[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-276":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},1220893,1614,"Chapter 276: Section 33: Liaoyang","stealing-ming-chapter-276",276,"\u003Cp>Helmet, armor, martial attire, sword, tiger-head belt, jet-black military boots, a great crimson cloak — every piece had been cleaned spotlessly. Huang Shi had already combed his long hair with care, bound it into a topknot, and then began to don this full set of gear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The clever are undone by their own cleverness.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Huang Shi's assessment of Zhao Manxiong and Jin Qiude. Would the other side truly have no guard against a tactic as effective as killing witnesses to silence them? Perhaps they really had none, but Huang Shi lacked such confidence. It was entirely possible that his opponents still had a follow-up move, just waiting for Huang Shi to recklessly kill the witnesses and silence them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On Huang Shi's blood-drenched hands, the traces of the innocent were not absent. These sacrifices gnawed ceaselessly at his soul, making the conscience he usually buried deep in his heart constantly leap forth to accuse him, often jolting him awake from dreams in the dead of night, his whole body drenched in sweat and unable to sleep again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For many years, the excuse Huang Shi had used to console himself was this: these sacrifices were either unavoidable, or they were made to save the lives of many more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The house in Liaoyang, and those two concubines — Huang Taiji, are you reminding me?\" As Huang Shi placed the helmet on his head, he saw himself reflected in the water of the washbasin. The iron helm covered his brow; beneath it were pitch-black eyes and a straight nose bridge; under his full beard a red scarf was still tied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gazing at this eerily familiar figure, Huang Shi could not help but sigh softly: \"Just like when Sun Degong first recommended me to Wang Huazhen for the post of Company Commander.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back then, Huang Shi was still very young and looked down on the ancients, believing he could toy with them in the palm of his hand. He had even set a heaven-shaking grand ambition: to usurp the dynasty and seize the state, to leave his name in the annals of history, to hold the realm's power while awake and rest his head on a beauty's knee while drunk...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then, I gave up glory and riches that were within arm's reach. I tacitly allowed Jin Qiude to plot the murder of a young girl... but I saved the entire populace of Guangning...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fully dressed, Huang Shi sank into deep thought. The Internal Guard captain Hong Antong walked up behind him and made one last feeble remonstration: \"My lord bears the safety of all Liaonan on his shoulders — how can you place yourself in danger for the sake of one woman?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the decision was made the day before, all manner of loyal counsel and bitter remonstrance had nearly worn calluses on Huang Shi's ears. Among them, this Hong Antong had spoken the most times. Yet Huang Shi had been too lazy to answer them all along, because neither his reasons nor his plan could be discussed with his trusted confidants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Huang Shi, just as he had done the day before, turned around in silence, offered no superfluous explanation, and strode toward the door. Just before stepping over the threshold, Huang Shi reiterated the instructions he had given earlier: \"Wait two days, then go inform Eunuch Wu, He Dingyuan, and Yang Zhiyuan of this matter. In three days, announce it to the entire army.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him, Hong Antong not only failed to acknowledge Huang Shi's order, but instead shouted out again: \"My lord! How can you place yourself in danger for the sake of one woman?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This voice carried so much anger and reproach that Huang Shi could not help but glance back. His utterly loyal provost marshal was already red in the face with fury, his eyes filled entirely with disappointment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you think I am doing this merely for one woman?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi coldly tossed out this line, then left the Changsheng Island main camp without looking back, carrying in his bosom the official pass and seal that the Later Jin side had sent via Miss Zhao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The day before, after hearing out the suggestions of Jin Qiude and Zhao Manxiong, Huang Shi had resolved to go to Liaoyang alone. Though the officers of Changsheng Island were utterly shocked, Huang Shi had made up his mind. The previous night, Huang Shi had drafted a memorial to the Tianqi Emperor, in which he once again elaborated in detail why he believed peace negotiations were absolutely unworkable — essentially a synthesis of the views of Hong Antong, Wu Mu, and Jin Qiude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this memorial to the Emperor, Huang Shi told Tianqi that his purpose in going to Liaoyang this time was precisely to prove that peace negotiations were unworkable, and the wager was his own life. Huang Shi assured Tianqi that this time, the Later Jin would either hack him to pieces or offer every possible evasion, and would under no circumstances agree to return all of Liaodong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regarding Tianqi's suspicions of himself, Huang Shi also