"We're going to Sichuan! To Sichuan!"
Inside the Gao Family Village barracks, the news detonated like a cannon shot.
Boots pounded against wooden floors. Bedrolls were rolled up at record speed. Weapon racks were opened, inspected, checked again. Men who had just been lounging a moment ago were now running back to their quarters, stuffing spare socks into packs and arguing over whose oilcloth was better at keeping powder dry.
This expedition was different.
For the first time in years, Cheng Xu was leading personally.
As Commander in Chief of Gao Family Village's forces, he had long since become the man who stood behind maps, supply charts, and deployment plans. He oversaw the whole chessboard and rarely stepped onto it. Others marched, others fought, others bled. He managed the flow of grain, bullets, and men.
But this time there was no alternative.
The major armies of Gao Family Village were already committed elsewhere, each entangled in operations that could not be abandoned. If he did not move, no one else could shoulder this particular task.
The moment word spread that he would lead, the entire barracks exploded with excitement.
"Have you heard? Instructor He Jiu is leading us personally!"
"Really? The deputy of General He Kegang is finally taking the field again?"
"You still do not understand?" someone whispered dramatically. "The films hid his real name. Think about it. The He in He Jiu and the He in He Kegang sound exactly the same. He Jiu is He Kegang. One of the Three Heroes of Liaodong. Zu Dashou could not kill him. He faked his death and crawled out from a mountain of corpses."
A collective gasp followed.
"That makes sense."
"Of course it does."
"Back then he fought the Manchus with cold steel and old muskets. Now we have bolt action rifles and artillery. If the Manchus show their faces, they will not even know how they died."
"To march with General He is our fortune."
The energy in the barracks rose higher and higher, spreading from squad to squad like fire racing through dry grass.
Cheng Xu stepped out of his office and walked along the corridor, hands clasped behind his back. He could feel the atmosphere before he fully understood it. Something electric was coursing through the ranks.
He smiled faintly.
Excellent morale.
He had actually been worried. The road into Sichuan was notoriously dangerous. The old saying claimed that the path into Shu was harder than ascending to heaven. Narrow mountain roads, sudden ambush points, unpredictable weather. This was not a simple march across flat plains.
Yet no one looked reluctant.
The soldiers he passed snapped upright.
"Fighting alongside General He, we fear nothing!"
Cheng Xu blinked.
General He?
He cleared his throat. "Instructor He Jiu. Not General."
"Understood, Instructor He!"
The answer came like thunder.
Still, something felt wrong.
It sounded correct. It was his name. Yet somehow it felt as though they were not speaking to him but to someone larger than him, someone forged out of rumor and cinema and legend.
He rubbed his forehead and stepped onto the training ground.
Five thousand militia soldiers were already assembled.
This was the main force of Gao Family Village. Not a branch detachment. Not a temporary levy. These were the core troops.
The front two thousand five hundred formed the First Regiment. Every man carried the newest bolt action rifle produced in Gao Family Village. Eight paper cartridges sat within the magazine, spring fed into the chamber. A single pull of the bolt chambered the next round with swift mechanical precision.
Behind them stood the Second Regiment, two thousand five hundred strong, armed with finely forged breech loading rifled muskets. Reliable, accurate, and deadly in disciplined volleys.
Each regiment possessed its own artillery battalion, engineering units, and field kitchens. This was a self contained war machine.
Cheng Xu climbed onto the rostrum.
He had not yet spoken when five thousand voices roared in unison.
"Greetings, Instructor He!"
The shout rolled across the yard and struck him in the chest.
Again that strange feeling.
He lifted a hand. Silence fell almost instantly.
"Gentlemen," he began, his voice steady, "the campaign before us will not be simple. We march into Sichuan."
"To Sichuan! To Sichuan! To Sichuan!"
"With Instructor He, we fear nothing!"
Cheng Xu stared at them.
From scalp to soles, something felt off.
Was this some kind of omen? A warning from instinct?
He quickly swept his gaze across the field. No unease. No internal alarm. His senses were calm. There was no danger here.
"Reporting in," came a straightforward voice. "Gao Chuwu, returning from Hedong, rejoining ranks."
"Reporting in," came another, more sheepish tone. "Zheng Daniu, from the cavalry battalion, rejoining ranks."
The moment Cheng Xu saw those two, realization dawned.
Ah.
That was the source of the unease.
"You two are coming?" he said, pressing his fingers to his temple. "No wonder I felt something was wrong. Taking you along will cost me five years of my life. Five full years."
Before he could continue, another voice rang out.
"Reporting. Flat Rabbit, returned from the Yellow Pole Military Academy Xi'an campus, rejoining ranks."
"Zheng Gouzi, same."
Cheng Xu turned slowly.
Flat Rabbit stood there with hands on hips, chin lifted, radiating boundless confidence.
All three of them.
The trio that once specialized in chaos.
"Someone save me," Cheng Xu muttered.
At that moment, a Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun walked over calmly.
"I called them," Li Daoxuan said. "And I am going as well."
Cheng Xu stiffened. "You are going personally?"
Li Daoxuan smiled faintly.
He had been born by the Jialing River in Shuangqing. How could he not go when Sichuan was in flames? Even if this world was a box beneath his gaze, it was still a land that stirred his heart.
"Instructor He Jiu," Li Daoxuan continued, "Sichuan's terrain is fragmented. Five thousand men cannot move as a single block everywhere. The rebels are scattered. We will likely divide into multiple detachments for pursuit. I need capable officers to lead independently."
Cheng Xu understood the logic.
He looked at Gao Chuwu. "You can lead troops now?"
Gao Chuwu nodded earnestly. "Of course. You just walk at the front and everyone follows."
Cheng Xu covered his face.
He looked at Zheng Daniu.
Zheng Daniu grinned foolishly.
Flat Rabbit laughed loudly. "Instructor He Jiu, leave it to this Rabbit Lord. I am invincible now."
Cheng Xu felt a vein pulse at his temple.
Li Daoxuan chuckled softly. "Do not underestimate them. Even men like Guo Tianxing and Waguanwang became formidable after years of fighting. These three are no longer naive boys. They trained at the Yellow Pole Military Academy. Give them some trust."
If Dao Xuan Tianzun himself vouched for them, there was nothing more to argue.
Cheng Xu inhaled deeply.
Very well.
"To arms," he said quietly.
The order rippled outward.
The troops marched toward the train station in disciplined lines, boots striking earth in steady rhythm.
Destination: Shanyang County.
From there, through Yunyang.
And then, into Sichuan.