[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-162":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},1220779,1614,"Chapter 162: Section 19: Fishing for People","stealing-ming-chapter-162",162,"\u003Cp>\"Changsheng Island also has a Rescue and Nursing Camp, and all the auxiliaries in it are women...\" Huang Shi pondered for a moment, then raised a new topic. After several years of development on Changsheng Island, the military households there had generally developed a sense of belonging, and under equal military law they no longer had to live like slaves. Since the military households on the island no longer believed they were fighting for Huang Shi's personal future or that of some other master, mobilizing women to help the wounded warriors won the approval of the military households.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The female soldiers were engaged in the work of saving lives and aiding the wounded, not in providing sexual amusement for the commanders, so the female soldiers also received the respect they deserved, and the wounded soldiers they helped were even more supportive of their wives and sisters coming out to serve. Huang Shi believed that the ancients were not stupid; as long as those in power did not deliberately keep them ignorant, most of their ancestors were also people with the ability to think and distinguish right from wrong, and this time he had successfully proven that point again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Grand Secretary, on my Changsheng Island, not only do the officers and soldiers, high and low, unite as one to kill the rebels, but even the women do not mind appearing in public and are willing to contribute to the Firefighting Camp. Although I, Huang Shi, am dull-witted, if I were to divide up land and adopt foster sons now, I fear the soldiers would think I am using public loss for private gain. Once the army's morale is lost in this way, I fear I would regret it beyond remedy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rule that men and women should not touch when giving or receiving does allow for expediency, and the lower classes did not have so many formalities, but organizing a female soldier camp on a large scale was still shocking to hear. Huang Shi pointed to his own wounded left arm and explained the contributions of these female soldiers. Although Sun Chengzong believed him, he still found it hard to imagine that men and women in the army could coexist peacefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing of this astonishing morale, Sun Chengzong also changed his mind: \"Huang Shi, the strictness of your military discipline is perhaps comparable to the famous generals of antiquity. That soldiers do not harass the women's camp is something I have never heard of.\" Sun Chengzong slowly shook his head twice: \"The onlooker sees clearly. The morale of your troops is not something encountered by good luck alone, but comes because of you. It is precisely because you are selfless and impartial that you can have such army morale. Very good, very good.\" Finally, Sun Chengzong repeated: \"You were promoted by Wang Huazhen. Although he was muddled, at least he promoted Marshal Mao and you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Huazhen was a disciple of Yang Lian, a leading figure of the Donglin Party. In the first year of the Taichang reign, the Donglin Party used the Red Pill and Palace Removal cases to crush the Qi Party, the Chu Party, and other peripheral factions of the Eunuch Party in one stroke, and also brought down Xiong Tingbi of the Chu Party, leading to Wang Huazhen's appointment as Provincial Governor of Liaodong. After the great defeat at Guangning, the Donglin faction jointly tried this case and even assured the weeping Wang Huazhen: \"You will certainly be restored to the court ranks; there is no need to worry.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi understood that these words implied that both he and Mao Wenlong were men of the Donglin faction, that the Dongjiang Army had been promoted by the Donglin Party, and that the political situation at court was now exceptionally perilous, with a storm about to break, so the Dongjiang Army must not choose the wrong side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Grand Secretary, the promotion by Lord Wang is something I, your humble general, always bear firmly in mind and have never forgotten.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This old man knows you are not one to forget favors and betray righteousness. After the Guangning pacification, you were promoted to Mobile Corps Commander, and then under Marshal Mao's command you were promoted to Assistant Regional Commander.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The grace of Marshal Mao's patronage is also deeply engraved in my heart.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If Xiong Tingbi's words had been heeded, Mao Wenlong's dispatch of troops into Liaodong would not only have been no merit, but a crime, and there would be no Dongjiang Garrison today.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, setting aside the factional struggle between the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party, Xiong Tingbi's assessment of Mao Wenlong when he was stationed at Shenyang had also been very high. At that time, Mao Wenlong led a small force in Kuandian and conducted highly effective defensive operations, holding the Jurchen army at bay at Mount Zhangbai for a full year and firmly covering Shenyang's flank. At that time, Xiong Tingbi had said: \"Mao Wenlong, Commander of the Iron Cavalry Battalion with the concurrent title of Regional Military Commissioner, abandoned scholarship for the military, his ambition set on annihilating the invaders. He established defenses at Kuandian and Aiyang; there is no terrain, no mountain or river barrier in the barbarian lands that he does not thoroughly understand; there is no method of military attack and defense, orthodox or unorthodox, that he does not fully master. Truly, among military men, he is one with cunning, insight, courage, and accomplishment — how could one find many like him!