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Chapter 295 Jiangnan is united, the army rises again, and the world is under discussion! (Please give me a monthly ticket)
Relying on the general trend, the Qilin Army captured three cities in one breath.

The people had nothing to take, and the noble families either fled or surrendered.

There was a young lady from a wealthy family who concealed her face and returned to the capital. Relying on her family background, she married a man of equal status and became his wife. However, she often cried and told him about her experiences and how she felt betrayed.

She said she was harmed by someone she once saved.

Everyone sympathized with her. When asked about what happened that day, the noble lady cried with red eyes and replied, "It was my maid who I treated like a sister who betrayed my family."

"I was still young at that time. My family had adopted children and their land was loaned to my family. My father felt sorry for them and raised them at home. But that year, her father actually tried to steal their land deed back."

"He said he would rather starve to death while farming than be a slave again."

"This is a capital crime in aristocratic families. Her father, her mother, and her brother were all beaten to death by my father according to family rules. She was the next to be beaten. I saw that she was only five years old at the time, pitiful and hungry, and she was cute, so I begged my father, and he gave her to me as a birthday present."

"Over the years since then, I have been extremely kind to her, my maid."

"But when the Qilin Army came, she actually surrendered to them in the village, pointed out the side entrance of the city, led the Qilin Army into the city at night, and said she was my servant..."

"I saved her life, but she let the wolf in and killed my whole family."

"How can this not be considered as a little beast repaying kindness with enmity?"

The lady was shaking with tears.

It can be seen that I am really sad and really cannot understand.

Such things happened in many places. Wen Lingjun had a very subtle grasp of the general situation, and he himself was from a big family, so he knew how the families would react. Those people who were dependent on, or were forced to be dependent on, were taken out by the big families to fill the population gaps in different villages.

But are these people born to be willing to kneel down and serve as dogs for the aristocratic families?
As soon as the Qilin Army arrived, they all surrendered.

Some even wished they could take their swords and chop these noble families into pieces.

But after conquering three cities in succession, the other dozen cities learned their lesson, took all their troops back, and then relied on the city walls and Mohist mechanisms to defend their positions and never opened their gates to fight.

Even as they were confronting each other, a group of young strategists led by Pang Shuiyun had already sneaked into the city to lobby. Pan Chonggui was the lord of the city and had some command ability. He defended the city, mobilized the garrison troops, and sent runners to the city walls.

Barely resisted the attack of the Qilin Army.

Or perhaps it was that the Qilin Army did not launch any attack at all. They just set up camp outside the city, but this created an indescribable sense of oppression, causing Pan Chonggui to have trouble sleeping for several days.

At this time, Wen Lingjun said to Li Guan:
"To unite with the right means, to win with the unexpected means, my lord, the time has come."

So he sent out spies.

The student from the School of Diplomacy who went to visit Pan Chonggui sighed repeatedly after paying his respects. Pan Chonggui was already in a bad mood, and seeing the student who was said to be able to save the siege in this state, he became even more irritable. He barely suppressed his unhappiness and said:
"Sir, you said there is a way to get out of this predicament. Now that I'm here, why don't you tell me about it?"

"But you don't have to act like this."

The student's name is Xiao Chengbo, a student of the School of Diplomacy. He is one of the more than 1,000 students willing to join the Tiance Mansion. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "I am just worried about the city lord after seeing the current situation."

"The Qilin Army is coming with great momentum. City Lord, do you think that the thousands of defenders in the city can defeat the tens of thousands of heavily armored soldiers of the Qilin Army?"

"Besides, the people in the villages and towns outside the city have already joined the Qilin Army."

"The reprimand from His Majesty the Emperor will come down soon."

"You can't win the fight now. Even if you try your best and win, what awaits you is not a reward but a punishment. Do you think you can do this?"

Pan Chonggui's face turned grim, and he drew his sword and almost killed the student.

But after putting the sword on the ground, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He had been afraid of this matter for a while. The Qilin Army was in high spirits and he would definitely not be able to defeat them. The Qilin Army was basically regarded as the main combat corps on the front line.

How could our garrison be a match for them?

And Emperor Chen will definitely punish himself severely.

He thought about it for a long time, but came to no solution.

