Inside the cave, the female prisoners stared wide-eyed at Lu Jing with disbelief.

"Lord Lu, Lord Lu!"

Mu Jiangli reached out and touched her own forehead, then touched Lu Jing's.

"You don't have a fever either?"

Lu Jing frowned: "What are you trying to say?"

"You're building your own army? Are you planning a rebellion?"

"Yes," Lu Jing nodded matter-of-factly, "it's a rebellion."

rebel……

Gudong.

The women swallowed hard and started talking all at once.

"My lord, rebellion is punishable by death," Ji Tangtang said, gesturing with his hand across his neck.

Lu Jing laughed: "If I led you all to escape from prison, wouldn't that also be punishable by death?"

"Uh..." Ji Tangtang was choked and couldn't speak.

Mu Jiangli chimed in from the side, "Not only will they be beheaded, but their entire family will be exterminated!"

"Tch!" Lu Jing sneered, "I want my entire family to be included too."

"..."

"But my lord," Qin Liniang said worriedly, "although the government troops in the Great Wilderness are complacent and have enjoyed peace for a long time, they are still elite and have the advantage in numbers. Moreover, now that traitor Wang Lu has raised an army to rebel, we have quite a few opponents."

"Yeah yeah."

Everyone echoed his sentiments, but Lu Jing waved his hand and asked them, "I ask you, if we don't become independent and self-reliant, and have our own army, what good solutions do you have?"

Crackle, crackle.

The only sound in the cave was the crackling of firewood; the women remained silent.

Lu Jing continued, "Also, don't you hate the Great Wilderness Dynasty?"

"hatred!"

Ye Qingqing immediately shouted, her whole demeanor filled with murderous intent: "I hate them so much!"

"Aba, aba ababa!"

Nirumedo pounded the ground, her face contorted with anger. Qin Liniang quickly supported her shoulders and comforted her.

Her answer was self-evident.

"I hate it, I hate it too," Qi Xiaomei said, tears streaming down her face, leaving a glistening trail. "My grandfather and my mother were both wrongfully killed."

Lu Jing looked at the women and said firmly, "If it's such a corrupt dynasty, is there any point in its continued existence?"

"There's no need!" the female prisoners said in unison.

"But sir, the idea of ​​establishing our own army..."

Wen Lanxiang didn't mince words and said directly, "There are too many problems, so it's basically not feasible."

After speaking, she looked at Lu Jing, her face still cold and expressionless.

Lu Jing was not angry; he remained calm and composed, letting Wen Lanxiang continue.

"My reason for opposing is that to build our own army, we first need a stronghold, which means taking over Dangning City, but we have too few people."

Wen Lanxiang pointed her finger at Dangning City on the map.

"No matter how small Dangning City is, we can't defend it with just a few people."

"Let alone Wang Lu's rebel army, even if the Great Wilderness government troops send people, we can't hold them off."

Upon hearing this, Ye Qingqing, who was standing next to her, crossed her arms and said in a muffled voice, "I think Lanxiang is right, Lord Lu, there are only a few of us."

"It's fine for scouting or launching a surprise attack, but it's impossible to defend the city. If everyone attacks together, the city walls won't even be full."

"Yes!" Qin Liniang chimed in from the side, "Lord Lu, we are too few in number, and we don't even know if we can capture Dangning City."

"Yes, yes."

The other female prisoners also spoke up to dissuade Lu Jing, suggesting that the matter of establishing an army and taking over Dangning City should be considered more carefully.

After everyone had finished speaking, Lu Jing said, "I understand your concerns, and I'm glad you were able to think independently and raise questions. That's good, very good."

The women didn't know what to say, they just smiled.

Lu Jing continued, "Admittedly, we are outnumbered, making it impossible for us to capture or defend a city. In that case, how about we expand our forces and increase our numbers?"

"Huh?" The female prisoners were taken aback.

"While I was tracking those bandits who went into the mountains, I overheard them chatting and learned an important piece of information."

Lu Jing raised a finger: "There's a new band of mountain bandits near Dangning City, several hundred of them. If we take them down and put them to our own use, our forces will grow stronger."

"Wouldn't that allow us to take over Dangning City?"

"This... ah?"

The female prisoners were startled, scratched their heads, and looked at each other in bewilderment.

Liu Zhezhi quickly asked, "Lord Lu, is this feasible? Those are bandits."

"Exactly!" Qin Liniang said, "Mountain bandits, they're all ruthless killers, do you think we can subdue them?"

The two voiced what everyone was thinking, and the women immediately crowded around, asking, "Yeah, can they be tamed?"

Lu Jing smiled and said, "Let me state the conclusion first: yes, we can. The reason is that, as you said, they are bandits. These kinds of people believe in whoever has the strongest fist. As long as we kill the bandit leader, the rest of the henchmen will not dare to disobey us."

"This..." The women remained noncommittal in response to Lu Jing's answer.

Click.

bang——

Lu Jing added some firewood to the fire, and the flames shot up much higher.

Stroking his chin, Lu Jing said:

"Recapturing these bandits is merely a temporary measure. What we truly need to do is to cultivate a loyal following of our own people from scratch."

"But cultivating talent is not something that can be done overnight; it takes a lot of time, not to mention that they also need to be loyal to us."

"Yes!" All the women nodded in agreement.

"So," Lu Jing raised a finger, "we must first take down the bandits, then take down Dangning. Only with a base can we grow stronger in the future."

The women fell silent upon hearing this, all lowering their heads.

A minute later, Ye Qingqing said in a gruff voice, "I think it's good! Lord Lu, I'm willing to do it!"

"This is insane..." Mu Jiangli frowned. "Fine, let him be insane, I'm willing to accept it."

Qin Liniang looked at Lu Jing and said gently, "I have no reason not to follow Lord Lu."

"Abba aba".

"Alright."

Ji Tangtang patted Nilumedo on the back: "If you can't explain it, then don't get involved. I understand what you mean. You're willing, and I'm willing too."

The other female prisoners also expressed their willingness to Lu Jing: "Sir, we are also willing."

"OK."

Lu Jing nodded: "Since you're both willing, let's take the first step: subdue the bandits and take Dangning City!"

"Yes."

The women were so excited they were practically rubbing their hands together. Lu Jing smiled and told them to calm down and rest first.

After a busy day, everyone was tired. They laid out straw and went to sleep. Soon, shouts echoed through the cave.

rustling --

Lu Jing stood up, without taking a torch, and quietly walked out of the cave. Just as he was about to hide in the cave, he suddenly saw a figure swaying as it walked out.

"Lord Lu," Lin Xiaoque rubbed her eyes, "where are you going?"

Lu Jing patted her head and said, "The bandits suffered a setback during the day, and they might come to search the mountain tonight. I'll hide at the entrance and keep an eye on their movements."

"I'll go too!" Lin Xiaoque volunteered.

"Don't go, listen to me, go to sleep."

"I don't!"

Lin Xiaoque's eyes darted around, and she said to Lu Jing, "It's so late at night, why aren't you lighting a torch? The mountain path is too difficult for you. I'll call some helpers to assist you."

Lu Jing asked in confusion, "Call for help?"

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