Stealing the Ming Dynasty [Complete] - 16

The fierce north wind, its intent unfulfilled,

swept through the air. In the 28th section, the two six-pounder cannons fired in succession. The heavy solid shot traced an arc over three hundred meters long before slamming into the thick earth. The ground absorbed the impact, sending the iron-lead ball bouncing back into the air. The second arc ended less than twenty meters from the Later Jin army's front line. The third shot, leaping from the ground, spun rapidly in the air before plunging into the crowd.

The soldiers clearing debris had barely pulled out their dusters when two soldiers waiting by the cannon muzzles poured in gunpowder. After compacting it, the porters carrying the shells skillfully pushed the projectiles in, then turned and ran towards the ammunition carts. At this moment, the soldiers carrying the gunpowder were already running back towards them.

"Three hundred and fifty meters," the rangefinder officer's voice remained calm and unwavering.

"Lower the muzzle—two degrees," the artillery crew commander ordered without turning his head. This number included what he considered a reasonable lead.

"Hey~ Thirty laps." The gunner drawled, directing his men, occasionally letting out angry roars, because no matter how hard they cranked the gun, they were considered too slow.

"Three hundred and twenty meters."

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

Two urgent shouts rang out almost simultaneously, and the two six-pounder cannons fired one after the other. The cannon on the left fired fairly well, controlling the impact point of both shots, charging into the enemy ranks at a height of about one man. The second shot was even better; the gunnery officer seemed to see the head of the enemy soldier at the front fly off instantly, and the people behind the headless enemy soldier also fell down, indicating a good trajectory. The officer on the left grinned maliciously—hoping that the Jurchen soldier whose leg had been broken behind him wouldn't die immediately, and that he could suffer for a while longer to feel better.

The Later Jin army's battle line wasn't very thick, but there were still several ranks, and the spacing between people was relatively large to avoid casualties from firearms. The six-pounder shell shattered the armor of the first two soldiers, broke the leg of another man, and then hit the ground. Unfortunately, it bounced up more than a meter high again. The trajectory of its descent landed at the end of the column. The lead ball smashed a Later Jin soldier's arm and shield into pieces, carrying flesh, blood, and remnants of shield and armor as it hurtled out from the rear of the formation. After hitting several more bodies, the projectile's power diminished considerably. It bounced twice more on the ground, rolled a little further, and then completely lost momentum and stopped. The

Later Jin soldier who had lost his leg finally began to scream in agony. Another soldier, whose arm had been smashed off, lay unconscious on the ground. He hadn't even had time to feel the pain when he heard the sound of bones cracking; a large piece from his torn shield had pierced his armor and embedded itself in his ribs. His vision went black, and he lost consciousness.

The auxiliary soldiers following behind the main force glanced at the black ball in the distance with lingering fear. Someone went to help the two wounded men up, wrapped them in blankets, and prepared to carry them away. In truth, the two who were killed immediately were the fortunate ones; they died without experiencing any pain. The two wounded would fare far worse. Shells of that era carried gunpowder, rust, dirt, and various deadly debris; those struck by such shells would die a gruesome death within days unless limbs were implanted. This single, light firing of the six-pounder had already resulted in two deaths and two injuries, effectively claiming four lives.

Compared to the left cannon, the right-hand six-pounder was far less effective. The first impact was too close, seemingly flying over the enemy ranks. After the second firing, the officer was again dumbfounded to see the shell merely kick up a cloud of dust in front of the enemy; apparently, no one had fallen. The officer quickly raised his right arm, snapping his thumb while closing his right eye, then switched to closing his left eye and opening his right.

"Three hundred meters."

The number reported by the artillery observer was basically consistent with the officer's estimate. Enraged, the officer turned and slapped the gunner hard across the face, sending him sprawling. "Lower the muzzle! Lower the muzzle! Are you deaf? Lower it two degrees!"

After yelling, the officer quickly turned back to continue observing the enemy's speed and formation. The gunner scrambled to his feet, covered his face, ran over, pushed the gunner aside, and personally and vigorously cranked the barrel. The gunner, left bewildered, stood there as the gunner frantically cranked, spewing profanities at the unfortunate gunner.

After the observers all reported the distance of three hundred meters, Duncan shouted, "Three-pounder—ricochet firing!"

The four waiting three-pounders opened fire in quick succession, and a new round of tense cleaning, charging, and loading work began...

Huang Shi watched the rounds of firing silently; the effect was truly... utterly terrible. The artillery recruits, new to the job, were diligently practicing their firing, and all the training procedures were being executed systematically. However, it was unclear which of the three steps—observation, pre-aiming, and adjustment—was causing problems. Round after round of long-range shots either missed or went astray… perhaps all three steps were flawed.

"I haven't even asked them to fire at maximum range yet; I thought that would be more accurate," Huang Shi knew clearly that his artillerymen's proficiency was still lacking, and he understood that this couldn't be rushed. Nevertheless, the current situation still left him somewhat disappointed. Although gunpowder wasn't very expensive, and iron balls were even cheaper and could be salvaged, the artillery on Changsheng Island had still spent a fortune recently. After just a few months of training, the melee pikemen and musketeers were already quite effective. Huang Shi couldn't help but sigh deeply, "Artillery is truly a technical branch."

According to Huang Shi's plan, the artillery of the fire brigade should have been able to break up the enemy's central battle line. The next step would be to deploy muskets for close-range fire, and once the Later Jin army was in complete disarray, the pikemen would launch a final bayonet charge. As long as the enemy was a scattered, disorganized force, they would have no chance against the Ming army's formidable formation.

At this moment, the Later Jin army also entered the attack range of the Lushun army's large firearms. Following Huang Shi's instructions, the Ming army concentrated all its firepower on the Later Jin army's central position, unleashing a barrage of weapons like the "swarm of bees" and "fire poison dragons" at top speed.

Huang Shi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. These weapons were expensive to produce, so they were rarely used for daily training. These large firearms were even rarer in Dongjiang Town, making them the prized possessions of the officers, who rarely used them. This time, however, it was a critical moment of life and death, so the Vanguard Battalion brought out all their best-kept secrets. Their shooting skills were even worse than Huang Shi's artillery... but Huang Shi felt no relief at all.

A fiery dragon drew a large circle above the Ming army's heads, then turned back right in front of Huang Shi. Although he knew the slave carpenters of the Ministry of Works weren't very motivated, a rocket turning 180 degrees after taking off was too exaggerated. This fiery dragon, with its extremely irresponsible tail fin design, ended up hitting the auxiliary troops behind the lines. It caused a commotion and chaos, but thankfully... well, thankfully it didn't explode.

The Later Jin front stopped 150 meters from the Ming army, maintaining pressure on the Ming front while supporting the attacks from both flanks. Their formation remained unmoved under the intense fire, and in fact, the Ming army's haphazard firing caused no casualties.

Seeing the Later Jin flanks rapidly rushing towards their own flanks... Huang Shi knew that artillery was out of the question. He pointed his whip straight ahead: "Central army, advance!"

The waist drums sounded three short beats, and the fire brigade immediately lowered the protective gear on their helmets, leaving only their eyes visible through the gaps in the steel armor of the heavy infantry.

The waist drums continued to beat, and the fire brigade's battle line advanced in perfect unison. The vanguard battalion at the junction also followed slowly under the command of their officers, maintaining the integrity of the entire battle line.

"General's flag, advance!" Huang Shi said, spurring his horse forward. The flag bearers behind him quickly pulled the flag from the ground and held it high, following closely behind. The reserve force of pure spearmen and cavalry also followed closely.

The Ming army's central army had already entered the range of the Later Jin army's arrows. Seven or eight soldiers fell in the stray bullets, but the Ming army's waist drums showed no sign of stopping.

Eighty meters,

seventy meters,

sixty meters...

At fifty meters,

the drumbeats finally ceased, and a whistle sounded.

The Ming musketeers raised their muskets, and four hundred men unleashed a fierce volley. Huang Shi squinted and saw dozens fall on the opposite side.

Three more volleys of arrows rained down from the other side, over a thousand arrows scattering across the ground at the foot of the fire-fighting camp. Some of the leading soldiers already had three or four arrows embedded in their bodies, but only thirty fell from the thighs. Their armor, tested, offered protection against arrows up to about thirty meters away.

Another volley followed, and this time, probably dozens more fell.

The returning arrows reduced the number of musketeers maintaining the battle to just over three hundred and fifty, and the dozens of supporting pikemen also retreated.

Huang Shi kept quietly counting: "Seven arrows, eight arrows, nine arrows... nine arrows already. Six of them were rapid-fire, and there was another volley of musket fire. At most, more than two volleys, and the enemy archers will be exhausted."

"My lord, our left flank has begun to retreat." Hong Antong's soft reminder drew Huang Shi's gaze in that direction, but he still didn't stop his mount.

The Later Jin cavalry had already outflanked the Ming army's left flank and launched an attack. The Later Jin left flank commander, Huihuang Taiji, used the same tactic as before, first having hundreds of white-armored soldiers dismount and fire on foot. The soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion raised their shields to resist. Although the Ming army's dense shield formation greatly weakened the power of the arrows, after several volleys, the Ming army was also suppressed and unable to raise their heads. The Ming archers tried their best to return fire to hold their ground, but suffered heavy casualties under the enemy's fierce firepower.

When Huang Shi's general's flag was once again deeply embedded in the ground, the Ming army, suppressed by the white-armored soldiers, completely lost the ability to retaliate. The soldiers could only struggle to hold their shields against the relentless barrage of attacks. The white-armored soldiers, clad in double layers of armor, led the charge, forcing the Ming army to retreat step by step. The Later Jin cavalry also began to charge in waves, the Vanguard Battalion sacrificing lives to buy time for the Firefighting Battalion.

To facilitate command, the general's flag was less than twenty meters from the main battle line, requiring even faster movement. Huang Shi understood that time was of the essence: "Central Army, continue advancing." Even though muskets were far more powerful than bows and arrows, relying on them to completely scatter the enemy would still take too long. Ultimately, close combat was the most effective mode of warfare, and only close combat could quickly determine victory or defeat.

"Yes, sir."

The general's flag tilted slightly forward, and the flags of the Firefighting Battalion officers followed suit.

Many of the Later Jin soldiers opposite them were also wielding long spears, some even twelve feet long. These were chevaux-de-frise captured from the Ming army. A captain in the fire brigade glanced contemptuously at the guns; these guns were difficult to use for precise thrusting. He looked even more contemptuously at the Jurchen soldiers carrying them. Their faces were now clearly visible: "Beat the drums, advance! Let the Jurchens see who the real spearmen are!"

The waist drums sounded, and the fire brigade soldiers advanced again without hesitation, stepping to the beat. The spearmen and musketeers continued forward, braving the arrows, while the Jurchen archers seized the opportunity to push to the front ranks, aiming and firing at the lower bodies of the Ming soldiers. One fire brigade soldier after another fell, and the soldiers in the back ranks mechanically filled in.

To conserve their strength for the charge. The fire brigade moved slowly. Huang Shi estimated the distance between the two sides to be about forty meters. More of the Later Jin army's melee fighters began to appear on the front line. Behind them was the Later Jin army's central command flag—the Plain Blue Banner: "Musketeers, fire a final volley at thirty meters, then switch to daggers and prepare to charge with the pikemen."

As he spoke, Huang Shi suddenly saw Duncan leading the artillery unit past him. Duncan, bent over, pushed the first cannon forward with all his might. Then another four-pounder was pushed past Huang Shi. As Duncan pushed the cannon, he shouted hoarsely at Huang Shi, "We artillerymen can shoot like a longbow at long range, and we can also thrust like a dagger at close range!"

The six-pounder had already been abandoned on the position by Duncan. He had pulled all the soldiers in the artillery unit out to push the four three-pounders. Each cannon was pushed very fast with the help of dozens of soldiers. As Duncan shouted, he added in his mind, "Since we can't shoot like a longbow at long range, then we can only thrust like a dagger at close range."

The first three-pounder caught up with the leading infantry under the frantic push of dozens of men. Duncan shouted, "Make way, make way!" and together with the first artillery crew, he pushed the three-pounder through the gap in the formation. Several artillery crew members with large shields held the shields for cover with one hand and pulled on the ropes on the cannon with the other.

The Later Jin army's arrows immediately rained down on the madmen charging at the front. The shield bearers, inevitably revealing openings in their movements, fell as the first man was mercilessly crushed by the wheels of a cannon. The soldiers behind ignored their fallen comrades struggling in agony, simply grabbing their shields to shield them.

Duncan pushed the first three-pounder to within thirty meters of the Later Jin front line, and without even wiping the sweat from his brow, he squatted down and cranked the barrel: "Raise the muzzle—"

"Get out of the way!" Duncan roared, and the artillery crew in front parted to create an opening.

"Fire!"

This time, a baffle was fitted over the gunpowder in the breech, followed by a large bundle of musketeer lead bullets wrapped in a battle robe. After a deafening roar, nearly twenty Later Jin soldiers lay dead in the line of fire.

"Clear the barrel, load!"

Although Duncan was shouting hoarsely, he knew that the barrel couldn't be cleared anytime soon. He glanced at the second cannon and saw it had stopped firing as well, so he yelled, "Stop!"

Duncan lunged forward and hid behind his shield, then started pushing the cannon again: "Push forward, push..."

"Sir, thirty meters." Hong Antong, seeing Huang Shi engrossed in watching, reminded him that the musketeers had reached their designated positions.

Huang Shi, seeing Duncan still struggling to push the cannon forward, replied without turning his head, "I know, keep going." The general's flag behind him continued to tilt forward, and the drums of the officers continued to thunder.

After quickly glancing at the left flank, Huang Shi added an order: "Team E, advance. Join the central front—the center." Team E consisted of Huang Shi's four hundred pikemen, who immediately thundered past him and marched forward in a mighty procession.

Duncan pushed the second cannon to twenty meters and fired, then leaped towards the third cannon that followed: "Push, push it forward, all the way to the Jurchens' chests before firing!"

As the Ming army closed to within thirty meters of the charge, the frontline Jurchen troops were mostly engaged in melee combat, but arrows continued to fly towards the cannons, and the number of arrows fired from the sides increased. A powerful arrow pierced Duncan's sleeveless armor. The arrowhead embedded itself in his abdomen. Duncan, seemingly oblivious, continued to push the cannon forward. Behind him, the drumbeats grew more urgent, and the infantry quickened their pace, closely following their steps.

This time, the cannon was pushed ten meters away from the battle line: "Raise the muzzle to its highest position—ah!"

Another arrow flew from the side. The shield bearers of all six artillery units had already rushed forward, but this arrow just happened to pass through a gap in the shield, piercing Duncan's armor again. The recoil made him fall to the ground with a thud: "Get out of the way—fire!"

A large bundle of bullets wrapped in his battle robe was instantly fired from the cannon barrel. The barrage of thousands of bullets could be seen with the naked eye. The bullets rushed into the Later Jin army's battle line with lightning speed. Some soldiers in the front ranks were blown to pieces, helmet and face intact. About ten men hit by bullets fell to the ground without even making a sound. The rest were also hit by several, a dozen, or even dozens of bullets. A large number of painful screams rang out at the same time.

