Longzang

Chapter 340 The storm is coming
Quliu Town.

As usual, Yuan Qingyan was discussing matters when an official said, "Lord Yuan, three soup kitchens have been set up, and we will see the results in a few days."

"Why are there three locations? Didn't you say you were only opening one?" Yuan Qingyan asked, frowning.

The official said, “One is indeed not enough. In fact, there are no refugees near the county seat. Refugees can’t even get here. We can only recruit some from the area near Bianning County, and they are all small groups of refugees. So we need to set up more soup kitchens to recruit enough people. But don’t worry, sir, although we have opened three soup kitchens, the grain consumption is still the same as one, only a thousand catties per day.”

Yuan Qingyan's expression softened, and he said, "Very good. I hold the title of prefect but have no people to govern, which is truly lamentable. Recruiting some refugees will allow us to reclaim wasteland and cultivate the land."

"Initially, shall we recruit... 10,000 people?"

Yuan Qingyan nodded: "Ten thousand is not too few. We only accept strong and healthy men, not the elderly, weak, women and children."

The officials all replied in unison, "Rest assured, sir!"

The four gates of Bianning County were wide open, and the soldiers guarding the city huddled in the gate towers, watching as groups of menacing refugees, carrying large and small bundles, filed out of the city.

A soldier on the city wall peered out and suddenly said, "Isn't that Commandant Zhang?"

In an instant, several heads popped out from the city wall, looking down. Among the procession leaving the city were groups of strong, muscular men, dressed in neat uniforms, clearly different from ordinary refugees. Moreover, there were quite a few people who had reached the Great Perfection of Body Forging, and even some Foundation Establishment cultivators, such as the captain who was recognized.

These people all walked dejectedly along with the refugees. Although they were only wearing their undershirts, the soldiers on the city wall could tell at a glance that they were issued military uniforms.

These soldiers, though not bound, surprisingly did not attempt to escape; instead, they obediently left the city. Among the refugees were many large carts, some of which had their curtains drawn and were filled with beautiful women.

The city guards found it strange, but none of them dared to leave the city. The large group of refugees also showed no intention of attacking the city; they simply left the city and headed west.

Among the refugees, someone kept saying, "There's a soup kitchen set up by Prefect Yuan of Ningxi County ahead. If everyone keeps trying, we can get there before dark and have something to eat!"

A burly man suddenly shouted, "I'm not pretending anymore! I'm a highly accomplished cultivator! Anyone who wants to follow me, stand within ten feet of me. There's a limit of three hundred. Then, follow my chant and march. First come, first served!"

With a whoosh, hundreds of people gathered around the man. The man immediately cast a spell and began to shout commands. The crowd started running together, initially at a jog, but gradually increasing in speed until they were sprinting at full speed, showing no signs of fatigue. In a short while, they disappeared from sight.

The remaining refugees were shocked and began to clamor. A dozen or so Foundation Establishment cultivators stepped forward, but then no one else did. The large group of refugees dared not delay any longer and quickened their pace, fearing that if they were late, the porridge would be gone again.

As night fell, the large group of refugees finally arrived at the border and saw a huge soup kitchen from afar, bigger than all the soup kitchens in Bianning County combined!

Above the porridge stall, a large flag was erected, bearing the character "Yuan" in a size of about ten feet!
There were hundreds of burly men maintaining order at the porridge stalls, constantly shouting, "Don't make a mess, line up! Prefect Yuan is so kind and generous, there's plenty for everyone today! There are fifty porridge distribution points in total, everyone can get some!"

After receiving the porridge, many of the refugees knelt down on the spot and kowtowed to Lord Yuan, who was far away.

A few refugees quietly left and disappeared into the night.

At the Prefectural Governor's Mansion in Quliu Town, Yuan Qingyan was having dinner when he suddenly saw that a rare orchid he had been cultivating for a long time had actually bloomed!

He was delighted and got up to go and take a look. With this movement, he felt refreshed and clear-headed, his magical power seemed to have improved, and even his hidden ailments were almost completely healed.

