Stealing the Ming Dynasty [Complete] - 15

page views:1 Publication date:2023-03-24

The fierce north wind, its intent unfulfilled, Chapter 23: Meals.

The fourth day of the first month of the fifth year

of the Tianqi reign, Changsheng Island. Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise. Huang Shi rose early every day, for he had no leisure activities. The soldiers of the fire brigade always gathered to play dice at night, but Huang Shi had no interest in it, and from soldiers to officers, there was nothing worth gambling on. The entire army, from top to bottom, lived a life akin to Puritans.

After getting up, Huang Shi ate breakfast like an ordinary soldier. Several military mess halls had been built on Changsheng Island. If Changsheng Island was a relatively egalitarian military zone, then the mess halls were the most egalitarian corner of it. Loud noises and salutes were strictly forbidden. Except for Wu Mu, the two Imperial Guards, and their men, all other soldiers received their food here.

Food was provided according to the rank of officers, soldiers, and auxiliary soldiers; married soldiers received an extra portion of rations to support their families. Of course, the rations for military dependents couldn't compare to those for soldiers. Female soldiers working in the medical battalion certainly received more, and Huangshi stipulated that pregnant female soldiers and their dependents received even more duck eggs and meat.

Several long queues moved slowly, and Huangshi stood in one, waiting to receive his share of the communal meal. Since he had consistently queued with the ordinary soldiers, the other officers were less inclined to cut in line—at least not so blatantly. The food was still meager, offering no advantage compared to the military households in other towns. However, seeing that their highest-ranking officers weren't much better off, the soldiers became easily satisfied; "not worried about clothing, but about inequality"—that's probably the idea.

Soldiers with families would take their food home to share with their wives. He Dingyuan, having clearly gotten up earlier than Huangshi, hurriedly left with his share, merely nodding to Huangshi. The bachelor Huangshi found a seat and joined the soldiers in devouring the food while it was still hot. The auxiliary soldiers distributing food always gave him a slight advantage; Huang Shi's flatbread was noticeably more than he was entitled to.

Li Yunrui appeared at the door. After looking around for a moment, he went straight to Huang Shi and whispered in his ear, "Sir, Dongjiang report."

Huang Shi nodded and quickly finished the flatbread, then drank the water in the wooden bowl on the table. He stood up, wiped his mouth, and walked towards the door, Li Yunrui following closely behind. The auxiliary soldiers in the mess hall immediately went to refill the wooden bowl with water and took the used bowls back to wash. Outside the door, another soldier responsible for enforcing hygiene regulations scooped a spoonful of well water from a wooden bucket for Huang Shi to wash his hands.

Regulations were everywhere on Changsheng Island, with new regulations being drawn up every day. All the officers and soldiers lived within these various regulations, making the entire fire brigade operate like a machine.

Dongjiang headquarters issued a report to the entire army. Li Yunrui handed the report to Huang Shi. This was an urgent military report issued on December 10th of last year.

"The Dongjiang Army of Yizhou reports that the Plain Blue Banner has disappeared from our position, replaced by the Bordered Blue Banner. Now, from Kuandian to the Korean front and then to the coastal islands of Liaodong, our army only faces the Bordered Blue Banner; no trace of the Plain Blue Banner has been found anywhere." Huang Shi put down this report. The situation in the Liaodong war zone this year was not going well; the Dongjiang Army had suffered repeated setbacks. The two Blue Banners, which had always been deployed in Liaodong, comprised a total of eighty-two Niru (military units), but it seemed that the Later Jin side felt it was temporarily unnecessary to maintain such a large force.

Li Yunrui had already compiled the relevant intelligence and fluently introduced it to Huang Shi: "The chieftain of the Jurchen Plain Blue Banner is Mangultai, and the junior chieftain is Muhalian, totaling twenty-one Niru. According to the reports, this banner has been missing for a month. Based on previous reports this year, the banner has suffered almost no losses and its fighting strength is sufficient."

"Has this intelligence been sent to Guerrilla Jin?"

"Not yet. I came to report to you first, sir."

"Hmm, then come with me to find Guerrilla Jin."

"Yes, sir." Huang Shi led Li Yunrui to Jin Qiude's staff headquarters, where more than ten staff officers immediately began to examine the intelligence, frequently questioning Li Yunrui.

After there were no further doubts, Li Yunrui saluted and left, leaving only Huang Shi, Jin Qiude, and his staff subordinates in the room.

After summarizing his subordinates' opinions, Jin Qiude made a judgment: "The Jurchens may not come. After all, there is no grass in the wild this season, so it doesn't seem like a good time to attack. I think this is just a normal mobilization." In the past, the Later Jin's offensives were mostly concentrated in the autumn, while this season was mainly the active period for the Dongjiang Army. "The Jurchens have attacked in winter before, but that was to take advantage of the freezing period to launch surprise attacks. Now, all units of our Dongjiang Army are actively breaking ice, so there is no benefit for the Jurchens to launch an attack in winter."

"The Jurchens at Nanxinkou on the other side are still breaking ice. Even if they stop tomorrow, our troops will have enough warning time. I think our troops can raise the alert level by one, which should be enough." The regulations for Changsheng Island have spread to every corner, and the military has established five levels of alert status. Since the discovery that the other side has started breaking ice, the alert level for Changsheng Island has been lowered to the lowest level—in addition to basic reconnaissance and vigilance, the soldiers are all training. Raising the alert level to level four would mean rotating one infantry unit to alert status each day, halting training and concentrating in the coastal camp.

"If my unit discovers the enemy has stopped ice-breaking, I'll raise the alert level another level," Jin Qiude said casually, a slight, contemptuous smile playing on his lips. "If the Jurchens really intend to attack us with a single Plain Blue Banner, a Plain Blue Banner with only twenty-one Niru, I suggest you accept the battle."

Twenty-one Niru equates to two thousand soldiers, a number not particularly advantageous compared to the Changsheng Island's forces, and the Firefighting Battalion would have the advantage of home ground. Huang Shi also hoped the enemy would launch a preemptive attack on the main island, but he doubted their motives; the Firefighting Battalion's fighting strength was now quite renowned.

Of course, waiting for the Later Jin to launch an attack was a very tempting prospect. Huang Shi finally ordered Jin Qiude: "Make several plans, from being attacked by one Plain Blue Banner, to being attacked by Plain Blue and Fuzhou Plain Red Banner... let's count half a Plain Red Banner—thirteen Niru. I want to see a comprehensive plan."

"Yes, sir."

In Huang Shi's heart, he vaguely felt that history had returned to its original course. Although he didn't think the Later Jin side fully understood the fighting strength of the Firefighting Battalion, let alone its equipment level, he believed that the Later Jin commanders who had been defeated in the past would definitely exaggerate the fighting strength of the Ming army to exonerate themselves. Therefore, the Later Jin side's estimate of the Firefighting Battalion's fighting strength was probably quite high.

Changsheng Island seemed like a tough nut to crack, and if the Ming army really couldn't handle it, they still had the trump card of breaking the ice. With the more than 10,000 men on the island, breaking the frozen ice would only take a few days. Conversely, Lushun lacks such a natural barrier, and Zhang Pan has already mobilized a large force to construct the South Gate. Once the South Gate fort is completed and forms a connection with Jinzhou, Lushun will become part of the hinterland and will no longer be threatened. After the Ming army has thoroughly consolidated this bridgehead in southern Liaoning, it can steadily advance towards Fuzhou, which should be something the Later Jin cannot tolerate.

Perhaps influenced by history, Huang Shi felt increasingly convinced of his point. If the Later Jin army marches south and takes Lushun, Changsheng Island will be isolated and helpless, and the escape route for the Liaodong people to the south will be blocked.

After careful consideration, Huang Shi issued the following order: "Send an official document to General Zhang Pan in Lushun, instructing him to be on high alert. Simultaneously, send official documents to the islands of Guanglu and Changshan in southern Liaoning, informing them that we may face a surprise attack, and all units must be vigilant."

Both publicly and privately, Huang Shi had to help Lushun: publicly, the Lushun army was one of the elite units in the Dongjiang army, and the Dongjiang headquarters had recently dispatched nearly ten thousand able-bodied men to assist Zhang Pan in constructing the South Pass. These men were the cream of the crop in Dongjiang, with no old or weak among them. Privately, if the most combat-effective fire brigade in southern Liaoning remained inactive in this battle, not only would the Dongjiang headquarters and his colleagues think Huang Shi was a villain, but Sun Chengzong in western Liaoning would likely also be greatly disappointed, believing Huang Shi was abandoning his comrades and sabotaging them for his own future.

On the eighth day of the first month of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign (1625),

the reply from Lushun arrived at Changsheng Island. The soldier who delivered the message told Huang Shi that after reading the warning, Zhang Pan treated the messenger to a good meal of wine and meat. After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Zhang Pan had his clerk draft the reply. The two soldiers entered Lushun that morning and set off for Changsheng Island that afternoon.

Upon opening Zhang Pan's reply, the intimate address immediately caught Huang Shi's eye: "Brother Huang, it is as if we are meeting in person..."

The entire letter was written with great enthusiasm. Zhang Pan told Huang Shi that there was nothing to worry about; he had mobilized the Lushun army and prepared for battle. The main force of the Lushun army's Vanguard Battalion had already moved north to deploy in Jinzhou, while a portion remained at Nanguan to cover the construction of the fortress with seven thousand auxiliary troops. The Gangfeng Battalion remained in Lushun as Zhang Pan's directly subordinate force. His deployment was intended to drag the war into a war of attrition. Jinzhou Fortress was strategically located at the crucial choke point into Dalian Bay. Without capturing Jinzhou, the Later Jin army couldn't open their supply lines, and without opening the supply lines, they couldn't readily manufacture siege equipment, leaving Lushun secure.

Another threatened target was the under-construction Nanguan Fortress, only a dozen li (approximately 5 kilometers) from Jinzhou, where cavalry could arrive in an instant. However, Zhang Pan wasn't overly worried. Without supplies, the Later Jin army couldn't besiege Nanguan for more than a few days, and if they launched a direct assault without siege equipment, the Ming army would naturally welcome it. In short, Zhang Pan believed the Later Jin army had no choice but to launch a direct assault on Jinzhou, so he deployed his most elite vanguard battalion to its defense.

After the Dongjiang Army occupied Jinzhou, they had already repaired the docks, and Zhang Pan had also transported a considerable amount of equipment and food. In his letter to Huang Shi, he explained his plan: if the Later Jin army marched south again, Jinzhou would be besieged to weaken their morale. Then, Zhang Pan and Huang Shi would agree on a time to simultaneously attack the Later Jin army besieging the city from both sides.

"...The beheadings and spoils will be divided equally with you, brother, as in the previous battle.

Your brother, Zhang Pan, bows in respect."

January 9th.

The three ships of the Black Island Fleet had all been seized. Large numbers of military households from Changsheng Island were being sent to Zhongdao Island. There were simple dwellings there; with enough coal and charcoal, it wouldn't be too difficult to endure.

After reading Zhang Pan's letter, Huang Shi knew he couldn't persuade Zhang Pan, so a large number of Changsheng Island residents were being sent to Zhongdao Island for refuge, so that in an emergency, the fire brigade could launch a full-scale attack without any worries.

This mobilization, of course, severely disrupted the peaceful and orderly life on Changsheng Island. In this tense atmosphere, most of the military households were filled with apprehension. Since the establishment of the army on Changsheng Island, Huang Shi had never considered abandoning it, nor had his soldiers anticipated this day.

