The moment the Tongguan commander caught sight of Sun Chuanting, his face split into an enthusiastic smile, and he stepped forward at once. "Principal Sun, your arrival truly brings glory to our humble Tongguan."
Sun Chuanting waved a hand, his expression calm and restrained. "I am no great person. There is no need for such ceremony."
The commander laughed, his tone still warm and flattering. "Principal, you are too modest. You preside over the Yellow Pole Military Academy. Every student you train will become an officer, a general, a backbone of the militia. If you were to speak a single word, countless men would willingly follow you into battle."
Sun Chuanting's brow creased slightly, and he replied with measured seriousness. "They are not my soldiers. They are soldiers of Dao Xuan Tianzun. Only Dao Xuan Tianzun has the right to command them. Do not speak of me as though I were some local warlord. My only wish is that the students I teach can win more victories when they face the Manchus."
The commander was momentarily at a loss for words and could only let out a dry, somewhat embarrassed laugh.
Sun Chuanting continued evenly, "I intend to use the mountain forests south of Tongguan Pass for a live exercise. There may be loud noises, shouting, even mock battle cries. Please inform the garrison and any merchants passing through in advance, so they are not frightened."
The commander straightened and saluted. "Understood. I will see to it personally."
Sun Chuanting nodded, said nothing more, and led the students and the newly recruited militia deep into the mountain forests.
Soon after, the forces were divided.
Flat Rabbit took command of a hundred new academy students and a thousand freshly enlisted militia recruits, forming what was designated the Red Army.
Zheng Gouzi, likewise leading a hundred students and a thousand raw recruits, formed the Blue Army.
Both groups entered the mountain forest from different directions. Their objective was simple: eliminate the opposing force and seize the designated "dog head" markers.
The winners would be rewarded with an extra meal. The losers would run fifty laps around the training ground.
Sun Chuanting climbed to the highest peak nearby, from where he could overlook the entire exercise area, quietly observing.
At the same time, Chuǎng Wang was moving steadily through the narrow mountain paths of the Lushi region, advancing northwest step by step.
Years ago, when the imperial court had driven them into Yunyang and sealed every exit, it had been guides sent by Jin merchants who led them through these very Lushi mountain paths, allowing them to break free from the encirclement and escape with their lives.
Now, treading these familiar roads once again, Chuǎng Wang felt a complicated surge of emotion rise in his chest, a mixture of bitterness, memory, and something close to longing.
A subordinate came forward to report, "Brother Chuǎng Wang, we've crossed Laojun Mountain. This is Miaogou, Temple Ravine. To the north lies Tongguan Pass, to the west is Mount Hua. Once we pass through this ravine, we will enter the Guanzhong Plains."
Chuǎng Wang nodded slowly. "Good. We are finally returning to Shaanxi. After so many years away, I truly miss my homeland…"
The words had barely left his mouth when, several hundred meters ahead, from a patch of dense mountain forest, Flat Rabbit raised his binoculars and stared straight toward the ravine.
"By the ancestors…" Flat Rabbit nearly jumped in place. "What am I seeing? A 'Chuang' banner? The character 'Chuang' flying openly… Damn it all, is that Chuǎng Wang himself?"
The new students around him froze.
As cadets of the Yellow Pole Military Academy, each of them had been trained to officer standards, and every one carried binoculars. Almost simultaneously, a hundred hands lifted their lenses, focusing on the ravine below.
The moment they saw it clearly, their faces drained of all color.
"It really is the Chuang Army."
"Does anyone even believe this? I came out for a military exercise and ended up running straight into the most infamous bandit chief in the entire realm."
The voices grew frantic, overlapping with one another. These were new students, after all, not veterans tempered by blood and fire.
Their panic spread like wildfire to the thousand militia recruits behind them. These men had only recently enlisted, inspired by patriotic films and stirring speeches. Some of them had not yet even learned how to fold their bedding properly.
This was their very first field exercise, and they had collided head-on with Chuǎng Wang.
The formation fell into complete disorder.
Flat Rabbit rolled his eyes hard. "Damn it. I was planning to ambush Gouzi here, and instead I ambushed Chuǎng Wang. Hah. Compared to this, what kind of exercise even matters? Brothers, prepare for battle."
One of the cadets stepped forward hesitantly. "Lord Rabbit, we can't possibly engage them ourselves, can we? We should notify the Principal at once, and also call in the Tongguan garrison."
Flat Rabbit nodded. "Of course we will notify them. But we cannot simply send word and stand idle. If we let them pass now, they will sweep through Miaogou and reach the foot of Mount Hua. There are countless villages there. The common people would be completely at their mercy."
At these words, the expressions of the cadets and recruits changed.
He was right.
This ravine was desolate, but only a short march west lay the foothills of Mount Hua, and beneath those foothills were villages scattered like stars. If the Chuang Army broke through, the consequences were unthinkable.
Flat Rabbit continued, his voice firm. "The bandit army survives by speed. If we let them pass and chase from behind, we will never catch them. They will ravage villages ahead of us, and all we will find are corpses and ashes when we arrive."
He paused, then spoke with unwavering resolve. "Gentlemen, I know you are new. None of you have seen real combat. But the moment you put on this uniform, you became soldiers. Your duty is to stand in front of the common people. Otherwise, how can you accept your military pay with a clear conscience?"
The fear in their eyes slowly gave way to determination.
"Yes, sir," they answered in unison.
Flat Rabbit pointed sharply. "You three. The fastest runners. Go immediately and inform the Principal, Zheng Gouzi, and the Tongguan garrison. Tell them to bring reinforcements at once."
Then he turned to the rest. "The rest of you stay with me. We will block the Chuang Army here. We do not let them advance another step. Even if it costs our lives, we hold this ravine."
"Understood," the cadets and recruits roared.
Just then, one of the new students raised his hand weakly. "Lord Rabbit… our flintlock rifles are training props. They have no bullets, only paper cartridges with powder for noise."
Flat Rabbit blinked, momentarily stunned.
Another cadet added carefully, "Our hand grenades only make a sound as well."
Only then did everyone realize that the grenades they carried were training models, with no shrapnel and almost no explosive force, little more than oversized firecrackers that produced a puff of white smoke.
It was, after all, only an exercise. No one had expected live weapons.
Flat Rabbit clenched his teeth. "Damn it. No ammunition, a mountain full of greenhorns. This really is a life-or-death stand."
A cadet muttered, "Lord Rabbit, technically speaking, we're not short on ammunition. We have none at all."
Flat Rabbit stared at him in silence.
The air fell deathly quiet.
After several breaths, Flat Rabbit suddenly drew his ancestral treasured sword with a dramatic sweep. "Very well," he announced loudly. "Then you shall witness the true power of this Lord Rabbit's Heaven-Rending Overlord Sword."
His face shone with confidence as he boasted, "With one strike, my blade chills forty prefectures. When my sword-qi erupts, the realm trembles. I, Flat Rabbit, will go down into the ravine alone and hold them back."
Everyone stared at him, dumbfounded.
Flat Rabbit waved dismissively. "When I strike a handsome pose in the ravine, you stay on the slopes, wave your flags, shout loudly, and fire a few blanks for atmosphere. Understood?"
Without waiting for an answer, he slid down the slope, his figure vanishing swiftly into the ravine below.
After a moment of stunned silence, realization dawned on the group all at once.
So Lord Rabbit was not entirely reckless after all. He knew how to use momentum and bluff as weapons too.