Chapter 43: Strong Winds Reveal True Strength

Liang Xiao stood with a calm expression, looking out over the surging sea of people below as his voice boomed like a bronze bell.

"The Black Cloud Stronghold is notorious, and all of you must have heard the tales of these bandits. Now, this horde of outlaws is gathering a force of ten thousand to march upon Pei County!"

"Ten thousand??"

Every soldier in the crowd wore a look of utter shock.

The total number of garrison troops in Pei County was only five thousand!

Cao Chen was the first who could no longer contain himself, calling out in a loud voice to remind him, "County Magistrate, our army of five thousand, holding the city to the death, is more than enough to fend off the enemy!"

"That's right! Exactly!"

The officers and men in the ranks echoed in agreement.

Liang Xiao merely waved his hand.

"The city walls of Pei County are not sufficient to protect the entire territory. If we let these villains run amok, thousands of innocent citizens will inevitably be plundered, and countless families torn apart! Therefore, our army must march out of the city to meet the enemy head-on!"

"March out? To meet the enemy?" Everyone thought they had misheard.

The majority of them were green recruits, and some were even touching military weapons for the very first time.

With the army in such a state, marching out to meet the enemy outside the walls would be no different than sheep walking into a tiger's mouth!

Zhuo Zifang, Wang the Registrar, and others stood guard beside Liang Xiao, observing the crowd below.

Registrar Wang wore a look of deep worry, lowering his voice as he said, "County Magistrate, if we are to march out and engage the enemy, under no circumstances should we boost the enemy's morale while crushing our own spirit..."

Grand Scribe Huang and the others nodded repeatedly, their faces pale with terror.

For Liang Xiao to announce that the enemy forces exceeded ten thousand right off the bat, and then demand to march out and meet them, was undoubtedly a grave military taboo that would severely shatter the confidence of these new recruits.

Sure enough, some in the crowd below were already showing signs of fear.

Liang Xiao merely raised a hand to halt their murmurs. "Do not worry, I already have a brilliant strategy."

Registrar Wang and the others felt thoroughly depressed, yet they dared not utter another word, though their hearts were filled with doubt.

The terrain surrounding Pei County was completely flat, with virtually no locations suitable for setting up an ambush. This made it impossible to employ surprise tactics, leaving only direct, head-on confrontation as an option.

Easy to attack and difficult to defend, fraught with peril on all sides—this was precisely why land values in Pei County had always been so low!

A brilliant strategy? How could there be one?

Zhuo Zifang turned to look at Registrar Wang and the others, giving them a stern reminder, "Every trade has its master. From now on, you lords must stick to your respective duties and refrain from debating military affairs."

Registrar Wang and the others smiled bitterly in compliance, feeling even more stifled.

To heed many opinions is to know the whole picture!

How could two young men who had not yet reached adulthood hope to defend the city?

In their eyes, leading green recruits out of the city to fight an outnumbered battle had completely exposed Liang Xiao's lack of basic military common sense.

"Officers and men of Pei County!"

Liang Xiao looked down at the crowd below, his tone fierce and resolute.

"A strong wind reveals the sturdiest grass, and turbulent times identify loyal subjects! What the people of Pei County need are dauntless iron ramparts of the state, not cowards clinging to life! Though the enemy's forces are numerous, with me, Liang Xiao, here, we shall surely shatter them! Because I never fight a battle without absolute certainty of victory!"

"After this battle, anyone who dares to march out of the city to fight the bandits shall henceforth be part of Liang Xiao's very first elite vanguard!"

"Now, all soldiers of the army, including the logistics department, who dare to follow me out of the city to meet the enemy, raise your hands immediately and gather at the eastern drill ground!"

The crowd below felt a jolt in their hearts. Looking toward the eastern drill ground, they realized that space had been cleared out in advance and was completely empty.

Zhuo Zifang asked in a clear voice, "My lord, the logistics department has not yet been equipped with military weapons. If they sign up, how will they be counted?"

Liang Xiao responded loudly as well.

"An excellent question! Based on the serial numbers on the soldiers' waist tokens, counting backwards from the end, those who do not sign up to march out and meet the enemy will have their weapons transferred to the logistics soldiers who do sign up!"

The combat soldiers ranked near the bottom of the list were startled. They checked their waist tokens, their faces wrestling with intense inner conflict.

Without a doubt, this was yet another form of elimination by the bottom tier; they might well be reassigned to the logistics department.

Yet, if they signed up for battle, there was a high probability they would die on the battlefield!

At this moment, they faced a painful dilemma.

