[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-254":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Stealing Ming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1220871,1614,"Chapter 254: Section Eleven: News of Victory","stealing-ming-chapter-254",254,"\u003Cp>Huang Shi performed the three-bows-and-three-knocks ceremony for an audience with his direct superior. When the ritual was done, a hearty, cheerful laugh reached his ears, along with a kindly remark: \"General Huang, please rise.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I thank the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, my lord.\" For the first time in his life, Huang Shi was as restrained and punctilious as a schoolboy, honestly and earnestly thanking the bane of military officers who stood before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he followed Yuan Chonghuan into the government office, Huang Shi heard the other man praise him from ahead: \"At the battle of Juehua, General Huang overcame the fierce enemy with might — truly remarkable.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As someone who had been tested by the rigors of exam-oriented education, Huang Shi had a certain knack for anticipating questions. Ever since learning that Yuan Chonghuan had been promoted to Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, Huang Shi had been tirelessly preparing questions and matching answers. Those formulaic responses had long been committed to heart, and all along the journey here today, Huang Shi had been mentally reviewing them over and over, afraid of forgetting a single one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So now, the moment he heard Yuan Chonghuan's words, Huang Shi, on full alert, blurted out his prepared speech: \"It was entirely thanks to the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's counsel on military affairs and his foresight in anticipating the enemy's moves. How could this humble general dare claim any credit? The Commissioner deduced that Juehua was a place the eastern foe was bound to attack, and therefore stationed four battalions of crack troops and fierce commanders there in advance. Such far-sightedness from Your Excellency truly fills this humble general with the deepest admiration…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi first delivered a long, cadenced torrent of effusive sentiment, then rambled on to the crucial point: \"…Although in this campaign at Juehua, this humble general dealt the Jianzhou foe a head-on blow, and though every officer and man did his duty, the outcome was in truth decided from within the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's command tent. This humble general merely happened to be at the right place at the right time. For the Commissioner to praise me so — it truly shames me beyond measure.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan Chonghuan's single casual remark had drawn out this enormous stream of heartfelt words from Huang Shi, and Zhao Yin, standing to the side, could not help but show a look of astonishment on his face. As Huang Shi chattered on and on with those phrases, Zhao Yin could not resist sizing Huang Shi up several more times, his gaze as if he were looking at a complete stranger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi sensed Zhao Yin's gaze, and it made his heart ache. Although he himself had led the troops to save Juehua, Huang Shi also remembered how he had nearly stormed off in anger. Had that person not awakened his conscience and sense of responsibility at the critical moment, the tens of thousands of souls at Juehua would long since have been reduced to ashes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the battle of Juehua, many civil officials and military officers had reaped considerable honor and profit, yet the woman who had saved tens of thousands of lives remained unknown. Apart from Huang Shi alone, not even her own brother knew of the merit she had achieved. Later, she had even risked death and rushed to the battlefield for two other family members, and to this day her fate was unknown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>— She really is a madwoman. Does she not know fear at all? She could save tens of thousands, yet she could not save herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Huang Shi was sighing inwardly, his mouth kept pouring forth words without cease. Only after they entered the central hall did he finally rein in his speech. Throughout all this, Yuan Chonghuan had never once interrupted him. The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's face was now wreathed in smiles. He seated himself in the host's place, and with a sweep of his long sleeve gestured for Huang Shi to take the seat of honor for guests. Huang Shi, of course, adamantly refused to sit there, and in the end went to the lower side of Yuan Chonghuan, found a chair, and cautiously perched on its edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After sitting down, Huang Shi noticed that his personal guard officer, Hong Antong, had followed him in. He darkened his expression and was about to order Hong Antong to leave, but this time Yuan Chonghuan smilingly stopped him. After Huang Shi expressed his thanks, he let Hong Antong stand behind him. The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner before him — that is, the future Provincial Governor of Liaodong — seemed to be in excellent spirits, and even cheerfully invited Huang Shi to take tea with him. This made a great weight in Huang Shi's heart fall to the ground; he knew his first step had hit the mark.