You, a tyrannical ruler, roam the heavens; you cannot understand my joy.

Over the next ten days or so, under Lu Zuo's orders, Ji Yaohua led members of the Imperial City Guard to raid the homes of corrupt officials.

Boxes of gold and silver jewelry were carried into the palace as these corrupt officials fell from power.

Of course, Lu Zuo couldn't take everything with him; he had to leave some for the Song Dynasty to be added to the national treasury for various expenditures.

What he wanted was long-term development, not to drain the lifeblood of the fictional Song Dynasty.

……

In a restaurant in Bianliang City.

In a private room by the window, the aroma of tea wafted through the air, where several regular customers sat discussing the storm that Lu Zuo had single-handedly stirred up.

"Old Zhao, you're late. You didn't see the spectacle of the parade that day!"

A young man, his expression excited and his voice impassioned, exclaimed, "That old scoundrel Gao Qiu, and his wretched son, are suffering terribly locked up in that cage!"

The middle-aged man next to him picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and replied, "It's not just the Gao family?"

"Didn't you see them?"

"The residence of Vice Minister Wang on Zhuque Street, and the residence of Transport Commissioner Li in Tianshui Lane..."

"Those were all the people who used to be always packed with customers and act all high and mighty!"

"And now? The doors are all sealed off by the Imperial City Guard!"

"I heard from a relative who works in the government office that this swift and decisive action was entirely orchestrated by the newly appointed Imperial Preceptor Lu!"

An elderly man with white hair stroked his beard and sighed, "I've been in business for thirty years and have seen countless officials."

"I've never seen a ruthless character like Grand Preceptor Lu, who is so merciless, fearless of the powerful, and can confiscate property and execute people at will!"

"The key is..."

"Look at the streets these past few days. Aren't those ruthless yamen runners and corrupt clerks who used to extort and rip people off now cowering in fear?"

"Even the bullying and monopolistic practices at the market have decreased!"

The young man who spoke first took a swig of his drink: "It's more than just shrinking back!"

"It's like the world has changed!"

"Back in the day, if you wanted to get something done at the government office, you couldn't even get through the gate without paying three to five strings of cash!"

"And now?"

"While I wouldn't dare say that peace and order will immediately return, the murky atmosphere has certainly dissipated considerably!"

"This Grand Preceptor Lu is truly daring to pull teeth from the tiger's mouth and avenge us ordinary folks!"

The middle-aged man nodded repeatedly: "Who says otherwise?"

"My neighbor's young man had his land seized by Gao Yanei's henchmen. He filed lawsuits for half a year, spending countless sums of money, but to no avail!"

"Now that the Gao family has fallen, the land deeds were returned yesterday!"

"It is said that the Imperial Preceptor has ordered that all members of Gao Qiu's faction who have forcibly seized or plundered property be dismissed!"

……

At this moment, in the alley where the Zhang family lives.

A tall, middle-aged man in a gray long gown walked briskly, his expression full of excitement.

Unexpectedly...

I, Lin Chong, actually have a day when I can return to Bianjing?

dong dong dong...

He sighed inwardly, then strode to the Zhang family's gate and knocked.

"Hey, here I am."

Zhang Zhenniang's voice immediately came from inside, followed by the sound of light footsteps approaching from afar.

squeak...

The courtyard gate slowly opened from the inside, and when Lin Chong's figure came into view, Zhang Zhenniang immediately froze on the spot, looking completely astonished.

"My lord?"

……

A short while later, in the Zhang family hall.

"Husband, how did you get back?"

Lin Chong looked puzzled and shook his head, saying, "I can't explain it either."

"A few days ago, several people from the Imperial City Guard came to the fodder yard in Cangzhou to find me. They said they were acting on orders from above and that my case was a miscarriage of justice. The facts have now been verified, and I have been allowed to be reinstated and released without charge."

"So I rushed back day and night."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhenniang was first taken aback, then suddenly realized: "It's him! It must be him! It's the Imperial Preceptor Lu!"

"National Preceptor Lu?"

Lin Chong asked, "Is it the newly favored Grand Preceptor Lu who brought down the An family?"

Zhang Zhenniang nodded and recounted in detail the recent events that had occurred in Bianliang.

"The Gao family was wiped out?"

As Lin Chong listened to his wife's account, his expression changed from confusion to shock, then from shock to disbelief, and finally to utter horror!

"Is...this really true?"

Gao Qiu had always been favored by the emperor, yet Lu Guoshi was able to bring him down?

That's incredible!

Zhang Zhenniang nodded and smiled, "Yes, Father said that with Grand Preceptor Lu around, the sky has cleared in the Great Song Dynasty."

.......

At this moment, Lu Zuo had almost finished what he needed to do in the Song Dynasty, so he returned to the Tang Dynasty world first.

He first went to Dongyang and deposited the silver obtained from the confiscation of his property into the government treasury. After that, he continued his life of traveling between multiple worlds and indulging in pleasure.

Time flies, and more than a month has passed in the timeline of the Tang Dynasty world.

During this period, Lu Zuo's various attributes increased wildly, with his physical strength alone reaching more than 10,000 jin!

According to his estimate, if he were given three to five years, he could destroy the Sui Dynasty on his own, without even needing the new armies of Dongyang and Nantong!

As for now...

Lu Zuo guessed that he should be able to break through the armor of about 10,000 elite troops.

However, if one is surrounded by experts who have mastered the Inner Heaven and Earth and the Three Elements, and is further attacked by elite forces, one will also perish.

……

On this day, in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

"Your subject, Zhang Zhongjian, pays his respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Zhang Zhongjian arrived in Jiankang a month ago and took over the five major camps.

