Chapter 246: Dividing the Spoils

After waiting a while longer on the command tower, the scouts finally returned: the entire Jin army had withdrawn to their camp on the opposite bank. This news let Huang Shi and the other commanders breathe a huge sigh of relief. As the saying goes, a single drumbeat rouses the spirit, a second makes it falter, and a third exhausts it. The Later Jin army had marched over ten li today to fight a battle and lost it so badly; now they had to march over ten li back. Their morale had surely plummeted to rock bottom. The Juehua campaign, it seemed, was over. The Changsheng Army's casualties in this battle were extremely light, rendering most of Physician Hu Qingbai's preparations pointless. The army chaplains also fulfilled their duty of providing final solace for the few fallen.

The days around the New Year were the coldest stretch of the entire year in Liaodong. Huang Shi ordered the necessary sentries posted and the entire army to return to camp and rest. Standing by the railing, Huang Shi looked down upon his troops; his loyal subordinates all raised their heads toward their commander, casting fervent gazes back at him.

"All troops — dismissed."

"Kill!"

……

After announcing the army's dismissal, Huang Shi rubbed his face vigorously. He had stood on the high tower in the wind for nearly four hours, and despite his many years of campaigning, he was finding it a bit hard to bear. Watching the soldiers stream back in great numbers into the field barracks behind the defense line, there was no longer any need to stay on the command tower. His mood greatly lightened, Huang Shi turned and called for the Guan-Ning Army officers to go down the tower with him and rest.

When Huang Shi had been issuing orders earlier, those six officers had all stood ramrod straight behind him with the utmost deference. Once Huang Shi and they descended the high tower, the Guan-Ning Army officers suggested laying out wine and holding a feast to celebrate this great victory. The Later Jin soldiers were men, not beasts; if they were dragged out for another march in this ghastly cold at night, a batch of them would likely freeze to death. For this reason, the Guan-Ning Army officers also advocated using this opportunity to let the troops eat their fill, in case the Later Jin army's thieving hearts refused to die and they came back for another fight.

Although the exact head count could not be tallied for the moment, the enemy troops killed outright inside the low wall were estimated at around a thousand, and those wounded so badly they could not flee were even more numerous. Outside, many more had likely been killed by cannon fire. The Later Jin army had left those bodies behind on the ice as well; if they were all gathered up, there would probably be another one or two hundred at least.

Huang Shi looked at the eager yet slightly uneasy eyes of the six officers and understood perfectly what was on their minds. These men were both longing for the imperial court's rewards and afraid that he would go back on his word and not share the battle honors with them. In truth, Huang Shi had no intention of hogging everything. If not for their wholehearted cooperation this time, his mere three thousand men could never have held Juehua.

The course of today's battle left Huang Shi deeply satisfied. As far as he could recall, no one seemed to have ever successfully cooperated with the Guan-Ning Army before. This time, not only had he fought side by side with the Guan-Ning Army, but they had also achieved victory — this genuinely gave Huang Shi a great sense of accomplishment. Xiong Tingbi, before his death, had harshly denounced his deployments during the Fuzhou campaign. Back then, Huang Shi had felt that low-combat-effectiveness allies were a tremendous burden, but Xiong Tingbi had explained to him some arts of managing men, making Huang Shi understand that in the hands of a commander who knew how to use people, even the most incompetent allies could be put to full use.

While getting chummy with the Guan-Ning Army officers, Huang Shi searched his mind for relevant knowledge. He remembered that among all the outside commanders who had cooperated with the Guan-Ning Army, only Zuo Liangyu had ever gotten the upper hand once.

That was already after the great battle of Jinzhou. By then, the Chongzhen Emperor was so utterly destitute that he could not even afford to keep many eunuchs. With too few palace maids, he dared not recruit more, and in the end had to have his father-in-law, Imperial Relative Zhou, pay out of his own pocket to buy some servant girls, dress them up as palace maids, and use them to keep up appearances. But when Li Zicheng laid siege to Kaifeng for the third time, the Chongzhen Emperor still made one last desperate effort, smashing pots and selling scrap — including pawning his own bronze dinner plates — and finally scraped together some more silver to offer as a reward, ordering Zuo Liangyu and the Guan-Ning Iron Cavalry to go relieve the Bian Army.

