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At this time, the local forces in the neighboring states of Weiyong also realized that they had misunderstood.

The dozen or so foreign forces that suddenly emerged were not vanguards sent by the Lord of Weiyong Territory, but rather forces created by a group of ambitious individuals who had been lurking in Weiyong Territory for a long time.

Of course, even if you know it's a misunderstanding, it's nothing; all external forces have to go through this.

If they survive, they will have the qualifications to compete for control of several states; if they don't, then it's just bad luck for them.

That's how stark the rules are during times of war.

Indeed, after the local forces launched a fierce attack, the six factions, including the former leader of the rebel army, have greatly improved in terms of both their own strength and the territory they control.

The six families each occupied one or more counties adjacent to the Weiyong territory.

The combined territory is no smaller than a single province under the jurisdiction of the Great Chu!

Moreover, with the backing of the Mighty Valor Territory, they were forced into a situation where they had no choice but to cooperate with the Lord of the Mighty Valor Territory due to the fierce encirclement and suppression by the local forces. This allowed the so-called Lord of the Mighty Valor Territory, Xiao Shan, to gain a considerable advantage.

With the help of these six forces, which either secretly pledged allegiance or formed tacit alliances, the Weiyong government easily extended its reach into the neighboring states.

Money, provisions, and military equipment were continuously supplied, and all sorts of talented people were sent to support them.

This resulted in the six remaining forces not only possessing formidable military strength, but also governing entirely the Weiyong Commander model.

Those who don't know the situation might think that the territory of the six forces is an extension of the Weiyong Territory!

All the six forces had to do was sacrifice millions of displaced people.

They were all transported to Weiyong Territory in an orderly manner with money, food and labor provided by the Weiyong government, and properly settled.

In peaceful times, such a large-scale population migration would naturally cause a stir in the court and attract nationwide attention. If things went wrong, it could provoke the wrath of the imperial court and a strong backlash from local powerful families.

But now is an absolute year of war!

The country was already teeming with displaced people, and any region or county ravaged by war could be described as a place where the people were living in misery.

Ambitious and daring forces that get involved in local power struggles are only interested in the able-bodied young men among the refugees, while they don't care about the old, weak, women and children at all.

Therefore, the Weiyong County government had a significant advantage in terms of timing and opportunity. With a large-scale migration of over one million people every year, the population of Weiyong County easily exceeded ten million and was approaching fifteen million.

The elderly, weak, women, and children, whom others looked down upon, were treated equally by the Wei Yong magistrate's government.

Anyway, once they're under Xiaoshan's jurisdiction, Xiaoshan will always find a way to utilize them!

With Xiao Shan's knowledge and skills, in addition to instructing the craftsmen collected by his subordinates to manufacture production tools powered by human and animal power, as well as by natural wind and water power, he also devised rune tools that were specially designed based on the environment.

With the help of tools, the elderly, women, and children can create the same value as young and strong laborers.

In such a time of war and chaos, a peaceful and tranquil place like the Mighty Territory is truly a rare and precious find.

Even the capital of the Great Chu Dynasty is said to be in complete chaos.

Therefore, all the people who migrated from war-torn areas to Weiyong Territory consciously abided by the local rules and regulations, which reduced the management costs for the Weiyong Territory government.

At the same time, it can organize and mobilize these newly joined elderly, weak, women and children to participate in labor and create value at a lower cost.

With the continuous influx of migrants, while neighboring states were engulfed in war, the Weiyong Territory was busy with large-scale production and construction, making full use of many previously undeveloped wastelands that could not be developed due to a lack of manpower.

If this weren't a world of immortals and heroes, teeming with incredibly powerful beings and forces, the current productivity of the Mighty Valor Territory, along with its matching military strength, would have been more than capable of sweeping across the vast territory of the Great Chu.

Unfortunately, there is a powerful figure here whom even Xiaoshan fears and dares not make any rash moves that would cause a great disturbance, which means that Xiaoshan's expansion journey cannot be too flamboyant.

