Chapter 70: The Night Assault Comes
Chapter 68 of "The Great Ming in the Box" starts the action: Li Daoxuan was immensely amused. This was just a windproof lighter, not a real cannon.âYiye,... Find out what happens!
Li Daoxuan was immensely amused. This was just a windproof lighter, not a real cannon.âYiye, tell everyone that no person should stand within three zhang in front of the cannon mouth, and no flammable objects should be placed there.â
Gao Yiye quickly relayed this. The area directly ahead of the cannon mouth was a passagewayâthe very same one Bai Yuan had described as âundefended.â The little people standing in the passageway hurriedly moved away.
The walls flanking the passageway were made of composite material boards, and there were no other flammable materials nearby.
Seeing they were ready, Li Daoxuan instructed, âYiye, tell Li Da and Gao Yiyi to pick up their big hammers and strike the mechanism at the back of the cannon simultaneously with all their strength.â
Upon receiving the order, Li Da and Gao Yiyi swiftly grabbed their massive blacksmithing hammers.
In the previous battle, Li Da and Gao Yiyi had been ordered to strike a mechanism on the catapult, performing admirably and gaining valuable experience in such tasks.
Now tasked once again, the two were quite familiar with it. They counted, âOne, two, three!â and swung their hammers together, aiming squarely at the mechanism and smashing down with force.
âClang!â
A tremendous metallic clang rang out. A blast of purple-blue flames erupted from the muzzle of the large cannon with a âBang!â, jetting out over three meters.
The visible flames alone stretched that far; ahead of them was an invisible zone of intense heat, extending another three chi.
The sudden gout of fire startled everyone, making them jerk in fright.
Even Bai Yuan, the most knowledgeable among them, staggered backward several steps in shock.
After a long moment, Bai Yuan recovered, ecstatic, âThe magical artifact of the immortals is indeed incredibly powerful!â
Thirty-Two gulped, âHoly mother! If I were caught in that blaze⌠poof, Iâd be reduced to ashes instantly.â
Bai Yuan was overjoyed, âThis passageway⌠it seems we just need these two blacksmiths stationed here. Even if a thousand troops and ten thousand horses come charging, theyâll be incinerated clean away!â
Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu exclaimed together, âWow! Such an amazing immortalâs artifact! We want to try it too! Let us guard here!â
Bai Yuan glanced sideways at them, âYou two are idiots! I fear your clumsiness might cause you to miss the mechanism entirely. Imagine: Gao Chuwu smashing the hammer onto Zheng Daniuâs foot, Zheng Daniu whacking Gao Chuwuâs hand⌠and then this passage gets breached by the bandit army.â
Both men immediately broke out in a cold sweat; that was indeed a very real possibility.
Swinging the big hammer overhead, mustering all oneâs strength to strike downânot only was there a high chance of missing the mark for fools, but even ordinary, non-idiotic individuals had a significant risk of striking off-target. Even a perfect swing might not generate enough force, or one could throw out their back.
Only those who spent their days wielding big hammers, practiced and trained, could land each blow accurately and powerfully. Naturally, this task belonged solely to the two blacksmiths.
Bai Yuan stated, âI need to reassign people to cover their positions guarding the other two passageways. Heh heh heh⌠With the blessings of the Deity, it feels impossible to lose! But a stunning victory would truly live up to the Deityâs expectations!â
Everyone chorused, âAll thanks to the Deityâs protection!â
Bai Yuan waved his hand, âEveryone, start drills! Memorize your assigned paths for attack, defense, advance, and retreat! Fighting at night, in pitch darkness, the last thing you need is to get lost within your own Fortress. That would be hilariously pathetic!â
Everyone shouted, âAll thanks to the Deityâs protection!â
Thus, Gaojia Village once again bustled with fervent drills. Those previously timid souls, seeing the âimmortalâs large cannonsâ bestowed by the Deity, realized their backing remained incredibly powerful. As long as they held tightly to the Deityâs mighty leg, all worries vanished.
Instantly, spirits soared! Backs ceased aching, legs stopped hurting⌠fear utterly dissipatedâŚ
Night fell, yet Shuangqing City remained noisy; its vibrant nightlife had just begun.
Li Daoxuan sat at his computer, editing a video.
Episode eight of âDaily Life in the Tiny Kingdomâ: Inside a small, thatched grass house, Gao San Niang sat before the weaving machine. Ji ji, Ji ji⌠the little woman wove by the doorâŚ
Right then, his phone suddenly emitted an urgent, staccato beepâDing ding ding, Ding ding ding!
It was the alarm from the camera app, triggered by its nighttime motion monitoring!
He stopped his work and moved to the boxâs edge. He had earlier adjusted the boxâs viewpoint slightly, no longer centered entirely on the village, but shifted northwards by a few hundred meters. It now covered about half of the village and a large swathe of north slope bordering the village.
The camera activating the alarm was precisely the one monitoring this slope.
Li Daoxuanâs gaze naturally fixed on the slope.
Trees covered the hill, sparse and struggling. Many were stripped bare of bark, likely scavenged for food by the villagers.
These trees obstructed part of Li Daoxuanâs view, yet he could still clearly see a group of people stealthily moving through the woodsâŚ
Heh. Zheng Yanfu and Zhuang Guangdao had arrived.
A full moon hung high in the sky. The Mid-Autumn Festival had just passed days prior; the moon was still intensely round. Combined with the years-long drought and zero cloud cover, the moonlight cast a surprisingly bright luminescence across the land.
Leading over two hundred followers, Zheng Yanfu and Zhuang Guangdao lay concealed on the hills just north of Gaojia Village. Shielded by the woods, they had no fear of the village sentinels spotting them.
People in ancient times often suffered from night-blindness, making night movements difficult. However, the bright full moon provided ample light, making the night assault on Gaojia Village feasible.
Zheng Yanfu scowled as he looked at the imposing Fortress ahead and spat, âDamn this place! How has it changed again?â
Zhuang Guangdao replied, âIt seems this village is Rich and Wealthy! Probably harboring some immensely wealthy lord. He must have spent a fortune to rebuild Gaojia Village into thisâŚâ
Zheng Yanfu chuckled darkly, âWouldnât that be perfect? The richer that grand lord is, the more rewarding our plunder!â
Zhuang Guangdao echoed the malicious chuckle, âWang Er got bought off by the damn rich dogs in this village. A bit of flour and he became a bootlicker for those wealthy fools!â
Zheng Yanfu nodded, âI wanted to chop Wang Er to pieces! But you insisted on stopping me. Locking him and the people of Wangjia Village up⌠Now we have to leave fifty men guarding them! What a waste of manpower.â
Zhuang Guangdao reasoned, âWang Erâs prestige still stands. Killing him outright now would ruin our standing among the greenwood brotherhoods, the other rebel forces. Theyâd scorn us. We have no choice but to keep him imprisoned. After we conquer Gaojia Village, kill the damn wealthy lord within, seize the money and grain to share with our brothers, prove our mettleâonly then can we tell everyone Wang Er was in the pay of the rich, that he was ready to betray us, just like that traitor Song Jiang! Execute Wang Er right then, in front of the assembled outlaws of the realm! No one will dare say we did wrong.â
Zheng Yanfu pondered this carefully. It made sense. Surviving in the greenwood world wasnât just about ruthlessness; one had to play by the unwritten rules too. Killing your own leader without justification? That marked you as dung underfoot for everyone to trample.
âFine. We take Gaojia Village, and fast.â
Their gazes sharpened as one, fixed intently on Gaojia Village ahead.