With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

Several days have passed since the last discussion in the hall.

In the past few days, Lin Ye has been telling everyone about his plans to travel to Yun County.

Although some people initially advised him against traveling far away so soon after taking control of the territory, his idea of ​​establishing his first diplomatic mission in Yun County was quickly approved by everyone.

After all, Xiang County is currently facing a shortage of resources, and it does need to deal with other territories for future development.

This is an important step outward, and it paves the way for future stability and development.

Today marks the first official trip of our territory to establish relations with other territories.

A large crowd gathered in front of the Lin family's gate, with carriages and horses lined up neatly, as a sizable convoy prepared to depart.

The open space in front of the gate was filled with villagers and clansmen who came to see him off, some giving words of advice and others waving goodbye.

"Just let your Uncle Lin Qiang go. Why do you insist on going yourself? You've only been back for less than a year, and now you want to go out again."

"And what about Ruozhu, who left so suddenly?" Li Shi looked worried and held Lin Ye's hand tightly.

Lin Ye smiled and said, "Mother, this is our first contact with Yun County. We need to deal with the Baron of Yun County in person, so I have to go in person to show our sincerity."

Besides, I'm not going alone. I'm accompanied by a true disciple of the sword sect, and I have a guard team protecting me. Nothing will happen.

He paused, his ears turning slightly red. "I've already spoken to Ruozhu, and she's very supportive. We've already agreed that I'll marry her when I get back. Mother, don't worry."

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"Alright, alright, then I can rest assured," Madam Li said, still feeling uneasy.

"When you're out and about, you must be careful. I support your love of martial arts, but if you ever get into a fight, never be the first to rush in. Even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about your mother and the whole family."

"Okay," Lin Ye replied. "Everyone else is waiting, I'll be going now."

He strode onto the carriage, stood beside the shaft, and shouted, "Let's go!"

A convoy of over a hundred people slowly started moving and headed towards Yun County.

Outside the carriage, Wang Qing, dressed in a clean white shirt, sat beside the carriage, side by side with the coachman.

He had just broken through to the second rank a few days ago and officially joined the ranks of true disciples. He hadn't changed this white robe, which symbolized a true disciple, and Lin Ye had teased him about it a few times.

In addition to Wang Qing, two other disciples of the Sword Sect were also on guard to ensure sufficient deterrence and combat power in case of danger.

Lin Ye was worried that having only three second-rate fighters was not enough, so he transferred eight squads from the guard team, including eight third-rate captains and nearly a hundred second-rate martial artists to accompany him.

These guards served two purposes: firstly, to ensure the safety of the journey, and secondly, to prevent a large number of martial artists from being left behind in the territory. Even with Lin Qiang in charge, he still felt uneasy.

The team also included newly appointed town officials.

The river channel has not yet been fully opened, and they have not officially taken office yet. They can take this opportunity to go to Yun County, firstly to observe the development model of other territories, and secondly to find direction for the planning of their own town.

Yunxian will undoubtedly become an important trading partner for Xiangxian in the future.

In addition, the heads of various families were also in the group.

They are both the future managers of the town, who need to learn how to govern, and also a kind of "hostage" to be restrained.

The Lin family is currently weak. If anyone takes advantage of Lin Ye's trip to cause trouble, the family heads in Yun County will keep each other in check, making it less likely for disaster to occur.

Liu Zhenghua, along with two other second-rate disciples and other third-rate disciples, stayed behind to guard the fortified village. Lin Qiang and Lin Yi did not accompany them.

With their prestige and power in the territory, they were able to keep those with ill intentions in check.

After all, life in the territory is getting better day by day, and those who really want to cause trouble are ultimately a minority.

The caravan also included servants and grooms, totaling nearly two hundred people, a considerable number that ordinary bandits would not dare to provoke.

If they were to actually meet, it would be hard to say who would be on the receiving end. With three second-rate fighters, several third-rate fighters, and a host of guards, their fighting strength would be enough to make many petty villains think twice about the consequences.

The convoy slowly drove away, and the crowd seeing them off gradually disappeared into the distance. Lin Ye lifted the carriage curtain and looked back, only to see a pretty figure standing in the distance waving incessantly behind the crowd.

That's Zhang Ruozhu.

Originally, one could travel to Yun County by waterway, but since the waterway is not yet open, the only option is to travel by land.

Actually, traveling by land isn't a big deal; the journey takes less than ten days.

However, the situation along the way was more troublesome than expected.

Because of the passage of time, many of the old roads have fallen into disrepair, becoming potholed and overgrown with weeds. Horse-drawn carriages would often get stuck, requiring a great deal of effort to get out.

Fortunately, the horses in this world are much better than those in my previous life; they run faster and have better stamina.

In addition, many of the people accompanying the car were martial artists who were all strongmen. When they encountered obstacles, a few people could lift the car over them, so the time was not too much.

However, the desolate scenery along the way still made Lin Ye frown.

These places are far from the county seat, so there are few people to begin with, and most of the villages are deserted, with collapsed walls and houses, and fields overgrown with weeds. They look desolate and quiet, which makes people feel heavy-hearted.

However, there are also some happy aspects.

The number of monsters he encountered along the way was much less than when he returned to Xiang County from the Sword Sect.

It's unclear whether the nest played a role, or whether they simply hid when they saw such a large group, but it's highly likely that both reasons were at play.

Aside from that, nothing particularly special happened; they just kept traveling. They didn't encounter any bandits, and the monsters all ran far away, not daring to get close.

Slowly, after traveling steadily for eight or nine days, the group finally arrived at the border area between Xiang County and Yun County.

The trees on both sides of the road gradually thinned out, and the terrain became undulating, with several low hills faintly visible in the distance.

"My lord, we're almost at Lone Wolf Stronghold." Sun Qian rode up to Lin Ye's carriage and reported in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, Lin Ye dismounted and looked at a simple stockade built against the mountain in the distance, with its wooden stakes leaning precariously.

The scene of that bloody night not long ago involuntarily surfaced in my mind.

At that time, they were outnumbered and defeated Lone Wolf Village and two other bandit groups, but they had limited manpower and the battle was rushed, and some bandits still managed to escape in the chaos.

"What's the situation at Lone Wolf Stronghold now?" Lin Ye asked in a deep voice.

After a moment's thought, Sun Qian summarized the latest intelligence report, saying, "Since we scattered them, the remaining remnants of those three bandit groups have all gathered at Lone Wolf Village."

According to intelligence gathered some time ago, there are about two to three hundred people in the stronghold, including two third-rate martial artists to maintain order, and more than a dozen unranked martial artists to assist.

Upon hearing that the number of people was only two or three hundred, and that there were only two third-rate martial artists among them, Lin Ye said, "In the future, when we reach an agreement with Yun County on trade, caravans will definitely pass through here frequently. We cannot let this group of bandits cause trouble."

He paused for a moment, then continued calmly, "Send the guards to wipe out Lone Wolf Stronghold, and also give the troops some training."

Sun Qian nodded and immediately rode his horse to the front of the convoy to relay the order to the guards at the head of the procession.