Chapter 309: Section 57: Slaughter

Zhu Yifeng and Huang Shi's joint memorial of self-reproach was delivered to Beijing once again. The Grand Secretariat once more drafted a rescript of "stern rebuke." After the young Son of Heaven read it, he ordered the duty grand secretary and the Minister of War summoned for an imperial conference. On duty today at the Wenyuan Pavilion were Li Biao and Qian Longxi; upon hearing the summons, they hurried over with Minister of War Wang Qia to have an audience with the Emperor.

"We said long ago that this Yu Zigao is unfit for major responsibility. The Fujian provincial troops have swept the sea bandits from the land for nearly a year now — all that remains is to strike straight at their lair and capture them in one blow. Yet every time, this Yu Zigao loses troops and officers. Utterly incompetent!"

"Your Majesty is wise, but Marshal Huang has once again taken all the blame upon himself." Li Biao explained to the Emperor that the Grand Secretariat had its own difficulties. Huang Shi said he was the one who dragged Yu Zigao off to drink, so any punishment must fall on Huang Shi first. And ever since Huang Shi forcefully advocated the extermination strategy, the government troops had been invincible on land, swiftly driving the sea bandits back to their islands. In the last half year, the bandits had even lost the ability to harass the coastal regions, so Huang Shi's achievements were still very evident.

Moreover, the sea bandits had recently been petitioning repeatedly for amnesty, their tone growing ever more humble. That Liu Xiangqi had even gone to Guangdong to request amnesty. But the Fujian Provincial Administration Commissioner's attitude was exceptionally hardline, so the Guangdong Provincial Administration Commissioner also rejected his request. All this made the Emperor and the grand secretaries feel the situation was excellent. Minister of War Wang Qia chimed in, "Your Majesty, in my humble view of the Fujian sea matter, Marshal Huang may be somewhat overeager. Had amnesty been granted, it would likely have been settled long ago."

Now the Fujian sea bandits asked only for a special pardon and to keep their ships; their former arrogance had completely vanished. Li Biao felt that if he were the Fujian Military Commissioner, such terms would be entirely acceptable. It was just that Huang Shi and Zhu Yifeng both firmly opposed it — they were, after all, the senior civil and military officials on the ground, and the specific amnesty terms had to be set by them. On this issue, the Grand Secretariat could hardly say much. Now, hearing the Emperor inquire, Li Biao cleared his throat and reported, "Your Majesty, the Fujian Military Commissioner and Marshal Huang both say that most of the bandits' ships are civilian vessels they plundered. Pardoning them now might encourage others to turn pirate — a dangerous precedent. Their argument is quite correct, so the Grand Secretariat cannot refute it. It is just that the bandits, knowing they cannot hope to survive, struggle desperately, which is why the pacification of the seas drags on without success."

"Indeed. Marshal Huang has always advocated eradicating evil completely — We know this, and We quite agree. In the final analysis, it is Yu Zigao's incompetence. From the very start, he lost half of Fujian to the sea bandits. Now Marshal Huang has pacified the entire province, yet a few paltry islands he cannot seem to take." Chongzhen first vented his grievances, then waved his hand impatiently. "If you have no better solution, then spare Yu Zigao once more. We must, after all, give Marshal Huang some face."

Since Fujian adopted the extermination strategy, the Fujian Provincial Administration Commissioner's sole request had been to retain the province's tax revenue for two years. The regular tax plus the Liaodong surtax totaled roughly six hundred thousand taels of silver — Chongzhen did not consider it excessive. Moreover, Huang Shi had pacified the southwest for him. Now the court not only no longer needed to pour money into the southwest but could even collect taxes from there. What puzzled the Emperor, however, was that Fujian had not imposed any additional levies, not even the Liaodong surtax that every other province had added. In these two years, Zhu Yifeng had collected only the regular tax that Zhang Juzheng had set for Fujian back in the day — altogether less than one hundred thousand taels of silver.

The young Son of Heaven therefore took considerable interest in that grand loan scheme Fujian had undertaken. After reading the latest report from the Fujian Provincial Administration Commissioner, the Emperor found the grand loan even more remarkable. "We have always heard that Fujian is a province of many mountains and little arable land. Yet the Fujian Military Commissioner and Marshal Huang can casually borrow four and a half million taels of silver, and it seems far from exhausted. How is Fujian poor? It is clearly the richest place under heaven."

Li Biao answered cautiously, "Your Majesty speaks truly, but this borrowing is always a matter of competing for profit with the people…"

Chongzhen said with great interest, "It is indeed competing for profit with the people. But Lord Zhu and Marshal Huang have both said that until the sea bandits are wiped out, merchants cannot safely conduct maritime trade, and fishermen cannot safely go out to fish. So they must borrow first and repay later. Besides, did not the Fujian Regional Inspector say that the people of Fujian are all eagerly lending money to Marshal Huang?"