The Guan-Ning Iron Cavalry, who had just abandoned their allies and fled back from the great battle of Jinzhou, immediately marched south to Kaifeng to demand payment from Military Commissioner Hou the moment they heard there was reward silver to be had. The other relief armies were fine, but Zuo Liangyu, who had also come to Kaifeng to collect reward silver, had at least spent time in Liaoxi. Everyone knew exactly who everyone else was. The moment Zuo Liangyu saw that his rear support was the Guan-Ning Iron Cavalry, his heart turned utterly cold. So old Zuo kept a trick up his sleeve — though of course he did not reveal his thoughts to Military Commissioner Hou.

When battle commenced, before Li Zicheng had even attacked, Zuo Liangyu on the right wing was the first to flee the field. And just as Zuo Liangyu had expected, the moment Li Zicheng began his assault on the left wing, the Guan-Ning Iron Cavalry there likewise "shifted positions" right after… This battle is known to history as the Great Victory of Zhuxian Town. The Bian Army and the Lu Army, which had come from afar to help, were utterly annihilated by Li Zicheng. The Ming dynasty's strategic mobile forces in the Central Plains were swept clean away by the Chuang Army.

Looking through late Ming history, only Zuo Liangyu had ever outmaneuvered the Guan-Ning Iron Cavalry this once. If Huang Shi could now fight alongside the Guan-Ning Army and defeat the enemy together, didn't that mean he had surpassed so many of those famous officials and great commanders of the late Ming? At this thought, Huang Shi could not help feeling rather smug. Truly, this was a hard-won victory.

After returning to the barracks, Huang Shi reiterated that he only wanted thirty percent of the heads; the remaining seventy percent would go to the Juehua Guan-Ning Army. The moment these words left his mouth, Vice General Yao and the others all breathed a sigh of relief. When they had gone up to the command tower earlier, it was precisely to probe Huang Shi's stance. When Huang Shi had offered them stools, they had already set half their hearts at ease; now they were finally completely at peace. As for how they divided the heads among themselves, however, Huang Shi did not concern himself. He had thought it over and concluded that no matter how he divided them, someone would be dissatisfied. Having already made such a great concession, why go to all that trouble only to earn resentment?

After clearly stating his position, Huang Shi, thinking he had handled the matter beautifully, was surprised to see Vice General Yao and the others exchanging glances again, and their silent communication was quite intense. Puzzled, Huang Shi stared at them in astonishment, unable to help reflecting on whether he had said something wrong.

"Lord Huang, we, your humble officers…" Vice General Yao once again used the phrase "we, your humble officers." The other five gentlemen around him all nodded repeatedly in agreement, preemptively affirming that whatever Vice General Yao was about to say represented their consensus.

"We, your humble officers, feel that the Jianzhou Jurchens will not come again, so…" His voice had not been loud to begin with, but at this point Vice General Yao still paused and leaned his body forward slightly. Clearly, this was not something meant to be said openly and honorably.

"General Yao, speak freely, there is no harm." Huang Shi also thought it highly unlikely that Nurhaci would come back to throw his life away again. The Later Jin regime was, after all, just a bandit gang, and bandits bully the weak and fear the strong. They had sent troops into Liaoxi this time to plunder provisions for the winter, not to gnaw on hard bones.

As Vice General Yao spoke, he winked at Huang Shi, his voice growing softer and softer: "We, your humble officers, believe we should reward the officers and men to boost morale. What is Lord Huang's opinion?"

The military households and soldiers of Juehua Island were indeed the private property of these gentlemen, but the stores in the warehouse were the property of the imperial court. Not much of that five hundred thousand taels of silver had actually been distributed today. Oboi and the other thirty men were at most enough to let nearly a thousand officers and soldiers dye their blades red. But since Huang Shi had brought the silver out, these men were clearly somewhat tempted. It seemed they had no intention of returning it to Zhao Yingong.

Huang Shi pondered for a moment, then asked slowly: "Vice General Yao speaks truly. The great army of the Jianzhou Jurchens may well have gone for now but return again. Now is indeed no time for greed; boosting the troops' morale should be the priority."

(No separate line — merged with 【23】 in source.)

Everyone in the room understood that the likelihood of the Later Jin army returning was vanishingly small, but Huang Shi's words provided a pretext they could voice openly, allowing everyone to divide the silver with pomp and circumstance. The room immediately erupted in a chorus of agreement, all praising Vice General Huang for his foresight and vision. Dividing the silver was imperative.

