The poor artillery battalion, despite its overwhelmingly grand mobilization, was ultimately allowed to send only five large cannons to the front lines.
This meant that only five artillery squads would actually participate in combat.
As a result, the artillery battalion conducted a cruel and brutal drawing of lots.
Those who drew winning lots cheered wildly, shouting and celebrating as if they had won the lottery.
Those who failed to draw a slot stood silently to the side, their expressions bleak and lifeless, as though the world had ended.
After that, the troops officially set out.
A formation of one thousand arquebusiers, escorting five heavy cannons and five artillery squads, marched toward Wangjia Fork in northern Shaanxi.
Li Daoxuan knew that this contingent would take several days to reach its destination.
There was no need for him to keep watching them constantly.
Thus, he ended the co-sensing and returned to the world outside the box.
As soon as he came back, he noticed that the avatar of "Queen of a Thousand Faces M" was flashing nonstop on QQ.
He quickly clicked to open the chat.
"Xuanzi," she typed excitedly, "the first episode of our short drama Mu Guiying is getting an incredibly good response."
Li Daoxuan replied, "What are you talking about? I checked it myself. There aren't many views, and there are barely any comments."
"Queen of a Thousand Faces M" responded,
"That's because we haven't done any promotion yet. All those views are organic, either natural traffic or people sharing it with each other. That's actually extremely impressive. And more importantly, every single comment is positive."
Li Daoxuan replied, "Oh? I see. You're the professional here, so I'll take your word for it. What's the next step?"
She answered,
"Next, I'll speed up production of the remaining episodes. Once they're done, we'll start running advertisements."
Li Daoxuan replied, "Alright. I'll leave everything to you."
On the other end, "Queen of a Thousand Faces M" was clearly thrilled.
"We're definitely going to make a fortune this time. Just look at the buzz from the first episode alone. Trust me—this project is going to explode. Just wait and see."
"We're going to make a fortune this time!"
Inside the box, Lao Nanfeng rubbed his hands together enthusiastically as he looked at the account ledger handed to him by the strategist he had hired.
The strategist's face was glowing with excitement.
"The Mu Guiying movie's box office is astonishing. Every single day is a full house, and every day is pure profit. The most important part is that this 'movie' doesn't require actors to perform live. It can be played over and over again—from morning until night—dozens of times a day. If real actors had to perform like that, they'd collapse from exhaustion."
Lao Nanfeng chuckled.
"The Divine Mirror really is a marvelous thing. But it also needs its 'celestial energy' replenished. Every night, Dao Xuan Tianzun has to take the Divine Mirror back to the heavens to recharge it. Otherwise, it won't work the next day."
In reality, Li Daoxuan's customized tablet used a small screen paired with a large battery, which allowed it to last a full day of continuous playback.
However, it still had to be taken out of the box every night to recharge.
Doing this every single night was honestly quite troublesome.
Lao Nanfeng continued thoughtfully,
"Dao Xuan Tianzun has to manage the suffering of all beings under heaven. His responsibilities are immense. How could He possibly come every single night just to recharge our Divine Mirrors? This movie won't be shown for very long. Once Dao Xuan Tianzun's enthusiasm fades, it definitely won't be played every day. Only when He remembers to recharge the Divine Mirrors will we be able to show it a few times."
The strategist nodded repeatedly in agreement.
The speaker spoke casually.
But the listener took it seriously.
Li Daoxuan, who had been quietly "observing" their conversation, fell into deep thought.
This really is a problem, he thought.
Right now, I'm still enthusiastic, so I remember to charge the tablets every day. But judging from my experience playing mobile games, repeating the same tedious task day after day inevitably leads to burnout. Sooner or later, I'll go AFK. Charging tablets won't be any different.
No.
This absolutely wouldn't do.
He had to solve the tablet-charging problem once and for all.
The tablets inside the box needed to be able to charge without his constant intervention.
The only solution he could think of was solar power.
The late Ming Dynasty was in the midst of a great drought. The skies were cloudless for miles, sunlight blazing down day after day—perfect conditions for solar energy.
Li Daoxuan opened his browser, searched online, and quickly found a vendor selling photovoltaic power systems.
He typed:
"Hello, do you accept custom orders?"
The vendor replied promptly:
"Of course, dear customer. Most of our products are customized, since every client's power requirements are different. Each system is tailored to ensure maximum satisfaction."
Li Daoxuan typed:
"I want to custom-order a very small photovoltaic system. Also, it needs to be easy to install—something an amateur like me can set up just by following instructions, without requiring your technicians."
The vendor replied:
"No problem at all. Installation will be extremely simple. How small are we talking? Is it for a single household?"
Li Daoxuan answered honestly:
"It's for charging one tablet computer."
"Pfft—!"
The sound of the vendor spitting blood seemed to travel straight through the internet cable.
"Dear customer, you might as well just kill me now. That kind of thing simply can't be made."
Li Daoxuan asked calmly,
"Oh? Then what's the smallest system you can customize?"
The vendor explained,
"The smallest is still household-level. It can power a television, refrigerator, washing machine, and various other appliances."
Li Daoxuan replied without hesitation,
"Alright then. I'll buy one of those to charge my tablet."
"Drip. Drip."
The sound of cold sweat dripping seemed to echo through the chat window.
"Dear customer… wouldn't that be just a little wasteful? Our cheapest system costs at least twenty thousand yuan. Spending twenty thousand yuan just to charge one tablet is… well… that's…"
"Only twenty thousand?" Li Daoxuan was delighted.
"I'll take fifty sets to start."
"Dear customer!" the vendor replied instantly.
"Fifty sets is no joke!"
"No joke," Li Daoxuan confirmed calmly.
"I'll pay the deposit and sign the contract. Let's start with fifty sets for the first batch. There may be more orders later."
His plan was simple.
Each town under his control would have one tablet.
Each tablet would need one photovoltaic system.
Fifty sets was merely a trial run.
The vendor was overjoyed.
"Dear customer! I'll prepare the contract immediately!"
With the photovoltaic systems settled, Li Daoxuan turned his attention back to the box.
Inside, Lao Nanfeng was counting money when Chen Qianhu walked in from outside, his expression filled with grievance.
His hair was damp, and several patches of his clothes were soaked.
"Brother Nanfeng," Chen Qianhu complained bitterly, "I got yelled at in the street again."
Lao Nanfeng asked, puzzled,
"Why?"
Chen Qianhu grimaced.
"A group of kids chased after me, shouting for Xiao Tianzuo to die. One of them even shot me with a bamboo water gun."
Lao Nanfeng burst out laughing.
The strategist laughed as well.
Even Li Daoxuan couldn't help but chuckle.
As the primary villain in Mu Guiying, Chen Qianhu's portrayal of Xiao Tianzuo had been far too convincing.
Brutal. Vicious. Completely unhinged.
He had become a public enemy.
Of course, the adults were rational enough not to attack an "imperial official" over a movie.
But children didn't care.
They simply aimed their bamboo water guns at Xiao Tianzuo and fired without mercy.
Chen Qianhu sighed deeply.
"I never imagined this movie would have such an impact. Back when we had traditional operas and Daoist chants, the common people never reacted like this."
Lao Nanfeng laughed.
"That's because this is too real."
Chen Qianhu looked miserable.
"Forget it. I guess this is my fate. Next time, I'm absolutely refusing to play a villain… Oh, right—Brother Nanfeng, the people of Puzhou City have suddenly begun enlisting in large numbers. Many have voluntarily joined the New People's Militia. Just now, someone reported that we've recruited two thousand new soldiers in a very short time."