The Fujian Regional Inspector had already impeached Huang Shi, Zhu Yifeng, and Yu Zigao several times in succession. Yu Zigao, however, served as a windbreak wall. After these two major defeats, Yu Zigao had absorbed over eighty percent of the inspector's fire. With him there, Huang Shi and Zhu Yifeng were largely spared from attack — the worst said of them, over and over, was that they misjudged a man's character. Since Huang Shi staked his life on defending Yu Zigao, the inspector had little recourse.

While the Fujian Regional Inspector incessantly attacked the Military Commissioner, he also brought up, time and again, the Grand Sea-Pacification Loan. The Fujian people's eagerness to purchase bonds served as another cannonball for the inspector, who argued that if military funds were ample, then the failure to resolve the problem swiftly must be Zhu Yifeng's incompetence.

Yet for all the inspector's impeachments, he too acknowledged that the situation in Fujian was steadily improving. The pirates' morale had collapsed. Starting four months ago, the supplies the pirates obtained from Fujian proper had fallen below fifty percent. Many goods were now brought by Liu Xiangqi from Guangdong. Though shipping supplies from Guangdong was costly and the quantities small, it still kept the pirates gasping for breath. So now, when the inspector denounced the Fujian Provincial Administration Commission and the Funing Garrison, he generally included the Zhaoqing Garrison and the Guangdong Provincial Administration Commission as well, saying that if they had been as resolute as the Fujian civil and military authorities, the pirates would have been finished long ago.

Although Huang Shi, being generous, did not shift the blame onto Guangdong, Zhu Yifeng's memorial of self-reproach already contained veiled insinuations, hinting between the lines that the failure to achieve a swift victory was Guangdong's fault. Zhu Yifeng had also been vigorously defending Yu Zigao. Both he and Huang Shi held imperial swords, so their voices were clearly louder than the Fujian Regional Inspector's. Since these two refused to make Yu Zigao the scapegoat, as long as the situation in Fujian kept improving, the court could not forcibly deal with Yu Zigao.

Li Biao hastily followed the thread of Chongzhen's words. He knew the Emperor was fairly satisfied with Zhu Yifeng and Huang Shi's work. "Your Majesty speaks truly. Although the Fujian Military Commissioner is somewhat overweening, on the whole his frontier talents are passable. It now appears that the sea bandits can be pacified within the two-year deadline. Moreover, the Fujian Military Commissioner has pacified Fujian this time without costing the court a single coin of silver — that too is a merit."

"Of course it is a merit — and a great one! If every provincial Provincial Governor had even a tenth of the Fujian Military Commissioner's ability, We would not need to raise taxes. Hmm, if the Fujian Military Commissioner can truly repay this loan, We would say he is not merely passable in frontier talent, but rather possesses considerable ministerial talent." Chongzhen pondered for a moment, then handed the Grand Secretariat's draft rescript back. "Take this draft back and redo it. This naval setback, We consider a minor reverse — it does not warrant severe castigation."

"As commanded."

After withdrawing from the great hall, Li Biao and Qian Longxi walked side by side back to the Wenyuan Pavilion. On the way, Li Biao said thoughtfully, "Huang Shi went from Fujian to Guizhou, then from Guizhou back to Fujian."

"On the entire round trip, not a single clash occurred between the troops and the civilians. Huang Shi also requested honors for countless officials across four provinces along his route, saying they had achieved merit in moral transformation. As a result, over a hundred officials received superior performance ratings. Is that right?"

"Of course. In the past, whenever guest troops passed through, they invariably harassed the people, and every place along the route groaned in misery. After an army passed through a district, the disputes left behind would take months to resolve. With Huang Shi, the troops and civilians kept strictly apart like well water and river water. The local officials naturally all had merit in moral transformation. And, well, did not Huang Shi also receive commendation for his strict discipline?"

Li Biao nodded and began counting on his fingers. "Never mind Huang Shi's time under the Dongjiang Garrison. When he reinforced Juehua, the Jiliao Supreme Commander reaped enormous frontier merit — that was the greatest victory against the northern barbarians in a hundred years. Then Huang Shi was transferred to quell the She-An Rebellion, and Zhang Heming was granted the title of Junior Preceptor of the Heir Apparent. Now His Majesty has also granted him the title of Grand Academician of the Wuying Hall and keeps him in Beijing for frequent consultation. Huang Shi made a circuit from south to west, and as a result, local officials in every province along the way received superior performance ratings…"

"Hmm." Li Biao stopped walking and bent down his last finger, then looked up at Qian Longxi. "Zhu Yifeng has served as his supervising censor the longest — over a year now. Not only is he praised throughout court and country as possessing frontier talent, but today His Majesty even judged him to possess considerable ministerial talent!"