Xiao Chengbo smiled and said, "But I have a plan that can save the city lord from danger and make him rich. Now that the Qilin Army's Qin Wuhou is famous, the city lord might as well just hang up his seal and surrender the city, becoming the first person to surrender."

"Marquis Qin Wu will definitely take special care of you."

The city lord said: "If Da Chen investigates the matter later..."

Xiao Chengbo said: "Nowadays, nine out of ten houses in villages and towns are empty."

"If you don't surrender, won't Emperor Chen hold you accountable afterwards?"

Pan Chonggui almost found it ridiculous.

When nine out of ten houses are empty, can you still use it like this?
But now thinking about it, this word is quite appropriate to describe it.

Pure realism.

Pan Chonggui gritted his teeth and said, "I am a minister of the Great Chen, and I have received favors from the Great Chen. How can I do such a thing? Besides, besides..."

Xiao Chengbo understood and asked, "Do you want to pay more?"

Pan Chonggui seemed to have been greatly insulted. His body trembled violently, and his face turned blue and purple. He seemed extremely angry. Finally, he stared at the lobbyist with his eyes wide open and said, "...Yes!"

Xiao Chengbo laughed.

"But he is a decent and real man."

After returning, he reported the matter to Pang Shuiyun and Wen Lingjun. The two knew that the time had come. On the second day, the city lord Pan Chonggui surrendered the city to Qin Wuhou. Qin Wuhou treated him with courtesy and treated him very well, and presented him with a jade pendant from the royal family of the Red Emperor of Zhongzhou.

It is actually a royal treasure!

Pan Chonggui was grateful for his kindness and was extremely respectful.

However, the news spread throughout the world on the same day. Pang Shuiyun and Changfeng Tower had prepared their channels long ago and publicized the news extensively. After Ji Zichang read the intelligence, especially the part about [the jade pendant given by the Red Emperor’s lineage], his face showed a complicated and strange expression.

"Take the dead's burial objects and give them to the surrendering city lord?"

'You have one.'

Ji Zichang smiled bitterly, knowing where the jade pendant came from.

Strange to say.

Before Pan Chonggui surrendered, the other cities defended themselves very firmly.

However, it seemed that Pan Chonggui's surrender created a hole in the morale of the other cities from within. Outside, there was the might of the Qilin Army, inside there were the struggles among the aristocratic families, and soon after, there was the questioning from the State of Chen.

So within half a month, the lords of the remaining cities surrendered one after another.

There were resolute men who firmly resisted the city lord and general of the Qilin Army, but their heads were cut off by the noble families at night and put in a box, and they sent their own sons to deliver this thing respectfully.

The Qilin Army entered the city, with Qin Wuhou in the front.

The noble families all knelt forward, and no one dared to look up at the direction of the enemy.

Thus, within half a month, the entire Jiangnan region was pacified, and the Qilin Army incorporated soldiers from various states and counties, disbanded them and retrained them. The regular troops in Jiangnan had expanded to 100,000, but these soldiers were not incorporated into the Qilin Army, but were considered reserve forces.

There is a certain gap in treatment between the reserve forces and the main Qilin Army.

But I never blamed him.

It only arouses the unwillingness and desire in these people's hearts.

The rest of the prefectures in Jiangnan were not occupied, but transformed into war fronts as the borders of the Jiangnan region. The people lived in the core area of ​​the Eighteen Prefectures in Jiangnan, and the major families were worried about the military advance of the State of Chen and were willing to move to the Eighteen Prefectures in Jiangnan one by one.

Under Wen He's manipulation, conflicts of varying sizes began to emerge between the external families and the internal families.

The New Year of the twelfth year of Tianqi passed in this chaos. The various countries frequently fought against each other, and there were often massacres and Jingguan incidents. Only the Qilin Army remained silent, took advantage of the situation, and completed its strategy with almost no fighting.

He pacified the entire Jiangnan area, an area of ​​more than 2,000 miles in radius.

Millions of households.

Each household has at most a dozen people, and at least five.

There are millions of people, especially craftsmen, who have gathered here from Central China. The proportion of craftsmen is simply incredible in Jiangnan, an area that has experienced more than ten years of confrontation and war.

There were a hundred thousand armored men.

He also harvested enough food to support the people for three years from various cities and noble families. However, he did not use the food to provide disaster relief. Instead, he re-examined the cases and redressed unjust and wrongly convicted people. He also harvested countless armor, weapons, and arrows from the official storehouses, granaries, and armories in the 17 state capitals.

