Chapter 692: Dual-Line Operation
Xiling Village.
The Bai Pole Soldiers had just won a victory in Xiling Village, routing a bandit leader named "Jiu Di Gun" and sending him fleeing in utter disarray, scrambling away in disgrace.
The dozen or so villagers who had survived emerged from their cellars, still trembling from head to toe, to find a strikingly handsome young warrior beckoning to them: "Come, my friends, come closer. I'll give you some silver; take it and quickly go south to Lu'an Prefecture to hide for a while."
The villagers quickly gathered around, thanking him profusely, with a thousand blessings.
As Li Daoxuan had his men distribute the silver, he asked them: "Do any of you know of a place called Houjia Village nearby?"
The villagers exchanged glances. After a moment, an old man stepped forward: "North from our village, along the main road, about twenty *li* away, there's a Houjia Village. It's a very small village, with no prominent families. May I ask, sir, why you inquire about that village?"
Li Daoxuan frowned. Houjia Village appeared? Damn it! Twenty *li* from here... that's not a good sign.
From a distance, Zhang Fengyi glanced their way, thinking to herself: *Mr. Li is asking about Houjia Village again. I wonder why he's so fixated on Houjia Village, asking everyone he meets. Could it be that as a child, he met a lovely little girl in Houjia Village, promised to return and marry her when they grew up, but then, once grown, forgot where Houjia Village was?*
Hmm, that's quite possible!
And there were no mobile phones.
Some people, once missed, are gone forever.
Just then, a Bai Pole Soldier scout galloped back, reporting urgently: "General, Zijing Liang's main force, Wang Ziyong, is approaching. Their numbers are estimated at fifty thousand."
The scout's words startled Zhang Fengyi: "Fifty thousand?"
The scout nodded: "I saw them from a distance—fifty thousand! Even discounting the elderly, weak, women, and children, at least half are combat-ready soldiers."
Hearing this, Li Daoxuan whirled around, thinking: *Houjia Village is nearby, and fifty thousand bandits are on their way. Dammit!*
*No way I'm getting trapped in Houjia Village like this, right?*
He was just about to say: "Don't go north."
When Zhang Fengyi declared: "Fifty thousand bandits against our thousand—we cannot face them directly. My orders: the entire army is to move southwest and take refuge in Laoye Mountain."
Li Daoxuan: "Huh?"
It was quite unexpected.
Zhang Fengyi wasn't stepping into the trap after all. Or rather, Zhang Fengyi wasn't stupid. She clearly wouldn't commit such a grave military blunder.
"Go, go, go, quickly now!" Zhang Fengyi began urging the villagers.
The remaining dozen or so villagers, clutching the silver Li Daoxuan had given them, hurried rapidly towards Lu'an Prefecture in the south.
Zhang Fengyi confirmed they were far enough and that the village was empty. Only then did she order her troops to retreat southwest.
Southwest of Xiling Village lay the mountain known in later generations as Laoye Mountain.
This mountain, with an elevation of 1,226 meters, was high and densely forested, with complex terrain.
In 1945, the famous Shangdang Campaign had Laoye Mountain as its primary battlefield, demonstrating the crucial strategic importance of this mountain.
Normally, when government troops suppressed bandits, the rebels, unable to withstand the pressure, would retreat into the vast mountains, using the terrain to evade and engage the soldiers. Unexpectedly, this time it was reversed. With the bandit army pressing in, Zhang Fengyi didn't flee to the plains, but rather retreated into the dense forest.
Everyone arrived at the foot of Laoye Mountain.
In later generations, this mountain would become a scenic area with beautiful roads. But now, it was a wild mountain, the kind with no roads whatsoever.
Li Daoxuan glanced at his specially modified large carriage and realized it was unusable here.
Alright!
From now on, he couldn't be lazy and let the carriage carry the Puppet Heavenly Lord. He would have to control it manually the entire way. And when using "Co-sensing" to switch to other perspectives, he could only do so when not moving.
Perhaps it was time to put his StarCraft multi-tasking skills, with an APM of 300, to good use?
Li Daoxuan decided to give it a try.
First, he took a step forward. The instant his foot landed, he immediately switched perspective to the Puppet Heavenly Lord, sitting on Gao Chuwu's shoulder. Opening its mouth, it sang: "The sun shines bright..."
He instantly switched back. As his first step here landed, he immediately took a second. The moment that foot left the ground, he switched back into the Puppet Heavenly Lord's body and continued to sing: "The flowers smile at me..."
With a flash, he switched back again and took another step.
Then, in an instant, he switched back again: "The little birds sing, 'Good morning, good morning, good morning...'"
Another switch, and finally the children's song reached its last line: "Why are you carrying a satchel of explosives?"
Gao Chuwu: "Wow! The Heavenly Lord suddenly started singing! And asked why I'm carrying a satchel of explosives!"
Xing Honglang: "Perhaps the Heavenly Lord thinks you're too simple-minded, and is afraid you've forgotten our mission, so he's testing you. Do you still remember why we've set out on this campaign?"
Gao Chuwu: "We're going to fight bandits!"
Xing Honglang: "Oh, you actually remember! My husband is actually very clever, you know."
Gao Chuwu: "Heh heh heh!"
"Chuwu!"
"Honglang!"
With a sudden 'thump,' the two embraced.
The Puppet Heavenly Lord had just switched perspective and was about to sing the second half of the song. It happened to witness this scene. Its gaze was instantly assailed, and the song froze on its lips, unable to continue.
What's more, even the smooth dual-line operation was interrupted. By the time he remembered to quickly switch back to the other side, he found that the Heavenly Lord avatar had already lost its balance. The moment he switched back, it tumbled to the ground with a dull thud.
Zhang Fengyi turned her head, her face filled with concern: "Mr. Xiao, what's wrong? Are you alright?"
Li Daoxuan pushed himself up, hands braced on the ground: "Ahem, ahem, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something and got a little distracted."
Zhang Fengyi asked, concerned: "Thinking about Houjia Village, are you?"
Li Daoxuan: "Huh?"
Zhang Fengyi sighed softly: "Mr. Xiao, sometimes in life, we're left with regrets. Let the past be the past."
Li Daoxuan: "???"
*I'm thinking about the future! How did you twist that into the past?*
Zhang Fengyi: "Just let her remain in your memories."
Li Daoxuan: "????."
Never mind, focus on the main point, don't get bogged down in details.
Li Daoxuan abandoned the large carriage, hiding it in a patch of woods at the foot of the mountain. Then, he joined the Bai Pole Soldiers and began ascending Laoye Mountain on foot.
The mountain was steep and densely forested, making the climb difficult.
The fifty militia soldiers found the ascent extremely challenging, but the Sichuan Bai Pole Soldiers moved as if on level ground, with effortless ease.
Sichuan is a land of many mountains, and its people were naturally adept at mountain travel. What's more, the Bai Pole Soldiers' stronghold, Wan Shou Zhai, was a perilous mountain among perilous mountains.
Having grown up from childhood in the exceedingly rugged Wan Shou Zhai, Laoye Mountain, in their eyes, was barely different from flat ground.
The Bai Pole Soldiers practically flew up the slopes.
The fifty militia soldiers, no matter how hard they pumped their legs, simply couldn't keep up.
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