"Lord Li, what are you trying to say?"

Li Biao stared blankly at Qian Longxi. "What I most want to know now is: is it Huang Shi who has ministerial talent, or is it Zhu Yifeng?"

…

In the first month of the second year of Chongzhen, after Hong Taiji sent a letter to Yuan Chonghuan, the pace of negotiations between the two sides rapidly heated up. Messengers traveled the road between Ningyuan and Liaoyang in an unbroken stream. Using several famous Mongol lamas as witnesses and intermediaries, the two sides engaged in fierce bargaining over the issue of annual tribute payments. Word of these dealings soon spread among the various Mongol tribes.

Barely a year had passed since the Great Ming Minister of War, Yan Mingtai, had sworn a solemn oath never to negotiate peace — his words still echoed in their ears — and the Ming court had once again betrayed its allies and its promises. Very quickly, the Kharchin Mongols, the Khalkha Mongols, the Doyan Mongols, and others — thirty-six Mongol tribes in all, who had turned their backs on the Later Jin because they believed Yan Mingtai's pledge — one after another held covenant with Hong Taiji. By the fourth month of the second year of Chongzhen, in just four months, the Later Jin's northwestern frontier, once ablaze with war, had achieved complete peace.

Moreover, as the Mongol tribes defected one after another, the Later Jin regime seized vast swaths of Monan territory without a fight and gained allies with over forty thousand able-bodied men. By this point, the Later Jin regime had made major advances in the west, nearly doubling its territory, and now bordered another of the Great Ming's military garrisons — the Ji Garrison. Xifengkou and other passes were at last exposed to the threat of the Later Jin army.

On another front, after beginning peace talks with the Later Jin, Yuan Chonghuan swiftly submitted a memorial to the court on the seventh day of the third month, requesting authority over the grain and pay of the Dongjiang Garrison. Once the Emperor approved, Yuan Chonghuan cut off the supply of military rations and fodder to the Dongjiang Garrison. Subsequently, Yuan Chonghuan again bypassed the Great Ming Ministry of Rites — the foreign affairs ministry — and overstepping his authority, sent a direct communiqué to the King of Joseon, declaring that Joseon's tribute route would no longer pass through Dongjiang and strictly forbidding Joseon from providing any further grain or supplies to Mao Wenlong.

Caught completely off guard, Mao Wenlong sent memorials accusing Yuan Chonghuan of embezzling the Dongjiang Garrison's grain and pay, while urgently seeking help from Shandong and other places, hoping Shandong merchants might sell him or extend him credit for grain and cloth to meet the emergency. A little over a month after peace talks with Hong Taiji began — that is, in the third month of the second year of Chongzhen — Yuan Chonghuan issued orders to the Tianjin Guard, Dengzhou, Laizhou, and other places, strictly enforcing a maritime prohibition: not a single boat or plank was allowed to set sail, and merchants were absolutely forbidden from selling so much as a grain of rice or a single bean to the Dongjiang Garrison.

Faced with the court's strict orders, the Laideng Garrison troops and the various prefectures and subprefectures were on high alert. Any vessel that violated the ban and put to sea would have its entire cargo confiscated; any merchant who dared transport grain or cloth to the Dongjiang Garrison would be thrown into prison. Confronted with this perilous situation, the Shandong merchants all refused to supply the Dongjiang Garrison any further. Even Liu Qingyang's Dark Council was helpless against it.

At the end of the third month, the Dongjiang Garrison abandoned Haizhou and its outskirts.

In early fourth month, the Dongjiang Garrison's Left Wing abandoned Gaizhou and its outskirts; the Right Wing abandoned the Kuandian fortresses and others they had held for eight long years. Over a hundred thousand soldiers and civilians, under orders, withdrew toward Sakju in Joseon. Shortly after, the Left Wing also abandoned Lianyun Island.

In mid-fourth month, Sakju, behind Kuandian, was also abandoned by the Dongjiang Garrison. Mao Wenlong ordered all Dongjiang troops in Joseon to retreat to Dongjiang Island.

