[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-192":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},1220809,1614,"Chapter 192: Section Nine: The One Ring","stealing-ming-chapter-192",192,"\u003Cp>Huang Shi leaped from his horse. As soon as he hit the ground, before he was even fully steady, he stretched out both arms and lifted Hong Antong up: \"Brother Hong, please rise. You have worked hard. I spoke wrongly.\" \"Your subordinate cannot accept such words from my lord.\" Although Hong Antong struggled, Huang Shi still had some strength, and since Hong Antong dared not resist with full force, Huang Shi still pulled him up from the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Go ahead and investigate that young lady of the Wang family as you see fit, but I still do not wish to have a large group of Internal Guards following me around.\" Seeing Hong Antong gathering his breath again, ready to argue, Huang Shi asked him softly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why did you follow me to this Changsheng Island?\" Hong Antong was momentarily tongue-tied. He scratched his head a few times but could not think of any grand reason, and stammered: \"Your subordinate simply wished to follow my lord, there is no particular why.\" \"Because I am a Han man, because I am a Great Ming military officer, because I have saved so many common people of Liaodong, because I treat everyone well, because I have never used my power to bully any ordinary commoner...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi quietly listed many fragmentary reasons. Hong Antong stared dumbly at his superior and foolishly kept agreeing. \"You are like this, and so are all the common people who have come to me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi smiled and shook his head, and casually patted Hong Antong twice on the shoulder: \"They all love me, just as you do. I, Huang Shi, live among a group of people who love me. I do not need personal bodyguards around me all day long.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Antong chewed over the meaning in Huang Shi's words, but when he replied, his expression remained resolute: \"Your subordinate understands my lord's meaning, but the Jianzhou slaves are cunning, and my lord's person bears the safety of thousands upon thousands of soldiers and civilians. Your subordinate believes one cannot fail to take precautions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Precautions must of course be taken, but I do not like the way you take them.\" Huang Shi paused here, stroking his eyebrow as he organized his thoughts, while Hong Antong stood before him quietly waiting for what would follow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, Huang Shi figured out exactly what it was that he found so repulsive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised his head and looked at Hong Antong: \"Every time you and the Internal Guards go out with me, the expressions of those soldiers and civilians are as if they are looking at an enemy, just like the way you looked at that young lady of the Wang family today. I do not deny that there may be Jianzhou spies among them, but I believe that ninety-nine out of a hundred people on this island revere me, Huang Shi.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Antong hastily said: \"Everyone reveres my lord.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This remark made Huang Shi smile smugly to himself: \"That is precisely the problem. The expressions on your faces wound the hearts of those people, making them feel that I suspect them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi saw that Hong Antong's face was full of bewilderment and could not help shaking his head again. \"I believe that none of the military households on Changsheng Island will betray me, so I will not betray them. From now on, either do not accompany me when I go out, or do not wound their hearts.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Antong stood stunned for a long time before he asked in a daze: \"How can we both protect my lord and not wound the hearts of the military households?\" \"Smile at them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi easily clasped his hands behind his back and showed Hong Antong a trusting smile: \"You must learn to smile at others, and also learn to read the smiles of others. A military household that cheers for me from the heart is certainly not my enemy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After returning to the old camp, Huang Shi immediately saw Yang Zhiyuan blocking the doorway. This fellow had started working the moment he got back, and had only rested for half of the leave Huang Shi had specially granted him: \"Mobile Corps Commander Yang, what is the matter?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Zhiyuan bowed slightly: \"Reporting to my lord, there is a lawsuit that requires my lord's instruction.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As time passed, military law regulations had become increasingly strict and detailed, and Yang Zhiyuan rarely came to him about military law issues anymore. Huang Shi guessed that some unforeseen situation had arisen again, and Yang Zhiyuan had come to seek his approval for new regulations. By now the two men had entered the main tent of the old camp. Jin Qiude and Li Yunrui were already waiting inside with several documents, and they saluted together when they saw Huang Shi arrive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi felt that a military law issue could not be resolved quickly, so after taking his seat at the central position, he immediately said to Yang Zhiyuan: \"Present the new regulations. I will review them tonight and give them to you first thing tomorrow morning.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpectedly, Yang Zhiyuan shook his head and said: \"In reply to my lord, there are no new regulations. It concerns an issue with the old regulations.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So it is about the old regulations.