Bai Yuan brought along a large bundle of Middle School Math, a complete six-book set.
This time, there were six fewer divine tomes. But flipping through them casually made his head spin, as these six volumes were vastly harder than the previous dozen. He no longer dared arrogantly ask for more copies.
He carefully hid away the math books and leaped onto his horse.
His servants also mounted their horses, falling in beside the sun chariots.
Several sun chariots started together.
Leading the procession was naturally the mightiest Solar Vehicle No. 3—a heavy-duty transport truck. Behind it came two public sun chariots, carrying over a hundred soldiers from the militia unit.
The convoy of carriages advanced together toward Bai Family Fortress.
Initially, the road leading out of Gaojia Village was decent, allowing slightly faster speed. But a short distance beyond, the path worsened. All sun chariots slowed to under thirty kilometers an hour, crawling forward like snails.
Noticing the newly arrived, masked militia instructor perched atop the heavy truck beside him, Bai Yuan couldn’t resist striking up a conversation. “Instructor He? As in, Instructor He?”
Bai Yuan smiled. “Which village did you serve as instructor in before? Your figure seems familiar, yet I can’t recall where we’ve met.”
Cheng Xu replied, “I’m from He Family Village, in that tiny valley at the southernmost tip of Chengcheng County.”
Bai Yuan nodded, “Ah yes, Instructor He of He Family Village! Now I remember. We spoke in the county town—quite clearly etched in my memory.”
Cheng Xu fell speechless inwardly. You remember that well? How I’d love to strike your face dead center with my fist.
Bai Yuan continued, “During my last visit to Gaojia Village, they still had no militia. Yet within months, everything is running impressively. Your abilities must be remarkable.”
Cheng Xu dismissed this, “Hah! Petty tricks. All this prosperity comes from the Deity’s generous supplies. If not… cough…” Googlᴇ search novel⁂fire.net
He hastily cut himself off!
Such thoughts should stay buried—those old days when the court withheld pay, and I struggled to even train a hundred worthless troops…
Soon, Bai Family Fortress came into view.
Bai Yuan spurred ahead on horseback, immediately commanding his people to unload supplies. They swiftly erected catapults and Giant Crossbow Vehicles. Assembly of block missiles began with equal urgency. The fortress buzzed with intense activity.
Cheng Xu pointed to surplus hand crossbows, spears, and waist knives. “The Deity urged us to prepare extra weapons. Arm your militia with these. Proper armor will come later—still scarce for now.”
Overjoyed, Bai Yuan bowed deeply toward the sky. “Gratitude to the Deity!”
Weapons, sacks of rice and flour, barrels of oil and salt flowed steadily into Bai Family Fortress.
Thus, Bai Family Fortress stood vastly reinforced.
Bai Yuan swelled with confidence. Under the Deity’s protection, his fortress looked utterly unassailable.
Brigands, bring it on!
Deep within Huanglong Mountain, Captain Zhao Sheng—Dian Deng Zi, leader of Bu Zhan Ni’s Second Team—trudged through dense woods with over three thousand men.
Zhao Sheng felt cursed by incredible misfortune. All he’d done was light a lamp to read at Shiyou Temple when accusations of rebellion flew at him. His lifeline became popular support earned from aiding Villagers. As constables closed in, masses of commoners swarmed forth, slew the officers, and freed him.
The crowd then hoisted him as their chieftain, unfurling their banner of revolt.
Zhao Sheng originally aspired to become an official through the imperial examinations. But with this turn of events, he was forced to rebel — he had no real choice but to become an outlaw.
As a bandit, he needed a bandit name to avoid bringing trouble upon his clan.
Because Zhao Sheng was falsely accused of rebellion for lighting a lamp, he named himself “Dian Deng Zi.” The common folk had saved him, so naturally, he couldn’t abandon them. He fled south, leading three thousand villagers from Qingjian County.
Not long after, he joined forces with Bu Zhan Ni.
Being a novice in the world of rebellion, Zhao Sheng knew nothing. Upon meeting this seasoned veteran of the rebel life, he naturally hastened to seek guidance.
Bu Zhan Ni was greatly pleased to have a scholar willing to join, and promptly incorporated Dian Deng Zi into his army, appointing him as Captain of the Second Team.
Bu Zhan Ni then adopted a strategy of scattering out to forage for supplies, sending his seven captains off in seven different directions.
The captain of the First Team, Yan Qianer, headed toward Fengyuan Town.
The captain of the Second Team, Dian Deng Zi, entered Huanglong Mountain.
As for the other five teams, they were causing disturbances over in Luochuan County and Yijun County.
Zhao Sheng was exhausted!
He was just a frail scholar, not some fierce bandit leader. Walking dozens of miles along mountain trails in Huanglong Mountain was too much for him. Feeling utterly worn out, he turned to the villagers beside him and asked, “Brothers, where have we reached?”
“The southern ridge of Huanglong Mountain,” reported one hunter who had returned. “Cross over from here, and we enter Chengcheng County territory.”
Zhao Sheng exclaimed, “We’re finally nearing inhabited land? That’s wonderful news! We should be able to find food soon.”
A villager moved closer and whispered, “Mr. Zhao, once we’re in Chengcheng County, are we going to plunder everyone we meet, just like Bu Zhan Ni does?”
At this question, Zhao Sheng’s face darkened.
The last thing he wanted to do was rob people!
He wasn’t a hardened bandit, but a scholar, famous throughout the ten villages and hamlets around Qingjian County as a kind soul. He often helped villagers write letters home, read official proclamations, was always ready to assist others, and was trustworthy to the core.
He simply wasn’t ruthless enough to consider robbing strangers.
The villagers who had fled all the way from Qingjian County with him had run out of food. What was he supposed to do?
He was responsible for these villagers!
Zhao Sheng decided to make a speech. He chose a large, high boulder and clambered up. The rock was huge and slippery; he barely made it to the top, slipping several times during the climb. Once atop the stone, he couldn’t help but think bitterly: Being a bandit leader isn’t easy. Just climbing to a high spot to address your followers is hard work.
Standing on the rock, he cleared his throat: “Folks, I have something to say. We are starving, with no food. But we cannot rob every person we see, especially the poor villagers in those small mountain hamlets. They are people just like us! How could we harden our hearts enough to kill them and take their food?”
The crowd was silent.
Zhao Sheng continued: “We are not bad people. We are good people forced into rebellion by bad ones. So we must not turn our weapons on other good people. When we enter Chengcheng County, we will only rob the rich who are evil.”
A villager asked, “How will we know if a rich person is evil or not?”
Zhao Sheng looked up, deep in thought for a long moment, then sighed. “I will speak with them. A few words of conversation should give me a fair idea of whether they are a good person or a bad one.”
A fast-footed hunter hurried back from ahead: “Mr. Zhao! The foot of the mountain just ahead is Chengcheng County! At the foot of the mountain stands the Bai Family Fortress. It looks like the residence of a wealthy household.”