Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

Time flies, and years pass by.

Ten days passed quickly. After receiving help from Dongyue Sword Pool, Lujiang County was very stable, which gave Shen Qing some free time to plan the martial arts examination.

Currently, Lujiang County is still under military control. The city gates open promptly at 7:00 AM and close at 6:00 PM every day. During the day, local militia patrol the city, and a curfew is imposed at 8:00 PM. With the cooperation of the disciples of Dongyue Sword Pool, apart from some trivial matters, nothing major has happened in the city. The handover can be completed once a qualified official is dispatched.

The powerful families in the city delivered 100,000 shi of grain as agreed on the second day, filling the treasury of the prefectural governor's mansion to the brim. With the grain in hand, Yang Long's recruitment of soldiers went very smoothly, but he was unable to recruit 5000 men, only managing to recruit 3800.

Although Lujiang County City is the main city of the county, it is located on the periphery of Yuezhou, where the population is sparse. The entire city has a population of less than 6. Excluding the descendants of powerful clans and those civilians who do not want to serve in the army, the recruitment of 3800 people is almost at the limit of the population.

The most important point is that the twelve counties under the jurisdiction of Lujiang County have not yet been brought under control. The combined population of the twelve counties is more than 100,000, which is more than the population of the county seat. However, Shen Qing does not have enough troops and officials to reclaim these places. He can only stabilize the county seat first and then slowly advance towards the county seats.

With the addition of 3800 newly recruited men by Yang Long, along with 200 veterans and 200 prisoners brought from Kuaiji, the military strength of Lujiang County has now exceeded 4000.

Early that morning, Yang Long led 1500 local militiamen, escorting 2 shi of grain in 80 oxcarts, and left Lujiang County, heading towards Luling County. Shen Qing had already sent a messenger to Yuwen Yong, instructing him to have people ready to meet the grain transport team on the road, in case anything went wrong.

To ensure everything went smoothly, Shen Qing recruited 20 outer disciples from the Dongyue Sword Pool to serve as scouts for the army, constantly conducting reconnaissance along the way.

After Yang Long and the others left, Shen Qing handed over the city defense of Lujiang County to a middle-aged man named Ma Zhong, who was responsible for the subsequent city defense work and daily patrols.

Ma Zhong was among the first batch of local militia recruited by Shen Qing when he was recruiting soldiers in Kuaiji City. After experiencing the invasion of 60,000 barbarian soldiers and the later invasion of the Chi Yue Tiger tribe, he became known for his courage, determination, and composure. After being recommended by Yang Long, he was promoted by Shen Qing to become Yang Long's deputy.

With Shen Qing and Yang Long both leaving, he will be responsible for leading 1000 men to garrison Lujiang County, giving him the opportunity to take charge independently. With Dongyue Jianchi assisting him, Shen Qing believes that Ma Zhong will definitely be able to stabilize the situation in Lujiang County.

As for Zhao Yi, the Prince of Guangling, Shen Qing was certain that he was preoccupied with the rebellion in Western Chu and would not launch an attack because of Gao Liqiu's death. However, to be on the safe side, he still sent a message to Xuan Yuan Qingfeng, asking the Xuan Yuan family's intelligence department to keep an eye on Zhao Yi's every move, lest he become desperate and act rashly.

An hour after Yang Long left, Shen Qing personally led 1500 local militiamen, escorting 120 oxcarts carrying a total of 30,000 shi of grain towards Danyang County. After arriving in Danyang County, the grain would be transferred to Wu County, and finally headed straight for Kuaiji City.

Zhu Lu Mountain in Jiangnan.

Since Luoyang became the new leader of the Zhulu Sect, the Demonic Sect has grown from a leaderless and disorganized group to a powerful force. Especially after destroying two second-rate sects that dared to provoke them, its influence has soared, and it seems to be on the verge of a resurgence. The sect members are rapidly expanding from Zhulu Mountain to the surrounding counties.

However, the Zhulu Sect was soon subjected to fierce suppression. Zhulu Mountain was located on the border with the Yan Chi King. How could the king allow others to sleep soundly on his bed? Although the Zhulu Sect was known as the number one sect of the demonic path, it was powerless to fight back against the suppression of this powerful vassal king and was forced to retreat step by step.

The strongholds and branches in the county and prefectural cities were all uprooted and suffered a devastating blow. Any civilians suspected of being related to the Demonic Sect were killed rather than let go. Under the sword of the King of Yan, about 80% of the followers of the Zhulu Sect were lost, and dozens of incense masters and altar masters within the sect were killed or injured.

Only the strongholds in towns and villages where imperial power did not extend to the countryside were preserved. However, after this incident, many weak-willed believers left the Zhulu Sect, which made things even worse for the sect.

The number of followers dropped from more than 5000 to less than 2500, a loss of about half of their strength. In particular, the deaths of a large number of the core leaders and incense masters caused great panic among the members of the Zhulu Sect.

Luoyang also tried to take action himself, but was blocked by the experts under the command of the King of Yan, and ultimately returned empty-handed, unable to conceal the overall decline.

"Reporting to the Master, two people are requesting an audience outside the mountain gate, claiming to be your old friends." That day, Luo Yang was handling sect affairs in the main hall. Looking at the roster of dead and wounded, his brows furrowed slightly. Just then, a sect member responsible for guarding the mountain gate ran in and knelt on one knee to report.

"An old friend? Interesting. Let them in. I want to see who they are." Luo Yang, dressed in white with crimson and purple eyes, narrowed his eyes and wore a cold smile.

The recent setbacks of the Zhulu Sect have greatly angered her. She had originally planned to use the Zhulu Sect's intelligence network to find the reincarnation of the Qin Emperor, but she did not expect that she would be suppressed by the King of Yan Chi not long after taking over, and the situation would become a mess. This was unacceptable to her proud and arrogant nature.

As the former Empress of Qin, Luoyang held herself in high esteem and never took the world seriously. However, she never expected that she would be so annoyed by a mere Prince Yan. Especially after hearing that an old friend had come to visit, she was even more furious. She never considered herself to have any old friends.

Soon, Deng Mao and Yelü Dongchuang came into view in Luoyang.

"So it's you two." Luo Yang looked at the two people in front of him in surprise, never expecting them to appear here. One was a famous martial arts master from Northern Mang, and the other was the Empress's confidant.

"Deng Mao (Yelü Dongchuang) greets the Lord of Luoyang." Deng Mao and Yelü Dongchuang clasped their hands in a salute to the Lord of Luoyang.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?" Luo Yang looked down at the two men with an imposing air, his hands swirling with energy, ready to strike.

When Luoyang was rampaging through the Northern Barbarians, he had fought with Deng Mao and was even killed by Yelü Dongchuang's troops. Therefore, he had no goodwill towards the two and wished he could kill them to eliminate future troubles.

"Lord Luoyang, please hold your hand. We're here to help you." Compared to Deng Mao's arrogance, Yelü Dongchuang, having been tempered by the imperial court, had become quite shrewd. He immediately stepped forward with his short, stocky frame, raising his hands to indicate that he meant no harm.

"You think you're so kind? Tell me your true intentions, or I won't hesitate to kill you." Luo Yang sneered, his energy growing even stronger, clearly not believing Yelü Dongchuang's words at all.