Chapter 23: Section Two

Huang Shi was promoted again.

In the tenth month of the first year of the Tianqi reign, Huang Shi hurried back to Guangning to confer with Sun Degong. During this period, because Huang Shi had always been following Hong Taiji, Sun Degong had long since replaced his liaison with Li Yongfang with an old and trusted confidant — none other than Sun Degong’s former personal guard captain, Fei Liguo. Now that Huang Shi was back, Sun Degong’s intention was to let Fei Liguo continue handling this assignment, while Huang Shi would be responsible for covering him well. Sun Degong said Fei Liguo was highly experienced; after all, he had seen far more of the world.

Huang Shi understood that he was ultimately not one of Sun Degong’s long-time trusted men. Now that this matter promising great wealth and rank was about to succeed, Sun Degong was unwilling to let all control rest in Huang Shi’s hands and wanted to switch to an old hand — he also wanted his old confidants to reap some of the rewards.

“Since Sun Degong is unrighteous, he can hardly blame me, Huang Shi, for being unjust.” Although labeling Sun Degong’s petty calculation as unrighteous was a real stretch, and even if someone were as righteous as Hong Taiji, Huang Shi would still be unjust, he had at least found himself a psychological excuse.

Next he had to go see the Liaodong Provincial Governor, Wang Huazhen. Huang Shi gave him a vivid report on many things he had seen and heard within the Later Jin army, as well as the Later Jin military system, weapons, equipment, and so on that he had observed.

Wang Huazhen stroked his beard and laughed heartily: “Know the enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles. Company Commander Huang, this time you ventured deep into the tiger’s den to scout the enemy’s situation — truly an extraordinary deed of merit. Very well then, I, your governor, shall petition the imperial court to recognize your achievements!”

Was Wang Huazhen an idiot? Petition for merit? Huang Shi, seething inwardly with silent criticism, forced a smile and said, “Perhaps it would be better to wait until Your Excellency the Governor sweeps away the Jian slaves in one stroke before petitioning for this humble one’s merit. For now, this humble one may still have to go among the Jian slaves again, and I would still like to keep this head on my shoulders for drinking wine.”

“Of course, of course.” Wang Huazhen thought it over and realized that was indeed the case. Feeling even more pleased by Huang Shi’s reliable handling of affairs, he said, “Then I shall first promote you to Garrison Commander. Besides, since it is convenient for you to come and go from the Jian slave territory, I, your governor, intend that from now on you will still be the one to maintain contact with Li Yongfang.”

“My lord, absolutely not,” Huang Shi hastily objected. He too was anxious to shed suspicion and shift the blame back onto Sun Degong. “This humble one has already shown his face far too many times among the Jian slaves, and I fear I have become far too conspicuous. The matter of contacting Lord Li has also not been handled by this humble one for some time now. The Jian slaves are cunning; this humble one’s death would be of no consequence, but I fear it might ruin Your Excellency’s stratagem and implicate Lord Li.”

Hearing Huang Shi speak this way, Wang Huazhen also began to hesitate. “But when you are among the Jian slaves, are you not always at Li Yongfang’s place as well? What inconvenience is there?”

Faced with such a bookish fool, Huang Shi had no choice but to painstakingly explain. He himself could not possibly be fully trusted even now, and the Later Jin also understood methods like covert surveillance, so continuous operations were hardly a foolproof plan. In the end, he successfully persuaded Wang Huazhen to hand this matter over to Sun Degong, and Huang Shi could be considered to have extracted himself from it. He thought viciously that Sun Degong could no longer count on him to take the blame. But Wang Huazhen had accomplished what Hong Taiji could not — the Zhenjiang massacre had swept away every trace of the closeness Huang Shi had begun to feel toward the Great Ming. Now he felt it was best to serve only himself; following a superior like this was like the God of Longevity hanging himself — simply tired of living.

