Chapter 248: Section Two: Ningyuan

Back when he was on Longevity Island chatting with Li Yunrui, Huang Shi had heard the fellow talk a bit about the social skills between men and women in this era. In Li Yunrui's words, if you could get a woman to come out alone with you, you were already halfway there, because it meant she was already interested. He also said the first step upon meeting was to drop to your knees and shout: "To have won the favor of such a fair lady — I could not repay it even with my life!" Li Yunrui said that sort of talk would greatly delight a woman who was already interested, and when she came over to help you up, you just had to keep shamelessly kneeling on the ground, refusing to rise and acting as if life meant nothing without her, and the deed was basically done.

Huang Shi thought Li Yunrui's words were fairly reliable — after all, most women of this era generally had little opportunity to interact with men, and they certainly had no chance to go online and learn what kind of creatures libertines were. But Li Yunrui made it sound so simple that Yang Zhiyuan and the others were stunned speechless for a moment. He Dingyuan, already a married man at the time, eyed the smug Li Yunrui warily and said in a voice thick with doubt: "Supervisor Li certainly tells a good story — he makes it sound just like the real thing."

"What do you mean, tells a story? I always just drop to the ground... no, your humble subordinate has heard that those lechers generally just drop to their knees, and the young ladies naturally feel for them..."

Li Yunrui's story made Huang Shi understand: in the late Ming era, privately inviting a woman out was a huge challenge to both parties' reputations. Today Huang Shi had arranged for his personal guards to secretly bring Miss Zhao the Second out. If word of this ever got out, he could forget about the censors letting him off.

By the moral standards of this era, even if Huang Shi had feelings for Miss Zhao the Second, the most proper course would have been to go propose to her elder brother. But as someone who had once lived in the twenty-first century, there were some things Huang Shi felt were better said clearly to the person herself. What troubled Huang Shi more was the problem of Miss Wang back on Longevity Island. But he quickly confirmed that what he felt for Miss Zhao the Second was completely different from what he felt for Miss Wang, so Huang Shi decided to set that problem aside for the time being.

As Huang Shi walked over, Miss Zhao the Second was also lost in her own thoughts. When Huang Shi's personal guards came to invite her today, she had decided it was best not to offend this man. Besides, based on their past interactions, Miss Zhao the Second felt that Huang Shi was, on the whole, a gentleman of honor. Moreover, Huang Shi had twice saved the Zhao family's lives. Since he wanted to see her, Miss Zhao the Second felt she had to come even if it meant taking a risk — it would be hard to justify refusing. So she stood there quietly, waiting for whatever play Huang Shi was about to stage.

"Miss Zhao, my greetings," Huang Shi said as he approached, giving a forthright and proper salute. Then, without waiting for her to return the courtesy, he declared in a clear voice: "I wish to discuss a certain matter with your esteemed elder brother, and so I would like to ask Miss Zhao about something."

Miss Zhao the Second replied in a soft, delicate voice: "My lord Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, please speak. This humble maiden will tell you all she knows."

"I wish to ask Miss Zhao: have you been betrothed to anyone?" Huang Shi saw the person across from him immediately drop her head, but he pressed on regardless: "I have heard that your esteemed elder brother once drafted a marriage contract with a colleague in Ningyuan's forward command, but your brother's copy was never written, nor were the betrothal gifts and formal inquiries ever made. Thus, Miss Zhao currently has no formal marriage engagement. May I ask if what I have heard is incorrect?"

The reason that marriage contract had never been written was, of course, because of Huang Shi's misdeeds. Before coming today, Miss Zhao the Second had guessed that Huang Shi would very likely raise a similar question. Yet when she faced a man's proposal directly, her heart was suddenly flooded to the brim with surging emotion. For a moment, Miss Zhao the Second forgot that her face was still tightly veiled, instinctively lowering her head so the person across from her would not see the sweet smile spreading across her face.

Fortunately, reason always outlasts emotion. Miss Zhao the Second knew that if she broke off the engagement, it would likely make things very difficult for her elder brother. Furthermore, in Miss Zhao the Second's personal impression, Huang Shi was still a very dangerous man. He gave her a cold, chilling feeling.

"As for this matter, I fear it would be best if my lord Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent asked my elder brother directly. For this humble maiden to answer would, I fear, be contrary to propriety." She stole a glance at the man across from her — he stood perfectly still, as if showing no reaction at all. Miss Zhao the Second bit her lower lip and added, with emphasis: "It is indeed as my lord Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent says — my elder brother has not yet written the marriage contract. However... in this humble maiden's view, my elder brother has always valued his word and kept his promises."

