[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-from-special-forces-to-the-multiverse":3,"chapter-from-special-forces-to-the-multiverse-from-special-forces-to-the-multiverse-chapter-87":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","From Special Forces to the Multiverse",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2315137,4527,"Chapter 87: The Power of the Firearm","from-special-forces-to-the-multiverse-chapter-87",87,"\u003Cp>For the villagers, the time of seizing the landlords’ property and redistributing the land brought not only great satisfaction but an almost unimaginable joy, and the days that followed were remarkably comfortable for everyone in the village.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, every villager was allocated land, farming tools, and grain, ensuring they could eat their fill and stay warm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second, the newly formed committee truly served the people: besides maintaining the existing school, it trained barefoot doctors to address the lack of medical care, paying their salaries so every villager could receive treatment even without money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Third, the committee established substitute farming teams for families with sons in the army, periodically organizing the Red Guard to help their families with farmwork, and even mobilizing villagers to build small-scale irrigation facilities and produce more advanced farming tools to aid cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The feeling that life was steadily improving filled everyone’s hearts with deep contentment—until the tax collectors arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as the tax collectors came, they shouted for the local landlords, but the landlords had all been killed by them, so none could come; realizing the landlords were gone, one tax collector slammed his fist on the table and revealed their true purpose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It turned out that recently, many slaves purchased by the Jurchens in this area had fled en masse; to compensate the Jurchens for their losses, these three villages were to supply male conscripts as slaves to the Jurchens. Upon hearing this, the local Red Guard immediately killed the tax collectors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon learning of this news, the county magistrate flew into a rage and immediately ordered the Police Inspector of the county to lead troops and suppress the rebels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as the order was issued, the secret agents in the county town rushed back to report.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon learning that the magistrate had sent troops to crush them, Zhang Chu’an and Zhang Xiaofan felt a strange mix of emotions—they never expected the magistrate to give them this opportunity, taking three full months to reach them, and not even to inspect the situation but to collect taxes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The revolution had established its base so smoothly, almost unrealistically so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although this was the first battle for their revolutionary army, they were confident, for this force was not only ideologically driven but also armed with Type 56 semi-automatic rifles—weapons far surpassing this era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The battle plan was simple: divide into three units and ambush the enemy along their inevitable route, aiming to annihilate all three patrols at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Guarantee the mission,” the three company commanders pledged in unison, then took their positions along the enemy’s expected paths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For their first battle against the county’s Police Inspector troops, everyone was nervous, covering themselves with foliage, not daring to even breathe loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Company One’s commander, Li Ziming, understood their fear and reassured them: “Don’t be nervous. Comrade Zhang has already told us—the county’s Police Inspectors are paper tigers, lacking the courage to fight to the death, and they wield only cold weapons like swords, spears, and halberds—none have guns like ours.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No guns like ours? Hearing their commander’s words, all soldiers relaxed and gripped their rifles tighter; though called “guns,” these weapons were ranged, like bows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But these weapons were far more terrifying than bows: a bow required a rare strongman to draw and shoot over a hundred paces, yet even an ordinary man like him could fire this gun four hundred paces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tiny projectiles it fired—called bullets—easily pierced through iron pots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this weapon, he could effortlessly kill ten archers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After two or three hours, the enemy arrived. Seeing the county’s Police Inspector troops, they were stunned—they resembled village thugs, even less robust than the landlords’ private guards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They wore the same clothes as thugs and guards, carried long weapons like red-tasseled spears, and about twenty or thirty carried bows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most importantly, none wore armor, and none carried what could be called a “gun.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was noon, the weather sweltering; the Inspector leading the suppression force, Yang Shi, wiped sweat from his brow and muttered: “This damn weather is unbearable. I wonder what the magistrate was thinking—just a few villages in rebellion? One patrol should easily crush them. Why send all three?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This mission brought no profit and was exhausting. Whatever. Who’s to blame? The Jurchens are in charge now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly—“Bang!”—a sharp report rang out. The Inspector froze in horror. No! These peasants knew military tactics—they’d ambushed us on our route! As he struggled to think how to counterattack—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deafening volleys erupted across the sky, relentless and terrifying. His soldiers fell like cut wheat, one after another, collapsing into pools of blood, their lives snuffed out in an instant, turning the ground crimson.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood there, staring at the horrific scene, eyes filled with disbelief and despair. Until the moment he was shot dead, he never understood what force had defeated them—this power so immense, as if born of demons from hell, leaving them utterly helpless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not just the enemy was stunned—the shooters were too. Even Commander Li Ziming couldn’t believe it: they’d effortlessly wiped out an entire patrol. One-third of the county’s army had fallen so easily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For safety, Li Ziming ordered all soldiers to reload and, from dozens of meters away, fired several more rounds at the fallen patrol.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wounded Inspector soldiers finally stopped screaming and died.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After confirming all enemies were dead, one soldier asked the company political instructor, Huang Xunjiu: “Didn’t we violate Comrade Zhang’s rule against mistreating prisoners?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Xunjiu scratched his head and replied: “They didn’t surrender, so they’re not prisoners. Only those who cry out for surrender count as prisoners.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The soldier who asked nodded and said nothing more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other two companies fared similarly, each capturing a few prisoners. The news of all three companies’ decisive victory thrilled the villagers, who planned a celebratory gathering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zhang Chu’an and Zhang Xiaofan halted it—winning against these three patrols meant nothing to be proud of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, all military officers and committee members held a meeting, primarily to review the battle’s lessons and plan the next steps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as the meeting began, Company Two’s commander, Hu Ke, blurted out: “Now we understand why Comrade Zhang called them paper tigers! Our unit fired a few rounds and wiped them all out. The county’s troops are already destroyed. Comrade, it’s time we storm the county town!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Xiaofan glanced at Hu Ke and asked: “And then? We seize the county town, openly rebel, and the prefecture sends troops to crush us—then the force that comes won’t be these pitiful scraps we saw today. But if we don’t attack the county town, the magistrate will suppress news of the patrol’s annihilation to save his own position.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We have only three hundred men. If we now take the county town, the countryside will fall back under landlord control. Then, to the masses, we’ll be no different from the Song or Jin governments that oppress them. When the people don’t stand with us, the landlords will stab us in the back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Zhang Xiaofan, Hu Ke lowered his head and said: “Sorry, Company Commander. I was too eager.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No need to apologize. Anyone would feel overconfident after an easy victory,” Zhang Xiaofan waved his hand, dismissing Hu Ke’s apology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As Comrade Zhang just said, our weakness is our small numbers. The landlords are naturally opposed to us, and the masses still don’t understand us. We must ground ourselves, penetrate deep into the countryside, liberate the masses, and establish a people’s government so more people truly feel the benefits we bring—and stand with us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This principle of encircling the cities from the countryside—we must follow it for a long time to come,” Zhang Chu’an remarked with quiet conviction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Understood,” everyone replied in unison.\u003C\u002Fp>",1290,"2026-06-20T13:48:22.834Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","88cdc134368c4b64b1808498882bc91b865a6d34e09af298239e0b013941b5d9","from-special-forces-to-the-multiverse-chapter-88","from-special-forces-to-the-multiverse-chapter-86",205,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ffrom-special-forces-to-the-multiverse-cover.jpg"]