Chapter 65: Section Thirteen

After a round of flattery and modesty, Huang Shi kept feeling that Kong Youde seemed to have something he wanted to say, but always hesitated on the verge of speaking. Unable to hold back, he asked directly: “I sense that General Kong wishes to tell me something — please, by all means speak plainly.”

Kong Youde gave another hearty laugh: “I find General Huang to be a forthright man as well, so I shall risk offense. General Huang is certainly not leading troops for the first time, but tonight there are some puzzling aspects.”

“Please speak.”

“May I ask whether General Huang knows the approximate strength of my forces.”

“I do not, but they are surely greater than mine.”

“Precisely — that is what I wished to say.” Kong Youde’s expression turned serious: “Since General Huang knows the enemy is powerful, you ought to light fires and hold the walls. Since General Huang knows the enemy’s situation is unclear, solid, honest defense is the proper course; stratagems and such are best used sparingly.”

Seeing Huang Shi stare back speechless, Kong Youde hurriedly added: “I have not led troops many times either; what I say may not be correct.”

“Not so — General Kong speaks very rightly.” The Kong Youde before him was one of the first-rate famous generals of the late Ming; even if he claimed one man could defeat a hundred, Huang Shi would half-believe it. He quickly seized the chance to learn: “I still have some questions to consult you on; General Kong, please, you must dispel my confusion.”

After that Huang Shi and Kong Youde talked late into the night. Throughout the journey so far, Huang Shi had accumulated many questions about marching, encamping, and scouting. Kong Youde admired Huang Shi’s integrity, so he held nothing back in his guidance, and the two parted in delight only at daybreak.

Next, Kong Youde naturally invited Huang Shi to travel together, and Huang Shi also felt that his chances of survival were far greater with such a man — after all, history proved he could reach Dongjiang alive.

Huang Shi’s immediate agreement secretly startled Kong Youde. In truth, Kong Youde’s invitation had been merely a polite gesture; he had assumed that since Huang Shi’s men were all cavalry, they would naturally flee on their own, unwilling to be burdened by civilians and infantry. He never imagined Huang Shi would agree at once. Mistakenly believing Huang Shi intended to stay and help him, Kong Youde was moved, and all the more convinced of Huang Shi’s peerless loyalty and righteousness.

Huang Shi’s crafty calculations not only eluded Kong Youde — even his own subordinates were baffled. Though they had already resigned themselves to misfortune, they still bore some hostility toward Kong Youde and clamored to leave first. Huang Shi immediately used the wounded as a reason to hold them back, declaring that he would never abandon a single subordinate.

After traveling with Kong Youde, Huang Shi discovered that Kong Youde had not brought the civilians along purely out of kindness. First, the several hundred soldiers under Kong Youde no longer had to worry about provisions or setting camp. Second, the sick and wounded were far easier to care for.

Under these favorable conditions, He Baodao displayed the tenacity of a cockroach and stubbornly survived. A few days later, Huang Shi saw him eating a bowl of congee with the help of a woman and knew the fellow’s life was nine-tenths saved.

Kong Youde had indeed not acted purely out of kindness. He had considered this problem before fleeing Xiningbao. In the past, the Ming army fought relying on its home territory, where food and medicine for the wounded could be supplied by the garrison. Once they became an isolated force, none of that could be replenished locally. If soldiers were sent to forage for grain or perform labor, it would greatly affect the army’s combat effectiveness and mobility.

Kong Youde’s concern was exactly the problem Huang Shi had encountered earlier: aside from severe non-combat attrition, every sick or wounded man also required combat personnel to look after him.

Kong Youde brought the civilians along with the idea that one more person meant one more share of strength. He also reckoned that the Later Jin’s attention was entirely drawn to the main force at Guangning, so a slightly slower march was nothing to fear — and on this gamble, he had bet correctly.

Taking advantage of marching by day, the huge column of nearly three thousand people was not terribly slow. After observing for many days, Huang Shi noticed that there were remarkably few elderly people in this group.

In response to Huang Shi’s question, Kong Youde answered offhandedly that whether before setting out or when accepting soldiers and civilians along the way, he always carried out a selection.

“I told those old people that if I took them along, I could not guarantee their children and grandchildren would escape with their lives — so they voluntarily withdrew.”

“Withdrew?”

“Left, or took their own lives,” Kong Youde answered without emotion.

“And the young people did not go looking for their fathers and grandfathers?” Huang Shi’s voice rose. Were the people of this era not supposed to hold family supremely dear?

“Look for what? Most had already bid farewell to their children and grandchildren.” Kong Youde sighed, as if recalling those partings of life and death: “A terribly sorrowful and heartrending scene.”

“And then? They simply accepted the old people’s sacrifice?” Huang Shi’s mouth gaped wide enough to fit an apple.

“Everyone wants to live. What most people need is merely a pretext — a pretext to comfort themselves.” Kong Youde’s eyes were full of sorrow, and his expression now rather matched the image of a wise man in Huang Shi’s mind.

Since the Later Jin had occupied Liaodong, Nurhaci enforced the head-shaving decree and indulged the Eight Banners in seizing Han civilians’ property, wives, and daughters, meeting civilian resistance with the butcher’s blade. Ming soldiers could surrender without too many qualms, but there was not a single civilian who did not think of how to flee back under Great Ming rule.

“The old people told them to preserve the family incense. I told them that if they wanted revenge, they had to keep their lives.” After Kong Youde finished, he fell silent, and Huang Shi fell silent too. Yes — once a person had a pretext to comfort their own heart, the instinctive will to survive gained the upper hand. This was the chaos of a fallen age, an age when human lives were cheap as dogs.

After joining forces with Kong Youde, Huang Shi and his men still set up their own separate camp. Although Huang Shi did not think Kong Youde intended to swallow up his troops, he had even less intention of leaving himself defenseless against it.

Huang Shi’s men, for their part, had always prided themselves on being the elite of the Guangning main army, only to be battered and humiliated in a night raid by a bunch of local garrison troops. They said nothing aloud, but in their hearts they could not swallow the insult. Now every glance from Kong Youde’s soldiers, every smile, was interpreted by them as mockery. Huang Shi did his utmost to suppress this sentiment, but with little effect — truth be told, he had his own knot of resentment too.

Today, after making camp, Huang Shi ducked into his tent, sprawled out his limbs, and collapsed. A satisfied sigh escaped his nostrils as he prepared to drift into a dead sleep.

Unfortunately, heaven does not follow human wishes.

“My lord.”

Limping, Zhao Manxiong arrived with his voice and burst straight in.

“What is it?” Disturbed, Huang Shi’s face was full of irritation as he lazily propped himself up. He was also very displeased that Zhao Manxiong had charged right in.

His face burning with indignation, Zhao Manxiong answered in a gruff voice: “My lord, a fight has broken out outside — some whelps of Kong Youde’s have come knocking and started brawling.”

After speaking, Zhao Manxiong panted heavily, his chest heaving violently. This sight alarmed Huang Shi even more than his words.

“Fighting with Kong Youde’s men? Do you think I’m not vexed enough already?”

Huang Shi kipped up like a carp, glaring fiercely at Zhao Manxiong while furiously yanking on his boots. Snatching up his cloak and helmet, he shoved aside Zhao Manxiong, who was blocking his way, threw open the tent flap, and charged out. Zhao Manxiong scratched his head and hurried after him.

The brawl was at the edge of Huang Shi’s camp. Several dozen soldiers were locked in a bare-knuckle melee, while a crowd of refugees stood outside the circle watching the show. Jin Qiude and several of his men came trotting over, each with a club in hand, looking ready to join the fray.