Chapter 279

The venison was roasted to perfection and tasted truly delicious. Mang Gurtai’s face was piled high with smiles as he kept urging Huang Shi to eat a few more bites, saying this was a deer he had personally hunted. And Mang Gurtai’s good brother Huang Taiji was also beside him, extolling his fifth brother’s hunting skills with all his might, successfully creating a warm and harmonious atmosphere at the banquet.

The Mongol friends in Liaoyang City were all invited to meet Huang Shi. Every time someone arrived, Huang Taiji and Mang Gurtai would both stand up and introduce them to everyone, as if afraid that no one would know this was the famous Huang Shi. Of course, they also never forgot to mention the purpose of Huang Shi’s visit — that their Later Jin was about to be offered amnesty by the Great Ming.

What you don’t see doesn’t alarm you, but once you see it, it gives you a shock.

Huang Shi only then realized that there were really quite a few Mongols in Liaoyang City. Some tribes were privately doing business with the Later Jin. Although they dared not announce their own names in front of Huang Shi, judging from their attire, Huang Shi felt that quite a few of them probably held some status — most likely high-ranking merchants from Mongol tribes or trusted confidants of tribal princes.

Besides these people, Huang Taiji had also found quite a number of lamas. Many of these men were influential figures who moved among the princes of various Mongol tribes, and their influence over the Mongol divisions could not be underestimated. Huang Taiji very proactively reaffirmed in front of these people the harsh terms Huang Shi had proposed, and thumped his chest to guarantee that, for their Later Jin, everything was negotiable.

On the surface, Huang Taiji was giving Huang Shi all the face in the world, but his words conveyed two meanings: first, that they were willing to consider even such harsh terms, which was proof enough of their sincerity; second, he was telling the Mongols that they were only negotiating, and had not yet settled on those terms — and as long as they were negotiating, it meant there was still room to back out.

After all the bustle, the two brothers Mang Gurtai and Huang Taiji sat side by side at a table. Both had drunk until their faces were flushed red. To the music playing at the banquet, they swayed their heads rhythmically together, humming in unison some tune they had picked up from who knows where. They truly looked jubilant, displaying immense enthusiasm and confidence toward the amnesty.

After everyone had made their rounds, Huang Taiji glanced at the sky outside. The afternoon sun had already begun to slant westward. He politely urged, “Marshal Huang, the day is getting late. Should you not be heading back?”

The people Huang Taiji had selected to come observe had all dispersed by now. Mang Gurtai also came over and chimed in, “Right. Marshal Huang, you should be going. Any later and I’m afraid you’ll have to spend the night in Liaoyang.”

Just moments before, Mang Gurtai had told Huang Taiji that Nurhaci had already driven Chen Jisheng back to Kuandian and was now leading the Eight Banners troops back to Liaoyang. So it was best to get Huang Shi to leave quickly, lest a long night bring many troubles and something go wrong.

After the two of them had finished speaking, Huang Taiji waved his hand, and someone brought Huang Shi water for washing his hands and a cloth to dry them. By now, Huang Shi’s utility value had essentially been squeezed dry; as long as he could return alive to the Ming army’s side, the great achievement would be complete. Huang Taiji had even written out the travel permit for Huang Shi earlier. As soon as Huang Shi had dried his hands, he hurriedly handed over the document: “Marshal Huang, I have also sent men to fetch your betrothed wife and that pair of concubines. They will return with you to Changsheng Island, as proof of our sincerity in accepting amnesty.”

“That is too much trouble. Womenfolk travel slowly; I had better go back by myself. The two Beile can just send them back to me another day.”

“No trouble at all. I have already prepared a carriage and dispatched a squad of Heavy Armor Soldiers as escort. Marshal Huang may set your mind at ease.”

“Since that is the case, I can only obey with less respect than declining. But the escort truly is unnecessary.”

There were simply too many ordinary Later Jin soldiers in Liaoyang who bore a grudge against Huang Shi. If Huang Shi ran into trouble on the road, Huang Taiji would not be able to explain himself clearly even if he had mouths all over his body. What surprised Huang Taiji was that Huang Shi adamantly refused the escort, and he was extremely resolute on this point. Although Huang Taiji did not understand why Huang Shi was so stubborn on this matter, his main concern at present was still to avoid giving Huang Shi any pretext to make an issue. As long as Huang Shi was willing to take his primary and secondary wives away, that was good enough; everything else was secondary.

