the villages, they say that this portends a cold winter. It's good that Hei agreed to move to the village with his army. I am almost calm now about how we will survive the winter.
"Almost?" Master Luo raised his eyebrows in ostentatious surprise. Lee chuckled.
"Almost because the governor will hardly let us spend the winter carefree. The rest of the districts revolted. On the one hand, this is beneficial to us: we will not attract so much attention. The military will find something to do and someone to deal with. On the other hand, they will bring large forces.
The regular army will always be stronger than a handful of disjointed and poorly trained fighters.
"Well, as for training, thanks to your help, the former tanners and farmers can already defeat many of the provincial warriors!" The old man laughed softly. Li also allowed himself to smile. "As for others, the situation is much more serious. Things went more or less well while there were one detachment and one leader. But now, when the dissatisfied have the opportunity to choose whom to follow, there will be more and more people fighting for different leaders. Believe me, it will not lead to anything good. We need one leader and one Goal."
Li sipped his tea again and watched the light steam rising from the cup, silent. Then he quietly said:
"So they are all doomed?"
"In fact, yes!" The old man said simply.
"And there is no way out?"
"I don't see it yet."
"What if we give up?"
"What's the point? Everyone will be executed anyway. Death in battle is at least honourable."
"But all these women and children… What will happen to them?" Li gazed into the eyes of the wandering sage but only saw the reflection of the fire. Luo Yang paused, then said:
"Do I hear the despair in your voice?"
"No, I am dreaming about hope."
"I don't understand you today. What kind of hope are we talking about, and what does dreaming have to do with it?"
Li took a deep breath, calming the incoherent thoughts rushing in his head like moths at night attracted by light. Then he said:
"I don't see how this uprising is going to end. We can conquer a couple of districts, change something for ourselves, take land from the princes, and settle down. But I have a feeling we will be fighting until our last days.
Luo Yang nodded in approval.
"I'm glad you occupied yourself with these thoughts. It means you are on the right track. Only fools have no doubt. But you have a responsibility for those who believed in you. I do not know how this war will end. Sometimes riots swept away dynasties from their thrones. Who said it won't happen this time?"
Li Zicheng flinched:
"Did I hear you, right? Are you suggesting… to kill the emperor?"
"Do you intend to hide in the woods all your life? And by the way, mind that I haven't offered anything yet."
"But…"
By the end of autumn, Liu Hei's "army" had grown to one and a half thousand people. Without further ado, Zicheng suggested organizing men using imperial army regiments and classifications.
With the consent of the leader, he divided everyone into groups of ten, hundred and fifty, assigning commanders for each, and singled out pikemen and archers into separate teams, working with them separately.
There was a reason for that. Even though they have only met scattered detachments of government troops numbering no more than one and a half hundred soldiers, Li could not stop thinking about the time when the governor and his commanders woke up and sent the cavalry and garrison units, armed with hand cannons.
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