The establishment of the Celestial Dynasty began with the bestowal of the title upon the River God.

When Li Yi pushed open the door, he happened to see Guan Tian and Li Erhu standing at the gate of the courtyard.

The latter two were holding brooms, rags, and other items, with a bucket of water at their feet.

Yesterday, Guan Tian took Li Yi to the former residence of a junior officer in Sanyi Manor, intending to tidy it up, but Li Yi refused.

That's why I rushed over early this morning.

The treatment of junior officers was much better than that of ordinary soldiers. Their official residence consisted of several buildings, including the main house, guest rooms, kitchen, and warehouse. There was a well in the courtyard and an open space in front for soldiers to practice.

When Li Yi arrived yesterday, there were no traces of the demonic disturbance in the official residence, only a thin layer of ash covering everything. However, if it wasn't swept clean, it would feel rather ominous.

Guan Tian and Li Erhu did not wait for their superior's instructions. They carried the water buckets and went into the house on their own. Before they had taken two steps, a dozen or so people rushed over from outside the courtyard. Most of them were women and old men, and there was also a young man and a girl with two pigtails. They were all wrapped up tightly.

A hunched old man stood at the front, his voice trembling as he said, "Greetings, Lord Xiaoqi."

Li Yi was momentarily bewildered, but responded with a sound of agreement.

A person squeezed out from the back of the crowd and walked up to Li Yi. It was the tall Du Mingxuan.

"The survivors of Sanyi Village are all here."

Li Yi nodded, puzzled, and looked past the tall man to the group of people standing at the gate.

Regardless of age or gender, everyone hunched their shoulders and stood at attention, appearing cautious and timid. When their eyes met his, they hurriedly looked away, afraid of offending the flag bearer's authority.

Only the two children with pigtails stared wide-eyed, but the adults around them quickly covered their eyes and carefully smiled apologetically.

The tall man turned to look at the courtyard gate. "Old Qin is dead. Li Yi is the new junior officer of Sanyi Manor. Aren't you going to greet him?"

Twelve voices rang out in a staggered manner, but Li Yi felt somewhat uncomfortable. He gave a dry laugh and responded to them, then pulled the tall man into the house.

"You haven't come home all night?"

"yes……"

"What's going on here?"

The tall man looked embarrassed. "I must first apologize to my brother. It was presumptuous of me to mobilize these twelve survivors."

Seeing that Li Yi didn't seem angry, but rather just puzzled, he tentatively asked:

"Has the centurion mentioned the matter of supplementing the military households to my brother?"

Li Yi nodded slightly, "Yes, that's right. We're preparing to post a notice after the seventh day after the death of the deceased."

The tall man pulled him down to sit, pondered for a moment, and then explained:

"Brother, I have a favor to ask. I hope you can delay the posting of the notice as much as possible, preferably until next spring."

Qin Kaixian, the former captain of Sanyizhuang, was someone I knew well. After his death, the women in his family were left without a place to live.

The same applies to the remaining military households and civilians. With the breadwinner gone and no able-bodied men to fill the gap, they had to make way for the farmland to be cultivated, ensuring the garrison's fighting strength remained intact.

The tall man glanced at the outside with a complicated expression, then pointed at the woman who was crouching down and holding the little girl.

"They were the women left behind by Qin Kaixian. Now that the man is dead, the clerk's quarters are to be reserved for the new official. They spent the night at another house."

Li Yi understood what "tall" meant.

Apart from Guantian, the remaining residents of Sanyizhuang were practically homeless. They only received three years' worth of pensions from the garrison. Even if the women did not remarry, they could still barely survive on the monthly allowance of six dou of grain.

Thinking of this, Li Yi couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

Everyone has a sense of compassion, especially when a tall person has brought their current situation to the forefront.

No wonder they insisted on calling all twelve of them; it was the right thing to do, even if it was abrupt.

The tall man carefully observed Li Yi's expression, and sensing that he had felt pity, he pressed his advantage and earnestly said:

"Anyway, there's no need to farm in winter. Given Brother Li's relationship with Miss, he's not afraid of being bogged down in mundane affairs. Why not enjoy a leisurely winter?"

"As long as Brother Li agrees to keep them for a while, I, Du Mingxuan, am willing to offer a bottle of Blood Qi Pills as compensation. Moreover, you won't need to deal with your colleagues; I will personally spread the word that those lowly officers won't even have a chance to get the military household quota for Sanyi Manor!"

