Chapter 796: I See You
Bai Yuan asked for a detailed account of the situation ahead.
Fan Shangzheng began to explain, a touch of grievance in his voice. He and Zhang Yingchang had also followed the Luo River.
Lushi County was mountainous, with treacherous roads. Only a single official road ran alongside the Luo River.
To secure their supply lines, the imperial army couldn't just wander off-road like the rebels, so they had no choice but to follow the official road by the Luo River.
This gave the rebels an excellent opportunity for ambushes.
Along both sides of the official road between Liucun Village and the county town, rebels lurked everywhere, launching ambushes against the government troops whenever they pleased.
In the past, government troops weren't particularly afraid of ambushes. Once scouts had confirmed the enemy's positions, the soldiers could easily deflect the rebels' pitiful, broken arrows with their shields and effortlessly wipe out the entire rebel ambush party.
But now, things were different. The rebel ambushers were armed with flintlock rifles and repeating crossbows—all of it damn border army equipment. If ambushed by rebels, government troops would suffer heavy casualties.
Zhang Yingchang finished, his voice laced with indignation, concluding with a summary: "My general's troops use equipment fit for garrison soldiers, yet these rebels are using border army-grade gear. Are they the rebels, or am I the rebel?"
A dignified Provincial Commander-in-Chief, a Grand General of the second rank!
His own men were worse equipped than the rebels. Who could he complain to?
Bai Yuan found it amusing, after hearing this, but in such complex terrain, ambushes were indeed a major headache. He, too, would find them difficult to deal with.
Seeing the government troops practically begging for his help, Bai Yuan could only seek a "bigger leg" to lean on himself. He whispered to the golden-threaded Heavenly Lord statue on his chest: "Heavenly Lord, are you there?"
The Golden-threaded Heavenly Lord grinned.
Bai Yuan whispered, "I would like to request your assistance."
The Heavenly Lord replied, "Yes! Release the reconnaissance hot air balloon."
Bai Yuan was overjoyed. His "big leg" was present.
Turning, he ordered his subordinates, "Release the reconnaissance hot air balloon!"
Ever since Shi Jian fought a battle in northern Shaanxi, the Gao Family Village Militia now deployed with reconnaissance hot air balloons as standard. Furthermore, these later-produced hot air balloons were no longer just random book pages with the Heavenly Lord's image hastily torn out and pasted on.
Instead, they were crafted with exquisite artistry!
After all, everyone deeply revered the Heavenly Lord, so how could anything meant to carry His image be made carelessly? They had to be the finest handicrafts, painted with such beauty that they resembled works of art.
Some of the hot air balloons, on their eight sides, even featured eight different images, narrating the various divine miracles manifested by the Heavenly Lord.
As soon as this exquisite hot air balloon was produced, Fan Shangzheng and Zhang Yingchang were utterly baffled. "What's this?"
Bai Yuan replied, "As you can see, a reconnaissance hot air balloon."
Fan Shangzheng asked, "Why are you launching this?"
Zhang Yingchang exclaimed, "This colorful, exquisite giant lantern—once launched into the sky, wouldn't it just announce to the rebels, 'Government troops are here!'? Wouldn't that make it even easier for them to ambush us?"
Bai Yuan patted his flintlock rifle, grinning mischievously. "Good if they come. If they come, we'll just fight them."
Zhang Yingchang clutched his face. "But it's an ambush, an ambush! They're the only ones who get to launch a sneak attack on us."
Bai Yuan assured him, "Don't worry, don't worry, we won't be ambushed. Let's go, advance. We need to enter Lushi County town first."
Zhang Yingchang felt a pang of fear and truly dared not advance further.
Fan Shangzheng, however, had more confidence in Bai Yuan and was willing to proceed, though he subtly reminded Bai Yuan: "Master Bai, do not underestimate the rebels. They are now well-equipped, and if we are ambushed, the losses will be severe."
Bai Yuan replied, "Governor, rest assured."
