Chapter 315: Section 60: Opening the Pass (Part 2) (II)

On the tenth day of the eleventh month of the second year of the Chongzhen reign, Dengzhou.

"Yesterday word came from the capital: the Jian slaves broke through at Xifengkou, took Zunhua, and His Majesty has issued an edict summoning all the realm to come to the king's aid."

The commanders before Huang Shi all wore grave expressions, none daring even to breathe too loudly. Zhen Yucun at Huang Shi's side was also full of anxiety, his hands hidden in his sleeves restlessly clenching and unclenching.

"Since the Jiajing reign, the dynasty has not heard of such a thing for decades — that the northern barbarians should breach the border walls and threaten the imperial heartland."

The Mongol breach during the Jiajing reign was also a storm brought on by a high-ranking Ming frontier official. That year, Qiu Luan believed the Mongols raided the border only to plunder goods, and that if they were given enough, they would naturally stop coming. So Qiu Luan consistently pursued a policy of delivering goods to their door. When the Mongols wanted rice, he gave them rice; when they wanted cloth, he gave them cloth. Later, when the Mongols demanded armor and weapons, Qiu Luan actually gave them those too! The result was that the Mongols launched a massive invasion, sending troops to attack Beijing.

"When the sovereign is troubled, his ministers are shamed. Pass on my command: the Funing Army is to assemble and march at once, land at Tianjin, and proceed directly to Beijing to serve the king." Huang Shi, his face stern, swept his gaze across his subordinates and shouted, "Gentlemen, we shall drive the Jian slaves back to their lair."

The officers of the Funing Army raised their arms as one and roared, "We shall drive them back to their lair!"

Just as Huang Shi gave the order to prepare to move out, the guards outside suddenly reported that two Dengzhou soldiers were seeking an audience. The inner guard had not wanted to let them see him, but they claimed to be former Dongjiang soldiers and clung to Huang Shi's headquarters gate, refusing to leave no matter what.

Upon hearing they were soldiers from the Dongjiang main force, Huang Shi paused briefly and decided to see them. After Mao Wenlong was murdered, Huang Shi had sent men to Beijing to visit Mao Chengdou and had delivered a funeral offering. Huang Shi held deep feelings for Mao Wenlong and his officers. Since he still had a little time, he had the inner guard bring them in while ordering someone to prepare a few pieces of silver.

The two who entered were Bai Youcai and Sun Ergou. They were originally grain-transport soldiers stationed outside Dengzhou. Returning to Dengzhou the day before, they had happened to see Huang Shi's serpent banner. The two of them had seen Huang Shi's banner during the battle of Haizhou and had also glimpsed Huang Shi's face amid the vast army. When they saw the White-Feathered soldiers inside the camp, they became even more certain that this was Huang Shi's force, so they had hurried over to request an audience.

The two had come this time with a request to make, but upon entering the tent and seeing Huang Shi's face, Bai Youcai blurted out loudly, "Commander Huang, have you returned to launch the counteroffensive against Liaodong? Surely you must be about to counterattack Liaodong?"

Hearing this, Sun Ergou was momentarily stunned as well. Though the two brothers had fled to the Dongjiang islands, they still yearned day and night to follow Mao Wenlong back to the mainland. After Mao Wenlong was murdered, the Dongjiang Army began to lose cohesion. Later, when Yuan Chonghuan wanted to disband the Dongjiang Army, Chen Jisheng was also powerless to sustain the livelihood of several hundred thousand Liaodong refugees, so he urged his subordinate commanders to take their troops and civilians to Dengzhou in Shandong.

Once this order was issued, no one said it aloud, but everyone understood in their hearts: once they boarded the ships bound for Shandong, they would likely never have another chance to return to their homeland in this lifetime. Gradually, some began to desert. Everyone knew perfectly well where these deserters were going, but the curses on their lips merely circled there, each feeling they could not curse with a clear conscience.

Still, Chen Jisheng was a Dongjiang man himself and had considerable prestige within the Dongjiang Army. Most of the combat soldiers ultimately chose to stay with him. But other military households boarded the seagoing vessels and followed their officers to this unfamiliar land of Shandong. Bai Youcai and Sun Ergou had boarded the ship with Assistant Regional Commander Pan and come to Dengzhou in Shandong to scrape out a living.