Looking at the chaotic scene on Changsheng Island, Jin Qiude was also affected by the tension. He asked somewhat uneasily, "Sir, we only received news that the Zhenglan Banner had withdrawn from the Kuandian front line, and we haven't yet figured out their specific movements. Is it worth such a large-scale mobilization?"

Huang Shi couldn't explain this action with "I know history," so he remained silent.

The tenth day of the first lunar month.

Since last night, the Later Jin army at Nanxinkou had stopped breaking ice. The alert level on Changsheng Island had now risen to level four, requiring all officers to report to Huang Shi's tent during their free time. He Dingyuan's work attitude had been very unenthusiastic lately, always arriving at his post just in time. Today was no different. When he stepped into the room, all the officers looked at him, each with a solemn expression.

He Dingyuan suddenly stopped. He touched the back of his helmet, then carefully and slowly walked into the tense tent, muttering, "This subordinate...I'm not late, am I?"

Huang Shi told him solemnly, "No."

There was no further intelligence yet, but everyone still had to stay here on duty. A large table was set up in the tent, and the senior officers of Changsheng Island sat around it, all busy with their work without a smile. After arduous study, Yang Zhiyuan and Zhao Manxiong had finally evolved from illiterate to semi-literate, and could now do simple paperwork.

Only He Dingyuan, who was in charge of training, remained restless. Now that training had been suspended, Huang Shi had asked him to use the free time to think about how to improve the training regulations. The Changsheng Army was newly established, and there was simply too much paperwork to revise and organize.

Although he was looking down at various problem reports and considering how to improve the existing regulations, Huang Shi could still feel He Dingyuan's baboon-like expression constantly darting around in his peripheral vision. He lowered his head further, letting his hair obscure more of his vision—good, now he wouldn't be disturbed.

A loud rumble suddenly echoed in the quiet tent, but as long as no one spoke, Huang Shi continued writing on the paper without pause. Without looking up, he asked, "Guerrilla Commander He, what are you doing again?"

"N-nothing..."

"Hmm." Huang Shi didn't say anything more.

While reviewing the training regulations, He Dingyuan had been rocking his stool to pass the time, finally shaking it and himself to the floor. He quietly got up and carefully sat down.

A moment later, Huang Shi heard He Dingyuan whispering to Yang Zhiyuan. Though he didn't want to hear it, the words still seeped into Huang Shi's ears. The buzzing conversation was interspersed with He Dingyuan's "shh—shh" whistles. How dare he tell Yang Zhiyuan to be quiet? Didn't He Dingyuan know his voice was louder than anyone else's? Huang Shi stopped what he was doing as he listened…

*thud*—Huang Shi lightly slammed his pen on the table. He Dingyuan and Yang Zhiyuan quickly apologized, “This humble general knows his mistake, please punish him, sir.”

He Dingyuan tried to explain, pointing to the things beside Yang Zhiyuan, “This humble general just saw Guerrilla General Yang checking the food supplies, so…”

Before he could finish, Huang Shi interrupted, “Are you sure?”

“This humble general didn’t know, so I told Brother Yang not to rush, to ask clearly before registering.”

Huang Shi clapped his hands, laughing loudly, “Everyone, let’s give a shout-out to Brother He for his perfect archery!”

“Excellent archery!” Everyone in the room burst into laughter, instantly dispelling the serious atmosphere of the camp.

After the laughter subsided, Huang Shi smiled and said, "Brother He, go back and be with your wife. If there's any emergency, I'll send someone to find you." He then turned to Yang Zhi and said, "Register Brother He now. You can start receiving the extra allowance tomorrow."

"This humble general hasn't confirmed it yet," He Dingyuan said, his face beaming with joy and happiness. He had already stood up to pack his things and prepare to go home. "Sir, let's have the nurses from the medical camp check on you before registering."

"It's alright. If your wife is really pregnant, it won't hurt to eat more." Huang Shi knew that pregnant women needed a lot of nutrition. A lack of minerals and protein during pregnancy could be extremely harmful to both mother and baby. Therefore, the extra allowance for pregnant women on Changsheng Island was very generous, including poultry and eggs. This extra allowance was almost equivalent to the allowance for a soldier. Huang Shi had initially worried that this would encourage childbirth and create a heavy burden, but then he thought that even without the extra allowance for pregnant women, it probably wouldn't make much difference on this boring little island.

This policy was very popular, and the soldiers and their wives were grateful to Huang Shi for it... It seems they didn't realize that the money ultimately came from the soldiers themselves; truly, the hearts of parents are always full of love and concern.

Yang Zhiyuan, who was ordered to use connections, casually changed He Dingyuan's portion of fish. Huang Shi also told He Dingyuan that he didn't need to be at the office for the next two days: "If I find out you're filing a false report," Huang Shi waved his finger threateningly, "I'll deduct double from your fish portion."

Although He Dingyuan left, the tense work atmosphere couldn't be maintained, and the remaining people sat at the table and began to drift off. Huang Shi felt a strange unease rising within him. The work that used to make him feel fulfilled suddenly became tedious. He looked at the requests and regulations in his hands, but every time he flipped to the back, he realized he hadn't absorbed a single word from the beginning and had to start all over again.

This distracted state was broken by Li Yunrui, who rushed over. Furious, Li Yunrui shouted without even saluting, "Sir, the Jurchens' main attack direction is Changsheng Island! More banners of the Plain Red Banner from Fuzhou have appeared at Nanxinkou, and banners of the Plain White and Plain Blue Banners have been found along the route from Gaizhou to Fuzhou."

Huang Shi looked at Li Yunrui incredulously—had the Jurchens gone mad? If they're all coming to Changsheng, who will watch Lushun?

The fierce north wind has not yet fulfilled its purpose. Chapter 24.

Li Yunrui of Nanguan had already gathered the past intelligence and was reporting fluently: "The chieftain of the Jurchen Plain White Banner is Huang Taiji, and the chieftain of the lesser banner is Wuheli, with a total of eighteen Niru. The banners of these two chieftains have been discovered, and they will arrive at Nanxinkou together with the Plain Blue Banner within two days. By the way, the previous reports from the Dongjiang headquarters also stated that, not counting the banners of the various Niru, Huang Taiji also directly commands two to three hundred White Armor soldiers. At Nanxinkou, the Jurchen Plain Red Banner only saw the banner of the lesser banner chieftain Borjinxia, and I estimate that he leads about ten Niru."

"The Plain Blue Banner has twenty-one Niru, the Plain White Banner has eighteen Niru, so if they all come, that's thirty-nine Niru. The Plain Red Banner has about ten Niru, let's count eleven, that's fifty Niru, about five thousand combat soldiers, including five hundred to six hundred White Armor soldiers, plus Huang Taiji's direct command, that's about eight hundred White Armor soldiers. As for the auxiliary troops they bring, that's countless." After Huang Shi finished calculating the numbers, he nervously rubbed his hands together, but this lapse was only for a moment. He quickly regained his composure and wrote down the calculated numbers.

When Huang Shi looked up again, he was calm and collected. He glanced around at his subordinates, and even the bravest He Dingyuan was nervously biting his lip, unable to speak.

"This force is probably beyond what Changsheng Island can withstand." Huang Shi began to regret why he hadn't broken the ice earlier. Most of the men had already been transferred to Zhongdao Island, and recalling them now would be troublesome and time-consuming. "The Jurchens need time to rest after arriving in batches, and they also need time to build siege equipment, so we only have a few days left..."

"Alright," Huang Shi stood up and laughed loudly, "It seems we'll be spending this winter on Zhongdao Island. Everyone, hurry and prepare. We'll return in the spring."

"The machine tools and farm implements can be removed, but our waterwheels, reservoirs, canteens, and so many houses..." Yang Zhiyuan trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. However, everyone understood his meaning.

Thinking of the hardships of the past few years, Huang Shi felt a pang of pain. But he still forced himself to say, "Houses can be rebuilt if they burn down, reservoirs and waterwheels can be repaired if they're destroyed, but the dead cannot be brought back to life."

"A head-on blow! Our army has built shore walls, now they're all solid ice walls. Our Firefighting Battalion is well-armored and well-equipped; these Jurchens are no match for us!" He Dingyuan suddenly roared. After a long silence, he finally exploded: "And cannons! Didn't Duncan build five cannons?"

"Six," Yang Zhiyuan reminded him. Duncan had just finished polishing the sixth cannon, all thanks to the copper bought from Japan. Now Changsheng Island had four three-pounder cannons and two six-pounder cannons. For a long time, Changsheng Island had adhered to a policy of prioritizing cannons over butter. Now, although the officers of Changsheng Island, led by Huang Shi, were all penniless proletarians, their equipment was absolutely first-rate. Including the iron armor worth over two hundred thousand taels of silver they had acquired for free, the Firefighting Battalion's armament was almost equal to that of the entire Dongjiang Army.

“Yes, six gates.” He Dingyuan’s confidence grew. He shouted, “We’ll bombard the towers with cannons, then mobilize all the men on the island to fight. We can definitely hold it.”

The shoreline of Changsheng Island wasn’t designed to defend against an attack of this scale. The old camp at Nanxinkou could only protect four thousand people; most of the military households and various properties had no walls to protect them. Duncan’s original design for the “Iron Wall of the Great Liaohai” was a complex bastion, but later, manpower and resources were diverted by Huang Shi to build reservoirs and weapons, so the fortress was never completed.

The chance of holding it did exist, but if the Later Jin army launched a full-scale attack, the Ming army would have to fight the enemy outside the walls. In terms of troop strength, the fire brigade was close to half the size of the Later Jin army. Their equipment was superior to the enemy's, but ever since they learned of Huang Taiji's arrival, Huang Shi had been feeling uneasy: "The freeze will last for more than ten days. Even if we can hold out, we'll probably lose a thousand or so men. Half a year of training will have been wasted. Let's go to Zhongdao. Ideally, our army should fight against Jurchens of similar numbers every time ."

He Dingyuan repeatedly pleaded, but Huang Shi was determined to retreat. Jin Qiude also agreed with Huang Shi's opinion. He shared Huang Shi's strategy; the essence of tactics was to always ensure that the strong overpower the weak and the many defeat the few. The chief of staff's support solidified Huang Shi's opinion. Although Yang Zhi was unwilling, his position made his words carry little weight.

"Commander He, there's no need to say more. I've decided to withdraw to Zhongdao and return in the spring." Huang Shi had just used his authority to suppress He Dingyuan when Wu Mu rushed over. Huang Shi had already sent someone to inform him; such military decisions certainly required the approval of the supervising officer.

"I heard the Jurchens are launching a major invasion, General Huang, please tell me quickly..."

Wu Mu's face turned pale upon hearing that it was the Jurchens from three banners, but having served on Changsheng Island for two years, he hesitated again upon learning there were only fifty Niru. The Plain Blue and Plain White banners were small banners, and even combined, they couldn't compare to the Plain Yellow banner, let alone the Bordered Blue banner, a large banner with sixty-one Niru. The Plain Red banner had recently suffered significant setbacks and needed to control the surrounding areas, so it could only mobilize Niru from the Fuzhou region.

"General Huang, I don't think it's entirely impossible to defend. If this news reaches the palace, even Eunuch Wei won't be able to speak up for General Huang." Wu Mu was dissatisfied with the idea of retreating without a fight; a defensive battle should at least involve some decapitation strikes. Dongjiang Town had no civil officials supervising the army, so all the credit for the strategic planning belonged to Wu Mu, and he hoped for victory after victory.