……

In the end, Huang Shi only agreed to take one two-horse carriage. Apart from the three women, there was only a single driver on the carriage. Tied behind it was a fine steed that Mang Gurtai had given to Huang Shi.

Watching Huang Shi’s party drive out through the gate arch of Liaoyang, Huang Taiji and Mang Gurtai stood shoulder to shoulder atop the city gate tower, gazing out at his receding silhouette. Huang Taiji smiled with great delight: “Once word of this amnesty negotiation spreads, it will inevitably shock the Mongol tribes around our Great Jin and greatly change their view of us.”

Mang Gurtai, standing beside Huang Taiji, did not seem as optimistic as his younger brother. His brow could not help but furrow into a deep knot again, and he stroked his chin as he said with heavy worry, “Eighth Brother, are you absolutely certain that we won’t be deceived by him again this time?”

“Absolutely not. His coming to Liaoyang to negotiate peace was witnessed by many people with their own eyes. So many lamas, merchants, and Mongol envoys all saw it — this is something he can never deny no matter how he tries. Huang Shi is clearly the great enemy of our Later Jin, yet we still released him safely. This is more than enough to demonstrate our sincerity in seeking peace. When those in the Ming state who are intent on peace talks see this, won’t their confidence also be greatly boosted?”

At the height of his smugness, Huang Taiji threw his head back and laughed twice: “Ha ha, wonderful. Truly Heaven helps me.”

There had already been quite a few Mongols around who were envious of all the things the Later Jin had plundered over the years. Once word spread that the Ming state and the Later Jin were negotiating peace, those who had always worried that once they boarded the pirate ship they could never get off would naturally want a share of the spoils too. The Later Jin could not only use this to greatly supplement their manpower, but the dawn of breaking the Ming state’s strategic encirclement was also within sight. This way, they could shift from fighting on interior lines to launching attacks on exterior lines, defeating the enemy forces on several fronts one by one.

Huang Shi’s ability to withdraw unscathed this time was also an encouragement to others in the Great Ming who harbored thoughts of peace. Originally, Huang Taiji had only hoped to sow division among the Great Ming’s ministers, but he had not expected the situation to turn out so favorably. The pro-peace faction on the other side seemed to be showing faint signs of competing for credit. As long as these envoys traveled back and forth to Liaoyang in an unending stream, it would surely accelerate the disintegration of the Ming dynasty’s tributary system.

“This time we also personally handed those women back to Huang Shi. He doesn’t even have the chance to turn his back and disown them.” Huang Taiji watched the carriage gradually disappear on the official road, and the smug look on his face grew even more radiant: “Whether in propriety or sincerity, we were simply too perfect this time — so perfect that no one could find a single word to fault.”

“Why do I feel this is so precarious? Did Huang Shi risk such great danger to come to Liaoyang just to deliver us a grand gift?” Although Mang Gurtai was also pleased by what he heard, his expression gradually darkened again, and he was just short of writing the two big characters for ‘worry’ on his forehead: “Did Huang Shi stake his life to make a trip to Liaoyang just to help us break the Ming state’s encirclement?”

“He thought he most likely wouldn’t die, and I admit he calculated very accurately.” Huang Taiji gave a cold laugh, and his face switched to an expression of disdain: “Huang Shi is a base and shameless scoundrel, but on one point he may have spoken the truth — that he is unwilling to make a wedding dress for someone else. If the Ming state’s interests are to be sold, better that he sell them than let Yuan Chonghuan do it.”

“But we cannot accept his peace terms.”

“Of course we won’t accept them. I’m not entirely clear on what exactly he’s thinking. But I know that our current response is absolutely without error and will certainly make his attempt to steal a chicken end with him losing the bait instead. Hmph. We can use negotiations to keep those who want peace at bay, and then first deal with those two annoying toads, Mao Wenlong and Lin Danhan. Once the situation changes, we’ll be able to speak with much more steel in our voice.”

