Tianbao gazed at the person before him; he stood over seven feet tall, and though his physique was somewhat thin and his complexion a bit sallow, through his gaunt face, one could still vaguely discern his former might.
His body was like a steady mountain, seemingly containing endless power.
His broad shoulders looked capable of bearing a thousand pounds; his thick arms seemed ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.
His eyes revealed a resolute and decisive spirit, as if he had endured countless life-or-death trials on the battlefield.
Although he appeared somewhat weary at the moment, his innate imposing aura still left people deeply shaken.
"May I know how to address this brother?"
"My name is Cao Bianbiao, I used to be in the Liaodong army and was captured last year."
"Hmm? Why does that sound a bit familiar?"
"What is General Cao Bianjiao to you?"
"That is precisely my elder brother."
"General Cao Bianjiao is truly a renowned general; his bravery is unmatched.
I deeply admire him.
It's just a pity that the imperial court was so incompetent.
Last year's great defeat led to General Cao's death."
"Last year's great defeat not only left the Ming army with no more soldiers to fight, but most of the generals also basically died.
Even Governor Hong, alas!"
The others indeed either died or were wounded.
However, Hong Chengchou did not; he had already surrendered to the Manchu.
"What? You said Governor Hong surrendered?"
"Yes, it's just that the news hasn't spread yet; the imperial court still believes he died for the country.
Why? Did you not find him when your army was defeated?"
"I don't know anything.
I was tripped by a horse snare while breaking through, fell from my horse, and then fainted.
When I woke up, I was already in the prisoner-of-war camp.
Actually, they only give us one thin meal a day, just to prevent us from causing trouble or escaping.
Thanks to you all for coming to rescue us."
"Then, are you willing to fight the Tartars with this young man now?"
"My whole family has a blood feud with the Tartars.
As long as it's fighting the Tartars, I'll do anything; after all, this life of mine was saved by you."
"Let's be clear, we are not people of the imperial court.
We are only fighting for the survival of countless Han people in this border region."
"Alas, our whole family has already risked their lives for the imperial court once, and we owe the imperial court nothing.
Since this life was saved by you, then from now on, this life of mine is yours."
"In that case, you can choose any of the people rescued here; after all, you are familiar with them."
Thus, not only did he have his own territory, but he finally had reliable generals under him.
However, it is believed that the situation here will surely be known by the people of Shenyang soon.
Before that, he must strengthen his own power.
Ningyuan City is nearby, so he must take Ningyuan City before Shenyang reacts.
"Dabiao, arrange for our brothers to guard the city gates and all important roads.
The news from here cannot be spread for now.
We must catch the enemy off guard before they know the situation here."
After the battle ended, Tianbao gathered everyone.
He distributed the land equally to everyone, regardless of gender or age.
He also brought out his grain seeds.
At first, everyone didn't understand this new food.
But after a full meal of this new food, everyone loved it.
And the old, weak, women, and children in the village also slowly came to the island.
As everyone talked and understood each other, they increasingly realized the power of these new foods.
Tianbao liberated them from their slave status, and everyone was allocated land.
They were all full of energy.
They quickly harvested the existing crops and then planted the new grain seeds.
After a few days of training, Cao Bianbiao's more than one thousand men gradually became familiar with the use of flintlock rifles and the combat method of volley fire.
Through the System, he also purchased several mortars.
The System understood that their side had already entered the industrial age.
Therefore, their weapons were becoming increasingly powerful, but they were very strictly controlled there, except for a very small number of Royal Guards.
Ordinary people had no way to obtain such advanced weapons.
The other party also reminded them that overly advanced weapons should never be exposed.
It's best to solve problems with flintlock rifles if possible.
In this era, flintlock rifles were already the most advanced weapons.
In fact, besides equipping his brothers with advanced weapons, Tianbao also carefully taught them the martial arts he learned at Shaolin.
Fortunately, these people were not like the soldiers he had under Eunuch Liu before.
They knew how difficult it was to possess good skills to survive in this chaotic era.
So, after eating their fill, they practiced day and night, never daring to slack off.
Tianbao also often used his famous saying, "My fate is up to me, not up to heaven," to encourage them.
In this era, if you want something, you can only strive for it yourself.
These soldiers did not know that, in fact, their physical strength and martial arts were many times stronger than ordinary soldiers.
Tianbao didn't care about the saying that Shaolin martial arts are not to be taught to outsiders.
Just as his master said, learning martial arts is for helping others.
Since he wanted to help others, he might as well teach all the martial arts he learned at Shaolin to these brothers, so that they also have the ability to protect themselves on the battlefield.
In fact, he had thought this way when he was under Eunuch Liu, but those people just didn't understand his painstaking efforts.
They always thought he didn't treat them as human beings.
A week passed like this.
One day, Tianbao suddenly asked the System.
"System, help me investigate the troop deployment in Ningyuan City."
"Ding, Host, Ningyuan City is about 80 li away from you.
The troop strength in the city is similar to that of the original Huludao Island.
However, they have more Qing army soldiers there than here.
There are two Niru of Qing army soldiers there, and the Han Eight Banners have over 1,500 people.
The number of slaves there is a bit less than here because their land is also less than here, about 3,000-plus slaves.
And they also primarily use cold weapons based on archery and horsemanship."
"If that's the case, then I'm relieved.
System, if I directly let someone spread the news that the slaves on Huludao Island have rebelled, do you think the people of Ningyuan City will send troops to suppress them?"
"Host, based on the arrogance of these people, I believe they will definitely send troops to suppress them.
After all, this is precisely when the Qing army's military might is at its peak.
If they learn that their slaves have suddenly rebelled, they will immediately come to suppress the slaves.
This can serve as a warning to others.
After all, the Manchu population is small; without massacres and intimidation, how can they rule so many people?"
Now, the question is how to make them believe that this is a slave rebellion.
"Come, call Zhang Dabiao over."
Soon, a knock was heard at the door.
"Come in."
"Report, Zhang Dabiao is here."
"Dabiao, are those Han traitors we captured earlier still here?"
"Yes, Leader, they are currently undergoing labor reform in the re-education camp."
"Go find someone who was captured in the farmland before, and have a few of them act out a scene, making him believe that we were invited by the former slaves to help, and then let him escape.
Do you understand what I mean?"
"Understood, I'll go arrange it now, and let him escape tonight."
"Hurry up and go.
Get ready; there will be another battle soon."