"Eunuch Wu is wise..." Huang Shi planned to bring up the question of "who should a bodyguard listen to on the road?" again. Wu Mu still had great faith in Huang Shi's judgment, and Huang Shi felt that persuading him wouldn't be difficult.

Zhao Manxiong secretly gave him a wink again, and Huang Shi, startled, casually changed his tune, saying, "Eunuch Wu is right, this subordinate will consider it further." He said to his subordinates awaiting orders, "Gentlemen, go eat first, we'll discuss it again afterward."

"Military matters are urgent, how can we go eat first?" He Dingyuan grumbled discontentedly.

Huang Shi's face hardened: "I need to think it over carefully, no need to say more."

Earlier, Zhao Manxiong saw Huang Shi's imposing manner and figured that offering advice might not be effective. Zhao Manxiong's goal wasn't to embarrass Huang Shi, but rather to prevent Huang Shi from stubbornly resisting for the sake of face. But their conversation in private was completely different. Huang Shi found an opportunity to secretly ask him what he wanted to say.

Zhao Manxiong bluntly stated his opinion: "I'm worried this will affect the morale of the troops."

"Hmm, isn't it right not to fight battles we're not confident of winning? If we win a few more battles later, won't we be able to turn the tide?" Huang Shi also vaguely felt that fleeing without a fight was bad, but the thought of facing Huang Taiji made him lose confidence.

"Our army has the courage to attack, but it lacks the courage to defend." In the past, the Firefighting Battalion always went out to bully the weak, gathering, analyzing, and organizing intelligence beforehand, and everyone from top to bottom was full of confidence. But this time, facing an unexpected situation in another region, Huang Shi, needless to say, and even the other officers were anxious and uneasy.

Seeing Huang Shi deep in thought, Zhao Manxiong added, "Our Changsheng Island has been working on ice breaking since the beginning, and has remained safe and sound for several years. We can withdraw when the Jurchens come, but I'm worried that this will encourage a 'separate peace' mentality, leading to a mindset from top to bottom that 'if the Jurchens come, we'll leave; if we find an opening, we'll steal something; if we don't find an opportunity, we'll just forget about it.' I think this is probably not a good idea."

At this moment, Huang Shi suddenly remembered that when the land was being distributed, Zhao Manxiong had volunteered to go to Zhongdao Island to draw up the land plots. He stared at Zhao Manxiong and asked him about this matter.

Without a trace of shame, Zhao Manxiong replied, "That's exactly what I thought back then, which is why I have these concerns. Please understand, sir." He paused and continued, "When you commanded me to lead the army, I thought I'd take advantage of any opportunity, and if not, so be it. As a result, I watched helplessly as the Jurchens built their fortress. I've learned my lesson; this kind of complacency is unacceptable. And we, being on an island, are most prone to this complacency." On

the fifteenth day of the first month of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign (1625)

, the women and most of the men were moved to Zhongdao Island, but the fire brigade's fighting troops remained in the old camp on Changsheng Island, along with two thousand auxiliary soldiers. Huang Shi was determined to defend the old camp to the death. If the Later Jin army besieged it, they would have to dismantle the island's infrastructure. Huang Shi didn't intend to lose a large number of people for renewable buildings.

The Later Jin army's banners had already obscured the opposite shore of Nanxinkou, but the Later Jin scouts still hadn't crossed the ice to the shore even once. Most of the time, the front gate of the old camp on Changsheng Island was kept tightly closed. The auxiliary soldiers were busy preparing defenses from dawn till dusk, the pikemen were polishing their weapons, and the musketeers were constantly producing ammunition—each had a large sack full and they were still making more.

After the military council decided to hold the position, the first day was filled with a tense atmosphere of impending battle. Ice-breaking was no longer an option; the enemy was on the opposite bank, and wasting their own resources at this point would be foolish. But as time passed, the officers and soldiers gradually relaxed, and playful scenes began to reappear in the old camp.

Even Huang Shi himself was less tense. Today, he gazed at the Later Jin positions for a long time; wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys on the opposite bank of Nanxinkou, suggesting the enemy was about to eat.

"General, are there still more than ten thousand Jurchens on the other side?" Duncan, standing behind Huang Shi, suddenly spoke like a ghost.

"Yes, it seems there are no reinforcements today." The layers upon layers of tents and densely packed flags obscured the enemy's deployment. Huang Shi murmured, "Twelve to fifteen thousand, I suppose. Scouts can't get close enough to get accurate numbers."

"This humble general is willing to lead two hundred elite soldiers to raid their camp tonight, so that Your Excellency can observe the Jurchens' strengths and weaknesses," He Dingyuan, who had accompanied Huang Shi to observe the enemy, chimed in. Ever since the Jurchen army set up camp three days prior, He Dingyuan had been wanting to raid it. The best reconnaissance was through attack; a powerful attack would allow the commander to fully understand the enemy's strength. "Your Excellency, leave everything to this humble general; there will be no mistakes."

Huang Shi replied absentmindedly, "Military strategy says: 'Nine out of ten raiding a camp is a success, only one out of ten is a failure.' He Dingyuan is the bravest commander in the entire army; of course, I have no reason to doubt him."

The so-called raiding of a camp certainly didn't refer to raiding a well-established camp like the one on Changsheng Island. A strong fortress like that was nothing to raid; a few hundred men coming at night wouldn't be a raid but a suicide mission. However, the Later Jin army on the opposite side was a force from afar. Their field camps were crude, lacking continuous defensive walls. Such camps were not only easy to raid, but also relatively easy to steal.

The fire brigade from Changsheng Island had mostly lived there for several years and were very familiar with the surrounding geography. Moreover, with so many camps on the opposite side, two hundred elite troops had a good chance of finding a weak point. Once an attack was launched, the enemy, in complete darkness, wouldn't be able to ascertain the Ming army's numbers and movements. The most common reaction would be for each camp to hold its ground to avoid being caught off guard. Hence the military adage: "Of all the raids on enemy camps, nine wins and one loss."

During such raids, the defending commander could observe the enemy's reaction speed, the soldiers' morale, and their quality. He could also look for opportunities to inflict a heavier blow.

But Huang Shi didn't believe he had any chance of dealing a heavy blow to Huang Taiji. He also didn't believe he was unaware of the enemy's morale and quality. The soldiers of Changsheng Island were precious, and Huang Shi was reluctant to engage in such fire reconnaissance. Huang Shi was now convinced that "no mistakes are merit," waiting for the Later Jin army to attack the city in order to achieve a better exchange ratio.

Therefore,

He Dingyuan's plan to raid the camp was rejected, just like the previous times, and Huang Shi also strictly forbade the artillery from firing. He carefully hid the cannons, preparing to give the enemy a good thrashing at a crucial moment.

The sit-in continued for another three days. By the morning of the nineteenth day of the first lunar month, the Later Jin army on the opposite bank of Nanxinkou still did not make any unusual moves, but simply manufactured more siege weapons. In the past few days, Huang Shi could see large numbers of enemy troops openly cutting down trees every day. More and more ladder towers and watchtowers were being erected, and a large number of weapons were also gathered on the shore, stretching as far as the eye could see.

This situation was already very clear. The Later Jin army had been building up its strength and did not send any troops to cause sabotage on the mainland of Changsheng Island. Obviously, they did not intend to just set fire and leave. On the other hand, it would be a bit unreasonable to send such a large number of troops to cause sabotage and then leave, and sending troops to cause sabotage would make it easy for the Ming army to find a loophole.

However, having amassed such strength for so long, the attack was bound to be a thunderous strike. Huang Shi felt increasingly agitated during the military council with his officers.

"There are only a few days left. The freeze will soon be over; the Jurchens can't possibly be unaware of this."

"My lord, there's no need to worry. Our army has five hundred muskets and six cannons. Can't we hold out for more than a few days?" Jin Qiude spoke with unwavering confidence, a sentiment that infected Huang Shi. He guessed that Huang Taiji might not know he possessed cannons. He believed there was a clear chance to capture Changsheng Island's old camp in one fell swoop.

Kuroshima Kazuo's ocean-going fleet was also stationed near Changsheng Island. Without trade with Japan, there were no new copper bars, and therefore no more cannons. All fishing boats and grain ships had ceased operation and were incorporated into the Changsheng Island naval camp. This general mobilization had dealt a significant blow to Changsheng Island.

"Commander Li, are you sure the Jurchens haven't built ships?" Huang Shi asked Li Yunrui again, his tone serious.

Li Yunrui felt his professional ethics had been insulted. These past few days, Huang Shi had asked him every few days, "Don't worry, sir, I've been monitoring closely. There are no signs of shipbuilding on the nearby coast. There are tens of thousands of Jianzhou Jurchens across the Nanxin Pass; even if they rushed to build, they couldn't produce that many ships."

Another morning passed idly. Just after lunch, Huang Shi and a room full of officers were alerted by an urgent report. Hong Antong hurriedly led a Jinzhou soldier, who had just been spotted by the island's sentries and brought to the main camp.

The Jinzhou fast ship that had come to Changsheng Island to deliver the message arrived in a rush, and Jinzhou had no guides who had been to Changsheng Island before. As a result, they couldn't find any anchoring rocks in the icy sea and landed at random on the south shore of Changsheng Island. Because Changsheng Island was now under martial law, and most of the population had been transported to Zhongdao Island, these soldiers couldn't find anyone after landing. They decided to scatter and search separately.

The soldier Hong Antong brought in was a messenger from Jinzhou. He disembarked on the south shore of Changsheng Island and ran all the way, seemingly unaffected by the hardships of his journey by sea. Although the fire brigade's patrols on the island were few, he finally bumped into one of them.

These three patrolmen were auxiliary soldiers left on the island to perform simple tasks, and since they were patrolling the island, they didn't have horses. When he encountered them, the Jinzhou soldier was already exhausted, but upon seeing the people from Changsheng Island, he immediately forgot about the hardships he had endured at sea and after landing.

The messenger immediately grabbed the leading Changsheng Island soldier, nearly strangling him to death in his excitement. He then rushed after them, and Hong Antong finally led him into Huang Shi's tent. The already exhausted soldier cried out and lunged at Huang Shi's feet, banging his head on the ground and screaming, "Lord Huang, save Nan Guan!"

The officers in the tent stood up, their faces showing astonishment. Huang Shi, disregarding his status, rushed forward to help the messenger up. His face was covered in sweat and grime, his body completely limp. But when Huang Shi pulled his arm, the soldier suddenly came to life, grabbing Huang Shi's right leg and crying out again, "Lord Huang, hurry and save Nan Guan! Save Nan Guan!"

"What happened to Nan Guan?"

"Nan Guan is surrounded! There are eight thousand soldiers there!" Clinging to Huang Shi's leg, the messenger wailed, "Lord Huang, save Nan Guan!"

"Tell me slowly, what exactly happened?" Huang Shi shook the messenger a few times, but his tone was hurried and disordered, and he kept repeating the same few words. It was impossible to understand what he was saying.

At this moment, Hong Antong brought another messenger. He had also come by boat, but he encountered several auxiliary soldiers who were cutting down trees a little later than the first one. This man rushed in and also pounced on Huang Shi's feet: "Lord Huang, save Nanguan, save our Lushun Army..."

The

orders were issued like a flowing stream, and the entire Changsheng Island camp was buzzing. Huang Shi's tent was now like a boiling pot of water, a cacophony of voices.

