Shulong Daojun

Upon hearing this, both men's faces lit up with joy, and they quickly bowed and replied, "Thank you, sir. That's right, that's right."

If young friend Jiang comes, I will personally welcome him and show him around the territory, haha.

After speaking, he nodded and smiled at Jiang Heng repeatedly.

Man-made disasters within a county should be handled by the county magistrate, who should either report to higher authorities or seek assistance from neighboring counties. However, each county is already stretched thin in terms of military strength in order to prevent refugees from outside the county.

Even self-preservation is a struggle, let alone the word "reinforcements".

For county officials, protecting their own county was the top priority.

As a result, the situation in the county became increasingly worse.

Fortunately, we found help from Chuzhou County this time. Although it cannot solve the fundamental problem, it can at least give us some breathing room.

The two felt relieved upon hearing this, and then glanced at Gu Changming beside them, and couldn't help but feel envious: their old friend had such a capable person as Jiang Xiaoyou under his command, and also knew someone like Lord Chengzheng. He was truly blessed.

After the business was settled, the two chatted for a few more minutes before taking their leave.

Inside the hall, Lin Shu pondered for a moment, lit a stick of incense, and sent a message to Bei Chen.

He then looked up at the two people in the hall and said softly, "I would like to trouble Gu Zheng Shen to take Brother Jiang to Pingjiang City. Afterwards, we will go to the jurisdiction of those two county gods at their invitation. Please return before sunset."

Upon hearing this, Gu Changming dared not be negligent and hurriedly replied respectfully, "Yes, sir."

Now that we have pledged allegiance to this Lord of the City, we should obey his orders to show our loyalty.

At that moment, Gu Changming nodded slightly to Jiang Heng, unleashed his divine power, pressed on Jiang Heng's shoulder, and used the earth's veins to escape to Pingjiang City.

After the figure disappeared, Lin Shu's thoughts turned to a question: should he take Pingjiang City first, or the surrounding counties and townships first?

Judging from the current situation in Chuzhou, the former is wishful thinking, while the latter has an opportunity to take advantage.

But is that really the case? Not necessarily.

Thinking of what the two county gods had said, Lin Shu narrowed his eyes and suddenly thought that if the refugees outside the county were already so restless, what about outside Pingjiang City?

As he was pondering to himself, a figure landed at the temple entrance and hurriedly stepped into the hall—it was Bei Chen, who had rushed over upon hearing the news.

Upon Fang Yi's arrival, Bei Chen's expression tightened, and he asked in a deep voice, "What did Senior Brother Lin mean by that in his message?"

He was still handling his affairs as usual within his jurisdiction when he suddenly received a message from Lin Shu that there was something important to discuss. He immediately put down what he was doing and rushed to Chuzhou County.

Upon hearing this, Lin Shu snapped out of his reverie, pondered for a moment, and said calmly, "The Tai Shi lineage is about to make some unusual moves. This time, I need to trouble Brother Bei Chen to inform the disciples of various schools of thought scattered in different cities and counties to pay attention to the situation in their respective locations."

If anything changes, please inform me promptly so that Brother Jiang and I can respond accordingly.

Bei Chen frowned slightly, thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "This matter is not difficult."

I will pass on the message shortly, Senior Brother Lin, please rest assured.

After saying this, he turned to look at Lin Shu, waiting for the next words.

After all, if it were just for this matter, a simple message would suffice; there would be no need to summon me to Chuzhou County. I usually come here to plan something for the new dynasty.

as predicted.

Lin Shu nodded slightly and then recounted the matter of seizing the land. He then gestured and invited, "Brother Beichen, would you be willing to come with me to Pingjiang City for a visit?"

"That is indeed my wish, but I dare not ask," Bei Chen replied with a smile.

Afterwards, the two emerged from the temple, transforming into a gentle breeze as they traveled, briefly observing the situation within the city and closely watching the commotion outside.

