[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-174":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},1220791,1614,"Chapter 174: Section 31: Prestige","stealing-ming-chapter-174",174,"\u003Cp>The cavalry finally returned. Before Huang Shi could even speak, his gaze was drawn to the spoils of war in their hands, and a smile spread across his face. Beaming with joy, He Dingyuan vaulted off his horse and shouted at Huang Shi, who was still mounted: \"My lord, your subordinate has not failed the mission.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Dingyuan held the great banner of the Plain Blue Banner in his right hand, and cradled a helmet in the crook of his left arm. With some effort he shifted the helmet into his left hand and raised it high: \"My lord, behold — this is the very golden helmet of that wretch Manggūltai.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cavalry had not brought back any heads, and He Dingyuan wanted to explain. They had been in hot pursuit of Manggūltai the whole time and had no chance to stop and cut them; when they turned back, the enemy situation was unclear and they dared not linger, so they returned directly to the unit without collecting heads. But he had barely spoken two sentences when Huang Shi cut him off with a laugh: \"This is worth more than the military merit of a hundred heads.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Antong had already stepped forward to receive the helmet, holding it with both hands as he presented it to Huang Shi. The latter smiled and raised it toward the sun to admire it for a moment. After a brief pause, Huang Shi called out: \"Bring a spear.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone immediately handed over a long spear. Huang Shi set the helmet atop the spear blade and hoisted it high, gripping the butt of the shaft with one hand and gently swaying the helmet in the sunlight, while riding his horse at a slow walk before the troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mighty and powerful.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mighty and powerful.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The soldiers of the Firefighting Battalion rhythmically struck the ground with their long spears or firelocks, and the soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion beat their shields in time with the cadence. Many new recruits whispered to each other, asking what it was about; the veterans impatiently muttered an explanation: \"The golden helmet of the Jianzhou slave chieftain.\" Then, with imposing fervor, they continued shouting: \"Mighty and powerful — mighty and powerful.\" Even the wounded soldiers lying on stretchers propped themselves up, vigorously pumping their fists and chanting the work song under their breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having finished his martial display, Huang Shi spurred his horse to stand sideways before the three armies. With a flick of his wrist he sent the helmet tumbling to the ground, where it spun round and round. At the same time, he shouted to He Dingyuan, who was waiting to one side: \"Present the banner.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Dingyuan forcefully hurled the great banner of the Plain Blue Banner before Huang Shi's horse. Huang Shi gave a contemptuous smile, lightly nudged his horse's belly, and let his mount trample over it. The heavy hooves drove the great banner deep into the soil. Huang Shi then fiercely drew his blade and drew in a long, deep breath. For a long time he had been practicing a very impressive piece of horsemanship, but had never found the right moment to strike that pose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today was precisely the moment, and it perfectly matched his surging emotions. Huang Shi violently reined in the bridle, making his warhorse rear up with a neigh. He flourished his long saber twice, then pointed it straight at the heavens. Facing his equally stirred troops, he shouted with all his might: \"Our Dongjiang Army —\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mighty and powerful —\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cheers of over thirteen thousand officers and men surged like a raging tidal wave. The roar hung over the Ming army for a long time, reaching all the way to the sky. Amid the thunderous sound, Huang Shi leveled his warhorse, his body jolting heavily with the motion. Without a second thought, he drove his boot spurs hard into the horse's flanks. The steed carried him like lightning as he galloped before the multitude. All around him were faces contorted with frenzy; his loyal subordinates cheered and leaped toward Huang Shi as if possessed. The fierce wind howling in his ears drowned out every word. The searing blood boiling in his chest made him brandish his long saber wildly through the air — to select outstanding commanders, to forge elite warriors, to send the enemy's golden crown tumbling into the mud, to trample their banners beneath my iron hooves — this is how a true man should live!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Ruike and Zhang Gaosheng tilted their heads back to gaze at the dashing and spirited Huang Shi, both of them grinning foolishly. Suddenly someone shoved their heads hard, and they heard Wu Mu's vicious voice: \"Hurry up and put away that helmet and great banner — those are to be presented to His Majesty for the victory ceremony at the Taimiao. If you lose them, I'll have both your worthless hides.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having sent the two Embroidered Uniform Guard men off, Wu Mu clasped his chest and smiled, watching with immense satisfaction as Huang Shi basked in the reverence of ten thousand soldiers in the wind — Ah, so being a soldier has more promise than being a eunuch after all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Somewhat wistful, Wu Mu turned his head to look at the busy Chen Ruike and Zhang Gaosheng. Instantly he roared again: \"Chen Ruike, you dog! Gently — don't rub off the hoof prints... And you, Zhang Gaosheng, don't you dare brush the dirt off that helmet!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After his angry outburst, Wu Mu smiled again and contentedly continued gazing toward where Huang Shi stood...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He galloped until both horse and rider were utterly exhausted, yet he still felt his heart pounding violently, as if it would burst from his throat and out of his chest. Huang Shi reined in his horse before He Dingyuan and, gasping for breath, shouted: \"Speak, Brother He — what do you want?