More than one hundred thousand militiamen marched out of the mountains.
Behind them came over seventy thousand captured rebels, bound, herded, exhausted.
The mountain passes that had swallowed armies for centuries were now disgorging humanity in a single overwhelming tide.
This batch of labor reform prisoners was unprecedented. The numbers dwarfed every previous capture.
On the walls of Hanzhong Prefecture stood three men.
The Hanzhong Prefect.
Regional Commander Zhao Guangyuan.
Prince Rui.
They looked south.
When the militias had first arrived from Xi'an as reinforcements, they had come in fragments. Trains carried a thousand at a time. Cars and buses delivered them in batches. Even those who marched on foot were split into small units.
Their numbers never felt terrifying.
Now they came out all at once.
Over one hundred thousand militia.
Over seventy thousand captives.
More than two hundred thousand people moving together.
The sheer weight of it pressed against the horizon.
Prince Rui blinked.
"Oh my. This King did not even notice. Did we truly deploy so many people?"
Regional Commander Zhao Guangyuan's face turned pale.
"If these militias were to rebel," he murmured, "they would be even more terrifying than the outlaws."
The Prefect stroked his beard and spoke like a man lecturing a classroom.
"Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. This is the inherent power of the common people. To harness such strength for our purpose… the newly appointed Governor is truly a genius."
After a moment, curiosity crept into his voice.
"With over seventy thousand captives, I wonder how His Excellency intends to arrange them."
As if summoned by the thought, the long wail of a train whistle tore through the air.
The great train rolled in again.
The moment it stopped, Sun Chuanting leapt down and strode into Hanzhong City without delay.
The Prefect and Regional Commander hurried forward and bowed.
"Your Excellency, Governor."
Only Prince Rui remained upright, smiling as if watching a stage play.
"Master Sun," he said cheerfully, "your militias are formidable indeed. You crushed the main rebel army in a single stroke and captured over seventy thousand. However, with so many people, this King is quite curious. How do you intend to settle them?"
"This official has long since devised a method," Sun Chuanting replied.
He climbed the South Gate tower and looked down.
Below him, the vast sea of labor reform prisoners was being escorted toward the city gates. Surrounded by over one hundred thousand militia, they did not dare stir. They huddled together meekly, eyes lifted upward in dread.
Sun Chuanting took out a tin megaphone.
"You all know the severity of your crimes," his voice thundered across the field. "Beheading would be a light punishment. However, Heaven cherishes life. This official has decided to give you an opportunity for redemption."
He swiftly recited Gao Family Village's long established labor reform policy.
No execution.
Food provided.
Work assigned.
Reform through labor.
The captives exchanged looks.
They thought, They will not kill us. They will feed us. We work.
That is acceptable.
Very acceptable.
Sun Chuanting's tone shifted.
"The task assigned to you is this. You will construct a grand road from Hanzhong in Shaanxi to Guangyuan in Sichuan."
The reaction was immediate.
Shock rippled through the mass.
Widen the Shu Road?
Had he gone mad?
Sun Chuanting continued calmly.
"The Shu Road is harder than ascending to the heavens. For centuries it has obstructed communication between Shaanxi and Sichuan, severely hindering trade and cultural exchange. You have burned, killed, and plundered. Many of your hands are stained with innocent blood. To cleanse your sins, you must make immense contributions to the people. Opening the Shu Road is the finest way."
The rebels stood stunned.
Then the crowd parted.
A prominent outlaw stepped forward.
Mantian Xing.
A great general under Chuang Wang, Li Zicheng. A seasoned rebel who had raised banners for years. This was not even his first time accepting pacification.
During the suppression efforts of Yang He, Mantian Xing had already surrendered once.
So though he now stood as a prisoner, his heart held no panic.
He was thinking.
Endure. Survive. Rise again when the wind changes.
His expression was subdued, but his spirit remained unbroken.
He looked up at Sun Chuanting.
"Your Excellency, Governor," he called out, "the difficulty of the Shu Road is no laughing matter. When we entered Shaanxi from western Sichuan through the Mingyue Gorge section, more than a hundred of us died or were injured from falls before we even began working. If we carve mountains and dig rock there, the danger will be even greater. At any moment we could fall to our deaths. If you want us to widen that road, are you not simply sending us to die?"
Behind him, the expressions of more than seventy thousand rebels grew grim.
He was right.
The initial and final sections of the Shu Road were difficult but manageable.
The Mingyue Gorge plank road section was another matter entirely.
Cliffs rising sheer.
Wooden planks clinging to vertical stone.
To widen that into a grand road?
How many lives would it devour?
Even imagining it felt impossible.
A calm smile appeared on Sun Chuanting's face.
"Rest assured. This official understands the difficulty of the Mingyue Gorge plank road section. You will not need to work there. You are only required to repair the beginning and ending sections."
Murmurs spread.
Mantian Xing narrowed his eyes.
"Oh? Not clearing the middle section? Then what is the point?"
Sun Chuanting spoke solemnly.
"For that middle section, a Celestial Immortal will come to help us clear it."
In truth, Sun Chuanting had long received instructions from Li Daoxuan.
The labor reform prisoners would repair the initial and final sections.
The ancient Mingyue Gorge plank road in the middle would be left untouched.
It was reserved.
Reserved for Li Daoxuan's personal intervention.
The beginning and ending sections alone required crossing towering mountains and treacherous ridges. Even those would take years for common laborers to complete.
By that time, Li Daoxuan's Field of View Expansion would have reached the area. He would be able to reach into the box from outside.
With modern tools such as hammers, crowbars, and electric drills, transforming the ancient Shu Road into a flat passage would be simple.
If he became impatient, he could simply pull the entire mountain out of the box and keep it as a bonsai.
His villa at Zhaomu Mountain was still missing a proper rock garden.
But when Sun Chuanting declared that a Celestial Immortal would assist them, the words sounded utterly ridiculous to everyone present.
The Prefect blinked.
Regional Commander Zhao Guangyuan frowned.
The rebels stared in disbelief.
Prince Rui burst into loud laughter.
"Master Sun, what joke is this?" he guffawed. "Celestial Immortals helping us build roads? Hahaha. This King cannot stop laughing."
Mantian Xing also wore a mocking expression, though as a prisoner he dared not laugh aloud. A wise man does not court immediate disaster.
Then it happened.
Boom.
A tremendous roar split the air.
The ground trembled violently.
It was as if something enormous had descended from the heavens and slammed into the earth beside them.
Dust rose.
Stones cracked.
Everyone instinctively turned toward the source of the sound.
And in that single glance, they saw it.
A giant.
Dozens of meters tall.
It had just descended from the sky and was steadying itself after landing.
The sound they had heard was the sound of its feet touching the ground.