The fourth cannon was also pushed up, and the first cannon in the distance seemed to have been loaded as well. The artillery crew members were already shouting and began to push it.

Duncan, still on the ground, was yelling, "Push, push, push them forward and fire! Hold these sons of bitches, shoot them in the face!"

Huang Shi's general's flag was already raised. The infantry halted at a distance of only ten meters. The musketeers, as calmly as in training, set up their muskets and unleashed a final volley, concentrating their firepower near the artillery barrage. Then they abandoned their muskets, letting them fall heavily to the ground. The musketeers drew their daggers, gripping a long dagger and a harpoon-headed musket in each hand. The distance between the two sides was now less than ten meters. The fire brigade had already leveled their pikes, and the musketeers retreated into the gaps between the pikemen's small formations, preparing to provide close-quarters cover. The soldiers awaited the final order for the bayonet charge.

But at this moment, the Later Jin soldiers' attention was drawn to the fourth cannon, which had just stopped, swayed a few times, and then steadily pointed at the enemy ahead.

The Later Jin soldiers directly opposite him were all deathly pale, their eyes fixed on the dark opening that loomed directly in front of them. Their Adam's apples bobbed violently, and they involuntarily retreated, trying to hide behind their comrades.

Duncan struggled to his feet, leaning against the right side of the cannon, his arm outstretched to the left, his eyes bulging as he fiercely ordered, "Bomb him!" The Later Jin soldier he was pointing at didn't understand what he was saying, but the menacing gaze instilled fear in him. Even more terrifying was the fact that the cannon beneath him was slowly turning, the dark opening lifeless. The Later Jin soldier watched as the Ming soldiers' torches stretched towards the fire door right before his eyes. He strained to push his way back, and those around him also began to retreat, their faces tense.

Duncan's cannon still didn't fire. He suddenly flipped over, turning around and leaning against the cannon carriage to barely keep from falling. His arm, pointing at the right side of the cannon, trembled violently: "Wrong, fire at it! Turn around quickly!" The muzzle of the three-pounder spun to the right again, making a large circle as if to show off. The Later Jin soldiers pointed at by the cannon involuntarily squeezed back. The entire battle line concave into a semi-circular arc, on which the Later Jin soldiers' weapons were all pointed at the cannon as if it were a monster. The Ming army took the opportunity to press forward step by step. At this time, another three-pounder was also pushed to the forefront...

Huang Shi looked at the left flank, where they had retreated again. The Ming army's left flank battle line had bent backward severely, and the battle had already unfolded deep behind Huang Shi's flank.

He turned his gaze back to the front: "Firefighting battalion, bayonet charge!"

The general's flag tilted forward violently three times in a row.

As the thunderous drums and battle cries rang out simultaneously, Duncan shouted, "Fire!"

The two three-pound cannons fired almost at the same time, and countless men in the Later Jin ranks fell with screams. The Ming heavy infantry, in tight formation, marched past Duncan, shouting in unison. He could no longer hold on; his legs gave way, and he slid down the cannon carriage, watching the rows of armored infantry charge past.

After the main force had passed, Duncan laboriously looked up, searching for the auxiliary troops, clutching his two wounds. He cried out in pain, "I'm wounded, badly wounded! Someone carry me down!"

Several artillery crew members tried to help Duncan, but he rudely pushed them away: "Go back to your posts! We artillerymen are combat soldiers!" At the same time the order

for the fierce north wind to break through

was given, the Later Jin army had already opened several shallow breaches in the Ming army's left flank. Behind the battle line, mounted soldiers in white armor and regular troops were charging in through the breach, and the Ming army's left flank was already on the verge of collapse. Undoubtedly, once the Ming left flank was broken, the Later Jin army would sweep across the Ming army's central front along the gap.

Zhang Feimao had suggested placing a contingent of auxiliary troops on the left flank to draw attention, but Huang Shi believed that enemy generals, especially someone like Huang Taiji, would never make the mistake of dispersing their forces. The thousands of auxiliary troops behind them should be ignored; the primary objective was to cut down Huang Shi's banner and annihilate the Ming army's fighting force. Once the Ming soldiers collapsed, the auxiliary troops would be nothing more than easy prey.

The Ming army, suppressed by the white armor, inflicted almost no casualties on the enemy. The Vanguard Battalion used layer upon layer of battle lines to wear down the Later Jin army's momentum, desperately maintaining a complete defensive line. Zhang Feimao's facial muscles twitched violently as he gritted his teeth and dispatched all his troops in that direction.

"For General Zhang!" Zhang Feimao roared.

No one doubted Zhang Pan's courage. The soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion raised their arms and shouted, "For General Zhang!" Then they rushed towards the left flank without hesitation, where the Ming soldiers were bleeding profusely.

Zhang Feimao's eyes were already red. He trembled and clasped his hands to Huang Shi, saying, "Lord Huang, rest assured, my Vanguard Battalion will definitely hold the left flank."

Huang Shi also solemnly replied, "I have no doubt about it."

The Ming army was invading the Later Jin's defenses. He Dingyuan behind him kept looking at the left flank and then at the center, becoming increasingly impatient. Huang Shi stared at the Ming army's gradual advance in the center and said softly to his subordinates behind him, "Don't rush. Now is not the time for the cavalry to move out."

...

Pang Ze'er was engaged in the most arduous battle of his life. He stared intently at the enemy opposite him, roaring angrily. But his opponents were all wearing round masks. Apart from the cold glint of metal, there was no expression on them. Their eyes were hidden deep in the dark gaps between the metal, bright but lifeless. Those eyes gave off a gray feeling, yes, a gray sense of power—Pang Ze'er confirmed this feeling, taking two steps back to avoid several spear blades thrusting towards him, while nimbly dodging a vicious stab from his right with his rattan shield. He was jolted back another step, letting out a triumphant roar of triumph after narrowly escaping death. The row of cold masks opposite him remained expressionless, only countless spear blades thrusting towards him again…

Although Pang Ze'er was a Balaya soldier of the Plain White Banner, the soldiers in his Niru were mostly infantry. Today, after Huang Taiji had drawn the Plain Blue Banner cavalry to the flanks, he and his Niru master were left in the center, standing behind Mangultai awaiting orders. Shocking news arrived—the Ming army had wiped out the elite Plain Blue Banner troops at the front line in a single encounter, and under the cover of artillery fire, had broken the central battle line! He immediately set off with the entire Niru. Their orders were to drive the Ming army back.

He had just entered the center when he saw the battle line had broken down, and large numbers of Ming soldiers in iron armor were pouring in. Looking at the clearly iron masks on the Ming soldiers opposite him, he abandoned the idea of shooting arrows directly at their faces. Perhaps the lower body would be an easy target, but after assessing the speed and position of his opponents, he had to abandon this tempting thought and instead drew his broadsword and took the rattan shield from his back. No sooner had he made this move than the Ming soldiers charged in front of him, a barrage of gleaming spear blades closing in.

The few white-armored soldiers at the forefront were attacked from all sides simultaneously. Pang Ze'er watched as they were riddled with holes before his eyes. He and another man had tried to charge forward, but the opposing spears immediately blocked the corpses, followed by wave after wave of rear-row thrusts. The most successful one only managed to sever two spear blades stuck in the corpse. But the strongman also immediately paid the price, dying riddled with bullet holes.

Now their side had run out of spears, for their comrades who had wielded them were all dead. They might manage to strike one opponent, but would be riddled with holes by the swarm of spears as they tried to pull their spears back. One Ming soldier fell, another fell; the relentless, rolling thrusts were like waves, seemingly without end. The opposing Ming army beat a maddening drumbeat, and with each step they would strangely thrust to the right—a despicable tactic that had already claimed the lives of several warriors inexplicably.

A few white-armored soldiers, on a whim, attempted to roll under the hail of spears, but immediately a rank of spears from the rear of the Ming army would simultaneously thrust towards the ground. The entire rank of spears extended like the teeth of a wild beast, then closed in on the ground like a jaws full of sharp fangs, leaving no chance to dodge. This practiced movement seemed to come from a single person; Pang Ze'er sensed that the enemy had anticipated this situation and was waiting for them to use this tactic.

The Later Jin warriors retreated again. Pang Ze'er glanced one last time at the corpse lying a few steps away, then his gaze was cut off by countless enemies. That corpse was his elder brother's. His brother, like him, was a warrior of the Lierjia clan, and the only Later Jin Balaya soldier to date to have personally killed an enemy soldier. His brother had foolishly rolled forward, flawlessly dodging spears coming from all sides. Pang Ze'er had seen it clearly: just as his brother swung his sword at the enemy soldier directly opposite, that soldier suddenly turned right and thrust, easily killed by his brother.

Pang Ze'er's blood had boiled. Just as he was about to shout excitedly, he saw his brother's body freeze, then slowly kneel down, a sharp spear tip protruding from the back of his helmet. Pang Ze'er's blood, which had just been boiling, instantly turned cold. The murderer who killed his elder brother also wore a steel mask, but he only glanced at the corpse with lowered eyelids before taking a large step forward, still exuding that cold, indifferent grayness. The moment

Pang Ze'er and his brother's killer stared at each other was only a fleeting instant, yet it felt like an eternity to him. There was no interest or passion in the eyes of the man opposite him, only the cold indifference of a dead man—Come, let me kill you with my own hands, and then cut off your head to sacrifice to my brother.

Just as he thought the murderer was about to stab him, the Ming soldier suddenly turned to the right, and Pang Ze'er, in a flash, also turned to the right. He barely managed to block a bolt of lightning aimed at his right rib, and at the same time, he exhaled and shouted, leaping to the right again. He dodged the straight-on blade once more.

Before he could catch his breath, another spear thrust fiercely at him. Pang Ze'er desperately pushed back two steps to avoid the spearhead, then pushed back again to dodge two more spears. He now regretted not having a spear; otherwise, he wouldn't be so helplessly attacked. Another companion beside Pang Ze'er screamed and fell to the ground. Now everyone around him was pushing back.

Pang Ze'er practiced his broadsword and shield relentlessly, day and night. He knew these were his means of survival. His swordsmanship was well-known throughout the entire Niru, no, throughout the entire Plain White Banner. The column continued to retreat, one after another, white-armored soldiers falling beside him—some younger than Pang Ze'er, some more agile, and some stronger. The reason he hadn't fallen was because he had discarded his prized broadsword and was now desperately supporting himself with his rattan shield.

He mentally calculated the Ming army's tactics. When a spear thrust from the right, another spear would inevitably pierce from the front. He had to defend against the one on the right with all his might, as it could thrust further. However, he also had to take a step back at the same time, or he would be ripped open in his left waist... But after desperately deflecting another round of thrusts, Pang Ze'er couldn't help but wonder how long he had to hold out.

A sudden, sharp pain shot through his left thigh. Pang Ze'er was startled. How could they be attacking from this direction? It shouldn't be like this. He lost his balance and fell to his knees. A spear had already pierced his throat. Blood gushed from his mouth. At this moment, he hadn't even noticed that there was no one around him, so he was now the target of everyone's attacks.

"I want to see what kind of warrior can kill me..." Pang Ze'er mustered all his strength to lift his head. The mask of the Ming soldier was hidden behind the cold mask. There was no excitement in the killer's eyes; that gray, lifeless look was all too familiar. The killer lowered his eyelids and looked down at him one last time. That look, too, had a familiar feel to it.

A chill ran down his spine as the assassin withdrew his gun and left without looking back. Completely drained of strength, Pang Ze'er collapsed to the ground. Countless feet trampled over him; everyone he saw wore a steel mask and had a gray, unsettling gaze. He

had started hunting in the mountains at seven, and by eighteen had fought a bear with his family. After twenty, Pang Ze'er served the Plain White Banner for nearly fifteen years, risking his life countless times on the battlefield, accumulating combat experience from the brink of death, and escaping death many times with these skills. Pang Ze'er's last battle was also his most humiliating; from beginning to end, he didn't have a chance to swing his sword… not even against thin air.

...

A nimble messenger galloped up, abruptly stopping in front of Huang Shi and pulling his horse sideways: "Reporting to my lord, our army has killed nearly three hundred and is now closing in on the Jurchen banners."

The Jurchen army in the center was retreating steadily, and their battle line was beginning to break. Hong Antong could no longer contain his excitement. He spurred his horse forward two steps, pointed at the crumbling Jurchen defenses, and exclaimed joyfully, "My lord, all fifteen Jurchen central banners have collapsed! This is a great victory for our army, my lord!"

"Just a little bit more, almost there." Huang Shi turned his gaze back to the left flank, where the Ming army was also beginning to show signs of disintegration.

Zhang Feimao stepped forward resolutely: "Lord Huang, with me here, the left flank is as safe as Mount Tai."

"Very well, then I'll trouble you, Commander Zhang."

"Your subordinate obeys." Zhang Feimao drew his saber and waved it in the air: "Men, follow me to kill the Jurchens! Kill the Jurchens!"

Zhang Feimao led his thirty retainers to meet the left flank. The retainers of Ming generals were all the pride of the army; Huang Shi estimated that these thirty retainers were worth two hundred men. At the same time, Huang Shi saw the banner of the Plain Blue Banner begin to slowly move backward. The final assault had begun: "Commander He."

"Your subordinate is here," He Dingyuan, who had been waiting impatiently, asked hastily, "May I ask, sir, are you planning to intercept the Plain Red Banner? Surely you intend to flank the Jurchen left wing?" A

central breakthrough attack on the right wing could potentially block and annihilate a portion of the Plain Red Banner's troops, a tempting prospect Huang Shi had considered, but it would likely take too long, and...

Huang Shi decisively shook his head: "No. Our army is mostly infantry; we cannot give the Jurchens a chance to regroup. Commander He, do you see that Plain Blue Banner's large flag? Go and fetch it for me."

His cavalry's horses were the same as the Later Jin army's warhorses—two to three hundred kilograms of Mongolian horses, not the six to seven hundred kilograms of Arabian horses. These horses could only carry a few pieces of light armor, so Huang Shi refused to commit his cavalry to the breakthrough operation. He hoped that the cavalry's pursuit would disrupt the Later Jin army's unified command and prevent them from regrouping for another battle. After all, cavalry is known as the "army of separation and reunion," possessing far greater battlefield mobility than infantry.

"Your subordinate obeys." He Dingyuan crossed his arms, drew his two waist swords with a clang, and led his cavalry straight towards the Plain Blue Banner's banner. The entire 200-strong cavalry followed He Dingyuan, shouting, "Kill Mangultai! Kill Mangultai!"

The Plain Blue Banner in their field of vision retreated continuously, its speed increasing. The Ming infantry in the center had already broken through the Later Jin army's lines and began to split and attack the flanks, which conveniently created a passage for the cavalry to surge through. A

similar scene was unfolding on the Ming army's right flank, but here the main player was the Plain Red Banner, its banner also retreating rapidly. The central general's banner had already retreated; if they didn't move now, they might not be able to escape.

"Press forward on the right flank! We cannot allow the Jurchens to retreat unscathed!"

