Bai Yuan first asked Fan Shangzheng and Zhang Yingchang to give a detailed account of the situation ahead.
Fan Shangzheng began explaining, his tone carrying a trace of grievance.
He and Zhang Yingchang had advanced along the Luo River. Lushi County was extremely mountainous, with roads so treacherous that movement was severely restricted. Only a single official road ran alongside the Luo River and led directly toward the county town.
To ensure stable supply lines, the imperial army could not move freely through the wilderness like the roaming bandits. They had no choice but to march along the official road hugging the river.
This, in turn, handed the rebels a perfect ambush corridor.
On both sides of the official road between Liucun Village and the county town, rebel forces were hidden everywhere. They could launch ambushes at will, striking whenever they pleased.
In the past, government troops had not been particularly afraid of ambushes.
Once scouts confirmed enemy positions, soldiers could raise their shields, easily deflect the rebels' pitiful, broken arrows, and then wipe out the entire ambush force without difficulty.
But now, everything had changed.
The rebel ambushers were armed with flintlock rifles and repeating crossbows—equipment straight from border armies.
If government troops were caught in an ambush now, casualties would be severe.
Zhang Yingchang finished his explanation with indignation boiling over, summarizing bitterly:
"My general's troops are using standard garrison equipment, yet these rebels are wielding border-army weapons. Tell me—are they the rebels, or am I the rebel?"
He felt utterly wronged.
A dignified Provincial Commander-in-Chief.
A Grand General of the second rank.
And yet his men were worse equipped than bandits.
Who could he even complain to?
Bai Yuan found it slightly amusing, but he did not dismiss the danger. In such terrain, ambushes truly were a nightmare. Even he would find them troublesome.
Seeing the government troops practically begging him for help, Bai Yuan had no choice but to seek an even sturdier "leg" to lean on himself.
He lowered his voice and whispered to the gold-threaded Dao Xuan Tianzun emblem hanging on his chest.
"Dao Xuan Tianzun… are you there?"
The golden-threaded Dao Xuan Tianzun smiled.
Bai Yuan whispered again, "This humble one requests your guidance."
Dao Xuan Tianzun replied calmly, "Very well. Release the reconnaissance hot air balloon."
Bai Yuan was instantly overjoyed.
His biggest support was present.
He turned and barked orders at once.
"Release the reconnaissance hot air balloon!"
Ever since Shi Jian fought his battle in northern Shaanxi, the Gao Family Village militia had adopted reconnaissance hot air balloons as standard equipment during deployments.
Moreover, the newer balloons were no longer crudely made by pasting torn book pages with Dao Xuan Tianzun's image onto them.
These balloons were now crafted with extreme care.
After all, Dao Xuan Tianzun was deeply revered. Anything bearing His image could not possibly be made casually.
Each balloon was a fine handicraft, painted with exquisite detail, beautiful enough to be considered artwork.
Some balloons even featured eight panels, each depicting a different divine miracle manifested by Dao Xuan Tianzun.
When this magnificent balloon began to rise, Fan Shangzheng and Zhang Yingchang stared at it in complete confusion.
"What… is that?" Fan Shangzheng asked.
Bai Yuan answered matter-of-factly, "A reconnaissance hot air balloon."
Fan Shangzheng frowned. "And why are you launching it?"
Zhang Yingchang exclaimed in alarm, "This thing is so colorful and conspicuous! Once it rises into the sky, won't it just tell the rebels exactly where we are? Wouldn't that make ambushing us even easier?"
Bai Yuan patted the flintlock rifle slung at his side and grinned.
"Good. Let them come. If they come, we fight."
Zhang Yingchang clutched his face in despair.
"But it's an ambush—an ambush! They're the ones supposed to sneak up on us!"
Bai Yuan waved his hand casually.
"Relax. We won't be ambushed."
Then he said decisively, "Let's move out. We need to enter Lushi County town."
Zhang Yingchang's legs nearly gave out. He genuinely did not dare advance any further.
Fan Shangzheng, however, had more confidence in Bai Yuan. He agreed to move forward, though he still reminded him cautiously:
"Master Bai, do not underestimate the rebels. They are well-equipped now. If we're ambushed, the losses will be catastrophic."
Bai Yuan nodded.
"Governor, rest assured."
Fan Shangzheng hesitated, then asked quietly, "By the way… did Grandmaster Xiao come this time? His martial prowess is unrivaled. With him alone, we could hold off an entire army."
Bai Yuan laughed.
"Of course he came. He's sleeping in the carriage at the rear. When the old man doesn't feel like moving, it's best not to disturb him. At a critical moment, he'll act."
"Old man?" Fan Shangzheng blinked. "Such a young and extraordinary expert, and you call him an old man?"
But that wasn't important right now.
With militia in front and government troops behind, they departed Liucun Village and advanced along the official road beside the Luo River.
Above the marching column, the reconnaissance hot air balloon floated steadily at medium altitude.
From this height, Li Daoxuan's view was broad and unobstructed, yet not so high that trees or terrain blocked important details.
Meanwhile…
On a small hillside southwest of Liucun Village, a group of rebel soldiers lay concealed.
Their leader was known as Scorpion Block.
He had once been the fourth company captain under the great bandit Bu Zhan Ni. After Bu Zhan Ni fell in battle, Scorpion Block only grew stronger. His total forces now exceeded 10,500 men.
Scorpion Block personally commanded 4,000 troops stationed inside Lushi County town.
The remaining 6,000-plus were dispersed throughout the forests around the county, tightly monitoring the official road.
This particular force of roughly one thousand men, positioned southwest of Liucun Village, had been assigned specifically to ambush Henan's troops.
They were lazily chewing on looted provisions when a scout suddenly shouted:
"Look! A very beautiful object has risen over the official road near Liucun Village!"
The rebels all looked up.
Sure enough, a massive, multicolored reconnaissance hot air balloon floated in the distant sky, drifting slowly forward.
The scout ran to the edge of the hillside to take another look, then turned back laughing.
"It's the government troops who released it!"
The bandits burst into laughter.
"Are these government troops insane?" one mocked. "Afraid we won't notice them? They even light a lantern to announce themselves?"
"Brothers, time to work!"
"The Henan troops are useless," another sneered. "We'll greet them with flintlock rifles and repeating crossbows. They'll run straight back to Liucun Village."
The rebels laughed and joked as they picked up their new weapons.
This batch of flintlock rifles and repeating crossbows had been sold to them by a mysterious merchant. The bandits didn't know who the merchant was—but they all agreed he was astonishingly capable.
Among the thousand rebels, two hundred carried flintlock rifles, three hundred wielded repeating crossbows, and the remaining five hundred carried ordinary rebel weapons.
They crouched near the cliff edge.
The well-equipped rebels prepared ammunition and bolts.
The poorly equipped ones crept into the treeline, ready to wait.
Once the firearms shattered the government troops' morale, they would rush out, pursue the fleeing soldiers, slaughter them, and seize their spoils.
The government column slowly advanced along the official road, nearing the ambush zone.
The rebels smirked.
"This unit looks stupid," one muttered. "They didn't even send scouts."
"They don't look like regular troops," another said. "Their clothes are different."
"Like… militia?"
"Wait—what? Every one of them is carrying a flintlock rifle?"
"A militia of flintlock riflemen?"
"Is militia equipment this luxurious now?"
"Doesn't matter," the leader sneered. "They don't know we're here. Soon we'll kill them all and take their rifles."
Just then—
When the militia was still a hundred paces outside effective firing range, they suddenly halted.
At the front, a man dressed in white raised a tin megaphone and shouted toward the hidden hillside:
"I see you."