[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-69":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Stealing Ming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1220686,1614,"Chapter 69: Section 17","stealing-ming-chapter-69",69,"\u003Cp>Kong Youde spoke lightly of it, but in fact he still dispatched a hundred of his best men. Those Later Jin soldiers had not encountered such bold Ming troops in a very long time and were caught off guard. Their greater mistake was that, facing superior Ming forces, they still attempted to resist, mistakenly believing the Ming troops would quickly scatter. The result was that only a few with light wounds escaped; the rest were completely annihilated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This victory boosted the morale of Kong Youde's men even higher, but before they could recover from their elation, Huang and Kong both doused the entire military and civilian population with a bucket of cold water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Youde briefly outlined the perilous situation they currently faced, then announced his orders. The cavalry would protect the refugee column and move out swiftly; the infantry would serve as the rear guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where both father and son are in the army, the father stays. Where both brothers are in the army, the elder brother stays. Those who are the only son in their family shall withdraw with the main force.\" Kong Youde's arrangement was the exact opposite of Lord Xinling's arrangement in ancient times, because this rear-guard mission was a near-certain death. The soldiers who stayed had to be resolved to die without regret so that their families could escape safely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The four hundred soldiers designated to stay behind bid farewell to their families one after another. First a few scattered sobs rose in the camp, then heaven-shaking wails erupted. Though everyone was grief-stricken, they all knew time was pressing. After the four hundred soldiers watched their loved ones depart into the night, they were ordered to rest immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"General Huang, are you certain you want to stay?\" Kong Youde was astonished that Huang Shi insisted on not withdrawing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes. Brother Kong risks extraordinary danger to hold the rear. Unworthy as Huang is, I will accompany you for a stretch.\" Huang Shi did not know whether the main force was in danger, but he did know that historically Kong Youde had made it out alive, so this chance to observe could not be missed. He handed the cavalry over to his subordinates and stayed behind alone, without even bringing his personal guards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Huang's noble loyalty,\" Kong Youde, unaware of all these calculations in Huang Shi's mind, was so moved that he could not help bowing to Huang Shi in salute. \"Kong once felt that the general's reputation exceeded the man himself and harbored some reservations in his heart. But true character is revealed in adversity — Kong is utterly ashamed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi's face was all magnanimous smiles. \"Think nothing of it. If Brother Kong truly feels apologetic, then treat your brother to a drink in Lüshun as penance.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Certainly, certainly.\" Kong Youde hastily agreed, then summoned his courage and said, \"Friends made in humble times must not be forgotten. Today General Huang shares life and death with me, so while I am still alive I wish to swear brotherhood with the general. May I ask the general's thoughts?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi was overjoyed at these words. A fierce general like Kong Youde was someone he had deliberately sought to befriend — was he supposed to leave him for Hong Taiji? Although the oppressive pressure Hong Taiji left on him was still formidable, in his subconscious Huang Shi still regarded him as his fated adversary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What Elder Brother Kong has said is exactly what your younger brother holds in his heart. To be able to swear brotherhood with Elder Brother — your younger brother could die with his eyes closed in peace.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right then and there, the two of them gathered earth to serve as incense and swore an oath as brothers of different surnames. For an atheist like Huang Shi, swearing a deadly oath was no different from breaking wind, but Kong Youde, hearing the utterly sincere tone and content of his words, was delighted and deeply moved in his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By late morning the next day, there was still no sign of Later Jin cavalry arriving in force. Kong Youde and Huang Shi understood: most likely the Later Jin main force would not arrive today. The soldiers' strength had by now been fully restored, and not a man among them was willing to stay put and wait for death. So they burned the camp and set out, hoping to cover some distance before sunset.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the army had marched barely a few li when they saw nearly a hundred Later Jin cavalry closing in from the rear. They advanced in dispersed formation, circling around from both flanks, and soon formed a distant encirclement on three sides, then slowly pressed in toward the Ming troops in the center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi naturally still had a horse to ride. Throughout this time he kept his eyes fixed on the movements of the Later Jin troops. As he watched the enemy draw closer and closer, his palms could not help but grow slick with sweat, and the hand gripping the horse's reins began to spasm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Youde saw Huang Shi's tension, rode up beside him, and said softly, \"Second Brother, do not be nervous. As long as your elder brother has a single breath left in him, he will see his brother safely through.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Many thanks. I have made a fool of myself before Elder Brother.