At the same time, Mao Wenlong sent a memorial to the Chongzhen Emperor, impeaching Yuan Chonghuan for embezzling and withholding the Dongjiang Garrison's military rations, and also denouncing the maritime prohibition Yuan Chonghuan had imposed on Shandong and Tianjin targeting the Dongjiang Garrison. "…Your servant, having read this to the end, was overcome with grief and indignation, at a loss for what to do, when suddenly the sound of weeping arose from all sides, and the whole island seethed with turmoil. The officers crowded into your servant's headquarters, saying the soldiers had been crying out in hunger until this very day, hoping for rations and pay to arrive, for merchant ships to come, for the day when Liaodong would be recovered and each could return to his homeland. Who knew that Supreme Commander Yuan would strictly seal off the Dengzhou sea, forbidding a single vessel from setting out, so that merchants, fearing the law, dare not come. Moreover, the Shandong Provincial Administration Commissioner and the officials of Qingzhou, Dengzhou, and Laizhou have completely cut off the government grain supply. Therefore the soldiers are all in a panic, saying, 'This is a knife held to our throats — we are surely doomed.' And on top of this, starving and without food, they cannot but cry out in anguish!"

At the end of the fourth month, the Dongjiang Garrison abandoned Fuzhou and Pingshan.

In early intercalary fourth month, Mao Wenlong ordered the Dongjiang army to withdraw overseas as quickly as possible, abandoning all territory on the mainland except Lüshun and Tieshan…

On the eighteenth day of the intercalary fourth month, near Jinzhou.

Li Chengfeng, with a few of his retainers, was the last to leave Jinzhou. Though this was the southern gateway to Liaonan, the Dongjiang army no longer had the strength to hold it. This time, the Southern Pass and other places would also be abandoned. Under the plan, the Dongjiang Garrison would retain only the Lüshun bridgehead, which would eliminate the problem of overland grain transport and reduce pointless grain consumption to a minimum.

As long as Li Chengfeng himself had food, he would not let the retainers around him go hungry. So although these few men were all listless, they could still count on five dou of rice a month — considerably better than the three dou the common soldiers got, to say nothing of the old, weak, sick, and disabled.

Although Li Chengfeng had left Jinzhou two years ago and been sent to the front lines, this was, after all, the city where he had lived for four years, and thus the one to which he was most attached. During this great retreat of the Dongjiang Garrison's Left Wing, Li Chengfeng had served as the rearguard the whole way, setting fire to each fort and town as they went. But never before had any city compared to this one today.

Raging flames blazed up from the gate tower of Jinzhou. This fortress, which Li Chengfeng had once sworn to defend to the death, he had set alight with his own hands. He watched the fortress slowly turn to ash, bright flames dancing in his eyes. "General Zhang Pan, General Zhang Feimao, General Zhang Pan… city after city that our soldiers won back at the cost of a hundred deaths — Marshal Huang personally placed them in my hands, and in the end, without fighting a single battle, I have burned them all."

"This is not your fault, my lord. Let us return to Lüshun." The retainers, seeing that Li Chengfeng's state of mind seemed somewhat troubled, quickly offered their master a few words of comfort, then together led him onto the road.

All along the way, Li Chengfeng kept sighing heavily. "So wretched. I would rather they had all been taken by the Jianzhou Jurchens in battle than burned by our own hands."

"Land that so many soldiers bought back with their blood — given away to the Jurchens for nothing."

After reaching the Southern Pass, Li Chengfeng saw that the residents and garrison had all left, so he set it ablaze as well. Fresh graves could be seen everywhere along the road. Refugees fleeing south had hastily buried their kin and then hurried on toward Lüshun.

Occasionally, one or two bodies lay exposed in the wilderness. The sight pained Li Chengfeng deeply. Every time he came upon such a scene, he and his retainers would stop to bury the dead, giving those victims a resting place for their eternal sleep. "These are common folk and brothers who followed our army through years of war. How can we leave their bodies exposed in the wild, to be torn apart by stray dogs?"

"Halt." Li Chengfeng called his men to a stop once more. He jumped off his horse and ran to the roadside, examining a freshly dug pit. Li Chengfeng studied it with suspicion. "This is clearly a new grave. Who dug it up?"

After speaking, Li Chengfeng circled the grave several times, then followed a trail and two lines of footprints toward the woods by the road. The marks on the ground were clearly made by two people dragging something heavy. Li Chengfeng's heart sank — he had already guessed what had happened.

He had not walked far when Li Chengfeng lifted his nose and sniffed hard at the air. "A stench." He muttered softly to himself, his steps growing ever lighter as he crept forward on tiptoe.

Soon the smell grew stronger, now mingled with the scent of charcoal. Li Chengfeng cautiously hid behind trees as he slowly drew near. Unconsciously, his palms were cold and slick with sweat.

Ahead in the woods was a small clearing. A fire burned in the middle, and two figures sat hunched by it, wolfing something down ravenously. Li Chengfeng took one look and let out a howl of grief and fury. With that cry, he burst from the trees, his waist-saber already drawn.