"Commander Huang, we want to follow you in the counteroffensive against Liaodong."

Looking at the fervent hope on their faces, Huang Shi felt a weight settle in his heart. "Yes, I have returned to fight the Jian slaves."

Both men's faces showed relief and joy. After a moment of release and excitement, Bai Youcai suddenly burst into loud sobs. "Commander Huang, Grand Commander Mao... the Grand Commander is gone, Grand Commander Mao is gone."

Sun Ergou's joy instantly vanished. Hearing Bai Youcai's weeping, his own grief surged forth, and he sobbed as he clutched his chest. "Commander Huang, Grand Commander Mao saved so many lives, yet the Emperor would not avenge the Grand Commander, allowing petty men to wrong the Grand Commander, to wrong us."

After the two brothers had calmed somewhat, Huang Shi learned that they had another matter to ask his help with. That Assistant Regional Commander Pan had led over ten thousand Liaodong refugees to make a living in Dengzhou, but some days ago, Assistant Regional Commander Pan had been arrested on charges of plotting rebellion.

Bai Youcai soon fetched Ma Ding, who had been Assistant Regional Commander Pan's personal guard captain. Upon seeing Huang Shi, Ma Ding was both astonished and overjoyed. "Grand Commander Huang, with you presiding over the great cause of pacifying Liaodong, the counteroffensive against Liaodong is surely only a matter of days."

Huang Shi smiled faintly and asked Ma Ding to recount the full story. Huang Shi had long known that Assistant Regional Commander Pan was a native of Shandong, but he had not known that Pan had once been a runaway slave from the household of a Provincial Graduate in Shandong. After Pan earned merit and promotion in Dongjiangzhen, Mao Wenlong, finding the man honest and sincere, twice sent him back to Dengzhou to escort grain supplies.

During those times, Assistant Regional Commander Pan had gone to see his former acquaintances. But now he was a dignified military officer, so that former Provincial Graduate master naturally could do nothing to him. Since Pan was under orders to escort grain, he was wholeheartedly devoted to Dongjiangzhen's interests. He

was also a man of stubborn principle, and no matter what, he refused to allow Dengzhou to shortchange Dongjiangzhen's grain supplies. As a result, he earned a reputation among the civil officials for arrogance and insolence.

After Mao Wenlong's death, Assistant Regional Commander Pan brought over ten thousand brothers to Dengzhou. He remained as blunt and upright as ever, arguing on solid grounds for every grain and pay disbursement and refusing to wallow in the mire with corrupt officials. This earned him the bitter hatred of several officials in the Dengzhou Military Defense Circuit. In the end, those officials seized on a pretext: since Yuan Chonghuan had claimed Mao Wenlong intended to attack Shandong, Pan's two trips to Shandong were clearly reconnaissance missions. Moreover, the man was originally a runaway slave from a Provincial Graduate's household — base in character and conduct. They petitioned the court to strip Pan of his official rank and throw him in prison to be thoroughly punished.

"Both the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Justice approved the impeachment from the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission. Those dog-officials threw Assistant Regional Commander Pan into prison. I beg Commander Huang to save General Pan's life." As Ma Ding finished his account, his face was filled with fury.

Bai Youcai and Sun Ergou pleaded in unison, "We dare ask Commander Huang to save General Pan's life."

"Very well, leave this matter to me. I will go speak with the Prefect of Dengzhou at once. He should give me face." Huang Shi still had some impression of that ever-smiling Assistant Regional Commander Pan — the "Pan the Fool" that Geng Zhongming and Kong Youde spoke of was an honest man. Huang Shi felt he could not stand by and watch him be wronged to death.

"This matter of Pan Yidao is indeed something this humble official knew nothing about, nor was this case handled by me. But since Commander Huang vouches for him, this humble official believes it must be a misunderstanding." Zhen Yucun was quite forthcoming. He checked the case files, found that Assistant Regional Commander Pan had not yet been convicted, and casually wrote a note ordering his subordinates to find some random pretext to close the case and release Pan Yidao. "Since he is a friend of Commander Huang, you may send someone to take him away today. As for the follow-up, Commander Huang need not trouble himself — this humble official will personally see to it."

"Many thanks, my lord Zhen."

"Commander Huang is too courteous. A mere trifle."

