Chapter 255: This Rebel Army is Different
The impact firecracker Li Daoxuan produced was the kind of small, paper-wrapped sphere, less than a centimeter in diameter, easily found during New Year celebrations. To the miniature people in the box, it was roughly their height.
But in front of Xu Dafu, it transformed into a gigantic sphere, towering as tall as a man.
Xu Dafu glanced at it, then took a sniff, and immediately grasped its nature. "A gunpowder orb of this size?" he exclaimed, eyes wide. "If this thing were to detonate, its destructive power would be truly immense!"
"The power is secondary," Li Daoxuan stated. "The key lies in its method of detonation. Watch closely."
With those words, Li Daoxuan tapped the "North" button twice, shifting his perspective hundreds of meters away from Gao Yiye and Xu Dafu, selecting a desolate, uninhabited patch of ground.
This distance certainly meant Gao Yiye and Xu Dafu wouldn't be caught in the blast, yet they could still observe everything clearly from their vantage point on the mountaintop.
Li Daoxuan then hurled the impact firecracker with considerable force towards the designated open space.
Gao Yiye and Xu Dafu watched as the man-sized sphere they had seen earlier plummeted from the sky and crashed onto the ground. The instant it made contact, a deafening "boom!" ripped through the air as it exploded.
The sheer destructive power was truly terrifying. Flames soared skyward, thick smoke billowed, and shattered rocks flew in every direction. All the surrounding valleys reverberated with a deep, echoing hum from the concussive force.
Xu Dafu, too, recoiled a couple of steps in utter astonishment. Fortunately, they were far enough away that the explosive force didn't reach them directly.
It was a good while before the echoes of the explosion slowly faded from the valleys.
Li Daoxuan shifted his perspective back over Gao Yiye and Xu Dafu. "Did you see that clearly?" he asked.
Gao Yiye breathed, "What immense power!"
Xu Dafu, however, declared, "No ignition! That massive gunpowder orb wasn't lit. It fell from the sky, and the instant it struck the ground, it exploded. There was no fuse attached!"
Li Daoxuan commended him. "Very keen observation, indeed. That's right, it wasn't lit. So, how do you suppose it detonated?"
Xu Dafu might not have guessed otherwise, but he had just been discussing with Li Da the idea of "two blades striking each other to create a spark." Now, seeing the Heavenly Lord deliberately provide such a demonstration, he understood immediately.
"That enormous gunpowder orb ignited the instant it struck the ground," Xu Dafu exclaimed, overcome with delight. "It ignites by impact! I understand now! Percussion caps can use this technology. The firing pin in Li Da’s new firearms... that's precisely what's needed to ignite these percussion caps!"
Li Daoxuan was pleased. *Excellent, excellent. These little people are truly clever.*
"Alright, now that you've seen it," Li Daoxuan announced, "I'll take you back to the Ordnance Bureau."
Li Daoxuan's giant hand descended once more. Gao Yiye and Xu Dafu climbed onto his palm, and in a flash, they were back in front of the Gao Family Village Ordnance Bureau.
After setting them down, Li Daoxuan produced another impact firecracker and gently placed it before Xu Dafu. "This item," he instructed, "is for you to research. Disassemble it yourself, figure out why it detonates upon impact, and then apply its technology to create percussion caps."
"Whoa!" Xu Dafu yelped, a strange cry escaping him. "Something that explodes on contact can't just be left at the entrance of the Ordnance Bureau! It's far too dangerous, too dangerous! What if some clumsy apprentice comes running by and bumps right into it? Wouldn't that set it off?"
Li Daoxuan paused, a beat of silence.
Xu Dafu urgently craned his neck, pleading, "Heavenly Lord, I beg you, please place this humble one and this divine gunpowder orb in an uninhabited cave. Let me, alone and completely undisturbed, carefully disassemble it, remove the impact-detonation mechanism, and then bring it back to the Ordnance Bureau. Otherwise, it's simply too perilous!"
"Hahahaha, very well," Li Daoxuan chuckled. "My Ordnance Bureau chief truly is overly cautious!"
He then placed Xu Dafu and the impact firecracker inside a small, uninhabited mountain cave, leaving him to conduct his research in peace.
Gao Yiye was now free to attend to her own duties, and she skipped merrily back to the village.
Li Daoxuan surveyed Gao Family Village from above. San Shier had the village's miscellaneous affairs managed with impeccable order, and Mr. Wang, along with the other teachers, was looking after the children in the school quite well.
In the Valley of Exiles, Zhao Sheng was consulting with the villagers who had arrived from Qingjian County, discussing reclaiming more wasteland and planting additional corn.
Cheng Xu, meanwhile, was diligently training the triumphant militia, who had returned victorious from their recent engagement.
Excellent. The village now possessed a formidable capacity for self-governance and sustained operation. Li Daoxuan felt confident that even if he didn't monitor them for a short while, all would be well. His focus needed to shift to the county town. The current strategic imperative was to transform all the 'wild' inhabitants of the county into 'their own people.'
Reaching out, he tapped the "Chengcheng County" label outside the box, and his perspective instantly shifted to the county town.
A peculiar atmosphere now pervaded the county town.
The refugees on the streets were no longer listless and hollow-eyed; instead, they were engrossed in passing around comic books—specifically, "The Heavenly Lord Dao Xuan's Demon-Slaying Saga."
After a period of promoting the books by offering free flour with each purchase, the story had largely spread throughout the county town. Most people were now aware of the Heavenly Lord Dao Xuan's deeds, though, of course, not everyone believed them.
Unlike the refugees, whose concerns lay elsewhere, Magistrate Liang Shixian, Military Inspector Fang Wushang, and the large group of local gentry and wealthy families they had convened in the county yamen were focused on one thing: the "Guyuan rebel army."
Fang Wushang's face was grim as he addressed them. "Gentlemen, Guerrilla General Li Ying is utterly useless. He didn't even dare engage the Guyuan rebels; he fled before the battle began! We've just received word that after that fool Li Ying escaped into Baishui County, he was intercepted head-on by another faction of the Guyuan rebels and captured alive."
The gentry looked dismayed. "Li Ying still couldn't escape, then?"
Li Daoxuan chuckled to himself. *I gave him a reprieve, and he still ended up caught by the actual Guyuan rebels? Well, I suppose that’s what they call 'Heaven's net has wide meshes, but it lets nothing through.'*
A member of the gentry from Fengyuan Town offered, "In my opinion, these particular Guyuan rebels appear to be quite disciplined. They only targeted Li Ying and didn't lay a hand on our common folk in Fengyuan Town. Perhaps they truly just came to demand their hard-earned military pay and will then withdraw." Liang Shixian shook his head. "The detachment of Guyuan rebels that reached Fengyuan Town numbered only five hundred, and they emerged from Huanglong Mountain. However, the intelligence we've gathered indicates that another thousand Guyuan rebels are currently in the Jingshui and Fuping areas. In other words, the Guyuan rebel forces have already fragmented into multiple factions, operating simultaneously in several locations. The discipline among these separate groups cannot possibly be uniform. If one doesn't loot, there's no telling what another might do."
The gentry were startled; his words made sound sense.
"We still need to make thorough defensive preparations," Military Inspector Fang Wushang stated. "However, as everyone witnessed during the battle at Fengyuan Town, the Guyuan rebels' combat strength is not comparable to common marauders. Forget our local militia; even the government troops led by Guerrilla General Li Ying were easily defeated by the Guyuan rebels... *sigh*..."
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