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Dingyuan bowed deeply: \"I am willing to die for my lord.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His chest still heaving violently, Huang Shi stared at He Dingyuan and suddenly noticed that both his scabbards were empty: \"Mobile Corps Commander He, where are your blades?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Dingyuan flushed: \"I must embarrass my lord. In the heat of battle, both my blades fell among the grass, rocks, and mountain streams, and were lost.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You are a cavalry commander — how can you be without blades on horseback?\" Huang Shi reached back and drew the waist saber he had just sheathed, then casually flung it before He Dingyuan. The tip sank deep into the frozen earth as if into rotten mud, and the glittering blade above ground continued to quiver, emitting a soul-stirring hum: \"This fine blade is my gift to you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Move out — return to Jinzhou at once.\" After packing up the baggage, Huang Shi gave the order to withdraw. The Ming army swiftly headed north. In the setting sun, every face was alight with joy. The auxiliaries were a sea of animated chatter, and even the wounded soldiers lying on stretchers laughed and talked without cease. The two Embroidered Uniform Guard men each clutched a rough wooden box. Wu Mu, now thoroughly versed in the Firefighting Battalion's organization, had just mobilized the artillery unit's accompanying army carpenters and, with lightning speed, had the two boxes ready. With meticulous care, he personally placed the helmet and the great banner inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord, what is our next move?\" He Dingyuan posed the question. Beside him, Wu Mu craned his neck to listen in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hold Jinzhou firmly, and at the same time send out large numbers of reconnaissance patrols. Do not give the Jianzhou slaves any chance to cross in secret.\" Huang Shi knew that only a dozen or so niru of the Plain Red Banner remained in Liaonan now. That force could barely maintain local order, and most of the niru left behind had been badly mauled and were recuperating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The good official road back to Fuzhou passed through the interior of Jinzhou Fort. If the Later Jin army abandoned their heavy baggage carts, they would have to carry their wounded back to Fuzhou in the freezing wind. And if they pushed their carts and slowly crawled through the mire and hills beside Jinzhou, it would be utterly unreasonable not to attack them. Huang Shi estimated that this battle had stripped at least half of the Later Jin niru on the Lüshun Peninsula of their combat effectiveness, and they had no reinforcements within a hundred li.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more Huang Shi thought about it, the more elated he became: \"The Jianzhou slaves have at least eleven thousand auxiliaries. It would be far too unfair to them if we didn't leave several thousand behind.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"General Huang's insight is profound.\" Wu Mu glanced at the Plain Blue Banner's great banner on his left, then at Manggūltai's helmet on his right, grinning so wide he could not close his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The owner of that object had just moments ago fled alone into Nanguan Fort. Manggūltai had been relentlessly pursued by a Ming commander leading cavalry; from start to finish, he had not been given a single chance to rally his troops. In the end, even his personal guards had scattered, and the few who stayed close were slaughtered to the last man. Even his great banner had been seized by that frenzied Ming commander, and those cavalrymen did not even dismount to take heads — they just doggedly chased after him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, Manggūltai had been around horses since childhood and, after years of deep immersion in horsemanship, his skill was already extraordinary. His warhorse was also a famous steed. To save his life, Manggūltai had thrown away everything that weighed him down — his saber, his quiver, his cloak. He circled around several times, relying on his superior riding skill to climb hills and leap ravines, and barely managed to shake that fellow off for a stretch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Manggūltai was secretly congratulating himself and looking back with smug satisfaction, the Ming commander hurled something at him with a chop of the hand. In the blink of an eye, a flash of cold light came straight at his face. At the critical moment, Manggūltai let out a great shout and executed an iron bridge on horseback. The instant he lay flat, he watched helplessly as a streak of cold steel grazed the tip of his nose — the flying blade sliced off several strands of his beard, and the hilt knocked his helmet clean off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Manggūltai could even break out in a cold sweat, the Ming commander flung another bolt of lightning his way...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What a man, that Manggūltai! At the very moment when his old strength was spent and new strength had yet to arise, he explosively drove power from his waist, forcefully lifting his body several inches into the air, then desperately jerked his head forward. The hurtling blade only sheared off the root of his queue. A master of horsemanship is a master indeed — Manggūltai did not pause for an instant, but flew on his horse straight toward the signal fire of the Plain White Banner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hair disheveled, he burst into Nanguan Fort. Even now, recalling that fiendishly savage Ming commander, Manggūltai still muttered with lingering fear: \"So barbaric — truly, utterly barbaric.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Hong Taiji was standing atop the walls of Nanguan, gazing at the Ming army several li away. The sight of him made Manggūltai's anger flare. Agitated, Manggūltai shook Hong Taiji's arm violently: \"Didn't you say that Ming army commander was a bookish scholar?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep in thought, Hong Taiji ignored him. Only after a long while did he ask the fuming Manggūltai beside him: \"Where has the rear column reached?