Chapter 340: Chapter 192: Seeking Help from the Dan Ding
Translator: 549690339
After forming an alliance, many things became easier to discuss.
Lu Yuan looked at Yan Wangqiu, hesitated for a moment, and said, “Sect Master Yan, since we have decided to negotiate with the imperial court, we must have bargaining chips and strength, so as to make the imperial court yield. Your sect dominates Lingnan, how many people can you gather with your full effort?”
Yan Wangqiu thought for a while and replied, “If the whole sect is mobilized and our vassals are called, I can gather a hundred thousand people, all of whom are brave heroes. If we involve more civilians, then gathering two or three hundred thousand people is not a problem.”
The so-called brave heroes referred to those who had practiced one or two martial arts techniques.
It’s not that these people are necessarily very powerful; they may not even have Inner Strength and can only perform one or two simple moves.
However, you have to admit that when these people fight, they are indeed much stronger than ordinary farmers in one-on-one battles.
If there are a hundred thousand such heroes, then the strength of the Nanhai Sect is indeed formidable, worthy of being called the dominant Innate Great Sect in Lingnan.
Lu Yuan was slightly surprised in his heart, looking at Yan Wangqiu. He didn’t expect that this old man, who seemed to be old and declining, could pull out two or three hundred thousand people at any time.
This level of strength was, frankly, not inferior to the Five Poisons Sect at its peak.
‘No wonder the imperial court is so wary of those Innate Sects, always keeping their distance from one another on ordinary days.
If every Innate Sect has such strength,
If the five Innate Sects in Da Yue were to rebel together, wouldn’t they be able to muster a million soldiers in an instant?’
After roughly calculating the strength of those Jianghu sects, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but marvel and was subsequently overjoyed, “Now in my hands, there are fifty thousand soldiers and thirty thousand Miao Soldiers. In addition, the various prefectures and counties can also gather up a hundred thousand county militias.
With the combined power of our two families, we can gather four hundred thousand troops.
With this strength, even if it is just two of us, the imperial court has to take us seriously.
If the other two Grandmasters also have the same strength as Sect Master Yan, then the four of us teaming up can easily gather a million troops.
With these troops as our wings and strength, and the four Inborn Grandmasters as strategic deterrence,
This strength is no less than that of the imperial court.”
At this moment, Lu Yuan had an unprecedented optimistic outlook on his plan’s vision.
With this kind of strength, is the imperial court still not willing to compromise?
Even preparing for the worst, after they clearly-state their terms, the imperial court is still stubborn and won’t agree to Lu Yuan and the others’ opinions.
Then the four of them could simply raise troops and revolt, seizing the territories they desired, and perhaps even more than they wanted at the time.
After all, the main force of the imperial court now is either held down in Dongting County and Guangling County, or is far away in Jiuzhen County. The capital’s troops can’t move either.
There are simply no soldiers available and no soldiers to dispatch.
“The other two Grandmasters should not have my level of strength.”
Compared to Lu Yuan’s optimism, Yan Wangqiu was more cautious, reminding, “The White Phoenix Temple is located in Linhai County. It has always been the center of the six major families and seven clans, acting as the foundation for their power, and has always been strictly guarded against outsiders’ interference.
So under the repression of those aristocratic families, even though the White Phoenix Temple is an Innate sect, its actual strength is equivalent to that of a first-class sect.
If the temple were to make an all-out effort, mobilize its monks, and rally its followers, it might not be impossible to gather twenty or thirty thousand people.
However, gathering a hundred thousand troops is simply impossible.
Moreover, within Linhai County, there are fifty thousand elite Forbidden Army troops and an Inborn Grandmaster guarding the area. If there is any disturbance in Linhai County, troops can be sent to quell the rebellion at any time.
Therefore, that bald monk Jihui will never stand with us against the imperial court.
He does not have the capital to confront the imperial court.”
Lu Yuan said nothing in response.
In fact, regarding the White Phoenix Temple, he originally didn’t have high hopes for their support.
The temple is located in the stronghold of the six major families and seven clans. Any disturbance would attract their combined firepower, making it extremely difficult to instigate any uprising.
For this reason, the White Phoenix Temple was eager to break away from that cage, being the first to come forward and accept the court’s solicitation.
So, after a moment of silence, Lu Yuan asked, “We don’t need to worry about the White Phoenix Temple, what about the remaining sect?”
Compared to Lu Yuan, who had always stayed in Dongting County and rarely ventured into the Jianghu world, Yan Wangqiu was much more familiar with the other sects. He responded, “At present, there are still three sects in the Jianghu that have not accepted the court’s invitation.
One is Guanhai Villa, one is the Nine River Sword Sect, and one is the Liuyang Sect.
First, let’s talk about Guanhai Villa in Guangling County. Although the Qiao Family, the owner of the villa, is a Jianghu family,
Guangling County is located at the intersection of Liang and Yue, and countless battles have taken place here between the north and south rivers for hundreds of years.
Although the Qiao Family is in the Jianghu world, in the face of hundreds of thousands of troops, they could not remain neutral and had to choose sides to support.
Therefore, Guanhai Villa is known as a Jianghu family, but in reality, they are closer to the imperial court’s aristocratic families, frequently intermarrying and becoming close relatives.
So, if the last of the imperial court’s top ten Grandmasters is able to persuade Guanhai Villa, the Qiao Family will never join us in resisting the imperial court.
On the other hand, the Nine River Sword Sect, which occupies Jianan County, is surrounded by no imperial power and has fairly good strength.
But Jian’an County, with only eight prefectures in its territory, has many mountains and few plains, and is generally impoverished and sparsely populated.
Even if the Nine River Sword Sect occupies this county, they can’t support too many disciples. With all their efforts, they might only be able to mobilize a hundred thousand people.”