knife

Chapter 423 The Convergence of Three Forces

The leader of the Hou Tu Banner, Zhan Zhao, bears no resemblance whatsoever to the Zhan Zhao known as the Imperial Cat that Li Dachui is thinking of.

The Imperial Cat Zhan Zhao is elegant and handsome.

The flag bearer was quite tall, but like Su Qi, he had long arms and legs and a dark complexion. What was even more striking was his thick beard, which stood up like stiff bristles. It was estimated that ordinary razors would have no effect on this formidable-looking beard.

This guy looks as hard as iron, but he's been in Lin Hong's prison for a while and is now very weak.

Su Qi still needs to help him walk.

Lin Hong was no saint. Having caught a heavyweight like Zhan Zhao, he was eager to pry out valuable information from him. If he could capture all the leaders of Hou Tu Banner in one fell swoop, it would be a tremendous achievement for Lin Hong.

Hou Tuqi and large landowners like the Lin family were natural enemies.

Of course, Hou Tu Qi is not only good at farming.

However, their development focus is on the vast rural areas.

The core of Houtuqi, and what they excel at most, is actually civil engineering.

For the core members of Houtu Banner, tasks such as road construction, city building, and house construction, which require considerable technical expertise, are simply routine tasks that they can easily handle.

The Five Elements Banners of the Demonic Cult, specifically the Sharp Metal and Blazing Fire Banners, are dedicated violent forces, the main force for rebellion and causing trouble. Other banners, such as Thick Earth, Giant Wood, and even Flood, are actually teams with considerable technical skill.

Under the banner of Jumu, there are countless skilled craftsmen. Over hundreds of years of operation, a large number of artisans in the State of Chu have become members of Jumu. Jumu Banner uses technology as bait to lure people into joining. If you want to learn advanced skills, you must join the banner.

However, the giant wooden flag was relatively mild, and craftsmen were treated well in that dynasty, at least their basic needs were met. So, as things stand now, they have little interest in rebellion.

Stability is the environment they desire most.

As for the Flood Flag, in the past, the State of Chu was terrified of the Demonic Sect, and the Flood Flag could only slowly penetrate these industries in the State of Chu. However, after Jiang Qian came to power, the Flood Flag immediately ushered in a good opportunity for rapid development. The two sides reached an agreement and became allies. In a very short time, with Jiang Qian's help, the Flood Flag controlled the State of Chu's navy.

You mean Li Dachui likes the Five Banners the most?

It certainly wouldn't be his current ally, Ruijinqi.

What he really wants is a highly technological organization like Thick Earth Giant Tree.

However, at this stage, with the country in ruins and war raging, military force has become the top priority, while these highly technological things have to take a back seat.

Zhan Zhao, who was over fifty years old, was more than ten years younger than Ke Wuji.

Zhan Zhao, whose martial arts cultivation was at the peak of the eighth rank, has now lost all his power.

In Lin Hong's prison, Zhan Zhao's dantian was destroyed, and all his cultivation was long gone.

However, while martial arts skills may disappear, the engineering experience accumulated over decades will not be lost.

Li Dachui hoped that this flag bearer could compile his expertise into a book and pass it on to future generations.

In the past, this engineering experience was passed down entirely by word of mouth, through a master-apprentice system. This was not only inefficient, but also prone to the loss of many mature experiences for inexplicable reasons.

Such losses cannot be bought back with money.

He needs more time to pick it up again, and sometimes he can't even pick it up at all.

But if it is put into writing and taught in specially established schools, then it is a completely different story.

The schools outside the Great Wall placed far greater emphasis on practical learning than on profound philosophical principles.

Zhan Zhao is an extremely resilient person.

Even though he had lost all his martial arts skills, he was not too frustrated. He was just a little regretful that he would no longer have the strength that ordinary people could not do when there were any big projects in the future.

Even someone as unsurprised as Ke Wuji, who would be unmoved by the collapse of Mount Tai, still jumped up from his chair in astonishment after hearing Ke Wuji talk about the Qi of Heaven and Earth.

Su Qi stared wide-eyed at Ke Wuji, speechless for a long time. "This is Lu Xiong!" Ke Wuji pointed to Lu Xiong standing behind him and said, "Chief Su, look at him, what's the difference between him and the Lu Xiong you saw before?"

Su Qi stared at Lu Xiong across from him for a long time before shaking his head and saying, "There is no difference in appearance, and they speak almost the same way. However, when that Lu Banner Chief stood in front of me, I always felt very at ease, but this one in front of me doesn't give me that feeling!"

This feeling is very mysterious, and there is no evidence to prove it, but sometimes it is just like that. You inexplicably and unusually trust a certain person.

Lu Xiong was not embarrassed by Su Qi's words; instead, he laughed.

