The atmosphere inside the military camp, where everyone had just been happily devouring fragrant cured pork and potato rice, collapsed in an instant under the weight of the emergency military intelligence.
The joy did not just fade. It shattered.
Wang Cheng'en, Wang Cheng'en, had a face dark as iron ink. The expressions of his deputy generals, centurions, and officers beside him also sank at the same time, like a row of drowned statues pulled out of cold water.
"I must immediately enter the capital to render imperial aid," Wang Cheng'en said.
He was, after all, a man of loyalty. The thought came first, faster than breath. Duty to the throne, duty to the dynasty, it was all instinctive.
But the moment he said it, another thought rose up like a thorn.
Fan Shanyue, the Heyang garrison commander.
That thought made him hesitate.
Beside him, County Magistrate Liang Shixian, Liang Shixian, was thinking the exact same thing from another angle.
"General Wang," Liang Shixian said slowly, "if you leave now, Fan Shanyue will have no one to restrain him. Will he not become another Youji Li Ying in plain sight?"
Wang Cheng'en exhaled heavily.
"Sigh."
Liang Shixian continued without stopping.
"And if all five regional generals enter the capital to render imperial aid, what will happen to the bandits in Shaanxi? Will they not become even more rampant?"
Wang Cheng'en gave another long sigh.
"Sigh."
That was all he could produce. A continuous loop of helpless sighing, like a broken administrative document stuck in approval hell.
After a long silence, he finally pressed a heavy hand on Liang Shixian's shoulder.
"Whatever happens," Wang Cheng'en said, "the capital must come first. I must go. As for Fan Shanyue and the bandits of Shaanxi, I can no longer manage them. The situation here… will likely become extremely dangerous. Magistrate Liang, take care of yourself."
Liang Shixian fell silent.
"..."
Wang Cheng'en turned and issued the command.
"Transmit orders. The entire army will break camp immediately. Night march back to Xi'an."
The soldiers had been mid-bite when the order arrived.
Hot, fragrant potato rice mixed with cured pork still filled their hands, their mouths, their entire worldview.
For a moment, no one wanted to obey reality.
Some soldiers hurriedly shoveled several mouthfuls into their mouths as if the food might vanish into another timeline.
Some stuffed food into their mouths while grabbing extra portions in both hands, walking and chewing like desperate refugees escaping a culinary apocalypse.
Some even pulled out cloth, wrapped up their bowls carefully, and tucked them into their chests like precious relics.
Because nobody knew when they would taste such food again.
After a chaotic and reluctant farewell, Wang Cheng'en's army finally withdrew from Cheng County.
The departure felt less like a military maneuver and more like a group of people being forcibly separated from a very good meal.
After sending them off, Liang Shixian stood alone on the high city wall.
He looked up at the sky.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun," he murmured, "what should we do now? Fan Shanyue has no one to control him. He will only grow more chaotic. And with all five regional commanders going to the capital, Shaanxi will truly become ungovernable…"
He sighed deeply.
Meanwhile, Li Dao Xuan, Li Dao Xuan, also silently sighed in his own way.
Because history was already moving along a familiar track.
The Three Borders Governor Yang He had originally attempted a mixed strategy of suppression and pacification in Shaanxi. But with the sudden imperial summons requiring all five regional generals to enter the capital, his military strength was abruptly stripped away.
Without enough troops, large-scale suppression became impossible.
So the strategy would shift.
From suppression.
To full-scale pacification.
And anyone who understood what "pacification" meant in this era only needed to recall two things.
The returning-home bandit deserters.
And Fan Shanyue of Heyang.
Shaanxi was about to become even more chaotic.
Li Dao Xuan took out a large sheet of paper and held it up toward Liang Shixian's consciousness.
"Expand militia recruitment. People must protect themselves."
Liang Shixian immediately understood.
"Yes. The higher authorities are no longer reliable. We can only rely on ourselves. We must organize more militia. In other counties, expanding militia would disrupt livelihoods, but in Cheng County, with Tianzun's divine grain, more men can take up arms."
He turned to the Shaoxing clerk.