\" He was somewhat surprised that Yang Zhiyuan would raise an issue in this area, which had long been settled: \"If the military judges below believe the old regulations are inappropriate, they may report to you. If you also deem them inappropriate, you may seek my instruction, but this lawsuit must still be judged and punished according to the old regulations.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord, your general believes that this lawsuit cannot be judged according to the old regulations.\" Yang Zhiyuan's voice of dissent was not loud but very firm. After speaking, he pushed a set of case files in front of Huang Shi: \"Your general dares to ask my lord to look at this immediately.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi fixed his eyes on Yang Zhiyuan for a moment, then swiftly gestured for him, Jin Qiude, and Li Yunrui to sit down, and lowered his head to open the case files. The circumstances of this case were very simple: a veteran of Changsheng Island had killed a newly surrendered Han soldier, and had also seized the dead man's wife. The dead man's younger brother had brought the case before the Changsheng Island Military Judiciary. There were many eyewitnesses, and the murderer had confessed fully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi read the case summary meticulously, cross-referenced it several times, and could not help looking up and asking Yang Zhiyuan suspiciously: \"Is this case really so difficult to judge and punish?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Very difficult to judge and punish. Your general dares to ask my lord to look at the confessions.\" Huang Shi leaned back, his eyes narrowing somewhat angrily. He said coldly: \"Mobile Corps Commander Yang, I have many matters to attend to. If I had to read the confessions for every case, I simply could not get through them all.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Zhiyuan met Huang Shi's gaze and said, neither servile nor overbearing: \"Your general dares to ask my lord to read through the confessions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing this, Huang Shi stared at Yang Zhiyuan a few more times, then with a \"whoosh\" flipped open the thick stack of confessions, muttering under his breath: \"This had better be worth my time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, he lowered his head and began reading the interrogation records. There were many confessions, several from eyewitnesses alone, but the crux lay in the four from the murderer, the murderer's elder brother, the dead man's wife, and the dead man's younger brother. After reading for a while, the anger on Huang Shi's face dissipated, and a moment later, a sorrowful expression appeared: \"Pitiable, truly pitiable.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Huang Shi's hand moved to his brow bone, gently pinching the bridge of his nose. This soldier of Changsheng Island was a Liaodong refugee who had fled here in the third year of the Tianqi reign. He had been a raw recruit during the Gaizhou campaign, had fought bravely in Huang Shi's own unit at the time, and had been severely wounded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time of the Nanguan campaign, this soldier was already a squad leader. He had again performed meritorious service and was again bravely wounded during the breakthrough at the center. Although he had not entered the training corps, he was on record, and the army had already designated him as a key candidate for the next batch of officer training. The dead man and the murderer were not meeting for the first time. Two years ago, this soldier had fled south with his elder brother and younger brother. At that time, the dead man was still a Han army scout, and the murderer's family had been captured by the scout cavalry squad (three horsemen) the dead man belonged to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the usual rules, as long as the fugitives could provide sufficient valuables, they could buy back their lives. But this unlucky soldier had no money to bribe the Han troops, so that group of scouts took the two brothers' sister and wife as the price for sparing their lives. Their younger brother tried to protect the family and was beaten and injured, and died before they reached Lüshun. The murderer, at that time, holding the hand of his younger brother who had died with eyes wide open, swore to avenge this blood debt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After joining the Changsheng Army, he had always fought bravely, repeatedly performing meritorious service, and had truly fulfilled his vow. In the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, when Han troops fled south in large numbers, this soldier spotted among the crowd the Han army scout who had killed his younger brother. What he found even more intolerable was that he discovered his own wife had become that Han soldier's woman...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi gently closed the case file, with a gesture as respectful and careful as closing the eyelids of the deceased. The muscles on his face twitched for a moment. He patted the file lightly and asked Yang Zhiyuan: \"Does the murderer have any descendants?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This would not be recorded in the confessions, but Yang Zhiyuan had actually asked about it: \"A very young child. After losing the mother's care, it died on the road to Lüshun.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Loss of a child, seizure of a wife, murder of a brother,\" Huang Shi murmured: \"This hatred, this vengeance, cannot coexist under the same sky.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Zhiyuan said happily: \"My lord sees clearly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Huang Shi's next sentence dashed Yang Zhiyuan to the depths: \"But he must still be dealt with according to military law.