Company Commander was of the upper sixth rank, and Garrison Commander was of the upper fifth rank. Huang Shi felt he had not really done much, yet his official rank was shooting up as if riding a rocket. He sent his personal guards on a trip to Liuhe and recruited Zhao Manxiong into his personal guard unit. In this way he had someone he could trust by his side — if he were to deal with Sun Degong, he certainly could not use those old personal guards. Dire news soon arrived from Korea: after the crushing defeat at Zhenjiang, Mao Wenlong had once again suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Later Jin army. Nearly half of the fifty thousand Liaodong civilians who had followed the Ming army into Korea were lost. Mao Wenlong himself once again disguised himself as a common soldier and escaped the Later Jin soldiers’ search and capture.

While organizing the remnants of the Guangning army to resist step by step, Mao Wenlong fled continuously southward. Tens of thousands of Guangning soldiers and Liaodong civilians struggled south through the ice and snow, with the Later Jin army in close pursuit right behind them. To support the Korean Guangning army, Dengzhou Assistant Prefect Wang Yining led three thousand soldiers into Korea. Having received these reinforcements, Mao Wenlong immediately used these several thousand soldiers to seize control of large islands such as Pidao and Kuandian, allowing tens of thousands of refugees to flee out to sea and escape the fate of total annihilation.

The news from Korea allowed Wang Huazhen and most of the Guangning officers to breathe a sigh of relief. As long as Mao Wenlong was not yet dead and the tens of thousands of refugees had not been wiped out by the Later Jin army, then Wang Huazhen’s strategic offensive could not be said to have suffered a complete defeat. That history had not undergone any drastic changes also made Huang Shi very happy; his foreknowledge of history’s general direction was his greatest trump card.

With the threat to his rear eliminated, Nurhaci’s next move would inevitably be to launch a campaign against Guangning. Huang Shi was waiting for this historical moment, and so was Sun Degong. Huang Shi was certain that there was a great deal of intelligence Sun Degong was concealing from him. However, he did not consider this a major problem; Huang Shi felt that his own ability to foresee history was sufficient to offset Sun Degong’s advantages in position and intelligence.

That being said, Huang Shi still had some self-awareness — more than half his life was, for the time being, still held in Sun Degong’s hands. Therefore, Huang Shi was cautious in every way on ordinary days, lest Sun Degong suspect his loyalty. Since his personal guards had all been chosen by Sun Degong, his every move and action naturally fell under Sun Degong’s eyes. Huang Shi dared not engage in any petty maneuvers; what people cannot see clearly is what they fear most. He reckoned that if he deliberately avoided his personal guard unit to do something, Sun Degong would instead become more suspicious.

“Huang Shi, you have no family, do you?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“How pitiful, all alone.” Sun Degong raised his eyebrows, his face full of sympathy. “Come to my home for a simple meal this evening. My cook’s skill is really quite excellent.”

“Thank you, my lord.”

After returning home, Huang Shi summoned several of his personal guards and mentioned this invitation. Yang Luhuo thought it was nothing more than an ordinary attempt to win hearts, but another personal guard expressed a different view: “This is clearly a pretext to make our lord send gifts. Our lord had best prepare a gift befitting his status.”

“How could Lord Sun covet a trifling gift from our lord? Besides, it’s not even a holiday or festive occasion right now.” Yang Luhuo remained unconvinced.

“He who offers unsolicited kindness is either a scoundrel or a thief,” that personal guard said coldly.

“Jin Qiude, shut your mouth!” Huang Shi flew into a towering rage, slammed the table fiercely, and stood up. “How dare you, you wretch, spout such reckless slander and insult Lord Sun! Everything I have today was given to me by Lord Sun!”

The personal guards, seeing the usually good-tempered Huang Shi suddenly erupt in fury, all changed color at once. Yet Jin Qiude still protested defiantly, “My lord, everything your subordinate has was given by you, my lord. Since my lord asked for my thoughts, your subordinate naturally dares not withhold them.”

“Drag this wretch out and interrogate him thoroughly — find out who sent him to sow discord between me and Lord Sun!” At Huang Shi’s command, the other personal guards moved to drag Jin Qiude out. Just at that moment, Huang Shi saw Zhao Manxiong, hiding behind the others, frantically signaling him with his eyes.

“Yang Luhuo, take him away and lock him up first. Zhao Manxiong, help me change my clothes. I will deal with him after I return this evening.”

Once only the two of them remained in the room, Huang Shi could not help but ask, “What is it? Is something wrong?”

