Chapter 549: Pressing On
The silt dredged from the riverbed couldn't be wasted. Li Daoxuan scooped it onto the open ground along the banks, spreading it out. Once this alluvial mud dried, it would transform into incredibly fertile soil, perfect for cultivating crops.
The local villagers living along this stretch of the river would certainly not let such a valuable resource go to waste.
Xing Honglang and her group stood there, dumbfounded, watching the shovel vigorously scoop through the riverbed. But it wasn't just a single scoop; it continued along the river, scoop after relentless scoop. Soon, a long stretch of the riverbed was widened, deepened, and cleared.
This was the confluence of the Fen River and the Yellow River. Once the Fen River was widened and its bottom lowered, the water level would naturally drop. However, the Yellow River's waters immediately surged in, quickly raising the water level along this section of the riverbed.
The previously narrow river channel, just twenty meters wide, suddenly expanded to forty meters, and the water deepened, allowing for larger vessels to navigate it.
After a moment of stunned silence, Xing Honglang and her companions suddenly understood: "Ah, the Heavenly Lord is widening the riverbed so we can navigate this river in the future!"
Lao Nanfeng said, "Well, I just said this river couldn't be navigated. Is the Heavenly Lord... calling me out?"
Zao Ying scoffed, "What makes you so special for the Heavenly Lord to call you out?"
"You have a point there," Lao Nanfeng chuckled awkwardly. "The Heavenly Lord wouldn't bother with such a grand undertaking just to call me out. This is clearly to benefit the common people, and to facilitate our reinforcement of Pingyang Prefecture."
The Fen River's waters also began to flow backward in a short span of time! It was no longer the Fen River flowing into the Yellow River; instead, the Yellow River's waters were surging massively into the Fen River. This backflow continued for a long time before finally stabilizing.
Of course, Li Daoxuan was tired!
Even with the Fen River shrunk two hundredfold, it was still an incredibly long river. After digging for over ten kilometers, Li Daoxuan had to stop and rest.
He wasn't in a hurry. The Fen River was long and couldn't be dug out in a single day. Besides, his field of view hadn't yet expanded to Pingyang Prefecture. He would dig slowly, about ten kilometers a day, making a gradual transition to prevent issues from the Yellow River's waters surging in too rapidly.
But with his digging, the stretch of river from the confluence of the Fen and Yellow Rivers to Hejin County suddenly became much wider. Even slightly larger cargo ships could now navigate it.
Xing Honglang pointed at the dilapidated Hejin County town ahead and laughed, "Once our cargo ships can reach this point, this rundown county town will soon be rebuilt and look brand new!"
Everyone looked up, gazing at the sky with reverence. The Heavenly Lord was no longer there; he must have finished digging the river and returned to the Celestial Realm. But this did not diminish their awe and admiration for the Heavenly Lord.
This was truly a feat of earth-shattering divine power!
"Speaking of which, this rain... it's a bit too heavy," Lao Nanfeng began. "It'll greatly affect our firearms. If we encounter bandit troops in this weather, our flintlock rifles won't fire. That's extremely dangerous. In a melee with cold weapons, our advantage isn't significant. Then it'll just come down to sheer numbers."
His words alerted everyone. Everyone gasped in unison: "Damn it! We need to find shelter from the rain, fast!"
"Everyone, quickly get into Hejin County town! Take cover in the civilian houses."——
Meanwhile, at Pingyang Prefecture.
Large bands of bandits were pressing in on Pingyang Prefecture.
The handsome rebel leader, Fan Shan Yao, was back!
His last assault on Pingyang Prefecture had been repelled by Wang Xiaohua's flintlock rifles, but this time, a sudden downpour made Fan Shan Yao feel that opportunity had struck again.
Flintlock rifles weren't very effective in the rain.
However, he forgot one thing: Pingyang Prefecture was a major city, not the open wilderness.
The troops stationed in the prefecture city had exceptionally rich logistical support and supplies.
At Dou Wenda's command, the city's residents immediately grabbed all sorts of rain-sheltering items and rushed onto the city walls. Some held massive oiled-paper umbrellas over the heads of the flintlock soldiers. Others fashioned tarpaulin into canopies, stretching them along the city walls to shield the flintlock soldiers from the rain. And some residents even hastily built small wooden shelters, then carried them whole onto the ramparts.
The walls of Pingyang Prefecture were instantly dotted with all sorts of peculiar rain-sheltering devices.
Two hundred flintlock soldiers, sheltered beneath these improvised covers, raised their firearms and unleashed a furious barrage on Fan Shan Yao's army...
The bandit army immediately reeled back, screaming. A few daring bandits braved both the rain and the flintlock fire, rushing toward the walls. Before they could even begin to climb, Wang Er, defending the walls, hurled a large stone down, hitting one directly on the head.
Large groups of local militia and villagers picked up stones and furiously pelted the ground below.
Fan Shan Yao retreated once more!
"We won again!"
"And the heavens have blessed us with rain!"
The people cheered: "After repelling the bandits, we can finally farm again! Hahaha, we can finally return to life as it was in previous years!"
While they celebrated joyfully, Dou Wenda's face was grim. He hurried over to Wang Xiaohua, saying, "Commander Wang, how much ammunition do your soldiers have left?"
Wang Xiaohua shook his head. "After this engagement, we don't have much left."
Dou Wenda asked, "What are we to do? Without flintlock rifles, we absolutely cannot hold Pingyang Prefecture."
Wang Xiaohua replied, "Don't worry! Reinforcements are on their way."
Dou Wenda looked out at the city's exterior with concern. "With rain this heavy, the reinforcements' movements will also be affected... I truly worry they'll be delayed by the downpour."——
The heavy rain had indeed delayed the reinforcements' progress.
The two thousand reinforcements led by Cheng Xu had now reached Chezhuang.
This location was still forty *li* from Pingyang Prefecture.
Very close!
But the closer they got to Pingyang Prefecture, the higher the chance of encountering bandits along the way.
The more cautious and prudent they needed to be.
He knew well that his two thousand men excelled with firearms, but now, with the sudden rain, the effectiveness of their weapons would be greatly hampered.
The grenadiers would likely be entirely useless. A light rain might not be a problem when igniting and throwing the grenades, but in heavy rain, the fuses would easily get soaked.
The rifled muskets also became very difficult to use, as there was a high chance of water entering the mechanism during every step of loading and firing. They could only be loaded and fired normally if the soldiers were sheltered from the rain, but in open-field combat, where would one find such shelter?
Cheng Xu looked up, scanning the path ahead. A hint of worry crept into his heart.
The torrential rain, as if transformed into countless fragmented omens of death, plunged rapidly from the sky, splashing upon impact, then bursting into countless smaller fragments of death, scattering across the ground...
"Forcing a march in this rain, if we encounter bandits, I have an eighty percent chance of meeting my great-grandmother," Cheng Xu said, stroking his chin, lost in thought.
Just then, a captain of the breech-loading riflemen stepped forward and reported: "Our Chassepot Rifles are unaffected by heavy rain; they can be loaded and fired normally."
Cheng Xu was overjoyed. "That's right, how could I forget that? Then there's nothing to fear. Accelerate the march, press on! It's still forty *li* to Pingyang Prefecture."
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