expressed his dissatisfaction in the memorial in a veiled manner. He frankly informed the Emperor about the Zhao Er problem, and then combined it with the attacks he had recently suffered to make an analysis. As the saying goes, \"A dying man's words are good\" — Huang Shi believed this memorial could deeply move Tianqi, and would be far more persuasive than that brazen man sitting secure within the strong walls of Ningyuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At present, only five people knew of this matter: Zhao Manxiong, Jin Qiude, Li Yunrui, Hong Antong, and Zhang Zaidi, because Huang Shi had to brief them on the work before he left. This time, Huang Shi was fairly satisfied with his subordinates' reactions. After he strictly forbade them from spreading the news, these few men, though they opposed it vehemently, each kept their mouths tightly shut, and none dared to inform Wu Mu or the other officers and soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After landing on Liaodong soil at Beixinkou, Huang Shi checked his traveling pack one last time and confirmed that nothing had been left behind. \"Alright, little brother, let us part here. I am heading straight for Fuzhou now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Elder brother, you must return safely.\" Zhang Zaidi always had a trust in Huang Shi that no one else possessed. No matter how dangerous Huang Shi's actions were, Zhang Zaidi always instinctively believed he could handle the matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi smiled and patted Zhang Zaidi on the shoulder. This young man was growing sturdier by the day, and a certain manly aura was gradually emerging from him. Huang Shi took a heavy, sealed envelope from his pack — this was the last memorial he had written, filled entirely with bitter denunciations and doubts about Yuan Chonghuan, and also telling the Emperor that it was precisely Yuan Chonghuan's actions that had driven him onto this desperate road.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If I truly do not return, remember to give this to Eunuch Wu. But so long as there is no absolutely conclusive evidence that I am dead, do not bring this thing out for a single day. Remember this, remember it well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this document were submitted by a living man, Huang Shi knew it would very likely provoke intense revulsion in others. But if the Emperor and the Grand Secretariat saw it when Huang Shi had already died for the nation, then he believed this memorial would still carry great impact. More importantly, Huang Shi believed that the Prince of Xin would see this memorial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zaidi straightened his back and nodded heavily. \"Understood, elder brother.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi believed that so long as Yuan Chonghuan had no chance to rise to power, the destruction of the Later Jin was fundamentally only a matter of time. Watching Zhang Zaidi carefully put away his final counterstrike, Huang Shi let out a long breath and said silently in his heart: \"Thus, I will not have made this journey into the world in vain.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After leaping onto his horse, Huang Shi was just about to raise his whip when he suddenly saw a hand reach out and grasp the reins. Zhang Zaidi held tightly to the bridle of Huang Shi's mount, looked up at Huang Shi, and cried out urgently: \"Elder brother, must you go?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi looked deeply at Zhang Zaidi before him. This man, who had always worshipped Huang Shi to the point of near reverence as a divine being, now had a face full of anxiety and bewilderment. Huang Shi nodded solemnly: \"Yes, little brother, you know the score.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Loyalty must be repaid with loyalty. Elder brother, are you doing this for Marshal Mao?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the matter of erecting a living shrine, Huang Shi had once sent a letter to Mao Wenlong, and Mao Wenlong had generously shouldered this heavy responsibility. In his private reply to Huang Shi, he also told the latter not to feel guilty about it. In Mao Wenlong's words, as the Regional Commander of Dongjiangzhen, it was his duty to shield his subordinates from wind and rain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In normal times, Mao Wenlong was always given a share of Huang Shi's battle achievements, and Huang Shi had never acted independently of Mao Wenlong. So this time, Mao Wenlong felt it was only right and proper that he take the fall. Not many on Changsheng Island knew of this letter; Zhang Zaidi happened to be one of them. After reading it, he had praised Huang Shi: \"Truly worthy of Grand Marshal Mao.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And at the time, Huang Shi had also smiled and said to him: \"If Marshal Mao lacked even this much sense of responsibility, how could the vast Dongjiangzhen be maintained?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like Huang Shi's own Changsheng Island, under conditions of extreme material scarcity, Huang Shi could only rely on personal charisma to maintain the army's cohesion. And on the whole, Dongjiangzhen was even more destitute than Changsheng Island. Mao Wenlong's pressure was far greater than Huang Shi's; he had virtually no ability to give his subordinates any material rewards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Mao Wenlong could only rely on personal bonds to unite his subordinates, using his prestige to arduously hold Dongjiangzhen together and prevent hundreds of thousands of Liaodong refugees from disintegrating amid hardship. Zhang Zaidi still remembered that Huang Shi had several times revealed his worries about Yuan Chonghuan, and had even said he suspected Yuan Chonghuan would act against Dongjiangzhen and Mao Wenlong. So Zhang Zaidi interpreted Huang Shi's hostility toward Yuan Chonghuan as loyalty to Mao Wenlong. This time, Huang Shi was willing to brave extraordinary danger and go to Liaoyang, also to contend with the Liaodong Regional Military Commission and protect Mao Wenlong and Dongjiangzhen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi did not answer this question, but instead smiled and said: \"Let go of the reins.