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Chapter 248 We're Going to Drive Him Out

Li Daoxuan found himself a mere spectator, having assumed that General Li Ying, with his intent to avoid battle exposed by the Donglin Party, would at least put on a show of leading his troops away and heading west.

But he quickly realized he had greatly overestimated the man's character.

After leaving the county town, Li Ying, instead of heading west, tilted his head, thought for a moment, and let out a snicker. "We'll go north, to Fengyuan Town. Fengyuan Town is also a good spot," he declared. "It connects north to Yan'an Prefecture. If we stay there, we can still advance or retreat with ease, and stay far away from those two Donglin mad dogs."

His deputy general whispered, "General, we don't have much grain. Since we couldn't get any in Chengcheng County, the next few days will be tough."

Li Ying scoffed, "This entire route to Fengyuan Town is along the main imperial road. There are plenty of households along both sides of the road. We'll just 'eat' our way through."

The deputy general chuckled.

And so, they actually did follow the imperial road, heading north...

Not long after, they saw a small teahouse by the roadside. Li Ying pretended not to notice, but his deputy general waved a hand, and a squad of soldiers stormed into the teahouse. With a flurry of smashing, grabbing, and looting, they quickly stripped the teahouse of its meager money and food. The teahouse owner huddled in the back room, trembling, daring not to emerge and stop them.

The government troops continued north, and before long, they encountered another small inn. The deputy general waved his hand again, and another squad of soldiers rushed in to smash, grab, and loot.

This General Li Ying clearly needed a lesson!

Give him a slap as a Divine Punishment?

No, he couldn't personally handle everything. Matters that his "little people" could manage on their own should, as much as possible, be left to them.

Besides, this fellow was a walking experience point. He could use him to let his "little people" gain some combat experience. Opportunities to fight against regular government troops weren't easy to come by.

Li Daoxuan let out a gust of wind towards Li Ying's unit.

A fierce wind roared, nearly knocking Li Ying to the ground and startling him greatly. His soldiers swayed erratically, looking disoriented.

This time, they didn't dare to loot the common people. He shouted, "There's something strange here! An evil wind keeps blowing directly at us. Hurry, let's go to Fengyuan Town!"

The government troops hurried along, no longer daring to cause trouble.

Li Daoxuan scooped up a small pinch of flour and dropped it in front of the owners of the small teahouse and inn, whose belongings had been thoroughly looted by the government troops.

The two owners didn't know where the flour came from, but they felt a divine blessing and hurriedly bowed in worship.

With a flick of Li Daoxuan's finger, his view switched back to Gao Family Village.

Gao Family Village was currently displaying two distinct emotional states.

The ordinary villagers were still happy and content, cultivating fields, working, and attending school as usual... maintaining their joy.

Meanwhile, the militia, led by Cheng Xu, had entered a state of combat readiness, their troops and horses prepared, their spirits high.

Li Daoxuan searched for Gao Yiye in the crowd. The girl, who had just returned from the county town, had regained her cheerful spirits. She was currently dashing wildly around the edge of the irrigation ditch with children like Gao Sanwa, Young Master Bai, and Miss San.

Gao Yiye asked loudly, "Did you really find ghost fire?"

Gao Sanwa replied, "Really! I'm not lying. It's right on the slope behind us. Every night, it floats out, drifting eerily. It's really scary."

Miss San exclaimed, "Wow, are we still going over there? Won't we get eaten by ghosts?"

Young Master Bai declared, "Impossible, absolutely impossible! How could there be ghosts in a village where the Heavenly Lord resides? I suspect it's a physical phenomenon, one I just haven't learned about yet."

The four older children pattered up the slope, circled around, and saw nothing. How could they find ghost fire in broad daylight?

Seeing their enthusiasm wane slightly, Li Daoxuan finally spoke, "Yiye, go to Cheng Xu and help me deliver an order."

Gao Yiye jumped up with a cry of "Ah!" "Okay, I'll go right away."

