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Chapter 357: Battle Looms at Qichuan Ferry

Li Daoxuan's vision followed Gao Yiye, San Shier, and Feng Jun into Heyang County city. Feng Jun had arranged a banquet to entertain the two, and they were enjoying their meal when suddenly, a rider on a fast horse galloped into the county yamen. The rider, clad in flowing white, was none other than Bai Yuan.

Unable to find Feng Jun in the front hall, he rushed directly into the back courtyard, bursting in on the banquet table. "Lord Feng, terrible news! I have reliable intelligence that Wang Jiayin's fleet will soon attack Qichuan Ferry!"

Feng Jun's chopsticks clattered to the floor, and his nose immediately started bleeding.

"In any case," Bai Yuan urged, "please gather the militia from all villages and towns as quickly as possible and head to Qichuan Ferry. I will also inform the Chengcheng County militia to come as reinforcements."

Feng Jun flung aside the hem of his official robes and dashed out, his voice floating back, "Very well, I will immediately muster the militia. I'll leave Chengcheng to you, Mister Bai."

Bai Yuan, noticing Gao Yiye and San Shier, seemed quite surprised. "Ah? You two happen to be in Heyang County city as well?"

Gao Yiye smiled. "Indeed, the Heavenly Lord is also here."

Bai Yuan was overjoyed. He quickly looked up at the sky. "Reporting to the Heavenly Lord, Wang Er from Baishui has returned safely and is currently at Qichuan Ferry."

Li Daoxuan heard this and felt a surge of gladness. "Excellent," he thought. "Wang Er is half one of my own people, so it’s best that he is safe."

Bai Yuan quickly continued, "But his return was far from easy. He went to persuade Wang Jiayin to join Gao Family Village but failed. Wang Jiayin refused. His wife's younger brother, Zhang Liwei, and his kinsman, Wang Guozhong, even tried to kill Wang Er. Fortunately, Wang Er was prepared. He executed a brilliant escape, stealing a small boat and fleeing at top speed. He arrived at Qichuan Ferry an hour ago."

Li Daoxuan mused, "Since Wang Er failed to persuade him, Wang Jiayin will surely proceed with his original plan to attack Qichuan Ferry. That means it won't be long before Wang Jiayin's naval forces sail downstream."

Bai Yuan confirmed, "Exactly! So, I was planning to return to Gao Family Village to notify Instructor He to come for assistance."

"No need to go back," Li Daoxuan interjected. "Traveling back and forth would waste too much time. I will summon Instructor He."

Bai Yuan clasped his hands in gratitude. "Many thanks, Heavenly Lord."

Li Daoxuan thought to himself: Qichuan Ferry is not yet within my field of view. This battle will be one I cannot directly observe, and I won't be able to protect my little people with a direct strike. If they suffer any losses, my heart will ache for days. I must provide my little people with more reliable means of self-preservation.

He suddenly recalled that Wang Jiayin's fleet, during its last attack on Hequ County in Shanxi, was bombarded by Western cannons used by the Shanxi Grand Commander. This would be an excellent way to defend against a fleet. Port batteries can effectively suppress ships.

He had given some capillary steel tubes to the craftsmen in Gao Family Village last time, but he wasn't sure if they had managed to build cannons. Only a few days had passed; it felt a bit rushed.

Li Daoxuan tapped "Gao Family Village" with his finger, and his perspective instantly jumped back. He first shifted his view to the vicinity of the barracks.

His current field of view was already quite broad—1000 meters long and 600 meters wide—allowing him to simultaneously see the barracks, the Ordnance Bureau, and the Cavalry Battalion.

Li Daoxuan wasted no words, directly printing a sheet of paper and illuminating it in the sky: "ALL FORCES DEPLOY! REINFORCE QICHUAN FERRY!"

The people from all three battalions immediately sprang into action.

The first to depart was Zao Ying. The Cavalry Battalion was always swift; at the command, over a hundred riders immediately galloped out. These were her core 120 horse bandits, now all transformed into elite cavalry. The newly recruited cavalry, however, were just scrambling onto their horses, rushing to catch up, uncertain if they could keep pace with the vanguard.

Next came Cheng Xu's men. They quickly packed their gear, collected ammunition from the Ordnance Bureau, and set off. As infantry, their marching speed naturally couldn't match the cavalry's. It would take at least a full day to reach Qichuan Ferry—a considerable journey.

Li Daoxuan inwardly thought: "The cement roads must be completed as soon as possible. That way, at least the solar cars could transport troops."

Seeing both the cavalry and infantry depart, Li Daoxuan then switched his perspective to the Craftsman Well.

Upon arriving, he saw two "stainless steel cannons" laid out in the Craftsman Well.

In just a few short days, the blacksmiths had actually forged two cannons.

After a moment's thought, he understood. The real difficulty in casting cannons was the barrel. But Li Daoxuan had provided them with a large quantity of capillary steel tubes, and during customization, he had specifically asked the supplier to seal one end and pre-drill the touchhole. Essentially, they were ready-to-use barrels upon arrival.

The blacksmiths merely needed to add details: attach a pair of wheels, add a cover to the touchhole, fit handles, and then produce suitable cannonballs and pre-packaged gunpowder charges...

These tasks were not even in the same league of difficulty as casting the barrels. With Gao Family Village's current productivity, it was indeed a matter of only a few days.

However, these items had just been completed, and no artillerymen had yet learned how to use them.

Never mind, I'll just take them!

Li Daoxuan didn't want to scare his little people, so he put on his Infinite Gauntlet on one hand, extending the golden, shimmering hand towards the Craftsman Well. His other hand, ungloved, was for delicate operations.

The artisans cheered upon seeing the "Heavenly Lord's hand" descend. "The Heavenly Lord is reaching down! What does he want to take?"

Li Daoxuan gently picked up the cannons with his ungloved hand and placed them onto his gloved hand. To the little people, it looked as if the cannons "flew up on their own and landed in the Heavenly Lord's palm." The Heavenly Lord, the immortal elder, possessed boundless magical power.

He then grabbed the large basket of cannonballs and placed it into his palm.

Then, the giant hand moved horizontally, stopping at the entrance of the Ordnance Bureau.

Without needing a command, Ordnance Bureau Director Xu Dafu emerged with a large group of gunpowder workers, placing the "pre-packaged gunpowder charges" for the cannons onto the Heavenly Lord's palm.

Everything was understood without a word.

Li Daoxuan withdrew his hand outside the box, and the little people watched as the giant golden hand, cradling two cannons and their accompanying ammunition, flew into the clouds and vanished.

Next, Li Daoxuan tapped "Heyang County city" on the box.

His vision switched back to the skies above Heyang County city.

At this moment, Bai Yuan was preparing to return to Qichuan Ferry. Gao Yiye was saying to him, "Mister Bai, the militia has assigned a hundred men to protect me. Since the battle is urgent, you should take these hundred men with you. They are our regular Gao Family Village militia, and their combat effectiveness is certainly much higher than Heyang County's militia. Padi Tu and Zheng Gouzi are among them, too... Uh... if you exclude those two, the squad's fighting strength is actually quite formidable."

Bai Yuan replied, "How can I do that? If we can't hold Qichuan Ferry, we can always retreat to the county seat; it's not a major issue. But the Saintess's safety is the absolute priority. I cannot take those hundred soldiers with me."