Chapter 411: Bringing the Whole Family Over
The tiny Qichuan Ferry dock buzzed with unusual activity.
Gao Family Village's three hundred infantrymen and three hundred cavalrymen were all crowded around this small dock.
The Heyang County militia stationed in Qichuan Fortress first glanced down at their own tattered weapons, then looked at the Gao Family Village militia, who were armed to the teeth, envy, jealousy, and resentment flashing in their eyes.
Squire Zhang walked past them, muttering quietly, "Don't worry, everyone! Instructor Bai has already promised me that as long as you study the ideology class well, you will all be equipped with the same gear as the Gao Family Village militia in the future."
The Heyang militia was overjoyed.
Just then, the clouds in the sky parted, and the Heavenly Lord's golden giant hand reached down from above, placing a small mountain of flour on the dock.
At Bai Yuan's command, the laborers, who had been ready, swarmed forward, bagged the flour, and carried it onto the cargo ship.
The large, flat-bottomed cargo ship was incredibly spacious. The entire flour mountain didn't make it seem crowded, though the waterline dipped slightly under the weight. There was even extra room to transport some people.
Xing Honglang led her people onto the cargo ship and took up positions across it. At the same time, another warship also began boarding passengers. In addition to its original hundred crew members, hundreds of militia soldiers swarmed aboard, filling the cabins and decks to capacity.
With a flick of his wrist, another cargo ship appeared and settled into the box.
The people on the dock saw this and immediately cheered, "The Heavenly Lord has bestowed another immortal ship upon us!"
Only Bai Yuan's expression was awkward. "Heavenly Lord, the speed at which you bestow these immortal ships is too fast. I don't have enough time to train the crew!"
Li Daoxuan, of course, knew this. However, cargo ships were simple to operate. They didn't require cannons or trained sailors. He knew Bai Yuan could handle it.
Sure enough, Bai Yuan quickly found a helmsman to control the newly bestowed ship. When he had trained the helmsman for the previous cargo ship, he had already allowed others to "apprentice" alongside them. Thus, finding another helmsman wasn't a difficult task.
With an extra ship, transportation became simpler. The warships carried only people, while the cavalry battalion's horses boarded the new cargo ship, with only a few handlers to manage them. The three ships shared the load, finally carrying the entire contingent.
Then, the "Gao Family Village Navy" officially set sail, heading towards the Gudu Ferry dock in Shanxi.
The Heyang County militia had just watched the three ships depart when suddenly, from the northwest, a force even larger than the Gao Family Village militia appeared. This contingent numbered over two thousand. Many oxen and horses pulled vast quantities of supplies. At the very front was a carriage, and through its open curtains, a young woman's delicate face could be seen.
Gao Yiye had arrived!
This was Gao Yiye's first time ever seeing the Yellow River. As soon as the carriage came to a halt at the dock, she swiftly jumped out. "Wow, what a massive river!"
Qiu Ju and Dong Xue followed closely behind. They, too, were seeing the Yellow River for the first time, and their eyes shone with irrepressible joy and admiration.
Bai Yuan approached from the side, smiling faintly, "I didn't expect the Saintess to come here herself. Is it really necessary for you to make a trip just to set up a workshop?"
Gao Yiye chuckled, "Actually, I'm not needed here, but I wanted to see the Yellow River. So I stubbornly insisted on coming with the contingent."
She turned and pointed to the long train of carts behind them. The people in the contingent had already begun unloading. They had brought a large quantity of cement with them. A group of Blue Hats immediately began planning upon arrival, drawing long lines on the ground, marking the approximate location for the blacksmith workshop.
The Yellow Hats then immediately began following the Blue Hats' instructions, leveling the land. A massive construction site quickly sprang to life.
The Heyang County militia, watching this scene from inside Qichuan Fortress, couldn't help but chatter amongst themselves, "Gao Family Village is always like this. Whenever they start a project, it involves thousands of laborers, creating such a huge scale."
"After all, they have the Heavenly Lord's backing. They don't have to worry about the cost of wages."
"What are they building here?"
Squire Zhang walked over from the side. "I heard from Brother Bai, Gao Family Village is going to build a blacksmith workshop here, mainly to manufacture cannons, for easier installation on ships."
The Heyang militia: "Wow? A cannon-making workshop? That's incredible! Will the cannons they make also be moved into our Qichuan Fortress and set up? Then we can play with cannons too."
Squire Zhang chuckled disapprovingly, "Are those things for playing with? They're only to be used if bandits attack from the river. In my opinion, it would be best if we never had a chance to use them in our lives."
As they chatted merrily, another group of people arrived at the dock at a gallop. Leading them was none other than the Heyang County Magistrate, Feng Jun.
As soon as the magistrate arrived, he immediately dismounted and quickly hurried to Gao Yiye's side. "Saintess, what exactly is going on here?"
Gao Yiye smiled. "As Magistrate Feng can see, we are building a blacksmith workshop."
Feng Jun: "I heard people say that this isn't just an ordinary blacksmith workshop. You're establishing a cannon-making factory?"
Gao Yiye nodded. "That's right! The Heavenly Lord said it was too troublesome to transport cannons from Gao Family Village. For convenience, a large cannon workshop is to be built here. Because of this, our blacksmiths in Gao Family Village even had a big argument. No one wanted to come, so they had to draw lots. The blacksmiths who drew the short straw to come here shed bitter tears for two full rounds."
Feng Jun wiped sweat from his brow, a premonition of disaster stirring within him. Before, when these people built cannons in Gao Family Village, it was under Chengcheng County's jurisdiction, making it Liang Shixian's problem. But now they were building cannons in Heyang, and that was his responsibility. This was undoubtedly stepping onto the path of rebellion, incurring execution for nine generations of his family.
Yet, he knew he couldn't stop them.
He looked at the Yellow Hats, hired to help Gao Family Village build the blacksmith workshop. They were happily digging away. These were all Heyang County's laborers. They were relying on this income to support their families. If he dared to forbid the construction, he would not only offend Gao Family Village but also the common people of Heyang.
What was he to do?
Gao Yiye pointed to the sky. "Magistrate Feng! Don't worry, the Heavenly Lord is watching from above."
Feng Jun looked up at the sky. A low cloud drifted directly overhead. He hastily bowed deeply towards the sky. "Reporting to the Heavenly Lord, I understand that you bestow sturdy ships and powerful cannons to protect the common people. However, if things proceed this way, the imperial court will certainly take notice. And if blame is eventually laid, it will all fall upon this humble official. This humble official will be implicated and punished! What am I to do? I beg the Heavenly Lord for mercy, to grant this humble official a way out."
Li Daoxuan chuckled. This Feng Jun had now directly come to beg him. He probably realized that appealing directly to him was the best solution, far more effective than resorting to useless little schemes.
"Yiye, tell Feng Jun to bring his entire family, old and young, to Heyang County. Then no one will be able to execute his nine generations of family."
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