Robert Bailey moved quickly. The very next day, he selected five thousand elite soldiers. As the Governor of Liaodong, he already had some troops under his command. Adding the eight hundred cavalry brought by Henry Clark, and another five thousand chosen from the recently recruited young men who had migrated inland—most of whom originally came from the areas around Ningyuan and Sha Hou—he managed to assemble over ten thousand men, filling a large area in Dongluo City at Shanhaiguan. Of course, the so-called “elite” was just a figure of speech. At this time, apart from William Scott’s personal retainers, there were no true elite troops left. Anyway, when Henry Clark looked at these soldiers in their tattered cotton armor, carrying ancient matchlock guns, wielding rusted yanling sabers, and equipped with bows, arrows, spears, and shields, he felt as if his whole world had turned gray.

Moreover, that was just their appearance. Considering that Du Song could die from a poor-quality helmet, there was no need to elaborate on the quality of their standard equipment.

“Your Majesty, the Marquis of Pacifying the West has arrived!”

Just as Henry Clark was reviewing his army with a blank expression, Matthew Turner reported to him.

“Summon him.”

Henry Clark said.

Soon, Matthew Turner brought over a man of medium build, with a rather heroic appearance, looking to be around forty years old, dressed in chainmail. The man walked straight over and knelt before him, loudly declaring, “Your servant, General-in-Chief of Liaodong, William Scott, pays respects to Your Majesty!”

However, Henry Clark acted as if he hadn’t heard.

Old Scott was momentarily bewildered, as were those around him, such as James Morgan. One by one, they looked at His Majesty the Emperor, who, for some unknown reason, was now raising his head to gaze at the sky, arms spread and lifted upward at an angle. More importantly, his eyes were closed, and he wore a solemn, almost constipated expression, as if performing some mysterious act.

“Your servant, William Scott, pays respects to Your Majesty!”

Old Scott repeated.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, the Emperor let out a joyful exclamation.

Right above his head, a ball of light the size of a water vat suddenly appeared. Before anyone could react, a torrent of yellow, like a flash flood, burst forth from the light, crashing down in front of the assembled ten thousand troops, sending golden waves splashing everywhere and rapidly spreading to both sides. Meanwhile, the pile in the center kept growing higher and higher.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Because this yellow torrent was actually countless soybeans.

Well, this was exactly what Henry Clark had asked Little Grace to do for him.

According to Little Grace, the spatial rift leading into this parallel universe was in outer space directly above the North Pole. She could, like a satellite, constantly observe the entire Northern Hemisphere from above, and could also establish a wormhole to directly teleport objects to a designated spot on the ground. However, this consumed a tremendous amount of energy—the larger and longer the wormhole, the more energy it required—so only a limited amount could be transported. Sending over a tank was impossible; she could only teleport some not-too-large items in a short burst.

Of course, this was more than enough for Henry Clark to display a miracle.

Shanhaiguan was not impossible to defend. There were tens of thousands of Ming’s best border troops here, plus hundreds of thousands of relocated civilians. Among them, several tens of thousands of young men could be armed, and if necessary, even women could join the fight. Even the commoners of Jiangyin had managed to hold off the Qing army for months—how much more so these people? The problem was, they lacked the will to fight. They knew that even if they could hold out for a while, they would eventually starve without food. So now, it was crucial to give them hope.

A miracle was more effective than anything else.

He played this hand beautifully. The quick-witted Edward Harris was the first to throw himself to the ground, screaming, “The Great Ancestor has manifested! The Great Ancestor has manifested!”

Those like Matthew Turner, who had witnessed Henry Clark’s berserk Jinyiwei, and those who had been rescued by Deputy Brooks and the cavalry in Jizhou, immediately knelt down. Then James Morgan and the others snapped out of their daze and all knelt as well. Next came the ten thousand troops, followed by the surrounding civilians and soldiers. Everyone in Dongluo City at Shanhaiguan, and even those on the city walls, all knelt in terror and awe, gazing at the Emperor in the center, who stood in an exaggerated pose, haloed in divine light.

“The Great Ancestor has manifested! There is hope for the restoration of Ming!”

James Morgan shouted excitedly.

“The Great Ancestor has manifested! The restoration of Ming! Long live His Majesty, long live, long, long live!”

The same cries echoed through the sky.

At this moment, Henry Clark finally switched out of his act, lowering his hands with an aura of kingly dominance. The ball of light in the sky vanished in an instant, leaving only a mountain of soybeans over ten meters high. Nearby, a few kneeling soldiers who hadn’t dodged in time were buried in the pile and were now scrambling to crawl out with the help of their comrades.

“Changbo, you’re here!”

Henry Clark bent down to help William Scott up, speaking warmly.

“I was just suddenly summoned by the Great Ancestor and was busy paying my respects, so I didn’t notice your arrival.”

He continued.

“Your servant failed to defend the king, causing the two palaces to be defiled and the imperial carriage to flee. I am guilty beyond measure and beg Your Majesty to punish me!”

Old Scott said, prostrating himself.

“This is not your fault. It was I who was too indecisive and failed to summon you to the capital sooner. It is also my fault for misjudging people, being blinded by treacherous ministers, and employing those ungrateful traitors. If not for their surrender without a fight, how could Beijing have fallen before you arrived? Tang Tong, Du Zhizhi, Li Jiantai, and Zhang Jinyan—these are the ones truly deserving of death.”

Henry Clark said, helping him up.