Li Yi pondered for a moment, realizing that there was actually nothing wrong with the matter.

What would I gain by rejecting the taller man? I should hurry up and fill the military household quota to show off the prestige of a junior officer.

Using military household quotas to taste the power and exchange it for some petty gains? Haha.

In normal times, the military merits of the garrison commanders mostly come from grain production, and it is still late autumn now...

Li Yi didn't think too much about it and immediately agreed, "Old Du, I have no objection and don't need any reward. It's just a favor I'm doing you a favor for—but you have to take care of the centurion."

The tall man immediately beamed with joy, slapping Li Yi heavily on the shoulder. "Good brother! I knew I hadn't misjudged you! Just you wait and see, I, Du Mingxuan, will take good care of these survivors, and you won't have to worry about them!"

He immediately pulled a jade bottle from his waistband and placed it in Li Yi's palm. "Stop talking nonsense. This isn't payment. I just wanted to give it to you because I'm happy!"

Li Yi was taken aback. He looked at the jade bottle in his palm, then gripped it tightly. "Then Li Yi won't stand on ceremony."

"That's more like it."

The tall man hurriedly stood up. "I'll chase those people away first. What kind of place is it with them piled up in the officer's quarters?"

Li Yi smiled wryly, wondering who had gathered the crowd.

He followed them out, and after the tall man announced the good news, he knelt down in front of the two children and asked:

"What's your name?"

The little girl turned and grabbed her mother's leg, saying timidly:

"Qin Yue'er".

"That sounds beautiful." Li Yi pinched the little girl's rosy cheeks, then turned to the dusty-looking boy. "And you?"

The boy looked up at an old man, who quickly apologized:

"Please forgive me, sir. This child is mute. His name is Wang Ling."

Li Yi nodded silently, stood up and looked at the two families, "Since you have children with you, why don't you just stay at the official residence? You can take care of my meals then."

The woman's features immediately furrowed, and tears were about to fall. Li Yi quickly raised his hand.

"No need for further words. If you are truly grateful to me, then clean and tidy up more and raise your children well."

He exchanged a glance with the tall man, who then led the remaining survivors away in the direction of Yang Lin's house, presumably to arrange a funeral.

Only one person remained in the crowd; he was the only able-bodied young man among the twelve.

Needless to say, this man naturally followed in his father's footsteps and became a soldier under Li Yi's command.

"Is his name Liu Zhi? How many people are in his family?"

Liu Zhi looked to be around thirty years old. He wasn't thin, but he wasn't strong either. He was seven feet tall, almost a head shorter than Li Yi.

He was dressed in tattered hemp clothes, and clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Your Excellency, I still have my wife at home."

Li Yi was at a loss for words. Liu Zhi’s father was a true veteran of Sanyizhuang. Although he had never achieved military merit and was promoted, he had worked diligently on the farm all his life.

"Nothing major is happening in Sanyi Village right now, so just take care of your family. Don't worry, things will get better."

Li Yi waved goodbye to Liu Zhi, looked at Qin Yue'er and Wang Ling's family of four, and said:

"Sister Qin, you and the child can still stay in the main room. I'll move to the west room. Father, you and Wang Ling can stay in the guest room. Pack up any belongings you have as soon as possible."

Aunt Qin looked uneasy and waved her hands repeatedly, "How can this be! That's the adults' quarters. Yue'er and I will just squeeze into the guest room!"

Li Yi smiled and said, "It's alright, I like living in the west room."

Li Erhu and Guan Tian walked out of the house at the right time; the water in the bucket was still relatively clear.

"There's not much to clean, I just tidied up your clothes and stuff."

Li Yi sent the two away to cultivate, and then, no longer caring about anything else, he stood in the courtyard and began practicing standing meditation.

The wood energy surged from the Tongziliao acupoint, and after completing one cycle, it suddenly sensed something and opened its eyes to look to its side.

A horrific white ghost, utterly defeated, suddenly came into view!

He was wearing rattan armor, had a burly build, but his face was completely bloodless, and there was a hole in his chest.

Although they arrived uninvited, they did not make any moves.

When Li Yi noticed, he lowered his head slightly, clasped his hands in a fist and said:

"My name is Qin Kaixian. I greet you, Brother Li."