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

Lin Ye and Chen Cheng rode side by side on their horses back to the military camp, galloping all the way.

Before coming here, Lin Ye had planned to take this opportunity to wander around the city and see the prosperity and local customs of Qingyang Prefecture. But at this moment, he had no interest at all.

The arguments at the meeting, the assignment of Qinghe County, and the hostile gazes of other families weighed heavily on my heart, making even the street scene before me lose its color.

"Brother Lin," Chen Cheng said in a low voice, his tone tinged with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

"You've really screwed me over this time. Qinghe County is not only far away, but it's also far from Qingyang Prefecture, so there must be a lot of bandits there."

What's more troublesome is that it's close to the city of Gongchang Prefecture, and who knows if there might be some shady dealings involving the families of Gongchang Prefecture hiding inside.

Lin Ye frowned and asked in confusion, "Why is the Wang family targeting us? I have no grudges against them and have never had any dealings with them before."

Chen Cheng glanced back and saw that Liu Zhenghua was left a little further away, so he took a step closer and lowered his voice.

"As you know, two hundred years ago, Wuwei County was actually controlled by the Qingyuan Sword Sect, and it was only later that it gradually became what it is today."

But it's obvious to everyone that the Qingyuan Sword Sect has always wanted to dominate a prefecture like the other forces, but it's currently hampered by the lack of a base for acquired Dao soldiers and its insufficient strength, so it has given up for the time being.

For this reason, other forces in the prefecture, including the imperial court, have always been wary of them.

He paused, then continued, "The Wang family has always regarded Qingyang Prefecture as their sphere of influence and wanted to dominate the prefecture. Knowing that the Sword Sect is stationed in your territory, they must assume that you were sent by the Sword Sect."

They dare not directly turn against the Qingyuan Sword Sect, but they can certainly give you a warning, this "hand of the sword sect reaching into Qingyang Prefecture".

As for the Su and Gao families, they are merely opportunists; they probably share the same concerns and are unwilling to let the Qingyuan Sword Sect take root in Qingyang Prefecture.

Chen Cheng sighed, his tone sincere, "Brother Lin, if I didn't know that you were not a vassal of the Sword Sect, but merely a partner, I wouldn't dare to get so close to you."

Upon hearing this, Lin Ye's heart sank, and he thought to himself: I've really been caught in the crossfire. Cao Juncheng had warned him beforehand to be careful about his relationship with the sword sect, but he hadn't taken it seriously at the time, and now he's suffering this injustice.

But then he thought, without the support of the sword sect, he wouldn't have gotten to where he is today. Let alone establishing a territory, he probably wouldn't even have been able to gain a foothold.

Moreover, if it weren't for the Sword Sect members stationed in Linjiawu, the various families in the territory wouldn't have cooperated so much.

Historically, there have been many instances of lords being suppressed by local families in alliances, let alone the Ye family, which was a small family with a weak foundation.

I just didn't expect that after finding two allies, the Su family and the Gao family, just two days ago, they would no longer stand on my side because of this matter. It's so realistic.

Thinking of this, he suppressed his complicated emotions, looked up at Chen Cheng and said, "Now that things have come to this, Brother Chen, we need to have a good discussion about how to clean up Qinghe County."

Those people are watching closely; if things don't go well, the court's punishment could come at any time.

Chen Cheng nodded. "Let's go back to the camp first, and then we can discuss it in detail."

The two, accompanied by their guards, sped all the way back to the camp in no time.

Lin Ye led Lin Jing, Lin Ping, and Liu Yun directly to the tent where Chen Cheng was.

Eight officers were already waiting inside the tent, all clad in armor and with solemn expressions. Judging from their demeanor, three of them were probably second-rate martial artists. Looking at our own side, the gap was still quite large.

When Lin Ye and his three companions entered the tent, Chen Cheng and his officers were taken aback, their eyes scanning the four men up and down.