Both men wore the common uniform of the Dongjiang Garrison. Beside them lay a corpse, dressed in the same Left Wing uniform they wore. The two men looked up in shock at the sound. Red-eyed, Li Chengfeng was already upon them. With one swing of his blade, he cut one man down to the ground.

"You beasts!" Li Chengfeng roared in a mad rage, then drove his saber into the other man's belly.

By now, Li Chengfeng's retainers had rushed to his side. The first man's neck had been severed by Li Chengfeng's blade; he lay stiff on the ground, dead. The dead man's cheeks were sunken, his lifeless eyes still staring wide. The other man clutched the blade in his belly but had not yet died.

Only then did Li Chengfeng see clearly that the dying man before him was just a young boy, his face not yet showing even a trace of beard. Li Chengfeng and his retainers all fell silent. He turned back to look at the first dead man — it seemed the two were father and son. Powerlessly, Li Chengfeng released the saber hilt. The boy fell heavily backward onto the ground, gasping great, ragged breaths, spitting out clots of bloody froth.

Li Chengfeng stepped forward. The boy, looking up into his killer's eyes, his face full of shame and unease, said, "My lord, I was hungry… hungry…"

The boy mumbled a few words in his own defense, his voice growing fainter and fainter, fading away along with the blood flowing out of his body. Li Chengfeng crouched down on the ground, clutched his head in his hands, and asked over and over, utterly distraught, "What have I done? What have I done?"

"My lord." After a long silence, one of his personal guards stepped forward and tried to help Li Chengfeng to his feet.

Li Chengfeng shook off the guard's hand and sprang up. He raised his head and gave a long, mournful cry toward the sky, then lowered his gaze to look at the father and son he had just killed. "The people of Liaodong, undaunted by hardship and danger, traveled a thousand li to join our Dongjiang army. All they sought was a mouthful of food, all they hoped for was to keep themselves alive. And in the end, not only could I not defend the land and bring peace to the people, I have with my own hands cut off another family's line of incense!"

"My lord, this is not your fault. Even Generals Mao Keyi and Mao Kexi could do nothing — what can you do?"

"Don't speak to me of the two Mao generals. My former superiors were General Zhang Pan and General Zhang Feimao." Li Chengfeng paused briefly, then cast his gaze back at the blade still lodged in the child's belly. "I once told Marshal Huang: I will hold the southern gateway of Liaodong with my life, I will never betray the trust Marshal Huang placed in me — until death and no further!"

On the eighteenth day of the intercalary fourth month of the second year of the Chongzhen reign, Li Chengfeng took his own life outside the southern pass.

……

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At the same time, the Dongjiang Army in Korea was also retreating toward Tieshan. Bai Youcai and the three Sun brothers had all been assigned to combat units this year and sent to Kuandian. During this retreat, because provisions were limited, each person was issued only two small flatcakes per day. A hundred thousand soldiers and civilians of the Dongjiang Garrison's Right Brigade marched out of the deep, ancient forests of the Changbai Mountains into northern Korea, then struggled and trudged across the mountain ranges of northern Korea, hoping to reach Tieshan as soon as possible.

"Bear it a little longer — once we reach Tieshan, there will be food!"

Because of hunger and exhaustion, people collapsed dead by the roadside almost every day. At first, everyone would rush over to try to save them, but as time passed, people gradually grew accustomed to it, and no one would spare a second glance at those unfortunate brothers lying dead by the road. Three days ago, the eldest Sun brother had also fainted from hunger. At the time, the second brother, the fourth brother, and Bai Youcai all thought he was dead, so they began digging a grave for him.

Unexpectedly, after they had finished digging the grave, the eldest Sun brother suddenly regained consciousness. The three overjoyed brothers tried to help him up, but he only slumped limply on the ground. No matter what anyone said, he remained utterly silent, and in his vacant eyes there was only deep, deep hunger. By the time the eldest Sun brother woke, the flatcakes had already been distributed. The person issuing them had also thought he was dead, so no portion had been kept for him.

Bai Youcai told the Sun brothers to look after their eldest brother while he himself ran to the officer in charge of provisions and begged him to issue the two flatcakes retroactively. The officer leading the unit called over several witnesses to clarify the situation, and after doing so, felt that food should indeed be reissued in such a case, so he stuffed two flatcakes into Bai Youcai's hands.

"Bear it a little longer — once we reach Tieshan, there will be food."

When Bai Youcai returned with the two cold, hard flatcakes, the eldest Sun brother, who had been lying on the ground unable to speak, sprang up from the ground, lunged forward, and devoured both flatcakes in three or four bites. Bai Youcai called out, "Slow down, slow down," but in his heart an ominous premonition surfaced.

