[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-178":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},1220795,1614,"Chapter 178","stealing-ming-chapter-178",178,"\u003Cp>The messenger had barely left when Chen Jisheng came rushing in, windblown and urgent. Mao Wenlong tossed Huang Shi’s victory report at him to read, and once his chief advisor had finished, Mao Wenlong began talking again about his plan to redeploy three battalions to Liaonan. By now Mao Wenlong had calmed down somewhat, but his tone was still full of hope: \"Jisheng, what do you think?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dongjiangzhen had been formally established at the end of the third year of the Tianqi reign, and by the middle of Tianqi’s fourth year Mao Wenlong had set up the Dongjiang Right Wing. Chen Jisheng was now the Dongjiang Vice General commanding the Right Wing, and Mao Wenlong had always placed great weight on his planning. This military operation was massive, so naturally Mao Wenlong wanted to seek his opinion beforehand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Chen Jisheng was stirred after reading the report, he steadied himself far more quickly than Mao Wenlong. He gave a series of bitter smiles: \"Grand Commander, this great victory at Nanguan was already ten days ago. Even if we start pulling troops from Liaodong right now, the fastest battalion will still need three days just to return to Dongjiang. We might be able to send them out in five days, but by the time they reach Liaonan, I fear the Jianzhou slaves will have long since fled.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not so,\" Mao Wenlong said. He snatched the report back from Chen Jisheng’s hands, bent over to find the key lines, then jabbed at them for Chen Jisheng to see: \"Huang Shi says the armored soldiers of the Jianzhou slaves’ Plain Blue, Plain White, and Plain Red Banners have already been routed. That means the slaves can’t escape at all. The Jianzhou slaves have a sparse population — they’d never be willing to abandon their unarmored troops and run.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mao Wenlong did not look up, so he missed the disapproving look on Chen Jisheng’s face. He went on, absorbed in his own words: \"The slaves have no choice but to beg Liaoyang for relief. At present, Huang Shi’s army is strong enough to hold its own but not enough to annihilate the Nanguan slaves. As long as I can lead three battalions and arrive before the Liaoyang slaves march south, we can wipe out these three banners in one stroke!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, Mao Wenlong chuckled and clapped his hands. If he could annihilate three Later Jin banners, he would be well on his way to a noble title. And if he could destroy these three banners, the Later Jin army would inevitably be gravely wounded, and a gaping hole would be torn open in Liaonan. Nurhaci probably wouldn’t even have enough troops to hold the entire front, and their destruction at Ming hands would be only a matter of days. In Mao Wenlong’s mind, two glittering golden characters flashed: \"Enfeoffed Marquis.\" The more he thought, the more elated he became, and the blood in his chest began to seethe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Jisheng stood quietly at the side, waiting for Mao Wenlong to finish. Only when he was certain Mao Wenlong had nothing more to say did he begin to pour cold water: \"Grand Commander, your subordinate believes that drawing off troops to Liaonan would be futile and would instead destabilize our defense line in Liaodong.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke with absolute certainty, his tone and expression utterly solemn. Once Mao Wenlong’s smile faded and he fixed his gaze on him, Chen Jisheng cleared his throat, shooed all the personal guards out of the tent, then cupped his hands and said: \"Grand Commander, it is not that your subordinate wishes to speak ill of a colleague behind his back. But this battle report is simply not credible.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Mao Wenlong’s expression turn contemplative as he picked up the report again, Chen Jisheng stepped two paces closer and muttered quietly into Mao Wenlong’s ear: \"Grand Commander, this is three banners of the Jianzhou slaves. No matter how good Assistant Regional Commander Huang is at raising funds or skimming pay, how many retainers can he possibly train? Two or three hundred at most, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s about the number.\" The light in Mao Wenlong’s eyes dimmed. He was carefully weighing the implications of Chen Jisheng’s words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your subordinate thinks so too. I’ve heard that Grand Coordinator Sun of Liaodong thinks highly of Assistant Regional Commander Huang, but didn’t he only give him a thousand suits of armor? Assistant Regional Commander Huang also distributed quite a few to Dongjiang. Although His Majesty later granted more, Assistant Regional Commander Huang has never kept them all for himself — he probably doesn’t have two thousand suits of armor left, does he? And that’s not even counting defective goods and weapons. Assistant Regional Commander Huang likely doesn’t have many soldiers.\" As Chen Jisheng spoke, he tallied up rough numbers for Mao Wenlong. Judging by the numerical comparison, Huang Shi’s equipment situation against three Later Jin banners was indeed far from optimistic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Moreover, whether we call them Assistant Regional Commander Huang’s personal guards or his retainers, they are all new recruits who have followed him for only one or two years. I’m afraid they cannot face the Heavy Armor elite of the Jianzhou slaves in open battle.