Under Gao Chuwu's careful guidance, a child cautiously dropped a cube of luncheon meat into a large pot of boiling water beside him.
All around the city, similar pots had already been set up. They were part of the preparations made in advance of a rebel assault. Once the common people sensed that a battle was imminent, they would immediately start boiling water, keeping it ready at all times. If the rebel army dared to attack the temporary city walls, this scalding water would be poured down from above, assisting the White Pole Soldiers in defending the city.
The luncheon meat sank into the roiling water, bubbles surging around it. After a short while, Gao Chuwu laughed and waved his hand. "Alright, alright. You can take it out now."
The child grabbed a pair of bamboo chopsticks and tried to pick the meat up, but after fumbling for a while, he still could not manage it. Gao Chuwu shook his head, snatched the chopsticks, pierced the cube cleanly, and lifted it out of the pot.
The child stared at it, eyes wide. "Eh? This meat… it looks so soft."
He brought it closer to his mouth, blew on it lightly, then took a cautious bite.
In that instant, the look on his face was something words could hardly capture.
It was delicious. Incredibly, overwhelmingly delicious.
In all his short life, the child had never tasted anything like this. He forgot everything else, chewing with abandon, stuffing mouthful after mouthful in, making loud, enthusiastic sounds as he ate. He did not say a single word, yet the bliss written across his face made it obvious to everyone present exactly how good it was.
Nearby, other common people watched with eyes full of envy and longing. Many unconsciously pressed a hand to their stomachs, imagining that they, too, were tasting that soft, savory meat.
Zheng Daniu, standing off to the side, also clutched his belly and groaned. "Ah… just looking at that makes me hungry."
Gao Chuwu glanced at him. "That's military rations, Daniu. You should have some too."
Zheng Daniu scratched his head sheepishly. "I already finished mine as soon as we left the barracks."
For a moment, everyone fell silent.
Zao Ying quietly reached out, tugged at Zheng Daniu's sleeve, and slipped a piece of luncheon meat into his hand without a word.
Ma Xianglin did not notice the small exchange between them. His gaze remained fixed on the common people clustered around the pot. He let out a soft sigh, a thought forming in his heart. When someone wealthy is in a good mood, tossing out a bit of meat is enough to move the poor to tears. But in the end, what does it really change?
Just as that thought crossed his mind, he saw Gao Chuwu pat the child's head, straighten up, and lean close to whisper something into Xing Honglang's ear.
Moments later, Xing Honglang stepped forward and spoke loudly, her voice carrying across the area.
"The Dao Xuan Tianzun has given an order. Half of our military rations will be distributed to the common people."
The moment those words left her mouth, Ma Xianglin was startled.
He turned his head and watched as more than four thousand soldiers behind Xing Honglang opened their packs one after another and began taking out their rations.
When soldiers from Gao Family Village went on campaign, they always carried provisions for several days. Each soldier's rations were varied: two small tins of luncheon meat, a large bag of thoroughly dried rice grains, a piece of hardtack, and several strange-looking biscuits, compressed and dense.
The dried rice and hardtack were made using Gao Family Village's own methods, similar in nature to the provisions carried by soldiers in traditional campaigns.
But the luncheon meat and those peculiar compressed biscuits were different.
Those were items bestowed by Li Daoxuan himself.
More than four thousand soldiers divided their rations in half, keeping one portion for themselves and handing over the other without hesitation.
Xing Honglang passed the collected rations to Gao Chuwu. "Chuwu," she said calmly, "the Dao Xuan Tianzun gave this order through you. You should be the one to distribute these provisions to the city's common people."
Gao Chuwu grinned broadly. "Heh heh, distributing things is my specialty. Back in Gao Family Village, whenever we handed out food, the Village Chief always put me in charge."
The others laughed. "That's because you're honest," they teased. "Honest people don't dare skim or embezzle."
Gao Chuwu tilted his head, genuinely puzzled. "Huh? What's the point of embezzling? Just to get struck down by the Dao Xuan Tianzun?"
