Chapter 179: Section Thirty-Six: A Single Tree

This news struck Huang Shi dumb as a wooden chicken. Hong Antong hurriedly called out again in a low voice, "My lord," which finally pulled Huang Shi back from his petrified state.

While hastily adjusting his armor in a fluster, Huang Shi asked Hong Antong, "How many men did Lord Sun bring with him? Did you get a clear look at how many boats there are?"

Hong Antong, standing behind Huang Shi, was equally flustered at that moment. As he helped Huang Shi properly drape his cloak, he quickly straightened the red tassel on the helmet and handed it to his superior, all while answering methodically, "Reporting to my lord, your subordinate only saw Lord Sun's two fast boats. Those who came ashore to scout are a few of Lord Sun's Grand Coordinator personal guards. Your subordinate has already dispatched the inner guard to stall them. I also instructed the inner guard to re-inspect the sentry posts to ensure absolute safety once Lord Sun comes ashore. If my lord has any orders to pass down, there is still some time now."

At the moment Huang Shi had nothing to pass down, but he still praised him, "Well done, I owe you for this."

After walking out of the Jinzhou Assistant Regional Commander's temporary headquarters, Huang Shi's mood plummeted to its lowest point. Sun Chengzong was no Wang Huazhen; among the civil officials of the late Ming, old Sun was one of the rare few who possessed both virtue and talent and was thoroughly versed in the ways of the world. Sun Chengzong coming to Jinzhou essentially meant Huang Shi could forget about playing any tricks; this master was not as easy to fool as Army Supervisor Wu Mu.

In Huang Shi's impression, Nurhaci was nothing more than a relatively successful bandit chief. In the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, which is this year, that old madman Nurhaci would fall incurably ill. Historically, Nurhaci once found an excuse to throw Li Yongfang into prison. When he personally whipped Li Yongfang with a lash, he cursed furiously: "I know you look down on me. Don't deny it, I know you look down on me from the bottom of your heart..." Later in his tirade, this old madman actually worked himself into a tearful rage. What a laughable and astonishing inferiority complex.

The son and successor that old madman Nurhaci favored was Dorgon, another famously self-abasing yet narcissistic imbecile. After the Qing army entered the pass, the whole realm believed the Ming's fate was exhausted. When they breached Nanjing, the official tablets discarded by surrendering Ming officials piled up like a small mountain. Over half of China was pacified by mere proclamations. Yet that imbecile Dorgon issued a single hair-shaving decree that threw the entire realm into turmoil. Had the sovereigns and ministers of the Southern Ming not been utterly useless, the Ming, already stiff as a corpse, would have flipped over like a salted fish and revived. And this imbecile even got posthumously honored as "Prince Rui." Rui my ass! If those princes of the Southern Ming had possessed even half the thick-skinned, black-hearted skill of Zhao Gou, the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang would have had to carry her son back to Mount Zhangbai.

The only one Huang Shi truly feared was Hong Taiji. When reading history books in his previous life, Huang Shi could not help muttering under his breath: "Could this bastard be a time-traveler? He's just too much like one." What struck him most alarmingly was Hong Taiji's astonishing luck; when throwing dice, if someone rolls a triplet every single time, who can play with you? Huh? Secondly, not a trace of barbarian inferiority complex could be seen in Hong Taiji. He was amiable toward Han officials, performed the ritual of three embraces for the brothers Kong Youde, and the surrendered Dongjiang troops did not need to shave their heads nor were they reorganized. In the end, Han officials and soldiers even outnumbered the Manchu ones... Such confidence and breadth of mind were absent in his madman father, absent in his imbecile brothers, and absent in his pig-stupid sons and grandsons. Such a man appearing in such an era, seizing power on the eve of the Later Jin's total collapse, and dying just before the realm was secured — it was as if he came solely for the calamity of Huaxia and the welfare of the Manchu compatriots.

