[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-176":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},1220793,1614,"Chapter 176: Section 33: Friendly Forces","stealing-ming-chapter-176",176,"\u003Cp>On the first day of the second month of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, the Later Jin army had already been trapped at Nanguan for several days, and Huang Shi welcomed a visitor. But this time, he sat in the center seat, waiting to receive another's formal homage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your humble subordinate Mao Kexi pays his respects to my lord Huang.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Huang Shi was determined to win this man over, the necessary formalities still had to be observed. As he waited for Shang Kexi to complete the full set of ritual gestures, the words \"Please rise at once\" nearly choked him in his throat. Shang Kexi gave thanks once more before he could set his mind at ease and rise. At just twenty-one years of age, Shang Kexi radiated youthful vigor. After recapturing the sea vessels, he had originally headed straight for Changsheng Island, but on the way he heard that Ming forces were massing at Jinzhou, so he turned around and came to join Huang Shi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shang Kexi was responsible for over a thousand reported troops on the Greater and Lesser Zhangshan Islands. This time, the Zhangshan Island naval camp under his command had taken fifteen heads. Shang Kexi had been very pleased with himself for achieving such great merit, but the moment he reached Jinzhou he heard of the great victory at Nanguan. This instantly put enormous pressure on Shang Kexi, and his own meager tally of kills suddenly seemed utterly pitiful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harboring ulterior motives, Huang Shi personally rose and walked over. He took Shang Kexi by the hand and drew him to sit down beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Historically, the brothers Shang Keyi and Shang Kexi were both major naval commanders under Mao Wenlong. Shang Kexi in particular — when his father died, Shang Kexi was only seventeen years old by Chinese reckoning. The Zhangshan Island naval camp that he single-handedly built up was the most combat-effective naval force in the entire Liaodong fleet. Later, when Liu Xingzuo killed Chen Jisheng, who had been resolutely resisting on Dongjiang Island, and incited the whole garrison to mutiny, it was Mao Wenlong's father-in-law Shen Shikui together with the Shang brothers who jointly moved to suppress and destroy Liu Xingzuo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still later, at the time of the Dengzhou Mutiny, Mao Wenlong's two adopted sons Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming were both major commanders, needless to say. Mao Wenlong's nephew Mao Chengzuo had once been a famous general of Dongjiang, but these three were utterly routed by Shang Kexi in naval battle. In the end, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming were trapped on an isolated island, and Mao Chengzuo was captured and executed by lingchi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming of course still found an opportunity to escape ashore. Once Kong Youde was ashore, it was Shang Keyi and Shang Kexi's turn to be pummeled. When it came to fighting on land, the Shang brothers fell flat on their faces and kept falling all the way to the end of the street. Shang Keyi was killed when his entire force was annihilated, and Shang Kexi fled to Guanglu with over ten thousand soldiers and their families. Unexpectedly, Shen Shikui was convinced this was an opportunity to swallow the Shang faction and unify Dongjiang Garrison. His plan to ambush and kill Shang Kexi was leaked, and this drove Shang Kexi over to the Later Jin side. Once Shang Kexi came under Hong Taiji's command, his naval camp smashed the Dongjiang fleet and also battered the Great Ming's Liaoxi, Beizhili, and Shandong fleets so badly they dared not leave port.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Garrison Commander Mao, you have endured much hardship on this journey,\" Huang Shi said, spreading out a large map. After pushing the map to Shang Kexi's hand, he gazed at the young man with the most earnest look and asked in the most sincere tone: \"This general knows nothing of naval warfare. Over time I have accumulated many questions, and I hope Garrison Commander Mao can resolve them for me...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That Huang Shi knew nothing of naval warfare was excessive modesty, but these were questions that the staff department and the naval camp commanders should think about and solve, so he originally had no need to be particularly proficient in this area of tactics. The questions Huang Shi brought out to ask Shang Kexi today had all been prepared in advance. The moment he heard that Shang Kexi was heading straight for Jinzhou, he had hurriedly begun preparations. As luck would have it, Shi Ce happened to be in Jinzhou, so preparing the questions was very easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is said that the greatest flattery is to address someone as \"teacher\" or the like. Although Huang Shi could not shamelessly call Shang Kexi that, pretending not to understand what he did understand and muddling through was no problem at all. The two men conversed for an entire evening. The young Shang Kexi was thoroughly delighted, believing he had greatly distinguished himself before the renowned Huang Shi, Assistant Regional Commander Huang, whose name shook Liaodong. And Huang Shi was also very satisfied with his own preparations; many of the questions were of considerable caliber and depth, hitting Shang Kexi right where it tickled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If not for the fear of creating a very bad impression, Huang Shi had originally wanted to share a bed with Shang Kexi and sleep foot-to-foot. But this plan was more than Zhao Manxiong could stomach. Zhao Manxiong said that so blatantly currying favor with an independent military officer might be seen as forming a clique for private gain, and besides, the disparity in status between Huang Shi and Shang Kexi was simply too great.