“My lord.” Zhao Manxiong’s form of address toward Huang Shi had now also changed. “Your subordinate ventures to ask boldly: is my lord constantly on guard against Sun Degong?”

Huang Shi was secretly startled. His wariness toward Sun Degong was indeed very deep, but he had never spoken of it to anyone, and he had no idea how Zhao Manxiong had seen through it at a glance. He nodded slightly.

This answer clearly did not surprise Zhao Manxiong. With a composed expression, he continued, “Then the way my lord handled things today was far too unwise. Anyone with a discerning eye could see my lord’s wariness at a single glance.”

Huang Shi could vaguely sense where his problem lay, but he had not yet sorted out the logic. He hastily pressed, “Why?”

Without answering immediately, Zhao Manxiong asked a question in return: “My lord estimates there are Sun Degong’s moles planted within the personal guard unit, correct?”

Huang Shi’s heart felt as anxious as if several rats were scratching at it. Forcibly suppressing his impatience, he nodded once more with as calm an expression as he could muster. “Correct.”

Zhao Manxiong shook his head and spoke unhurriedly: “First, making a mountain out of a molehill: for such a trivial matter today, my lord did not consult with me alone, but instead summoned all the personal guards. This was plainly a display of having nothing to hide. At the time, I already suspected that my lord was on guard against Sun Degong.”

“Second, what Jin Qiude said was not excessively offensive. My lord jumped up as if pricked by a needle — the reaction was too great, too sensitive. Third, Jin Qiude is my lord’s subordinate; it is only natural for him to consider my lord’s interests. Yet my lord immediately accused him of sowing discord. This clearly shows my lord was worried that Jin Qiude’s performance this evening, once it reached Sun Degong’s ears, would be disadvantageous to himself.”

By this point, Huang Shi was already drenched in cold sweat. Zhao Manxiong gave Huang Shi a meaningful look. “So my lord was bent on appearing utterly loyal. I wonder if your subordinate has guessed correctly?”

Huang Shi gestured for Zhao Manxiong to sit, then asked with a bitter smile, “Was my performance today very poor?”

“Extremely poor. If one harbors no ulterior thoughts, the normal reaction would be to prepare a gift — that is what is meant by ‘preparedness averts trouble.’ At most, one might laugh and scold a couple of times, but one would still heap great praise on Jin Qiude. After all, every commander likes a subordinate who is absolutely loyal to him. My lord’s reaction today only shows that he is constantly on guard against Sun Degong at every moment, treating all normal discussion as conspiracy.”

Huang Shi gave a few dry laughs, his voice filled with bitterness. “This is what they call a guilty conscience, I suppose.”

“Yes.” Zhao Manxiong’s expression was extremely serious. “A man who has done no wrong fears no ghost knocking at his door. My lord’s performance today was terrible. If Sun Degong is no fool, he will very quickly figure out what lies behind these abnormalities.”

Heavens, how could Sun Degong possibly be a fool? A wail of despair rose in Huang Shi’s heart. His right hand unconsciously toyed with the tea set on the table. “Is there any way to remedy this?”

“Let me think.” Zhao Manxiong, just as before, would lower his head and think over and over no matter the matter before giving an answer.

After a long while, Zhao Manxiong raised his head. The impatient Huang Shi immediately asked, “Have you thought of something?”

“I do not inquire much into my lord’s affairs, so I have no concrete plan either. But striking first to gain the initiative is never wrong, is it?”

Huang Shi asked in surprise, “Striking first to gain the initiative?”

“Correct, that is…” Zhao Manxiong explained in such-and-such a manner. As he listened, Huang Shi too gradually became filled with confidence.

That evening, upon arriving at the Sun residence, after Huang Shi entered the main gate he discovered Sun Degong personally waiting for him at the inner gate. Huang Shi hurriedly saluted: “How could your subordinate dare trouble my lord to come out and welcome me?”

“It’s nothing.” Sun Degong was extremely cordial, then smiled and called out to his own personal guards, “Take Garrison Commander Huang’s men to the back and entertain them well; do not be remiss.”

Hearing this order, Huang Shi secretly said to himself, “The opportunity has come.”