Chapter 825: I Don't Want to Bomb the Great Wall!
Yanmen Pass, renowned for its perilous terrain, was hailed as the "First Pass of China" and famously declared, "Among the Nine Strategic Passes under Heaven, Yanmen stands foremost."
In the early Ming Dynasty, Marquis Ji'an Lu Xiang, in 1374 (the seventh year of Hongwu), oversaw the construction of a new pass ten *li* northeast of the old one, making the location even more formidable.
Yet, this magnificent fortress was not properly utilized.
When the Manchu invaders arrived, the defending soldiers fled, allowing the Manchus to easily enter Daizhou and nearly conquer it.
The first step for the Gao Family Village Militia, after garrisoning Daizhou, was to reclaim control of Yanmen Pass.
Gao Chuwu, dressed in simple cloth robes and riding a magnificent steed, led the vanguard. He owned armor, but dared not wear it; his own towering physique and considerable weight meant that adding his impossibly heavy armor would be too much for any warhorse. So, when on the march and not in battle, Gao Chuwu wore only his civilian clothes, with his absurdly thick heavy armor carried separately by another horse.
The Puppet Heavenly Lord, his neck now perfectly mended, sat perched on Gao Chuwu's shoulder, its two small wooden legs playfully swinging in the air.
Gao Chuwu grinned foolishly. "Heavenly Lord, is my mission to capture Yanmen Pass and then defend it?"
The Puppet Heavenly Lord nodded. "Yanmen Pass is a crucial stronghold on the Great Wall. We must retake it to effectively guard the central plains."
A group of his personal guards, many of whom had never ventured north before, simultaneously looked utterly ecstatic. "The Great Wall! We'll get to see the Great Wall?"
Their excitement, like a line of dominoes, quickly spread through the ranks. All two thousand soldiers behind them burst into cheers. "The Great Wall! Let's see the Great Wall!"
These militia soldiers, regularly watching the *Gaojia News* broadcasts and absorbing patriotic cultural programs, had begun a conscious awakening under Li Daoxuan's deliberate national cultural nurturing. Thus, hearing the words "Great Wall" instantly filled them with a sense of "Wow, this is a precious legacy of our Chinese civilization."
This was, of course, a rather positive development, and Li Daoxuan was delighted to witness it.
However...
The artillery platoon leader, who had accompanied Gao Chuwu, suddenly went pale, clutching his head and wailing, "Oh no, I can't bring myself to fire the cannons when attacking Yanmen Pass! If I damage the Great Wall, even a thousand cuts wouldn't atone for it!"
At his outburst, the entire artillery platoon panicked. "Heavens! We hadn't thought of it until the platoon leader said something. If we engage, the Great Wall will surely be damaged, and we'll become criminals for all eternity!"
As the artillery platoon reacted, the flintlock riflemen also grew agitated. "Oh no, if my rifle bullet hits the Great Wall, it'll leave a hole! I don't want to damage the Great Wall!"
"This is a treasure our ancestors left for future generations!"
"It's one of the symbols of our Chinese nation; how can it be destroyed by my hand?"
The entire army began to falter.
Gao Chuwu turned around. "All of you fix bayonets! I'll use my great axe! We'll charge in with cold steel!"
The soldiers immediately responded. "Oh, oh, right, that's an option!"
"My Ghost-God Fist technique finally has a purpose!"
Li Daoxuan, hearing their exchanges, couldn't help but smile wryly. He spoke, "Quiet, all of you, listen to me."
Everyone instantly fell silent.
Li Daoxuan continued, "Although the Great Wall is a precious treasure, in battle, you must not think of such things. If the Great Wall is damaged, we can repair it! The Great Wall has been repaired by generations throughout history, so do not throw away your lives cheaply for such a matter."
The soldiers roared their affirmation.
Just then, the army rounded a mountain pass, and in the distance, the Great Wall became visible—the majestic Great Wall, winding like a colossal dragon across the peaks of Yanmen Mountain.
Li Daoxuan instantly co-sensed with the reconnaissance hot air balloon.
From high above, he looked down and saw that Yanmen Pass was indeed garrisoned by a Manchu force. There weren't many of them, only five or six hundred. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly: This place, which should be a vital stronghold for our Chinese nation against northern barbarians, had, due to the flight of its defenders, become a pass used by those same northern barbarians to defend against us. Was that not laughable?
"Chuwu, one and a half *li* to your front-right, a squad of Manchu scouts is moving through the woods."
"Understood!"
Gao Chuwu turned and gave an order, and a squad of Gao Family Village scouts stealthily entered the forest.
Each scout wore a Heavenly Lord image embroidered on their chest, allowing for real-time, seamless information transfer.
They spread out into the woods, yet their communication was as fluid as if they were walking side-by-side.
A short while later, a few rifle shots and several screams echoed through the forest, and that squad of Manchu scouts fell into an eternal slumber there.
The Gao Family Village Militia then followed them into the woods.
With the enemy scouts eliminated, the Manchu garrison on Yanmen Pass was effectively blinded.
Two hours later, the Gao Family Village Militia was fully concealed in the forest on the south side of Yanmen Pass, observing the majestic stronghold in the distance.
Gao Chuwu asked curiously, "The last stretch approaching the pass has no trees at all, so we can't sneak any closer. Why doesn't anything grow here?"
The Puppet Heavenly Lord chuckled. "That's natural. The defenders would have cut down any trees close to the pass to ensure an open field of view. It's man-made."
Gao Chuwu said, "So that's it! I feel like I learned something, but also like I'll never use it."
The Puppet Heavenly Lord laughed. "You certainly won't use this, but perhaps your son, Gao Zhengjing, will. When he grows up, he'll definitely be a clever general, no longer a simpleton."
Gao Chuwu grinned. "Right! I'll learn it for my son and teach him when he's older."
A bead of sweat seemed to appear on the Puppet Heavenly Lord's wooden head. "You really shouldn't teach him. Wait until Gao Family Village establishes a military academy; you'd only make things worse."
Just then, the artillery platoon leader, hunched over, approached and crouched beside Gao Chuwu. He gazed at Yanmen Pass in the distance, then whispered, "Heavenly Lord, are we really going to bombard it? If we open fire, the section of the Great Wall at Yanmen Pass will surely be shattered. I don't want to become a historical criminal!"
The Puppet Heavenly Lord's voice was firm. "Bombard it! We can repair it afterward."
The artillery platoon leader gritted his teeth. "Alright!"
He retreated to the artillery position, where a cluster of small mortars, no thicker than an arm, had already been set up.
The artillerymen angled their mortars at 45 degrees, aiming at Yanmen Pass.
Then, one by one, their faces showed a peculiar expression. "Ancestors, please don't blame us. We don't want to bomb it, but... to minimize casualties for our comrades, we have no choice."
"Load gunpowder! Load the small grenades!"
The artillerymen skillfully filled the base of the mortars with black powder, then inserted the small grenades, wooden casing and Wooden Tube Delayed Fuze end down, into the barrels.
"Ready!"
"Fire!"
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