Chapter 317: Unable to Hit a Flying Bird
Chapter 317: Unable to Hit a Flying Bird
The “Dashing General” from Mizhi, was of course Li Zicheng.
He and his nephew Li Guo had joined Wang Zuogua. Because he was literate, possessed formidable martial skills, and had seen the world, he was quickly promoted to “management” upon joining Wang Zuogua’s army, gaining the right to enter the hall for deliberations.
However, as it was just him and Li Guo, without any subordinates, they could not form their own unit, making him ineligible to become a Captain.
As Li Zicheng spoke up, Wang Zuogua, Miao Mei, Feishan Hu, and Big Honglang all turned to look at him: “Oh? It’s the Dashing General! What do you have to say?”
Li Zicheng: “It has been some time since I came under Big Brother Wang’s command. I often hear soldiers talking about the Bai Family Fortress. Several veterans mentioned that we’ve already lost when attacking it several times, haven’t we? One time, we were defeated by strange catapults, giant crossbow vehicles, and large, bizarre stones that could fly extremely far and crush us. Another time, we were defeated by strange bombs and a dozen firearms…”
Wang Zuogua looked somewhat embarrassed: “Such old matters, better not bring them up.”
Li Zicheng thought to himself: Just mentioning lost battles makes you embarrassed? Seems your tolerance is rather limited. A true hero should learn lessons from failure, not be ashamed to mention it.
Li Zicheng: “I bring it up only to remind the leaders that this Bai Family Fortress is strange and treacherous; it’s likely no ordinary Local Gentry. There’s assuredly some strange force behind it, providing him with all manner of bizarre weapons.”
Wang Zuogua: “What strange force could it be? The officials?”
Li Zicheng shook his head: “Clearly not the officials! The officials would never provide armor and firearms for a civilian militia. Behind this Bai Family Fortress might well be a force even more lawless than us. Without figuring that out before hastily engaging in battle, we court only danger…”
“Nonsense! Damn rubbish you’re spewing.” Big Honglang said: “We allowed you a voice in our army because you’ve seen some of the world. But the moment you arrive, you start spouting nonsense to undermine our morale?”
Li Zicheng: “No, that’s not what I meant at all. I simply feel that in matters of war, greater caution is always better.”
Big Honglang: “So what? Should I also go investigate Bai Yuan’s eighteen generations of ancestors to see which one is blessing him from beyond?”
Li Zicheng: “…”
Wang Zuogua waved his hand, silencing Big Honglang: “Fourth Brother, stop arguing! Dashing General, you needn’t worry needlessly either. What force behind the Bai Family Fortress could be more lawless than us? That’s pure absurdity. In all this world, is there any forest hero more reckless and daring than yours truly?”
Li Zicheng: “…”
Wang Zuogua: “We just need to send out more scouts, carry out reconnaissance properly, then lure them into our ambush zone. One strike will decide the victory.”
Li Zicheng clasped his fists together and said no more.
He excused himself to relieve himself, slipped out of the main camp, seized his nephew Li Guo by the arm, and dragged him into the woods behind.
Li Guo asked, puzzled: “Uncle, what’s wrong?”
Li Zicheng: “Pack our things, we’re leaving.”
Li Guo: “???”
Li Zicheng said: “This Wang Zuogua is worthless. He’s not worth us pledging ourselves to. Moreover, his death is not far off. Staying here will only mean we get dragged down with him.”
Li Guo: “Then where shall we go?”
Li Zicheng thought for a moment: “Just the two of us, uncle and nephew, we will ultimately struggle to achieve great things. Even after joining Wang Zuogua’s band, he doesn’t value us. After much thought, I’ve concluded we must have our own core group.”
Li Guo: “Where can we get such a core group?”
Li Zicheng: “First, we return to Mizhi. We’ll gather elders and villagers from our hometown and form a unit. Then, with a troop, we’ll go join Bu Zhan Ni in Luochuan. That way, we won’t just be two mouths offering advice; we’ll at least become a Captain…”
Li Guo brightened up with understanding: “If we become Captains, our voice will be much stronger.”
Li Zicheng chuckled: “Exactly! Having a troop of our own men gives us the capital to carve out our place in the world. With our capabilities, uncle and nephew, what concern is there that we may fail in our grand endeavor?”
“Right! Uncle, let’s go back to Mizhi.”
The two quietly slipped away from Wang Zuogua’s army, plunged into mountain paths, traveling day and night, heading back towards their hometown in Mizhi County…
When the militia first entered the mountains, Li Daoxuan could still watch over them.
His field of vision had expanded several miles into the Huanglong Mountain range, but Huanglong Mountain covered too vast an area. The entire territory of Chengcheng County combined with Heyang County and Tongguan Road still couldn’t match the size of Huanglong Mountain.
Li Daoxuan’s current field of vision covered only a small southern portion of Huanglong Mountain.
He could only watch as the militia walked to the very edge of his sight. Cheng Xu looked up and bowed deeply to the low cloud that had followed them throughout their journey. Then the entire militia crossed beyond the limits of the box, disappearing from Li Daoxuan’s view.
“Don’t die!”
Li Daoxuan could only silently offer them his blessing.
After seeing them off, Li Daoxuan shifted his gaze back, quickly returning it above Bai Family Fortress.
Baijia Castle was bustling with activity.
By Horseshoe Lake, a group of fishermen were drawing in their nets.
It was already autumn. Farmers on land were harvesting their crops, while for the fishermen by the lake, it was prime time for gathering shrimp and crab. Every year at this time, shrimp and crab began to grow plump and succulent.
Horseshoe Lake was a body of water Li Daoxuan had forcibly created by pouring water. It originally had no fish or shrimp, yet mysteriously, they had appeared.
After a year, the fish were still sparse and not very fat, but the shrimp had grown significantly.
The fishermen used nets with large meshes, catching only big shrimp and letting the small ones go.
Li Daoxuan saw many fishermen’s boats already laden with several large baskets full of live shrimp, splashing and rustling energetically inside.
“Quick, quick, quick! The next train is coming!” A fisherman, dipping his basket of shrimp into the water, handed it to his wife. “Take this basket, catch the next train to the Gaojia Business Circle. Sell them while they’re still alive!”
The woman moved swiftly, hoisting the large basket of shrimp and running towards the train station. She had barely arrived when the train pulled in. Scrambling aboard using both hands and feet, she climbed onto the small train.
She wasn’t the only woman doing this; several others were also carrying baskets of shrimp.
The small train then took them aboard and whistled its way towards Gaojia Village.
Given Gaojia Village’s current purchasing power, their shrimp would be snapped up immediately upon arrival at the business circle. After all, it was protein…
Li Daoxuan’s face broke into a gratified, almost matronly smile. What he loved seeing most was scenes like this, where his little people’s lives were settling into a steady rhythm.
Just then, he heard a loud “BANG!”.
He quickly looked toward the sound. Bai Yuan stood in a grove beside Bai Family Fortress, holding a birding firearm modified into a Flintlock Firearm. Staring at a small bird startled into flight in the sky, his face was etched with disappointment.
“Sigh! No matter how much I practice, I still can’t hit a flying bird.”
Bai Yuan wore a deeply troubled expression. “The ‘archery’ in the Six Arts of Gentlemen… I should just cross it off my list.”