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jin Qiude and Li Yunrui, standing to the side, kept their faces taut and said not a word. Yang Zhiyuan knew he could expect no help from these two hard-hearted men, so he made a final effort alone: \"My lord, law does not exist apart from human sentiment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Law does not exist apart from human sentiment?\" Huang Shi smiled a self-mocking smile. He had always believed that power was like the One Ring in the books—it would use one's desire to do good deeds to break free of its restraints, and once power was no longer constrained, it became evil through and through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\" Yang Zhiyuan stubbornly persisted. He grabbed the confessions and flipped to the one from the dead man's wife, pointing at it as he said to Huang Shi: \"This woman was also taken by force. This Han soldier deserved to die in the first place.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he softened his heart now, Huang Shi could imagine what would happen: large numbers of Changsheng Island soldiers would begin seeking out past enemies, and those Changsheng Island soldiers without enemies might also seize the opportunity to oppress former Han soldiers. As for confessions...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as there were acquaintances, they were easy to fabricate. Yang Zhiyuan, unaware of the turmoil in Huang Shi's mind, saw the shifting expressions on Huang Shi's face and hopefully handed over the drafted pardon, adding: \"My lord sees clearly. Your general believes this man can be pardoned and allowed to atone for his crime through meritorious service.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The military law of Changsheng Island is not human sentiment but order. It stands above me, Huang Shi.\" Without even glancing at it, Huang Shi pushed the pardon back: \"The military law regulations state: killing former Han soldiers, seizing their property or their women—such crimes are unpardonable!\"...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ever since the Later Jin ordered the registration of households and establishment of villages, intelligence collection on Changsheng Island had suffered another blow. This was not only due to the disadvantages brought by concentration-camp-style management, but also because the Han people with any courage had already fled one after another. Those who had previously maintained contact with Changsheng Island had mostly brought their families and come to seek refuge. Most of those remaining in the Later Jin-ruled territories were Han people whose courage had been shattered: \"The Jianzhou slaves are moving the common people from around Fuzhou and Gaizhou toward Liaoyang. The villages around these two garrisons are already thirty percent empty. Your humble subordinate is incompetent and unable to scout the specific troop distribution clearly. Our army's intelligence network in the Fuzhou and Gaizhou areas has been largely destroyed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Huang Shi was pondering, Jin Qiude also hurriedly added: \"Your general believes that the Jianzhou slaves in the Fuzhou and Gaizhou areas must know their strength is insufficient to cover the entire Liaodong Peninsula, which is why they are desperately transporting the common people away.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mm, Mobile Corps Commander Jin speaks correctly. The Jianzhou slaves, pinned down on three sides, truly have no spare strength to reinforce Fuzhou and Gaizhou. Facing us in Liaonan, they can no longer even protect themselves.\" Huang Shi's heart was extremely agitated and tense. He was about to issue an important order, one that would mean the Ming army in Liaonan would abandon the advantage of sea mobility and begin to contend with the Later Jin on land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I want to see my lord.\" He Dingyuan's loud voice came from outside the tent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi and Jin Qiude exchanged a stunned glance. He quickly called to Hong Antong: \"Quickly, let Mobile Corps Commander He in.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After He Dingyuan entered in a blunt, direct manner, Huang Shi could not help but reproach him: \"Mobile Corps Commander He, can you not even wait for an announcement?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord,\" He Dingyuan, after entering, perfunctorily performed a military salute, and then the foul temper in his chest erupted uncontrollably: \"Just now, Mobile Corps Commander Yang sent over a condemned prisoner...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi listened quietly until He Dingyuan had finished venting, then calmly replied: \"Is there a problem?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I think this man should not be killed.\" He Dingyuan slammed both hands heavily onto the table, pounding it again and again: \"My lord, he is one of our own, a man who has followed my lord for a long time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi silently endured the spittle He Dingyuan sprayed onto his face. He could not lose his authority at this moment: \"Everyone on Changsheng Island is one of my people, Huang Shi's people.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching He Dingyuan's nostrils flare rapidly, Huang Shi said in a calm tone: \"Go supervise the execution.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Was it this scoundrel...\" He Dingyuan suddenly pointed his finger at Jin Qiude: \"My lord, was this his idea?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jin Qiude, who had been maintaining an attitude of detachment, stood up angrily and glared indignantly at He Dingyuan. Huang Shi, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, explained: \"No, it was my idea. Carry out the order.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Dingyuan locked eyes with Huang Shi for a moment, then turned and shot Jin Qiude a vicious glare. The latter returned his stare without the slightest fear. Finally, He Dingyuan slapped the table and strode out in great, sweeping steps, his arm pointing at Li Yunrui and Hong Antong as he went: \"There are petty men beside my lord, petty men.