\" Seeing Mao Wenlong’s face darken, Chen Jisheng hastily stepped back and bowed deeply: \"Your subordinate is not boosting the enemy’s morale and undercutting our own prestige, but offering loyal counsel. I beg the Grand Commander to see clearly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mao Wenlong waved his hand wearily for Chen Jisheng to straighten up. He frowned in thought for a moment, then asked coldly: \"In that case, what Huang Shi routed must have been the Jianzhou slaves’ rear guard between Jinzhou and Nanguan. I estimate that rear guard had roughly a thousand or so combat troops and several thousand unarmored auxiliaries escorting supplies. Nine hundred heads taken would be about right. Don’t you think so?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Grand Commander sees clearly.\" That was exactly what Chen Jisheng had privately surmised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mao Wenlong gave a slight nod and began analyzing based on his years of military experience: \"The slaves’ elite cavalry struck straight at Lüshun. After taking Lüshun, they would certainly have spent several days raping and pillaging — probably four or five days at least before turning back north. Huang Shi seized the opportunity and relieved Nanguan. Yes, that makes far more sense. With the strength of only two battalions, he truly could not have engaged three banners of the slaves in battle... But then, what about the great banner of the Plain Blue Banner and Mang’ertai’s golden helmet? How do you explain those?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That great banner is probably not the Plain Blue Banner’s main standard. More likely it was the banner of some company under the slaves’ Plain Blue Banner, and the golden helmet could also belong to that same company. Assistant Regional Commander Huang was probably overwrought with excitement after successfully relieving Nanguan and wrote it down wrong.\" Chen Jisheng even urged Mao Wenlong to revise the memorial, or at least make it more ambiguous. If it was reported falsely, the Emperor and the imperial court would be elated for nothing. And if the Emperor decided to present the trophies at the Taimiao on that basis, but the Dongjiang army ultimately sent up only a company banner, then Mao Wenlong would have made the Emperor lose face before his ancestors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, Chen Jisheng gave Mao Wenlong his analysis of how the fighting around Jinzhou had developed over the past few days: \"The slaves’ elite returned north from Lüshun. Assistant Regional Commander Huang could only hold Jinzhou firmly. The slaves’ campaign dragged on without success, so naturally they withdrew. Your subordinate believes that within a few more days, Assistant Regional Commander Huang’s next report will arrive. The slaves have surely already retreated. Even if they haven’t withdrawn yet, by the time the Grand Commander leads troops to Jinzhou, the slaves could still leave. And even if the slaves don’t leave, fighting three banners with five battalions gives us little chance of victory — there are seven hundred superbly equipped Heavy Armor Soldiers in there. Therefore, your subordinate believes that risking the collapse of the Liaodong front by pulling three battalions to Liaonan is not the best course. I venture to ask the Grand Commander to examine this clearly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Jisheng, these are the words of a prudent man.\" Mao Wenlong sat down and began drafting his memorial. But as he wrote, he grew cheerful again: \"No matter what, this is still good news.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Grand Commander is absolutely right,\" Chen Jisheng chimed in with a grin. The Later Jin army had sent three banners south to attack Lüshun, but as long as Jinzhou held, it meant this large-scale Later Jin offensive had failed to achieve its strategic objective. After reading Huang Shi’s report, both Chen Jisheng and Mao Wenlong believed that the Lüshun troops at Nanguan had already merged with the Jinzhou and Changsheng forces. In that case, Jinzhou was not a place the three Later Jin banners could take by storm no matter how one looked at it: \"Once Mao Youjie arrives, Jinzhou will be absolutely secure.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, indeed.\" Mao Wenlong was in good spirits seeing the Liaonan situation stabilize. Although the Ming army had suffered considerable losses, lost a trusted and beloved general like Zhang Pan, and let the Later Jin army devastate the area around Lüshun, at least Liaonan had not collapsed entirely. The impeachment Mao Wenlong would face would not be too severe. He sighed at the thought: \"Huang Shi is truly a fierce general. I did not waste my efforts keeping him back then.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three-banner Later Jin army that Mao Wenlong and Chen Jisheng were discussing in Dongjiang was at that moment still trapped at Nanguan. The Later Jin commander Mang’ertai gave the order to slaughter all draft horses for rations, and also ordered that wounded and emaciated warhorses be killed and eaten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Taiji raised both hands in approval of this order. Ever since they learned that the boats seized from Lüshun had all been burned by the Ming army, they knew that waiting for reinforcements was their only hope. He gave an order to a Plain White Banner bondservant beside him who looked only fifteen or sixteen years old: \"Kill every horse except those carrying the wounded.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the young man went out, Mang’ertai’s eyes followed his back. Only after that Plain White Banner heavy armored personal guard had left did he ask curiously: \"Just a kid like that — he must have just entered the banner, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just entered the banner this year.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A child of only sixteen, how could he become a heavy armored personal guard?