"Now, please make your own decisions. Even if not a single person signs up, this official does not mind going it alone to take the enemy general's head from amidst ten thousand foes. What is there to fear!" Liang Xiao declared proudly, his heroic spirit soaring to the skies.

Below, the guards from the Liang estate raised their hands without the slightest hesitation and followed Liang De to the eastern drill ground.

Cao Chen's brothers and several hundred veteran soldiers of Pei County followed closely behind.

In the blink of an eye, four to five hundred men had gathered on the eastern drill ground.

"If Pei County falls, our families and children will likely suffer as well! I am willing to follow the County Magistrate to slay the enemy!"

Following closely, over a thousand more soldiers raised their hands and went to the eastern drill ground.

Four to five hundred men from the logistics department also raised their hands and followed.

"There are actually two thousand men!"

Registrar Wang and the others were filled with disbelief.

Were they truly unafraid of death?

Zhuo Zifang, on the other hand, was both astonished and overjoyed.

Two thousand men—that was no small number!

These men, admiring Liang Xiao's strength in lifting the ceremonial tripod and feeling grateful for his grace in reducing taxes, would become the very first core troops of Liang Xiao's future bid for dominance in the Central Plains.

Liang Xiao simply stood upon the platform, composed and unhurried.

After another moment, people continued to raise their hands to sign up, trotting over to the eastern drill ground.

Of the original three thousand combat soldiers, only four hundred remained, their faces ashen, stubbornly refusing to sign up.

"Have them hand over their weapons to the logistics soldiers who signed up for battle, armor included."

Liang Xiao gave the order without the slightest hesitation, while summoning Registrar Wang and the others to replace or rewrite the waist tokens for these individuals.

During this time, Liang Xiao sat back down in his original seat, picked up brush and paper, and wrote down the details for troop training.

Zhuo Zifang was also at another desk, drafting official documents and plans for governing Pei County.

For them, there was no such thing as leisure time; not a single moment could be wasted.

An hour later, Liang De, with the assistance of Registrar Wang and the others, finally completed the reorganization of the army.

"Master, a total of three thousand one hundred men have signed up—we actually have one hundred extra!"

Liang Xiao immediately stopped writing and commanded, "According to the serial numbers, the last one hundred men shall be responsible for defending the city walls."

Liang De immediately ran off to make the arrangements.

Registrar Wang and the others looked on with a mixture of awe and reverence.

Three thousand one hundred men!

They had originally thought that at most three to five hundred would sign up, forcing Liang Xiao to abandon the expedition due to a lack of volunteers and instead resort to a strict, defensive siege posture.

Now they finally understood that this was a force carefully handpicked by Liang Xiao, filled with brave and loyal warriors who were vastly superior to the previous garrison of fifteen hundred men!

Half a quarter of an hour later, the three thousand one hundred volunteers gathered at the eastern drill ground, with one hundred of them assigned to the rear of the formation.

"After this battle concludes, regardless of whether you achieve the merit of taking enemy heads, each person shall be rewarded with at least one tael of silver. Those who take enemy heads will receive additional heavy rewards depending on the circumstances—starting at two taels, capped at one hundred taels! Henceforth, follow me to establish merits and achieve glory, to bring honor to your wives and protection to your children; I shall never fail you!"

"If any soldier falls in battle, their family shall receive double the standard compensation!"

Liang Xiao's ringing, resolute oath echoed across the entire training ground.

The three thousand one hundred men were filled with profound respect, making their own solemn vows in return.

"We are willing to follow the County Magistrate to establish merits and achieve greatness!!"

This might well be a battle where nine out of ten died, but Liang Xiao had already rid them of all worries for the future.

With double the compensation, even if they fell in battle, it would be enough to ensure their families lived in peace and comfort until their children reached adulthood!

Having chosen the personnel to march out of the city, Liang Xiao instructed Liang De and the others to proceed with the daily drills as usual.

North of Pei County, deep within the mountains.

The entire force of the Black Cloud Stronghold, numbering over ten thousand, had gathered at the mountain pass, creating a deafening uproar.

Gou Bai, the chieftain of the Black Cloud Stronghold, commonly known as "Chieftain Gou," raised his treasured saber high, his voice fierce and harsh.

"Brothers! Our army numbers a full thirty thousand strong! In this campaign, we shall surely capture Pei County, wash the county yamen in blood, and slaughter every last member of Liang Xiao's and the Zhongli family's households!!"

"All forces, attack! Reach the city walls before dusk tomorrow!!"

At his command, the entire force of the Black Cloud Stronghold poured out in full strength, claiming to be thirty thousand strong, and surged overwhelmingly toward Pei County to the south.