[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-124":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},1220741,1614,"Chapter 124: Section Eight: Strategy","stealing-ming-chapter-124",124,"\u003Cp>Huang Shi stared at Zhao Manxiong for a long moment; the others looked at his expression as if they were looking at a monster. \"What did you say?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Manxiong gave a dark chuckle. \"Just now, didn't Company Commander Li say the Zhao family still has an unmarried daughter? My humble opinion is that my lord could go propose a marriage alliance with the Zhao family — say you wish to take the Zhao family's youngest daughter as your wife.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Have you lost your mind, Garrison Commander Zhao?\" Huang Shi looked at him in disbelief. \"The Zhaos are scholars — one of their sons even passed the imperial examinations and earned a degree. I am nothing but a military man, and on top of that, they hate me bitterly. The Zhao family will never agree. I'd only be inviting humiliation!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I never said the Zhao family would agree,\" Zhao Manxiong shrugged. \"If my lord goes to propose, you will certainly be insulted.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone listened in utter bewilderment, but Zhao Manxiong and Huang Shi had been together since Liuhe and knew each other's minds thoroughly. The moment Zhao saw Huang Shi's expression darken, he understood that Huang Shi had grasped his scheme. \"What does my lord think?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi stood with his hands clasped behind his back for a long while, then nodded. \"Not bad. Truly a cunning calculation.\" Then he shook his head. \"I did nothing wrong before, but if I do this, the fault will lie with me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Zhao family forced our hand, did they not? My lord, this is merely counterattack.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two men spoke as if trading riddles; everyone else in the room listened in complete confusion. Though they were dissatisfied, none dared question Huang Shi. Jin Qiude and Yang Zhiyuan, however, knew there was one person who would always wade into murky waters, so they waited full of hope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure enough, the blunt and straightforward He Baodao grew angry. \"Brother Zhao, speak plainly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Manxiong did not answer the question directly but kept watching Huang Shi's face. \"My lord, if Assistant County Magistrate Zhao keeps stirring trouble, I fear the officials of the Ningyuan circuit will all develop misunderstandings about my lord.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi sighed and turned his face away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Manxiong, now fully assured, turned and countered He Baodao. \"The imperial court has ordered that all severed heads from our Dongjiangzhen be forwarded to Ningyuan. One could say that the merits of our Firefighting Battalion rest entirely in the hands of the civil officials of the Ningyuan circuit, correct?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Correct, that is exactly so.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Manxiong pressed on. \"If the civil officials of the Ningyuan circuit form an unfavorable opinion of my lord and allow this rumor to spread, that would be extremely detrimental to our Firefighting Battalion, would it not?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although He Baodao could not fathom what this had to do with a marriage proposal, he answered honestly. \"Well said.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Manxiong, brimming with righteous indignation, spoke with impassioned fervor. \"Just now Brother Yang and my lord both recounted the course of events, and Company Commander Li's report also confirms that this was entirely the one-sided wishful thinking of that girl. My lord never promised anything. Moreover, it was the Zhao family daughter's own meddlesome loose tongue that stirred up trouble. Zhao Yin Gong's conflict with his colleagues has absolutely nothing to do with my lord. For my lord to be inexplicably dragged into this rumor is truly a grave injustice!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although everyone felt Huang Shi had acted somewhat discourteously, in the end he truly had not promised anything. He Baodao also knew Huang Shi was indeed wronged. \"True, true, but what does this have to do with a marriage proposal?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That Zhao Yin Gong insists on claiming my lord was deceitful — not that their Zhao family looks down on my lord. This is clearly slinging filth at my lord, attempting to make my lord shoulder all the blame for their Zhao family's misdeeds. These civil officials bully us military men far too much — it is truly outrageous.\" Zhao Manxiong slammed the table in fury, the muscles of his face contorting. \"My lord leads us in shedding blood to kill the enemy, yet there are petty men like this stabbing him in the back!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Baodao had been completely led in circles by Zhao Manxiong; his head was spinning and he could not think straight at all. \"Then why does Brother Zhao still want my lord to propose marriage into the household of such a petty man?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To propose marriage to the Zhao family is precisely to let the truth be known to all under heaven.