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Extraordinary valor.\" Huang Taiji smiled and changed the subject: \"Even if we slaughter the horses immediately, our rations will still only last fifteen days.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How about we kill all the Han women taken from Lüshun?\" The speaker was Boorjin, who had finally managed to flee to Nanguan as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boorjin’s suggestion made Huang Taiji and Mang’ertai hesitate for a moment, but they shook their heads together. Mang’ertai gave a bitter smile and sighed: \"The women have already been distributed to the soldiers. How can we take them back now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Taiji added from the side: \"If the soldiers have traveled a thousand li and gained nothing, I fear there will be resentment in their hearts.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Boorjin had not been firm in his proposal to begin with, and he let the matter drop after hearing this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Kill Zhang Pan. Do it immediately.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Taiji’s proposal made Mang’ertai pause: \"Didn’t you say you wanted to keep him alive?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I kept him alive at first hoping that Huang Shi could persuade him to surrender.\" Huang Taiji gave an odd smile: \"I originally thought we could capture Huang Shi alive. I was certain Huang Shi would surrender immediately, so I intended to have him go persuade Zhang Pan.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because you thought that Huang Shi was a scholar?\" Mang’ertai jabbed back in a surly tone, then asked: \"Then why didn’t you kill him a few days ago?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I originally wanted to release Zhang Pan. I originally thought Huang Shi would absorb Zhang Pan’s troops, so I wanted to see if they might fall into internal strife.\" Huang Taiji recounted the intelligence he had gathered. Not only had Huang Shi not absorbed the Vanguard Battalion, he had replenished its strength to full and, according to reports from spies in Jinzhou, had also issued the Vanguard Battalion a great deal of equipment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That scholar! That equipment is mine.\" Mang’ertai was half dead with rage and said bitterly: \"Of course Huang Shi looks down on our armor — he has iron armor aplenty.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In any case, since Huang Shi has such breadth of mind, we cannot release Zhang Pan back to him. That would only be adding wings to a tiger.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After leaving the Nanguan council hall, the young heavy armored soldier under Huang Taiji had already delivered the orders and returned. Huang Taiji led him toward his own quarters, but stopped abruptly on the road. He could not help voicing a feeling in his heart: \"That Huang Shi seems very afraid of me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was not something Huang Taiji would say to Mang’ertai or anyone else. After all, the Fourth Beile, the Eighth Prince, had never been a particularly favored son. Saying such a thing would only invite mockery as arrogance. But in front of his own heavy armored guard, Huang Taiji had far fewer inhibitions. He stopped walking and replayed in his mind every encounter with Huang Shi, some of Huang Shi’s reactions in this battle, and certain remarks of Huang Shi’s that had come through the Jinzhou spies: \"That’s right. He seems to have a peculiar fear of me. Strange — he doesn’t fear Father Khan, doesn’t fear the Great Beile, the Second Beile, or the Third Beile, yet he fears me alone. Why is that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, Huang Taiji could not figure out the reason, nor could he think of how to exploit it for gain. Behind him, his heavy armored guard protected him in silence, not uttering a single word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This heavy armored guard was the son of Fiongdon’s ninth younger brother. Huang Taiji would promote him if only for the sake of his illustrious uncle. But of course he would never say such a thought openly to Mang’ertai. Huang Taiji smiled at the young soldier: \"Let’s go, Oboi.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jinzhou, Assistant Regional Commander’s field headquarters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huang Taiji is crafty and far-sighted. We must send out extra scouts — we absolutely cannot let the Jianzhou slaves succeed in a covert crossing.\" As he spoke, Huang Shi slammed his fist heavily onto the map.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Manxiong was taken aback and said nothing. Jin Qiude cautiously reminded him: \"My lord, the Jianzhou slaves’ commander is Mang’ertai.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know,\" Huang Shi said impatiently, waving his hand: \"I know, I know. But the truly dangerous enemy is Huang Taiji...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi felt no shame about his fear. He considered it a normal reaction for someone who had crossed over. If he had crossed into the late Han dynasty, even though he knew Han people had poorer nutrition and less bone calcification than himself, if he ever ran into Lü Bu challenging him to single combat, even if Lü Bu was only one meter sixty, Huang Shi would still wheel his horse and flee.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In another military camp, Hong Antong was hosting the envoy from Dongjiang and the several guards accompanying him for a meal. They were to set out for Liaoxi the next day. Huang Shi had instructed Hong Antong to make sure they ate and slept well. Jinzhou had just slaughtered many horses with leg injuries, and there were also large chunks of dog meat to eat, which made the soldiers from the Dongjiang main army eat until grease ran down their chins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Antong sat beside them, watching these fellows devour their food, and asked with a smile: \"No meat to eat in Dongjiang?