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Youde nodded again to reassure Huang Shi, then loudly gave the order: \"Maintain marching formation! Outer ranks raise shields! Archers, stand ready!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Ming soldiers responded in unison. The column kept a one-meter interval. The soldiers on the outermost layer hoisted their shields onto their shoulders, facing the direction where the Later Jin cavalry were prowling. The next layer inward all switched to soldiers carrying bows and crossbows. After the formation adjusted, the column continued striding forward, treating the Later Jin cavalry on their flanks and rear as if they did not exist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having been in this era for so long, Huang Shi had gained a fair understanding of the power of bows. Cavalrymen generally carried two types of bows. The short bow suited for mounted archery had a range of only fifty to seventy meters, with accurate shooting possible only at around ten meters. The other type, a large iron bow, had a range comparable to infantry bows — a full one hundred and fifty meters — and could deliver accurate shots at fifty or sixty meters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those Later Jin soldiers were also well aware of the power of Ming infantry bows. They spread out widely beyond sixty meters and loosed a few scattered arrows from a distance. Because the Ming troops maintained a marching column with one-meter intervals, most of these arrows fell on empty ground. The occasional one or two arrows that flew toward a particular soldier had little force and were easily deflected by the shield-bearing soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The long-range harassment had little effect on the Ming army's marching speed. A few individual Later Jin soldiers tried to edge closer. Whenever one of them approached within fifty meters, two or three Ming archers would step out of the column, raise their iron bows, and take aim at them, forcing the rash cavalrymen to retreat before quickly catching up with the column again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the Ming troops had not loosed a single arrow, the soldiers on the outer perimeter holding shields and bows gradually began to show signs of fatigue. At a single command from Kong Youde, the Ming troops rotated positions, inner and outer. The soldiers on the outside withdrew to the inner layer, relaxed their guard, and began to gasp for breath in great heaving gulps. The soldiers from the inner layer moved outward and shouldered the shields. Repeating this cycle, the threat of mounted archery could not slow the Ming army's pace by much at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi watched, astonished and delighted, and exclaimed in admiration, \"Elder Brother commands with absolute assurance. Your younger brother is full of admiration.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Youde smiled faintly and used his riding crop to gesture at the officers around him. \"Most of these are old subordinates who have followed me for many years. After Tieling fell, they fled with me to Guangning. If these were your officers, I reckon the formation would have long since fallen into chaos. This is one reason I had your cavalry go first — in an army, nothing is more terrifying than a general who does not know his soldiers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi thought for a moment, then asked further, \"Our formation is so dispersed. If the Jian slaves suddenly charge, what do we do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kong Youde burst out laughing. \"Your elder brother truly wishes it were you, Second Brother, commanding the Jian slaves opposite us! Their formation is scattered. If they charge one by one, they are nothing but targets for our bows. To truly assault a formation, they need to mass together first. The time it takes them to array their troops would be more than enough for our army to adjust our own formation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If they do array their formation and stand off against us, wouldn't we be unable to move on?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A hundred cavalry in dense formation — I have four hundred men. A hundred with long spears on guard against them would be sufficient. Then we shower them with concentrated bowfire and can drop a dozen or more in an instant. They would still have to scatter. Repeat that a few times and they will no longer pose a threat.\" As Kong Youde spoke, he glanced again toward the horizon behind them. \"A mere hundred cavalry is too few.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother does not read military books.\" Kong Youde finished speaking, then shook his head with a smile, a hint of reproach in his tone. \"Drilling troops, verbal commands, reconnaissance, marching, responding to harassment, advancing under guard — all of these are in the Wujing Zongjue and the Jixiao Xinshu.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your younger brother has read Sunzi's Art of War!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That is for civil officials to read, not a book written for us military officers. They decide what kind of wars to fight; we have to win those wars.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi fell silent for a moment. Right now, he truly did need to read those tactical military manuals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Though infantry cannot match cavalry, as long as I make no mistakes, cavalry numbering only a quarter of my force can do nothing to me.\" As Kong Youde spoke, his face was a mixture of relief and worry. He glanced once more at the place where heaven and earth met behind them. \"As long as they have no reinforcements, your elder brother is still not afraid.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1778,"2026-06-04T07:54:30.907Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","a03ef5fc53f8d98a096d386102e7123aca60c5851aa90e052b954626e051be8c","stealing-ming-chapter-70","stealing-ming-chapter-68",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]