Chapter 144: The Team

A passionate dream always leaves one reluctant to wake. When he awoke the next morning, the young girl in his arms was still deep in slumber, her face stained with tears. Recalling the madness of the previous night, Liu Ji still found it somewhat surreal.

Now he could be certain of one thing: the original owner of this body was indeed an over-energetic profligate.

He smiled self-deprecatingly. Since he had inherited the fellow's body, he naturally had to bear the unsavory burdens that came with it. Gently shifting the girl aside, he lifted the blanket, stood up, and tucked her back in. Hearing the movement, a maidservant immediately entered to prepare his washing utensils.

"Let her sleep a little longer," he instructed before stepping outside.

This was the encampment of the mountain people, occupying the entire river valley as far as the eye could see. Further back, more and more mountain settlements were arriving continuously from elsewhere. Chieftains like Maliqi were responsible for receiving and settling them while conveying the newly reached agreements.

Holding the crude utensils, he walked over to the riverbank, cupped the river water in his hands, and splashed it onto his face to wash away the lingering traces of passion. Then, placing his hands on his hips, he breathed in the fresh air. Having been refreshed by sleep, his body had fully recovered its strength. Youth was truly wonderful.

"Garrison Commander! Garrison Commander!" Just as he spat out a mouthful of water, Kang Lao-si's signature booming voice rang out from behind him.

"Any movement in the city?"

Liu Ji turned around to see the Sogdian running up to the riverbank, nodding repeatedly at him.

"They've opened the city gates. The ones being escorted at the front appear to be Tibetans."

So soon? Liu Ji felt a trace of doubt. When had the Tibetans become so agreeable and willing to be slaughtered at will?

"How many people have come?"

"No fewer than five hundred, with over a hundred Tibetans among them."

That meant five hundred garrison soldiers plus over a hundred Tibetans—on the surface, it seemed quite logical. Liu Ji frowned in thought, then turned and climbed up the riverbank.

"Let's go. We are going to find Chieftain Maliqi."

Kang Lao-si followed closely behind him and whispered a reminder: "Their condition is that the mountain people are not allowed to enter the Peacock River Valley."

"Did you agree to their terms?"

Liu Ji asked without looking back. Kang Lao-si instantly fell silent. He was joking, of course—how could he possibly do such a thing? The Garrison Commander's intention couldn't be clearer: regardless of whether the enemy had captured Tibetans or not, the fate of the Peacock River Valley was already sealed.

When they found the old chieftain, Maliqi was in the midst of receiving several mountain chieftains who had just arrived. Liu Ji could not bother with polite pleasantries and cut straight to the point.

"The men I asked for—how are the preparations coming along? How many are available for use?"

His words immediately caused a stir within the tent, for this meant that the operation had already begun. Several late-arriving chieftains rushed to speak before the old chieftain could.

"I have three hundred men, all of them robust young lads."

"My stronghold can provide two hundred men, every single one of them a skilled fighter."

"I can offer..."

...

Soon, the earlier-arriving strongholds also joined the fray. Maliqi's expression turned somewhat unpleasant; didn't this amount to handing the initiative directly over to the opponent?

Of course, one couldn't entirely blame them for being so eager. There was a quota of only five thousand spots in total; for every extra man another stronghold took, his own would have fewer. Fewer spots meant less wealth—any chieftain could figure out such simple arithmetic.

Liu Ji was naturally pleased to see this outcome. While responding to them, he signaled Kang Lao-si to take notes.

"We want them. We want all of them, starting right now. Send your men to him and obey his arrangements."

He then turned his head and asked, "Maliqi, what about your stronghold?"

Things having reached this stage, Maliqi had no other choice but to nod. "I have brought five hundred men, and I place all of them at your disposal."

Having secured a firm commitment, Liu Ji did a quick mental calculation. It added up to a total of more than three thousand men, though these people could hardly be called an army; they were merely a mob of undisciplined rabble.

"Are you planning to attack the city?" Maliqi asked, not without worry.

Although Jialuo City was not large, it was formidable in construction and could truly be called a stronghold. Relying on its favorable terrain, rushing into a frontal assault with just their current numbers meant they probably wouldn't even be enough to whet the defenders' appetites.

"If it becomes necessary, yes."

Liu Ji had no intention of fobbing him off. In warfare, casualties were inevitable; if they couldn't even stomach the losses, they might as well disband sooner rather than later. He purposely spoke the blunt truth because he wanted to gauge the reactions of these chieftains.

Sure enough, the tent fell abruptly silent. A group of chieftains exchanged views through glances. After a moment, a late-arriving chieftain spoke up.

"Is what you promised our men—that they will receive the same treatment as the Great Tang soldiers—true?"

"Of course it is true. Whatever compensation the soldiers of the Great Tang receive in case of death or injury, your men will receive the exact same."

Liu Ji answered without the slightest hesitation. He recognized this man as the chieftain who had first reported his numbers, and surmised that the man must have already reached a decision.

Sure enough, the man spat fiercely onto the ground. "If we leave this city standing, they will eventually come after us anyway. It's better to break in and finish it once and for all. Say no more—my men are willing to fight it out to the death with them!"

"Fight to the death!"

Soon, the remaining chieftains responded in kind. After all, they still had the army of the Great Tang backing them up; placing their men under unified command was far better than rushing forward in chaotic disarray. Even Maliqi realized the logic in this.

The old chieftain waved his hand. "This is going to be a hard battle, and we must fight it brilliantly. Let everyone see that the people of Kala have no shortage of warriors who do not fear death!"

Having resolved the manpower issue, Liu Ji did not feel any sense of relief, because a mountain of endless troubles lay ahead. These forces, cobbled together temporarily from various strongholds, might be even more chaotic than before. With several thousand men, no one would submit to anyone else. If not for the watchful eyes of their respective chieftains, they would likely have started fighting each other on the spot.

Calling them a mob was actually an overstatement; at least a mob knew to run in the same direction.

Yet there was no time to reorganize them now. With no other choice, he temporarily abandoned his original plan. Instead of breaking up their origins immediately, he organized them into more than a dozen units based on their respective strongholds, led by commanders they had elected themselves.

With war imminent, he and his men all donned armor. This armor was not something they had brought themselves, but rather part of the inventory belonging to Li Siye's division. Once the armor was on, they instantly took on the imposing appearance of elite troops.

Liu Ji buckled on his armor, slung his long Mo Dao across his back, and waved his hand toward the formation of mountain men.

"This is our first battle. The enemy has a total of six hundred men, among whom one hundred are Tibetans. I will fight alongside you. Our objective is to rout them. To achieve this, the five hundred men from Maliqi's stronghold will follow me in a frontal assault. The rest of you, bring out your hunting skills, and let's beat them so soundly they flee in absolute terror, striking such fear into their hearts that they will never dare to come out again!"

Having issued brief and simple assignments, Maliqi's men fell in behind him. He had his own reasons for choosing them: these people were the core force of the rebellion, tempered by prolonged bloodshed and possessing a certain level of experience in dealing with government troops. After a few more hard battles, they would surely mature into formidable fighters.

Leading these men around a bend, the mouth of the Peacock River Valley came into view right before their eyes.