Not long after eating the flatcakes, the eldest Sun brother suddenly clutched his stomach and began rolling on the ground, his face contorted in extreme agony. The terrified Sun brothers and Bai Youcai hurriedly went to find a physician. The army physician came, took one look, and asked, "Did he eat dirt?"

The second Sun brother was so anxious that tears nearly fell. "No, he didn't eat dirt — he ate flatcakes!"

"Oh, I see," the physician said, casting a pitying glance at the eldest Sun brother, who was still

struggling and being pinned firmly to the ground by his three brothers. "He's been too badly starved. His stomach has already failed. The flatcakes tore his insides open."

The three brothers were pressing down on the eldest Sun brother with all their strength, while the latter still thrashed violently, nearly breaking free from his brothers' grip several times. "Then what can be done?"

"Give him a quick end."

In the end, it was Bai Youcai who steeled his heart. He struck the eldest Sun brother on the back of the head with a club, and then they buried him in the grave they had already dug…

On the twenty-third day of the intercalary fourth month of the second year of the Chongzhen reign, Yuan Chonghuan and Hong Taiji had been engaged in peace negotiations for three months, and the economic blockade of the Dongjiang Garrison was still ongoing. Officials from the Ministry of Revenue returned from a visit to the islands and reported that Dongjiang Island, the headquarters of the Dongjiang Garrison, was also suffering from an unprecedented famine. Everywhere there were people reduced to skin and bone, their faces ashen. Even the rations for Mao Wenlong's personal guards had fallen to three dou per month.

Yuan Chonghuan once again pressed Korea, insisting that absolutely no more grain be provided to Mao Wenlong. Korean officials saw that the Dongjiang Garrison was in full retreat, and Dongjiang officers and soldiers starving to death on Korean streets were everywhere. By the end of the intercalary fourth month, Mao Wenlong could finally hold out no longer. He ordered the Dongjiang Army to prepare to withdraw from Korea. Since the first year of the Tianqi reign, when Mao Wenlong had led two hundred soldiers in a counterattack into Liaodong, this was the first time the Dongjiang Garrison had formally ordered the abandonment of the Liaodong mainland.

Bai Youcai and Sun Ergou flanked the fourth Sun brother, supporting him from left and right as they marched. Behind them, over ten thousand Dongjiang officers, soldiers, and civilians would never rise again. From Kuandian to Tieshan, the graves and bones of Dongjiang Army soldiers paved a trail of markers, guiding those who followed to continue struggling toward the headquarters.

"Hold on, hold on — we're almost at Tieshan. Once we get there, there will be food." Bai Youcai and Sun Ergou propped up the fourth brother and dragged him forward, repeatedly encouraging him: "We've come all this way — don't stop at the very last step!"

On the twenty-fourth day of the intercalary fourth month, the fourth brother could finally walk no more. Bai Youcai and Sun Ergou took turns carrying him on their backs. Soon, both of them were panting and gasping from exhaustion.

"Second Brother, Third Brother, just bury me here," the fourth brother murmured indistinctly.

"Nonsense! We're almost at Tieshan — once we reach Tieshan, there will be food."

In the afternoon, the column advanced to a place only a few li from Tieshan. Sun Ergou and Bai Youcai were truly utterly exhausted, and the fourth brother had already passed out.

"Second Brother," Bai Youcai was so spent that he lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath. His physical strength had now completely collapsed; every time he carried someone, he could only walk a few steps before having to stop and rest. "Tieshan is just ahead. I'll go get the rations. You stay here and watch over the fourth brother."

"Mm, go quickly and come back quickly."

"Understood."

Bai Youcai summoned his last reserves of courage and staggered unsteadily toward Tieshan. Sun Ergou held his younger brother and rested for a while, then got up to look for water. He filled a large gourd to the brim and returned, carefully pouring the water into a broken bowl. Then Sun Ergou laid his brother's head on his own thigh and held the water bowl against his chest, trying to warm it a little. Sun Ergou figured that if Bai Youcai came back with flatcakes again, he could use this bowl of water to soak them soft before feeding them to his brother.

Sun Ergou took off his clothes and draped them over his brother. From time to time he raised his head, squinting westward. Suddenly he heard a soft call: "Brother."

"Mm, feeling a bit better?" Sun Ergou lowered his head and gently stroked his brother's forehead.

"A bit better." The fourth brother's voice sounded noticeably louder, and his eyes had brightened again. Lying on his brother's lap, the fourth brother turned his neck slightly and asked in confusion, "Where's Third Brother? What did he go off to do? Are we almost at Tieshan?"

