At the sa ti Gaojia Village absorbed Zao Ying and began forming a cavalry camp.
Huanglong Mountain.
Wang Zuogua, who had just clashed with Yansui General Wu Zimian, resulting in mutual heavy losses, led the four leaders under his command to sit around a large rock.
“Damn it all,” Wang Zuogua scowled, displeasure etched on his dark face. “I almost had it. Wu Zimian’s five hundred warhorses were practically mine, then so band popped out of nowhere and snatched the goose right out of my mouth!”
Second Leader Miao i whispered, “That group ca from the south. The strongest among them was called Old Ghost from Guyuan, flanked by Yongji Xing Honglang and Yichuan Zao Ying. Seems like a formidable rebel force.”
Wang Zuogua’s expression remained grim. Even though they were all technically “rebels,” he didn’t bother wasting breath cursing them as “turncoats” or “backstabbers”.
Though nurous rebel forces existed under heaven, they were far from united. Inter-faction fighting was unsurprising.
When it ca down to it, they were all thieves licking blood from blades; “black eating black” was perfectly normal.
Wang Zuogua brooded silently for a long mont. “If that group headed south, they must’ve gone to Chengcheng County, right?”
“Yes!” Feishan Hu confird. “South would lead into Chengcheng County territory.”
Wang Zuogua: “That reminds of sothing. Last year, Bu Zhan Ni and I combined forces and attacked Chengcheng County once. We were beaten back at the Bai Family Fortress by strange weapons… still fresh in my mory.”
He had been floored by a “block missile,” an unforgettable experience due to its sheer absurdity.
“This ti, those strange bombs they used exploded and killed a bunch of our n the mont they landed. Could they also be from the Bai Family Fortress?”
Wang Zuogua seed to recall sothing, turning to Big Honglang: “Did you figure it out? How did those suddenly killed n die?”
Big Honglang opened her palm, revealing a small round iron ball: “This thing! When the bombs they threw exploded, these little iron balls flew out everywhere. If you got hit, you either died or were badly injured. Extrely vicious.”
Wang Zuogua, Miao i, and Feishan Hu leaned in to look. After examining it, they shook their heads helplessly. “How can you guard against sothing like this? Such an outrageous weapon must co from Bai Yuan.”
Big Honglang nodded emphatically: “Definitely!”
Wang Zuogua’s expression turned serious: “So this ans every ti we attack the Bai Family Fortress from now on, as long as Bai Yuan is there, we’ll face these things?”
Big Honglang nodded: “We can’t overpower it.”
Wang Zuogua: “Then are we just going to let that ambush stealing our horses slide?”
Big Honglang: “Of course not! Big brother, we must avenge this, or else the heroes of the rivers and lakes will look down on us.”
Wang Zuogua: “We can’t fight them head-on; how do we get revenge?”
Big Honglang: “We disguise ourselves, get close to Bai Family Fortress’s commander, Bai Yuan, then suddenly strike. We can assassinate him.”
Wang Zuogua: “The plan sounds good, but the defenses at Bai Family Fortress are tight. How can we easily sneak in?”
Just then, a scout rushed up to report: “Leaders! We’ve received news that Chengcheng County is assembling a ‘large militia,’ supposedly gathering several thousand n to guard against roaming bandits.”
Wang Zuogua flared up: “Isn’t that clearly aid at ?”
Scout: “It’s said the organizer is Bai Yuan, commander of the Bai Family Fortress. He’s in Chengcheng County right now, gathering militia instructors from every village and town to discuss major plans.”
An idea seed to light up over Wang Zuogua’s head: “That guy left the Bai Family Fortress and went to the county capital? Heh heh heh. The county is chaotic, full of refugees and snakes mixed with dragons. Disguising our n to sneak in there will be much easier than infiltrating the fortress!”
He turned to Big Honglang: “Fourth Sister! Imdiately arrange a team. I need top-skilled n from the rivers and lakes, disguised as refugees, to infiltrate Chengcheng County. Scout the situation inside the county capital. If you find a good chance, kill that Bai Yuan fellow for !”
Big Honglang grinned: “Don’t worry, big brother. Leave it to .”
…
In the early dawn, Li Daoxuan woke up as usual.
Munching on coconut-gold cake and a stewed egg, he checked how his Tiny Kingdom was developing.
Gaojia Village was peaceful. The newly-arrived Zao Ying had started organizing the cavalry camp. The first batch of cavalry naturally was her own group of one hundred and twenty mounted bandits.
Although these bandits had superb horsemanship, their equipnt was shoddy, and they hadn’t been eating well. Their current morale and appearance still seed rather lacking.
But that wasn’t a problem!
Handcarts soon erged from the artisans’ well, loaded with over a hundred sets of armor, standardized waist knives, spears, and small crossbows designed for easy use from horseback.
However…
Zao Ying glanced at the small crossbow and chuckled: “Why do you prefer crossbows? This crossbow is too small; it can’t shoot far, and it’s inconvenient to use on horseback.”
Cheng Xu looked a bit awkward: “Our militia mbers in Gaojia Village are all selected from among farrs and trained from scratch. None had fought before. Becoming proficient with a bow requires lengthy training. The Deity said practicing with bows is a waste of ti since we’ll eventually switch to firearms anyway. So we skipped archery training entirely, and naturally went for crossbows.”
Zao Ying almost quibbled with this reasoning. But thinking back to the battle at Duzhucun, the Gaojia Village Militia’s “firearms” were indeed quite effective. Perhaps the Deity’s plan was correct.
She refrained from further criticism and instead smiled, “Fine. Your n can use crossbows. But my n can use bows; they already know how. No extra training is needed, no ti wasted.”
So… the small crossbows suffered a swift return.
Cheng Xu smiled: “If you want bows, we don’t actually have many here, Lady Zao. Head to the school and find Mr. Song. Ask him to help draw a blueprint for a good bow. Then take that design to the artisans’ well to have it custom-made.”
“School? Mr. Song?”
Following these instructions, Zao Ying headed towards the school.
Li Daoxuan also beca interested: He hadn’t paid much attention to Song Yingxing lately. What had that fellow been up to? He decided to follow Zao Ying and see.
Zao Ying entered the school building, walking through the corridors. Seeing children reciting lessons in classrooms on either side, she couldn’t help but feel secretly astonished: I knew Gaojia Village’s ambitions were great, but I never dread this vast! What grand vision requires setting up private schools on such a scale? Are they nurturing talent for rebellion?
Other rebel forces were simply incomparable! They couldn’t hold a candle!
She quickened her pace, took the stairs two at a ti to the fifth floor, and arrived before the library.
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