Huang Shi strode toward the port, with Hong Antong leading several inner guards warily following close behind. Originally in Huang Shi's plan, he intended to grab hold of the Plain White Banner and beat them to death, while letting the other banners and unarmored auxiliaries run if they wanted to. Over these days, after much deliberation, Huang Shi felt this was the best opportunity to keep Hong Taiji here: first, this time Hong Taiji was not the Regional Commander, so it would not be his turn to sacrifice the rook to save the king; second, the Plain White Banner had suffered relatively light casualties last time, so by both sentiment and reason it should be Hong Taiji covering the retreat of his brother units; lastly, at this moment Hong Taiji had at most a dozen niru, and as long as the Firefighting Battalion was willing to pay the price, they could definitely kill him.

As long as he could kill off Hong Taiji, Huang Shi could toy with the Later Jin regime however he pleased. With the Manchu compatriots' male population of less than one hundred thousand, could they really defy heaven? — Didn't the Manchu compatriots like using the butcher's knife for ethnic assimilation? This time, the Dongjiang Army brothers must be sure to integrate the Manchu compatriot sisters into the great Han family.

Upon reaching the port, Huang Shi saw that Sun Chengzong had already come ashore in a small boat. He hurried forward two steps and bowed: "Lord Sun, please walk slowly. Allow this lowly general to inspect first. After arranging the security, I will then invite Lord Sun to proceed."

The hale and hearty Sun Chengzong strode over and said to Huang Shi in a clear voice: "Lord Huang, there is no need to trouble yourself. This official knows his limits."

This form of address made Huang Shi blush bright red with embarrassment. Following behind Sun Chengzong, he called out softly: "Grand Secretary."

"Mm." Sun Chengzong, walking as if on wings, did not seem like a man over sixty at all. On his face there was even a hint of a childlike smile, as if he felt rather pleased with himself for having played a prank on Huang Shi, but this amusement quickly faded: "Huang Shi, how is the military situation?"

Although it was already mid-February, the north wind in Liaodong was still piercingly cold. Huang Shi muttered quietly: "Grand Secretary, the wind is strong here. Let us wait until we are inside to discuss it."

"Speak quickly, speak quickly!" Sun Chengzong did not pause his steps in the slightest, yet he could not bear to wait the short distance to finish the conversation. A few days earlier, upon receiving Xu Yunting's report, he had realized that the opportunity for battle had arrived: "To sweep away the eastern slaves in one stroke, now is precisely the time. How can we wait any longer?"

After entering Huang Shi's Assistant Regional Commander temporary headquarters, Huang Shi pointed at the map and explained for a long time. Then he was asked about the course of the battle at Nanguan. Although Sun Chengzong was one of the rare capable ministers, many of the questions he raised now were still rather naive. Sun Chengzong had never been on a battlefield, so naturally he could not understand without being taught. Thus Huang Shi had to start explaining from the key points of field battles and the various formations for infantry-cavalry confrontation. Growing animated, Huang Shi spread out a sheet of blank paper, drew out the formations of both armies that day, used arrows to mark the movements of both sides, and interspersed it with his own insights and reflections on the battle.

This battle was originally Huang Shi's proudest achievement, and routing three Later Jin banners with just two battalions was even more brilliantly glorious. He spoke excitedly for a long time before suddenly throwing down the brush in his hand and bursting into loud laughter. After laughing a few times, Huang Shi suddenly realized that Sun Chengzong was not looking at the map but had been staring at him the whole time. Startled, Huang Shi quickly stood at attention and apologized: "This lowly general has been disrespectful. I beg the Grand Secretary's forgiveness."

Sun Chengzong stroked his beard, narrowing his eyes in thought for a moment: "Huang Shi, you are not yet thirty this year, are you?"

"This lowly general just turned twenty-eight this year." Huang Shi was originally born in the eighth month of the lunar calendar, so he was now twenty-seven in Western reckoning.

