Chapter 901 Dorgon Arrives
An hour later, everyone arrived at Xiaoxiwa in Xin'an County.
Xiaoxiwa was the easternmost stretch of land in Xin'an County, closest to Mengjin County.
When the Yellow River burst its banks at Mengjin that year, Xiaoxiwa became the part of Xin'an County most devastated by the breach.
The entire Xiaoxiwa area was submerged, with the river waters several meters deep.
After the waters receded, the yellow mud and sand on the ground were half a meter thick.
A drought immediately followed, baking the layer of mud until it solidified into a crust as hard as stone.
How could the disaster victims possibly have the strength to dig open such a thick, hard layer of mud!
Jiang Cheng knelt down and fiercely plunged his waist knife into the ground. But as soon as the blade pierced the mud crust, he couldn't push it any further. “It's incredibly hard!” he exclaimed.
The Magistrate of Xin'an County had been thoroughly frightened earlier and was still a bit dazed. “Yes, it's very hard. Human effort cannot dig through it,” he mumbled.
The Heavenly Lord chuckled, “Spectators, stand back.”
The moment he spoke, Jiang Cheng and the militia soldiers immediately took off running, and in an instant, they were clear of the mud crust area.
The Magistrate of Xin'an County and his yamen runners were still standing foolishly, motionless.
Jiang Cheng yelled, “What are you still standing there for? Hurry over here, join us! Don't just stand there, obstructing the Heavenly Lord's divine work.”
The Magistrate: “Ah? Ah? Alright.”
Only then did he realize, and quickly led his yamen runners away.
Just as they exited the mud crust area, they saw the clouds in the sky parting... A colossal golden hand emerged from the clouds, descending towards the ground.
The Magistrate of Xin'an County froze for half a second, then was suddenly overcome with ecstasy. “This is precisely the scene from 'The Heavenly Lord Dao Xuan's Demon-Slaying Saga'—the great hand descending from the heavens to save the world! I never thought I, an official, would witness it with my own eyes!”
The golden colossal hand descended, curled its knuckles, and tapped lightly on the mud crust...
“BOOM!”
With a thunderous roar, the earth shook. The miles-long mud crust, struck by this force, instantly developed fissures. The cracks raced across the yellow earth—a magnificent sight to behold.
Then the great hand gently picked up a large section of the shattered mud pit.
To the small people, that mud crust was hard and thick, but before the golden colossal hand, it was merely a thin, brittle sheet of mud. If the great hand were to apply even a little more pressure, it looked as if it would inadvertently crumble.
If it crumbled, it wouldn't be easy to clear away.
It was difficult to control strength while wearing gloves.
Li Daoxuan withdrew the golden colossal hand, removed his glove, and extended his bare hand back into the box. With care and gentleness, he slowly lifted the mud crust pieces out of the box, one after another.
To the small people, this scene was the golden colossal hand using its “supreme power” to shatter the mud crust, and then an invisible force “collecting” the large pieces of mud crust into the clouds.
Everyone watched, mesmerized.
After a long while, all the large pieces of mud crust on the ground had vanished, leaving only scattered small fragments. The small people were now capable of clearing these themselves, so Li Daoxuan decided to take a break and leave them to it.
He went to the bathroom to wash his hands, scrubbing them with fragrant soap, and returned only when his hands were smelling fresh. He found the small people in the box still looking dazed.
The Magistrate of Xin'an County's voice was stuttering. “This official... a problem that has plagued this official... for several years... miles of mud crust... The Heavenly Lord solved it in the blink of an eye?”
Jiang Cheng laughed. “That was a divine feat from the Heavenly Lord, of course it was quick to resolve. I remember when the Yellow River overflowed its banks, I was sailing on it, and my boat was about to capsize. The Heavenly Lord used his hand to lift me and my boat into the sky, saving my life! The spectacle! It's a pity, Your Honor, that you didn't see it.”
The Magistrate of Xin'an County sighed, looking up at the sky. “If only I had known it was this simple, what was I worrying about all these years? It would have been so much better to seek the Heavenly Lord's help earlier.”
