Chapter 814: Another Upgrade
The little one's cries immediately drew Gao Chuwu.
He rushed over and scooped up his son. "Gao Zhengjing, what are you crying about? Are you hungry?"
Only after speaking did he notice the Puppet Heavenly Lord was actually moving, waving its arm at him from the baby's chubby little hands.
Gao Chuwu was overjoyed. "Oh, Heavenly Lord! Long time no see."
The Puppet Heavenly Lord replied, "The Hedong Circuit has been quite peaceful lately, so I haven't visited much. I can't believe your son has grown so big! What did you just call him?"
Gao Chuwu grinned. "Gao Zhengjing."
The Puppet Heavenly Lord gasped. "You named your child *that*?"
Gao Chuwu continued to smile. "My wife named him! I originally wanted to name our son Gao Chuliu, but my wife wouldn't let me. She told me to give the child a 'serious' name. My wife is smarter than me, and if she says so, it must be right, so I listened to her and named the child Gao Zhengjing."
The Puppet Heavenly Lord. "..."
The Puppet Heavenly Lord covered its face. *Alright*, he thought. *He truly lives up to his reputation as the biggest of Gao Family Village's three 'idiot' generals. Years have passed, and he remains unparalleled in his particular brand of excellence.*
On second thought, the name "Zhengjing" wasn't completely unusable. Even in modern times, plenty of people were named Li Zhengjing or Zhang Zhengjing. No problem there.
Gao Chuwu asked, "Heavenly Lord, do you have any commands for us this time?"
Hearing him, Li Daoxuan pulled his thoughts back to the main matter. "Where is Xing Honglang? There's much I need to discuss with her that I can't explain clearly to you."
Gao Chuwu called out, "Honglang, Honglang, come quickly! The Heavenly Lord is calling you."
"Oh? Coming!" Xing Honglang's voice echoed from the inner room, and she quickly bustled out. She was slightly plumper than before... *Well, women giving birth often gain weight as they eat heartily to ensure their child's health and a plentiful milk supply.*
Xing Honglang already resembled a female gorilla with her massive frame; now, with a bit more weight, she was truly mountainous in stature.
"Heavenly Lord, what are your orders?"
Li Daoxuan said, "The news about the Manchu invasion has also been broadcast in the Hedong Circuit. You two have seen it, haven't you?"
"Yes, we have!" Xing Honglang replied gravely. "The Manchu are despicable."
Li Daoxuan nodded. "Xing Honglang, you are now a 'court-appointed official' and cannot easily leave the Hedong Circuit, so you won't be going north. Count your troops, leave a minimum force to defend the Hedong Circuit, and hand the surplus over to Gao Chuwu. He will lead them north to resist the Manchu, under the guise of a spontaneously organized civilian militia."
Xing Honglang declared, "As you command!"
"A civilian militia spontaneously organizing and heading north—this won't go unnoticed," Li Daoxuan stated. "To avoid trouble, write a letter to the Governor of Shanxi, Dai Jun'en, and inform him."
Hearing the name Dai Jun'en, Xing Honglang immediately recalled the old man who feigned madness and constantly spoke of writing poetry. A faint smile touched her lips. "Understood. Your subordinate will immediately compose a letter to inform Dai Jun'en."
"Good!" Li Daoxuan said. "Then I'll head over to Puzhou."
He was just about to use Co-sensing to depart...
Suddenly, he heard a *snap*, as Gao Zhengjing's two chubby little hands, with a mighty tug, broke the Puppet Heavenly Lord's neck.
"Ahhh!" Xing Honglang shrieked.
"Ahhh!" Gao Chuwu shrieked.
The couple reached out almost simultaneously, scooping up the child, ready to spank his bottom.
The Puppet Heavenly Lord's head, now severed from its body, grinned and said, "It's nothing, don't hit the child. He's just a baby, he doesn't understand anything. Why would you hit him? He's only a few months old and he managed to break a puppet—that's incredible! This boy will grow up to be a fierce general."
Only then did the couple breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Heavenly Lord, for your generosity."
With a *whoosh*, Li Daoxuan used Co-sensing to move to Puzhou, continuing to gather people.
Only then did Xing Honglang say, "I'll go write the letter to Dai Jun'en and count the troops.
Chuwu, hurry and find a craftsman to make a new neck for the Heavenly Lord. And from now on, absolutely do not let the child touch the Heavenly Lord's avatar again."
Gao Chuwu nodded vigorously. "Never again. That boy is too reckless."
The couple went about their respective tasks...
By the time the craftsman Gao Chuwu found had repaired the Puppet Heavenly Lord's neck, Xing Honglang's letter was also complete. In it, she informed Dai Jun'en that the people of Hedong Circuit were extremely angered by the news of the Manchu planning to attack Xuanfu and Datong Prefectures.
The common people had spontaneously organized a civilian volunteer corps to head north and resist the Manchu.
Such a reason wouldn't seem unusual in later generations, but in the grand historical context of the late Ming Dynasty, it was utterly inconceivable. Yet, no matter how absurd the justification, one absolutely had to be given—this was a matter of "attitude."
Five hundred garrison troops remained in Hedong Circuit, led by Xing Honglang.
The surplus of two thousand five hundred soldiers was entirely handed over to Gao Chuwu.
After leaving the Hedong Circuit, Gao Chuwu followed the official road north, all the way to Pingyang Prefecture.
As soon as he arrived, he found the place bustling with activity.
Lao Nanfeng had just arrived with his troops, and Bai Mao and Wang Er had already been waiting there for a long time.
The generals were exceptionally happy to see each other.
"Gao Family Village used to be so small, we'd see each other all the time," one general remarked. "Now that our territory has expanded, it's truly difficult for us to meet."
"Speaking of which, is everyone here?"
"Not yet! The Heavenly Lord said Instructor He Jiu would also be coming."
"Whoa? Even Instructor He Jiu, who is General He Kegang's deputy, is coming?"
"Huh? Instructor He Jiu is He Kegang's deputy?"
"Wasn't he just a common soldier? When did he get promoted to deputy?"
"I heard that the movie, to conceal Instructor He Jiu's true identity, portrayed him as a common soldier. But in reality, his true identity is General He Kegang's deputy."
"I see."
The generals couldn't help but regard him with reverence.
Just then, a scout ran over, excitedly shouting, "Instructor He Jiu, leading the main Gao Family Village militia, has arrived!"
Everyone cheered with delight. "They're here, they're here! Ever since I watched 'A Common Soldier on the Daling River Frontier Army,' I've been dying to meet Instructor He Jiu, and now I finally can!"
In the distance, a discreet army appeared, not even flying a single banner. Cheng Xu was always cautious, wanting to avoid attracting the court's attention, so he truly made himself and his forces appear exactly like a civilian volunteer corps.
Walking up to the group, Cheng Xu's first words, direct and blunt, were: "Governor of Shanxi, Dai Jun'en, hasn't suspected us, has he?"
"Don't worry!" Bai Mao said. "He'd never guess you're He Kegang's deputy."
Cheng Xu. "What?"
Lao Nanfeng added, "Being able to personally deal with the Manchu again, Instructor He Jiu must be thrilled, right? The chance to avenge General He Kegang has arrived."
Cheng Xu. "What, what, what?"
The generals collectively said, "Instructor He Jiu, there's no need to pretend. We all understand, and we absolutely won't speak a word of this."
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