Chapter 968: Action Code: Jiang Gan Steals the Letter
Shi Kefa had just torn up the contract of servitude and hadn't even had a chance to say another word.
A household steward rushed in, shouting, “Master, disaster! King Saodi is leading his army to attack Qianshan County. The county militia is fighting desperately, holding the city walls. King Saodi sent his trusted subordinate, King Dadan, to shout outside the city, urging the common people to open the gates, surrender, and join the bandits, causing widespread panic in the city.”
Upon hearing the name “King Saodi,” Shi Kefa showed no particular reaction.
Li Daoxuan, standing nearby, chuckled. “Him again?”
The Gao Family Village Militia had last clashed with King Saodi at Wu Pass.
And then, too, it was King Dadan who appeared, shouting at Wu Pass, urging the militia soldiers within to surrender and join the bandit army.
Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, the same scenario was playing out in Qianshan County.
Li Daoxuan couldn't help but sigh, “Old acquaintances from the martial world, indeed!”
Shi Kefa, however, had no time for sighs. He quickly hitched up the hem of his official robe and dashed out.
Li Daoxuan, for his part, couldn't be bothered to follow. He was built for naval battles, not steel-boned land warfare, so there was no need for him to get involved in the commotion in Qianshan County. Instead, he turned to the young women in the courtyard, particularly Xue'er, a faint smile on his face. “Miss Xue'er, you and Chen Yuanyuan, you've both been worried about something, haven't you?”
Xue'er gasped, startled.
Chen Yuanyuan, too, recoiled nervously.
Li Daoxuan smiled gently. “Whatever you've been worrying about, you needn't worry anymore. You're safe here, and you'll be even safer in Shaanxi. You will surely be able to live the lives you've always wished for.”
With that, he turned and walked out of the courtyard.
Leaving the two young women utterly bewildered.——
Shenyang, the Later Jin Imperial Palace.
Not long ago, Huang Taiji had abolished the old clan name “Zhoushen” (Jurchen), renaming his people “Manchu.”
At this time, the Later Jin state's power was steadily rising. They were constantly victorious in battle, holding their own not only against the Mongols, the Great Ming, and Joseon, but even against the more northern Rus' state, which greatly fueled Huang Taiji's ambitions.
However, a major problem had recently plagued him, one that, if left unresolved, would force him to be cautious in his next assault on the Great Ming.
“Dorgon!” Huang Taiji's face was grim. “Regarding these rampaging iron chariots, are you speaking the full truth? You're not fabricating a story to conceal your failure, are you?”
The young Dorgon stood below him, a defiant look on his face. “I would never fabricate stories to deceive! Yue Tuo was with me; even he was helpless against those iron chariots.”
Yue Tuo immediately stepped forward. “It's true. The iron chariots are too formidable; we couldn't devise a way to counter them.”
Huang Taiji said, “If what you say is true, then that thing, rampaging across flat grasslands, is indeed difficult to resist. After much thought, the only strategy I could conceive was to lure it into marshy terrain or rugged mountain areas, where it couldn't move freely, then climb onto the vehicle, force open its doors, and eliminate those inside.”
The Later Jin generals all nodded. “That is the only way.”
Huang Taiji added, “There is another way: to fight iron chariots with iron chariots.”
The generals looked surprised. “Oh?”
Huang Taiji continued, “We learned how to make cannons from the Han people; now, why shouldn't we learn from them how to make these iron chariots?”
The generals exchanged glances. “But... how would we learn that?”
Huang Taiji pulled out a copy of *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*. He rapidly flipped through the pages, quickly finding the chapter titled “Jiang Gan Steals the Letter.”
Pointing to the page, he addressed all his generals, “I've always told you to read more military treatises. This *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* contains all the cunning stratagems and brilliant schemes in the world. Look here: the method for learning how to build iron chariots is written right here.”
The generals stared blankly. “???”
Huang Taiji elaborated, “Go to Kong Youde. Have him find some clever subordinates, disguise them as Ming people, and infiltrate Great Ming territory. They must locate the artisans who construct these iron chariots, befriend them, then get them drunk, and steal the blueprints for the iron chariots.”
The generals were delighted. “An excellent plan!”
Yue Tuo raised a hand. “I have an objection! All of Kong Youde's subordinates have shaved heads. They'd be spotted instantly by their bare foreheads, making it impossible to infiltrate the Great Ming and steal the blueprints.”
Silence fell among the assembled generals. “...”
This was indeed a sticky situation!
Huang Taiji demanded, “Is there not a single one among them who hasn't shaved his head?”
Yue Tuo raised his hand again. “When Kong Youde surrendered that year, you personally told him that not shaving his head meant he wasn't truly submitting. So, Kong Youde and all his subordinates shaved their heads.”
The room was once again silent. “...”
This made the situation even more awkward!
Huang Taiji fumed, “Can you not find a single spy candidate who hasn't shaved his head?!”
After a thorough search, Huang Taiji and his men finally found an individual among the surrendered Ming army who had not shaved his head. His name was Bin Sheng. He was literate and clever, making him the ideal candidate to serve as a spy in the Great Ming.
Bin Sheng soon set off, taking a large pouch of “operating funds” personally given to him by Huang Taiji, along with a ten-man support team. Carrying the hopes of the entire Later Jin state, he began the “Jiang Gan Steals the Letter” operation.
Huang Taiji, through spies he had placed among the Mongols, had already learned that the iron chariots originated from Shaanxi. Thus, Bin Sheng embarked on a long journey, heading towards Shaanxi...
Crossing the national border wasn't difficult in those days. Bin Sheng simply found an out-of-the-way nook and easily slipped into Great Ming territory. He and his ten-man support team were originally Han Chinese, so they didn't require much disguise; they merely needed to travel like ordinary “refugees.”
If anyone questioned them, they were to say their group came from the Liaodong frontier, that their village had been ravaged by the Manchu invaders, and that these eleven people had barely managed to escape.
There were many such people in Liaodong at the time, fleeing in great numbers towards the interior, forming massive waves of refugees. Thus, they easily blended into refugee groups, endured a strenuous journey, passed through the passes, and after much mingling, crossed the Taihang Mountains, finally arriving in Shanxi.
“We've heard that Shanxi in the Great Ming is in chaos,” Bin Sheng whispered. “Bandits have been rampaging here for years, making life impossible for the common people. We must be careful as we pass through; we don't want to be killed by bandits before our mission is even complete.” Bin Sheng's group had all disguised themselves as the poorest of refugees, so destitute they couldn't afford food, hoping this would prevent them from being attacked by the bandits.
Then, feigning hardship and suffering, they slowly entered Shanxi territory.
“Look, dust rising ahead,” one of the soldiers in the support team murmured. “It appears a large group is on the move.”
They assumed they had encountered bandits and quickly ducked into the woods. Then, using the cover of the trees, they cautiously advanced. After a good while, they finally reached the source of the dust, and peered out from the treeline.
But what they saw astonished them.
It wasn't bandits, but a massive construction team, busy building a road.
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