Three Kingdoms Mythology World.

Chapter 2676 The Arrival of the First Town's Lords

Lin Mu gently tapped his right foot, pondering Wang Yue and Cui Lin's words, while Li Ru's image also surfaced in his mind...

Trading grain could indeed alleviate the urge to plunder by foreign tribes to some extent. When these tribes raided the borders, their actions were essentially a means of survival. They did not engage in production and relied mainly on meat for sustenance. In winter, livestock grew slowly, and there was no supply of fodder, leading to a shortage of meat and food. Therefore, they raided southwards.

Of course, some foreign tribes raided the borders not for food, but possibly to satisfy their perverse psychological needs through slaughter, or to abduct Han Chinese slaves to work for them on the grasslands...

Trading grain is ultimately not a long-term solution.

Moreover, he was unsure whether the alien race would abandon their plans to plunder because of the grain trade.

With millions of alien warriors gathering, the consumption involved would be considerable. Could ordinary food really make them abandon their decision to march south?

Moreover, didn't Li Ru secretly think of this plan...? Perhaps Li Ru had already been supplying them with marching provisions and money...

"Hansheng, do you think trading grain can keep them calm?" Lin Mu looked at Huang Zhong again.

Huang Zhong frowned and said, "My lord, trading grain might temporarily ease the situation, but those barbarian tribes are greedy by nature, and it's hard to guarantee they won't take advantage of us. Moreover, once they know we're using grain trade as a way to appease them, they might demand even more..."

“My lord, I have another concern: Dong Zhuo is the one colluding with the foreign tribes. They know we will forcibly seize Youzhou and Qingzhou, so in order to hold us back or even defeat us, they will form alliances... Even the ferocious foreign tribes are just pawns in their game.” Cui Lin voiced his concerns.

His previous food plan was based on the perspective of the original, untamed grassland tribes. If they are manipulated by certain individuals, the situation will be entirely different.

"Ah... millions of alien races have gathered, and the amount of military supplies they consume must be enormous. Could this be Dong Zhuo's reinforcements?" Huang Zhong exclaimed in surprise.

Upon hearing this, everyone realized what was happening, and complex expressions appeared on their faces.

Good heavens! All the warlords who wanted to purge the court of corrupt officials gathered at Suanzao to attack Dong Zhuo, while Dong Zhuo gathered barbarian tribes from the grasslands to raid the border, attempting to wreak havoc on the frontier in order to keep Lin Mu occupied...

Shameless!
What a brilliant plan!

Lin Mu nodded; he had already guessed this.

He then said in a deep voice, "We can first spread the word that we are willing to trade grain with them to meet some of the needs of the various tribes on the Great Grassland, so that they can safely get through the winter. But we must set rules and prices; it is not a free supply."

"At the same time, continue to strengthen the defenses of Tianqing Town, Dai County, and Yanmen County. The strategic movements of the legion will follow Han Sheng's previous proposal." Lin Mu made a decisive decision.

"My lord, how much grain do we need to transport to satisfy the barbarians?" Yu Jin couldn't help but ask.

"Heh... No need to allocate supplies. That's just a message. Implementation will depend on the situation. Besides, this is just a test; whether the millions of alien troops will scatter because of this message remains to be seen..."

"I don't feel like it will dissipate..." Yu Jin, Huang Zhong, and the others couldn't help but shake their heads at the same time.

"That's more like it..."

Just then, Cui Wu rushed in.

"My lord, an imperial edict has arrived from the Dragon Court. It was delivered to the Governor's Office in Youzhou and then left. This is the edict," Cui Wu reported quickly, then handed over a golden scroll.

Although Wang Yue became Lin Mu's top bodyguard, Cui Wu was still the same little follower who always tagged along behind Lin Mu, running around busily.

Lin Mu accepted the imperial edict, but before opening it, a playful look appeared on his face as he said, "It must be an order for this general to send troops to support Dai County and resist the foreign tribes."

Everyone smiled slightly upon hearing this.

