Shangnan County, Luo Xi's Garrison Camp.
Zheng Gouzi was in the middle of drilling a group of fresh recruits.
The sun was high, the dust thick, and the recruits' movements sloppy enough to make one's temples throb. Just as Zheng Gouzi was about to open his mouth and roar at them again, the urgent thunder of hooves suddenly rolled in from the south.
Several riders galloped in at full speed.
At their head was none other than Lu Xiangheng, the Pacification Commissioner of Yunyang.
This time, he hadn't brought his full Tianxiong Army, only a small escort of a few dozen riders. One glance was enough to tell—he wasn't here to fight.
Zheng Gouzi didn't spare him a look.
Luo Xi, however, quickly stepped forward to greet him.
"Commissioner Lu, you've been busy lately. I trust all has been well?"
Lu Xiangheng was clearly in high spirits.
Recently, the situation in the Yunyang region had improved considerably. The large bandit forces had already fled, leaving behind only scattered stragglers. The Tianxiong Army no longer had to fight tooth and nail every day.
On the political side, thanks to Steward Li's generous assistance, large quantities of supplies had been transported from Shaanxi. Not only had Shangnan County begun to develop steadily, but several towns in Yunyang had also received aid, allowing the common people to finally settle down.
With things going this smoothly, how could Lu Xiangheng not be happy?
Smiling broadly, he said,
"Just a few days ago, my Tianxiong Army chased a bandit force into the Shennongjia Mountains. That terrain is… ahem… not exactly friendly to large formations, so we're currently stationed east of the mountains, helping to stabilize the area and pacify the people."
At this point, Lu Xiangheng's expression turned a little awkward.
"The mountain villages surrounding Shennongjia are truly impoverished," he admitted. "This official wishes to provide relief, but I have neither sufficient funds nor grain. Petitioning the imperial court would take too long. After much thought, I had no choice but to come here—to see if Steward Li might still have some surplus grain."
"Even the landlord's family has no surplus grain left," Luo Xi blurted out.
The moment the words left his mouth, he clapped a hand over it in horror.
Lu Xiangheng shot him an irritated glare.
Zheng Gouzi leaned over from the side.
"Unfortunately, Steward Li had some business to attend to and has already returned to Xi'an."
In truth, one of the Dao Xuan Tianzun mass-produced avatars was standing right there in the room. But Li Daoxuan's attention wasn't focused here at the moment. The avatar had been idle for quite some time, so Zheng Gouzi could only claim that Steward Li was away.
Lu Xiangheng sighed, disappointment creeping into his voice.
"If Steward Li isn't here, then… there's no one who can make decisions, is there?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a deep, rumbling sound rolled in from the north.
Everyone froze.
That sound—
They hurried to the city wall.
Looking north, they saw a strange sight: a massive iron vehicle, dragging behind it an enormous iron scoop, slowly advancing toward Shangnan County.
Lu Xiangheng's eyes widened in shock.
"What… what is that thing?"
Luo Xi stared blankly.
"Huh? Isn't that one of Xi'an's big trains? Why does it look smaller? And… there aren't any tracks on the ground. How is it moving?"
Of the three, Zheng Gouzi was the least surprised. He let out a chuckle.
"Oh, Young Master Bai must've tinkered up another new contraption. The big train can run without tracks now?"
He smacked his lips. "Tsk, tsk. What an invention."
The iron vehicle rolled closer and soon stopped before them.
Besides the driver, Flat Rabbit was sitting inside.
Recently, Flat Rabbit had been stationed at Tianzhu Mountain, managing surrendered bandits and overseeing their labor reform. Seeing him here was wholly unexpected.
Zheng Gouzi's eyes lit up.
"Lord Rabbit!"
Flat Rabbit beamed.
"Gouzi! Long time no see!"
Zheng Gouzi stared at him in surprise.
"Weren't you at Tianzhu Mountain? How did you end up here?"
Flat Rabbit laughed heartily.
"The labor reform camp there is mostly settled. It can run smoothly even without me, so I handed things over to my deputy. Just happened that this big cargo vehicle from Xi'an was heading this way, so I hitched a ride."
Zheng Gouzi gestured at the iron behemoth.
"This cargo vehicle is…?"
Flat Rabbit waved his hand.
