Chapter 55: The Debut of the Heavenly Mighty Star

Everything unfolded precisely as Magistrate Ding had anticipated, and a reply from the prefecture arrived swiftly.

Upon learning that the unruly rebels of Yushan Mountain had committed another major offense mere moments after accepting amnesty, treating the laws of the imperial court as nothing, the Emperor flew into a rage and ordered an expeditionary force to suppress them.

Given that Yzizou lacked elite troops and formidable generals, a large army was dispatched from Qingzhou to launch the punitive campaign. The commanding general of this force was none other than Huyan Zhuo's peer, Hualong Spear, or rather, Qin Ming, the Commander of the Qingzhou Garrison.

Once he received this definitive news, Magistrate Ding knew exactly what needed to be done.

Far from halting the subsequent procedures of the amnesty, he actually accelerated the process. A vast number of ordinary soldiers were gathered and dispersed to be settled in various other counties, while the officers of the stronghold at all levels were continuously urged to assume their new posts in other prefectures.

Fourth Brother Huang, Old Qi Li, and the others lingered for a few days. Seeing that no government troops had come to arrest them, they harbored wishful thinking, bid farewell to Li Kui, packed their gold, silver, and soft valuables, loaded their wagons, and left the stronghold.

New Year's Day was approaching fast, yet the entire stronghold possessed not a shred of festive cheer. It was as if the tree had fallen and the monkeys had scattered, leaving behind only the last thousand defiant and rebellious thorns.

"Brother, knowing full well that the government troops will not let this rest, why did you not stop those brothers from going down the mountain?" Li Yun asked directly while flushed with wine.

"A forced melon is never sweet," Li Kui replied, guzzling a large mouthful of wine, his eyes heavy with sleep. "An army values quality over quantity. Rather than waiting until we are on the battlefield for them to turn into deserters and disrupt our ranks, it is far better to simply let them pack up and get lost."

"The business we are in is one that costs heads; traditionally, only those who can no longer survive are willing to undertake it."

"Look at them. They have been in the stronghold for less than a year, yet they have already lined their pockets so thoroughly that returning to the countryside to buy dozens of mu of fertile land is well within their means."

"People always say that those with fixed property have steadfast hearts, but no one ever said that the wealthier someone is, the more terrified they are of death."

"There are countless mediocre people in this world, and the most numerous of all are the worthless ones—easily satisfied with petty wealth, destined to live out their lives as dogs for others!"

"For those willing to stand up and live as upright human beings, I give them a chance."

"For those willing to grovel and live as dogs, there is no need to forcefully drag them to their feet."

"The seeds of slaughter have already been sown. When the day comes that they can no longer survive even as dogs, they will naturally take up their blades once again."

"Every cause bears its fruit, and a person's destiny is ultimately forged by their own hands."

Zhu Fu shook his head. "Brother's words are always so hard to understand. The local gentry have all been slaughtered, and their records have been wiped clean. If they just honestly farm the land henceforth, how could they fail to survive?"

"Things in this world are unpredictable..." Li Kui said no more, simply continuing to drink.

Over the span of ten-odd days, Magistrate Ding's side had sent people over repeatedly, wishing to whisk away the remaining soldiers as well, but Li Kui rejected every single attempt.

Ding had also secretly dispatched agents to approach these men privately, but these rebels were the very hard-core insurrection seeds meticulously handpicked by Li Kui within the stronghold; how could they possibly be swayed by that meager relocation allowance?

As time passed, these men gradually sensed the attitude of Brother Li Kui in their hearts, filling them with boundless anticipation as they waited for Li Kui to raise his arms and give the call once more.

Yet Li Kui issued no such command. Every day, he simply insisted that Zhu Fu and Li Yun each lead a battalion, keeping up their drills without interruption.

To win the hearts of these soldiers, Li Kui scattered the gold and silver of the stronghold by the handful, ensuring they had meat at two meals every single day without fail, occasionally accompanied by wine.

Fortunately, the stronghold possessed a deep foundation. The grain, pigs, sheep, chickens, and ducks plundered previously were countless; they could have eaten for several more months without exhausting their stores.

As for the gold and silver plundered from the Birthday Convoy, aside from distributing a share to each of the brothers who went down the mountain, the vast majority remained on the mountain, far more than they could ever spend.

