Chapter 216

Qiu Ling was worried about Wu Dazhuang, fearing that after so many years he might have changed. "Miss, will he betray us?" she asked anxiously.

Wu Dazhuang's eyes revealed a longing for his wife and child. Li Xia was willing to give him a chance.

"Even if he does, it's not a problem," Zhou Heng said lazily, lying on a haystack, not at all concerned about Wu Dazhuang betraying them. With his and Li Xia's abilities, it would be easy to escape with Qiu Ling and the others.

None of the five ate the suspicious-smelling food. Qiu Chan took out a paper package from her bosom and handed it to Li Xia. "Miss, have some snacks." Li Xia took a piece and ate it. Qiu Chan then distributed pieces to the others.

After finishing the snacks and drinking some water, they spent the night in the jail. Early the next morning, Wu Dazhuang came in, unlocked the keys, and opened the door. "Quick, follow me," he said.

The five of them got up and followed Wu Dazhuang out of the cell. Outside, they saw many fierce-looking wolves baring their teeth at them.

"Don't bark," Wu Dazhuang waved his hand, signaling the wolves to be quiet. The wolves obediently stopped barking.

"I raised these wolves. They won't bite you. Hurry," Wu Dazhuang urged them to leave quickly. Zhou Heng took steps to follow behind Wu Dazhuang.

Just three steps later, a group of people suddenly jumped out and surrounded them.

The crowd parted, and a burly man about Wu Dazhuang's age emerged, glaring fiercely at Wu Dazhuang. "Well, well, Wu Dazhuang, you dare to be a traitor. Betraying me."

"Hong Zhong, save your words. If it weren't for your coercion back then, why would I have been a thief for over a decade? How would my son have died?" Wu Dazhuang's voice was filled with hatred towards Hong Zhong.

"Fine, very well. I treated you as a brother, but you treat me as an enemy. Do you really think Lion Camel Mountain can't survive without your wolves?" Hong Zhong's tone carried disappointment. His eyes turned menacingly towards Zhou Heng and the others.

"Dogs, attack!" Wu Dazhuang commanded the wolves to fight the bandits. He himself wielded a knife and rushed at Hong Zhong.

"Kill!" Hong Zhong also charged at Wu Dazhuang with a large cleaver in hand.

Li Zhao registered all the captured bandits. After Lu XuanNing's confirmation, bandits who hadn't committed serious crimes were incorporated into the army as soldiers.

The ringleaders who had committed heinous crimes were sent to the death squad, required to be at the forefront of every battle. If they killed 100 enemy soldiers, they could live. Those who tried to slack off were sent to the medical teaching department.

When these people arrived at the camp, Lu XuanNing arranged for them to observe two field teaching sessions by the army doctors. The army doctors, accustomed to life and death on the battlefield, showed no mercy to these bandits and prisoners. They were ruthless in their actions.

The choice was clear: be dissected alive on the teaching table or join the suicide squad for a chance to live. Without persuasion, these men chose the latter. They fought fiercely on the battlefield, preferring to die in battle rather than on the teaching table.

Lu XuanNing also proposed to the court that criminals exiled to the border regions could have their sentences reduced based on the number of enemies they killed. The more enemies killed and military merits earned, the greater the sentence reduction. This way, the army's fighting strength increased.

Lord Lu was very pleased with what Lu XuanNing and Li Xia had done. He detailed their achievements in his memorial to the emperor.

The emperor had been worrying about manpower and supplies. Unexpectedly, Li Xia, a woman, led troops to subdue the mountain bandits. Not only did this allow border residents to live in peace, but it also seized a large amount of food and wealth, relieving the emperor's worries about rations and military pay. The emperor even approved Lord Lu's request for Li Xia to form a Women's Army using the Token of Women Warriors.

The Women's Army currently had 200 female soldiers, with Qiu Ling and Qiu Chan serving as deputy officers. Among the many female soldiers, one was the cleverest, and the other had the highest combat skills. The two, one civil and one martial, were known as the Big and Little Ladies by the others.

With the advantage of foresight from his dreams, Lu XuanNing, after gaining full control of the army, devised a plan to kill the foreign commander-in-chief and capture the accompanying third prince. He forced them to retreat five hundred miles, giving up Crane City.

He led his troops to occupy Crane City directly. While arranging for people to survey the terrain and delineate the new border area, they unexpectedly discovered a rich underground silver mine. Lord Lu immediately wrote a memorial and had it sent to the capital by express messenger.

The ministers who initially opposed the Lu family's invasion of foreign territory changed their minds after the emperor read the memorial at the morning court. No one would turn down silver when the national treasury was empty.

Later, Lu XuanNing submitted another memorial proposing to settle those bandit death row prisoners here. This would solve the problem of overcrowded prisons and the shortage of soldiers. These men would work for food without needing military pay. It would also address the issue of population loss in some areas, killing multiple birds with one stone. Of course, attention needed to be paid to preventing problems that might arise from potential loopholes.

This was just a proposal; the court would need to develop specific procedures and regulations for implementation.

The border region would be the pilot area. Lu XuanNing, having seen Li Xia's implementation in his dreams, knew where the potential issues lay. This knowledge helped foster positive development and cycles in the border region.