Bai Luochu looked at the soldiers below and immediately recalled her previous life. She had done the same thing in the past, but instead of soldiers, she commanded her secret guards. Her group of secret guards were much stronger and much more valuable than these soldiers. During normal times, they would obey her commands. They only started to disobey her when she turned foolish after getting together with Lu Wenshu. She lost a powerful and loyal group of supporters just like that...
Her mood turned somewhat sour when she thought about her secret guards and Pei Rumo managed to detect something wrong with her. He patted her shoulder and called out to her softly, “Luo Chu, Luo Chu, why are you staring into s.p.a.ce? The soldiers are waiting for you.”
When Bai Luochu felt Pei Rumo patting her shoulder, she suddenly returned to her senses and realized she had forgotten that she was supposed to address the army. Bai Luochu forcefully opened her mouth to explain, “I was thinking of a better way to phrase my idea, and now, I shall reveal my plan to everyone.”
Bai Luochu allowed her qi to sink into her dantian before she shouted at the top of her voice.
“Everyone! It has already been over a month since we departed from the capital city. It has been a long and exhausting journey with many mishaps and dangers along the way. I understand that everyone is exhausted right now but even so, we cannot delay our journey any longer. We are now past the border of the Desolate Region and we do not know anything about the situation inside. All of you witnessed the scene when we landed earlier. I am afraid that the central zone will be even more dangerous than that. No matter what, I cannot allow all of you to take such a risk. As such, I have discussed it with His First Highness and we came up with a brilliant plan. I hope that everyone can listen carefully.”
Bai Luochu silently observed the soldiers" expression after speaking and she realized that they were all burning with fighting spirit. “We decided to split you up into groups. His First Highness and I will lead a small vanguard team to enter the central zone of the Desolate Region and we will scout it out. The rest of you will take a break and reorganize yourselves. Get ready for battle at any moment in case anything happens while we are away. We require a total of eight members for the vanguard team and you can volunteer yourselves to be part of the squad.”
The moment the words left her mouth, hands shot up into the air. Bai Luochu continued to explain, “Don"t be in a hurry and listen to the requirements before you volunteer yourself. Firstly, members must be able to endure the strange climate of the Desolate Region, otherwise, if you fall ill, not only will you not be able to scout for information, you will be a liability to us. Secondly, priority will be given to scouts with superior martial skills. We are not going out to fight a war. We are going out to gather information and scouts will be best suited for the mission. Thirdly, none of the hundred-men captains can join the vanguard team. All of you are to head over to the main tent later as His First Highness needs to brief you on something.”
After Bai Luochu spoke, there were a few individuals who had to lower their hands. However, even more people volunteered themselves.
Bai Luochu was placed in a rather difficult situation as she wasn"t a soldier. She couldn"t make the decision and she turned around to look at Pei Rumo.
When Pei Rumo saw Bai Luochu staring at him, he understood that he had to be the one to choose. He immediately declared, “If you"re the only son in your family, lower your arm.”
“Those who have a family to support, lower your arm.”
“Those with siblings in the army, lower your arm.”
“Those with illness and injuries, lower your arm.”
The more conditions he put forth, the lesser the number of people left. In the end, there were exactly eight arms in the air. Among them, two were scouts and the others were strong and healthy individuals.
There was no objection and the vanguard team was formed. Bai Luochu then continued with the instructions, “We will depart first thing tomorrow morning. Rest well tonight and I hope none of you will screw up when we arrive in the central region.”
The eight individuals knew that their mission was dangerous but they were secretly happy in their heart. After all, it was a great honor to be in the same squad as their Commander in Chief. They started discussing their plans for the next day enthusiastically as they returned to their tent.
“All hundred-men captains are to head to the main tent now.”
After entering the main tent, Pei Rumo sat at the commander"s position while Bai Luochu sat on his left. The rest of the hundred-men captains sorted themselves according to their years of experience in the army.
“I know that there are some of you who are frustrated because you cannot join the vanguard team. Your job right now will be more important than scouting for information.” Bai Luochu opened her mouth as she saw many dissatisfied expressions among the captains.
When their faces eased up, Bai Luochu turned to Pei Rumo and saw him nodding at her. She understood that he was handing her the authority to speak about her plans for them.
“As His First Highness and I will be heading to the central zone, we will be unable to lead the army for some time. All of you will stay behind and protect the soldiers. As for the exact details, His First Highness shall brief you as he is more experienced than me when it comes to leading an army.”
Pei Rumo understood that Bai Luochu was tired after addressing the army and he quickly took over. “Two hundred-men captains will be on duty every day. I will come up with a schedule and ensure that you stick to it. We will use messenger pigeons to relay information daily. All of you hundred-men captains will have to report the condition of the army to me. Every night at 7 pm, a messenger pigeon will arrive at the main tent and all of you are to write a report before sending the pigeon back to me in the morning. We will be able to keep in contact and ensure the safety of the other group.”