Chapter 1166: Your Worker Grandpas Are Here!
The rebel army continued its advance...
Soon, the rebel army arrived at the base of Hulujing Peak.
The Chuǎng Wang lifted his head, gazing at the summit, where plumes of black smoke still curled.
He had initially planned to send men to dismantle the beacon tower once they reached its base, preventing it from raising an alarm the next time he passed this way.
However, glancing up at the towering, cloud-piercing Hulujing Peak, he abandoned the idea of sending men up, merely scowling upwards in irritation.
Just then, a few heads emerged from the beacon tower at the summit, peering down at the foot of the mountain. Someone from above bellowed, "Rebel scum! You dare to set foot in Shaanxi? Let this elder advise you: turn back now. Go fight the Sichuan forces to the death; it's better than walking into Shaanxi to die."
The Chuǎng Wang instantly erupted in fury. "I haven't bothered to deal with you yet, and you dare to speak so brazenly?"
With a wave of his hand, he commanded, "Send a detachment up the mountain. Tear down that dilapidated beacon tower!"
Two hundred seasoned rebel soldiers stepped forward, beginning their ascent up Hulujing.
They faced an army of over a hundred thousand rebels, yet dared to fight back with only ten men. The Chuǎng Wang was stunned. "Where do these soldiers come from? So fierce and brave! Does the imperial court still have such desperate and valiant troops?"
No one could answer him.
Stones tumbled down haphazardly from the mountain.
The tough soldiers assaulting the mountain suffered casualties when some were accidentally struck by stones.
The Chuǎng Wang was livid. "This is outrageous! Simply outrageous!"
After paying the price of several lives, the two hundred elite soldiers finally scaled Hulujing Peak. However, they found that the ten sentries had already slid down the other side of the mountain. Only a wooden outpost and a few meager supplies remained at the summit.
The elite soldiers took the two bags of provisions left by the sentries, then set the wooden outpost ablaze. Only then did they slide back down the slope, returning to the Chuǎng Wang. "Reporting, Great Brother," they announced, "There was only a small outpost on the mountain. We burned it down and seized two bags of grain."
"Only two small bags of grain?" The Chuǎng Wang felt this endeavor was a complete loss.
But the ten enemy soldiers had vanished, so his anger was useless. He could only continue leading his army north through the mountains.
After marching several li, another perilous peak emerged ahead. This was Shanyoutou, and a column of black smoke still spiraled from its summit.
"Another beacon tower!"
The rebel soldiers looked up at the precipitous peak, seeing a few heads peering out from the summit, observing them at the mountain's base.
Then, one sentry, straining his voice, shouted, "Shaanxi lies ahead! Don't blame this old man for not warning you—Shaanxi is no place for a band of thieves like you. As a forward scout, I'm kindly advising you: go back where you came from, or only death awaits you!"
The multitude of rebels flew into a rage. They had just burned down one such arrogant outpost, and now another appeared.
This time, the Chuǎng Wang didn't even need to give the order; a unit of fierce rebels began to climb the mountain.
The ten sentries on the summit remained, appearing utterly unfazed, and once again began haphazardly raining stones down on those below.
After a long struggle, the marauding rebels lost several more soldiers before finally assaulting the summit. There, yet another dilapidated wooden outpost stood, containing a few meager supplies they hadn't had time to carry away.
The fierce rebels seized two more bags of rice, burned the outpost, and returned to the base of the mountain to report, "It was just like the last outpost."
The Chuǎng Wang furrowed his brow. "These outposts, one after another, show that the imperial court is quite concerned about defending Shaanxi. There might truly be a heavy ambush waiting for us ahead."
Mantianxing interjected, "Great Brother, you're worrying needlessly. Don't we already know how many troops the imperial court has? They can't even field any decent forces anymore. I reckon this is a ploy by Sun Chuanting, the Governor of Shaanxi. He just built a few rickety wooden shacks, stationed a few dozen soldiers here, trying to scare us into not entering Shaanxi."
The Chuǎng Wang remained silent.
There was some logic to that statement, but the Chuǎng Wang dared not believe it.
Guo Tianxing then stepped forward. "Great Brother, those disorganized White Pole Soldiers from Sichuan are still dogging our heels, like persistent ghosts. They won't stop chasing us until we're in Shaanxi. So, even if we don't want to enter Shaanxi, we have no choice. Even if the front is a perilous trap, how could it be more challenging than the firearm units relentlessly pursuing us from behind?"
This argument held considerable weight.
What the Chuǎng Wang most feared was that mysterious musket force. As for the other imperial soldiers, he truly wasn't so intimidated. Whether it was Cao Wenzhao, Sun Chuanting, or Lu Xiangheng, he at least had a fighting chance against them, and wouldn't be utterly at a loss for how to contend with them.
"Very well, press on," he ordered.
The Chuǎng Wang's army passed Shanyoutou and continued their march towards Shaanxi.
A scout returned with a report: "Reporting, the Bashan Qiangshui River lies ahead."
The Chuǎng Wang's expression froze for two seconds. "Bashan again?"
The scout wore an embarrassed expression. "Yes, I examined it carefully, and that place truly is called Bashan. There's even a dilapidated old stone tablet on the mountain, bearing the two characters for 'Bashan,' and a small river with a sign that reads 'Qiangshui River.'"
The Chuǎng Wang was too exhausted to even comment on the Sichuan people's naming conventions for mountains. "Let's make camp by the Bashan Qiangshui River and get some rest."
The hundred-thousand-strong rebel army, battered and exhausted by the tortuous Shu Roads, involuntarily sighed in relief at the news that they could finally rest.
However, just as they reached the Bashan Qiangshui River, they spotted black smoke rising from the watershed ridge by the riverbank.
There was a beacon tower here, too.
No matter how bold a marauding rebel, none could possibly set up camp and rest beneath someone else's beacon tower. This was simply too much, an absolute insult.
The Chuǎng Wang roared, "Send a detachment! Burn that thing down!"
So, another two hundred fierce rebels stepped forward.
They had even made up their minds: they'd surely snatch another two bags of grain.
However, they had only climbed halfway up the slope when, from the cliff edge near the beacon tower, a multitude of heads suddenly popped into view.
Along their route, the fierce rebels had encountered outposts at Hulujing and Shanyoutou, each garrisoned by only ten sentries. This had led them to believe the outpost before them would also hold just ten men. To their surprise, however,
This outpost was different!
The cliff edge was swarming with heads, countless at a glance.
Then, one man roared, "Marauding rebels! Your worker grandpas are here!"
"Let us show you the might of the model workers from Baomei No. 1 Factory!"
"Xigang No. 1 Factory will never be outdone by Baomei No. 1 Factory!"
"Quiet, all of you! What are these private enterprises pretending to be? We, the Chang'an Automobile Factory, are a defense industry enterprise. Let us show you the strength of workers from a defense industry enterprise!"
The workers from Chang'an Factory swiftly pulled out a cannon.
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