Chapter 13: The common folk didn't hit me

The smoke and dust from the wide-open city gate have not yet dissipated.

Shiniu stood in the middle of the gate, holding his double hammers, watching the panicked Yuan troops inside the city.

Behind him, the Ming troops surged forward like a tide, their battle cries shaking the heavens.

"Get out of the way!" Lan Yu's roar came from behind.

Shiniu stepped aside, Lan Yu led the charge on horseback into the gate, with the Vanguard Camp's infantry behind him.

Horse hooves trampled over the fallen gate debris, charging straight into the city.

Shiniu did not ride a horse; he hoisted his double hammers, lengthened his stride, and followed.

The streets inside Kaiping were narrow, and the Yuan forces were still organizing resistance.

But the gate was already broken, morale had collapsed, and the resistance appeared scattered and weak.

Lan Yu led the cavalry in charging through the streets, while Shiniu led the infantry to clear both sides.

Hammers rose and fell.

No skill, no tricks—just smashing.

A Yuan squad leader brandished his knife and lunged; Shiniu swept with his left hammer—"Bang!"—sending both man and blade into the adjacent earthen wall, which collapsed, and the man fell silent.

Three Yuan archers on the roof loosed arrows; Shiniu flung his right hammer.

"Boom..."

Half the roof collapsed, and the three archers tumbled down together with the shattered tiles.

Shiniu walked over, picked up his hammer, and continued forward.

He walked not fast, but each step was steady.

When he met resistance, he smashed; when he met an obstacle, he smashed; when he met a closed door… he smashed it too.

After half an hour, the Vanguard Camp had already taken control of half the city.

The central army also entered the city.

Chang Yuchun rode his horse to the front line; seeing Shiniu, this simple-minded lad was sitting on a pile of rubble, gnawing on dry rations—a bun he had somehow found in a Yuan army kitchen, already cold, but he ate it with relish.

"How are the casualties..." Chang Yuchun asked Lan Yu.

"Our side lost thirty-seven killed, one hundred twenty wounded; the Yuan troops… just the corpses on the streets number no less than eight hundred."

Lan Yu said, glancing at Shiniu and adding: "About half of that is his smashing."

Chang Yuchun also looked toward Shiniu.

Shiniu had just finished the bun, brushed off the crumbs from his hands, stood up, and said: "General, the north gate hasn't been taken yet."

"Hala Zhang fled to the north gate; I sent men after him," Lan Yu said.

Chang Yuchun nodded, scanning the surroundings.

Kaiping was the Yuan Upper Capital, once the residence of the Yuan emperor; inside the city there were palaces, government offices, and vast warehouses.

"Issue the order: clear the remnants, secure the treasury, strictly forbid plundering the populace; violators will be executed!" Chang Yuchun ordered.

"Yes!"

The order was passed down, and the great army began to take over the city in an orderly manner.

Shiniu was assigned the task of clearing the western part of the city.

He led a squad of fifty infantry, searching house by house along the street.

Most of the Yuan troops had already fled; those left were mostly wounded or unable to escape in time.

When they encountered those who surrendered, they bound them.

When they encountered resistance, Shiniu settled it with a single hammer blow.

As they entered a narrow alley, suddenly wailing cries came from ahead.

Shiniu hurried over and saw several Ming soldiers surrounding a civilian home, the door kicked open; inside lay an old man clutching a little girl, trembling.

"What are you doing..." Shiniu asked.

A corporal turned around, saw it was Shiniu, and hastily saluted: "Shiniu brother, this old man is hoarding grain and won't hand it over!"

Shiniu looked toward the interior of the house.

The old man knelt on the ground; the little girl in his arms, about five or six years old, cried with tears streaming down her face.

"Sir... this is all the grain we have; please leave some for the child to eat!" the old man kowtowed.

Shiniu walked over, glanced at the rice bin in the corner, and indeed there was only a small half-bin of millet.

He turned and asked the corporal: "General Chang's order strictly forbids plundering the populace; you forgot..."

The corporal's face changed: "This… this is seized property…"

"This is the people's rations; put it back." Shiniu said simply.

"Shiniu brother, we brothers are also hungry…"

"If you're hungry, go to the treasury for army rations; stealing a child's food—what kind of ability is that?" Shiniu looked at him.

The corporal's face flushed red; he wanted to argue, but seeing the hammer in Shiniu's hand, he dared not.