Yuan Qingyan was suddenly aroused, glanced at the maidservant, and then her desire subsided by three points.

But there wasn't a single commoner in Quliu Town, and this maid was already the best one they could find nearby. Yuan Qingyan had no choice but to scoop her up and carry her into the inner room.

The maidservant, looking shy, lightly punched Yuan Qingyan. Her round, dark red face almost caused the prefect's hidden illness to relapse.

Xu Xi had already changed his clothes and moved to the prefectural governor's office. Listening to the reports from his spies, he gritted his teeth, slammed his fist on the table, and exclaimed, "You bastard, Yuan Qingyan!"

In the Azure Nether Realm, Wei Yuan was leading his men to carve out a new area in the southeast of the realm, preparing to build a city there. Half of this area was actually already within the Ningxi Prefecture's borders, but Wei Yuan didn't care about that.

This city is named Xin'an City. All the refugees accepted will first be settled here, and then their abilities and potential will be assessed before they are assigned different jobs. New refugees will also undergo initial screening to ensure they are not enemy infiltrators. In reality, this screening is quite lenient, only to prevent large, organized groups of enemies from infiltrating.

Taking advantage of the refugee rebellion in Bianning County, Wei Yuan absorbed a total of 150,000 refugees in one go, and finally got a little overfed, but he can digest them in just two or three months.

The territory now has nearly 500,000 people, consuming a million catties of grain daily, which amounts to 30 million catties of grain per month. Fortunately, this season's grain will soon be ripe, bringing in another 40 million catties. In two more months, the 500,000 mu of land will be ready for harvest, yielding 100 million catties of grain per harvest.

With a basic supply of food, Wei Yuan felt more confident.

Among the refugees from Bianning County were several thousand captured government troops. Initially, they couldn't escape; the refugee group included the elite troops of the two newly formed garrisons by Wei Yuan, far superior to ordinary government soldiers. Later, upon hearing they were being sent to the Qingming Realm, they gave up on running. After all, being a soldier was the same wherever you were, so why not serve under the governor? However, Wei Yuan hadn't expected that his men would also manage to snatch back Xu Xi's group of concubines.

Actually, it was understandable. The situation was chaotic at the time. After the capture of the prefect's mansion, many refugees became enraged and saw that Xu Xi's concubines were about to suffer. The people of Qingming couldn't stand by and watch, so they took these women out under the pretext of offering them to their leader, and ended up bringing them all the way back to Qingming.

Wei Yuan was both amused and exasperated. At this point, he still couldn't return them, so he had no choice but to settle them in the city for the time being.

With new recruits, the next step is naturally to expand the army and prepare for war. These new refugees can be directly deployed to the battlefield in an emergency; after a few months of training, they can become regular troops, and after one or two years of physical training, they can become elite soldiers. Wei Yuan plans to transfer several thousand loyal veterans to command the new recruits at a ratio of one to fifty, ultimately forming a militia of 150,000, with only a few thousand artisans not required to go to the battlefield.

This can't even be described as warmongering; it's downright fanaticism.

However, what currently limits the number of troops in the realm is not guns, but ammunition. First, the ammunition reserves for the 10,000 elite troops must not be insufficient; second, the ammunition base for the 20,000 regular troops must not be lacking; and third, the ammunition reserves for the Xu family youths must also be sufficient, as they have proven themselves to be the best candidates to annihilate the Iron Cavalry. As a result, ammunition in the Azure Netherworld is far from enough; currently, there are more guns than bullets.

The core of ammunition is still gunpowder. Although the new gunpowder is much more expensive, its advantages are comprehensive and obvious. Ammunition made with it is lighter, more powerful, and easier to store. Moreover, only the new ammunition can allow cultivators with the Body Forging skill to significantly increase their rate of fire.

Wei Yuan's biggest concern right now is how to increase production capacity and reduce costs. Sun Yu is already working tirelessly, and it's unlikely that there will be any new results anytime soon.