The fighting, which had been sluggish, suddenly intensified. The Ming soldiers on the right flank charged forward with shouts, while the banners of more than ten Jin regiments moved backward together. Although they still attempted a slow retreat, as their formation loosened, the basic cover of arrows disappeared, and the Ming army quickly crossed the distance between the two armies. The 500-strong vanguard battalion deployed on the right flank, using shields for cover, crashed headlong into the rearguard of the Jin army.

At the same time, the central battle line had bent, and many of the hundreds of scattered and fleeing Jin soldiers rushed towards the position of the Plain Red Banner, seeking refuge in their own retreating ranks. Behind them were heavily armored infantrymen pressing forward, chasing the banner of the Plain Red Banner's Borjinxia until he could no longer stop.

The Later Jin left wing, lacking unified command, lost its will to fight and retreated in disarray. When the frontline soldiers saw no reinforcements and the Ming army was growing ever larger, they lost their courage and turned back to chase their own banners, further exacerbating the chaos. The entire Later Jin left wing quickly escalated from retreat to rout under the dual pressure of the Ming army, and from rout to utter chaos.

Large numbers of Later Jin cavalry on the right wing began abandoning their wounded and auxiliary troops to flee the battlefield. Taking advantage of their horses' mobility, most cavalry escaped before the reinforcements from the center could close in, leaving behind large quantities of armor and weapons. Several hundred Later Jin auxiliary troops following the front also abandoned their supplies and retreated; three banners even left their banners to the Ming army.

However, one banner was eventually cornered by the Ming army at the seashore. Including auxiliary troops, there were over two hundred soldiers from this nomadic people. With nowhere else to go, these soldiers abandoned their horses, removed their armor, and leaped into the sea. The fire brigade soldiers were not allowed to remove their armor and change troops without orders, so they all stood on the shore watching. Meanwhile, the five hundred elite soldiers, their eyes bloodshot from the fighting, regardless of their skill with bows, eagerly picked up weapons discarded by the Later Jin and fired them into the sea.

Moments later, dozens of Later Jin warriors, including some in white armor, were shot to death in the icy water. The elite soldiers, already deeply resentful of the Later Jin, and further enraged by years of fighting, felt an irreconcilable hatred. Thinking of their families in Lushun, their fates unknown, they couldn't wait for the Later Jin soldiers to freeze or drown. Those elite soldiers with good swimming skills stripped naked, grabbed daggers, and chased after them into the frigid sea…

Meanwhile, the fire brigade officers attempted to reorganize their ranks. The musketeers on the left flank received orders to retrieve their muskets, while the heavy infantry continued the pursuit of the fleeing enemy. The Plain Red Banner army before them was in complete disarray, but they absolutely could not give Borjinxia a chance to regroup.

At this time, the Ming army's left wing...

The Left Wing's Vanguard Battalion consisted of five infantry units totaling 1,500 men. The Vanguard Battalion was renowned for its bravery in the Lushun army and was one of the most elite units among the Liaodong border troops. Previously, they had been repeatedly repelled by Huang Taiji, but each time their officers and personal guards had regrouped and counterattacked, effectively halting the Later Jin army's advance.

Now, the Left Wing's Vanguard Battalion had suffered over 300 casualties, with more than half of its officers and personal guards killed in action. Thus, the Left Wing Ming army could no longer hold out. They began to collapse before Huang Shi's very eyes. Few officers remained to regroup at the rear. The surviving Vanguard Battalion officers, along with their retainers and personal guards, rallied under Zhang Feimao's banner and continued to resist.

Large numbers of soldiers abandoned their weapons and retreated in panic, throwing off their helmets and armor as they ran…

“Adjust the central battle line, Team A and Team B, rotate to the left!” Huang Shi issued the order, and the general’s flags followed in quick succession. The flags of the officers in each unit responded sooner or later, and the massive Ming army formation on the battlefield began to slowly change formation.

Huang Shi glanced once more at the center and the flanks. The Ming army was about to drive the disarmed enemy out of the battlefield—the tide had turned, hadn’t it? Alright, let’s see what tricks Huang Taiji can pull now.

The fierce north wind, its intent unfulfilled, Chapter 30: Reunion.

At this moment, the little monkey was pounding the ground and crying in front of Huang Shi, while Zhang Feimao lay quietly under the general’s flag, more than thirty arrows embedded in his body, seven of them in his face. Just now, Zhang Feimao’s fierce resistance had temporarily halted the Later Jin army’s advance, so Huang Taiji sent his personal guards to snipe at him. Zhang Feimao, who was fighting on horseback, was caught off guard… The little monkey had fought with all his might to retrieve his body back to Huang Shi’s general’s flag.

Huang Shi had prepared for the collapse of the left flank. He had ordered the central fire brigade to rotate eastward and had also urgently redeployed ten detachments of infantry from the right flank to form a second line of defense. However, the infantry moved too slowly, and before the army was fully in place, the retreating left-wing forces had already disrupted the thin defensive line. This was a situation Huang Shi had not anticipated.

Huang Shi had originally ordered the fire brigade to leave some gaps in the defensive line so that the fleeing soldiers could pass through without crashing into it, but there were simply too many fleeing soldiers surging in, and they were all exhausted. Although the commanders of the fire brigade were desperately shouting for them to take a detour, most of the soldiers, after continuous fighting and retreat, had neither the strength nor the mental clarity to continue. They had withstood Huang Taiji's elite forces for so long, and now they could no longer hold on.

These exhausted vanguard soldiers stumbled and ran towards their allies for shelter as soon as they saw them. Some collapsed to the ground as soon as they reached them. Just as the fire brigade soldiers collapsed completely, some even fainted after crawling to the feet of their allies and feeling safe.

Huang Shi had turned to face due east, his face expressionless as he watched the increasingly dire situation ahead. Two soldiers recently redeployed from the right flank were immediately put into the fray by Huang Shi, but before they could even catch their breath, they were swept back by the surging tide of people.

"Sir, attack! Let them attack!" Hong Antong couldn't bear to watch any longer. He had just suggested ordering the fire brigade soldiers on the defensive line to indiscriminately attack the surging tide of people, whether friendly or enemy.

But Huang Shi couldn't bring himself to do it. He had seen these soldiers being repelled time and time again, only to regroup and charge forward again and again. Under complete suppression, they had managed to slow down Huang Taiji's cavalry's charge with their own flesh and blood. But this moment of mercy cost Huang Shi dearly.

The left flank of the fire brigade's battle line also began to crumble. The numerous friendly troops scattered throughout left the fire brigade soldiers with insufficient space, and once enough White-Armored Soldiers charged in, they would inflict heavy casualties. Without distance constraints, a few fiercely fighting White-Armored Soldiers could easily rout a single fire brigade soldier.

The fire brigade's battle line showed signs of breaking. More and more enemy troops poured into the gaps. One, two, three… Huang Shi watched as the White-Armored Soldiers continuously pierced through the Ming army's spear formations, directly attacking the rear of the fire brigade's defensive line. Faced with attacks from the rear, the fire brigade's command system began to fail. Huang Shi watched

helplessly as the White-Armored Soldiers cut down their own soldiers one by one. Soldiers began to disobey orders and fight independently, some even breaking their spears off their legs to use as short spears. This further accelerated the disintegration of the defensive line; their combat skills were simply no match for the enemy.

"Too many new recruits." Huang Shi shook his head sadly. The soldiers of the fire brigade finally began to abandon their weapons and retreat. The pursuing Plain White Banner soldiers cut down the fleeing troops one by one, but Huang Shi could only watch helplessly, unable to send out any more capable reserves.

The act of fleeing spread like a plague, and the fire brigade suffered organized defeats on the front lines. They ran haphazardly towards the general's flag, turning their backs to the enemy. This was the first time such a thing had happened since the founding of the Changsheng Island army. In the wave of retreat, even the few brave soldiers would be quickly overwhelmed by the enemy's offensive.

Huang Shi had hoped that Huang Taiji would preserve his strength and retreat, allowing him to reap the rewards of victory in peace, but the scene before him ruthlessly shattered his illusions. One who cannot plan for the long term cannot plan for the short term; one who cannot plan for the whole cannot plan for a part. Huang Taiji had no intention whatsoever of abandoning his allies and retreating. Even as the Later Jin army's central and left wing forces collapsed, he stubbornly continued his attack, attempting to turn the tide.

Hong Antong, watching the chaotic mob approach the general's flag, leaped forward and grabbed Huang Shi's reins, anxiously saying, "My lord, move the flag back a little." He glanced around at the other battlefields, then turned back and said, "My lord, the Jurchen central and left wing forces have collapsed. Moving the flag back a little won't matter. Just move it back a bit."

Huang Shi dismounted and walked alone towards his flag. The flag bearer seemed oblivious to the increasingly close sounds of battle coming from his left, still gripping the flagpole tightly with his right hand and his sword in his left, staring motionlessly south. The two guards behind the flag bearer stood ramrod straight, as straight as their spears.

"Face to the left."

Huang Shi gave a light shout to the flag bearer, and then directly ordered him: "Gather the entire army."

Hong Antong had already brought the rest of his men over. He shouted: "Inner Guards, draw your swords and dismount." Then he was the first to run up to Huang Shi and stand in front of him.

Huang Shi drew his sword and handed it to Hong Antong: "Take my sword. Anyone who retreats will be executed!"

Besides the sword, Huang Shi also carried a knife; he carried all the precious swords and sabers given to him by Wei Zhongxian, now one in each hand. Huang Shi's fingers unconsciously rubbed the hilt of his knife—was he going to draw his sword again? I'm such a bad general.

Hong Antong, holding Huang Shi's sword in his left hand, shouted: "The Imperial Guards, form ranks! Anyone who charges our lines will be killed without mercy! Anyone who retreats even a step will be killed without mercy!"

Before them surged a sea of heads, hundreds upon hundreds of routed soldiers backed by over a thousand Later Jin cavalry, like tigers drawn. This overwhelming tide of people was intimidating; the martial prowess of any individual seemed insignificant before thousands.

Huang Shi watched the surging tide of people rushing towards him, shook his head to expel the sense of powerlessness in his chest. Infantry without unified command were nothing but a disorganized mob; the cavalry's battlefield mobility was enough to defeat them one by one—the Jurchens, the White-Armored Soldiers, such a great reputation, but in his eyes, they were nothing special. "Huang Taiji, show me what else you've got. You can't touch my banner, Huang Shi's banner, no matter what."

Standing beside the banner for a short while, Huang Shi suddenly felt another person approach. Looking closely, he saw it was Wu Mu. He stood side-by-side to Huang Shi's left, his eyes deep and bright, a serene smile playing on his lips. If… if it weren't for his bald chin, lacking a long beard, he would have looked like a celestial being.

Huang Shi turned his head slightly and saw Chen Ruike and Zhang Gaosheng also standing on the ground. Both of them were spread-eagled, gripping their sword hilts. His thick beard fluttered gently in the north wind, and his golden-edged silver-scaled armor, reminiscent of an imperial guard, paired with a fiery red cloak, made him look incredibly imposing, like a celestial warrior descended to earth.

Noticing Huang Shi's gaze, Zhang Gaosheng merely smiled arrogantly with a straight face. Chen Ruike, usually so naive, didn't utter a word but instead nodded slightly twice in greeting to Huang Shi, her lips pressed tightly together.

Wu Mu seemed to have intended to strike a pose of stroking his beard and smiling, but when his hand reached his chin, he realized he couldn't quite pull off the air of a scholar-official who could calmly observe the changing world. Fortunately, Wu Mu was always quick-witted; he improvised by pressing his hand to his chest. After chuckling and patting his chest, Huang Shi sighed, "Today, I can stand shoulder to shoulder with General Huang against the enemy. How delightful! When I return to the palace, I'll have more to talk about. In the future, General Huang, who will be invincible in every

battle, will be remembered in history, and perhaps I can join him in that honor." The crowd continued to approach the general's banner. The Imperial Guards had already led their horses to block their way. Hong Antong stood in front of Huang Shi, leaning out from his horse to observe the battle. Seeing that the vanguard of the fleeing soldiers was less than thirty meters away, he lowered his helmet mask and shouted, "Imperial Guards, prepare for battle!"

The entire Imperial Guard lowered their masks, took a step to the side, and held their saddles with their left hands. Their right hands were already bent back, drawing their swords. Their red quilts were draped diagonally in front of them, and the thick fabric provided some protection against arrows. Huang Shi and the flag bearers behind him also lowered their face shields. Their breath bounced off the cold masks, and the metallic scent they exhaled added a sense of security.

The Imperial Guard, poised for battle, stood like an impregnable reef. Their palpable aura parted the surging crowd, and the routed soldiers circled around the flanks. Many stopped at the sight of the general's flag, spontaneously regrouping behind it. The fire brigade soldiers among the routed felt particularly ashamed; they circled around and then rushed forward, unarmed or unarmed, standing behind the Imperial Guard, panting heavily.

Before the routed soldiers had completely dispersed, the booming sound of waist drums echoed behind Huang Shi. He ordered four spearmen to form a line behind the Imperial Guard, and one musketeer mounted his musket on horseback. The remaining infantry, still led by their officer, struggled to maintain formation and order amidst the flow of people, advancing towards the Imperial Guard's flank cover.

The surging crowd finally dispersed. Huang Shi was slightly surprised to see no enemy troops following behind; instead, they stopped fifty meters away. The fleeing soldiers, after passing the general's flag, gradually slowed down. These soldiers, now empty-handed, panted heavily and began searching for suitable weapons.

The two armies faced each other at a distance of fifty meters. Huang Shi did not order the muskets to fire, but waited quietly for the flanking troops to arrive—every minute he could buy was precious.

The battle line in the distance suddenly dipped, forming a small, indented triangle. Huang Shi craned his neck to look, and at the base of the triangle, a yellow-armored leader on horseback emerged from the ranks. The leader seemed to be speaking to someone beside him. Then, a dozen or so Later Jin soldiers ran to the front of the battle line, shouting in unison, "Please, General Huang Shi of the Ming Dynasty, come out and meet us!"

The Ming army responded with silence. After a short while, Huang Shi saw the leader seem to say something again, and soon another shout came from the front of the battle line: "Old friends from Liaoyang, we only request to meet General Huang. We have no ill intentions. Bring General Huang out to speak with us."

Huang Shi did see that the white-armored soldiers opposite him had even lowered their bows. Besides, at a distance of fifty meters, unless it was a sniper rifle, even a god couldn't hit him. As soon as he took a step, Wu Mu beside him hurriedly grabbed him, hissing urgently, "General Huang, the Jurchens are cunning; you mustn't risk your life."

"Your Excellency Wu is wise," Huang Shi explained. "My troops are currently encircling them; if we can hold them off for a while, we can severely damage the enemy." After Huang Shi finished explaining, Wu Mu released his grip, and Huang Shi apologized and prepared to move forward.

But the yellow-armored leader opposite him seemed impatient. He gave two low instructions and rode away. The Later Jin army retreated in orderly fashion, only their final shouts echoing in the distance: "Three years have passed since we parted in Liaoyang; I have never forgotten Mr. Huang's brilliance. It is a great regret that we cannot meet today."

After the alert was lifted, the Ming army dispatched a large number of auxiliary soldiers to begin cleaning up the battlefield. The task of collecting heads was assigned to a small number of auxiliary soldiers brought by the fire brigade. The elite troops, knowing they had escaped death, mostly did not compete with Huang Shi's men for the heads. Even those who tried to keep the heads for themselves handed them over amidst the shouts of their comrades. Thus, Huang Shi's troops finally maintained their battle formation.

