I can bless thousands of magical powers.

Although both are Dao cities, Danyang City and Xiyuan City have completely different temperaments.

Aside from differences in size and population, Xiyuan City is a typical trading city, with a constant stream of caravans traveling from east to west, bringing it immense popularity and making it very prosperous.

Danyang City is small in area, with only one main street running north to south. Although there are some restaurants, inns, post stations and general stores on both sides of the street, there are not many people to be seen.

Most importantly, there are almost no women or children to be seen here, and even the passersby are mostly tough guys.

As for merchants, wandering knights, and foreign travelers, there wasn't a single one to be seen!

Desolate, gloomy, and bleak...

A thick, chilling aura enveloped the Dao City.

The Danyang Garrison Command is located in the center of Daocheng, with military camps built on both the left and right sides, heavily guarded and heavily armed.

Zhang Yuan could clearly feel the tense atmosphere here.

Led by Li Shiwen, the military commander of the Daoying, Zhang Yuan entered the garrison headquarters and met the current garrison commander, Li Heng.

Li Heng was around forty years old, tall and robust, but his face was pale and his eyes were lifeless. He coughed occasionally, revealing a very weak aura, clearly indicating that he had suffered a very serious injury.

Li Heng was delighted by Zhang Yuan's arrival: "Junior Brother Zhang, you've come at the perfect time! From now on, all the affairs of Danyang City will be entrusted to you!"

It's like he's trying to shake off a hot potato!
Zhang Yuan was both amused and exasperated, and didn't say much, so he handed over the relevant matters of guarding the town to Li Heng in accordance with the procedures.

Li Heng was clearly eager to step down and return to the sect, so he made various preparations in advance.

With Li Shiwen's assistance, all the work was completed smoothly.

"Junior Brother Zhang, I'm really sorry."

As he was leaving, Li Heng said apologetically, "I should have hosted a welcome dinner for you before slowly finishing my official duties, but my body is about to give out. Please forgive me for having to make do with what I have to do!"

As he spoke, he clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to Zhang Yuan to express his apology.

Zhang Yuan quickly returned the greeting: "Senior brother, you flatter me!"

Zhang Yuan took out a white jade porcelain bottle from his pocket and put it into the other person's hand, saying, "This is a high-grade healing pill issued by the sect. I don't need it for the time being, so please don't refuse, senior brother."

Li Heng was so cooperative and polite, so Zhang Yuan naturally had to give him the respect he deserved.

"Thank you, junior brother!"

A faint smile appeared on Li Heng's pale face: "We'll meet again!"

"See you later!"

Zhang Yuan had just arrived in Dancheng City and saw off the previous garrison commander in less than half a day.

And so he naturally took over the reins of power in this Dao City.

However, after careful investigation, Zhang Yuan finally realized how big a pit he had fallen into this time.

Or rather, what a huge burden they've been burdened with!

As a forward outpost for defending against the southwestern barbarians, Danyang was equipped not only with tall and sturdy city walls, but also with 1,000 soldiers and 3,000 auxiliary soldiers, including 300 elite cavalry.

The Danyang Dao Camp is divided into the Left Camp and the Right Camp. Each camp has two fifth-level deputy generals, several dozen fourth-level squad leaders, and the rest of the Dao soldiers are all third-level cultivators.

The three thousand auxiliary soldiers were mostly of first and second tier strength and had undergone long-term battle formation training.

Its military strength can be said to far exceed that of Nishiwon Province.

However, this is only data on paper. In reality, Danyang Dao City has been severely weakened by an internal strife.

At least a third of their strength has been lost!
Of the four deputy generals, one was killed in battle and another was seriously wounded—the seriously wounded one returned to Shangjingtian with Li Heng.

As for the fourth-tier squad leaders, there were also more than a dozen casualties!

This means that after Zhang Yuan took over the defense of Danyang, he can only mobilize about half of the original forces.

In fact, manpower could be replenished, but the key issue was that the morale of the Danyang Dao Camp had plummeted to rock bottom after this internal strife. Moreover, during the outbreak of the strife, traitors set fire to the granaries and armories.

Although the two large warehouses were not burned to the ground thanks to timely rescue efforts, most of the supplies survived.

However, it also dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the Daoying (a military unit).

In addition to the Daoist camp, there were nearly ten thousand civilians in Danyang City who also suffered heavy losses in the chaos.

They need relief and reassurance!

Zhang Yuan asked Li Shiwen, "How much silver does the garrison headquarters currently have in reserve?"

Li Shiwen pondered for a moment, then replied, "Your Excellency, there are a total of 75,304 taels and 3 mace."

This Daoying Sima, who also served as a staff member of the garrison headquarters, was one of the trusted subordinates of the former garrison commander Li Heng.

Despite having only a first-level cultivation level, he is extremely familiar with the affairs of the garrison and the Dao camp, has a very strong ability to handle affairs, and is good at devising strategies. He is a rare multi-talented individual.

Of course, all of this information about Li Shiwen comes from Li Heng, the former garrison commander.

The greatest help Li Heng could give Zhang Yuan was not taking Li Shiwen away, and even allowing him to remain in Danyang City.

As for the reason, Zhang Yuan guessed it was not simple.

But if the other party is unwilling to talk, he will naturally not force them, and he will insist on getting to the bottom of it.

Zhang Yuan will not change Li Shiwen's position for the time being, allowing the latter to continue to utilize his abilities.

Li Heng's praise of Li Shiwen was clearly justified.

The data that this Daoying Sima casually mentioned was all very accurate.

This is not just a matter of having a strong memory.

Upon hearing the other party's reply, Zhang Yuan was immediately taken aback: "Only this little bit of silver?"

Li Shiwen smiled bitterly.

In fact, Danyang Dao City is a burden to Shang Jingtian. Not only can it not provide wealth for the sect like Xiyuan Dao City, but it also requires a continuous flow of funds and resources every year.

The Shangjing family is large and wealthy, and they can't afford to squander it, so the funds allocated here are naturally carefully calculated.

Although Danyang City is small, it still has more than 10,000 people. Considering the high daily expenses of the soldiers and auxiliary troops, it's quite good that they were able to keep this much silver.

Li Shiwen didn't tell Zhang Yuan that this was the result of his careful calculations!
"never mind."

Zhang Yuan waved his hand speechlessly, then reached into his robes and pulled out a thick stack of silver notes from his storage space.

"This is 500,000 taels."

He said to Li Shiwen, "Take a portion as a deposit, and send someone to purchase a batch of grain and commonly used supplies. You must ensure that the warehouse is full before winter."

"Furthermore, the compensation for the wounded soldiers and civilians must be sufficient. If this money is not enough, then come to me again!"

These silver notes were given to him by the Wu family. Zhang Yuan was not short of money at all, so he took them out to tide him over.

Li Shiwen's expression nearly cracked when he received the silver note!

The former garrison commander, Li Heng, was quite good, but he never used his own money to help people in times of emergency.

In comparison, Zhang Yuan, who was new to the area, was practically a saint.

That's incredibly generous!

Li Shiwen barely managed to suppress the urge to kneel and worship his lord.

He bowed respectfully to Zhang Yuan: "This humble servant will do his utmost!" (End of Chapter)