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

The city gate of Yang County is not particularly high or imposing; the bricks and stones even show signs of age. However, the gate is quite wide, allowing several large vehicles to pass side by side.

The city gate was already crowded with people who had come to greet them.

Leading the way was Wei Yuan, the current head of the Wei family.

In truth, he is a legend.

Thirty years ago, the Wei family's second-rate nest had already been passed down to the third generation. The previous patriarch worried that once the nest was destroyed after his death, the Wei family would decline from its former glory.

Therefore, a solemn decree was issued: whoever can establish a new nest will become the new head of the household.

At that time, Wei Yuan, a collateral descendant who was over forty, was only a third-rate martial artist, but he resolutely chose to venture alone into the desolate and dangerous land, searching for traces of the lair.

Five years have passed, and he has gained nothing, yet he has never given up.

By sheer coincidence, he somehow joined a tribute mission from the Northern Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty and traveled south with the group.

Within the Tang Dynasty, he spent another ten years not only breaking through to become a second-rate martial artist, but also seizing a third-rate lair amidst great danger. After overcoming numerous hardships, he returned to the Northern Han Dynasty and became the young master of the Wei family.

Upon his return, Wei Yuan displayed extraordinary talent and skill, quickly winning over his clansmen. Even when the previous clan head was still alive, he used his strength and prestige to force him to step down.

Therefore, although the previous head of the family passed away only ten years ago, Wei Yuan has been in charge of the family for nearly fifteen years.

Over the course of fifteen years, he managed the three counties that the Wei family originally owned as tightly as an iron barrel.

Even after the major upheavals of the destruction of a second-rate nest and the revocation of jurisdiction over two other counties by the imperial court, he still led the Wei family to steady development and was in no way inferior to the Wang family, which also possessed a second-rate nest.

Although the imperial court nominally governed those two counties, in reality, its orders were difficult to implement, and the Wei family still held the reins.

This is by no means an easy task.

For factions whose high-grade nests have been destroyed and whose territories have shrunk, there are countless examples of their old territories being out of control or even openly rebelling.

Leaving aside the distant past, just take the Qingyuan Sword Sect as an example. Back then, Wuwei County was its territory, but what about now?

The lord of Wuwei County not only stopped obeying the orders of the Sword Sect, but even resisted the Sword Sect and drew a clear line between them.

Wei Yuan's ability to maintain his composure in such adversity and continue the prestige of the Wei family, a family with a history of over a century, demonstrates his skill and resilience.

Lin Ye stepped down from the carriage and met Wei Yuan, who was waiting at the city gate. The two exchanged pleasantries with polite smiles on their faces.

This wasn't their first meeting; they had met once in the prefectural city, but Wei Yuan had brought his grandson Wei Hao to apologize, so they weren't complete strangers.

Escorted by more than a dozen Flame-Tailed Tiger Riders, the caravan arrived at the Wei residence.

The Wei family mansion covers a vast area, with pavilions and towers scattered in a well-organized manner, deep courtyards, and towering ancient trees, revealing the profound heritage of a family that has been a prominent family for nearly a century.

Upon entering the mansion, the carvings on the pillars and plaques, though bearing the marks of time, still exude a dignified and composed air.

The group arrived at the hall and took their seats according to their status as guests and hosts. Before the aroma of tea had dissipated, Wei Yuan suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to Lin Ye.

"Lord Lin, I must apologize to you today. I know that Lieutenant Li is your maternal uncle. I deliberately excluded him from the conscription team to avoid direct combat."

Who would have thought that my good-for-nothing grandson, instigated by others, would actually let Lieutenant Li take on the task of transporting grain and suppressing bandits, and afterwards even took it upon himself to dismiss him from his post.

I'm always busy with other matters and only recently learned of this. I already gave him a severe scolding a few days ago. Today, in front of you, you can do whatever you want with him—beat him or scold him.

Having said that, he turned and shouted loudly towards the door, "You scoundrel, get in here now and let the Duke decide your fate!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a figure limped into the hall; it was Wei Hao.

His face was red and swollen, his mouth was bruised, and his clothes were disheveled. He was nowhere to be seen the arrogant and contemptuous look he had when they met in the prefectural city last time.

Lin Ye looked at him quietly, and instantly understood that this was clearly a charade put on by the grandfather and grandson.

The idea of ​​ostracizing his maternal uncle was mostly hinted at or even tacitly approved by Wei Yuan, but he probably didn't expect Wei Hao to make such a big fuss during its execution.

Now that the Wei family has apologized, and since the eldest uncle's injury wasn't caused by them, there's nothing more to say about them sending food.