Wu Mu, curious, inquired about Huang Taiji's words, and Huang Shi explained his experience as a spy in Liaoyang, leaving Wu Mu speechless with admiration. He repeatedly praised Huang Shi's wisdom and courage, truly deserving of the title of pillar of Liaonan and a renowned general of the nation. Sun Degong's betrayal infuriated Wu Mu, who stomped his feet repeatedly. Hearing that Huang Shi had eliminated him, he applauded, but was surprised to hear that Huang Shi had also eliminated Sun Degong's sister. However, he ultimately said, "To sacrifice one's own family for the greater good is only right."

The Plain White Banner then brazenly entered Nanguan Fort, leisurely setting off fireworks to gather their scattered troops while watching the Ming army clean up the battlefield from several miles away. If the Ming army didn't want to freeze to death in this desolate wilderness, they had to return to Jinzhou before nightfall. The Later Jin clearly understood this, so they leisurely stayed in Nanguan, watching the Ming army suffer.

Huang Shi watched in dismay as the Ming army, despite having forced the Later Jin army to retreat, seemed to have greatly diminished the Ming army's morale after a few words. Many soldiers even felt their commander had been outmaneuvered by the enemy—but Huang Taiji had clearly escaped! How could it be that he had seemingly retreated without a second thought, as if he hadn't bothered with them?

Wu Mu noticed Huang Shi's displeasure and quickly comforted him, "General Huang, don't worry. This is a great victory for our Ming Dynasty, a crushing defeat for the Jurchens. All this is under the clear sky and bright sun. Don't worry, don't worry." Huang Shi

gave a self-deprecating snort. Before he could explain, someone came to report the battle results. Wu Mu listened to the report with a relaxed smile, nodding his head. "

In this battle, 870 people were beheaded, of whom less than 200 were killed by the Ming army in direct combat. The rest were wounded soldiers left on the battlefield or routed soldiers caught up in the ensuing hail. The Ming army also suffered as many as 900 casualties, of which less than 300 were killed or wounded in the defensive battle on the left flank. The wounded soldiers naturally died as well, and most of the rest were killed by cavalry during the rout.

The fire brigade also lost nearly 300 men, while only about 20 were killed in the central and right flanks. Most of the soldiers there were wounded but did not die. Ninety percent of the deaths occurred on the collapsing left flank. The vanguard battalion had nearly 300 wounded, and the fire brigade had more than 200 wounded. However, the fire brigade soldiers were mostly lightly wounded, and there were not many seriously wounded or disabled. It is estimated that more than 100 men from the vanguard battalion, even if they survived, would not be able to return to the battlefield."

"One by one," Wu Mu muttered to himself. He checked the numbers several times to make sure they were correct, then a look of disbelief appeared on his face: "Our army clearly won a great victory, how could this be?"

"Our cavalry is too few; the wounded can't escape, while the Jurchens, as long as their injuries aren't too serious, all run away." Huang Shi estimated that the Later Jin side would still have a large number of wounded. The final result of this battle should be that the Ming army retained more combat-ready soldiers. However, without cavalry, it would be difficult to expand the gains. Also...

Huang Shi pointed to the Plain White Banner on the South Gate and cursed with extreme hatred: "If Huang Taiji hadn't attacked my general's banner so fiercely, our army could have pursued the fleeing soldiers of Plain Blue and Plain Red Banners relentlessly. As a result, our army had to regroup, letting many Jurchen infantry escape! At the last moment, this fellow rode away again, and in the end, we gained nothing and let the cooked duck fly away."

The Ming army also captured more than 2,300 suits of armor, countless weapons and supplies, and more than 100 horses, indicating that more than 20 Niru (military units) of soldiers were now incapacitated. Huang Shi was even more displeased upon hearing this: "We won! The Jurchens threw down their weapons and ran away. Our soldiers, wearing iron armor, couldn't even catch a naked Jurchen, let alone a horse. If we had lost, few of our 14,000-plus Ming soldiers would have survived."

Wu Mu chuckled: "General Huang, you flatter me." He didn't believe Huang Shi would lose: "But what about Commander He?" He Dingyuan had chased after Mangultai and hadn't returned yet.

Thinking of his cavalry, Huang Shi felt a little better: "We'll wait for Commander He to return; surely the cavalry will have some gains."

The fire brigade continuously set off fireworks and sent scouts in the direction He Dingyuan was pursuing, but there was still no news of the cavalry. This made Huang Shi very uneasy. The surrounding area was densely populated with defeated Later Jin soldiers, and the Plain White Banner was constantly sending signals from the South Gate, urging the surrounding Later Jin troops to gather. Given the Later Jin army's defeat, a cavalry of two hundred men, while not extremely risky, was still a possibility.

Huang Shi looked up at the sky. The battle had ended more than an hour ago, and the Ming army had basically recovered their strength. The wounded had been treated, and auxiliary soldiers had been arranged to carry them. The army would soon set off, otherwise they wouldn't be able to return to Jinzhou before nightfall.

The fierce north wind hadn't yet satisfied its ambitions. Chapter 31: Reputation.

The cavalry had finally returned. Before Huang Shi could speak, his gaze was drawn to the spoils in their hands, and a smile appeared on his face. A beaming He Dingyuan leaped off his horse and shouted to Huang Shi, "My lord, I have fulfilled my mission!"

He Dingyuan held the Plain Blue Banner's large flag in his right hand, and a helmet was tucked into his left arm. He laboriously raised the helmet to his left hand and said, "My lord, please look, this is Mangultai's golden helmet."

The cavalry hadn't brought back a head, and He Dingyuan wanted to explain. They had been pursuing Mangultai so much that they hadn't had time to collect heads. On their return, due to the unclear enemy situation, they dared not linger and went straight back to their unit without collecting heads. But after only a few words, Huang Shi interrupted him with a smile: "This is more meritorious than a hundred heads."

Hong Antong had already taken the helmet, holding it up with both hands and handing it to Huang Shi. The latter smiled and held it up to the sun, admiring it for a moment. After a while, Huang Shi called out, "Bring the spear!"

Immediately, someone handed him a long spear. Huang Shi placed his helmet on the spearhead, held it high, and gently swayed the helmet in the sunlight while riding slowly in front of the army.

"Majestic!"

"Majestic!"

The soldiers of the Firefighting Battalion rhythmically struck the ground with their spears or muskets, while the soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion beat their shields in time with the chant. Many new recruits whispered among themselves, asking what had happened. The veterans, impatient, explained in a low voice, "It's the golden helmet of the Jurchen chieftain." Then, they continued shouting triumphantly, "Mighty—Mighty!" The wounded soldiers on stretchers also sat up, waving their fists and chanting in unison.

Huang Shi, having finished his display of power, spurred his horse forward and stood before the army. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the helmet crashing to the ground, where it spun rapidly. At the same time, he shouted to He Dingyuan, who stood to the side, "Present the flag!"

He Dingyuan forcefully tossed the large blue flag of the Plain Blue Banner in front of Huang Shi's horse. Huang Shi smiled contemptuously, lightly spurring his horse to let it trample over it. The heavy hooves sank the flag deep into the ground. Huang Shi then forcefully drew his sword and took a deep breath. He had been practicing a very cool horsemanship technique for a long time, but had never had the opportunity to use it.

Today was the perfect moment, perfectly matching his excited state of mind. Huang Shi yanked the reins hard, causing his warhorse to rear up with a neigh, and brandished his long sword twice. Then, pointing straight to the sky, he shouted to his equally excited subordinates, "Our Dongjiang Army—"

"Mighty—"

The cheers of over thirteen thousand soldiers roared like a raging tide. The cheers lingered above the Ming army and reached the heavens. Amidst the thunderous roar, Huang Shi leveled his horse, his body jerking heavily, and without thinking, he kicked down hard with the spurs on his boots. His horse carried him like lightning, galloping ahead of the crowd. The faces of the crowd were contorted with madness; his loyal subordinates cheered and jumped for joy at Huang Shi like madmen, the fierce wind in their ears making them unable to hear a single word. A surge of fervent passion coursed through Huang Shi's chest as he forcefully brandished his longsword in the air—selecting outstanding generals, training elite warriors, letting the enemy's golden crowns roll into the mud, trampling their flags under my iron hooves—this is the way of a true man!

Chen Ruike and Zhang Gaosheng, gazing up at the dashing Huang Shi, were both grinning foolishly when suddenly someone shoved their heads, followed by Wu Mu's vicious voice: "Quickly, put away the helmet and the banner. Those are for the Emperor's victory presentation at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. If you lose them, I'll take your lives!"

After dismissing the two Imperial Guards, Wu Mu patted his chest and laughed smugly, watching Huang Shi bask in the reverence of the army in the wind—ah, it turns out being a soldier is more promising than being a eunuch.

Slightly disappointed, Wu Mu glanced back at the busy Zhang Gaosheng and Chen Ruike brothers, and roared again, "Chen Ruike, you dog! Be gentle, don't erase the hoofprints... And you, Zhang Gaosheng, don't you dare dust off your helmet!"

After his outburst, Wu Mu smiled again, satisfied, and continued to look towards where Huang Shi was...

He ran until both the horse and Huang Shi were exhausted, but he still felt his heart pounding violently, almost leaping out of his chest. Huang Shi reined in his horse in front of He Dingyuan, panting, and shouted, "Speak, Brother He, what do you want?"

He Dingyuan bowed deeply, "I am willing to die for you, sir."

His chest was still heaving violently. Huang Shi stared at He Dingyuan and suddenly noticed that both of his scabbards were empty: "Guerrilla Commander He, where are your swords?"

He Dingyuan blushed, "I apologize for the misunderstanding, sir. My two swords fell into the grass, rocks, and stream during the fierce battle and were lost."

"You're a cavalry general, how can you ride without a sword?" Huang Shi pulled the waist sword he had just sheathed and casually tossed it in front of He Dingyuan. The tip of the sword sank deep into the frozen earth as if into rotten mud, the gleaming blade still trembling on the ground, emitting a captivating buzzing sound. "This precious sword is a gift to you."

"Depart, return to Jinzhou immediately." After packing up the supplies, Huang Shi ordered the army to return to base. The Ming army quickly headed north, everyone in the setting sun beaming with joy. The auxiliary soldiers were in a frenzy of chatter, even the wounded soldiers lying on their palanquins were laughing and joking. Two Imperial Guards each carried a rough wooden box. Wu Mu was now quite familiar with the organization of the fire brigade. He had just mobilized the carpenters accompanying the artillery unit, and they quickly prepared two boxes. He carefully put the helmet and banner inside.

"Sir, what's our next step?" He Dingyuan asked, and Wu Mu craned his neck to listen.

"Hold fast to Jinzhou, and send out a large number of scouts to patrol. Don't let the Jurchens have a chance to sneak across." Huang Shi knew that only a dozen or so Niru of the Plain Red Banner remained in Liaonan. It was difficult enough for this force to maintain local security, not to mention that most of the remaining Niru were heavily damaged and recuperating.

The good official road back to Fuzhou passed through Jinzhou Fort. If the Later Jin army didn't use their supply wagons, they would have to walk back to Fuzhou with their wounded soldiers in the cold wind. If they had to push their wagons slowly across the barren land and hills next to Jinzhou, it would be unreasonable not to attack them. Huang Shi estimated that this battle would render at least half of the Later Jin Niru incapable of fighting in the Lushun Peninsula, and they had no reinforcements within a hundred miles.

Huang Shi became more and more pleased: "The Jurchens have at least eleven thousand auxiliary soldiers. It would be a waste not to leave a few thousand behind."

"General Huang is brilliant." Wu Mu glanced at the banner of the Plain Blue Banner on the left and then at Mangultai's helmet on the right, grinning from ear to ear.

...

The owner of this thing had just fled alone into Nanguan Fortress. Mangultai had been relentlessly pursued by a Ming general leading cavalry, and from beginning to end, he hadn't had a single chance to regroup his army. In the end, even his personal guards scattered, and the few who followed him were all killed. Even his banner was snatched away by the ferocious Ming general, and those cavalrymen didn't dismount to cut off his head, but relentlessly pursued him.

Fortunately, Mangultai had been with horses since childhood, and after years of immersion in horsemanship, he was already quite skilled. His warhorse was also a famous steed. To escape, Mangultai even threw away all his heavy belongings, such as his sword, quiver, and cloak. He circled around several times, relying on his superior horsemanship to climb mountains and leap across streams, finally managing to shake off his opponent.

Just as Mangultai was secretly rejoicing and looking back with a smug expression, the Ming general threw something at him. In the blink of an eye, a flash of cold light rushed towards him. Mangultai shouted in the critical moment. He was on horseback, like a steel bridge, and just as he lay flat, he watched helplessly as a cold glint grazed his nose. The flying blade sliced off several hairs of his beard and knocked his helmet off.

Before Mangultai could even break out in a cold sweat, the Ming general threw another bolt of lightning…

Mangultai! With his old strength gone and new strength yet to arise, he suddenly exerted his waist strength, forcefully lifting his body several inches into the air. Then, he desperately leaned his head forward, and the swung blade only severed the root of his braid. A master horseman indeed! Mangultai didn't hesitate, galloping straight towards the fireworks of the Plain White Banner.

With disheveled hair, Mangultai stormed into Nanguan Fort. Recalling the ferocious Ming general, he still muttered with lingering fear, "So barbaric, so incredibly barbaric."

At that moment, Huang Taiji was standing on the city wall of Nanguan, gazing at the Ming army several miles away. Mangultai was furious when he saw him. An excited Mangultai shook Huang Taiji's arm hard: "Didn't you say that Ming army commander was a scholar?"

Huang Taiji, lost in thought, ignored him. After a long while, he asked the sulking Mangultai, "Where is the rear guard?"

"Two more days' journey to Nanguan. We can't wait any longer. Have the rear guard burn all their supplies and bring weapons and three days' worth of rations. I estimate they have several hundred wounded. We have no more than 2,500 usable soldiers now. Incorporate all the Han soldiers into the banners and tell them they are now bannermen. We must break out of Jinzhou quickly. Otherwise, once the Changsheng Army recovers from their wounds, we won't be able to leave."

The Ming army had already gone far away. Huang Taiji sighed: "After deducting the wounded, we still have over 2,000 armored soldiers. Adding the rear guard, we'll probably have over 3,000. We definitely won't have enough armor. Including the Han soldiers, we'll only have less than 4,000. The two groups together have over 10,000 unarmored and wounded soldiers. If we force our way through Jinzhou, we'll probably lose half of the unarmored soldiers."

"Moreover..." Huang Taiji sighed again, "The Plain Red Banner of Borjin has vanished without a trace. It will probably take them several days to regroup."

Mangultai was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then suddenly beat his chest and cried bitterly, "Since I followed my father in raising an army, I have never suffered such a defeat in ten years!" "

Fifth Brother, don't worry, I have already sent twenty white-armored soldiers with sixty horses to ask for reinforcements. Please ask Father to send the Bordered White Banner south immediately."

