[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-278":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},1220895,1614,"Chapter 278: Section 35: Endurance","stealing-ming-chapter-278",278,"\u003Cp>\"Restrain his subordinates?\" Hong Taiji let out another string of cold laughs. While he turned the matter over and over in his mind, his face showed an angry expression: \"Marshal Huang wants us to do all these things, yet offers not a single promise — this is nothing but bullying talk!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I never had the authority to offer your army amnesty in the first place. I can only submit terms for amnesty to the Great Ming Son of Heaven. Rest assured, Fourth Beile, the Son of Heaven has always held me in high regard.\" As Huang Shi spoke, he picked up another jujube and began eating, his face showing not the slightest trace of unnaturalness. \"As for restraining my subordinates, that is already the greatest promise I can give. So long as the imperial court has not agreed to amnesty and has not completed the amnesty, the Dongjiang Garrison and the Liaodong Regional Military Commission may at any time order me to attack your army, and I can only obey orders and act accordingly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Marshal Huang is truly candid.\" Hong Taiji remarked with mocking admiration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eating jujubes on one hand and drinking tea on the other, Huang Shi now appeared thoroughly at ease. While eating and drinking, he recalled another pressing matter: \"Fourth Beile, I have one more thing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Marshal Huang, please speak.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I cannot stay long here in Liaoyang. If there is nothing else of great importance, I shall leave tonight.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, why does Marshal Huang depart so swiftly?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have always greatly admired the Fourth Beile's character and ability, but I truly dare not compliment your esteemed father's temper. I came in person only after hearing that the Fourth Beile alone was in Liaoyang. Now that the former grudges between us have been dissolved, I feel it is best to leave before your esteemed father returns, lest some unforeseen incident occur and harm the goodwill between us, which would be most unfortunate.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Taiji understood the meaning behind Huang Shi's words perfectly. Since the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, Mr. Nurhaci's mental state had been rather unstable. Approaching seventy, Nurhaci had once bound up Li Yongfang, flogged him with his own hands, and wailed bitterly: \"I know you look down on me, I know you just look down on me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, in recent years Nurhaci had several times ordered large-scale massacres of the Han people in Liaodong and had nearly exterminated the educated class among the Han. No matter how one looked at it, it seemed like mental derangement. If Huang Shi were detained in Liaoyang, Hong Taiji could not keep a matter of such magnitude hidden for long. But if Nurhaci's madness flared up and he ordered Huang Shi killed, the door to peace negotiations would be shut forever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now Huang Shi had laid his cards on the table: the old madman Nurhaci was already seventy. He had lived long enough, but surely you younger men did not wish to be buried alongside him? So be sensible, and let me go back quickly before he arrives in Liaoyang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as Hong Taiji was weighing the pros and cons, Huang Shi abruptly added another remark: \"I acknowledge that the young lady of the Zhao family is my betrothed wife. Send her back to Gaizhou in a couple of days — this can also demonstrate your sincerity in seeking peace.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Taiji shot Huang Shi a glance and asked with slight surprise: \"I never imagined that Marshal Huang, renowned for his boundless righteousness, would also be a man of deep feeling, even going so far as to rescue a woman who is practically a complete stranger.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was never a man without feeling, and I have never sacrificed my kin for the sake of righteousness.\" Huang Shi shook his head. These words were plainly the honest truth, yet they could only be spoken to Hong Taiji alone, and only Hong Taiji alone would believe them. \"Back when I destroyed Sun Degong, it was not some righteous sacrifice of kin. And if Miss Sun had not been so determined to avenge her father, I would have originally wished to ensure her a lifetime free from want.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Taiji suddenly sensed a note of desolation in Huang Shi's words. But before he could speak this time, a clamor suddenly arose outside the tent. Shortly after, a man pushed open the tent flap of the Plain White Banner's main camp and strode in with a loud laugh, head held high: \"Eighth Brother, I'm back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man was still dragging a deer haunch in his hand. He acted as if Huang Shi, sitting to one side, were completely invisible, and walked straight up to Hong Taiji. With a bang, he flung the deer haunch onto the table, instantly smashing the orderly surface Hong Taiji had kept spotless into a chaotic mess, staining it with quite a bit of blood. \"Just before entering the city, I shot a deer on the road. Here, I'm giving you a haunch.