"Is that so?" Huang Shi responded thoughtfully. The implication in her words seemed to be the opposite, but perhaps it was merely an expression of helplessness — he was not yet a hundred percent certain. After pausing a moment, Huang Shi decided to confirm once more: "Does Miss Zhao believe this promise ought to be kept?"

The person across from him said nothing. Huang Shi knew his words had been far too presumptuous, but as a modern man, he valued the woman's own opinion more than her family's: "I can assure Miss Zhao that so long as you believe that engagement does not count, I will certainly make sure it does not count!"

Such a naked declaration left Miss Zhao the Second both mortified and vexed. But this time she hesitated for a long while before steeling her resolve a second time. Head lowered, she said through gritted teeth: "My lord Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, your judgment is keen. This humble maiden has heard it said: a promise is worth a thousand in gold; without trust, nothing stands."

"So that is how it is." Huang Shi nodded, then with a light laugh, he bowed deeply: "Today I have been presumptuous and discourteous. I beg Miss Zhao to forgive my offense."

With that, Huang Shi shook out his cloak and strode away without looking back. When he reached the cordon line of his personal guards, he ordered Hong Antong to carefully escort Miss Zhao the Second home, and then

the surveillance operation on the Zhao family could be called off.

When Hong Antong returned, he found Huang Shi drinking. This was mainly because Huang Shi was nursing a bitter grievance. He felt that whether in build, looks, bearing, or manners, he had nothing to be ashamed of — yet he had been rejected so bluntly, losing to a rival the woman had never even met. This made Huang Shi feel he had lost considerable face, and he felt some regret as well — the staff officers he had now only understood warfare. If Li Yunrui were here, he could certainly have given him some good advice.

Seeing Huang Shi drinking, Hong Antong could not help but shoo everyone else out. He stepped forward and said: "My lord bears the entire safety of Liaodong on his shoulders — how can you abandon yourself to despair and indulge in the cup over a mere woman?"

"Abandon myself to despair? Indulge in the cup? Who? Are you talking about me?" Huang Shi shot back a string of astonished questions. Though he was indeed drinking at the moment, rice wine was not very strong, and besides, he had only poured himself one cup to sip slowly and ease his mood. He had no intention of downing an entire jug, nor even any plan to pour a second cup. While this was a step down from his usual total abstinence, Huang Shi felt he was still a long way from drunkenness. Hong Antong slapping such a heavy label on him left him utterly baffled.

Seeing that Huang Shi would not accept his remonstrance, Hong Antong quickly stepped back again: "Your subordinate dares to beg my lord not to be beguiled by feminine charms and to set aside the safety of his officers and men."

"Enough," Huang Shi cut him off impatiently. He drained the remaining wine in his cup in one gulp, then tossed the cup at Hong Antong's feet: "Take it away. I am drinking only this one cup today, and I will absolutely not take a single sip more."

A trace of delight showing on his face, Hong Antong picked up the wine bowl. Before withdrawing, he did not forget to say one last thing to Huang Shi: "This, too, is but your subordinate's dog-and-horse foolish loyalty. That my lord accepts counsel as readily as flowing water — the troops are most fortunate, and your subordinate is most fortunate."

"Mm." Huang Shi let Hong Antong claim all the credit for himself. He grunted weakly, then undid his armor, lay down facing the wall, and after a while, fell asleep.

He slept until he was woken again by the duty officer of the personal guard. Huang Shi groggily opened his eyes. The windows were still pitch black. His heart jolted, and he flipped over and sprang up in one motion. But he heard no clamor of men and horses, which immediately set his suspended heart at ease. In a deep voice, he ordered the guards outside to open the door and come in.

It was indeed not a night raid by the Later Jin army. They were, after all, still human and not actual wild boar hides. In the dead of winter in the northeast, skulking across the ice in pitch darkness to launch a night raid — the Later Jin army simply did not have that capability. It was actually Zhang Minghe who had come for an urgent audience. The personal guard officer outside had let him in. Huang Shi sat on the heated brick bed rubbing his eyes while telling Zhang Minghe to sit and speak.

"Vice General Yao and the others have gone in pursuit!" The moment Zhang Minghe spoke his first sentence, Huang Shi, still not fully awake, leaped straight off the bed, staring blankly as he told Zhang Minghe to explain clearly.

In the Battle of Juehua, the Later Jin army had lost several thousand men, yet they had barely touched a single hair on the Ming army's head. So ever since the Juehua defensive campaign ended, Yao Yuxian and the others had felt the Later Jin army was nothing special, and they spent every day egging Huang Shi on to find an opportunity to raid their camp. The ability to cross over a dozen li of ice to raid a camp — the Later Jin army did not have it, and neither did Huang Shi. So Huang Shi had flatly rejected all such proposals without the slightest courtesy.

