Chapter 234: Section Forty-Nine: Consolidating Authority

The sound of cannons on East Mountain ignited the fighting across the entire island of Juehua. Soon, Ming troops on the west bank and in the valleys also fired off signals one after another. In less than half a shichen, the roar of firearms and cannons filled all of Juehua. Flames and firelight surged up in every direction around Huang Shi and his party. As time passed, the distant boom of heavy cannons, like muffled thunder, also came faintly from the direction of Ningyuan Fort. The shriek of cannonballs tearing through the air stabbed at the eardrums. The soldiers went about their work with great composure, because from the sound of the cannons they could tell the muzzles were raised who knew how high, and posed little danger to themselves at close range.

An Internal Guard officer ran back holding a torch. He came to attention and reported loudly to Huang Shi: "My lord, your subordinate has informed Mobile Corps Commander Jin of the situation here. The landing operation will proceed according to the prearranged plan."

"How did the sailors from the Tianjin Guard react?" Huang Shi was still quite confident in the Changsheng Army. Over the past five years, this army had repeatedly endured bitter battles. Now, in the Firefighting and Vanguard battalions, there were more veterans than new recruits. Moreover, even the new recruits had mostly seen the Later Jin army at places like Changsheng Island, Jinzhou, Lüshun, and Nanguan, had stood off against them, and had undergone the test and tempering of bloody, iron-forged warfare.

"In reply to my lord, some unrest occurred among the sailors of the Tianjin Guard, but the Internal Guard units firmly hold control of the fleet. No chaos or loss of control has occurred."

"Very good." Huang Shi glanced again at the summit of East Mountain. By now, the disturbance there was growing more and more intense; it seemed they too were beginning to be affected by the other units. After a long while, the commotion on the mountaintop finally quieted somewhat. It appeared they were also starting to feel baffled. So Huang Shi sent another man to contact the defending troops. The liaison officer crossed the dense wall of fire and arrived before the stockade. Miraculously unscathed, this time he managed to make his message clear, but the defending troops refused to open the camp gate and let anyone in no matter what.

After hearing the report, Huang Shi felt a sense of loss. Seeing his expression, the second daughter of the Zhao family, who was standing beside him, said: "Grand Guardian of the Heir Apparent, since no one knows this humble girl's identity at the moment, if my lord gives this humble girl a clean cabin or tent, staying one night will not matter in the least."

Hearing this, Huang Shi first nodded. But then he reconsidered, thinking that there are no walls in this world that don't leak air. If she went in tomorrow during daylight, someone would certainly be able to guess the identity of the second daughter of the Zhao family. So he asked again: "On Juehua Island, does Young Lady Zhao have any other relatives?"

The second daughter of the Zhao family hesitated for a moment, then gently uttered a single sentence: "My elder sister's home is, as it happens, not far from here."

"I shall escort Young Lady Zhao there then." As if he had thought of nothing at all, Huang Shi insisted on personally escorting the second daughter of the Zhao family back. After arriving near the home of the second daughter of the Zhao family's brother-in-law, Huang Shi waved his hand and kept the guards at a distance, lest they overhear things they should not hear.

After the younger sister Zhao called for the door to be opened, her elder sister was naturally astonished. Tonight, her husband had gone to help Zhao Yingong with planning and was not at home. The eldest daughter of the Zhao family held her younger sister tightly in her arms, gently scolding her, while at the same time she repeatedly scrutinized Huang Shi at the doorway with shock and uncertainty. When she used the firelight to clearly see the clothes on her younger sister's body, her expression shifted again. The eldest daughter of the Zhao family felt over the clothes on her younger sister's body, and when she raised her head to look at Huang Shi again, the look in her eyes had changed from its original complexity to hatred... like real, tangible knives.

Many years ago, Huang Shi remembered that the eldest daughter of the Zhao family was a budding beauty. Now, even with only a little light from the torch, Huang Shi still had to admit that after not seeing her for a few years, she had grown even more beautiful. Huang Shi knew that the venomous look from the other side meant the eldest daughter of the Zhao family had some misunderstanding about him, but...

— This kind of matter is better left for the two sisters to clear up themselves. The more I try to explain, the worse it gets.

Embarrassed, Huang Shi saw that the matter was settled and prepared to take his leave. He said to the eldest daughter of the Zhao family: "Young Lady Zhao..."

