At the base on the southern slope of the Tianshan Mountains, now officially named Peach Blossom Base, the organization known as "No One Under Heaven" was granted extremely high autonomy. According to Jill Young's plan, "No One Under Heaven" would one day possess formidable independent combat abilities, becoming a key force in the quest for supremacy, and a mainstay in future military operations. What Wu Zhengfeng called the reorganization of the island caves was essentially about abolishing the old structure, strengthening central authority, and, frankly, expanding "No One Under Heaven" in its second phase.
In the future, the Tianshan Xiaoyao Sect would serve as a martial arts sanctuary. Both sides would have clearly defined responsibilities to avoid overlap and conflict, so they could cooperate smoothly and each show off their strengths.
To put it simply, it's kind of like the relationship between the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army back in the day.
So, from day one, Peach Blossom Base was basically built according to Jill Young's design philosophy. Even though the Eternal Night Queen had never fought on a traditional battlefield, the basic principles of war are pretty much universal.
After a round of inspection, Jill Young had a rough idea, but she still decided to put her subordinates' brains to work.
"Get William Bo over here." At Jill Young's command, William Bo—who'd been waiting outside—scurried in immediately. When he saw Jill Young and Wu Zhengfeng, he hurriedly bowed in greeting.
He'd heard that everyone from the island caves was about to be recalled, and, being quick-witted, he knew that sooner or later someone would have to pay for the Walter Huan rebellion. Historically, these things always needed a scapegoat, a sacrifice, a chicken to scare the monkeys—and whichever way he calculated it, he figured he was the perfect chicken. To save his own neck, he'd already tossed all his dignity out the window. So, right then and there, he did a full kowtow, smacking his face on the ground: "Criminal slave William Bo, pays respects to the Honored Lord and the Young Palace Master!"
"William Bo," Jill Young said coolly, "You've been here the whole time. Tell me, how far along is the construction of Peach Blossom Base?"
"Yes!" Jill Young hadn't told him to get up, so William Bo had no choice but to keep kneeling and reply loudly, "We've already rebuilt the council hall, residences, and storerooms on the original foundation, and added new iron-forging furnaces, stables, and a shooting range. The expansion of the original base is basically complete. There are currently 446 laborers, all ready to obey the commands of the Honored Lord and the Young Palace Master, willing to sacrifice life and limb without hesitation!"
The so-called laborers were actually prisoners, mostly captured during the Walter Huan rebellion, with a few leftover mountain bandits from the original base.
Speaking of prisoners, there were originally close to seven hundred of them—a pretty hefty number. But the truly wicked ones were executed, the old, weak, and sick were kicked out, and some were sent off to help rebuild Lingjiu Palace and Frost Cavern. In the end, there were less than 450 left here in Peach Blossom Base.
"Alright, you can go now."
"Your criminal slave takes his leave!"
What William Bo said was pretty much spot-on. The main framework of Peach Blossom Base was already up. It was like a house with the exterior all done—at first glance, it looked pretty impressive and full of energy. But if you actually wanted to live in it, there was still a ton of stuff missing.
So Jill Young gave her crew a little homework: "Alright, from today on, Peach Blossom Base is our turf. Go take a look around, use your brains, and come back to tell me what's still missing—we've got to fix it all. Go on, get moving, dismissed!"
So, just like a bunch of students after school, everyone split up into groups, exploring every corner of Peach Blossom Base with curiosity and excitement. The seasoned veterans went about it with a plan, while the younger, more innocent ones just dashed around like wild kids.
Jill Young whispered to Wu Zhengfeng, "See? You can spot the differences right away."
Wu Zhengfeng nodded thoughtfully. She suddenly started to get Jill Young's point. Most of the Freewind Sect folks came from what you'd call the frontier—backgrounds all over the map, but mostly grassroots. Every history textbook from middle to high school hammers home one fact: grassroots revolutions have crazy vitality, but they also have their limits. Playing to strengths and avoiding weaknesses—that's what a smart leader does.
"You want to turn them into elites? Make them scholars?"
"Turning them into scholars is a bit much, but hey, every journey starts with a single step. These hundred people are our starting point—they're the seedlings of the future." Jill Young hopped off her horse, feet firmly on the ground. "And these seedlings? We can't let them grow all crooked and wild."
As she was speaking, someone had already come back to report—it was Xiao Lian.
Xiao Lian, looking a bit shy, ran over, gave Wu Zhengfeng a polite salute, then turned to Jill Young: "Boss, I found something really important missing from our base!"
"What's missing?" Jill Young thought, Hey, at least someone's paying attention—if you notice something, it means you're thinking! And if it's "really important"? Looks like this girl has some serious smarts! Jill encouraged her, "Go on, let's hear it!"
"We don't have any bronze mirrors!" Xiao Lian gestured with her hands. "We can't even fix our hair!"
"Uh..." Honestly, I hadn't thought of that... Looking around, Wu Zhengfeng—and even Lady Sanmiao—were all nodding in agreement! Wu Jiaoniang slapped Jill Young on the shoulder: "That really is a big problem. Can't believe we overlooked it!"
Man... The first thing I think of when someone says "important problem" is money, food, troops, safety, sanitation, defense, supplies, intelligence, and public opinion. Turns out, I'm way too narrow-minded—what the heck!
"Hey, wait!" Jill Young suddenly clapped her hands, an idea popping up. "Grab a stool and some scissors. You guys keep hacking your hair with swords and knives till it's a mess—I'll give you all a proper haircut!"
"A haircut?" Everyone exchanged glances. Well, that was unexpected.
Ten minutes later, in the main council hall of Peach Blossom Base, Jill Young had set up a makeshift hair salon. First client: Xiao Lian, wrapped in a cloth, nervously excited as she sat on the stool. Jill the Stylist grabbed a comb and scissors, ready to create her very first masterpiece.
"Hmm..." Jill squinted, checking from every angle, making Xiao Lian blush with embarrassment. Finally, Jill snapped her fingers, "Got it!" and started snipping away. The quality of these frontier scissors was pretty questionable—worse than the old iron ones Grandma used back in the day. But with Jill's steady, skillful hands, the snip-snip sound filled the air as locks of hair were neatly cut away.