Wei Xuancheng and Wen He went to count them personally.

I don’t know how they did it, but they actually increased by 30%.

They are all under the control of the Qilin Army.

Therefore, it is a tiger occupying the south of the Yangtze River.

If before this, the Central Plains was a battle between the States of Chen and Ying, and the Eighteenth State of Jiangnan was just a point standing there, then now an area has finally been torn apart.

Moreover, after unifying the entire territory, he immediately turned the original Chen State cities into borders, and radiated his influence to the surrounding cities again.

This is a trend of slow annexation.

The changes here have spread everywhere.

"But the Qilin Army is so majestic and powerful, it has the aura of an emperor's army. Wherever the army points, the cities of the State of Chen flee in fear."

The carriage creaked as it moved forward. The wind and snow gradually grew stronger. Shi Yisong, wearing a thick quilt, listened to passers-by talking about changes in the world. Their small caravan had already returned from Zhongzhou and had originally wanted to go home for the New Year.

But when the war broke out, we were delayed on the road.

He did not dare to stay any longer. After ensuring a safe route, he immediately set out on the road back home. Shi Yisong wore the wooden sword at his waist and listened to the stories the storytellers were talking about.

"The sword madman pays tribute to the martial arts world with his sword, and ends the past eight hundred years of romance."

"Qin Wuhou was a young hero. He led the Qilin Army and conquered seventeen states of the State of Chen. He conquered cities and territories like a tumbleweed, but he did not harm anyone. The people supported him..."

Such stories sound exciting. Shi Yisong didn't know why, but he suddenly remembered the people he met on the way to Zhongzhou, including the old man in green shirt and the young Taoist priest.

"I don't know, did they see what happened between Jian Kuang and Qin Wu Hou?"

"Probably not. There are too many people."

Shi Yisong sat in the carriage. The wheels of the carriage went over the uneven ground, rising and falling, making a creaking sound. Snow fell from the sky. The child holding the wooden sword thought:

"After all, how could such a magnificent event possibly have anything to do with us?"

........................

The eighteenth state of Jiangnan, the state capital.

When the Qilin Army returned, it was almost spring.

Yan Daiqing finally waited for the long-awaited and gnashing-teeth wait for Li Guanyi, Xiao Zhi and Wen He to meet up, but even these two people had never entered this door.

The gentle gentleman's smile was too creepy. The prince was pressed on the shoulders and almost dragged in.

Moreover, last year, during the autumn hunting, he dared to ride his horse into the palace and kill high-ranking clan members. Qin Wuhou, who was known as the powerful minister, did not dare to resist.

Not only did he not dare to resist.

You also have to be careful and suppress your physical strength.

I was worried that the governor’s wrist might be injured.

Civil and military officials, staff and generals were all waiting outside. When they heard the gentle and polite governor uttering suppressed grim laughter, they shouted, "Li! Guan! Yi!!!!"

"Go away!"

"Punch me!!!"

Qilin, who was eating delicious fruits from the south of the Yangtze River outside, shuddered for some reason and thought of some memories that he had swept into the trash and never wanted to recall again.

That old Qilin is so rude!

Those dozens of days were the most difficult hundred years in his six hundred-year life as a Qilin.

Um? ?

No, I'm not even 500 years old yet?!

The little Qilin was dazed.

Then he sighed: "Time flies by, day and night."

The expression on the little Qilin's face froze. He raised his paw and hit himself on the face, threw out some words, lowered his head, looked at the Jiangnan fruits in the basin, and began to eat them with relish.

I'm so stupid, really.

A hundred years ago, I actually thought that there were good things to be gained in Zhongzhou!

How can it be!

The Fire Kirin took a big bite of the fruit.

Chew, chew, chew.

Gulp and swallow.

Although the fruits hidden in the hands of the old Qilin in Zhongzhou are indeed delicious and good fruits, the fruits here in Jiangnan are still better. If you want to ask why, then of course it is -

The fruit that comes without effort is the most delicious!
Qilin was shocked and muttered to himself, then he lay there comfortably, waiting for Li Guanyi and the others. A soldier from the Qilin Army had already brought over a large bucket of fruit, allowing Qilin to quickly return to his original happy life.