Jiang Cheng burst into laughter. “A few years ago, you hadn't seen 'The Heavenly Lord Dao Xuan's Demon-Slaying Saga,' had you?”
“Er... that's true...”
Jiang Cheng patted his shoulder. “It's not too late to become a devout follower of the Heavenly Lord Dao Xuan Sect now.”
That same evening...
Bai Yuan returned to Xiaolangdi from Luoyang, and hearing Jiang Cheng recount the events, he learned that the Heavenly Lord had revealed his true form in Xin'an County. He became greatly excited. “The Heavenly Lord has finally come to Henan! This is excellent! I have an idea that I've long wanted to propose to him.”
“Oh?” The Heavenly Lord on his chest spoke, “What good idea?”
Bai Yuan said, “Ever since Wu Shen took office, the entire province of Shanxi can be considered our Heavenly Lord Dao Xuan Sect's territory. And Xiaolangdi, this place, is separated from Shanxi by only one river. It's highly inconvenient to always rely on boats for transportation. If the Heavenly Lord could bestow another bridge across the river...”
“Haha, so that's the request,” Li Daoxuan chuckled. “Alright, granted.”
Bai Yuan was overjoyed.
The next day, at the Yellow River Three Gorges, not far west of Xiaolangdi, a great bridge descended, connecting both banks of the Yellow River. Land transportation between Xiaolangdi and Shanxi was finally opened.
Just as the Heavenly Lord's attention was focused near Luoyang...
Meanwhile, in the Northeast!
A young man was leading an army of ten thousand south.
His name was Dorgon.
Dorgon was twenty-three years old that year, in the prime of his youthful ambition.
Not long ago, Dorgon had proposed to Huang Taiji: to muster their forces annually, and, when the grain ripened, invade Ming territory, besiege Beijing, cut off its reinforcements, destroy its fortresses, and exhaust its national strength. Once the Ming Dynasty's power was sufficiently depleted, they could then conquer Beijing in one fell swoop and seize the empire.
Huang Taiji found this very reasonable. However, the Ming Dynasty had concentrated heavy troops in the Liaodong region and possessed crucial passes like Shanhaiguan, making it difficult to break through.
Huang Taiji still decided to bypass them through the Mongolian territories.
At this time, over half of the various Mongol tribes had already submitted to Huang Taiji, but the Chahar tribe still refused to surrender.
Thus, Dorgon arrived!
Now, as night fell, ten thousand Jin troops were encamped on the grasslands, their scouts deployed far and wide. The surrounding area was utterly peaceful. The Mongols didn't even dare to launch sneak attacks or raids on the camp; they had been thoroughly cowed by the Jin.
Dorgon felt a small surge of triumph. “Yue Tuo, this time we're going there, the Chahar tribe certainly won't dare to resist. They'll surrender to us immediately.”
Yue Tuo coughed a few times and nodded. “The Chahar tribe has indeed been intimidated and is no longer a serious threat. Cough, cough... but recently I've heard of a small tribe in the Hetao Area called the Wushen Tribe, which has risen unexpectedly for some reason. Cough... and has now unified the Ordos Tribe. This might affect our pacification of the Chahar tribe.”
Dorgon, only twenty-three at this point, was in the flush of youthful arrogance, believing himself invincible. What enemy could possibly withstand a blow from his iron fist? He couldn't help but burst into laughter. “Yue Tuo, you're overthinking this, aren't you? We've already conquered almost the entire grassland; what is there to fear from a tiny Wushen Tribe?”
Yue Tuo: “Do not underesti... cough... mate... cough, cough...”
Dorgon: “You've become weak because of your illness! Just you wait and see me deal with the Wushen Tribe.”
As the two were speaking, someone entered from outside to report, “General, there are Mongols from the Tumed tribe who have come to report something. They say Ombo, the chief of the Western Tumed tribe, is in contact with an envoy from the Great Ming...”
Yue Tuo: “Hm? The Western Tumed still want to cause trouble? Send a cavalry troop to see if they can capture the envoy.”
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