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\" Zhang Zaidi answered dully, released his grip, and stepped back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi said no more. He spurred his horse and set out onto the official road leading to Fuzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, there was already word in the capital that Huang Shi was to be transferred to the capital garrison. If the Zhao Er problem was not resolved, Huang Shi estimated that his transfer away from Liaodong was a foregone conclusion. In the history Huang Shi originally knew, the Later Jin regime at this time was already teetering on the brink, and in this timeline, they were even closer to collapse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If matters reversed, if the Later Jin regime once again rose from the ashes, that would mean countless more people would die — tens of thousands of innocents. Huang Shi gazed out over the vast Liaodong land. By his calculation, the danger this time was no greater than leading a charge with saber raised against the enemy, but it concerned the lives of far more people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At the very beginning, I set myself very high. My interests were above every person in this world. Later, I resolved to save the people, but because of that I became confused, not knowing by what standard to choose and sacrifice.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hoofbeats beneath him gradually grew urgent as Huang Shi pondered his thoughts: \"Today's situation is exactly as Brother He said — if I clearly have the chance to save the lives of tens of thousands, even over a hundred thousand people, and I do not do it, then in the future I will surely regret it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Huang Shi's rapidly receding figure, Zhang Zaidi suddenly blurted out a shout: \"Elder brother! If the Jian slaves harm a single hair on your head, I will never let them off lightly!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Accompanying him were several Changsheng Island officers and soldiers specially selected by Zhang Zaidi, along with four or five sailors. They too had only just learned of Huang Shi's plan after leaving Changsheng Island. Together, they shouted toward the direction where Huang Shi had vanished: \"My lord, we will never let the Jian slaves off lightly!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was impossible to know whether their words reached Huang Shi's ears. Very soon, that one man and one horse had vanished into the dust. According to Changsheng Island's intelligence, at present it seemed only Huang Taiji, the Later Jin Beile, was in Liaoyang, and Nurhaci's two young sons, Dorgon and Dodo, seemed to be there as well. This was mainly because the offensive of Chen Jisheng in Liaodong had drawn away the bulk of Later Jin's attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the Dongjiang army invaded Jianzhou at the end of the sixth month, not only was Hetu Ala quickly surrounded by Ming forces, but Chen Jisheng also had Nurhaci's ancestral graves in Jianzhou dug up. Moreover, this was the second time Ming forces had come to the battlefield of Sarhu. Besides ordering that as many bones as possible be collected, Chen Jisheng also presided over a memorial ceremony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the Later Jin garrison at Fushun lit the beacon fires, Nurhaci quickly took four Beile to reinforce Jianzhou. After twenty-four days and nights of fierce battle, the Later Jin army finally recovered the forested region along the Suzi River and also lifted the siege of Hetu Ala. Because of the threat from the Dongjiang army in Liaonan, Manggūltai and Huang Taiji, after accomplishing the major strategic objective, raced back to Liaoyang through the night to organize defenses to the south.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as of the beginning of the eighth month, Changsheng Island's military intelligence showed that Nurhaci was still roaming the deep mountain forests of Jianzhou with Manggūltai, Daišan, and Amin. Some of Chen Jisheng's small detached units were still fighting a Mobile Corps Commander war there against the Later Jin army. Nurhaci pressed step by step, determined to drive the Ming forces completely back to the Kuandian area.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing that the one in charge at Liaoyang was Huang Taiji, Huang Shi felt that his chances of returning alive from this trip were quite high. According to Huang Shi's understanding, Huang Taiji was an extremely realistic man, and equally extremely level-headed, so his patterns of action were traceable. If the one currently in Liaoyang were not Huang Taiji but that old madman Nurhaci, then Huang Shi's life and plan would have no guarantee whatsoever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Huang Shi was determined to openly and plainly state his intention to negotiate peace. If Huang Taiji killed him, then Huang Shi would have proven that the path of peace negotiations was a dead end. Moreover, this political declaration would be effective not only for the Ming court — the various Mongol tribes would also see it clearly and know that siding with the Later Jin held no future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Huang Shi's view, Huang Taiji could also pin the label of a defector from the Great Ming on him, but in that case, he could even less afford to kill him... If even high-ranking defecting generals were killed, then who would still go over to the Later Jin side?