It's important to understand that, on the surface, Lin Mu is still a traitor to the court who assassinated Empress Dowager He and Prince Liu Bian of Hongnong. Although no arrest warrant has been issued, Lin Mu's infamy has spread... This fabricated charge will become an obstacle for him in handling certain matters...

One moment he's framed, the next he's ordered to lead troops to fight foreign invaders—truly ruthless. It's both contradictory and hilarious…

The fact that the story of the warlords' campaign against Dong Zhuo overshadowed this matter only made things less serious. Otherwise, the incident of Lin Mu killing Empress Dowager Liu Bian would never have been so peaceful.

After opening it and seeing its contents, Lin Mu burst into hearty laughter, just as he had expected.

He then casually tossed the imperial edict to Cui Wu and considered the matter closed.

Let him lead the entire National Protection Army to provide support? That's ridiculous!
"My lord, besides that, there's another bombshell. The court has reinstated extraordinary individuals, and Ji Beiqin, Jiang Chenglong, and others have all been appointed as prefects again," Cui Wu reported after carefully putting away the imperial edict.

It turns out that Li Ru has changed his stance and is now favoring the extraordinary people again.

Zhu Xuan, Liu Feng, Xuanyuan Changying, Jiang Chenglong, Ji Beiqin, Zhao Qiyin and more than a dozen other lord players were all appointed as prefects!
Moreover, the prefectures they governed were not in Youzhou, Yangzhou, or Qingzhou, because Li Ru already knew that Lin Mu would absolutely not allow anyone else to dabble in the prefectures of these three prefectures. Even if they were granted titles, like Gongsun Du and the others, they would be forcibly driven away by Lin Mu, without any real power or the ability to develop influence in the local area, making them unworthy of the title.

That wouldn't make much sense. Li Ru hopes that the player forces will rise and stir things up even more!
Isn't this approach the same as that of the late Emperor Liu Hong...?

"Oh... such a thing happened?!" Lin Mu was slightly surprised. But after thinking about it, he realized that it made perfect sense.

"Perfect timing! They wanted to join the coalition anyway, and now they have a title. One moment they were appointed governors, and the next they're rebelling against them. It's really quite amusing..." Lin Mu laughed heartily.

Li Ru certainly knew that Yiren also wanted to fight against Dong Zhuo, given the deep-seated hatred between them. However, he still promoted Yiren, and his purpose was obvious: to make the allied forces more chaotic and bloated, and to give them his eyes and ears…

"Ding ding!~~~" At this moment, Lin Mu's communication system rang.

While discussing matters with everyone, Lin Mu opened the letter and found it was from Ji Beiqin.

"Xiao Mu, what a blessing from heaven! I have become the governor of Yanmen County!!"

Ji Beiqin immediately reported the good news to Lin Mu.

Compared to Cui Wu, his information was behind schedule.

"Now, I can become a regional warlord too! Hehe... I can finally make a name for myself in the campaign against Dong Zhuo!!" Ji Beiqin naively thought he could easily become a regional warlord. Little did he know, the first ranking list of the world would be released then.

That is the [List of Lords of Heaven and Earth]!
This list has been a constant companion to the story of the warring factions, until the unification of China.

The "List of Lords of Heaven and Earth" is one of the few lists where the rankings are not fixed.

Those warlords who made the list weren't just anyone. Based on Lin Mu's experience, even if Ji Beiqin became governor and led an army larger than Yuan Shao's, he probably still wouldn't make the list!
"No... my brother-in-law will definitely be on the list!" Lin Mu suddenly realized and silently thought to himself.

Ji Beiqin possesses dragon luck, and it's even the original dragon luck, making him far superior to Qiao Mao, Liu Dai, and others. He definitely deserves to be on the list!

He still considered Ji Beiqin to be on the same level as Jiang Chenglong, Xuan Yuan Changying, and others, and therefore believed that he could not be on the list.

"Damn it, the teleportation array is sealed, and the journey is so long. Even if we had gone ahead, it would have taken this long... speechless."