"This humble woman's surname is Chen." Lady Chen née Zhao mercilessly cut off Huang Shi's words, hugging her younger sister even tighter in her arms, glaring warily at Huang Shi. At this moment, the second daughter of the Zhao family also turned to look at Huang Shi, her gaze carrying a trace of apology.

"Young Lady Chen, Young Lady Zhao," Huang Shi smiled without taking offense and nodded slightly to the two sisters: "I have official duties to attend to. Since this matter here is concluded, I shall take my leave now."

The door slammed heavily shut in front of Huang Shi. Dust from it splattered onto Huang Shi's face. He smiled wryly and shook his head, then turned and led his guard unit back to the encampment. That night, the defending troops on the island made a racket all night long...

The twenty-second day of the twelfth month of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign.

Through the concerted efforts of the Staff Department and the Internal Guard units, over a thousand officers and soldiers from Changsheng Island had already landed during the night. Although there were many difficulties, Jin Qiude still expressed cautious optimism, believing that the majority of the officers and soldiers could be landed on Juehua Island before nightfall today.

After rising early in the morning, Huang Shi led his guard unit up East Mountain for the third time. As the sky brightened, the clamor on the island finally gradually ceased, and now all was silent. When the Changsheng Island party entered the East Mountain Silver Vault, Zhao Yingong was panting in a chair in the main hall. He had been beating the drum, sweating profusely, for most of the night, and only in the morning had his servants helped him down from his post to rest.

Throughout the entire previous night, Zhao Yingong had been driven by a fiery passion for battle burning in his chest, madly pounding the drum to boost morale like a machine, utterly unaware of what fatigue was. But now, Vice Prefect Zhao was completely drained of strength. When he saw Huang Shi stride in, my lord Zhao did not even have the strength left to lift a single finger. When Huang Shi drew the Imperial Sword and took over command authority of the entire island, Zhao Yingong, who desperately wanted to object, only moved his lips but produced no sound.

Huang Shi, with great tact and understanding, ordered the Zhao family servants to help their master home to rest. Those old servants complied without daring to offer the slightest resistance. Having easily taken control of the East Mountain Silver Vault, Huang Shi immediately assigned the vault's defending troops to assist the Changsheng Army's landing. At the same time, he issued orders to those Guan-Ning Army generals who were chiseling ice, commanding them to immediately cease their work and come to the East Mountain Silver Vault to see him.

On Juehua Island, there were currently six generals: Assistant Regional Commanders Yao Yuxian, Jin Guan, and Hu Yining, along with Mobile Corps Commanders Ji Shan, Wu Yu, and Zhang Guoqing. Two shichen later, they arrived together before the gate of the East Mountain Silver Vault. By this time, Huang Shi had already sent all the civil officials to the rear storehouses to count the silver. Huang Shi himself waited at the main entrance of the silver vault with a genial smile, personally ushering the six generals into the main hall: "Generals, please be seated."

These were officers of the Liaodong Garrison, while Huang Shi was subordinate to the Dongjiang Garrison. Naturally, it was not easy to compare substantive posts like Vice Regional Commander or Assistant Regional Commander. As a Vice Commissioner-in-Chief, Huang Shi's official rank was naturally far higher than that of these fellows. In the entire Guan-Ning Army, only Ma Shilong had a higher rank than Huang Shi; even Man Gui, the Regional Commander of Ningyuan, was merely equal to him in rank. When Huang Shi further produced the Imperial Sword and the Silver Command Arrow, the six Guan-Ning Army generals all submitted in admiration, one after another declaring their willingness to obey Huang Shi's command.

He did not know the character of the other four, but Huang Shi did know Assistant Regional Commander Yao Yuxian and Assistant Regional Commander Jin Guan. A few months ago at the Battle of Yaozhou, it was these two gentlemen who had held back Lu Zhijia and Li Chengxian — failing to send boats before the attack and tearing down the pontoon bridge after the retreat. But now things were different from the Battle of Yaozhou. After all, Yuan Chonghuan, the Ningqian Circuit Intendant, had issued a death order: whoever fled again would have his head cut off. That barbarian Yuan was famously unreasonable. These six Guan-Ning Army generals had also received explicit orders to hold Juehua to the death. They had no chance to use a Mongol invasion as an excuse to rush west to "resist the enemy." Ningyuan Fort was already under martial law, with entry and exit forbidden, and behind them was an isolated island with no path of retreat.