After about an incense stick of time had passed, the door of the prefect's office was opened.

All the ministers and staff went to look and saw that Qin Wuhou had a grin on his face and his eyes were black.

Everyone gasped and looked over there at Yan Daiqing.

Only Kou Yulie, who had the highest martial arts skills, noticed that the blackness of his lord's eyes was caused by his own internal energy. And the swelling of the wrist of the governor over there was real. Even if he had the Angry Sword Immortal to teach him personally, he was still a civil servant.

More than a year of resentment and anger lasted for a stick of incense.

The defense has not been broken.

Instead, he injured his wrist bone.

Just sitting there sulking.

Li Guanyi smiled bitterly and shook his head at Kou Yulie. There was no other way. He was really in the wrong towards Yan Daiqing. He had been kidnapping people along the way. He left last summer and came back in the spring this year. The Eighteen Prefectures of Jiangnan had changed completely.

There is a lot of work to be done, and this is the time for heroes to make great efforts.

But Li Guanyi seemed to have pushed Yan Daiqing too hard, and Yan Daiqing's internal strength had slightly deteriorated. Li Guanyi changed into gorgeous clothes, recovered from his injuries, and then summoned all the ministers and officials to discuss the strategy for the future.

It is about people’s livelihood, about recuperation, and about military affairs.

After everything was discussed, he summoned the core members of the Qilin Army to discuss the future strategy. Because Li Guanyi's troops were so powerful, most of the students who had previously come to Jiangnan to open private schools also came to join him.

So after conquering the entire Jiangnan area, he immediately promoted students to take up positions in accordance with the requirements of internal affairs, regardless of their background, and appointed them to take up basic official positions. Yan Daiqing, who had been struggling before, immediately felt the pressure relieved.

There are also Fang Zi Qiao, Du Keming, Wei Xuancheng, Wen Lingjun and others in charge of internal affairs.

Feng Xiao, Yuan Zhi and Wen He are in charge of military affairs.

Pang Shuiyun is responsible for intelligence and public opinion.

Kou Yulie, Ling Pingyang, Fan Qing, Murong Yuan and others were in charge of the army.

All of them were responsible to Li Guanyi, and the entire framework of Jiangnan was finally completely stabilized. There were names, people, land, and officials in charge of various government affairs. For those students who did not want to enter politics, Li Guanyi opened the door for them and supported the opening of private schools.

The Motian Sect was also rebuilt.

The leader of the Motian Sect is, after all, a martial artist at the Grandmaster level, and the best at teaching among the Grandmasters. Many disciples of the Motian Sect came to join him, and he founded martial arts private schools near private schools in various places.

One can study both civil and martial arts, but those who study civil arts also need to practice basic martial arts.

Those who practice martial arts must also understand writing and numerology.

Many government decrees were issued one by one. Now Li Guanyi's reputation was high and his name was known to the world. No one dared to stop his orders. However, Yan Daiqing asked Li Guanyi where the money would come from if he did this.

Li Guanyi took out the gold, silver and jewelry given by Ji Zichang.

So Yan Daiqing stopped saying anything in rebuttal.

Yan Daiqing was furious.

Yan Daiqing feels refreshed!
Finally, the gentle and kind First Governor of the Qilin Army touched a piece of gold in his hand, and the evil spirit that was suppressing his body slowly dissipated. His attitude towards people became especially good.

Aunt Murong Qiushui originally thought that Murong Longtu was dead. Later, even after she knew that the old man was still alive, she was still worried. It was not until Li Guanyi brought the old man back to the Murong family that Murong Qiushui and Murong Longtu met.

Murong Qiushui was playing the zither under the snow when she heard Li Guanyi's laughter:
"Aunt, look, who's back?"

Murong Qiu Shui's piano music became mixed for a moment. She pressed her palms on the strings and raised her head little by little. She saw the old man behind Li Guanyi and her body trembled.

When Li Guanyi was a child, his aunt, who was extremely strong and free-spirited, seemed to become a child at this moment, throwing herself into the old woman's arms and crying. The sword maniac who dominated the world and was invincible, sighed at this time.

He reached out his hand, stroked Murong Qiu Shui's hair, and said, "I'm not leaving."

"Don't go."

"From now on, Grandpa will be here with you, okay?"

Murong Qiu Shui just burst into tears.

