[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-141":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},1220758,1614,"Chapter 141: Section 25: Changes","stealing-ming-chapter-141",141,"\u003Cp>\"How about this: whatever General Zhang Pan gives, I'll give the same. How's that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen the Beggar let out a breath as if a weight had been lifted, rubbed his hands together and smiled: \"General Zhang Pan gave five thousand taels.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then I'll also hand over five thousand taels.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen the Beggar's eyelids dipped slightly; he paused a moment before asking further: \"General Zhang Pan had thirty thousand taels of military funds, while General Huang has fifteen thousand — shouldn't the proper amount to hand over be two thousand five hundred taels?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That question stirred both goodwill and a surge of emotion in Huang Shi's heart. It seemed they truly regarded him as a close colleague now, so they weren't just out to squeeze some silver from him — they also cared about Changsheng Island's difficulties: \"Make it five thousand taels. I do some trading on my own as well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Jisheng, with his highly feudal sense of propriety, asked nothing further. He simply beamed all over his face and raised his wine cup: \"Drink, drink.\" In one evening, with just a few exchanges, he had secured ten thousand taels of silver. Chen Jisheng, utterly delighted, lavished another round of praise on Huang Shi and then departed in high spirits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that all matters were settled, Huang Shi and Zhang Pan prepared to take their leave of Mao Wenlong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next morning, after Mao Wenlong held the morning assembly, Huang Shi and Zhang Pan knelt side by side on one knee and performed the grand parting ceremony to their immediate superior. After Mao Wenlong offered some words of encouragement, the two men rose and clasped their fists once more: \"Commander, take care of yourself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Be careful in all things.\" In this era, a parting could mean years of separation — more likely, forever. Mao Wenlong solemnly rose to his feet, clasped his fists, and returned a half-bow to the two frontline officers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your subordinates understand. Commander, set your mind at ease.\" Huang Shi and Zhang Pan maintained their clasped-fist posture, then each turned left and right to bow to the assembly: \"All you brothers — until we meet again!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The officers filling the tent instantly returned the salute with fervor. For a moment, the whole camp resounded with the clang of iron armor and a roar from the depths of their hearts: \"Until we meet again!\" Each would be fighting on a different edge of the realm; \"until we meet again\" was precisely the blessing most befitting a soldier's spirit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Pan and Huang Shi said no more. Simultaneously, they swept their blood-red cloaks aside, turned their bodies sharply, and strode away without looking back. Behind them, Mao Wenlong and all the officers in the tent remained in their clasped-fist posture, watching their figures gradually fade beyond the camp tent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When they reached the harbor, Zhang Pan departed first. Huang Shi looked at Kong Youde, who had come to see him off once more. The two of them, after all, shared a bond forged by facing life and death together. Huang Shi drew a deep breath, wanting to find something to say, but when he opened his mouth, he did not know what to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Youde, seeing this, gave a faint smile: \"Brother, you are a true hero — why put on the airs of a tender maiden?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I've made a fool of myself before Elder Brother.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mm,\" Kong Youde said with a smile. \"This time I've also drawn military funds for over a hundred men. Next spring I'll be heading to the Kuandian front. Do well, brother — don't let me outshine you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Until we meet again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Until we meet again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After returning to Changsheng Island, Huang Shi galloped without pause to Nanxinkou, several trusted officers urgently spurring their horses to keep up. Wu Mu and the two Embroidered Uniform Guard men also followed behind, stumbling and lurching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon reaching Nanxinkou, Huang Shi flung himself from the saddle before the horse had fully stopped. Staggering a step, he rushed toward the shore. His guards, clutching their helmets, hurried after him. When they caught up, they saw Huang Shi already standing there woodenly, staring out toward the opposite bank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep on the eastern shore, one could faintly make out auxiliary soldiers continuing to erect fortifications, along with some Later Jin auxiliary soldiers clearing vegetation. There were also clusters of firelight and smoke. Amid that curtain of smoke and the ant-like crowds, the rough outline of a crude wooden fortress had already taken shape…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several officers had arrived earlier and stood behind Huang Shi, not daring to let out a breath. After a while, the two Embroidered Uniform Guard men, panting heavily, arrived together with Wu Mu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"General Huang, do you have any wise counsel?\" Wu Mu asked anxiously before he had even caught his breath, his voice turning hoarse by the end of the sentence. After speaking, he resumed gulping great mouthfuls of air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After carefully observing the progress and scale of the fortress opposite for a long while, Huang Shi shook his head, stepped back with a sigh, and raised his riding crop to point at the Later Jin wooden fort from afar: \"I was gone barely a month — how could you let the Jian slaves build a fortress right here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a long moment, no one answered. Huang Shi raised his voice: \"Why did you not sally out to harass them? Are you all dead men?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Answering General Huang!\" Wu Mu, having just steadied his breathing, burst out in a roar. He had not slept a single good night these past days. Watching the fortress on the opposite bank take shape day by day had driven him frantic as an ant on a hot pan. But no matter what he said, these Changsheng Island officers all gave him the runaround. Besides, Wu Mu no longer had any military confidence left — that battle had utterly shattered his and the two Embroidered Uniform Guard men's morale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Bao Dao, who always waded into murky waters, finally stepped forward: \"Answering my lord, your humble subordinate advocated sallying out.\" He shot an angry glare at Zhao Manxiong beside him: \"But Garrison Commander Zhao kept saying we needed to deliberate thoroughly. Every time we waited for him to finalize a plan, the Jian slaves' deployment had changed again. In the end, Garrison Commander Zhao would need to rethink everything, and the final result was that we stood here glaring helplessly while the Jian slaves built their fort for twenty days!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your humble subordinate deserves death ten thousand times over.\" Zhao Manxiong, scared out of his wits, had already dropped to his knees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Get up.\" Huang Shi gave a self-mocking laugh. Zhao Manxiong had always been slow to react and poor at decision-making, the very model of excessive caution — truly, every strength must have its corresponding weakness. \"In marching and battle, circumstances shift in the blink of an eye. How could there ever be a method that accounts for everything perfectly? Sometimes you must sally out even without certainty. You must engrave this firmly in your mind.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your humble subordinate has received your instruction.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Mu watched Huang Shi sink back into contemplation and, suppressing the anxiety in his heart, did not press him with questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi stared at the opposite bank a while longer, then called out loudly: \"Battalion Commander Li, where are you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yunrui dashed forward in one swift stride: \"Your humble subordinate is here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do the Jian slaves on the opposite bank belong to the Bordered Red Banner?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord's discernment is correct. It is precisely the Bordered Red Banner originally stationed at Fuzhou.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Jian slaves from Fuzhou — weren't they always oriented toward the Lüshun direction?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yunrui answered with a bitter smile: \"Your humble subordinate has only just finished gathering intelligence. Since the battle of Jinzhou, the Fuzhou Jian slaves seem to have adjusted their defensive orientation. Their attention has shifted entirely onto our Changsheng Island.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed those soldiers who fled from the battle of Jinzhou had also sent shockwaves through the Later Jin side. Historically, they should clearly have kept pressing Lüshun. And after losing Jinzhou, they should have urgently reinforced their defenses to the south. For the first time, Huang Shi felt the history before his eyes become shrouded in a layer of mist; he was beginning to lose sight of the changes behind it.\u003C\u002Fp>",1407,"2026-06-04T07:54:30.907Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","2ec2974bad87decdbf1df3817092b33349ddd28993b670b6aec0251b0c7d8146","stealing-ming-chapter-142","stealing-ming-chapter-140",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]