"Don't worry, it won't be many words, and you'll be back to see the ghost fire before dark."

Gao Yiye asked, "Heavenly Lord, will there really be ghost fire?"

Li Daoxuan chuckled, "What you call 'ghost fire' should actually be called 'phosphorescence.' It's not ghosts, but a chemical phenomenon. Hmm, speaking of which, Young Master Bai and Miss San should also be ready to study 'Middle School Chemistry' soon. I'll have the block carvers start on that book tomorrow."

Gao Yiye exclaimed, "Wow, if I tell Young Master Bai this, he'll definitely be so happy!"

Li Daoxuan smiled, a benevolent, fatherly expression on his face.

However, when Gao Yiye ran up to Cheng Xu, Li Daoxuan's expression instantly turned fiercely stern. "Awoooo," he roared like a dragon, "Cheng Xu, gather your troops, prepare to deal with someone!"

Cheng Xu quickly bowed towards the empty air. "Are we finally going to deal with the Guyuan rebels?"

"No!" Li Daoxuan said, his face dark. "We're dealing with General Li Ying."

Cheng Xu, having toiled in the lower ranks for years, had heard of most of the prominent figures in Shaanxi officialdom, especially among the military commanders. The moment he heard Li Ying's name, he frowned. "Has that fellow been appointed General and come to our area? Heh, so we're going to deal with this guy, are we? I get it, I get it..."

Li Daoxuan asked, "What do you get?"

Cheng Xu explained, "Li Ying is notorious for his poor discipline and ineptitude in battle. But when it comes to extorting wealth and plundering the common people, he's a master. All the military officials in Shaanxi know this, more or less. Even civilian officials have impeached him multiple times, but they've all been suppressed by the Shaanxi Governor, Hu Tingyan. Heh... the Governor must have received quite a few benefits from Li Ying, wouldn't you say? I've even suspected that half of the civilian wealth Li Ying plunders ends up in the Governor's pockets."

Li Daoxuan was somewhat speechless, but not at all surprised.

Cheng Xu's spirits lifted, and he bellowed at the militia: "You good-for-nothings! Do you remember what this instructor told you last time? What did the Heavenly Lord organize you for?"

The five hundred militiamen replied in unison, "To fight for the common people under Heaven!"

Cheng Xu snickered, "Alright, your chance has come. General Li Ying has arrived in Chengcheng County. This fellow, Li Ying, although officially a government soldier, has always behaved like a bandit, oppressing good citizens and plundering their wealth. The Heavenly Lord has just issued a divine decree, ordering us to drive this scoundrel, Li Ying, out of Chengcheng County!"

Everyone paused, slightly taken aback and a little scared.

Before, they had always fought against bandits, which were considered righteous battles, so they had no qualms. But this time, they were actually going to fight government troops? Were they really rebelling?

This... this.

Just as they hesitated, Padi Tu suddenly burst into uproarious laughter: "Finally, finally, hahaha! This rabbit lord knew we'd fight government troops sooner or later, hahaha! I've long detested those government soldiers who oppress good citizens, hahaha! This rabbit can finally act on behalf of Heaven, hahahaha!"

He swiftly drew his ancestral sword.

The sword had long been polished to a gleaming silver.

With sword in hand, he swished and swashed, wildly flailing it a few times, utterly without technique. This was because he hadn't yet acquired a single sword manual and knew no actual sword forms.

But that didn't stop him. Raising his long sword, he laughed up at the sky: "I shall use this move, 'My Heaven Rabbit Rending Overlord Sword,' to cut down all evil government soldiers!"

His antics instantly galvanized the initially hesitant militiamen. Especially the soldiers from Qingjian County, who roared, "That's right! Kill all those despicable government soldiers who oppress good citizens!"

Only Cheng Xu grumbled sarcastically, "There are good people among government soldiers too, what's all this furious excitement about? You foolish rabbit, your 'My Heaven Rabbit Rending Overlord Sword' is nothing but a wild chop. Don't go spouting off like it's some amazing technique!"