"Does that even need asking? It's a new invention from our village! Look—fully loaded with grain, all to support Shangnan County's development."
At the sight of the grain, Lu Xiangheng was overjoyed.
"Excellent! New grain has arrived again! I wonder… would Steward Li be willing to let me borrow some for refugee relief?"
The moment he said this, Flat Rabbit nearly jumped up.
"What's wrong? Refugees? Where?"
Lu Xiangheng explained,
"On the outskirts of the Shennongjia Mountains, several villages are barely surviving. Bandit armies passed through recently and plundered them again…"
Before he could finish, Flat Rabbit was already restless.
"That won't do!" he exclaimed. "We have to help them—give them grain, give them grain!"
Zheng Gouzi hurriedly reminded him,
"Hey, Lord Rabbit, have you forgotten your past punishments? Public grain isn't yours to hand out just because you feel like it."
Flat Rabbit burst into laughter.
"Haha! Times have changed. I have authorization!"
He pulled out a token.
On it were the words: Chivalry Token
Below, in smaller characters: Special Permit for Disaster Relief and Material Allocation
Flat Rabbit held it up proudly.
"The Hea— ahem—Steward Li knows there's been unrest in Yunyang lately, and his attention is focused on the north. So he specifically issued this token to me! With this authority, if I say help the common people, then we help the common people!"
Zheng Gouzi clicked his tongue in amazement.
"This token is incredible…"
Only Flat Rabbit could ever receive such trust.
Because among all of Gao Family Village, the most pure-hearted and selfless person was Flat Rabbit.
The Tianzun didn't need to worry about him skimming supplies or enriching himself. That was why he dared to grant him such sweeping authority—to allocate materials freely.
This privilege wasn't given lightly.
For someone like Lao Nanfeng, the Heavenly Lord wouldn't dare. Too much power might corrupt him.
But Flat Rabbit was different. He had already proven himself managing the Tianzhu Mountain labor reform camp—careful, principled, and methodical. Giving him this token now was perfectly timed.
Lu Xiangheng, however, saw things very differently.
Steward Li handed such great authority to someone who looks this unreliable…
Sooner or later, the Li family fortune will be squandered away, he thought silently.
After the handover, Flat Rabbit distributed the grain: two-thirds remained in Shangnan County, while one-third was given to Lu Xiangheng.
It wasn't much, but it was a clear gesture of goodwill. More shipments would arrive later, and future relief would follow the same ratio.
Lu Xiangheng thanked them repeatedly and took his leave.
Once he was gone, Flat Rabbit turned to Zheng Gouzi.
"Gouzi, pack your things and come with me. Shangnan County won't see any fighting for a while. Leaving Luo Xi here alone will be fine."
Zheng Gouzi was baffled.
"Where are we going?"
Flat Rabbit grinned.
"The Tianzun said we're both fools and desperately need systematic military education. Otherwise, we'll never become great generals. He wants us to go immediately and enroll at the newly established Yellow Pole Military Academy in Puzhou."
Zheng Gouzi's face twisted.
"Ugh. I hate school."
Flat Rabbit sighed.
"I hate it too. But think about it—those brats and greenhorns who joined the militia after us are all rushing off to study now. If they graduate, get promoted, and end up commanding battalions while we're still squad leaders… wouldn't that be unbearably awkward?"
Zheng Gouzi fell silent.
Damn it… that would be incredibly awkward.
Flat Rabbit leaned in, smiling mysteriously.
"Oh, and one more thing. The academy doesn't just teach military strategy—it also teaches martial arts."
Zheng Gouzi froze.
"…?"
Flat Rabbit stroked the ancestral treasured sword at his waist and sighed dreamily.
"This time, I'll finally get to learn real swordsmanship, right?"
Zheng Gouzi snorted.
"Don't be ridiculous. There's no such thing as practical swordsmanship in this world. It's all flashy nonsense. You'd be far better off learning saber techniques."
"Impossible!" Flat Rabbit retorted.
"The sword is the king of all weapons! How could it not have real combat techniques? I absolutely refuse to learn saber techniques!"
Zheng Gouzi shook his head.
"Precisely because it's the king, the sword is for command—not for chopping people down. Stop being stubborn and learn saber techniques."
"I don't want to!"
Flat Rabbit wailed.
"Noooooo!"