In fact, Xiaoshan mainly focused his energy on his own cultivation rather than on governing the local area and expanding his territory.

Therefore, the six forces that either sought refuge with or allied with the Mighty Territory got a great deal.

The powerful and valiant leader provided a continuous stream of financial, food, and military supplies, and even generously provided various talents for governing and maintaining the region.

All they needed to do was deal with the encirclement and suppression by local forces in several states, and lead their troops to conquer various places, gradually expanding their territory.

Without having to waste time and energy on governing and stabilizing the local situation, the leaders of the six factions can focus their efforts on targeting local forces in the states and expanding their influence.

Even if a large number of refugees came because of his reputation, the Weiyong County government behind him would take them away directly, without adding any burden to them, and they could even make a profit.

The leaders of the six factions never imagined that the benefits of relying on Weiyong Territory would be so great.

Chapter 873, The Hidden Dangers of Relying on the Mighty Territory! (Please Subscribe!)

Of course, it wasn't that no one noticed that while the Lord of Mighty Valor was using them to develop himself, he was also extending his reach into the neighboring states.

It can be said that wherever the territories of the six forces expand, the tentacles of the Lord of the Mighty Territory follow.

If one day their power is severely weakened and their military strength is reduced to the point where they can no longer completely control their own territory, then the territory they previously worked so hard to seize may very well fall directly into the hands of the Lord of the Mighty Territory.

Even knowing this drawback, the leaders of the six factions were helpless.

Aside from secretly strengthening their defenses, they had no choice but to accept it.

There was nothing they could do; they had completely accepted the administrative system and most of the governance model of the Weiyong Territory.

Even if they occupy new territories and are willing to grant local powerful families some power to dilute the support and influence from the Weiyong Territory, they still cannot do it.

By the time they realized what was happening, it was already too late. Moreover, they had become accustomed to the governance and management system of the Weiyong Territory, which was not only convenient but also allowed them to mobilize their forces to the greatest extent possible.

As for the traditional model of alliance with local powerful families, it is easy to cause a situation where power is dispersed and all local power is seized by the local powerful families.

Once their military strength is significantly reduced, the local powerful clans who have allied with them will pose a more direct and dangerous threat than the Lord of Weiyong.

Moreover, the traditional model of cooperating with local powerful families was vastly different in its ability to mobilize manpower and resources compared to the system of the powerful and valiant government.

Therefore, they had no choice but to cooperate with Wei Yong, otherwise the consequences would be quite dire.

This is the advantage of our system!

As long as productivity keeps up, advanced systems will completely crush traditional systems.

Because of the different systems they practiced, the six factions that occupied large territories in several neighboring states of Weiyong Territory had no choice but to be firmly bound to Weiyong Territory.

Unless they can improve their talent development system and cultivate enough usable talent someday.

Otherwise, they would have to obediently be tied to the mighty leader, and they wouldn't be able to break free even if they wanted to.

"Impressive!" The former leader of the rebel army, who now controlled several counties and commanded 200,000 troops, couldn't help but exclaim repeatedly as he spoke to his trusted generals, "That Lord of Weiyong Territory did nothing, yet he managed to bind us and the other five forces firmly to the Weiyong Territory's war machine. His methods are truly remarkable!"

"Hey, Chief, there's no need to boost others' morale while diminishing our own!" a trusted general complained. "It's only because we imitate the way the Mighty Valiant Territory operates that we have to rely on their support. If we ever abandon this model, they'll be helpless against us!"

The chieftain chuckled irritably, "Easy for you to say. We've gotten used to this relaxed governance model. If we were to go back to the old system where we had to manage everything, our energy was severely scattered, and we couldn't manage anything, let's see if you'd still have the nerve to spout such nonsense..."

"Ha ha……"

Seeing their companion's embarrassed expression, the generals who held military power couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"What are you laughing at?" the man said angrily. "Am I wrong? We are too dependent on Weiyong Territory right now. If they suddenly withdraw or resort to tricks, we will be in big trouble!"