Just as Wei Yuan was fully preparing for war, the shadow in the moon suddenly made a move, giving him a full thirty streams of advanced luck in one go!
Wei Yuan was immediately shocked, and only one sentence kept echoing in his mind: "Unsolicited kindness is either a trick or a theft!"

Then, ten more of the luck he had just gained disappeared, making Wei Yuan want to slap himself for always having such inappropriate thoughts!
Luck doesn't appear out of thin air; suddenly gaining so much luck must mean something is about to happen. Wei Yuan immediately ordered the entire region to enter a state of alert, with the elite troops and regular army of the two towns on standby, and border patrols intensified.

Even after arranging everything, Wei Yuan was still uneasy, staring at the sand table and pondering where the danger might come from.

Just then, a voice sounded behind him: "Are you on guard against me? Your intuition is indeed sharp."

Wei Yuan turned around as if in the wind, and there stood a refined and elegant cultivator behind him, dressed in silver robes, with a handsome and refined appearance. He looked to be no more than thirty years old, but his eyes held a wisdom that seemed to see through the ways of the world.

He stood there, but Wei Yuan was completely unaware; his divine sense swept over him, finding nothing. If he hadn't spoken, Wei Yuan would have thought it was an illusion created by some powerful figure.

Wei Yuan bowed and asked, "May I ask which senior has come to visit?"

The monk said, "The Bao family is full of treasures."

Wei Yuan was immediately startled. How could this person, who was ranked among the top True Monarchs of the era, suddenly appear here?
Bao Manshan said, "You've done a very good job here; you're a talented person. However, although the Shattered Domain restricts True Monarchs from entering and leaving, it doesn't prevent all True Monarchs from coming. Apart from me, other True Monarchs can also enter and leave if they are willing to pay some price."

Wei Yuan felt a chill run down his spine. Bao Manshan was clearly referring to something, most likely the Xu family.

“I came here to see you. But it’s only right to visit a junior with something, so this is for you.” Bao Manshan handed over a pale yellow fruit.

Wei Yuan felt a sense of familiarity upon seeing it, but as soon as he took it in his hand, the fruit suddenly disappeared. Then, the saplings on Jade Mountain sprouted branches and leaves, and a pale yellow branch grew. This branch was faint and indistinct, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

Wei Yuan naturally understood its function; this was Bao Yun's ability to disappear without a trace.

Bao Manshan raised his hand to stop Wei Yuan from speaking, then took out a jade pendant and said, "That was given to you by Yun'er just now, this is my gift. I originally wanted to give you something else, but after looking at it I realized you didn't need it, so I used this Yin-Yang Reversal Pendant instead. This jade pendant can take someone's place once, it's for your teacher."

Wei Yuan was well aware of the value of such a substitute treasure, so he accepted it respectfully without hesitation, bowed deeply, and made a mental note of it. Then he asked, "Why is Senior so kind to you?"

Bao Manshan chuckled softly and said, "Xuan Yue can't do anything to me. By keeping you alive, you can come back to avenge your ancestor! Haha, I'm leaving!"

With a flick of his sleeve, he vanished into thin air, just as he had arrived. Wei Yuan had no idea how he left. Holding the jade pendant, Wei Yuan dared not delay and went directly to find Zhang Sheng.

Bao Manshan suddenly sent over this jade pendant, probably because he foresaw that Zhang Sheng was destined for death.

Zhang Sheng was not one to feign modesty. Knowing his own physical body wasn't particularly strong, he didn't refuse and simply wore the jade pendant close to his body. He then said, "Kindness is kindness, and enmity is enmity. The ancestor's enmity must be avenged. After repaying this debt of gratitude, I will avenge the ancestor's ambush."

Wei Yuan deeply agreed.

Just then, Wei Yuan received news that the Xu family had made unusual movements and that their army had marched out of the pass.

At the same moment, the Five-Clawed Dragon Bloodwood bore its first fruit, which sprouted upon landing and burst forth with immense fortune!

But with the three immortal plants watching silently, it felt it should stay a little longer.

(End of this chapter)