Chapter 540: My Heart Aches
The morning after the grand concert, Puzhou City was unusually quiet.
Many merchants and vendors, energized by the concert last night, had been too excited to sleep for half the evening. Now, with dawn already broken, they remained lost in dreams, unable to rise.
However, the thundering hooves of a lone, fast rider shattered that tranquility.
"Urgent report! Urgent military dispatch!"
The rider charged into Xing Honglang's "official residence," tumbling from his saddle with a thud as he loudly reported: "General Xing, disaster! The Chuang Jiang (Li Zicheng), the Eight Great Kings (Zhang Xianzhong), Lao Huihui (Ma Shouying), Zijing Liang (Wang Ziyong), Fan Shan Yao (Gao Jie), and other rebel leaders have raided Puxian. They attacked the city for three days and nights but failed to conquer it. However, that very night, three hundred of their elite forces launched a surprise attack on Daning County, and the city fell in the dead of night."
"However, Deputy General Cao Wenzhao has already led his army back to Shaanxi to suppress bandits and is no longer within Shanxi province. And the main army of the Shanxi Regional Commander is also far from the area," the messenger continued. "His Excellency the Governor has issued an order for all nearby generals to swiftly provide aid."
The moment this news reached her, Xing Honglang's drowsiness vanished completely.
Dismissing the messenger, she quickly turned to the Heavenly Lord statue embroidered on her chest and whispered, "Heavenly Lord, things are truly dire... The bandits have attacked Puxian and even conquered Daning County... Both these cities are very close to Pingyang Prefecture, and Bai Mao is in danger."
The Heavenly Lord offered no response!
Xing Honglang thought to herself: *The Heavenly Lord isn't responding; it seems he doesn't wish to intervene in this matter, expecting us to find a solution ourselves. Indeed, just because he has manifested many divine miracles lately doesn't mean we should seek his help for everything.*
She hurried back to the bedroom and vigorously shook her husband awake. "Chuwu, Chuwu!"
Gao Chuwu shot upright. "Honglang, Honglang!"
He opened his arms, and with a soft thump, they embraced tightly. Xing Honglang held him close, rapidly whispering the news into his ear.
Gao Chuwu's drowsiness vanished instantly as well. The two of them quickly rushed out of the official residence and headed to the barracks.
Zao Ying, Lao Nanfeng, and Zheng Daniu were still sleeping soundly at this hour. But the commotion caused by Gao Chuwu and his wife soon roused the entire barracks awake.
Xing Honglang quickly finished relaying the news. "Everyone, set off at once, quickly, to rescue Bai Mao!"
Zao Ying and Zheng Daniu immediately prepared to rally the soldiers.
But Lao Nanfeng, completely unhurried, said with a cheerful chuckle, "What are you all panicking about? You're rushing even before carefully listening to the military report."
Everyone was greatly surprised. "What do you mean?"
Lao Nanfeng said, "Think back carefully: 'They attacked the city for three days and nights but could not overcome it...'"
Everyone wondered, "Is there a problem with that sentence?"
"Of course there is!" Lao Nanfeng retorted. "The bandits didn't just arrive; they've been attacking Puxian for three days and nights. Pingyang Prefecture, not far from Puxian, must have received the news three days ago, right? And if Bai Mao received the news three days ago, then the Heavenly Lord must have also known three days ago! So why didn't the Heavenly Lord tell us to go and help?"
Everyone instantly understood. "That's right! The Heavenly Lord never mentioned this!"
The Heavenly Lord was a real-time, global communication hub, transmitting information with zero delay.
If this matter were truly urgent, the Heavenly Lord would surely have called everyone to help three days ago. But he said nothing these past three days, and even permitted Lao Nanfeng to organize the concert. Clearly, the situation isn't as dire as it seems.
Lao Nanfeng said, "Bai Mao isn't in mortal danger. He can easily defend Pingyang Prefecture, which is why the bandits chose to attack Puxian and Daning County instead. The Heavenly Lord simply didn't ask us to get involved."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Lao Nanfeng continued, "But now that the imperial court's notice has arrived, and His Excellency the Governor has ordered nearby armies to immediately send reinforcements, then we should indeed take some action. Not only to put on a show for the imperial court, but more importantly, we can seize this opportunity to move out of Puzhou and visit the various counties to the north."
At this point, he chuckled mischievously. "To explore the Flower World Star Agenc—"
Xing Honglang shot him a sharp, sidelong glance. "Hey!"
Lao Nanfeng quickly corrected his tone. "This tour will allow us to observe the conditions in the northern counties. If there are any we can utilize, we shall bring them under our control. We can also conveniently eliminate any roving bandits we encounter and recruit some able-bodied men. Road construction workers, after all, are always in high demand, hahahaha!"
Xing Honglang nodded. "That's more like it!"
"Everyone, prepare quickly. The entire army will depart in half an hour."——
Pingyang Prefecture.
The prefecture city's four main gates were tightly shut, and the city walls were packed with militia soldiers.
Dou Wenda, the Prefect of Pingyang, looked utterly panicked. He gazed ceaselessly outside the city walls, and after countless anxious glances, he didn't forget to ask Bai Mao beside him, "Commander Wang, the bandits haven't arrived yet, have they?"
Bai Mao chuckled. "Don't be afraid, the bandits aren't here! They wouldn't dare come. With me defending this place, even if they had a hundred times their courage, they still wouldn't dare."
Dou Wenda still looked flustered. "Commander Wang may be fierce and brave, but you only have four hundred soldiers under your command. This official... this official..."
"Four hundred is enough," Bai Mao declared, patting the flintlock rifle on his back. "With this, four hundred men can stand against forty thousand of them."
Dou Wenda stammered, "But the bandits number two hundred thousand!"
Bai Mao burst into laughter. "These two hundred thousand men have no unified command; they're a tangled mess. Even calling their fighting strength twenty thousand would be an overestimation."
He was smiling, but inwardly, he felt a flicker of helplessness.
Relying on Pingyang Prefecture's city walls, he could ensure the safety of the prefecture city with his four hundred men and the city's militia. However, he had no control over anything beyond those walls.
After all, if they had to fight in the open without the city walls for defense, four hundred men truly couldn't defeat two hundred thousand.
Bai Mao clenched his fist and cursed in a low voice, "Daning County has been breached by the bandits, and the common people have suffered heavy casualties. Yet here we are, trapped defending a desolate city. It's truly... *sigh*..."
Wang Er, with his full beard, emerged from behind him and said in a low voice, "There's nothing we can do about it. This place is too far from Gao Family Village, and the Heavenly Lord rarely looks after this area. Even if we were to send troops from Gao Family Village, they couldn't arrive in three days. So, we couldn't save Daning County, *sigh*! Don't worry, the imperial court must already be mobilizing armies. Soon, various forces will converge."
Bai Mao nodded. "Big Brother, I just feel a bit... a bit guilty..."
Wang Er sighed deeply. "I understand! We were once part of Wang Jiayin's army. Now, seeing Wang Jiayin's remnants causing chaos everywhere, it feels as if we were responsible for the deaths of those common people, *sigh*."
Both men felt a strange bitterness in their hearts, a deep, pervasive discomfort.
Wang Er added, "Just wait! The Heavenly Lord surely knows about the situation here. Gao Family Village's reinforcements will definitely arrive faster than the imperial court's. When they do, these roving bandits will pay the price."
Bai Mao nodded. "Mm!"
As the two were speaking, Dou Wenda, the Prefect of Pingyang, suddenly cried out from beside them, "They're here, they're here... The roving bandits are here... Commander Wang, the roving bandits are here!"
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