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent!

"Sigh, I know it's not good to be too closely aligned with the Weiyong Territory, but we don't have that many talented people under our command! What can we do?" The chieftain shook his head with a wry smile. "Right now, getting closer to the Weiyong Territory is the best option!"

"Yes, at least the Wei Yong Commander has provided us with strong support. The only ones we have to sacrifice are the elderly, weak, women, and children among the refugees, which is quite good for us!"

"I know that too. It's a pity that our foundation is too shallow. We've only managed to stabilize our borders recently and put an end to the war with those local forces. Otherwise, if we could rest and recuperate for a few years, we could put our own talents to good use and we wouldn't have to be so conflicted!"

"Forget about such a good thing. As long as we're right next to Weiyong Territory, how difficult would it be to remove their influence? It's much better to find a way to penetrate deeper into the heart of several states, seize more territory, and gradually separate ourselves from Weiyong Territory!"

"It might be difficult. Those local bullies aren't easy to deal with! Our key right now is to train enough capable people, so that when our territory expands in the future, we won't have to rely on the Weiyong Commander's people for support and have our lifeline controlled by them!"

The men under my command have been exhausted these past few years and definitely need a good rest and more training to improve their combat effectiveness. With Commander Weiyong providing support, there's no need to worry about money, provisions, or weaponry!

"Our relationship with Weiyong Territory is currently one of mutual exploitation. As long as we still have value to them, Weiyong Territory won't go too far. Accumulating strength should be our top priority!"

……

Listening to his trusted generals discussing amongst themselves, the chief remained expressionless, but inwardly he could only manage a bitter smile.

My trusted followers are all right, but they are also somewhat one-sided.

Despite controlling several prefectures and being worthy of being called the lord of a thousand-mile territory, he is nothing compared to the lord of Weiyong Territory.

The main problem is the huge gap in strength!

In recent years, he has led his troops to fight and finally seized several counties. Looking at the neighboring states of Weiyong, he can be considered a hero.

But Wei Yong's territory was not idle either. Taking advantage of the chaos in the neighboring states, it recruited a large number of refugees. Nearly five million refugees flowed in, and due to the peaceful environment and proper arrangements, their strength increased even more rapidly.

To put it simply, in the past, the prosperous areas of Weiyong Territory were only the cities and towns inhabited by humans; most of the land was barren and uncultivated, with no one farming or raising livestock.

However, the situation is different now. Although Weiyong Territory still only has five major cities, with the influx of nearly five million refugees, the number of towns and villages has increased significantly, which means that the power of the Lord of Weiyong Territory has greatly increased.

He had witnessed firsthand the capabilities of the talents cultivated by Wei Yongling over the past few years, and could only express his admiration.

Based on past experience, it would be impossible for the newly conquered counties under his command to stabilize in less than a year or two.

But what about now?

He led his army to take over the territory, and in the blink of an eye, the officials sent by the Weiyong government arrived to take over. With the cooperation of the army, the previously collapsed order was restored in less than ten days or half a month.

While it may not be perfectly organized, at least the military won't need to constantly monitor the suppression.

This alone saved him and his men so much trouble.

Chapter 874, The Mysterious Ghost Cultivator! (Please subscribe!)

What alarmed him even more was that, with the re-establishment of the government in the occupied territories, the talents trained by these powerful and valiant leaders went deep into the most basic villages, quickly defeating local powerful clans and families, and actually permeating the government's authority down to the village level.

Although he had witnessed the local government's methods of control, which extended their reach to the lowest levels of society, back in Tongyuan City, seeing them build something from scratch right under his nose still shocked and filled the chieftain with envy.

On this point alone, not to mention the speed of postwar order recovery, the amount of resources and manpower that the government was able to mobilize was astonishing, something that was unimaginable before.