In the history Huang Shi originally knew, Assistant Regional Commander Jin was supposed to have died of illness on the eve of the Battle of Ningyuan, and the other generals had all died for their country in the Juehua campaign. Huang Shi had no intention of quibbling over past grievances with these martyrs of a former life. With a great enemy before them, he hoped these six generals could cooperate with him in complete sincerity — as long as they were not brainless, they should understand what the consequences of internal strife at a time like this would be.

Huang Shi first chatted with them about some military matters.

As early as when he was on the ship, Huang Shi had prepared several plans. The first one he brought out was a suggestion that these six generals withdraw onto the seagoing ships. Because Juehua Island had not chiseled the ice according to regulations, all the boats around the island were now frozen in place. Huang Shi not only agreed to let these generals take refuge on the Tianjin Guard's seagoing ships, but also indicated that their retainers and relatives could evacuate with them, as long as they left their troops behind and handed them over to Huang Shi's command. In the future, Huang Shi would issue them certification that they had "not fled in the face of battle." Of course, if they followed this plan, they should not expect to share in any battle honors afterward.

As Huang Shi laid out this plan, the six Liaodong Garrison generals dared not speak, desperately exchanging glances with one another. But when Huang Shi finished and asked for their opinions, none of them was willing to be the first to stick his neck out and speak. Six pairs of eloquent eyes opened wide, the gazes they shot out crisscrossing in midair. The generals sat upright for a while; not only did they communicate with their eyes, but their eyebrows also danced up and down incessantly, and the corners of their mouths from time to time made inscrutable twitching motions. This reminded Huang Shi of the wireless telegraphs of his previous life.

The silent exchange went on for a while. Assistant Regional Commander Yao coughed lightly: "Military Governor Huang, your subordinate officers still have some questions."

Huang Shi noted that the term he used was "your subordinate officers" and not "your subordinate officer." He said politely: "General Yao, please speak."

"Might I ask if Military Governor Huang has any other strategies?" Yao Yuxian looked intently at Huang Shi's eyes. The other five also rallied their spirits and looked over. The day before, when they discovered all the boats were frozen in, each of them had been so full of regret they beat their chests and stamped their feet. Today, upon hearing that Huang Shi had come, all they could think of was getting aboard the Tianjin Guard's seagoing ships. But seeing Huang Shi's manner, which seemed quite confident, their minds began to stir again. In any case, even if they really could not share in the credit, saving their lives was absolutely guaranteed. After Yao Yuxian took the lead, they also chimed in noisily from the side:

"Indeed, Military Governor Huang, though your subordinate officer's strength is meager, he still wishes to do his part for the country."

"Military Governor Huang, your keen insight is clear. Your subordinate officer is willing to follow Military Governor Huang's lead."

"If Military Governor Huang truly feels your subordinate officer is in the way, your subordinate officer will immediately pack up and board the ship, and will absolutely not cause trouble for Military Governor Huang."

"Military Governor Huang is invincible. Your subordinate officer has always hoped to learn a trick or two from Military Governor Huang. Of course, if this is a secret family art of Military Governor Huang that must not be divulged, your subordinate officer will hand over the troops to Military Governor Huang right now and board the ship with his retainers."

"Military Governor Huang, your subordinate officer thinks the same."

Seeing their morale so high, Huang Shi was inwardly quite pleased. Having them cooperate sincerely was always better than forcibly driving them away. In any case, they still had considerable control over the army, and he would not need to worry about them harboring resentment and sabotaging him.

Huang Shi's other plan was to stop chiseling the ice, concentrate manpower on rapidly constructing field fortifications, and let the soldiers rest sufficiently in order to meet the Later Jin army coming from afar. Huang Shi also proposed that the two armies split the heads taken after the battle equally, with Huang Shi's three thousand troops under his direct command taking half, and Juehua's four field battalions of seven thousand Guan-Ning armored cavalry taking the other half.

After hearing this proposal.

Regarding the ice-chiseling issue, these men were not very opposed. The previous night, after just one night of chiseling, over a hundred combat soldiers had their fingers frozen off. Moreover, the ice layer had already frozen too thick. The Juehua Strait at this time was only a few meters deep to begin with, and the ice had long since frozen all the way down to the seabed. The trenches they were desperately chiseling out were freezing over even as they chiseled, with large gaps everywhere.

Before, when Huang Shi had not come, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and keep chiseling to save their lives. But now, with Huang Shi looking so confident and bringing a retreat path onto the seagoing ships, these generals were no longer willing to endure that kind of terrible suffering.

