The moment Zhu Changxun heard those words, his entire body felt unwell, as though his internal organs had all shifted out of place.
"The moats!" he cried out. "My Luoyang moats! How could they be filled so easily?"
Fan Shangzheng answered patiently, as if explaining something obvious to a child.
"Your Highness, a small force could not manage it. But tens of thousands of rebels can. Just a thousand cartloads of earth and stone dumped into the river would be enough to form a foothold."
Zhu Changxun's face turned white.
"Ahhh! Then it's over! Quickly, protect this prince!"
His personal guards reacted instantly, closing in around him in a tight ring.
Everyone nearby exchanged glances, none of them daring to speak.
Fan Shangzheng sighed inwardly and tried to calm him.
"Your Highness, there's no need to be so frightened. As long as we do not allow them to push their carts close to the moat, they won't be able to dump anything in."
Zhu Changxun's eyes lit up.
"That's right! That's right!"
He waved his hand energetically.
"Shoot them! Fire muskets! Rain arrows on them! Kill every single rebel pushing a cart!"
Then, as an afterthought, he shouted,
"No need to protect me right now! Go! Go shoot arrows!"
His personal guards scattered immediately.
Just then—
The rebels pushed forward several hastily assembled contraptions.
Mounted on four wooden wheels, thick planks were lashed together into crude mobile walls. One by one, they rolled forward, seven or eight of them connected together, forming a long, creeping barricade.
Bai Yuan raised his eyebrows.
"Oh? These rebels are getting smarter every time. Each time I see them, they've learned something new."
Zhu Changxun's face went from pale to ashen. He grabbed his guard captain.
"Arrows and muskets… they can't pierce those wooden boards, can they?"
The guard captain nodded stiffly.
"They cannot."
Zhu Changxun let out a shriek.
"Ahhh! Then we're doomed! With those things, they'll reach the moat for sure! Guards! Stop shooting! Come back! Protect this prince!"
The guards immediately abandoned their positions and rushed back.
Once again, everyone exchanged glances.
Li Daoxuan, standing nearby, smiled faintly.
"Your Highness, could you perhaps not fear death quite so much? As a man, one should show at least a little backbone."
Zhu Changxun snorted.
"If I weren't afraid of death, I would've fought for the throne long ago. Do I look like someone who wants the throne?"
Silence fell.
The logic was flawless.
This Prince of Fu had once been among the strongest contenders for succession, yet he had never dared to move even a step toward it. Staying alive had always been his first priority.
At that moment, a thunderous roar erupted from outside the city.
The main rebel force began to advance.
Shield carts in front.
Handcarts behind.
A dense sea of rebel soldiers surged forward, pressing relentlessly toward Luoyang City.
In the early years of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, rebel armies rarely assaulted major cities. At most, they harassed small counties.
But in the last two years, everything had changed.
They had besieged Zezhou.
They had attacked Liaozhou.
They had breached prefectural cities.
They had even dared to test Taiyuan and Huaiqing.
Now, they stood before Luoyang.
Zhu Changxun screamed again, voice cracking.
"Shoot! Shoot them! Why are you all just standing there?"
Fan Shangzheng replied calmly,
"They are not within range yet. Stop shouting."
Zhu Changxun shut his mouth.
At that moment, Bai Yuan extended his hand to the side.
"The rifle."
A Bai family retainer immediately stepped forward and placed a Chassepot rifle into his hands.
Bai Yuan lifted the rifle with practiced ease and smiled at Zhu Changxun.
"Your Highness, allow me to perform a small magic trick."
Zhu Changxun stared blankly.
Bai Yuan continued unhurriedly,
"I intend to shoot the face of the rebel visible between the third and fourth shield carts."
Zhu Changxun looked as though he'd heard a madman speak.
He was no stranger to muskets. Their accuracy was infamous. From hundreds of paces away, even hitting a man was difficult—let alone threading a bullet through a narrow gap between moving shields.
"Impossible!" Zhu Changxun snapped. "Absolutely impossible!"
Bai Yuan shrugged.
"Your Highness doubts me too much. I take the Archery among the Gentleman's Six Arts quite seriously."
Zhu Changxun scowled.
"This is no time for boasting! I—"
Before he could finish—
Crack!
The rifle barked.
Zhu Changxun jumped in fright and hurriedly looked toward the gap between the third and fourth shield carts.
A rebel collapsed.
Whether the bullet struck his face or not was unclear—but the man was undeniably down.
Zhu Changxun sucked in a sharp breath.
"He… he actually hit it?"
Bai Yuan threw his head back and laughed.
"In mathematics, my son has surpassed me. But in archery? No one in Gao Family Village can match me!"
This time, it wasn't bragging.
Bai Yuan was the undisputed best marksman in Gao Family Village.
Unfortunately, as a commander, he couldn't lie prone like a true sniper and quietly harvest enemy lives. His talent was impressive—but not always usable.
His single shot signaled the beginning.
Another musketeer fired.
Crack!
The bullet struck a shield cart instead, leaving only a shallow dent in the thick planks.
More shots followed.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Only the most confident marksmen fired. The rest held back, conserving ammunition.
Some bullets slipped through gaps.
Some were stopped cold by wood.
Rebel soldiers fell, one after another.
Zhu Changxun was dumbstruck.
"Your musketeers… how can they shoot so far? So accurately?"
Bai Yuan did not explain rifling or barrel grooves.
He merely unfolded his fan, covering half his face.
"Well then, Your Highness—are they worth five taels now?"
Zhu Changxun coughed.
"Ahem… perhaps the price can be raised a little."
He hesitated.
"Four taels, nine mace. No more."
Bai Yuan tilted his head.
"Your Highness, have you ever heard of ducks?"
Zhu Changxun frowned.
"Of course. Who hasn't?"
Bai Yuan leaned closer.
"Even after a duck dies, its beak stays hard."
Zhu Changxun fell silent.
The gunfire continued intermittently.
The shield carts kept advancing.
Two hundred meters.
One hundred.
Eighty.
Seventy.
Fifty.
Seeing how close they were getting, Zhu Changxun's panic returned in full force.
"They're coming! They're coming!"
"The musketeers are powerful, but they can't break the shields!"
"What do we do?!"
"Quickly—protect this prince!"
The real test had arrived.