Xing Honglang's division moved quickly.
Armor was fastened, formations assembled, banners unfurled. Within moments, several thousand soldiers stood ready outside Puzhou, weapons gleaming in the early light.
Xing Honglang rode to the front and raised her voice.
"Reclaim Hedong City!" she shouted.
"Do not let a single bandit escape!"
The soldiers roared back as one, voices shaking the ground.
"Understood!"
Nearby, the subordinate from the Salt Administration Commissioner's office watched with wide eyes.
So this is Xing Honglang's army…
Their armor shone brilliantly. Their flintlock rifles looked no worse than those issued to the Divine Engine Battalion itself.
He counted silently.
A thousand riflemen…
With this force, retaking Hedong should be effortless.
Then another thought crept in.
But is the Commissioner still alive?
Have we come too late?
Xing Honglang turned her horse slightly and glanced at him.
"You should ride ahead," she said calmly. "Inform the Salt Administration Commissioner that my reinforcements will arrive shortly."
The subordinate nodded vigorously, spurred his horse, and galloped off.
The moment his figure disappeared—
The soldiers burst into laughter.
The iron-blooded aura of 'slaughter every bandit' vanished without a trace.
Xing Honglang cleared her throat.
"Listen carefully," she said. "When you load your rifles later—powder only. No lead bullets. Is that clear?"
"Clear!" the riflemen answered in unison.
"Good," Xing Honglang said. "If anyone forgets and accidentally kills one of our own brothers—don't blame me when military law takes your head."
From the side, Gao Chuwu leaned in with a grin.
"If Xu Dafu from the Ordnance Bureau were here," he said, "he'd probably make everyone hand over their bullets himself."
Xing Honglang blinked—then laughed.
"Chuwu!"
"Honglang!"
They stepped forward and embraced heavily, the kind of hug forged through blood, mud, and shared prison time.
Xing Honglang released him and raised her hand.
"All riflemen—hand over your lead bullets. Squad leaders will collect them."
The soldiers complied instantly. Ten-man squads moved like clockwork. Small pouches of lead pellets were surrendered and gathered.
In moments, every rifle was loaded with nothing but powder.
Absolutely foolproof.
Xing Honglang smiled faintly.
"Alright," she said, waving her hand. "Let's go beat up our own people."
Meanwhile, inside Hedong City.
Chen Baihu was conducting his own inspection.
Every man carried a small waterskin—each one filled with chicken blood.
Chen Baihu laughed loudly.
"You all remember what to do, right?"
"We do!" the men roared.
Chen Baihu pointed at a soldier.
"You. Come here. Act out getting shot."
He pointed with his fingers.
"Bang!"
The man collapsed dramatically, rolling across the ground while squeezing the waterskin. Blood splattered everywhere. He groaned, twitched, struggled—and then staggered upright and took two steps.
"Damn it!" Chen Baihu bellowed. "Why aren't you dead yet?!"
The soldier scratched his head.
"Deep down," he said honestly, "I don't want to die."
Chen Baihu glared.
"You don't want to—but you have to!"
"Just give me a few more seconds," the soldier pleaded. "I'll be properly dead."
At that moment, Flat Rabbit limped out from the inner room, leaning on his crutch.
"That's enough fooling around," he said. "Dao Xuan Tianzun said Xing Honglang's forces will arrive soon."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Spines straightened. Eyes sharpened.
"Prepare for battle!"
Chen Baihu laughed.
"After this," he said, "we go find Brother Nanfeng."
"Oh yeah!" the men cheered.
Six hundred former Guyuan border soldiers surged toward Hedong's west gate.
Outside the city, the Salt Inspector's subordinate sat numbly in the woods.
He had returned to "notify the Commissioner," only to find Hedong already occupied. The soldiers on the walls were rebels now, not imperial troops.
A massive banner fluttered atop the battlements:
PAY UP
It made the city look less like a stronghold and more like a ruthless debt-collection office.
The subordinate didn't dare approach.
He simply stared.
Then voices rose behind him.
Xing Honglang's army was approaching—fast.
So fast they'd brought no heavy siege weapons. No cannons. No rams. No catapults.
Only:
– A thousand riflemen
– Two thousand cold-weapon troops
– Twenty scaling ladders
Xing Honglang halted her army and sent one man forward.
Lao Nanfeng rode alone to the city walls and shouted:
"Listen up, you brainless bandits! I am Lao Nanfeng, chief commander under General Xing of the Puzhou garrison! Open the gates and surrender now, or you'll be chopped to pieces and fed to the dogs—every last one!"
On the wall, the Guyuan soldiers froze.
Brother… Nanfeng?
Eyes reddened.
Chen Baihu stepped onto the parapet.
"Who do you think you are?" he shouted. "Hedong City is mine now! If the old emperor wants it back, he can come here himself—kneel down—and call me Daddy a few times!"
Lao Nanfeng shouted back, furious.
"How audacious!"
Chen Baihu burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
Suddenly—
Lao Nanfeng drew his rifle.
Bang!
White smoke exploded.
Chen Baihu screamed, flipped backward, and crashed onto the battlements. Blood sprayed into the air. He twitched once—then lay still, eyes closed.
The soldier who'd failed to die earlier stared in awe.
That acting… no wonder he's a centurion.
Chen Baihu cracked one eye open.
"Kid," he whispered, "learn something."
Below the wall, Lao Nanfeng roared:
"The bandit leader is dead! Attack!"
Xing Honglang's forces surged forward.
On the walls, bows were raised—
Too late.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Rifles thundered.
Men collapsed. Some screamed. Some fell silently. Some struggled a bit too long. A few completed full inner monologues before dying properly.
White doves scattered. Blood splashed everywhere.
Casualties were terrifying.
Scaling ladders slammed against the walls.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Militia swarmed upward. Trained in Gao Family Village, wall-scaling was second nature.
They poured over the battlements.
Rifles roared at close range.
The "bandit army" shrieked.
Over a hundred "rebels" fell.
Leaderless, the survivors dragged their "dead," opened the north gate—
And fled.
Thus—
Hedong City was 'recaptured.'