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi had always believed: since ancient times, those who delight in making startling pronouncements have rarely been immune to words of flattery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regarding the cause of Nurhaci's death, Huang Shi had his own view. In the original history, the battle of Ningyuan broke out in the first month of the sixth year of Tianqi. After fighting at Ningyuan, Nurhaci ran back to Shenyang in the second month and drove out Chief Mao. In the third month, Nurhaci made a long-range expedition to northern Liao to attack Lin Danhan, covering over a thousand li — a campaign larger in scope and longer in duration than the battle of Ningyuan. In the fifth month, Nurhaci again raced all the way back to Liaoyang and once more drove Chief Mao, who had invaded the central Liao plain, back to Korea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After driving Chief Mao out at the end of the fifth month, he had barely half a month of peace. In the sixth month, Chen Jisheng crossed Mount Zhangbai and invaded Jianzhou. The Ming army not only surrounded Amin and the Bordered Blue Banner at Hetu Ala (Jianzhou Guard), but also broke through to Sarhu, cutting the link between Jianzhou and Liaodong. So at the end of the sixth month, Nurhaci took the three great beile — Daišan, Manggūltai, and Hong Taiji — and rushed back to Jianzhou. It was not until the beginning of the eighth month of the sixth year of Tianqi that Nurhaci drove Chen Jisheng back into the deep mountain forests of Kuandian, lifting the siege of Hetu Ala and rescuing Amin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the first month to the eighth month of the sixth year of Tianqi, Nurhaci, at the advanced age of seventy, fought for nearly six months, including three long-range expeditions of over a thousand li! In Huang Shi's private estimation, if he had truly been struck by the great iron ball of an eighteen-pounder cannon, let alone a seventy-year-old man like Nurhaci — even a seven-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex might not have lasted eight minutes, much less eight months. If Nurhaci could still be leaping about so vigorously after being hit by an eighteen-pounder, then he surely was not a creature gestated on planet Earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi had once examined the historical records concerning the battle of Ningyuan. There were only three entries recording that Nurhaci was wounded at Ningyuan:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The earliest was after Nurhaci's death. At the end of the sixth year of Tianqi, when a Korean envoy went to Ningyuan, Yuan Chonghuan told the Korean envoy that Nurhaci had died three months earlier because he had been struck by an eighteen-pounder cannon a year before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second was in the veritable records of the King of Korea. A year after Nurhaci's death, the King of Korea said — he had heard from envoys who had been to the Great Ming — that someone in the Great Ming said — that Nurhaci seemed, perhaps, maybe, probably to have been hit by cannon fire at Ningyuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last was a memorial from Mao Wenlong to the Great Ming court. Mao Wenlong said — he had heard the King of Korea say — that Nurhaci might have been wounded at Ningyuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Apart from the above records, a few months after Nurhaci's death, Yuan Chonghuan claimed that he himself had wounded him. If it were merely this kind of behavior, Huang Shi would rather call it \"playing the armchair strategist after the fact\" or \"shameless boasting.\" But there was another issue: historically, before Yuan Chonghuan said this, he had submitted a formal report to the Great Ming court stating: \"The old Khan died of a carbuncle.\" And after the Great Ming court verified the matter with the Liaodong Provincial Governor Yuan Chonghuan, the final conclusion they reached was also: \"Heaven grew weary of chaos and therefore struck down the old slave.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From this, Huang Shi concluded: Yuan Chonghuan himself knew perfectly well that if someone were truly hit by an eighteen-pounder cannon, even a man cast from steel and iron would be blasted to bits. Yuan Chonghuan understood in his heart that Nurhaci's death had absolutely nothing to do with Ningyuan. Therefore, Yuan Chonghuan did not dare to spout wild boasts in his memorials to the court, and he never told a single Great Ming subject that he had struck Nurhaci with cannon fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So when Yuan Chonghuan spoke to the Korean envoy a few months later, it was clearly a case of feigning ignorance while knowing the truth. If it were an ordinary person, Huang Shi would call this \"lying through one's teeth with eyes wide open.