Longzang

Chapter 181 This is Yong'an County
In a stone house built on the spot using Taoist magic, Wei Yuan sat opposite Niu Jinbao, frowning as he looked at this guy who was determined to die.

Although Niu Jinbao was very tight-lipped, Wei Yuan kept trying to get information out of him, focusing on every detail and picking out every single thing he said. After patiently working on him for half an hour, Wei Yuan still managed to get quite a bit of information out of him.

Wei Yuan now understands very well that this guy was sent by the court to die. If he can't stand it and kills him, then the Western Jin will have a reason to send troops to attack the border region.

Besides Niu Jinbao, Yuan Qingzhi, the prefect of Ningxi Commandery, was also no easy opponent. A former censor, he was a notorious madman in the court, biting anyone he encountered and having no friends whatsoever. His appointment as prefect of Ningxi was quite deliberate.

The Prince of Jin reorganized the four prefectures with the aim of conquering the Azure Netherworld. What is the point of reorganizing the four prefectures if he does not bring the Azure Netherworld under his control?

Wei Yuan was now in a real predicament; killing Niu Jinbao was one thing, but not killing him was another. This man was sent to him by the Prince of Jin, and killing him would exactly what the Prince of Jin wanted.

Niu Jinbao's words also implied that the imperial army was continuously entering Ningxi, and that Prince Jin had even transferred the northern border troops, showing that he was determined to win.

The Western Jin Dynasty shared the most borders with the Northern Liao Dynasty, and many areas were indefensible, relying entirely on military garrisons and mobile defense. Therefore, among all the armies in the Western Jin Dynasty, the elite troops on the northern border were always the most important.

Wei Yuan pondered for a moment, then asked, "Do you want to die?"

Niu Jinbao glared at him and said, "Who would want to die if they could live a good life? But now it's not up to me whether I live or die. Just kill me already, and don't think about anything else."

Wei Yuan ignored him and pushed open the door to leave. Several people rushed in afterward, including the two female cultivators who had been dragged onto the carriage.

The men blindfolded Niu Jinbao, gagged him, and then proceeded to beat him senseless with punches and kicks. Some of their blows were specifically aimed at his groin; if Wei Yuan hadn't given him specific instructions, Niu Jinbao's body parts probably wouldn't have been left intact.

Fortunately, these guys were quite obedient, and after a good beating, their parts were still about 10% new.

After beating him, the men stripped Niu Jinbao naked. By this time, Niu Jinbao was on the verge of death and unable to resist. He didn't care about saving face and acted as if he was ready to do whatever they wanted.

Several men carried Niu Jinbao out, then stuffed him into a box and nailed him shut. Niu Jinbao thought he was going to be buried alive, so he steeled himself and started cursing. However, his mouth was still gagged, so he could only make muffled noises.

Then the box started shaking, as if he were on a carriage. It shook like this all day, until it almost shook his bones apart, before it finally stopped. Then someone opened the box, lifted him out and threw him on the ground, then cut the ropes and removed the hood.

Niu Jinbao's vision blurred for a moment, and he slowly adjusted to the light.

It was noon, and the surrounding area consisted of rolling hills, with a road running through the valley. At the valley entrance stood several inns and taverns, forming a small village that appeared to have a few hundred residents.

Dozens of equally naked men lay on the ground to the left and right of Niu Jinbao, including Captain Liu. These men were all soldiers who had escorted Niu Jinbao to his new post, and they all looked like they had just been born. Captain Liu was in a much worse state, his face covered in bruises, and one of his eyes swollen shut.

Niu Jinbao glanced down at the bottom and saw that it was also brand new, which put him at ease.

Some masked knights dragged the last few soldiers out of the carriage and threw them on the ground, then coldly said to Niu Jinbao, "We've arrived."

Niu Jinbao looked around and said, "This place is a desolate and barren place, perfect for my burial. But could you tell me what this place is? So that I can appear in my son's dream and ask him to offer some incense at my grave."

All the masked knights remained silent, except for one who pointed to the side.

When Niu Jinbao looked, he saw a large tree with a piece of bark peeled off, on which three large characters were written: Yong'an County.