Sun Ergou smiled — a smile of hardship finally giving way to relief, radiating boundless joy and pride… Just as Sun Ergou was about to tell his brother that their suffering had reached its end, just as he was about to celebrate with his brother that they had finally struggled free of the death march, a weary, low shout came from not far away: "Second Brother!"

Sun Ergou raised his head at the sound. Bai Youcai stood empty-handed not far away, slowly shaking his head at him, his face dark and terrifyingly grim.

Sun Ergou's expression froze for a moment, then returned to normal. He lowered his head and said to his brother with a smile, "Almost there. We'll reach Tieshan very soon."

"Mm…" The fourth Sun brother nodded and closed his eyes, falling asleep again.

Bai Youcai slowly paced over to the Sun brothers' side and said quietly, "We'll keep carrying him. Dongjiang Island has boats to take us onto the island — there's food there."

Before Sun Ergou could reply, a miserable, piercing wail suddenly erupted beside them, drawing both men's attention. A middle-aged woman was clutching a young girl, shaking her desperately, then violently tearing at her own hair. A man who appeared to be her husband stood beside his wife and daughter, shivering uncontrollably, one shudder after another.

"The imperial court!" The woman lay sprawled on the ground, pounding the earth with all her might, until both palms were battered into a bloody pulp against the dirt and stones. "Does the imperial court mean to starve us to death?"

Her husband crouched down wordlessly and gathered his wife into his arms, gently patting the woman as she wailed in despair. When Bai Youcai turned back around, he saw Sun Ergou testing his brother's breath, then his pulse. Finally, Sun Ergou gently drew the clothes over his fourth brother's face. Now he, too, was utterly alone, just like Bai Youcai.

Sun Ergou raised his head and fixed his eyes on Bai Youcai, asking with grim intensity: "Why? Why exactly does the imperial court want to starve us to death?"

……

In the intercalary fourth month of the second year of the Chongzhen reign, Mao Wenlong repeatedly submitted memorials impeaching Yuan Chonghuan for embezzling the Dongjiang Army's pay and provisions and for cutting off the Dongjiang supply route. In his final letter of accusation, Mao Wenlong comprehensively refuted the civil officials' slanders against him. First, on the matter of military pay and provisions: "The grain received in kind amounted to over one million two hundred and eight thousand shi, and the silver commutation amounted to over one million four hundred and one thousand three hundred taels. The nominal figures do not match reality! Day and night we borrow gruel just to cling to life. For all such things as rice, beans, cloth, and silk, we have no choice but to turn to merchants from all quarters on credit, repaying them when the pay and provisions arrive — yet the annual pay and provisions never come!"

Over eight years, one million four hundred thousand taels of silver and a million shi of grain had been received — averaged out per year, that was only the pay and provisions for seven thousand men. Mao Wenlong argued that the several hundred thousand soldiers and civilians of the Dongjiang Garrison, surviving on the pay and provisions of seven thousand troops, could not even eat their fill — so how could there possibly be any embezzlement? He then questioned why the Ministry of Revenue, after verifying troop numbers, would only grant the Dongjiang Garrison half pay: "Moreover, each soldier is entitled to a monthly silver payment of one tael and four qian, and one hu of grain. This is the fixed quota. Yet the Ministry of Revenue has proposed cutting it by half for one army. I submit that soldiers are all the same — why should those at Guanning and those at Dongjiang be treated differently? I know not what reasoning lies behind this!"

In this lengthy, impassioned memorial, Mao Wenlong once again vented his fury to the fullest.

In the end, he even directed his attack at the entire civil official class, roaring at the Chongzhen Emperor: "The truth is that the civil officials have betrayed the realm — it is not I who have betrayed the realm! These ministers scheme only to eliminate me, not to eliminate the slaves. They would trade the rivers and mountains to satisfy their private grudges, turning their spears against their own household."

After reading the memorial, the Chongzhen Emperor forwarded it to the Liaodong Commandant's Office, ordering Yuan Chonghuan to provide an explanation.

By this time, Yuan Chonghuan had already been engaged in peace negotiations with Hong Taiji for four full months. He had also written to the Minister of War, Wang Qia, seeking support: "As for the peace negotiations east of the passes, there are already those within the court who advocate it. If Wenlong can cooperate wholeheartedly, then naturally there will be no suspicion or misgiving; otherwise, to take his head, Chonghuan shall be ready to lend the strength of his blade…"

Yuan Chonghuan first feigned great surprise at Mao Wenlong's accusations, claiming he had absolutely no idea that the Dongjiang Garrison had encountered difficulties. In front of everyone, he shamelessly declared that civil officials and military officers should cooperate fully. "When civil officials refuse to show consideration for military officers, and at the slightest disagreement immediately think of attacking one another — what kind of conduct is that? If there was a shortage of pay and provisions, why was it not reported in detail?"