\" But Yuan Chonghuan was the \"national hero\" hyped up by Hongli of the Manchu Qing. Adjectives used for ordinary people naturally do not apply to a \"national hero,\" so Yuan Chonghuan was not lying — he was merely \"fond of making startling pronouncements.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Yuan Chonghuan, who was fond of making startling pronouncements, was reading his memorial aloud to Huang Shi and Zhao Yin — which was, in effect, his account of the battle of Ningyuan. According to Yuan Chonghuan, the defense of Ningyuan Fortress had been extremely perilous. The Later Jin army dug tunnels under cover of night, and in a single night hollowed out the foundations beneath nearly half the wall of Ningyuan Fortress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Zhao Yin could not help feeling somewhat skeptical. Ningyuan Fortress had cost the state millions of silver taels. Setting aside the deep moats and strong ramparts, the wall alone was several zhang thick. Moreover, with the winter temperatures in Liaodong, the ground was frozen as hard as steel. Yet the Jianzhou soldiers could see in the pitch-dark night, were undaunted by the bitter cold, and could cross the deep moat to hollow out iron-hard wall foundations in a single night — and hollow out several dozen zhang at that… Were the Jian slaves all born of marmots or something?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Zhao Yin could voice his question, he heard Huang Shi cry out in alarm: \"Aiya! What is to be done then?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Huang Shi, a man seasoned in a hundred battles, suddenly turn ashen-faced, Zhao Yin blushed slightly and inwardly reproached himself for his own ignorance and alarmism.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have the red-barbarian cannons!\" Seeing Huang Shi holding his breath and listening with rapt attention, Yuan Chonghuan waved his hand smugly, then glanced again at the draft of his memorial to the court. Darkening his expression, he emphasized his tone: \"When the red-barbarian cannon fires a single shot, it lays waste for over ten li!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Yin had never seen an atomic bomb or a mushroom cloud, and could not imagine such a magnificent scene, so he was stunned again. The widely experienced Huang Shi pressed a hand to his chest, let out a long breath, wiped the cold sweat beading on his forehead, and sighed: \"A close call, a very close call.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sooner had he spoken than Huang Shi clapped his hands and laughed heartily: \"The red-barbarian cannon — truly formidable! With such a chaotic volley of cannon fire, the Jian slaves digging at the wall would naturally all fill the earthen pits. The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's calculations are truly divine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan Chonghuan stroked his long beard and recounted another passage from his memorial: \"The cannon struck a great chieftain of the Jian slaves. The slaves wrapped him in white cloth and departed in loud wailing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Yin's spirits were roused by this. He quickly pressed: \"Your Excellency Yuan, who was this great chieftain?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi had read this memorial long ago in his previous life, so naturally his response was lightning-fast. Without waiting for Yuan Chonghuan to speak, he was the first to say: \"This humble general believes we can dispatch spies to investigate in detail. If some slave chieftain with a false title of beile or ejen suddenly dies, then it must be this chieftain without a doubt!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan Chonghuan nodded approvingly and said with a smile: \"General Huang speaks rightly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi silently praised: As expected, civil officials write memorials better than military officers. In the memorials of the Liaoxi military families like Zu Dashou, names were always explicitly given, so several of Hong Taiji's sons were gravely wounded by the Guanning Iron Cavalry on battlefields where they had never even appeared. The same Dodo of the Yangzhou Ten Days massacre had even been slain by the Guanning Iron Cavalry!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi, his mouth full of sycophantic words, chatted with Yuan Chonghuan for another hour or so before they parted on the best of terms. Upon hearing that a banquet was to be held in his honor at Ningyuan Fortress, Huang Shi hurriedly requested permission to change his clothes first, and changed into his grand crimson official robe embroidered with tigers. Watching Huang Shi's retreating figure, Yuan Chonghuan said to Zhao Yin with a smile: \"This Huang Shi knows his place very well, and has no trace of arrogance or domineering. He is quite good.