Chapter 20: Section Eight

Huang Shi had already inspected the several gates of Zhenjiang beforehand; every spot had Later Jin scouts, so opening the gates openly was clearly impossible. The only way to escape Zhenjiang was to lower oneself down the city wall in a basket, then travel on foot to Longchuan. Considering the need for the cover of night, Mao Wenlong's options were obviously few, and Huang Shi had even analyzed the possible escape routes with a map.

The section of wall where the torches had been extinguished soon lit up again. Huang Shi gave a cold laugh — the man had apparently descended. In the night, the Later Jin scouts did not notice that brief anomaly; they continued their mechanical back-and-forth patrols. Time passed little by little, and a dark figure emerged from the night, groping its way as it ran toward the woods. Huang Shi, hiding to one side, had long since grown impatient. Seeing only one figure made him breathe a sigh of relief, and fortunately the moon was also very bright. After all, perseverance does not fail the determined. Huang Shi continuously adjusted his position within the woods, making sure to block the path of the approaching man.

"Who goes there?" A low question came from the pitch-black woods. The dark figure darting toward the woods came to an abrupt halt. Huang Shi slowly emerged from the darkness.

The dark figure swayed slightly, as if trying to make out the person opposite, but then gave up the effort. At the same time, a steady and confident voice rang out: "Han Army Company Commander Ma Bo. And who are you?"

"Han Army, Zhang Youdi," Huang Shi answered softly. The man appeared to be dressed entirely in Han Army uniform. Without haste or panic, he walked straight over. As he passed Huang Shi, he turned slightly aside, careful not to let the dark figure get too close. The dark figure, whose face could not be seen, made no unusual move. Striding past, he even snorted: "I'm going to take a piss. Soldier, you wait here."

Huang Shi asked coldly: "My lord did not ride a horse?"

"No." The man bellowed impatiently, about to walk into the woods. This man could be said to remain calm in the face of danger and to answer with perfect ease.

"My lord, on this journey to Longchuan, you must be careful every step of the way." The moment Huang Shi's words left his mouth, the man froze. When he turned his head, he saw Huang Shi already bowing deeply to the ground, and then Huang Shi spoke tonight's password:

"My lord, you must remember this password firmly. This humble officer takes his leave." After speaking, Huang Shi straightened up and walked toward the place where he had hidden his horse.

"This young brother, walk slowly."

Hearing the voice, Huang Shi stopped his steps, turned around, and said: "My lord must forgive me. This humble officer's horse cannot be given to my lord, or I will have no way to explain myself back at camp."

"Young brother misunderstands." Although the man's features were completely indiscernible in the night, his voice was deep, powerful, and utterly composed: "Did young brother wait here specifically for me? Young brother seems to have confirmed my identity?"

"Tacit understanding — why speak it aloud?"

"What is young brother's identity? How did you determine that I would come here tonight?"

Huang Shi had no intention of elaborating on this question, nor could he possibly say that he knew it from a history book. Besides, he intended to maintain an air of mystery: "This humble man came here under military orders, with other important duties. But my lord bears the safety of Guangning on his shoulders. This humble man has waited here night after night. Now, seeing my lord depart safely, I can rest at ease."

"Is young brother not afraid of mistaking the wrong person?"

"This humble man is confident he has not mistaken you. Mao — Jun — Men, please be at ease." As he spoke, Huang Shi stared intently at the man's silhouette. If the other party reacted wrongly, he would have no choice but to kill him to silence him. However, this man's furtive movements suggested he was probably not a Later Jin spy. A Later Jin spy would have great difficulty descending the wall, and even less would he head straight for the woods after descending. Therefore, Huang Shi judged this man to be Mao Wenlong, or failing that, a Ming army reconnaissance officer.

In the darkness, he heard the man chuckle softly: "Brother Zhang indeed did not mistake me. I am precisely Mao Wenlong. Might I ask if young brother has any guidance to offer?"

Now that the matter was out in the open, Huang Shi remained on full alert and kept a certain distance from him. He had no desire to be killed by Mao Wenlong to ensure his silence instead. The man opposite was also tactful and did not press closer.

"The Jian slaves are determined to capture you, my lord, and will not rest until they do. Therefore, even if my lord is in Joseon, you must not be careless. Having no fixed abode is the best policy." In a month, there would be the disastrous defeat at Longchuan. Huang Shi estimated that when Mao Wenlong recalled these words afterward, he would certainly admire him even more.