At this time, Mangultai also calmed down. After pacing back and forth a few steps, he had an idea: "Go and attack Changsheng Island, but don't take it. Just hurt Changsheng Island so much that it cries for its mother, and then it will come to Jinzhou to pick us up immediately.

" "That's right. Also, the ships from Lushun must be called back immediately so that the wounded can be transported away."

After deciding on the strategy of holding the southern pass, the Later Jin army began to gather the remnants of the army with peace of mind, and after the Ming army retreated, they went out in large numbers to search for the wounded. In this season, wounded soldiers exposed to the wilderness overnight would turn into zombies.

When the Ming army returned to Jinzhou, the sun was already setting. Jinzhou Fort had long received news of the great victory, and the entire city, men and women alike, waited outside the gates for the returning mighty army.

Upon the Ming army's return, the families of the auxiliary soldiers in Jinzhou poured out, wives recognizing their husbands, fathers recognizing their sons. A scene of overwhelming joy and tears filled the air. The auxiliary soldiers, both amused and exasperated, comforted their loved ones: "Didn't we already know of the victory? A great victory! A great victory for us!"

This scene saddened many officers and soldiers of the South Gate Auxiliary Soldiers and the Vanguard Battalion. Their families were still in Luqing Fort, and now their fate was uncertain.

A woman poured out her worries to her husband for a long time, then suddenly bowed towards the direction of Huang Shi's warhorse, and in the most sincere and respectful tone, chanted: "Thank you, Lord Huang, for saving our lives! May Lord Huang live a long and prosperous life, and may your descendants be numerous and powerful!"

Though her words were soft, they carried away the spirits of those around her. The soldiers, along with their families, hurriedly knelt in Huang Shi's direction, chanting, "May you live a long and prosperous life, and may your descendants be renowned for generations!"

These words spread like wildfire, infecting many more.

Huang Shi, who had been riding his horse, suddenly found himself the center of attention. Whether they were auxiliary soldiers from Jinzhou, those rescued from Nanguan, or soldiers from the Vanguard Battalion, they all knelt in worship, as if on a pilgrimage:

"May Lord Huang live a long and prosperous life!"

"May Lord Huang be renowned for generations!"

Huang Shi quickly dismounted to offer his thanks, but the overwhelming voices were so devout that he felt so small before their cries, rendering all his attempts at humility futile.

—Since I, Huang Shi, raised my army, all I have sought is to carve out a territory and ultimately achieve hegemony. Once upon a time, I gradually came to regard the Ming Dynasty as my motherland… It seemed that the merchant in Liaoyang gave me my initial inspiration… It seemed that Lord Zhang Yuanzhi left a very strong impression on me, oh yes, and Lord Chen Zhong, General Zhang Pan…

In the cold sun, Huang Shi stood in the center of the crowd worshipping him, and this praise made him feel ashamed—from Guangning onwards, my every move has been related to the fate of countless lives, my likes and dislikes can determine the life and death of countless people…

Under Huang Shi's orders, the fire brigade desperately tried to help those people up, but as soon as they helped one up, another collapsed. The only strength these common people had was a sincere blessing, and they were not stingy in giving it to Huang Shi—these people have not let me down, and I must not let them down either. After resting in

Jinzhou

, Huang Shi visited the bravely wounded Duncan. He solemnly called out Duncan's full name: "Duncan, the commander of the artillery unit of the Semu Army, with the rank of centurion."

Although lying in bed, Duncan immediately responded: "General, what are your orders?"

Huang Shi smiled, his previous serious expression dissipating: "Duncan, although you abandoned the six-pound cannon on the position without permission, I still want to reward you."

"I did not abandon the weapon. I commanded the soldiers to advance, not retreat, and to make better use of the weapon. This is not a mistake in the West. Artillery is also the branch of the army that most needs initiative." Duncan began to retort, his face red and his neck thick, his voice growing louder and louder.

Huang Shi listened to his defense with a smile before slowly saying, "Duncan, you are a military household of the Ming Dynasty, no longer a Scotsman. The Ming Dynasty has its own rules."

Seeing that Duncan was about to argue, Huang Shi immediately said, "I haven't finished yet, I won't let you speak now." He paused and continued, "But in my fire brigade, I permit you to command the artillery as you wish, but you must write it down as regulations for me to review."

Duncan naturally agreed to this, but since he couldn't write, Huang Shi said he would send him a clerk to dictate: "Furthermore, your name will be listed first on this recommendation list, and I guarantee you will soon receive a formal appointment from the Ministry of War and Dongjiang Garrison, becoming a Qianzong (military commander) of Dongjiang Garrison."

"Finally, there's one more point: from now on, members of the artillery crew will be considered combat soldiers." Huang Shi smiled slyly: "From now on, Duncan, your men will get an extra fish, isn't that great?"

"It's not about a fish, artillerymen are of course combat soldiers, I'm not doing this for a fish..."

"I understand perfectly well," Huang Shi said with a smile, reassuring Duncan. "Enough said, get some rest."

January 28th, Tianqi 5th year, Jinzhou. Huang Shi's temporary military residence.

"This humble general greets Your Excellency," two Changsheng officers chorused.

Huang Shi waved for them to rise. "Manxiong, Qiude. You've come at the right time. There are no outsiders here, so there's no need for such formalities." "

This humble general congratulates Your Excellency on your great victory," Jin Qiude offered a compliment, then began to offer his opinion: "However, the Three Banners of the Jurchen are currently entrenched at Nanguan, neither fighting nor retreating. This humble general fears they are waiting for reinforcements."

As he spoke, Jin Qiude pulled out a plan and presented it. There was also intelligence that Li Yunrui had just gathered. Changsheng Island had lost many men in the past few days gathering intelligence, but everyone on Changsheng Island knew the situation was urgent, so they couldn't worry about anything else.

Huang Shi took the plan and intelligence and studied them for a long time. Jin Qiude and Zhao Manxiong each found a stool and sat on Huang Shi's left and right sides, respectively. After a long while, Huang Shi ended his contemplation, put down the report, and asked seriously, "Does the staff think the Jurchens will send more troops south?"

"Your Excellency is wise. If the Jurchens were willing to abandon a large number of bannermen, they would have abandoned them long ago. Why wait for our army to recover?" Jin Qiude spoke eloquently, and Zhao Manxiong nodded vigorously.

"The Plain Red Banner in Liaonan has already deployed all its elite troops. They are now trapped in Nanguan by our army. The Bordered Red Banner was decimated by our fire brigade last year and is now recuperating in Haizhou. If the Jurchens want to withdraw troops south, they can only transfer the Bordered White Banner from Shenyang. This will leave the Liaoxi direction empty." After Huang Shi finished speaking, he bit his lip and thought for a while. The 160,000-strong Guan Ning army was still in the Shanhaiguan and Ningyuan line. Moreover, if they waited until they confirmed that the Bordered White Banner was going south before notifying the Liaodong Military Command, the Guan Ning army would not have time to react. Huang Shi hesitated before saying, "The Jurchens of the Southern Pass need time to gather their remaining troops. Perhaps they will try to use the cover of their unarmored soldiers to fight their way out."

Zhao Manxiong immediately countered, "Does Your Excellency think they can actually break through?"

Before the question could even finish, Huang Shi replied decisively, "Absolutely impossible!"

He realized he had been clinging to wishful thinking. Huang Shi explained with a wry smile, "But without definite news, I can't prove to Lord Sun that the Bordered White Banner will march south, and therefore I can't persuade the Guan Ning Army to send troops."

"Perhaps we can persuade Lord Sun to send a small force to contain them?" Zhao Manxiong understood Huang Shi's predicament, as did Sun Chengzong's, but he still held onto a sliver of hope.

Huang Shi shook his head as expected, saying, "It's impossible. I have absolute confidence in your judgment, but the Liaodong Military Command does not. What if we rashly send troops and the Bordered White Banner doesn't march south? What if it's another crushing defeat? Who will take responsibility? We simply cannot bear that responsibility."

Zhao Manxiong shifted his position on the stool, still making a final effort: "But the Bordered White Banner only has fifteen Niru, while the Guan Ning Army has forty battalions." "

The forty battalions of the Guan Ning Army were all established by Lord Sun, some of them were only established last year. Which of them has ever fought a battle? You can mobilize troops, so why can't the Jurchens bring back the two Yellow Banners?" Huang Shi's stern question made Zhao Manxiong lower his head.

Since the defeat at Sarhu, the Ming army's troop structure had been severely damaged. Xiong Tingbi withstood pressure from the military families, dispersed the veterans and led the new recruits, rebuilding twenty battalions of 60,000 troops in Shenyang and Liaoyang. However, after Xiong Tingbi resigned, this army was completely annihilated in the Battle of Shenyang, and most of the generals were also killed in action.

When the Ming army was established in Guangning, 90% of the twenty field battalions out of its 130,000 troops were new recruits. The last group of brave generals perished in the disastrous defeat at Shaling. Therefore, when Wang Zaijin was in charge of Liaodong, he refused to leave Shanhaiguan.

Sun Chengzong had built up the Guan Ning Field Army from scratch over the years, managing to create forty battalions, including eleven naval battalions. However, among these soldiers, only a fraction had actual combat experience, and probably not even one in a thousand had killed anyone. Therefore, Sun Chengzong refused to cross the Ningyuan line, focusing instead on training his soldiers, intending to win through sheer numbers.

Ultimately, Huang Shi strongly disapproved of this training method, firmly believing that elite armies were forged in battle, not nurtured. Huang Shi believed the best solution was to transfer Guan Ning soldiers to southern and eastern Liaodong to serve as auxiliary troops for the Dongjiang Army. After they have witnessed the battlefield and bloodshed, they will be trained into field troops. The officers and leaders of these troops should ideally be veterans of the Dongjiang Army, preferably those who have been wounded and killed. Especially wounded veterans; Huang Shi's personal experience is that killing can toughen one up, but since his own injury, he feels he has become stronger and more confident, which is crucial for the growth of officers and soldiers.

Recalling his first time leading troops to fight in Jinzhou, Huang Shi relied on veterans who had seen the battlefield and death in Lushun, and that was a relatively easy battle. As a result, many new recruits vomited on the battlefield. From then on, Huang Shi became even more determined to have veterans mentor new recruits. The fire brigade had one veteran mentoring one new recruit, a stricter system than the typical Dongjiang Army where one veteran mentored seven or eight new recruits. Most of the new recruits in the fire brigade were selected from auxiliary soldiers who had gone to the battlefield. When carrying corpses and beheading people, Huang Shi allowed them to vomit, as long as they wouldn't cause trouble on the battlefield.

"The mission of my Dongjiang Army is to contain the Jurchens, preventing them from attacking Liaoxi. The three fortresses, including Songshan, are nearing completion. The court has already spent a million taels of silver on this, and it has taken over eight months." Huang Shi sighed and didn't continue, but his two subordinates understood his unspoken meaning. Last year, the court only allocated 240,000 taels of silver to Dongjiang for military pay because Huang Zhongse, a censor in the Ministry of Revenue, spoke favorably of Mao Wenlong, saying that while he was "insufficient to control the Jurchens, he is more than capable of containing them." Huang Zhongse's reasoning for persuading the cabinet was that the existence of Dongjiang garrison allowed the Guan Ning Army to focus on building fortresses, such as the fifty fortresses including Ningyuan, which took three years to complete. During this time, Liaodong was engulfed in war, so Liaoxi remained undisturbed. If they were to ask for help at this critical juncture, the court would likely say, "Dongjiang failed to contain the Jurchens and was instead contained by them."

Although Huang Shi believed that it would be better for the Guan Ning army to fight in southern or eastern Liaoning, at least better than building fortresses and receiving military pay in western Liaoning, he also knew that this was not a problem Sun Chengzong could solve. The powerful military families of western Liaoning—the Yang, Wu, and Zu families—each had tens of thousands of military households farming for their families. For centuries, their descendants had controlled the entire Guan Ning army; these military households were their private property, and they were unwilling to give them away. Even Huang Shi himself would never hand over soldiers he had seen on the battlefield, not even auxiliary troops. If the court truly wanted to strip the military households of the western military families, his own army would be in chaos before the Later Jin even attacked.

"If the Jurchen Bordered White Banner marches south, Changsheng Island will inevitably be the first target. Hmph. They'll definitely resort to that clumsy feint again. I fell for it once, do you think I'll fall for it a second time?" Now that Huang Shi has abandoned his illusions, the current situation is clear. If the Later Jin army were to charge into Jinzhou, they would be fools, and neither Huang Taiji nor Mangultai are fools.

After some discussion, the three men concluded that the most feasible plan for the Later Jin was to first weaken the field forces in Jinzhou, then use the deterrent power of the Four Banners to cover the retreat of supplies, or simply let the Bordered White Banner take the supplies south, allowing the Three Banners of Nanguan to escape lightly. "

Isn't this just a desperate measure to attack us?" Huang Shi sneered. "Immediately order Yang Zhiyuan to break through the ice and let them come. Hopefully, all the Jurchens are winter swimming champions. Also, the naval camp, immediately take a thousand auxiliary soldiers to Changsheng Island, and then transport the people from Zhongdao back to Changsheng Island."

Without the naval camp, the Later Jin army couldn't cross the sea to attack Changsheng Island. Moreover, this naval camp would have to go to Nanxinkou itself, requiring the Later Jin soldiers, raised on horseback, to spend several days on ships before landing. Even the children of Changsheng Island could easily defeat them. Therefore, Huang Shi and his men estimated that even if the ships of the Lushun naval camp were captured, they would at most contain some Han Chinese sailors.

"Still no news from the Lushun naval camp?" Huang Shi, having thought of this, flipped through the report. The Changsheng Island naval camp was desperately squeezing out small boats to search the coast, hoping to send back an early warning. Many had already disappeared in the icy sea, but the report in Huang Shi's hand was still empty.

"No, perhaps they turned back to Lushun and then went to Nanguan Island to transport the wounded and supplies."

"That's a possibility." Huang Shi sighed. This intelligence gap couldn't be closed. The Later Jin army relied on horses for mobility and reconnaissance, while the Ming army in Liaonan relied on sea transport. There were simply too few horses in Jinzhou. The cavalry couldn't search too far, and even if they forced a search of more coastlines, they were unlikely to stumble upon enemy camps, which would only reduce their intelligence on the surrounding area. "However, as long as the naval camps of Guanglu Island and Changshan Island arrive, our Changsheng Island will be safe."

Night of the 29th day of the first month of the fifth year of Tianqi, Qingniwa.

As night fell, the Later Jin fleet anchored at the shore. Having sailed west for a day before finally stopping at the designated location, they found messengers already waiting. Their urgent orders were to immediately return east to the Nanguan Peninsula. Although the messengers wouldn't elaborate, their anxious expressions suggested a significant shift in the battle situation. Furthermore, after a secret conversation with the supervising Later Jin officer, the officer, unusually furious, urged everyone to hurry back.

Whispers began to circulate among the Han Chinese sailors manning the boats in the naval camp. The Later Jin supervising officer ruthlessly executed the loudest whisperers, immediately silencing the murmurs and restoring morale.

Most of the Han Chinese sailors were transferred ashore that night, while a dozen or so Later Jin soldiers took turns guarding the small boats' berths. Only a few guards remained on the ships.