It was still Yao Yuxian who posed the summarizing question: "May I ask how Military Governor Huang plans to fight this battle? Could you inform us of a detail or two?"

Huang Shi smiled slightly and spread open a map of Juehua. This was one of the maps he had "seized" from Zhao Yingong's government office. The six generals immediately craned their necks and crowded in.

Huang Shi proposed establishing a line of field fortifications behind the ice layer, to block the Later Jin army on the ice surface where they could not easily maneuver. This would protect the island's grain, fodder, buildings, and military households, and the army could thus receive a steady and unending stream of supplies from the rear.

Conversely, if they only defended the East Mountain Silver Vault, the perimeter of this vault was just over a hundred meters long, unable to accommodate a large force, much less store sufficient food and supplies. Huang Shi believed that would be courting death.

"I have two battalions of three thousand combat soldiers, and Juehua has four battalions of seven thousand combat soldiers, making ten thousand in total." To boost the generals' morale, Huang Shi counted all seven thousand Guan-Ning armored cavalry. A force of ten thousand combat soldiers was roughly equivalent to half the total number of armored men in the entire Later Jin regime. This time, Nurhaci could not possibly leave no one at home, and would also need to leave some garrison troops at the forts along the way. The supply column stretching hundreds of li would certainly require escort troops. Therefore, Huang Shi asserted based on this that the Juehua forces would absolutely not be fewer than the Later Jin army, and they could fully conduct a defensive battle: "Moreover, inside Ningyuan City there are still seven battalions of fifteen thousand combat soldiers. The main force of the Jianzhou rebels will certainly stay behind to keep Ningyuan Fort under surveillance. The pressure we will share here will definitely not exceed three thousand armored men. Perhaps there will also be over ten thousand unarmored troops pushing carts who will come along."

But the several generals before him still showed not the slightest joy or encouragement; each face remained ashen as death. Huang Shi sighed: "My own troops will fight at the front. You generals need only supervise your subordinates in constructing fortifications according to my arrangements, and during the battle be responsible for maintaining order on the island. If you gentlemen truly are unwilling to do this, then after leaving the troops to me, feel free to board the ships. I will not force you in the least."

Yao Yuxian's gaze swept like lightning over his colleagues, and he saw them all slowly nod. He then turned to Huang Shi and said: "Military Governor Huang, with your keen insight, your subordinate officers have a total of four battalions of seven thousand combat soldiers, while Military Governor Huang has only brought two battalions of three thousand combat soldiers. If we split equally, would that not be... that... that..." Assistant Regional Commander Yao stammered for a long time before finally speaking clearly: "Would it not be a seventy-thirty split of the spoils..."

Seeing a displeased look on Huang Shi's face, Yao Yuxian hastily added: "Military Governor Huang is a guest general, so battle honors can be doubled. Wouldn't a seventy-thirty split mean Guan-Ning and Dongjiang each get half?"

— Of course I can forcibly suppress them, but if they harbor resentment in their hearts, who knows what foolish things they might do... Forget it, I cannot let a small loss ruin a great gain. Winning the battle is the first priority. If we can't defeat the Jianzhou rebels, everything is meaningless.

Having made up his mind, Huang Shi's face broke into a smile: "Fine, let it be a seventy-thirty split then. Guan-Ning seven, Dongjiang three."

Yao Yuxian and the others, who were craftier than monkeys, had originally been prepared to ask for an exorbitant price. The brothers had each been ready to engage Huang Shi in a protracted negotiation, and never imagined Huang Shi would be so foolish as to agree in one breath. Overjoyed, they all invited Huang Shi to drink and eat meat that evening to celebrate the perfect coordination between the two armies.

And Huang Shi was also very happy in his heart. Since they had voluntarily given up boarding the ships and stayed to contend for merit, they surely would not deliberately hold him back anymore. With these old military chiefs present, the deployment on the island should proceed very smoothly. In Huang Shi's plan, this was a crucial step toward securing victory.

The men were enthusiastically inviting Huang Shi to drink. Huang Shi first agreed with a smile, and then intended to confirm everyone's tasks first. Huang Shi had just begun to speak when suddenly a person burst violently in from outside. This person's hair was disheveled, and in his hand he tightly gripped a drawn longsword. Everyone was startled. Huang Shi fixed his eyes and looked — who was this person if not my lord Zhao Yingong, Zhao?