After delivering this high-sounding speech before the palace emissaries and the assembled crowd, Yuan Chonghuan ordered that ten boatloads of grain and pay shipped from Tianjin be given to the messenger. He also wrote a personal letter of consolation to Mao Wenlong, and sent along with the boats reward silver, as well as pigs, sheep, wine, and noodles.

Beyond this, Yuan Chonghuan also publicly submitted a memorial requesting pay and provisions for Mao Wenlong. Because the Dongjiang Garrison's military pay and provisions for those two years had already been embezzled by Yuan Chonghuan, this time he asked the Emperor to once again order the Ministry of Revenue to scrape together one hundred thousand taels of silver for the Dongjiang Garrison. Once this condition was met, Yuan Chonghuan sent an invitation to Mao Wenlong, asking him to come to Shuang Island to discuss the issue of military pay and provisions.

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In the original history that Huang Shi knew, after killing Mao Wenlong, Yuan Chonghuan had smugly boasted that those words, that shipment of grain, and all the arrangements that followed had been his stratagem to deceive Mao Wenlong: "All of this was to fool him."

……

On the twentieth day of the fifth month of the second year of the Chongzhen reign, Liaoyang

When Manggūltai entered, Hong Taiji and Amin were bent over, studying a map closely. Hearing the footsteps, Hong Taiji raised his head for a glance, then straightened up and smiled. "Fifth Brother, no hunting today?"

"These past couple of days, seeing you never leave your tent, I thought I'd come check on you." Manggūltai strode over to Hong Taiji's side with great sweeping steps, tilted his head, and peered at the map a few times. "Studying this place again. What's it called? Jimen, right?"

"Fifth Brother has a fine memory. It is indeed the Ming Empire's Ji Garrison."

Mang Gurtai gazed at the map with lingering reluctance and let out a deep, emotional sigh: "You really have a way, Eighth Brother. It's only been a few months since the first month of this year, and our Great Jin's territory has tripled. Our armored soldiers have more than doubled. What we couldn't win on the battlefield, we've actually gained through peace talks!"

"Campaign east against Joseon, control the Mongols in the west. When drinking water, never forget the one who dug the well — Yuan Chonghuan, the Great Jin's best friend." Before Yuan Chonghuan took office as Military Commissioner of Liaodong, the Later Jin had been squeezed into the central Liaoning plain by Dongjiang Garrison and the Mongol tribes. Yet just a few months after Yuan Chonghuan became Supreme Commander of Ji-Liao, the Later Jin army had already crushed Joseon and formed an alliance with the Monan Mongols, extending their power right to the Ming dynasty's strategic choke points. Amin said in a strange, mocking tone: "Third Beile, you shouldn't go around giving Yuan Chonghuan random nicknames anymore. Ah, that such a hero and noble man exists in this world — it truly fills one with melancholy longing. I regret deeply that I cannot share a cup of wine and pleasant talk with him."

"Are you certain we're striking Ji Garrison?" Mang Gurtai studied the map carefully. Hong Taiji and Amin had drawn several circles and dots on it, and had even highlighted a few routes with emphasis: "But even though Mao Wenlong has been kicked out, if we leave, he might very well come back."

"Of course. Wenlong is also an old friend of ours. Who among us doesn't know about his little hobbies?" Amin shook his head sadly and patted Hong Taiji on the shoulder beside him: "It's a pity that the Fourth Beile has a good friend named Yuan Chonghuan. Wenlong no longer has a chance."

Hong Taiji gave a soft laugh: "Striking Ji Garrison originally had four difficulties. First, the Monan Mongols were our enemies, not our friends — Yuan Chonghuan helped us solve that one. The road before us is now open. Second, Ji Garrison's Commander Zhao Shuaijiao is a tough man who would never surrender, much less flee. Yuan Chonghuan has already transferred him and his four thousand Retainers to Shanhai Pass, and has also cut the remaining troops in Ji Garrison by thirty percent. The Xifengkou area is now effectively undefended. Third, Ningyuan's Commander Man Gui has considerable courage. If we penetrated deep into Ji Garrison, he could strike from the flank and cut our supply lines and retreat route. Now Yuan Chonghuan has kicked him off to Datong — our flank is secure."

Hong Taiji stretched out his hand and pointed toward Dongjiang Island: "Mao Wenlong spent thirty years in Liaodong. For eleven of those years, he made trouble for our Great Jin. Three hundred of his clansmen died in the struggle. He gathered up several hundred thousand refugees. His battle merits are the greatest, his toil and hardship the heaviest… If a man like this does not meet a good end, then among all the Ming commanders — including that Huang Shi — will any of them still believe they can meet a good end?"