Two days later.
Wang Er stood before an army that seemed to stretch to the horizon.
Tens of thousands.
When he spoke, his voice rolled across the ranks like thunder over dry land.
"Do you know why we have mobilized so many militia this time?"
Tens of thousands answered in perfect unison.
"We know. This is Shaanxi."
Wang Er nodded slowly.
"That is right. This is Shaanxi. This is where the rebellion first ignited. The people here have already suffered enough. We will not allow them to suffer a second time."
The response shook the earth.
"We will not. We will not."
Wang Er raised his arm and pointed south.
"This is also the most important liberated zone under Dao Xuan Tianzun. Our core rear stronghold. We absolutely forbid any rebel from stepping into Shaanxi."
The army roared.
"Forbidden. Forbidden."
Wang Er smiled.
"Good. Since morale is high, we move now."
And so the massive force began to advance, flowing toward the southern mountains like a steel river.
On the walls of Hanzhong Prefecture, Zhao Guangyuan, the Prefect, and Prince Rui stood watching the departure.
All three wore expressions that were difficult to describe.
When Wang Er had first arrived with five hundred men, they had felt nothing.
When two thousand five hundred gathered, they had begun to feel uneasy.
Now, watching endless ranks of militia stretching beyond sight, they should have been terrified.
Strangely, they were not.
Instead, something else stirred in their hearts.
Excitement.
If Sun Chuanting could mobilize such strength at will, what bandit in this world could ever break through Shaanxi's defenses?
Deep within the Micang Mountains.
Fengdongyan.
A colossal cave carved into the mountain's belly. When the wind swept through the peaks, it spiraled inside the cavern, howling through the stone like ghosts wailing in the dark. Thus the name. Wind Cave Rock.
Hidden inside were more than ten thousand rebels.
Their leader was Mi Chuang Jiang.
His original name had been Mi Jiang. After the previous Chuang Jiang died and the title was elevated to Chuang Wang, the old position became vacant. Mi Jiang promptly promoted himself and became the second generation Chuang Jiang.
Passing on the flame, as they liked to call it.
To distinguish himself from his predecessor, he kept his surname, becoming Mi Chuang Jiang.
He was a veteran bandit from the Yan'an region. He had risen early in the Chongzhen era, fought north and south alongside Wang Jiayin, and survived countless battles. He was no greenhorn.
Not long ago, he had followed the new Chuang Wang into Sichuan and caused chaos for a time.
Then he got lost.
The mountains of Shu were treacherous. Easy to enter. Hard to leave.
After wandering in circles for days, Mi Chuang Jiang made a bold decision.
"Forget everything. Head north."
No matter how steep the cliffs. No matter how winding the paths. Follow the sun. Walk north. If a mountain blocks the way, climb it. If a river blocks the way, swim it. As long as we go straight north, we cannot get lost.
Shockingly, the method worked.
After a string of fortunate accidents, he emerged from the Shu mountains, crossed the Micang range, and stepped into Hanzhong territory.
When he saw Hanzhong City in the distance, he laughed wildly.
"I am back. Back in Shaanxi. Brothers, we are home. Seize Hanzhong."
And then he was beaten so thoroughly he nearly forgot his own name.
At Hanzhong North Train Station, Wang Er's flintlock riflemen had given him a lesson in modern warfare. Zhao Guangyuan had then chased him like a hunting dog until he fled back into the Micang Mountains.
Now he crouched inside Fengdongyan, deeply uneasy.
A subordinate approached. "Boss, what do we do?"
Mi Chuang Jiang stroked his chin.
"Let me think carefully. Perhaps we bypass Hanzhong and enter the Guanzhong Plain. Plenty of grain there. Enough to feed us well."
At that moment, a scout burst in, clothes torn, face pale.
"Boss. Disaster. The Hanzhong army is advancing into the Micang Mountains. They are clearly preparing a mountain search."
Mi Chuang Jiang scoffed.
"A mountain search? I have roamed for ten years since the start of Chongzhen. I have never seen the government conduct a proper mountain search."
"It is true," the scout insisted. "They are coming."
Mi Chuang Jiang laughed loudly.
"The Micang Mountains are vast. Dense forests. Endless ravines. Do they think a few thousand soldiers can stroll in and search the place? Scatter a few thousand men in here and they will vanish without a trace."
The scout swallowed.
"It is not a few thousand. It is tens of thousands. I cannot even count. As far as the eye can see, there are only people."
Mi Chuang Jiang froze.
"Tens of thousands? Since when can the government conjure such numbers overnight?"
"I do not know," the scout said weakly. "There are too many."
Mi Chuang Jiang rushed with him to the northern slope. From the summit, he looked down.
At the foot of the mountain, an enormous army had already assembled.
Dense.
Countless.
Nothing but heads.
For a moment, he could not speak.
"In the past," he muttered, "we always outnumbered the government. Now they outnumber us several times over. How are we supposed to fight this?"
His subordinates trembled.
"What do we do?"
Mi Chuang Jiang forced himself to stand tall.
"Do not panic. There is nothing to fear. The Micang Mountains are treacherous. There are hiding places everywhere. If we had not marched straight north, we ourselves would still be lost. Once they enter, they will lose direction. They will not know north from south. We have the terrain."
He had barely finished speaking when something rose slowly from the formation below.
A massive spherical object.
Beneath it hung a gondola.
Inside the gondola were men. A brazier burned bright, heating the air.
It looked like a giant reconnaissance hot air balloon.
Higher and higher it rose.
Soon it reached the level of the northern slope.
Mi Chuang Jiang stared at the figures in the gondola.
They stared back.
Hundreds of meters apart, eyes locked.
Then one of the men in the gondola lifted a megaphone.
"Bandit leader. I see you. You are surrounded. Lay down your weapons and surrender immediately. If you surrender, your sentence may be reduced and your years of Labor Reform shortened. If you resist, do not blame us when swords and spears show no mercy."
Mi Chuang Jiang exploded.
"Damn it. Loose arrows. Shoot him down."
His men answered helplessly.
"It is too far. We cannot reach it."
The balloon rose even higher, floating above the slope.
Inside the gondola, a scout from Gao Family Village pulled out paper and brush. He sketched a rough topographical map that looked like a child's drawing. Then he drew a red circle around the exact location where Mi Chuang Jiang stood.
He rolled the paper, placed it into a bamboo tube, tied it to a rope, and lowered it to the ground below.
Moments later, the Gao Family Village Militia began their ascent into the mountains.
The hunt had begun.