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How could there possibly be meat?\" the envoy shot back. The other Dongjiang soldiers grunted and groaned in a chorus of complaints, but they were too busy stuffing meat into their mouths to speak, leaving everything to their leader: \"You outer garrisons have it good. Our main army has nothing left. Grand Commander Mao has raised over five thousand orphans, and the entire Dongjiang now has a hundred thousand officers and men plus over a hundred thousand women and children to feed. We only get pay for ten thousand soldiers a year, and we still have to buy iron to make weapons. We’d be lucky to eat meat.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Antong laughed in spite of himself: \"We don’t have meat either. Only when there’s fighting do we get some dead horses and the like.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’re all men of bitter fate,\" the envoy sighed and said no more. After stuffing two more pieces of meat into his belly, he felt he had eaten his fill. He daydreamed for a while, then shook his head and said longingly: \"Grand Commander Mao has said that when we recover Liaodong, we’ll be compensated for our back pay with farmland.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord says the same.\" Hong Antong also thought happily of his own record in the merit book. He now owned fifty mu of land, one ox, and one draft horse — Dongjiangzhen land that could be inherited by his sons and grandsons for generations. Once they swept away the Later Jin and recovered Liaodong, avenging his clan’s great wrong, Hong Antong felt he could still earn considerable merit. Perhaps by then, besides a principal wife, he might even have the money to take a concubine and make up for all these lost years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’re just waiting for Grand Commander Mao to recover Liaodong. After all this suffering, we’re waiting for the day we finally emerge from it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The several soldiers sat around the table, each lost in daydreams. It was a long while before they startled awake from their pleasant reveries. Only then did the Dongjiang envoy carefully scrutinize the iron armor on Hong Antong’s horse and stare at the saber at his waist for a long time: \"Are you an officer or Lord Huang’s personal guard?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, Hong Antong didn’t quite know what he counted as either. In the military system Huang Shi had established, the close guard unit was assigned to a post, not to a specific person. For example, if He Dingyuan commanded the cavalry unit, he would naturally receive the protection of the cavalry close guards, but if He Dingyuan was transferred from that post, the cavalry close guards would not follow him away. Although the internal guard unit Hong Antong commanded reported directly to Huang Shi, Huang Shi had entrusted him with many secret missions, and his authority far exceeded that of an ordinary personal guard captain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m a Cavalry Company Commander, temporarily being used as a personal guard unit. Yes, that’s it.\" Hong Antong finally gave his official rank. The internal guard unit looked on the surface like a cavalry unit, so saying this wasn’t exactly a lie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So it’s Company Commander, sir. My apologies for the disrespect.\" The Dongjiang envoy and the accompanying soldiers hurriedly rose to salute. They had assumed all along that Hong Antong was just an unranked personal guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m not much older than any of you,\" Hong Antong said, quickly rising to exchange courtesies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Company Commander Hong, your subordinate Xu Yunting.\" The Dongjiang envoy also gave his name, which he had been too busy eating to mention earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A pleasure.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Antong felt the name brought him a moment of comfort, as if the two were fated to be friends.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fifth year of the Tianqi reign, second month, tenth day. Jinzhou, the Assistant Regional Commander's field headquarters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord, urgent report from Zhangsheng Island.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi took the dispatch and was just about to open it when he saw Hong Antong hurrying over. After Hong Antong leaned in and whispered into his ear, Huang Shi's expression also changed drastically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Huang Shi was determined to bleed the Jianzhou slaves heavily, and also felt it best to keep Huang Taiji here, he was still considering whether he should control the degree of this bloodletting, lest the Jianzhou slaves bleed out and die. But now…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Grand Coordinator Sun of Liaodong is coming to Jinzhou?\" Huang Shi asked Hong Antong, enunciating each word to confirm the news.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There had indeed been a misunderstanding — Hong Antong had spoken too softly just now. Now he replied loudly: \"Not coming — Grand Coordinator Sun's ship has already reached the Jinzhou docks. By now, Grand Coordinator Sun may already have disembarked.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",3454,"2026-06-04T07:54:30.907Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","9c8c91ce4f271966c48b1e7e7955f471135d2318a2fb5cde0d65cc9bfa69a8a9","stealing-ming-chapter-179","stealing-ming-chapter-177",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]