"Where is militia chief instructor Bai Yuan, Bai Yuan now?"
The clerk replied quickly.
"Chief Instructor Bai has been in Gao Village for the past few days. It is closer to Heyang County. He likely intends to organize Gao Village militia to guard against Fan Shanyue."
Liang Shixian nodded.
"As expected of Bai sir. He has already prepared countermeasures in advance. Prepare the horses. I will personally go to Gao Village to discuss defense strategy with him."
The clerk chuckled.
"Magistrate, there is no need for horses."
Liang Shixian paused.
"…?"
The clerk explained.
"The road between Cheng County and Gao Village has already been completed. In fact, there are two routes. One is a concrete road with public transport carts. The other is a railway track. The villagers leveled the ground themselves, and Tianzun personally installed a divine small train. Going to Gao Village is extremely convenient. One ride and you arrive in an instant."
Liang Shixian blinked.
"…So that's how it is. Then I must experience this divine small train."
Soon after, Liang Shixian brought the clerk and ten constables to the Cheng County train station.
The station stood outside the northeast city gate.
Colorful. Flashy. Over-designed in a way that clearly screamed "Tianzun aesthetic."
Cheng County had gradually accumulated many such structures. At first, people found them strange. Now they no longer felt surprised.
Instead, they felt something closer to reassurance.
Because these buildings always seemed to say one thing.
"You are under Tianzun's protection."
Liang Shixian felt the same way.
The anxiety from earlier softened significantly the moment he saw the colorful station.
Soon, the train arrived.
It was his first time riding such a thing. He boarded cautiously, sat by the window, and carefully extended one hand outside.
The wind at sixty kilometers per hour brushed his palm.
Strange.
Somehow it felt like he was holding something extremely important, something that should not be named lightly.
Thirty li of distance passed in the blink of an eye.
When he stepped off, he immediately asked for Bai Yuan.
A villager pointed him toward the Gao Village militia camp, and Liang Shixian led his men there without delay.
Even before reaching the camp, a sharp "bang" echoed through the air.
Gunfire.
Liang Shixian froze slightly.
"Hm?"
His expression shifted.
"Firearm?"
The clerk beside him nodded.
"Yes. That is the sound of a firearm."
Liang Shixian frowned.
"Good heavens. Bai Yuan actually managed to produce firearms? That is… that is a restricted weapon."
The clerk lowered his voice.
"Magistrate, no need to panic. In Shaoxing, during the pirate raids back then, wealthy households all had dozens of firearms. It is not such a rare thing."
Liang Shixian thought about the current chaos in Shaanxi.
Then he sighed.
"Fair enough."
He continued forward.
Another "bang" sounded from afar.
Then suddenly, something dropped from the sky.
Thud.
It landed right on his official hat.
His hat tilted violently.
Liang Shixian jumped in shock and quickly adjusted it.
When he looked again, it was a bird.
A dead bird, blood still warm on its feathers.
Liang Shixian blinked.
"…What is happening?"
The clerk examined it calmly.
"It must have been shot down by that firearm. Impressive. Someone actually managed to hit a flying bird with a firearm."
At that exact moment, a voice burst out from ahead.
"Hahahahaha! I hit a bird!"
A white figure rushed over at full speed.
It was Bai Yuan.
Bai Yuan
He was laughing like a man who had just discovered the secret of the universe.
"Hahahaha! With rifling added, firearms really became more accurate! Hahaha!"
Then he stopped mid-laugh.
"…Huh?"
Only then did he notice Liang Shixian and his group.
He quickly suppressed his laughter, straightened his expression, and performed a full respectful bow.
"Magistrate! What wind has brought you here?"
Trivia :
Why militias mattered: Local militias weren't rebellion—they were survival. When central forces left, counties that armed themselves lasted longer. Counties that waited for orders disappeared quietly.
Why firearms spread anyway: Ming gun bans existed on paper. In reality, private firearms were common during crises. Enforcement collapsed before legality did.
Why speed changes power: Roads, trains, and logistics don't just move people—they compress decision time. Whoever moves faster controls events, not whoever holds rank.