Starting with a Wei Wu soldier

Chapter 103 Nationwide Preparation for War

News of the Black Mountain Army's impending invasion spread like a dark cloud the very morning after Chen Xing made his decision in the council hall. Through a multi-layered system of announcements and communications overseen by Wu Xuejiu and meticulously orchestrated by Li Shu, it rippled rapidly through the calm waters of the Starfire Fortress's controlled territory, like a pebble thrown into a still pond. There was no concealment, no embellishment, only a clear and calm declaration: a powerful enemy has invaded; life or death hangs in the balance in this battle!

However, contrary to the anticipated panic and turmoil, a strange and resolute atmosphere began to permeate both inside and outside Starfire Fortress. Fear was certainly present, especially among those who had recently submitted and were not yet fully adapted to life here. But this fear was quickly overshadowed and transformed by another, more powerful emotion—a trust based on what they had seen and experienced over the past months or even more than a year; an instinctive following of the "rules" and the "leaders"; a desire to defend the walls they had helped build and the fields they had cultivated with their own sweat; and, more importantly, an almost primal instinct to protect their "homeland," which they had finally found in this chaotic world, when it was threatened.

On the city wall, the final sprint.

The main structures of the newly built north and west city walls had been joined together. Although not completely dry, the four-zhang-high earthen and stone structures cast majestic shadows in the morning light. The final reinforcement work entered a race against time. Zhao Tiezhu personally supervised the work, deploying the last batch of able-bodied men—including some young men from the naturalized camp who had completed basic training and were physically strong, and even a small number of prisoners from the "re-education camp" who had been allowed to participate in auxiliary labor due to their good performance—to the task. Shouting rough work chants, they used pulley systems to hoist the last batch of huge stone blocks onto the top of the walls, reinforcing weak points and crenellations; they frantically filled the gaps with a mixture of lime and glutinous rice juice, compacting it; and on the inner side of the walls, according to Chen Wei's plan, they rushed to build semi-subterranean troop shelters and supply bunkers.

Zhou Dashan led his craftsmen to transport the last batch of defensive equipment, which they had been working on overnight, to the city walls. Heavy logs and angular stones were neatly stacked in designated positions behind the crenellations; earthenware jars filled with kerosene were carefully placed in fireproof pits; bundles of barbed wire and chevaux-de-frise were piled in corners where they could be easily thrown. The crossbow repairmen inspected the equipment of the crossbowmen on each section of the wall, replaced worn bowstrings, and calibrated the crossbows. More notably, on several sections of the wall that were under the greatest pressure, simple "protective shelters" and adjustable "baffles" made of thick wooden planks and raw cowhide, with wooden wheels at the bottom, were being erected. This was a makeshift solution devised by Zhou Dashan to counter enemy catapults; although it could not completely stop the boulders, it at least provided some psychological comfort and practical protection.

**The streets and alleys within the fortress, the pulse of order.**

In accordance with the "Special Wartime Control Order," Xinghuo Fortress quickly adjusted its operations. The number of patrolling soldiers on the main streets doubled; they were fully armored, serious-looking, and their sharp eyes scanned the streets. The curfew was moved earlier, and non-essential personnel were prohibited from moving around. Temporary fences were erected around key areas such as granaries, workshops, medical facilities, and water sources, with double or even triple guard posts added.

Li Shu's household registration office and Chen Wei's military law team joined forces to begin a new round of more rigorous personnel census and reorganization. All registered able-bodied men, except those already assigned to combat or key production positions, were organized into "civil defense teams" according to their residential areas. Each team consisted of fifty men, with a captain and a deputy captain, both retired veterans or reliable junior officers. Their tasks were clearly defined: assisting in maintaining neighborhood security, patrolling and guarding, fire prevention and theft prevention, relaying messages, and, when needed by the city wall defenders, serving as reserve labor to transport supplies or assist in rescue efforts. Women and the elderly were organized to build more temporary shelters in designated areas to receive women and children who might be transferred from the front-line outposts, while also undertaking logistical work such as preparing dry rations, bandages, and mending clothing for the soldiers and laborers defending the city.

Wang Jian's medical station has entered a state of maximum alert. All medical and nursing training students, regardless of whether they have graduated, have been recalled. Under the leadership of Wang Jian and several veteran medical practitioners, the medical station headquarters and several larger outposts have been transformed into temporary field hospitals. The stockpiles of medicines have been re-invented, surgical instruments have been repeatedly boiled for sterilization, and large quantities of clean linen have been cut into bandages. They have even set up a "frontline first aid station" in a sturdy warehouse near the north wall, staffed by the most courageous and meticulous medical personnel, ready to receive the first wave of wounded.

The fields and settlements were cleared of the land.

The scorched-earth order in the directions of Dongtun and Nanshaoying was carried out thoroughly. Under the cover and supervision of small units of Xinghuo Battalion, the last group of elderly, weak, women and children who had not yet been evacuated, carrying their meager belongings and rations, silently and orderly embarked on the road to the main fortress or core settlement. They would occasionally look back at the thatched huts they had built themselves, which had just begun to resemble "homes." Although there was longing in their eyes, there was not much hesitation—the fortress lord's orders and the Black Mountain Army's fearsome reputation made them understand what staying meant.