Just as Huang Shi and a group of officers, including Jin Qiude and Zhao Manxiong, were arguing over the map, a messenger rushed in: "Reporting to you, sir, Commander He has crossed the ice without encountering any resistance from the Jurchens and is currently sweeping through the Jurchen camps on the east bank."

The messenger's report struck Huang Shi like a thunderbolt, and the tent fell silent instantly. The staff officers, their faces filled with shame, all bowed their heads to the ground.

Several messengers from Jinzhou said in unison, "Just like in Jinzhou."

Huang Shi had only just grasped the situation when He Dingyuan volunteered to scout ahead. Returning to the old camp, he rode straight to the gate before dismounting and rushing into the tent, meeting Huang Shi's cold gaze. "Sir," he cried, "those Jurchens who built siege weapons—those thousand or so unarmored auxiliary soldiers who are always wandering around outside—seem to be the majority of the enemy on the other side. As soon as they saw my cavalry move out, they all fled back to their fortresses. All the camps I encountered were empty; I had my men set them on fire before I returned."

"Hmm," Huang Shi snorted angrily, feeling an urge to smash everything in front of him. But right now…

"Right now, my Ming army in Liaonan is in dire straits, and may be completely annihilated, those cunning Jurchens!" What infuriated Huang Shi most was that, despite knowing history, he had still been deceived by the enemy's scheme.

He Dingyuan was stunned upon hearing this: "The Lushun Army..."

"Not the Lushun Army!" Huang Shi shouted, interrupting He Dingyuan, slamming his fist on the map: "I'm talking about the Ming army in Liaonan, including my Changsheng Island, they're all in grave danger! In grave danger!"

This shout made He Dingyuan shrink back, and he stopped talking and followed to look at the map.

There were several Lushun Army soldiers who came to report the news. They scattered and searched for people as soon as they got off the ship. Because most of the population of Changsheng Island had been transported away, and martial law had been imposed, it took them a long time to finally find this place. Huang Shi pointed to one of them. This soldier was a subordinate of the Jinzhou garrison commander: "Jinzhou is in the same situation as us. A few days ago, it was surrounded by the Jurchens. Yesterday, we found that it was an empty camp."

Since discovering a large number of enemy troops, Jinzhou had kept its four gates closed. It wasn't until yesterday, when the defeated soldiers from Lushun Fort came by boat to report the news, that they realized what was happening. One of them also came to Changsheng Island, and he was the second soldier to find the old camp.

In the past few days, the Later Jin army had been feigning hostility along the Changsheng Island and Jinzhou line, intimidating the Ming troops in both areas. They then crossed Jinzhou and approached Nanguan, forcing the Nanguan garrison to close its gates and defend itself. At the time, the Ming troops at Nanguan weren't too worried; after all, with the supply lines to Jinzhou blocked, the Later Jin army couldn't sustain a prolonged siege and didn't have enough time to build siege equipment.

Having completed these preliminary preparations, the Later Jin army selected elite troops to march south, penetrating deep into the heart of Lushun. Although Zhang Pan was caught off guard, he immediately organized a defense. He understood that if this long-distance raid couldn't be resolved quickly, the Later Jin army would have to retreat back to Jinzhou. Just as Zhang Pan predicted, the Later Jin army failed to capture Lushun Fort in their rapid attack and indeed withdrew quickly. Seeing the Later Jin army hastily retreat, Zhang Pan knew their food supplies were exhausted. He hurriedly mustered the Lushun army within the fort to pursue them, and successfully caught up with the enemy's rear guard…

The soldier who had escaped from Lushun tearfully recounted the fall of Lushun. Although Huang Shi already knew this, hearing this tragic account firsthand still caused him immense heartache.

The entire army Zhang Pan caught up with consisted of Han soldiers. These men claimed to be conscripted laborers, and that the Han soldiers were mostly village militias.

Zhang Pan believed this explanation wholeheartedly, and when he saw the Later Jin army abandon them in their retreat, he had even less doubt. So he kindly comforted them and incorporated them into the Lushun military households…

Huang Shi relayed what he had heard to He Dingyuan: “Who knew that these Han soldiers would seize an opportunity to launch a sudden attack, kidnapping General Zhang Pan, leaving the Lushun army leaderless. The Jurchen army returned and annihilated the Lushun army in an instant, then breached Lushun Fort.” "

The soldier who came to Changsheng Island to deliver the message and several other companions found a boat and ran desperately to Jinzhou to report the news. Only then did the Jinzhou garrison realize they had been tricked. After hearing that General Zhang Pan's fate was unknown, the morale of the Jinzhou army was in chaos.

" Thanks to them, otherwise we would still be in the dark. "Huang Shi praised the soldier again, but he knew in his heart that with the current strength of the Ming army in Liaonan, they shouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat.

Ultimately, there was still a rift between Huang Shi and Zhang Pan. When the Later Jin army launched a large-scale attack on Changsheng Island, no one below Huang Shi thought to inform Zhang Pan. If Zhang Pan had led his troops to reinforce Changsheng Island and repelled the Later Jin army, Huang Shi would have lost face and incurred a favor.

Similarly, when the Later Jin army was discovered in Jinzhou, Lushun kept it a secret from Changsheng Island. Zhang Pan, like Huang Shi, had his own calculations. He believed the current situation was quite good and there was a great chance to independently repel the Later Jin army. In fact, his deployment wasn't fundamentally flawed. If it weren't for the betrayal by the Han army, the Later Jin army would have ultimately had to launch a strong attack on Jinzhou, dragging into a war of attrition.

Zhang Pan, of course, would never have surrendered; he would likely have already died for his country by then. Huang Shi bitterly commented, 'General Zhang is too merciful, always saying there are extenuating circumstances.'" In the battles of Lushun, the two captures of Jinzhou, the Battle of Heishan, and the two-year protracted war in Liaonan, General Zhang showed leniency towards Han prisoners of war. As long as they uttered a word of repentance, General Zhang would let them go. Therefore, the Jurchens were certain that General Zhang would trust these beasts again.

The officers remained silent. He Dingyuan cursed, "Shameless Jurchens! Unable to win on the battlefield, they resort to such underhanded tricks!"

Huang Shi sighed inwardly, wondering if Zhang Pan would be filled with rage or still resentful of his past leniency when he died. He knew he couldn't be merciful in the face of a life-or-death war. "Such tactics are only effective against General Zhang. If it were me, I'd kill them all and use their heads for the reward." Huang Shi looked at the thoughtful Wu Mu and said with a cold smile, "Eunuch Wu, this is why I didn't leave any survivors. There's no point in reasoning with traitors of the Han army!" "

Although Wu Mu was always scheming against Lushun for his own benefit, upon hearing that the Lushun military supervisor, Eunuch Wang, had also died in the line of duty, he felt a sense of shared sorrow. He responded in a low voice, 'General Huang

, your insight is profound.' Huang Shi marked the locations of Changsheng, Jinzhou, Nanguan, and Lushun on the map. After venting his anger, he took a deep breath. Pointing to Jinzhou, he said, 'Jinzhou still blocks the Jurchen's supply lines. The Jurchen camps near Jinzhou are all empty; they have all fled. The Jinzhou garrison hadn't discovered this before, and they will never allow siege equipment and grain carts to pass through Jinzhou Bay again.

Jinzhou has 1,500 elite soldiers from the Vanguard Battalion, as well as over 2,000 auxiliary soldiers assisting in the defense. It's a fortress that's not easy to take by a fierce attack. But precisely because of this, Nanguan and Lushun below Jinzhou are unprepared and too careless.' Huang Shi shook his head and swallowed hard. 'The Vanguard Battalion in Lushun is finished. Along with the Lushun naval camp and a large number of auxiliary soldiers, at least 5,000 soldiers have died for their country.'" The Vanguard Battalion still has 500 combat soldiers at the South Gate, and there are 7,000 auxiliary troops building a fortress within the city. There are approximately 2,000 Jurchen armored soldiers surrounding the South Gate. Because of the burden of these auxiliary troops, a breakout from the fortress is impossible, and the forces of Jinzhou are insufficient to relieve the siege. General Zhang has stockpiled ten days' worth of rations for the South Gate, which should have been enough.

Huang Shi sighed again. If the Later Jin army couldn't capture Jinzhou, ten days' worth of food would indeed be enough. But now that they had the granaries in Lushun, they could sustain a prolonged siege of Nanguan. In a few more days, the seven or eight thousand Ming soldiers in the city would starve.

"The Jurchens are trying to defeat us piecemeal, starting with the weakest. Lushun is the weakest; they've already taken it by exploiting General Zhang's weakness. Then it's Nanguan, whose weakness is the lack of food. Next, it'll be our Changsheng Island's turn,"

Huang Shi finished speaking. He Dingyuan asked in astonishment, "How can it be my Changsheng Island? It should be Jinzhou!"

The soldiers from Jinzhou glared angrily at He Dingyuan, each daring not to speak out.

Jin Qiude quickly added, "It is indeed our Changsheng Island. The Jurchens took Nanguan and returned to Changsheng Island. If we don't fight, they will surround our old camp. After the ice freezes, we can use Lushun's ships to transport grain and threaten Zhongdao. Our Changsheng Island is not like Jinzhou Fortress; there are too many places to defend."

Hearing this, Yang Zhiyuan interjected, "We can break the ice. How many ships can Lushun have? Many have probably already escaped or burned. I don't believe the Jurchens would dare to land on our Changsheng Island in hundreds at a time."

Huang Shi slammed his hand on the table, and the brushes and papers on it flew up: "How can you pin your hopes on the Jurchens not being able to seize any ships? Yang Zhiyuan, you are so confused."

The deployment of Lushun was obvious without much thought. Zhang Pan must have concentrated the ships in Lushun Fortress, so that grain could be transported to Jinzhou Fortress by sea. Moreover, Lushun had always been a hub port for transferring refugees from southern Liaoning to Liaodong and Korea, so there must be a lot of ships.

After his sharp rebuke, Huang Shi sighed again—this was all his responsibility; he shouldn't blame others.

He adjusted his tone: "Even if Commander Yang is right, it's Jinzhou's turn to suffer. And even if the Jurchens retreat and don't attack Jinzhou, the eight thousand soldiers at Nanguan, plus the losses at Lushun, represent an unprecedented defeat for our Dongjiang army." If Huang Shi remained indifferent at this moment, it would inevitably chill the hearts of the Dongjiang soldiers in Jinzhou and disappoint his colleagues. Besides, watching nearly eight thousand allied troops perish was simply too unfair to them.

And if the Later Jin army obtained a large number of ships, the consequences would be unimaginable. Jinzhou's troops were too few to tie down many of the Later Jin forces, and the Dongjiang headquarters would be unable to effectively support Liaonan for several months, nor could it spare combat troops from the heavily pressured Liaodong front. Although Huang Shi didn't believe he couldn't withstand the Later Jin army's fierce attack, the danger was simply too great; the Liaonan war was on the verge of collapse.

Now, saving others was saving himself.

"Yang Youji."

"Your subordinate is here."

"I will lead the entire fire brigade to attack, together with the allied forces in Jinzhou, to relieve the siege of Nanguan. I estimate that the Jurchens on the other side of Nanxinkou number only about a thousand, with no more than a hundred armored soldiers. I want you to distribute all the weapons in the warehouse and hold the old camp on Changsheng Island for a few days."

Yang Zhiyuan bowed and clasped his hands: "Your subordinate obeys."

Looking at the silent room, Huang Shiqiang smiled: "The Jurchens have rushed to Lushun and should be very tired. Moreover, in order to capture Nanguan, the Jurchens need to transport the grain from Lushun, and they may also want to take the ships away. These supplies move slowly, from..." It's over a hundred li from Lushun to Nanguan, and the Jurchens still need to mop up the remnants of the Ming army around Lushun Fort. All of this will take time.