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after Shenyang fell, Mao Wenlong's flanking army also promptly collapsed. Mao Wenlong fled alone to Guangning, where Wang Huazhen gave him a hand and provided him with two hundred soldiers to go out to sea into Liaodong. What Sun Chengzong referred to was precisely this old case from the first year of the Tianqi reign. Xiong Tingbi and Wang Huazhen were already irreconcilable at that time; because Wang Huazhen commended Mao Wenlong's achievements, Xiong Tingbi felt compelled to speak in opposition, cursing Mao Wenlong's great achievement of recovering four hundred li of territory in the most scathing terms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Xiong Tingbi never speaks a good word, never does a good deed,\" Huang Shi chimed in against his own conscience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not so. Xiong Tingbi had ability. When he was in Liao, Liao survived; when he left Liao, Liao fell. He also foresaw the defeat at Guangning in advance.\" Historically, the Donglin Party defined Xiong Tingbi's crime as: having the ability but deliberately not exerting it, therefore his heart was deserving of execution; Wang Huazhen simply had no ability at all, so the great defeat was merely a matter of capability, not a matter of attitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Huang Shi's surprise, Sun Chengzong did not take the opportunity to curse the Eunuch Party a couple of times, but instead sighed inexplicably. However, Sun Chengzong, who seemed to have something difficult to speak of, was unwilling to say more, and the topic immediately shifted: \"Marshal Mao is willing to use all his military merits to guarantee that Wang Huazhen is innocent.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The final struggle of the Donglin Party in the Tianqi reign, Huang Shi vaguely remembered that the broad-minded Sun Chengzong had historically always disliked factional strife and was very generous toward capable opponents. After the Donglin Party faction sentenced Xiong Tingbi to death, Sun Chengzong also advised his imperial disciple not to rush the final execution. Born into a scholarly family and serving as Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, Sun Chengzong nonetheless always loudly advocated \"emphasizing the authority of generals\" and not letting civil officials recklessly interfere in military affairs. It was a pity that Sun Chengzong, as the Emperor's teacher, was the greatest backer of the Donglin Party and the greatest threat to the Eunuch Party. Perhaps this is what is meant by being in the jianghu and unable to control oneself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Wang Huazhen, to save his own life, was certain to betray the Donglin Party. When the Guangning case was retried, Wang Huazhen smelled the scent of the Donglin Party's total collapse and turned coat, betraying his own teacher and Zuo Guangdou. And Xiong Tingbi, who was consistently known for being unable to pick the right side, learned his lesson from the first year of the Tianqi reign and went over to the Donglin Party's side...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Chengzong saw that Huang Shi had hesitated for a long time and said softly: \"Marshal Mao's words carry great weight. This old man believes your words also carry great weight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As much weight as a Regional Commander? Regional Commander, the Regional Commander of an entire garrison — what a huge carrot. Huang Shi clearly understood what kind of future Sun Chengzong was hinting at.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You — are you willing to guarantee Wang Huazhen?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From these words, Huang Shi detected a tremble of shame. For someone of Sun Chengzong's upright and incorruptible character, he must have been in great pain when saying this, right? But Ye Xianggao was, after all, Sun Chengzong's honored teacher. Now that his teacher's faction was in trouble, Sun Chengzong's tone in these words was almost pleading — and pleading to a military officer, a young military officer whose age was comparable to that of his own grandson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi raised his head and looked at the old man before him. Although his voice was still so resonant, although his straight back was still so firm, beneath his helmet his temples were already frosted white. State affairs and military duties were taxing enough, and now Sun Chengzong had to trouble himself with this idle concern, cleaning up after a bunch of fools from his teacher's faction. Huang Shi blurted out: \"Your humble general is also willing to use all his military merits to guarantee that Wang Huazhen is without...\" It was useless. The Donglin Party was doomed this time. Unwilling to slide into a situation where he would be despised by both sides, Huang Shi lowered his head: \"...Your humble general is willing to guarantee that Wang Huazhen does not deserve to die.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the last moment, Huang Shi changed \"without crime\" to \"does not deserve to die.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Chengzong stared at Huang Shi for a moment. Seeing that although Huang Shi had lowered his head, he showed no intention of revising his words, he finally said coldly: \"That will not be necessary. Assistant Regional Commander Huang, you are merely a minor Assistant Regional Commander, and presumably of no use whatsoever.