Vice General Yao exchanged another round of glances with his colleagues, then solemnly extended three fingers: "Lord Huang, shall we still split it seventy-thirty? And the ten thousand taels of silver that Vice General Jin has already distributed today — shall we count that as coming from our Guan-Ning Army's share?"

If Huang Shi had not come to Juehua, the Guan-Ning officers would never have had the slightest chance to move the silver out of the warehouse. Not to mention that without Huang Shi here holding the fort, those fellows would probably all be dead men by now. Displeasure rose in Huang Shi's heart, and a look of irritation showed on his face. Seeing this, Vice General Yao gave a sly grin: "Lord Huang eats the meat; we, your humble officers, only hope to follow and sip some broth. If Lord Huang finds it unsuitable, then let the silver be split eighty-twenty. The Dongjiang Army gets four hundred thousand taels, the Guan-Ning Army one hundred thousand. How about that?"

Suddenly seeing the light, Huang Shi's eyes brightened. His gaze swept across the faces of the other Guan-Ning Army officers and saw that every one of them was all smiles, and they were all nodding at Huang Shi in a friendly manner. Vice General Yao laughed heartily: "Lord Huang sees clearly. We, your humble officers, are not ungrateful wretches. This time, having received Lord Huang's generous favor in sharing over a thousand heads with us, we, your humble officers, do not even know how to repay Lord Huang's kindness."

The seven thousand troops of the four battalions under these six fellows, plus the warehouse military households garrisoning Juehua, had an annual payroll of roughly two hundred thousand taels of silver. Although the silver in the warehouse this time was considerable, Liaoxi was not particularly short of silver — what it lacked was heads. The heads Huang Shi was sharing with them this time would number over a thousand no matter how you counted. Vice General Yao and the others considered their promotions a foregone conclusion, so they no longer cared much about silver. Excluding bonuses for killing the enemy, the entire Dongjiang Garrison only received two hundred forty thousand taels of silver in annual military payroll. Yao Yuxian and the others did not need to think hard to understand how great Huang Shi's need for silver was. Therefore, these Guan-Ning commanders felt that they taking more heads and Huang Shi taking more silver was the most reasonable distribution.

Conversely, if they acted too dishonorably and Huang Shi turned against them, they would not come to a good end. Brother Yao and his comrades all had a keen sense of power dynamics. Huang Shi was now a favorite in the eyes of the Son of Heaven; they were not going to deliberately kick an iron board. Besides, an extra friend means an extra road. Jin Guan, standing nearby, also chimed in with a smile: "In my humble opinion, all this silver ought to be awarded to Lord Huang's officers and men. But we, your humble officers, then thought again: if Changsheng Island alone takes it, I fear some flies in the imperial court will start buzzing."

These words again filled Huang Shi with admiration. These gentlemen, without uttering a single word, had managed to discuss the matter so thoroughly using only their eyes. This kind of communication skill… truly, a foot of ice is not formed in a single day of cold.

What Jin Guan said was also the truth. If Changsheng Island monopolized the silver, it would be strange if the censors did not impeach him for it. But if the Dongjiang Army and the Guan-Ning Army divided the silver together, the responsibility would be shared, and at the very least they could fall back on the principle that the law cannot punish the many. At this thought, Huang Shi felt suddenly enlightened. As the saying goes, "If someone respects me by a foot, I respect them by ten feet." Huang Shi also harbored the idea that an extra friend means an extra road, and he exchanged a few more rounds of polite demurral with Vice General Yao and the others. In the end, they settled on a seventy-thirty split: of the five hundred thousand taels of silver in the warehouse, the Dongjiang Army would take three hundred fifty thousand, and the six commanders of the Guan-Ning Army would divide the remaining one hundred fifty thousand among themselves.

Before dark, Zhao Yingong and Wu Mu returned, supporting each other. The search teams had walked several li along the ice and picked up some more bodies of wounded soldiers who had been left behind. In total, they had collected over twelve hundred Mongol heads. The heads of queue-wearing soldiers numbered over nine hundred, of which at least four hundred were true Tatars. When he returned, Zhao Yingong was still sighing repeatedly, saying that far too many heads were already unrecognizable.

Hearing that there were over two thousand two hundred heads, Vice General Yao and the others smiled even more broadly. And in the face of such a great victory, what did a mere five hundred thousand taels of silver count for? The officials of the Grand Secretariat and the Six Ministries would surely want a share of the pie as well; naturally, the civil officials of Shandong and Liaodong would not let this fat piece of meat slip by either. That was the real business before them now.