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There are treacherous, petty men beside my lord...\" After he left the tent, He Dingyuan's resonant voice continued to stream in. Jin Qiude, Li Yunrui, and Hong Antong all looked ashen-faced. The smile on Huang Shi's face had also completely vanished, and his expression was equally somber and terrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The several people in the room maintained a suffocating silence. After an unknown length of time, Huang Shi squeezed a trace of a smile from between clenched teeth: \"Mobile Corps Commander He is far too lacking in a sense of proportion.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other subordinates remained as silent as the dead. No one responded to Huang Shi's words. Feeling somewhat awkward, Huang Shi gently tapped the table: \"Alright, let us continue discussing the matter of Fuzhou.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wounds of the Bordered Red Banner have probably healed to about seventy or eighty percent, but this banner likely has few horses left. Li Yunrui said that when the Later Jin army returned north, they requisitioned all the warhorses of the Bordered Red Banner. Since this banner is in a defensive posture anyway, it doesn’t need many horses. Huang Shi and the others all believed this largely leveled the strategic and tactical mobility between the two armies. If operations move into the area around Fuzhou, then the Ming army must consider the problem of supply routes. Huang Shi and Jin Qiude have always held that the more reliable supply line is the official road from Jinzhou to Fuzhou. On this main road, the Ming army’s two-rail carts and wheelbarrows can play a significant role. If they were to supply the Fuzhou forces directly from Zhangsheng Island, the terrain between the two places is full of hills and wildlands, so grain and fodder would obviously have to be carried by manpower alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, Huang Shi, Vice Regional Commander of the Dongjiang Left Division, ordered all units of the Liaonan Dongjiang Army to assemble at Jinzhou. On the same day, the fully reorganized Firefighting Battalion and half of the Rock Battalion crossed the Nanxinkou and advanced northeast to the sound of waist drums.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the sixteenth day of the sixth month, the two battalions from Zhangsheng Island reached the walls of Pangu Fortress south of Fuzhou. The Later Jin garrison abandoned the fort and fled. After entering the fort, the Ming army immediately brought in several thousand auxiliary soldiers. The Ming army began repairing the fortifications while simultaneously sweeping the official road from Pangu Fortress to Jinzhou, preparing to stockpile grain at the forward line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the twenty-first day of the sixth month, Zhang Pan, Shang Keyi, Shang Kexi, and other units in Liaonan all sent back replies; they had already followed orders and led their elite troops toward Jinzhou. On the same day, the Ming army’s repairs on Pangu Fortress were largely complete. Between the fortress and Jinzhou, the Ming army had also constructed a series of simple outposts and beacon towers. Auxiliary soldiers began transporting Jinzhou’s stored grain to Pangu Fortress, with grain carts moving in an unbroken line between the two points.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the twenty-third day of the sixth month, Huang Shi led his personal guard and the last remaining half of the Rock Battalion from Zhangsheng Island to Pangu Fortress. Before leaving, he wrote two letters, addressed respectively to Sun Chengzong and Mao Wenlong. This was the first time Huang Shi reported a military operation to his superiors before securing concrete battle results. He was, in fact, tactfully informing Sun Chengzong — you can let Ma Shilong strike now, I have already drawn the attention of the Jianzhou slaves in Fuzhou and Gaizhou. As for the Dongjiang side, this was also a gesture of loyalty to Mao Wenlong. Although Liaonan is a thousand li from the Dongjiang headquarters and prior consultation was impossible, the face-saving work of courtesy still had to be done. Before departure, an auxiliary soldier from the Rock Battalion squeezed out of the ranks, knelt solemnly facing Huang Shi’s warhorse from a distance, and repeatedly voiced his thanks. Huang Shi felt this soldier’s action at this moment was very strange, so he ordered his inner guard to inquire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Hong Antong clarified the situation, he drew close to Huang Shi and said, “My lord, he is…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Antong deliberately raised his voice a little so that He Dingyuan behind Huang Shi could also hear. The latter was inwardly worrying about his wife — she was about to give birth. That soldier was the younger brother of the deceased in the case over which He Dingyuan and Huang Shi had quarreled last time. After being called before Huang Shi’s horse, he again prostrated himself heavily, lowered his head, and shouted loudly: “My lord, this humble man, Du Guqiu, on behalf of my deceased elder brother and the orphan he left behind, thanks you. May my lord live a hundred years and be ennobled as a high marquis for ten thousand generations!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Dingyuan kept a stern face and said not a word. Huang Shi casually offered a few words of encouragement, then spurred his horse forward. When the deeply moved Du Guqiu raised his head, he saw Hong Antong behind Huang Shi smiling at him — a friendliness that the guard squads of other generals had never shown to common soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>",3564,"2026-06-04T07:54:30.907Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","93d3a4440b69846b502e25736799ae39c6a6c51c5a5b36a3d86ce6dab11a279f","stealing-ming-chapter-193","stealing-ming-chapter-191",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]