Zheng Gouzi held his head in both hands and squatted defensively on the ground.

Cheng Xu circled around him. “What should I do with a bastard like you? Tell me yourself? Should I behead you according to military law, or should I behead you according to military law?”

The crowd found it strange. “Eh? Why are both options the same?”

Cheng Xu flew into a rage. “Because you have no choice! Violating military law has only one consequence—death. There is no second path. Do you think the army is some kind of joke? Huh? A joke?”

Those beside him broke into a cold sweat, rather frightened. It was the first time they had seen Instructor He so enraged.

After a long while, Gao Chuwu’s timid voice finally spoke up. “Instructor He, we… we’re the civilian militia… not the army.”

Furious, Cheng Xu lashed out with a kick aimed at Gao Chuwu but retracted it halfway. His expression softened slightly. Indeed, they were indeed a civilian militia, not quite the same as a regular army.

Heaving a long sigh, he declared, “Folks! It’s true, we are the civilian militia. That’s correct. But look at the armor you’re wearing! Look at what the Gaojia Village Firearms Bureau is producing! The words ‘rebellion’ are practically written all over you! Do you have any idea? When the Deity arms you like this, is it truly just for self-defense?”

The crowd froze in unison.

Cheng Xu lifted his head. “The day will come when our Gaojia Village rises in rebellion.”

The crowd was startled once more.

Cheng Xu continued, “I wouldn’t speak these words to commoners. It’s far too early to tell them now. But I must tell you. In fact, telling you this now is already too late. The moment you put on that armor, you should have already been prepared! You are not a civilian militia. You are an army that will fight for all living beings under heaven!”

His face instantly twisted back into a ferocious scowl as he roared at everyone, “Look at yourselves now! Slacking off, smirking and giggling, not a single ounce of bearing that shows you will fight for all living beings in the future…”

He pointed a finger at Zheng Gouzi. “A worthless piece of shit who dares skip training!”

Then he pointed at Gao Chuwu. “A worthless piece of shit with nothing but women on his mind!”

His finger shifted to Zheng Daniu. “A worthless piece of shit who flops down after eating, no drive whatsoever!”

Finally, he pointed at Ground Rabbit, ready to blast him, but suddenly let out a long sigh. “You’re beyond hope. No scolding will wake you up. Take him away. Next…”

Ground Rabbit protested, “Eh? Eh eh eh? Why?”

Cheng Xu systematically berated each member of the civilian militia group, pointing accusingly at their noses one by one. Only then did he conclude, “Search your hearts and ask yourselves—does any one of you look like a hero capable of saving this world?”

The crowd: “….”

Cheng Xu heaved another long sigh and circled back to Zheng Gouzi. Pointing at his nose, he declared, “Considering you’ve just joined the civilian militia and don’t yet know you’re a soldier, I won’t deal with you by military law this time. Run fifty laps on the cement road between Gaojia Village and Zhengjia Village. But next time you trespass, it will be military law without fail. Execution!”

Zheng Gouzi hastily acknowledged the order and obediently ran out.

Cheng Xu then turned his gaze to the still-stunned members of the militia. He bellowed, “You fools! I fine you to work harvesting wheat for the villagers right now. Damn it! Use your waist knives! Treat it as practicing your knife skills. Get to work immediately!”

Everyone remained frozen for two seconds, then let out a cheer and rushed toward the farmland.

—

Li Daoxuan, watching this, breathed a sigh of relief. He’d been genuinely afraid Cheng Xu might have enforced “military law” on Zheng Gouzi. Now, it seemed Cheng Xu still exercised measured restraint. Finally ordering everyone to harvest the wheat was truly a merciful act.

Good. He felt gratified that he, Li Daoxuan, had such a subordinate who knew when to be strict and when to relent. Even if Li Daoxuan had handled it personally, he might not have done better than Cheng Xu.

Just then, Li Daoxuan suddenly noticed the characters “Gaojia Village” on the side of the box were flashing. They twinkled brightly, as if sending some kind of signal.

