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

Liang Feiyu took in everyone's expressions and pondered for a moment. Then, remembering the sect leader's words before they left, he made a suggestion.

"It's getting late, and there are many things to do. Let's take a short rest and discuss the rest another day."

Moreover, the imperial court's forces will arrive in the next few days, and the administration and allocation of the three counties will ultimately have to be decided by the imperial court in person to be in accordance with regulations.

Upon hearing this, Wei Yuan and the others were stunned for a moment, but then they realized what he meant.

Yes, such an important matter concerning the affiliation of the three counties ultimately has to be decided by the imperial court.

Right now, they are all blinded by immediate interests and eager to seize the benefits, forgetting the most fundamental premise: whether the court allows the relocation of their hideouts and whether it agrees to let a certain family or faction take over.

If the imperial court originally intended to transfer the nest from elsewhere or make other arrangements, wouldn't their current private division be acting on their own initiative and only making them a laughing stock?

With this in mind, everyone's spirits calmed down a bit, and they stopped mentioning the issue of the administration of the three counties. Instead, they discussed how to appease the people of Qingyang Prefecture and how to prevent the Wang family's vassal families from taking advantage of the chaos to escape.

After discussion, the group decided to strengthen city defenses and patrols, block key roads, and send reliable people to monitor the movements of the vassal families to ensure that none of them escaped.

As night deepened, in a quiet courtyard, Lin Ye sat alone at a stone table, gazing at the blooming flowers and the babbling brook flowing under the bridge, his thoughts drifting far away.

This is the residence of a branch of the Wang family, whose owner is currently imprisoned. Lin Ye is temporarily staying here.

The people from the Qingyuan Sword Sect lived in the courtyard next door.

Lin Qiang, Lin Yi, Zhang Yuan, and others who usually discussed countermeasures with him were currently far away in Xiang County dealing with post-war matters, so he had to make all the decisions himself.

The Lin family originally had a residence in Qing County.

That was a residence that Lin Ye had acquired when he first became the lord. It served as a base in Qingyang Prefecture and also allowed him to receive news from the prefecture in a timely manner.

Just a few days ago, the Wang family suddenly launched an attack, and the mansion was captured by them.

The remaining members of the collateral branches fought desperately but were ultimately killed in battle. The courtyard was also severely damaged and could not be inhabited for a short period of time.

At this moment, Lin Ye gently tapped the stone table with his fingertips, his mind replaying the looks and words of the family heads from earlier that day.

They clearly did not want the Lin family and the Qingyuan Sword Sect to move their hideout to Qing County.

If he were to apply to the imperial court to relocate the Lin family's third-rate hideout in Qinghe County to Qing County, and if the court agreed, then the Lin family would replace the Wang family in Qing County.

However, this would likely lead to the other four lords forming an alliance to isolate the Lin family, just as they had done with the Wang family in the past.

Ultimately, our family and the Wang family are different.

Firstly, Xiang County and Qing County are not geographically connected, while the Wang family's former territories of the three counties were contiguous, making resources, transportation, and resource allocation convenient and more conducive to long-term development.

Secondly, the Wang family has been operating for nearly a century and is barely able to contend with the alliance of the four families. The Lin family, on the other hand, has only just established itself. If it were to become enemies with the four families right from the start, how could it develop if its foundation was not yet stable?

More importantly, the attitude of the Qingyuan Sword Sect is very subtle. Judging from the situation during the day, the sect is very likely also interested in Qing County.

Was it worth turning against the Sword Sect for the sake of Qing County?

The Lin family can only rely on the Qingyuan Sword Sect now. Once they sever ties with the sect, they will truly be all alone in Northern Han, with no strong allies left.

Moreover, applying to the imperial court to relocate one's home was not always possible.

If the request is rejected, not only will it be a waste of effort, but it will also alienate the four families and the sword sect, resulting in more harm than good.

After careful consideration, Lin Ye slowly exhaled.

The Lin family in Qing County is not a good match.

Just as Lin Ye had figured things out and was about to get up and go back to his room to rest, there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Lord Lin, I have something to discuss with you." Liang Feiyu's voice came as the servant opened the door.