In the broader context of sharing the credit, Huang Shi and Yao Yuxian and the others all believed that no censor would jump out and spout nonsense. Even if there were some individual who didn't know any better and wanted to make a name for himself, he would certainly be seen by the other officials as a meddler blocking the road. Their impeachment memorials would surely be held at the palace and ignored by the Emperor.

Beaming with joy, Zhao Yingong had also swept away his pre-battle gloom. In high spirits, he invited the commanders to a banquet. His tone when speaking to Huang Shi was now much warmer — a complete change from the "enemies meeting, eyes blazing with hatred" attitude of the previous days. This time, Zhao Yingong had preserved Juehua's land and stores. Although he could not command Huang Shi, he could at least say that he had assisted Huang Shi. Coordinating the combined forces of six battalions — three vice generals and five guerrilla commanders (Jin Qiude and Zhang Minghe, whom Huang Shi had brought) — to fight together was a feat of strategic planning. Since Huang Shi could not take this credit, it could not possibly slip out of Zhao Yingong's grasp.

Citing heavy military duties, Huang Shi drank only a very small amount of wine at the banquet. Seizing a moment when Zhao Yingong's ears were red and his eyes glazed with drink, Huang Shi obliquely informed him that all the silver had already been distributed according to the previously announced rewards — all five hundred thousand taels had been spent clean. Zhao Yingong was first taken aback, then actually laughed and repeatedly told Huang Shi to rest assured: he, Zhao Yingong, as the local official of Juehua, would naturally explain matters clearly on behalf of the officers and men.

Zhao Yingong's cooperative attitude somewhat surprised Huang Shi, but since he was so agreeable, Huang Shi took the opportunity to flatter him a few times. Vice General Yao and the others swarmed forward even more eagerly to toast Assistant Prefect Zhao. They wanted to get Zhao Yingong even drunker, lest he sober up and realize what was happening, and then, taking advantage of his drunkenness, get him to commit to his words in front of everyone, so he could not go back on them tomorrow.

In truth, Vice General Yao and the others were overthinking it. Although Zhao Yingong was indeed a bit tipsy, his mind was still quite clear. When he had gone to tally the heads earlier, Magistrate Zhao had already made up his mind not to oppose Huang Shi anymore. He could impeach Huang Shi for his overbearing behavior after landing on the island, but with such a great victory as a foundation, any impeachment would be useless. The civil officials, eager to claim a share of the credit, would only frantically boast before the Emperor that they had favored Huang Shi from the very beginning, and frantically extol the Emperor's foresight and vision. As for memorials impeaching Huang Shi, they would be too lazy to even glance at them.

Zhao Yingong felt that if news of his discord with Huang Shi got out, it would also be disadvantageous to himself. Proclaiming that he and Huang Shi were of one mind, civil and martial, would clearly produce a far better effect. Besides, from the perspective of hindsight, rewarding silver led to a huge boost in morale, and the huge boost in morale led to the crushing defeat of the enemy army — this was clearly foresight and sagacity. Zhao Yingong had no intention of admitting that he had been the foolish opponent of this wise move.

After three rounds of wine, Eunuch Wu once again raised his booming voice and began telling stories. It was undeniable that this fellow Wu Mu truly told them in a fascinating way, full of twists and turns, rising and falling in cadence. The little bits of suspense he dropped at critical moments were also perfectly timed, keeping everyone's hearts hanging on tenterhooks. Huang Shi genuinely suspected whether his previous profession had been a storyteller rather than a bodyguard. The crowd listened with rapt attention, clustering around him like stars around the moon. Huang Shi also sat to one side, smiling, but by now his mind was elsewhere. With the great battle over, Huang Shi felt the likelihood of the Later Jin army returning was vanishingly small. His tense mood suddenly relaxed considerably, and a single thought lodged itself in his mind, impossible to shake off.

(No separate line — merged with 【41】 in source.)

(End of Chapter 10)

Side Story

The Ming History: Annals of Emperor Gong

……

In the first year of the Hongguang era, second month, on the day of Jiachen, the Emperor, deeming the Marquis of Zhendong to have rendered great service to the state and to enjoy deep popular esteem, issued an edict appointing him Grand Master of Splendid Fortune, Supreme Pillar of State, Left Chief Commander, Grand Chancellor, Grand Guardian, and Overseer of the Imperial Secretariat, to manage all affairs great and small of the court and realm across the Two Capitals and Thirteen Provinces, all to be reported first to the Grand Chancellor and only thereafter to the Emperor. The Marquis of Zhendong declined, saying: "Your servant is dull and worthless, unfit for such great responsibility." Only after the edict was repeatedly pressed upon him did he bow in thanks and assume office.