"Twenty-eight years old and already a third-rank official, so young indeed. Seeing you, this old man is reminded of when I was thirty. Heh heh. Truly, time flies like a shuttle."

(Author's note: The Ming system of military ranks was chaotic. The author recalls that after the Grand Commandant was abolished, the Left Chief Commissioner was Principal Grade One, the Right Chief Commissioner was Deputy Grade One, Commissioner-in-Chief was Principal Grade Two, and Vice Commissioner-in-Chief was Deputy Grade Two. The author may have made a mistake. After all, the author is not a history specialist, but since this novel has already adopted this system, let us continue with it for now and the author will revise it later once confirmed.)

Seeing Sun Chengzong's warm smile, Huang Shi's heart also relaxed: "This lowly general owes it all to luck. How dare I compare myself with the Grand Secretary."

"It's a pity you are not a Licentiate, and now the state is in urgent need of talent." Sun Chengzong suddenly uttered a sentence Huang Shi did not understand, but Sun Chengzong did not continue that topic. He merely smiled at Huang Shi and said: "A young man should have the bearing of a young man. While you can, you might as well laugh loudly and freely. Otherwise, when you are seventy or eighty, even if you want to laugh heartily, you won't be able to. You'll have to 'nod slightly' and 'speak blandly,' or else you'll be deemed an old man acting improperly. Haha."

Sun Chengzong seemed to be in a good mood as well. Huang Shi hurriedly joined in with more obsequious laughter, then seized the opportunity to inform Sun Chengzong that two more waves of reinforcements had arrived at Jinzhou. One was the Zhangshan Naval Battalion led by Shang Kexi. The other was the Jiezi Battalion under the Geng Zhongming brothers. Now Huang Shi had separated these two groups and stationed them on two sides of Jinzhou city. They had both already received two hundred sets of armor. The Geng brothers and Shang Kexi were therefore grateful to Huang Shi, and they also gave Huang Shi face by not engaging in private brawls.

"What is that?" Sun Chengzong spotted the intelligence report on the table at a glance. Earlier, in the rush to receive Sun Chengzong, Huang Shi had not had time to open the intelligence from Zhangsheng Island. After returning, he had been so focused on briefing Sun Chengzong on the military situation that he had also forgotten to look at it.

"Reporting to the Grand Secretary, it is military intelligence for this lowly general from Zhangsheng Island." Huang Shi picked up the report and presented it with both hands before Sun Chengzong.

"Read it yourself. This old man has never led troops; in all matters, I must still listen more to the opinions of you military officers." After saying this, Sun Chengzong leaned back in his chair and waited quietly to the side.

Huang Shi begged pardon and then opened the letter to read. His brow furrowed tighter and tighter, and finally he placed his fingers on his helmet and tapped lightly, appearing very hesitant. After pondering back and forth for a long time, Huang Shi suddenly realized he had left Sun Chengzong waiting to the side for quite a while and hurriedly begged pardon again.

"No need for that. What does the letter say? Has Zhangsheng Island come under enemy attack?"

Huang Shi's gaze flickered, and his tone carried some hesitation and uncertainty: "No. The enemy forces on the opposite shore from Zhangsheng Island have burned down the encampments they had painstakingly built. Apart from Fuzhou, where a large force of Jian slaves is entrenched, the surrounding beacon towers and fortified camps have all been abandoned."

Hearing Huang Shi's tone grow colder, Sun Chengzong also understood that something was amiss here: "What does this signify?"

At this point, Huang Shi no longer feared laying all his cards on the table. He briefly introduced the insights of his staff department. Of course, Huang Shi claimed all these insights as his own. And both Huang Shi and his staff department believed that before the Later Jin's Bordered White Banner moved south, they would first harass Zhangsheng Island, and the Later Jin's breakout operation would only commence after the forces at Jinzhou had been dispersed.