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having settled and soothed Shang Kexi, Huang Shi went back to reorganizing the Vanguard Battalion. Seven or eight out of ten officers in the Vanguard Battalion were dead. Jin Qiude had been constantly hinting that Huang Shi should swallow this battalion. But Huang Shi did not approve of this method of handling it. He selected replacement officers from among the various ranks within the Vanguard Battalion. From beginning to end, Huang Shi did not insert a single person of his own into the Vanguard Battalion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That evening, Huang Shi finalized the allocation of manpower. The seven thousand auxiliary soldiers rescued from Nanguan were all able-bodied men conscripted from various parts of Dongjiang Garrison, and Huang Shi was very satisfied with the physical quality of this group. He selected seven hundred from among them to replenish the Vanguard Battalion, and the rest were all to be shipped to Changsheng Island. Huang Shi handed the personally written order to Zhao Manxiong and asked him to look it over for any problems. Zhao Manxiong flipped open this selfless and impartial order, shaking his head and sneering as he read. As if struck by sudden insight, he asked: \"My lord, is this letting loose to recapture?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Exactly.\" Huang Shi merely smiled at these words. Only the two of them were in the room now, so Huang Shi spoke without any inhibitions. He still held in his hand an order for the allocation of armor. This supplementary order for the Vanguard Battalion had also been drafted according to Huang Shi's opinion, and he was now making the final review and assessment. He did not even bother to lift his head when answering Zhao Manxiong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time Huang Shi approved the second order, Zhao Manxiong had also finished reading the first. He took the second order Huang Shi handed over and read it as well: \"The officers and men of the Vanguard Battalion will certainly be very moved. But... isn't this a bit too generous?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi had no need to turn over the captured armor and weapons, and the Firefighting Battalion had no intention of using these outdated arms either. So Huang Shi allocated at least half of the captured supplies to the Vanguard Battalion. Both the soldiers who still survived and the over eight hundred soldiers about to be added to the Vanguard Battalion would receive at least basic armor and weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Manxiong pondered Huang Shi's deeper meaning and probed: \"Is my lord worried that colleagues in Dongjiang will misunderstand and think my lord is taking advantage of another's misfortune?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Correct, that is one reason. No matter how much the Firefighting Battalion paid in this effort, no matter whether it was my Firefighting Battalion that bore the heavy burden of breaking through the center, what everyone will see is only that the Firefighting Battalion's casualties were limited while the Vanguard Battalion's losses were disastrous. If they then see me, Huang Shi, swallow the Vanguard Battalion, it will be hard to avoid some suspecting that I, Huang Shi, deliberately arranged it so.\" As he spoke, Huang Shi shook his head. The Firefighting Battalion, responsible for the center breakthrough, had absolutely not had it easy — at least not much easier than the Vanguard Battalion responsible for the two wings. But the losses of the Firefighting Battalion and the losses of the Vanguard Battalion were both so shocking, and placing the two side by side made the shocking effect even greater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Manxiong nodded sadly. Not being able to swallow the Vanguard Battalion pained him deeply: \"My lord is right.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi immediately threw out a difficult question: \"But what you've said, Brother Manxiong, is only one aspect. If you only see this layer, then you have greatly disappointed me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The other issue should be one of cooperation. My lord fears that swallowing the Vanguard Battalion would bring great trouble in the future.\" Zhao Manxiong thought slowly for a while. But this time he was only thinking of how to phrase it; in fact, this issue of cooperation with friendly forces was something he had already considered on the way to Jinzhou. His first reaction upon seeing Huang Shi's plan was that Huang Shi had similar concerns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good, good.\" Huang Shi reached out and took back the two orders from Zhao Manxiong's hands. These two orders would be issued first thing the next morning. The Vanguard Battalion would receive the best possible replenishment and would quickly recover its combat effectiveness. And it would remain in the hands of the Vanguard Battalion's old-timers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having put away the finalized reports, Huang Shi smiled and said to Zhao Manxiong: \"In this battle, my Firefighting Battalion could not have stood alone. Without the Vanguard Battalion's bitter struggle, there would have been no victory. In the future, my Firefighting Battalion will still face many enemies, and there will be many times when we need friendly forces. If today I satisfy a momentary urge and swallow the Vanguard Battalion, then in future moments of crisis, friendly forces will inevitably conserve their strength, and in the end we will all die together.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi gently patted the orders in his hand: \"I want everyone to know that when fighting alongside me, Huang Shi, if one soldier dies, I will replace one for him. If two die, I will replace a pair. Let them all give every last ounce of strength. Following me, they will absolutely not come out on the losing end.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to Huang Shi's original intent, the Vanguard Battalion's strength would not only be brought back to full, but the command positions at all levels would also be held by the old-timers. However, Zhang Feimao and his officer corps had been destroyed too thoroughly. The Vanguard Battalion's officers only had survivors on the right wing. Those on the left wing had all died to the last man. Huang Shi had no choice but to promote the few surviving personal guards, such as Little Monkey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Although those men were all promoted by my lord, I fear the gratitude may not be remembered for long.