Chapter 310: The Glorious Armor-Piercing Grenadier Battalion
Chapter 310: The Glorious Armor-Piercing Grenadier Battalion
Ground Rabbit looked at the familiar faces before him, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Heh… Heh… This bunny… is back.”
Li Daoxuan was currently beside the box, eating Gele Mountain spicy chicken chunks, and was quite happy to see Ground Rabbit awake. However, seeing this guy start bragging as soon as he woke up, Li Daoxuan couldn’t help but mock him: “Yiye, tell everyone, this is what they call The wicked live a thousand years, while the good die young.”
Gao Yiye was in a good mood just then. Hearing the Deity deliberately mimic Thirty-Two’s emphatic way of quoting proverbs to be funny, she also laughed. She turned to everyone with a giggle: “The Deity has issued a divine decree: The wicked live a thousand years, while the good die young.”
Everyone laughed. “Looks like Ground Rabbit is a piece of destruction!”
“Do we even need ‘looks like’? Didn’t we already know?”
“Hahaha, exactly! This guy has always been one of Gaojia Village’s great catastrophes.”
“Am I in Gaojia Village now?” Ground Rabbit gasped. “Huh? Mr. Bai? Is he alright?”
Everyone reassured him: “Mr. Bai is fine.”
Li Daoxuan thought: “Ground Rabbit fought bravely and rendered great service. Reward him with one hundred taels of silver. However, because the penalty wages for overturning the grain cart haven’t been fully deducted yet, the silver will be confiscated for the village treasury.”
Gao Yiye loudly announced the divine decree, then couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Hearing this, Ground Rabbit wasn’t bothered at all. He genuinely didn’t place much importance on money; his heart was set solely on upholding justice. Having his wages docked was fine by him. As long as he had enough to eat and wear, he had no desires regarding material goods.
He suddenly remembered something else: “Wait! What about those four brothers who were on guard duty?”
The question instantly made the mood around them somber.
Ground Rabbit understood. His fist clenched. “Who was it?”
Gao Chuwu answered: “It was Wang Zuogua’s men.”
Ground Rabbit understood immediately: “Wang Zuogua. Remember that horse rustling incident? He wanted revenge against us. But he didn’t know who we were, so he targeted Mr. Bai from Bai Family Fortress.”
“Exactly right. That’s the situation,” Cheng Xu chimed in from the side. “The Deity is furious. He’s already issued a pre-war mobilization order. Once our military preparations are complete, we will storm Huanglong Mountain and wipe out Wang Zuogua and his gang.”
Ground Rabbit declared: “I’m going too.”
“Of course you are. You definitely won’t be left out of this,” Gao Chuwu said. “But in your current state? You’re no good. Get well quickly.”
Ground Rabbit demanded: “Medicine! Give me medicine quickly! Double the dose! This bunny needs to get better right now!”
Together, the group admonished him in exasperation: “Taking double the medicine will only kill you faster, not make you better faster!”
Li Daoxuan knew this troublemaker wouldn’t be able to stay still and heal properly; he’d rush around and likely tear his wounds open. Shaking his head, Li Daoxuan ordered: “Get him a wheelchair like Zhuge Liang used, and have Zheng Gouzi push him around.”
This was no difficulty at all for the current Gaojia Village. The wheelchair was ready the very next day. Ground Rabbit was helped into it, and propelled by Zheng Gouzi, he finally emerged from the sickroom.
Breathing fresh air lifted Ground Rabbit’s spirits.
His eyes immediately landed on a group of people outside the barracks throwing grenades. These were practice grenades—iron shells filled with sand instead of gunpowder, identical in both shape and weight to real grenades.
Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu stood at the front of this group. With powerful swings of their arms, they hurled the grenades whooshing well over twenty zhang away, leaving the new recruits behind them utterly dumbstruck.
Gao Chuwu grinned broadly: “Alright, now it’s your turn! The Deity has said anyone who can’t throw at least fifteen zhang won’t be recruited! Whether you can become a glorious ‘Armor-Piercing Grenadier’ depends entirely on your skill.”
Hearing this, the men behind him roared with zeal, rubbing their hands eagerly and preparing for their throws.
It turned out that Li Daoxuan had issued a divine decree to form the newest Armor-Piercing Grenadier Battalion. This battalion would consist solely of stalwarts: men tall enough to wear heavy armor, with robust shoulders and powerful arms capable of throwing grenades great distances. The physical requirements were extremely demanding.
Therefore, becoming an “Armor-Piercing Grenadier” became equivalent to being a “stalwart.”
For the men, this was undeniably a crowning glory.
Active soldiers, able-bodied young men in the village yet to enlist, and young adult men transferred from the large militia in the county town—all were now viewing “becoming an Armor-Piercing Grenadier” as a vital proof of their manhood.
A powerfully built man immediately stepped forward: “Brother Chuwu, let me try first!”
“Good!” Gao Chuwu handed him a training grenade.
The big man let out a series of fierce roars, swung his arm mightily, and flung the training grenade far away. It sailed cleanly over the twenty-zhang grass marker.
The crowd couldn’t help but cheer as one: “Amazing!”
Gao Chuwu grinned: “Passed. Next!”
The next man wasn’t nearly as imposing. He looked rather slender, not the picture of great strength. As he picked up the grenade, he felt a bit unsure. Still, he mustered all his effort, roared, and threw it.
Gao Chuwu called: “Fourteen zhang! Fail!”
The man collapsed face-first onto the ground, orz.
Seeing this challenge, Ground Rabbit instantly grew eager: “Ah! Let me try too! Mr. Rabbit here has unparalleled strength! A casual throw? At least fifty zhang!”
Zheng Gouzi broke out in a sweat, hastily pressing him back down: “Don’t fool around! In your condition, putting any effort will make all your wounds tear open! You’ll bleed out and die!”
But Ground Rabbit was the Deity’s designated “piece of destruction.” How could he be held back? He twisted his body, somehow slid out from under Zheng Gouzi’s arm, crashed to the ground, and started painfully crawling forward: “Let Mr. Rabbit come… Mr. Rabbit will throw the grenade…”
Watching this scene, Li Daoxuan was truly both exasperated and amused. This guy.
Finally irritated, Zheng Gouzi dragged Ground Rabbit back up, tied him securely to the wheelchair with rope, and only then clapped his hands: “I’d like to see you cause trouble now.”
Ground Rabbit persisted: “Mr. Rabbit can do it!”
Zheng Gouzi threatened: “Keep talking, and I’ll shove a cloth gag in your mouth.”
Ground Rabbit: “……”
Silence reigned.
Zheng Gouzi pushed Ground Rabbit’s wheelchair past the grenadier selection area. Walking to the other side of the barracks, they saw a large group of firearm soldiers holding Flintlock Firearms, practicing tirelessly.
Their practice actions were monotonous: “loading,” “firing,” “loading,” “firing,” repeated endlessly.
It was unclear how many days they had been practicing, but all their movements had become very proficient. They could basically manage to fire one shot roughly every thirty blinks of an eye.
Alongside this group, another figure stood out: dressed in flowing white robes—it was Bai Yuan. He was also holding a firearm, practicing the same “loading” and “firing” sequence.
The moment Ground Rabbit saw Bai Yuan, immense joy flooded him: “Mr. Bai! I’m so glad you are safe!”