If it weren't for the fact that his brothers were all exhausted from years of fighting and needed to recuperate, he could have easily used the newly conquered territories as a base to sweep into the heartland of several neighboring states of Weiyong.

To put it bluntly, his troops are all elite soldiers. Among the local forces in the neighboring Weiyong region, apart from a few core troops that are barely worth mentioning, the rest of their troops are an overstatement. They are just a rabble that can only wave flags and shout to make a show of force!

"Alright, alright, stop arguing!" The chieftain waved his hand to stop his trusted generals from discussing, and laughed, "At least the current situation is better than we expected before we raised the flag, which is already very good!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding generals also smiled happily.

That's true. When they first raised their flag and stormed into this place, they never imagined that they would achieve what they have today in just three years.

This place is not their old lair where they caused trouble before. Not only are they unfamiliar with the area, but who among the local people and officials knows where these wandering ghosts came from?

With the help of the Weiyong County government, they have already managed to occupy several counties, which is quite an achievement. Asking for more would be beyond their capabilities.

"Of course, the territories we currently control are all being governed by officials sent by the Weiyong Territory, which is indeed not very stable!" the chieftain continued. "However, in the eyes of the Weiyong Territory's ruler, we should be considered a useful pawn. At least until we reach the heart of the neighboring states of Weiyong Territory, he will not rashly turn against us!"

"Of course, we are all ambitious and righteous men, and we certainly cannot leave everything to others. The Lord of Mighty Valor is no exception!"

"Right now, we have two most important things to do: one is to recuperate and prepare for the war to come, as our goal is to fight our way into the heart of the state; the second is to cultivate our own talent. We know the methods and means of cultivation, we just need enough time!"

Upon hearing this, all the generals nodded in approval, for what their chief had said was exactly what they needed to do right now.

only……

"Great Chief, won't our extensive training of our own talent displease the Lord of Weiyong Territory?" a general asked with a wry smile. "After all, Weiyong Territory is doing a good job sending its own people!"

"There's no need to worry about that. The reward we've given is already generous enough, so there's no need to fret about it!" The chieftain shook his head and waved his hand, saying, "Our most important task right now is to rest and recuperate. As for the communication with the Mighty Territory, I will handle that personally!"

Upon hearing this, the generals, though filled with curiosity, could only nod in agreement.

……

The remaining five factions include those that follow the same approach as the Great Leader, and those that do the opposite.

The main reason was that the Weiyong government's power was too overwhelming, which made the leaders of the local lords, who had become arrogant after gaining territory, unwilling to be influenced by the Weiyong government any longer.

Their approach was simple: although they dared not kill the talents sent by the Weiyong government, these talents were not given much importance, as the position of advisor is not unique to modern times.

Although they occupied the same territory and used the same rules and systems as the Weiyong Commandery, they did not give the Weiyong Commandery any real power to send personnel.

How could such blatant targeting not attract the attention of the Weiyong County government?

The news was reported up the chain of command and soon reached Xiaoshan.

"Let them be!" Xiao Shan didn't care at all, and laughed at the eagle demon who delivered the message, "Once they realize that their territory has been completely surrounded by the forces of Weiyong Territory, they won't be able to resist letting go!"

There will always be clever people who will guess his intentions. If they don't want to be swallowed up, they will have no choice but to bite the bullet and head straight for the heart of the Great Chu.

At that time, the Weiyong government will simply need to take over the territory they abandoned.

Those who let their greed cloud their judgment will inevitably face a situation where their own territory is surrounded by the Weiyong Commandery's government on all sides, and they won't have many options left.

Otherwise, people would really think Xiaoshan is a charitable institution!

They provide whatever money, food, and military equipment one needs, and all that's required in return is the worthless refugee in a chaotic world. What a bargain!

He wasn't interested in those things, but he was more interested in the magical cultivators who had appeared in the war-torn neighboring states, as well as the ghost realm that permeated the heartland and spread into the heartland of the Great Chu.