Something rather interesting happened.
It turned out that the carpenter who had fled Puzhou City to warn the river stronghold was not alone.
After he left, more people arrived one after another throughout the night.
Some came in pairs, some in small groups.
All had traveled thirty li in the darkness, slipping past city gates and patrols, just to deliver a single message:
The imperial troops are preparing to attack.
These people were commoners—ordinary folk from Puzhou and nearby counties.
Some had benefited from Gao Family Village's cheap grain.
Some had helped transport salt from Xiao Lake.
Some had worked at the river stronghold themselves.
Others had relatives or friends who did.
Xing Honglang, the great salt smuggler stationed at Gudu Ferry, had never oppressed the people of Puzhou.
On the contrary—
she had fed them, employed them, and given them hope.
For the first—and perhaps only—time in their lives, the common people sincerely hoped that the "rebels" would defeat the imperial army.
Inside Gao Family Village's meeting hall, the core leadership gathered once more.
Xing Honglang spoke first.
"Wang Guozhong has suddenly turned himself into an imperial officer," she said calmly,
"and now he's even imitating the court by building shielded carts."
She swept her gaze across the room.
"Gentlemen—how do we deal with this?"
Old Nanfeng laughed.
"Cannons," he said breezily.
"Blast them to pieces. The moment our gunboats open fire, those shielded carts won't be worth a fart."
Xing Honglang shook her head.
"Gunboats are too conspicuous," she replied.
"The river offers no cover. Before we even fire, enemy scouts will spot us."
"And once Wang Guozhong sees our cannons," she continued,
"he won't dare advance. He'll retreat straight back into Puzhou City."
She paused.
"We can't lay siege to a city. And if we're telling Yang He we're willing to accept pacification while simultaneously attacking a prefectural capital—"
"That would be idiotic."
Old Nanfeng scratched his head, then snapped his fingers.
"Then move the cannons into the stronghold. Place them behind the wooden stockades and dig firing ports along the walls."
This proposal was immediately met with nods.
A solid, practical solution.
Just then, a voice that had been silent until now spoke up.
"Has everyone forgotten something?"
All eyes turned.
Flat Rabbit cleared his throat.
"Defeating Wang Guozhong is easy," he said seriously.
"There's no need to argue about that."
"The real problem," he continued,
"is how to prevent him from escaping."
"…Huh?"
Flat Rabbit leaned forward.
"Wang Guozhong used to serve under Wang Jiayin. What was he best at?"
"Not fighting," he answered himself.
"Running."
"The court launched countless encirclement campaigns against them," Flat Rabbit said.
"They lost battle after battle—but they never got wiped out."
"That tells you everything."
"The moment our cannons overturn his shielded carts," Flat Rabbit continued,
"and our rifles and grenades follow up—"
"He'll vanish."
Zao Ying immediately stood up.
"I'll lead the Cavalry Battalion in pursuit!"
Flat Rabbit chuckled.
"Then why couldn't the Guanning Iron Cavalry catch them?"
Zao Ying froze.
The Guanning Iron Cavalry's riders were far superior to hers.
If they couldn't do it, neither could she.
Silence fell.
Someone muttered in awe,
"Sir Rabbit… your intelligence suddenly spiked again."
Flat Rabbit snorted.
"This rabbit has always been smart. You people just misunderstand me."
Despite the humor, a headache began to spread through the room.
Yes—
winning was easy.
Killing Wang Guozhong was not.
If he escaped back to Puzhou City, they couldn't pursue him.
And once Yang He arrived and pacification was accepted, killing him would become politically impossible.
Serving alongside Wang Guozhong afterward—
armies stationed thirty li apart, constantly glaring at each other—
Just thinking about it made people sick.
"We must eliminate him," Old Nanfeng said decisively.
He was the most familiar with officialdom.
"If Wang Guozhong lives," he explained,
"after pacification, we'll likely be appointed Yongji Garrison Commanders."
"And he'll remain Puzhou Deputy Commander."
"That puts him above us."
Old Nanfeng's face darkened.
"But if Wang Guozhong dies—"
"Chief Xing will most likely take his position."
"At that point," he said slowly,
"there will be no military official above us anywhere near Puzhou."
"That city will effectively be ours."
The room stirred.
Only now did everyone realize how critical this was.
Whether for Jianghu honor
or Gao Family Village's future—
Wang Guozhong had to die.
"Hahahaha!" Flat Rabbit laughed smugly.
"As expected, this rabbit is still the cleverest."
"I identified the key problem immediately."
"Listen carefully to my brilliant plan—"
"We secretly deploy an army behind Wang Guozhong, encircle him, and annihilate him."
The room collectively sighed.
"As expected," Old Nanfeng said dryly,
"Sir Rabbit's brilliance lasts exactly one sentence."
Flat Rabbit blinked.
"?"
Old Nanfeng continued,
"You think his scouts are blind?"
"The distance between Gudu Ferry and Puzhou City is only thirty li."
"Before his main force even leaves the city, their scout perimeter is already on our doorstep."
"You think we can secretly move a large force to encircle them?"
Flat Rabbit protested,
"History is full of successful encirclements!"
Old Nanfeng snorted.
"Those were grand strategic maneuvers, not sneaking a few thousand men past enemy scouts."
Flat Rabbit gritted his teeth.
"Then we snipe him!"
"Use riflemen to assassinate him directly!"
Heads shook again.
"A man so good at running," someone said,
"would never stand at the front."
"He'll hide far behind the lines."
"Our rifles don't have that range."
The headache worsened.
At this moment, Li Daoxuan finally decided to intervene.
He had been watching quietly.
These tactics—
humanity had learned them through oceans of blood and corpses.
He had no intention of letting his little people pay that price.
With a crisp "krak", the small wooden figure dropped from Gao Chuwu's shoulder and landed on the table.
Everyone jolted and immediately bowed.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun!"
"It's already late at night—have you not rested?"
Li Daoxuan laughed inwardly.
Late night? Modern people are still scrolling their phones right now.
The Dao Xuan Tianzun paced across the table with soft krak-krak sounds.
Then, he spoke a single word:
"Foxholes."
The entire room froze.