Section One

In the spring of 1686, Lin Feng, the King of Han, mobilized an army of 300,000—though he claimed 500,000—to campaign against Shanxi. He encountered the Dzungar tribe of the Western Mongols at Xinzhou. In this battle, the Han forces beheaded 40,000 enemy troops, buried 6,000 captured Keshig guards alive, and took over 14,000 prisoners. Galdan fled north in a panic, barely escaping with his life.

Following the conclusion of the great battle, the exhausted Han army spent three full days recuperating before they could even catch their breath. Beginning early that year, when Zhao Liangdong’s Fifth Infantry Army advanced into Daizhou, the conflict had raged for over four months, with the flames of war spreading across more than 100,000 square kilometers of Northern and Southern Shanxi. The battlefield stretched from the Great Wall in the north to Datong in the east, Suide in the west, and Taiyuan in the south. Hundreds of thousands of troops were scattered across the land, fighting to the death, leaving all of Shanxi covered in corpses and misery. Both victor and vanquished were left severely battered.

Post-war tallies revealed that the Dzungar army had been almost entirely annihilated, with only Galdan and a retinue of 3,000 cavalry managing to escape. The eastern and western contingents that had accompanied the Dzungars were completely wiped out by the Han forces; over 36,000 were killed in combat, more than 9,000 were captured and subsequently beheaded or buried alive, and over 15,000 survivors were forcibly conscripted into the Han army. The Han forces also suffered heavy casualties. After the brutal fighting, their main units—the Sixth Cavalry Army under Ma Ying, the First Imperial Guard under Rike, and the Fifth Infantry Army under Zhao Liangdong—suffered losses exceeding fifty percent. Approximately 13,000 men were killed on the spot, over 9,000 were wounded, and they lost more than 11,000 horses, 10,000 rifles, and over 40 cannons. Furthermore, during the defensive battles on the eve of victory, the civilian militia auxiliary forces suffered over 20,000 casualties—a scale of tragedy that was unprecedented.

"The guilty official Yu Chenglong kneels before Your Highness, the King of Han!" Yu Chenglong, stripped to the waist and bearing a bundle of thorns on his back, knelt stiffly before Lin Feng in the central command tent. "May Your Highness live for ten thousand years!"

The light in the tent was dim. Lin Feng stepped forward to see the face of this high-ranking official of the Manchu Qing dynasty. Yu Chenglong looked disheveled and wretched, bearing no resemblance to a powerful governor. Perhaps due to the food shortages in Taiyuan, his exposed skin was gaunt and withered, dark and thin. The sharp thorns on his back pierced his skin, and blood dripped down, drop by drop—a truly pitiful and terrifying sight.

"Sir, please rise!" Lin Feng hurriedly removed the thorns from his back, reached out to pull him up, and, holding his hand, personally seated him in a nearby chair. Instead of returning to his own throne, Lin Feng sat beside him. "Mr. Yu is a renowned scholar of the North, whose reputation for integrity is known throughout the realm. Since you began administering Shanxi, you have been diligent and frugal, earning the deep love of the gentry. It is truly my good fortune to have your assistance!"

Yu Chenglong was overcome with gratitude. In truth, he had assumed this pathetic appearance out of necessity. Before the Han army entered Shanxi in force, he had been a fierce enemy of the Lin-Han military group. Even more worrying was that he had written numerous articles last year condemning Lin Feng as "a man without a father or a sovereign" who "brings disaster to the country and the people." Because of his high standing and eloquent pen, these articles had circulated widely throughout the north, becoming subjects of intense discussion among scholars. Even the declaration of war issued by the Qing Prince Jian, Labu of Jiangsu, had quoted many of his famous lines. Coming to see Lin Feng, he had been filled with trepidation; he knew that in such circumstances, even if Lin Feng were to execute him on the spot, it would be justifiable, and his name would not be remembered kindly in the history books.

"General, that is where you are mistaken!" Yu Chenglong smiled slightly and turned to Lin Feng. "My Lord, you may not know this, but the land of Shanxi is slightly different from other places. The terrain is rugged and barren, with rolling mountains, which has led to a local custom: whenever the world falls into chaos and war breaks out, the common people flee to the mountains, village by village, to build stockades and protect themselves. They farm the mountain slopes to barely survive while avoiding the war, and when the fighting ends, they return to the fertile plains to live and work. Thus, despite the scale of this war and the heavy casualties among the people, most of them have simply fled into the mountains. If we send out envoys to persuade them to return, we can still recover a great number of people."

