Chapter 304: Assassination Plan

At the same time Gaojia Village absorbed Zao Ying and began forming a cavalry camp.

Huanglong Mountain.

Wang Zuogua, who had just clashed with Yansui General Wu Zimian, resulting in mutual heavy losses, led the four leaders under his command to sit around a large rock.

“Damn it all,” Wang Zuogua scowled, displeasure etched on his dark face. “I almost had it. Wu Zimian’s five hundred warhorses were practically mine, then some band popped out of nowhere and snatched the goose right out of my mouth!”

Second Leader Miao Mei whispered, “That group came from the south. The strongest among them was called Old Ghost from Guyuan, flanked by Yongji Xing Honglang and Yichuan Zao Ying. Seems like a formidable rebel force.”

Wang Zuogua’s expression remained grim. Even though they were all technically “rebels,” he didn’t bother wasting breath cursing them as “turncoats” or “backstabbers”.

Though numerous rebel forces existed under heaven, they were far from united. Inter-faction fighting was unsurprising.

When it came down to it, they were all thieves licking blood from blades; “black eating black” was perfectly normal.

Wang Zuogua brooded silently for a long moment. “If that group headed south, they must’ve gone to Chengcheng County, right?”

“Yes!” Feishan Hu confirmed. “South would lead into Chengcheng County territory.”

Wang Zuogua: “That reminds me of something. Last year, Bu Zhan Ni and I combined forces and attacked Chengcheng County once. We were beaten back at the Bai Family Fortress by strange weapons… still fresh in my memory.”

He had been floored by a “block missile,” an unforgettable experience due to its sheer absurdity.

“This time, those strange bombs they used exploded and killed a bunch of our men the moment they landed. Could they also be from the Bai Family Fortress?”

Wang Zuogua seemed to recall something, turning to Big Honglang: “Did you figure it out? How did those suddenly killed men die?”

Big Honglang opened her palm, revealing a small round iron ball: “This thing! When the bombs they threw exploded, these little iron balls flew out everywhere. If you got hit, you either died or were badly injured. Extremely vicious.”

Wang Zuogua, Miao Mei, and Feishan Hu leaned in to look. After examining it, they shook their heads helplessly. “How can you guard against something like this? Such an outrageous weapon must come from Bai Yuan.”

Big Honglang nodded emphatically: “Definitely!”

Wang Zuogua’s expression turned serious: “So this means every time we attack the Bai Family Fortress from now on, as long as Bai Yuan is there, we’ll face these things?”

Big Honglang nodded: “We can’t overpower it.”

Wang Zuogua: “Then are we just going to let that ambush stealing our horses slide?”

Big Honglang: “Of course not! Big brother, we must avenge this, or else the heroes of the rivers and lakes will look down on us.”

Wang Zuogua: “We can’t fight them head-on; how do we get revenge?”

Big Honglang: “We disguise ourselves, get close to Bai Family Fortress’s commander, Bai Yuan, then suddenly strike. We can assassinate him.”

Wang Zuogua: “The plan sounds good, but the defenses at Bai Family Fortress are tight. How can we easily sneak in?”

Just then, a scout rushed up to report: “Leaders! We’ve received news that Chengcheng County is assembling a ‘large militia,’ supposedly gathering several thousand men to guard against roaming bandits.”

Wang Zuogua flared up: “Isn’t that clearly aimed at me?”

Scout: “It’s said the organizer is Bai Yuan, commander of the Bai Family Fortress. He’s in Chengcheng County right now, gathering militia instructors from every village and town to discuss major plans.”

An idea seemed to light up over Wang Zuogua’s head: “That guy left the Bai Family Fortress and went to the county capital? Heh heh heh. The county is chaotic, full of refugees and snakes mixed with dragons. Disguising our men to sneak in there will be much easier than infiltrating the fortress!”

He turned to Big Honglang: “Fourth Sister! Immediately arrange a team. I need top-skilled men from the rivers and lakes, disguised as refugees, to infiltrate Chengcheng County. Scout the situation inside the county capital. If you find a good chance, kill that Bai Yuan fellow for me!”

Big Honglang grinned: “Don’t worry, big brother. Leave it to me.”

…

In the early dawn, Li Daoxuan woke up as usual.

Munching on coconut-gold cake and a stewed egg, he checked how his Tiny Kingdom was developing.

Gaojia Village was peaceful. The newly-arrived Zao Ying had started organizing the cavalry camp. The first batch of cavalry naturally was her own group of one hundred and twenty mounted bandits.

Although these bandits had superb horsemanship, their equipment was shoddy, and they hadn’t been eating well. Their current morale and appearance still seemed rather lacking.

But that wasn’t a problem!

Handcarts soon emerged from the artisans’ well, loaded with over a hundred sets of armor, standardized waist knives, spears, and small crossbows designed for easy use from horseback.

However…

Zao Ying glanced at the small crossbow and chuckled: “Why do you prefer crossbows? This crossbow is too small; it can’t shoot far, and it’s inconvenient to use on horseback.”

Cheng Xu looked a bit awkward: “Our militia members in Gaojia Village are all selected from among farmers and trained from scratch. None had fought before. Becoming proficient with a bow requires lengthy training. The Deity said practicing with bows is a waste of time since we’ll eventually switch to firearms anyway. So we skipped archery training entirely, and naturally went for crossbows.”

Zao Ying almost quibbled with this reasoning. But thinking back to the battle at Duzhucun, the Gaojia Village Militia’s “firearms” were indeed quite effective. Perhaps the Deity’s plan was correct.

She refrained from further criticism and instead smiled, “Fine. Your men can use crossbows. But my men can use bows; they already know how. No extra training is needed, no time wasted.”

So… the small crossbows suffered a swift return.

Cheng Xu smiled: “If you want bows, we don’t actually have many here, Lady Zao. Head to the school and find Mr. Song. Ask him to help draw a blueprint for a good bow. Then take that design to the artisans’ well to have it custom-made.”

“School? Mr. Song?”

Following these instructions, Zao Ying headed towards the school.

Li Daoxuan also became interested: He hadn’t paid much attention to Song Yingxing lately. What had that fellow been up to? He decided to follow Zao Ying and see.

Zao Ying entered the school building, walking through the corridors. Seeing children reciting lessons in classrooms on either side, she couldn’t help but feel secretly astonished: I knew Gaojia Village’s ambitions were great, but I never dreamed this vast! What grand vision requires setting up private schools on such a scale? Are they nurturing talent for rebellion?

Other rebel forces were simply incomparable! They couldn’t hold a candle!

She quickened her pace, took the stairs two at a time to the fifth floor, and arrived before the library.