He gritted his teeth, waved his hand, and said: "Withdraw..."

Several soldiers left resentfully.

Shiniu squatted down, looked at the old man, and said: "The door's broken; I'll fix it for you."

The old man was stunned.

Shiniu rose, walked to the doorway.

The door panel had been kicked split, and the door hinge was askew.

He used his hands to straighten the door panel, then found a wooden stick in the courtyard, bent it to the proper length, and wedged it into the break.

Although the repair was rough, the door could now be closed.

He pulled a piece of jerky from his bosom, which he had taken while cleaning the Yuan army Kitchen earlier, and handed it to the little girl, saying, "Eat."

The little girl timidly took it, glanced at her grandfather.

The old man shed tears, pulled his granddaughter and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, military elder… thank you, military elder…"

Shiniu waved his hand, turned around and led the squad forward.

The soldiers behind stared at each other in bewilderment.

They hadn't expected that this battlefield monster who kills without blinking would be so… friendly to the common folk.

After clearing the western part of the city, dusk was already approaching.

Shiniu returned to the temporary base, a former Yuan army camp.

A big cauldron had been set up in the camp, and the Firehead Soldiers were cooking.

He took a five-person portion of rice and ate in the corner.

While he was eating, Lan Yu came over.

"I heard about today's incident; you saved that grandfather and granddaughter," Lan Yu said, sitting beside him.

Shiniu, with his mouth full of rice, mumbled a vague "mm."

"Well done… His Majesty despises soldiers who loot the people; I've already punished that squad leader, flogging him twenty lashes," Lan Yu said.

Shiniu nodded and continued eating.

Lan Yu looked at him and suddenly asked, "Shiniu, you fight so ruthlessly, yet you are soft‑hearted toward the common folk—why?"

Shiniu swallowed his rice, thought for a moment, and said, "The common folk didn't attack me; the Yuan army attacked me."

"That's it…"

"Mm."

Lan Yu smiled, "Your reasoning… is indeed simple and straightforward."

He stood up, patted Shiniu's shoulder, and said, "Rest early; we may have to sweep the remaining enemies tomorrow."

At night, Shiniu lay on the barracks' communal bunk.

The surrounding soldiers excitedly discussed today's victory, calculating how much reward silver they could earn.

Shiniu, who hadn't taken part, closed his eyes and listened.

Suddenly someone asked, "Brother Shiniu, how many did you kill today? At least two hundred, right?"

Shiniu opened his eyes and replied, "I didn't count."

"Then what reward do you want? This first merit is definitely yours; you could at least be promoted to Hundred Household Officer!"

Shiniu thought for a moment and said, "Could you give a bit more rice?"

The crowd was stunned, then burst into uproarious laughter.

"Hahaha! Brother Shiniu, that's all the ambition you have!"

"Don't worry, General Chang will definitely reward you!"

"Maybe they'll even reward you a wife!"

"..."

Shiniu scratched his head and said nothing.

He didn't quite understand what a wife was, but rice was important.

The next day, the cleaning work continued.

The remaining Yuan army forces inside the city were essentially cleared, with only a few hiding in civilian houses or cellars.

The main army began inventorying the treasury's supplies.

Chang Yuchun sat in the former Hala Zhang, the Yuan General's office, listening to reports from each camp.

"…the granary holds about thirty thousand shi of grain, the armory has two thousand sets of armor, and swords, spears, bows, and crossbows each number in the thousands…" the clerk recited the list.

Chang Yuchun nodded and replied, "Good, what are the casualty figures?"

"Our forces lost 423 dead, over 1,100 wounded, annihilated about 3,000 enemies, and captured 800."

Capturing Yuan Upper Capital at a relatively low cost, this achievement could shake the court and the world.

"Send the victory report back to the capital urgently, and also grant Shiniu individual commendation: first merit for the siege, first merit for breaching the gate, first merit for annihilating the enemy."

"Understood."

At that moment, Lan Yu entered and said, "General, the scouts report that Yuan Shun Di fled north, about a two‑day march from us."

Chang Yuchun's eyes lit up, "Pursue!"

"But the soldiers just finished the siege; they need to rest…" Lan Yu hesitated.

"Rest for a day, set out the day after tomorrow; Yuan Shun Di is the Northern Yuan Emperor; capturing him will make the Northern Expedition truly successful," Chang Yuchun said, standing up.