On the day of Dingwei, an edict permitted the Grand Chancellor to wear his sword and shoes when ascending the hall, to be praised without his personal name being called, and to walk rather than hurry when attending court, following the precedent of Xiao He. All military and state affairs were to be decided solely by the Grand Chancellor.

In the second month, on the day of Kuiwei, an edict granted Shi the five prefectures of Dengzhou, Caizhou, Jinan, and others as his fief, making him Duke of Qi, and bestowed upon him the Nine Bestowments. The Marquis of Zhendong declined, saying: "The Nine Bestowments are not rites proper to a subject; I dare not presume to transgress." The Emperor said: "You have rendered great service to all under Heaven; how could you be unworthy of the Nine Bestowments?" The Marquis of Zhendong thereupon accepted them.

On the day of Dinghai, the Duke of Qi was promoted to King of Qi, with the five prefectures of Kaifeng, Xiangyang, Henan, and others added to his domain. An edict permitted the State of Qi to establish officials from Chancellor down. All civil and military institutions were to be modeled on those of the Celestial Dynasty. The King of Qi appointed Junior Preceptor Zhao Manxiong as Chancellor and Junior Guardian Jin Qiude as Supreme General.

On the day of Xinmao, the Emperor conferred special rites upon the King of Qi, making his consort the Queen Consort and his heir the Crown Prince. An edict permitted the King of Qi to establish seven ancestral temples, with his ancestors of seven generations all posthumously enfeoffed as kings. Their consorts were all posthumously honored as royal consorts. The King of Qi modestly declined; the Emperor did not permit it. The King of Qi firmly requested again, and thereupon changed it to three temples, thereby upholding the subject's way of humility and restraint.

In the third month, on the day of Renzi, the Emperor further appointed the King of Qi, Huang Shi, as Acting Commander of All Forces Within and Without the Capital. The three temples of Qi were granted sacrificial revenues from over ten thousand households.

On the day of Yimao, the son of the King of Qi, while at a banquet, suddenly shed tears and said with emotion to his assembled ministers: "I have served the state loyally all my life, through three reigns, in over a hundred battles great and small. Wherever my banners pointed, the fierce and stubborn surrendered. I turned back the raging tide when it had already broken, and saved the great mansion when it was about to collapse. My wish is fulfilled. Next year, I shall lay down my armor and return to the fields."

All the ministers kowtowed and memorialized: "A capital offense. According to the celestial signs, the planet Venus lies in the field corresponding to Qi. The King of Qi shall possess all under Heaven."

Li Yunrui, Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, again kowtowed: "There is a prophecy that says: 'Establish the King of Qi as Son of Heaven.' This is truly Heaven bestowing the myriad people upon Your Highness. To defy Heaven is inauspicious; Your Highness should consider this carefully."

The King of Qi hesitated, unable to decide. Zhao Manxiong offered counsel: "If Your Highness does not abandon the people, would His present Majesty begrudge following the rites of abdication of Yao and Shun?"

Jin Qiude also declared fervently: "If Your Highness does not come forth, what is to become of the common people? I hope Your Highness will decide soon, so as not to disappoint those within and without the court."

On the day of Bingchen, an edict abdicated the throne to the King of Qi. The Emperor left to reside in a separate palace. The Palace Attendant presented the imperial seal and cord to the King of Qi. The hundred officials submitted memorials urging accession three times. The King of Qi accepted the imperial seal. The former Emperor was made King of Ming, the former Empress made his consort, and all princes of the previous dynasty were granted ducal titles.

On the day of Wuwu, the King of Qi built an abdication altar in the southern suburbs, burned jade and silk, and made offerings to Heaven and Earth, then ascended the imperial throne. The Queen Consort was made Empress, and the Crown Prince was made Imperial Crown Prince. Posthumously honored his three generations of ancestors — Renzu, Xianzu, and Gaozu — as emperors.

