While Flat Rabbit was running about Kaixian like a rabbit possessed, building factories, recruiting workers, setting up schools, and shouting policies at anyone who stood still long enough to listen, the others were no less busy.
Cheng Xu was stationed in one prefecture.
Gao Chuwu in another.
Zheng Daniu somewhere further downriver.
Flat Rabbit himself darted between counties as if the entire province were one large vegetable patch.
Across eastern Sichuan, from Wanzhou to Zhongxian, from Shizhu to Fengdu, all the way to Chongqing, Gao Family Village moved with astonishing speed.
Factories rose almost overnight.
They did not waste time constructing from scratch. Instead, they purchased or requisitioned the sprawling estates of large landlords. Courtyards became workshops. Granaries became warehouses. Ancestral halls were converted into accounting offices. Since these were handicraft factories rather than heavy industry, there was no need for the famous Blue Hats of Gao Family Village to bring in advanced machinery.
The focus here was traditional minority craftsmanship.
Xilankapu weaving.
Carved wood ornaments.
Bamboo ware.
Embroidered textiles.
Handmade musical instruments.
As soon as silver arrived by river transport from Gao Family Village and team leaders secured operating funds, the gates opened and recruitment began.
Artisans who once worked in scattered mountain homes, producing small batches of goods with no reliable buyers, now faced a tempting offer. A stable monthly wage. Regular meals. A predictable income.
Stability was irresistible.
One by one, families abandoned the uncertain household workshop model. They packed their looms and tools, descended from the mountains, and took positions in the new factories. In town, they lived side by side with Han residents. Markets grew crowded. Dialects mixed. Children played together in alleyways.
Even farmers who lacked specialized skills were not ignored.
Zhao Sheng's Agricultural Knowledge Teams traveled tirelessly. They held free public lectures in prefectural cities, county towns, and remote villages. They taught crop rotation, soil improvement, irrigation techniques, and the cultivation of new high yield seeds.
It was not easy to coax farmers down from the mountains. Land tied them like roots. Yet when they saw yields double under scientific methods, hesitation began to crack. To purchase improved seeds and Celestial Fertilizer, they had to travel to town. Travel meant contact. Contact meant familiarity.
Movement created exchange.
Exchange created understanding.
Understanding created integration.
Within a few short months, eastern Sichuan pulsed with new life.
But while the east prospered, the west trembled.
Chengdu.
On the vast plain outside the city, an army spread like a dark tide. At its head rode the Chuǎng Wang, Li Zicheng, the man who had shaken half the empire. Behind him stood notorious bandit chiefs: Guo Tianxing, Mantianxing, Huntianxing, Cao Cao, Geli'yan, and others who had carved their names into chaos.
Cannon barrels glinted beneath the winter light. Their number exceeded those mounted on Chengdu's walls.
On the battlements stood the Governor of Sichuan, Wang Weizhang, and the Provincial Censor, Chen Tingmo. Both men shivered, though whether from cold or fear was difficult to say.
"Fire!"
The roar came from both sides almost simultaneously.
Cannons thundered. Smoke rolled across the plain. Iron balls tore through the air.
When cannonballs smashed into the bandit ranks, a few men fell. The rest barely flinched. Years of war had hardened them. Steel, blood, and death were old companions.
But when the same iron balls struck Chengdu's walls, Governor Wang and Censor Chen immediately ducked, clutching their heads as though that might stop a projectile traveling faster than thought.
Smoothbore cannons were notoriously inaccurate. A shot meant for stone might just as easily find silk and official flesh.
From the side, the one eyed Ma Xianglin stepped forward sharply. "Your Excellencies, please leave the wall. You are obstructing operations."
Governor Wang needed no second invitation. "General Ma, I entrust command to you. I shall organize militia and supplies within the city."
"Go quickly," Ma Xianglin snapped. "Clustering here only damages morale."
The two officials retreated in undignified haste.
With them gone, Ma Xianglin's expression changed. His back straightened. His voice rang clear.
"Cannons, return fire. Archers, reinforce the left flank. Send more men to the western parapet."
A messenger rushed up. "General, the bandits are approaching the moat on the north side. They are attempting to fill it."
"Deploy the Giant Crossbow Vehicles there. Concentrate archers. Do not let them near the walls."
Orders flew like arrows.
At one point Ma Xianglin muttered under his breath, "I should simply charge out and cut them down myself."
His wife, Zhang Fengyi, who stood nearby in armor, grabbed his sleeve. "Do not be reckless. These bandits are not the rabble of past years. Their strength has grown formidable. If you open the gates, you may not return. As long as we hold Chengdu's walls, there is hope."
Ma Xianglin exhaled slowly. "Very well. Send a messenger. Request reinforcements from my mother."
News of Chengdu's siege traveled swiftly along the river routes. From Chongqing to Zhongxian, from Shizhu to Wanzhou, then to Kaixian and beyond.
In Kaixian, at the Bashan Grand Canyon, within Baren Village, Flat Rabbit stood before Ran Ke, the Pacification Commissioner.
"You have heard the news," Flat Rabbit said. "The roaming bandits are besieging Chengdu."
Ran Ke nodded. "I have."
"This rabbit intends to lead troops to relieve the city," Flat Rabbit continued. "Will you join us?"
In the past, Ran Ke would have refused without hesitation. He was a mountain lord, a guardian of his own domain. The affairs of distant Han cities were none of his concern. Even if bandits threatened Kaixian, he would sooner retreat deeper into Bashan than march out in support of others.
But now he did not answer immediately.
Because things had changed.
Factories had brought wages.
Schools had brought learning.
Trade had brought prosperity.
If the outside world fell into chaos, who would build factories? Who would purchase handicrafts? Who would pay silver each month?
Ran Ke glanced at his son, happily gnawing on roasted corn. He looked at his daughter, wearing a bright cotton dress purchased from a Han merchant, a red flower tucked in her hair. She laughed freely, unburdened by the hunger he had known in his youth.
Peace had given them this.
He turned back to Flat Rabbit.
"After we drive away these bandits," Ran Ke asked slowly, "there will be more factories?"
"Of course," Flat Rabbit replied without hesitation. "As long as peace endures, we will bring countless good things to Kaixian. Your Tujia people will live as prosperously as the Han."
Ran Ke's gaze sharpened. "Do not deceive me. The Han outside the mountains have deceived us before."
Flat Rabbit laughed softly. "You know this rabbit by now. When I say one, it is one. When I say two, it is two. If I promise good goods, I will not deliver rotten ones."
Ran Ke studied him for a long moment.
Then he nodded.
"All right," he said solemnly. "I will send troops."