Two cold gleams flashed in Huang Taiji’s eyes, pointing straight south toward the cloud of dust raised when Huang Shi departed. He said, “This is what they call ‘too clever by half’!”

……

After leaving Liaoyang and heading straight south for a stretch, Huang Shi suddenly spurred his horse forward and stopped the carriage. He shouted at the driver, “Get down.”

“Take off your clothes, now!”

Under the threat of Huang Shi’s long sword, the driver quickly stripped off every piece of clothing on his body and huddled shivering behind the carriage wheel. Huang Shi picked up the pile of clothes with his sword, lifted the carriage curtain, swept his gaze over the three people inside, found the one he was looking for, and threw the driver’s clothes at her feet: “Put on these clothes. I’ll wait for you outside.”

By the time Miss Zhao the Second came out, Huang Shi had already unhitched the carriage horses. He had also used the unhitched ropes to tie up the driver. As for the other two ladies, Huang Shi truly dared not take them to Changsheng Island. First, they were people with absolutely no home to return to; apart from his own house, there really was nowhere to settle them. And Huang Shi had no idea whether these two ladies were intelligence agents for the Later Jin. Besides, the implications would really be far too damaging.

The driver was originally a problem that could have been solved with one stroke of the sword. Never mind here in the desolate wilderness — even in Liaoyang, if Huang Shi killed a few people, as long as they weren’t very important figures, Huang Taiji would probably still prioritize the bigger picture and pretend not to have seen it. But Huang Shi still spent a little time handling the matter properly. After Miss Zhao the Second came out, Huang Shi lightly pricked the rumps of the two carriage horses.

“I remember you can ride, so I’m taking you with me.”

As he spoke, Huang Shi tossed a riding crop to Miss Zhao the Second. With his own mount plus the horse Mang Gurtai had given him, it was exactly one horse for each of them. Once mounted, Huang Shi said no more. With a shout of “Giddyup,” he sped south at full speed. Miss Zhao the Second remained silent, struggling to control her mount as she closely followed Huang Shi’s dash.

……

On the ninth day of the eighth month of the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, the entire route had been lined with Later Jin relay stations, and the horses they switched to were all Later Jin relay horses. Huang Shi had no reason to spare them. He galloped at full speed for a day and a night, only slowing his pace once he neared the vicinity of Haizhou Garrison. Haizhou and Yaozhou had both been left far behind. Huang Shi carefully watered his horse and cast one last look northward. The wilderness stretched as far as the eye could see, with barely a few birds in flight, let alone any sign of human figures.

“Another thirty li ahead, and it’s Gaizhou.” Huang Shi withdrew his gaze from the north and stared intently at the official road stretching straight toward the southern horizon. As if speaking to himself, and also to his companion, he murmured softly, “It really wasn’t easy. I actually managed to leave alive.”

After saying this, Huang Shi’s knees suddenly went weak, and he could not help but stagger. He swayed, steadied himself, and looked down at his feet with a grin, his smiling face filled entirely with satisfaction and joy. Huang Shi let out a long breath and turned to look at his traveling companion. Miss Zhao the Second’s horse had also finished drinking. Huang Shi told her to stop the horse and prepare to continue heading south.

Miss Zhao the Second was now walking very slowly. She moved her horse away from the water’s edge with slow steps, her lips pressed tightly together, as if struggling to endure some kind of pain.

Huang Shi gave Miss Zhao the Second another puzzled glance. His gaze slid down along her waist and took in her strange walking posture. It suddenly dawned on him: “Young Lady Zhao, bear with it a little longer. If we press on, we can reach Gaizhou tonight and get some proper rest.”

Upon hearing this, Miss Zhao the Second first nodded gratefully, then her face flushed bright red and she lowered her head. After that mad dash from Liaoyang to Haizhou, even an old hand at riding like Huang Shi was somewhat tired. Although Miss Zhao the Second had learned to ride, she had never ridden so wildly before. Last night Huang Shi had also refused to rest at the relay stations, pressing south by torchlight. Now the insides of Miss Zhao the Second’s thighs were burning with pain, and every step she took was an agony that pierced to the bone.

