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The Lu family didn't have as much of a business as the Cui family, but their advantage lay in their geographical location.

The Lu family's estate in Huzhou was closer to the capital; it only took a few days to reach Tongzhou Wharf by water.

Lu Yuan's plan was shrewd—waterways were faster and more discreet than land routes. Hundreds and thousands of boats traveled back and forth on the Grand Canal every day, carrying grain, goods, and people; no one could tell which boat belonged to the Lu family and which belonged to someone else.

He loaded the grain and weapons onto the ship, laid a layer of straw in the hold, and piled sacks on top. From the outside, it looked like an ordinary cargo ship, and even the flag hanging on the mast was the most ordinary blue cloth flag without any markings.

On the 21st day of the twelfth lunar month, the Lu family's first batch of cargo ships departed from Huzhou.

The fleet was small, consisting of three ships, each with seven or eight crew members, all of whom were elite assassins trained by the Lu family and possessed exceptional skills.

While they were loading goods at the Huzhou dock, the dockworkers were chatting and smoking their pipes nearby, and no one gave them a second glance.

The Grand Canal was teeming with boats; three boats were mixed in so well that not a single drop of water splashed. The boatman was a tall, thin man in his fifties, surnamed Ma. He had been sailing the canal for thirty years and could navigate from Huzhou to Tongzhou with his eyes closed.

He stood at the bow of the boat, holding a purple clay teapot in his hand, looking at the snow-covered fields on both banks. His expression was exactly the same as when he was sailing the boat—unhurried and unhurried, as if he were doing an ordinary business.

The Zheng family's actions were the latest, but also the most covert.

Unlike Cui Yin, who mobilized supplies in a grand manner, or Lu Yuan, who used waterways, Zheng Yun employed a smarter method—breaking down large operations into smaller, phased infiltrations.

The Zheng family's private army in various prefectures and counties north of the Yangtze River totaled less than five hundred men. Although the number was small, each of them was a carefully selected expert. Some were veterans who had retired from the border, while others were outlaws who could no longer make a living in the martial arts world. After being bought off by the Zheng family, they changed their names and went into hiding in the Zheng family's manor, where they remained for several years.

On the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, the first group of people from the Zheng family set off.

They did not wear uniform clothing or carry weapons. They traveled in groups of three or five, disguised as people visiting relatives, doing business, going to the capital for the imperial examinations, or seeking refuge with friends and relatives. They entered the capital in batches, taking different routes and official roads at different times.

Some rode donkeys, some walked, some hitchhiked, and some took boats. Their bundles contained only a few changes of clothes and a few taels of silver, making them look no different from the migrants who flocked to the capital to make a living before the end of the year.

At the same time, the Cui family also began to make moves in several fortified villages around the capital.

These fortified villages were mostly built in mountain valleys far from the official roads, built against the mountains, making them easy to defend and difficult to attack.

On weekdays, only a few old men who guard the gate and a few old dogs live there. The yard is overgrown with weeds, and from the outside it looks like an abandoned village.

But as long as the Cui family gives an order, these fortified villages will be transformed into military camps within a few days—the granaries will have enough food to last for half a year, the cellars will have enough weapons to equip hundreds of people, the woodsheds will be filled with bows and arrows, and even the well water will be drawn in advance and stacked in buckets in the cellar behind the kitchen, covered with damp cloths to keep it fresh.

The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is the Little New Year.

In the capital, every household was offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God. The sweet aroma of candied melons mingled with the smoke from burning paper money, wafting through every alley.

The children ran around in the street, holding candied melons in their hands, candied fruit in their mouths, and sugar stains on their faces, laughing like wrinkled flowers.

Red paper couplets were pasted on the doors of shops, and some even had lanterns hanging, casting a warm glow in the twilight. There were many more pedestrians on the street than usual, all rushing to buy New Year's goods before the end of the year, carrying large and small bags in their hands, their faces beaming with the joy of the New Year.

On this day, the first batch of supplies and personnel from the Cui, Lu, and Zheng families had all arrived.

The Cui family's grain and weapons were transported to Cuijiawubao, east of the capital. It was a stone village built deep in the hills, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only one narrow road leading in.

The wall of the fortified village is more than ten feet high, with an arrow tower at each of the four corners. It usually looks dilapidated, but in the past few days, more people have been added to the arrow towers, and the fire in the stove has never gone out. The smoke from the chimneys rises and mixes with the smoke from the nearby villages, making it impossible to tell which belongs to the Cui family and which belongs to the common people.

The Lu family's cargo ships docked at Tongzhou Wharf. The three ships were moored side by side at the most secluded berth. The grain and weapons in the hold had been unloaded overnight and transported by oxcart to a farm owned by the Lu family outside Tongzhou City.

The estate covered more than a hundred acres and had dozens of empty rooms. The Lu family had already sent people to clean it, lay out straw, and light a brazier, so that the people could move in as soon as they arrived.