Xing Honglang's division began its preparations in earnest. When the troops finished assembling, several thousand men standing in loose but disciplined ranks, she rode to the front and raised her voice so it carried clearly across the open ground.
"Reclaim Hedong City!" she declared. "Do not let a single bandit escape!"
The soldiers answered in unison, their voices surging like a wave. "Understood!"
Nearby, the subordinate from the Salt Administration Commissioner's office watched the scene in silence, his eyes sweeping over the formation. He could not help but feel a quiet shock rise in his chest. These troops are no joke at all, he thought. Just how much illicit salt did Xing Honglang sell back then to build this kind of force? The armor on the soldiers gleamed under the light, and the flintlock rifles in their hands looked no less formidable than those carried by the Divine Engine Battalion itself.
His gaze lingered on the thousand riflemen at the center of the formation, and another thought crept into his mind. With this many guns, taking Hedong City should be easy enough. But is the Salt Administration Commissioner still alive in there? Have we already come too late?
As if sensing his unease, Xing Honglang turned her head and looked straight at him. "You go on ahead," she said calmly. "Inform the Salt Administration Commissioner that my reinforcements will arrive shortly."
The subordinate nodded hastily, swung himself onto his horse, and galloped off toward Hedong City. The moment his figure disappeared into the distance, the atmosphere among the militia soldiers changed at once. Laughter burst out across the ranks, and the grim, murderous resolve they had worn a moment earlier dissolved like frost under the sun.
Xing Honglang raised her voice again. "Listen carefully. When you load your flintlock rifles later, load only gunpowder. No lead bullets. Do you understand?"
The riflemen answered as one. "Understood!"
"Good." Her expression hardened slightly. "As long as this is clear. If anyone forgets and accidentally kills one of our own brothers, do not blame me for enforcing military law on the spot."
At that moment, Gao Chuwu poked his head out from the side, grinning. "If Xu Dafu from the Ordnance Bureau were here, he would probably make everyone hand over their lead bullets right now."
Xing Honglang was briefly taken aback, then broke into a broad smile. "Chuwu!"
"Honglang!" Gao Chuwu answered back.
With a heavy thud, the two embraced. After releasing him, Xing Honglang turned back to the troops. "Everyone, hand over your small pouches of lead bullets to your squad leaders. The squad leaders will collect them and keep them safe."
The riflemen were already organized into ten man squads. They moved quickly, handing over their ammunition without complaint. In a short time, every squad leader had collected the lead bullets, ensuring that each soldier carried nothing but gunpowder. The arrangement was foolproof.
Xing Honglang waved her hand, her smile widening. "Alright. Let's go. Time to go beat up our own people."
Inside Hedong City, Chen Baihu was also busy inspecting his men's "equipment."
Each subordinate carried a small waterskin filled with chicken blood, tucked carefully beneath their clothes.
Chen Baihu laughed loudly as he looked them over. "You all know what to do, right?"
The men roared with laughter. "We do!"
He grabbed one soldier from the ranks and dragged him forward. "You. Come here. Act out getting shot and dying."
He pointed at him and made a sharp sound with his mouth. "Bang!"
The soldier collapsed to the ground with a thud, writhing and rolling as he squeezed the waterskin, chicken blood spilling out dramatically. He groaned, struggled, then staggered to his feet, took two more steps, and was still very much alive.
"Damn it!" Chen Baihu bellowed, his face darkening. "Why aren't you dead after all that?"
The soldier answered honestly, "Deep down, I don't want to die."
Chen Baihu glared at him. "You don't want to die, but you have to!"
"Give me a few more seconds," the soldier pleaded. "I'll really be dead then."
At that moment, Tie Niaofei came out from the inner room, leaning on a crutch as he limped closer. "Alright, stop fooling around," he said. "Dao Xuan Tianzun said Xing Honglang's people will be here soon."
The effect was immediate. Everyone straightened, spirits lifted.
"Prepare for battle!"
Chen Baihu laughed again. "After this, we can go find Brother Nanfeng."
Cheers erupted. "Oh yeah!"
Six hundred former Guyuan border soldiers surged toward the west gate of Hedong City.
Outside the city, the subordinate who had ridden ahead earlier sat frozen in the woods. He had been sent to notify the Salt Administration Commissioner, but when he returned, he discovered that Hedong City had already changed hands. The soldiers patrolling the walls were no longer government troops but rebels, and a massive banner with the words "PAY UP" fluttered above the battlements, making the whole city look like the lair of violent debt collectors.
He did not dare enter. He could only sit there, staring blankly at the city walls. After an unknown amount of time, lost in his thoughts, he heard voices approaching. Turning his head, he saw Xing Honglang's army advancing. Perhaps because they were moving quickly, they had brought no heavy siege equipment. There were no cannons, no catapults, no battering rams, nothing of the sort.
She had brought only a thousand riflemen, two thousand soldiers armed with cold steel, and twenty scaling ladders. Xing Honglang did not order an immediate assault. Instead, she reined in her troops and sent one man forward alone. Lao Nanfeng rode up to the city walls and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Listen up, you thick headed bandits inside! I am Lao Nanfeng, chief commander under General Xing of the Puzhou garrison. I advise you to open the gates at once and surrender. Otherwise, you will be chopped to pieces and fed to the dogs. Not a single one of you will be spared!"
When the Guyuan soldiers on the walls saw Brother Nanfeng, their former superior, their eyes filled with tears. They had never imagined that their first reunion after prison would happen like this. Chen Baihu stepped onto the parapet and shouted back, "Who do you think you are, barking orders? Hedong City is mine now! If the old emperor wants it back, he should come here himself, kneel down, and call me 'Daddy' a few times!"
Lao Nanfeng shouted, "How dare you!"
Chen Baihu threw his head back and laughed. "Hahahaha!"
In the next instant, Lao Nanfeng moved. He swiftly pulled a rifle from behind his back. A sharp bang rang out, white smoke billowed, and the shot echoed across the walls. At the same moment, Chen Baihu let out a shrill scream, flipped backward, and tumbled down, blood spraying high into the air. He hit the ground, struggled once, then went stiff, his eyes closing as he lay motionless.
The soldier who had failed to "die" properly earlier could not help but admire him inwardly. Chen Baihu's acting is better than mine. No wonder he's a centurion and I'm just a nobody. Chen Baihu cracked one eye open slightly and whispered, "Pay attention, kid."
After "killing the bandit leader" with a single shot, Lao Nanfeng laughed loudly. "Attack!"
Xing Honglang's troops surged forward at once.
The Guyuan soldiers on the walls hurriedly raised their bows, but Xing Honglang's men fired first. Bang, bang, bang, bang. Hundreds of flintlock rifles discharged together, the sound terrifying. The Guyuan soldiers fell one after another. Some writhed on the ground, some lay still, some struggled to die properly, and others seemed to finish an entire internal monologue before collapsing. White doves scattered into the air as blood splashed across the stone.
The casualties were heavy.
Below the walls, soldiers slammed the scaling ladders into place with dull thuds. The militia swarmed upward. During their training in Gao Family Village, they had practiced climbing, running, and scaling walls until it became instinct, and now they moved as easily as children at play. In moments, they were over the walls. Rifles fired wildly, and the "bandits" screamed in agony. In the blink of an eye, more than a hundred "rebels" fell. Leaderless, the rest could only drag away the bodies of their fallen comrades, open the north gate, and flee in total disarray.
Thus, Hedong City was "recaptured."