[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-stealing-ming":3,"chapter-stealing-ming-stealing-ming-chapter-98":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},1220715,1614,"Chapter 98: Section Six","stealing-ming-chapter-98",98,"\u003Cp>Li Yunrui did not seem angry either: \"In Dongjiang, my original name 'Li Rui' came to mean coward. I could not bear the misery, so I changed my name.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So you never got promoted?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, I would not even have become a Squad Commander otherwise…\" Li Yunrui's position originally belonged to a Squad Commander named Cao Shou, whom everyone praised for his valor. As his deputy, Li Yunrui urged him to act cautiously every time, but was always ridiculed as timid. In the end, Cao Shou died in battle because of a reckless charge. Only then did Li Yunrui take over the Squad Commander post. Although Squad Commander Li was not skilled in battle, he successfully shielded the common people as they fled to Anzhou and put out to sea: \"…I consider myself to have been competent.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You are unquestionably competent — that should count as a merit. Why are you still a mere Squad Commander?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yunrui's reputation was simply too poor; in Dongjiang he was practically a rat everyone wanted to beat in the streets. Later, when Mao Wenlong reorganized the army on Dongjiang Island and rooted out many Jianzhou spy agents, Li Yunrui, hoping to turn the tables, advised his superiors that these agents should not simply be executed, but rather used to transmit what our army wanted the Jianzhou enemy to know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a result, his superiors harshly rebuked that scum Li, saying he was not only cowardly but also tolerated evil and fostered treachery, and nearly had him court-martialed. Li Yunrui spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, appearing full of confidence in his own ideas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi was also infected by this confidence: \"Then how do you think we should deal with Jianzhou spy agents?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course, pretend not to know. Doing so has two advantages. First, the intelligence these agents attempt to collect is also important intelligence for our army, from which we can see where the Jianzhou enemy's attention is focused. Second, people all have feelings. If our army cultivates them over a long period, given time, it will be hard to say which side these agents truly belong to.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point Li Yunrui glanced at Zhao Manxiong beside him: \"I have already spoken of all this to Battalion Commander Zhao.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Zhao Manxiong also explained to Huang Shi: \"I believe Squad Commander Li makes a great deal of sense. Battalion Commander Jin, however, does not agree.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How did Jin Qiude get dragged into this again? Huang Shi cast an inquiring look over, and Jin Qiude immediately protested loudly: \"I am responsible for screening military households. I believe it is better to kill by mistake than to let one slip by.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the period when Huang Shi was away, Jin Qiude, adhering to the principle of punishing the innocent rather than letting the guilty go free, repeatedly interrogated over a thousand soldiers and executed a dozen or so he deemed of suspicious origin. Huang Shi had just received Jin Qiude's report — he had also taken the opportunity to identify a batch of absolutely safe men, who likewise could not be Mao Wenlong's infiltrators.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment Huang Shi could not clearly judge the pros and cons. Li Yunrui's words sounded somewhat reasonable, while Jin Qiude's prudence was also quite sound. However, intelligence work had always been Jin Qiude's responsibility; suddenly inserting Li Yunrui into it seemed somewhat inappropriate, and judging by Jin Qiude's posture, a clash was very likely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let us stop here for today. I will deliberate further.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The officers saluted and withdrew. Huang Shi watched them leave, then suddenly blurted out: \"One never knows how many meetings there are until one comes to China.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord?\" Hong Antong asked softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Nothing. I just feel that too many people come to the military council.\" Huang Shi found the mode of all tent officers assembling together each time very uncomfortable. For instance, this time He Baodao and Yang Zhiyuan could not get a word in at all, yet still had to attend and listen in. With that time, would it not be better to go do some proper work?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even lying down to rest a while would be better than coming to this meeting.\" Huang Shi shook his head and laughed: \"Coming here to stand for half the day — how exhausting.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Others would not even have the qualification to come and stand!\" Having understood, Hong Antong also laughed: \"My lord, take Yang Zhiyuan for example. If my lord did not allow him to come and listen, everyone would certainly think he had done something wrong and was being punished.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The principle was the same as attending court — merely being able to stand to one side and listen was already a symbol of status. Huang Shi pondered for a moment. It would be best to change the rules later, adopting an office model where everyone went about their own duties. With few people now and few matters, there was no need to crowd together all day long — it was troublesome and inefficient. When matters increased later, it would not be too late to hold frequent meetings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as this thought arose, it was immediately put into action. Huang Shi promptly formulated a set of rules: the daily tent assembly for discussion was canceled effective immediately, and the monthly briefing was changed to an unscheduled basis. In normal times, whoever had business came on their own; there was no need to notify all officers. If Huang Shi deemed a meeting necessary for discussion, he would decide the participants based on the scope of the matter. The subordinate battalion commanders also had to change their habits accordingly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, after some deliberation, Huang Shi ultimately assigned Li Yunrui to take charge of intelligence work — this work was not yet very heavy. Jin Qiude was assigned to maintain military discipline and, incidentally, to draft conduct regulations and military codes — work that was relatively more important and urgent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Shi had successfully led the troops to Liaodong, successfully established a base area, and successfully scraped together a batch of supplies from Shanhai Pass — all of which had earned him considerable prestige. Using this prestige, Huang Shi smoothly carried out a reform without arousing any discontent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A small victory over tradition!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Somewhat self-satisfied, Huang Shi paid no attention to the class composition of his subordinates. The traditional ruling class had already silently occupied vast territories. Huang Shi's officers were almost all sons of the landlord class — these men could always get promoted because they could read and write. Only the hunter Zhao Manxiong and the military household son Yang Zhiyuan were exceptions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long after returning from Shanhai Pass, Mao Wenlong granted Changsheng Island a battalion designation — that is, a quota of two thousand troops. He told Huang Shi to name his own battalion, design a military banner, and then report it up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This battalion shall be called the Firefighting Battalion. As for the military banner…\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ordinarily, Ming army banners were painted with tigers or leopards. The Imperial Guard used dragon banners, and the Emperor's personal troops each had their own banners — for example, the Embroidered Uniform Guard used a flying-fish banner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And so, beside the fiery red Great Ming army banner on Changsheng Island, there now flew an additional battalion banner. A green venomous serpent coiled upon it, its body winding in a single loop, its sharp tail hidden beneath; the serpent's belly rose proudly, spreading into a fierce fan shape; the serpent's head gaped wide, revealing long fangs, as if about to choose someone to devour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The soldiers of the Firefighting Battalion gazed up at their military banner with hearts full of joy. Everyone knew that from now on they would fight beneath this banner. As Huang Shi stood at a distance admiring his own banner, he, like his soldiers, felt his chest fill with an inexplicable fighting spirit: \"This is my banner. I must make the enemy lose heart before it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But with only a little over a thousand men under his command, Huang Shi could only think about it for the time being…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the seventh month of the second year of the Tianqi reign, all the islands and the Dongjiang army in Korea had finished harvesting grain. With a single order from the Pingliao Regional Commander, the Liaodong Ming army finally released the offensive momentum it had been accumulating for half a year and began a new round of strategic counteroffensives.\u003C\u002Fp>",1419,"2026-06-04T07:54:30.907Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","56a02f1963b54e9632ad3f0ec742e38ee1c1535362f3b566ab1e0414d4b4cbd8","stealing-ming-chapter-99","stealing-ming-chapter-97",323,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstealing-ming-cover.jpg"]