. Huang Shi knew that many of them would die today; these sacrifices were unavoidable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…We will bleed, and the Jianzhou slaves will bleed. We will die, and the Jianzhou slaves will die…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi drew a deep breath and noticed that every man was tensely awaiting his next words:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But our souls will have the incense and offerings of Huaxia to enjoy, and spirit tablets enshrined by our descendants to receive our souls. The Jianzhou slaves will have none!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thousand years after the Code of Hammurabi had been buried in the sand, when the Egyptians were planting pyramids as thick as forests, the ancestors of Huaxia were still only a tribe of ten thousand on the Loess Plateau. Yet beginning from the legendary Three Dynasties, Huaxia step by step brought all of East Asia into its domain, its descendants multiplying and flourishing without end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Gentlemen, do your utmost!” Huang Shi gripped the flagpole beside him, too overcome by emotion to compose himself for a long while — Today, am I a man of Huaxia in the Ming sense?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he finished, the soldiers formed up and set out in succession, winding like long serpents toward the grey, hazy sky. The mountain ridges at the edge of the earth flickered with menacing shapes in the night. The Ming army advanced in mighty waves; every soldier was prepared to meet the fate that lay in ambush there, waiting for them — just like the fog-shrouded scene before their eyes, full of the unknown and of deadly peril…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every soldier who passed through the fortress gate was like a newborn babe, shouting with all the strength he could muster, one cry following hard upon another:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Long live His Majesty!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Long live the Great Ming!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the fourth month of the third year of the Tianqi reign, ten thousand Later Jin cavalry rode south to attack Lüshun. Three thousand Ming troops of Liaodong at Lüshun fought a bloody battle; before the fortress gate, the corpses of friend and foe lay heaped in layers…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After three days the Later Jin army could not take the fortress, so they withdrew twenty li and sent an envoy to demand surrender…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The defender of Lüshun, Zhang Pan, tore up the letter and executed the envoy. In fury, the Later Jin army attacked Lüshun once more…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Pan and Huang Shi led the entire garrison of Lüshun Fortress out to strike…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over two thousand Dongjiang officers and soldiers fought a great battle against the Later Jin army at the northern and southern hills outside Lüshun Fortress…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this engagement, the Ming army won a great victory!\u003C\u002Fp>",2224,"2026-06-04T07:54:30.907Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","4f0d549626798ca0d38d4ffe231e1d0ce3a023dcf36ea1b094592c96dbaac661","stealing-ming-chapter-113","stealing-ming-chapter-111",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]