Chapter 473: We Protect the People

Just as the common folk of Hejin County were being relocated…Wang Jiayin’s bandit army traveled through Taiyuan Prefecture, Fenzhou Prefecture (present-day Fenyang, Shanxi), Lu’an Prefecture (present-day Changzhi, Shanxi), and Zezhou (present-day Jincheng, Shanxi), entering the Qin River basin.

Several days later, a contingent of over 10,000 troops split from Wang Jiayin’s main force, advancing westward directly toward Pingyang Prefecture (Linfen).

The straight-line distance between Pingyang Prefecture and Hejin County was merely a hundred-plus li.

Amid the clop-clopping of hooves, a swift horse galloped furiously.

The rider was an official courier! He had come to report military intelligence but was stunned to find Hejin County devoid of people upon arriving.

Truly, not a soul remained—it felt like a ghost town.

Though the courier had long known that the county magistrate, county clerk, constables, and others had all been slaughtered by Bu Zhan Ni, and that Hejin County had effectively slipped from official control, he never imagined it would turn into an empty city—utterly abandoned by its common folk.

Startled and confused, the courier pressed onward regardless, urging his horse to race faster until he reached Longmen Ferry.

There, he couldn’t help but gasp in shock.

Throngs of people—thousands upon thousands—were chopping timber, hauling stones, and constructing colossal Water Fortifications. A large banner fluttered above the fort, bearing the character “Shi” (石).

At first glance, the courier thought the notorious bandit leader Shi Yaoyu under Wang Jiayin had seized the spot. Upon closer look, he realized it was inhabited by officials: the archers standing guard atop watchtowers wore the unmistakable uniforms of garrison troops.

Moreover, he reasoned bandits only destroyed and never built—they couldn’t possibly erect fortifications. This had to be an officials’ base without question.

The courier swiftly approached the entrance and shouted, “Which general commands this garrison?”

A sentinel replied, “Captain Shi Jian, serving under General Wang Cheng’en of Shaanxi.”

Hearing this, the courier nearly recoiled. “What? Merely a captain?”

He struggled to suppress this “WTF” mentality. Such an enormous garrison swarming with laborers, yet overseen by a puny captain? And why would a lowly captain even raise a banner?

Could this be a mistake?

The courier demanded, “Where is Captain Shi? Summon him immediately.”

Shi Jian emerged quickly.

As soon as the courier saw him, he snapped impatiently, “How many troops do you command?”

Shi Jian shrugged. “I’m a captain. What’s your guess?”

The courier: “…”

Awkward. Truly awkward.

He hadn’t planned to ask such a stupid question. But witnessing the scale of the fortifications and the crowds, he’d assumed someone formidable must be here. Instead, he faced someone who radiated apathy.

Frustrated, the courier pressed, “I serve Deputy General Li Huai. Ten thousand of Wang Jiayin’s men prepare to attack Pingyang. General Li has been ordered to defend it, but with only 800 troops, he risks falling to the bandits. He urgently requests reinforcements from neighboring commanders.”

Eight hundred troops? Li Daoxuan, eavesdropping nearby, chuckled inwardly. Officials are impressive! Eight hundred against ten thousand? The advantage is clearly theirs.

But immediately, a sobering thought surfaced. No… since I’ve had this thought about “the advantage,” they’re inevitably doomed.

Such is the “I’m the Advantage Principle”!

Shi Jian shook his head at the courier. “My apologies. I’m just a negligible captain with barely fifty men. Ahem… you understand. I must guard all these villagers here. I cannot aid General Li—he should pray for luck.”

The courier sighed but didn’t insist. He knew seeking help was seldom fruitful. This wretched little captain at the dilapidated Longmen Ferry clearly lacked any real fighting force. Hardly surprising.

Before leaving, he could only fling out a final remark: “Pingyang Prefecture is barely over a hundred li from here. If General Li loses the battle, bandits will surely swarm Longmen Ferry. By then, you’ll all be doomed too.”

With that, he spurred his horse away without a backward glance, heading off to find other reinforcements.

Only after he was gone did Shi Jian step closer to Li Daoxuan, whispering, “Deity, what do we do? Should we go reinforce them?”

Li Daoxuan’s silicone eyeballs rotated once as he pondered very seriously for a mere 0.01 seconds: “Help!”

Shi Jian exclaimed, “Huh? We’re really aiding the officials?”

“We’re not aiding the officials, we’re aiding the people,” Li Daoxuan stated gravely. “Pingyang is a prefectural seat, not a county town. The common folk there outnumber those in county towns many times over—easily a hundred thousand souls. If the bandit army breaches it, rivers of blood will flow.”

Shi Jian jolted in realization, “Ah, true enough.”

Shifting his consciousness slightly, Li Daoxuan immediately grasped the deployment of their own transport unit. He murmured, “Rest easy. Reinforcements from the Gaojia Village Militia are on their way. With this support, we can likely aid Pingyang’s commoners.”

Shi Jian asked curiously, “The militia is coming?”

Li Daoxuan confirmed, “Two hundred will arrive.”

Perplexed why two hundred were summoned, Shi Jian quickly understood.

The big gunboat arrived, transporting two hundred Gaojia Village militiamen. A hundred of them were old villagers from Wangjia Village, led by none other than Wang Er.

Wang Er’s emergence this time was, of course, to serve as White Cat’s “private militia” in secret.

Henceforth, that unit supposedly under White Cat’s command—a supposed “official” troop—would secretly be led by Wang Er, the world’s foremost rebel. This was what it meant to infiltrate the enemy ranks!

Naturally, if Wang Er still wore his cloth mask, he would stand out. So, he had discarded it. Instead, he styled his hair wildly, with heavy bangs sweeping across half his face like a wild mane, paired with a massive beard that fused with the fringe, transforming him into a veritable savage.

No one could recognize Wang Er in this disguise.

Realizing White Cat had earned merit at the front and been promoted to Ba Zong, commanding four hundred troops, Shi Jian chuckled, “Well then, leading White Cat’s soldiers to rescue Li Huai should earn me some significant merit too. I might even get promoted to Ba Zong myself.”

“Mm, go ahead!”

Li Daoxuan also hoped for his faction to embed deeper within the officials—it brought only benefits, no harm. “But guard yourselves carefully. The weapons you carry are the smoothbore firearms Gaojia Village has started phasing out. They’re not powerful at all. Use them with caution, ensuring your safety.”

Shi Jian saluted, “Understood!”

Wang Er added, “Rest assured, Deity.”

Shi Jian left fifty-some garrison soldiers at the ancient ferry dock to protect refugees arriving from Hejin County. He himself, alongside Wang Er, led two hundred militiamen, setting out to depart.

Just before leaving, Shi Jian couldn’t resist asking Wang Er, “Brother Old Tiger Wang, did you bring your Deity Statue before heading out? Ever since I gave my small statue to White Cat, I’ve felt oddly hollow inside. Without the Deity’s protection, even food tastes bland.”

Wang Er tapped his chest. “See here.”

His shirt was embroidered with an image of the Deity, its eyes distinctly shifting back and forth.

Shi Jian beamed with delight, “I’m getting Deity’s sacred image embroidered on my clothes too! For protection.”