Chapter 339: Chapter 191: Five Thunder Dao Technique_3
Translator: 549690339
However, the fiefdoms that were granted to them were either located in the barren wilderness or on devastated lands.
As the Grandmaster has been living in Southsea for a long time and has become accustomed to its prosperity, can he truly bear to leave behind the fertile lands of the vast sea?
Would he go to the remote Xichuan with his disciples and followers to fight to the death against the Zhou People?”
Now that Lu Yuan’s strength has broken through the Inborn realm, he has been promoted from half a chess player to a true chess player.
In addition, with the support of over a hundred thousand soldiers under his command, his confidence has grown immensely.
At this point, he no longer intends to continue hiding his true intentions.
He begins to implement his original plan to unite with the grandmasters of Jianghu, support each other, and negotiate better terms with the court.
The person before Lu Yuan, Yan Wangqiu, is his first target.
“What do you mean, General?”
Although Elder Master Yan is older and has a great deal of self-restraint, he can’t help but change his expression somewhat upon hearing Lu Yuan’s almost treasonous words.
But Lu Yuan just smiles, “The Grandmaster should understand what I am saying. The court wants us to serve them, and they expect us to die for them, to fight for our lives. But the rewards they give us are very stingy.
I have thought about it privately and found it very unfair.
Why should we sacrifice so much, make such great efforts for the nation, and only be rewarded with half a county?
Their six or seven families have produced only six grandmasters, but they occupy seven counties in the world. The four of us grandmasters can only share two broken border counties.
As martial artists, we have always used our strength to speak for us.
The court and those aristocratic families no longer have the strength, so naturally they don’t have the qualifications to continue occupying such large territories.
In my opinion, the nine counties of the world can each be governed by one of the four grandmasters.
Only in this way can the distribution be fair and reasonable.
The South Sea Sect, led by the Grandmaster, boasts tens of thousands of disciples and dominates Yulin and South Sea Prefectures. All the martial artists in Lingnan bow down to them. What a magnificent momentum it is!
But now, for the sake of the court’s meager profits, they have to give up their thousand-year foundation, abandon these two prefectures and take only half of a county, scattering their disciples even further. Isn’t it tragic?
In my view, even if the Grandmaster cannot obtain South Sea Prefecture, it is possible to negotiate for Yulin County from the court.
At that time, although it would still involve moving away from their homeland, at least it would still be within Lingnan, not too far away. The disciples would be more willing to follow.
Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Lu Yuan sincerely advises him.
Yan Wangqiu listens, and his expression gradually changes from surprise to calm, then from calm to frowning, and finally from frowning to being moved.
It must be said that Lu Yuan’s words have indeed touched his heart.
The leadership of the Nanhai Sect in the martial arts world of Lingnan is naturally substantial.
There are more than 30,000 named disciples in the sect, and if the peripheral followers are included, the number is said to reach 100,000.
Being able to gather so many people, the Nanhai Sect has naturally become deeply intertwined with the various factions of Lingnan, and they have merged into one indivisible entity.
If Yan Wangqiu insists on moving away from Lingnan and goes to Xichuan Prefecture, thousands of miles away, the benefits that the sect originally had in the region will have to be severed completely.
After such a cut, only a handful of the original 100,000 disciples will remain – perhaps no more than 10,000 at most, and possibly only two or three thousand core disciples will be taken.
In this way, even if the Nanhai Sect eventually moves to Xichuan, and establishes a kingdom there with half a county of land, the remnants of their strength will not be enough to maintain the newly built kingdom.
A few years after establishing the new nation, it could easily be wiped out by others.
There is a high probability of this happening.
It is precisely because of seeing this possibility that after witnessing Lu Yuan’s strength, Yan Wangqiu is eager to make friends with him.
Unlike the Nanhai Sect, which is made up of a combination of various local forces, the troops under Lu Yuan are professionally recruited soldiers from various places.
With a highly disciplined and unified structure, and with strict military law in place, there are no complex local benefit chains.
As long as the General gives an order, all soldiers can move their families to any location at once.
This is something Yan Wangqiu cannot do.
Therefore, if he can form a good relationship with Lu Yuan, the two fiefdoms will be able to support each other, creating a win-win situation where Lu Yuan provides the basic soldiers and the Nanhai Sect provides high-level combat power.
To achieve this, Yan Wangqiu is willing to risk making concessions.
But it seems that things may change now.
‘This newly promoted commander of the southern expedition has a big ambition.’
Yan Wangqiu secretly thinks to himself, revealing an interested expression on his face. He says, “General Lu, do you intend to turn against the court?”
Lu Yuan corrects him: “This is not turning against them, but rather seeking reasonable treatment and negotiating with the court. Are you willing to help me, Grandmaster?”
Yan Wangqiu ponders for a moment: “How confident are you, General?”
Lu Yuan replies: “As long as we can unite all the Jianghu grandmasters, we may not have a hundred percent chance of success, but I’d say we have a five or six-out-of-ten chance.”
The probability of success is calculated based on the court’s actual strength and the immense external pressure.
As long as the court does not want to burn along with the jade, there is indeed a more than fifty percent chance of getting the other party to compromise.
Hearing this, Yan Wangqiu finally gives in and nods, “If that’s the case, I’m willing to give it a try with the General.”
As Lu Yuan said, who would want to leave their homeland and relocate thousands of miles away?
If the Nanhai Sect moves to Xichuan, less than one-tenth of its strength can be taken along.
However, if they only move to Yulin County, which is also part of the traditional territory of the Nanhai Sect, the area might be inferior to that of South Sea Prefecture, but it is still considered their homeland.
If the Nanhai Sect relocates to this county and establishes a kingdom, at least half of the original strength can be preserved.
With the support of tens of thousands of disciples, the foundation of the new country will become solid within a few years.
By that time, who knows, perhaps the transformed Nanhai Sect will usher in a new era of prosperity?
Needless to say, it is clear who has more potential between the 100,000 disciples and the millions of people, and which is more beneficial: having influence in two prefectures or effectively controlling one.
If they can really obtain these benefits by following Lu Yuan, it is worth taking some risks.
“Don’t worry, Sect Master Yan. The court today is not the same as before. Following me, you won’t be disappointed.”
Seeing Yan Wangqiu finally agree, Lu Yuan can’t help but feel overjoyed. Then he also changes the way he addresses the other party from “National Master” to “Sect Master”, indicating the change in their relationship.
From now on, the two will be part of a smaller circle of allies within the larger group of the ten grandmasters.
They will be considered close friends within their own circle.
This intimate relationship is, of course, extraordinary.
Yan Wangqiu also understands this point, so he smiles and says, “From now on, I, along with the Nanhai Sect, will be relying on Sect Master Lu’s care.”
In the words of the Lord Master, he also dispenses with Lu Yuan’s official position and directly refers to him as a suitable Grandmaster.
“Of course, of course,” Lu Yuan pats his hand, and then the two look at each other and can’t help but laugh loudly together.