Chapter 1173: Instructor He Recruits Militia
The fighting in Sichuan had finally ceased.
Local chieftains, leading their own armed retinues, returned to their homelands.
Their spirits were high!
This campaign against the bandits, fought alongside the Gao Family Village Militia, had felt like leaning on a truly formidable power. What had once been stubborn, unyielding rebel strongholds, previously so difficult to crack, had now crumbled like paper tigers, effortlessly crushed.
After the vagrant rebels were dealt with, Gao Family Village's aid teams didn't leave. They moved back into Sichuan province, centering their efforts in Chongqing to continue assisting the surrounding ethnic minority groups.
A diverse array of ethnic specialty products were developed.
Once the initial wave of assistance to the ethnic minorities was complete, Gao Family Village began to help the Han Chinese populace. Cement factories, coal mines, steel mills, textile plants, pig farms, chicken farms... all sorts of enterprises were first established in Chongqing, serving as successful models.
These initiatives would then be promoted and expanded into the various ethnic minority mountain regions.
Meanwhile...
Upon hearing this, Wang Weizhang couldn't resist. He had the merchant seized and flogged with ten planks. "You utter imbecile! Do I look like a fool easily tricked?"
The merchant, clutching his swollen and reddened backside, grumbled indignantly, "Governor, everything I said is true. I just transported a batch of goods through the ancient plank road of Mingyue Gorge to Hanzhong and returned. Both times, I saw that giant deity. He sat atop Mingyue Gorge, gazing down into the valley below, as if deep in thought. I witnessed it myself, not a single word is false."
Wang Weizhang barked, "Guards! Give him ten more planks."
The merchant endured twenty planks, then looked up again. "I saw nothing! Absolutely nothing."
Wang Weizhang finally looked pleased. "Next time you decide to spout nonsense, pick a more suitable audience."
The merchant gave up trying to reason with Wang Weizhang. Officials were truly annoying. He'd rather find someone else to talk to among the common folk...
At the same time, Gao Family Village's transport teams carefully traversed the ancient plank road of Mingyue Gorge. This path was incredibly difficult, harder than scaling the heavens themselves. Transport capacity was severely limited, allowing only very small carts to cautiously carry small amounts of supplies.
The Heavenly Lord sat atop Mingyue Gorge, but no one dared ask for his direct help. They toiled, trying their best not to bother His Venerable Self.
However...
When one member of a transport team slipped and nearly plunged into the abyss, the Heavenly Lord moved with astonishing speed, reaching out a hand to steady and save the man.
As a result, only two hundred copies of "The Legend of the Heavenly Lord's Demon Slaying" were delivered in the first batch.
Two hundred books were hardly enough! As soon as they reached Guangyuan, the locals there snatched them all up, leaving none to flow into the Chengdu Plain.
Fortunately, there was still the waterway...
Zhuge Wangchan transported "The Legend of the Heavenly Lord's Demon Slaying" via water to Chongqing, where it was then distributed to the surrounding populace.
The sun had already set. Jiang Daliang, a native-born dockworker from Jiangbei in Chongqing, had just finished moving several large baskets of cargo and received a substantial payment. He and his fellow workers sat beneath the twilight sky, opening "The Legend of the Heavenly Lord's Demon Slaying."
A large group of dockworkers had only managed to get their hands on one book!
So they crowded together, many heads stacked on top of each other, a dense mass of faces all staring intently at the pages.
"Wow, the Heavenly Lord is amazing! He smashed that mountain bandit into a pulpy mess with one strike!"
"The Heavenly Lord is so benevolent, always giving us delicious food!"
The dockworkers exclaimed as they read, occasionally mimicking the Gao Family Village Militia by crying out, "Heavenly Lord bless us!"
"Look, this page talks about the Heavenly Lord recruiting a militia."
"See, see, see! Isn't that masked man Instructor He?"
Jiang Daliang's spirits lifted. It was true! Instructor He appeared in the book, assembling Gao Family Village's first militia under the Heavenly Lord's command, with the soldiers even lined up and drilling.
Now, whenever the dockworkers mentioned Instructor He's name, their admiration knew no bounds.
Jiang Daliang couldn't help but feel a surge of yearning. "Ah! Instructor He helped us get rid of that corrupt foreman Wang Wen, and he even wiped out the local bandits of Tieshan Ping. Instructor He is a true beacon of righteousness. If not for his intervention, I might have gone down the wrong path."
"That reminds me!" a worker interjected. "I heard Instructor He found a coal mine in Jingangbei, Beibei District, and he's planning to build a coal factory there. They're recruiting workers these past few days. Anyone interested in becoming a worker? We could go together. It's all hard labor anyway; whether we toil at the docks or at the coal factory, it's the same effort, but we'd earn more and have a more stable income."
"But Beibei is so far!" another worker complained. "I don't want to be away from home for so long. Can't the coal factory just be built here in Jiangbei?"
Jiang Daliang chuckled derisively. "Are you an idiot? Coal is dug from underground! The factory has to be built wherever the coal is. You can't just pick a place anywhere you like!"
Everyone laughed.
Just then, a dockworker ran over, yelling at them, "Hey, what are you all doing here? Hurry to the yamen! Instructor He is recruiting militia soldiers!"
"Recruiting militia?"
Many of the dockworkers present had joined Chongqing's old militia, which Wang Wen had organized to resist the vagrant rebels.
Jiang Daliang had once been a member of that militia, though, of course, he had joined primarily to act as an informant and ultimately betray Wang Wen.
Now, with the news that Instructor He was organizing a militia, Jiang Daliang's eyes instantly lit up, and the eyes of all the dockworkers shone with eagerness.
"This militia is worth joining!"
"We're going, we're going!"
Jiang Daliang leaped to his feet. "I have to go! I absolutely must join this militia!"
With a clamor, everyone rushed towards the yamen.
Traveling from Jiangbei to Chongqing Prefecture's yamen was truly inconvenient. They had to cross the Jialing River by boat, then enter the city through Chaotianmen Gate.
They toiled hard, rowing their boats with desperate energy, and arrived before the yamen at top speed.
There, Instructor He sat behind a table at the yamen entrance. In front of him stretched a long queue of young men eager to enlist in the militia, each face radiating admiration.
They were all promising young people like Jiang Daliang, captivated by Instructor He's character and martial prowess.
Someone in the crowd called out to him, "Instructor He, haven't the vagrant rebels been driven out of Sichuan? Why does Chongqing still need to recruit a militia?"
Cheng Xu's voice boomed, "Listen closely, everyone! Although one wave of vagrant rebels has been driven away, a second wave might yet come. Furthermore, the mountain strongholds teeming with local bandits throughout Sichuan province have not yet been completely suppressed. Our battle is not over!"
Everyone suddenly understood. So that was it.
Cheng Xu continued, "Until the day all internal strife and external threats are quelled, we cannot cease fighting! Young men who aspire to defend your homes and country, to protect your women and children, your elders and fellow villagers, step forward!"
Jiang Daliang swiftly raised his hand. "Me! Me, me, me!"
A large number of young men raised their hands simultaneously. "Me too! I'll go too!"
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