After coming out, Huang Shi handed the note to the profusely grateful Ma Ding and the others, and also told them that before he left, he would visit Pan Yidao. As for this campaign to serve the king, Huang Shi would not be taking them along.

After receiving the order to serve the king, Zhen Yucun felt that Huang Shi was certain to earn merit this time, so he too wanted to gain a share of the credit. Over the past few days, Zhen Yucun had practically turned the Dengzhou prefectural storehouses upside down, with an overall efficiency far surpassing that of earlier days. He quickly scraped together enough provisions for Huang Shi to feed fifteen thousand land troops for ten days.

Huang Shi felt these provisions would suffice for now; after landing, he could also obtain supplies locally. However, some of the vessels for the rear Vanguard Battalion had still not arrived, and some units had just disembarked and could not immediately be committed to battle. Huang Shi decided to send the Firefighting Battalion and the greater part of the Boulder Battalion out first, with the follow-up forces advancing gradually behind them.

Beyond the issue of tactical deployment, another major concern for Huang Shi was intelligence security. He very much hoped to give Hong Taiji a "pleasant surprise." From the opponent's perspective, the Funing Army could not possibly appear on the front lines without a month and a half to two months, so Huang Shi believed Hong Taiji had not factored him in at all.

Jin Qiude and the staff officers all believed it was unlikely that Hong Taiji knew Huang Shi had already reached Shandong. Huang Shi's coming to Shandong was not for combat; it appeared to be nothing more than an accidental stop for resupply. Such a routine report belonged to the lowest-priority category of court correspondence. Passing up level by level from the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission, it would be no surprise if it took two months to reach Beijing.

Now that the Later Jin had breached the border and invaded, the courier network around the capital region was probably entirely occupied with transmitting urgent military dispatches. The skies were likely filled with all manner of emergency reports. A low-level routine report like Huang Shi's would certainly be buried under the pile, so the staff officers believed that for the time being, no one would notice the Funing Army quietly arriving in Shandong.

The staff's judgment was highly persuasive. Huang Shi was confident that the appearance of his grand army would give Hong Taiji a tremendous shock. The imagined image of Hong Taiji utterly stunned gave him great pleasure. "I truly would like to see the expression on his face the first time he lays eyes on the serpent banner. That would be most amusing."

Huang Shi had already made his decision: early the next morning, part of the Firefighting Battalion and the Boulder Battalion would set out, landing on the inner shore of Bohai Bay within five days, while the remainder of the Boulder Battalion and the Vanguard Battalion would catch up with the main force at top speed. The staff had already begun work on Huang Shi's strategic resolve. This time, Huang Shi would be marching on friendly territory, so reconnaissance should not be a major problem.

However, marching speed was also closely tied to the supply situation. Huang Shi still intended to employ a carrot-and-stick policy to compel the local authorities to cooperate. He held the imperial sword and the silver command arrow; any local official below the rank of prefect who tried to obstruct him would be no match. And if they cooperated well, Huang Shi did not mind sharing a bit more of the credit with them — presumably, these people could still weigh the pros and cons. Since supplies could be obtained from local depots, Huang Shi ordered the marching speed raised by a notch, striving to achieve a forced march of over sixty li per day on the official roads, and over eighty li per day on the plains.

After deploying the military arrangements, Huang Shi took a few guards to visit Pan Yidao. He reckoned that with Pan Yidao's temperament, he had likely suffered considerably in prison, so he also had the guards bring a supply of Funingzhen's specially prepared wound medicine, along with two live chickens and some tonics.

When he reached the entrance of Ma Ding's tent, Huang Shi smiled and greeted Bai Youcai at the door. But Bai Youcai's expression was extremely solemn. He bowed with clasped fists, his face devoid of any joy. "Commander Huang!"

Huang Shi swept his gaze over the several men standing at the door. Every one of them had his face drawn tight, without the slightest trace of a smile. Huang Shi put away his own smile, strode quickly to the tent entrance and stopped. He drew a deep breath, then lifted the flap and stepped inside.

Ma Ding rose and bowed to Huang Shi. "Commander Huang."

Huang Shi no longer had the heart to return the courtesy. He walked slowly to the bedside, stared blankly for a moment, then bent down and called softly beside Assistant Regional Commander Pan's ear, "Brother Pan."

