Chapter 1197: Let's Go!
A vast number of soldiers were crossing the Xiaolangdi Yellow River Bridge.
Bai Yuan stood at the southern end of the bridge, watching as the armies led by Xing Honglang, Lao Nanfeng, and Bai Mao slowly approached him.
The wind whipped around Bai Yuan's white robes as he offered a genuine smile to Lao Nanfeng and Xing Honglang. "It's been a long time, you three."
Xing Honglang returned his smile. "Indeed, Master Bai, it's been years. Though we're not far apart, with one of us in Hedong Circuit and the other in Luoyang, separated only by a river, we haven't actually met in person for quite some time."
Lao Nanfeng chuckled. "Haha! We've all been busy, haven't we? If it weren't for dealing with these wretched bandits, we might never have gathered like this."
Bai Mao commented, "This time, the Heavenly Lord has ordered all of us to leave our officially appointed posts. This is essentially abandoning our positions to launch an attack. It seems he intends to show the imperial court absolutely no deference."
Bai Yuan produced his folding fan, snapping it open with a flourish to reveal the two large characters for "Gentleman." He smiled. "A gentleman prioritizes righteousness! Suppressing these wandering bandits will save countless people from suffering. At a time like this, who cares about the crumbling court? Once we've utterly destroyed these rebels, we'll have a proper reckoning with the imperial court."
As he spoke, an inexplicable glint of interest flickered in the eyes of all three men.
For some reason, they all seemed more eager to confront the imperial court than to deal with the rebels.
Hearing it, Xing Honglang brightened. "Is Zao Ying here?"
"No!" Bai Yuan shook his head. "Zao Ying won't be able to join us yet. Her child with Zheng Daniu was only born recently, and this is when her maternal instincts are strongest. It's not suitable for her to be on the battlefield, and the Heavenly Lord wouldn't allow it. Wouldn't want her to come home from battle and still have the smell of blood on her while nursing her child."
"Then... who is it?" Xing Honglang quickly realized. "Lao Huihui is here."
True enough, a large contingent of heavy armored cavalry from the border army appeared at the northern bridgehead.
Both riders and horses were clad in heavy armor!
And it was the Heavenly Lord's outrageously "cheated" armor, crafted from aluminum alloy.
The Heavenly Lord hadn't initially intended to cheat on such a grand scale for the land forces, but then he considered that the navy had already received similar advantages. How could the army be left behind? That simply wouldn't be fair!
They were all his little people, and he had to be impartial with his blessings. It was only right to keep things balanced.
Thus, aluminum alloy armor burst onto the scene.
This material was only thirty percent the weight of iron, making the armor both lightweight and incredibly sturdy when worn.
As a result, Lao Huihui's heavy armored cavalry not only gained superior durability but also unprecedented speed and agility. All their stats skyrocketed.
Lao Huihui rode his horse directly to Bai Yuan and the others, cupped his fist in a salute, and offered no unnecessary words. He wasn't one for many words; he simply stood silently, a formidable presence in the background.
Bai Yuan declared, "With this, our Northern Route Army is complete. Excellent! We can depart."
The Xiaolangdi militia, Puzhou militia, Hedong Circuit militia, and Lao Huihui's heavy armored cavalry merged, forming a formidable force of over twenty thousand soldiers.
Upon reaching the walls of Luoyang, they found two more armies ready to depart. One was a force of "government soldiers" organized by Fan Shangzheng, the Governor of Henan. Though nominally imperial troops, they were in practice not much different from the Gao Family Village Militia, albeit with slightly inferior equipment.
The other army consisted of "reformed rebels" led by Gao Jie.
These soldiers, along with Gao Jie himself, had attended daily classes and undergone continuous ideological transformation. After several years of this intensive re-education, their political consciousness was finally deemed acceptable. The commissar in charge had given his nod, permitting them to go to war.
With these two armies integrated, the Northern Army's total strength approached thirty-five thousand.
Undoubtedly, this army was poised to become the main force in the decisive battle for the Central Plains.
Meanwhile...
In Sichuan, Cheng Xu was advancing by both land and water, leaving the province!
One route was led by Cheng Xu himself, taking Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu. They traveled by water, navigating the Yangtze River's Three Gorges with hundreds of small boats carrying the Gao Family Village Militia towards Wuchang.
The other route was led by Padi Tu, who took Zheng Gouzi, Jiang Daliang, and other newly recruited Sichuan forces. They marched by land, following the ancient official road alongside the Yangtze River's course, making their way out of central Sichuan.
"Report! We've reached the easternmost boundary marker of Kuizhou," a scout reported to Padi Tu, saluting. "Once we cross this marker, we'll have officially left Sichuan."
Padi Tu instantly grew tense upon hearing this. "I've heard that no rabbit can ever leave Sichuan alive. Now is the time for this Rabbit Master to prove that saying wrong!"
Those nearby shot him looks as if he were an idiot.
But Padi Tu didn't mind their stares; as long as he wasn't embarrassed, everyone else was.
He waved away his personal guards and, alone with his single sword, strode purposefully towards the boundary marker.
Just as he took that step, a large gray rabbit startled from the tall grass, bolted in a panic, and with a sickening "thump," slammed its head into the boundary marker, dying instantly.
Everyone: "..."
Padi Tu's stride froze mid-air. "No way? Is it really that cursed?"
Those around him felt a huge sense of foreboding. What an ominous sign!
Padi Tu swallowed hard, growing nervous. He looked left, then right, confirming there was no immediate danger near the marker. "Impossible. You can't scare this Rabbit Master. You can't!"
Gathering his courage, he leaped fiercely.
"Thump!" Both his feet landed on the other side of the boundary marker, his entire body now outside Sichuan.
"Hahahahaha!" Padi Tu threw his head back and roared with laughter. "This Rabbit Master has left Sichuan alive! From now on, Sichuanese won't have the audacity to boast that no rabbit can ever leave Sichuan alive!"
The words had barely left his lips when a figure suddenly sprang from the tall grass beside the marker, yelling, "Die, rabbit!"
This sent Padi Tu into such a fright that he was scared out of his wits. He didn't even have time to draw his sword, so he grabbed his ancestral treasure sword, sheath and all, and swung it down at the figure, bellowing, "My Heaven Rabbit Rending Overlord Sword!"
"Thwack!"
The person who had jumped out of the grass was struck on the forehead by the sword's sheath, cried out in pain, and tumbled backward.
Padi Tu gasped, "Gouzi!"
It turned out to be Zheng Gouzi.
He lay on the ground, rubbing the large lump forming on his forehead, and fumed, "Rabbit, you're brutal! I was just playing a prank, and you hit me with your sword so hard, even using your ultimate move!"
Padi Tu retorted, "Damn it, that was one hell of an excessive prank! This rabbit almost had his soul scared out of his body, alright?"
"If it doesn't scare the soul out of you, what's the point?" Zheng Gouzi said. "You have to scare someone out of their wits for it to be worthwhile."
Padi Tu mused, "When you put it that way, it actually makes a lot of sense."
Zheng Gouzi laughed and punched his shoulder. "Anyway, we're out of Sichuan! Haha, let's go deal with the Eight Great Kings."
Padi Tu cheered, "Let's go, let's go!"
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