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Still two days' march from Nanguan. We can't wait any longer. Have the rear column burn all the heavy baggage, and bring only their weapons and three days' rations. I estimate they have several hundred wounded as well. Our available troops now number no more than twenty-five hundred. Enroll all those Han troops into the banners — tell them from now on they are banner men. We must break out of Jinzhou quickly. If we wait until the Changsheng Army has tended its wounds, we won't be able to leave.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ming army in the distance had already marched far away. Hong Taiji sighed: \"Excluding the wounded, we still have over two thousand armored soldiers available. With the rear column, we might have a little over three thousand. We certainly won't have enough armor to go around, and even with the Han troops, we'll have fewer than four thousand. Between the front and rear columns, there are over ten thousand unarmored men and wounded. If we force our way through Jinzhou, I fear we'll have to abandon half the unarmored men.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And moreover...\" Hong Taiji sighed again: \"Who knows where Boorjin Hiya's Plain Red Banner has fled to — we haven't seen even a shadow of them. It will probably take them several days just to regroup.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing this, Manggūltai stood stunned for a moment, then suddenly beat his chest, stamped his feet, and wept bitterly: \"Since I followed Father Khan to take up arms, in ten years I have never suffered such a crushing defeat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fifth Brother, do not be hasty. I have already sent twenty Heavy Armor Soldiers with sixty horses to appeal for relief troops, asking Father Khan to have the Bordered White Banner move south immediately.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now Manggūltai had also calmed down. He paced back and forth twice and then had an idea: \"Strike Zhangsheng Island — but don't take it. Hit Zhangsheng Island hard, make it hurt so badly it screams for its mother, and then come at once to Jinzhou to extract us.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Exactly so. And the ships at Lüshun — we must recall them immediately, so we can evacuate the wounded.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having settled on the strategy of holding Nanguan, the Later Jin army set about regrouping its scattered remnants with peace of mind. After the Ming army withdrew, they ventured out in force to search for the wounded. In this season, any wounded man left exposed in the wilderness overnight would be a frozen corpse by morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time the Ming army returned to Jinzhou, the sun was about to set. Jinzhou Fort had long since received word of the great victory, and men and women from all over the city were waiting outside the gates for the returning heroes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the Ming army's return, the families of the Jinzhou auxiliaries surged forward — wives recognizing husbands, fathers recognizing sons. For a time, it was all deeply moving scenes of joyful tears. Those auxiliaries, caught between laughter and tears, comforted their kin: \"Didn't you already know we won? A great victory — it's a great victory for us.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This scene made many of the officers and men from the Nanguan auxiliaries and the Vanguard Battalion watch in silent sorrow. Their own families were still at Lüqing Fort, and by now their fate was more ominous than auspicious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A woman had been pouring out all her worries to her husband in a long, rambling stream. Suddenly she prostrated herself in the direction of Huang Shi's warhorse and, in the most earnest and reverent tone, intoned: \"Many thanks to Lord Huang for saving our lives. May Lord Huang live a hundred years, and may his noble line endure for ten thousand generations.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though her voice was soft, it carried away the few people around her. These soldiers, along with their families, hastily knelt in Huang Shi's direction: \"May my lord live a hundred years, and may his noble line endure for ten thousand generations.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These words spread like a plague, infecting more and more people, propagating at the speed of lightning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi, who had been riding along, suddenly found himself the center of a vast multitude. Whether they were Jinzhou auxiliaries, auxiliaries rescued from Nanguan, or soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion, all knelt toward the center as if on a pilgrimage: \"May Lord Huang live a hundred years.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"May Lord Huang's noble line endure for ten thousand generations.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi hurriedly dismounted and modestly declined, but the voices crashing toward him like a tide were so utterly sincere. He seemed so insignificant before the cries of the multitude that all his gestures of humility were rendered futile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>— Since I, Huang Shi, raised my troops, all I have sought is to carve out a domain and thereby achieve hegemony. Yet somewhere along the way, in my heart I gradually came to regard the Great Ming as my mother country... It seems it was that merchant in Liaoyang who gave me the first stirring... It seems it was Lord Zhang Yuanzhi who left far too strong an impression on me. Oh, yes — and Lord Chen Zhong, General Zhang Pan...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the freezing cold, Huang Shi stood at the center of the crowd that prostrated itself before him. This praise filled him with secret shame — ever since Guangning, my every move has determined the fate of thousands upon thousands of living souls; my likes and dislikes can decide the life and death of countless people...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Huang Shi's command, the Firefighting Battalion desperately tried to help those people to their feet, but no sooner had they raised this one than that one prostrated again. These common folk had only one sincere blessing to give, and they were by no means stingy in bestowing it upon Huang Shi — These people do not betray me, and I absolutely must not betray them.\u003C\u002Fp>",2937,"2026-06-04T07:54:30.907Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","a25c0b79e4eaca80f626f9e349ce1f382fed7a263aae45d2eb1eeb7ef21f25ea","stealing-ming-chapter-175","stealing-ming-chapter-173",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]