Back when he was learning to ride in Guangning, Huang Shi had also practiced day and night without rest due to the time pressure, so he had experience with his thighs being rubbed raw until the skin split and the flesh showed. When Miss Zhao the Second gritted her teeth and tried to climb onto her horse, Huang Shi walked behind her, embraced her, and lifted her onto the saddle. Then he walked toward his own mount as if nothing had happened: “Young Lady Zhao, do not take offense. Hurrying on our way is what matters now. Furthermore, before your esteemed brother broke off the engagement, Young Lady Zhao was still temporarily a member of my Huang family, so your reputation suffers no harm.”

After saying this, Huang Shi leaped onto his horse and, without the slightest tenderness toward the fairer sex, continued galloping at full speed. Huang Shi and Miss Zhao the Second, one after the other, headed straight for Gaizhou.

“Marshal Huang, you look very tired.”

When they stopped to rest again, a clear voice came from behind him. Huang Shi heard it and smiled: “I’m all right. Thank you for your concern, Young Lady Zhao.”

This Miss Zhao the Second was twenty in nominal years, which made her only eighteen or nineteen in actual years. But throughout this grueling journey, Miss Zhao the Second had gritted her teeth and not let out a single groan, nor had she once asked for a rest on her own initiative. Huang Shi secretly marveled at this, but he also felt much more at ease. After all, until the day they entered Ming army territory, they could not be considered safe. Someone like Miss Zhao the Second was relatively easy to lead out of danger. Sure enough, Miss Zhao the Second clenched her jaw and kept up with Huang Shi’s pace, and in the end she had successfully been brought out by him.

“Marshal Huang, this humble girl has a question.”

“Mm, Young Lady Zhao, please speak.”

“It’s about that driver. Wouldn’t it have been done with if Marshal Huang had just given him one stroke of the sword? Why did Marshal Huang go to the trouble of tying him up?”

Huang Shi glanced back at Miss Zhao the Second with slight surprise. First, he felt a bit curious — why was this young girl still dwelling on such a trivial matter? Second, Huang Shi also found it a little strange — how could a young girl be thinking about something as cruel as killing, and still mulling over this aspect of it?

“It didn’t take any extra time anyway. By the time Young Lady Zhao came out of the carriage, hadn’t I already finished tying him up?”

Miss Zhao the Second remained silent for a moment, then suddenly asked again, “Does Marshal Huang consider this humble girl a burden?”

“Don’t you know how to ride? That’s why I brought you along.” Huang Shi felt that there seemed to be something hidden behind this question, but he could not make it out for the moment: “Young Lady Zhao is certainly no burden. If you were like those two women, I would have abandoned you without a second thought.”

Miss Zhao the Second seemed to have some doubt about this answer. She quickly retorted, “The reason Marshal Huang didn’t bring them along is probably because you feared one of those two might be a spy for the Jian slaves, right?”

“Mm, that was one aspect. What of it?”

Miss Zhao the Second fell silent again. The two of them galloped along the official road leading toward Gaizhou. Every time the horses were nearly spent, they would stop and rest for a while. Traveling in this stop-and-go manner, by the time the sun was sinking in the west, they were already very close to Gaizhou.

“Marshal Huang, this humble girl has had one thing she has never dared to ask.”

Zhao Er suddenly spurred her horse forward half a length, drawing level with Huang Shi. When Huang Shi turned his head to look, the young girl was staring at him with brazen intensity, studying him closely. "Commander Huang, you are clearly a man of deep compassion. Why must you always speak of yourself as so wicked, or think of yourself that way in your heart?"

This innocent remark made Huang Shi give a bitter smile, but he did not answer. He simply turned his head back to gaze ahead.

The two had been riding slowly side by side for a stretch when Zhao Er softly called out again, "Commander Huang."

Huang Shi turned his head to look once more. Zhao Er was biting her lower lip tightly, and in a tone filled with tension she asked, "Is Commander Huang going to negotiate peace with the Jianzhou slaves this time?"

"Negotiate peace? Young Lady Zhao, that is a very well-chosen phrase." Huang Shi laughed, and in a mocking tone said, "Some great personages do not see it that way. They think the words 'offer amnesty' are more fitting."

