Chapter 362: The Person Who Came Had the Surname Bai
Chapter 362: The Person Who Came Had the Surname Bai
The next day, in the morning.
At Qiachuan Port.
Amid the thunderous sound of horses’ hooves, Zao Ying’s troop ran back along the west bank of the Yellow River, shouting urgently as they ran: “Wang Jiayin’s navy is coming!”
Her shout instantly stirred up the quiet Qiachuan Port.
The militia, who had waited at the port for a whole day, immediately tensed up, and everyone swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Bai Yuan stood on a hastily built watchtower and shouted down to Zao Ying: “About how long until they arrive?”
Zao Ying: “The speed of the fleet isn’t slower than horses. As soon as we arrive, they will arrive right after.”
Bai Yuan: “How many people came?”
Zao Ying shook her head: “I don’t know how to judge the number of people based on the scale of a fleet; I have no experience in that. If they rode horses, I could count the mounts at a glance.”
Bai Yuan nodded: “You’ve had a hard time.”
Zao Ying: “My men can dismount to help you guard the port.”
Bai Yuan shook his head and laughed: “We can’t waste precious cavalry like that, Commander Zao. Lead the cavalry unit to retreat one li back. If our wooden palisade is breached, you charge up with them to finish off the enemy.”
Zao Ying: “Alright!”
She also knew that training these hundred cavalrymen from Gaojia Village had not been easy. The new recruits had started almost from zero in learning horsemanship, enduring countless hardships to become awkward mounted fighters.
If they were dismounted to guard the port, it would truly be rather wasteful.
It was better to back off and serve as a second line of defense.
“Then, Mr. Bai, be careful.”
Zao Ying galloped away toward the northwest direction, retreating one li to allow distance for a cavalry charge.
Bai Yuan, in turn, looked toward the river surface to the north…
He couldn’t see far!
He reached into his robe and pulled out a long, thin iron tube.
This was a treasure Young Master Bai had given his father, named the “telescope,” an invention Young Master Bai made after learning about “optics” in Physics class.
He had asked a blacksmith from the artisans’ well to forge the iron tube, then hired a glassmaker whom Xing Honglang lured back from Xi’an to craft two lenses.
Finally, they were assembled into this simple “telescope.”
The craftsmanship was crude, and the magnification wasn’t high.
But it certainly saw farther than the naked eye.
Bai Yuan picked up the telescope and gazed again. Hey, this time he saw it: a huge fleet had surfaced on the northern river.
At the front were several medium-sized merchant ships, followed by a swarm of little fishing boats.
The smallest was just a skiff, while the larger ones could only carry a few dozen people each.
It was a vast stretch that occupied a great section of the river water.
The Yellow River’s current was torrential, making navigation here difficult, but among the roving bandits were fishermen who had struggled by the river for their whole lives.
Steering their boats, these men made the fleet traverse the water as easily as walking on flat ground.
On the lead ship, a large banner fluttered with a character “白” (white) painted on it.
Bai Yuan turned to Wang Er standing beside him and said with a chuckle: “Brother Wang Er, seems you’re the one leading the fleet to attack us. That’s Bai Shui Wang Er’s white character banner.”
Wang Er: “I have the surname Wang. My flag has the character ‘王’ (king).”
Bai Yuan: “Oh, then it must be your subordinate White Cat. He’s leading the enemy to storm us.”
Wang Er: “White Cat is right downstairs, wearing a yellow hat.”
Seeing Wang Er unable to catch his joke, Bai Yuan spread his hands: “Brother Wang, you seem to be a bit lacking in a sense of humor.”
Wang Er didn’t know whether to laugh or cry—well, he indeed wasn’t very funny. Over all these years, he hadn’t laughed much.
On the other watchtower, Feng Jun craned his neck toward the riverbank. But without a telescope, he couldn’t see as clearly as Bai Yuan. Even when spotting boat shadows, he couldn’t make out the flags. He turned and bellowed toward Bai Yuan’s watchtower: “Mr. Bai! Have you spotted which enemy scum it is?”
Bai Yuan: “Saw only a white banner. Looks like I’ve come to attack myself.”
Feng Jun laughed heartily: “For Mr. Bai to jest in times like this actually puts this official at much greater ease.”
Bai Yuan glanced back at Wang Er, murmuring quietly: “See? Others get my jokes just fine.”
Wang Er: “…”
Feng Jun boomed: “Since it’s the white banner, the leader must be one of Wang Jiayin’s top generals, Bai Yuzhu.”
Bai Yuan: “Oh? I’ve not heard of him.”
Wang Er whispered: “Bai Yuzhu is rather mediocre. Not exceptionally capable—not dangerous, but not stupid either. In Wang Jiayin’s ranks, his position is second only to Zijin Liang. Yet though he holds high standing, one often scarcely notices his presence. When thrown into a crowd, he’s simply forgotten.”
Hearing this, Bai Yuan snorted: “So we’re both surnamed Bai? Easy to be forgotten, while I shine so brilliantly. What an embarrassment to all of us with the surname.”
Wang Er: “He doesn’t actually bear the surname Bai. Bai Yuzhu is just a nickname.”
Bai Yuan: “…”
An eerie silence stretched for five full seconds.
Bai Yuan spread his fingers wide, palm turned upward as he faced Wang Er: “Did you return to Gaojia Village specifically to taunt like this?”
Wang Er: “???”
Feng Jun roared: “Mr. Bai! Why still converse on the tower? The rebel boats advance so swiftly—find a solution quickly!”
Bai Yuan’s spirits lifted; rushing with pride: “Good! Everyone, don’t move! Stay at your assigned positions! Gaojia Village Militia—follow me!”
He scrambled down the watchtower ladder. Members of Gaojia Village’s militia swarmed in.
Soon Bai Yuan led the hundred villagers toward two stainless steel cannons.
The two cannons—already fixed firmly on stone platforms—angled their barrels toward the Yellow River. Across the churning waters, Bai Yuzhu’s fleet raced rapidly closer.
Bai Yuan barked: “Bring the bomb!”
Ground Rabbit raised both hands to pass him a huge bundle of gunpowder.
Just like loading a firearm, Bai Yuan emptied the entire pack into the cannon’s chamber, then seized a prepared stick and jammed it into the muzzle. He thrust it deeper again and again, working to compress the gunpowder fully.
“Bring a cannonball!”
A large, robust Militia Soldier stepped up with both hands clutching a giant iron ball.
The instant Bai Yuan gripped it, his body sank violently downward. With a thud, the ball crashed to earth, narrowly missing his foot.
His face drained pale: “So immense and heavy?”
“It’s a solid iron sphere, what did you expect would happen?” Wang Er bent over, heaved it in both arms, and helped shove it into the cannon barrel.
Bai Yuan seized a ramrod again, pushing until the iron ball rolled and settled against the packed gunpowder.
He smirked, circled around the back, flipped open a small cover on the vent, and lowered a fuse toward the powder inside. Sealing the lid tight over it, he snapped:
“Done!” Cheer swelled in his tone: “So that’s how cannons work! Practically no different from the firearm, after all.”
Truth was, every move of this a series of actions was flawless.
The principles behind these two Red Flag Cannons were indeed identical to the Ming Dynasty’s wide-caliber smoothbore firearm, even the loading methods overlapped completely.