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the newcomer spoke in Manchu, Huang Shi had been studying the Manchu script for several years, so he had no trouble understanding. This man's bearing was crude, utterly unlike Hong Taiji's manner and poise. In Huang Shi's memory, when he had last accompanied Hong Taiji on the campaign to Zhenjiang, Hong Taiji had always been very mindful of his appearance. Even when out in the wilds, his clothes, shoes, and hat were always kept spotless and impeccably neat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By relying on all manner of grooming, Hong Taiji appeared all the more imposing before outsiders. Even his movements had been deliberately refined, so that every gesture and motion exuded a certain presence, making others feel at a single glance that this man was no ordinary person. Although Huang Shi did not know how much painstaking effort Hong Taiji had expended on this, Huang Shi knew that the man who had just entered had surely never wasted a thought on his bearing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Many thanks, Fifth Brother.\" Hong Taiji rose with a smile. Previously, when conversing with Huang Shi, Hong Taiji's movements had always been extremely graceful, and aside from the two pigtail braids on his head being somewhat ridiculous, he had quite the air of a scholar-official. But now, without even glancing at the mess on the table, he lifted the mud-smeared, water-soaked deer haunch with both hands, ignoring the filthy blood that ran down his arms and sleeves, and began clicking his tongue in unstinting praise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Praising it without end, Hong Taiji reluctantly set the deer haunch down and pointed to Huang Shi, who was sitting there: \"Fifth Brother, this man is...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know, it's just some envoy sent from Changsheng Island, I heard about it outside just now.\" The newcomer impatiently cut off Hong Taiji's words. He swiftly turned his head and casually swept a glance over Huang Shi, then turned back and said: \"Hurry up and send him off. Let's go roast the deer haunch and eat — we can talk while we eat then.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Taiji smiled faintly and said with added emphasis: \"This is the Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent of the Ming State, the Imperial Commissioner with plenipotentiary authority over Liaodong, the Vice Regional Commander, and Right Commissioner-in-Chief of the Left Army Chief Military Commission — Marshal Huang.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Hong Taiji turned to Huang Shi and said in Chinese: \"This is my Fifth Brother, the Third Beile, Manggūltai.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi rose to his feet and said to Manggūltai in Manchu: \"A pleasure to meet you. I have long heard of the Third Beile's great name.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking, Huang Shi glanced again at the deer Manggūltai had brought in. The Later Jin's Third Beile truly did love hunting. The poor fellow still had no idea that he would die on the charge of \"hunting.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Manggūltai stood frozen as if struck by lightning, his back to Huang Shi for a moment. Then with a sudden great shout, his body spun around in a violent leap, his arm thrust stiffly toward Huang Shi and gestured wildly for a long while before he finally pointed with a quivering finger and yelled: \"You... you are Huang Shi?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I am indeed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Manggūltai's eyes bulged wide and round, his outstretched arm trembling ceaselessly. It was so utterly unexpected that he could not even speak. By now, Hong Taiji had come around from behind the table. He hurriedly supported Manggūltai and helped him into a chair to one side. Throughout this, the Third Beile let Hong Taiji maneuver him as he pleased; he seemed to have lost the ability to move on his own, simply staring fixedly at Huang Shi as if he wanted to imprint every line of Huang Shi's face into his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sooner had Manggūltai been helped into his seat than he sprang up again violently: \"Huang Shi, you have colossal nerve, you actually... actually dare to come to Liaoyang alone. Do you not value your life? Do you take all of us in the Great Jin for dead men...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spittle flying, Manggūltai ranted for a while, then finally turned his head and asked his clever younger brother: \"Eighth Brother, how should we deal with him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Marshal Huang has come this time as an envoy, bearing the passport I issued, and what he has come to discuss is the matter of amnesty.\" Hong Taiji answered Manggūltai's question, but his eyes were observing the changes in Huang Shi's expression. \"Setting other matters aside for now, Fifth Brother, it is perfect that you have brought down a deer. Well then, let us first invite Marshal Huang to eat meat and drink wine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After apologizing to Huang Shi, Hong Taiji dragged Manggūltai outside the tent and said to him in a low, urgent voice: \"How can Huang Shi be killed? He, like Mao Wenlong, is a Ming State Jiejiang bearing the title of Imperial Commissioner. He is an Imperial Commissioner of the Ming State. We can only entertain him well; we absolutely must not slight him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Manggūltai's eyes widened with a semblance of understanding, his round face filled entirely with bewilderment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Hong Taiji knew that Manggūltai had not grasped it at all. He turned and called over a trusted aide, instructing him to go inside and keep Huang Shi company and serve him tea. Only after these arrangements were in place did he unhurriedly explain the whole sequence of events to Manggūltai. The entanglements between the Zhao family and Huang Shi were well known to Manggūltai out of his concern for Changsheng Island, so Hong Taiji did not need to go into great detail. Manggūltai quickly understood Hong Taiji's scheme.