Therefore, I estimate that the main Jurchen force will return to the vicinity of Nanguan in five days. We will depart in batches tonight. Within two days, we will transport all the soldiers and equipment to Jinzhou. There are two thousand auxiliary troops in Jinzhou, so we don't need to transport them. After the main Jurchen force returns and relieves the siege of Nanguan, the entire army will return to Jinzhou. As long as Jinzhou is not lost, the Jurchens will have to return to where they came from. "

As long as we can relieve the eight thousand Ming soldiers at Nanguan, it will still put considerable pressure on the Later Jin army. The Ming army in Liaonan will have an opportunity to respond, and the Dongjiang headquarters can also make diversionary actions or send reinforcements.

The first priority is Jinzhou."

"Reassure Jinzhou, I will immediately muster my troops and rush to Jinzhou to reinforce them." Huang Shi desperately tried to encourage the soldiers from Jinzhou. Their panic shocked him, as it indicated that the Dongjiang army in Jinzhou had fallen into chaos. He had to restore calm and morale to Jinzhou as soon as possible. The soldiers from Jinzhou immediately set off on fast boats. Huang Shi instructed them to keep the Jinzhou commander calm, not to advance rashly or flee, and to prepare quickly. Time was of the essence; the fire brigade could not transport a large number of auxiliary troops, and Jinzhou had to take on all logistical responsibilities.

After the soldiers from Lushun left, Huang Shi immediately summoned his guards and sent letters to Guanglu and both Changshan Island: "Go quickly and order Zhang Pan, the guerrilla commander of Guanglu, and Mao Kexi, the garrison commander of Changshan, to deploy their naval forces to intercept all ships traveling west from Lushun and then north. If they find nothing, have their naval forces reinforce Changsheng Island to help me defend the old camp there."

Zhao Manxiong, listening intently, quickly said, "Sir, you have no authority to give orders to Guanglu and Changshan."

Huang Shi nodded: "I have two letters for Changshan Island and Guanglu Island. The first letter doesn't give orders but rather offers gentle words of comfort. I will..." In his letter, Zhang Pan, the guerrilla commander of Guanglu, also analyzed the situation, stating that his Guanglu garrison would not be in great danger. However, the annihilation of the original Lushun naval battalion was a matter of life and death for the Dongjiang Army in southern Liaoning. The Changsheng Island naval battalion could not be mobilized at the moment, so I implored him to do his utmost to assist me. "

Another letter was addressed to Shang Kexi, the Dongjiang garrison commander—whose original surname was Shang, but who was adopted by Mao Wenlong after his father's death and is now called Mao Kexi, currently stationed on Changshan Island training his naval battalion: 'Mao Kexi's Changshan Island is completely safe from land combat. He has been focusing on training the Changshan naval battalion for over half a year. Now is the time to prepare for battle; if I don't mobilize his naval battalion, whose will I mobilize?'"

"They are all under Mao's direct command, ordered to defend Guanglu and Changshan. What if they disobey orders?" Zhao Manxiong's eyes darted around: "The lord just said 'each has two letters,' what is the second one?" "

The first letter is just a request for assistance, but if they don't listen... I'll have to use it once if necessary." Huang Shi instructed the messengers to make sure they could distinguish between the two letters, and to hide the second one well. If the first letter had already achieved its purpose, the second one should not be shown, because both letters were written in the name of the military officers holding imperial silver tokens, and Huang Shi's silver tokens could already control Shang Kexi.

Huang Shi instructed the man heading to Guanglu Island: "If Zhang Pan disobeys orders, this letter is a direct order to the Guanglu Naval Camp Commander. That military officer is only a garrison commander; instruct him to obey the imperial silver command token and act immediately according to the letter's instructions."

"Yes, sir."

After the guards left, Zhao Manxiong said anxiously, "Mao Kexi isn't your subordinate, sir, but Mao Shuai's direct subordinate. Using the silver command token to pressure him is already bad. What if Zhang Pan disagrees? That's overstepping his bounds… and that's not just overstepping his bounds, it's commanding other people's subordinates. Even Mao Shuai can't directly give orders to Brother He."

Mao Wenlong theoretically had the right to directly give orders to He Dingyuan, but if it really came to that, it meant there was a serious problem between Mao Wenlong and Huang Shi.

"If Commander Mao were to order my men around without cause, I could impeach him for being arrogant. But this matter is not without cause; I have ample reason for my actions today, and it is entirely justifiable." Huang Shi's first letter was, of course, a plea, but the tone of his second letter was much harsher. He warned Shang Kexi that disobeying orders would be tantamount to disrespecting the emperor and the court. In another letter, Huang Shi also warned Zhang Pan not to interfere with or obstruct the naval troop movements, otherwise Huang Shi would definitely impeach him to the court and Dongjiang. Finally, he explicitly told Zhang Pan that if his disobedience to Huang Shi, who held the silver token, led to a deterioration in the Liaonan war, then Zhang Pan would bear full responsibility.

Zhao Manxiong also understood that this was a matter of life and death. The situation was already extremely critical, and he then reminded him: "It would be best to write to Shi Dongjiang and explain to Commander Mao first, hoping that Commander Mao could understand your overstepping of authority."

"Of course I will write it immediately, and Marshal Mao can certainly reprimand me, after all, I have overstepped my authority, but I believe Marshal Mao will understand. Besides... even if Marshal Mao doesn't understand and insists on impeaching me for being arrogant, I have enough reasons to defend myself in court." Huang Shi paused: "As long as I can relieve Liaonan, everything can be explained. Otherwise... hehe, otherwise there is no other way."

On the night of the 19th day of the first month of the fifth year of Tianqi, the first batch of fire brigade soldiers boarded the sea ship and set off for Jinzhou overnight.

The fierce north wind did not achieve its purpose. Chapter 26: The Siege Relief On

the 21st day of the first month of the fifth year of Tianqi, Changsheng Island welcomed another morning.

The horses were being painstakingly pulled onto small boats, which were specially equipped with planks to help them board the ships. As dawn broke, fifty horses remained on the shore. Hong Antong, leading his inner guards, stood beside Huang Shi. He glanced at the sky and then at the old camp, asking in a low voice, "Sir, should I go and urge Commander He?"

Yesterday, the officers of each unit led large numbers of troops away, and the artillery, under Duncan's command, also set off. Today was the last and most troublesome cavalry group, and the last batch of supplies would also be transported away.

He Dingyuan usually departed first, but this time he hesitated, indicating that since the cavalry would be leaving last, he also wanted to be among the last to go. Huang Shi thought for a moment and agreed to his request, but he himself would definitely be among the last to leave, as he still needed to give instructions regarding the work at the Changsheng Island camp. Fortunately, there was Wu Mu, the supervising officer, who left first with two Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards). After all, the army's temporary base was Jinzhou, which had strong fortifications, and there were no large Later Jin troops nearby.

“Let’s wait until the cavalry is all on board. We’ll wait a bit longer.” Huang Shi thought enviously of He Dingyuan’s current situation, with a woman who cared for him personally draping his battle robe over him.

For a military general like He Dingyuan, the fire brigade had provided some conveniences; his wife could spend his last night before the campaign with him at the old camp.

As the auxiliary soldiers began loading the last supplies onto the small boats, Huang Shi, who had been eagerly waiting, finally saw He Dingyuan emerge from the old camp, a woman following closely behind him.

He Dingyuan, helmet in hand, walked towards Huang Shi, stopping ten meters away to say to his wife, “I’m leaving.” Then he turned around, putting on his helmet and tightening the bolt as he asked, “Sir, am I not late?”

“No, very timely.” Huang Shi said calmly, pursing his lips. “Let’s board.”

“Yes, sir,” He Dingyuan replied loudly. She took two large steps forward, hesitated, and finally turned back again, saying, "Take care of the child in your womb. I'm leaving."

Madam He lowered her head and replied meekly, "Rest assured, sir, I will see you off on your campaign."

Huang Shi had a very good impression of Madam He, an impression that began from the first moment he saw her. From the mid-Ming Dynasty onwards, hereditary military families began to emulate the extravagant lifestyles of wealthy families, binding their daughters' feet. By the late Ming Dynasty, half the daughters of military families had bound feet. For example, Huang Shi's former fiancée had bound feet. However, He Dingyuan's wife had natural feet. Huang Shi believed this was because the Gansu-Shaanxi border army had been fighting against foreign tribes for two hundred years, and the Qin army generals had not yet been tainted by extravagance.

Huang Shi turned and walked towards the small boat, with He Dingyuan only half a step behind. The two of them, along with the guards further back, marched out in neat, heavy footsteps. The clanging of their armor couldn't drown out Madam He's gentle voice: "This concubine wishes Your Excellency a resounding victory and swift success..." The

woman's voice, carried on the wind, murmured what a military officer's wife thought she should say. Huang Shi secretly applauded: "Truly worthy of being the daughter of a military family." Recalling the history of the late Ming Dynasty in his previous life, the Qin Army was undoubtedly the Ming Empire's number one elite force, whether against the Ordos, the Mongols, the Qing army, or the peasant armies. The Qin Town was known for its "low pay and arduous battles."

During the decisive Battle of Jinzhou, which determined the fate of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Liaoxi generals, led by Wu Sangui, led their private armies and fled without a word. The Guan Ning Army, which deserted in the face of battle, returned to Ningyuan unharmed, but this triggered a riot among the Ming army's 100,000 troops. Such a phenomenal event—the rout of 100,000 soldiers without firing a single arrow—was unprecedented in Chinese history. Amidst the surging tide of southward flight, only 30,000 Qin soldiers remained steadfast. The sheer force of their subsequent desperate charge even terrified Huang Taiji's Imperial Guards, forcing him to nearly draw his sword himself. After the danger subsided, Huang Taiji angrily cursed: "Defeated is one thing, routed is another, fleeing is yet another, but they didn't even bother to report it before fleeing! Can this be considered Imperial Guards?" Unfortunately, the Qin army was far too small. If Hong Chengchou's 130,000-strong army had all been Qin soldiers, Huang Taiji would surely have returned to his camp weeping.

Just as Huang Shi's right foot stepped onto the pedal, a scream suddenly came from behind: "My lord!"

Startled, Huang Shi turned around and saw Madam He, that heroine among women, rushing over. The young woman knelt before Huang Shi without even lifting her skirt, her impassioned voice turning into a woman's lament: "My lord, for the sake of the child in my womb, please protect my husband."

"Nonsense!" Before Huang Shi could speak, He Dingyuan flew into a rage. He swung his arm forcefully, drawing a large circle across his wife's hair: "How did your family raise you? How did I raise you? Go back now, don't embarrass yourself here!"

The young woman trembled in fright, then bowed again, saying, "I misspoke, please forgive me, my lord." She stood up and shrank back two steps, biting her trembling lips, her eyes already glistening with tears.

Huang Shi turned to face He Dingyuan's wife, pulled He Dingyuan aside, and made the man with the ever-changing expression stand aside. "Sister-in-law, Brother He is like a brother to me, Huang Shi. Please rest assured and go back to rest well."

"I thank you, sir."

He Dingyuan said impatiently, "Go, go, don't embarrass yourself, or you'll ruin my reputation."

The rude He Dingyuan chased his wife away and boarded the ship with Huang Shi. As the two men leaned against the railing at the bow, gazing into the distance, Huang Shi suddenly sighed, "It's good to know there's someone at home who cares."

