Chinese Generals Summoning System

Chapter 46: Incorporating Bandit Prisoners

After Liu Ji and his men captured Weihu Fortress, in addition to seizing a large amount of property, they also found more than 20 young women inside the fortress. These women had all been abducted and brought up the mountain by the Weihu Fortress bandits and had already been severely abused by the fortress’s four chieftains and their lieutenants. As for the ordinary bandits, only those who had performed great feats were given the opportunity to take advantage of these abducted women. From what these women revealed, every month some of the sisters abducted to the mountain were tortured to death by the bandits—the vast majority of these deaths were the handiwork of the four chieftains of Weihu Fort. The bandits frequently raided villages, slaughtering the inhabitants and abducting only the young women to the mountain to replace those who had died. The bandits of Weihu Fortress, including the four chieftains, had no families. Fan Chong, the leader of Weihu Fortress, believed that once a man was burdened by a family, he would lose the will to fight to the death; thus, from top to bottom, no one in Weihu Fortress had a family living within the fortress. After Liu Ji and the twin sisters, Lin Xiya and Lin Xiwen, listened to the tearful accounts of more than 20 women, Lin Xiya said angrily to Liu Ji, “Young Master, we absolutely cannot let those wicked bandits get away with this. It’s truly despicable—who knows how many innocent people they’ve harmed.” Lin Xiwen said fiercely, “Young Master, we should slaughter every one of those wicked bandits to avenge the women who were tortured to death by them. Otherwise, Xiwen won’t stand for it.” A flash of ferocity crossed Liu Ji’s eyes as he nodded and said, “Rest assured! Even if you hadn’t said anything, once those wicked bandits fall into my hands, their lives will be over!” Liu Ji had originally had some plans for Zhang Xiong, the third-in-command of Weihu Fortress, and Li Qing, the fourth-in-command, who had been captured—after all, both possessed martial arts ratings exceeding 40 points. But upon hearing these women’s tearful pleas, any such thoughts vanished without a trace. Liu Ji then arranged for these more than 20 women to identify the 684 captured bandits, singling out those who had violated them. In addition, Liu Ji ordered the bandits to denounce one another; they had to reveal the misdeeds of their comrades. If anyone refused to cooperate, it would prove they were a loyal member of Weihu Fortress—and for such “loyal” individuals, Liu Ji had no qualms about beheading them on the spot, thereby preserving their reputation for loyalty. Of the 684 bandits,of whom 216—those who had committed the most heinous crimes—were ultimately selected and beheaded by Liu Ji. Among them were Zhang Xiong, the third-in-command of Weihu Fortress, and Li Qing, the fourth-in-command. These two knelt on the ground, repeatedly begging Liu Ji to spare their lives, vowing to remain loyal to him for the rest of their days. However, Liu Ji remained unmoved and still ordered his soldiers to cut off Zhang Xiong and Li Qing’s heads. The execution of the 216 bandits was carried out by the soldiers who had previously served under Liu Ji. Even the soldiers guarding the first checkpoint of Weihu Fortress were recalled to the fortress in batches; each soldier was required to behead one bandit before returning to their post at the first checkpoint. Although they had fought several battles against the bandits of Weihu Fortress, many of the soldiers had not yet seen bloodshed. After beheading the 216 bandits, the remaining soldiers had all seen bloodshed. Liu Ji ordered the soldiers to pile the bodies of the 216 bandits together, then had the remaining 468 bandits line up beside the pile of corpses. With a menacing look on his face, Liu Ji shouted at the 468 terrified bandit prisoners: “The fact that you haven’t lost your heads doesn’t mean you’re innocent. It simply means, relatively speaking, that you’ve committed fewer evil deeds, and many of you were coerced into becoming bandits. Therefore, today, this captain will spare your lives! From now on, you must turn over a new leaf and start anew. Otherwise, the fate of those who have lost their heads will be your own!” The 468 bandit prisoners immediately nodded in unison; they had been terrified by Liu Ji’s brutality—he had executed over 200 men on the spot without batting an eye. At that moment, not a single bandit prisoner dared to object to a single word Liu Ji had spoken. Seeing the reaction of the bandit prisoners below, Liu Ji nodded with great satisfaction, then continued, “To atone for your sins, I have chosen a path of redemption for you: join my border defense force. Follow me to Qianzhou to guard the border, defend the lands of the Great Jin from invasion by the barbarians, and protect the people on our frontier from their atrocities!” No sooner had Liu Ji finished speaking than the 468 bandit prisoners erupted into an uproar. The situation in the Great Jin’s four northern provinces was common knowledge; what difference was there between going to Qianzhou to guard the border and walking to one’s death? Seeing the confusion among the bandit prisoners after he mentioned guarding the border at Qianzhou, Liu Ji immediately bellowed, “Shut up, all of you!” Liu Ji’s shout proved very effective; the 468 captive bandits immediately fell silent. Liu Ji then let out a cold laugh and said, “What? Is there a problem with this captain’s proposal? Who’s in favor? Who’s against it?” After Liu Ji finished speaking, not a single bandit prisoner dared to speak up. They knew full well that anyone who dared to object at that moment would surely have their head chopped off by this fearsome figure. Seeing that none of the captive bandits dared to voice any opposition, Liu Ji suddenly broke into a smile and said, “Since no one objects, you will henceforth be soldiers under my command. Rest assured—following me, Liu Ji, you will not be mistreated! “You’ve already seen some of the fierce generals under my command. With so many such warriors at our disposal, our mission to guard the border at Qianzhou is certainly not a suicide mission. Who knows? With the swords and spears in our hands, we might even earn titles and honors that will benefit our wives and children!” Whether they were willing or not, Liu Ji had these 468 captured bandits tied up and loaded onto his wagon. Lin Daxin then handed these 468 men over to Yue Yi, who selected 420 of them to serve as combat troops, while the rest—those who were physically weaker or older—were assigned to auxiliary duties. Once the 420 new combat soldiers were selected, Yue Yi immediately had them undergo drill training and stand at attention according to Liu Ji’s methods. After a few days of training, these new recruits would be integrated with the existing troops. Liu Ji currently had a sufficient supply of grain, so he planned to stay at Weihu Fort a few more days to complete the new recruits’ training. As for that so-called Yanwang Ridge—if they didn’t come, so be it; but if they dared to provoke him, he might just seize the opportunity to wipe out the largest bandit stronghold in this mountainous region. The spoils seized at Weihu Fortress had already made Liu Ji’s eyes burn with greed. A single bandit stronghold had yielded such a vast amount of loot. If he hadn’t needed to reach Chengyin County in Dai’an Commandery, Qianzhou, by the 10th day of the second month of the 426th year of the Great Jin era, Liu Ji would have been prepared to wipe out every bandit hideout in the mountainous region straddling the border between Yongzhou and Wanzhou. Of the more than 20 young women rescued from Weihu Fortress, only a few chose to leave of their own accord; the remaining 20 were either homeless or felt too ashamed to return to their families. The twin sisters, Lin Xiya and Lin Xiwen, immediately discussed the matter with Liu Ji and decided to keep these 20 unfortunate women, forming a women’s army under their leadership. Upon hearing this, Liu Ji agreed to the twins’ request, and thus the “Pink Skeletons”—who would later strike fear into the hearts of the world—were formed in this casual moment.