With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

Lin Ye looked at the letter in her hand and gestured for her mother, Madam Li, to go back first. "Mother, I will handle this matter. Please rest assured."

Seeing his composed expression, Li could only nod and leave with some lingering concern.

The room quieted down, and Lin Ye sat alone at the desk, his fingertips lightly tapping the edge of the letter, lost in thought.

After a moment, he turned his gaze to Sun Qian, who had been standing quietly to the side: "Sun Qian, what do you think of this matter?"

Sun Qian bowed slightly and hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"My lord, in my opinion, the Wei family's actions are very likely intentional."

They must know about your relationship with the Li family. Their decision to remove your uncle from his post at this time is likely for two reasons.

Firstly, it eliminates potential hidden dangers within the military. After all, he is your uncle, and if something happens, there might be unforeseen circumstances, so it's best to get rid of him first.

Secondly, they want to use this to force the Li family to seek your help, thereby establishing a connection with our Lin family.

He paused, then continued, "According to the intelligence we've gathered, the Wei family's current situation is not easy."

The prefect of Qingyang Prefecture had always wanted to take back control of the other two counties in order to weaken the power of the Wei family.

The Wang family, meanwhile, was eyeing the Wei family covetously, attempting to use this opportunity to suppress them and establish their own dominance in Qingyang Prefecture. The Wei family, caught between the two, faced pressure from both sides.

"So, what do you think is their primary objective?"

"It should be the latter. Your uncle is just a captain with only a thousand men under his command, which is a small number compared to the Wei family's military strength of tens of thousands. Even if they are second-rate martial artists, the Wei family can easily suppress them and they can't cause any trouble."

Their biggest enemies right now are the prefect and the Wang family, so this move is more likely an attempt to use this opportunity to unite with our Lin family and increase their leverage in the fight against them.

Upon hearing this, Lin Ye slowly stood up and paced back and forth in the room a few times.

He already had a plan in mind. Since returning to Xiang County, he had been busy with the development of Xiang County and had not had a chance to properly visit other territories or develop relationships with other lords.

Moreover, after a year of rapid development, Xiangxian County's pace has gradually stabilized, and many problems are difficult to see clearly when working in isolation.

Now is the perfect time to use the Li family's affairs as an excuse to go out and make connections, both to investigate the situation and to broaden our horizons and solidify our relationships with those around us.

"Working in isolation will never lead to great achievements." He stopped and glanced at the map on the table.

"Give the order that I will be traveling to Yang County and other places soon. Organize a security detail and ensure safety along the way."

Interested managers and caravans may also accompany them.

Lin Ye knew that this trip was not only to help her mother's family, but also a proactive move.

In the complex power structure of Qingyang Prefecture, identifying allies and enemies and forging alliances with those who can be relied upon allows for a far-sighted strategic move for Xiang County and even the entire Lin family's sphere of influence.

A few days later, a large convoy slowly set off from Xiang County and headed towards Yang County.

The caravan consisted of merchants, guards, stewards, and accompanying personnel, stretching for miles.

Between Xiang County and Yang County lies Yun County and Ning County, the former fiefdom of the Wei family.

Because Lin Ye had already informed the Chen and Wei families, the convoy was allowed to pass through all the checkpoints and towns along the way. The convoy traveled without any obstacles. Only occasionally were there local officials who met them at the crossroads. They greeted them politely and then led the way.

Two days later, the convoy arrived in Ning County.

Before even entering the city, they saw that the Wei family had already sent people to wait. More than ten stewards dressed in Wei family crest uniforms were arranging the campsite and itinerary in an orderly manner.

Notably, the imperial magistrate of Ning County did not appear.

Along the way, the Wei family's influence in Ning County was evident everywhere.

The shops in the streets and alleys, the maintenance of the roads, the rules of the market, and even the conversations of the people all revealed their tacit acceptance and respect for the Wei family.

The Wei family has been operating here for nearly two hundred years, and their deeply entrenched rule has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Of course, things weren't entirely unchanged; we also encountered some migrating people along the way.

According to Sun Qian's inquiry, they were going to Yang County to escape the monsters.

Along the way, they also encountered some injured martial artists traveling together, who were reportedly a team organized by the Wei family to exterminate demonic beasts.

After all, the Wei family's second-rate lair had been destroyed ten years ago, and now only a third-rate lair remains, located in Yang County. The third-rate lair's ability to suppress monsters is already very limited in Ning County.

Although the Wei family is still struggling to maintain their position, monsters have begun to appear more frequently.

This situation won't last much longer. It all depends on how much the Wei family is willing to invest in these two counties. Otherwise, sooner or later they will end up like Xiang County before, overrun by monsters.

By then, the Wei family's rule in these two counties will gradually crumble.

The next day, the convoy entered Yang County, where the scenery was quite different from that of Ning County.

As the core area of ​​the Wei family, the Wei family spared no expense in building it up, resulting in numerous towns and trade routes that converged by waterways and land routes, attracting a large influx of goods.

In recent years, the Wei family has also relocated some people from the other two counties to this place, causing the population of Yang County to surge. The streets are bustling day and night, and its prosperity even surpasses that of Qing County, the prefectural capital of Qingyang Prefecture.

It's no wonder that the Wang family has always been eyeing and fearing the Wei family.

Upon entering Yang County, the Wei family dispatched a cavalry force of more than a dozen men to escort them.

These riders were all composed and upright, with the sharpness of years of battles and training evident in their brows.

However, what is most eye-catching is not their demeanor, but their mounts.

Shaped like a fierce tiger, it was nearly a head taller than an ordinary warhorse, with a golden body interspersed with dark gold tiger stripes, as if cast from molten gold, and shimmered in the sunlight.

Their most striking feature is their tails, each hair like a burning flame, dancing in the wind, appearing from afar as if they are trailing a trail of leaping firelight.

With its golden fur tinged with fiery red stripes and its tail resembling a burning flame, it was none other than the Flame-Tailed Tiger Cavalry, a second-rate Daoist soldier of the Wei family.

These are second-rate Dao soldiers bred from a second-rate nest that the Wei family contracted in the past, but that nest was destroyed ten years ago, and now only about thirty Flame-Tail Tiger Riders remain in the Wei family.

To prevent accidental damage, the Wei family has kept them out of sight for many years, only using them on the most important occasions.

This time, the Wei family sent out more than a dozen animals to welcome Lin Ye, which shows how much they value him.

It is also a subtle form of deterrence.

It should be noted that only second-rate martial artists can contract second-rate Dao soldiers, and these dozen or so riders are clearly all second-rate martial artists.

Watching these magnificent tiger riders slowly follow behind, Lin Ye felt a surge of emotion.

The gap between our family and these centuries-old lords is still very large.

It makes sense, considering that even the Chen family in Yun County, a single county, has nearly ten second-rate martial artists.

The Wei family once governed three counties, occupying one-third of Qingyang Prefecture's territory. Their profound foundation was unmatched by the newly emerging Lin family.

Led by a dozen or so Flame-Tailed Tiger Riders, the caravan traveled all the way and finally arrived at Yang County.