Chapter 558: Brains Filled with Brawn
The rebel army outside the city collapsed and retreated westward.
Ma Xianglin couldn't quite believe it, exchanging a glance with his wife. Both saw a look of "How is this possible?" in the other's eyes.
The musket fire they'd just heard was incredibly dense, sounding like thousands of muskets firing at once. Did the court really have such a powerful firearm unit in Shanxi? He'd never heard of it!
Besides, it was raining heavily, making muskets difficult to use. The relief forces were engaging the rebels in open ground, with no cover from the rain. How were they even firing their muskets?
Ma Xianglin couldn't help but turn to one of his subordinates, a musketeer holding a Three-Eyed Arquebus. Seeing his commander look his way, the musketeer shook his head with an embarrassed expression.
Ma Xianglin declared, "Never mind! What does it matter who the relief army is? If they help us drive back the rebels, they're a good relief army! Order the whole army to prepare a counter-charge and link up with the reinforcements."
The White Pole Soldiers responded, "Understood!"
The renowned White Pole Soldiers of Sichuan immediately sprang into action.
The main weapon of the White Pole Soldiers was, of course, the white pole. This was a long spear made from white waxwood, its shaft a distinctive white, with a hook at the tip. It could be used for thrusting, or for hooking and dragging enemies. An iron ring at the butt end added weight, allowing it to be used for bludgeoning.
With this unique weapon, the White Pole Soldiers earned widespread fame.
Ma Xianglin swung onto his white horse, his silver armor deflecting raindrops. He looked even more dashing than Fan Shan Yao. He turned to Zhang Fengyi and said, "You take command."
Zhang Fengyi replied, "You're handing command to me again?"
"Hahahaha!" Ma Xianglin laughed. "Commanding soldiers is too much trouble, it doesn't suit me. I don't want to command!"
With that, he spurred his horse and was the first to charge out of Puxian.
Zhang Fengyi shook her head and shouted, "White Pole Soldiers, follow your general!"
Two thousand White Pole Soldiers, gripping their white poles, charged fiercely out of Puxian.
Meanwhile, Cheng Xu was busy pummeling the rebel army.
Soldiers armed with Chassepot Rifles had already fanned out in small teams, covering a wide area, firing freely to strike down the rebels.
Around Cheng Xu, a large group of rifled musketeers, wearing broad-brimmed bamboo hats and with waterproof covers on their muskets, were awkwardly reloading.
Reloading gunpowder was a struggle for them. First, they used their wide hat brims to shield from the rain, then brought the musket under the brim, held it vertically with the muzzle pointing up, cleaned out the powder residue, took out a paper cartridge, poured the powder into the barrel, and tamped it down...
As they worked, the soldiers grumbled, "Instructor He, when can we all switch to Chassepot Rifles?"
Cheng Xu ignored them. He was still searching for Grandma, feeling a sense of unease when he couldn't see her face anywhere on the battlefield.
Lao Nanfeng, however, burst out laughing. "Good weapons are for veterans! You greenhorns just learn to handle your rifled muskets first."
The soldier complained, "So new recruits just get picked on? The Chassepot Rifle users have fired four rounds, and I've only just reloaded my second."
Lao Nanfeng retorted, "Who the hell ever told you new recruits shouldn't be picked on? When I first joined the army, I was bullied for fun too!"
Everyone fell silent.
Lao Nanfeng continued, "Actually, even with a Chassepot Rifle, you'd still get bullied. Let me tell you, no matter how high you climb, there's always someone higher. Otherwise, why would anyone want to be emperor? And even emperors get bullied by the Manchus, hahahahaha."
Everyone fell silent again.
Lao Nanfeng laughed with effortless ease, flicking his hand to expertly load a paper cartridge into the Chassepot Rifle's breach. Then, he casually fired a shot forward with a "boom." He didn't care if it hit or not, didn't even glance that way, just reloaded the next round while telling the greenhorns, "When you're fighting, don't worry about whether your weapon is good enough or if it's fair. Whatever you have in your hands, you have to believe in it and try to unleash its full power. Only then can you save your life, otherwise, heheh."
After saying that, he had already reloaded another bullet and, with a flick of his wrist, fired another "bang" at the front, still without looking.
The soldiers broke out in a sweat, thinking, *Is General Lao Nanfeng just wasting bullets? He's not even looking forward, just firing wildly?*
Just as this thought crossed their minds, they noticed Lao Nanfeng cease his lecture. He let out an "Oh?" and said, "The court general has charged out!"
He was clearly looking at the greenhorns, yet he had seen everything happening on the battlefield with perfect clarity.
The new recruits finally realized that General Lao Nanfeng had eyes in the back of his head and ears everywhere.
They quickly looked forward, and sure enough, the imperial troops were pouring out of Puxian. Leading them was a general on a white horse, clad in silver armor, with one eye patched, yet still incredibly handsome—the very image of a "Little Ma Chao" from Xiliang. In his hand, a white pole spear moved like a dragon exploring the sea, instantly flipping a rebel onto the ground with a single thrust.
The white horse neighed, surging forward. The general's white pole spear wove a whirlwind of shadows, and any rebel who met him in combat was immediately knocked to the ground.
Lao Nanfeng clicked his tongue. "Tsk! I wondered who it was, turns out it's Ma Xianglin, the 'Little Ma Chao' from Shizhu."
The soldiers asked, "General, you recognize him?"
Lao Nanfeng smiled and shook his head. "No, I don't recognize him, but that fighting style is instantly recognizable. Let me tell you, these days, generals who still charge ahead of their soldiers can be counted on one hand. There's only He Renlong the Madman, Ma Xianglin the 'Little Ma Chao,' and our Chengcheng County patrol inspector, Fang Wushang, hahahahaha."
At this moment, Cheng Xu, who had been searching for Grandma, also spoke up: "Fighting like that is unacceptable. If the general rushes into the fray himself, who will command? If the general accidentally dies or gets wounded, won't the entire army be crippled? So, this style of fighting is irresponsible, both to oneself and to the entire army."
Hearing this, everyone thought to themselves, *Instructor He is making excuses for being afraid again.*
Lao Nanfeng had finished reloading his musket, but this time he didn't fire. He kept the weapon loaded, pointing the muzzle at the ground, then shouted at Ma Xianglin, "You idiot, you brain filled with brawn! Get out of here, stop charging around the battlefield and obstructing our musketeers' fire! If you get hit by friendly fire, is that on you?"
Comments