"That is nothing but self-deception!"

"Indeed, Young Lady Zhao, you see clearly." Huang Shi nodded with deep feeling. No matter what pleasant words were used, they could not disguise the essential nature of this appeasement policy. But some people, their eyes blinded by personal prospects and interests, had so greatly diminished their own judgment that they could not even match a young girl who never left her home. This, perhaps, is what is called having one's heart consumed by greed.

"Does Young Lady Zhao think that I, Huang Mou, am such a foolish man?"

Zhao Er hesitated for a moment, then gathered her courage and asked, "Commander Huang, forgive my presumption. When I, a humble woman, fell into enemy hands, I thought I would never see the light of day again. This time Commander Huang entered Liaoyang alone, and now has managed to withdraw unscathed. In my dullness, I am deeply worried for Commander Huang. I fear that rumors will rise on all sides and accumulated slander will melt the bones. How does Commander Huang intend to answer the mouths of all under Heaven?"

This hidden card would have to be revealed sooner or later. And since Huang Shi had brought this young Zhao girl out alive, he would have to get their stories straight.

"Hmm. Does Young Lady Zhao know why Huang Mou has been driving himself so desperately on the road?"

Huang Shi weighed his words carefully, and at last slowly turned over his final trump card...

According to Huang Shi's account: even before reaching Liaoyang, he had sent word to the Later Jin side announcing his arrival. Upon hearing of this, Nurhaci had ridden at breakneck speed, traveling a thousand li back from Fushun, intending to discuss the matter of amnesty with Huang Shi alone. In the final moments before leaving Liaoyang, Huang Shi found an opportunity to strike Nurhaci dead on the spot, then imitated Nurhaci's voice to tell the guards outside the door that he wished to rest.

After emerging, Huang Shi acted as if nothing had happened, taking a fond and lingering leave of Mang Gurtai and Hong Taiji, then departed Liaoyang before they could discover the truth. What followed was the great escape, which was why Huang Shi had to change horses without stopping along the way. In the end, he managed to get back to Gaizhou just before the pursuing troops caught up...

Zhao Er's eyes grew wider and wider. Huang Shi's words were simply too unbelievable, but if what Huang Shi said was true, then his action would more or less mean cutting off all paths to peace talks between the Great Ming and the Later Jin.

Today, Hong Taiji had gathered many people to serve as witnesses and had gone to great lengths to foist Zhao Er and those two concubines onto Huang Shi, so that he could not deny having been in Liaoyang. But everything is a double-edged sword. As long as Nurhaci dies at the time recorded in history — that is, two days from now — then these witnesses will enormously strengthen Huang Shi's propaganda. The Later Jin side will be utterly unable to deny that Huang Shi was in Liaoyang, and even less able to explain why Nurhaci died just a few short days after Huang Shi issued his declaration.

Before those witnesses, Hong Taiji had also gone to great lengths to publicize the harshness of the Ming army's terms, hoping to use this to demonstrate the Later Jin's sincerity in seeking peace. But this too was a double-edged sword. As long as Nurhaci died at the right time, the various Mongol tribes would think: even with terms this harsh, the Great Ming was merely toying with the Later Jin; the Great Ming never had any intention of offering any form of amnesty from start to finish.

Today, all of Hong Taiji's arrangements, all of his schemes — meant to create trouble for Huang Shi, meant to find a way out for the Later Jin — would rebound upon himself with redoubled ferocity. If his opponent had been someone as straightforward as Mang Gurtai, Huang Shi would not have dared to do this; if his opponent had been that old madman Nurhaci, Huang Shi most certainly would not have dared.

But his opponent was the clever Hong Taiji, a man far too confident in his ability to make Huang Shi suffer defeat. And so... this is what is called being too clever by half.

Clap, clap, clap.

The girl riding alongside him suddenly began to clap her hands in rhythm, and at the same time a clear, melodious voice rose in a soft chant.

Huang Shi recognized it at once: the girl was singing Li Bai's "Ode to the Swordsman."

"...In ten steps he slays a man, a thousand li he travels without pause..."