The makeshift furniture and farm tools that couldn't be taken were piled up on the open ground, doused with kerosene, and set ablaze after the troops had gone, sending billowing smoke into the air. The few vegetables that couldn't be fully harvested were uprooted and taken away, and wells were filled with sand and filth. In the fields, only bare furrows and withering crop remnants remained, a desolate and bleak landscape. The soldiers and laborers on this mission, their faces smeared with cigarette ash, wore cold, hard expressions. They knew they were depriving the enemy of any possible supplies and cutting off their own escape route should they be defeated.

Market and school: a unique mobilization.

The nascent market was temporarily closed, and the stall owners silently packed up their goods and cooperated with the registration process. However, the lifeblood of economic activity did not completely cease; instead, it shifted to channels of "wartime rationing" and "targeted supply." Some skilled artisans were directly conscripted to supplement the artisan groups. The "rice manager" and his several assistants, because they were literate and good at calculations, were recruited by Li Shu to assist the household registration office in managing the distribution and registration of rationed supplies.

Xinghuo Academy suspended regular classes but did not close down. Wu Xuejiu organized the older students into a "Battlefield Propaganda Team" and a "Supply Statistics Assistance Team." The young students in the propaganda team, carrying simple slogans and battle reports written on wooden boards with charcoal pencils, delivered speeches at various gathering points within the fortress. In their still somewhat immature but passionate voices, they recounted the atrocities of the Black Mountain Army, the significance of the Xinghuo Fortress battle, and the determination of the fortress lord and his soldiers. The students in the assistance team helped the household registration office count, move, and record various supplies, learning management through practice. Even the children in the elementary school were required to memorize simple "Fortress Rules" and slogans and help look after younger children, allowing their mothers to free up their hands to participate in logistics.

The core level: final inspection and mobilization.

Chen Xing, along with Murong Mingyue, Chen Wei, and others, tirelessly inspected various key points in the preparations for battle.

On the north wall, Chen Xing carefully inspected the sturdiness of the hidden troop shelters and the supplies stored there. He personally tested a newly reinforced section of the wall and offered several suggestions for improvement to the "protective shed" set up by Zhou Dashan. He walked up to a group of young men from the Guihua Camp who were carrying boulders and stopped. The young men stopped what they were doing, somewhat nervously.

"Are you scared?" Chen Xing asked.

A young, somewhat childish-looking man of Central Asian descent puffed out his chest and replied in broken Mandarin, "Lord of the fortress...you give us food, we give us land to cultivate, we follow the rules...Black Mountain bandits! They rob and kill! We're not afraid! Fight them!"

His words resonated with many around him, who nodded in agreement, their eyes hardening. Chen Xing patted him on the shoulder and addressed the crowd, "Good! Remember, you are not refugees, not prisoners, you are people of Starfire Fortress! Behind this wall are your homes, your food supplies, your future wives and children! If you defend it, all of this is yours! If you fail, everything is gone! Do you have the confidence to defend it?"

"Yes—!" A rough roar rang out from the top of the wall.

At the meeting point for the relocated people in Dongtun, Murong Mingyue saw some of her clansmen mixed in with the crowd. An elder of the Murong tribe bowed to her with his hand on his chest: "Commander Mingyue, go forth and fight the enemy with confidence. We will take good care of the old and weak of the tribe. May the Eternal Heaven protect you, and the warriors will surely be victorious!"

Murong Mingyue nodded emphatically, saying nothing more. Her gaze swept over the young men among her tribesmen, who gripped their wooden spears tightly and had determined looks in their eyes. She knew that some of them also yearned for battle. She felt both a sense of responsibility and warmth in her heart.

As night fell, Xinghuo Fortress remained far from silent. Torches illuminated the walls, and patrols moved about in the flickering light. The furnaces in the artisan workshops glowed red against the sky, their clanging sounds filling the air. Throughout the fortress, the civil defense teams began their first night patrols, their commands ringing out in short bursts through the streets and alleys.

Chen Xing and Murong Mingyue once again climbed to the highest point of the north wall. The lights of thousands of homes inside the fort flickered behind them, while in the endless darkness to the north, they could almost hear the heavy, approaching footsteps of the Black Mountain Army on the distant horizon.

"Everyone has been mobilized," Murong Mingyue said softly. "More calm and resolute than expected."

"Because they know why they are fighting." Chen Xing gazed into the distance. "It's not for some vague slogan, nor for me, Chen Xing, personally. It's for the food in their bowls, the clothes on their backs, the roofs above their heads, and that faint hope they've just glimpsed about the 'future.' This kind of army, this kind of spirit, is the hardest to destroy."

He turned to look at the stubbornly flickering lights within the fortress. "The entire nation is prepared for war… not just with swords, spears, arrows, and provisions, but also with this united will. Now, we are ready. We await the Black Mountain Army to come and test this clenched, calloused fist!"

The night wind grew stronger, whipping the flags atop the walls into a fluttering din, and dispelling the last vestiges of the day's heat. Starfire Fortress, this new city that had miraculously risen amidst the chaos of war, had completed its final tempering and solidification before the battle. It stood silently in the darkness, like a giant holding its breath, muscles taut to the limit, awaiting the inevitable, fateful, violent collision at dawn.

With the entire population mobilized and united as one, Starfire Fortress breathes heavily and powerfully under the looming threat of war.