"Enemy attack!"

When the Later Jin guards on the shore saw the ships ablaze, they shouted at the top of their lungs. By the time the Later Jin Niru rushed out, most of the ships were already ablaze, leaving him speechless.

"Sir, our army has beheaded fifteen enemy soldiers, captured two large ships, burned all the remaining ships, and several Jurchens have fallen into the water and are missing."

"Good, first-class merit secured. I, the garrison commander, should be promoted." The young general addressed as "Sir" was named Mao Kexi, originally surnamed Shang. His father, Shang Shouli, had died in battle against the Plain Blue Banner. Therefore, after receiving Huang Shi's letter, Shang Kexi immediately led three hundred naval troops to set off, and they encountered the Later Jin fleet at Qingniwa (Luda).

The Later Jin soldiers were no match for the Dongjiang naval force. Although these soldiers were handpicked, they could barely avoid seasickness at sea. Furthermore, the surprise attack left them no chance to retaliate. Seeing the string of severed heads before him, Shang Kexi, beaming with joy, immediately ordered them to continue advancing, disappearing into the vast sea in the blink of an eye: "Head to Changsheng Island immediately; we must lend a helping hand to General Huang."

The fierce north wind, its intent unfulfilled, Chapter 33: Allied Forces.

On the first day of the second month of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, the Later Jin army had been besieged at Nanguan for several days, and Huang Shi welcomed a guest. However, this time he was the one sitting in the center, waiting for someone else to pay their respects.

"This humble servant, Mao Kexi, greets Lord Huang."

Although Huang Shi was determined to win this man over, the necessary formalities still had to be performed. As Huang Shi waited for Shang Kexi to complete the entire sequence, the words "Please rise quickly" were practically bursting from his throat. Shang Kexi thanked him again before rising with peace of mind. At only twenty-one years old, Shang Kexi appeared full of vigor. After reclaiming the ship, he had originally headed straight for Changsheng Island, but upon hearing that the Ming army was gathering in Jinzhou, he turned back to join Huang Shi.

Shang Kexi was in charge of reporting over a thousand soldiers on the two Changshan Islands. This time, the Changshan Island naval force he commanded had beheaded fifteen

enemy soldiers. Shang Kexi was initially very pleased with his great achievement, but upon arriving in Jinzhou, he heard of the great victory at Nanguan. This immediately put Shang Kexi under immense pressure, making his own small victory seem pitiful. Huang Shi, harboring ulterior motives, personally got up, went over, and pulled Shang Kexi to sit beside him.

Historically, the brothers Shang Keyi and Shang Kexi were both naval commanders under Mao Wenlong. Shang Kexi, in particular, was only seventeen years old when his father died. The Changshan Island naval force he had built was the most combat-effective in the entire Liaodong navy. Later, when Liu Xingzhi killed Chen Jisheng, who was resolutely resisting on Dongjiang Island, and instigated a rebellion throughout the town, it was Mao Wenlong's father-in-law, Shen Shikui, who, along with the Shang brothers, launched a campaign to suppress Liu Xingzhi.

Then came the Dengzhou Rebellion. Mao Wenlong's two adopted sons, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming, were both great generals, needless to say. Mao Wenlong's nephew, Mao Chengzhuo, was a renowned general of Dongjiang. However, these three brothers suffered a crushing defeat in naval battles at the hands of Shang

Kexi. Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming were trapped on an isolated island, while Mao Chengzhuo was captured and executed by slow slicing. Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming, of course, managed to escape ashore. After Kong Youde reached the shore, it was Shang Keyi and Shang Kexi's turn to be defeated. In land battles, the Shang brothers were utterly routed. Shang Keyi was killed during the annihilation of his entire army, while Shang Kexi led over ten thousand soldiers and their families to Guanglu. Unexpectedly, Shen Shikui saw this as an opportunity to annex Shang's forces and unify Dongjiang. His plan to assassinate Shang Kexi was leaked, forcing Shang Kexi to join the Later Jin forces. When Shang Kexi joined Huang Taiji's forces, his naval force utterly defeated the Dongjiang Navy and also deterred the Ming Dynasty's Liaoxi, Beizhili, and Shandong navies from leaving port.

"Commander Mao, you've had a hard journey," Huang Shi said, unfolding a large map. Pushing the map towards Shang Kexi, he looked at the young man with fervent eyes and asked in the most sincere tone, "I know nothing about naval warfare, and I have accumulated many questions over the years. I hope Commander Mao can clear them up for me..."

Huang Shi's claim of complete ignorance of naval warfare was overly modest; these were questions that the staff and naval commanders should have addressed, so he didn't need to be particularly proficient in these tactics. The questions Huang Shi brought to ask Shang Kexi today were all prepared. He had only just heard that Shang Kexi was heading towards Jinzhou, and had immediately begun preparing. Fortunately, Shi Ce was in Jinzhou, making the preparation of questions easy.

It's said that the greatest compliment one could receive was being called "teacher," and while Huang Shi couldn't openly address Shang Kexi that way, he could easily feign ignorance and appease him. The two talked all night. The young Shang Kexi was overjoyed, feeling he had made a great impression on the renowned General Huang Shi of Liaodong. Huang Shi was also satisfied with his preparation; many of his questions were insightful and profound, hitting Shang Kexi's sweet spot.

If it weren't for concerns about the negative impact, Huang Shi would have even wanted to spend the night with Shang Kexi. However, Zhao Manxiong strongly disapproved of this plan, arguing that such blatant attempts to win over independent military officers would be seen as forming cliques, especially given the vast difference in their social standing.

After appeasing Shang Kexi, Huang Shi went to reorganize the Vanguard Battalion. Most of the officers in the Vanguard Battalion were dead, and Jin Qiude had been hinting to Huang Shi to annex the battalion. But Huang Shi disagreed with this approach. He selected replacement officers from among the various ranks of the Vanguard Battalion. Huang Shi did not insert a single person into the Vanguard Camp from beginning to end.

Tonight, Huang Shi finalized the allocation of human resources. The seven thousand auxiliary soldiers rescued from Nanguan were all strong and capable men drawn from various parts of Dongjiang Town, and Huang Shi was very satisfied with their physical condition. He transferred seven hundred of them to supplement the Vanguard Battalion, and the rest were transported to Changsheng Island via a special route. Huang Shi handed the order he had personally written to Zhao Manxiong, asking him to check for any problems. Zhao Manxiong opened the selfless order, shaking his head and chuckling as

he read it. He asked knowingly, "Sir, is this a strategy of feigning indifference?" "Exactly," Huang Shi replied with a smile. There were only two people in the room, so Huang Shi spoke without restraint. He also had an order for the allocation of armor, a supplementary order for the Vanguard Battalion, which was also drafted based on Huang Shi's suggestions. He was now conducting a final review and evaluation, and he didn't even bother to look up when answering Zhao Manxiong.

After Huang Shi approved the second order, Zhao Manxiong finished the first one. He took the second order from Huang Shi and read it as well: "The officers and soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion must be very moved, but... isn't this a bit too lenient?"

Huang Shi had no obligation to hand over the captured armor and weapons, and the Firefighting Battalion didn't intend to use these outdated weapons, so Huang Shi allocated at least half of the captured supplies to the Vanguard Battalion. Both the surviving soldiers and the more than eight hundred soldiers who would be replenished to the Vanguard Battalion would receive at least some armor and weapons.

Zhao Manxiong pondered Huang Shi's deeper meaning and tentatively asked, "Are you worried that your colleagues in Dongjiang might misunderstand that you are taking advantage of their misfortune?

" Indeed, that was one reason. No matter how much my Firefighting Battalion paid for this, no matter whether my Firefighting Battalion bore the heavy burden of the central breakthrough, all people would see was that the Firefighting Battalion's casualties were limited, while the Vanguard Battalion suffered heavy losses. If they then saw that I, Huang Shi, had annexed the Vanguard Battalion, then some people would inevitably suspect that I, Huang Shi, did this on purpose. "Huang Shi shook his head as he spoke. The fire brigade responsible for the central breakthrough was definitely not having an easy time, at least not much easier than the vanguard battalion responsible for the flanks. But the losses of both the fire brigade and the vanguard battalion were too shocking, and the effect was even more shocking when the two were put together.

Zhao Manxiong nodded sadly, it pained him that he could not annex the vanguard battalion: "What you say is true, sir."

Huang Shi then posed a difficult question: "But Brother Manxiong, what you said is only one aspect. If you only see this layer, then I am very disappointed." "

Another problem should be the issue of cooperation. I wonder if you are afraid that annexing the vanguard battalion will bring a lot of trouble in the future." Zhao Manxiong thought slowly for a while. However, this was just an excuse. In fact, he had already thought about this issue of cooperation with friendly forces on his way to Jinzhou. His first reaction after hearing Huang Shi's plan was that Huang Shi had similar concerns.

"That's right, that's right." Huang Shi reached out and retrieved the two orders from Zhao Manxiong. These orders would be issued first thing tomorrow morning, providing the Vanguard Battalion with excellent reinforcements and quickly restoring its combat effectiveness. Moreover, they were in the hands of the veterans of the Vanguard Battalion.

After carefully putting away the finalized reports, Huang Shi smiled and said to Zhao Manxiong, "In this battle, my Firefighting Battalion couldn't hold out alone. Without the Vanguard Battalion's valiant efforts, there would be no victory. In the future, my Firefighting Battalion will encounter many more enemies and will need allies many times. If I were to hastily annex the Vanguard Battalion today, then in times of crisis, allies would inevitably preserve their strength, and in the end, we would all die together."

Huang Shi gently patted his subordinates' orders: "I want everyone to know that if you fight alongside me, Huang Shi, for every soldier who dies, I will replace him. If two die, I will replace them with two. Give it your all! Following me will definitely not be a loss." "

According to Huang Shi's original intention, the Vanguard Battalion's strength would not only be replenished, but the positions of commanders at all levels would also be filled by veterans. However, Zhang Feimao and his officer corps were utterly destroyed, and only the right wing of the Vanguard Battalion's officers remained. The left wing was completely wiped out, so Huang Shi had no choice but to promote a few surviving personal guards, such as Xiao Pohou.

" Although those people were promoted by the adults, the favors they received would probably not be remembered for long. "Zhao Manxiong still had some reservations about Huang Shi's lack of personnel, and he thought that it wouldn't be too much to put in some people: "Half and half, what do you think, sir?" "

If you're going to do something, do it all. Either don't put in any, or put in all of them. What's the point of putting in half, just to watch them fight?" Huang Shi knew that Zhao Manxiong was talking about the general rules, but since Huang Shi established his army, he had smashed all the rules, and he wasn't afraid to smash one more this time. Seeing the regretful expression on Zhao Manxiong's face, Huang Shi couldn't help but laugh at this petty mentality: "Don't you also know about playing hard to get?" "Don't worry, I bet the Elite Camp will soon be throwing themselves at you.

" "Throw themselves at you?" Zhao Manxiong was puzzled by Huang Shi's use of that phrase.

Huang Shi smiled but didn't explain further. His decision regarding the Elite Camp stemmed from an insight he gained in his past life. If a man is extremely lustful, eager to seduce a pretty woman, his success rate isn't very high. But if a man can restrain himself and tell a pretty woman he doesn't want to sleep with her, then often the woman will think he's responsible, cute, or something similar... The same applies to the Elite Camp. Huang Shi risked his life to save them, which is undoubtedly touching, but many might suspect he's acting this way for ulterior motives. Therefore, if Huang Shi were to hastily annex the Elite Camp, many would be disappointed. But if he temporarily restrains himself and presents a gentlemanly facade, then everyone will naturally think Huang Shi is genuinely kind. The vanguard battalion, a group of officers and soldiers without a leader, were not far from Huang Shi's base. As long as they were loyal to Huang Shi, what was there to fear?

On the third day of the second month of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, in Jinzhou

, a messenger from Dongjiang arrived. He had braved the freezing cold by fast boat to reach Jinzhou. Upon hearing of the great victory at Nanguan, his tense expression immediately relaxed. He handed Huang Shi the urgent orders from Dongjiang, which Mao Wenlong had immediately sent to Liaonan after receiving news of the disastrous defeat at Lushun.

The messenger read Mao Wenlong's military order aloud in front of Li Sangfeng, Shang Kexi, and others.

"...Promote Huang Shi to the rank of Deputy General of Dongjiang, and give him the authority to command Changsheng Island, Zhong and Xi Islands, Lushun Fort, Jinzhou Fort... Guanglu Island, Changshan Island." Mao Wenlong's specific orders to Huang Shi were to rescue Nanguan and Lushun, and to cover the Ming army's escape from the clutches of the Later Jin army as much as possible. Mao Wenlong also said that if Huangshi couldn't do this, he could consider holding Jinzhou. If he could hold Jinzhou, Mao Wenlong believed there was still much to be done in Liaonan. Finally, Mao Wenlong authorized Huangshi that if Jinzhou really couldn't hold out, Huangshi could abandon Jinzhou and retreat to Changsheng Island.

Huangshi didn't have the messenger read the rest of the orders, but the messenger did mention one thing: the Dongjiang headquarters had sent reinforcements. Mao Wenlong told the messenger to tell Huangshi that a battalion had been urgently mobilized, and that by the time Huangshi saw the messenger, the battalion should have already departed from Dongjiang.

"The commanders are Dongjiang garrison commander Mao Youjie and Dongjiang centurion Mao Youyun."

Upon hearing these two names, Shang Kexi's face showed a very unnatural expression. The brothers Mao Youjie and Mao Youyun were originally named Geng Zhongming and Geng Shuming. Their father and several other brothers died in the miners' riot organized by Kong Youde's father. However, Geng Zhongming did not join the Guangning army headquarters but instead took his younger brother straight to Korea. When Kong Youde went to the front line in Kuandian, Geng Zhongming immediately reunited with his old friend.

Last year, 361 people were beheaded in Kuandian by miners from the Dongjiang Three Mines. The Geng brothers and the Shang brothers fought fiercely over the credit. Kong Youde, who was in charge of distributing the credit, naturally supported his old brother Geng Zhongming. This infuriated the Shang brothers. They felt they had no way to seek justice in Liaodong, so the eldest brother, Shang Keyi, went to Guanglu to join Zhang Pan, and Shang Kexi went to Changshan Island in southern Liaodong to train troops. Thus, their feud with Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming was established.

Huang Shi, however, seemed oblivious: "How many men did Mao Youjie bring? What are their weapons and armor like?" ( The following is a separate section, unrelated to the previous text: "

The Fierce North Wind's Intent Unfulfilled, Chapter 34: The Balance ")

It seemed like a very ordinary question, but it touched a nerve with the envoy, making him instantly embarrassed. The reinforcements sent by the Dongjiang headquarters were practically empty-handed. Last year, in the fourth year of the Tianqi reign (1624), the Dongjiang army in Korea suffered considerable losses. The troops and equipment of the Geng brothers had all been taken by Kong Youde, only because of Kong Youde's long-standing friendship with the Geng brothers; otherwise, no one else would have received these supplies.

