There was a raging storm that day. Banners and flags flapped in the wind.
Jiang Pengji was finally leaving the small Xiangyang District and entering a wider and crueler arena.
The troops stood neatly in a line on the drill groundS. Every single one of them stood straight like a ramrod and looked steadily forward, waiting for the pre-war resolution-pledging ceremony to begin.
2,000 veterans and 2,000 new recruits were left behind to guard Xiangyang District. The other 3,000 or so picked troops and new recruits were off to war.
Jiang Pengji originally wanted to use a riskier and more radical method, which was to let the new recruits defend Xiangyang District and her original troops, the imperial guards and some of the newly recruited troops would participate in the war. However, her suggestion was unanimously opposed by all of her subordinates.