Chapter 1165: Rallying Forces
At the border between Guangyuan and Hanzhong, on Zengjia Mountain, lay Gourd Neck.
Perched atop a towering peak, a newly constructed Gao Family Village watchtower stood sentinel.
The watchtower was built from wood. The architects from Gao Family Village had initially wanted to use cement to construct the tower, hoping to provide the sentries with better living conditions.
However, attempting to transport cement up the treacherous mountain paths of Shu was nothing short of a pipe dream.
One would have to be incredibly deluded to even conceive such an idea.
The engineers ultimately had no choice but to abandon the plan, opting instead to use local resources, felling timber to build a wooden outpost for the sentries.
The outpost was small, and supplying provisions up the mountain was exceedingly difficult. While other outposts typically housed fifty men, the Gourd Neck outpost had only ten soldiers, as transporting even their meager supplies felt like an insurmountable task.
Fortunately, despite the hardships, the scenery was unparalleled.
Residing at the summit of the Shu Road, gazing down upon the endless mountains, was an experience even Li Bai himself had never known. It was a pity that all ten sentries were illiterate; otherwise, they might have penned a few immortal verses.
Suddenly, he spotted something far below on the mountain path: a dense, sprawling mass of human heads.
"Hey, brothers, come out and look!" the sentry bellowed.
The other sentries rushed over, crowding to the edge of the cliff to peer down. Sure enough, the mountain path was teeming with people, packed together like ants.
The outpost's squad leader pulled out a telescope and focused it downwards. He immediately saw a large banner, emblazoned with the character for "ChungNg" (闯), flapping amidst the chaotic ranks below.
"Blast it, it's the Dashing Bandits! The Dashing Bandits have entered Shaanxi!" he cried.
The squad leader sprang to his feet, a sudden rush of adrenaline coursing through him. "Light it! Quickly, light the beacon tower! Rally the forces! Quickly, rally the forces!"
Several sentries scrambled towards the beacon tower in a flurry of activity.
The beacon tower itself was simply a circle of stones, with a pile of highly flammable material heaped in the center. This material, designed to emit thick, dark smoke, was a strategic "black technology" invented in China since ancient times!
And it truly was black technology—the *very* black kind. The moment it was lit, black smoke billowed upwards, coating the sentry who ignited it in a layer of soot so thick he looked three shades darker than an African man.
A column of black smoke soared skyward...
This black smoke column was visible for miles. Distant sentries at the Shanwu Head outpost immediately spotted the dark plume rising in the south. The Shanwu Head squad leader quickly bellowed, "That's from the Gourd Neck outpost! They've lit the beacon, which means rebel forces have entered Shaanxi! Quick, quick, light the beacon tower!"
And so, a second column of smoke surged towards the heavens...
Followed by another, then another, and yet another...
In Hanzhong Prefecture, a large steam train chugged noisily into a makeshift station.
Prince Rui Zhu Changhao, as was his custom, leaned over the counter of the thatched ticket booth, asking the ticket seller, "How many tickets did we sell today?"
The ticket seller replied, "Sixty taels."
"What? So little?" Prince Rui exclaimed, incredulous. "Are you mistaken? Business has been worse each day. How much silver am I losing out on? No, no, this is completely unacceptable. Is there no way to boost sales?"
The ticket seller, being accustomed to dealing with travelers at the train station, had a bit of worldly knowledge. He offered, "I heard that Zhu Cunji, the Prince of Qin's heir, faced a similar problem. Later, he developed tourism, heavily promoting it in the counties the train passed through, and train tickets started selling wonderfully. The tourist attractions also generated a significant profit."
Prince Rui's eyes lit up at the mention of significant profits. "Oh? This plan seems viable! I'll have to send one of my subordinates to learn from the Prince of Qin's heir how to make money..."
Just as he was speaking, he suddenly heard everyone on the platform collectively shout, "Look at the sky to the south!"
Prince Rui turned his head southward and saw a thick, dark, and elongated column of smoke surging into the southern sky, swaying with the wind.
"Huh? What's that?" Prince Rui wondered aloud. "Is someone curing dried meat? What a massive production."
"Enemy sighted! Enemy sighted!"
Wang Er, who had remained stationed in Hanzhong, not having departed, sprang to his feet. "Bandits have entered Shaanxi! Immediately, dispatch someone back to Xi'an to mobilize the militia!"
Prince Rui, seeing Wang Er jump up, was startled. "Oh dear? Again?"
He frantically dashed to the side of the train and roared, "Big train, run! Quickly, run to Xi'an and hide! Don't come back until the war is over!"
The train's engineer responded with a wry smile, "Your Highness, we're supposed to go to Xi'an to transport soldiers here, not run away and not return! Are we to abandon you in Hanzhong to fend for yourself?"
Prince Rui suddenly snapped back to reality. "Ah, right! The big train shouldn't run away. Quickly, bring people to protect Hanzhong!"
After the previous incident, Prince Rui had finally understood: this large train was, in fact, a tool for "rallying forces"...
Soon, Hanzhong City entered a state of war readiness.
Zhao Guangyuan, the Regional Commander of Hanzhong, immediately rallied his household guard and all garrison troops. The Hanzhong prefect also quickly ordered the militia instructors to assemble their militias, while the large steam train chugged noisily to Xi'an, swiftly returning with a full carriage of militia members.
Militiamen from Baomei First Factory, the Chang'an Automobile Factory, Xigang First Factory, and similar units once again rumbled into Hanzhong.
"Are the bandits here?"
"Where did they come from?"
"From Zengjia Mountain!"
"Let's go, move out!"
The militiamen now entering the southern mountains no longer needed to rely solely on walking. Several roads already extended into the Micang Mountains and Zengjia Mountain, though they couldn't penetrate the deeper mountain paths of Shu. Reaching the foothills, however, was no problem.
Numerous vehicles dispatched by the Chang'an Automobile Factory, supplemented by the urgently requisitioned Gao Family Village solar cars, continuously transported troops to the foothills of Zengjia Mountain—
The Dashing King, after an arduous journey, finally emerged from the perilous plank roads of Mingyue Gorge.
The weary forces took stock: nearly two hundred men had been killed or injured from falls—an utterly preposterous number.
"I never want to traverse these mountain paths of Shu again," the Dashing King muttered.
Resting briefly on a rock, the Dashing King looked up at the sky ahead and suddenly noticed something amiss. Far, far in the distance, a black column of smoke was rising into the heavens.
"A beacon!" The Dashing King instantly sprang to his feet. "This is bad, that's a beacon signal."
Guo Tianxing sidled closer. "What's wrong with a beacon?"
The Dashing King explained, "It means someone has spotted us and lit a beacon to warn them."
Guo Tianxing scoffed, "What good is a warning? Haven't the imperial alarms sounded everywhere we've gone? They know we're here, but they're still utterly helpless."
The Dashing King furrowed his brow, considering this carefully. He had a point. Everywhere the Dashing Army marched, the court's alarms blared, but what good did it do? Aside from a handful of formidable generals and a mysterious unit with advanced weaponry, the imperial court had nothing that could truly rein them in.
There was no need to fear them at all!
The Dashing King pointed in the direction where the smoke beacon rose. "Continue the advance."
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