The oldest, Lin Ye, was only twenty years old, and the youngest, Liu Yun, was only sixteen, their faces still showing some immaturity.

Such an age is truly rare in a military meeting like this.

Finally, Chen Cheng broke the silence first, a smile playing on his lips, but his tone was filled with emotion, "Brother Ye's men are so young, all so promising. We, on the other hand, are really getting old."

Lin Ye knew in his heart that his four companions were indeed too young, not that the entire expedition team consisted of teenagers.

Among the team captains, there were also older individuals.

Moreover, Zhang Yuan, the head of the Zhang family, also came to this expedition, but he was in charge of logistics. Sun Qian, who was in charge of intelligence, was also there, but they were not suitable to participate in such high-level military consultations.

He smiled and said frankly, "The territory is in need of development in all sectors and there is a shortage of talent. I can only bring the younger generation out here, which is also a good opportunity for them to gain experience and training."

Afterwards, Lin Ye greeted each member of the Chen family.

The Chen family dispatched over two thousand troops this time, and those present were all battalion commanders and two captains.

Chen Cheng himself was a General of the Central Army recognized by the imperial court.

The group spread out the map of Qinghe County that they had brought back from the prefectural city.

In truth, the fact that Qinghe County was assigned to the Chen and Lin families was not entirely due to the Wang family deliberately making things difficult for them.

This area is crisscrossed by rivers and has a dense network of waterways. Local bandits are mostly water bandits, which is perfect for Chen Jiadao's elite crocodile armor guards to make the most of their skills.

According to intelligence from Gongchang Prefecture, there are three major river bandit groups in Qinghe County: Heishui Village, Bawangtan, and Xuehuwan, all entrenched deep in the river channels.

Whenever government troops attempted to suppress them, they would disappear into the reed marshes and tributaries, making it difficult for the government troops to pursue them.

In addition, there are now many monsters in the river, and it is not easy for outsiders to figure out their distribution, so the officers and soldiers dare not venture deep into the river rashly.

Qinghe County is still under the control of the imperial court, but other towns are mostly occupied by river bandits, who even take over the tax collection and management from the government, making them virtually a state within a state.

The intelligence report from the prefectural city also specifically mentioned that Blackwater Village was likely infiltrated by the Northern Xiongnu, and that there were Northern Xiongnu spies inside the village, who were secretly supported by the Northern Xiongnu.

Of the three groups of bandits, Bawangtan and Xuehuwan each had about two thousand men, while Heishuizhai had as many as three thousand.

Although there were many people, their quality varied greatly, and there were not many martial artists; most of them were local thugs and ruffians.

Not to mention compared to the Chen family's regular army, it is significantly inferior even to the Lin family's army.

Therefore, there are two main issues in the crackdown:

Firstly, there were boats. The Chen and Lin families originally thought that their main enemies were bandits, who had many cavalry, although they also had waterborne troops like the Crocodile Armor Guards.

But fighting a war certainly can't rely on just these few soldiers; ultimately, people have to go, which requires boats and ships.

However, neither of them brought boats, and it would be difficult to transport them along the way, so they had to find a way to get water transportation first.

Secondly, once the bandits' lair is located, and they are forced into battle, it will be easy to defeat them with our own forces.

Finally, there's the question of how to avoid the monsters in the water and reduce unnecessary casualties.

The group discussed these three points throughout the night.

The final decision was to go to Qinghe County first. The county must have been able to stand until now, so there must be usable boats. As for how to find the bandits and avoid the monsters, that would require further planning.

The original plan of "one company being responsible for half of the area" is no longer feasible.

Naval warfare is more vulnerable to ambushes, so concentrated action is essential; otherwise, once dispersed, it may lead to individual combat and being defeated one by one.

In addition, everyone emphasized the lord's safety and advised him not to go to the battlefield in person.

On water, the situation is completely different from that on land. No matter how strong the defenses are, if the ship is sunk, there is nowhere to escape.