"A woman's hair is long, but her understanding is short; please forgive my ignorance, sir," He Dingyuan said. Afterward, Huang Shi turned to look at him, his expression a half-smile, which made He Dingyuan's face flush instantly. "A woman's view, truly... truly, alas." He Dingyuan shook his head and sighed, then looked up to see Huang Shi still staring at him with that peculiar expression. His face turned even redder, and finally, he couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly, saying in a low voice, "It is very good, alas."

The adjutant and his guerrilla commander were silent for a while. The guerrilla commander broke the silence again, stammering, "Sir, I have a request."

"I don't want to hear it." Huang Shi knew what He Dingyuan wanted to say, and he knew it was feudal superstition, but now he also hated hearing such unlucky words. No one in the army liked to hear such talk. Huang Shi added, "We can talk about this when we get back to Changsheng Island."

But He Dingyuan continued rambling on, "My lord, my family told me when I was very young that since I was born into a military family, I shouldn't expect to die in bed. Seven or eight out of ten of my clan elders died on the battlefield, so I've long been prepared to die on the battlefield..."

Huang Shi looked ahead, silently listening to He Dingyuan's rambling. He had initially wanted to interrupt He Dingyuan's nagging. But then he thought about how He Dingyuan had followed him since Guangning, eating coarse grain flatbread and wild vegetables he had gathered. He drank boiled alfalfa soup with salt, and only occasionally ate pork during festivals. He had even criticized He Dingyuan for gnawing on ribs with his hands and then snatching bones from the Southern Kingdom to suck the marrow, looking like a reincarnated demon.

For so long, he hadn't let He Dingyuan have a single day of comfort or enjoyment. Although Huang Shi was just joking without any malice at the time, he felt guilty now and couldn't bear to interrupt He Dingyuan's outpouring.

"...As a military officer, I don't know what tomorrow will bring. Besides, there's always tomorrow. I beg you to take good care of my child, sir." He Dingyuan gritted his teeth and said in a hoarse voice what Huang Shi had strictly forbidden: "If that day comes, I humbly request that you condescend to adopt my child as your son. He can be formally recognized as a member of the family after he gets married. I also beg you to raise him into a dignified military officer, so that he won't bring shame to my He family's ancestors."

Huang Shi only sighed but didn't say anything reproachful. Encouraged, He Dingyuan felt this was tacit approval: "If it's a girl, I beg you to adopt her as your daughter and find a capable son-in-law for me to marry into the family, so that my daughter and I can be cared for... If, if she dies young... then please adopt another child for me, as long as the family line continues."

This sounded more and more like a deathbed confession. Huang Shi felt that He Dingyuan was being rather fussy today. No wonder they say women are like wood and men are like earth; marriage is not just a physical matter, but also a fusion of souls. Now, He Dingyuan seemed to have something on his mind.

Today, He Dingyuan also felt a bit inexplicable, having unconsciously poured out all the hidden worries he had kept deep in his heart. But having already spoken, seeing Huang Shi remain silent, he called out softly, "My lord." He then took a step closer to the still-silent Huang Shi, his voice trembling slightly, "Has my lord granted my request?"

At that moment, Huang Shi's mind flashed back to scenes from his acquaintance with He Dingyuan: a rebellious ordinary soldier from Guangning, who bravely joined him during the Liaodong expedition, fighting valiantly along the way, shielding him with his spear on the night Kong Youde ambushed him, capturing the enemy's flag in the Battle of Lushun…

These images made Huang Shi blurt out, "Brother He, you've always done very well, extremely well. I truly owe you a great deal." He was almost about to grant He Dingyuan's request, but a mysterious fear suddenly arose, causing the atheist Huang Shi to change his mind, saying, "However, I will not grant this request. You must raise your children yourself.

" As soon as the words left his mouth, Huang Shi felt a sudden sense of relief. The lingering worries that He Dingyuan's words had added to his heart vanished as if blown away by a sea breeze. Huang Shi let out a quick breath, and when he spoke again, his tone became very light, his words like a prophecy: "Brother He, you will definitely be able to personally glorify your ancestors' lineage, fill your family with glory, and bring blessings to your descendants. I have no doubt about this."

The tone and wording of these words stunned Huang Shi himself. It stirred up a memory hidden deep in his heart. Four years ago in Guangning City, someone had also predicted Huang Shi's fate with the certainty of a fortune teller. That fortune teller described Huang Shi's meteoric rise and ended with "I have no doubt about this"—if the prophecy comes true, Brother He, this is what I, Huang Shi, promise you.

Jinzhou Fortress was finally in sight.

Youth was a defining characteristic of the Dongjiang Army. Before Huang Shi, two young Dongjiang officers knelt on one knee, their respectful tone tinged with admiration and worship:

"This humble officer, Li Chengfeng, garrison commander of Dongjiang, holding the rank of Supervisor, and in charge of Jinzhou Fort, pays his respects to Lord Huang." The Jinzhou garrison commander appeared dignified and handsome.

"This humble officer, Zhang Feimao, Supervisor of Dongjiang, holding the rank of Guerrilla Commander, and in charge of the Vanguard Battalion, pays his respects to Lord Huang." The commander of the Vanguard Battalion was short and stocky. He was strong, but not fat at all.

The Vanguard Battalion had already attempted to relieve the siege of Nanguan. Huang Shi discovered that the road from Jinzhou Fort to Nanguan was slightly longer than he had anticipated. Damn, the Ming map was so inaccurate. The distance was about twenty-four or twenty-five li, but in between lay approximately four thousand Later Jin troops, nearly half of whom were combat soldiers.

"How is the Jurchen camp?"

"Reporting to Lord Huang, our Jinzhou has been blocking the Jurchen's route, preventing any supplies from passing through. Therefore, they only have some simple tents, no strong fortifications or trenches."

"So, as long as our army wins in the field battle, the siege of Nanguan will be lifted."

Zhang Feimao hummed softly, "Lord Huang is wise."

There were only a little over five hundred combat soldiers inside Nanguan Fortress, but they were covering more than seven thousand auxiliary troops, so they couldn't possibly break out on their own initiative. What pleased Huang Shi was that their morale might not have collapsed yet, so the combat soldiers didn't abandon their auxiliary troops and risk a breakout, although they might also be unable to break out. But this also showed that Nanguan had at least maintained basic military discipline and order, and hadn't reached the point of madness from fear. This meant there was still a chance.

“The Jurchens captured Lushun Fortress three days ago. It’s over a hundred li from Lushun to Nanguan, and the road is very difficult to travel. It would take cavalry about a day and a night to cover that distance. But the Jurchens need to transport Lushun’s supplies. Without those supplies, they can’t capture Nanguan, and…” Huang Shi gave his men a bitter smile: “After the Jurchens break through Lushun, they will inevitably commit rape and slaughter, which will also delay them by a night or half a day. So the 23rd is the deadline. We will set off early tomorrow morning to relieve the siege of Nanguan, and then retreat to Jinzhou.”

The staff officer Huang Shi was not brought along this time; the technology and communication methods of the late Ming Dynasty could not support the staff’s emergency operations. Huang Shi made the decisive decision this time: "The whole army should rest well tonight. Tomorrow, Li Chengfeng will lead two hundred soldiers to defend Jinzhou Fort, while the rest of the Vanguard Battalion and the Firefighting Battalion will attack together. The main force of the Jurchens should not be able to return in time, and even if they can, they should only have a small number of elite cavalry. Our army is sufficient to meet them."

At dawn the next day, the noisy Jinzhou Fort mobilized all the military households in the city. Because there were not many horses, all livestock had to be requisitioned. Of course, the oxen, mules, and donkeys that the military households had stored away were requisitioned. Li Chengfeng originally wanted to drag out the dogs to pull the carts, but when he found that it was impossible, he regretted it: "If I had known, I would have slaughtered them all yesterday, so that the soldiers could have more meat to eat. Alas, it's too late to set off."

The strong women in the military households of Jinzhou Fort were also mobilized, and they finally managed to gather nearly two thousand auxiliary soldiers. Some of them carried ropes to pull carts with the livestock, some pushed wheelbarrows or two-wheeled wooden carts, and some carried the armor bundles of the soldiers. Duncan's artillery unit followed the march with ease. The six bronze cannons were the envy of the Vanguard Battalion, who deployed over a hundred auxiliary soldiers to carefully drag the cannons behind the column.

The combat troops then set off in formation. During the march, the fire brigade soldiers carried only their own lances or muskets, their helmets on their backs, while the cavalry, fully armed, led the ranks. The

ten-odd li (approximately 5 kilometers) were easily covered. The vanguard cavalry quickly dispersed into a long column. Just as Huang Shi was about to order the infantry at the front to don their armor, a messenger from the vanguard, He Dingyuan, arrived: "Reporting to Your Excellency, the Jurchens have retreated."

The entire army continued marching in formation. Huang Shi, with his guards, rode to catch up with the vanguard. Zhang Feimao, with his personal guards, followed closely behind. When they reached the front, He Dingyuan first glared fiercely at Zhang Feimao before bowing to Huang Shi from horseback and saying, "Not two thousand combat soldiers, just over a thousand armored soldiers! The Jurchens also have over two thousand auxiliary soldiers, almost..." "Without horses, they retreated quickly after seeing my fire brigade's banner."

Zhang Feimao dared not speak, only shrinking his head. He Dingyuan stopped looking at him and asked, "Sir, should we pursue?"

The Later Jin army's banners in the distance remained neat and orderly, but their presence blocked the fire brigade's scouts, forming a military intelligence barrier. Huang Shi pondered for a few seconds before ordering, "The entire army continues to advance. We can stop when we reach the flank of Nanguan. As long as our army covers the retreat of our allies to Jinzhou, it will already be a victory."

If he had known that the Later Jin army could retreat so easily, he wondered if he could have transported some grain. But this thought only lingered for a moment. After seeing the simple Nanguan Fortress, Huang Shi abandoned the idea. With the supplies and grain from Lushun, as long as the Later Jin army completed their siege equipment, the unfinished Nanguan would be difficult to defend. The garrison at the South Gate had already spotted the massive Ming army column and quickly sent messengers to make contact. Huang Shi ordered that no one should flee haphazardly, but rather that they must leave in orderly formation, led by their commanders. The first column to form a complete line would proceed first. The women from Jinzhou were to return immediately. The soldiers inside the South Gate were handed over to Zhang Feimao to return to their unit and join the fire brigade in covering the rear.

Including the auxiliary troops from Jinzhou, it was a difficult task to reorganize the more than nine thousand Ming auxiliary soldiers. The two battalions, totaling nearly five thousand soldiers, slowly followed the massive column in their retreat.

The few dozen Later Jin soldiers silently watched the Ming army struggle all morning. Huang Shi tried several times to drive them off the battlefield but failed; they followed the Ming army closely. He Dingyuan suggested using cavalry to charge and hold them off, then launching a full-scale infantry attack. However, Huang Shi was unwilling to waste his precious cavalry or be dragged further south. So he rejected the suggestion—the fire brigade's cavalry was simply too few and very inconvenient.

At noon, the Ming army had slowly withdrawn from Nanguan Fort, and the fire brigade's cavalry, originally the vanguard, had become the rearguard. He Dingyuan bowed again and asked, "Sir, should we burn Nanguan?"

"No need. The Jurchens will burn it anyway, so let them burn it. If they don't burn it, we can save some effort when we rebuild Nanguan Fort."