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Yin, standing to the side, said nothing. Seeing the strange look on his face, Yuan Chonghuan asked in surprise: \"Do you have something on your mind? Tell me quickly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Yin hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke slowly: \"Ah, my teacher above, your disciple…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the whole, today had gone very smoothly. After walking out, Huang Shi let out a great, relieved breath, and a self-satisfied smile could not help but surface at the corner of his mouth. During the earlier conversation in the Ningyuan government office, Hong Antong had been standing guard behind Huang Shi the entire time. As Huang Shi walked, he exchanged a few words with him, but received only curt, one- or two-word replies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Hong Antong for a moment. Although the captain of the internal guard had undergone five years of tempering, he was, after all, only twenty-two years old this year by nominal age — just at the age when hot blood easily boils. Huang Shi was very familiar with the expression on Hong Antong's face right now: it was a look tinged with a bit of disappointment and doubt. Although Hong Antong had accompanied Huang Shi to meet many great figures — such as Sun Chengzong and Mao Wenlong — Huang Shi's behavior today struck Hong Antong as extremely out of character.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Huang Shi stop and look over, Hong Antong respectfully inclined his body, ready to listen to Huang Shi's orders. Huang Shi looked at this young subordinate who knew no sorrow, and the smile at the corner of his mouth gradually turned bitter, transforming from self-satisfaction into self-mockery. After glancing around to make sure no one else was near, he said quietly to Hong Antong with emotion: \"The speaker is shameless, the listener is discourteous. Is that what you're thinking in your heart?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Antong was greatly startled. He hastily stepped back, cupped his hands, and said: \"Your Excellency sees clearly — this subordinate would never dare.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is that so?\" Huang Shi laughed self-mockingly again, his tone taking on a desolate edge: \"If you don't think that, it's only because you respect me too much.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Antong raised his head and looked into Huang Shi's eyes, noticing the melancholy within. He said solemnly to Huang Shi: \"This subordinate has followed Your Excellency for many years. Your Excellency loves the soldiers like your own sons, accepts counsel with an open mind, and your every action carries profound meaning. To be able to follow Your Excellency in this life is truly a blessing this subordinate has cultivated over many lifetimes. This subordinate believes that what Your Excellency did today also has its reason, and it must be for the good of our Dongjiang Town, the officers and men of Changsheng Island, and the sons of Liaodong.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Indeed — Brother Hong knows me.\" Huang Shi's mood brightened considerably at once, and the melancholy on his face was swept clean away. — I know the trajectory of history. I can fathom the minds of great men. For the sons of Changsheng Island, and for myself, I must endure what must be endured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not bad — the one who knows me is Brother Hong.\" Huang Shi's mood suddenly brightened considerably, and the melancholy on his face was swept clean away — I know the trajectory of history, I can fathom the minds of great men. For the soldiers of Changsheng Island, and for myself, I must endure whatever can be endured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No news had come from the Liaoxi battlefield, and this had ruined the Tianqi Emperor's New Year celebrations. Although today was the Zhengdan festival, Tianqi could see that his ministers were all forcing smiles, and every one of them was clearly filled with anxiety. At the Zhengdan congratulatory banquet, when the assembled ministers saw the Son of Heaven looking utterly distracted, Senior Grand Secretary Gu the Great Buddha transformed himself into Gu the Actor and desperately cracked jokes to amuse him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since even the Senior Grand Secretary had thrown himself into the fray, the remaining Grand Secretaries and court officials also took turns going into action, striving to enliven the festive atmosphere. Although every one of them laughed in an exaggerated manner (by the standards of civil officials), the Son of Heaven merely smiled along politely, without much further reaction. Gradually, everyone fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts. The Zhengdan congratulatory banquet suddenly went cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like going through the motions, the banquet proceeded according to the established procedures of past years. From the Son of Heaven down to the Grand Secretaries and court officials, everyone flawlessly performed their assigned portion of platitudes and rituals. Watching the lifeless New Year banquet, Tianqi felt a surge of exhaustion and impatience well up inside him. The young man tried his utmost to maintain a mature smile on his face, but his heart had long since flown off to his carpenter's workshop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every day when he opened his eyes, the eunuchs would present before him the day's already-planned itinerary, and then he would go listen to the court officials' daily, unchanging formulaic speeches. The stagnant life and the eternally unchanging rituals always brought Tianqi an unbearable sense of suffocation, and this feeling was truly boundless!