"Commander Huang, General Pan can no longer hear you." Ma Ding's deep voice sounded from behind Huang Shi.

Huang Shi reached out to stroke Assistant Regional Commander Pan's forehead, but his hand stopped just before touching his brow. Huang Shi drew a breath, straightened up, and without turning his head, asked, "Brother Ma, what exactly happened here?"

"In answer to Commander Huang, we brothers have already made inquiries." Ma Ding's voice trembled slightly. Today, after they had carried Assistant Regional Commander Pan back, the entire camp's brothers were enraged. The prison guards of Dengzhou Prefecture, unwilling to bring trouble upon themselves, had told them what happened to Pan Yidao, though they kept emphasizing that it was the doing of the Military Defense Circuit officials and had nothing to do with them, the prison guards.

"...Those dog-officials wanted to force General Pan to confess that his coming to Dengzhou to supervise grain shipments was a pretense, and that conducting reconnaissance for Grand Commander Mao was the truth. General Pan, of course, would not betray Grand Commander Mao. Those dog-officials said... those dog-officials said that even the Emperor had acknowledged that the dog Yuan did right and did well. They asked Assistant Regional Commander Pan if he intended to overturn the Emperor's verdict..."

Huang Shi looked at Pan Yidao lying on the bed, covered in wounds and more dead than alive, and asked softly, "Brother Pan has always spoken bluntly. He probably said something unpleasant, didn't he?"

"Commander Huang sees clearly. What words would General Pan speak? General Pan said only one thing, over and over: '

Grand Commander Mao was wronged.' And so those dog-officials destroyed General Pan's eyes, and pierced his ears, but... but even so, General Pan still kept shouting 'Grand Commander Mao was wronged,' and so... and so those dog-officials cut out General Pan's tongue as well."

Huang Shi slowly knelt on one knee beside Assistant Regional Commander Pan's bed and gently straightened the hair on his forehead. Pan Yidao, who had been lying utterly still, suddenly started awake from his stupor, gripped Huang Shi's arm with all his might, and desperately emitted garbled, indistinct sounds. Huang Shi listened carefully for a while before he could make out what Pan Yidao had been shouting all along:

"Grand... Commander... Mao... wronged... Grand... Commander... Mao... wronged..."

Pan Yidao's body, once as robust as an ox, had become so emaciated and frail that it seemed a light touch would shatter it. Yet his grip on Huang Shi's hand was still as powerful as when he had dug at the walls of Haizhou. "Grand... Commander... Mao... wronged, Grand Commander... Mao... wronged."

Huang Shi pressed his lips tightly together without a word. He felt only his chest heaving faster and faster. With every breath, something scorching seemed to surge straight up from within him.

"General Pan cannot see, nor can he hear. We have no way to make him understand that he has been rescued. We have consulted several physicians, and they all told us to prepare for his passing, saying it is only a matter of these next two days."

With difficulty, Huang Shi forced a few words through clenched teeth. "Brother Ma, did Brother Pan say anything else?"

"Nothing else. General Pan only kept crying out for Grand Commander Mao's injustice, hoping to see Grand Commander Mao's grievance redressed. Even now, General Pan still believes the Emperor has merely been deceived by petty men." Ma Ding's tone remained utterly calm, as if he were recounting something that had nothing whatsoever to do with him.

Huang Shi had been unable to bring himself to pull his hand away, but Pan Yidao’s muffled voice came to an abrupt halt. A few strange sounds gurgled from his throat, and his head lolled to the side. The agony that had long tormented Assistant Regional Commander Pan finally left him. This man who could not weep, right up to the final moment of his life, Pan Yidao still had his mouth stretched into a comical grin, and he let out a faint sigh of relief.

Huang Shi remained silent for a long time. Though his former comrade’s hand was gradually turning cold, it still gripped his arm like a drowning man clutching at straw, as if there were a thousand words left unspoken. Suddenly, Huang Shi embraced the corpse tightly and said in a rapid, urgent voice: “Brother Pan, I know the injustice you suffered. I know the injustice Marshal Mao suffered too. I will certainly cry out your grievances and avenge you. I swear it, I swear it. I swear it!”

……

On the thirteenth day of the second year of the Chongzhen reign, near Jizhou, at dusk, a black mass of figures was pouring into the narrow Yixiantian passage beyond Jimen. This torrent surged swiftly forward, soon flowing right up to the foot of Jimen.