Lin Feng was enlightened and felt a sense of admiration; Yu Chenglong truly had his merits, and his command of civil administration was excellent. "Then, in your opinion, sir, how many years will it take for Northern Shanxi to recover its vitality?"

"Reporting to my Lord, if the Ordos region is not in our hands and the Ikh Juu League of the Mongols does not submit to our Great Han, there will never be peace in Shanxi, let alone talk of 'recovering vitality'!" Yu Chenglong said with a bitter smile.

"Very well! As for the local militias and bandits who have surrendered, I will issue an order to Zhou Peiming in Beijing to dispatch officials to Shanxi immediately. Such scattered troops and brigands are a great danger to the region. Mr. Beiming, since you are managing Shanxi for me, you must pay close attention to this. For those stubborn, long-time outlaws, you must apply the law strictly. As for the others who were merely coerced, persuade them to return home. From now on, we will follow the Zhili model, teaching the Shanxi gentry and clan elders to rebuild moral discipline and social order, and organizing them into local militias to assist the government in maintaining peace!"

"My Lord’s words are most wise; your servant has noted them!" Yu Chenglong bowed. "I still have over 6,700 defense troops in Taiyuan. May I ask for your instructions, my Lord?"

"Oh, as for those, they shall be your local territorial defense forces. Following the precedent of the Ningjin and Nurgan Regional Military Commissions, weed out the old and weak, and organize them into two brigades of 4,000 garrison troops under your own command." Lin Feng thought for a moment. "There are many warhorses here; I will allocate some to you later. I will send experienced officers to take up posts there, organizing them into one brigade of musketeers and one brigade of cavalry. Weapons and provisions will follow..."

Just as he said this, a commotion arose outside the camp. Everyone looked back in surprise. A moment later, Li Ergou hurried in and whispered something into Lin Feng's ear.

"What?!" Lin Feng was startled, frowning. "Has the young Prince Pucha come as well?"

"Reporting to my Lord," Li Ergou said respectfully, "Prince Pucha did not come personally; he only sent an envoy with a congratulatory letter."

"Oh... well..." Lin Feng hesitated, casting a glance at Wang Shirong, wanting to say something but stopping short.

Seeing this, Yu Chenglong and the others hurriedly excused themselves. Once everyone had left, Wang Shirong quickly asked, "May I ask my Lord, is it Baorilongmei who has come to offer congratulations?"

"Yes! It is her. Damn it, isn't this just trying to stir up trouble for me?" Lin Feng slapped the table and cursed. "If I see her, I fear it will provoke that old bastard Buliyagemu. If I don't see her, people will think I'm afraid of the Khorchin! It’s truly maddening!"

Wang Shirong pondered for a long while before speaking slowly. "My Lord, this Baorilongmei has likely calculated this well. Now that everyone in the camp knows, it seems we cannot avoid seeing her this time."

"That is what I think as well," Lin Feng grumbled. He turned to Li Ergou and said, "Bring Baorilongmei in!"

Before long, led by Colonel Li Ergou of the Imperial Guard, a young girl dressed in Mongolian attire walked into the tent with her head held high. Her figure was fleeting, and the light seemed to dim suddenly as she entered. Lin Feng squinted, and before he could clearly see her features, the girl glanced at him and asked suspiciously, "Are you Lin Feng?"

Lin Feng was slightly stunned and replied in surprise, "What do you think?"

"Then you are the King of Han?" The girl looked solemn and nodded. "I am Baorilongmei, of the Tüsheet Khan tribe!"

"Oh... ahem... ahem, well then... long have I heard of you!"

"I want to marry you!" Baorilongmei stared intently at Lin Feng and said seriously, "I want to be the Princess of Han!"

"Pfft!" Lin Feng spat out a mouthful of tea and suddenly began to cough violently.

"Your Highness, the King of Han, I want to marry you!" Baorilongmei said with a stern expression, repeating it word for word. "I want to be the Princess of Han!!!"