Chapter 122: Chapter 101: Identity Revealed
Translator: 549690339
When he returned to the center stage, the people who were once cold towards Lu Yuan suddenly became enthusiastic.
Their enthusiasm was even more evident than when they were dealing with Sun Siwen.
It made sense.
Sun Siwen was indeed a good educator. Having such a teacher was certainly helpful for their local gentry in terms of culture and education.
But what was the current situation?
Da Yue’s imperial court seemed to be in disarray, and the world was gradually falling into chaos.
In such turbulent times, the words of scholars did not carry as much weight as those of martial artists.
Making friends with a powerful martial artist in the chaotic world could be a significant factor in the rise and fall of many people’s families.
Lu Yuan did not resist this idea either.
Getting along with these local tycoons would make things easier for him when he wanted to accomplish anything in Changning in the future.
Just now, after seeing Lu Yuan’s martial prowess, several more gentry approached him with requests to buy official positions.
The significance of going to a post led by Sun Siwen, a scholar, and a Jianghu martial artist of secondary rank was entirely different.
The former was an outsider leading soldiers, while the latter might not be as good at fighting battles, but they had enough strength!
Moreover, having a fierce general in the army was a tremendous morale booster.
With Lu Yuan in charge of military affairs, the people in Changning County who had doubts about Sun Siwen’s ability to safely take up his post now suddenly became optimistic again.
Almost instantly, the remaining inspector and three catch officer positions in Lu Yuan’s hands were sold off, earning him 2,500 silver tales.
After making such calculations,
excluding the cost of repurchasing, Lu Yuan had made about 4,500 silver tales in just one month, almost equal to his five years’ savings.
“No wonder those ancient emperors liked to sell official positions – it’s such a quick way to make money! I’d do it too!”
Lu Yuan sighed in his heart and then looked at his patrons with an increasingly friendly expression.
Just now, besides those who bought official positions, some local gentry said they were willing to donate more money for the imperial court’s sake in suppressing bandits.
Their earnest demeanor made it hard for him to refuse, so he gratefully accepted the offer instead.
The grand review of the troops came to a perfect conclusion.
The next day, the officials and soldiers set out on their journey, and the newly-appointed catch officers and inspectors, who had bought their positions, also hurried over.
They did not come alone.
Those who bought official positions yesterday were mostly wealthy local gentry with substantial household wealth. Now that they had bought positions for their sons, they naturally would not send them to their deaths.
Most of these gentry sons who bought positions had martial arts skills, with many even possessing Inner Strength. Among them were even two Jianghu martial artists of primary rank.
Apart from the gentry sons who joined the army in person, many of them also sent their own household servants to accompany and protect them. These servants were all trained in martial arts and could be brought out to kill at any time.
More than a dozen catch officers and inspectors brought various servants to ensure a convenient and efficient team, totaling more than a hundred people. These people were their private soldiers who did not need to be paid by Lu
Yuan.
With free labor available without spending money, he naturally would not refuse and accept it happily.
As for the possibility of being sidelined, it did not exist.
Lu Yuan’s official position was higher than theirs, and his strength was greater. Under the dual pressures of righteousness and power, who could resist?
Who dared to resist?
So, he only needed to use this free labor force with peace of mind.
With the addition of these family servants who brought their own rations for the journey, the full complement of 500 soldiers and officials under Sun Siwen was filled.
Now, the well-equipped and high spirited army was no longer intimidated by the former fearsome reputation of Wugang County.
On the official roads, the army marched with dust flying around.
The bystanders and commoners on both sides of the road would make way when they saw the approaching procession, stretching their necks in curiosity and discussing where this large army had come from.
In the mile-long procession, Sun Siwen sat in the carriage, lowered the window curtain, and turned his head to his friend, saying, “With such a mighty army escorting us on this journey to Wugang, there should be no worries. This is all thanks to Brother Lu’s contributions.”
Lu Yuan smiled and modestly replied, “It’s too early to say that. Maybe there are powerful people in Wugang County itself. Keep in mind that many county towns have no shortage of secondary-rank Jianghu martial artists.”
His words were not false.
Although Lu Yuan had made a ranking system, the second rank was for county level, the first rank was for Fu City level, and the Inborn Grandmasters were for the prefecture level.
However, such rankings were not entirely accurate.
In places such as Southsea’s Nan’an County and now Changning County, these impoverished areas did not even have a secondary-ranking martial artist in their county towns.
Even in Hengyang’s Fu City, the strongest individuals were of secondary rank, lacking even a single first-ranking individual and weak in strength.
In prosperous places like Mei County and Dayu County, there were definitely secondary-ranking martial artists.
Although Wugang County was said to be even poorer than Changning County, there would always be exceptions like the appearance of a flood dragon in such a poor place.
Who says that secondary-ranking martial artists must covet wealth and prefer to go to richer places? What if they like to live poor?
Lu Yuan’s friend, Daoist Qi Yun from Qingyun View, was a living example of this.
That’s right, after several years of contact, Lu Yuan had naturally come to understand that Qi Yun could practice martial arts, and his skill was not weak he was actually a secondary-ranking martial artist in the Jianghu world.
Such a secondary-ranking martial artist would hide in remote mountains for cultivation, which was quite a surprise for him when he first learned about it.
But then he quickly became more appreciative.
With such strength, Qi Yun could still endure hard times. His determination to follow the Dao was beyond ordinary people.
No wonder Lu Yuan always made significant progress whenever he learned from him.
The other party was already an accomplished martial artist in the field of martial arts, with enough accomplishments, so instructing Lu Yuan was naturally simple and easy, hitting the nail on the head.
Because it was based on the other party’s experience.
Having seen Qi Yun’s example, if a secondary-ranking martial artist showed up in Wugang County, Lu Yuan would not be surprised at all.
However, after yesterday’s drill ground review, Sun Siwen seemed to have gained more confidence in his friend and now just laughed, saying, “Even if there’s another secondary-ranking martial artist, with Brother Lu here, they can’t cause any real trouble.
I’ve heard that Brother Lu’s strength is among the top tier in the Jianghu’s secondary rank.”
Speaking of this, Sun Siwen recalled the times he had boasted about his promotions in front of his friend and couldn’t help but feel embarrassed by his past actions, complaining, “And Brother Lu, since you had such strength, you should have told me earlier.
I’m sure when I bragged in front of you in the past, you must have been laughing secretly in your heart, right?”
Thinking of the past events, the County Magistrate’s face turned slightly red, and he felt somewhat irritated..