He couldn’t help but exclaim, “Huh?” This was the first time he’d seen the box flash like this. Why hadn’t this happened before?

He touched the flashing characters “Gaojia Village.” His viewpoint instantly jumped back.

Then he saw Gao Yiye on the watchtower, striking a bell. A large “prayer bell” hung there. Gao Yiye held a heavy hammer, clanging the bell loudly.

Li Daoxuan understood: Ah, so that’s it! Usually, his view was firmly locked on Gaojia Village. Villagers could easily find him as Gao Yiye often just lifted her head to speak, and he’d hear her. So villagers of Gaojia Village rarely rang the bell.

This time, he’d shifted his view to Zhengjia Village. People back in Gaojia Village must have been trying to call him, but couldn’t find him. Thus, Gao Yiye rang the long-unused bell.

That was how he discovered this feature of the box!

If someone needed him in a certain area, ringing the bell would make that area’s name flash. Quite user-friendly! In the future, as his view expanded, managing things would be much more convenient.

Li Daoxuan brought his face close above the watchtower, looking down at Gao Yiye. “Yiye, what matter do you seek me for?”

Gao Yiye was overjoyed. “Ah! The Deity has arrived! I… I didn’t dare disturb the Deity’s peace. Minor matters I wouldn’t dare bother you… But… this time, it concerns your command. When we achieved a result, we wanted to notify you and ask you to see.”

Li Daoxuan: “Oh?”

Gao Yiye elaborated, “The first batch of black powder from the Gaojia Village Firearms Bureau has been successfully prepared. Also, under Li Da’s direction, the blacksmiths have forged the first Three-Eyed Divine Firearm! Gao Yiyi is preparing to lead all the blacksmiths out of the village for a test firing of the firearm. I felt this was worth notifying the Deity… Earlier… calling for the Deity brought no response, so I…”

“So you rang the bell, right?” Li Daoxuan chuckled. “Good. Any truly important matters in the future, you may ring the bell to summon me. You did nothing wrong.”

Gao Yiye beamed with happiness. She pattered down the watchtower and plunged into the artisans’ well. “The Deity is here! The Deity is watching us from the heavens! Let’s go test the firearm!”

The blacksmiths were instantly invigorated, rushing with pride. Having the Deity watching over them naturally boosted their spirits a hundredfold.

Artisan Master Gao Yiyi reverently held up a firearm.

One of the Ming army’s standard-issue weapons: the Three-Eyed Divine Firearm.

It was essentially three iron tubes bundled together side-by-side. To use it, one loaded gunpowder and bullets, then lit the fuse, producing a “BOOM!” when fired.

After firing, it became an iron staff that could be swung to club enemies.

To Li Daoxuan, this firearm possessed extremely low technological content, little better than junk. But to the Ming army, it was already considered highly potent weaponry—immensely powerful, effective both at range and in melee, seamlessly shifting from firing to clubbing enemies. Practically invincible in their eyes.

The blacksmiths, clutching this “advanced weapon,” happily charged out of the main fortress, heading toward the direction of the firearms bureau.

Gao Yiye was amidst them, constantly glancing up at the sky. Seeing the cluster of low cloud—representing the Deity—hovering overhead brought her joy, her legs churning rapidly.

—

“Kai Yuan Tu Shuo” (On Fortifications) Excerpt on Three-Eyed Firearms:

Four hundred regular soldiers armed with firearms are divided into four directions, one hundred per direction, governed together by a Captain. There are thus four Captains. Each Captain is divided into four squads; each squad has twenty-five men led by a Captain. There are thus sixteen Captains in total.

Each direction features ten large cannon, thus forty cannon across all four directions. Each cannon crewed by two men totals eighty artillerymen.

Each direction features eighty Three-Eyed Firearms. Thus three hundred twenty Three-Eyed Firearms across all four directions. Totaling three hundred twenty gunmen.

Between every ten Three-Eyed Firearms sits one large cannon. Thus eight large cannon positioned this way. The remaining two large cannon are placed before the camp gate.