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We have always wanted to negotiate peace with the Ming State. This time, it was again under the pretext of peace talks and returning the young lady of the Zhao family that I invited Changsheng Island to send someone to discuss matters. Now an Imperial Commissioner of the Ming State has come at our invitation, and we kill him — what do you think the Ming State and the various Mongol tribes will think?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Hong Taiji finished speaking, he looked quietly at Manggūltai. The latter was now speechless. Manggūltai now understood very clearly that if they killed Huang Shi, the entire Ming court, from top to bottom, would gnash their teeth in hatred, and from then on no one would ever dare to raise the idea of negotiating peace with the Later Jin again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that Manggūltai had calmed down, Hong Taiji sighed and added: \"If we killed an Imperial Commissioner of the Ming State on the battlefield, that would be enough to intimidate the Ming State and the Mongols. But under the present circumstances, we absolutely cannot touch a single hair on Huang Shi's head. Otherwise, we will be utterly isolated from then on.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The various Mongol tribes already did not believe that the Later Jin could escape the fate of defeat. If they heard that the Later Jin had killed an Imperial Commissioner who had come from the Ming State to discuss peace, they would inevitably attack the Later Jin even harder to seek rewards from the Great Ming, and those Mongols who had been hesitating, thinking of siding with the Later Jin, would certainly change their minds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking dejected, Manggūltai reached up and rubbed the top of his head, murmuring: \"You always talk of peace, peace — who knows if peace can really be successfully negotiated.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If we advance triumphantly all the way and finally establish our own independent state, then sooner or later we will still have to negotiate peace with the Ming State. If one day we truly cannot hold on, then we will still have to request amnesty from the Ming State. Ah, these are all matters still without any shadow of reality at present. But right now, the various Mongol tribes all regard us as dead men walking and are cooperating with the Ming State to encircle us on all sides. So regardless of whether we fight or make peace in the future, we must first remove this noose from around our necks and let the Mongols see clearly that following our Great Jin is not a path without a way out.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Hong Taiji spoke these words, Manggūltai nodded continuously and from time to time murmured in agreement: \"Yes, Eighth Brother, you are right.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The campfire had just been lit and was now blazing fiercely. Several Later Jin soldiers had already cleaned the deer, skewered it on a wooden pole, and set it on the stand to begin roasting. Manggūltai gnawed at his fingernails and asked with a furrowed brow: \"Could we lock Huang Shi up, observe the situation first, and then decide?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking, Manggūltai saw a look of disapproval appear again on Hong Taiji's face, and his own face immediately flushed again: \"I don't quite understand these complicated things, and my thinking is never thorough. Eighth Brother, explain it to me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know what you are thinking, Fifth Brother — that Huang Shi has finally delivered himself to our doorstep, and letting him go just like that would be letting him off far too cheaply. So lock him up for a while first, at least frighten him a bit, and that would also count as venting some of our spleen. Is that right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your thinking, Fifth Brother, is only human nature, but it is not feasible.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Taiji vetoed Manggūltai's suggestion with absolute finality, and at the same time extended three fingers toward him: \"First, it would be worse than killing him with a single stroke. If we lock Huang Shi up, we make it plain that we both hate and fear him — neither willing to let him go nor daring to kill him. Since ancient times, such vacillating behavior has never done anything but invite ridicule in vain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second, Huang Shi said he plans to leave tonight, because Father Khan will soon return, and right after that you came in. I have thought it over, and what he says makes a great deal of sense. We must let him leave quickly. Otherwise, once Father Khan arrives, he might very well cut him down with one stroke. Given Father Khan's temper these days, we would not be able to stop him even if we tried.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"True, true. Hearing you put it that way, I also think it is better to let him go.\" Manggūltai nodded repeatedly again. The matter of Huang Shi coming to Liaoyang was far too significant; they certainly could not cover it up. Rather than having to desperately persuade the old man not to draw his blade and kill at that time, it would be better to send Huang Shi back as soon as possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Taiji followed this with a bitter laugh: \"We will certainly get a flogging from Father Khan for this — there is no escaping that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Won't I be there to keep you company? Ah, if only I had known, I would have come back two days later. I just had to come back early to hunt, and now we'll have to eat another flogging. Truly, the mouth brings trouble upon the body.