My lord Zhao's eyes were completely bloodshot. When he had just run madly uphill from home, his black gauze cap and hair binding had been lost who knows where. Now, at a glance, the official robes on his body had clearly not been tidied; half his forearm was exposed, and the entire front flap and hem were in complete disarray.

Zhao Yingong stared fixedly at Huang Shi, panting heavily, the teeth in his mouth nearly ground to pieces. Suddenly, with a great roar, he brandished his sword and lunged forward. The several Internal Guards beside Huang Shi had long been on alert. They rushed forward together and easily seized Vice Prefect Zhao.

After the Internal Guards had pinned Zhao Yingong, one of them pulled a coil of rope from his waist and prepared to tie Vice Prefect Zhao up. Huang Shi waved his hand as if nothing had happened: "My lord Zhao is tired. Take my lord Zhao to the back to rest well. Guard him carefully, lest he injure himself."

Although Huang Shi could sit in his chair without changing expression, the other six generals had all risen to their feet at a loss. Whether or not they were permanently stationed generals of Juehua Island, each of them had civil officials watching over them, and they dared not be as unrestrained as the Dongjiang officers. Of course, in their hearts they already hated Zhao Yingong to the bone, because they had just learned that Vice Prefect Zhao had not permitted them to come ashore and had also blockaded the news of Huang Shi's arrival from them.

Still, these several generals all pretended to offer words of dissuasion, so as to clear themselves of any involvement in front of Lord Zhao — otherwise, even if they were no longer under Lord Zhao’s jurisdiction, if Zhao Yin wrote a single document to the civil official who did oversee them, these men would be in serious trouble. While they were chattering away, Huang Shi’s personal guards swiftly trussed Zhao Yin up like a crab.

“Vicious scoundrel, vicious scoundrel…” Several personal guards were about to drag Zhao Yin away, but he struggled madly, roaring furiously at Huang Shi the whole time. Just moments ago, after hearing only a couple of sentences from his eldest younger sister, he had flown into a rage and rushed over to fight Huang Shi to the death; the shouts of his two younger sisters behind him had not been able to stop his steps. At the thought of his dear youngest sister, tears began streaming down Zhao Yin’s face. He screamed hoarsely: “Huang Shi, you degenerate, you piece of filth…”

“Lord Zhao has had too much to drink,” Huang Shi said. Hearing Zhao Yin’s words grow more and more outrageous, he feared this hothead might let slip mention of his sister, in which case Second Miss Zhao would truly hang herself. He turned and shot a stern look at the personal guards: “Don’t let him bite his tongue.”

With a rope bound across his mouth, Zhao Yin could only make muffled sounds as the personal guards dragged him away. Throughout this, Huang Shi’s expression never changed as he assigned tasks to the six generals, who all stood ramrod straight, cold sweat streaming down their faces.

That afternoon, Huang Shi ordered the Changsheng Army to rest in full. The previous day, scouts from the Later Jin vanguard had reached the outskirts of Ningyuan Fortress, so he estimated that the Later Jin vanguard would arrive in large numbers beneath the city walls today. No matter how arrogant the Later Jin army might be, they could not possibly bypass the seven-battalion Ningyuan Fortress without any rest at all and march through the night to attack Juehua. As for Nurhaci’s main force, Huang Shi estimated it would reach Ningyuan in great strength on the twenty-fourth; after a forced march of five or six hundred li, they would need at least a day of rest.

Every man, woman, and child in the Juehua military households was mobilized, and the four battalions of Guan-Ning troops joined in transporting supplies. Accompanied by the several generals, Huang Shi inspected Juehua’s defenses. To boost morale, those Guan-Ning Army generals announced this news to the Juehua garrison at top speed.

The officers, soldiers, and military households who saw Huang Shi all set down their work and kowtowed to these seven generals. Many family members of the military households also burned incense at their doorways, shouting to Huang Shi: “May Commander Huang live a hundred years!” The large numbers of merchants on the island also surged before his horse to pay their respects: “The Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent’s life-saving grace we shall never forget, not even if our teeth fall out.”

……

“Danger will begin on the twenty-fifth, and at the latest, by the twenty-sixth our army will face enormous pressure.” Huang Shi rode along the western shore of Juehua on an inspection, knowing he had about three days to rest his troops and construct defenses. He had to prepare for the worst-case scenario — the entire Later Jin army coming at them.