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From childhood, Tianqi had disliked interacting and conversing with people, and his robot-like life only intensified this tendency. Only after doing some carpentry work, when the young Son of Heaven wiped away his sweat and looked at his creations, appreciating those works into which he had infused spirit and vitality, could he feel the beauty and joy of life. The Emperor loved his carpentry creations from the bottom of his heart, just as he loved his own children. Often, Tianqi would select a few of his favorite pieces and give them to his ministers, and the one who received the most was his teacher, Sun Chengzong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A young eunuch behind him quietly reminded him, startling Tianqi out of his musings over frame structures. Ah, it seemed everyone had finished delivering their assigned portion of platitudes, exactly matching the prearranged schedule without the slightest deviation… That suffocating feeling that crushed one to the point of madness… He was about to break free from it… Just one more line and he could go do his carpentry. Tianqi straightened his posture and prepared to announce the end of the New Year banquet, that everyone could disperse and go home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your Majesty, great tidings —\" Wei Zhongxian's voice arrived with his person. Under the gaze of the assembled crowd, he hurriedly ran to the center of the great hall, fell to both knees, and actually slid all the way to the imperial throne. Eunuch Wei held a memorial aloft in both hands, looking so overjoyed he could not speak, only repeating over and over: \"Great tidings, Your Majesty, great tidings…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A premonition rose in Tianqi's heart. He forcefully reined in his excitement, not letting a single trace of emotion show, lest it damage the dignity befitting an emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Memorial from Zhao Yin, Grain Supervisor and Assistant Prefect of the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission, and Concurrent Commissioner of Juehua Infantry and Cavalry… relying on His Majesty's majestic might… the officers and men did their duty… Left Chief Military Commission Associate Commissioner-in-Chief Huang Shi… dealt a great defeat to the northern slaves, decapitated…\" The battle report from Juehua on the twenty-sixth had been sent by two-hundred-li express relay to the Liaodong Supreme Command, and the Liaodong Supreme Command had in turn sent it by express relay racing to the capital. Wei Zhongxian's hands trembled unceasingly, and he could only relay the victory report in fits and starts: \"Decapitated, decapitated two thousand two hundred and thirty-five…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Excellent!\" Unable to wait for Wei Zhongxian to finish, Tianqi cried out and rose to his full height. In his carelessness, his wide dragon robe sleeve swept across the imperial table, splashing wine onto the dragon robe, but the young Son of Heaven seemed not to notice. He merely raised his head proudly and gazed at the ceiling at the farthest end of the Golden Throne Hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hands rhythmically clenched into fists and relaxed again and again. Tianqi breathed in and out without concealment, like a drowning man who had just thrust his head above the water's surface. That boundless suffocation, that oppressive, breath-stealing dullness — in an instant, it all receded far away. Only his habit of imperial decorum on grand occasions barely restrained his excited impulse. — This Zhengdan looked like it would be quite interesting. Yes, it certainly would be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hands rhythmically clenched and unclenched, and Tianqi made no effort to hide his breathing, like a drowning man who had just thrust his head above the water. That boundless suffocating sensation, the oppressive weight that made it impossible to breathe — all of it vanished in an instant. Only his habit of maintaining imperial decorum on grand occasions barely restrained his surge of excitement — this New Year's Day looked to be very interesting. Yes, it certainly would be.\u003C\u002Fp>",3814,"2026-06-04T07:54:54.057Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","0473ea775efef65fe916e7d71912ee79f2094aad8bc5f2c9afc2aac704c408bc","stealing-ming-chapter-255","stealing-ming-chapter-253",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]