Chapter 108 The Rebels: She's still in the mountains.
Lin Yao carried a heavy bundle towards the entrance of the valley; it contained the black powder she had made before entering the mountains.
During her university years, she was obsessed with time-travel novels, which often featured protagonists using gunpowder to save themselves. She knew that this substance was made from saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal.
Later, when she arrived in the Great Yan Dynasty, she saw that sulfur was sold in pharmacies and charcoal could be easily obtained in blacksmith shops. She guessed that similar things must already exist in this era, but ordinary people could not use them.
But saltpeter was hard to come by. It was mostly hidden in the soil at the base of old walls and next to outhouses. To get some, Lin Yao would go to the corner of the outhouse before dawn every day to dig up some waste soil, and she worked on this for many days.
The refining process is even more grueling.
To refine saltpeter, you first need to pour soil into a jar, add warm water and soak it for half an hour, then filter out the mud and sand with a fine cloth. Pour the filtered water into another earthenware jar, and when there is enough water, put it on the embers of the stove to simmer slowly until the water evaporates. A thin layer of white crystals will precipitate at the bottom of the jar, which is crude saltpeter.
The first batch of saltpeter produced contained many impurities and could not be used.
Lin Yao repeatedly dissolved, filtered, and boiled the crystals in warm water, going back and forth more than ten times until the crystals turned snow-white, before carefully putting them into a cloth bag.
When Lin Yao walked to the entrance of the valley with the cloth bag in her hand, Liu Dazhuang, Lin Yougong, and several other men on guard duty were rubbing their hands together to warm them up around the fire. She went straight over to them and said, "Brother Dazhuang, Brother Yougong, and a few other uncles, I have something I'd like to show you. It might be of some help in guarding the valley."
Everyone turned around at the sound and saw her holding a heavy cloth bag, their faces filled with curiosity.
Liu Dazhuang stood up with a smile: "Yao girl, what good stuff did you bring us this time? Is it some kind of herbal sachet to ward off the cold?"
It's no wonder he thought that way. Everyone knows Lin Yao is smart and capable, but that's limited to business and food. No one would have guessed that she was also involved in prostitution.
Lin Yao shook her head, placed the cloth bag on a stone by the campfire, and slowly opened it. Inside were eight bamboo tubes wrapped in oiled paper.
Liu Dazhuang recognized it at a glance; it was a bamboo tube he had made for the Lin family before, used to hold sour plum drinks. However, now the bottom of the bamboo tube had a small hole drilled in it, with a dried hemp rope threaded through the hole, resembling a fuse.
"What's this?" Lin Yougong stepped forward, picked up a bamboo tube, and examined it from all angles. "Why does this bamboo tube look so strange?"
Lin Yao picked up a bamboo tube, pinching the hemp rope fuse between her fingertips, and said seriously, "This contains powder made from saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal, which I mixed in the correct proportions. Lighting this hemp rope fuse will cause a loud bang in a moment, and it can even injure people. If outsiders try to force their way into the valley, this thing can help us hold them off."
Upon hearing this, the crowd fell silent instantly, their curiosity turning to astonishment. A villager with a short beard instinctively took a half-step back: "Young lady, can this thing really explode? What if it hurts our own people?"
"Don't worry, Uncle Kang," Lin Yao quickly explained, "I've tried it twice. The fuse burns slowly, giving it enough time to throw after it's lit. Besides, I only mixed a small amount of gravel into the bamboo tube. It's mainly for scaring people away with the noise. I'll only use it to hurt people if they're really desperate. It's just that saltpeter is hard to come by. I saved up for a month to make these eight. I have to use them sparingly."
Liu Dazhuang took the bamboo tube, weighed it in his hand, and then sniffed it closely. He could vaguely smell the pungent odor of sulfur. His expression gradually became serious: "Yao girl, this thing of yours has really helped us a lot."
Lin Yao smiled and said, "I'll explain how to use them to everyone in a bit. When we're on shift, each of us should bring two, so we'll have something to do in case something happens."
Lin Yougong slapped his thigh, his eyes full of approval: "Good! Ayao is so smart! With this, even if the real Heavenly King himself came, we wouldn't be afraid!"
In the woods on the other side, Kang was being led forward by two bandits. She was still thinking about how to make sure the bandits subdued the village head and Lin Yao's group when they reached the valley.
But they hadn't gone far when the bandits who had been scouting ahead suddenly ran back in a panic, their faces pale, shouting, "Boss! There are a lot of people ahead! They're carrying knives and guns, and they don't look like trouble!"
The bandit leader, who had been chewing on a blade of grass and looking impatient, shoved Kang aside upon hearing this and cursed, "What's the panic? There are so many of us, what are we afraid of, a few passersby?"
But as soon as he parted the bushes and peeked out, the arrogance on his face vanished without a trace.
In the open space ahead, there were twenty or thirty people standing densely packed together. Each of them wore worn but still neat armor, held sharp long swords and spears in their hands, and had short crossbows at their waists. The person at the front carried a faded black flag on his shoulder, with a large "瑞" (rui) character embroidered on it.
They are rebels!
In those days, the rebels were even more ruthless than bandits. They not only robbed grain but also conscripted men. When they encountered villages that resisted, they would burn, kill, and loot without leaving any survivors.
The bandits usually only dared to bully unarmed villagers; they had never seen anything like this before.