Outside the city, refugees had already surrounded Pingjiang City in large numbers, and were driving some clean-looking, well-dressed men and women ahead of them.

They stopped and paused when they were several miles from the city.

At this point, the surrounding refugees would shout "Give us food!" in unison, and their agitation would only grow stronger as time went on.

At its peak, the voices of tens of thousands of people thundered, echoing in all directions, chilling people to the bone and making their hearts tremble.

Before long, a portly official rushed over. Upon hearing the sound, he was startled and fell to the ground.

He immediately berated the garrison, then summoned a minor official who was lowered down the city wall by rope, carrying wine, meat, and rice to negotiate.

A short while later, another group of servants dressed in blue arrived with provisions, interspersed with tokens or name cards. They used hemp ropes to lower themselves down from the top of the city wall to the base of the wall, repeating this several times before returning.

Seeing this, the official was annoyed, but he only angrily turned his sleeves and did nothing more.

The refugees who had taken refuge in the besieged city quickly carried the grain from the base of the city wall onto their shoulders and led a small group of people back in cheers.

Envious, the remaining people shouted even louder.

This time, however, no grain was lowered down the city walls...

Lin Shu took in all this, his expression darkening. He finally sighed and then continued to observe the surrounding counties and towns with Bei Chen.

After they finished, the two returned to the Changming Temple in Gu and waited for Jiang Heng and the others to return.

After surveying the city and county, Lin Shu had already decided where to seize first, and was just waiting for Jiang Heng to return to discuss it.

At this time, it was nearly late afternoon, and sunset was not far off.

Lin Shu closed his eyes and concentrated, harmonizing the "Four Seasons" and "Five Elements" within the fake elixir as usual, removing a trace of the barrier of its internal magic power, and allowing the two to initially merge.

When he opened his eyes, it was already dark. Jiang Heng and Gu Changming had returned and were sitting respectfully to one side, waiting.

Before the two could speak, Lin Shu spoke first: "Brother Jiang, what do you think about taking Pingjiang City first?"

"This." Jiang Heng was taken aback, hesitated for a moment, and then said carefully, "What you say is certainly not wrong."

According to what I've seen, most of the officials in Pingjiang City are cowards who are afraid of death, and most of the wealthy families in the city are people who pay taxes to keep quiet. If the time is right, they can be taken down.

but......"

Jiang Heng changed the subject and said earnestly, "Pingjiang City is garrisoned by a large number of well-equipped soldiers. My men, including Kong Ling, number only a little over three hundred and have not yet been trained. It is not an easy place to seize."

In my humble opinion, it would be more prudent to take control of one county first.

Previously, I visited the territories of the two county magistrates with Gu Zhengshen. In one of them, there was indeed a case of raiding a village, and it would be difficult to prevent a siege of the county in just a few days.

At that time, I only need to lead Kong Ling and others to provide support, and use the advantage of our spears to force back the refugees and protect the people in the county.

Overjoyed, the county magistrate will surely open the city gates wide to welcome us in, lower the guard, and treat us to a fine feast.

After everyone has eaten and drunk their fill and gone to sleep, it will be our chance to seize the county.

As soon as he finished speaking, a glint of light flashed in Jiang Heng's eyes. After a brief pause, he added, "Gu Zheng Shen can attest to what I just said."

What does Your Excellency think of this plan?

After saying that, he looked at Gu Changming, nodded and smiled slightly, then looked at Lin Shu, waiting for a decision.

Seeing this, Gu Changming sighed inwardly and cupped his hands, saying, "My lord, it is indeed as my young friend Jiang said."

"A man-made disaster is imminent in my old friend's territory. I hope you, sir..."

Before he could finish speaking, Gu Changming seemed choked up, and after a long pause, he finally said, "Let young friend Jiang lend a 'helping hand'."

I only hope that Your Excellency will treat the people under my old friend's jurisdiction well, like in Chuzhou County, so that the people may live in peace and stability.