Chapter 301: Chapter 179: Setting out to pacify the Miao
Translator: 549690339
Lan Cai’er, an Innate Grandmaster, is also a long-standing rival of Lu Yuan.
Although the two have never met face to face and have not had any direct conflict, the disputes and struggles between the forces they belong to began several years ago.
Since the news of Lan Cai’er’s achievement of Innate spread, she has been like a sword hanging over Lu Yuan’s head, threatening his life at any moment.
The reason it didn’t fall is mainly because Lu Yuan had been low-key and didn’t provoke or force the other party too much to come and kill him directly.
But now, Lu Yuan is going to lead an army and attack the old nest of the Five Venoms Cult.
This action is certainly pushing the other party to an extreme.
By that time, Lan Cai’er, the Holy Maiden, would almost certainly personally take action to eliminate Lu Yuan, the long-time enemy who has been aconstant headache to the Five Venoms Cult.
Even with an army to protect him, Lu Yuan still feels insecure at that time.
So without an Innate Grandmaster by his side to protect him, it is impossible for him to march forward.
Having a Grandmaster to protect him is his bottom line.
However, the Imperial Court is barely managing its top war power; whether it can send an Innate Grandmaster is still a question.
So, Lu Yuan is unsure whether the Imperial Court will agree to this.
But to his surprise, Shangguan Guangbai, who was in front of him, agreed without any hesitation: “Yes, the Imperial Court can agree to this.”
This decisive answer made Lu Yuan pause for a moment.
Seeing his expression, Shangguan Guangbai couldn’t help laughing: “Brother Lu should have already known that Elder Master Yan Wangqiu of Nanhai Sect has agreed to the court’s invitation and took the position of National Master.
Now, as the state is facing difficulties, the Imperial Court and National Master Yan have discussed it, and he has agreed to lead the Nanhai Sect’s disciples to the north of Dongting Province to assist the Imperial Court in suppressing the rebellion.
If Brother Lu is willing to march, my father can transfer the National Master to your army.
Elder Master Yan has been a renowned figure in Jianghu for over a hundred years, and his sect has more than ten top-notch experts. With him and his disciples, even if the Holy Maiden of the Five Venoms Cult comes in person, they can protect Brother Lu without any worries.”
Yan Wangqiu is one of the several Innate Grandmasters in Yue Country’s Jianghu. However, although he has been famous for a long time, his strength is only at the first level of Innate.
Thus, when the forces from Lingnan Jianghu tried to infiltrate Yuzhang Prefecture earlier, they encountered a fierce counterattack from Yin Huixuan of the Liuyang Sect.
When Yin Huixuan went to Lingnan to challenge the martial arts world, Yan Wangqiu even avoided the battle. Before his opponents attacked his doorstep, heaverted an early fight by leaving on a long journey.
This kind of behavior was once despised by the martial arts world.
Through this incident, it is clear that Yin Huixuan’s strength is far above Yan Wangqiu’s.
However, Yan Wangqiu’s cowardice is not without reason.
Once a martial artist breaks through Innate, they can live up to 150 years. Yan Wanqiu has been a Grandmaster for ninety years, and he broke through at the age of fifty.
That is to say, Elder Master Yan can only live for another ten years at most, if not less.
Even ten years ago, his physical condition wouldn’t have been much better.
Back then, fighting the rising star Yin Huixuan with his frail body would have likely cost him his life after just one battle.
Behind Yan Wangqiu is a sect. Tens of thousands of people from Nanhai Sect depend on this Grandmaster to thrive.
If he had an accident, the sect would disintegrate.
Jianghu has always spread rumors that the Nanhai Sect’s younger disciples are incompetent, and that none of the disciples from the last four generations have become successful. That’s why Yan Wangqiu, who is over 140 years old, still has to stand up and support the sect.
It seems that Nanhai Sect’s heritage has really run into problems.
Maybe Yan Wangqiu agrees to the court’s terms to help the sect’s younger generation secure a foundation in half of the prefecture by helping the Imperial Court repel Zhou People and quell the rebellion while his old bones can still move.
After all, if they can’t survive in Jianghu, establishing a country with a solid foundation is also a good way out.
At least, with a stable territory and the backing of the Imperial Court, the sect will not be immediately annihilated after his death by the enemies he had offended in the past.
Lu Yuan, guessing this in his heart, shows a smile on his face and says to
Shangguan Guangbai: “If it can be done, once the military salary from the Imperial Court and Master Yan arrive, I will send fifty thousand troops to attack Wuling Prefecture.”
Shangguan Guangbai was delighted and quickly said: “Brother Lu, rest assured, the one million taels of military salary and Master Yan’s group will arrive by next month. By then, we hope Brother Lu can immediately dispatch the troops, as the Imperial Court really can’t wait any longer.”
At present, there are very few soldiers to mobilize inside and outside the court.
In the whole Da Yue, there are fifty thousand troops in Jiuzhen Prefecture, but these fifty thousand people need to suppress the entire Lingnan three prefectures, so they can’t move at all.
Jinling, the capital, also has fifty thousand Capital Armed Forces, but these five thousand soldiers also need to suppressing Linhai, Yuzhang, and Jianan Prefectures. Besides, it is where the Imperial Capital is located. So it cannot be moved either.
In the north of Guangling Prefecture, there are two hundred thousand frontier soldiers.
However, those two hundred thousand troops must guard against an equal number, or even more, of Liang soldiers across the border.
Once these troops are mobilized, Liang forces will be able to drive straight into Guangling, threatening Jinling City from across the river. This is an even worse situation than losing control of Dongting Prefecture.
That was why the border army of Guangling Prefecture could not move either,
and why the Imperial Court sent envoys to Liang Country, hoping to make peace with it..