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two laughed for a while, then Manggūltai asked again: \"And what is the third? You still haven't stated the third point.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mm, third. Although I cannot see through what Huang Shi is really thinking in coming here this time, after carefully calculating it over, I believe that if we let him go back, there will definitely be great benefits.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you mean by that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To break the Ming State's encirclement on all sides, the most critical thing is to let the various Mongol tribes see that the Ming State has the possibility of compromise. This Huang Shi is a renowned great general of the Ming army, and moreover an Imperial Commissioner of the Ming State. That even he was willing to come to Liaoyang in person — does that not show that we are very likely to successfully negotiate peace with the Ming State? That Huang Shi is willing to come and discuss peace shows that even a great general like him does not hold much hope for military victory, let alone other people in the Ming State.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"True, Eighth Brother is truly far-sighted and profound in strategy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A smug smile also surfaced on Hong Taiji's face. He continued: \"But this Huang Shi is still absolutely not to be trusted, and the terms he proposed are truly far too unreasonable. Although his coming to Liaoyang this time was beyond our expectations, if we exploit it properly, then his time in Liaodong will have reached its end.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, Hong Taiji had only hoped to obtain a slip of paper from Huang Shi and then exploit it as much as possible to attack Huang Shi's personal integrity. Although a slip of paper would not be of much great use, for Hong Taiji it would still be better than nothing. But the present situation was very different. Huang Shi had come to Liaoyang himself and then returned safely — this clearly gave Huang Shi's political enemies ample pretext to attack him. Hong Taiji believed that he could now sit back like a fisherman and be in an invincible position from then on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We break the Ming State's encirclement on all sides, and we can also utterly discredit Huang Shi and drive him out of Liaodong. Haha, as long as we endure this momentary anger, the whole situation clearly comes alive on every front.\" At the height of his satisfaction, Hong Taiji could not help laughing heartily. Not letting Huang Shi go would mean cutting off all hope of survival, but as long as they did not indulge in a moment's satisfaction and sent Huang Shi away safe and sound, they would find life in the midst of certain death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mm, it sounds excellent, truly killing two birds with one stone.\" An expression of longing also appeared on Manggūltai's face, tinged with a sly grin that was very rare for him. Stroking his chin, Manggūltai laughed: \"What Eighth Brother says is absolutely without fault. I can hardly wait to send Huang Shi off quickly. Wonderful — I'll give him a fine horse so he can leave tonight. Aiya, this time, even taking a flogging from Father Khan will be worth it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>……\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Taiji and Manggultai urgently summoned all the Mongol envoys, messengers, and prominent merchants in Liaoyang to join them in drinking. They seated Huang Shi in the place of honor and took turns toasting him, the two brothers putting on a great show of fraternal affection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Huang Shi clearly remembered Manggultai's fate. In history, although Manggultai had supported Hong Taiji's ascension to the Khanate, although he always fought at the forefront in every campaign Hong Taiji led, and although he was straightforward and never schemed behind anyone's back, Manggultai's dear younger brother had always coveted his niru and property.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi remembered that Hong Taiji had used the charge that \"while guarding Shenyang, Manggultai hunted too much and wore out all the warhorses, making it impossible for the army to march\" to imprison him and starve him to death. Hong Taiji swallowed Manggultai's Plain Blue Banner, slaughtered all his sons, sold his daughters to the Mongols, and in the end even had his own sons divide up Manggultai's many wives and concubines among themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>— Toward Hong Taiji, one must harbor not the slightest illusion. Right now he must be very pleased with himself. First, he has provided my political enemies with ample ammunition; second, he is tempting the unsteady elements among our allies; and finally, he is fabricating a facade of peace-loving. That crafty and scheming Hong Taiji — let him savor his triumph a little longer. When I gently turn over my hidden card, the entire situation will reverse.\u003C\u002Fp>",3481,"2026-06-04T07:54:54.057Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","161d988ee0dcfbdb34e26283462f1cc07949e6f9b4dbd6749b128c4259fce489","stealing-ming-chapter-279","stealing-ming-chapter-277",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]