After returning to Dongjiang Island, the Geng brothers trained new recruits. In Mao Wenlong's plan, the Geng brothers' new recruits wouldn't need to go into battle immediately, so they had no equipment, and the soldiers numbered only a few hundred to begin with. Upon receiving the urgent report from Huangshi in Liaonan, Mao Wenlong stuffed all the thousand or so able-bodied men he could spare into Geng Zhongming's new recruit camp, and immediately dispatched this only camp that could be mobilized urgently to Liaonan.

"The camp commanded by Mao Youjie is called the 'Jie Battalion'," the Dongjiang envoy said, his face slightly flushed. This battalion was originally for training purposes; it had no military flag or name. The name "Jie Battalion" was a name Mao Wenlong came up with in a moment of inspiration. Fortunately, Huang Shi didn't seem to understand its meaning. Seeing that Huang Shi's expression remained unchanged, the envoy felt relieved: "Commander Mao's 'Jie Battalion' has 1,300 soldiers. The Dongjiang Naval Base will transport them to Liaonan as soon as possible, probably within a few days. As for their armor… things happened so suddenly, there will likely be many shortages. I hope Lord Huang can provide some."

Huang Shi wasn't more concerned about the battalion's fighting strength, but rather the Geng brothers. He felt a pang of unease upon hearing that 1,300 men had arrived; bribing the Geng brothers would likely require another hefty sum. Not to mention, he hadn't even dealt with Shang Kexi, who was still by his side. Huang Shi feigned a cheerful demeanor: "I've long admired Mao Youjie's esteemed reputation as garrison commander. With him reinforcing Liaonan, all is assured. As for armor and weapons, I will naturally prepare them."

"Then I'll trouble you, Lord Huang." The Dongjiang envoy was pleased that Huang Shi didn't complain. He had other missions to complete and couldn't return to Dongjiang immediately, so he quickly asked Huang Shi, "Lord Huang, have you reported the great victory at Nanguan to the Commander-in-Chief?"

"Of course." Huang Shi's memorial to the throne after the victory at Nanguan was immediately sent to Dongjiang. However, two important spoils of war hadn't been sent yet. Wu Mu planned to transport the golden helmet and the great banner directly to Juehua to avoid them changing hands repeatedly along the way, lest they be lost at sea. Huang Shi mentally calculated the time and smiled at the envoy, saying, "It should be time by now. The Commander-in-Chief's orders are probably already on their way."

"That's good." The Dongjiang envoy breathed a sigh of relief. Even a fool could see that the situation in Liaonan was extremely favorable for the Ming army. As long as they could annihilate these three banners of the Later Jin, the Dongjiang army didn't mind temporarily abandoning Liaodong. The envoy wasn't a high-ranking officer, so he optimistically assumed Mao Wenlong's next order would be to reorganize the entire Dongjiang army. Now that his mission in Liaonan was complete, the envoy happily clasped his hands in a fist salute to Huang Shi: "Lord Huang, my mission here is finished. I humbly request that Lord Huang provide lodging and a fast boat for my brothers and me. I will be heading to Shanhaiguan early tomorrow morning."

"The Commander-in-Chief wants you to go to Shanhaiguan? To request reinforcements?" Huang Shi was taken aback. He had always thought Mao Wenlong wouldn't cause him trouble, but he never expected Mao Wenlong to think of asking Liaoxi for help. It was truly unbelievable.

This question made the Dongjiang envoy hesitate, unsure whether to answer or not. Before coming, Mao Wenlong had given a secret order: if the situation in Liaonan was a mess, then don't go to Liaoxi and invite humiliation. But if the situation in Liaonan wasn't beyond saving, for example, if the Ming army was still holding Jinzhou, then Mao Wenlong wanted the envoy to go to Liaoxi and have a good cry. He was determined to bring back some reinforcements. The envoy saw that Jinzhou was still in Ming hands, fulfilling Mao Wenlong's prerequisite for sending him to Liaoxi. Therefore, he resolved to make the trip to Liaoxi, hoping to obtain some supplies and soldiers for the Dongjiang Army in Liaonan.

The envoy glanced at Huang Shi again; this General Huang was invincible. The envoy had witnessed Huang Shi's two previous trips to Pi Island; the first time, he was just a teenager, and the second time, a young soldier. This time, he had personally witnessed Huang Shi turn the tide, transforming a major crisis in Liaonan into a strategically advantageous situation for the Ming army.

In the eyes of this Dongjiang envoy, Huang Shi was already a great hero and an object of admiration. Besides, it seemed inevitable that Huang Shi would lose his deputy general title, so the young envoy, for both reasons and sentiment, decided not to hide anything from him: "Lord Huang, please understand. I am on my way to Shanhaiguan to meet with General Sun, the Liaodong Military Commissioner. Commander Mao wrote a personal letter to General Sun, hoping that he could provide some firearms and soldiers to Liaonan, or at least urgently provide some grain. The Commander is worried that Lord Huang's army might lack provisions." "

I'm sorry to have troubled the Commander," Huang Shi sighed. Tens of thousands of soldiers ate a lot each day. Fortunately, they were stationed in Jinzhou City, so they didn't need to consume dry rations. However, if one included the Geng Zhongming brothers, Shang Kexi, and Zhang Pan from Guanglu, who might arrive at any time, the grain reserves on Changsheng Island would indeed be somewhat strained.

The envoy bowed and was about to leave when Huang Shi couldn't help but ask, "Will you go to Dengzhou?"

The envoy answered without hesitation, head held high, "Your Excellency Huang is wise; of course we will not go."

Huang Shi sighed inwardly, but said calmly, "Alright, you may go and rest."

For several years, Dongjiang Town and Laideng Town, along with the Laideng governor's office, had been at odds. Back during the Zhenjiang victory, Mao Wenlong refused to give credit to the Shandong civil officials. The Zhenjiang victory was undoubtedly the Ming army's first recapture of lost territory, its first successful offensive, and its first presentation of prisoners to the emperor. Therefore, the Shandong civil officials hoped Mao Wenlong would attribute the strategic planning to the Laideng governor's office; for example, some Shandong officials claimed that the Zhenjiang victory was orchestrated by Wang Yining, the Dengzhou prefect. However, Mao Wenlong insisted that it was Wang Huazhen's doing that brought him to power, and even submitted a memorial pointing out that Wang Yining only arrived after he retreated from Longchuan to the Korean interior. This argument put the Shandong civil officials in an awkward position.

After the second year of the Tianqi reign, the already strained relationship between Mao Wenlong and the Shandong civil officials worsened further. Mao Wenlong insisted that Shandong had no credit, while Shandong consistently accused him of being greedy for credit. Ultimately, Mao Wenlong refused to hand over the heads and prisoners to Shandong for inspection, instead sending them directly to Tianjin. In the third year of the Tianqi reign, the local officials of Tianjin repeatedly petitioned the court, requesting an order to stop Mao Wenlong from sending any more prisoners. Tianjin's reason was that there were too many prisoners, requiring food, guards, and the mobilization of local militia for transport—all of which also required food, making the expenses prohibitively high. Mao Wenlong insisted on sending prisoners, arguing that this would prevent Shandong officials from accusing him of greed for credit. He also claimed that the battle reports from Dongjiang and the presented heads could be easily verified by the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) through interrogation of the prisoners, thus clearing his name.

This created a farcical situation: Shandong officials constantly criticized Mao Wenlong, Dongjiang officials kept sending prisoners to Tianjin, and Tianjin officials complained about budget overruns. This farce only ended when Sun Chengzong ordered the Dongjiang heads to be transferred to Ningyuan for inspection.

However, a new farce arose, again stemming from Mao Wenlong's dishonesty. The honest Huang Shi had been cooperative in having the Dengzhou grain officials escort the silver and grain, and he readily admitted to any losses during transport. But the cunning Mao Wenlong attempted to trick the Shandong officials. By January of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, Mao Wenlong had already sent two grain officials to Shandong. The Dongjiang grain officials' task was to directly collect military pay and grain, which would then be transported back to Liaodong by Dongjiang ships. This behavior was, of course, very unfair to the Shandong civil officials who had been supporting Dongjiang Town. It was akin to "eating from the bowl and then cursing the cook."

The first grain official sent by Mao Wenlong quickly embezzled military funds and refused to return to Dongjiang. The new grain official Mao Wenlong sent was also a fellow townsman from Hangzhou. Mao Wenlong thought a fellow townsman would be more reliable, but this man quickly became corrupt and degenerate upon arriving in Shandong. These two grain officials embezzled goods worth a total of 440,000 taels of silver.

To recover the embezzled funds, Mao Wenlong issued several arrest warrants to Shandong, but all to no avail. Enraged, Mao Wenlong used his imperial power to submit memorials to the emperor, taking the case all the way to the emperor himself. The enraged Mao Wenlong even published the memorial in the Dongjiang Gazette. This gave most of the Dongjiang military officers a very bad impression of the Shandong civil officials.

This wasn't the first time Huang Shi had seen this report, but this time he gained a more direct understanding of Mao Wenlong's anger. Mao Wenlong's memorial to the Tianqi Emperor was filled with tears. The 440,000 taels of silver in supplies included not only military pay and imperial rewards, but also soldiers' rations and clothing, and even a significant amount of bounty money for soldiers' executions. Mao Wenlong pleaded with the emperor to uphold justice and recover the food and clothing from Shandong. In his memorial, Mao Wenlong also described the situation in Dongjiang: many military households lacked winter clothing, and many soldiers lacked even iron weapons, let alone armor. Meanwhile, two men who had embezzled over 400,000 taels of silver from Dongjiang Town were roaming freely in Shandong…

In his memorial, Mao Wenlong even pointed out the residences of these two grain officials in Shandong; they had already bought houses and land there and become landlords. Mao Wenlong didn't ask the Tianqi Emperor to investigate who was responsible; he only requested that the emperor issue an edict ordering the Shandong civil officials to arrest these two men and hand them over to Dongjiang Town.

However, the governor of Leiden also possessed imperial authority. During this court-martial case, the Shandong governor's office didn't even dispute the existence of such a thing; they simply questioned whether the imperial military generals had the right to issue arrest warrants to local officials, and whether local civil officials had the obligation to carry out the generals' orders

. These two questions were very persuasive, so although Mao Wenlong's plea was very moving, the Tianqi Emperor and the cabinet rejected his request, telling him to negotiate with the Shandong local officials himself.

When Huang Shi saw this report, he already knew the ending of the story. Historically, Mao Wenlong eventually compromised, allowing the Dengzhou grain official to guard military pay and provisions, and enduring 30% of the "floating" (illegible) goods. Dengzhou eventually sent one person back to Dongjiang. That person was Mao Wenlong's fellow townsman. Mao Wenlong knew he had no choice but to forgive him, and after getting him to spit out his ill-gotten gains, he handed him over to the Hangzhou local officials for custody. Later, when Dengzhou increased the "floating waste" quota again, Mao Wenlong used this incident as ammunition to file a lawsuit before the emperor. However, that lawsuit also ended inconclusively with Mao Wenlong's complaint. Wei Zhongxian, who clearly benefited from this lawsuit, used it to severely damage the Donglin Party in Shandong, but the succeeding eunuchs only maintained the "floating waste" quota at 30% and still didn't return the money to Dongjiang Town. Huang Shi wanted to exploit this situation, but he hadn't figured out how. In any case, historically, Mao Wenlong chose the most foolish path, gaining nothing and offending many people.

After the victory at Nanguan, Huang Shi felt his influence on history was already significant. The butterfly effect was no longer a small matter; Changsheng Island was now as heavy as a dinosaur on the strategic scales of the Ming and Later Jin dynasties. Just like before the Battle of Guangning, Huang Shi still coveted the throne of the Ming Dynasty, so he had been secretly considering the issue of "nurturing a thief to enhance his own power."

However, the idea of "nurturing bandits to enhance one's own importance" is one thing, but putting it into practice is quite another. Firstly, if the Later Jin army were allowed to slip past Jinzhou, Huang Shi would find it difficult to explain this to the supervising officer. Secondly, if the Later Jin army couldn't demonstrate the ability to protect his supplies, Huang Shi might not be able to suppress the calls for battle, as his subordinates and allies were eyeing the heads and rewards.

Finally, and most importantly, Huang Shi felt he had to thoroughly crush the enemy before nurturing them like pigs; if he nurtured them while they were still strong, it wouldn't be "nurturing bandits to enhance one's own importance" but rather "nurturing a tiger to cause future trouble."

The Ming court already viewed the Later Jin, a large tribe of 200,000 people, as a band of robbers, and Huang Shi's subordinates, after consecutive victories, looked down on these bandits even more. However, Huang Shi absolutely dared not underestimate his opponent, so he ultimately decided to inflict heavy losses on the Later Jin.

At this time, Huang Shi was unaware that his victory report had just arrived in Dongjiang. Mao Wenlong, at headquarters, opened the report with trembling hands, his eyes widening with each reading. Mao Wenlong rubbed his eyes and read the report again, then rubbed his eyes again and read it a third time…

“Quickly summon Chen Jisheng!” Mao Wenlong roared, turning around and running to look at the map of Liaodong. His fingers, resting on the front lines of Kuandian and Korea, trembled: “One battalion, two battalions, three battalions… these can be drawn immediately. It seems I will have to personally lead the expedition to Liaonan.”

The

messenger had only been gone a short while when Chen Jisheng arrived in a flurry. Mao Wenlong tossed Huang Shi's victory report to him, and after his chief strategist had finished reading it, Mao Wenlong began to recount his plan to send three battalions to Liaonan. By this time, Mao Wenlong had calmed down somewhat, but his tone was still full of hope: “Jisheng, what do you think?” At the end

of the third year of the Tianqi reign, Dongjiang Town was established, and by the middle of the fourth year, Mao Wenlong had established the Dongjiang Right Brigade. At this time, Chen Jisheng was already the Deputy Commander of Dongjiang, leading the Right Wing Army. Mao Wenlong had always valued his planning, and given the scale of this military operation, Mao Wenlong naturally sought his opinion beforehand.

Although Chen Jisheng was also excited after reading the report, he calmed down faster than Mao Wenlong. He smiled wryly and said, "General, the great victory at Nanguan was ten days ago. Even if we immediately transfer troops from Liaodong, the fastest battalion will take three days to return to Dongjiang. We might be able to send them out in five days, but by the time they reach Liaonan, the Jurchens will probably have already fled."

“No,” Mao Wenlong snatched the report from Chen Jicheng’s hand, bent down to find the key sentences, and then pointed them out to Chen Jisheng: “Huang Shi said that the armored soldiers of the Jurchen Plain Blue, Plain White, and Plain Red Banners have been scattered, so the Jurchens have no way to escape. The Jurchens have a small population, so they certainly won’t abandon their unarmored soldiers to flee.”

Mao Wenlong didn’t look up, so he didn’t see Chen Jisheng’s dismissive expression. He continued, “The Jurchens only have one way out: to seek help from Liaoyang. Right now, Huang Shi’s army is more than capable of defending itself, but not enough to annihilate the Jurchens at Nanguan. As long as I can lead three battalions to Liaoyang before the Jurchens head south, I can definitely annihilate these three banners in one fell swoop!”

