Chapter 490: Preparing to Build a Grand Bridge
Upon a large rock beside the Dragon Gate Ferry, the Titanic Heavenly Lord stood with arms outstretched, basking in the harmonious sunlight.
Great crowds of people from Hejin County were gathered before the Heavenly Lord statue, offering simple prayers: for favorable weather next year, for the bandits to stay away, for a son after having five daughters, for a daughter after having five sons...
Just then, the Heavenly Lord's eyes swiveled, blinking to life!
As soon as the Heavenly Lord statue stirred, its first action was to lower its outstretched arms, muttering a complaint: "I wonder which fellow designed this statue? Insisting on the arms being spread wide like this. Isn't that exhausting?"
Upon seeing him come to life, the praying villagers before him were instantly overcome with emotion: "The Heavenly Lord has descended!"
"I've finally witnessed the Heavenly Lord's descent with my own eyes!"
"Ah, the Heavenly Lord!"
"The Heavenly Lord!"
Li Daoxuan had no choice but to raise his silicone arms again, which he had just lowered: "Quiet!"
Li Daoxuan said, "I'm just taking a look around. Everyone, keep it down; don't startle the new official."
The villagers quickly acknowledged his words and retreated.
Only then did Li Daoxuan turn his gaze to Shi Kefa, who was outside the Dragon Gate Ferry, organizing the three thousand surrendered rebels for their river crossing.
Information about Shi Kefa slowly flowed through Li Daoxuan's mind...
Shi Kefa, a renowned general in the resistance against the Qing, a national hero—yet, despite his aura of heroism, he almost never won a battle. He lost again and again, until he perished alongside the Ming Dynasty.
His capabilities were limited, even quite weak, but in terms of integrity, he was beyond reproach.
He was somewhat like the "Unlicensed Rider."
"I know I'm weak, but I must fight here."
Shi Kefa was precisely that kind of man!
Li Daoxuan sighed softly, walked to the edge of the dock, and sat down.
The first group of refugees organized by Shi Kefa soon reached the riverbank. Long iron chains and pontoons for crossing the river had already been prepared. The soldiers connected the pontoons and used the chains to pull them, allowing people to cross quickly.
However, walking on the pontoons was quite difficult; they swayed precariously, and a single misstep could send someone plunging into the river. The army consisted of able-bodied men, so using these pontoons for troop movement was manageable. But these thirty thousand refugees were all elderly, weak, women, and children, whose mobility was questionable.
Some elders and children couldn't even walk steadily on flat ground, let alone navigate a pontoon bridge. The surrendered rebels hesitated by the river, unable to cross.
Shi Kefa watched anxiously, unsure of what to do.
Shi Jian glanced from afar at the Heavenly Lord sitting by the dock, wondering: *The Heavenly Lord has suddenly descended and is watching the people cross the river. What could be his intention? Is the Heavenly Lord planning to lend a hand?*
He had guessed correctly!
Li Daoxuan had indeed come to Dragon Gate this time to help.
In recent days, with the activity of the Shanxi expeditionary "little people" and their continuous aid to the Shanxi refugees, the box's Salvation Index had surged, and its field of view had expanded rapidly. Li Daoxuan's view now extended all the way to the Dragon Gate Ferry.
And this particular spot was ripe for intervention.
Because... the river channel was narrow!
The narrowest point of the river channel at the Dragon Gate Ferry was only 120 meters wide.
In Li Daoxuan's diorama box, that translated to a mere 60 centimeters in width.
He could easily help the little people build a bridge.
Moreover, the bridge was already prepared, ready and waiting.
When he had bought the toy electric train, the shop owner had talked him into buying several bridge pieces (friends who've forgotten can refer to Chapter 235). Li Daoxuan had purchased those bridges but had never found an opportunity to use them.
His field of view could now encompass large sections of the Yellow River, and several spots were suitable for building bridges. However, he had hesitated, wondering whether to introduce such an extraordinary and fantastical element, hoping to interfere with the little people's world as little as possible.
But this time, seeing tens of thousands of elderly, weak, women, and children needing to cross the Yellow River... whether by boat or pontoon bridge, it would be an incredibly difficult task. A single slip from an elder or a child could mean a life lost.
So, he no longer hesitated. Let it be fantastical, let it be extraordinary. Making things incredibly dramatic was better than watching old people and children drown in the Yellow River.
A person less than a centimeter tall, falling into the river—he might not even manage to scoop them out in time, and the current could easily sweep them away.
Alright, it was decided. Build a bridge!
The Titanic Heavenly Lord, who had been sitting by the dock, swiftly stood up, waving to Shi Jian in the distance.
Shi Jian immediately scurried over, eager to serve: "Heavenly Lord, what are your commands?"
From afar, Shi Kefa watched as a strangely dressed figure waved to Shi Jian, who immediately abandoned him and rushed over, behaving with great deference. Shi Kefa couldn't help but feel utterly bewildered.
Li Daoxuan said, "Tell everyone to move away from both banks of the river. I'm going to build a bridge across the river, not a pontoon bridge, but a real, solid bridge."
"Eh?" Shi Jian was momentarily stunned.
One hundred and twenty meters was a narrow river for Li Daoxuan, but for an ancient like Shi Jian, it was an incredibly wide river, making bridge construction seem utterly impossible.
However, the Heavenly Lord had declared he would build a bridge. After only a slight pause, Shi Jian accepted it without question, turning to shout: "Everyone, move away from the riverbanks! Step back! The Heavenly Lord is about to cast a spell and bring forth a grand bridge!"
At these words, the soldiers from Gao Family Village retreated the fastest.
They instantly ran far away, knowing well that when the Heavenly Lord bestowed things, the spectacle was immense, with earth-shattering movements. Getting too close would be terrifying.
However, the refugees from Hejin County were still innocently bewildered, unsure what was happening. They looked utterly perplexed: "The Heavenly Lord is bestowing a bridge? Huh? We only knew the Heavenly Lord could bestow grain. Does the Heavenly Lord also build bridges?"
Shi Jian snapped, "What are you staring at? Move back!"
His soldiers began to busy themselves, herding the stubborn youths who refused to move away from the riverbank, along with the elderly, weak, women, and children Shi Kefa had brought.
Shi Kefa was thoroughly confused now. He stepped forward and called out to Shi Jian: "General Shi, what are you doing? My people are about to cross the pontoon bridge. Why are you driving them all away?"
Shi Jian retorted, "What good is a pontoon bridge? The Heavenly Lord has issued a divine decree; he's about to bestow a true bridge!"
Shi Kefa asked, "What? The Heavenly Lord?"
The Titanic Heavenly Lord offered him an unsettling smile. It wasn't that Li Daoxuan was deliberately trying to be creepy, but a silicone figure, after all, wasn't a real person. When it tried to mimic human expressions, the result was stiff and indeed, quite strange.
Shi Kefa's attention shifted to him: "You are the Heavenly Lord?"
Comments