Huang Shi felt that lying was not a particularly honorable thing to do, but just as Hong Taiji had said, a true man contends by wits, not by brute force. Since Hong Taiji could start this game, he could hardly blame Huang Shi for finishing it. As the saying goes, it is impolite not to reciprocate.

At last Huang Shi caught sight of a red banner — a sentry post of the Dongjiang army at Gaizhou. Gazing at that small patch of red fluttering in the wind, Huang Shi pulled on the reins with a sense of overwhelming relief. From the moment he had left Zhangsheng Island, he had traveled day and night without a single moment's rest. Now a wave of exhaustion suddenly surged up from within him, nearly swallowing him whole in an instant.

"...Though he die, his chivalrous bones shall be fragrant, unashamed before the heroes of this world..."

He was so terribly tired. Since leaving Zhangsheng Island, Huang Shi had not slept for days and nights. Apart from that one meal in Liaoyang, he had eaten only the dry rations he carried with him and drunk only cold water from his gourd. After the exhaustion came a tide of joy surging like floodwater. Though Huang Shi had set out fully resolved to face death without regret, now that he once again beheld the banner of the Ming army, the overwhelming emotion of having escaped from the jaws of death was truly beyond words.

— Courage, ah, courage. In how many matters is the only thing lacking just a little courage? If I had decided that the lives of several hundred thousand commoners could not be saved; if I had, as I did in Liaoyang, deceived myself by saying that my own life was more precious than anyone else's, that no matter how many lives were sacrificed, as long as I survived I could make amends... then how could I face the brave men who have given their lives for the nation all these years? And what difference would there be between me and Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, Shang Kexi — those national criminals in the original history who ultimately slid into the mire of traitorous collaboration?

"...Silver saddle matched to white horse, swift and fleeting as a shooting star..."

Whether it was the arduous journey of many days, or the joy of surviving calamity, or the combined effect of both, Huang Shi felt his whole body about to collapse from exhaustion. As he rode toward that red banner, his arms began to tremble uncontrollably, his body began to quiver slightly, and he nearly slumped limp in the saddle.

But the girl's singing beside him grew ever more soaring and fervent, brimming with praise for courage and exaltation of the chivalrous heart. The beat Zhao Er clapped out, stroke by stroke, gradually began to pound upon Huang Shi's heart like a war drum. He could not help but gradually tighten his legs against the horse's flanks, and his mount, seeming to sense the fighting spirit emanating from its master, raised its head and slowly quickened its pace.

The setting sun sank in the west, dark red as blood.

Huang Shi and Zhao Er, one behind the other, spurred their mounts and flew swiftly toward the direction of that Ming army banner. Watching the fiery red war banner leap and dance in his field of vision as it drew nearer, Huang Shi felt his heart was about to burst from his chest with joy. In the distance, a squad of Ming army scouts was riding toward them. Yes, it was the Dongjiang army from Gaizhou.

"...With three cups he seals a solemn pledge..."

In that merchant's house in Liaoyang, in the instant before Huang Shi pushed open the window and sent the signal, he had made a vow to himself: he would certainly make amends for today's actions; he would certainly ensure that the merchant's sacrifice was not in vain. This was a solemn vow he had made before his own conscience.

Over these many days, facing the twin enemies of Hong Taiji and Yuan Chonghuan pressing in from without and within, Huang Shi's heart had at times been filled with such an intense sense of powerlessness and loss — as if he were Sun Wukong facing the Tathagata's Five Finger Mountain, feeling that no matter how he leaped he could not escape his opponent's calculations, no matter how he struggled he could not reverse the tide of decline by a single hair.

Now, what filled Huang Shi's chest was a brimming pride and self-satisfaction: "I strove, and I succeeded."

This intense emotion surged back and forth within Huang Shi's chest and belly, nearly bursting through his skull and out of his body. When he heard Zhao Er sing this line, Huang Shi could no longer contain his excitement. All the exhaustion of his body seemed to leave him in that single instant. Huang Shi stood up in his stirrups, and following the girl's rhythm, loudly joined in the next line: "The Five Great Mountains are toppled as if weightless!"