However, he did not immediately begin defense work, but instead focused on reorganization.

Zhang Zhongjian arrived in Jiankang a month ago and took over the five major camps.

However, he did not immediately begin defense work, but instead focused on reorganization.

It took a full month of work before he could go to the palace to report the progress to the "Emperor".

"Rise."

Lu Zuo waved his hand and asked, "Did you come to the palace today to request an audience because the reorganization of the Five Great Camps has been completed?"

"Your Majesty, the reorganization is now largely complete."

Zhang Zhongjian bowed and replied, "I, along with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel, verified the identities of all officers and soldiers in the five major camps one by one."

"Those who come from prominent families or have overly close ties with the six great families, regardless of rank, have all been dismissed."

"At the same time, the elderly, the infirm, the disabled, and those who are undisciplined in the camp will all be given severance pay and allowed to return to their hometowns."

"After this reorganization, the original five battalions had a strength of 300,000 personnel, but now there are 150,000 combat-ready soldiers."

Goodness...

You've cut my staff in half!

Lu Zuo thought for a moment and asked, "With the reduction of officers and colonels, are the replacements likely to take command of the army?"

Zhang Zhongjian remained calm and replied in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, leading troops into battle is very different from civil officials managing affairs."

"Civil officials may need to be well-versed in the classics and proficient in the law, but for generals, the most important thing is to have experience in battle and the trust of their soldiers."

"The officers and soldiers I have promoted may not be well-versed in poetry and literature, but they have all honed their skills in the military for many years and are familiar with the habits of soldiers and horses and the changes in battle formations."

"They all earned their prestige in the army through their own courage and strategy, which was enough to win the respect of the troops."

He paused briefly, his tone turning serious: "However, if we want to carry out the strategy of harassing and exhausting the enemy and cutting off their supply lines, relying solely on ordinary soldiers and generals may not be enough."

"The Sui army has no shortage of martial arts experts. If our army does not have experts in charge, not only will it be difficult to achieve our tactical objectives, but we will also be vulnerable to their backlash and suffer heavy losses."

"Therefore, I humbly request Your Majesty to allocate a group of experts with cultivation levels at the Three Realms level to my command."

"We don't need too many, about twenty will suffice. They don't need to engage in direct combat; they can simply keep the Sui army's experts at bay."

"in addition……"

"I intend to begin the process soon to relocate most of the people from the towns and villages between Nanxu and Jiankang to Dongyang and Nantong."

"The relocation of the people is quite costly, and we earnestly request Your Majesty to allocate one million taels of silver."

That's outrageous!

Twenty experts at the Third Realm?

Do you think of it as a cabbage?

Such a powerful figure would be a sect elder or a giant in the martial arts world!

Even now, despite having recruited a considerable number of talented individuals, he still can't muster twenty at most.

but……

Since we have chosen to put him in charge of the capital garrison to fight against the Sui Dynasty, we must do everything we can to support him!

Lu Zuo pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Granted."

"I will allocate three million taels of silver to you for the relocation of the common people."

"But I cannot provide you with the experts you need. At most, I can give you two who can open the inner world and nine who can return to the unity of the three elements."

"but……"

After a pause, Lu Zuo added, "I will recruit people in the martial arts world as soon as possible and send you as many people as possible."

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Zhongjian replied, "If we have two experts at the Inner Heaven and Earth Realm to hold the line, and nine experts at the Three Realms Realm to assist us, it will be barely enough."

That's good……

Lu Zuo breathed a sigh of relief. If it weren't for the need for twenty people, he would have had a real headache.

but……

Even if Zhang Zhongjian said it was barely enough, I still had to try my best to find him some experts.

Shouldn't we have news from the three great demon kings soon?

And that Li Qingmei...

I have to confront her about it!

With this in mind, Lu Zuo had a long talk with Zhang Zhongjian, then told him to go back first, while he himself went to Wanyi Pavilion.

……

At this moment, in Wanyi Pavilion.

Unlike the warm autumn sunshine outside, this place seems to exist outside the seasons, transforming into a tranquil, frigid abyss.

Inside, all the objects were covered with a layer of crystal-clear frost.

The tables, chairs, display shelves, and even the hanging curtains were all encased in thick ice, reflecting the faint sunlight filtering through the windows and shimmering with a pale blue-white hue.

The ground was covered with a smooth layer of ice, and several once beautiful potted flowers had been completely frozen into ice sculptures. The petals and veins of the leaves were clearly visible, but there was no trace of life left.

At the head of the bed, Consort Wan, Li Qingmei, dressed in a plain white dress, sat cross-legged with her eyes closed.

Within three feet of her, the air seemed to freeze and distort, with a visible pale blue chill, like mist and gauze, swirling and circling around her.

The chill emanated from her breath, moving slowly and rhythmically.

With each breath she took, the surrounding cold air gathered towards her and entered her nostrils.

With each exhale, an even more biting chill seeped from her acupoints, reinforcing this icy domain.

suddenly.

A woman's voice came from outside the door: "Your Majesty, His Majesty has come again."

Upon hearing this, Li Qingmei slightly raised her eyelids, and the chill around her body surged back into her body like rivers flowing into the sea.

The frost inside the room melted quickly, turning into watermarks that slid down, then slowly evaporated, disappearing in an instant.

Isn't this guy obsessed with Zhu Yuyan lately?

Why did you suddenly come here?

Li Qingmei thought to herself, then ordered, "Dress me up."

……

Time flies, and it's already late at night.

Lu Zuo put his arm around Li Qingmei's slender waist and asked casually, "My beloved consort, there's something I've always found strange."