Day after day passed. Nearly a month later, Fourth Brother Huang, Old Qi Li, and their companions suddenly returned.

"Brother, disaster is upon us!"

"We heard that a massive army from Qingzhou has come to suppress us and has already arrived in Yizhou."

"Word has it that the force arriving this time numbers in the tens of thousands. Even if everyone spat a single mouthful of saliva, it would drown the stronghold. You would be wise to make plans early, Brother."

The group chattered away, relating everything they knew to Li Kui. After listening, Li Kui merely lounged lazily, leaning back in his grand chair without a single trace of panic.

"Since the lot of you refused to properly report to your posts, what brings you running back here?"

Fourth Brother Huang's expression changed instantly, and he cried out angrily:

"What kind of talk is that, Brother?"

"If all was peaceful and safe, we would naturally have gone to our posts in peace."

"Now that the stronghold is in peril, how could we stand idly by and watch disaster befall you, Brother?"

Old Qi Li's words were far more pragmatic. With a bitter face, he said:

"Since the imperial court cannot tolerate Brother, naturally it cannot tolerate the likes of us either."

"If we truly went to take up our posts, I fear the moment we arrived we would be seized on the spot and dragged off to have our heads chopped off."

"We have already sent our families back to the countryside. Even if we die, the gold and silver left behind will be enough to keep them fed and clothed without worry. And if by some fluke we win again, who's to say these official ranks won't rise a bit higher?"

Upon hearing this, Li Kui burst into hearty laughter, stood up to welcome them, and said:

"It's a good thing you lot finally figured it out!"

"That being the case, rest well here in the stronghold. When those government troops come to attack, watch how I smash them to pieces!"

"If the Yizhou army couldn't do it, could changing to the Qingzhou army make any difference?"

Fourth Brother Huang immediately clapped his hands in praise:

"My brother is divinely courageous and invincible, the descent of the Star of Heavenly Slaughter! Even if Old Chong of the Western Army were to come here, he certainly would not be a match for Brother."

"Though our strength is meager, we still possess a bit of skill in leading troops. Brother, just focus single-mindedly on dealing with the enemy generals; leave the matters among the rank-and-file soldiers below to us."

"Ah, this is troublesome!" Li Kui slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing, "Most of the forces in the stronghold have already dispersed, leaving only two battalions of infantry, which have already been assigned to Li Yun and Zhu Fu!"

Fourth Brother Huang was quite reasonable and smiled. "Brother need not worry. It is all for the sake of the stronghold; what does it matter whether we hold the title of commander or not? We shall simply serve as deputies to the two brothers."

Li Kui smiled and nodded. "Very well. Since you have the heart for it, I must trouble all of you brothers."

Immediately, Li Kui ordered the kitchens to prepare a banquet to welcome Fourth Brother Huang and the others back.

After a bout of heavy drinking, the next day, under Li Kui's arrangements, Fourth Brother Huang and his companions were slotted back into the two battalions, taking up positions as deputy generals, unit commanders, and squad leaders.

Since it was decided that war was inevitable, Li Kui immediately hoisted the banner of Yushan Mountain once again and began recruiting new soldiers.

However, the livelihood of the common folk in Yishui County had grown favorable of late, and fewer and fewer people found themselves unable to survive.

As the old saying goes, a good man does not become a soldier. As long as one could scratch a living from the earth, very few were willing to join the army and risk their lives.

Consequently, those who came to enlist this time were far fewer in number, and most of them were crooked melons and cracked dates or street ruffians—clearly men who had witnessed the former glory of the Yushan bandits and wished to sneak into the ranks of the rebellion.

Unfortunately, their intelligence was outdated; they had no idea that the Yushan bandits of the present day were already a high-risk, declining enterprise.

Li Kui did not disdain them either. He took them all in, even dispensing with the traditional initiation ritual of committing a crime to prove oneself, and threw them all under the charge of Fourth Brother Huang and the returning men to drill them relentlessly every day.

Those who could not endure it were not chased away; instead, they were reassigned to the logistics transport corps or as auxiliary laborers.

Even if they could not serve as combat troops, they could at least serve as cannon fodder to make up the numbers!

Relying on these dregs, Li Kui finally expanded his forces to four battalions, totaling two thousand men.

And the grand army from Qingzhou had already arrived.