Since ancient times, the rise of a new dynasty must be accompanied by the fall of an old one. The assembled ministers proposed, following old precedent, to destroy the Ming imperial ancestral temple. Only the Emperor said: "This cannot be done. After the Qin and Han, China suffered misfortune: the Tang lost Hebei, and the Han people learned barbarian tongues for seven hundred years; the Song lost Henan, and the Divine Land sank even deeper into ruin. Ming Taizu, with Heaven-granted genius, raised a three-foot sword, leaped onto his horse, and conquered all under Heaven. He struck the Hu in the north, repelled the Yue in the south, and fully restored the old boundaries of Qin and Han. He recovered the Hetao region and brought Tubo and Liaodong into the map, letting the barbarians of the four quarters know that China still had men. The Illustrious Ming unified all within the seas for three hundred years, with no marriage alliances as in Han and Tang, and no annual tribute payments as in the two Songs. To the ends of the earth, none were not subjects and handmaidens. Now, though the Mandate of Heaven rests with me, and I have thus received their state, how could I dare to destroy their ancestral temple in the slightest?"

The Emperor personally offered sacrifice to the Ming Grand Ancestor at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, praying: "The legitimate succession of our Huaxia began with the Three Dynasties; whether by punitive conquest or by courteous abdication, the weak Song could not hold its own, and thus the sacred vessel was covered in dust. Your Majesty drove out the Tatar caitiffs, swept clean all within the seas, purged the barbarian stench, restored China and the Divine Continent, and reestablished the robes and caps of the Han. Whenever your humble minister reflects on this, he cannot restrain his sobs. In admiration, since ancient times no one has attained the realm with greater legitimacy than Your Majesty."

"Some say the four seasons rotate and the five phases do not flourish forever; that the Ming's mandate has ended and Heaven's decree has passed elsewhere. Your humble minister reverently receives the sacred vessel, trembling with fear, overwhelmed with dread, finding no place to stand. I and my descendants swear to carry on Your Majesty's will: not to abandon a single inch of China's soil, not to forsake a single one of Huaxia's people. If we violate this oath, may man and god together strike us down…"

Thereupon the former dynasty's Imperial Ancestral Temple was moved to Fengyang, and the Prince of Ming was commanded to perform the seasonal sacrifices there, so that the three temples were brought together into the Imperial Ancestral Temple. A general amnesty was proclaimed throughout the realm, and the dynastic name was changed…

The following is text added afterward and does not count toward today's word count.

Author's note: From last month until now, the author has been writing continuously for many days. Recently I've been busy and also caught a cold, so I am hereby requesting two days off to rest a little. Once my mind is rested, won't I be able to write faster as well? Besides, the upcoming plot needs to be carefully designed. Zhao the Guerrilla Commander, who participated in the outline discussion, raised some very serious questions… indeed, they are extremely sharp and require careful consideration.

Another note: At the end of this chapter, the author will solicit monthly votes to see if there is any hope of reaching the top ten next month.

Plot preview:

Has history already changed? Will the war in Liaoxi see further reversals? Will Yuan Chonghuan still become the overlord of Liaodong?

Having witnessed the power of Huang Shi's long spears, the Dongjiang Left Auxiliary made what they believed to be reasonable improvements. This time, facing the brilliant victory Huang Shi achieved by combining firearms and field engineers, how will the Guanning Army differ from history?

Faced with the brilliant battle record of the Dongjiang Garrison Left Auxiliary, how does Mao Wenlong view this subordinate whose talent shines so dazzlingly?

What kind of reactions will Huang Shi provoke from the Eastern Depot Director Wei Zhongxian, the imperial court, the Grand Secretariat, the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission, the Liaodong Commandant, and the common people?

As a second-rank grand official nearing thirty, Huang Shi's lifelong personal matter ought to have some resolution by now, shouldn't it?

Large numbers of female dependents of convicted Donglin officials arrive at Longevity Island. Huang Shi believes he has kept a clear conscience toward them, but what kind of fate will they ultimately meet, and how will the Donglin faction interpret it?

Facing the aggressively pressing offensive in southern Liaoning, how should Nurhaci, Hong Taiji, and Manggūltai respond?

The Dongjiang Garrison, especially its Left Auxiliary, which has already shown signs of economic independence without civilian official oversight — will it become a new military governorship like those after the late Tang? And what reflections will the Imperial Preceptor Sun Chengzong have about this power he personally nurtured?

What are the impressions of the young Tianqi Emperor and his ambitious younger brother, the Prince of Xin, regarding this commander Huang Shi?

Huang Shi, already at the center of the whirlpool — will he be swallowed whole by the surging torrent? Or can he still ride the waves atop the stormy tide?