East of Chengcheng County, next to the official road, a new concrete road was extending towards Gao Village. A massive number of laborers, using all manner of primitive tools, dug and dug...
It was incredibly hard work, but the laborers were happy.
Because the work was day-paid, and they actually got paid.
Every morning, each person would receive a work token from their crew boss. With that token, they could get a meal. After eating, they'd go to the worksite. If they were caught slacking off, the crew boss would confiscate their token and expel them from the crew.
If they worked a full day and their token wasn't confiscated—meaning they hadn't slacked off, or hadn't been caught slacking off (which was also acceptable)—then at the end of the day, they'd use the token for an evening meal, return it to the crew boss, and receive three jin of flour to take home.
This was the "Day-Laborer Management Plan" that had been implemented in Gao Village for over a year, invented by Shansier, and it worked quite well—a simple, effective way to manage laborers.
A full eight thousand two hundred people from the county seat had joined this grand project. Almost every refugee who had fled to the city to beg for food had entered a work crew.
Most worked on the road, a smaller group entered the concrete factory, and a few were responsible for cooking for over eight thousand people. The "old hands" from Gao Village naturally became the crew bosses.
A workforce of thousands stretched from the county's east gate towards Gao Village, a line several li long... The sight of thousands swinging picks and shovels in a feverish, bustling scene was, from a bird's-eye view, nothing short of spectacular.
Li Daoxuan aimed several camera feeds at the construction crew, then lightly pressed the "East" and "North" buttons on the outside of the box, performing an "aerial shot" of this massive workforce from start to finish—a continuous, unbroken take.
That was a satisfying shot. Find the right moment to edit and upload it, and the viewers on Douyin are sure to love it.
Just then, his phone rang. Answering, he heard it was the Director Gao who had called last time about promoting Chengcheng's hand-torn noodles.
Director Gao sounded thrilled. "Mr. Li, thank you! That video you shot was fantastic. Many people who saw it developed an interest in our hand-torn noodles. We've even seen an increase in tourist traffic recently."
Hearing this pleased Li Daoxuan too. "I'm just glad it helped."
Director Gao: "We just feel a bit bad not paying you anything for it."
Li Daoxuan laughed. "Haha, it's nothing. I offered it for free from the start. I hope your county's tourism gets better and better, helping the locals prosper. Oh, by the way, I finished a video about the Chengcheng City God Temple a few days ago. It's on my Douyin. Feel free to download it and use it if it helps. Should give Chengcheng tourism another boost."
Director Gao was overjoyed. "That would be fantastic. I'll go look right now... Wow... the special effects are amazing... the historical accuracy is so high... This must have cost a lot to make."
Li Daoxuan: "Not too much. As long as it helps Chengcheng County."
Director Gao thanked him repeatedly, then downloaded the video to post on their official website...
Li Daoxuan shifted his attention back to the box. The moment he looked back, he saw a new development.
A fast horse was galloping towards the county seat as if its life depended on it. "Urgent military report! Urgent military report!"
Li Daoxuan frowned and immediately focused his "attention" there.
The rider was one of Liang Shixian's retainers. He dismounted in a rush at the yamen and shouted, "Master, terrible news! The Guyuan rebels are really coming this time. They're moving through Baishui County, heading straight for us!"
Liang Shixian was shocked. "Not the ones we made a deal with?"
"No!" the retainer said urgently. "The ones we dealt with were the 'Ghost' Commander, camped in the Huanglong Mountains. These are led by a guy called 'Northern Water Wolf'. The rebels call him 'Wolf Commander'. He routed Li Ying's forces, captured Guerrilla General Li Ying, and has been looting grain everywhere. He's wreaked havoc in Baishui County, and now that he's done there, he's coming for us."
Liang Shixian: "Damnation! Go notify Inspector Fang immediately, and all the militia from every town and village. Tell them to prepare for battle."
The retainer nodded, remounted, and spurred his horse towards Fang Wushang's garrison.
Liang Shixian turned to another retainer. "Go to the Bai Family Fort immediately and ring the bell. Summon the 'Ghost' Commander. That was our agreement."
The retainer nodded, rushed out, mounted a fast horse, and galloped towards the Bai Family Fort.
Liang Shixian's heart pounded with panic. Border troops... real border troops are coming.
Don't panic. We still have the 'Ghost' Commander. They're border troops too. Border troops against border troops, plus our local militia. This is a fight we can win.
Seeing this, Li Daoxuan tsked. He thought for half a second. No need to send Gao Yiye back to the village this time. Cheng Xu should know what to do without my explicit order.
He tapped the "Gao Village" label. His view jumped back. After searching the village and finding neither Cheng Xu nor the militia, he randomly pressed the directional buttons around it and finally found them.
Cheng Xu and the militia were actually on a barren mountain next to the Ordnance Bureau. Standing before them was Director Xu Dafu.
Xu Dafu was handing a fist-sized black ball to Gao Chuwu, pointing at the fuse on it. "See this? Light it, then throw this ball forward with all your strength."
Gao Chuwu grinned widely. "My strength is huge! I can throw it really, really far!"
Xu Dafu: "I suggest you throw it as far as you can. If it's too close, you'll blow yourself up."
This startled Gao Chuwu. He quickly put his helmet on, shrinking his whole body into the massive suit of armor, becoming a giant iron man.
"This good?"
"Good. Light the fuse."
Zheng Daniu scurried over from the side, helped Gao Chuwu light the fuse on the black ball, then covered his ears and scrambled backward.
The fuse burned.
When it was halfway, Xu Dafu shouted, "Throw it now!"
Gao Chuwu let out a loud "Heh!", raised his long arm, and hurled it forward with all his might.
The black ball flew out, far, far into the distance—a full several dozen meters, farther than the effective range of a three-eyed musket.
It landed...
BOOM!
A tremendous explosion shook the valley. The massive blast made everyone flinch and duck.
Several seconds later, as the smoke cleared, Cheng Xu was the first to burst out laughing. "Hahaha! This thing is a game-changer! This is too good! Hahaha! Paired with the brute strength of these two idiots Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu, it'll slay gods and buddhas alike!" (The phrase "神擋殺神,佛擋殺佛" is a classic, over-the-top wuxia description of unstoppable power. It fits Cheng Xu's grizzled, hyperbolic excitement perfectly.)
(Ming Context:) While crude by later standards, this represents a significant leap in infantry explosives—a reliable, thrown fragmentation device with a timed fuse. In the hands of soldiers with the strength to throw it beyond the blast radius, it could devastate tightly-packed formations or breach weak defenses.