Chapter 70: The Night Raid is Coming
Li Daoxuan was greatly amused; it was merely a windproof lighter, not an actual cannon.
"Yiye, tell everyone not to stand within three *zhang* of the cannon's muzzle and to keep all flammable materials clear."
Gao Yiye quickly relayed the message. The cannon's muzzle was pointed directly at a passage—the very one Bai Yuan had declared "undefended." The little people standing in the passage immediately scrambled away.
The outer walls on both sides of the passage were made of composite pressed panels, so there were no other flammable materials nearby.
Seeing that they were ready, Li Daoxuan instructed, "Yiye, have Li Da and Gao Yiyi both take their large iron hammers and strike the mechanism at the rear of the cannon simultaneously."
Upon receiving the order, Li Da and Gao Yiyi quickly picked up their heavy smithing hammers.
In the previous battle, Li Da and Gao Yiyi had successfully struck the mechanisms on the trebuchets, earning great merit and gaining experience with the task.
Now faced with the same command, they were old hands at it. Counting "one, two, three," both men swung their mighty hammers together, aiming for the mechanism, and struck it with full force.
"CLANG!"
That was just the visible flame; in front of it lay an invisible zone of intense heat, extending for roughly three *chi*.
The erupting fire sent a shiver down everyone's spines.
Even Bai Yuan, the most knowledgeable among them, stumbled back several steps in fright.
After a moment, Bai Yuan recovered, exclaiming with delight, "Truly, a Celestial Instrument of immense power!"
San Shier gulped, "Good heavens! If I were placed in there for a moment, I'd be utterly incinerated in an instant."
Bai Yuan was ecstatic. "It seems this passage requires only two blacksmiths to guard it. Even if a vast army approaches, they will be incinerated!"
Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu cried out in unison, "Wow, such an amazing Celestial Instrument! We want to try it too! Let us guard this spot!"
Bai Yuan shot them a sidelong glance. "You two blockheads! I fear your clumsiness would lead you to miss the mechanism entirely. Gao Chuwu might strike Zheng Daniu's foot, and Zheng Daniu might strike Gao Chuwu's hand, and then this path would be breached by the bandit army!"
Both men instantly broke into a cold sweat, realizing it was indeed a distinct possibility.
In truth, raising a heavy hammer over one's head and striking downwards could easily go awry, even for a non-clumsy person. They might miss their target, lack the necessary strength, or strain their back.
Only those who swung a large iron hammer daily and had proper training could strike with precision and power every time. This task, of course, was strictly for the two blacksmiths.
Bai Yuan continued, "I must reassign men to cover their positions, guarding the other two passages. Hehehe, with the Heavenly Lord's blessing, I feel we cannot lose this battle. However, to secure a splendid victory would truly live up to the Heavenly Lord's expectations."
Everyone chorused, "Heavenly Lord's blessing!"
Bai Yuan waved his hand. "Everyone, begin your drills! Memorize your tactical movements—attack, defense, advance, and retreat routes. Night operations, in the dark of night... don't get lost in our own fortress, or we'll be the laughingstock of everyone!"
The crowd responded, "Heavenly Lord's blessing!"
And so, Gao Family Village resumed its feverish drills. The timid villagers, having seen the "Divine Artillery" bestowed by the Heavenly Lord, realized they still had powerful backing. As long as they clung tightly to the Heavenly Lord's formidable thigh, all worries would vanish.
Suddenly energized, their backs no longer ached, their legs felt spry, and all fear had vanished...
------
As night fell, Shuangqing City remained bustling, its nightlife just beginning.
Li Daoxuan sat before his computer, editing videos.
"Daily Life of the Little People," Episode 8 featured Madam Gao San, seated at her loom in a small thatched hut. Her shuttle flew, click-clack, click-clack, as the young woman wove diligently at her loom...
Just then, his phone chimed with an insistent alert, "Ding-ding-ding, ding-ding-ding!"
It was the camera app's "nighttime motion detection" alarm!
He stopped his work and moved to the edge of the diorama box. He had already adjusted the box's viewpoint slightly off-center, no longer locked on the village's heart. Instead, it had shifted several hundred meters north, showing a small section of the village and a portion of the hillside north of it.
The camera that had triggered the alarm was the one monitoring this particular hillside.
Naturally, Li Daoxuan's gaze locked onto the hillside.
Trees dotted the slope, looking sickly and withered. Many were stripped of their bark, having, of course, been stripped for food by the villagers.
These trees obscured part of Li Daoxuan's view, but he could still make out a group of people moving stealthily through the woods...
Aha, Zheng Yanfu and Zhong Guangdao had arrived.
------
The full moon hung high in the sky. Only a few days past the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon was still exceptionally round. Coupled with years without rain and a cloudless sky for miles, the moonlight was quite bright.
Zheng Yanfu and Zhong Guangdao, leading over two hundred men, lay concealed on the hillside north of Gao Family Village. Under the cover of the woods, they had no need to worry about the village sentries discovering them.
People of ancient times often suffered from some degree of night blindness, making nighttime movements difficult. However, the full moon above provided a distinct advantage, making a night raid on Gao Family Village possible.
Zheng Yanfu eyed the towering fortress ahead and spat with disdain. "This accursed place, how has it changed again?"
Zhong Guangdao replied, "It seems this village is rolling in wealth. There must be an exceptionally wealthy lord hiding inside. He must have spent vast sums of silver to transform Gao Family Village into this."
Zheng Yanfu chortled. "Isn't that just perfect? The richer the lord, the more exhilarating the plunder."
Zhong Guangdao snickered. "Wang Er was bribed by that greedy magnate in the village. A mere handful of flour turned Wang Er into that magnate's lackey."
Zheng Yanfu nodded. "I wanted to cut Wang Er down, but you insisted on stopping me, imprisoning him and the people of Wangjia Village. Now we have to leave fifty men to guard them—what a waste of manpower."
Zhong Guangdao explained, "Wang Er's reputation remains intact. If we kill him now, we'll lose our standing among the outlaws; the other rebel factions will look down on us. We can only imprison him for now. Once we breach Gao Family Village, kill the greedy magnate inside, and distribute the money and provisions among our brothers, proving our capability, then we can tell everyone that Wang Er was bribed by the greedy magnate, just like Song Jiang, ready to sell us out. At that point, if we kill Wang Er in front of all the heroes of the realm, no one would dare fault us."
Zheng Yanfu considered this carefully; his words made sense. To thrive in the outlaw world, one couldn't just be ruthless and cruel; one also had to adhere to the code of the road. Without a legitimate reason, killing one's own leader would make them despised by everyone.
"Good, let's breach Gao Family Village quickly."
Both men's gazes turned towards Gao Family Village ahead.
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