"However, hehe... I'm almost at the sour jujube tree."

"I'm really looking forward to this historical plot..." Ji Beiqin kept sending messages, even though Lin Mu didn't respond.

Actually, there's nothing we can do about it; Lin Mu often doesn't respond because he's too busy.

“Hehe…I was the first lord to arrive!” Lin Mu replied to Ji Beiqin.

"What? Aren't you on the grasslands?" Ji Beiqin asked in surprise at Lin Mu's reply.

"Waiting for you..." Lin Mu did not answer directly. After replying with two words, he closed the communication panel.

Once the anti-Dong Zhuo storyline begins, the communication panel will be restricted, and players will then experience the pain of losing the communication system.

Afterwards, Lin Mu and the others continued to discuss the details of the matter and made arrangements for all the tasks.

Only then did they use the Kun Stone to teleport directly to Suanzao.

On the western city wall of Suanzao, Lin Mu's figure suddenly appeared after a flash of white light.

Upon seeing that it was Lin Mu, the soldiers guarding the city launched an attack.

That's right, the troops who occupied Suanzao City were Dong Zhuo's men.

"Kill!" As soon as Lin Mu opened his eyes, he summoned the Dragon God Spear and began to wreak havoc in all directions.

At the same time, Le Jin appeared out of nowhere and began sweeping across the city walls.

Working together, the two quickly cleared a large open space.

Then, figures surged up from below the city wall, quickly stabilizing the battle.

As more and more soldiers from the Great Wilderness Territory surged onto the city walls, the clamor of battle echoed across them.

Lin Mu and Le Jin moved like tigers through the enemy ranks, and wherever they went, the enemy fell one after another.

Dong Zhuo's soldiers originally thought that they could easily resist the invading enemy by occupying the city wall, but they did not expect Lin Mule to be so brave and his offensive so fierce.

Everything seems to have been planned in advance!
"Kill! For our lord! For the glory of the coalition against Dong Zhuo!" The soldiers of the Great Wilderness shouted, brandishing their weapons and engaging in a desperate battle with the enemy.

This is also the first time the phrase "allied forces" has appeared.

Every attack by the soldiers of the Great Wilderness Territory was filled with an unstoppable momentum, and every battle was fueled by a thirst for victory.

Lin Mu's Dragon God Spear gleamed with a cold light, its shadow flashing like lightning as it pierced through the enemy's defenses.

He moved with the agility of a ghost, weaving through the crowd with ease, constantly delivering fatal blows to his enemies.

Occasionally use area-of-effect ultimate skills to continuously tear apart the enemy's newly formed, fragile defenses.

With his bravery and strength, Le Jin was like a mobile fortress, charging around and shattering the enemy's formation.

Another military general who performed exceptionally well was Shan Gong, the deputy commander of the Thunder Legion.

After leading his soldiers onto the city wall, he began his performance. His divine domain unfolded, appearing each time at the enemy's weak point, easily dispatching them. Even Heavenly Rank generals couldn't withstand a single blow.

That incredibly graceful, teleporting figure had a touch of Zhao Yun's style.

Under their leadership, the morale of the soldiers in the Great Wilderness Territory soared, and their combat power instantly reached its peak, directly overwhelming the enemy.

Dong Zhuo's soldiers began to panic, and their resistance gradually weakened. As time passed, the number of enemies on the city walls dwindled, and Lin Mu's army gradually gained the upper hand.

"My lord, we have taken control of the city walls!" Shan Gong ran up to Lin Mu and loudly reported the battle situation.

Lin Mu nodded, his eyes resolute, and said, "Alright, continue to expand our gains and make sure we take Suanzao City!"

"This is our... Allied Forces'... first battle!" Lin Mu shouted meaningfully.

"Yes!" Shan Gong accepted the order and left to convey Lin Mu's command.

And so, in a very unexpected turn of events, Lin Mu directly captured the western city wall of Suanzao.

This also signifies the arrival of Lin Mu, the first vassal state and General of the State of Wei!
(End of this chapter)