The rebel army continued its advance northward, winding like a long dark serpent through the folds of the mountains.
Before long, they reached the foot of Hulujing Peak.
Chuang Wang lifted his head and looked upward. The peak pierced the clouds, steep and jagged, and from its summit a column of black smoke still coiled lazily into the sky. The beacon had long since done its job, yet it continued to burn as if deliberately mocking him.
Originally, he had intended that once his army reached the base of the mountain, he would dispatch men to dismantle the beacon tower completely. If they were ever forced to pass this way again, he did not wish for the same alarm to sound.
However, after measuring the near vertical ascent with his eyes and imagining the cost of sending troops scrambling up such terrain, he hesitated.
Before he could decide otherwise, several heads appeared above at the edge of the summit. A voice carried down through the wind.
"Rebel scum. You dare set foot in Shaanxi? Let this elder advise you. Turn back now. Go fight the Sichuan troops to the death instead. Better that than walking into Shaanxi to die."
Chuang Wang's face darkened instantly.
"I have not even dealt with you yet," he snarled, "and you dare bark so loudly."
He swung his arm sharply.
"Two hundred men. Climb up there. Tear down that rotten beacon tower."
Two hundred seasoned rebels stepped forward without hesitation and began the ascent.
Above them, the ten sentries showed not the slightest fear. They rolled stones to the edge and began hurling them downward. The rocks bounced erratically along the slope, gathering speed, smashing against outcroppings before hurtling toward the climbers.
Chuang Wang watched, astonished.
Ten men.
Facing an army of over one hundred thousand, yet daring to provoke them and defend their post.
"Where do these soldiers come from?" he muttered. "The court still breeds such fierce men?"
No one answered.
The climb was brutal. Several of the assaulting rebels were struck by falling stones and tumbled backward, taking others with them. Curses echoed off the cliffs. Blood stained the rocks.
Chuang Wang's anger deepened.
"Outrageous," he growled. "Simply outrageous."
After paying for the ascent with several lives, the elite detachment finally reached the summit. They found only a crude wooden outpost, hastily abandoned. The ten sentries had already slipped down the far side of the mountain using prepared rope paths, leaving behind two small bags of grain and a few scattered supplies.
The rebels seized the grain and set fire to the wooden structure. Flames consumed the beams quickly in the thin mountain air. Only then did they descend and report.
"Great Brother, it was only a small outpost. We burned it and seized two bags of grain."
"Two bags," Chuang Wang repeated flatly.
For the loss of men and time, that was all.
He suppressed his irritation and ordered the march to continue.
Several li later, another treacherous peak rose before them. This was Shanyoutou, and once again a column of black smoke spiraled skyward from its summit.
"Another beacon tower," someone muttered bitterly.
From above, heads appeared again along the cliff edge. A sentry cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted down.
"Shaanxi lies ahead. Do not say we failed to warn you. This scout advises you kindly. Turn back while you still can. Beyond this lies only death."
The rebels erupted in fury. They had just burned one arrogant tower, and now another dared to taunt them.
This time Chuang Wang did not even need to issue an order. A detachment of hardened fighters surged forward and began climbing.
Once more, stones rained down.
Once more, curses filled the air.
Once more, after struggle and sacrifice, the rebels captured the summit. And once more, they found a shabby wooden outpost, hastily evacuated, with two bags of rice left behind.
They burned it and descended.
"It was the same as before," the returning soldiers reported.
Chuang Wang frowned deeply.
"These repeated outposts show that the court takes the defense of Shaanxi seriously. There may truly be a heavy ambush waiting ahead."
Ma Tianxing stepped forward.
"Great Brother, you worry too much. We know the court's strength. They can barely field competent troops. I say this is Sun Chuanting's trick. He builds a few wooden shacks, stations a handful of men, and hopes to frighten us away."
Chuang Wang did not immediately respond.
The reasoning was not entirely without merit, yet he did not dare accept it blindly.
Guo Tianxing added, "Great Brother, the White Pole Soldiers from Sichuan are still chasing us like persistent ghosts. They will not stop until we cross into Shaanxi. Even if we wished to turn back, we cannot. If danger waits ahead, can it truly be worse than the firearms unit pressing from behind?"
That argument struck home.
What Chuang Wang feared most was not conventional generals like Cao Wenzhao or Sun Chuanting. Against them, he could still maneuver. What chilled him was that mysterious musket force with its cannons and terrifying precision.
After a long silence, he nodded.
"Press on."
The army passed Shanyoutou and continued toward Shaanxi.
Soon a scout returned.
"Reporting. Ahead lies Bashan and the Qiangshui River."
Chuang Wang stared at him for two full breaths.
"Bashan again?"
The scout coughed awkwardly.
"Yes. There is an old stone tablet on the mountain bearing the characters for Bashan, and a wooden sign by the river reading Qiangshui."
Chuang Wang felt too weary to even criticize the naming habits of the region.
"Very well. We camp by the Bashan Qiangshui River and rest."
A collective sigh seemed to ripple through the massive army. After the torment of the Shu Roads, rest sounded like salvation.
Yet as they approached the riverbank, they saw it.
Another beacon tower.
Black smoke rose from the ridge above the watershed.
Even the boldest rebel could not possibly settle down to sleep beneath an enemy beacon tower. The insult alone was unbearable.
Chuang Wang roared.
"Two hundred men. Burn it."
Another detachment advanced, already half expecting to seize yet another pair of grain sacks.
They climbed halfway up the slope.
Then something changed.
From the cliff edge near the beacon tower, not ten heads appeared.
Not even twenty.
The entire ridge seemed to sprout faces.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Voices thundered down the mountain.
"Marauding rebels, your worker grandpas are here."
"Let us show you the might of the model workers from Baomei First Factory."
"Xigang First Factory will not lose to Baomei."
"Quiet. Private enterprises boasting so loudly. We from Chang'an Automobile Factory are a defense industry enterprise. Stand aside and witness real strength."
The rebels froze in confusion.
Workers?
Factories?
Before they could make sense of it, several men at the summit rolled something heavy into position.
It was not a stone.
It was a cannon.