“That is Li Dachui,” Ke Wuji said excitedly to Zhan Zhao. “Chief Zhan, he is the son of Li Zemin and He Qingqiu. He has mastered the Qi of Heaven and Earth and is now the Protector-General of the Northern Protectorate. This is something our Divine Sect has been hoping for all along, and we finally see hope for success.”

"Is it really possible for someone to master the Qi of Heaven and Earth?" Zhan Zhao found it hard to believe.

For hundreds of years, countless outstanding figures of the Divine Sect have fallen victim to this so-called Qiankun Yiqi (Heaven and Earth Unity Qi). To this day, this divine skill is not forbidden for disciples to peruse within the Demonic Sect's headquarters, but no one has ever taken it seriously.

"Can you imagine someone who possesses both the Phoenix Fire and Moonlight Water skills?" Ke Wuji asked.

“It’s hard to imagine.” Zhan Zhao shook his head: “I practice the Moon Essence Weak Water, but due to my aptitude, I can only practice it to the peak of the eighth rank and can’t make any further progress. One is extremely yin and the other is extremely yang. Water and fire are incompatible. The yin-yang harmony and water-fire fusion mentioned in the general principles are simply impossible to achieve.”

"But I saw it with my own eyes!" Ke Wuji recalled that night, with blue sparks flying all over the sky and moonlight cascading down like a waterfall.

The starlight danced in the moonlight. The yang fire and the yin moonlight were like twin lotus flowers or mandarin ducks, relying on and supporting each other. It was extremely beautiful. However, Ke Wuji knew very well how dangerous the murderous intent was hidden in that beautiful scenery.

“Master Zhan, your dantian has been destroyed, and you have lost all your cultivation. For an ordinary person, there is almost no hope of recovery. However, Protector Li’s cultivation of the Qiankun Qi might have a way,” Ke Wuji said. “When Protector Li returns, let’s see if there is any hope of repairing it for you and restoring your power.”

Zhan Zhao shook his head and said with a wry smile, "I hadn't thought about those things. If it's gone, it's gone. But what you said is truly unbelievable, really hard to believe!"

"Hearing is believing, seeing is believing!" Ke Wuji laughed. "When Protector Li returns, you'll see for yourself. In the meantime, you should stay here and recuperate. Otherwise, when Protector Li returns, he can treat your injuries, but if your constitution is compromised and your body becomes like a leaky sieve, that won't be good. Protector Li is very busy, always on the go, and rarely stays in one place."

"Alright, some hope is better than no hope!" Zhan Zhao nodded and said, "Elder Ke, what should we do next?"

"Now that we have territory and a well-trained army, the next step is to establish a firm foothold and completely control this army. This army is quite powerful. By placing experts from our Divine Sect and the Canal Gang into the army as the backbone, the army's combat effectiveness will greatly increase." Ke Wuji smiled and said, "After doing all this, the next step is naturally to find a way to expand our territory and gradually increase our power."

"Compete with Linghuye?"

"Of course!" Ke Wuji laughed. "Linghu Ye just snatched Luoyang from Zhang Quanyi. His feet are still in mid-air, just like ours. Naturally, he should take advantage of this moment to pull it into our arms!"

What if Linghuye turns hostile and attacks?

"What's there to be afraid of?" Ke Wuji chuckled. "Chief Zhan, Yiyang and Ningxian are both small cities with barely any defenses. The elites of your Hou Tu Banner will be coming over soon, so we can use these two places to practice and see how to build a city defense system that is both cost-effective and capable of severely damaging the enemy when they attack."

“Very well, the people of Houtu Banner are really not very good at battle formations, but when it comes to this kind of thing, they are experts!” Zhan Zhao nodded repeatedly: “With a year or so, I can turn this little Yiyang into an indestructible and unyielding iron pea!”

“That’s excellent. You will be in charge of defense, and I will be in charge of offense. He Yiming of the Canal Gang is mainly in making money. As long as the three of us cooperate well, we can build a stronghold for the Protector in this battleground, just waiting for the Northern Army to march into the pass.”

"Is Protector Li really He Qingqiu's son?"

"Of course!"

"Could his cultivation of the Universe Qi really possibly repair my dantian?"

"I can't say for sure about other things, but you happen to be practicing the Moon Essence Weak Water, right? The Moon Essence Weak Water is derived from the Qi of Heaven and Earth. What might not work for others could be just right for you!"

"If that's really the case, then that's good!" Zhan Zhao nodded and said, "This feeling of being so weak that I can't even lift a hundred pounds is truly terrible."

The area encompasses two counties, which are neither particularly large nor small.

The key is that their positions are extremely important.

Li Dachui meticulously orchestrated the surrender of Zhang Quanyi's followers, the merger of the Ruijin Banner and the Houtu Banner, and the addition of the Caobang, binding these forces that were originally completely unrelated together. This resulted in a sudden, exponential increase in the strength of this land.

The nail has been driven in; now it's up to them to see how they manage it.

(End of this chapter)