As the Ming army slowly retreated, the Later Jin army quietly followed. They suddenly charged towards Nanguan, the vanguard shouting fiercely as they entered the city.

He Dingyuan and Zhang Feimao squinted at the Later Jin army's movements. Wu Mu, who was accompanying them, couldn't help but voice his doubts: "What are the Jurchens doing?"

Huang Shi, as if waking from a dream, burst into laughter: "Isn't this the same old 'leaving a gap when besieging a city' siege' tactic? They've been waiting for us to burn the city or retreat. It seems the Jurchens don't want us to travel those twenty-odd miles from Nanguan to Jinzhou in peace."

Amidst Huang Shi's loud laughter, one by one, the people around him turned ashen-faced. Huang Shi, his laughter undiminished, cracked his whip and pointed south into the air: "The main force of the Jurchens must be hiding within ten li, at most fifteen li. If they burn the castle after our army leaves Nanguan, it will be a signal for them to attack. Although our army hasn't burned the castle yet, it has only allowed us to safely travel less than five li further. There are still more than ten li to go."

Everyone looked towards Nanguan Fortress, where plumes of smoke were rising into the sky...

"Since General Huang has seen through the Jurchens' cunning, why don't you issue the order to speed up the march?" Wu Mu had only shouted this when Zhang Gaosheng tugged at him from behind. Wu Mu rolled his eyes and coughed awkwardly: "I misspoke, I misspoke."

In the road conditions of the late Ming Dynasty, if the army were allowed to run a marathon with these 14,000 men, most of them would probably be exhausted before even reaching Jinzhou. Moreover, once morale is low, the army will inevitably trample itself. Even among the soldiers of the fire-fighting battalion, only the cavalry might escape safely. The remaining infantry would either be caught or die on their own. Of the two thousand infantrymen in the entire battalion, probably less than one in ten would survive.

Wu Mu was simply thrown off balance by the sudden shock. After realizing what was happening, he pressed Huang Shi for an answer, asking, "What's the plan?"

Huang Shi laughed three times, "Eunuch Wu flatters me. I have no idea how to devise a plan, and I don't fight by strategy." From Liaoyang to Shaling, and then on the long march to Lushun, Huang Shi increasingly felt that he was unworthy to use scheming against the heroes of this era. He resolutely shouted to his guards, "Order the entire army to halt!"

Upon hearing this order, Wu Mu understood Huang Shi's plan: "Is this the only way?"

Huang Shi simply said two words: "Yes." After the troops had stopped, he shouted loudly, "Order the soldiers to don their armor and form ranks!"

—Strategically, I, Huang Shi, am already utterly defeated. My opponent anticipates my moves at every turn, while I remain oblivious… But in any case, the final victory must be achieved through tactics and combat, right? Huang Taiji, today I will show you the true strength of my Firefighting Battalion.

The fierce north wind, its intent unfulfilled, swept through the 27th section.

The cavalry, part of the fire brigade, slowly dispersed once more, forming a long, single-file line. Behind them, the infantrymen donned their iron armor, helmets, and gripped their lances tightly. The musketeers' armor had their sleeves removed, allowing for greater maneuverability and minimizing interference with loading ammunition. They performed a final check of their muskets, loosening the pouches of gunpowder and bullets and hanging them on their chests.

The officer blew his whistle, and the musketeers, their spirits high, marched to the front of the column. Behind them formed a central battle line of numerous smaller formations, each twenty men wide and six men deep, with gaps between them. Horses are intelligent yet timid animals; these gaps were designed to allow horses to slip through if they lost their footing, preventing them from crashing headlong into a forest of spears.

The soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion also donned their armor, but Zhang Feimao and his personal guards weren't paying attention. Ever since the Firefighting Battalion opened their packs and began donning their armor, his eyes had been glued to that sea of metal. His greedy gaze swept over the Firefighting Battalion soldiers' iron armor again and again. Zhang Feimao's personal guards and servants also looked at the armor of the ordinary Firefighting Battalion soldiers with envy, and every now and then, some would touch their own equipment with aggrieved expressions, their eyes practically spitting fire.

The Vanguard Battalion's units slowly spread out to the flanks, while the Firefighting Battalion's units remained in the center. More than nine thousand auxiliary troops, carrying various supplies, retreated behind the banners of the adjutant general, trying to hide behind the battle line to seek protection from the combat troops.

The four infantry units lined up one after another, and their officers' flags were raised straight. Huang Shi nodded, and the guards immediately waved the twelve-foot red banners of the adjutant general.

After He Dingyuan gave the order, the cavalry at the front line turned their horses and slowly returned, re-arranging themselves behind Huang Shi's banner. Beside the cavalry was the last infantry unit, four hundred soldiers all spearmen. They had been left behind by Huang Shi as a reserve force. After

arranging the cavalry, He Dingyuan rushed to Huang Shi's side: "My lord, the cavalry has completed their formation and is providing cover. This subordinate has come to report.

" "Understood." Huang Shi could already see the dust rising in the distance. The rolling army of the Later Jin constantly emerged from behind the dust barrier. They seemed somewhat surprised to see the Ming army waiting in battle formation, slowing their pace three miles away and gradually regrouping into tight formations.

Fifty cavalrymen had already been sent out to scout. Among them were twenty from the Vanguard Battalion. These dozens of cavalrymen roamed the open space of more than three miles between the two armies, sometimes gathering and sometimes dispersing under the watchful eyes of thousands, occasionally feigning pursuit and attack. Huang Shi also watched these brave Ming scouts, who would suddenly accelerate forward or quickly break away from the enemy's pursuit, drawing Huang Shi's attention. A cheer erupted from the soldiers at the front.

This familiar scene reminded Huang Shi of his time four years ago when he led scouts in the Guangning Army, where hundreds of men huddled together, unable to scout the enemy or drive them away. The Lushun Army had fought for many years, living a life of constant danger since the second year of the Tianqi reign. Their spirit was in no way inferior to He Dingyuan's men, which impressed Huang Shi, who nodded repeatedly.

Just then, a Lushun cavalryman suddenly leaned back, dodging a stray arrow, and another round of loud cheers erupted. Huang Shi was slightly startled by the close call, but then praised, "Commander Zhang, your soldiers are quite well trained." "

Thank you for your praise, Lord Huang," Zhang Feimao replied, secretly pleased. He quickly added, "This is my personal guard, who has achieved considerable merit in the past three years. Hearing that the renowned Lord Huang of Liaonan is here, he is naturally even more spirited."

"Good, good. But don't go too far." "The main job of these scouts is to bring back information before conducting reconnaissance, so the attacks between the scouts of both sides are just a dangerous game. It also serves to boost morale; ultimately, it won't be a real fight to the death.

" Don't worry, Lord Huang, the children know what's important. "

As the Later Jin army slowly closes in, the scouts who have gathered considerable intelligence have returned one after another. Out of fifty riders, only three have been lost.

" Reporting to Lord Huang… "

The first was a scout from the Lushun army. He knelt and recounted his observations. Huang Shi smiled at Zhang Feimao beside him: "Commander Zhang, this is your man."

Zhang Feimao quickly bowed and clasped his hands: "It's all up to Lord Huang."

"Good, reward him."

At a command, Hong Antong, standing behind Huang Shi, tossed over a small piece of silver. The soldier hurriedly picked up the extra silver from the ground, stuffing it into his pocket while repeatedly expressing his gratitude: "Thank you, Lord Huang! Thank you, Lord Huang!"

Scouts from the fire brigade also came to report, and Huang Shi waved his hand after hearing them. Hong Antong tossed over silver as well; since he had rewarded other men's subordinates, he couldn't skimp on his own. However, how they spent it was not Huang Shi's concern. After all, Changsheng Island forbade merchants from doing business directly with soldiers; everything had to go through Yang Zhiyuan.

These fire brigade soldiers also harbored doubts about this. He Dingyuan glared at the suspicious and bewildered soldiers, signaling them to disappear immediately. They quickly returned to the cavalry behind the banner of the adjutant general.

Small merchants had also accompanied Dengzhou merchants to Changsheng Island, but the Firefighting Battalion strictly enforced a "centralized purchase and sales" system. Even items like a bride's red veil and wooden toys for babies were purchased entirely by logistics officers; soldiers were absolutely forbidden from direct contact with merchants. Huang Shi believed that by cutting off these contacts, the Firefighting Battalion's equipment and troop numbers wouldn't be easily obtained by outsiders. Yang Zhiyuan and Bao Jiusun had been repeatedly warned against this, and they had also formulated detailed regulations for logistics officers. For any supplies needed to be purchased, they would randomly buy an extra 10-20%, preferring to throw them into the sea rather than use precise figures during transactions. If merchants asked unrelated questions out of curiosity, they would be answered with "no comment."

This time, it was Zhang Feimao's servant who came up—the same young man who had just dodged an arrow. His dismount was quite graceful, and his speech was well-organized and rich in content. After listening to his fluent report of the flags and equipment he had seen, Huang Shi was very satisfied. The soldier seemed to sense Huang Shi's satisfaction, boldly looking up at him with eager eyes.

Huang Shi looked down at him, without waving for Hong Antong to toss silver: "What reward do you want? Just say it."

The soldier seemed to have been prepared for this question, excitedly replying, "This humble soldier dares not ask for more. I only humbly request that Lord Huang reward me with a set of armor." After saying that, he quickly added, "Just the kind worn by ordinary soldiers under Lord Huang's command." He then looked at Huang Shi expectantly, saying in a pitiful tone, "That will do."

"You little rascal!" Zhang Feimao quickly scolded. But wasn't that a rather weak scolding? It was practically a veiled encouragement.

"Good." Huang Shi laughed heartily. This little rascal was indeed shrewd. His set of iron armor was worth a hundred taels of silver, but the guy said it was just ordinary soldier's armor. If Huang Shi didn't agree, it would seem like he was stingy, unwilling to give even a piece of junk worth less than two strings of cash. "I grant your request. I will give you a set when we return to Jinzhou."

"Thank you, Lord Huang." The little rascal even did a somersault in the air, and happily led his horse back to stand behind Zhang Feimao. His companions all clicked their tongues in envy.

...

At the same time, on the other side of the battlefield, they were listening to the scouts' reports.

"Without a doubt, the opposite side is the most elite force of the Ming army in Liaonan. The fire brigade from Changsheng Island and the vanguard brigade from Lushun are both here. Today, we will wipe them out in one fell swoop."

Mangultai looked at the silver battle line in front of him with some confusion. The equipment of the fire brigade was intimidating not only friendly forces. The Later Jin forces looked at this magnificent armored column with the same astonishment: "If it weren't for the snake flags of the Firefighting Battalion, I would have thought we were facing the Ming Imperial Guards." "

Even the Ming Imperial Guards probably don't have such equipment," Huang Taiji remarked, admiring the dazzling armor of the heavy infantry. Under the sunlight, the Ming army's battle formation gleamed coldly, like a silver snake writhing slightly: "Iron armor isn't so scary. I've heard they also have bronze cannons. But even with iron armor and bronze cannons, it's nothing to be afraid of."

"I heard you've met that Huang Shi. What's he like?" "

Scholarly," Huang Taiji commented succinctly.

"That's good then. This armored force is ours!" Mangultai clapped his hands and laughed. His smugness was palpable: "It seems we've struck it rich this time in Lushun."

Huang Taiji smiled and said to his servants, "Send word: take Huang Shi's head, one and a half rank. Capture Huang Shi alive and bring him to me, this Beile, four rank."

