Wang Er rolled his eyes at Prince Rui.
This time, however, there was a little less contempt in that eye roll.
The seventh year of Tianqi. That was the very year Wang Er of Baishui County had risen in rebellion and killed the magistrate.
Shaanxi had been scorched by drought. The land cracked. The wells ran dry. The people survived on wild roots and stubbornness.
He still remembered why he had rebelled.
Magistrate Zhang Yaocai of Chengcheng County had collected taxes like a butcher weighing meat. Starving villagers were treated worse than stray dogs. Wang Er had once sneaked into Gao Family Village to steal water, desperate enough to risk death. Instead of punishment, Dao Xuan Tianzun had bestowed upon him a small mountain of flour.
He had carried that flour home with tears in his eyes.
Then he learned that the seed grain of his fellow villagers had been stolen.
That was the moment fury swallowed him whole.
Now, standing in Hanzhong, recalling those days, Wang Er could not help but sigh.
He had never imagined that this so called dead money grubber Prince Rui had once taken out seven thousand taels of silver for disaster relief. That number was not small. Not even slightly.
In Wang Er's heart, the prince's figure grew a little taller.
He could not help asking in disbelief, "Someone as fond of money as you would actually spend it?"
Prince Rui scoffed. "Look at you. This prince exhausts his brain earning money precisely so I can be generous when spending it. Struggle fiercely when earning, spend boldly when it is time to spend."
Wang Er was speechless.
Prince Rui continued proudly, "Those who do not strive to earn, who lazily cling to their tiny lot, who refuse to think hard about making even a single copper coin, and then act stingy when spending, unwilling to part with a penny for anything. Such pitiful creatures, this prince disdains to be."
At that exact moment, Li Daoxuan, who was co sensing through the embroidery on Wang Er's chest, felt an invisible arrow strike his heart.
Prince Rui, you little rascal. Those words were aimed directly at me, were they not.
I will beat you.
Before anyone could notice the silent divine grievance, Zhao Guangyuan, Regional Commander of Hanzhong, spoke up.
"This general has discussed the matter with the Prefect and His Highness Prince Rui. The bandits hiding in the Micang Mountains cannot be ignored. We have decided to dispatch troops to search the mountains and eradicate them completely."
Only then did Wang Er understand why the three had come together.
"You want my militia to cooperate with yours and conduct a joint mountain search?"
"Indeed," Zhao Guangyuan replied. "The Micang Mountains are vast. The forests are dense, the ravines intricate. Our combined forces are insufficient. We ask for your assistance."
Wang Er let out a cold snort. "You need not ask. I would search the mountains anyway."
The three men were overjoyed. Without Wang Er's support, their own troops were too few to dare venture deep into the mountains.
Then Wang Er added calmly, "I alone will search the mountains. There is no need for you to participate. You would only get in the way."
Silence.
The air stiffened.
Zhao Guangyuan frowned. "The Micang Mountains are not small. You have only two thousand five hundred men. How will you search everything? We must coordinate properly, divide the area, form encirclements…"
"No need," Wang Er cut him off. "Your few men would not help much. I have my own methods of gathering manpower."
Zhao Guangyuan's face reddened. "Hey!"
The Prefect hurried to smooth things over. "Instructor, please, General Zhao's soldiers are quite capable…"
Wang Er's tone remained firm. "I have sufficient manpower. I do not require your small numbers."
That was the final straw.
Zhao Guangyuan exploded. "There is a limit to how much one can look down on others."
He was a dignified Regional Commander. The son of the renowned general Zhao Shuaijiao. To be dismissed like this by a mere militia instructor was unbearable. He nearly overturned the table in fury.
At that very moment, a sharp whistle split the air.
Woo!
A train rumbled into view, chugging toward the station.
The militia camp stood close to the tracks. As the train rolled past, hands shot out of every window, waving enthusiastically toward the tents.
"We are here! Militia, we are here!"
"Reinforcements have arrived!"
"We came to help!"
Voices burst from every carriage window.
The train was packed with over a thousand people. All reserve militiamen.
The moment it stopped, they leaped off in waves.
Their discipline was clearly looser than that of the regular militia. They did not form neat ranks. Instead, they surged toward the camp gate in a noisy mass, offering somewhat crooked salutes.
Then came the loud declarations.
"Bamei No. 1 Factory militia reporting for duty!"
"Xigang No. 2 Factory militia reporting!"
"Xigang No. 3 Factory militia, under Governor Sun Chuanting's command, here to support the front!"
Zhao Guangyuan, still burning with anger, turned and saw more than a thousand fresh troops arriving.
His mouth fell open.
He hurried outside the camp and demanded, "Who sent you?"
"Shaanxi Governor Sun Chuanting!"
Zhao Guangyuan protested, "If you were sent by the Governor, then you should report to me, the Regional Commander of Hanzhong."
The militiamen answered plainly, "We were ordered to report to Instructor Wang and follow his command."
Zhao Guangyuan sputtered, "Why? I am a Regional Commander, descendant of a famous general, trained in military strategy. Why are these men not assigned to me, but to a militia instructor?"
No one paid attention to him.
Some continued shouting introductions. One even yelled back toward the train, "Hurry back to Xi'an. Many more are waiting!"
Another militiaman ran to Wang Er and reported, "Instructor Wang, the Chang'an Automobile Factory militia has arrived as well. They did not come by train. They came in vehicles produced by their own factory."
Wang Er's eyes lit up. "Excellent. After transporting the troops, those vehicles can be used for logistics."
Zhao Guangyuan muttered in confusion, "Vehicles?"
Half a day later, he understood.
On the cement highway to the northwest, a massive convoy appeared.
Solar powered buses and steam automobiles.
They were smaller than trains, each carrying only a dozen or a few dozen men. But there were hundreds of them.
They rolled forward in waves, each unloading more militiamen. Another thousand joined the ranks almost instantly.
And this was only the beginning.
The train made a second trip.
The automobiles began their second run.
Troop numbers swelled continuously.
More and more. Without end.
Temporary encampments spread outward from Wang Er's original camp, expanding several li in circumference.
The Prefect of Hanzhong, Zhao Guangyuan, and Prince Rui stood watching in stunned silence.
This was the first time they had witnessed a mobilization of this scale.
The first time they had seen troops transported in such overwhelming numbers.
Only then did they understand.
This battle was no longer something they could intervene in.
With their pitiful forces, they would not even qualify to assist this vast militia army.