The Great Ming in the Box-Chapter 69: The Celestial Artifact Appeared Again
Bai Yuan rode swiftly to the foot of the roundhouse. He looked left and right, feeling bewildered. “Huh? I haven’t been here for just a few days. How has it changed again? The multicolored city wall vanished, replaced by an enormous Fortress. This fortress wall must be ten meters tall, right?”
He had been expanding his Bai Family Fortress and thought it was well-built. But upon seeing this Fortress of Gaojia Village, Bai Yuan instantly felt his own Bai Family Fortress looked shabby and dilapidated.
Gao Chuwu caught up from behind him. “Deity took back the old wall to the heavens and bestowed upon our village a new Fortress. Everyone moved into new homes. I… I now have my own house. I can finally get married, heh heh.”
Bai Yuan rolled his eyes. He had zero interest in hearing about marriage plans.
Thirty-Two peeked his head out from the fortress wall. Spotting Bai Yuan below, he beamed with joy. “Mr. Bai has arrived! Mr. Bai has arrived! Hurry! Open the iron gate! Invite Mr. Bai inside!”
The villagers erupted in cheers. Seeing Bai Yuan felt like finding their backbone. They quickly opened the gate, ushering Bai Yuan into the Hakka roundhouse.
As Bai Yuan entered the large roundhouse, his focus shifted entirely to “defensiveness.” He glanced around. At each of the four corners stood a “turret.” Guarding these turrets and shooting down from them would be highly efficient.
The four “turrets” were connected by “galleries,” allowing defenders to move swiftly between them and provide mutual support.
Both turrets and galleries had “loopholes” designed for shooting. Defenders could attack enemies safely through these gaps.
“Incredible!”
Bai Yuan clicked his tongue in admiration. “This Fortress is brilliantly made. Once I return, I’ll build my Bai Family Fortress just like it.”
Thirty-Two stepped forward to greet him. “Mr. Bai, let’s postpone that fortress-building talk. First, figure out our battle strategy. According to our informant, the bandits plan to climb the wall secretly at night and open the gate from within.”
Bai Yuan rolled his eyes. “Isn’t it simple? Install more lanterns and braziers on the wall, station extra sentinels to patrol, and deny them any chance. Done.”
As soon as he uttered this, he snapped to his senses. “No, we can’t do that.”
Li Daoxuan chuckled to himself. “Bai Yuan reacts so sharply.”
“The enemy hides in shadows, while we stay exposed,” Bai Yuan said rapidly. “If the bandits notice our tight defense, they’ll hold off attacking. We’d waste lamp oil, firewood, and sentinel manpower nightly. All villagers would be too anxious to sleep. Waiting endlessly would exhaust us. When fatigue weakens our defenses, the bandits strike—and we’re doomed.”
Thirty-Two sighed. “True. You can rob daily for a thousand days, but you can’t defend against robbers daily. It’s just too draining.”
Bai Yuan’s eyes darted around. He then climbed the fortress wall and peered in every direction, memorizing the whole layout. He grinned. “Exactly. We can’t defend daily. We lure them out instead. Pretend we’re oblivious and defenseless. Draw them all inside the Fortress. Then, exploit the terrain to trap and annihilate them here. Only total eradication stops their plots.”
“The enormous Fortress gifted by Deity has fierce defensive power. It even partitions defenses seamlessly. Look…this Hakka roundhouse features nine halls and eighteen wells. This well…this well…and that one…they naturally form defensive zones. If we let bandits enter and lure them to these three wells, we only block here…here…and here…to trap them inside. From the adjacent rooftops, drop stones. No bandit escapes that.”
The others didn’t understand but pretended they did, shouting, “Oh, that’s how it works.”
Li Daoxuan gazed downward from “high altitude,” seeing clearly. Connecting Bai Yuan’s pointed spots, he realized this Hakka roundhouse wasn’t simple. Its nine halls and eighteen wells were layered defenses.
If enemies broke one layer, defenders fell back to the second. If they breached that, defenders retreated to the third. Layer by layer, they’d whittle enemy forces down. Finally, defenders could withdraw to the watchtower where Gao Yiye lived. Like an ancient citadel, it loomed high, easily defensible—a final holdout.
Tsk tsk. The wisdom of the Hakka people truly amazed one.
This being Bai Yuan’s first encounter with such an extraordinary enormous fortress, he vibrated with excitement. Rubbing his hands, he declared, “Hah! I’ve got a plan now! All able-bodied men follow me! We practice first!”
“Gao Chuwu, take ten men. Guard this passage.”
“Also, send ten strong women onto the flanking rooftops. Have them drop stones to aid Gao Chuwu.”
“Zheng Daniu, take ten men. Guard this passage.”
“Put some strong women on both sides’ rooftops above the passage. Task them with rock-dropping.”
“Li Da, lead five men. Circle around through this passage…”
“Gao Yiyi, lead five men. Ambush this lane. When the bandit army crosses that passage, rush out at once. Shut this gate and bolt it.”
“Ah, this path…” Bai Yuan hesitated. “It’s the bandits’ sole escape route. But the village has no manpower left. What now?”
Li Daoxuan studied the passage and the courtyard beyond, grinning. An idea flashed in his mind.
As Bai Yuan pondered, Gao Yiye suddenly spoke up. “Everyone, step back. Deity will lend us a magical artifact.”
Hearing this, the crowd hastily backed away.
Bai Yuan hastily bowed deeply toward the sky.
An enormous bronze cannon slowly descended from above. It landed softly in the courtyard at the end of that unguarded passage, its barrel tilted downward, aimed directly up the path.
Measuring meters in length, the cannon touched down without even a quiver. Deity’s gentle placement spared them any tremors.
The cannon occupied vast ground, filling one entire well of the Hakka roundhouse. Its size terrified.
Villagers had never seen a cannon before, so they weren’t fazed. But Bai Yuan and Thirty-Two had witnessed red cannons in cities. They instantly knew: this “magical artifact” from Deity was a cannon—however…
An impossibly huge one!
Thirty-Two murmured, “Deity does everything on a grand scale!”
Bai Yuan voiced his worry: “How do we handle such a giant cannon? We can’t budge a cannonball! When fired, the blast will level mountains. Its force alone could kill us all. Deity, this sacred weapon…is beyond mortals like us.”
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Chapter 69: The Celestial Artifact Appeared Again
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