\" With these words, Sun Chengzong flicked his sleeves and left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi, stunned into immobility, even forgot to follow — Have all my efforts these past few days been in vain? But as Sun Chengzong said, I am just a minor Assistant Regional Commander. Even if I joined in, could I reverse the inevitable crushing defeat of the Donglin Party at court?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then... Huang Shi suddenly realized that Sun Chengzong no longer wanted him to submit a memorial, and he could safely and securely place himself outside the factional struggle. This should be counted as a blessing within misfortune.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shanhai Pass\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Chengzong finished writing his memorial. In the memorial, he suggested that the imperial court prioritize support for Changsheng Island, that its priority should be above all other units of the Dongjiang Army, and even above the Guanning Army in Liaoxi. Sun Chengzong felt that the army he had seen on Changsheng Island was an army determined to fight its way back to its homeland at all costs, not an army that served as soldiers merely to earn rations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Sun Chengzong also knew that this memorial would most likely be ignored by the court. Since the sixth month of the fourth year of the Tianqi reign, the Donglin Party had launched a general offensive against Wei Zhongxian. Memorials of factional strife were piled up like mountains before the Emperor's throne, so much so that the Tianqi Emperor had once ordered that there be no more quarreling during court sessions, as that was the place and time for discussing serious matters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, within the scope of his own authority, Sun Chengzong allocated two seagoing vessels to Changsheng Island and transported some grain and weapons there. At the same time, with a stroke of his pen, he allocated over ten thousand jin of pig iron and a large amount of coal. As the Grand Coordinator of Liaodong, Sun Chengzong found these items to be a mere drop in the bucket compared to the one hundred sixty thousand Guanning troops, something he could decide entirely on his own authority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After arranging all this, his old household servant had already brought him water for washing his feet. Sun Chengzong sighed comfortably: \"It's a pity that Huang Shi is a military man.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old servant casually picked up the conversation: \"Does the Master think highly of this man?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes. Back then, why did this old man return him to Mao Wenlong? If I wanted him now, others wouldn't give him up.\" The more Sun Chengzong thought about it, the more he regretted it. At the time, he had felt that Huang Shi was merely a minor Mobile Corps Commander, and when he took charge of Liaoxi, he had not seen anything particularly outstanding about this man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over three years, Sun Chengzong had trained several tens of battalions of the Guanning Army and built over fifty fortresses, and he had poured his heart and soul into this. The officers at every level of every battalion of the Guanning Army were all recommended by the Liaoxi military families, with complex networks of personal and marital relations, and soldiers from military households who were like slaves, resulting in arrogant generals and lazy soldiers. Although Sun Chengzong was highly capable, he was not so heaven-defying as to be able to eradicate the feudal habits accumulated over a thousand years. Now, recalling the deep impression the Firefighting Camp had left on him, he felt that the fighting spirit and mental outlook of Huang Shi's unit were stronger than those of any battalion under his own command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One broken island, with only twenty thousand taels of silver in total, and Huang Shi can train a strong army.\" Sun Chengzong tapped his own forehead: \"Liaozhen gets three million taels of silver a year, nearly ten million over three years. Why didn't I keep him back then to train troops for me? If I had, wouldn't the Jianzhou slaves have been pacified long ago?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Chengzong did not realize that he had already exaggerated Huang Shi's ability. If Huang Shi had really been mixed up in the Guanning Army, at most he could only have barely survived amidst the power of the Liaoxi military families, and would absolutely have been doomed to failure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That final conversation with Huang Shi left Sun Chengzong with some regret: \"On this trip to Changsheng Island, I wonder if he looked down on me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old servant said indignantly: \"He's just a military man — would he have the audacity to be disrespectful to the Emperor's teacher?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Chengzong merely smiled: \"This Huang Shi is full of upright spirit, young and promising...\" Having personally witnessed that Huang Shi could still hold his ground in the face of the temptation of promotion and refused to offer flattering compliance even to a high official, Sun Chengzong truly could not bear to drag Huang Shi forcibly into the whirlpool of factional strife. Although he had put on the posture of flicking his sleeves and leaving, in his heart he still very much appreciated Huang Shi's forthrightness. Then Sun Chengzong sighed again with regret: \"If he were a Licentiate, I would very much like to take him as my disciple.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",2615,"2026-06-04T07:54:30.907Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","cf11c5db259bd3d659b695bc3068805cf4567cd218b83f74b92844962d4595ea","stealing-ming-chapter-163","stealing-ming-chapter-161",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]