The bandits who had been so loud and boisterous just moments before were now all shrinking back, their legs trembling, and they could barely hold onto their knives.
The bandit leader swallowed hard, forced a smile, took two steps forward, and cupped his hands, saying, "G-heroes, we are just hunters passing by. We'll be on our way now, without disturbing you any longer."
"Hunters?" The rebel leader stepped out from the crowd. He was tall, with a scar running from his forehead to his chin, and his eyes were cold. "Holding a machete and holding a woman hostage, you call this hunters? I think you're deserters."
As soon as he finished speaking, two rebel soldiers stepped forward, their spears pointed directly at the bandit leader's chest.
The bandit leader was so frightened that he immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly: "Heroes, spare our lives! Heroes, spare our lives! We were just confused for a moment. We wanted to follow this woman to the valley ahead to find some food. We would never dare to rob you heroes!"
Kang stood at the back, her face deathly pale!
Although the bandits were fierce, at least they could be fooled by her lies. But the rebels were a bunch of lunatics. Once they found out the location of the valley, not only would the village head and Lin Yao be in trouble, but she herself would also be doomed!
She instinctively stepped back, trying to slip away in the chaos, but she was spotted by a rebel after only two steps.
"Halt!" The rebel soldier grabbed her arm and shoved her next to the bandit leader. "Who is this woman? Where is the valley you're trying to reach?"
The bandit leader dared not conceal anything and quickly pointed at Madam Kang, saying, "She came from the valley. She said she was bullied and ran away because she refused to submit. The valley is just ahead. I'll take this woman and the gentlemen there."
The rebel leader stared at Kang Shi for a long time, then suddenly sneered, "Food and women? Perfect, our supplies are almost gone. Since you know the way, lead us there. If you try anything funny, I'll chop you down first!"
He waved his hand, and two rebel soldiers immediately stepped forward and tied up Kang and the bandit leader.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the other bandits turned around and tried to escape, but were shot in the leg by the rebels' crossbows and fell to the ground screaming.
The knife-faced rebel leader glanced at the groaning bandits on the ground, a cruel smile on his face. He coldly ordered his men behind him, "Drag these prisoners over here and tie them to the back of the horses."
Two rebel soldiers immediately stepped forward, each holding a thick hemp rope, and roughly dragged the bandit from the ground.
The bandit leader, his arms bound, struggled and begged for mercy: "Sir, spare our lives! We're just stragglers, we had no intention of taking your territory! Release us, and we'll leave immediately!"
The rebels ignored him completely, wrapping a thick hemp rope around his waist and tying the other end directly to the horse's reins.
The bandit leader grimaced in pain, the rope tightening his chest. Just as he was about to shout again, a rebel covered his mouth and shoved him roughly to the side of his horse.
The other wounded bandits fared even worse; they were hit in the legs by crossbow bolts and dragged on the ground, their blood splattering everywhere, their screams echoing across the scene.
Kang stood to the side, feeling a chill run through her body, her teeth chattering uncontrollably.
When a rebel soldier approached her with a rope, Kang Shi's legs went weak with fear, and she almost collapsed to the ground: "My lord! I'm useful! I can find the valley! I can lead you the way! Don't tie me to the back of the horse!"
The knife-faced rebel glanced at her and sneered, "You're still useful, so I won't tie you up for now. But if you dare to play tricks, they'll be your fate." He pointed to the bandits behind the horse, his tone threatening.
The rebels quickly got ready, with several warhorses standing side by side, dragging the bound bandits behind them.
The leader of the rebels mounted his horse, flicked the reins, and the warhorse neighed as it strode forward.
The bandits, bound to the back of the horses, were dragged along the ground, their wounds rubbing against the gravel, their screams growing more and more shrill, yet no one stopped.
Meanwhile, the wind at the foot of the mountain, carrying withered grass and debris, swept across the now deserted Linjia Village.
Xu Zhiheng reined in his horse, his dark armor gleaming coldly.
He looked at the village before him, now completely unrecognizable. Despite having seen countless similar scenes along the way, he still felt a deep sense of sorrow.
Two years ago when he left, this place was still filled with the smoke of cooking fires.
Now, only the mournful sound of the wind blowing through the empty mud houses remains.
But the sorrow that had just welled up in his heart was interrupted by the sound of rapid hoofbeats.
"General!" Mantang rode out of the woods, his face full of anxiety.
As soon as he reached Xu Zhiheng's horse, he tumbled off and knelt on the ground: "You're utterly incompetent! Even when we chased him to the edge of the forest, Meng Yong still managed to scatter his remaining troops!"
Xu Zhiheng's gaze darkened. He didn't let everyone stand up, but said in a deep voice, "Explain clearly, what happened?"
“That Meng Yong fellow is indeed brave,” Mantang said urgently. “We finally managed to scatter his main force, and he fled into the mountains with a few dozen remaining soldiers. When we were chasing him, he deliberately ran into places with many forks in the road and set fires in several places to block our way. After we put out the fires, we couldn’t find any trace of him!”
Xu Zhiheng frowned even more deeply.
Meng Yong is the most ferocious general under Prince Rui. He is not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also extremely adept at using terrain in battle. Once he gathers his remaining troops and finds supplies, he will surely make a comeback.
But what worried him even more was that Lin Yao was still in the mountains.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Xu Zhiheng: [doge] Ta-da! I'm back!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