Behind Jimen, the various loyalist armies that had once gathered on the main road to the capital had all been transferred away. The Grand Coordinator of Ji-Liao, Yuan Chonghuan, had left only his own elite troops here — the Guanning Iron Cavalry.

Behind Jimen lay village after village. Since the late Jiajing reign, this large area had not seen war for decades. Several generations had lived peacefully on this land, leading their ordinary, unremarkable lives.

Behind a bare tree, a girl in a patterned cotton jacket lifted her head to gaze at the faintly visible ridge of Mount Yan in the distance, then shyly lowered her head again. Behind this young girl, a young man, also bundled up in a thick cotton jacket, was boasting about his wealth to his beloved: “The two little sows I raise are especially sturdy. Last time I went to market, someone wanted to buy them at a high price, but I wasn’t willing!”

The young man then patted the large tree beside them and straightened his chest like a real man: “When this tree sprouts leaves, I’ll go ask your father for your hand.”

“Mm,” the girl answered softly with her head lowered, and added in a tiny voice: “Head of the household.”

Behind the young couple was a small village. A white-bearded old man sat at the village entrance, holding a tree branch, frantically fending off the attacks of two small children, one older and one younger. The two children each held a branch as well, their little faces taut with concentration as they solemnly launched their assault on their grandfather.

“Well done!” the grandfather bellowed as he sidestepped, dodging a straight thrust from one of his little grandsons, then lightly swatted him on the backside. At the same time, he called out with authority: “Young hero, watch closely!”

Inside the village, a middle-aged woman and her daughter were boiling water to prepare dinner, while the father was feeding the ox in the backyard. The ox stood there slowly chewing its hay, and the man was vigorously brushing the ox’s body. After he finished grooming the plow ox, the man stepped back two paces and admired his old partner, now looking glossy and fresh, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

“Good fellow, so sturdy.” The man patted his old ox lightly, then gently stroked along its back. The ox paused its eating, raised its head, and looked at its master with large eyes, letting out a gentle low in response, then lowered its head again to continue eating its hay.

……

The black torrent still flowed swiftly forward, surging past Jizhou Fort and out of the narrow Yixiantian defile. The torrent seemed to pause slightly, then began to accelerate again. Accompanied by the unceasing sound of hoofbeats, the torrent spilled over the ridge of Mount Yan, then continued to surge onward, flowing toward the Jingji Plain behind Mount Yan — that vast, undefended plain, dotted entirely with quiet villages and unsuspecting common folk.

After the hoofbeats passed, the rolling sound of countless wheels followed. Thousands upon thousands of people with small queues pushed handcarts with all their might, panting heavily as they struggled westward. They were all single-mindedly pushing their carts forward, and almost no one glanced back at Jimen Pass, which they had already left behind them.

The sounds of hoofbeats, cartwheels, and footsteps mingled together, echoing through the ridges of Mount Yan. The mountains themselves seemed to be awakened by this clamor, humming and buzzing with low echoes, and this sound grew louder and louder… If you listened carefully, they seemed to be asking a question;

Yuan Chonghuan, Yuan Chonghuan!

In the Hall of Golden Chimes, was it not you who beat your chest and vowed to the Son of Heaven to “pacify Liao within five years”?

During the audience at the Orchid Terrace, was it not you who personally received the Imperial Sword, presented with both hands by the Emperor?

After arriving at Jimen, was it not you who repeatedly assured the imperial court that you “would never allow the slaves to cross one step west of Ji”?

Is it not you, as Grand Coordinator of Ji-Liao, whose single word determines the safety of the capital’s millions of commoners, whose single act decides the fortune or ruin of countless living souls?

Why do you not resist? Why do you not resist?

Why, why, why do you not resist?

Why, in the end, do you not resist?

But everyone was in such a hurry that they had no time to carefully discern the mountain range’s call.

A man with a queue, after pushing his cart out of the Jimen valley road, stopped to wipe away sweat and glanced back at Jimen in the night — not even a signal fire had been lit upon it!

On the thirteenth day of the eleventh month of the second year of the Chongzhen reign, the Later Jin army crossed the natural barrier of Jimen without bloodying their blades and invaded the Jingji Plain of the Great Ming.