Later, when Huang Shi said the Later Jin army might withdraw, Vice General Yao and the others began lobbying Huang Shi to pursue. But Huang Shi did not dare take three thousand men to chase an army of at least twelve thousand armored Later Jin troops, because he estimated the Later Jin rear guard would be at least one banner. If his own infantry brigade got bogged down by the Later Jin rear guard, the main Later Jin force could wheel around and swallow him whole.

By yesterday afternoon, the Later Jin army had already shown signs of withdrawing. Huang Shi issued strict orders forbidding any unauthorized sortie. Though Vice General Yao and the others itched with eagerness as they watched, they dared not go off on their own to pursue. After nightfall, the Later Jin rear guard also began lighting torches and pulling back. Vice General Hu and Vice General Jin finally could not hold back any longer and decided to use the Juehua forces to pursue on their own, without notifying Huang Shi. Though Vice General Yao disagreed, he promised not to report it to Huang Shi in advance either.

Huang Shi's authority on Juehua had originally come from the sense of crisis in the face of a powerful enemy. Now that this sense of crisis was gone, as a Vice General of the Eastern River command, he naturally could no longer control the Guan-Ning army. The movements of these four Guan-Ning battalions were concealed by the darkness of night. The Eastern River troops here had no prior warning — it was not until the Guan-Ning army's vanguard began noisily lighting torches and marching out of camp that the Eastern River army's personal guards sensed something was amiss.

But the sky was so dark that the Longevity Island personal guard unit did not know for certain what was happening. The men sent to inquire all received ambiguous answers. Before Zhang Minghe arrived, they still had not figured out whether this was a normal troop movement, so they had not woken Huang Shi or Hong Antong.

The reason Zhang Minghe understood was that he had been tricked: "... Vice General Hu said he wanted to borrow your subordinate's fire lances to take a look. At the time, your subordinate was drunk, so I agreed on the spot. As a result, they made off with your subordinate's three hundred fire lances..."

Eastern River Mobile Corps Commander Zhang Minghe, as the commander of the Vanguard Battalion, was the only person in Huang Shi's system who could command several companies. Of the seven companies that had come to Juehua this time, two were infantry companies of the Vanguard Battalion. To prevent others from making snide remarks, Huang Shi usually had Zhang Minghe operate an independent battalion, lest some censor impeach him for swallowing up allied forces.

Zhang Minghe's two infantry companies had three hundred fire lance troops. Hu Yining and the others had gone to Zhang Minghe's camp last night, gotten him drunk, then borrowed all his fire lances, and afterward invited him to join them in pursuing the Later Jin army.

Although others still considered Zhang Minghe not to be part of Huang Shi's inner circle, he himself clearly did not

see it that way. Vice General Hu and the others' invitation instantly sobered Zhang Minghe up from his drunkenness, and he desperately tried to get back the fire lances Huang Shi had issued to him. Zhang Minghe's attempt naturally failed, but Vice General Hu's attempt to drag him into the mess also failed. Zhang Minghe issued strict orders that his eight hundred soldiers were not to take a single step beyond the camp gate, and then he rushed to find Huang Shi and report the situation.

"You say Yao Yuxian was not involved?"

"Yes. Your subordinate also heard Hu Yining cursing and grumbling. He said Vice General Yao had taken the lion's share of the credit, and that if this pursuit of the Jianzhou Jurchens yielded any trophies, he would absolutely not share them with Vice General Yao."

"Mm, very well." Huang Shi did not further reprimand Zhang Minghe. Since the matter had already happened, the next step was to think about how to salvage it. Although Zhang Minghe had privately lent weapons to others, he was not muddled when it came to major matters of right and wrong. Moreover, Zhang Minghe had been the first person to voluntarily come and join the Longevity Army. So long as he made no grave error, Huang Shi had to protect this standard-bearer no matter what.

"Get up." Seeing Zhang Minghe kneeling on the ground, drenched in sweat from fear, Huang Shi even handed him a towel. Huang Shi paced a few circles around the room, then pushed open the window and braved the cold wind to look out at the pitch-black eastern sky: "In the cold night, I simply cannot stop them. We can only wait until daybreak to go after them. I hope we are still in time."

Huang Shi told Zhang Minghe to hurry back and get some good sleep, and to be ready to marshal the troops at dawn. After seeing Zhang Minghe off, Huang Shi figured that since there was still over two hours until daylight, he would sleep a little first. But no sooner had he burrowed under the covers and sighed in comfort than the guards brought in the frantic Zhao Yin'gong.