\" Zhao Manxiong spoke with righteous solemnity. \"The Zhao family looks down on us military men so deeply — they will certainly refuse outright, and likely take the chance to humiliate our lord in the process. In this way, everyone will see clearly: it is not at all that our lord was deceitful, but that the Zhao family, to their very bones, despises a righteous man like our lord who serves the nation with utter loyalty. The rumor will then naturally collapse of its own accord.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since Zhao Yin Gong had already torn away all pretense and begun smearing Huang Shi, he would inevitably make things difficult for Huang Shi in the future. Zhao Manxiong's calculation was to eliminate this hidden threat. If this plan proceeded smoothly, Zhao Yin Gong would naturally be utterly discredited, and if he later tried to make trouble for the Firefighting Battalion, everyone would see it as using public office to settle a private grudge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi interjected a question. \"Send a clamp to those three brothers?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Manxiong paused, then smiled faintly. \"My lord sees clearly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The others could not understand what riddle Huang Shi and Zhao Manxiong were trading again. Had Zhang Zaidi been present, he would have understood that Zhao Manxiong was once more employing an old stratagem. After the Zhao family humiliated Huang Shi, they would, upon reflection, feel they had vented their anger and suffered no real loss. Besides, the humiliated party always wins more sympathy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If this Zhao Yin Gong is truly the petty man Brother Zhao describes,\" He Baodao had been racking his brains for a long time and finally asked again, \"what if they agree to the marriage?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as he said it, He Baodao laughed self-deprecatingly, and everyone in the room burst into laughter as well. This was marrying a wife in, not marrying a daughter out. For the sake of their daughter's happiness, the Zhao family would have to retract all the slander they had spread earlier — which would naturally be nothing but beneficial to Huang Shi. Li Yunrui had also mentioned earlier that the Zhao family had connections to a clan in Shaanxi, reportedly with quite a few younger members who could serve as allies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Zhiyuan also teased. \"I too wish the Zhao family would agree to this match, but unfortunately they will certainly refuse. Brother He worries too much.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This matter ends here,\" Huang Shi let everyone laugh for a while longer. \"Leave everything to Garrison Commander Zhao to handle. Remember, the betrothal gifts must be as lavish as possible.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord, rest assured.\" Zhao Manxiong's face was all sinister smiles. \"I shall certainly prepare a weighty betrothal gift, leaving absolutely no room for criticism. Let Little Brother Zhang go perform this 'Returning the Jade to Zhao Intact' — that way, all due courtesy will be fully observed on the surface.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good, good, good. This minor matter is settled. Company Commander Li, continue reporting on the ambush against the Jianzhou slaves.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As you command, my lord.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By Huang Shi's order, the intelligence network on Zhangsheng Island maintained close surveillance on the Later Jin forces around Jinzhou and Fuzhou but never attacked or interfered — this was also one of his established long-term strategies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These are the main roads between Jinzhou and Fuzhou. The frequency of the Jianzhou slave scouts and messengers has all been recorded. My lord, please review it.\" As he spoke, Li Yunrui presented a sheet of paper with both hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi forcefully suppressed his desire to make all decisions autocratically. Cultivating independent initiative in his subordinates had always been his unwavering goal. \"You make the judgment: which road will the Jianzhou slaves use to retreat?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This... I dare not say.\" Li Yunrui was still using the old feudal-army method of merely collecting intelligence, without analyzing or filtering it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You several garrison commanders, all of you go help him think.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The group chattered away, analyzing the march, reconnaissance, logistics, and road conditions. Before long, they were arguing until their faces were red and their necks bulging. Huang Shi did not interrupt them. Only after a long while, when he heard no new arguments emerging from their clamor, did he call a halt. \"Company Commander Li, speak.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just now Garrison Commander Zhao said...\" Li Yunrui began but immediately hesitated. He turned and glanced at Jin Qiude. \"But Garrison Commander Jin said...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don't want to hear the reasoning.\" Huang Shi slammed the table and pointed at Li Yunrui, shouting. \"I want to hear it from you. Which road do you think it is?\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1539,"2026-06-04T07:54:30.907Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","443b29164781ba03387828865ef1521621bb8fdc149c5d3548b768282a763aae","stealing-ming-chapter-125","stealing-ming-chapter-123",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]