Chapter 310: The Glorious Armor-Piercing Grenadier Battalion
Chapter 306 of "The Great Ming in the Box" commences with: Ground Rabbit looked at the familiar faces before him, a faint smile tugging at the... Donât miss the next part!
Ground Rabbit looked at the familiar faces before him, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. âHeh⌠Heh⌠This bunny⌠is back.âLi 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 couldnât help but mock him: âYiye, tell everyone, this is what they call The wicked live a thousand years, while the good die young.â
Gao Yiye was in a good mood just then. Hearing the Deity deliberately mimic Thirty-Twoâs emphatic way of quoting proverbs to be funny, she also laughed. She turned to everyone with a giggle: âThe Deity has issued a divine decree: The wicked live a thousand years, while the good die young.â
Everyone laughed. âLooks like Ground Rabbit is a piece of destruction!â
âDo we even need âlooks likeâ? Didnât we already know?â
âHahaha, exactly! This guy has always been one of Gaojia Villageâs great catastrophes.â
âAm I in Gaojia Village now?â Ground Rabbit gasped. âHuh? Mr. Bai? Is he alright?â
Everyone reassured him: âMr. Bai is fine.â
Li Daoxuan thought: âGround 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 havenât been fully deducted yet, the silver will be confiscated for the village treasury.â
Gao Yiye loudly announced the divine decree, then couldnât help but burst out laughing.
Hearing this, Ground Rabbit wasnât bothered at all. He genuinely didnât 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: âWait! What about those four brothers who were on guard duty?â
The question instantly made the mood around them somber.
Ground Rabbit understood. His fist clenched. âWho was it?â
Gao Chuwu answered: âIt was Wang Zuoguaâs men.â
Ground Rabbit understood immediately: âWang Zuogua. Remember that horse rustling incident? He wanted revenge against us. But he didnât know who we were, so he targeted Mr. Bai from Bai Family Fortress.â
âExactly right. Thatâs the situation,â Cheng Xu chimed in from the side. âThe Deity is furious. Heâs 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.â
Ground Rabbit declared: âIâm going too.â
âOf course you are. You definitely wonât be left out of this,â Gao Chuwu said. âBut in your current state? Youâre no good. Get well quickly.â
Ground Rabbit demanded: âMedicine! Give me medicine quickly! Double the dose! This bunny needs to get better right now!â
Together, the group admonished him in exasperation: âTaking double the medicine will only kill you faster, not make you better faster!â
Li Daoxuan knew this troublemaker wouldnât be able to stay still and heal properly; heâd rush around and likely tear his wounds open. Shaking his head, Li Daoxuan ordered: âGet him a wheelchair like Zhuge Liang used, and have Zheng Gouzi push him around.â
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 Rabbitâs spirits.
His eyes immediately landed on a group of people outside the barracks throwing grenades. These were practice grenadesâiron 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: âAlright, now itâs your turn! The Deity has said anyone who canât throw at least fifteen zhang wonât be recruited! Whether you can become a glorious âArmor-Piercing Grenadierâ depends entirely on your skill.â
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 âArmor-Piercing Grenadierâ became equivalent to being a âstalwart.â
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 townâall were now viewing âbecoming an Armor-Piercing Grenadierâ as a vital proof of their manhood.
A powerfully built man immediately stepped forward: âBrother Chuwu, let me try first!â
âGood!â 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 couldnât help but cheer as one: âAmazing!â
Gao Chuwu grinned: âPassed. Next!â
The next man wasnât 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: âFourteen zhang! Fail!â
The man collapsed face-first onto the ground, orz.
Seeing this challenge, Ground Rabbit instantly grew eager: âAh! Let me try too! Mr. Rabbit here has unparalleled strength! A casual throw? At least fifty zhang!â
Zheng Gouzi broke out in a sweat, hastily pressing him back down: âDonât fool around! In your condition, putting any effort will make all your wounds tear open! Youâll bleed out and die!â
But Ground Rabbit was the Deityâs designated âpiece of destruction.â How could he be held back? He twisted his body, somehow slid out from under Zheng Gouziâs arm, crashed to the ground, and started painfully crawling forward: âLet Mr. Rabbit come⌠Mr. Rabbit will throw the grenadeâŚâ
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: âIâd like to see you cause trouble now.â
Ground Rabbit persisted: âMr. Rabbit can do it!â
Zheng Gouzi threatened: âKeep talking, and Iâll shove a cloth gag in your mouth.â
Ground Rabbit: ââŚâŚâ
Silence reigned.
Zheng Gouzi pushed Ground Rabbitâs 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: âloading,â âfiring,â âloading,â âfiring,â 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 robesâit was Bai Yuan. He was also holding a firearm, practicing the same âloadingâ and âfiringâ sequence.
The moment Ground Rabbit saw Bai Yuan, immense joy flooded him: âMr. Bai! Iâm so glad you are safe!â