Chapter 794 The Flying Rat Emerges
Zhu Cunji rolled his eyes: "What does your failure to recruit local militia have to do with me, this heir-apparent?"
Lian Guoshi could only offer a wry smile: "Without local militia, your humble servant's troops are insufficient."
Zhu Cunji continued to roll his eyes: "Where's He Renlong? Isn't he the Commander-in-Chief of Shaanxi?"
Lian Guoshi replied, "He is currently in Henan."
Zhu Cunji exclaimed, "Oh, so He Renlong is running all over the place, leaving you without troops, and you come to seize my road-building team? Absolutely not! No, no, I will never agree to that."
Lian Guoshi was speechless.
Zhu Cunji suddenly remembered something: "Isn't there a Major Luo Xi, who is quite reliable? He seems to be in Shangnan County, doesn't he? Why don't you go rely on Luo Xi, and that would be the end of it."
Lian Guoshi could only offer a wry smile: "Major Luo Xi has now been promoted by the Emperor to Garrison Commander of Shangnan County, and Shangnan County is currently under Lu Xiangheng's jurisdiction. Your humble official can no longer command Luo Xi."
Zhu Cunji shook his head like a rattle-drum: "I don't care, no matter what you say, I, this heir-apparent, will not give up these local militia. These are workers hired with my own hard-earned silver. Even one less would impact my road-building project."
Just then, his trusted subordinate suddenly rushed over, reporting loudly, "Governor, good news, good news!"
Lian Guoshi said, "Tell me."
The subordinate said, "Wu Shen and Shi Kefa have, from who knows where, gathered a large group of trained recruits, and they are waiting for you outside Xi'an city gates to inspect them."
Lian Guoshi exclaimed, "Oh? Trained recruits found by Wu Shen and Shi Kefa? Where did they find them?"
The subordinate replied, "You will know once you go there."
Lian Guoshi could only remount his horse and rode along the railway track all the way back to Xi'an.
Outside Xi'an, he saw two thousand trained recruits already lined up in neat formations, standing orderly and waiting for Lian Guoshi to inspect them.
The man leading them was a tough and capable fellow, clearly not someone to be trifled with.
Lian Guoshi saw that Wu Shen and Shi Kefa were also present and quickly asked the two men, "Gentlemen, these trained recruits... where did they come from?"
Wu Shen smiled: "Ha! These trained recruits were once rebels. They rebelled with Wang Jiayin. During the battle at Hequ County, these rebels were captured by us, and then escorted back to Shaanxi by Sir Shi."
Shi Kefa continued the introduction: "Your humble official sent them to Huanglong Mountain, settled them in the valley, where they farmed and toiled. After several years, they have all become upstanding, law-abiding citizens."
As they spoke, both men showed a hint of pride.
Back then, Wu Shen provided the funds, and Shi Kefa personally escorted thirty thousand people on the arduous journey from Hequ County, traveling thousands of miles back to Shaanxi, navigating countless perilous paths.
Ultimately, those tens of thousands of rebels settled down and never rebelled again.
Although it was mainly due to the assistance from Gao Family Village, Wu Shen and Shi Kefa also deserved credit; this was undeniable.
Watching these "successfully reformed" individuals now, both men naturally felt a sense of pride.
Wu Shen sighed deeply: "Back then, everyone called me Wu Ten-Thousand, and even now, people still remember those hundred thousand taels of silver. Now, at last, those silver coins have yielded some results. I, Wu Shen, have not failed the empire."
Lian Guoshi asked, "So... these trained recruits... are willing to come out and help?"
At this point, the leader of the two thousand trained recruits stepped forward and declared loudly, "My name is Flying Rat of Hengshan. I was once a prominent general under Wang Jiayin. I have now turned over a new leaf and am leading two thousand local militia to reinforce the Governor. We swear to keep the rebels out of Shaanxi and protect our hard-won happy lives!"
Lian Guoshi was taken aback. "Why does this man speak in such a prepared and articulate manner? His slogans are so loud. 'Hard-won happy lives' and all that... I feel like I've heard this style of speaking somewhere before."
He suddenly realized: He had heard it on Gaojia News!
The Divine Mirror displayed in Xi'an's central market square broadcast Gaojia News punctually every evening after dinner, and the news often featured similar lines: "our hard-won happy lives," "fields of hope filled with golden grain," "a beautiful future beckons us."
Lian Guoshi could even recite a few similar lines himself.
Lian Guoshi couldn't help but ask, "Do you often watch Gaojia News?"
Flying Rat replied, "Every single day."
Lian Guoshi almost wanted to shake his hand, surprised to find a kindred spirit here.
"Ah, no, I almost got sidetracked," Lian Guoshi quickly pulled his thoughts back. "It is excellent that you are willing to join the local militia and serve the imperial court. I will immediately arrange for your weapons to be distributed."
"No need for weapons and such," Flying Rat said. "The Heavenly Lord has already arranged weapons for us."
Lian Guoshi blinked, "Huh?"
He looked in the direction Flying Rat was pointing: at the nearby train station, a large train was unloading cargo. Piles of firearms and military rations were being carried off the train, basket after basket, and stacked along the platform.
A logistics captain from Gao Family Village, holding a manifest, was looking for someone to sign. He practically flew up to Flying Rat, handing him the slip: "Flying Rat, the weapons and supplies for two thousand men. Please sign here."
Flying Rat took the pen, drew a "ya" mark on the slip, pressed his fingerprint, and the logistics captain quickly disappeared.
Lian Guoshi gasped, a sharp intake of breath.
He felt that something was utterly strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
No matter. Having troops was better than having none.
Lian Guoshi set off for Shangnan County with fifteen hundred imperial soldiers and two thousand local militia.
As soon as they departed, he began to feel the stark difference.
His own fifteen hundred imperial soldiers were shabbily dressed, carried dilapidated weapons, ate meager rations, and their morale was utterly tattered.
Behind them, the two thousand local militia were neatly uniformed, their weapons were in perfect order, their rations were ample, and their spirits were vibrantly high.
It was simply absurd!
Who exactly were the regular troops?
Lian Guoshi truly wanted to draft a memorial, compiling all the strange things he had witnessed in Xi'an and present them to the Emperor for review.
But considering the Emperor's temperament, he sighed again. "Never mind! Don't bring trouble upon myself."
The journey from Xi'an to Shangnan County was approximately four hundred li.
Lian Guoshi journeyed day and night, pushing his soldiers to their utmost.
The first half of the journey proceeded relatively normally, but as they neared Wuguan Pass, he began to sense something amiss.
The roads around Wuguan Pass had inexplicably become smooth and wide. Beautiful, neatly paved cement roads—who could have built them?
Astonished, he pressed on along the cement road, finally arriving at the foot of Wuguan Pass.
Only then did he discover a large factory built beneath Wuguan Pass, named "Wuguan Cement Factory No. 1." A vast number of laborers were carrying sacks of cement from the factory, transporting them southeast.
Lian Guoshi was utterly bewildered. He continued to follow these people and soon saw a construction site ahead, where a multitude of laborers were frantically building roads...
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