Li Guanyi was waiting quietly by the side. The wind in the south of the Yangtze River remained the same, but the world was changing and surging. Everyone was following their own strategy. The states of Chen and Ying were both caught up in wars, but only the south of the Yangtze River was developing peacefully.

Soon it was March, and the people had already started spring ploughing.

The aristocratic families discovered that the opponent before them was no longer Pang Shuiyun, who was mature and steady but not ruthless enough, nor was it Yuan Zhi, who was famous but too rigid, nor was it Yan Daiqing, who was in charge of all the internal affairs of the Qilin Army before.

Their opponent was just a simple young student with no background, smiling and inconspicuous, named Wen He.

It looks easy to bully at first glance.

Could it be that Li Guanyi is finally going to compromise with the aristocratic families?
Many noble families gradually relaxed, especially the young masters of many families, who went out with Wen He to drink, fish, and listen to music in teahouses, as if they were about to become good brothers.

The noble families gradually felt relieved.

Everything is developing steadily.

Li Guanyi was accompanying his great-grandfather Murong Longtu to go fishing. As spring came and flowers bloomed, the old man finally didn't have to carry a sword to travel around the world. Li Guanyi was already seventeen years old. In the spring, he wore simple clothes, tied his hair with a jade hairpin, and went fishing with a wooden sword on his waist.

At the table in the back, Yaoguang was quietly flipping through a book. On the table were a plate of snacks and a plate of fruit. The silver-haired girl reached out her hand expressionlessly, took the snacks, and chewed them in small sips.

Far away, a silver-haired man was gritting his teeth and his eyes were red.

Especially after Li Guanyi caught a fish, the silver-haired girl would personally pick the fish off and put it in the bucket, and then praise him in a light tone. The silver-haired man had strong five senses and could hear it clearly, so he became even more annoyed.

mine!

This is how I should be treated!
Old man Siming used the silver-haired man's emotions to drink and enjoyed himself.

Murong Qiu Shui was cooking porridge herself, Yaoguang was reading a book, Qilin was eating fruit, Murong Longtu asked Li Guanyi about his future plans, the spring water was flowing, and in the distance one could see the people gradually recovering their vitality, the spring breeze greened the south bank of the river again, and everything was peaceful.

Different from previous experiences.

Jiangnan seems to have become independent from this chaotic world.

The war outside does not seem to affect people here. People have smiles on their faces. This smile is not because they have obtained good things immediately, but because they see the possibility of a better life and the opportunities for the future.

As long as you work hard, life will get better little by little.

The future is possible.

Li Guanyi stared at these people for a long time, then retracted his gaze and said, "After that, there may be something else that needs to be done."

Before this, a strategy had already been formulated with Pojun, Wen Lingjun and others.

He won't stay here long.

Before he could finish his words, there was the sound of horse hooves. The hooves splashed stones, which fell into the water and made splashes on the water surface. The splashes spread, ripples expanded, and the fish were startled and ran away.

A horse came galloping over, and the man on the horse fell off. It was Changsun Wuchou, who was originally a subordinate of Li Zhaowen and later followed Li Guanyi all the way outside Zhenbei Pass. At this moment, the scout general of the Qilin Army looked a little anxious.

He dismounted, bowed, and said, "Sir, news!"

"It's something from the Western Regions!"

Li Guan put down his fishing rod, stretched out his hand to take the letter, and unfolded it. It was from Li Zhaowen: "The Regent is about to completely destroy the Tangut State. If the Tangut State is destroyed, the Western Regions will fall completely into the hands of the Regent and it will be difficult to recover."

"Would you like to come?!"

Li Guanyi lowered his eyes and looked at these four words.

Thus, the turbulent world tore apart the brief illusion of peace in Jiangnan, and replaced it with wars and bloody storms. Li Guanyi stood up, apologized to Murong Longtu, put down his fishing rod, and then said softly:
"Unparalleled."

"The end will be here."

"Go and summon the generals and counselors."

"Come to my place to discuss matters."

Changsun Wuchou asked, "May I ask what you are discussing?"

Li Guanyi stretched out his hand and grasped the sword beside him. The silver-haired girl blinked, stood up silently, and stood beside him. Li Guanyi's voice was calm and peaceful:
"Discuss the world!"

(End of this chapter)