Chapter 718: Eighty-Six Takes the Heights
Chen Qiyu wasn't entirely without troops.
The former Yansui Commander, Wu Zimian – that notoriously corrupt official who’d sold horses to Gao Family Village – had fallen ill and died shortly after Hong Chengchou took office, before he could even be dealt with.
Thus, the court transferred Wang Cheng'en, the Shaanxi Commander, to become the Yansui Commander.
Since his appointment, Chen Qiyu had worked closely with Wang Cheng'en to suppress the bandits.
But not long ago, Mongolian tribes from the Hetao Area had launched a westward invasion, attacking Yansui's border camps and plundering Lingzhou, Hengcheng, Yansui, Xichuan, and other regions. Supreme Commander Hong Chengchou had personally gone to fend off the Mongolians, taking Wang Cheng'en with him.
Without Wang Cheng'en, Chen Qiyu was left with only his personal guards and a motley crew of garrison troops.
In the early years of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, at the outset of the peasant uprisings, garrison troops could still manage to quell the bandits.
However, it was now the sixth year of Chongzhen, and the bandits' fighting capabilities had advanced by leaps and bounds. The garrison troops were now clearly outmatched.
Chen Qiyu was utterly panicked, momentarily at a loss for what to do.
Chen Qiyu asked, “Who?”
The subordinate replied, “Commander Shi Jian, a distinguished general under Wang Cheng'en. He has been stationed at the Dragon Gate Ferry on the Yellow River, tasked by the Ministry of War. I hear he achieved great merit, and the imperial court appointed him Hejin garrison commander. We could lead the garrison troops to hold back the bandits while dispatching a messenger to Commander Shi. If he hurries from Dragon Gate Ferry, he might just make it in time to reinforce Yanchuan County.”
“He belongs to the Shaanxi army!” Chen Qiyu countered. “How can he come to Yansui?”
The subordinate explained, “Supreme Commander Hong Chengchou is on our side. His jurisdiction covers military affairs in Shaanxi, Gansu, Yansui, and Ningxia, so Shaanxi falls under his command. As long as he states afterward that this was his direct order, there will be no issue.”
Chen Qiyu’s mind raced. Hong Chengchou would certainly be willing, indeed *obligated*, to issue such a statement, as Yansui also fell under his command.
“Then it's settled,” he concluded.
“Go at once to summon Commander Shi!”
Chen Qiyu immediately dispatched a messenger, sending him galloping towards the Dragon Gate Ferry to request reinforcements.
From their current location, the shortest route to Dragon Gate Ferry, of course, was straight through Huanglong Mountain.
The messenger glanced at the towering Huanglong Mountain, a knot of apprehension tightening in his stomach. But then he saw the long, winding gray mountain road, and for some reason, his confidence returned.
With such a good road, surely it wouldn't take too long to traverse Huanglong Mountain?
Still, such a hard surface seemed a bit rough on the horses.
Eh? Beside the cement road, a dirt path had been thoughtfully preserved! Clearly, it was meant for horses to run on.
Delighted, the messenger spurred his horse, galloping along the dirt path adjacent to the cement road.
In a flash, he had covered more than ten li.
Up ahead, a strange little building appeared by the roadside, with three characters written on it: “Yangou Station.”
The messenger had never seen such a peculiar building inexplicably constructed by a mountain road. He couldn't fathom it. What bewildered him even more, however, was the strange vehicle parked in front of the house, bearing the characters “Eighty-Six.”
Inside the vehicle sat a driver and several passengers, all watching the furiously galloping horse with curious eyes.
Both sides were equally intrigued by the other.
But the messenger had to keep going; he had no intention of stopping here. With a whoosh, he sped past the vehicle, continuing his frantic gallop forward.
The driver exclaimed, “Whoa, fellas, that horse looks like it’s challenging us!”
The passengers, labor-reform prisoners who often rode this route while working on the roads and were well acquainted with the driver, laughed. “He’s looking down on you, isn’t he? Means your Eighty-Six solar bus can’t outrun a horse. So he just zoomed past, leaving you with nothing but a lonely rearview.”
The driver, a hot-headed fellow who couldn’t stand being slighted, erupted in fury. “Damn it all! Alright, alright, let’s see just how fast he really is!”
By now, Gao Family Village’s solar buses were designed for single-person operation. The driver pulled a switch with his left hand, and the sunshades fully retracted, instantly maxing out the solar panels’ power output.
The driver released the brake, spun the steering wheel, and the Eighty-Six bus roared after the warhorse.
The labor-reform prisoners in the bus, always up for excitement, weren't worried about crashing. Instead, they cheered wildly, shouting, “Eighty-Six takes the heights!”
The driver cast a cold glance at the water cup on his dashboard, then scoffed. *Charge!*
The iconic racing anthem blared: *“Déjà vu, I’ve just been in this place before...”*
The race was on!
The rider, hearing the peculiar shouts of “Eighty-Six Takes the Heights!” behind him, turned his head. *Damn!* That strange, massive vehicle was catching up at an alarming speed.
“Looking down on me, are you?” the messenger fumed. “I’m a super messenger who travels eight hundred li a day, changing horses but never riders! When have I ever been overtaken by a strange contraption?”
“Giddy up!” the messenger urged. “Faster, horse, faster!”
Horse and car, a frantic chase began.
Initially, the warhorse held a distinct advantage.
After all, a horse's sprint speed was no joke, whereas the Eighty-Six bus had to slow down slightly on turns to avoid overturning, making it impossible to truly reach its full speed.
However, that advantage quickly waned over time!
A warhorse, after all, eventually tired.
What’s more, whenever *Déjà vu* blared, the Eighty-Six had never once been defeated.
The warhorse slowed, and the bus caught up.
The mischievous driver deliberately held back, running parallel to the warhorse—one on the cement road, the other on the dirt path.
A labor-reform prisoner leaned out the window, taunting, “Well, well, rider, losing steam? Weren't you so fast? How dare you race an immortal vehicle? Don’t you know who bestowed this car upon us? I’ll tell you: it’s the Solar Divine Vehicle, a gift from the Heavenly Lord Dao Xuan Tian Zun himself! To show off in front of it is to disrespect the Heavenly Lord!”
“Damn it all...” the messenger gasped, breathless. “I... I bear an urgent mission, no time... to argue with you lot...”
The labor-reform prisoner blinked. “Urgent mission, you say? Do tell!”
“Xue Hongqi, Yizuo Cheng, and Yizi Wang,” the messenger recounted. “Three bandit forces are attacking Yanchuan County... I need to go... to Dragon Gate Ferry, to seek aid from Commander Shi Jian.”
“Huh?”
The labor-reform prisoners exchanged confused glances. “Who are these small-time thugs? We never heard of these three back in our bandit days! Truly, the new replaces the old.”
The messenger: “???”
Just then, the Cotton Thread Heavenly Lord figurine on the Eighty-Six driver’s chest suddenly spoke. “Trouble brewing right next to our territory again, is it?”
“Ah, the Heavenly Lord has arrived!” the driver exclaimed.
The labor-reform prisoners instantly perked up, their casual demeanor vanishing in unison.
The messenger, still on his horse outside the bus, couldn't see what was happening inside. He didn't know who had just spoken, only that it sounded like the leader of this strange group.
The Cotton Thread Heavenly Lord commanded, “Invite the messenger onto the bus. Drive him for a stretch.”
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