Chapter 91: The Fortress Has Just Been Completed

Time is the best catalyst.

Five years passed quietly in the peaceful Jiangnan water towns.

For the people of Yangzhou City, life seemed unchanged—songs still sung, dances still danced, the pleasure boats on the Qinhuai River still enjoyed nightly revelry.

But for the Wang Family, these five years were a complete transformation.

In the southern part of Yangzhou City, the Wang Family's ancestral estate, covering hundreds of mu, had completely changed its appearance.

The once exquisite but impractical pavilions and towers were all torn down.

In their place stood a towering, colossal stronghold.

This stronghold was personally designed by Wang Zong (Wang Xiu).

He combined later-era fortification knowledge with the technology of this age, forging the stronghold into an almost perfect war machine.

The stronghold's walls rose five zhang high, built entirely of a special mixture of huge stones and glutinous rice slurry, making them extraordinarily sturdy.

On the walls, an arrow tower stood every fifty paces, and at the four corners were even taller corner towers, allowing a view of the entire battlefield.

Outside the walls lay a moat five zhang wide, its water drawn directly from Slender West Lake, unfathomably deep.

The sole entrance was a massive drawbridge.

Inside, everything was laid out according to the standards of a military fortress.

The roads were broad and interconnected, facilitating swift troop movements.

Besides the residential area, there were specially built expansive training grounds, armory, granary, stables, and workshops.

In the armory, the thousands of sets of armor and hundreds of thousands of arrows purchased five years earlier had been kept bright and neat, neatly stacked on racks.

In the granary, mountains of grain were stockpiled, enough to sustain the stronghold's tens of thousands of inhabitants for over five years even under siege.

And the Wang Family's workshop, under the leadership of Wang Yi, this "scientist" descendant of Wang Yi, had become a birthplace of miracles.

Over these five years, Wang Yi devoted almost all his energy to improving weapons.

According to Wang Zong's (Wang Xiu's) description, using the Wang Family's vast wealth, he conducted repeated trials and actually increased the range and power of the "bed-mounted crossbow" by over fifty percent!

This new type of bed-mounted crossbow was named the "Divine Arm Crossbow" by Wang Zong; once fired, it could easily pierce iron armor from several hundred paces away.

He also designed a rapid‑loading repeating crossbow; though its range was short, in siege defense it could create a dense barrage of fire.

Besides this, he also put the application of gunpowder on his agenda.

Although gunpowder in this era was still used only for fireworks and alchemy, its power was limited.

But under Wang Zong's (Wang Xiu's) guidance, Wang Yi keenly realized that this black powder contained tremendous energy.

He built a dedicated laboratory and began researching improvements to the gunpowder formula.

Although no breakthrough had yet been achieved, Wang Zong (Wang Xiu) knew that this seed had already been planted.

And the members of the Wang Family also underwent earth‑shaking changes during these five years.

The five‑thousand‑strong guard unit, after enduring hellish training, had become a true elite force.

Their eyes no longer held the numbness of refugees nor the slickness of veteran soldiers; instead they brimmed with the martial courage and confidence of soldiers.

Moreover, their ideological education was not neglected; now they could be said to be utterly loyal to the Wang Family.

Because the Wang Family gave them dignity, gave them full meals, and gave them a home where they could settle and make a living.

They were willing to shed their last drop of blood for this home.

The greatest change was still seen among the Wang Family's young scions.

Five years of military‑style life stripped away their aristocratic frailty, leaving them dark‑skinned, sturdy, and steady.

Perhaps they still could not compose poems of wind, flowers, snow, and moon, but each of them could draw a five‑stone strong bow, charge on a warhorse, and in drills command a hundred‑man squad to execute passable coordination.

They were no longer weak‑armed scholars incapable of binding a chicken; they had become true masters of both literature and martial arts, scions of a distinguished clan.

And the Wang Family officials whom Wang Zong had ordered to resign their posts and return home also gradually came back to Yangzhou over the five years.

At first, their hearts were filled with incomprehension and resentment.

They had studied bitterly for decades, finally secured a place in the officialdom, only to have a single family order cut off all their prospects.

But when they returned to Yangzhou and saw the towering massive stronghold that had sprung from the ground, the well‑equipped guard force, and the transformed young juniors, their lingering resentment turned into deep shock and bewilderment.

Wang Zong did not explain much to them.

He simply assigned all of them to positions in the stronghold's management.

Some handled logistics, some handled training, some handled intelligence.

He wanted to use facts to tell them how fragile and ridiculous official authority would be in the impending chaotic age.

Only power held in one's own hands is truly reliable.

That day, Wang Zong (Wang Xiu), supported by the Head of Family Wang Jing, climbed to the highest corner tower of the stronghold.

The biting cold wind stirred his white‑tinged hair.

He leaned on the battlements, looking down upon the fortress into which he had poured all his heart and blood.

Within the stronghold, cooking smoke curled lazily, all was peaceful.

On the training ground, the guards were drilling, their shouts uniform and neat, their spirit like a rainbow.

Outside the stronghold lay still‑prosperous Yangzhou City and a vast expanse of Jiangnan countryside.

"Uncle, look, our home is finished." Wang Jing stood behind him, his voice full of pride.

"Yes, it is finished." Wang Zong (Wang Xiu) nodded, his eyes revealing a hint of deep worry.

"This is only the beginning," he said slowly. "The true test has not yet arrived."

He knew that the Huang Chao Rebellion was like a super‑plague about to erupt.

And the stronghold he had built was merely a gigantic quarantine zone.

He could protect those inside the stronghold, temporarily shielding them from the plague's invasion.

But he could not stop the plague from spreading, nor could he heal a world already sick to the core.

At that moment, a Wang Family disciple responsible for intelligence hurriedly climbed onto the corner tower.

He walked up to Wang Zong and Wang Jing, knelt on one knee, and presented an urgent memorial that had just arrived from the north.

Great-uncle, Head of Family, something has happened in the north.

Wang Jing took the memorial, unfolded it, and his face instantly changed.

Uncle! In Pu Prefecture, Wang Xianzhi raised a rebellion, calling himself 'Heavenly Supplement Equal General'; within ten days he gathered tens of thousands and consecutively took Cao and Pu Prefectures!

Wang Zong (Wang Xiu) heard this news, and his body swayed slightly.

He held onto the battlement, then steadied his posture.

He closed his eyes and slowly exhaled a breath.

What was bound to come has finally come.

"In your name, issue the order." He opened his eyes; his voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority.

From today onward, the stronghold Era Name Transition highest alert status.

Close the drawbridge, seal all entrances and exits.

All guards, fully armed, patrol day and night.

At the same time, send people out of the stronghold to bring all refugees from inside and outside Yangzhou City, regardless of age, into the stronghold for unified settlement!

"Ah?" Wang Jing heard this, shocked and pale: "Uncle, this... this is absolutely impossible! Our stronghold's grain is plentiful, but it cannot withstand such consumption! Moreover, among the refugees there are mixed good and bad; if any rebel spies sneak in..."

"Carry out the order!" Wang Zong (Wang Xiu) interrupted him, his tone firm and resolute.

"Our Wang Family, to stand firm in this chaotic age, relies not only on sturdy walls and sharp swords."

"It relies on people's hearts!"

"These refugees, today we give them a meal and a place to settle. In the future, they will be our most loyal guards, our firmest bulwark!"

"What our Wang Family aims to do is not an isolated fortress cut off from the world."