Chapter 368: They Fled Too Fast
The rebels were aghast: “Flintlock rifles! And so many of them.”
The vanguard border guards bore the brunt of the first volley, suffering the most casualties. Yet, they were also the quickest to react; the moment they saw a multitude of flintlock rifles and their comrades falling, they instinctively knew what to do.
They cautiously maneuvered their shields, especially the iron ones, which could indeed deflect flintlock rounds. However, it required them to huddle completely behind their shields, leaving not an inch exposed.
Minimizing their exposed surface, they advanced slowly.
Behind them, the garrison troops and other rebels let out a cacophony of shouts. Still, a single volley of flintlock fire wasn't enough to shatter their morale completely. They gritted their teeth and pressed on, some roaring, “Don’t be afraid! How many flintlock rifles can a small county town possibly have? They’ve used up their power in that last round! If we charge, we win!”
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The second volley of flintlock rifles roared.
Due to insufficient training, the Gao Family Village riflemen weren't employing a three-stage firing drill but a two-stage method. In the first round, only two hundred and fifty flintlock rifles fired. After a brief interval of a dozen blinks, the second round commenced.
In the blink of an eye, another large swath of rebels collapsed!
He couldn't help but think: *Forget rebels, even if it were regular government troops, they couldn't withstand this barrage from the Gao Family Village Militia. It’s too powerful! Too powerful! Is this really just a village militia? This should be the Divine Mechanism Battalion!*
But that wasn't all; it was time for the grenadiers to act.
Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu, with full swings of their arms, simultaneously hurled their fuse Hand Grenades. The grenadier unit, now expanded to two hundred men, followed their captains' lead, unleashing a barrage of Hand Grenades.
In an instant, countless small, stick-like objects soared towards the beach.
“What *are* those things?”
Few of the onlookers understood what they were.
Currently, the only ones who grasped their nature, apart from the people of Gao Family Village, were Wang Zuogua’s former subordinates. But of that group, only Miao Mei and a handful of fierce bandits had escaped; the rest were now thriving in the Prison Valley of Huanglong Mountain, pursuing the promising career of a labor reform convict.
Next came the horrifying 'grenade plowing' sequence.
“Boom!”
The first Hand Grenade exploded, thrown by Gao Chuwu. It sailed far and true, landing directly in the center of the rebel formation. Its detonation was devastating; dozens of rebels around it simultaneously grunted and crumpled to the ground.
Then Zheng Daniu’s landed. Boom! Another large group of rebels collapsed.
Amidst the rebel army, wherever a Hand Grenade landed, a circle of people around it would softly fall. Even those seemingly untouched by the blast collapsed, utterly unaware of what had struck them down.
Just one round of explosions!
It completely stunned the rebels, leaving them utterly bewildered.
From his ship far in the rear, Bai Yuzhu was equally dumbfounded: “What *are* those things?”
“Why does everyone in a circle around them collapse when they explode?”
“What kind of weapon is that?”
“Ahhh, it’s terrifying!”
Cries of alarm and desperation erupted throughout the rebel ranks.
“Bang!” The skirmishers fired again. A minor rebel leader screamed and fell, never knowing what had struck him down.
“Bang!” Another minor leader dropped.
The accuracy of rifled muskets was a nightmare for these minor leaders, who often favored flamboyant attire and affected the airs of great heroes.
The border guards and garrison soldiers at the front refused to advance further. With a yell, they scrambled backward in retreat. Their withdrawal instantly shattered the morale of the rebels behind them, who, of course, dared not push forward. With a mighty clamor, their army crumbled like a collapsing mountain.
The rebels scrambled onto their boats....
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The flintlock rifles fired again.
Rebels, exposing their backs in flight, shrieked as they plunged into the water, swallowed by the Yellow River. The fortunate ones, having salvaged their lives, desperately paddled towards the river's center, thoroughly disheveled. They only ceased when they reached the side of Bai Yuzhu’s flagship, assured that they were beyond the range of the flintlock rifles and those peculiar bombs.
In that single charge, the rebels left behind at least several hundred corpses.
Bai Yuzhu hissed, drawing a sharp breath: “Are we truly attacking just a county town?”
A minor leader who had fled back leaped onto his flagship, yelling at him, “Boss Bai, let’s retreat! We can’t fight here. The defenders here are far fiercer than Commander Wang Guoliang of Shanxi. Wang Guoliang only had a few cannons and a hundred or so flintlock rifles. This place... it’s terrifying! We have no idea how strong they truly are.”
“Retreat! Boss Bai, we genuinely can’t fight here.”
“This place is tougher than Hong Chengchou! I’d rather turn around and attack Yichuan County again.”
“I’d rather go attack Hequ County.”
His fierce bandits had completely lost their will to fight; all they wanted was to flee.
Seeing this, Bai Yuzhu knew the situation was hopeless. *Retreat then. We’re rebels, after all; we’ve done plenty of running before, so there’s no great shame in it.*
“Retreat!”
“Head north!”
As the order spread, all the boats, large and small, began paddling furiously. The rebels yearned to escape this hellish place as quickly as possible, rowing with frantic speed. Some of the bolder bandits even used their swords as makeshift paddles, thrashing desperately in the water.
And so, Bai Yuzhu, along with his utterly shattered rebel army, retreated northward. Before long, they vanished from sight on the river’s surface to the north.
Bai Yuan, holding a telescope, watched the rebel fleet disappear into the distance. Only when they were completely out of sight did he spread his hands, remarking, “Oh, my, they ran...” Cheng Xu snatched the telescope from his hand, glancing through it. “Indeed, they ran incredibly fast. My men just arrived and haven't even had their fill of fighting.”
Bai Yuan retorted, “What ‘fill of fighting’? Isn’t using gunpowder like that a waste?”
Cheng Xu chuckled. “That’s where you’re mistaken. The Heavenly Lord told me not long ago that our riflemen need opportunities for combat experience. We can’t just hoard gunpowder. If we keep saving it, our riflemen will all turn into greenhorns, and when they face the Manchu cavalry in the future, we’ll be helpless.”
Bai Yuan exclaimed, “The Manchus? We’re much too far from the Manchus. Is there really a need to make them an imaginary enemy?”
Cheng Xu replied, “Since the Heavenly Lord said so, then... we should probably consider it. The old Heavenly Lord’s words always contain hidden wisdom, so you shouldn’t dismiss them.”
That made sense. Bai Yuan quickly bowed towards the sky.
However, there was no sign of the Heavenly Lord’s familiar cloud in the sky. It seemed the venerable Heavenly Lord hadn’t bothered to observe this particular battle.
That’s right!
At this very moment, the Heavenly Lord was out strolling with Gao Yiye. Gao Yiye walked on the ground, while the Heavenly Lord floated above, exploring Heyang County together. This region was renowned as China’s Yellow River Ecological Food City, boasting a multitude of specialty dishes. As Gao Yiye wandered, she discovered a peculiar snack shop called “Shuixian Heluo”...
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