The moment the agitated Zhao Yin'gong was shown in, he demanded, without preamble: "Commander Huang, Jin Guan and Hu Yining have led two battalions of troops off on their own to pursue the Jianzhou Jurchens. May this humble official ask what Commander Huang thinks the outcome will be?"

That Zhao Yin'gong was so well-informed gave Huang Shi a great shock: "How did my lord Zhao learn of this matter?"

Zhao Yin'gong's eldest brother-in-law was a clerk in Jin Guan's battalion. After this Battle of Juehua, many civil officials felt Huang Shi was nothing special after all. Zhao Yin'gong, on the contrary, had completely changed his view of Huang Shi and had grown particularly superstitious about Huang Shi's judgment. Upon hearing that Jin Guan was sending troops in pursuit, Zhao Yin'gong's eldest brother-in-law could not bear to miss out on that credit and was determined to go along. Knowing that Zhao Yin'gong would never agree, he had not notified him, single-mindedly hoping to earn some merit and win promotion.

Though the eldest Miss Zhao was somewhat lovestruck, she was no fool. Her whole heart was set on how to bind her husband's affections, so she disguised herself as a page boy and went along. Miss Zhao the Second was currently staying at her elder sister and brother-in-law's home. Unable to dissuade them despite all her pleading, she ran to her brother to report the news — and that was how Zhao Yin'gong found out.

Zhao Yin'gong's eldest brother-in-law was, without question, a shortsighted fool. Huang Shi could also tell that Assistant Prefect Zhao was extremely displeased with this brother-in-law. It was less that Zhao Yin'gong was worried about his brother-in-law and more that he was worried about his sister. Huang Shi was somewhat curious, though, why the eldest Miss Zhao had disguised herself as a page boy to go along. But before he could ask, Zhao Yin'gong let it slip himself: it turned out his eldest brother-in-law could not ride a horse, and if danger struck, he probably could not escape quickly.

Back during the retreat from Guangning, the Zhao family had all diligently learned to ride. Old Man Zhao had made both his daughters learn as well. Today, the eldest Miss Zhao feared her husband might encounter danger, so she had gone along. Now, in his fury and anguish, Zhao Yin'gong inadvertently let all this spill out. Thinking of his sister's safety, he slammed his fist hard against the table.

Huang Shi ordered his personal soldiers to serve my lord Zhao tea to calm his nerves. He was now beginning to understand a little why the Zhao family had the impression of him that they did. The eldest daughter usually swallowed her grievances and still had to suffer mistreatment, and at a critical moment, this fine gentleman, in his eagerness for glory, had to drag his wife into danger as a talisman — the Zhao family's daughter had married such a scumbag, and it was indeed no wonder they hated him, the author of their misfortune.

Those who sortied with Huang Shi were mostly his personal guards — nearly a hundred men, all warriors who had campaigned across the Liaodong battlefields for many years. Hong Antong rode close behind Huang Shi on his right rear. Zhang Minghe had also returned to his old trade this time, gripping a horse lance and riding half a horse-length behind Huang Shi on his other side. Zhang Minghe's original personal soldiers and Retainers unit had been disbanded; he had kept twenty men as his battalion close guard, and they had all been brought along this time.

Huang Shi's plan was this: if the Later Jin army's formation was in perfect order, then naturally he could only preserve himself; but if the Later Jin army's formation was scattered, then he could see whether he might take advantage of the chaos to snatch the several generals back.

After reaching the vicinity of Ningyuan Fort, Huang Shi and his men could clearly see the battlefield before them. Part of the Ming army had already collapsed and was fleeing back, with a small number of Later Jin troops in pursuit at their heels. The two armies were currently circling the city walls. The defending troops on the walls dared neither to throw the gates wide open to let them in, nor to open fire with their cannons for fear of hitting their own men. They could only stand dumbly on the ramparts, watching the pursuit below.

"The useless Liaoxi army has collapsed again, and clearly collapsed very fast — they've already scattered in every direction." Reining in his horse, Huang Shi observed the chaos before him for a moment, then let out a long sigh. His left hand held the reins while his right hand slowly drew his longsword, pointing it diagonally toward the sky.

Behind him came a continuous clatter of metal. Huang Shi knew his guard unit had all drawn their blades. He spurred his horse forward and, as he charged ahead, shouted at the top of his voice: "Let the Jianzhou Jurchens taste the might of our Liaodong border army!"

From behind rose a continuous roar of response: "Let the Jianzhou Jurchens taste our might!"