It was still early morning. Li Daoxuan had just pulled his phone back from the container and was swiftly devouring a takeout breakfast of soy milk and fried dough sticks.
Watching the little people do their broadcast calisthenics was truly entertaining. He thought about ordering the whole village to do it from now on. *Oh, wait, the older folks probably can't manage that. Should I get them to dance a public square dance?*
*Forget it, public square dancing causes too much nuisance; its lingering negative influence is endless. I shouldn't corrupt the ancient grandmothers.*
Just as he was contemplating new forms of amusement, he suddenly heard the village sentry shouting loudly. Immediately, many people rushed up to the north fortress wall, and Shansier also scrambled up the wall, peering outward.
Li Daoxuan's finger immediately moved to the row of buttons on the container's shell and pressed the "North" button.
Soon, the perspective shifted to the northern slope of the mountain.
A young man in tattered clothes and sun-darkened skin was stumbling down the slope. He even had bloodstains on his body. He ran a few steps, fell, climbed up, and continued to run erratically...
Li Daoxuan was secretly pleased; expanded vision was indeed comfortable!
He continued to fine-tune the buttons, keeping the center of the view locked on the man and following his frantic run.
After a while, the man finally reached the base of the Gao Family Fortress's ten-meter-high wall. He tumbled to the ground with a thump, lying on his back, shouting up at the people on the wall: "I'm... Wang... Wang Er's... Big Brother's... subordinate..."
He was apparently too exhausted from running, completely out of breath. He couldn't speak a complete sentence and had to gasp between every word.
When Shansier heard the words "Wang Er" and "subordinate," he looked closely and recognized the arrival. It was precisely the petty leader, nicknamed "White Cat," who had tried to intercept him on the road to the county seat.
His brow furrowed deeply. He told Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu next to him, "Quickly, go and bring White Cat inside."
Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu descended the fortress wall and went around to the gate.
The fortress gate was made by Cai Xinzi from two one-millimeter thin iron sheets, but to the little people in the late Ming era, it was two massive steel plates, each twenty centimeters thick. The villagers couldn't move it on their own, so they had disassembled the windlass from the old city gate and installed it, allowing them to open the door using the windlass's power.
Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu squeezed out, helped the man up, and carried him to Shansier and Gao Yiye.
Shansier urgently asked, "Hero White Cat, what happened?"
White Cat gasped, "Zhong... Guangdao... and Zheng Yanfu... want to... attack Gao Family Village... Big Brother refused... They joined forces... and ambushed Big Brother..."
Shansier: "!!!"
The villagers: "!!!"
The man continued: "Big Brother is injured... He was locked in the cave... by the two traitors... All the Wang Family Village men are locked up too... Only I managed to slip out... I beg Gao Family Village... to save my Big Brother..."
Shansier's face turned as black as a pot bottom.
Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu were furious. "The scoundrels!"
Even the two sculptors squeezed out of the crowd. "Eh? Big Brother Wang Er is such a good person!"
Hearing this, Li Daoxuan also frowned. *Damn it, what kind of world is this? Why do good people always suffer losses?*
*Alas, being kind-hearted and soft-handed means you can never be a hero. A man of loyalty like Wang Er, although suitable for a mighty general, is destined not to achieve greatness. Even if he didn't get into trouble here, it would happen eventually... Forget it, I shouldn't curse him.*
The villagers immediately began buzzing with discussion.
Shansier shouted, "Silence, everyone! The question is not just about whether or not to save Wang Er. Before we save Wang Er, we must defend ourselves!"
Everyone: "?"
Shansier: "Are you fools? Didn't Hero White Cat say that Zheng Yanfu and Zhong Guangdao plan to attack Gao Family Village? That's why they ambushed Hero Wang!"
Everyone: "!!!"
Shansier roared, "It won't be long before Zheng Yanfu and Zhong Guangdao come to attack! Damn them! Why are you still standing there stunned? Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle! Everyone get ready immediately! Quickly, 'Sharpen the Spears and Feed the Horses'!"
White Cat gasped, "It won't... be that quick... They know Gao Family Village... has tall walls... They will only... attempt... a night raid."
This made Shansier snap back to reality. That's right, we now have ten-meter-high walls. As long as Zheng Yanfu and the others aren't complete blockheads, they won't foolishly attack Gao Family Village in broad daylight, or they'll face the same fate as Wushang Ming Wang.
A night raid, then?
Shansier felt a bit panicked.
Gao Chuwu cried out, "Master San, we know a bit about fighting during the day, but how do we fight at night?"
Zheng Daniu added, "They could launch a night raid anytime, but we can't stay awake all night! What should we do?"
Shansier bellowed, "How the hell should I know? I'm a secretary, not a military strategist!"
The surrounding villagers descended into another wave of panic.
Li Daoxuan, however, was amused. What was there to fear about a night raid? I just need to turn on the "motion detection alarm" function on the surveillance camera. As soon as any sign of activity is monitored, the preset music alarm will sound, and then I'll shine a fluorescent light into the container, allowing them to fight as if it were daytime.
However, such a method would be "Tianzun cheating." If he started cheating right away, the little people wouldn't learn anything.
No rush. Let's see how they handle it first.
Shansier hesitated for a moment, then suddenly had an idea. "That's right, it's still early morning! It's still far from dark. Quick, someone go and invite Mr. Bai Yuan of Bai Family Fortress to come over! He is a militia drillmaster. He'll know how to handle this."
Gao Chuwu: "I'll go!"
"Be careful on your way," Shansier said. "Things are extremely unstable outside. If you encounter bandits, don't try to be a hero. Just spread out your big feet and run. Those bandits don't have horses, they won't catch you."
Gao Chuwu grinned foolishly. "Don't worry, I've been eating well lately, and I have strength. Those soft, squishy guys won't catch up to me."
He took a few pieces of dried meat and a white flour pancake, then spread his big feet and ran out of the fortress. Gao Yiye shouted from the wall, "Big Brother Chuwu, don't run so fast at the start! It's a two-hour journey. Save some strength!"
Gao Chuwu replied goofily, "Oh? Right!"
Everyone: "..."
*Is it really okay to entrust such an important task to a simpleton?*
Shansier spun around and looked at the two blacksmiths. "The armor? How many sets of armor do we have now?"
The two blacksmiths grinned. "We have a lot now! In the past few days, since we got the cotton cloth, the women have also started working, attaching the stored iron plates to the cotton clothing. We've made several sets of cotton armor!"
Shansier: "Quickly take inventory! Issue the armor to the strongest young men in the village! Hurry, hurry, hurry! Also, rocks and oil, prepare them all! Oh, right, where are our trebuchets?"
Zheng Daniu: "Dao Xuan Tianzun took all the trebuchets back to the heavens after the last battle."
Shansier: "Night fighting, trebuchets are probably useless anyway, right? Argh! I don't really know! Never mind that for now! Everyone take action! Hurry, hurry, hurry! Get to your posts!"
The villagers: "But what exactly are we supposed to do?"
Shansier: "..."
The scene froze in awkwardness again.