Words Strategize for the World

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After spending half a morning, Fang Hao finally managed to organize the more than 200 people according to his own ideas.

Besides verbally provoking them and defeating them with their refined abilities, another method was to appoint foot soldiers and captains. This would allow familiar people to mentor those they knew, helping them identify those with talent and worth cultivating. It would also facilitate Fang Hao's management and command.

Fang Hao planned to let them recommend the step leader, but the selection of the husband leader must and definitely be done by Fang Hao himself.

There are currently 287 people, and three captains are needed. Therefore, Fang Hao asked Yuan Kang to recommend two people, which, together with Yuan Kang, makes a perfect pair.

The two people Yuan Kang recommended were Tian Ming and Xu Feng.

Tian Ming was an archer, the one who shot and killed three Ba ​​Guo soldiers, while Xu Zefeng was a swordsman and shieldman.

The three men each selected spearmen, swordsmen, and archers. Swordsmen were the most numerous, followed by spearmen, while archers were the fewest, numbering only about 30. The surplus swordsmen were given to Tian Ming to lead.

This reorganization was relatively simple, mainly focusing on restoring morale. However, even after a reorganization, it's impossible for everything to go according to Fang Hao's plan. Of course, under normal circumstances, basic principles such as obeying orders, following commands, and cooperating with comrades shouldn't be a major problem, after all, they are all elite personnel.

Fang Hao believed that, through his leadership, these people would eventually come to his side.

After the three husbands were chosen, Fang Hao stopped paying attention to them and went to the seven women.

The trails were uncharted territory, and none of them knew how to navigate them, so they needed a guide.

We also need to ask these seven women what they plan to do, whether they will seek refuge with relatives or something else.

When the seven women learned that Fang Hao and his group were heading to the capital, they all expressed their willingness to follow him. Their relatives lived nearby, and the Ba Kingdom was attacking the Chi Kingdom; they did not want to be displaced any longer.

Seven women expressed their willingness to follow Fang Hao, which gave him a headache. He didn't need any pretty faces now; he himself was homeless, so how could he take them with him? Besides, they were women, and bringing women into battle was a major taboo.

Fang Hao felt a pang of guilt about abandoning them, so he sought out Lai Fengwu to discuss the matter.

"My lord, this is a good thing. Having women following you is a wonderful thing."

Upon hearing Fang Hao's words, Lai Fengwu immediately responded with a playful laugh.

Seeing Lai Fengwu's playful expression, Fang Hao said somewhat seriously, "Fengwu, how can you lead these women on a military campaign? Don't joke around."

Lai Fengwu then put away her playful expression, thought for a moment, and said, "If my lord is worried that they are women, I have a solution. We just need to dress them up as men."

It would be cruel to leave them to fend for themselves, and after thinking about it, Fang Hao realized that this was the only option.

However, since they're dressed as men, why not train them? Women fighting on the battlefield has happened in every era; as long as they're trained properly, they might be of great use in the future.

When Yuan Kang, Tian Ming, and Xu Feng came to find him again, it was already noon. Although it took some time, through Fang Hao's questioning, Yuan Kang and the others had already selected the marching leaders for the team and reiterated military discipline, further improving the discipline and teamwork of the entire team.

Fang Hao gave the three newly appointed magistrates a good talking-to and told them to set off after lunch.

After they left, Fang Hao chuckled self-deprecatingly, realizing that he was also a captain, and now he was leading three captains.

The eldest husband leading the eldest husband—this is truly an unprecedented event!

After a quick lunch, the group set off eastward. The path was too difficult to traverse, and before long, the remaining horses were abandoned.

Walking along the narrow paths, the group of 287 people stretched into a long snake. Seeing that the group was much more organized than before, Fang Hao felt that the reorganization had been somewhat effective.

The group moved slowly forward, gradually disappearing into the mountains and forests. The seven women, weeping and wailing, followed the group away, leaving the place where they were born and raised.

Fang Hao was the last to leave. Looking at the ruins of the village, he felt a little sad even as he was about to leave.

The village, which was once a paradise, is now nothing but piles of ashes, with a few pillars covered in charcoal still standing, as if telling the story of yesterday's slaughter and fire.

The merciless flames of war dragged compassionate people into a dark abyss and buried them in the hell beneath it.

This is war, this is ruthless war.

Fang Hao recalled an ancient saying: "When a dynasty prospers, the people suffer; when a dynasty falls, the people suffer."

This is the most accurate portrayal.

The trails were indeed difficult to walk; in an afternoon, they only covered about 10 kilometers.

The rugged path caused Fang Hao to develop several blisters on his feet.

As darkness fell, Yuan Kang led his troops to set up camp on a flat area.

This time, the camp was set up in a much more relaxed manner than when they had just escaped from Liangjiang County. The team had a division of labor and cooperated, and the camp was also built with a certain level of skill.

That evening, Fang Hao called over Lai Fengwu, Yuan Kang, Tian Ming, and Xu Feng to discuss their route back to Beijing.

They had no map and were in the middle of nowhere in the mountains, so they had no idea where they were.

Fang Hao spoke first, stating his purpose directly: "We're in the middle of nowhere, and I'm not familiar with Taoshan Prefecture. Let's discuss our next steps."

After listening to Fang Hao's words, the group began to think.

After a short while, Lai Fengwu said, "Taoshan Prefecture is divided into one prefecture and eight counties. We are currently in Hexia County, which should be quite far from Taoshan Prefecture."

"According to the seven women, Taoshan Prefecture is located southeast of Hexia County, about 50 kilometers away. At our pace this afternoon, it would take at least 3 to 5 days to reach Taoshan Prefecture. The main reason for the delay is that the mountain trails are difficult to travel."

Hearing Lai Fengwu's words, Fang Hao felt somewhat frustrated. He had originally wanted to reach Taoshan Prefecture quickly, but now it seemed there was no hope at all.

Based on the speed of Zhao Jun and his cavalry from Ba Guo, they would arrive at Taoshan Prefecture in one to two days at most.

Fang Hao thought for a moment, then asked Feng Wu, "Feng Wu, how far is it from here to Hexia County?"

"My lord, I'm not entirely sure about that. I'll have to ask Yuan Kang and the others."

"I think I know that." It was Tian Ming who spoke.

"My ancestral home is Hexia County. I used to go back to Hexia County often, so I am quite familiar with it. According to my estimate, it is about half a day's journey from here to Hexia County, at most a day."

After listening to Tian Ming's words, Fang Hao thought about them carefully.

If they went to Taoshan Prefecture now, they would inevitably arrive after Zhao Jun and his group. Zhao Jun knew that they had escaped, and that they had killed nearly a squad of Ba Kingdom soldiers in the village ahead, which must have already attracted the attention of the Ba Kingdom army. If they couldn't reach Taoshan Prefecture before Zhao Jun and his group, then their 280-plus men would be like lambs to the slaughter.

Since we can't go to Taoshan Prefecture, is it possible to try another route?

After thinking it through, Fang Hao immediately decided to go to Hexia County to take a look.

"Alright, since we're so close to Hexia County, let's go check it out tomorrow."

Fang Hao did not tell Lai Fengwu and the others his thought process in making the decision, but they could roughly guess it.