Fan Shangzheng quietly asked, "Oh, by the way, did Grandmaster Xiao come this time? His martial prowess is unrivaled; with him alone, we could withstand an army."
Bai Yuan laughed. "Of course he came. He's sleeping in the carriage at the back. When the old man doesn't feel like moving, it's best not to bother him. At a crucial moment, the old man will make his move."
"Old man?" Fan Shangzheng suspected he'd misheard. "Such a young and promising talent, and you call him an old man?"
But never mind, that wasn't the point!
In any case, the militia in front, government troops behind, they left Liucun Village and followed the official road along the Luo River, setting off towards Lushi County town.
The reconnaissance hot air balloon floated at a medium height above the militia...
This height ensured Li Daoxuan's field of view was expansive, while preventing his perspective from being too high and obscured by trees or other obstacles.
Meanwhile...
On a small hillside southwest of Liucun Village, a band of rebel soldiers lay hidden.
The leader of this rebel band was known as Scorpion Block. He had once been the fourth company captain under the great bandit Bu Zhan Ni. After Bu Zhan Ni fell in battle, Scorpion Block had only grown more successful. Now, his total forces numbered over 10,500 men.
Scorpion Block himself commanded the main force of 4,000, garrisoned within Lushi County town. The remaining 6,000-plus subordinates were dispersed in the forests surrounding the county town, closely monitoring the official road.
This particular group of rebel soldiers, southwest of Liucun Village, were Scorpion Block's men, numbering around a thousand, specifically positioned there to ambush the Henan troops.
The group was lazily gnawing on their looted provisions when suddenly, a scout cried out, "Look! On the official road near Liucun Village, a very beautiful reconnaissance hot air balloon has risen!"
The large band of bandits, hearing this, all looked.
They quickly saw it: a giant, multicolored reconnaissance hot air balloon floating in the distant sky, slowly advancing.
The scout ran to the edge of the hillside to get a better look, then turned back, laughing, "It's the government troops who released it!"
The rebels all chuckled. "Are the government troops crazy?" one scoffed. "Are they afraid we won't know they're coming? They're even lighting a lantern to warn us?"
"Brothers, time to get to work!"
"The Henan troops are utterly useless," another declared. "We'll greet them with our flintlock rifles and repeating crossbows, and they'll immediately flee back to Liucun Village."
The rebels laughed and joked, picking up their new weapons.
This batch of flintlock rifles and repeating crossbows was reportedly sold to them by a mysterious merchant. These ordinary bandits didn't know who the merchant was, but they certainly felt the merchant was incredibly impressive.
Among the thousand rebel soldiers, two hundred were armed with flintlock rifles, another three hundred had repeating crossbows, and the remaining five hundred carried standard rebel equipment.
They crouched at the edge of the cliff; those with good equipment began preparing their ammunition and crossbow bolts, getting ready to cause trouble. The five hundred poorly equipped ordinary rebels slowly moved to the treeline, lying in wait, just waiting for the flintlock rifles and repeating crossbows to shatter the government troops' morale. Then they would rush out to pursue and cut down the soldiers, beat them while they were down, and seize their spoils.
The government troops could be seen approaching from a distance, along the official road, slowly advancing towards their ambush perimeter...
The rebel soldiers chuckled inwardly. "This government troop detachment looks quite foolish," one murmured. "They haven't even deployed scouts."
"From afar, they don't seem like regular government troops," another observed. "Their attire is slightly different."
"Like a militia?"
"Huh? Wait, what? This militia, it looks like everyone is carrying a flintlock rifle."
"Is this a militia of flintlock riflemen? Are they serious?"
"Is militia equipment this luxurious now?"
"No matter," the leader scoffed. "They don't know we're ambushing them here. Soon we'll kill them all and snatch their flintlock rifles."
The rebels had made up their minds when they saw the militia, still a hundred paces from their own firearms' range, suddenly halt. At the front, a man in white, holding a tin megaphone, shouted towards their hidden position: "I see you."
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