At this point, Mao Wenlong chuckled and clapped his hands. As long as he annihilated the three Jurchen banners, he would almost be granted a title. Moreover, if he could annihilate these three banners, the Jurchen army would be severely weakened, and a huge breach would be opened in southern Liaoyang. It seemed that Nurhaci's forces wouldn't even be enough to maintain the entire front line, making their annihilation by the Ming army imminent. At this moment, the words "bestowing a marquisate" flashed through Mao Wenlong's mind. The more he thought about it, the more triumphant he became, his blood boiling.

Chen Jisheng, standing beside him, quietly waited for Mao Wenlong to finish speaking. He only poured cold water on his argument after confirming that Mao Wenlong had nothing more to say: "General, this humble general believes that diverting troops to Liaonan will be futile and will only weaken our defenses in Liaodong."

He spoke with absolute certainty, his tone and expression extremely serious. After Mao Wenlong's smile faded and he looked at him intently, Chen Jisheng coughed, dismissed his personal guards from the camp, and then bowed, saying, "General, it's not that I'm speaking ill of my colleagues behind their backs. But this battle report is simply unreliable."

Seeing Mao Wenlong's thoughtful expression as he picked up the report again to read, Chen Jisheng took two steps closer and whispered to him, "General, this involves three banners of the Jurchens. No matter how much money General Huang can amass and how much he embezzles military pay, how many retainers can he train? Two or three hundred at most, right?"

"That's about it." Mao Wenlong's eyes dimmed. He was carefully considering the meaning behind Chen Jisheng's words.

"This humble general also thought it was about time. I heard that General Sun, the Liaodong military commissioner, greatly admires General Huang, but he only gave him a thousand suits of armor. General Huang also distributed a considerable amount to Dongjiang. Although His Majesty later gave him more, General Huang never kept it all for himself. I'm afraid he doesn't have two thousand suits of armor left, right? And that doesn't even include the defective items and weapons. I'm afraid General Huang doesn't have many soldiers." Chen Jisheng said, calculating a rough number for Mao Wenlong. Judging from the numbers, Huangshi's equipment was indeed not very optimistic for the three banners of the Later Jin army.

"Furthermore, General Huang's personal guards and retainers are all new recruits who have followed him for one or two years. I'm afraid they can't fight the Jurchen's elite white-armored troops head-on on the battlefield." Seeing Mao Wenlong's face turn gloomy, Chen Jisheng quickly stepped back and bowed deeply: "This humble general is not trying to boost the enemy's morale or diminish our own, but is speaking the truth. Please, Commander, understand."

Mao Wenlong waved his hand weakly, gesturing for Chen Jisheng to straighten up. He frowned and pondered for a moment before coldly asking, "So, Huangshi must have defeated the Jurchen rear guard between Jinzhou and Nanguan. I estimate that this rear guard consisted of about a thousand combat soldiers and several thousand unarmored auxiliary soldiers escorting supplies. I also estimate that about nine hundred were beheaded. Do you think that's the case?"

"General, you are wise." Chen Jisheng had been guessing the same thing in his mind.

Mao Wenlong nodded slightly, analyzing based on his years of military experience: "The Jurchen cavalry rushed straight to Lushun. After capturing Lushun, they will definitely plunder and pillage. It will probably take four or five days before they return north, allowing Huang Shi to seize the opportunity and rescue Nanguan. Hmm, that makes more sense. With the strength of two battalions, they really can't fight against three Jurchen banners... But what about the banner of the Plain Blue Banner and Mang Ergutai's golden helmet? What's going on?" "

This is probably not the banner of the Plain Blue Banner, but it should be the banner of a certain Niru of the Jurchen Plain Blue Banner. The golden helmet could also be from that Niru. It's probably that General Huang was too excited after successfully rescuing Nanguan and wrote it wrong." Chen Jisheng also urged Mao Wenlong to revise the memorial, at least to make it vague, otherwise, submitting a false report would make the emperor and the court happy for nothing. If the emperor decided to present this victory at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and the Dongjiang Army only sent a Niru banner in the end, then Mao Wenlong would have made the emperor lose face in front of the ancestors.

Finally, Chen Jisheng analyzed the recent battle situation in Jinzhou for Mao Wenlong: "The Jurchen elite troops have returned north from Lushun, and General Huang can only hold Jinzhou. The Jurchen army, having achieved nothing, naturally retreated. I believe that General Huang's next report will arrive in a few days, and the Jurchens will certainly have retreated. Even if they haven't retreated yet, they can leave once the Commander-in-Chief leads the army to Jinzhou. Even if they don't leave, they don't have much of a chance against us with only five battalions and three banners, including seven hundred well-equipped White Armor soldiers. Therefore, I believe that risking the collapse of the Liaodong front by transferring three battalions to Liaonan is not the best strategy. I humbly request the Commander-in-Chief to consider this carefully."

"Jisheng, your words are wise," Mao Wenlong said, sitting down to write a memorial. However, as he wrote, he became happy again: "In any case, this is still good news."

"The General is absolutely right," Chen Jisheng echoed with a smile. The Later Jin army had used three banners to attack Lushun from the south, but if Jinzhou did not fall, it would mean that the Later Jin's large-scale offensive had not achieved its strategic objective. After reading Huang Shi's report, Chen Jisheng and Mao Wenlong believed that the Lushun army at the southern pass had already joined forces with the Jinzhou and Changsheng armies. In this way, it seemed that the Later Jin army with only three banners could not take Jinzhou by force: "Once Mao Youjie arrives, Jinzhou will be even more secure." "

Hmm, not bad." Mao Wenlong was also in a good mood to see the situation in southern Liaoning stabilized. Although the Ming army suffered considerable losses, including the loss of a trusted general like Zhang Pan, and the devastation inflicted by the Later Jin army on the area surrounding Lushun, at least Liaonan was not completely collapsed. Therefore, the impeachment against Mao Wenlong wouldn't be too severe. Thinking of this, he sighed again, "Huang Shi is truly a fierce general. It wasn't for nothing that I kept him in the first place."

...

The Later Jin army of the three banners that Mao Wenlong and Chen Jisheng were discussing were still trapped at Nanguan. The Later Jin commander, Mang'ergutai, ordered the slaughter of all draft horses for rations, and also ordered the killing and consumption of wounded and weak warhorses.

Huang Taiji wholeheartedly approved of this order. Ever since they learned that the ships they had seized from Lushun had been burned by the Ming army, they knew that waiting for reinforcements was their only hope. He ordered a Plain White Banner servant who looked only fifteen or sixteen years old beside him: "Kill all horses except those used to transport the wounded."

As the young man left, Mang'ergutai's eyes remained fixed on his back. After the Plain White Banner baraya left, Huang Taiji asked curiously, "Such a young child, he must have just joined the banner."

"He just joined this year."

"How can a sixteen-year-old become a baraya?"

"Extraordinarily brave." Huang Taiji smiled and changed the subject: "Even if we kill the horses immediately, our military rations will only last for fifteen days."

"Why don't we kill all the Han women we got from the fall of Lushun?" It was Borjinxia who spoke; he had finally escaped to Nanguan.

Borjinxia's suggestion made Huang Taiji and Mang'ergutai hesitate for a moment, but they both shook their heads. Mang'ergutai sighed with a bitter smile: "The women have already been distributed to the soldiers; how can we ask for them back now?" Huang Taiji

added, "If the soldiers travel thousands of miles and get nothing in return, I'm afraid they will harbor resentment."

Borjinxia, who hadn't been resolute to begin with, stopped insisting after hearing this.

"Kill Zhang Pan. Do it immediately."

Huang Taiji's suggestion surprised Mangultai. "Didn't you say you wanted to spare his life?"

"I initially spared his life hoping Huang Shi could persuade him to surrender." Huang Taiji smiled strangely. "I thought I could capture Huang Shi alive. I was certain Huang Shi would surrender immediately, so I wanted him to persuade Zhang Pan."

"Because you thought Huang Shi was just a scholar?" Mangultai mocked sarcastically, then asked, "Then why didn't you kill him a few days ago?"

"I originally wanted to release Zhang Pan. I thought Huang Shi would annex Zhang Pan's troops. So I thought I'd see if they would fight amongst themselves." Huang Taiji recounted the information he had gathered: Huang Shi not only hadn't annexed the Vanguard Battalion but had also replenished their forces. According to reports from spies in Jinzhou, Huang Shi had also provided the Vanguard Battalion with a lot of equipment.

"That scholar! Those equipment are mine!" Mangultai was furious, saying bitterly, "Of course Huang Shi would

n't care about our armor; he has plenty of iron armor." "In any case, since Huang Shi has such a magnanimous heart, we can't let Zhang Pan go back. Otherwise, we'll only give him wings."

After leaving the South Gate Council Hall, the young white-armored soldier under Huang Taiji had returned with the order. Huang Taiji led him towards his garrison, but suddenly stopped on the way. Huang Taiji couldn't help but express a feeling in his heart: "That Huang Shi seems to be very afraid of me." Huang

Taiji wouldn't say such things to Mangultai or anyone else, after all, the Fourth Prince and the Eighth Prince had never been a particularly favored son, and saying such things would only be ridiculed as arrogance. But facing his white-armored guards, Huang Taiji had fewer concerns. He stopped and recalled his interactions with Huang Shi, Huang Shi's reactions during the battle, and the remarks Huang Shi had made to him by the spies in Jinzhou: "That's right, he seems to have a special fear of me. Strange, he's not afraid of my father, nor the First, Second, and Third Princes, but he's afraid of me alone. Why is that?" For

a moment, Huang Taiji couldn't figure out the reason, nor how to exploit this for his own benefit. The white-armored soldiers behind him silently protected him, without uttering a word.

This white-armored soldier was the son of Fei Yingdong's ninth brother, and Huang Taiji wanted to promote him because of his illustrious uncle. Of course, he wouldn't tell Mangultai Ming about this. Huang Taiji smiled at the young soldier and said, "Let's go, Biebai."

Jinzhou Military Commander's Camp.

"Huang Taiji is cunning and shrewd. We must send out more scouts; we absolutely cannot let the Jurchens successfully cross the border." As he spoke, Huang Shi slammed his fist heavily on the map.

Zhao Manxiong hesitated for a moment, then Jin Qiude cautiously reminded him, "My lord. The Jurchen general is Mangultai."

"I know," Huang Shi waved his hand impatiently, "I know, I know, but the truly dangerous enemy is Huang Taiji..."

Huang Shi wasn't ashamed of his fear; he considered it a normal reaction for a time traveler. If he had traveled to the late Han Dynasty, even though Huang Shi knew the Han people weren't as well-nourished or had as well-calcified bones as he was, if he encountered Lü Bu in a one-on-one duel, even if Lü Bu was only 1.6 meters tall, Huang Shi would still turn his horse and run.

In another military camp, Hong Antong was hosting the envoy from Dongjiang and his accompanying guards for a meal. They were leaving for Liaoxi the next day. Huang Shi instructed Hong Antong to make sure they ate and slept well. Many horses with injured legs had just been slaughtered in Jinzhou, and there were also large chunks of dog meat to eat, which made the Dongjiang soldiers' mouths water.

Hong Antong sat down beside them, watching the men eat and asked with a smile, "Isn't there meat to eat in Dongjiang?"

"How could there be meat?" the envoy retorted. The other Dongjiang soldiers also grumbled and complained, but they were busy stuffing meat into their mouths. So he couldn't even speak, leaving everything to their leader: "Your outer towns are doing well, but our headquarters has nothing left. Marshal Mao raised over five thousand orphans, and the entire Dongjiang region now has one hundred thousand soldiers and over one hundred thousand women and children to feed. We only pay ten thousand soldiers a year. We also have to buy iron weapons, so it's no wonder we have no meat to eat."

Hong Antong chuckled: "We don't have meat either, we only get dead horses and such when we're fighting."

"We're all unfortunate people." The envoy sighed and stopped talking. After stuffing two more pieces of meat into his stomach, he felt full. After a moment of daydreaming, the envoy shook his head and began to dream: "Marshal Mao said that after we recover Liaodong, he will compensate us for our back pay with land."

"My father said the same thing." Hong Antong also happily recalled his record in the merit book. He now owned fifty acres of land, a cow, and a draft horse, and it was Dongjiang Town land that his descendants could inherit for generations. After sweeping away the Later Jin and recovering Liaodong, avenging the great grudge against his clan, Hong Antong felt he could still accumulate considerable merit. Perhaps then, besides his principal wife, he could even afford a concubine and make up for all the years of hardship.

"We're just waiting for Commander Mao to recover Liaodong. We've suffered so much; we're just waiting for that day to come."

Several soldiers sat around the table, daydreaming. After a long while, they finally woke up from their daydreams. The Dongjiang envoy then carefully examined Hong Antong's armor on horseback and stared at his sword for a long time: "Are you an officer or Lord Huang's personal guard?"

To be honest, Hong Antong didn't know what he was, because in Huang Shi's military system, the personal guard was responsible for a position, not an individual. For example, if He Dingyuan was the commander of the cavalry, he would naturally receive the protection of the cavalry's personal guards. And if He Dingyuan was transferred from that position, the cavalry's personal guards wouldn't leave him alone. Although Hong Antong's inner guard reported directly to Huang Shi, Huang Shi entrusted him with many secret missions, and Hong Antong's authority far exceeded that of a typical personal guard captain.

"I am a cavalry captain, temporarily used as a personal guard. Yes, that's it." Hong Antong finally revealed his rank. On the surface, the inner guard was just a cavalry unit, so what he said wasn't exactly a lie.

"So you're Captain Hong, my apologies for not recognizing you." The Dongjiang envoy and several accompanying soldiers quickly stood up and saluted. They had always thought Hong Antong was a low-ranking personal guard.

"I'm not much older than you either." Hong Antong quickly rose and exchanged pleasantries.

"Captain Hong, subordinate to Xu Yunting." The Dongjiang envoy also introduced himself, having been busy eating and hadn't mentioned it earlier.

"A pleasure to meet you."

Hong Antong felt a sense of comfort at the name, as if the two were destined to be friends.

February 10th, the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, Jinzhou, the military camp of the deputy commander.

"My lord, urgent report from Changsheng Island."

Huang Shi took the letter and was about to open it when Hong Antong rushed over. After Hong Antong whispered in Huang Shi's ear, Huang Shi's expression changed drastically.

Although Huang Shi was determined to bleed the Jurchens dry and felt it would be best to keep Huang Taiji alive, he was still considering whether to control the degree of this bleeding, lest the Jurchens bleed to death. But now…

"Lord Sun, the Liaodong Military Commissioner, is coming to Jinzhou?" Huang Shi confirmed this news to Hong Antong

, enunciating each word clearly. There was indeed ambiguity; Hong Antong had spoken too softly earlier. Now he replied loudly, "Not coming, but Lord Sun's ship has already arrived at the Jinzhou dock. Lord Sun has probably already disembarked."

URL 1:http://localhost:909/htmlBlog/14764.html

URL 2:/Blog.aspx?id=14764&aspx=1

Previous Page : Stealing the Ming Dynasty [Complete] - 14

Next Page : Stealing the Ming Dynasty [Complete] - 18

增加

comment Open a new window to view comments

Contact Information

Stealing the Ming Dynasty [Complete] - 16

comment Open a new window to view comments