\" Zhao Manxiong still had some minor criticisms about Huang Shi not inserting any of his own people. He believed that inserting a few people would not be considered too excessive: \"Half and half — what does my lord think?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In for a penny, in for a pound. Either don't insert anyone, or insert them all. What's the point of inserting only half — waiting to watch them fight?\" Huang Shi knew that what Zhao Manxiong spoke of was the common practice, but ever since Huang Shi established his army, he had smashed every single convention. He was not afraid of smashing one more this time. Seeing the still somewhat regretful expression on Zhao Manxiong's face, Huang Shi could not help mocking this petty mentality: \"Didn't you also recognize it as letting loose to recapture? Rest assured, I predict the Vanguard Battalion will soon come throwing itself into our arms.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Throwing itself into our arms?\" Zhao Manxiong was somewhat puzzled by Huang Shi's application of this phrase here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi smiled and did not explain further. His decision on how to handle the Vanguard Battalion came from an insight from his previous life. If a man is extremely, desperately lustful, and upon seeing a pretty girl cannot wait to demand her favors, his success rate is not very high. But if the man can hold back a little and tell the pretty girl he does not want to bed her, then in many cases the girl will instead think this man has a strong sense of responsibility, is very lovable, or feels some such sentiment... The Vanguard Battalion was the same right now. Huang Shi risking himself to save them was undoubtedly very moving, but in many people's hearts, they probably suspected Huang Shi was so good because he had ulterior motives. So if Huang Shi impatiently swallowed the Vanguard Battalion, it would likely disappoint many. But if he temporarily held back and put on the face of a gentleman, then everyone would naturally think Huang Shi was genuinely good. This group of masterless officers and soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion was not far from Huang Shi's base. As long as their hearts were inclined toward Huang Shi, could one fear they would fly up into the sky?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the third day of the second month of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, at Jinzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A courier from Dongjiang arrived. He had come by fast boat, braving the icy cold, rushing to Jinzhou. Upon hearing of the great victory at Nanguan, his tense expression instantly relaxed. He handed Dongjiang's urgent orders to Huang Shi. These were orders Mao Wenlong had issued to Liaonan immediately after receiving news of the disastrous defeat at Lushun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The courier publicly read out Mao Wenlong's military orders. Li Sangfeng, Shang Kexi, and others were also present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Promote Dongjiang Assistant Regional Commander Huang Shi to the rank of Vice Regional Commander, with authority to coordinate the military affairs of Changsheng Island, the Central and Western Islands, Lushun Fort, Jinzhou Fort... Guanglu Island, and Zhangshan Island.\" Mao Wenlong's specific order to Huang Shi was to relieve Nanguan and Lushun, and to cover the Ming army's escape from the Later Jin army's jaws of death to the greatest extent possible. Mao Wenlong also said that if Huang Shi could not accomplish this, he could consider holding Jinzhou firmly. If he could hold Jinzhou, Mao Wenlong believed the situation in Liaonan still held great promise. Finally, Mao Wenlong authorized Huang Shi that if Jinzhou truly could not be held, Huang Shi could abandon the soldiers and civilians of Jinzhou and withdraw to Changsheng Island.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The orders that followed Huang Shi did not have the courier read aloud, but the courier did mention one last point: the Dongjiang headquarters had dispatched reinforcements. Mao Wenlong had the courier tell Huang Shi that one battalion had been urgently mobilized, and that by the time Huang Shi saw the courier, this battalion should have already set out from Dongjiang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Leading the troops are Dongjiang Garrison Commander Mao Youjie and Dongjiang Company Commander Mao Youyun.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing these two names, a very unnatural expression appeared on Shang Kexi's face. The brothers Mao Youjie and Mao Youyun were originally named Geng Zhongming and Geng Shuming. Their father and several other brothers had all died in the miners' uprising organized by Kong Youde's father. But Geng Zhongming did not defect to the Guangning Army headquarters; instead, he took his younger brother and headed straight for Korea. When Kong Youde went to the Kuandian front lines, Geng Zhongming immediately reconnected with this old friend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Last year, the three miners of Dongjiang took three hundred and sixty-one heads at Kuandian. The Geng brothers and the Shang brothers fought into a complete mess over the division of merit. Kong Youde, who presided over the allocation of credit, naturally supported his old comrade Geng Zhongming. This infuriated the Shang brothers. They felt there was nowhere in Liaodong to appeal for justice, so the elder brother Shang Keyi went to Guanglu to seek refuge with Zhang Pan, and Shang Kexi also went to Zhangshan Island in Liaonan to train troops. Their grudge against Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming was thus firmly established.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi, however, acted as if he had not noticed: \"How many men has Mao Youjie brought, and what is the condition of their weapons and armor?\"\u003C\u002Fp>",2855,"2026-06-04T07:54:30.907Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","c919bbd8439e31f6119d2ff72eee82a78a81938c696d304cc594d1614a370a69","stealing-ming-chapter-177","stealing-ming-chapter-175",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]