Niu Jinbao rubbed his eyes. The sign on the tree did indeed say Yong'an County. He subconsciously said, "This is Yong'an County? Did I come to the wrong place?"

Captain Liu said helplessly, "These characters are newly written. Oh, the calligraphy is quite good."

The leading knight softened his demeanor somewhat and said, "This is Yong'an County."

Niu Jinbao realized what was happening and shouted, "This isn't Yong'an County!"

"This is Yong'an County."

"This isn't Yong'an County!!" "This is Yong'an County."

Just as Niu Jinbao was about to call out again, he suddenly realized something and said, "Alright, this is Yong'an County."

The knight said calmly, "Weren't you going to Yong'an County to take up your post? You've already arrived."

Niu Jinbao got up, completely unconcerned about being naked, and asked, "Then where exactly is Yong'an County?"

The knight took out a map, pointed to it, and said, "Here."

Captain Liu also came over, and immediately gasped in shock. This location on the map was west of the boundary, a full five hundred li away. Most importantly, this position straddled the boundary between the Witch Clan and the boundary; if the Witch Clan were to invade, this would be the first line of defense.

The knight added, "There are many bandits in this area. You two had better not stray more than a hundred miles from this tree, or you will die at the hands of bandits. Don't blame me for not warning you."

Captain Liu asked with a forced smile, "I wonder which bandit gangs are around here?"

The masked knight pointed to himself and said, "One of us is enough. How many more do you want?"

The masked knights did not linger, mounted their horses and rode away, leaving Niu Jinbao, Captain Liu and dozens of other naked pigs behind.

Niu Jinbao looked around and suddenly went to a relatively high spot nearby, where he began clearing away rocks and shrubs. Seeing Captain Liu standing there in a daze, Niu Jinbao called out, "What are you all standing there for? Come and get to work!"

"What work?"

"Establish a government office and a county!"

Captain Liu was completely bewildered. Did Niu Jinbao really intend to open his office in this dangerous place? Danger was one thing, but the key point was that this wasn't Yong'an at all!

Niu Jinbao glanced at the naked soldiers and suddenly remembered something: "We came with two hundred men, how come there are only so few left now?"

He pulled aside a few soldiers and questioned them in detail, only to learn that many of them had joined the knight and become bandits. These men were left behind because the bandits refused to take them in due to their poor physique and lack of talent.

Niu Jinbao was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

At this moment, in the Azure Nether Realm, Wei Yuan unfolded a map and said to Cui Yu, who had just returned, "There are three suitable locations to establish counties in the west. We can move Anbian, Qiao, and Weining counties there as well. You'll have to work hard and move all three counties in the next couple of days. No one who can become a county magistrate is stupid. They should all know what it means to be sent here. They can only pretend to be confused when they are moved."

Wei Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "As for the followers, we'll follow the same procedures as this time. We'll take in those who can, send the rebellious ones on their way, and leave some manpower for those county magistrates. Let's leave half of them, otherwise their counties won't be able to function."

Cui Yu said, "What if these people really build the county? Wouldn't that block our westward advance?"

Wei Yuan rolled his eyes at him and said, "You're still thinking about advancing westward? We're lucky we can even hold onto our base right now. Besides, are you saying the Wu tribe won't come?"

Cui Yu immediately understood: "Once the Wu Clan army arrives, they will be the first line of defense."

Wei Yuan nodded: "If the Wu tribe comes again, their offensive will be unprecedented, and these four counties alone cannot stop them. However, the Prince of Jin wants to use me to kill those people, but I will refuse to do so. Let them die at the hands of the Wu tribe."

Wei Yuan then remembered something else and said, "When you are moving these three counties, remember to interrogate them for information, the more the better. I need the location of each administrative center of the Western Jin Dynasty and the strength of its garrison. If you feel you can't get anything out of them, have Wan'er go with you."

Cui Yu laughed and said, "Very well. If the Prince of Jin continues to act recklessly, we might just transfer the prefecture to him as well!"

Wei Yuan said, "After the three counties are relocated, let's see how Yuan Qingyan reacts first."

"Oh, by the way, an elder in my family just sent over some information about this person surnamed Yuan. I'll have someone bring it over right away."

(End of this chapter)