Chapter 599: You Play a Role
Xing Honglang's division began preparing for their expedition. "Reclaim Hedong City!" Xing Honglang declared loudly to the few thousand soldiers who had just assembled. "Don't let a single bandit escape!"
The soldiers roared in unison, "Understood!" The subordinate from the Salt Administration Commissioner's office watched nearby, thinking, *Xing Honglang's troops are truly formidable. How much illicit salt did she sell in the past to amass such wealth? Her soldiers' armor gleamed, and their flintlock rifles were no less formidable than those of the Divine Engine Battalion.*
He observed the thousand-strong riflemen and couldn't help but ponder, *With so many riflemen, there's no reason we can't reclaim Hedong City. But I wonder if the Salt Administration Commissioner is still alive? Is it too late to rescue him?*
Xing Honglang turned to him. "You should go ahead and inform the Salt Administration Commissioner that my reinforcements will arrive shortly."
The subordinate nodded, hastily spurred his horse, and galloped towards Hedong City. The moment he left, the militia soldiers burst into laughter, their earlier solemn and determined aura of slaying every bandit completely evaporated.
Xing Honglang called out, "Listen closely, everyone! When you load your flintlock rifles later, only load gunpowder, no lead bullets. Did you get that?"
The riflemen responded in unison, "Understood!"
Xing Honglang declared, "Good, as long as it's clear. If anyone forgets this and accidentally kills one of our own brothers, don't blame me for executing them according to military law."
Gao Chuwu popped his head out from the side. "If Xu Dafu, the head of the Ordnance Bureau, were here, he'd surely say everyone hand over their lead bullets."
Gao Chuwu responded, "Honglang!"
With a loud thud, they embraced. After releasing him, Xing Honglang instructed, "Everyone, hand your small pouches of lead bullets to your squad leaders. The squad leaders will collect them for safekeeping."
The riflemen were organized into ten-man squads. They quickly surrendered their lead bullets, which were then safely stored by their squad leaders, ensuring that everyone only had gunpowder and no lead bullets, a foolproof measure.
Xing Honglang then smiled and waved her hand. "Alright, let's go! Time to go beat up our own people."
Meanwhile, inside Hedong City.
Chen Baihu was also inspecting his subordinates' "equipment."
Each subordinate had prepared a small waterskin, filled with chicken blood.
Chen Baihu laughed heartily. "You all know what to do, right?"
His subordinates roared with laughter, "We do!"
Chen Baihu pulled a soldier from the ranks. "You, come here. Act out dying from a gunshot."
He pointed his hand and mimicked a sound. "Bang!"
The soldier dropped with a thud, writhing and rolling, simultaneously squeezing the waterskin filled with chicken blood. He struggled in agony, then stood up, took two more steps, and— "Damn it!" Chen Baihu bellowed, furious. "Why aren't you dying after all this time?"
The soldier replied, "Deep down, I don't want to die."
Chen Baihu retorted, "You don't want to die, but you have to!"
The soldier pleaded, "Just give me a few more seconds, and I'll truly be dead."
Tie Niaofei emerged from the inner room, leaning on a crutch, and limped closer. "Alright, everyone, stop messing around. The Heavenly Lord said Xing Honglang's forces would be here soon."
At his words, everyone's spirits immediately perked up.
"Prepare for battle!"
Chen Baihu laughed, "After this battle, we can go find Brother Nanfeng!"
Everyone cheered, "Oh yeah!"
Six hundred former Guyuan border soldiers poured onto the west gate of Hedong City.
The subordinate who had rushed back ahead of them was still staring blankly outside the west gate. He had been sent to "notify the Salt Administration Commissioner," but upon returning to Hedong City, he discovered the city had changed hands. The patrols on the city walls were no longer the Salt Administration Commissioner's garrison soldiers, but rebel troops. A large banner, emblazoned with the characters "PAY UP," fluttered from the battlements, making them look like violent debt collectors.
The subordinate, of course, dared not enter. He sat down in the woods outside the city, gazing blankly at Hedong City. After an unknown amount of time, lost in thought, he heard a clamor of voices. He turned his head and saw Xing Honglang's forces approaching. Perhaps because they were in such a hurry, Xing Honglang's division hadn't brought any large siege weapons—no cannons, no catapults, no battering rams, nothing of the sort.
She had only brought a thousand riflemen and two thousand soldiers armed with cold steel, along with twenty scaling ladders. Xing Honglang didn't rush to attack the city. Instead, she held back her troops and dispatched her subordinate, Lao Nanfeng, who rode alone to the city walls. He bellowed, "Listen, you dim-witted bandits inside the city! I am General Xing's chief commander, Lao Nanfeng, from Puzhou garrison. I advise you to immediately open the city gates and surrender. Otherwise, you'll be chopped into pieces and fed to the dogs, not a single one of you spared!"
When the Guyuan rebel soldiers on the city walls saw their old superior, Brother Nanfeng, their eyes welled up with tears. They hadn't expected their first reunion after prison to be here, in this manner. Chen Baihu stepped onto the parapet and shouted, "Who are you to speak? This Hedong City is mine now! If the old emperor wants it back, he'd better come here, kneel, and call me 'Daddy' a few times!"
Lao Nanfeng cried, "How audacious!"
Chen Baihu burst into laughter, "Hahahaha!"
Suddenly, Lao Nanfeng swiftly pulled a rifle from behind his back. A "bang!" echoed, white smoke billowed, and the shot rang out. At the same moment, Chen Baihu let out a piercing scream, flipping backward and tumbling down, blood spurting high into the air. After hitting the ground, he struggled just once, then his body stiffened, and he closed his eyes, motionless.
The soldier who earlier couldn't quite manage to "die" couldn't help but secretly admire, *Chen Baihu's acting is better than mine. No wonder he's a centurion, and I'm just a small soldier.* Chen Baihu secretly cracked one eye open and whispered, "Young man, pay attention!"
Having "killed the bandit leader" with one shot, Lao Nanfeng laughed. "Attack!"
Xing Honglang's forces behind him immediately surged forward.
The Guyuan border soldiers on the city walls quickly drew their bows, poised to shoot.
However, Xing Honglang's soldiers fired first. *Bang, bang, bang, bang,* hundreds of flintlock rifles discharged in unison, creating a terrifying sound. The Guyuan border soldiers on the walls fell one after another. Some writhed and struggled on the ground, some collapsed silently, some still couldn't quite die, and others performed an internal monologue before their demise. White doves scattered, blood splattered!
The casualties were heavy!
The soldiers below slammed massive scaling ladders against the city wall with a loud *thud*. Then, a group of soldiers began to climb. These militia members, during their training in Gao Family Village, had all undergone various climbing, cross-country, and wall-scaling drills, so climbing a scaling ladder was child's play for them. In no time, the militia had clambered onto the city wall. Rifles roared indiscriminately, causing the "bandit army" to shriek in agony. In an instant, over a hundred "bandits" fell, and the remaining "rebels," leaderless, could only hoist their fallen comrades' bodies, open the north gate, and flee in disarray.
Hedong City was thus "recaptured."
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