Lin Ye quickly stood up and cupped his hands in greeting: "Elder, you flatter me. I am a member of the Sword Sect, and a true disciple at that. If there is anything you need, just send someone to inform me, and I will come to find you."

Liang Feiyu walked into the courtyard and waved his hand: "No need to be so polite. I'm here on the mission of the sect leader, and I'll be visiting a few other families later."

He walked to the stone table and sat down, his gaze sweeping over the flowers, trees, and streams in the courtyard, his tone calm and steady.

"I won't beat around the bush. You're from the Sword Sect, so you should know something about its history."

The Qingyuan Sword Sect of today is far less prosperous than it once was. Although it is still nominally one of the nine major powers of Northern Han, only it knows the state of its own affairs.

"If it weren't for the sect leader's tireless efforts over the past decade or so, which have given the sword sect a chance to revive, it would probably have fallen out of the ranks of the nine major powers long ago, just like the previous ones."

Lin Ye nodded.

As a disciple of the Sword Sect, the first lesson is to learn the history of the Sword Sect.

The Qingyuan Sword Sect originated from the Tang Dynasty.

Eight hundred years ago, the Tang emperor enfeoffed four kingdoms, establishing the Northern Han King, the Western Yuan King, the Southern Ming King, and the Eastern Song King, each ruling a kingdom.

At that time, there were ten forces following the King of Han, some were families, some were sects, and each had its own acquired stronghold.

In addition to the three acquired strongholds of the King of Han, there were a total of thirteen strongholds, which is the origin of the thirteen commanderies of the Northern Han Dynasty.

Later, one of the factions rebelled against the King of Han and was completely wiped out, leaving only nine out of ten, thus forming the nine major factions of the Northern Han Dynasty.

These nine families each occupied a prefecture, firmly establishing themselves in their respective regions.

However, eight hundred years have passed, and the world has changed. The so-called "Nine Great Powers" are no longer the same nine families as before, and have been constantly replaced.

Two hundred years ago, the acquired lair possessed by the Qingyuan Sword Sect was destroyed once again.

This time, however, was different from the past. Before the old nest disappeared, the sword sect failed to form a contract with a new acquired nest in time.

According to the imperial decree, parts of Wuwei County began to be assigned to other lords, and the territory of the Sword Sect was gradually encroached upon.

For the next two hundred years, the sword sect gradually declined.

To prevent a single dominant force from emerging in Wuwei County, the original vassal lords within the county have been uniting to resist, and the imperial court has also repeatedly suppressed them, making it extremely difficult for the Sword Sect to operate.

It wasn't until decades later, when the Sword Sect was moved from Wuwei Prefecture, the capital of Wuwei County, to Xining Prefecture, that the situation improved slightly.

In the past decade or so, thanks to the hard work and dedication of Master Chu, the Sword Sect has gradually recovered its strength, expanded outwards, and once again joined the ranks of the nine major powers.

The nine major powers today are: the Morality Palace, Leiyin Temple, Bailu Academy, Nangong Family, Lixue Sect, Dugu Family, Seven Fiends Sect, Li Family (a collateral branch of the Han King), and Qingyuan Sword Sect.

Among them, the first five families all possessed acquired nests, each occupying a prefecture and having deep roots.

Although the latter four families did not have acquired nests, they at least had first-class nests, which allowed them to settle in one place.

The Qingyuan Sword Sect is the weakest of them all, occupying only one prefecture and a few scattered counties within Wuwei County.

However, it is worth mentioning that among the nine major forces today, Qingyuan Sword Sect is the only one that has existed for eight hundred years, apart from Morality Palace, Leiyin Temple, and Bailu Academy.

The other companies are all newly emerging powers that have risen in the last eight hundred years.

As for the Morality Palace, Leiyin Temple, and Bailu Academy, they were actually branches of the Tang Dynasty's influence in the Northern Han.

In the Tang Dynasty, their headquarters was a top-tier power. The Northern Han branch maintained contact with the headquarters and received support and resource supplies from the headquarters, so it never truly declined.