Lin Ye knew better than anyone that if he kept pressing the issue, he would appear petty and it would be detrimental to future cooperation. So, he could only try to secure more benefits for his uncle in the future.

The goal is to use this "apology" as a pretext to seize the initiative, both to save face and to achieve the desired outcome.

After exchanging pleasantries and apologies, they began in-depth discussions about the cooperation between the two companies, laying out their respective needs and bottom lines, and agreeing on the framework for their future relationship point by point.

Firstly, regarding trade, both parties agreed that the two caravans could trade freely from now on, and would no longer be subject to harassment or extra exploitation, whether entering or leaving Xiang County or Yang County, and the flow of goods would be unimpeded.

Secondly, regarding the management of influence, the two companies promised to support each other and refrain from using despicable means to undermine each other or engage in malicious competition within the territory of Qingyang Prefecture.

Wei Yuan also proposed an apology: the Wei family would give the Lin family ten third-rate Daoist soldier eggs. These Daoist soldier eggs came from the nest he had contracted in the Tang Dynasty and were called "Rainstorm Arrow Guards".

This is a humanoid Taoist soldier, whose physique is similar to that of an ordinary person. It can fire a large number of arrows in a short period of time, covering the target like a storm.

Although its single-target attack power is only comparable to that of an ordinary archer, and its role is relatively small in battles, it can suppress enemy formations and cover the main force with dense firepower in large-scale wars, and its role should not be underestimated.

Lin Ye understood that this was both compensation and a gesture of sincerity from the Wei family.

Although third-rate soldiers are not as rare as second-rate soldiers and their combat strength is average, the "Rainstorm Arrow Guards," a type of soldier suitable for warfare, are of great value in the future defense and expansion of Xiang County, especially in making up for the Lin family's weakness in long-range firepower.

Finally, Wei Yuan changed the subject and proposed that the two sides form an alliance for offense and defense.

The statement did not elaborate on the reasons or explicitly state its target, but both of them knew that the alliance was aimed at the Wang family.

Within Qingyang Prefecture, the Wei and Wang families have always been rivals. Now, the Wei family's stronghold has been destroyed and its territory has shrunk, while the Wang family still holds a second-rate stronghold, and their ambitions are becoming increasingly apparent.

Rather than passively responding, it would be better to join forces with the Lin family, forming a strategic alliance to support each other and jointly defend against external threats.

Although the phrase "to guard against the royal family" was not explicitly stated, the significance of the alliance was self-evident.

Lin Ye readily agreed, expressing his willingness to stand with the Wei family and work together to prevent the balance of power in Qingyang Prefecture from collapsing.

Finally, Lin Ye took the opportunity to ask Wei Yuan about the situation in the Tang Dynasty.

He had always longed for the center of this world, and Wei Yuan was one of the few people who "opened his eyes to see the world," after all, he had lived in the Tang Dynasty for ten years and personally walked through its mountains and rivers.

According to him, the situation in the Tang Dynasty was not optimistic, with constant open and covert struggles in various regions, and a major war was just a hair's breadth away.

Since the War of the Eight Princes two hundred years ago, the central power of the Tang imperial family has been greatly weakened, and it is no longer able to effectively suppress the powerful lords in various prefectures.

This was completely different from the Northern Han, which, despite its weakness, always had external enemies like the Northern Xiongnu pressing on its borders, forcing local lords to maintain a minimum level of unity under the banner of the Han king.

While the Tang Dynasty faced no imminent external threats, its internal strife intensified, with open attacks and annexations between its various allies.

The Prince of Yan, who was closest to the Northern Han and controlled four prefectures, had always harbored ambitions of expansion. If given the opportunity, he might very well extend his reach northward.

The topic then shifted to martial artists.

Wei Yuan stated frankly that the Tang Dynasty was a paradise for martial artists.

Back then, he was a second-rate martial artist and already held a certain status in Qingyang Prefecture. But when he arrived in the Tang Dynasty, he discovered that, not to mention the power of lords, even some gangs had plenty of second-rate martial artists.

Acquired martial artists are commonplace, and innate martial artists also appear from time to time. There are even rumors that there are celestial martial artists in the world with a lifespan of up to two hundred years, whose every move can shake the heavens and earth.

The vastness and intensity of competition at that level of martial arts were unimaginable to the Northern Han.

Lin Ye listened intently, his heart filled with turbulent emotions.

Although he knew that the Tang Dynasty was still far away from him, Wei Yuan's description opened a brand new window for him, where there was a wider world and a more brilliant peak of martial arts.

I believe that with the family's legacy in my mind, I will definitely be able to lead the Lin family to such a stage and shine brightly.