The news of the Guyuan mutiny was swiftly brought back to Gao Village by Gao Yiye.
Interestingly, the reaction of the Gao villagers mirrored the difference between Magistrate Liang and Fang Wushang, split along civilian and military lines.
San Shi'er, Tan Liwen, Zhao Sheng, and others listened, then looked utterly calm. "The Guyuan rebels probably won't come to our Chengcheng County. The direction is opposite."
Cheng Xu, however, slammed his fist on the table with a thump. "Serious trouble! Flat Rabbit, you immediately relay my order: the militia is to assemble, emergency muster!"
The few civilian officials were instantly bewildered. "Huh? Drillmaster He, this reaction of yours… will the rebels come?"
Cheng Xu snapped, "How should I know if the rebels will come? But fighting a war isn't about drawing straight lines on a map! Marching routes are unpredictable. If the official troops set up a checkpoint somewhere on the direct path, the rebels might take a detour. Detouring this way and that, they could very well end up at Chengcheng County! Have you all forgotten Fan Shanyue? He took a bizarre detour, climbing towards us from the eastern slope of Zheng East Village!"
The civilians were startled. "Oh dear, that's terrible! Drillmaster He, you prepare quickly. What do you need us to coordinate?"
Cheng Xu, face dark, dashed outside…
Soon, the militia was assembled.
The militia now was somewhat different from a few months ago; its numbers had increased again.
After the three thousand people from Qingjian County arrived, a large group of strong-bodied, resolute young men were selected from among them and incorporated into the militia.
This brought the militia's total strength up to five hundred.
Actually, for a village of over four thousand people, a five-hundred-strong militia was relatively small. In these times, a village's militia usually included all able-bodied men; once bandits came, all men would take up arms.
But Gao Village didn't operate that way.
Because Li Daoxuan forbade it.
Li Daoxuan's concept came from a later era, rooted in the principle of "separating soldiers from farmers." He didn't want to repeat the Ming Dynasty's Wei-Suo military system, where soldiers farmed for centuries until they all became peasants.
Thus, the Gao Village militia expanded cautiously, ensuring the number of professional soldiers wouldn't be too large and wouldn't drain the village of its male labor force.
The five hundred men stood in five small squares, each with a squad leader at the front.
Cheng Xu organized the militia similarly to the Ming military system: a squad leader for every ten men, with ten squads under a company captain.
Currently, Gao Village's five company captains were men whose names even Li Daoxuan couldn't recall. Conversely, the Three Fools, whom Li Daoxuan kept "in the immortal's mind," held no positions; they were just three personal guards directly under Cheng Xu.
This wasn't hard to understand. No one in the entire Gao Village would protest. If the Three Fools became company captains, people would probably object.
Cheng Xu stood before the five hundred men and roared, "Next, you might face the toughest battle of your lives! The Guyuan border troops have mutinied. Some have joined the roving bandits and might one day come charging at us mixed in with Bu Zhanni's forces. Others are heading straight for Xi'an City and might one day appear right in front of you."
The crowd: "..."
"Those are border troops!" Cheng Xu's voice cracked slightly. "Border troops, damn it! Border troops! With this drillmaster's martial skills, against elite border troops, I couldn't take on two. You figure out for yourselves how many you think you can handle?"
The crowd collectively sucked in a cold breath. Even with Drillmaster He's martial skills, he can't fight one against two? How powerful must those border troops be? If we face them, we'd probably…
Gao Chuwu raised his hand. "I think I can fight three!"
Zheng Daniu: "If you can fight three, then I can fight three too."
Flat Rabbit grinned. "Heh, I can fight ten."
The crowd: "..."
Cheng Xu rolled his eyes. "Flat Rabbit, go run five laps around Gao Family Fort."
Flat Rabbit: "Huh? Why only me? Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu were bragging too! Why aren't they being punished?"
Cheng Xu angrily retorted, "Because only you are full of hot air."
Flat Rabbit: "..."
Amidst a burst of laughter, Flat Rabbit started running.
The briefing continued.
Cheng Xu: "Let me be blunt. With your current dogshit combat ability, even if you encounter border troops half your number, you're dead. If you meet border troops greater in number, you won't last half an incense stick's time."
Alarm showed on the men's faces.
Cheng Xu: "Fortunately, we have Tianzun's protection."
The men sighed in relief. Right, right! Drillmaster He just likes to scare us. We still have Tianzun's protection.
Cheng Xu: "But Tianzun is busy. He occasionally visits other immortals and might not always be able to protect you. If you don't fight well, you'll die."
Alarm returned to their faces.
Cheng Xu: "That's right, I'm scaring you for fun. Scaring you has one purpose: to protect the lives of you idiots. War is not child's play. You all better damn well listen to my commands! Charge only when I say charge. When I damn well say retreat, you must retreat faster than me, got it? Those who retreat faster than me will definitely survive, because my skill at running away is top-notch."
The men chorused loudly, "Yes, sir!"
After the pre-battle pep talk—a mix of threats and curses—Cheng Xu finally ordered, "Inventory equipment!"
The militia hurriedly began checking their gear.
All five hundred men now had armor, thanks to Gao Village's increasing number of artisans. High wages attracted more people to the profession, with many commoners voluntarily joining the artisan well to become apprentices.
The skill of forging armor plates wasn't highly difficult and could be learned quickly.
As for cotton cloth, the substantial increase in Gao Village's female population had dramatically boosted cotton cloth production. Not only was there enough for armor, but the entire village could buy cloth at very low prices to make clothing.
Therefore, the speed of making cotton-padded armor in Gao Village had also increased significantly. Armor for all five hundred men was properly made.
Gao Village didn't just make cotton-padded armor; they also produced higher-grade gear. For example, Cheng Xu had already upgraded to mountain-pattern armor. Mountain-pattern armor looked impressive, offered decent protection, and served both practical and ceremonial purposes—perfect for an "official" like him to wear.
As for monsters like Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu, their robust builds allowed them to wear heavier armor. The two of them wore nearly full plate armor, metal plates covering their entire bodies, making them look like two giant iron men—terrifyingly so.
Additionally, all five hundred men had iron-tipped spears, hand crossbows, and waist swords. Their equipment was quite complete.
The most interesting part…
The village also had ten little toys the blacksmiths made while practicing—weapons Li Daoxuan considered trash, but the villagers found awe-inspiring: triple-eye fire lances.
(Ming Context: The triple-eye fire lance was a unique Ming firearm. It consisted of three iron barrels bound together, pre-loaded with gunpowder and projectiles. It could be fired as a handgun or, after discharge, wielded as a heavy iron club. It was a versatile, if somewhat crude, weapon favored by cavalry for its shock value and melee capability.)
In short, the five hundred Gao Village militiamen were armed to the teeth.
Everything was quite perfect… except for the lack of horses.