"Secondly, Joseon is a small country with few troops, but it has pig iron, grain, and cloth. If Lord Mao wishes to forge a strong army, you must still give this careful consideration." Historically, Mao Wenlong had extorted the Joseon king with extreme ruthlessness. Huang Shi felt these words could also give him a sense of finding a kindred spirit.

"Lastly, the Jian slaves excel at mounted archery but are weak in naval warfare. The Liao Sea has many islands. This humble man believes moving the refugees to the sea islands would be safer and more appropriate." Mao Wenlong had not yet been terrified out of his wits by the Later Jin, but the disastrous defeat in Joseon a month later would completely change his attitude. Huang Shi was determined to make full use of his historical knowledge to leave an impression like that of Zhuge Liang.

The two men stood facing each other in the darkness for a long while. Mao Wenlong suddenly bowed toward Huang Shi: "Wenlong has received your instruction."

Huang Shi hurriedly returned the courtesy. At the same time, he heard Mao Wenlong ask in a hesitant tone: "Will young brother not come with Mao?"

Huang Shi had his own plans in Guangning. Moreover, this idea had a major hidden danger: Mao Wenlong might very well suspect him of being a Later Jin spy because of it, that he himself was a long-line scented bait set to wipe out the Joseon and Guangning armies in one fell swoop. Therefore, upon hearing this, Huang Shi immediately replied: "This humble man has other tasks and cannot accompany my lord to Joseon. I beg your forgiveness."

Mao Wenlong, as expected, did not press the matter: "Then Mao takes his leave here. I only wonder when we might meet again."

"When Liaodong is pacified, then. If this humble officer still has his life by then, he will certainly pay a visit to my lord."

"Good. Until we meet again." Mao Wenlong said no more. He darted into the woods and vanished from sight in an instant. Huang Shi silently walked back to where he had hidden his horse, mounted, and returned to the Later Jin main camp, reporting all was safe to the patrolling scouts.

"This way, I have also left myself a path of retreat. After all, the plan in Guangning is extremely risky." Huang Shi had spared no effort and risked immense danger to meet Mao Wenlong precisely so that he could establish a connection with the Dongjiang Army in the future. His plan to seize power through dangerous gambles in Guangning had already taken rough shape. If the gamble succeeded, Huang Shi would desperately need Mao Wenlong to tie down the Later Jin from the rear.

"If it fails, it's death without a burial place. But if I can't handle Huang Taiji, can I not handle Sun Degong?" Huang Shi still had confidence in dealing with a military brute like Sun Degong. He soon fell into dreamland.

After waking up, feeling full of vigor and energy, Huang Shi first went to pay his respects to Huang Taiji. Seeing him arrive, Huang Taiji, who was in the middle of eating, immediately wanted to pull him down to sit and eat together. Huang Shi declined a few times but then sat down, symbolically eating a couple of bites before wanting to call it done. Huang Taiji immediately became insistent, forcing him to open his appetite and eat a hearty meal.

After Huang Shi indicated that he could not stuff down another thing, Huang Taiji had soldiers bring milk wine: "Yesterday's siege — Huang Shi, do you have any doubts?"

"It seemed our army did not use its full strength."

"How could you tell?"

"Zhenjiang had few troops. Why not besiege it on all sides? Wouldn't that put greater pressure on the defenders?"

This naive question made Huang Taiji laugh: "Attacking only one side results in fewer casualties. Our army's soldiers are very precious. But you are not wrong either; our army indeed did not attack with full force. This was to let Mao Wenlong harbor false hopes."

Huang Shi pondered for a moment before understanding the deeper meaning. Huang Taiji, seeing that Mao Wenlong was unwilling to break out of the siege, wanted to further lull him into complacency, wait until the defenders' strength gradually withered, and then launch an all-out fierce assault to take the city in one stroke, leaving Mao Wenlong no time to break out and flee. Unfortunately, Huang Taiji did not know that Mao Wenlong was a fortune-telling wanderer by origin. Having immersed himself in that trade for many years, the number of people he had deceived through physiognomy was no fewer than the stars in the sky. The long-honed Mao Wenlong's ability to read expressions and words was already extraordinary. On the very day of the siege, he had seen clearly that the situation was hopeless. Mao Wenlong made a prompt decision and slipped away that very night, and by now had already rushed back to Longchuan. Huang Taiji's arrangement here could be considered casting flirtatious glances at a blind man.

Zhenjiang, why was it still resisting? As Huang Shi followed Huang Taiji to the front, he pondered the mindset of the defending commander. Wouldn't their morale collapse?