"Grand Secretary, since the Jian slaves are not going to harass Zhangsheng Island, it means the Jian slaves believe they have sufficient strength to relieve the three banners at Nanguan. I fear Jinzhou will face another bitter battle." A few days earlier, Huang Shi had again sent a messenger to the Dongjiang headquarters. In the letter, Huang Shi requested that one or two more battalions of reinforcements be allocated, but he did not know if these reinforcements could arrive in time: "Grand Secretary, did you not bring the Guan-Ning Army with you?"

Although the Guan-Ning Army was still full of raw recruits at present, right now anything thrown into the plate counted as food. The moment Huang Shi saw the Later Jin forces opposite Zhangsheng Island pulling back, he knew in his gut that things were bad. Although the Guan-Ning Army could not fight in the field, their equipment was still decent. As long as they could defend the city well, that would allow Huang Shi to release the troops he had in hand. Besides — heh heh, once those Liaoxi military officers bring those men and equipment to Jinzhou, can't I just forcibly seize them? Right now I've just won such a huge victory; on my turf, even if I rob you... what can you do about it?

"I'm afraid they cannot arrive for a while." Sun Chengzong gave a couple of dry, mirthless laughs, and his expression also turned grim. After all, he was not clairvoyant. Although Sun Chengzong had repeatedly instructed the various Liaoxi battalions to be vigilant in times of peace and to chop the ice even in winter, each naval battalion complied in appearance but opposed in spirit, and as a result, the boats had all been frozen in and crushed by the ice! When boats were needed on short notice, very few were intact; most required repairs.

Moreover, none of the battalions were in a state of combat readiness, and mobilization was dilatory and sluggish. Of course, some people had also whispered in Sun Chengzong's ear that Huang Shi was probably falsely reporting battle achievements. But Sun Chengzong felt that Huang Shi was filled with righteous spirit; after seeing the Firefighting Battalion's training, he also had particular confidence in Huang Shi. Even more unwilling to let this golden opportunity to pacify Liaodong slip through his fingers, Sun Chengzong had thus found two fast boats and rushed over at top speed. For the remaining boats, he ordered that some provisions be immediately shipped to Jinzhou, while simultaneously stepping up repairs on the warships. As soon as a field battalion finished reorganizing, it was to be sent to Jinzhou at once.

However, Sun Chengzong did not mention too many of the inside details. He said solemnly to Huang Shi: "You just analyzed that the Jian slaves will move south in force. This old man has thought it over, and what you say is very correct. If the Jian slaves come to break the siege before the reinforcements arrive, are you confident of victory?"

Huang Shi lowered his head and looked at the tips of his boots: "If the Jian slaves come with one Bordered White Banner, this lowly general's three battalions are not incapable of fighting. If the Jian slaves' Plain Red Banner also follows with a few niru, this lowly general still has some confidence. If there are more... for instance, if the resting Bordered Red Banner also, also..."

Seeing Huang Shi's voice grow softer and softer, Sun Chengzong also understood his implied meaning. If five banners truly came, Huang Shi would not dare to bear the brunt no matter what.

"This old man will guarantee you here and now today: for every soldier you lose, this old man will replenish you with two; for every set of armor you damage, this old man will replenish you with two sets. As long as you devote your heart to killing the rebels, regardless of whether you take heads, this old man will personally request merit and reward for you." Later Jin soldiers were one fewer for every one killed, but under the Ming system, soldiers were the personal property of their commanders, which made all officers harbor a mentality of self-preservation. Sun Chengzong looked into Huang Shi's eyes and asked: "This old man only hopes that you will not deliberately preserve your strength."

These last words startled Huang Shi, and he hastily prostrated himself: "This lowly general would not dare."

"This time is a golden opportunity to sweep away the eastern slaves in one stroke, and the only one this old man can rely on is you. A great battle is imminent, and if the commanding general harbors a mentality of self-preservation, then that is a dereliction of duty on the part of this old man as Grand Coordinator. Huang Shi, if you still have any lingering worries, speak them out freely. This old man can agree to all of them."