Laughter broke out all around.
Ma Xianglin stood to the side, watching in silence. These people were truly handing out food to the common people, giving away that astonishingly delicious luncheon meat and those strange biscuits as if it were the most natural thing in the world, without the slightest hesitation.
The common people who received the rations cheered in delight, and the entire city seemed to come alive, buzzing with excitement and gratitude.
Ma Xianglin could not help but lean closer and whisper, "Isn't this a mistake? Your soldiers only carry a few days' worth of rations, don't they? If you give half of it away, how will you sustain yourselves? And no one knows how long we'll be fighting these rebels."
Xing Honglang laughed softly. "General Ma, you worry too much. I've already studied the map. Fifty li west of Puxian lies Danang County, and another fifty li beyond that is the bank of the Yellow River. In other words, it's only a hundred li from here to the Yellow River."
Ma Xianglin frowned. "Yes… and what of the Yellow River?"
"Our remaining rations will be enough," Xing Honglang replied easily, "as long as we reach the Yellow River."
Ma Xianglin stared at her, completely bewildered.
He truly did not understand.
But his wife, Zhang Fengyi, grasped it at once. "They have ships," she said quietly. "They can resupply along the Yellow River."
Ma Xianglin's eyes widened in realization, then almost immediately, confusion returned. "But the imperial court's shipping capacity on the upper Yellow River is extremely weak," he said. "It's nearly nonexistent, relying almost entirely on civilian boats. How could that meager capacity possibly support the logistics of several thousand soldiers?"
Zhang Fengyi lowered her voice further. "She introduced herself as a salt smuggler. Salt smugglers operate in illicit trade. It's possible they truly control a large number of civilian ships."
At last, Ma Xianglin understood. So that's how it is. A salt smuggler.
He had long heard that the salt smugglers of Shanxi were only slightly less powerful than the great Jin merchants, all of them ruthless and capable figures. Now, seeing her command thousands of men armed with firearms, he could not help but feel a chill. It was more than enough to terrify anyone.
As this thought settled, another question suddenly occurred to him.
"By the way, General Xing," he asked, "how is it that your firearms can still be used in the rain?"
Xing Honglang hesitated. She had no intention of answering and revealing such information.
But the Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun perched on Gao Chuwu's shoulder leaned close and whispered, "You can tell him."
Xing Honglang was quietly surprised. So the Dao Xuan Tianzun doesn't regard the White Pole Soldiers as enemies.
She was slowly beginning to understand. As long as military and civil officials were truly loyal to the state and did not engage in underhanded schemes, the Dao Xuan Tianzun did not treat them as foes. In fact, they were potential allies, people Gao Family Village could win over in the future.
If that was the case, there was no harm in explaining.
Xing Honglang waved over a rifled musket soldier.
From the outside, the musket looked no different from an ordinary bird musket. The rifling inside the barrel was not visible, and such weapons were not particularly rare. Ma Xianglin's own army possessed a few, though certainly not in large numbers.
The soldier first used the brim of his wide bamboo hat to shield the weapon as he loaded it. Then he took out a small wooden box and, with a soft click, attached it to the firing mechanism. Only after that did he raise the musket and aim.
Ma Xianglin understood immediately. "Oh? So the wooden box blocks the rain," he exclaimed. "That's quite ingenious."
Then another thought struck him. "The Liaodong border army dislikes using muskets because the wind there is fierce and often blows away the priming powder," he said slowly. "If they added a wooden box like this, wouldn't it block the wind as well?"
His expression changed instantly, excitement flashing across his face. "This tiny modification has enormous value," he said emphatically. "General Xing, why not report this invention to the imperial court? If the Liaodong border army could produce and use it on a large scale, dealing with the Manchu invaders would become far easier."
Xing Honglang smiled and glanced toward the Puppet Dao Xuan Tianzun. Seeing him give a slight nod, she turned back and said with a light laugh, "If it truly helps the border army fight the Manchu invaders, then I'll submit it and see what happens."