From bondservant to Beile, it only took twenty-four rank. Mangultai was stunned upon hearing this: "Didn't you say he was a scholar?"

"Scholars have their uses too."

...

The Jurchen army opposite them began to deploy their troops two miles away, and Huang Shi quickly summarized: "The Jurchens have about 4,500 soldiers, roughly equal to our forces. The Jurchens' advantage lies in their cavalry, which makes up more than half of their force, while our cavalry only numbers 200. Behind the Jurchen lines are 6,000 to 7,000 auxiliary troops. In this battle, our army has 14,000 against the Jurchens' 12,000, giving us a numerical advantage."

He turned to Wu Mu and said: "Eunuch Wu, you are wise. As long as our army can hold out until nightfall, we will be safe."

In this era, nights were pitch black, and both sides had a large number of people suffering from night blindness. Torches could be used for night marches, but once a night battle began, whoever lit a torch first was committing suicide. Naturally, neither side was willing to give the other an easy victory, so night battles were true melees, with the chance of being killed by one's own people no less than dying at the hands of the enemy. In the darkness of this era, a soldier's life or death is irrelevant to his skill or combat ability; it depends solely on his character. The outcome of a large-scale night battle is unrelated to command, training, or morale; it depends solely on the character of both commanders.

"Therefore, our army's goal is to hold out until dusk."

It's January now, and in the cold nights of Liaodong, night battles are even more dangerous. A small wound, a little blood loss, could kill a strong man. Huang Shi estimated that by evening, both the Later Jin and Ming armies would have to retreat to their camps.

Wu Mu smiled trustingly and nodded repeatedly: "Everything is in General Huang's hands. I won't say a word."

Huang Shi's gaze moved from Wu Mu's shoulder to the two Imperial Guards: "Anything can happen on the battlefield. You two brothers must protect Eunuch Wu."

Chen Ruike and Zhang Gaosheng clasped their hands in unison on horseback: "General Huang, rest assured, with us here, we will ensure Eunuch Wu's safety."

Wu Mu turned his horse and rode towards the rear of the military commander's flag, distancing himself from Huang Shi to indicate that he had completely relinquished authority. He even casually sent over a sentence: "General Huang, you don't need to worry about our family. Just focus on commanding."

After the supervisor and the Imperial Guard left, Huang Shi cleared his throat and was about to speak to Zhang Feimao when the fellow finally looked away from the armored soldiers of the fire brigade. Now, beads of sweat were rolling down his forehead, and his eyes were darting nervously up and down.

But before Huang Shi could speak, He Dingyuan spoke up. This time, he had finally learned to wait until the supervisor was far away before offering his opinion: "What you say, sir, I disagree with. The enemy and our forces are evenly matched. Our goal should be to defeat the Jurchens. Why say 'hold out until dusk'?"

Victory is of course the best, but holding out until dusk is not a defeat. However, Huang Shi was unwilling to dampen his subordinates' spirits: "We shouldn't be too confident with the supervisor. Hmph, the Jurchens have obviously suffered losses in Lushun as well. Moreover, they need to cover the supplies and provisions, so they can't come with the entire army of three banners. Many horses were also left in the rear to pull carts." "Hmph, hmph, but they're really bold and daring to wait here for us to take the bait instead of sweeping up the remnants."

Zhang Feimao had been sweating profusely since hearing that the Later Jin army had four or five thousand soldiers, more than half of whom were cavalry. He was even more drenched in sweat after Huang Shi and He Dingyuan started their exchange. It was clear from these two madmen that they intended to fight the Later Jin army head-on. He opened his mouth wide and asked, "This...the Jurchens on the other side probably have six or seven hundred white-armored soldiers, right?"

Huang Shi closed his eyes. The intelligence Li Yunrui usually sent him flowed past his eyes like water. A second or two later, he opened his eyes and smiled, "I'm afraid it's more than that. The elite troops of the three banners are all here; there should be more than eight hundred."

Zhang Feimao stammered, "Lord Huang...Lord Huang, please understand, this humble...this humble servant only has thirty household servants and seven personal guards."

Huang Shi laughed loudly, "This general has none." He proudly said to Zhang Feimao, "But this general has a battalion of two thousand brave warriors. In the battles of Jinzhou and Gaizhou, these were battles with only three or four hundred men. The Jurchens must think this general only has a few hundred household servants."

Although it was already unbelievable for a deputy general to have three or four hundred household servants, all the Dongjiang officers who saw the report, including Zhang Feimao, thought that Huang Shi was skilled at embezzling money (in fact, they were not wrong). They also estimated that Huang Shi embezzled a lot of military pay (which was also true, Huang Shi embezzled his own share), so the scale of household servants and personal guards was particularly large, four or five times more than that of an ordinary deputy general.

He Dingyuan, standing to the side, chuckled, "My master only commands ordinary soldiers; they weren't carefully selected at the time."

Zhang Feimao's eyes bulged out; he stammered, gesturing wildly towards the four squads in front of the Firefighting Battalion, then pointed to the squad behind Huang Shi's banner: "Are these soldiers the same elite troops Huang Shi fought in the Jin and Gai battles?"

"Even if not, they're not far off." The Later Jin army's formation was already complete, and time was of the essence, so Huang Shi didn't intend to waste any more words. He pointed to the two thousand infantrymen deployed in the center and chuckled softly, "Another flanking maneuver to break through the center, how boring."

The Later Jin army had already formed a bull's horn formation, while the Ming army, primarily infantry, naturally adopted the full moon formation. The Firefighting Battalion's armored soldiers occupied the central line, while the Vanguard Battalion's soldiers stretched out their flanks, slightly trailing behind to form an arc. The Ming army's objective was a central breakthrough, to split the Later Jin army and attack them piecemeal, disrupting the enemy's central command. The flanks could collapse, as long as they could hold out until the central breakthrough was achieved, it would be a success.

Although the three banners had already broken up their formation, the banner in the center of the opposing formation was the Plain Blue Banner. Huang Shi understood that this meant the enemy commander was not the Fourth Prince Huang Taiji, but the Third Prince Mangultai. He asked the two generals beside him, "Which flank do you think the Jurchens will attack?"

"The left flank!" He Dingyuan and Zhang Feimao answered in unison.

"That's right."

The Ming army's left flank relied on the sea. If the Later Jin army chose to break through from the right flank, the Ming army could use its reserves to launch a pincer attack and counterattack, making it easier to plug the gap. Moreover, they might even be able to take advantage of the situation to divide the enemy army and drive them into the sea.

The banner of the Ming army's left flank, which was also the Later Jin army's right flank, was Plain White, while the Ming army's right flank faced the Plain Red command banner, since a considerable number of Plain Red Banners were still stationed in other areas of Liaonan. This expedition to Lushun consisted of all twenty-one Niru of the Plain Blue Banner, all eighteen Niru of the Plain White Banner, and sixteen Niru of the Plain Red Banner. Besides the main force stationed there, a contingent was slowly transporting supplies seized from Lushun, including the least combat-effective Han soldiers.

Just as Huang Shi had predicted, since the Later Jin army hadn't swept through the area around Lushun, they had to guard against attacks from the remaining forces there. If they lost most of their supplies, these tens of thousands of Later Jin soldiers would go hungry. The

Later Jin army began to move forward. Huang Shi calmly said, "Commander Zhang, I entrust the left flank of our army to you."

"Rest assured, Lord Huang, this humble officer will certainly not fail in his mission." Zhang Feimao's face twitched, and he forcefully waved his hand. His elite vanguard soldiers moved to the left flank.

"Commander Zhang."

"Your subordinate is here."

"You are a lieutenant commander in charge of the Vanguard Battalion. After this battle, I can remove the 'lieutenant' from your rank."

"Thank you, Lord Huang. Your subordinate dares not fail to exert all his strength."

Two wooden poles stood before the battle lines. A fire brigade artillery officer was measuring the distance. He was originally a famous feng shui master and fortune teller, nicknamed "Iron-Tongued Diviner," but was later convicted of swindling and rape and exiled. Now he was a battalion commander.

"Sir, six hundred meters. The Jurchens have entered the maximum range of my six-pounder cannons."

Huang Shi kept staring at the white banner on the left flank, his lingering worry never dissipating—could I really defeat this historical hero? Could my many recruits, only a few months old, really stand against the battle-hardened Jurchen elite in white armor?

"Sir, please give the order." The messenger's fiery gaze burned on Huang Shi's face—these soldiers trusted me because I had never failed. Eunuch Wu, Brother He, and the soldiers of the Vanguard Camp all trusted me. They were certain that as long as they followed me, Huangshi would never fail, and I could not let them down.

"Use ricocheting attacks!"

the messenger shouted with all his might. "Yes, sir!" he replied, turning and running desperately towards the artillery.

January 23rd, the fifth year of the Tianqi reign. Nearly 30,000 Ming and Later Jin troops were about to engage in a decisive battle outside the South Gate. The Ming army consisted of 4,400 elite soldiers from the Firefighting Battalion and the Vanguard Battalion, plus over 9,000 auxiliary troops, totaling 14,000 men. The Later Jin army comprised 4,500 warriors from the Plain Blue, Plain White, and Plain Red Banners, plus unarmored soldiers, totaling 12,000 men. Both armies entered the battlefield with unwavering confidence in victory, especially the Later Jin army, which displayed immense enthusiasm and courage for the battle.

For ten years, the Jianzhou Jurchens were invincible, annihilating hundreds of thousands of Ming troops. A Jurchen bandit group of just over five thousand men had grown into the Later Jin, commanding tens of thousands of armored soldiers. From Sarhu to Guangning, they were undefeated in battles involving tens of thousands of men, their formidable reputation preventing the Ming's most powerful field army—the Guan-Ning Army—from venturing into the Hexi Corridor.

Although they were defeated three times by the Dongjiang Army in open battles of tens of thousands at Lushun, Zhendian, and Lianshan after the third year of the Tianqi reign, the Later Jin army avenged its defeat in the fourth year of the Tianqi reign, inflicting devastating blows on the Dongjiang Army of Korea and Kuandian. In the first month of the fifth year, they defeated Zhangpan at Lushun, avenging their losses at Xiaoheishan, Lushun, and Jinzhou.

Now, the last elite force of the Dongjiang Army—the combined forces of Lushun and Changsheng—was within reach, and this Ming army was already in dire straits according to the Later Jin leadership's plans.

The Later Jin army had no doubt that the time to resolve the Liaonan issue had arrived; today would be the end—a permanent solution! "

...

Lower the muzzle..." Duncan shouted hoarsely. The gunners beside the two six-pound cannons rapidly turned the cranks, driving the screws that lowered the cannon carriage. Wooden screws on the bottom and sides of the cannons allowed the gunners to easily adjust the muzzle's direction and elevation using the cranks. The

dark muzzle slowly lowered. Standing on either side of the cannons were a group of grave robbers and fortune-telling swindlers—the most valuable artillery personnel in the fire brigade.

These scoundrels, dressed in imposing bright red cloaks, solemnly placed one hand behind their back and the other outstretched, thumb raised high, their eyes alternately closed, estimating distance using parallax.

"Six hundred meters."

"Five hundred and fifty meters."

"Five hundred meters."

"Four hundred and fifty meters, ready."

"Four hundred meters..."

A gunner was about to light the fuse when Duncan suddenly shouted, "Stop!"

He snatched the torch and pressed it against the firebox with all his might, shouting, "This is my honor!"

On the twenty-third day of the first month of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, at noon, the Semu officer Duncan fired the first shot in the Battle of Nanguan.

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