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On this venture deep into the tiger's den, Huang Shi knew that bringing guards was utterly meaningless. If the other side decided to act, bringing even a hundred guards would be useless; if everything proceeded according to Huang Shi's plan, then he would be as secure as Mount Tai even without a single soldier. So this time, Huang Shi went to Liaoyang alone. Precisely because he was traveling alone, the troubles along the way were also greatly reduced, and his speed of travel was much faster than that of a large force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reaching Fuzhou, Huang Shi did not explain his purpose to the local garrison. After a simple horse change, he followed the official road straight toward Gaizhou. Although Changsheng Island's economy was strained, in order to ensure the speed of grasping the Later Jin army's basic movements, a large number of relay stations had been established along this stretch of official road from Fuzhou to Gaizhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although these relay stations incurred great expense, they were also one of the most important intelligence tentacles of the Ming army in Liaonan, and they made Huang Shi's journey far more comfortable. Along the way, when he encountered a relay station during the day, he would change horses; when he encountered one at night, he would go in to rest. Whether changing horses or resting, Huang Shi kept his face covered with a cloth, only pulling out his Ming army pass for the station personnel to verify.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pass Huang Shi carried this time was obtained from Li Yunrui. The soldiers at those relay stations were probably long accustomed to the ways of the Changsheng Island Military Intelligence Division. After carefully checking the Military Intelligence Division pass, they conducted no further interrogation of Huang Shi. Without a word, they changed horses for the masked man or led him to a guest room to stay, never once causing any trouble for Huang Shi's journey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the seventh day of the eighth month of the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, Huang Shi left a relay station near Gaizhou. This was also the last relay station of the Ming army. The last time, upon hearing that Haizhou had fallen, the garrison at Yaozhou had immediately abandoned the city and fled, leaving the eighteen-pounder cannons Huang Shi had captured with no chance to prove their worth. When Huang Shi passed through Yaozhou this time, what he saw was still a lifeless fortress. It could no longer even be counted as a fortress — merely a stretch of ruins burned twice over by both the Later Jin army and the Ming army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Continuing forward, Huang Shi soon reached Haizhou. This city, once a major stronghold in central Liao, had now also been abandoned by the Later Jin army. After the last great battle, the Dongjiang army had extensively damaged Haizhou's city walls. They had still not been repaired, and it seemed the Later Jin army had little desire to hold this city any longer, and thus no intention of wasting manpower to maintain it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After one final review of his line of reasoning, Huang Shi gave a self-mocking laugh: \"He still regards my army as very important, and regards me personally as rather insignificant.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After observing for a while longer, Huang Shi made several leaps and descended from the city wall back to the ground, mounted his horse, and continued northward. Very soon, he reached Anshan Fort. This fort, like Yaozhou, was also a newly expanded stronghold, garrisoned by over a thousand Later Jin cavalry and infantry, with some cannons installed on the ramparts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the Later Jin patrol cavalry came to interrogate him, Huang Shi still wore the straight-standing white plume on his helmet. He took out the official pass and seal that Miss Zhao had brought, and with a perfectly calm expression handed them over to the enemy cavalry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eighth day of the eighth month, Tianqi 6. Liaoyang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he heard that Zhangsheng Island had sent someone to receive the people, Hong Taiji was slightly surprised, but this was still within his calculations. Hong Taiji ordered fine wine and dishes prepared to entertain the envoy, while he himself changed into more formal attire and went to his Plain White Banner's great tent to receive the envoy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His subordinates reported to Hong Taiji: this envoy had come all the way bearing a white feather, and still refused to change it even after entering Liaoyang city; and since they were under orders to treat the envoy with utmost courtesy, they had not used force. Hearing this, Hong Taiji felt a slight displeasure in his heart, though he did not let it show on his face. After settling himself steadily in the tent, he instructed: \"Bring that envoy in.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The visitor strode in with head high and chest out, a genial smile still on his face: \"Fourth Beile, I trust you have been well since we last met?\"\u003C\u002Fp>",3469,"2026-06-04T07:54:54.057Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","2e00fdfb918e2095c92ddf610001deb59d69dd1270fe0180f1885c035ad52cd8","stealing-ming-chapter-277","stealing-ming-chapter-275",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]