Chapter 551: appeasement bandit

Fan Mountain Hawk felt no pressure at all facing the newly arrived two thousand firearm soldiers.Cheng Xu also felt no pressure at all watching the ten thousand bandit troops charging over.

Since no one had any pressure, they happily faced it with ease.

“Rifled firearm soldiers, grenadiers, fix bayonets!”

Cheng Xu’s voice echoed in the heavy rain, and the splashing sounds of rain almost covered his command.

Luckily, in those days, military orders weren’t just broadcast by the general’s shout alone.

After he roared, people nearby roared along, then Commanders, captains, and flag officers all relayed the orders in sequence.

One thousand five hundred men drew out their bayonets and clicked them onto the barrels with a snick.

But another five hundred Sharps Rifle soldiers hunched over, using their bodies and bamboo hats to shield from the rain.

Then they swiftly pulled Paper-Wrapped Bullets from their bosoms and crammed them into the barrels.

Breech-loading rifles had rubber at the bolt to ensure airtightness.

Since they could block air itself, how could they fail to block rain?

The firearm soldiers loaded their guns and eyed the wildly shouting bandits surging ahead, corners of their mouths curling into faint smirks.

The Deity embroidered with golden thread on Cheng Xu’s chest also curled its lips upward and grinned.

Li Daoxuan observed this scene with feelings unlike the soldiers’.

When the soldiers regarded the bandits, it was like seeing living target dummies.

But what Li Daoxuan sensed seemed like playing Civilization, where his own tech tree had advanced to firearm soldiers while the enemy was still churning out swordsmen.

This felt incredibly satisfying.

By then, the bandit army had pulled within five hundred meters.

That distance was still too far for the enemy’s archers to even loose one arrow.

But for breech-loading rifles… hehe…

“Within effective range!” Cheng Xu yelled: “Free shooting!”

Sharps Rifles troops didn’t need to form neat rows for shooting like smoothbore gun troops.

They didn’t require volley fire to improve accuracy, nor did they need disciplined three-round shooting to cover reload gaps.

So at battle’s outset, they could immediately deploy “free shooting.”

One Sharps Rifle soldier took aim almost casually and squeezed the trigger—bang!

A bandit five hundred meters away collapsed instantly.

Then bang, bang, bang, the sounds rang out without pause.

Five hundred rifles took turns firing in turn.

The fastest-charging bandits fell in large heaps all at once.

Fan Mountain Hawk on the opposite side was utterly startled: “Holy hell, this far?!”

This was merely about a few hundred paces away.

Fan Mountain Hawk’s followers hadn’t even begun charging yet; they were still inching forward sluggishly.

Cold-weapon formations usually advanced only under one hundred meters to start their charge.

At five hundred meters, the soldiers’ spirits hadn’t been fired up yet.

It was like singing Jay Chou’s “Nocturne” while still stuck in the rap part, having just sung “a group of bloodthirsty ants, drawn to rotten meat,” and not yet landing on the most melodic line “for you, I play Chopin’s Nocturne,” and the mood hadn’t quite built.

But then the foe came out swinging on the very first line: “commemorating my dead love!”

And right after, the foe opened fire!

Sure enough, dead, dead! So many bandits fell lifeless! Quicker than love expired.

Fan Mountain Hawk was profoundly shocked.

What was even more astonishing was that, besides their long range, these hundreds of firearms could fire rapidly with non-stop bam bam bam, as if loading took no time at all. The volleys became fierce and intense.

The torrential rain seemed no obstacle at all, the loading of ammunition was not an issue, and distance fell within range. After a barrage of chaotic fire from the opposing side, Fan Mountain Hawk’s troops were tossed in disarray.

What was even more dreadful than death was the collapse of morale.

These bandit troops were stunned by firearms that defied common sense with their extreme range. Before they could even touch a hair of their enemies, they were already beaten and routed. How could they even fight this battle?

With a panicked “rush,” a crowd scattered backward. No matter how Fan Mountain Hawk shouted at them, they wouldn’t return to the front lines.

The formation instantly crumbled. In their frantic retreat, they even trampled and disrupted Fan Mountain Hawk’s central position. On the other side, the group of bandits storming the city had just managed to scale the city walls and were locked in a desperate fight with the officials led by Wang Er and Wang Xiaohua, and the militia led by Dou Wenda, when the morale on the outside suddenly collapsed.

The bandits who hadn’t yet scaled the walls stopped climbing. They turned around and began fleeing west. Those bandits already on the walls instantly became isolated…

Since ancient times, isolated troops have no one treats them kindly!

Wang Er swung his great blade, swish swish, cutting down the last few bandits stubbornly resisting atop the city wall. Then, he heard the sound of Dou Wenda’s voice, filled with wild joy, nearby: “Our reinforcements are amazing, haha! Amazing reinforcements! Fan Mountain Hawk has retreated! Fan Mountain Hawk has retreated!”

Wang Er had heard the loud gunshots amidst the fierce fighting, but hadn’t had the chance to look. Now sheathing his blade and looking down from the wall, he finally saw a large group of firearm soldiers in the distance, pressuring through the heavy rain, marching towards Pingyang Prefecture.

“Hey! Reinforcements are here!”

“Our troops have arrived!”

“Pingyang Prefecture is secure!”

The militia roared in cheers.

Soon, the city gates swung wide open. Wang Er and White Cat stepped out to greet them under the gate tunnel.

Dou Wenda, as the magistrate, of course had to follow to welcome them. Still unclear about the origin of these reinforcements, he felt a flicker of curiosity at the sight of Cheng Xu: Why is this military officer covering his face?

Cheng Xu seemed to sense his confusion. Cupping his fists with a smile, he said, “Apologies. In my youth, while fighting rebels, I took a slash to the face. It left an unsightly scar, so I always keep it covered.”

Dou Wenda exclaimed in surprise, his suspicion vanishing instantly. He hastily clasped his fists in return. “General, wounded in service to the nation, such a scar would only enhance your reputation, far from unsightly!”

As he spoke this polite drivel, Dou Wenda himself didn’t believe it—it sounded good in the moment. He immediately skipped past the topic.

Now it was Cheng Xu’s turn for self-introduction.

This introduction required a small nuance. He couldn’t claim to be Wang Xiaohua’s subordinate; Wang Xiaohua was merely a company commander. Commanding two thousand firearm soldiers would be absurd.

Shi Jian’s name wouldn’t suffice either, nor could he say his troop was from Chengcheng County militia.

Thus, he needed a more fitting identity for his introduction.

He stated, “This lowly officer is Old Ghost from Guyuan. I once followed the rebel band in Guyuan, joined the chaos, and ran with bandits for a time. Later, I joined Boss Xing under Xing Honglang, serving as a minor leader. Recently, Boss Xing accepted pacification. I, as a subordinate, naturally followed suit. I’d heard bandits were tormenting the area near Pingyang Prefecture, and the Provincial Governor called for the nearest troops to reinforce. I came immediately. Boss Xing… ahem… General Xing will arrive shortly.”

Upon hearing this, Dou Wenda jumped, startled: So this was a former bandit who’d accepted appeasement!

He absolutely must not offend this group!

Had he been an officially appointed military officer of the court, Dou Wenda wouldn’t have feared him—civil officials never feared military ones. But… a military officer who was a reformed bandit? That kind, a civil official offended at their own peril.

These were precisely the sort who, at a single word of disagreement, might defect at any moment. Truly terrifying.